Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion

Chapter 11 - Confrontations

Orion stood ominously in front of the three Saiyans, waiting. Trunks snarled angrily while Goku and Vegita managed to get on their feet. He hoped that Goku and Vegita would be able to distract Orion so that he could get Natalie to safety. She just stood, her eyes blank. He was furious with that freak who dared to come to Earth and shatter the peace for his own fulfillment. Suddenly, Orion charged Vegita, ramming him like a bull and knocking him onto the ground. During the split second when Vegita was vulnerable, Orion struck, sending a ki blast straight into the Saiyan's face. Vegita screamed in pain and rage, springing to his feet and powering up a blast.

Trunks made a move for Natalie, jumping to her side and grabbing her, preparing to take off while Orion was distracted. Unfortunately, Natalie glared at him and punched him in the stomach, forcing the boy to his knees. He hadn't been prepared for an attack.

"Natalie?" Trunks said, looking up at the girl. He had dirt smudged on his face.

Natalie glared at the boy. How foolish he was, trying to take her from her destiny. She knew that her future lied with Orion.

"Trunks I never want to see you again." She said, looking down on him. Trunks jumped back in surprise. No...this wasn't Natalie. This was who Orion wanted her to be.

"Natalie I know you don't mean that! You're under Orion's control." Trunks said. There had to be some way to get her to remember...

"Hyaa!" Vegita shouted as he fired another blast at Orion. He was rapidly deteriorating, while Orion looked as if he was just getting warmed up. Goku sensed Vegita's condition and stepped in, throwing a punch to Orion's back. Unfortunately, Orion dodged and Goku sailed forward from the momentum. Orion brought his fists together and slammed them into Goku's back, snapping it instantly. Goku fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Vegita looked at the fallen warrior in shock.

"Get up, Kakarott!" he shouted. Goku was lying with his stomach on the ground. His arms and legs were sprawled out in painful-looking positions and his head rested on its side, his face twisted in pain. Orion laughed as Goku struggled to lift his head out of the dirt.

"Pathetic. Like all Saiyans." He said, kicking Goku in the side. Trunks spun around to see the fallen warrior and screamed in rage. He charged towards Orion, his fists ready, but Orion sensed his coming and moved out of the way just in time. Trunks skidded to a halt and backflipped over Orion's head, landing behind him. He bought his feet around in attempt to sweep Orion's feet, but Orion jumped into the air and did a roundhouse kick, planting his foot right into Trunks' jaw. Vegita, enraged, thrusted forward, throwing his fist towards Orion's head. Orion dodged and returned with a blow to Vegita's chest, knocking the wind out of the mighty Saiyan warrior. As Vegita gasped for breath, Orion grabbed his neck once again, squeezing it tightly. Already short of oxygen, Vegita passed out almost instantly, falling to the ground in a heap. Orion fired at Vegita's helpless body, drilling him into the earth and creating a crater around him. Dust and rocks flew everywhere. Trunks raised his arms, trying to shield his eyes from the flying debris. Suddenly, he saw a flash of white, followed by a harsh voice cursing under its breath. Trunks looked up in surprise to see Piccolo, facing Orion with a menacing glare on his face.

"What do we have here? It looks like a little green man." Orion said, smirking. Piccolo stood like a statue, his cape blowing in the wind created by the impending superpowers preparing to clash. The look on Orion's face reminded the Namek warrior of the time Vegita and Nappa had first arrived on earth. Purely evil.

Piccolo lunged at Orion, who moved to the side. Piccolo anticipated this and brought his fist around, preparing to punch him in the chest.

"Damn fool." Orion muttered and ducked, causing the Namek to stumble forward. Following up with a ki blast, he leapt into the air and hovered over Piccolo, preparing to attack once again.

"There's gotta be a weakness somewhere..." Trunks thought, looking on as Orion beat mercilessly on Piccolo's body. Of course! Natalie was his weakness. Unfortunately, Trunks couldn't get close enough to her to do anything drastic anyways. He suddenly got an idea. Charging up a ki blast, he aimed it at the girl, preparing to throw his attack at any second.

"Take this!" Trunks shouted, about to fire at her. Orion heard Trunks and spun around, observing the Saiyan boy's motives.

"No!" Orion shouted, sending an immense blast at the boy, which hit dead on and left singe marks behind. Seeing that the warrior was distracted, Piccolo lunged forward, slamming his fist into Orion's back. As he stumbled forward, Piccolo kneed him in the stomach and hit him in the back at the same time. Orion fell on the ground surprised and enraged that someone had the nerve to touch him. He sprung up from the ground and glared at the Namek.

