Dragon Ball Hazard 2

Disclaimer: Trunks and the rest of the characters of the Dragon Ball cast, plus El Hazard belong to other people... 'nuff said.

< >: Thoughts

Chapter 2

New Enemies and... Old Friends?

Trunks sighed as he sat on the side of the cruiser as it skimmed across the landscape. He was dressed in his usual attire of black muscle shirt, dark pants, boots and wearing his favorite Capsule Corp jacket. Lying beside him was his sword and duffle bag. He looked toward the horizon as the sun began to set and thought back to the events which brought him to this point in time.

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Flashback...

Miz Mishtal was not happy.

Today was supposed have been the happiest day of her life. The wedding preparations had gone off without a hitch. The dressmaker had spent weeks creating her gown. Everyone whom she had invited had come. It had been absolutely perfect.

The only problem was that the groom had left her at the alter.

Jilted!

Well, technically speaking the wedding had not been called off... just postponed... for an indefinite amount of time. The only excuse that Trunks could give her was that her fiancé needed to find himself before committing to the marriage.

However, Miz was not in the forgiving mood as she showed everyone there how she felt about it.

The entire palace rumbled as Miz tore loose with the water powers at her command. The entire structure was doused in waves and waves as the enraged bride used the Lamp of Water to almost drown the guests and everyone else in the castle.

Trunks had to act quickly to minimize the damage and save the people from being swept away. After transforming into a Super Saiyan and using his energy powers and super strength, he managed to divert most of the water away from the innocents and kept the walls from collapsing from the intense pressure. Afra Mann and Shayla Shayla were caught in a sudden downpour and were immediately soaked, along with Nanami, the two princesses and Ura.

Eventually, Miz's temper tantrum died out and the waters receded, leaving everyone standing up to their ankles in water. It was then that Miz had decided that she would go after her wayward beloved and confront him face-to-face on his reasons for leaving. She also demanded that her sister priestesses accompany her. She didn't give them any choice.

When Trunks offered to come along to help, Nanami immediately volunteered as well. This in turn got Princess Fatora to thinking and invited herself and Allielle into the group, much to Trunks' dismay.

Ever since the son of Vegita had rescued her, he had gotten to dislike Rune's sister. She was nothing more than a selfish brat who forced her opinions and affection onto others, (mostly other females), whether they wanted them or not. Nanami had already told him of her own encounter with her and the young Saiyan half-breed did not care to have Fatora on this trip. He considered her as excess baggage and was not at all afraid to voice out his objections to her tagging along. However, Fatora would not be deterred and Trunks recognized the devilish look in her eye when she heard that both Nanami and Shayla would be coming along.

This could only mean trouble.

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As Trunks and his friends were cruising along, in another part of El Hazard, Jinnai and his Bugrom had finally made it to the place where the maniac believed he would find his destiny.

After a long trek through the wastelands, Nanami's brother stood before a large cavern that was dug into the mesa that he had spotted earlier. As he surveyed the area, Groucho walked up to him and gestured toward the ceiling of the cave.

Jinnai looked up and saw a very gristly sight of dozens of human skeletons entombed in what appeared to be amber. Then he saw something else embedded in the substance. It was a long thin rod that had a large crystal on its head.

"Hello, what's this? That looks like Ifurita's Key Staff. No... wait, it's different from hers. But for all those poor fools to have lost their lives over it... must mean..."

Jinnai's eyes gleamed evilly as he sensed that he was onto something big. He then instructed Groucho to get under it as he hopped onto his back. Directing the large insect to stand on his tiptoes, Jinnai then stood up and reached for the staff.

As soon as he grasped it, the gemstone glowed briefly, startling the Bugrom and made him back away, leaving Jinnai to dangle wildly above the ground. Then he landed hard on his butt when the staff pulled free. The would-be conqueror of El Hazard shouted in outrage at Groucho, waving his arms about and threatening to clobber the Bugrom with the staff. At that moment, Queen Diva and her entourage approached them.

