Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances for Bardock's Sons ❯ Fellow Prisoners of Red Ribbon ( Chapter 5 )

Second Chances For Bardock's Son's

By Trynia Merin aka StarbearerTM

 

Fellow Prisoners of Red Ribbon

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball. I only own Tomic, Cabernet, and a few other fan characters. Toriyama and Funimation Toei Bird Studios Shuesha own DBZ. I don't get rich off this! This is Fan fiction! Don't sue me!

 

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Bulma fiddled with the circuitry on the scouter. She prodded and poked the device with everything from a screwdriver to an electronics probe. Small shavings from the side were sent to a lab for analysis, revealing it was made from materials not yet invented on Earth. Opening it up she saw the circuitry sparking from some internal source. It took her at least six hours to at least discern what its purpose was. If she put it on she could see auras around living things, leading her to believe it could detect energy.

 

Specifically ki. Yamcha stood in front of her, slowly drawing his power up. She nodded, tapping a control on the side to see different figures flickering across. Internal logic dictated that the readings changed with the flux of Yamcha's ki.

 

"It detects ki," she said.

 

"What a waste! Krillen and I can do that without a toy like that," Yamcha laughed. "What good is this doing us?"

 

"We need to figure out why that alien was here, and why she helped us," said Bulma. "She had enough power to kill us, but she defended us."

 

"Maybe she wants to experiment on us," said Krillen, glancing up at her. He played with one of the test tubes filled with a strange solution.

 

"No way. She said something about knowing Goku. You think she's related to him. She had a tail just like his," Yamcha said. He pulled up a lab stool and perched on it, watching Bulma's shapely butt gliding under her lab coat.

 

"Stop staring at my ass, Yami," she grunted. Turning around she swiped her hand at him. Yamcha leaned out of the way with a grin on his face.

 

"Sorry, Master Roshi's a bad influence, right bro?" he glanced at Krillen.

 

"Don't drag ME into this, buddy," Krillen protested, raising both his hands.

 

"Speaking of influences," said Yamcha. "Do you feel that, Krillen?"

 

"What are you two babbling about?" Bulma snorted. "I'm Just about to figure out what this thing does and you don't have the decency to give me your undivided attention…"

 

"It's Goku!" Krillen laughed, rushing to the window. Yamcha spun on his stool in excitement, glaring at the window that something knocked at. Bulma almost dropped the scouter in shock.

 

"AHHH!" she shrieked.

 

Peering through the closed window with a raised fist was Goku, looking rather sheepish. Krillen opened the window, letting him climb through. Bulma glared at her oldest friend, tapping her foot as she clutched the scouter to her chest. Yamcha and Krillen shook his hands eagerly. "Jeez Goku you might wanna try the front door next time, buddy," said Krillen.

 

"You scared poor Bulma," said Yamcha.

 

"Hey can't you use a DOOR? Hasn't Chichi taught you any manners bud?" Bulma snapped at him, hands on her hips.

 

"Sorry Bulma," he said, giving her an awkward grin. "But you guys said you had something important to talk to me about, and Tien and Chiaotzu said you saw Piccolo. I sensed the big energies from that farm, but they were gone by the time…"

 

"How much did you sense?" asked Yamcha.

 

"Enough to know that we've got a problem," Goku said, face melting into a frown. "Bulma, what's that thing?"

 

"It senses ki," she said, moving past Yamcha to hold it out.

 

"That's all? I can do that without…." He started.

 

"Goku, pay attention! There was an alien wearing this thing, and she protected us from piccolo."

 

"Alien? Wait a minute Bulma, Tien and Chiaotzu said that Piccolo wasn't the Piccolo I killed and…"

 

"Hold on Goku, she's getting to it!" Krillen laughed.

 

"Just settle down guys; let's take it from the beginning. Goku, we saw a being that looked a lot like you do, and she protected us from Piccolo. Apparently she's from outer space, and she's been here for a week or more," said Yamcha.

 

"Someone like ME?" asked Goku. "How so?"

 

"She had a tail like yours, and she wore space armor. She looked like a monkey woman from outer space. Go figure," Krillen chuckled.

 

"You're kidding me…" Goku blinked at t hem. "But how did Piccolo…"

 

"Come on Son-kun don't you watch the news?" Bulma cut in impatiently. "About those UFOS and then the Red Ribbon army that was snuffed out in one blast?"

