Return of Rhei
by Nikki
Prologue


Rhei sat in the bushes outside of Capsule corporation, watching as a
young woman trained. He sneered. She hadn't sensed him yet, for he had
learned to hide his ki a long time ago. He watched as her sleek body did
complex combos. He remembered how easily she had defeated him before, it
would not happen again. I will kill you Nita. But first, I will make you
suffer. Oh, how you will suffer. He smirked evilly at the thought. He
crouched lower, thinking of what would hurt her most. He watched as that
weak, purple haired boy came out and wrapped his arms around her. The
look on her face was pure happiness. He grinned as a thought struck him.
Yes, it was perfect. He crawled back a ways, and took off, grinning to
himself with evil intent.

* * * * *

Nita sat floating in the middle of her bedroom, meditating. She had been
training all day. She then felt strong male arms wrap around her from
behind. She gasped as her concentration was broken and she fell. She was
held up by Trunks, who still had his arms planted firmly around her
waist.

"Trunks!" She protested, "I was in the middle of meditating!"

He grinned sheepishly at her. "I'm sorry. It's just that you've been
training so hard lately. What's with you?"

She looked up at him and frowned. "I'm not sure, I just feel like......I
don't know.....something is going to happen. Something big. It sounds
stupid, but I'd rather be prepared if something does happen."

He turned her around and kissed her. "Don't worry about it. I'll protect
you!" He said, puffing out his chest slightly.

She laughed, "Yeah right! More like, I'll protect YOU!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Hey, just let me live in my little fantasy
world."

She giggled, "Okay. I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat." She
suggested and tried to pull away from him.

He smiled and kept his grip on her. She didn't protest as he leaned in
to kiss her again.

* * * * *

Rhei grinned to himself as he neared the small island in the middle of
the ocean. He remembered exactly who had been there when he had fought
Nita. When the island came into view, he hid his ki. He began to grow
excited, this was going to be fun. Sweet revenge. He came directly above
the little house. He hid behind a tree and watched.

An attractive blond woman emerged from the front door. She walked to the
short, bald man who was training on the beach. They conversed for a bit,
and then the woman walked back inside the house. Rhei smirked. He
remembered them. The woman had been one of the first to go. She had had
no ki. Probably because she was a cyborg. The short man was also a
weakling. He searched for any presences inside the house. He found three
very low kis, but that was it.

He dashed to another tree and peeked into a window. There was an old
man, talking to a pig. Behind them, there was a blond, teenage girl
reading a magazine. As he watched, another teenager entered. He had
black hair and didn't have any ki. He smiled as he prepared. This was
going to be good. He powered up quickly and flew up. He sent several
large blasts down before anyone could react to the sudden flare of
power.

When the smoke cleared, the entire island was gone, with no trace of any
life or ki. Rhei smirked and flew off. He thought with sickening
satisfaction.

* * * * *

Next day......

Nita was busy doing her training in the back yard. She was executing a
series of complicated combos. She was in the middle of a particularly
hard one, when she heard a male voice behind her. She turned.

"Nita!" a groggy Trunks approached her. "It's 6:00am! Why are you SO
obsessed with training!" He complained. His head was obviously still
clouded over from sleep.

She looked at him. "Trunks, I always train this early. You should be
used to it by now. And I try not to make too much noise." She said.

"It's not good enough! I'm tired of it! I'm your boyfriend! I don't get
any sleep because of you! I deserve better than this!" He yelled, still
not thinking straight.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe you do." She said coolly and turned
her back to him.

He blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, confused.

She glanced over her shoulder. "It means, you are now free to go find
someone more DESERVING of you." She said, obviously hurt. Before he
could respond, she took off, leaving him in the middle of the back yard,
wondering what he had done.

* * * * *

Trunks sat in front of his bathroom mirror. He splashed cold water on
his face. He looked up at his reflection. " 'I deserve better'?!" He
said to it for the fifth time. "I can't believe how stupid I am!!" He
calmed a little. He continued talking to his reflection. "Nita, I'm
sorry. I wasn't thinking straight." He frowned. "She'll never forgive
me. I'm such an idiot!" He said, giving up.

Meanwhile........