"Good job, green man. So far you've managed to land more hits than any of your pathetic friends here." He said, gesturing to the fallen Goku and Vegita. Piccolo snarled, bearing his fangs. Orion laughed his menacing laugh and began to glow. His aura exploded, sending Trunks and Natalie flying back. Trunks did a back flip and landed on his feet with no problems, but Natalie hit the ground with a sickening thud. Her face twisted in pain, she lay on the ground with no motion. Trunks then saw Vegita standing where Natalie had just stood, holding a small device in his hands.

Vegita studied the device, assuming that this was what was controlling her mind. He then proceeded to crush it in his hands. Natalie cried out as if in pain, tensing up and clawing the ground as her ki surged, and then went silent, falling to the ground in a heap.

"Huh -?" Orion broke off, spinning around to face the fallen girl. His eyes narrowed and then darted over to where Vegita was standing with the remains of the gadget in his hands. "Why you -" Orion started, rushing Vegita and knocking him backwards. He then looked up at Vegita, rage boiling in his veins. "You..." he said gravely, looking at the Saiyan. Trunks' eyes widened as Orion launched an all out assault on his father, blurring in and out of sight so fast that he left a temporary image behind. Orion hurled his fist into Vegita's jaw, sending him flying back. Vegita regained his balance, only to be knocked off again by Orion's foot connecting with his stomach. Vegita fell to the ground, clenching his stomach in pain, when a hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the ground. He looked up to see Orion with a positively furious look on his face. "So you want to do this the hard way, do you?" Orion said in a menacing tone. He squeezed Vegita's neck tighter, causing him to gasp for air. Seeing this, Piccolo sprung towards Orion, his fists ready. Unfortunately, Orion sensed it and dodged, leaving Vegita open for Piccolo's attack.

"Fool!" Vegita cried as Piccolo slammed into him. Piccolo grunted and blurred out of sight, returning for Orion.

Goku watched as Orion fought with the Namek. They were both moving too fast to be seen with the naked eye, but he could sense their whereabouts. He struggled to get to his feet, but his body would respond with unbearable pain. He stifled a cry and fell to the ground with a thud.

Vegita painfully lifted his body off the ground and turned to see his son approaching Natalie cautiously. He scanned her ki, sensing that it had lost the evil undertones it had possessed only moments before. His mind raced. He recalled the battle several months ago, when they had met Orion for the first time. His head suddenly snapped up as he heard a shrill cry. He spun around and faced a gruesome scene. Orion was still in attack position while Piccolo lay in a pool of purple blood, his left arm seared off and lying on the ground next to him. His stomach was gashed open and there were several burn marks on his body. His chest heaved as he struggled to breathe.

"You fool. Don't you know who you're against?" Orion sneered. The Namek didn't even look up, but clenched his fists as a wave of pain shot through him. Suddenly, Vegita's senses perked up and he felt an approaching power. Before he could react, a ki blast soared toward them, hitting Orion square in the back. The warrior fell forward, and he barely managed to regain his balance as another one flew past. He spun around and looked on in rage as a boy floated to the ground, landing with a soft thud and getting into attack form. Orion raised an eyebrow, as the boy looked vaguely familiar.

"I thought you were dead. I should have known." The boy said, smirking.

"Hmph." Orion muttered as he folded his arms. "Looks like you are indeed as stupid as you look." He commented.

"Goten!" a voice cried. Orion turned to face Trunks, who was also standing in fighting position. He growled in annoyance.

"Maybe I should just get rid of them now before they start to really bother me." Orion thought to himself. He began to power up, shaking the ground beneath him. He watched as Goten ran toward the purple haired boy. "Insignificant boy. He's probably trying to flee." Orion thought.

Goten ran over to where Trunks was standing, breathing heavily. He stopped and looked at his friend with a glint in his eye. Trunks nodded, as if he understood completely. Vegita looked on as Goten and Trunks got into position, standing about five feet apart. He smirked as he realized what they were planning.

"You ready?" Goten said, looking at his friend reassuringly. Trunks just nodded firmly and bent his back a bit in anticipation. Then, it began. Trunks' blood rushed as he moved gracefully. It had been a while since the last time they had done this. A drop of sweat ran down his chin as me made sure to keep his body steady. The two boys mirrored each other and performed a series of movements, finally raising their hands above their heads and leaning inward toward each other.

