Chapter Six

“No Need for a Heart”

A massive blast of Ki fell out of the sky. The three heroes jumped out of the way as it impacted into the ground. The trio was thrown in three different directions. Above them floated a massive purple man with a bald head and pointed ears. The only thing he wore was a pair of tattered brown trousers.

“Looks like Barney meets the Incredible Hulk,” commented Ranma aside.

“Give me the Makio Heart!” Garlic Jr’s voice boomed out over the landscape.

Hatsumi dug himself out of the pile of dirt that had settled over him. “Over my dead body, creep.” He turned and spat some dirt out.

A toothy grin crossed the dark monster’s face. “That’s precisely the idea.”

Back at the house, Tenchi was just coming down stairs for the morning when the first blast shook the ground. “Man, the girls got started early this morning.” He yawned loudly and stretched. “Can’t a guy get any peace around here?”

Ryoko teleported in beside him and put her arms around him. “Mmmm. Morning Tenchi.” Another blast shook the place.

Tenchi looked at Ryoko. “You’re here? Then is that Ayeka and Pan going at it?”

The cyan-haired woman blinked her eyes audibly. “No. Pan’s in the kitchen and Ayeka is up at the shrine. I don’t know who’s fighting.”

The raven-haired boy got a wide-eyed look on his face. “This could be trouble.” He bolted toward the door.

The space pirate just shrugged and teleported after him.

At the battlefield Hatsumi had a cocky smirk on his face that looked distinctly like his father’s look before going into a fight he knew he was going to win. “Let’s go, ugly.” His aura flared to life as he shot into the air towards the monster.

“No don’t!” Ranma shouted after his son, but it was no use. Hatsumi tried to spear Garlic through his midsection, but the monster disappeared from sight with a burst of speed. While the young man was looking for his target, he was slammed in the side by a double hammer blow that sent him flying. The pigtailed martial artist jumped up and dove to catch his falling son.

In the kitchen, the sounds of battle started filtering in. Pan looked at her watch. “Looks like Ayeka and Ryoko started early, and without me. Oh well, just means they’ll be tired when I get there.”

The back door opened and a pleasantly smiling Ayeka walked in. “Good morning everyone. Did Ryoko and Pan start early this morning?”

Everyone turned to see the Jurian princess walk in carrying an armload of flowers. Akane did a quick count. “If you two are here, then who’s fighting?”

About that time, Hatsumi received his blow to the side. Ryeka’s face lit up in fright. “Hatsumi’s in trouble!” Her aura flared up as she bolted out the door, not bothering to open it.

Pan finally paid attention to her Ki senses. “Damn it! Garlic’s here!” She charged out after her daughter. She took a few steps and leapt into the air, transforming into a Super Saiya-Jin and flying to join the fight.

The first princess of Jurai pulled out a ring and placed it on her finger. Instantly, her clothes were transformed into her combat suit. “Akane, watch over Sasami. I have to see if Lord Tenchi is okay.” The youngest Tendo nodded as Ayeka took off toward the battlefield.

Akane turned toward the little blue-haired girl. “Is there somewhere you can hide? Someplace you can be safe? I really need to go out there!”

“Yes. I can hide in Washu-Chan’s lab.” The little girl smiled.

“Then go, I’m going to call for some help.”

“Okay!” The girl turned and left the room at a dead sprint, cabbit chasing at her heels.

Akane waited until the girl was out of sight before pulling out her Henshin rod. With the shouting of the power words, she was transformed into sailor-suited soldier for love and justice, Sailor Earth!

Things were heating up at the battlefront. Ranma was glowing bright red from the Kaio-Ken as he traded blows with the would-be Kami. The two struck at one another and seemed to flash in and out of existence. The others arrived in time to see the two trading blows.

Ranma was starting to lose pace with his opponent as the power-up technique wore off. Pan! He thought in his mind.

Yeah, Ranma. I feel him, and I’ll be there in two seconds. The answer came back to him.

I’m going to set him up low, you take him high.

Check. Pull!

The pigtailed martial artist unleashed a Ki blast out of each hand toward the Garlic who was staying in one place mocking him. He shot straight up to avoid the comparatively slow moving power blasts. He hit the apex and was clotheslined by a flying Super-Saiya Jin doing several times the speed of sound. A sickening crack was heard across the field and the purple beast fell to the ground.