 

"Chichi doesn't let me watch too much TV. She says it rots my brain," Goku shook his head.

 

"Whatever Goku! Just pay attention!" Bulma huffed, pushing him down to sit in her large padded office chair. "Here's the short version: Something landed a week ago. Then the Red Ribbon army went to the crash sight, they were about to kill two farmers, and this alien 'space monkey' destroyed them. Then the three of us went to check it out…"

 

"And we saw Piccolo," said Krillen. "I think he was interested in the crash sight too."

 

"And we tried to keep him from finding Bulma," said Yamcha.

 

"But he kicked our butts," said Krillen. "Then this space monkey lady showed up, and challenged him."

 

"She protected you, huh?" Goku said quietly. "Wow. That was nice of her."

 

"Yeah. Then some Red Ribbon operatives attacked her and Piccolo. And one of them was that Android 8 you fought a while back," Bulma said, her brows furrowing beneath her blue bangs.

 

"But he was friendly to me. Why was he attacking… he said he wouldn't do that anymore!" Goku shook his head.

 

"Whatever, he's gone bad again," said Krillen.

 

"Darn, that's pretty bad then," Goku sighed with regret. "So, the Red Ribbon army has Piccolo and this alien who looks like me then."

 

"That's where I got this device from. She was able to trace our kis with it," said Bulma.

 

"So what should we do?" asked Yamcha.

 

"We should rescue them both. If the Red Ribbon army has them, they'll become an even bigger threat," said Goku.

 

"Hello Goku! Red Ribbon army, Piccolo?" Yamcha said angrily. "Are you nuts?"

 

"I say let them stay where they are," Krillen said. "Piccolo's a bad enough threat."

 

"But that creature tried to save us," Bulma said.

 

"True, but we can't help her now," said Yamcha.

 

"We have to. If she protected you, and she was looking for me, we have to try and save her," said Goku. "Besides I want to fight Piccolo. To see how strong he is."

 

"That's exactly what we don't want to have happen! What if he's more powerful then you are?" Krillen protested.

 

"I have to try. She knows about my past, Krillen. And she saved you all. I have to repay her a debt," said Goku. "That's the nice thing to do."

 

"I guess you're right, Goku," said Yamcha with a sigh. "But how the heck are we going to do it?"

 

"Wait a minute; Piccolo said something about giving you a message. He was going to capture us both to draw you out," said Krillen.

 

"I wonder if he's going to challenge you because you killed his father," said Yamcha.

 

"Gosh I wouldn't be surprised," said Goku.

 

"Well, what if two of us go sneak in undercover, while the rest of you provide a distraction?" Bulma said.

 

"What sort of distraction?"

 

"Simple! Send him a letter of challenge. Say you'll fight him in the 23rd martial arts tournament or something macho like that!" Bulma said.

 

"Well that's not a bad idea," said Krillen. "That way he'll be out of the way. But that means he'll fight whoever…"

 

"Sounds good to me," Goku nodded. "It works because that's where I fought his father. And if this Piccolo is anything like him, it's a place to challenge him where he won't hurt others. Especially if we all enter to make sure he plays fair."

 

"You mean we should enter too?" asked Yamcha.

 

"Why not?" Krillen said.

 

"It's in a few days time," said Bulma. "Then I can sneak into the Red Ribbon complex as a scientist and bust out the alien."

 

"But Bulma it's WAY too dangerous!" Yamcha warned her.

 

"That's why you and Puar are coming to protect me," Bulma batted her lashes at him.

 

"Are you sure you wanna do this? It's pretty dangerous," Goku said.

 

"Yes. Besides, Yamcha can protect me, right?" she said.

 

"Yeah that's right," Yamcha nodded eagerly. "I'll keep her safe Goku. But what about Chichi?"

 

"Well she's going to enter the tournament too. She says we need the prize money," said Goku.

 

"Then it's perfect," Bulma clapped her hands. "Yamcha and I will go after the alien, and you guys will deliver a challenge to Piccolo."

 

"How do we FIND him?"

 

"With this device silly!" Bulma laughed, showing it to them.

 

"We can sense his ki," said Goku. "Without that thing. You'll probably need it to find the alien."