"FUSION!" they both shouted simultaneously. In a flash of bright white light, the two fused together, forming a new, more powerful being. When the light dulled and faded away, there stood Gotenks.

Orion looked at the new warrior, confusion written all over his face. Where there had once been two boys, one stood in their place. Gotenks was a combination of the two Saiyan's heights, with jet-black hair and purple streaks down the sides. He was wearing a tight black tank top and loose, orange pants with a long, blue piece of cloth tied around his waist as a belt. His boots were black and his pants were tucked sloppily into the rims.

Gotenks smirked at Orion, clenching his fists in preparation. He loved the feeling of raw power as it surged through his veins. His ki flared and a golden aura surrounded his body.

Orion smiled to himself. "Well at least I'll be able to have some fun this time around." He thought as he expanded his ki. His spiky blonde hair blew in the wind created by the surge in power. He let out a yell as energy swirled around him. Gotenks lunged toward the warrior, preparing to hit him in the face. Orion, who's senses had increased along with his power, dodged easily and retaliated by hurling his own fist towards the fused Saiyan's back. Gotenks blurred out of sight and reappeared behind the surprised Orion, sending a massive ki blast toward him. The energy exploded on contact, uprooting nearby trees and forcing debris into the atmosphere. Chunks of land flew outward, striking Vegita and narrowly missing Gotenks himself. When the dust settled, Orion stood, breathing heavily. His hands were singed from his successful attempt to block the blast. Gotenks growled in anger and prepared to attack once again.

Meanwhile, Vegita watched in awe. He hadn't seen Trunks and Goten fuse in several years, and they had since increased their strength a thousand fold. Goku moaned in pain, grabbing Vegita's attention. He grunted and walked to the fallen warrior.

"What's the matter, Kakarott? Surely he hasn't beaten you already?" he said cockily. Goku looked up at Vegita, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Heh. Always the same." Goku muttered to the Saiyan prince. Vegita crossed his arms. "He has incredible accuracy. It's like he knew just where to hit me to bring me down." Goku continued.

"Just go super Saiyan, fool. It replenishes your strength and might mend broken bones." Vegita scoffed. Goku clenched fists, trying desperately to increase his power. Unfortunately, his injury was making it difficult. He thought back on all of the things that had taken place throughout his life. He remembered when his brother Raditz had come to earth and kidnapped his son in an attempt to get to his weak point. He though back on the time Vegita and Nappa arrived on earth, destroying everything in sight for their own entertainment, how Freeza had killed so many innocent lives out of fear for his position. All the memories came flooding back, enraging the Saiyan. Suddenly, his hair flashed gold and his eyes green. His power jumped erratically and he sprung to his feet.

"Man that feels better." Goku said, cracking his knuckles and flexing his muscles. His eyes then wandered over to where Piccolo lay, barely alive. "Oh, no!" he said, racing over to the fallen Namek. He looked down in sorrow as Piccolo winced in pain. "Piccolo!" Goku cried.

"Hey..." Piccolo said, forcing a grin that bore his fangs. Suddenly, the moment of peace was shattered as a ki blast surged past them, incinerating the ground five feet away from where they stood. Goku, who was still in Super Saiyan form, and Vegita turned around and saw Gotenks finishing off a blast. He shot them an apologetic look and redirected his attention to Orion. "Goku..." Piccolo muttered. Goku looked back down to the Namek.

"Sorry...I couldn't help." he said, struggling for words. Piccolo emitted a sound that was mixed between a cough and a laugh.

"No...don't be sorry..." Piccolo replied. He leaned his head over and coughed up blood. "Just make sure..." he broke off, his chest heaving. "Just make sure that he dies this time." He finished, blinking several times, until his blinking came to a stop and his body went limp. Goku stood in disbelief as Piccolo died before his eyes. He forced himself to look away from the grisly scene and turn to face Orion.

