Chapter 2: Explanations
„I would suppose, you all want to know where I have been and what I have been doing, right?"Vegetto finally said, inclining his head in a questioning sort of way. No one spoke, but everyone except for Jari nodded. Vegetto chuckled feintly and nodded.
"I shall answer your questions in due time, but for now, we have a visitor and I believe she is rather hungry." He looked to the Sayan girl and smiled an encouraging smile, urging her to follow him as he approached the place one of his halves had formerly lived in. He walked past the silent crowd of onlookers, not daring to show any emotional reaction, because he was not sure what kind of reaction he would actually reveal. So he entered his former residence and led Jari to the dining room where both of them sat down. Apparently, Videl, Trunks, Goten and Bra were currently being questioned as to where they had found him and what this strange girl was doing here, but Vegetto chose to ignore that and instead filled his plate with some food.
"Go on little one, help yourself. Chi-chi's food is delicious. Well...was, last time I checked." He took a hearty bite from a piece of meat and smiled feintly. "Aye, it still is delicious."
Jari watched Vegetto quietly for a moment, then reached to the plates in front of her tentatively. She was indeed hungry. Her last real meal had been a long time ago and the food on the table smelled most wonderful to her empty stomach. Once she had taken her first bite however, the Sayan hunger overcame her fully and she started to wolf down the food hungrily. Vegetto chuckled slightly and began to eat for real as well. The two of them didn't stop when the others stepped into the house and watched them in shocked silence.They sat down around the table and waited for the two Sayajin to finish their meal, which of course took some time. When they finally stopped eating, both leaned back with a rather satisfied expression on their features.
"Ahhhh, as good as always." Vegetton nodded and smiled feintly, turning to look to his families.
"Indeed, most delicious." Jari nodded as well and licked her lips, appearing thoroughly happy for the moment.
Vegetto nodded and then turned his eyes back to the band of people who were still watching them as though they were aliens. Well, they WERE aliens, but anyway. He got up and walked towards them, indicating Jari to follow him. The gazes from his families were filled with expectation, irritation and nervousness.
"I know, you probably ask yourself, why did I leave and why did I return right now." Vegetto began. There was silent nodding from all present.
"When Vegeta and Goku fused into one being, the fusion was not immediately complete. Though we were of one body, there were still two minds inside and I knew that it would be impossible for one person to fill the life of two. I had to go away to unify the two self-spheres inside me, to try and make one person out of two, because otherwise I would have sooner or later gone insane. It pained me to leave you all behind like that, without a word, without a trace, but I also knew that it would only cause more pain if I had stayed back then."
He paused shortly, waiting for questions, but none came. They all just stared intently at him.
"I would not have returned for some time still, because the unification process is not yet fully complete, but our guest", he nodded to Jari, who was also listening with interest. "Has spiked my attention and although I believe we do not have to expect any danger from her, I know that something sinister is following her, although I can't say what it is exactly. So I returned, earlier than planned, mostly because I know we need to prepare for the storm that will soon be right upon us."
When he finished, there was a brief pause. Then Gohan spoke, still appearing confused, but obviously determined to not let it show.
"But who is this girl anyway?" he asked.
Vegetto smiled feintly and pulled Jari in front of him.
"Ah, I'm sorry for not introducing you guys earlier. This is Jari, and she is a full blooded Sayajin, which makes her the first of her kind you meet. Jari, these are the people I call friends and family."
Jari nodded a soft greeting to all of them and they couldn't help but notice the slight nervousness in her movements, but then again they were all too shocked at the realization that Vegetto had called her a full blooded Sayajin. The different reactions ranged from disbelief to shock and even a little fear.
Gohan was the first to speak.
"But...that's impossible. You, well, both of you...well..." he stumbled on his words and shook his head having lost the thread of what he had been about to say.
"To begin with, I am a single person now, combining everything Vegeta and Kakarrot once were in me. So, it would make things easier if you adressed me as a single individual." Vegetto said with a light smile on his lips.
Gohan nodded and began again.
"Well, you said yourself that Vegeta-sei has been destroyed. Frieza admitted it. How could it be possible for a Sayajin to turn up suddenly?"
Vegetto nodded slightly and patted Jari on the shoulder.
"A good question. As far as she has told me, her parents were not on Vegeta-sei when Frieza blew it up. That is not unlikely, since, as you know, we were a race of conquerers. Apparently, they received her on that planet."
It was C18, who, unlike herself, joined into the conversation without being asked a question first.
"That would open the possibility of more Sayajin's alive out there."
Vegetto nodded.