Ranma’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Well that was easy. When’s lunch?”

“It’s not over yet!” Nail shouted as he pointed where junior had landed.

The purple beast stood up with his head hanging at a sickly angle. He started laughing. The laughter was unsettling coming from a head that was just dangling from the broken stump of a neck. He reached up with one hand and snapped his neck back into place. “Fools! What part of I’m IMMORTAL, don’t you understand?”

About that time the others arrived at the battlefield and could only stare at the monster in front of them. Hatsumi stood up and put his arms out in front of himself. He summoned up his elemental power and shouted, “Fire Dragon!” Flames leapt from his hands and transformed into the form of a dragon as it shot toward Garlic. He held the stream of flames constant as he tried to destroy the monster.

The magic of the attack blurred Ranma’s senses to where it was hard for him to keep track of the purple beast. Suddenly, he felt him. “Hatsumi! Look out!”

Out of the flames, Garlic Jr. shot straight at the boy and nailed him in the jaw with a giant haymaker. The younger Saotome flew backwards. Before anyone could react, Garlic was in the flight path and caught the boy in mid-flight with a fist to the stomach. The jolt shook the Makio heart out of Hatsumi’s pocket. “Thank you very much. Now I have what I came for.” He threw Hatsumi aside and picked up the rock.

“Hatsumi!” Ryeka charged over and picked up Hatsumi’s head in her hands. “Are you all right?”

The boy gave her a cocky grin. “Take more than that to keep me down.” Suddenly his stomach gave a great heave and he coughed up some blood. “What the hell?”

Ranma, who was on the other side of Garlic, was powering up a blast. Come on, boy! Get out of the way! He noticed his son coughing up blood. Damn it! Akane’s cooking’s taken him out of the fight!

Garlic laughed at the couple. “Ah, it’s the monkey girl! I still owe you from Mount Phoenix!” He powered up a large Ki blast.

“Damn it!” Ranma swore. “I can’t do anything with this energy until the kid gets out of the way!”

“Now you die!” The monster unleashed his blast.

“NO!” Tenchi sprang out in front of the younger teens. He threw up his hands in a defensive posture. Just as the blast was about to hit, coffin shaped panels of light formed in a triangle formation. The Wings of the Light Hawk absorbed the blast before it could do any damage.

“Whoa!” Was all Ranma could say as he watched the purple menace pour more energy into the blast. A sly grin crossed his face as he saw that Garlic wasn’t paying any attention. He made the final power up. “Hold that pose, Tenchi! BIG BANG ATTACK!!!”

He didn’t particularly like to use Vegeta’s moves. The Saiya-Jin prince’s attacks tended to lack any semblance of style and grace, and they also took too damn long to prepare. But, while lacking in finesse, if you could pull them off, they were loaded with power. Ranma only hoped that Tenchi’s light shield could absorb the leftover energy from blasting Garlic Jr. Otherwise Ranma had better think of how to save the planet from his own blast.

The monster felt the blast coming at the last instant, but could not avoid it completely. He had attempted to dodge the attack by flying straight up. The shot disintegrated his entire trunk blow his ribcage. Just as Ranma hoped, Tenchi’s Light Hawk Wings managed to absorb the leftover Ki. He smiled at his friend. “So that’s the power I keep hearing about.”

“He’s not finished!” Nail yelled as he powered up his own Ki blast and shot it toward the paraplegic purple peril <Author’s note: say that three times fast>.

The trunk of the monster rose in the air avoided the blast completely. Garlic Jr. started laughing manically as he pressed the Makio Heart to the middle of his chest. “You are all too late! You will all die a terrible death!”

“Says who, stumpy?!” Ryoko charged in with her power sword swinging. Garlic flew in and out of the slashes. Streaks of lights seemed to stream out of the Makio Heart like water from a melting ice cube. As he continued to dodge of the blows, he slowly absorbed the heart while dodging all the swings of Ryoko’s sword.

Pan charged up a Kamehameha of her own. “Get out of the way you stupid bimbo! I can’t blast him while you’re missing him completely!”

Ryoko seethed at the comment and frustration of not being able to hit her target. “He almost hurt Tenchi!”

