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Fan Fiction Dragon Ball: Chaotic Future
CHAPTER 1
Hunters Saga, Part I “Hunters.”
They sat silently, watching their prey intently.
It had taken the two hunters months to discover the bandits’ hideout, and now that they knew where it was, nothing would prevent them from taking the outlaws down. The building before them was as far away from civilization as possible, a perfect place to stash the stolen relics that the hunters were here to recover. The forest that they were hidden in gave the two bounty hunters enough cover to hide them from the bandits’ prying eyes. The two crouched in the sheltering darkness, their long black cloaks helping to camouflage them. “Miura,” the female hunter whispered to the male. “When do we hit them?” The hunter called Miura sat quietly, as if deep in thought. Slowly he readied his energy rifle, looking at his partner with a slight smile. The girl closed her bright green eyes and sighed. Maybe I should have just stayed back home at the palace, the young Galdrian noblewoman thought. She ran a hand through her dark green hair, cut short at the shoulders, and was surprised at the amount of sweat that she found there. The temperature on this planet was anything but warm, but after sitting nearly motionless for hours her nerves were beginning to wear on her. “We may as well get this over with now, Z. The longer we wait, the more they get dug in.” Zellis only nodded as she too readied her weapon, the standard issue energy rifle used by all official bounty hunters. Miura took one last look around, taking in everything he could from his surroundings. “I think we should just charge them. As far as we know there are only two of them, so it should be no problem for us, right?” Zellis could only nod dumbly, for a reckless charge was not her idea of wise, but Miura usually knew what he was doing. He had always been pretty rash, even when the two of them had been children. Better than anyone on Galdria, their home planet, Zellis could understand Miura’s impatience, a trait no shared by most members of their race, and definitely a trait not shared by the other members of Galdria’s royal family. Miura was unique, being the offspring of a Galdrian noblewoman and a Saiyan man. Zellis’s mother, a high ranking member of the Galdrian royal court, took Miura in and raised him as her own following the executions of Miura’s parents, for the union of a Galdrian and a Saiyan was a crime punishable by death. Zellis was born two years later, and Miura had always played the role of the protective older brother to her, and he even insisted on joining her when she decided to become a licensed bounty hunter against the will of their family. Everything about Miura told of his odd heritage, from his jet-black hair, which spiked nearly straight up while Galdrians shared characteristically straight hair, to his eyes, which were a piercing purple inherited from his mother, while Saiyans typically had dark eyes. He had power and strength inherited from his warrior father, but he also had his mother’s gentle and calm nature as well, if one but took the time to get to know him. Before Zellis had a chance to protest, her adopted brother and partner burst out of the forest, running head long toward the small building. Zellis followed shortly after, and for a moment she thought that they might actually reach the building unnoticed. She was wrong. The two hunters were halfway across the clearing when the bandits opened fire. Zellis was barely able to drop to the ground in time, and she looked up to see Miura take a hit to his left arm, but rather than hit the ground he continued his daring charge. Lowering his rifle before him, Miura fired five blasts at the building’s only window, where the enemy shots were coming from. The first four missed his target all together, but the fifth entered the window, and Miura was rewarded with a grunt of pain as one of the bandits went down, hopefully for good. With a short lull in the oncoming fire, Zellis jumped to her feet and followed after Miura. Upon reaching the shelter, Miura dove into the open window with Zellis close behind. After entering the outlaws’ building, all hell broke loose. Zellis’s vision was filled with flashing lights as she was struck in the back of the head by one of the bandits. Miura managed to knock her attacker back before more damage was done, but in doing so he left his back unguarded. He was barely able to dodge aside as a blast of energy cut through the air right where he had been standing. The half-Saiyan hunter picked up his adopted sister and dashed back, putting as much space between them and their enemies as possible. The four fighters stood facing off, none of them making a move, as if sizing each other up before continuing the battle. Miura set Zellis back on her feet. “Are you alright? That was quite a hit you took,” he said, never taking his eyes off of the two outlaws before him. Zellis nodded and took up a fighting stance beside her partner, prepared to fight hand to hand after losing her weapon upon entry of the building. “What happened?” she asked. “I thought you had at least one of them down before we came in.” She studied her enemies, looking for any obvious injuries. Both of them looked basically the same: humanoid, light blue skin and coal-black eyes without apparent pupils. Their hair was a darker shade of blue, and like Miura’s it spiked straight up. They were dressed in what appeared to be torn up old mercenary clothes, well used but not well taken care of. One