Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Times of Our Lives ❯ A Stranger, Clemency and A First Try ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball.

A/N: All I want to do is apologise for taking so long, and to tell you that if you ever want to ask me if I'm continuing, or something like that, just e-mail me, and I'll reassure you. And same thing with questions. Since ff.net's down at the moment, I'm not going to than lk all of my reviews separately, but give everyone an all around thanks. And for specific questions, it's better if you e-mail me anyway. Now, on to the story.

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Chapter 6: A Stranger, Clemency and A First Attempt

"Here's your drink. Is there anything else I can help you with?" The waitress shook her hips temptingly. "A room, maybe?"

Vegeta growled at her, giving her a glare. She instantly picked up the tray. "I guess not. Bye. Enjoy your drink." She walked over to the bar.

Vegeta glared after her. The waitresses wouldn't leave him alone. When he was younger, still in Freezer's service, Zarbon, Captain Ginyu, and other Elite warriors would frequent these Under Level Bars when docked at a space station. A space station consisted of several levels. The higher up, the more expensive, and the better class you were. The lower you got, the worse off you were. Under Level Bars were the worst of the worst. Whores wandered around, thieves sat at booths, gangsters played cards, criminals hid. No one with sense would dare visit a place like this, unless he knew he could take care of himself.

As a member of Freezer's Army, Vegeta was always left alone, unless it was a whore, or waitress, which was the same thing. They'd try to get him to sleep with them, but he always refused. He had slept with two people before Bulma, and both were forced on him. He always turned down the whores. Zarbon, however, or Ginyu welcomed them. Disappearing for hours, sometimes the night, Vegeta was forced to keep quiet, and then take the blame, should Freezer find out. Of course, Freezer had also been with a lot of women, so it was really hypocritical of him. Vegeta shoved the thoughts out of his head. He wasn't about to start thinking of Freezer now.

He sipped his drink, a Trsman, which was a strong, alcoholic drink made from berries that came from the planet Yerd. It tasted bitter, and was hard to get down. It was also easy, especially for a Saiya-jin to get drunk on. Saiya-jins didn't take alcohol very well, and after three beers, or three glasses of wine, Vegeta would be out for a while. Even one glass was hard on him. Even with that in mind, Vegeta didn't care. He had had a steadily worsening headache ever since he left earth. The reason, of course, was Bulma. A Saiya-jin didn't normally get headaches, only when hit hard on the head, from not eating, or being separated from a Bond Mate. Vegeta hadn't gotten hit, and he had eaten a big meal recently, so the only reason it could be, was because he had left Bulma on earth.

That was also the reason he was in the bar. He had enough credits to live luxuriously for at least a month-apparently the small gems and capsules the woman had stuck in, as well as the earth money were worth a lot in Galactic credits. But he really needed a Trsman, the only thing to really make his headache go away, and they were only made in Under Lever Bars.

He took a sip, letting it slide down and burn his throat, when his energy sense went off. There was someone near him, and though the aura was slightly familiar, Vegeta couldn't recognise it. Not to mention the fact that it wasn't very strong. Vegeta flipped on the scouter, letting it read the level. 50000, not bad, but no challenge for Vegeta. It couldn't identify the figure though, and he frowned, when suddenly it sat down at his table.

Vegeta had purposefully chosen a table in the corner, and wanted to stay out of sight, alone. And this alien had the nerve to sit down with him? "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

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Stolidus gathered his cloak around him. Grandinis had wanted this alien, and Stolidus was going to get Grandinis what ever he wanted. It was really just a survival instinct. He had followed the man all over the space station, and was watching him from afar. He had to have the perfect time to strike, when he saw it. The guy had ordered a Trsman, and had started to drink it.

He slid out of his place, and sat down at the table, knowing that the guy already had his Scouter trained at him, which was fine with Stolidus, for he also had his Scouter trained on the stranger. A power level from 20000, it would prove no threat to Stolidus. Grandinis had an amulet that he always wore, which increased the bearer's power level by one thousand times when worn constantly. Just wearing it for an hour increased a power level by twice the amount, which is what Stolidus had done. Every warrior in the army, in Grandinis' presence had worn the amulet for an hour, so now Stolidus had a power level from 50000. The stranger had a power level less than half of that. It was going to be easy.

He moved from his hiding place, and sat down boldly at the table, hearing the man's protest. He smiled, and adjusted the hood of the cape he was wearing. "What is your name, age, species, and past history?"