Nita flew in the direction of the island in the middle of the ocean.
Marron was annoying, but she could be a good friend. A tear fell from
her eye slowly. She thought. Frustrated, she wiped the tear away. She
neared the island, having been there so often, she knew it's exact
location without looking. Unconciously, she tried to land, lost in
thought. She was surprised to have her feet connect with water. Her eyes
widened. She looked around. She saw several pieces of wood floating
nearby. Frantically, she searched for her friends.

After searching for a couple minutes, she saw something clinging to a
piece of wood nearby. She quickly darted to it. It was Krillin. He was
barely alive. He had several deep cuts and he was just barely breathing.
She picked him up in her arms. Before she took off, she looked around
one more time, trying to find any trace if ki, or one of the cyborgs.
There were none. With incredible speed, she took off for Goku's house.

* * * * *

She arrived at the Son house with an unconcious Krillin in her arms. She
rudely walked in, not bothering to knock. The first person she
encountered was Chichi. Chichi looked at Nita and Killin worriedly.

"What happened?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"I don't know. Call everyone else. We need to meet, NOW." She ordered.
Chichi hurriedly walked to the kitchen to get the phone. As She did
this, Nita gently placed Krillin on the couch. She checked to make sure
he was still breathing. Before she could do more, Goku and Vegita
entered. They had been training and had felt her arrive.

Goku's eyes widened. "What happened?" He asked, worried. Nita shook her
head and returned her attention to the half-dead man on the couch. As
she examined him, the rest of the crew crowded into the room, murmering
quietly to each other. Chichi came in and walked to Nita.

"Nita, the Kame house connection is gone. I can't contact them." She
said quietly.

Nita looked up at her. "I know." She said simply.

Vegita stepped forward. "What the hell is going ON!" He almost screamed.
He glared at her. "Tell us!"

She looked at the rest of the group. For the first time, she noticed
Trunks in the corner, looking at his feet. A pang of grief shot through
her. She quickly returned her gaze to Vegita. "I went to go visit
Marron. When I got there, the island was gone. The entire thing's been
destroyed. All I found was a couple pieces of wood and Krillin. I didn't
find the cyborgs, and I couldn't sense any ki." She said quietly. She
waited while this all sank in. Everyone immediatly began talking amongst
themselves. While they discussed it, Nita turned back to Krillin.

As she did another inspection, his breathing stopped. Almost everyone in
the room stopped talking as they felt his ki slowly fading. Nita swore
under her breath. She reached forward to try to resesutate him. She put
her mouth over his and blew a breath into his lungs. She then pulled
away and firmly pushed down on the area just below his ribs. Everyone
held their breath. Krillin coughed once and weakly opened his eyes.

He looked up at Nita. "What happened?" He rasped. She put a finger over
his mouth to quiet him.

"I don't know. But you need to rest." She told him. Gratefully, he
closed his eyes and slept.

When Nita stood, all eyes were on her. Goku was the first to speak.
"Will he be alright?" He asked. She shrugged. "What do you think
happened?"

"I honestly don't know. It couldn't have been a tital wave or anything
like that. I'm completely clueless." Sadly, she looked up at him. "Goku,
do you think you can get some senzu beans? If Krillin doesn't get one
soon, he'll die."

Obviously shocked, he nodded. He turned and pushed through the crowd to
the door. When he was on his way, Vegita spoke again. "What do we do? It
could be another one of our 'friends' come to pay a little visit."
Weakly, Nita shrugged.

"There's nothing we CAN do. I did sense a brief flash of ki yesterday,
but I didn't think anything of it. I haven't felt anything since. If it
WAS someone, we should wait to bring back Marron and the rest with the
dragonballs. Someone else might die. All we can do is wait and see what
happens. And everyone stay alert." She said. Everyone nodded and turned
to leave. The last person to leave was Trunks. He lingered back and
watched as Nita tended to one of Krillin's cuts. He thought, Sadly, he
turned and left.

* * * * *

Nita kneeled in front of the couch, tenderly wrapping Krillin's wounds.
As she wrapped an especially nasty cut on his arm, he stirred and awoke.
He looked up at her and tried to smile, but winced from the pain. With
much difficulty, he spoke.

"Nita.....it was Rhei. I'm sure of it." He said slowly. Shocked, she
looked down at him, not believing it at first.