"Mr. Jinnai, are you all right?"

"Huh? Uh... yes! Of course I'm all right! Why shouldn't I be?" Nanami's brother straightened out and gestured with the staff toward the cavern. "Inside there is where we shall find our new weapon! Follow me!"

With little else to do, the Bugrom did just that.

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Meanwhile, at a small town restaurant...

The Three Priestess of Muldoon, Nanami, Allielle, Ura and Fatora all stared in disbelief as they watched Trunks eat. It was their first time in witnessing the Saiyan stomach in action. They just couldn't fathom where Trunks was putting all. And they weren't the only ones watching the son of Vegita. All the other patrons stopped in their meals around the time the warrior was working on his twelfth helping. Many of them lost their appetites as they saw Trunks inhale portion after portion. Waiters ran back and forth from the kitchen to the table he was sitting at, clearing off the dirty dishes and replacing them with fresh plates of food.

"Mmmm! This is good stuff!" Trunks said after polishing off a roasted bird that was the size of a Thanksgiving turkey, then started working on a platter of kabobs. In less than a minute, he finished them off, leaving only a pile of thin, wooden sticks. He then signaled to the waiters to bring him another round.

"Good grief!" Allielle gasped as she turned to Fatora. "Where is he putting it all?"

"He's... not human!" Fatora gasped.

"Of course, he's not. At least, not totally human." Nanami remarked. "Trunks is half-Saiyan, and I remember his mother telling me that Saiyans have REALLY big appetites. Though to actually see it is incredible!"

Shayla Shayla thought back to the time she was on Earth, then nodded. "Oh yeah. That's right. I remember Bulma telling us that it was quite a job keeping three Saiyans fed, with Trunks, his father and his sister."

"I guess that's the reason why his mother gave him five years worth of food when we left."

"You mean... this is NORMAL?!" Miz said incredulously. She became very thankful that she was going to marry a plain, ordinary human with super-strength.

Afra looked at Trunks thoughtfully, then nodded. "You know, I've always wondered where Trunks got so much energy in battle. Perhaps it's because of all the food energy he's consumes?"

"It's... disgusting!" Fatora said as she and the others continued to watch Trunks chow down.

"I'm... not so hungry anymore." Allielle's face was slightly green as she pushed away her plate, which still had a considerable amount of food on it.

Trunks continued to wolf down his dinner at an accelerated rate. After another twenty minutes, he put down his bowl and took a deep breath. Everyone in the restaurant waited in silence as many people assumed that the young Saiyan was finally full. Then he smiled at the nearest waiter, held out his empty bowl and said...

"More please!"

Everyone in the establishment did a facefault.

Nanami was the first one back up. "You can't STILL be hungry after all that, can you?!"

Trunks shrugged. "Hey, I hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning, and all the food at the wedding got washed away."

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Back in the cavern...

"Onward, my followers!" Jinnai said as he lead the Bugrom deeper into the mesa.

They had been trudging for about an hour as the insane brother of Nanami led them on his delusional quest for power. When they reached the end of the tunnel, they came upon... a dead end.

However, this did not deter Katsuhiko Jinnai in the slightest. Convinced that there was something behind the stone wall, he ordered Cheeko and Harpo to begin digging.

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"Ahhhhh.... now that was great!" Trunks commented as he and the others exited the restaurant. Nanami had gone on ahead to find the group lodgings for the night. Fortunately for them, they did not have to pay for the meal when it was revealed that the half-Saiyan was the legendary Golden Champion. The owner of the establishment was ecstatic when he realized that business would double when word got out that the savior of El Hazard had eaten there. Trunks' dinner, which would have fed a platoon for a week, was on the house.

"I was beginning to think you'd never stop eating." Shayla commented.

"Hey, what can I say? I need to keep up my strength, right?" He gave the Fire Priestess a smile that made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks became red.

