Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Darkness ❯ As Time Slips Slowly By ( Chapter 6 )

Shades of Darkness

Part 6

As Time Slips Slowly By

Disclaimer: And I am a penguin.

ENJOY!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"GOHAN!" Kakarotto gasped and his eyes snapped open. Confused, the Saiya-Jin looked around. He wasn't on Earth anymore and he wasn't on Vegita-sei either. Kakarotto frowned. He was standing on a wide road and was surrounded by tiny cloud-like creatures that spoke only in squeaks. In the distance was a large Japanese style house looming above the rest of whatever world he was in. To either side, Kakarotto could see only clouds.

"Hello? Where am I?" Kakarotto asked the first being that walked by. The man, pale blue in color with dark hair and squinted eyes, blinked.

"You still have your body? How do you still have your body?" The being asked him, confused. "You are dead, you have a halo, but why do you have your body?"

"I wanted him to keep it." A voice rang out. "Welcome to the Soul Judging, Kakarotto." The speaker was tall, Piccolo's height as far as Kakarotto could tell, and wizened, bent and old.

"Who are you?" Kakarotto asked, surprise evident. "I know you are of Namek-sei, but what are doing here?"

"I am the Kami of the Earth, young Saiya-Jin. You probably know Piccolo?" The ancient Namek-Jin asked with a nod.

"Hai, but what has that to do with anything?" Kakarotto sighed. This was a lot of information all at once. "And what am I here for?"

"You are dead, young Saiya-Jin." Kami replied.

"I'm WHAT? Oh gods, no! Chichi! She's going to die!" Kakarotto gasped, tears falling down his face. "I've lead her to her death!"

"No! No! She will be spared!" Kami waved his hands in a pacifying gesture. "The bond was blocked so she would live to wish you back. It will be reactivated so you will be able to speak to her in about twenty four hours."

"Really? All right! Wait…what do you mean wish me back…?" Kakarotto trailed off, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You friend, Bulma, has found the Dragonballs. These balls can grant any wish within the Dragon's power. Such as Resurrection." Kami explained. "You have been brought here with your body to train under King Kai, learning useful methods to defeat what is coming. It is very important. They will wish you back in just a year, so you had best travel snake way quickly."

"I don't understand." Kakarotto admitted. "What threat? Who is this King Kai? Why am I even dead?"

"This could take a little explaining." Kami mused, then said, "King Kai is the northern Kai. He watches over this section of the universe and it's peoples, but he is also a martial arts master. This threat will bring on a revolution of how slaves are thought of. It will take time, but that is no matter. This threat will not happen for about…two years. You have one year or so to train with King Kai and then you must teach the warriors you fight with these methods."

"So, this threat…will it be powerful?" Kakarotto plopped down. Being dead was tiring!

"Yes, which is why this is so important. But you must also train Mirai and Gohan. They will be needed." Kami shot the warrior a calculating gaze. "If you fail, all those you love are doomed to die. You must gain more power than you have ever imagined."

"I'll do my best. Can you tell me who I will be fighting in two years?"

"Yes. His name is Freeza. He is leading the slave rebellion and is very powerful. More than you. And his followers will be just as powerful. But I cannot give any more details than this."

"I take this responsibility as my own." Kakarotto agreed. "Show me this Snake Way."

"Follow me."
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

"He's dead." Chichi sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. "But I didn't follow him. I just don't understand. Without him, what is the reason to live?"

"Gohan is the reason. I'm sure there's a reason for this, Chichi. Just calm down. Let me talk to Vegita and see what's going on. We'll get all this sorted out." Bulma put a comforting hand on Chichi's shoulder. "It's all going to be okay."

"You're sure?" Chicih sniffed.

"No, but we'll get through it any way." Bulma grinned.

Chichi gave a watery smile. "Always the optimist."

Bulma nodded in agreement and then told Chichi why she was such an optimist right then. They had the dragonballs.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Piccolo hadn't left either boy's bedsides since they'd collapsed two days ago. They weren't allowed to leave yet, and would be held there all the longer due to Kakarotto's death. Gohan cried out in his sleep and Piccolo took his hand whispering soothing words to him, trying to calm him.

Mirai sighed rolled over. The two children were still sleeping, but should wake up soon. It had been an energy overload and there was no real harm done to either of them.