"But........but I killed him. He can't be here. And the dragonballs
haven't been used in a long time."

Krillin squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists as another wave of
pain swept over him. "I don't know how, but I recognized his ki. He's
stronger now. Be careful." He almost whispered that last comment. His
fists relaxed, and his face softened. She caught her breath. Quickly,
she checked his pulse. His pulse was gone, and his ki had faded
completely. Slowly, his body faded away. Tears blurred her vision as she
watched. She covered her face with her hands and wept.

* * * * *

When Goku returned, he quickly walked into the living room with a bag of
senzu beans. What he found was Nita, weeping over the couch. Confused,
he walked to her. He looked down at the couch. Krillin was gone.

"No." He whispered. He shut his eyes tightly. "NO!!" He screamed, a
single tear falling from his eye. He ran from the room and flew away.
Slowly, Nita stood. Trembling, she flew back to Capsule Corp. When she
arrived, she sat in the backyard and watched the sun set. Vegita walked
up behind her, not saying anything. She was still crying. Awkwardly, he
put a hand on her shoulder. She looked straight ahead.

"I could have prevented it." She said quietly. "If only I had gone to
check when I felt the blast. They would all be alive. And I know we can
wish them all back, but we can only wish back one person per wish. It'll
take too long. I feel so.......helpless." She continued to cry. He
remained silent, not knowing what to say.

Rhei sat crouched behind a bush, watching. He smirked. Nita had gotten
soft and he knew it. His little plan was working like a charm. When he
was done, Nita would be in no condition to fight, then he would strike.
He grinned.

* * * * *

The next day......

Tien, Chaotsu, Yamcha, and Chichi were in the Son house. The fighters
had offered to stay with Chichi while Goku and Vegita were out sparring
again. It made them all feel safer. They all sat in the living room,
talking and drinking coffee, momentarily forgetting what had happened
the day before. They all stopped talking when they heard a low, cruel
laugh. Chichi shivered. The three warriors stood, preparing for a fight.
When the laughing only continued, they walked out to the front yard.
They looked around, searching for the source of the laughter. It seemed
to come from all directions. Then, all of the sudden, five large ki
blasts came out of nowhere. Before they could dodge, three blasts hit
them, the remaining two hitting the little house. When the dust settled,
all that was left was a crater. The low, menacing laughter continued,
then diminished.

Nita looked up from her training. A feeling of dread crept through her.
A quick flare of ki registered in her mind. She thought. In a flash, she
was in the air, flying toward the Son house, hoping, praying that she
wasn't too late.

* * * * *

When she arrived, she was horrified at what she saw. Goku sat in the
middle of a huge crater, cradling the body of a middle age woman. Beside
him, Vegita stood, examining the damage. Nita quietly landed behind
Goku. Chichi was still alive, barely. Goku sat, trying hard not to cry.

"Who did this?" He asked his wife quietly.

Weakly, she looked up at him. "Rhei......It was Rhei. He
killed.......Tien......Chaotsu..... Yamcha." She tried to say more, but
it was too hard for her. Helplessly, Goku held her. Nita quickly untied
the pouch from her belt. They were the senzu beans Goku had gotten. He
had asked Nita to hold them for him. She handed them to him. His eyes
showed hope as he gratefully took them from her. He took one out and fed
it to Chichi. She opened her eyes and sat up. "Goku?" She said, still
not clear on what had just happened. He didn't answer. He pulled her
into his arms and hugged her, not letting go, as if he was afraid that
she'd disappear if he did. Nita smiled down at them, happy that she had
been of some help this time. Her smile faded as she looked around,
remembering that Yamcha, Tien, and Chaotsu were dead.

Nearby, Rhei stood hiding in a tree. He frowned. It wasn't supposed to
happen this way. The feeble woman was supposed to die, and Nita was
supposed to be heartbroken! No matter, he would just try again later. As
for Nita, she would have to wait. He flew off again, planning his next
move.

* * * * *

The next day.....

Chichi sat in the middle of the crater that used to be her house. Goten,
Gohan, and Piccolo walked around her, surveying the damage. Chichi
sobbed. She looked around sadly. At least she was with her sons and
Piccolo. They were much stronger than Yamcha, Tien, and Chaotsu had
been. As she stood, getting ready to go back to Capsule Corp. (Bulma had
offered that they stay there) she heard that horrible, low laugh again.
She gasped, scared out of her wits.