"That bastard is going down." Goku said in a low tone. Vegita looked at Goku in surprise as the third class Saiyan hurled towards Orion. His anger was his fuel as he slammed into Orion's body. Orion spun around in fury and narrowly missed Goku's ki blast as it screamed past his face. Goku fired a kamehameha at him, sending his massive blast towards Orion's body. Gotenks jumped out of the way, just as the blast hit. Smoke rose into the sky, surrounding the area. When it cleared, Orion was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?" Vegita said, looking around. "No way you could've gotten him in one hit." He continued, trying to sense Orion's ki. Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him. "Watch out!" he said, knocking Goku out of the way just as Orion's immensely powerful blast shot past. Orion grumbled angrily and fired again, missing. Goku and Vegita did their best to avoid all of the attacks, but they were beginning to tire. Gotenks joined in and fired multiple, rapid blasts at Orion, missing for the most part, but managing to get in a few hits every now and then. Orion was getting bored with this and decided to end the fight once and for all. He exploded in energy, sending the three fighters flying backward at neck-breaking speed. They hit the ground and skidded painfully for several feet before finally coming to a stop. Suddenly, a shrill cry rang out. The three looked around to discover Natalie, grasping her head in pain. Gotenks immediately flew to her whereabouts, stopping a good ten feet away from her. She was struggling to breathe and was having trouble keeping her ki under control. It would jump dramatically, only to soar back down to where it had just been. She looked up at the fused Saiyan, puzzled. She had never seen Trunks and Goten fuse before, so she had no idea of who this new person was. Instinctively, she sprung to her feet and attacked, slamming her fist into his chest. Gotenks put up a ki shield to protect himself from any of her hits. She ran towards him, attempting to slam into him, but was thrown back by the ki shield. She looked up, confused. She was obviously extremely irrational. The ground was trembling violently as a result in the enormous surge of Orion's power. Natalie looked in his direction, cowering in fear when she felt his ki. Gotenks blurred next to her, grabbing her arm. She looked up at him, wide eyed.

"Natalie it's me -er - us." He said. She cocked her head to the side. "Gotenks. Trunks and Goten. Fused." He said, trying to explain, and doing a bad job. Vegita and Goku were watching from a distance, trying to lift their battered bodies off the ground.

"What is that fool doing?" Vegita hissed. "That damn girl has been nothing but trouble ever since she ran into Trunks."

"Vegita I think we have more important things to worry about." Goku said. As if on cue, Orion turned, looking at Gotenks with a positively lethal look on his face. If looks could kill, Gotenks would already be at King Kai's. Gotenks sensed Orion's ki and spun around just in time to see a tremendous blast heading straight for him. He jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. Suddenly, his stomach knotted up when he heard a cry of terror. He looked up to see Natalie being engulfed in the energy. She raised her hands to shield her face, just as the blast exploded, threatening to throw everyone off their feet with it's enormous force.

"NO!" Gotenks shouted, trying to keep his balance. When the energy dissipated, a badly injured Natalie fell to the ground, breathing heavily. There were singe marks all over her body and her clothes were shredded in many places. Orion observed the fallen girl with wide eyes as he realized what had happened. Gotenks became enraged and went on a suicide rampage, attacking Orion head on. Vegita and Goku watched in surprise as Gotenks actually got some blows in without falling victim to Orion's wrath. A low moan escaped Natalie's mouth as she struggled to sit up. Goku raced over to tend to the girl while Vegita stood with his arms crossed, glaring.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked, waving a hand in front of her. She looked up at him with a perplexed expression on her face. Suddenly, a stray blast whizzed past the two, exploding on impact just feet away from where they stood. Natalie looked over while Gotenks and Orion fought furiously. Orion delivered a punishing blow to Gotenks' face, sending a light ki blast along with his fist. Gotenks retaliated by swooping around and clamping his fists together, hurling them into Orion's back. They were moving so fast that Natalie was having extreme difficulty following their moves. She could sense as they would come together at blinding speed, clashing, and then speeding away once again. She winced as Goku checked her burn marks. "Those look pretty bad." He said, examining her arm. Vegita blurred over to the two.

"What are you doing, Kakarott? The girl can take care of herself. Besides, this is all her fault." He spat, crossing his arms in annoyance. Natalie shot him a glare. "What are you looking at?" he asked menacingly. Suddenly, something hit him on the back of the neck, hard. He fell forward, using his hands to propel him into the air where he did a flip and landed on his feet. He spun around to see Orion giving Goku a beating. "What the -?" he broke off, looking over to where Gotenks and Orion had just fought, observing Trunks and Goten lying on the ground, badly inured. "Damn..." he muttered under his breath, flying over to where the two lay. "Get up, boy." He said, kicking his son lightly in the side. Trunks moaned and forced himself onto his knees. He put his hand to his forehead and looked up at Vegita.

"Dad?" he said, squinting. Even though the sky was dark, Orion's ki was a brilliant white color and was painful to stare at after closing your eyes for too long.