Moments later, Piccolo's point was proven as Gohan's eyes fluttered open.

"Piccolo-san?" The child yawned. "What happened?"

"You turned into the Legendary of your people." Piccolo hoped he'd gotten it right. Kakarotto had showed him the transformation a few times. "I think you overloaded your bodies. There were still weak from the whip you took."

"Oops. I didn't mean to." Gohan tried to sit up. Piccolo lifted the boy onto his lap and cradled him.

"It's okay, but do you remember WHY you went Legendary?"

"My-my Otousama." Gohan sniffed. "Why did he leave? Is he coming back?"

"I don't know, Gohan." Piccolo looked at the child sadly.

"He's not going to abandon me, right?" Gohan gave another sniff.

"He's not abandoning you, little one." Piccolo sighed as he realized that Gohan never really dealt with death before.

"I believe you, Piccolo-san." Gohan sighed, curling up in his arms and falling back asleep. Piccolo smiled gently and brushed the child's hair back from his face.

"I'm glad, kid."
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Bardock and Yamcha were the first to wake after the ki explosion that Kakarotto's death had caused. Turlis, while still alive, was pale and shaking while collapsed on the floor unconscience. Bardock groaned and sat up rubbing his head.

"What happened?" Yamcha finally asked with a groan of pain.

"There has been more than one transformation from this." Bardock frowned as Yamcha stared at him blankly.

"What?"

"Turlis, Vegita, and the two children all turned into the legendary from my youngest son's death." Bardock explained. At the still blank look on Yamcha's face, he added, "The legendary is a transformed Saiya-Jin, but not in Oozaru state. Their hair turns gold in color and their eyes become turquoise. They appear to be soulless, rage-filled beings knowing little but hatred. It happens when we are put under so much stress that our bodies react in kind with a surge of power. Usually from some form of stress, like a twin, best friend, or father dying a particularly violent death that need not have happened. Vegita's brat probably transformed because of Gohan's pain at his father's death. This could bring about unknown consequences." Bardock sighed and leaned against the wall.

"What about your other son?" Yamcha tipped his head in confusion.

"Radditz doesn't hold the Gene to transform. No one is positive what gives any Saiya-Jin this trait, but this is the first time it's actually been reached by more than one person in several centuries, nearly a millennia."

"Woah." Yamcha breathed in awe. "That's on heck of a story."

"I know. And it keeps growing." Bardock stood. "We'll go back to our cell now, I suppose." He hefted Turlis over his shoulder and walked toward the door.

Yamcha stared at them in awe for a moment then rushed after them. Some one had to let them back into their cell.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Vegita had also collapsed from energy overload, but he was already up and about…mostly. He had a tendency to hobble around as he was still very sore and his muscles were tense. His face carried an almost soulless look, eyes blank and mouth slack. Kakarotto's death had hit him very hard, especially since he had known him for a very long time and his family was almost his own, especially since his father had died and he'd found himself stuck with Radditz and even more so now than before since his mate was good friends with Kakarotto's harpy.

Radditz took one look at the king of the Saiya-Jins and nearly knocked him out to relieve him of the pain. He looked so blank so lost that pity welled within his heart.

"Are you okay, Vegita?" Radditz put a hand on the king's shoulder.

"I suppose." Vegita shrugged off the hand and flopped down on the pallet in the corner. "As okay as I can be since one of my best friends just died. What do you think, idiot?"

"We'll get through this, you know?" Radditz told him, sitting down.

"That fool that killed him best not show his face around me anymore." Vegita growled. "Lest I lose control and kill him."

"And then what will we do? Did you think to what would happen to you or your mate? You'll both die. Get control of yourself, Vegita." Radditz reprimanded. "There's nothing you can do right now but wait."

"This is quite true." Bardock agreed. Everyone whirled and gasped.

"Tousan? What happened?" Radditz asked quietly, afraid of the answer.

"He fell into Lunar Dormis and we couldn't bring him back. Turlis, while alive, is very weak right now. Vegita wasn't the only one to transform." Bardock set Turlis down gently and sat so Turlis's head was cushioned by in his lap. "Turlis and the two children also achieved it."