“So get out of the way so I can paste him for it!” The ball charged up. “Forget it! It’s her own fault!” She unleashed her blast.

Garlic shot up and away from the blast and space pirate, leaving Ryoko to take the brunt of the Saiya-Jin’s power.

“Wha?” Was all Ryoko got out before the power ball slammed into her.

“Ryoko!” Tenchi shouted as the space pirate went flying.

The laughter began again. Garlic rose above them and glowed with bloody red aura. His lower body regenerated in an instant and he seemed to increase in size. “Now that I have the heart, No one can stop me!”

At that moment several small logs appeared around his body. A static charge went through them, and then they all unleashed a massive bolt electricity through their captive. Garlic screamed in pain. The first princess of Jurai stepped forward with a scowl on her face. “You’ve overstayed your welcome, you fiend!”

Garlic’s screams turned into wild laughter. “You’re very funny, princess!” He powered up and his aura began to push the logs back away from him. The monster laughed the whole time that he pushed back the posts until they had no more effect.

A whistling through the air warned Garlic that Ranma was reentering the fray. He reached up and grabbed the charging martial artist by the skull and went to throw him like a baseball into the ground. The pigtailed martial artist grabbed on his arm, spun him over, and managed to use the throwing motion to transfer his momentum to the abomination. Garlic hit the ground hard, but stood back up. “Was that supposed to hurt?”

“No, but this will: TERRA’S HEART!”

The ground around Garlic Jr. opened up, and he was swallowed in a column of lava. Sailor Earth smiled confidently as she thought she had managed to save the day again. Suddenly the column began to bulge on one side. Garlic stepped out of the flames surrounded by a sphere of solid Ki. He did look singed, but he was still unhurt. “Shouldn’t have wasted your time on witty repartee. It gave me enough time to throw up my shield.”

A black blur slammed into his side, sending him back into the lava. Pan stood up in a mocking stance. “Learn to take your own advice, pal.”

The force from the blow threw him through the lava. He came out the other side missing an eye and skin completely black and burned to the bone in some places.

“Now Ranma!” Pan shouted.

The Saiya-Jin and the Martial Artist powered up and stepped back with their hands to their sides. “KAME-HAME-HA!” They cried simultaneously as they let loose their Turtle Destruction Waves. The Ki balls struck the monster and started to push him back. Nail flew up above fire his own powered shot at him, knocking him back further.

“He’s still standing!” Akane yelled.

Garlic Jr finally got his footing when his feet healed enough to hold back all the power and force being thrown at him. He raised his shields once again. Slowly but surely he began to push back. With a shout, he pushed his shield out in all directions, knocking the lucky ones off their feet. The others were sent flying backwards.

“Ayeka!” Tenchi, wearing the Light Hawk Armor, caught the First Princess of Jurai before she could strike the rocks that had been unearthed by all the skirmishing. The scene repeated itself for Ranma and Akane. Pan rolled backwards and came up on a knee.

Just then a sizeable Ki ball struck Garlic in the head with no effect. “What the? What was that? A mosquito?” He turned to see who had thrown it. There stood Ryeka with her hair in disarray.

“You leave them alone!” She shouted in the roughest voice she could manage, which still seemed very cute and girly.

The purple monster (not Barney) laughed. “Look! Little miss tough girl!” He laughed even harder.

“DON’T LAUGH AT ME!” She blazed with power and slammed her foot down, causing the ground to shake slightly.

Garlic sobered up and smiled viciously at the smaller girl. “That’s right! I still owe you for that whole monkey incident.” He held out his hand and a ball of energy formed. “Say good-bye little girl.” With that the ball shot out toward Ryeka.

“Ryeka!” Hatsumi picked himself up in an instant and bowled the younger girl over, avoiding the attack by mere inches. They rolled together and the boy had to hack up a little more blood from moving that much. Damn it! Mom’s cooking is still killing me! He turned the smaller girl over. “Are you okay?” He asked. The girl nodded an affirmative. “Not like I care for you or anything. It’s just that auntie would kill me if anything happened to you.”

“Sure, she would.” The little Jurai-Saiya-Jin smiled at him. She fought back the urge to plant a big wet one on him. First off they were still in battle, and second, that spitting up blood was starting to turn her stomach.