"Same conclusion I came to and that brings me to why I really returned earlier."
He looked at all the gathered people, people he had known for so long in his life and whom he cared for.
"Jari is being followed. She told me and I have felt the nearing of him even before she arrived here. A dark, sinister presence which will arrive here soon and cover this world in a storm unlike anyone of us has ever seen before."
A long silence followed his words. All of the assembled stared at him and Jari, who was still munching happily on the food and apparently had not taken in much of what Vegetto had said. It was Gohan who spoke again.
"But, I mean, you defeated Boo. There can't be something you can't beat." he stated.
Vegetto sighed and shook his head, glancing to Jari.
"I felt his aura through Jari and I must say, that alone, I do not stand a chance."
Another silence fell after those words, even more grave than the last.
"There is only one thing we can do. Training will only lead us thus far in the current situation. What we must do, is find other Sayans who are willing to help us. Other Sayan's who, like Jari, have survived the destruction of Vegeta-sei and have developed differently since they have been out of touch with the original Sayan way of life. We need more fighters like Jari to even stand a chance. And another thing. Whatever it is that is coming. It is not alone."
At that, Jari did stop to eat, showing the first sign that she had been listening at all.
"Oh but it is! I only saw one enemy...only one to kill my parents!" she said, inclining her head.
"He has been gathering followers. Strong followers, and also drawn on backup from his own homeplanet. All of them are on their way to Earth now. They will arrive in no less than 2 years, which gives us that much time to travel through the universe to find people who will aid us in this struggle."
Again, silence. It came as a shock to many of them, these revelations. Vegetto thoughtfully finished the last dish on his side of the table and then stood up slowly.
"Bulma, I know you have the capability to construct a FTL Spaceship. Please, go right ahead and do so, it is of utmost importance. Gohan, you and the others will start training immediately."
It was at that moment that he raised a brow shortly and inclined his head. A moment later, they all heard the resounding voice of Kaio echoing through the room.
"Everyone, can you hear me?"
"Kaio-sama." Vegetto nodded slightly. "Yes, we can hear you."
"I have spoken to your Kami. He agreed to let you all use the room of Time and Space to train."
Vegetto looked to the others who partly nodded slightly and partly stared at him, dumbfounded, particularily the younger ones. They had never heard of this room, let alone trained in it.
"That's good news. I will bring them to Kami-sama's place in a moment."
Kaio didn't say anything else and thus, Vegetto approached the assembled group of people slowly.
"I apologize that this meeting is shadowed by the impeding events, but we have to do this, or we won't have a possibility to really be together again in the future."
The group left for Kami-sama's tower right away. Upon arriva, they were greeted by a somewhat disgruntled looking Mr. Popo, who ushered them towards the room without much introduction. Kami-sama was nowehere to be seen. At the entrance to the room Vegetto turned around and gazed at each of them in turn.
"As some of you well know, this room is best suited to train in pairs. Since we lack the time to do this, we will all go in together and separate into training pairs inside. Now, who of you have not yet had the....uhm, pleasure to train here?"
Chira, Pan, Bra, C 18, Videl and Jari raised their hands slowly.
Vegetto inclined his head slightly. It had been against Gohan's wishes to take Videl along, but the girl was as headstrong as they came and wouldn't be left behind at all. His keen senses surveyed her slowly for a moment and what he had known from even before the fight against Boo had only strengthened. There was a great deal of potential there, but she was yet unable to tap it.
"OK. It will be a bit strange at the beginning, but you will get used to it. The room of Time and Space allows us to train for a whole year, while in the real world, only 24 hours pass. We cannot stay for longer than 2 days alltogether because it would drive most of us insane. So we will stay one day, then return here to relax for a few days before we spend another day in there. That gives us 2 extra years to prepare before some of us head off to look for surviving Sayan's and other people who can help us."
The group nodded silently and without any more words, Vegetto stepped ahead, into the room, the others following silently. Inside, Vegetto pointed to the door to their left.
"Here you will find sleeping places as well as showers and food storages. Familiarize yourself with the place. Gohan and the others who have trained here will be able to show you around. I will check on something and we meet at the exit of the building in 10 minutes."
With that, he vanished through the door to their right.
Videl looked around apprehensively and then cast her gaze to Gohan, who was staring after Vegetto quietly. He blinked once, then turned and smiled weakly.
"OK everyone, let's get going."