 

"Fair enough. You guys have some applications to fill out," Bulma said. "And I've got some disguises to make."

 

 

 

 

Light years away on earth, the missing member of Vegita's rescue party was swimming back to consciousness. Slowly Tomic stirred, hearing the low voices echoing in her head. Reaching up she grasped frantically for her scouter, and then sat upright. A low voice boomed, "Don't bother, it's gone."

 

"Where the HELL am I?" she growled, fighting her way to a semi reclining position. Her Saiyan eyesight adapted to the scant light, revealing the shape of her fellow captor in the cell next to hers. Old-fashioned bars separated them in two cages. He sat lotus style in one corner of his cell, his arms folded across his chest.

 

All around them loomed open space. On all but one side metal bars about two inches apart rose in a ten foot grillwork. The fourth wall was sheer cold stone, great blocks mortared together. Tomic dragged the rest of her body on two hands towards the wall to touch it. Extreme cold seeped through her palm, indicating the possible thickness of the wall. A low wind whistled, while small white flakes fluttered down from above. Any light came from a small square twenty feet up, scarcely large enough to thrust one hand through. At least two other windows covered in bars were every five feet spacing from one another. She smelled ozone the closer she approached the bars. A quick touch sent a tingling snap up her arm.

 

“Great, electrical bars. Medieval,” she laughed.

 

"The zoo, where else?" Piccolo grunted.

 

“Primitive to beings capable of capturing beings as powerful as we are,” she commented.

 

"You took damn long enough to wake up,” Piccolo answered.

 

She reached up to touch the collar around her neck. Sliding her fingers under it she wrenched at it. Immediately hot knives of searing pain shot all over her body. Violent shocks of energy that rendered her muscles with a paralyzing jolt. They fired spasmodically causing her muscles to lose tension.

 

"I wouldn't try that. It's got some sort of foolproof feature. Taking off the collars only causes you a migraine. Looks like it's worse for your kind, woman," Piccolo said.

 

"Thanks for caring," she mumbled.

 

“And in case you already noticed the bars are electrified too. That's why these idiots didn't bother shackling us to the walls. They may be primitive, but at least two feet of solid stone exists between us and the outside. Not to mention there are electronic surveillance devices,” he said.

 

“You probably pretended to be asleep right and noticed all of this?”

 

“You're not so stupid after all.”

 

“Please how could I be stupid if I came from outer space?”

 

“You were stupid enough to get caught,” he pointed out.

 

“So were you,” she retorted. Swinging her torso around to face him, she drew her knees up into her armored chest, wrapping her arms around them. Judging from the temperature around them, it was quite cold. Gratefully she noticed her body was hardly fazed by the extreme cold. Her breath misted out from her mouth, gleaming slightly in the silver light from far above.

 

"I'm... starving,” she commented.

 

Piccolo glared at her through the bars from under his white turban. He said, "Don't look at me. I may be based on a plant but that doesn't' mean I'm any good for eating.”

 

"Please, I'm carnivorous. I don't eat Namekians,” she answered.

 

"I'm relieved. But what the hell were you doing interrupting my business for one, and secondly who the HELL are you and WHAT are you doing on this planet, if you ARE from outer space that is," said Piccolo.

 

"You've got lots of questions. Well I guess I can tell you since we're both prisoners here. What do you want to know?" she asked.

 

"We've got plenty of time, and I'm bored. I might as well get some information from you, since you're willing to talk. But I warn you, if you lie to me,” he said.

 

“We're both at a disadvantage,” she said.

 

“Fine. Tell me how you know Goku," said Piccolo.

 

"You're not the best of friends. I recall you said he killed your father?" she said.

 

"That's right. And if it's any of your business I plan to avenge him, and take over this planet," said Piccolo.

 

"Interesting, because we could help each other out," she mumbled.

 

Piccolo smirked at her, arms folded over his chest as he sat lotus position opposite her. His dark eyes glared directly at hers, and he asked, "Why should I let you help me?"

 

"Because we both want Kakkarot… I mean Goku. You want him dead, and I want to take him away from this planet. What you do to it after we're going is your business,” she answered.

 

"Strange since you sympathize with those humans," he snorted.

 

"I'm a Saiyan warrior. I study other planets," she said.