The redhead shook herself to compose herself and turned to her sister priestesses. "So what makes you think that Mr. Fujisawa is heading for Mount Lily Koko?"

Miz shrugged as she replied. "It's common knowledge that if one wishes to seek spiritual solitude, there are only two mountains in which my beloved can go to; Mount Muldoon and Mount Lily Koko."

"Yes, and it is also a well-known fact that we priestesses have a temple on Mount Muldoon, so his only other option would be Mount Lily Koko."

"It's really quite simple. Do you understand or should we explain it to you again?" Miz said with a slightly smug tone.

Shayla Shayla frowned as she turned her back to them. "Shit. I hate it when they make me look stupid!"

Trunks shrugged and gave her a another smile. "Well, I wouldn't have thought of that. I would have gone off and searched every mountain in El Hazard for sensei. I guess we have something common after all, eh Shayla?"

"S-S-Something... in common?" The Fire Priestess felt her heart skip a beat again as his comment sent a warm, gooey feeling inside of her. She then sighed happily as her cheeks turned even redder.

"Hey everybody!"

The group turned to see Nanami waving at them from a few yards away. The Earth girl was gesturing to a nearby building and motioning for them to follow.

When they joined up with her, they looked over to where she was pointing.

"Well, what do you think? I got a great deal on it!" Nanami asked.

"Ugh! It's... positively dilapidated!" Afra commented as she and the others looked at the dreary and rundown inn.

"Do you expect royalty to sleep in such a place?" Fatora asked with indignation.

"Well, excuse me for not finding something more posh!" Nanami retorted.

"That's okay Nanami. You did all right. We're only going to be staying one night." Trunks said.

"You bet I did!" Jinnai's sister nodded happily. "I got a great deal too! I got a special rental price for one room and seven beds... all females, of course."

"Hold on! There are six females here and I'm a guy!"

"No problem!" Nanami said as she reached into her bag and pulled out a wig that resembled Fatora's hair. "Trunks... we'll be able to get the discount if you become the fairer sex."

"Oh no! I'm not going through that again!"

This development gave Fatora and idea as she grinned, while giving Shayla Shayla a leer out of the corner of her eye. "You know, Trunks.... I'm having second thoughts here. We can just tell the manager that we're twins and..."

"Forget it. I'm NOT doing it." Trunks glared at her before reaching into a pocket on the inside of his jacket.

"But Trunks..." Nanami began to protest, then stopped when she saw him withdraw a small case.

"It's okay. You girls can sleep at the inn. I'll just sleep outside of town. Besides, I'm going to train for a while and it would be best if I do it out in the open. I'll see you all in the morning, okay?" He took out the capsule which contained his house and showed it to them before walking off.

"Wait for Ura!" The living body armor cried out as she followed her master.

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Later that night...

Trunks was practicing high in the sky, creating quite a light show as he threw hundreds of ki blasts and ultra-high speed punches. He had been going nonstop for an hour. It was good thing that he was a mile outside of the city limits. He had created several dozen craters in the surrounding areas with his techniques and would have devastated half the town.

Trunks came to a hover some five hundred feet above the ground to rest for a bit before continuing on with his training. It then that he saw a huge geyser of flame suddenly erupt from the center of the town. He recognized the energy signature being emitted as he sped toward the area where Nanami and the others were staying.

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Trunks landed in an alley and suddenly stopped short when he came upon a very rare sight... the sight of the tough Priestess of Fire in tears.

Shayla was sitting against a wall in only her bra and panties. Her legs were huddled up to her chest and her head was bowed down as she continued to sob while mumbling to herself.

"Damn that Fatora! It was my FIRST kiss!"

Trunks slowly approached the hot-tempered, but strong-willed Priestess of Mount Muldoon. He then knelt down and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Shayla... what's wrong?"

Her head came up suddenly, showing her tear-streaked face. She showed rage at first. However, as recognition set in, her features softened as she realized that this was not the scheming Fatora, but the kind-hearted Trunks.

