Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion

Chapter 15 - Meeting the End

Natalie slept fitfully that night. After Trunks had run off, Kira had quietly finished her ice cream with tears occasionally splashing into the bowl. Natalie tried to shrug it off, making excuses for Trunks' behavior, but it wouldn't let her mind rest. Did he not love her? Was it because of Kira? Was he angry with her for something? These sort of things continued to pop into her head until she fell asleep with Kira by her side, upstairs in her room.

The next morning, Natalie was already awake when the sun rose, painting the early sky a brilliant red-orange before crawling above the horizon to signal the start of the day. She looked over and watched Kira turn over in her sleep. Well surely she and Trunks would get back together, otherwise Kira would have faded from existence. Still, this didn't cease her fleeting thoughts. Suddenly, there was a knock at her door, which caused Natalie to jump, almost falling off the bed. She knew it was Trunks, and rushed to the door, but opened it cautiously. Sure enough, she stole a glance at his purple hair before looking into his blue eyes.

"Natalie..." he began. Natalie stepped out of the room and shut the door behind her. The two stood in the hall almost invisible to each other due to the lack of light. She could feel his eyes burning into hers and the warmth of his body radiating off of him.

"Yes?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I-" Trunks broke off. He had inherited his father's sense of pride, and fought to overcome it. "I am really sorry." Natalie looked up from staring at the floor to what she could make out as Trunks' face in the dark hallway. "I don't know what was wrong with me. I think it's the girl." Trunks said, his voice heavy with grief. Grief over his father, grief over his actions, and grief over the thought of losing Natalie.

"Kira." Natalie corrected him.

"Kira. I think it was Kira." Trunks said. "Maybe it wasn't. I don't know what came over me. Nat I'm really sorry." He said, apologizing profusely.

"It's okay...Trunks." Natalie said. Without saying another word, before she took another breath, Natalie was in Trunks' arms, and they embraced. Finally, they reluctantly let go and looked into each other's eyes before returning to their respective rooms to take advantage of a couple more hours' rest. Natalie walked into her room and watched as Kira slept peacefully on the bed. She walked over and pulled the covers over the shivering girl and curled up next to her, drifting off to sleep now that her mind was at peace once again.

Meanwhile, Vegita and Goku were strolling down Snake Way in the direction of Kaiosama's place.

"Why do you insist on visiting that old fool?" Vegita scowled, not even looking over at Goku.

"Oh, come on Vegita. It's just a nice thing to do for an old friend. Besides, do you know of anything better to do up here?" Goku asked. Both were sporting halos as they strolled down the stone road. They had both chosen not to fly, for whatever reason, since they wouldn't be expending any energy in heaven.

King Kai could sense their approach as he stepped out onto the rocky pathway that led out into the training area.

"Well, well, well. It'll be good to see Goku again." Kaio-sama said to himself as a smile appeared on his face. "It seems as though Vegita is with him as well." King Kai was aware of the situation with Orion and Natalie, as well as the battles that they had fought. He was always keeping a close watch on Natalie since she had such an interesting past, from what he knew. He remembered the terrible losses that resulted from Vela's destruction and how all of the Kaio-shins had reacted to the situation. But they weren't aware of any survivors other than Orion and the princess. Seemed a shame, really, to see such a great race end in mere moments. He quickly dismissed those thoughts and returned to present-time as Bubbles grunted.

"Kaio-sama!" a voice called out to him. King Kai looked up to see Goku waving at him with an excited expression on his face while the prince stood next to him with the usual scowl on his face.

"Well! If it isn't the two greatest warriors this side of the galaxy!" King Kai said, a large grin appearing on his blue-tinted face. "What brings you two here?"

"Well, we were in the neighborhood." Goku said, smirking.

"Ah yes, I know. I know. Can I get you guys anything?" he offered. Almost instantly, Goku was in Kaio-sama's kitchen. Vegita just rolled his eyes and bowed his head to King Kai respectfully.

"So how are things going down below, Vegita?" King Kai asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hmph." Vegita replied, once again folding his arms. "You must know about the girl?" he asked. King Kai nodded his head. "She sure is a strong willed one."

"It's her Saiyan blood." King Kai replied, obviously aware of her Saiyan heritage.

"She has a thing for Trunks. I just know it." Vegita said.

"And if he does, what is wrong with it?" King Kai asked. "Don't you think he was bound to find a girl sooner or later?" he laughed, snorting. Vegita's only reply was a "hmph".

"Hey guys. What are you two talking about?" Goku said, coming out of Kaio-sama's house with a bowl of fried rice in his hands and ready chopsticks in another.