"I made it before." Vegita whispered, closing his eyes. "Back at that woman's house. I changed. Only for a moment, but I remember the rage and hatred…and cold…that came with it."

"These are sad times." Riul said mournfully. "And we cannot change them."

"No." Vegita agreed, "But we could wish that wasn't so."

No one had anything to say to that.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

It was almost a week later when they were allowed to go free. When the woman got them home, the first thing they had to do was tell Gohan about his father, what really happened.

It was decided that Bardock would do it. Turlis was unable mentally, since he relived Kakarotto's death in his nightmare's every night and Chichi was in a stupor, wandering about like she was in a dream. Piccolo did really know what had happened and Radditz had left the room when the subject was even mentioned.

"Gohan?" Bardock lifted the child in his lap. "I need talk to you."

"It's about Tousan, isn't it." Gohan looked up at his grandfather with his large, black eyes. It hadn't been a question, the child already knew the answer.

"Hai, Chibi Hakari. It is. He's dead, Chibi Hakari."

"I know, Ojiisan. I've known since he died. But…is he gone forever?"

"Yes, Gohan. You can't come back from death." Bardock whispered. "But he didn't want to die. He wanted you to live, and so he had to."

Gohan sniffed and buried his face in Bardock's chest. "He can't be dead, Ojiisan! He just can't! I don't want him to be!"

"I don't either. But I didn't have any say in the matter." Bardock hugged the child tightly and forced himself not to cry. Gohan needed him to be strong.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Kakarotto raced towards the end of snake way, he was a blur as he flew over the clouds, occasionally stopping to rest. There was no one to talk to and so there was no other reason to stop. The Saiya-Jin frowned, wondering if the bond was working yet.

::Chichi?:: He called gently, ::It's Kakakrotto.::

::No, no, you're dead. You can't be Kakarotto. You just can't.:: Chichi sniffed back. ::My Kakarotto would never had died like that. You can't be him, you just can't.::

::Chichi, that's enough!:: He ordered. ::It's me, I tell no lie. And I have many important things I've got to tell you. Now, just listen for a little while.::

The Saiya-Jin quickly related to his mate what the Namek-Jin had told him and what he had to do. Chichi grew quite and nodded. ::I'll tell them. You just hurry back to me, okay?:: She whispered.

::Hai, Kamesta. I will hurry. Ai shiteru.::

::Ai Shiteru.:: Chichi whispered, cutting him off.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

At first, Chichi thought she must have gone completely mad to think of these things, he dead mate talking to her and telling her that there was a slave uprising that had to be stopped lest they destroy the planet, but after she thought of it, she believed it completely. Kakarotto would never lie to her and not even she had that great of an imagination.

The woman ran from the room and began to tell the others. Bulma gaped at the news and nodded. "I've got a way to track these things. Let's do it."

"I will train the children." Piccolo offered. "At first while the men begin to train. Jeisu should go with you to protect you."

"I agree fully." Bardock nodded.

"I will go rather than Jeisu." Aria spoke up.

"Are you sure-?" Bardock whispered.

"Yes. I am the best person. Now, we will leave tomorrow. I have no idea how long it will take to find these things." Aria pointed out.

"Right." They nodded and split up, the men stopping only long enough to get their collars removed. The law would have to be bent a little if they were to be ready.

"I'll stay here and watch them." Mrs. Williams spoke up. "I will be able to watch out for them should they get into trouble.

"What about me?" Zarbon glanced around the group.

"Hm…I think we'll need your help as well. You're mother is staying here should she be needed so you can help us. Another person that can fly never hurt." Aria decided. "Every one be ready to go by tomorrow morning."
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

The group set out with full vigor, splitting into two groups, each taking a dragon radar. They would have to find three of the balls a piece and each group would report in with the other once a day so they knew that there were no problems.

The men and Mrs. Williams stayed behind, training and trying to learn control over their new transformations. They worked vigorously without breaks and without stopping. Piccolo was merciless with the children, forcing them to learn as much as they could in a short amount of time. Krillian also decided to help, he had become much closer to the group over time and was not going to sit and watch them die. He was the strongest human they'd ever met and had enough experience to teach them all a thing or two. It didn't take long for Gohan to master the Kamehameha attack and they all learned Krillian's special attack, the destructo disk.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

The women were having good fortune as well, and had collected three of the dragonballs in six months. They had three to go and were headed towards the fourth. This had been the hardest to find for Chichi's group and Bulma had screamed in frustration several times. They had equipment problems and then it was moving at one point and it disappeared entirely for several days (Something which always mystified the group to no end) and they had finally found it.