 

"What for?" Piccolo then asked. “You've got a hard time convincing ME that you're just some field scientist. You're a fighter in that sort of armor. So don't bullshit me.”

 

"If you must know, we're… um… planet brokers.”

 

“And what's THAT supposed to mean?” Piccolo glared at her, his eyes boring holes into her.

 

Tomic was deliberately framing her responses in Saiyan terms, knowing he wouldn't believe any sentimental things. For a powerful warrior to admit that she had a soft spot for humans was a sheer mistake, for Piccolo judged the nature of instinct well. It was far too confusing to expect him to believe in alternate dimensions. So she chose the easier course, by having him assume that she was a typical Saiyan. Part of her had already succumbed to the instincts while the shreds of humanity tempered the harsh answers she wished to give.

 

“Simple, Namekian,” she answered, clearing her throat. “We buy and sell planets for more `advanced' species.”

 

“Terrific. Don't give me that greater being shit,” said Piccolo angrily.

 

“You wished to know, let me finish,” said Tomic. “I didn't say we did it by CHOICE.”

 

“Everyone HAS a choice, female,” said Piccolo.

 

“True, but listen or leave me be. We are in the employ of a powerful leader who forces us to use our skills to conquer planets for their natural resources," she said.

 

"Oh and you thought you'd conquer earth?" Piccolo stared at her, his lips curling back to reveal teeth as sharp and white as a Saiyan's.

 

"Please Namekian! I don't want Earth. Besides it's not worth our notice. The beings here are too weak to make a slave labor force. And the planet's not in a convenient location to be of any strategic use to a customer. I'm only here because I'm looking for something that I've lost," she said.

 

"So you're pirates. Mercenaries?" asked Piccolo.

 

"Yes we are. Pirates with no home world. Our own home world was blown up by a monster named Freiza. So we did what we had to, in order to survive," she said quietly, hugging her knees.

 

"Humph, go on," Piccolo grunted.

 

"The Master of All Saiyans killed him. Unfortunately for us that angered his brother and sister, who swore revenge. The Master who's named Broly promised to protect us with his incredible powers.”

 

“How is he so damn powerful?”

 

“He's what's called a Legendary Super Saiyan. Many of my race worships him like a god. But he's no god. Merely a Saiyan who's achieved a very powerful level capable of destroying whole civilizations. Freiza is the same, before he was destroyed.”

 

“So why are you here?” asked Piccolo.

 

“I'm getting to it. Broly's going crazy. He could destroy the entire Saiyan race. Kami knows what could set him off. The only chance to get rid of him before that happens is to find the true ruler of our people, the last surviving Prince of All Saiyans. So he can get rid of Broly and we can defeat Freiza's clan who still threatens us."

 

"Why should I care? What's to stop this Prince from being as much a tyrant as this Broly?”

 

“Prince Vegita is sane. He lusts to be the strongest fighter, and perhaps to be immortal. But we'd rather serve him then Broly. A tyrant is a tyrant, but a madman is far worse,” she said.

 

“You've got a point,” Piccolo grunted, nodding slowly.

 

“Prince Vegita wishes only to preserve the Saiyan Race. What others do is no concern of his, provided they stay out of our way. Freiza's ilk still brokers in planets. We were getting out of the business of hostile takeovers," she said.

 

“What's to stop him from conquering Earth?”

 

“He's not unreasonable. You say you want to rule this world. I'm sure I can convince him to let you rule this planet for your own, provided you don't stray past its boarders. And besides, Earth is too puny of a world to be much use. All we need are a few slaves from this world, and we will leave it be,' she said.

 

“Earthlings?”

 

“Human slaves. Namekians have no inherent value commercially,” she said.

 

“Huh, that remains to be seen,” Piccolo coughed. “But what are you looking for besides merchandise?”

 

"To find our rightful leader we need all available Saiyan warriors. My mate's younger brother was dispatched here, but we need him back in the fold with the rest of us."

 

"Goku's one of you. And you called him Kaka… whatever," he snorted. "Why should I believe you?"

 

"You don't have to. Just know that if I fail, then my mate will come. And he's TWICE as powerful as I am. If he finds me dead, then he'll obliterate ALL life on this planet. Keep me alive you stand a chance of convincing us to leave Earth alone," she said.

 

"I won't let him," Piccolo laughed. “Besides why was he sent here in the FIRST place?”