"What do you two think you are doing?" He said. "Get up, now!" Trunks obeyed, reaching over to help Goten up. The three then turned to see Goku bet beaten up badly by Orion. When Goku had fallen, Orion charged the three standing warriors, hurling his fist into Goten's stomach before he could react. He spit up some blood, clutching his stomach in pain. Angered, Vegita attempted to plant his foot into Orion's chest, but missed. Orion grabbed Vegita's ankle and hurled him into the sky, following up with a strong ki blast to his mid-section. Trunks reacted by putting Orion in a chokehold, powering up a blast in his free hand. Orion shouted in anger, causing his aura to expand, forcing Trunks off of him and throwing the Saiyan back. Just as he caught his balance, Trunks was presented with a Tsumono blast straight to his face (In cast you forgot, the Tsumono is one of Orion's attacks from Cosmic Crisis 1). He fell backwards, crying out in pain. Goten managed to get to his feet, powering up a Kamehameha, but was interrupted by Orion's fist in the process, causing him to lose the attack.

Natalie, who was watching from a distance, was growing very angry. She saw Orion throw Trunks back, sending a blast directly into his chest. She screamed in rage and powered up her ki, causing Orion's aura to be dwarfed by the light coming from the girl. Unfortunately, he was too busy fighting the Saiyans to notice. Natalie attacked Orion with full force, slamming her own body into his to knock him off balance, causing his powerful beam to miss its target, Trunks. She grabbed him by the back of the neck and jumped into the air, slamming her feet into his back. She continued to beat on him until his energy exploded outward, sending the girl flying. She slammed into an unsuspecting Vegita, knocking them both to the ground. The startled Saiyan prince threw Natalie off of him, growling in irritation. Natalie wasted no time, powering up again and going for Orion once more. He became irritated with her and put up a ki shield, causing her to bounce back. After several attempts, she became infuriated and clenched her fists, glaring at him. Her aura began to flare, growing more intent as she continued to increase her power. The ground shook and everyone struggled to keep their balance as her rage intensified. With one final cry, she lunged toward Orion, breaking through his ki shield with no effort and delivering an implausible blow to his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Trunks, Goten, and Vegita watched in astonishment as the girl fought furiously. Her eyes were focused and her body was agile, concentrating on nothing more than killing. Her Saiyan instincts were kicking in as she swooped around gracefully, knocking Orion back and forth between her blows. Without warning, her hair flashed gold, then returned to brown just as quickly. Vegita stared in disbelief.

"What? Surely that was an illusion." He said to himself, his eyes wide as Natalie continued to channel more energy into her attacks. Orion knocked her back, causing her to hit the ground hard from her momentum. She sprung to her feet, preparing to attack again, when Orion held a sphere of pulsating energy in his hands, preparing to hurl it towards its next victim. Natalie got into stance, ready to fend off the blast, when Orion shot it towards Vegita, catching the Saiyan off guard. Natalie watched in horror as the beam sliced through his chest, narrowly missing Trunks as well. Vegita looked at Natalie with a stunned expression before falling backward, landing next to Goten's feet. Orion laughed evilly as Vegita spat up a massive amount of blood before his ki flared one last time and his body went limp. As Vegita's face lingered in her thoughts and Orion's laugh rang in her ears, Natalie stood, trembling violently. Trunks closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, letting out a loud cry as he powered up his ki, sending a shock wave outwards, knocking over Goten and blowing Vegita's limp body back a few yards. However, Natalie stood, unmoving. Her body had gone into shock, preventing her from reacting to the situation. Her stare then ceased and she slowly tilted her head upward until she was looking into the starry sky. With a sharp inhale, she screamed the shrillest cry to ever escape her lungs. Trunks and Goten stared at the girl as ominous clouds formed overhead and the ground trembled. When she had run out of air, she snapped her head back down at eye-level, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Orion as nothing showed but the whites of her eyes. Suddenly, her hair flashed gold this time, lingering for a few seconds before fading again, returning to its familiar brown hue. She clenched her fists so intently that her fingernails dug into her skin. Her muscles tightened and every nerve in her body tingled. Her hair then began to rise off of her neck into the air as if a lightning bolt were about to strike. There was an awkward silence as she forced her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. Her aura was sucked inward, absorbing into her body and surging through her veins as she struggled to stay standing. The energy pulsated as her body glowed a brilliant blue color. Then, without warning, her hair flashed gold once again, this time spiking outward to the very tip of the soft strands, causing her ponytail to fall out. Trunks and Goten watched in awe as the girl transformed from the gentle Natalie that they knew to the enraged Super Saiyan. Natalie was a Super Saiyan! When her transformation was complete, she opened her eyes, glaring at Orion with green eyes. Her tail had turned a golden color as well, and had grown a few inches in length. Blurring out of sight, she attacked head-on, knocking Orion back a good twenty feet as she slammed her fist into his chest. He struggled for air as she dove at him again, pummeling him with her fists as her ki flared a blue light. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the neck and forced her to the ground, choking her. She struggled to get free, but he held his grip strong. Not wasting a moment's time, Trunks charged Orion, knocking him back, losing his grip on the girl. She coughed and gasped for air but immediately got onto her feet and prepared to attack again. All three warriors were at the Super Saiyan stage, with brilliant golden hair and extreme fighting power. As Orion retaliated, lunging toward the group, Goten fired an enormous blast. The power exploded as soon as it made contact, but did little damage to Orion's body. Enraged, he fired again, but it bounced away harmlessly. Orion's menacing laugh was then heard, reverberating around the area. When the light faded, Orion was seen, surrounded by a scarlet aura, not of his own. He then brought forth a small object, glinting in the light of the surrounding ki's.