The alien looked at him like he was crazy. "What the fuck is your name, your age, your species and past history?" He slammed the drink down his throat, not even twitching.

Stolidus watched him carefully. Even the strongest warriors had a hard time downing three-fourths of a Trsman in one gulp. It was common for someone to pass out right away, but this guy didn't. "I asked you first. Amazing on the Trsman, though."

The guy glared at him. "Whatever. And I don't give a damn about who asked first. I don't give any of my information out to anyone whose information I don't know. Show me a Galactic or Universal ID, and I might tell you my name."

Stolidus shook his head, stalling. Freezer's Army had no ID, except for their Army Identification, which was only to be shown to other members. In these past few years, showing an Empire ID got you arrested and killed. "Forgot mine at home. They're pretty worthless anyway."

The stranger raised an eyebrow. Stolidus pressed on. "I see you've got a Scouter, not very common these days. What's up with that?"

"None of your business."

Stolidus pressed on, hoping to break the guy open. "What, steal it off of someone, or get it in a shop? Kill for it? I hear they're handy, you know, they read power levels and stuff, translate, send messages to each other." Stolidus realized he'd have to reveal something. "See, I got one too." He pushed the hood of his cloak off.

The stranger gasped as he saw Stolidus's face. "St-Stolidus?"

Stolidus frowned. "You know who I am? You recognize me?"

"You worked on Base 67, for Freezer, Dratin was your superior officer. But you should be dead. When Freezer died, his Empire disbanded." The stranger crossed his arms and scowled.

Stolidus searched through his Scouter's files. How in the universe did the stranger know his name, and his Base, including his superior officer? He stopped when his Scouter beeped, and a file appeared. Stolidus froze when he read the name at the top. "Prince Vegeta?"

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Gohan blinked. If he had been standing up, he probably would have fainted, he decided, glad that he wasn't. He had already been in enough embarrassing situations lately. "Ma-magic?"

Piccolo nodded.

"How-how is that possible? Isn't magic just a fairy tale? Like Hokus Pokus?"

Piccolo turned to Gohan. "Is this fake?" He curled a finger, and Gohan felt himself being lifted into the air. He fought against it, but nothing worked.

"Piccolo! Let me down! Piccolo!" He struggled harder.

Piccolo smirked. "You'll have to figure out how to get down by yourself."

"But-but, I don't know how to! I didn't even know magic existed before this point! Get me down…or I'll blast you!"

Piccolo's hold didn't lessen, but instead became stronger. He really does spend too much time with Vegeta, Piccolo decided. He watched as Gohan's struggles intensified, making Piccolo work even harder to keep a grip on him. "If you ever want to get free, you have to use your magical energy."

"But I don't know how." Gohan stressed the word how, hinting that Piccolo should tell him how to do it.

"It's energy, and if you don't know how to control energy, then you are definitely an impostor." Piccolo was enjoying turning Gohan around in circles. He admitted that it was fun, torturing Gohan a bit. He cared for Gohan deeply, though he'd never admit it, but he couldn't be good all the time. And though Kami and Nehl weren't thrilled, they didn't really mind. It wasn't as if he was hurting Gohan. How could anyone hurt Gohan?

As Piccolo's words hit Gohan, he stopped his struggling, and tried to get in tune with being turned in circles. If magic was energy, well, he did know how to access his energy. And if he did the same thing… He concentrated hard on himself, going into a meditative state. He was suddenly in the black field of his energy, like he was when he meditated. There were just a few things different. For instance, there was a purple aura there.

Gohan poked at the purpled aura, and froze when it was as if he had touched water- ripples appeared, and moved through out the aura. He felt more content after doing that, as if his tail had been patted as a child. He still remembered having his tail, and how when he was tired, Chichi or Goku would stroke it gently, sending feelings of warmth throughout his body.

On the other hand, Piccolo was having a hard time hanging on to Gohan. Gohan had apparently found his magical aura, and was exploring it. He tightened his grip when he almost dropped Gohan. A huge shock wave had come from Gohan, and Piccolo had almost been hit with it. A few seconds later, Gohan went limp in Piccolo's arms. He overdid it; he'll be out for a few hours. Piccolo shook his head. You'd think that the strongest warrior in the Universe, also at the level of a college student at the age of eleven would know not to put too much power into something he had done for the very first time.