 

“Back when Freiza ruled us, before Broly came to power, we were forced to find planets, and destroy all life on them, or else be killed ourselves. So great was his thirst for worlds to sell that we were forced to send even our children to planets. Warriors like me are sent to worlds of reasonably high civilization, while children and youth are sent to weak worlds. But this practice was thankfully abolished under Broly. Now I am trying to find Kakkarot and return him home.”

 

“How touching. But that still doesn't' explain why I should let you find him,” Piccolo snorted, unimpressed.

 

"If you help me, I give my word that I'll help get rid of Goku. And if the Prince shows interest in this paltry planet, I'll convince him to leave it be, and go elsewhere,” She said.

 

"I want him dead."

 

"You can kill him. I can revive him when I leave this world with my mate," she suggested.

 

"So, we help each other, huh?" Piccolo asked. "I don't trust you."

 

"I don't either. But do you want to become this idiot's science fair project?" she asked.

 

"No. But as long as these devices stay on us, they suppress our ki. And yours is already low," he snorted.

 

"I need food," she murmured, rubbing her stomach. "And those bastards took my scouter."

 

"The human blue hair took it, since you let her friends get away," said Piccolo.

 

"You mean Bulma Briefs?" asked Tomic.

 

"You know them?"

 

"I've been studying them. Trying to draw Kakkarot out so I can assess his strengths and see if he's still worthy of being a Saiyan warrior," she said quietly. "His strength is far less then we like. It might be too much trouble. But I still want to take him away from this planet."

 

"Humph he's second most powerful fighter on this world," said Piccolo.

 

"You are right," she said. "You are more powerful. But not by much."

 

"That device senses ki, I take it?" Piccolo asked.

 

"Yes. And it's a trans-galactic communicator. My Prince is hearing every word. And if he doesn't like what he hears, you could be in great danger," she said.

 

"Great. So you're saying that all we have to do is get cozy and kick their asses, and you'll help me conquer this planet?"

 

"Yes," she said.

 

"No deal. I take this planet myself. I don't need help from any space monkeys," he snorted.

 

"Then you're a fool. You think I'm powerful, but I'm the weakest of Saiyan warriors,” she admitted.

 

“Huh, you're joking,” Piccolo shook his head.

 

“My mate is far more powerful then me. And there are two others that are twenty times my strength. They could destroy this planet with a simple blast,” she said.

 

“Great. So you're saying that if you don't help me, they'll blow up earth?”

 

“If you don't' help me, my mate will come after me. And if he fails, then the Prince will come here. Even now he's probably been freed. And believe me he WILL come even after a third class such as myself,” she said.

 

“Pretty loyal isn't he,” Piccolo glared at her.

 

“He values the Saiyan race as much as his own life, even if he doesn't have much use for others. We're an important asset to him. What is a Prince without a kingdom to rule?” she smirked.

 

“True. But even so, what's in it for me?” asked Piccolo.

 

"You live, and you conquer Earth for your own. Without Goku you'll be able to do what you wish. Provided that you give me one thousand slaves, human slaves, and ten of the best females on this world as a gift for the Prince.”

 

“Small price to pay,” he chuffed. “So, this mate of yours, why does he care so much about Goku?”

 

"Goku's his brother," she said.

 

"Then he messed up his mission," snorted Piccolo with a grunting laugh.

 

"I take it you don't consider Kakkarot, I mean Goku much of an adversary?" she raised a brow.

 

"He's powerful, but he isn't the brightest crayon in the box," said Piccolo with a sly smile. "It's been said he's good at fighting, but not much else. Thinking's not something he does well."

 

"I suppose that's the case," she said. "Tell me, does he still have his tail?"

 

"I wouldn't know. I've never met him face to face," Piccolo snorted. "Why?"

 

"It matters not," she said, glancing up at the window. A silver sliver of light slowly peeked in through the window.

 

"Considerate of our captors to give us a room with a view," Piccolo snorted, glancing up. He rose to his feet, slowly running his fingers around the cell.

"It's night already?" she wondered, slowly standing up.

 

"Yeah, why?"

 

"How long have I been unconscious?” she asked.

 

"Two days," said Piccolo. "If you want to make yourself useful, try and find a weakness. I've been gathering energy little by little, and I'm hoping I can make a blast somewhere in the wall…"

 

"But these are ki suppression devices."