of them stood a full head taller then the other, but both of them were several inches taller than the two hunters. “Neither of them looks hurt, it’s like they wanted us to get in here…” Miura took his eyes off the bandits just long enough to look at his partner and flash her one of his cocky half-smiles. “That’s exactly what they wanted, to catch us off guard and lure us into a trap.” He glared at the opponents before him, seeing his glare mirrored in their own expressions. “I’ll bet they knew we were out there all along.” Suddenly recognition struck Miura and his eyes widened. “There’s something else… Something we didn’t expect. Z, these two are Erions, I’m sure of it.” The hunter’s eyes narrowed again, not wanting to give his enemies the pleasure of catching him off guard. “That’s why my energy rifle shots didn’t really hurt them.” Any further conversation was interrupted as the two Erion bandits launched their attack. The larger of the two dashed toward Zellis, lashing out with a powerful spinning kick. The Galdrian hunter simply put up her arm, taking the blow between her wrist and elbow with a small grunt of pain. The Erion jumped back, surprised that his attack had been blocked by such a slight girl. His hesitation lasted only moments, for this time Zellis was on the attack, striking at her opponent with a flurry of kicks and punches. While nowhere near as physically powerful as her opponent, Zellis had years of hunter combat training as well as her natural speed on her side, and she was able to take anything that the Erion threw at her. It was an obvious stalemate. Miura jumped aside with surprising speed as the smaller bandit attempted to tackle him to the ground. Looking around, Miura realized that there wasn’t enough room in the small building for him and Zellis to fight at their full potential. As the bandit spun back around to face Miura, he was rewarded with the young nobleman’s powerful fist colliding with his jaw. He let out a gurgling sound, his jaw obviously broken, and staggered back. Miura followed, delivering another punishing blow, this time a roundhouse kick that snapped the smaller Erion’s arm. Glancing over his shoulder, the half-Galdrian saw his partner locked in a furious battle with the larger bandit. “Z! Let’s take this outside, it’s too crowded in here!” Miura shouted over the grunts of exertion coming from his sister and her opponent. Zellis nodded, barely noticeable between her constant attacking and defending. The young Galdrian noblewoman jumped back, disengaging herself from her opponent, then dashed forward again, and with a shout of anger she threw all of her strength into one powerful right hook. She took the bandit in the side of his head, just behind the ear, and the force of the blow knocked him right through the wall behind. Miura smiled slightly and grabbed his injured opponent by the front of his ragged, dirty cloak, tossing him over his shoulder and out the open window. The two Galdrians followed immediately after. “Miura,” Zellis gasped between breaths. “What did you mean back there? When you said your rifle shots didn’t hurt them?” She looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to take her attention from the two enraged opponents before her. Zellis felt energy beginning to well up around her brother and was amazed at how powerful he truly was. Miura’s expression remained firm as he said, “It’s something I remember hearing about a long time ago.” As the half-Saiyan continued gathering his energy, a light purple aura began to manifest around his body. “I heard that somewhere, on a planet called Eria, there were people who were immune to energy attacks, all kinds of energy… I thought it was just a rumor.” Suddenly Miura’s muscles constricted as his body reached its limit, and he shouted as the large aura around him dissipated, leaving only slight wisps of energy coursing around him. “Z, these two may be a little beyond your ability to deal with.” As his partner began to protest he shook his head. “Besides,” he said with a cocky smile, “you look pretty exhausted from your little tussle back there.” His expression again turned serious. “Let me handle this one. Just back me up if I need it, okay?” Zellis nodded and held her fighting stance, prepared to jump in at any time. Miura was off with an explosion of energy, dashing toward the two bandits and leaving a trail of dust in his wake. With a primal scream of rage, the half-Saiyan hunter collided with the first of his opponents, the smaller of the two Erions. Without even slowing down, Miura delivered a thunderous backhanded blow to the already injured bandit, knocking him to the ground with a cry of pain. Miura continued forward, flying straight toward the larger Erion. Unfortunately the second bandit was already prepared for the young Galdrian, and he held his ground as Miura lashed out with a powerful kick. The large Erion ducked below Miura’s leg and countered with an attack of his own, a thrusting punch meant to take the bounty hunter in the side of his head. Only Miura’s seemingly supernatural reflexes saved him from the crippling blow as he dropped to his knees, allowing the Erion’s attack to pass harmlessly overhead. The two warriors, Saiyan and Erion, backed away from each other, knowing that each of them faced an opponent worthy of caution. Miura stood ready, panting and gasping for breath. Damn, he thought. I was hoping to take both of them out in that charge, but now I’ve wasted too much energy to finish this guy quickly… I’ll just have to wear him down. The hunter