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Gohan looked around the room. It was the same place he had been when he had gotten knocked out. The same plain, blank walls, the same, dark desk in the corner, with a comfy looking arm chair behind it. There was only one thing different about the armchair. This time, it was empty.

Gohan frowned, and walked towards the desk. He decided that if he was stuck here for an undeterminable amount of time, he might as well explore. He walked closer to the desk. It was cluttered with papers of all kinds. There was a brightly coloured quill in a pot of ink, a stamp with a special seal, envelopes. Everyday things one would expect to find on a desk. But somehow, Gohan wasn't satisfied.

He reached down, and picked up a letter. It was written in Intergalactic Common, otherwise known as Intergalactic, or Universal, the language that most aliens of the entire universe learned and spoke. He had learned some Intergalactic from Vegeta, and began to read.

"To whom it May Concern:" it read,

"My planet Platin has just been visited from a menace from the past, namely, one Freezer, of the Cold Empire. As Freezer has been dead for the last five years, there is obviously something quite wrong. I would be quite grateful, if someone could look into this.

"Sincerely,

Platinum

Platinum, God of Planet Platin."

Gohan blinked. Freezer? Alive? That couldn't be true…Freezer was dead, quite dead. Future Trunks had killed him. So what in the world was this letter about? He scanned it again. There was no indication to whom it was addressed, except for the 'Who It May Concern', which was very helpful indeed.

Gohan shook his head, and put it down, reaching for the next. This was also written in Intergalactic.

"Dear Platinum,

You are right in the fact that Freezer is dead. He has also not-" The letter ended there. Gohan frowned. This had also not revealed the identity of whom the letters were addressed to, nor where he was.

Gohan sighed, and sat down in the chair. He wondered what had happened to make him go unconscious. Reviewing what had happened to him in the last five minutes, he decided that playing with the purple energy, his magic, must have done something. And then he felt something odd, as if a warning was sounding in his head. He hurriedly jumped out of the chair, and ran to the other side of the room.

A girl, the same girl who was there before, entered. She was reading a peace of paper, and muttering something about it. She didn't seem to notice Gohan, and instead sat down in the chair. She laid the paper on the desk, shuffling through the piles.

A few seconds later, another person came in. This was also the same person in his other dream. He marched up to the desk, and glared at the girl, shaking his head. They started to argue about something.

Gohan sighed. He really wanted to know what they were saying. It seemed interesting, to say the least. He tried concentrating on their words, putting his energy into it, when he started to hear a bit.

"I can't believe you! I mean, how could you do such a thing?"

"Look, Shinny, what else am I supposed to do? I got this letter from a guy called Platinum, from Planet Platin, in the Western Sector. He thought he saw Freezer. And I got a letter just a few seconds ago, about another planet in the Western Sector, from their god, who saw Freezer. There's something up."

"We've been through this before. You got annoyed about how it messes up the times, remember?"

The girl got a haughty look on her face. "Look here. I did not ask to be stuck at sixteen, but I am. I did not ask to be stuck controlling all the different dimensions, but I am. But I can alter what's to happen, and I am. He needs the practice anyway."

"Practice? I don't think sending Freezer and all his minions back to the world is what most consider practice."

"Well, I do. And think, it'll stop this guy, Grandinis. What would Freezer do, when he finds someone else has taken over his empire?"

"Freezer was one of the most feared beings in the galaxy, and now you want to let him free. You're insane."

"Yes, well-" Gohan frowned, as he realized that he couldn't hear them anymore. He wanted, no, needed to find out what they were talking about. What in the world did they mean, Freezer coming back?

Gohan felt himself being pulled back, and resisted against it to no avail. He felt himself falling, and then blinking, sat up. He was sitting on a bed in the space ship.

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He stood up, and noticed that a light was on in another room. Gohan went towards it, blinking in the light. Bulma was standing there, over a stove, cooking something. She reached for a spice, and shook it in, stirring whatever was in the pot.

Gohan coughed quietly, to alert her to his presence. "Hi, Bulma."

Bulma jumped. "What? Oh, it's you. Sleep well?"

Gohan shrugged. "I guess so…I had another weird dream. What time is it?"

Bulma glanced at the clock. "Eleven in the morning. You slept most of the time away, we're almost there."

"Really?" He peered around Bulma. "What are you doing?"

Bulma stirred some more. "Cooking."