"What do you care, Kakarott? Don't you have other things to worry about, like your stomach?" Vegita snapped. Goku looked at Vegita with a stunned expression.

"Come on Vegita. Don't be so harsh." Goku said. "It can't be so bad that you can't tell your close friends, huh?" Vegita grunted. He never considered Kakarott to be one of his friends. Why did he care anyway? It wasn't like he was asking him to.

"It's none of your business." Vegita said. "Besides, if I wanted to tell someone, it wouldn't be you." Goku was a bit crushed by Vegita's comment. He never seemed to want to accept him.

"Fine. I won't bother you then." Goku said plainly, and then turned to King Kai and began to converse.

"Hmph. I didn't think that Saiyans gave up so easily. But Kakarott is just a low class warrior anyway." Vegita thought to himself. Vegita was always using this excuse because he couldn't accept the fact that Goku was stronger than he was.

"Is that all!?" Goku said loudly to King Kai, snapping Vegita out of his deep thought process.

"Is WHAT all?" Vegita barked.

"Vegita why didn't you tell us that Trunks was in love? It's not that big of a deal!" Goku said, grinning. Vegita turned a frightening shade of crimson and looked at Kaio-sama with a lethal look in his eyes.

"You...told...him!?" Vegita said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, come now Vegita. Don't get so angry." He said. Vegita forced himself to calm down for the most part. It wasn't the fact that Trunks was in love that angered him, it was that now Kakarott knew. Therefore, everyone would now know.

"Is it that girl? What's her name..." Goku said. "Natalie, isn't it? They seem to be really close."

"Yes, Kakarott, it's that girl." Vegita said, his voice bordering on temporary insanity as he spoke through tightly clenched teeth.

"Well that's good! It's about time he found someone." Goku continued. Vegita took that as an insult.

"I don't see your younger brat with anyone!" Vegita retaliated.

"Who, Goten? Nah, he isn't interested in girls!" Goku said. King Kai and Vegita glared at him with one eyebrow cocked.

"Well, fellas. Let's continue this discussion inside!" King Kai said, leading they way into his small, yet cozy home. Vegita grunted and purposely bumped Goku out of the way, proceeding to stomp inside after King Kai.

"Well one of the reasons we came here, King Kai, was that we were wondering if you could train us while we are here." Goku said, walking inside as well.

"How long do you have until the dragon balls can be used again?" King Kai asked.

"Around two and a half months." Goku replied. Surely that would be enough time to at least keep them in condition.

"Hmm..." King Kai thought out loud. "I don't see why not. Vegita are you up to it?" he asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He sneered. "It would be a fine time to humiliate Kakarott in his lack of fighting skill." Goku just shrugged it off. He knew that Vegita only said that because he was too proud to do otherwise. So, without delaying any further, the two warriors prepared to train under Kaio-sama's watch.

Back on Earth, the sun had finally risen above the horizon and shone through the windows of Capsule Corp. and right onto the sleeping forms of Natalie and Kira. The purple haired girl was the first to awaken, stirring at first and then opening her eyes and looking around the room curiously.

"Where am I?" she said aloud, hopping off the bed. Obviously the time travel had caused a memory lapse. Natalie, who was previously lying on her stomach, rolled onto her left side and pulled the covers over her head. At seeing the girl, Kira's memories came flooding back to her at once. Almost immediately, she jumped on top of Natalie, shaking the girl senseless. "Wake up! Wake up!" the girl cried. Natalie was torn from her sleep and thrusted into the reality of a new day.

"I'm up!" Natalie cried, sitting up in her bed and causing Kira to roll off of her. "What's the rush?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's time to get up." Kira said, and jumped off the bed. Natalie scratched the back of her head in confusion and stumbled out of bed. Bulma passed by her room with an exhausted look on her face. She didn't even bother to turn her head as she passed Natalie's doorway. Natalie started to call he name, but stopped herself. She realized that Bulma must be extremely upset about the death of her husband. Natalie became enraged as she remembered that gruesome scene. It played over and over in her head in a seemingly never-ending torturous fashion. Natalie grasped her head and ran her hands through the thick mass of brown hair. She just wanted to crawl back into her bed and sleep forever. She lied back on the bed and was about to pull the covers over her head when a hand reached down and took them from her hands. She looked up to see Trunks's face hovering over hers.

"Are you okay?" he asked, blowing a few strands of hair out of his eyes.