Stuck right in the jaws of a T-rex.

Bulma cursed, and Chichi groaned. Zarbon stared open-mouthed at the dinosaur. This was not good. Why couldn't it have been anywhere else but here? How on earth were they going to get it out of there? And, weren't T-Rexes carnivores? Why did it eat it in the first place?

Screaming in rage, Bulma gave the dino a sharp kick for her troubles. "Die you bastard!" She yelled. The rex growled questioningly and looked down at her, as if to ask what she was doing. That's when he figured it was snack-time and human sounded great.

The rex roared and took off after the now hastily retreating figures. It was hungry.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Kakarotto could swear he'd been running for months. He wasn't positive, time passed oddly here, but when he'd last talked to Chichi some time ago, nearly two weeks had passed and it had felt like mere days to him. Not that the scenery told him anything. It was simply a long pale blue road in the shape of a twisting serpent.

But as last, he thought he'd seen the end. The road didn't continue, at the very least, and it excited him. But, and here he paused, there was nothing at the end of the road. Kakarotto looked up, confused, and saw a small planet floating above his head.

"Perhaps," he mused, "that's the place?" There was nothing but to try, unless he wanted to go all the way back. But he needed to training to defeat the force that was rising and he needed to train his friends in the methods this King Kai would use.

He flew upwards and found himself falling quickly towards the planet. He barely had time to right himself in shock before he hit the dirt. The gravity was higher than expected.

A small monkey came towards him, squeaking and making other noises to show confusion at the visitor's arrival and joy that someone had come to play with him, for the first time in nearly a millennia.

"Bubbles?" A short, squat being came into view. "Who's here?"

"Um…excuse me, milord, but do you know where I can find King Kai, Kai of the north?" Kakarotto broke in softly, bowing low. He was unsure of the people here and wasn't risking a beating. "I am Kakarotto, the Saiya-Jin. I was sent here by King Yemma and Kami to receive his training."

"I am the King Kai you seek." The blue man replied. He reminded Kakarotto a bit of a cat-fish, with blue feelers coming off his cheeks. He was round in build and had two long antenna on his head. The short Kai also wore sunglasses. His clothing consisted of a floor-length robe in black with a white field on it. Within the field was the symbol of a martial arts master. A red undershirt completed the outfit.

"You're King Kai?" Kakarotto asked, incredulous. He wasn't too sure what he'd expected, but this wasn't quite it.

"Yes." The cat-fish man snapped, offended.

"M-my apologies, milord." Kakarotto bowed. "I did not know what you looked like and did not recognize you."

"Quite alright." The being waved a hand in a dismissing gesture, then continued, "You say you came to train under me?"

"Hai, I must protect my planet from a growing threat."

"I will train you on one condition. You must make me laugh." The Kai replied, watching the Saiya-Jin with interest.

"Make you laugh? I ought to tell you about my life. It's been one big joke." Kakarotto told him bitterly. "I'm afraid I haven't any way to make you laugh. Saiya-Jins aren't known for jokes."

"I have to concede to that point," the Kai agreed, "but you must still make me laugh."

"Um…What goes ninety-nine…clunk, ninety-nine…clunk?" Kakarotto smiled. This was the only joke he could think of, and it wasn't that funny.

"What?" The kai said.

"A centipede with a wooden leg!" Kakarotto snickered.

"A…Centipiede…?" King Kai burst into giggles. "That's stupid enough to be funny!"

"My son eats a lot of popsicles." Kakarotto shrugged.

King Kai raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to know." Kakarotot assured him quickly. "Trust me. So, will you train me?"

"Only when you're used to this gravity." King Kai replied.

"What gravity? It's only like Earth's…I think." Kakarotto shrugged.

"No, this is ten times earth's." King Kai rolled his eyes. Don't tell me you can't feel it."