Gohan eyed the pot. "I think attempting to cook is more like it. Is Kuririn up yet?"

"Yeah, he and Piccolo are in the Gravity Room. Why don't you go and check on them."

Gohan's stomach rumbled. "Can I have something to eat first?" He asked sheepishly.

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After finishing his breakfast, which was enough for at least ten people, and Bulma commenting on how little he had eaten, he went to the gravity room. He pressed in his Identification code, laid his hand upon the screen, and waited for the door to click open. Because of the fact he had all level clearance, and Piccolo and Kuririn were only training on 100G, the gravity didn't drop.

Kuririn was busy doing push-ups, and Piccolo was meditating as usual. They didn't notice Gohan. "Hi, you guys."

At Gohan's voice, Kuririn stopped doing what he was doing and turned towards him. "Oh, hi, Gohan."

Piccolo opened his eyes slowly. "You're up."

Gohan nodded slowly. He still wasn't completely sure what had knocked him out.

"You over used your magical energy. You have to learn control." Piccolo said, staring straight at Gohan.

Kuririn glanced at the two of them. "Uh, guys? What's going on?" He was ignored.

"I know I have to learn control, but you need to teach me how!" Gohan exclaimed, sitting down.

"Well, I would, but there aren't any mountains around here. I suppose I could try the wall of the spaceship but-"

"No, that's okay." Gohan hurriedly cut in. He wanted to avoid getting thrown into walls and mountains as much as possible after his experience two days ago. "I'll just practice by myself."

Piccolo raised his eyes. "No, you won't. We'll just do what I did with you last night, but this time you are going to control your power."

Gohan was about to reply, when Bulma walked in. "Lunch is ready. And I have some news. We'll be arriving there in about three hours."

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"Prince Vegeta?"

Vegeta crossed his arms.

"What are you doing alive? There was a rumor that you were on Namek with Freezer. Of course, the details of Namek are sketchy, no one survived to clear up what happened except Freezer, and when Freezer came back, he ignored us all. His father never left his side, and then they go off and never come back. What the hell happened there?"

"Forget it. You're not getting any information out of me."

"Oh, come, Vegeta, I need to know. Oh, and you can come back with me." Because the drink dulled Vegeta's senses, Stolidus was able to slip a pair of cuffs over Vegeta's hand, which broke apart when Vegeta pulled on them.

"What the hell are these?" Vegeta roared, standing up. It seemed to him that his power level just got cut in half, more than half. He felt incredibly weak, and remembered why his father had warned him as a young boy never to touch alcohol when he needed to be alert. The idiot Bardock had seconded his father's words.

"They're cuffs. I know that on Namek, one of the bits of information that did get through was that you had a power level of over twenty thousand. I have a power level of fifty thousand, so these cuffs have cut your power level to half of mine. I have orders to bring you to Grandinis."

"To who?" Vegeta clawed at them, but nothing worked.

"To Grandinis. I'm sure you remember him? A cousin of Freezer's had the planets in the Eastern Quadrant to colonize. Never got on well with Freezer, but when Freezer and King Cold disappeared, he came back and decided to take over. It's taken a few years but-"

"Shut the fuck up." Vegeta swore, remembering Grandinis. He was a power hungry monster. The two of them never got along, and Grandinis was sent out far away from Freezer to deal with the planets there. Vegeta had met Grandinis twice, and neither of the times were pleasant. Vegeta hated Freezer, but Grandinis was twice as horrible as Freezer was. Even more horrible was the fact that Grandinis was back- damn.

Stolidus blinked after Vegeta's outburst. "Oh, okay." To say that Stolidus wasn't the brightest in the bunch was an understatement.

Vegeta tried to clear his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Like I said, Grandinis is trying to clean up the Empire again, and part of that is getting new recruits. I was looking for some, and then I saw you, and remembered you, but couldn't place it. Grandinis said all I had to do was bring in you, the mysterious stranger, and I'd get promoted to his Council. What's even better is that it's you! Gee, Lord Grandinis never expected me to bring in Prince Vegeta!"

Vegeta snarled at the remark, and turned around. "And who said I'm going with you?"

"Well, since I am the more powerful being, then I say so." Stolidus felt so proud. He had never been able to say that to Prince Vegeta before, and was relishing it.

"Fick dich." Vegeta swore, and even though he tried to fight against Stolidus, he was no match.