Five blasts shot out of nowhere, just as they had the day before. She
quickly jumped to the side as a blast hit the ground that she had been
standing in only seconds before. When she looked up, she saw more blasts
emerge. This time they were bigger. One connected with Piccolo's side.
He fell and skidded across the dirt. As Chichi watched helplessly, her
two sons were murdered brutally by the onslaught of blasts. If they had
been able to see the source of the blasts, maybe they would have stood a
chance. They fell to the ground, most of the bones in their body broken.
She called out for Goku, but she was cut off as a ball of light flew at
her. It hit her square in the stomach, and engulfed her with burning
energy. All went black.

* * * * *

The remaining warriors sat silently in the backyard of Capsule Corp.
Goku looked into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. When he had
arrived at what used to be his home, he had found his two sons and wife
dead. Piccolo was nowhere to be found, probably already passed to the
next dimension. Trunks sat, looking down. He had lost his best friend.
Nita was the first to speak.

"Goku, Vegita, why don't you two stay here and protect Bulma, Bra,
Videl, and Pan. Trunks and I will patrol around, just to see if we can
find Rhei." Vegita nodded. Goku sat and continued to stare at nothing.
Nita patted his shoulder once and took off, Trunks behind her.

Rhei sat crouched, spying on the scene gleefully. It was working
perfectly! She had just made it all that much easier on him. He waited
for her to leave, then struck.

* * * * *

Vegita sat with Goku, lost in thought. This Saiyajin was definitely
strong. if he decided to fight here, he was positive that he wouldn't
last long. His thoughts were interrupted by a small explosion behind
him. He and Goku stood quickly. They scanned the area around them,
trying to find where the blast had come from. A larger blast hit behind
them. Two female screams could be heard. Vegita turned. What he saw made
him furious. It seemed to happen in slow motion. The Capsule Corporation
building blew up. what remained of it went up in flames.

Vegita flared and went Super Saiyajin four. Goku did the same. A dark
figure descended from above. It landed in front of them. Vegita sneered.
"So it is you Rhei. You will die for what you did." the figure laughed
and lunged at them, going Ultimate Super Saiyajin as it did. Goku and
Vegita split up and flew out a ways. They both powered blasts in their
hands and threw them at Rhei. Rhei easily dodged them and flew up at
Goku. He caught Goku in the stomach with an uppercut. He blurred and
appeared above him. He slammed Goku down into the ground, knocking the
Super Saiyajin out of him. As Goku struggled to get up, Vegita lunged at
Rhei. He remembered his wife, and his little girl. His fury came out
completely. Rhei blinked as Vegita burst out into Ultimate Super
Saiyajin form. Vegita screamed and came at Rhei once again. Shocked,
Rhei flinched. He was immediately attacked. Vegita punched and kicked
him furiously, every hit connecting.

Eventually, Vegita pulled back from Rhei. He was breathing hard and his
lower lip was cut. Rhei shook his head, trying to clear his vision. He
looked at Vegita and smiled cruelly. "You're not half bad. I'll admit
that much. You're still not good enough to beat me or Nita though. It
would be interesting to fight you another time. But, I can't do that.
I'm going to have to kill you." He said. With that, he lunged at Vegita,
shattering his false sense of security. Vegita tried to hold off all of
the hits, but failed. Most of the hits got through his defenses. Rhei
then executed a roundhouse kick that caught Vegita in the chin. Rhei
then did a vicious uppercut and knocked the wind out of him. Just as he
was about to finish him off, he was caught in the back with a huge
blast. He went flying into a boulder, cracking it. When he stood, he saw
Goku, bruised and battered. He had obviously used up most of his
remaining strength on that blast. Furious at being caught offguard, he
flew at Goku. He smashed his fist into Goku's gut, doubling him over.
Goku collapsed, used up.