Across the battlefield Pan nodded her head and affirmed that the kids’ engagement would occur.

“Well isn’t this cozy!” Garlic laughed as he brought his hand up for another assault. “Two pains in my side killed in one blow. I couldn’t ask for more.” With a sound similar to a gunshot, he sent another energy flare at them.

The attack was intercepted at the last instant by an old man that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Katsuhito smiled as he lowered his personal Light Hawk Shield. “You should be careful with those things. You could hurt somebody with that.” He gave the monster an amused smile.

“THAT’S ENTIRELY THE POINT!” Garlic tried a machinegun Ki assault.

The Tenchi-Ken blazed to life as Katsuhito charged in. His single light hawk shield moved and deflected each blast as he charged right in and severed the arm off of the beast. The former prince of Jurai turned, and, with another swipe of his blade, he severed the other arm. He stepped back with an amused look on his face. “I guess you’ve been disarmed.”

Everyone else groaned and facefaulted. “Stop playing around! This is serious!” Pan yelled at the old man as she got back to her feet.

Ranma landed beside the old man and took up an offensive stance. “What took you so long old man? Arthritis flare up?” His aura leapt to life once again.

Katsuhito scratched his nose and chuckled. “I’m sorry, I just thought that the girls were fighting again. I didn’t realize it was serious until I felt Tenchi’s Light Hawk Wings ignite. I watched to see if you kids could handle him, but I felt a strange compulsion to protect the little girl over there.”

Ranma smirked. “I guess we can explain that one later. Right now we need to take out the trash.”

“Undoubtedly.”

“AAAARRRGGHHH!!!” With a wet squishy sound, Garlic Jr. instantly regrew his arms.

“Kaio-Ken times three!” Ranma’s muscles seemed to swell as he glowed red and charged in for hand-to-hand combat. Katsuhito jumped in and starting swinging the Tenchi-ken in perfect coordination with Ranma’s fists. Both of them started beating back the beast.

The others could stare in awe as the moves became more complex and the three began to move faster than most could follow. Pan’s jaw unhinged and dropped as she saw the moves that the old man had. Maybe I should start sparring him… She thought idly.

Ranma broke off and flew straight back away from the battle. Katsuhito nodded and made a cut that started low and cut at an angle, finishing high. Garlic jumped up to avoid the blow completely. Ranma used the Kaio-Ken once again to push the limits of his speed and endurance, blasting through the monster. The human cannonball left an enormous hole in Garlic’s purple chest. Katsuhito leapt up and began to purée the purple beast (some of us wish we could do that to Barney… Sorry, dated humor. I’ll stop now).

Feeling himself losing the battle, Garlic Jr. pulled out and took a higher altitude than the old man could jump. The abomination stopped and saw that he only had an upper torso and a right arm left. He scowled at the cocky pair of Ranma and Katsuhito, who were smiling back at him with cocky grins. “I’ll make sure you all rot in the pit! DEADZONE!!!” He held up his hand and a black portal began to open.

Pan shook her head and groaned. “Doesn’t this guy ever learn? He’s only going to get sucked in again.” She turned to everyone else. “You guys better grab onto something, because this is going to suck…Literally.” Everyone went as fast as they could to try and latch onto something.

It was unfortunate that the battle had leveled a good portion of the surrounding countryside. Many of the non-flyers couldn’t find a place to hold on. Tenchi went flailing into the sky. “Tenchi!” Pan shouted after him, but, before she could do anything, Ryoko flew back through and snagged him. Ranma and the other flyers kept their place by reversing the Buku Jyutsu (flying) technique. Katsuhito stayed in place using the Wings of the Light Hawk to sink into the Earth as an anchor.

Sailor Earth had to make a last minute flight to grab Ayeka before she got sucked into the vortex. The pair of girls landed beside Pan. “So how long until he sucks himself in?” The fuku clad girl asked.

Pan shrugged. “Dunno. I figure he should have gone in by now.” They both looked up and saw the laughing monster still floating in front of the portal.

His laughing became louder as their words caught up to him. “You fools! I’ve learned to control this technique! I only make it strong enough to suck you fools in! I could escape it any time I want! Plus the power I had to generate to get out, I had to train myself until my power was double, thanks to the little brat over there!” Hatsumi scratched the back of his head nervously. “So I’ve got ample energy to escape!”