cast a sideways glance at the smaller Erion, still lying on the ground, unconscious or dead, Miura didn’t know which. If that other one manages to get enough strength to rejoin the fight, I could be in trouble. Miura took a deep breath and turned his glance toward Zellis, who had concern for her partner clearly etched on her features. She still hasn’t regained much strength from the fight in the building. No, it looks like I’m on my own. The Galdrian nobleman returned his attention to his opponent, who was also showing signs of exhaustion and apprehension. For a long time neither fighter moved, as if allowing each other this small moment of rest before the battle began once again. Miura took another deep breath and clenched his fists, drawing on his last reserves of energy. The hunter was about to attack when he felt energy gathering around his opponent, and he watched in stunned silence as the large Erion powered up to his maximum fighting ability. “Oh no,” Miura whispered as the bandit saw his opening in the bounty hunter’s defenses. He rushed Miura and nailed the Saiyan with a rib-crushing blow to the chest. The young half-Galdrian cried out in pain as he was sent hurtling backwards, striking the ground hard. He was barely able to roll aside as the Erion’s leg smashed into the ground where Miura had just landed. Taking advantage of the situation, the young hunter grabbed his opponent’s leg and threw him as far as he could, trying to get some distance between himself and the Erion. Miura jumped to his feet as the bandit stopped himself in mid air. The Erion’s body was trembling with rage, having obviously hoped to kill his opponent by now. He slowly took a breath, allowing himself to calm down as he ascended higher into the air. So, Miura thought. He wants to take this fight into the air, huh? Fine by me. Miura began to float slowly upward, much to the surprise and irritation of the Erion. Suddenly the bandit increased his speed, and he was soon soaring high above the Galdrian nobleman. With an alien scream of frustration, he pointed both of his hands toward Miura and unleashed a powerful blast of energy. The young Saiyan’s eyes opened wide in astonishment as he watched certain death descending quickly upon him. He flew back as fast as he could, hoping to outrun the Erion’s attack, but even as he did so the blast began to pick up speed. Suddenly Miura landed and crossed his arms in front of him, prepared to take the full force of the Erion’s energy blast. I’m too weak to take this hit, Miura thought. Even if I manage to somehow survive this, I’ll have nothing left! The hunter screamed in anger as the blast approached him, making his black cloak blow and whip around him in the ever increasing gusts of wind. Time seemed to slow down as Miura held his ground, waiting for the Erion’s attack to reach him. Here it comes! he thought as he clenched his eyes shut. Just before the blast hit him, the young hunter felt another presence interpose itself between him and the Erion’s attack. Miura opened his eyes and saw Zellis standing before him, her body surrounded by a blinding energy aura as she summoned all of her Galdrian power, a skill that Miura still couldn’t manage to utilize. She pulled her arm back, balling her hand into a tight fist, and with everything she had she knocked the energy blast away. Into the distance it flew, until it crashed into the surrounding mountain range with a deafening explosion and a blinding flash of light. Miura smiled as he looked at his adopted sister, whose slender body was now surrounded by a bright green and silver aura. Her cloak, which before had looked torn and dirty, now appeared miraculously clean, and it seemed to glow with some inner light. Slowly Zellis’s power began to decrease, and the light around her faded. The three fighters held their breath for a moment, each side unsure of their next move. The large bandit descended back down to the ground, unmasked disgust showing clearly upon his face. Slowly, menacingly, the Erion began walking toward the two hunters. Miura could tell that the bandit was weaker now after having thrown so much energy into his last attack, but even with his depleted power the Erion was still strong enough to destroy the two Galdrians. “Z,” Miura whispered between breaths. “I have an idea, I just need you to watch the smaller one. I could swear that I saw him move a minute ago… He might be trying to catch us off guard.” Out of the corner of his eye, the young Galdrian nobleman saw his partner nod. Miura began focusing as much energy as he could for one last charge against the Erion bandit, who had slowed his advance after seeing the two hunters whispering amongst themselves. Without another word Miura dashed toward his opponent. The bandit held his ground and took a defensive stance as the young bounty hunter closed in on him. Miura let out a scream of rage as he made contact with the Erion. Pulling his left fist back for a powerful strike, Miura watched as the bandit shifted his defenses to counter the blow, just as the half-Saiyan had hoped. Suddenly Miura dropped to his knees and delivered a crippling right uppercut to the large bandit’s abdomen. Before the Erion could even utter a cry of pain, Miura jumped up and pulled a long, thin blade from within his cloak. The young hunter’s feet had barely hit the ground when the bandit fell backwards, the blade protruding from his right eye socket. Miura felt more than saw the smaller bandit rushing towards him. The young hunter turned to face his next opponent, but Zellis