The other customers in the bar shrugged and turned back to their drinks. Stuff like that happened fairly frequently in the Under Level Bar.

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"Go fish."

"Damn you to hell." Freezer drew a card and stuck it in his hand.

"But Master, we're already in hell." Jezze said, checking through his cards. "So how can we be damned here?"

"Oh, just damn you!" Freezer yelled, and through his cards on the ground, blasting the pile. "As soon as I get out of here, I am going to kill that damn Saiya-jin and Vegeta. Vegeta the traitor."

Cell chuckled. "Be my guest, just leave the boy to me. I owe that brat a Kame Hame Ha."

"And here we begin speaking over the three Saiya-jins that destroyed us. Ridiculous that race, and Vegeta was the worst of all." Zarbon crossed his arms, letting his cards drop.

"No, Son Goku's the worst. He destroyed me, and when I went back to earth to finish him off, that other bratty Super Saiya-jin finished me off." Freezer had long since learned the name of the Saiya-jin, and was busy damning him to hell when he wasn't plotting his escape or playing card games with the deck of cards the Kaioshin had left them for entertainment.

"Does it really matter who's worse? As long as we're stuck in this cell, there's no point in plotting their deaths." King Cold yawned.

"And who says we're never going to get out? We could be released in five minutes, who knows?" Freezer said, glaring at the pile of cards.

And, little did Freezer know that his prediction wasn't too far off. Muu glanced at the piece of paper that King Emna had given him. It was an order of release for Freezer for passage to the Living World, until the Kaioshin ordered Freezer to be put back in his cell. In other words, Freezer was allowed to roam the Living World with out any boundaries, except the fact he was dead, and it was up to the Kaioshin to put him back in the cell.

Shrugging, Muu flew off, and soon reached the cell. "Freezer?"

Freezer shoved his way to the front of the cell, and glared at the ogre. "What?"

"I have orders from the Kaioshin to release for an undeterminable amount of time. You are to go to the Living World, and though you are dead, you shall be there until the Kaioshin requests you to return to Hell."

Freezer's eyes widened. "Really? Then let me out!"

Muu nodded. "I'm going, I'm going." He shuffled in his pockets for the keys.

"Hey? What about us?" Cell said, standing up. "Why is only he allowed to go?"

Muu eyed the paper. "I don't know…"

"Well, then let us out too." Commander Ginyu whined.

"Well…Mr. Kaioshin didn't say anything against it, so, okay." Muu pulled out the keys and opened the door. "Have fun."

And before one could say the word 'Oops', they were gone.

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Shin paced back and forth. Against his better judgment, he had authorized the release of Freezer. He had just released one of the most feared beings in the Universe, a being who was so corrupted, who was feared by almost everyone, a being who was a known Universal Space Tyrant who tried to take over the Universe, into the Living World. Yes, he knew that even though Son Goku was dead, that Freezer would be no match for Vegeta or Son Gohan, but the fact was that Shin was worried. Things like that always seemed to screw up.

He sighed, and flopped down on the Great Kaio's desk. He was out partying, and had left his home at Shin's disposal. He could hear the music from outside, the loud shouts of "SON GOKU! THAT WAS MY CAR!" And other yells of "SON GOKU! HOW MUCH DID YOU EAT? THAT WAS FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST YOU!" Typical party sounds where Son Goku was a guest.

Shin rubbed his eyes, and tried to tune out the sounds when he felt himself being called. He frowned, and teleported to King Emna's desk. There he was met with the sight of several goblins hurrying around, and the ogre Muu, who had had entrusted with the release of Freezer. King Emna was red in the face, and huffing.

"King Emna. You called?"

"Yes, I did. This-this-this ogre just released not only Freezer, but also every being in that cell with him. We have King Cold, Cell, the Ginyu Force, Zarbon and Dodoria all free and at large in the Living Realm!"

Shin's mouth dropped open. That was certainly not what he had been expecting. "What?"

King Emna rubbed his eyes. "You heard me. They're all at large."

Shin closed his mouth, and shook his head. "This isn't very good at all."

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A/N: Okay, Muu is one of the ogres, and because I couldn't remember for the life of me what they were really called, I just called him Muu. Actually, that may be the German name…or I could be totally wrong. Anyway, I'll try to get the next part out sooner, and I apologise again for taking so long. Please review, constructive criticism is appreciated, and thanks for reading.

-Jennie 10/12/02