"So you fools want to play games?" He laughed, charging a blast. "Then let's play." He said, extending his arms as the energy surged through his veins. He fired, throwing the power towards the three, intending to cause deadly results.

"No!" Natalie cried, leaping forth. She deflected the blast away from her friends, sending it flying into the atmosphere. Angered, Orion fired again, deriving more and more power from the small, jet black object floating a foot in front of his chest. Natalie once again forced the blast back, causing it to explode behind Orion. His hair whipped in the wind created by the energy as he narrowed his eyes and smiled evilly. He extended his index finger and pointed it towards the girl, sending a mild blast towards her. But instead of bouncing back, it engulfed her body, surrounding and enveloping her. She cried out as she lost all control of her own body. He then pointed to the sky, causing her body to be propelled upward at blinding speed. When she was a good 500 feet above the earth, Orion brought his hand down, sending her hurling towards the ground. She screamed as she plummeted to what seemed to be her death, when Trunks cried out for Orion to stop. The warrior just laughed and knocked him back telekinetically. Just as Natalie was about to hit the ground, Orion forced her to stop. She hung a few feet above the ground as she struggled to break free. Trunks and Goten fired a double ki blast to their opponent in a desperate attempt to break his concentration, but he remained unfazed. He then sent Natalie flying upward again, this time stopping shorter than he had last time. He laughed at her fate and sent her falling once more. This time, she slammed into the ground, forming a crater about ten feet in diameter and three feet deep. Dust and debris shot outward, pelting Trunks and Goten. When the dust had mostly cleared, Natalie was seen lying on her back with her head facing the sky. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises and blood trickled from her lips.

"Natalie!" Trunks cried, rushing over to where she lay, barely conscious. Before he could reach her though, he was knocked back by Orion. He became furious with the death of his father and the fall of Natalie that he powered up considerable and rushed Orion. However, Orion drew more energy from the little black crystal and shot him back effortlessly. Seeing the crystal to be the source of his new power, Trunks attempted to knock it away. Orion just dodged and sent a ki blast flying.

"No, no, no." he said, laughing as he blasted Trunks again, who cried out in pain. While Orion was distracted, Goten was tending to Natalie. She moaned and coughed up a mouthful of blood, almost choking as a result. Her tail twitched and she struggled to sit up. Goten reached down to help her but she declined.

"You...shouldn't have come." She muttered. "Now, because of me, Vegita is -" she broke off to cough up a little more blood. "Vegita is dead." She finished. Tears welled up in her eyes and overflowed, running down her cheeks and splashing in the dust.

"No, Natalie! It wasn't your fault." Goten said. "It was Orion."

"You don't understand!" she said, raising her voice as more tears flowed. "It's all because of me that Orion came here in the first place." She coughed once more, crying out in pain as her body trembled. "I will leave here...take Orion...with me..." she broke off, falling on the ground.

"No! No, don't do this!" Goten cried. "Natalie hang on, please!" he shook her gently, trying to keep her conscious. If she passed out, she might never wake up...

Trunks dodged one of Orion's blasts, counter-attacking with a blast of his own. He was getting nowhere, fast. If he didn't do something soon, Orion would finish him off. His heart beet furiously as his body worked overtime and his golden hair flashed in the night sky as he continued to battle the fierce Orion.