"Actually, I can't. It's no more than Vegita-Sei's and Bulma made a gravity chamber awhile ago that could go up to thirty times Earth's gravity." Kakarotto explained. "I can't feel it anymore."

"I see. Well, in that case, we'll begin right away. How fast are you?"

"Pretty fast…"

The rest of the day was spent determining Kakarotto's abilities and how well he used him. King Kai had never seen anyone so fast or powerful. Kakarotto shrugged. When the Kai finally questioned him a bit more about earth, and learned what exactly was going on, he grew grim.

"That cannot continue." He told Kakarotto gravely. "It is not right."
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

Bulma gave a scream of fear and raced for shelter, the rex hot on her heels. Chichi yelled in rage and fired a shot of ki at the beast, effectively killing when the blast went through it's heart. The woman panted and sighed. "Thank Kami for Kakarotto's training!" She whispered, collapsing to the ground. "To bad it takes so much energy…I'll be okay in a couple days…" With that, the raven haired woman passed out, body falling limply to the ground.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

It was finally time to wish Kakarotto back. A year had passed, slowly to the woman but far to quickly for the men. With the threat looming ever closer, they couldn't afford to waste time. None of them would be present for Kakarotto's revival because the time it took may be needed, especially for the boys.

Gohan and Mirai had worked harder than anyone else, practicing new moves and old ones daily, trying to become stronger, faster, better in less time than the older men. They couldn't hold the men back and the children, unable to reach the super Saiya-Jin transformation a second time since the incident where Kakarotto died had been forced to move even faster.

"Eternal Dragon hear my call!" Chichi cried, lifting her hands over he r head. "Come forth!"

The sky grew dark and lightning lit up the clouds. The dragon burst from the balls in a blaze of golden light twisting into the sky. It was enormous. Bulma tilted her head back to get a better look as the dragon solidified.

"I AM SHENLONG." The dragon boomed, voice shaking the ground. "I WILL GRANT YOU ONE WISH AND ONE WISH ALONE AS LONG AS IT IS WITH IN MY POWER. WHAT IS YOUR WISH?"

"I-I wish for my soul-bound mate, Kakarotto, be brought back to life!" Chichi cried, nervously.

The dragon's large red eyes glowed briefly, then the dragon addressed the group. "IT HAS BEEN DONE. I BID YOU FARWELL."

In a flash of light, it disappeared, the dragonballs shooting towards the four corners of the earth once more.
~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~ ~~*~~

"Kakaroyto, you've been wished back." King Kai told him, watching as the gold halo faded away.

"I-I have?" Kakarotto put his hands up to see if the kai was lying. "That's great!" He exclaimed. "Now I can go teach the others!"

"Remember what I told you, Kakarotto." King Kai reminded him softly. "The Kaio Ken technique should not be used above a triple, and do not use the triple strike unless you must, and DO NOT use the Spirit bomb unless all else fails!"

"I think you misunderstand my power, King Kai." Kakarotto touched his shoulder. "I have not been at full strength to learn these techniques. You have yet to see what I can do."

King Kai paled. The warrior standing before him was more powerful that almost anyone he knew, and he had yet to see his full power? It was unimaginable.

Kakarotto, sensing his disbelief, smirked. "You don't believe me." He stated. King Kai mutely shook his head.

"Then I will prove to you I am stronger than you imagined. And, from what my mate told me, so are my friends. They grow closer to my power daily. Even my children are stronger than you would believe. But am strongest of them all. Because my transformation was first." Kakarotto laughed and threw back his head.

He let out an animalistic scream, transforming to Super Saiya-Jin, hair becoming gold, eyes changing into the cold turquoise. He looked over to King Kai, who shuddered.

"I don't believe it…" He murmured, drawing in a shaky breath. "So much power…"

Kakarotto laughed. "Now I must go. My duty lies with my family and friends. I owe no one but them protection from this threat, and here I am, defending the planet that brought me as a slave. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Yes. I wish you luck, Kakarotto. And use your powers for good." King Kai reminded him.

Kakarotto fixed his soulless eyes on the man. "I am also called Goku." He replied, and took off towards home. King Kai caught his breath. There was no Saiya-Jin, ever before this, known as Goku. Surely the prophecies weren't to come to pass? His only reply was the dust swirling from Kakarotto's passage.