"Oh, it's you Trunks... I... don't look at me!" She then turned her head away from him, not wanting him to see her in this condition.

"What are you doing out here? What happened Shayla?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Shayla said in a bare whisper.

"C'mon, you can tell me."

"I SAID, I don't want to talk about it!"

"Uh... okay... I guess you can tell me later, but... don't you think you ought to... get back to the hotel. I mean, it's kind of chilly out here, especially since you're in your... underwe.... oops!" Trunks became very flustered as he realized how very shapely the Fire Priestess was in her undergarments. Sure, he had seen her totally naked before, but that had been a different situation altogether! He wasn't a pervert like Roshi! He quickly stood up, and turned his back while taking off his jacket. Then he handed it toward her while keeping his eyes averted. "Sh-Shayla, would mind putting this on?"

"Huh?" The Fire Priestess looked up and saw Trunks holding out his jacket toward her. He was obviously feeling a lot of embarrassment and discomfort at this situation. She couldn't help but smile and momentarily forget her own problems as she stood up and took the garment. "Thank you." She noted that it smelled a bit as Trunks had been sweating from his workout. However, it was not an unpleasant smell. It was a bit musky but it also hinted at the youth's strength and power.

When Trunks heard her put on his jacket, he slowly turned around and gulped a bit. His jacket didn't cover much. He took a deep breath. "Well... I guess it's time that I turned in for the night and you'd better be going back to the hotel."

"I don't want to go back there." Shayla said with a bit of shame in her voice. "Not with... HER."

"Her?" The half-Saiyan asked, then began putting two and two together. There were only a few people who could really rile Shayla Shayla. "Oooooohh.... HER!"

The red-haired girl could only nod as she felt tears welling up in her eyes again.

Trunks scratched the back of his head, then said, "Well... since you don't want to go back to the hotel, then.... I guess you can crash with me tonight."

"What?" The Fire Priestess was caught off-guard by this sudden offer as Trunks held out his arm. She was silent for a long time, then nodded as she moved close to the son of Vegita.

Trunks nodded as he carefully wrapped the arm around her waist. He became even more nervous as he noticed how warm her bare skin was and how her curves seemed to fit in with his own muscled form. He took a deep breath then took off into the sky with her.

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Inside his Capsule House...

"Are you sure that you want me to take your bed?" Shayla asked as she lay in the only bed in the portable domicile. She was also wearing one of Trunks' shirts, using it as a makeshift nightgown. On the front it said, 'Kiss me, I'm Saiyan.'

"It's okay." Trunks assured as he stood near the side of the bed. "I'll just sleep on the couch in the living room with Ura."

"I don't know what to say. I don't want to impose..."

"Nah, you aren't imposing. Hey, after what Fatora pulled on you, you don't need any more problems."

During their flight to his house, Shayla had finally told him what had happened. Rune's sister had been up to her old tricks again. She had pretended to be Trunks with the excuse that he had sneaked into the hotel to see her. Using Shayla's feelings for Trunks to her advantage, Fatora had tried to seduce her and had gotten her to actually kiss before Nanami awoke and revealed the ruse. At that point, Shayla understandably... reacted and torched a square block in her anger. Fatora had gotten away, but not before Shayla had barbequed her backside. The Princess would not be able to sit down for a week.

"Damn that Fatora! That had been my first kiss and... umph!"

The colleague of Miz and Afra was wide-eyed and in a state of shock when Trunks leaned over and gently planted his own lips on hers. Every fiber in her body became stiff as her body temperature began to rise. Her body trembled as Trunks continued to press his lips against hers.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended as Trunks pulled away while smiling warmly at the flabbergasted Fire Priestess. He straightened up and began walking toward the door.

"W-W-Why did you...?" Shayla stuttered, though the majority of her being wanted him to do it again.