 

"They only draw ki off if it's above a certain level. If you build it up slowly you can get your ki to a level that is high enough that it won't draw it off," Piccolo explained. "It's geared for mammals. And since I'm a living plant…"

 

"You're not affected in the same way," she nodded.

 

"But I need your help to get out of here like it or not," he mumbled.

 

"You could free my collar," she said.

 

"What, and have you leave me here? No thanks. When these come off, they come off together," he said. "Besides I'm sure you're strong enough without your powers to help me punch a hole."

 

"Fair enough," she said. "I think this is a weak spot, at the base of the grate. If we both pull on it we can get rid of the grillwork."

 

"What good will that do us?" he asked.

 

"We try out the front, they'll suspect us," she said.

 

"Well there ARE motion detectors," he nodded.

 

Grabbing the side of the bars he struggled to pry them away from the wall. Tomic seized the other side, wrenching hard. Slowly the metal bent away, dust falling from the rocks into which the bars had been hammered. The entire grill was driven into the massive stone of the fortress walls. Other cages were opposite, the grillwork continuing on all other three sides.

 

"It's either out the back, or that tiny window," she said, glancing up. Suddenly her body went rigid. A silvery glow slowly spread across the hillside, riveting her to the spot.

 

"What now?" Piccolo huffed.

 

"What was the last phase of the moon you remember?" she asked him cautiously.

 

"Why should you care? You into watching the moon or something?" he asked suspiciously.

 

"Just answer me," she said.

 

"I don't make a habit of caring," Piccolo said. "I'm more worried about the sun."

 

"Figures," she grunted.

 

“You might want to think of trying to get us out of here if you're going to talk. Otherwise shut up,” he snorted. Tomic chose to ignore this, and instead probed the metal of the band constricting her throat. Tiny wires seemed threaded into her flesh, just far enough to reach the pain receptors under her top few layers of skin.

 

“Come over here and let me look at that collar,” she said.

 

“It's the same as yours. Why? Do you have some plan for getting it off? Otherwise stop wasting my time,” he said, turning his back to her. His white cape glowed white in the scant light beaming from a window high up in the massive stone wall.

 

"I think we've an answer to our problems," she said. "I'm going to try and take off your collar as you take off mine. We've bent the bars away enough…"

 

"What are you suggesting?"

 

"If I can bend a bar I can rip off your ki dampener collar," she said. "And you can use your power to overload mine."

 

"Huh as if I'd trust you. But I'd rather not have this thing on me," he snorted.

 

"Here, you first," she said, reaching through the bars to seize his collar. "Now at the same time, start feeding your power, just a bit into mine."

 

"I'll waste my energy then," he said.

 

"If we don't get these collars off, we won't have a chance, Namekian. I'm still far weaker then you are, since I've not eaten in two days," she growled.

 

"Fine, but anything funny and you're dead," he said. "I've been working on some new techniques that will drill a hole in that armor of yours."

 

"Fair enough," she nodded. Reaching through the bars, he grasped her collar by its sides. Tomic slowly ripped at the metal band with her hands, causing Piccolo to gasp in pain. Simultaneously he surged purple ki through hers, building up the energy slowly.

 

"It's… giving…" she gasped. Lancing shards of blue heat sliced through her nerves, radiating down her arms. Piccolo grunted, gritting his teeth in agony. However bad it was for him, it was infinitely worse for her he realized, sensing her ki flickering dangerously low. With a sudden scream she tore the metal apart, causing a huge spark to fly from Piccolo's fingers. Energy sizzled, knocking them both to the middle of their respective cells. Smoking hair sent an acrid pong across the stilled air. Piccolo reached up, feeling the absence of his collar. Slowly Tomic heaved great breaths in and out, curled up in agony.

 

"You did it, female," Piccolo mumbled.

 

"Give me a moment," she shivered.

 

"Now, let's get the hell out of here," Piccolo grunted. "My power's returning."

 

"I have hardly enough strength to move, let alone generate any power," she panted.

 

"Humph great. But that suits me fine," he said with a laugh.

 

"So you're just going to leave me here?"

 

"No, I still need your power to escape," Piccolo said, raising his hand to blast open the wall. "I'm taking you with me."

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