"He's so sweet." She thought to herself. "I'm fine." She spoke, sitting up in the bed once again. She could see the grief in Trunks' eyes as his eyes rested on the floor. Natalie was getting angry. Angry with herself for not being able to stop Orion. She had let him take control of her. She had been weak! And because of her weakness, Vegita, Goku, and Piccolo were now dead. And if she hadn't even come here in the first place, Orion wouldn't have killed the innocent people on this planet. By now, the rage was boiling inside of her. This was the prefect time, she told herself, to train. Without saying a word, Natalie slid off of the bed and walked into the bathroom, pulling her hair back vigorously, pulling out some of her hair in the process. She didn't even bother to change clothes before she splashed some water on her face and walked out, heading for the gravity chamber. Trunks followed her with his eyes until she was out of the room. He considered going after her, but stopped himself, since he knew what was going through her mind. She had a tremendous weight on her shoulders. He just wished that there was something he could do.

Natalie stormed out of Capsule Corp and walked towards the gravity chamber. By now, she had tears in her eyes and she blindly set the gravity controls. The low, steady hum of the gravity machine resonated around the area as Natalie flipped open the control panel that dispersed fighting androids and holograms. Of course, being enraged, she felt as though she could take on the world. So she set the machine to disperse five robots and two holograms, without even warming up first. She was oblivious to the danger of her actions, and proceeded into the chamber, shutting the door and locking it behind her. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now, and didn't want to take the chance of Trunks or Kira paying her a visit. Before she could even stretch her tense muscles, her 7 sparring partners greeted her. The robots' chrome armor glinted in the false light of the chamber as they emerged from their storage spaces and activated themselves. Two holograms appeared before her. This time, they were both male, averaging about six feet in height and were incredibly built, just like all of the other senshi. The one on the left had black spiky hair that fell over his pale grey eyes. He was almost attractive. The other had straight brown hair that was similar in fashion to Trunks' hairstyle. They were both wearing identical outfits, consisting of tight black tank tops that accentuated their muscles, and loose grey pants that were tied in place with a rope-like piece of blue cloth. After staring at them for what seemed like an hour, Natalie's eyes darted over to the robots, which had lined up in single file. She assumed that they were waiting for her to make a move. With one swift, smooth motion, Natalie lunged towards the holograms. This set them off, and they dodged her attach with ease. The robots responded as well, and began to move towards the girl, powering up blasts with their cold, metal "hands". Natalie turned her head just in time to see a fist heading straight for her face. She jumped to the side and avoided it, but, unfortunately for her, she jumped right into the path of a beam from the other hologram. The energy surrounded her and knocked her to the floor. It was a relatively weak blast, however, and did little damage to the girl, other than stunning her. The black-haired hologram shot his fist towards her midsection, taking advantage of her position. Natalie rolled out of the way and sprang to her feet, throwing her fists at the brunette hologram. Suddenly, out of nowhere, something hit her on the back of the head, causing Natalie's sight to be exaggerated for a few fleeting moments before she realized that one of the robots had attacked her from behind. She kicked her foot in a roundhouse fashion and spun her torso around after her leg, sending it crashing into the robot's legs and bringing it to the ground. She pummeled it with her fists, putting dents in the chrome. She then felt a presence behind her and moved right as a hologram's foot stomped down where she had just been, crushing the head of the robot as it hit the ground. Natalie looked on in disbelief before powering up and delivering a ki blast to the back of the hologram. He was knocked forward a few feet before retaliating with a blast of his own. Natalie just jumped out of the way as it hit the wall and was absorbed. Suddenly something knocked into Natalie from behind and she was pinned to the floor by the black-haired hologram. While she was vulnerable, he delivered a blow to the back of her head, which caused her to lose her peripheral vision in bother of her eyes. This scared Natalie, for she feared losing consciousness and being torn to shreds by the holograms, so she expanded her aura, knocking both holograms against the walls. She brought herself to her feet, only to be met with a blast from one of the fighter robots. Natalie was becoming annoyed and let out a growl, lunging towards the robot and grabbing it by the neck. Before it could blast her again, she brought her fist back and snapped it forward, impaling the droid immediately. Sparks flew from the hole she had created in the thing and she dropped the pile of scrap metal to the ground, following up with a ki blast to incinerate its remains. As soon as she gathered her senses, the holograms were attacking once more. They stood on either side of her, waiting to attack. They then lunged for her simultaneously. A robot was coming towards her from the front, and she didn't have enough room behind he to dodge. Instinctively, she shot her arms out to the sides and opened her hands to expose her palms. With a yell, she sent huge waves of energy out of her hands and towards the holograms. They crossed their forearms over their faces and attempted to withstand the onslaught, but were blown back once more. Just as this happened, Natalie shot her foot out in front of her to send the robot flying back against the far wall. Natalie blurred over to it and attacked it head on, sending bits of metal flying in all directions. When she was sure that it couldn't do any more harm to her, she kicked its head in one final time and blasted it, drilling the remains into the wall. She wiped her forehead vigorously as beads of sweat dripped down the side of her face. Suddenly, the black-haired hologram smacked her straight in the face, sending her flying into the wall where the remains of the droid smoked. A trickle of blood ran down her chin as she gathered her wits. The brown-haired one attacked her from the side, kicking her sharply in the side and shattering her rib cage immediately. She let out a shrill cry as she fell over on her other side, rendering herself vulnerable. She inhaled sharply and thanked Kami that her broken ribs hadn't punctured her lungs. The two holograms then punched her in the chest, causing her to gasp for air again. Her body burned and her muscles screamed as she fought to get on her feet to defend herself against her attackers. The holograms stood before her, preparing to attack once more, when she screamed and let a ki blast loose. The energy surrounded them and knocked them back, but they recovered immediately. Just as she was about to attack them again she doubled over and coughed up blood. Just then, a robot blasted her from the side. She screamed in anger, trying desperately to regain her composure before she was attacked again. The gravity chamber rocked as she powered up to super Saiyan and incinerated the robot instantly. Now there were only two robots and two holograms left. Surely with her transformation, she would be able to finish them off. She powered up a blast and sent it flying towards the brown-haired hologram. The energy sliced through its chest and it let out a deafening yell before exploding into a million points of light. The black-haired hologram became enraged and attacked with full force. Natalie managed to fend off most of the attacks, with the exception of a few hits. She suddenly became aware that the two other robots were heading straight for her, and struggled to disengage herself from the hologram so that she could finish them off. She tripped the hologram to temporarily distract him while she headed for the robots. She ripped one of the arms off of the nearest one and smacked its head with it. She then grabbed it's neck and twisted it to make it snap. It seemed apparent that when Natalie transformed, her Saiyan instincts kicked in and she became fiercer when she fought. After she had taken care of the first robot, she headed for the second. Before she could attack it, she was hit in the back of the neck by the hologram and sent flying towards the wall. Right before she hit, the hologram blasted her, increasing her speed as she smacked straight into the cold, hard metal wall. She slid to the floor, barely conscious after the blow to her head as the hologram hovered over her with an evil grin on his face.