Rhei turned and faced Vegita again. Vegita floated in midair, his aura
wavering a little. Rhei smirked. "So, your fury isn't enough to fuel
you, is it? Let me see if I can help." He turned and shot a large blast
at Goku. The blast hit and Goku was thrown back into a tree. After a
couple seconds, his body faded and disappeared. Vegita's eyes flashed
red for a brief moment. He lunged at Rhei again, his aura solid again.
Rhei smirked. His plan had worked. Vegita was so blinded with hate that
he probably couldn't think straight. When Vegita came near enough, Rhei
faded, appearing behind him. He grabbed him and slammed him into the
ground hard. He then picked him up again and threw him straight up. He
flew up and stopped above him. He sent a huge blast down at him,
slamming him into the ground once again. He was knocked out of his Super
Saiyajin form. Rhei smirked. He threw five more large blasts at Vegita.
When the dust settled again, Vegita lay, unmoving.

* * * * *

Nita and Trunks had been flying in silence for a little while. They had
not found anything yet. Then, Nita stopped suddenly, causing Trunks to
bump into her. He looked at her, bewildered. He looked around. Suddenly,
he felt three large kis at Capsule Corp. He swore under his breath. He
took off for his home, Nita only slightly ahead of him.

When they arrived, they realized that they were already too late. Rhei
floated in the middle of the backyard. The house had been destroyed, and
Goku was nowhere to be seen. Directly under him, Vegita lay, completely
still. As they watched, Rhei laughed. He sent a large blast down at the
helpless Saiyajin man. Vegita faded, and disappeared.

"NOOOO!!!!" Trunks screamed, his vision blurred by tears. Before Nita
could stop him, he had gone Super Saiyajin four and headed straight for
Rhei. Rhei looked up and smiled evilly. He blocked and dodged any of the
hits coming at him from Trunks. Nita looked on, not wanting to jump in.
They were going too fast, if she tried to join in, she might end up
hitting Trunks. As she watched, Trunks was hit in his chest with a
powerful blast. He fell back but remained in his Super Saiyajin form.
Nita darted down and floated next to him. Going into her Ultimate Super
Saiyajin form.

She narrowed her eyes at Rhei. "How did you come back? I killed you. And
I also destroyed your left arm." She said quietly.

Rhei smiled wickedly. "You never killed me. I had perfected my
'Instantaneous Movement' technique a long time ago. Just before that
last blast hit, I teleported to the opposite side of Earth. I threatened
a scientist until he created an artificial arm for me. It was simple."

She sneered, "And, you're trying to weaken me by killing off everyone
that I care for. Is that it? I'm surprised at you. That's a very
cowardly way of going about it." To her surprise, he laughed.

"I'm not trying to weaken you. I just wanted to make sure that you
suffered before I killed you. But, to do that, I still have to do one
more thing." He turned his gaze to Trunks. Nita gasped, guessing what he
was about to do. Without thinking, she shoved out of the way just as a
blast came up at him. It struck Nita on her left side, causing her to
fall to the ground. She clutched her bloody side as she struggled to
stand. If Trunks had been hit by that, he would have certainly died. She
focused her eyes and looked up. Rhei was shooting several small blasts
at Trunks. Trunks dodged every one, with much difficulty.

Nita held out her hands in front of her, her brow furrowed in
concentration. A large ball started to for in her hands. "Karoto Bakoy
Toti!!!" She yelled as she shot the blast at Rhei. Rhei sensed the
incredible power heading toward him and dodged. He was glad he did, the
ball had looked dangerous. He looked down at Nita and smirked. His smile
faded when he noticed that she was smiling. She flicked her fingers in a
quick motion. He turned and saw that ball heading his way again, faster
this time. She had redirected it! He tried to dodge it, but it followed
his every move. Finally, it hit his stomach. He fell to the ground,
doubled over. Trunks landed behind him, trying to catch his breath.

Nita glanced at Trunks. He nodded. She lunged at Rhei, preparing to
finish him off. When she was no more than two feet away, he faded. She
stopped and tried to sense his ki. She did, and spun just before a blast
hit her. She put her arms out and blocked it. The force of the blast
threw her backwards. She slammed into a boulder and let out a yelp of
pain. As she watched, Trunks tried to keep Rhei from coming any closer
to her. Without even trying hard, Rhei slammed his fist into Trunks'
face. He gripped him by the throat and threw him into a tree. Nita
watched, horrified. She screamed and flew at Rhei. She crushed her knee
into his spine, shattering his armor. He turned and threw several
punches at her. She blocked and dodged every attempt. Then, without
warning, Rhei threw a large blast at Nita's midriff. She flew back,
skidding to a halt in the scorched grass. She tried to focus on a
shield, teleporting, anything that could help her. It was useless. Rhei
smirked and powered a deadly blast in his hands.