Trunks glanced over his shoulder while still smiling. He had decided that Shayla needed something to get her out of her sadness. So he gave her something to perk her up. "You looked like you needed it." Just as he was about to step through the door, he then added. "Oh, and by the way, if it makes you feel any better... that was MY first kiss. Sweet dreams, Shayla Shayla."

With that, Trunks exited the room and closed the door, leaving the Fire Priestess alone with her thoughts. After a long while, she sunk down into the bed and eventually closed her eyes as the undesirable memories of the night began to fade away. Well, not all those memories, for Shayla Shayla fell asleep with a smile on her face. (1)

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Meanwhile, back at the mesa...

Jinnai chuckled with glee as he looked at his new weapon. After enduring a near-fatal encounter with the laser defense systems that guarded this complex, not to mention almost falling into a bottomless pit, he had found that which he was looking for; a means to conquer El Hazard and wreak his ultimate revenge against his hated rival!

Before him was a large cylinder that seemed to be made of amber and within it was a figure that resembled a young girl with white hair. However, within that tube lay an ancient evil that was about to be unleashed upon El Hazard again. An evil so great, that it made Ifurita seem like nothing. And the self-proclaimed Lord God Jinnai meant to free her.

"Now then, how do I get my new mass-destruction weapon out?" Jinnai turned to his Bugrom compatriot. "Hey, Groucho! Give me something to break this thing open!"

The giant insect made some clicking noises, indicating the staff that Jinnai had pulled from the cave ceiling.

The pompous student bopped him on the head while taking out the staff. "Of course I knew about it! That's why I brought it along!" He reared back and swung the narrow end of the rod toward the cylinder.

Fully expecting it to shatter the amber like glass, Jinnai was taken by surprise when the staff flowed through the surface as if it were made of jelly. He pulled it free, then made several probing motions with the rod. He smirked as he began to understand the workings of the staff.

"Oh I get it! It's two key's in one!" The power-hungry student circled the cylinder and gazed upon the figure's back, until he saw what appeared to be an activation outlet at the small of her back. He carefully inserted the tip of the rod into the jelly and made contact with the slot. The jewel on the other end of the staff glowed as the amber then melted away, releasing the Demon God known as Kalia.

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Meanwhile, skimming across the desert...

"It's so hot!" Princess Fatora complained. "When are we going to get to the next town?"

"There aren't any more towns between her and Mount Lillykoko." Miz replied as she and the rest of the group were sweltering under the heat.

"WHAT?! You mean that we have to camp out here from now on?!" Fatora became extremely distressed. "This trip is a nightmare!"

Trunks frowned as he sat near the bow of the ship. "If you were going to complain, then why didn't you stay at the palace?"

Fatora gave the half-Saiyan a glare and then went back to whining. "It doesn't matter since we can't afford to pay for another hotel."

"Welcome to the real world, Princess. You break it, you pay for it." Afra commented.

"Hey! That wasn't my fault! It was all Shayla Shalya's doing!" Fatora denied, as she was not intent on taking any blame. Why should she? She was a princess after all.

"And who started that mess in the first place?!" The fiery redhead shot back.

Before things could get violent, Trunks intervened as he casually waved a hand. "Simmer down Shayla. She's not worth getting all riled up. In fact, she's not worth ANYTHING period."

That last barb got to the spoiled sister of Rune Venus. "What's that supposed to mean?! Do you have any idea who you are addressing?"

Trunks shrugged as he replied in a very calm, yet disrespectful tone. "I know exactly whom I'm talking to and I shouldn't even waste my breath. You were not needed nor wanted on this trip and I had a feeling you'd pull a stunt like you did on Shalyla last night. Then again, you always were a pain in butt, and a ROYAL pain in the butt at that."

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE SUCH A DISRESPECTFUL TONE TO ME?! I AM A PRINCESS OF ROASHTARIA!"

"So what? Big deal." Trunks shrugged as he leaned back against the railing of the ship. "I'm not from Roshtaria or even El Hazard. Your title means squat to me. In case you've forgotten, my father was the Prince of all Saiyans and heir to the throne, which makes me royalty too, doesn't it?"