“So what happens if I tweak this thing a little?”

Garlic, and everyone else, turned to see Washu floating in what appeared to be a glass bubble right next to the gaping hole in the space-time continuum. “Hmm, extradimensional portal with only a one way trip to a void dimension. If I could change the destination of this portal, it could be a revolution in tourist travel.” A keyboard of light formed beside her and she began to type on it.

“Get away from there!” Garlic, who still hadn’t regenerated, shouted. He powered up an enormous blast and threw it at the little redhead.

The blast just deflected off the force bubble and Washu continued to work. “Damn. I can’t change the destination, but I can make it stronger!” She pressed a button on her keyboard.

The surrounding earth seemed to shake as the portals vacuum increased tenfold. Garlic began to be pulled in, but his aura leapt up around him and he held in place. The others on the ground weren’t so lucky. They began to be pulled from the Earth, despite their power.”

“Hatsumi!” Ryeka shouted as the pair started to rise.

The boy with the long braid raised his hand with a weak smile. “This one’s for you, mom. TERRA FORM!”

The Earth around everyone grew hands, grabbed onto their ankles, and pulled them back to terra firma.

Hatsumi, his power spent before he could anchor himself, began to rise out of his fiancé’s arms. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now your safe.” He rose out of her reach and quickly got caught in the pull of the portal.

“Hatsumi!” Ryeka shouted as she broke from the bonds that he had put on her feet.

“Hatsumi!” Ranma shouted. He tried to break from the bonds, but the magical earth held him fast. His feet acted like they had grown into the rock and were a part of it. He couldn’t break free.

The younger boy fell into the wormhole and was quickly followed by his fiancé. Washu pushed a few buttons to try and reverse the portal, but the power had been increased too much for reverse.

Garlic Jr. guffawed as the two went in. “That was easy! Now I’m finally rid of those pests! Now nothing can stop my plans of, huh?” He paused as he sensed a great power coming from behind him. He turned to see a sight that nearly stopped his half-regenerated heart.

Three cyan coffin shaped panels of light ignited, glowing with a gold trim around the edges. They pulled out of the vortex and, as the blackness faded back from them, a figure floated in the middle of them. Ryeka hovered there with her eyes closed as she carried Hatsumi in her arms. Her unbound hair floated straight up and waved in the wind of the power she was generating. The black hair seemed to flash with a golden hue intermittently.

With her eyes still closed, she turned and raised her hand toward the void. The Wings of the Light Hawk swirled and shot into the abyss. The hole immediately sucked in on itself and was gone. The sky around them shattered to reveal the sunny day that the spell had hidden. A stream of raw power shot back from where the portal had been and split in three directions as they hit the girl, reforming into the Wings of the Light Hawk.

The flashes of gold in Ryeka’s hair came more frequently now. She turned back to face Garlic, who had quickly regenerated after he didn’t have to expend his power to hold the Deadzone portal open. Her eyes opened and they were glowing deep emerald. Without saying a word, her aura exploded as she transformed into a Super Saiya-Jin. Everyone’s hair lifted as they felt the power the small girl was giving off.

Washu, for her part, was typing furiously on her keyboard, taking down all the data she could.

Ryeka shifted Hatsumi to one arm and held her free hand out toward Garlic. “Now you pay.” Her soft, sweet voice spoke.

Garlic’s demeanor hardened. “You can’t do anything to me, little girl! I’m immortal!”

Ryeka’s aura flared up to even greater height. Rings of power spiraled outward from her to the tips of the Light Hawk Wings. She put her hand on Hatsumi’s chest and passed some of her Ki into his body.

The boy immediately revived and was completely regenerated. Even his stomach was healed. Hatsumi blinked as he looked at Ryeka. “Y-You’re a Super Saiya-Jin!” His face lit up in a happy smile. “You did it! I knew you could!”

Ryeka smiled from the complement. Using the arm that was still around him, she pulled Hatsumi close and kissed him. “Thank you, Hatsumi.” She let him go and floated forward toward the purple beast. The boy just hung in the air behind her with a big cat-who-ate-the-canary grin on his face. Ryeka lifted her open palm toward Garlic once again. She built up a soccer ball sized power ball in her hand. Before Garlic could react the ball had shot right through his torso, leaving a gaping and cauterized wound.