was already upon him. Due to her incredible speed, she seemed to materialize above the small Erion, coming down on him with as much strength as she could muster. A cloud of dust and earth burst up from the ground as Zellis smashed the bandit down with all of her power. A sickening crunch came from deep within the Erion’s body, and the bandit screamed in anguish before going completely silent. Miura let his body relax as he dropped to the ground, sitting up and trying to catch his breath. Zellis walked towards him, brushing the dirt from her cloak. “Good job,” she told her brother. “But you’re lucky he fell for your feint.” Miura could only nod as he lay back on the ground. “I knew he would,” the young Galdrian said as he stared into the sky, now slowly fading into dusk. He leaned up on one arm to look at Zellis. “Thanks. I don’t think I had enough energy left to finish that smaller one.” He looked past Zellis and grinned as he saw the crater in the ground behind her. “A little unnecessary though… We were only supposed to recover the stolen goods.” Zellis shrugged. “They shouldn’t have resisted.” Miura laughed as he slowly stood up. Zellis walked over to where the large Erion lay unmoving on the ground. She crouched over him and pulled the blade from his eye, wiping the blood off on the dead bandit’s clothing. “Well, let’s get what we need and get out of here. I’m ready to go home.” Miura gave her a small smile and nodded. “Home.” ________________________________________________________________________
Seven months earlier…
The flowers were in full bloom as Miura made his way to the princess’s garden.
The day was slowly coming to an end, and the first few stars could now be seen in the purple sky of twilight. His last job had been pretty messy, and he was glad to be back home after so many months away. The young nobleman reached into his cloak and pulled out the envelope that had been delivered to him upon his return to the palace earlier that day. He smiled as he read the note inside:
“Arius, I didn’t believe my father when he said you’d be returning today! It seems like it’s been forever since we were together, and I’d like to see you as soon as possible. Come to my garden when you can, I’ll be waiting.
Elysia.”
The young bounty hunter was forced to smile again. Only Elysia and her father, Emperor Gilliam, insisted on calling him by his official name, Arius Miura de Galdri. He shook his head and sighed as he tucked the note away and entered the Royal Gardens. Miura stopped and smiled slightly as he saw a young woman seated on a bench not far from where he stood, her face hidden behind a large book. She sat with her legs stretched out and crossed in front of her, feet resting on the ledge of a bed of indigo flowers. The robe she wore was a dark shade of blue, hemmed at the edges with a delicate gold thread, and the sleeves, which were far too large, had slid down near her elbows, revealing the pale, soft skin of her forearms. As Miura approached, the girl lowered her book and caught sight of him. Her hair was jet black, a rarity among full-blooded Galdrians, and was cut just above her shoulders, showing off her long, slender neck to very good effect. Her features were delicate, and her eyes, which were a bright shade of pink, seemed to glow within her pale face, which lit up as she tossed her book aside and leapt from the bench, jumping into Miura’s arms. “I can’t believe you’re back,” she cried as she buried her face in Miura’s shoulder, her body shuddering as she sobbed against him. Miura put his arms around her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. She looked up at him and smiled, her face streaked with tears. “I’m so glad to see you, I was worried sick. Is Zellis alright? I’d heard she was injured when you arrived.” Elysia closed her eyes and laid her head against the hunter’s chest as he held her close. “Z’s fine,” he answered, stroking her hair softly. “She took a pretty nasty shot to her arm, but she’ll be alright. As for me, I’m just glad to be back, with you. But…” Miura’s voice trailed off as Elysia took a step back from him, her face clouded with worry. As Miura lowered his eyes and turned his back to her, the young Galdrian princess crossed her arms over her chest. “But what?” Elysia asked. “Arius, what is it?” She walked over to her unofficial fiancée, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder. Miura slowly turned to face her. “I won’t be able to stay long, I’m afraid.” Elysia looked down at the ground as Miura continued. “Z and I have another assignment. We’ll be leaving as soon as she’s healed up. A shipment of extremely valuable historical relics was stolen from a cargo ship as it was being refueled at a Way Station near Tura. We’ve been selected to recover the cargo.” He brushed a few stray hairs out of Elysia’s face before tilting her chin up to kiss her as he slipped his arms around her waist. After a moment he continued. “Z should be fit enough to leave in a week or two, then it may be a long time before we can see each other again.” Elysia nodded as she looked into his eyes. “Then let’s not waste what time we have together worrying about it. Come on, Mother and Father have invited you to join us for dinner tonight.” The young princess smiled as she kissed the half-Saiyan hunter lightly on the cheek. “And after that… Who knows?” Miura nodded as she slipped her arm through his and led him into the palace. ________________________________________________________________________
“Miura! Miura, wake up, we’re getting a distress signal!”