"You're not royalty!" Fatora spat back.

Trunks snorted. "Whether or not I'm royalty doesn't matter, since that's not the issue here. In any case, so what if you're a princess? Does that matter to me? Nope. I'll tell you why. It's because you're useless. You're nothing but excess baggage... dead weight... absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever."

"I'LL HAVE YOU BEHEADED!"

"By who?" Trunks asked innocently. "You going to send Lons and the Royal Guards after me?" He then took a sarcastic tone. "Oh, that's right, I defeated Ifurita and the Bugrom, didn't I? And I DID rescue you from the Bugrom and aided in their defeat. Are you going to threaten me with the Eye of God? Whoops! I blew that up, didn't I? And even if it still existed, you'd need the Three Priestesses to unseal it, don't you? I doubt Shayla, Afra and Miz would agree to do it for something as petty as injured pride, right?"

Shayla nodded emphatically. "Not after what she did to me."

Trunks continued on. "So you see Fatora, your posturing and threats mean absolutely nothing to me. With the Eye of God destroyed, there's no real need for the princesses of Roshtaria, other than ruling the kingdom. Rune Venus could do that, so that leaves a very spoiled and useless brat."

By now, Fatora's temper had reached its boiling point. Armed with only the truth, Trunks had stripped away her veneer and showed her for what she truly was... a pampered and ill-mannered child. His condescending smirk infuriated her and she decided to wipe that expression off his face. Turning about, she grabbed hold of a battle spear that was in a secret compartment near the driver's console and swung it toward the son of Vegita.

"SHUT UP AND DIE!"

However, Trunks simply used a finger flick and deflected the point away. The force of the seemingly innocent, yet powerful move caused the weapon to be flung out of her hands and went flying toward Allielle.

"Whoa!"

The little girl ducked as the spear smashed into the control globes, causing them to short out. The entire ship began swaying uncontrollably as the passengers were thrown from their seats. The craft started rocking about as the navigational systems went haywire.

"This ship is Royal Property! MY Royal Property!" Fatora screamed as she blamed Trunks for the predicament they were now in.

"Then it's your Royal Junk, since you're the one who threw that spear!" Trunks shouted back as he held onto one of the railings.

The ship raced erratically across the desert sands and showed no signs of stopping. Then Ura cried out.

"Oh no! We crash real bad!"

Trunks looked over his shoulder and saw that they were heading toward a large mesa. The impact probably wouldn't hurt him, but he had his human companions to think about. Rushing to the bow of the ship, he cupped his hands and started focusing his ki. However, just as he was about to release the blast, the ship hit a dune and threw him off his feet. The ki blast shot wildly upward and that was when they plowed into... or rather through the solid-looking stone wall, which was actually a holographic image.

When the craft finally crashed to a stop and sent its passengers flying into the air, Trunks immediately took flight and caught Nanami, Shayla and Ura in his arms. Afra managed to grab hold of Miz and landed the both of them safely on the ground. However, the spoiled princess and her lover cashed headfirst into some very prickly hedges.

When Trunks came down to the ground, he released his hold on his passengers and looked about.

"Huh? Where are we? Didn't we just crash into a mountain?"

The group found themselves inside a lush oasis with colorful wildlife and several pools of crystal clear water. However, they didn't have long to marvel at the landscape as a familiar voice suddenly called out to them.

"You are not welcomed here!"

Everyone turned to see a tall figure wearing a black outfit with coattails and carrying an elaborate staff. She had pale skin and light lavender hair.

"Ifurtita?"

(That's all for now)

(1) Though Trunks may have feelings for Ifurita, that doesn't mean that the other girls won't have a chance of winning his heart. I also wanted to show a more sensitive side to Shayla than what was depicted in the original series.

Whoa! It's been a while since I wrote this and I had to rewatch El Hazard 2 to get a feel for it again.