"Goodbye Nita." He said. He threw the blast at her. She watched it come,
hopeless. Then, a figure darted in front of her fallen body, taking the
blast head-on.

"TRUNKS!! NOOOO!!!!" She screamed. She watched as he fell, not moving.
She landed and knelt next to him. She frantically searched for her senzu
beans, but she had lost them during the fight. He weakly opened one eye.


"I'm okay. Kill him. You need to kill him now." He said, and closed his
eye. She looked up at Rhei, who was grinning with satisfaction. She
remembered all of her friends, dead. Her eyes flashed blood red. Rage
flooded her senses. All she saw was Rhei.

He looked at her, his smile faded. He recognized that look. He swore
under his breath. It wasn't supposed to work like this! She slowly
stood, her eyes still red. "Rhei. You will die for what you have done.
You're still too strong for me too fight, but I'll find a way." She said
almost calmly. She threw up a shield around herself and levitated
several feet up. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of
her chest. She began chanting in Saiyajin. Rhei's eyes widened with fear
as the realization of what she was doing struck him. He flew at her
barrier, punching and kicking it frantically. He felt the familiar tug
in his mind, the same thing he had felt the last time he had fought her.
Desperate for some way of stopping her, he spoke.

"Nita, you will kill yourself! The pain will eat away at you! This will
never work!" He screamed. She ignored him and continued chanting. The
pull on his mind grew stronger, almost to the point of pain, but not
quite. He sent blasts at her shield furiously, but the barrier didn't
even flicker. The pull started to grow violent. He clawed at his head,
trying to stop it. From below, Trunks sat up, watching. Nita slowly
raised her hands above her head. She stopped chanting.

"Mind Fusion......." She said, then she tore her hands apart,
"EXPLODE!!" She screamed. Rhei didn't even have a chance to yell before
his brain exploded within his head. He fell to the ground, blood
trickling from his mouth, ears and nose. Nita let out a ear splitting
scream and fell, clutching her head. With great difficulty, Trunks stood
and caught her. He lay her down and wrapped her in his jacket, a tear
falling from his eye. She writhed, trying not to scream again. Soon, she
blacked out from the pain.

* * * * *

Hours later.....

Nita awoke with a throbbing pain in her head. She bit back a scream and
clenched her fists. The pain had diminished slightly in the hours that
she had been unconscious. Looking around, she saw Trunks, sitting next
to her, a worried expression on his face.

"Nita.......I'm sorry for being such a jerk. Please forgive me. I......I
love you." He said quietly, tears in his eyes.

She smiled slightly and tried to speak. "I....." she stopped and bit her
lip, drawing blood. Speaking only made the pain worse. He put a finger
to her lips.

"Don't speak. Just let me talk. I know it sounds sappy, but I do love
you. I can't believe how stupid I was. And another thing, I managed to
salvage some things from the wreckage of my house." He held up his hand,
holding the dragon radar. "It wasn't working when I found it, but I
managed to fix it. When you get better, we can go get the dragonballs."

She smiled at him, tears streaming down her face. A wave of pain shot
through her body. She gasped and blacked out again.

Epilogue

Nita awoke again. She wasn't sure how long she had been out this time,
but it must have been long. The pain in her head was almost completely
gone now. She sat up and looked around. She was lying on a bed in a
three room shack. Trunks walked in. He sat down next to her.

"Feeling better? It's been three days since you blacked out. I took you
here. This is where #17 had been living. I figured he wouldn't mind." He
explained.

She nodded weakly. She looked up at him. "Trunks......I....." She
paused, not knowing what exactly to say.

"I know." He said and leaned in to kiss her. She kissed back, wrapping
her arms around him. All that could be heard from the little house for
the next couple hours, were a couple of low murmers.

After that day, they went looking for the dragonballs. One by one, they
brought back all of their friends. Together, they rebuilt the Son house.
Eventually, all was back to normal.

The End

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Please send all C&C to Nikki