Trunks sat on Natalie's bed as his thoughts raced. He was suddenly struck with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He immediately thought of Natalie, and located her ki in the gravity chamber. What had she done!? Surely she wasn't fighting the battle droids at the state she was in! He raced down the stairs, past his sullen mother and the tiny Kira, ran out the door, and skidded to a halt in front of the gravity chamber. He looked at the control panel and saw that she had activated five droids! Then he noticed that she had also used two holograms as well! Trunks became wide-eyed and tried to open the door. It was locked! He knew that he couldn't blast it, since his mother had built it to withstand those kinds of things. He cursed to himself and activated the view-screen inside the chamber. When he saw the sight, he recoiled in terror. Natalie was lying on the floor on the brink of consciousness as a fierce-looking hologram stood over her with an evil smirk on his face. He outstretched his hand and positioned it over her head, preparing to finish her off.

"Natalie, NO!" Trunks cried. He clenched his fists and powered up, firing at the door in vain. A ball of energy appeared in the hologram's hands as he collected energy for his kill. Natalie coughed up more blood and looked up at the hologram in sheer terror. Trunks beat on the door until his knuckles bled, still not managing to budge it. He looked at the view screen to see that the hologram had finished collecting energy for the attack and was preparing to fire.

"GOD DAMNIT NATALIE GET UP!" Trunks cried at the top of his lungs. With one final laugh, the hologram fired directly at Natalie's head. She screamed an ear-splitting scream that reverberated around the chamber as the energy slammed into her, exploding on contact. Her screams came to a sudden halt as the blast shot through her. Trunks saw the whole thing and immediately exploded into super Saiyan level 2! He incinerated the door of the chamber in blind rage. He shot a ki blast straight though the hologram's heart, killing it instantly as it exploded into points of light. The attack went on to disintegrate the robot, leaving no evidence that it was even there. Trunks blurred over to Natalie, lifting her limp head into his hands.

"NATALIE!" Trunks cried, shaking the girl's limp body as tears came to his eyes. Blood leaked out of her mouth and streamed down her chin, splashing to the floor. She was dead.