Miura slowly opened his eyes, still half asleep as he looked around, unsure of what was happening. “What… Elysia?” Suddenly he remembered where he was. He must have drifted off to sleep after setting the ship’s autopilot coordinates. He stood up from the control seat of his small star cruiser and rubbed the last remnants of sleep from his eyes. “What is it, Z?” Zellis was standing at the main control screen with her back to her partner. “I’m not sure, but it looks like someone is broadcasting some kind of distress signal… they sure are using an out of date code though.” She turned to Miura with a grin on her face, looking comically sinister in the dim lighting of the ship. “Think they’d give us a reward for helping them out?” Miura shrugged as he walked toward the screen. “Go ahead and put it through, we may as well help them out if it’s on our way back to Galdria.” The young bounty hunter crossed his arms as Zellis began the communication process. Within moments the face of an elderly man appeared on the control screen in front of the two Galdrian nobles. His skin was slightly darker than average, and it made his silver hair and beard stand out all the more. He bore a long scar on the left side of his face that went from forehead to mid-cheek, and his eyes were dark, looking almost black on the computer screen. “Hello out there,” the old man said with a grin. “Didn’t actually think there’d be anyone else around this far out. My name is Seth, and I’m the owner of the cargo ship Gelnika. It seems I misjudged my fuel situation… My crew and I have been stranded out here for two days, our food, water, and oxygen supplies are running low. We don’t have much time left, I’m afraid.” Miura looked over at another monitor that was currently displaying a chart of the surrounding star systems. He narrowed his eyes as something caught his attention. “Why don’t you send a request for aid to that planet down there? My chart says it’s called Applicah; I’m sure it should have some kind of rescue outpost.” The young half-Saiyan looked back at the communication screen, seeing a look of distress come over the old man’s face. Seth shook his head and let out a short chuckle. “I’d rather not ask for help form Applicah. I used to live there, you know. Their so-called ‘rescue outpost’ is corrupt beyond imagination. I’d rather take my chances out here, thank you very much.” The old man wiped sweat from his forehead as he continued. “Applicah is out of the question, young man.” Miura stood silent for a moment, contemplating everything Seth had just told him. “How large is your ship, and how many crew members do you have?” the Galdrian hunter finally asked after several moments of silence. Seth wiped more sweat from his brow as he replied. “My ship is an L-Class Cargo Cruiser, and my crew consists of myself, my daughter, and my bodyguard. I’m on a special assignment to deliver this cargo to some Hevan big shot named Mylember.” A look of exhaustion came over the old man’s face. “I’m already two days late, and you know how those Hevans can be. I’ll be lucky if I get even half of my pay.” Zellis narrowed her eyes slightly. “Three crew members for an L-Class, you’ve got to be kidding me. Where’s the rest of your crew?” Miura looked at her out of the corner of his eye, noticing the look of suspicion on her face. Seth scowled. “There are no other crew members; I haven’t the money to hire extra assistance these days.” He sighed as he looked down. “It seems I’ve come upon some hard times of late, you know how it is.” The old man’s scowl turned to a wry smile as he continued. “Besides, some of my business isn’t always what you may call ‘legal,’ so getting good help can be very hard sometimes. Actually, I’d rather not go into the details of it if you don’t mind.” Zellis and Miura looked at each other as if some silent communication had passed between them. The half-Saiyan hunter looked back toward the screen. “Give us a moment to discuss this. We’ll contact you shortly.” With that Miura shut off the view screen and sat back down in his chair. “What do you think, Z?” Zellis shrugged as she leaned against the control panel. “I’m not sure. His story sounds odd to me, but he did say that a Hevan was involved. Due to our alliance with planet Heva, it’s our duty as Galdrian nobility to help them out, I guess.” She smiled at her adopted brother. “Besides, if it is a trick I’m sure we can handle some old man.” Miura nodded as he rested his head in his hand. “It’s not the old man I’m worried about,” he said as he stared at the blank monitor. “It’s the bodyguard.”
To be continued...
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