Garlic Jr. felt a distinctly different type of energy had gone through him. He extended his powers, but found he couldn’t immediately regenerate. “What kind of power is this?”

From the ground, Katsuhito nodded solemnly. “It’s the power of Jurai. Only the royal family can wield it.”

Panic filled the monster’s eyes. He could only stare as the little girl powered up further. Spheres of energy grew from the farthest tips of the light hawk wings. Ryeka held her hand out and formed a Ki ball that looked like a Kamehameha. The sphere drifted forward from her and stopped six feet in front of her. “You will never bother anyone ever again.” She whispered.

Each of the power balls at the ends of the Wings started to stream their power into the Ki ball in the center. The power grew, and then suddenly shot forward. The beam started narrow in the wound that Garlic already had and then started widening from there. Garlic could only stare in shock as the beam expanded. “B-But I’m immortal!”

Hatsumi smirked from the side. “Guess not.”

The beam expanded until it had consumed his whole body. The blast ended and everyone opened his or her eyes to see nothing left of the would-be Kami. His existence had been completely erased from this plane.

The power dissipated from Ryeka in an instant. Her hair reverted back to its original black and she fainted. Hatsumi quickly caught her, flew her to the ground, and gently laid her on the ground. “Are you okay?” He asked with a note of concern in his voice.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled a faint smile. “Just tired…and hungry.”

He smiled down at her. “You’ll be all right.” He picked her back up tenderly and turned to the others. “Can we get this girl some food?”

“I’m sure Sasami would be glad to fix something for her.” Katsuhito answered as he walked up and patted the girl on the head.

Ayeka nodded her head. “It’s the least we can do for Juraian royalty. I just want to talk to…” She turned around and searched the area. “Where did the Sailor Senshi go? I wanted to speak with her.”

Ranma scratched the back of his head. “Ah, you know. Her job is done. Justice is served, y’know. They don’t stick around much after that.” The First Princess just nodded her head absently.

The group went back to the house and Sasami prepared them a large feast. They all laughed and had an enjoyable evening. At least it was a good time until there came a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” Tenchi went to answer the door. He opened it to reveal a woman wearing a dark green fuku with long flowing green hair. She carried a large staff with a heart shaped end.

She walked past Tenchi like she owned the place and looked down at the three kids who had stopped in mid muchie when the door had opened. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhen for you! I swear I’ve never had this much trouble keeping track of Chibi Usa!”

Hatsumi sweatdropped. “Yo, Auntie. What’s up?” He tried to be nonchalant.

Sailor Pluto leaned down into his face. “You and your two cohorts are coming back to the palace, NOW!” At the last word, Nail and Ryeka jumped. The Senshi of Time motioned with her arm and a portal formed. She pointed at the kids and then to the portal.

Pan gave Ryeka a quick hug. “Take care of that man of yours. If he’s anything like his father, he’ll need a lot of help.”

“He does mommy.” She returned the hug.

Hatsumi looked at Akane, but she turned her head in shame at what she had done. He looked slightly hurt. Ranma patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. She just feels guilty about poisoning you. Maybe now she’ll take becoming a better cook seriously.”

“Thanks, pop.”

Sailor Pluto crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “I’m waiting…”

The kids started walking toward the portal, holding there heads down. Hatsumi slowed until he paced Ryeka. “You know what the worst part about all this is?”

The Juraian princess looked back at him. “What?”

“We’re responsible for our own engagement!”

Nail chuckled. “Such is the luck of the Saotomes.”

Hatsumi rolled his eyes. “Stop eavesdropping!”

With a flash of light, portal, kids, and Senshi of time were gone. Back to their own time and their own story.

Author’s notes: We’ll there’s the end of the first story arc for Dragonball R: No Need for a Saga. Don’t worry there’s more coming, just be patient!

If you’re wondering where the kids came from, they are from what will be the sequel for the Dragonball R series: Dragonball X. If there’s enough interest in a sequel after I complete the third part of the DBR series, then you’ve already met the main characters.

Until then, enjoy!