He motioned them into the sleeping quarters and they each reserved themselves a bed to camp on, though they all had a very distinct feeling that they wouldn't get much rest anyway. Jari was hanging back a bit, still a little unsure of what to make of these people. She didn't sense a very powerful aura from any of them. Then again, she hadn't felt anything from Vegetto, who was a Sayajin, for sure. She wondered if they would indeed have a chance to fight against the monster which had been chasing for so long. The person called Gohan was pointing out the food storages at the moment. The younger ones, Chira, Bra and Pan if she remembered their names correctly were rather quiet and did look a bit fearful. Shaking her head, she wondered if Vegetto was indeed thinking they had a chance with these weaklings, or if he was just bluffing to make her stay. Maybe he was a Sayajin, but one turned renegade? Why hadn't he been on their homeworld when it had been destroyed. And what was this business with Fusion?
Shaking her head, she decided to postpone any judgement until she had seen all of these people fight.
10 minutes later, the group assembled outside the building. All of those who hadn't been here gazed transfixed on the nonexistant horizon. The room stretched on endlessly and Jari, too was surprised by this surrounding. A moment later they all gasped, shocked, as the bright white field suddenly was illuminated by thin lines of blue which divided the immediate area into three large fields.
"I have divided the immediate area into three fields with differing gravitation. That way, we all can train according to our skill level." Vegetto said as he approached from behind them. They all turned to gaze at him, waiting for what was to come next.
"Now, for the groups. Chira, Bra, Pan and Videl, you will trai in this field, right at the steps. I have altered gravity to five times earth standard. You will be slow and sluggish at the beginning, but I trust you will rise in power quickly enough. C18, Goten and Trunks, you three train in that field." He pointed to the one on their left.
"It has 100 times earth standard gravity, so you should be OK for the beginning. Jari, Gohan and I will be training in the field to our right, where gravity is 1000 times earth standard."
Videl gasped, disbelieving what she just heard, but she shut her mouth. All around her, the people were nodding gravely.
"If youwish to raise the gravity, you can do so with these devices." He tossed something which looked like a TV remote to C18 and Chira.
"But don't overestimate yourselves for the time being. Any questions?"
All of the assembled shook their heads. And thus, the training began.
Videl was panting for breath even after only an hour of training. The additional gravity made it that much harder for her to move. Pan was having her problems as well and only Bra and Chira seemed to be able to handle the gravity better than the rest of them. Videl bit her lips and continued with the push ups she'd been doing for the last ten minutes, fighting against the will to just relax and stop this torment. She would show these people that it was not neccesary to be a Sayajin in order to be a fighter.
Goten, Trunks and C 18 were engaged in heavy sparring. They alternated pairs, two against one, attacking and defending with everything they had. Two hours into the training, they had grown accustomed to the gravity and in agreement, had raised the level of gravity to 300 g.
Gohan and Jari meanwhile had teamed up on Vegetto's orders, trying to attack him. The word trying is important, because with the added gravity effect, none of them got even near the super warrior, who seemed to float through this gravity as if it was zero-g and not 1000 times standard. The Sayajin-girl grew frustrated rather quickly and admired the way Gohan could just continue to train while Vegetto seemed to dodge their attacks lazily. So far, he hadn't even used his feet or hands to block anything. They had simply been unable to strike him. Jari however was rather angry. She couldn't believe his power-level to be so much higher than her own. Surely it would be impossible to mask such a strong ki signature? Yet he kept dodging, an annoying smirk painted on his features all the while.
"Damn!" she cursed as he evaded yet another attack. "Hold still!"
Vegetto chuckled lightly and inclined his head.
"Oh, why not. Come on, hit me with all you have." He hovered in mid air, looking at her, that smirk still there.
"You'll pay for that!" she spat and raced towards him. He didn't dodge this time. Her strike connected with his chin and the force of the impact knocked Vegetto's head backwards. She grinned, triumphantly, but the grin vanished as soon as he simply turned back, gazing at her with an indifferent expression.
"Is that all you can do?" he asked, raising a brow.
"Maybe you should step back and train with Goten, C18 and Trunks for a while until you are capable of a bit more than this?"
Jari stared at him, her eyes wide, not believing what she saw.
"You bastard!" she cursed and hailed attacks on him with all her might. To top it off, she conjured a crackling ball of ki energy to her hand after the last strike, sending it right at Vegetto's chest where it exploded with a deafening roar.
When the dust cleared, Vegetto was still hovering calmly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. There wasn't even a scar on him.
"All right." he said, chuckling. "Fist attack, check, feet attack, check, energy attack, also check. I believe you have given me everything you have? Then it's my turn, ne?"
Jari, who was still busy, staring open mouthed at the warrior didn't even have a chance to react. He came at her with speed such as she had never seen. His elbow dug deep into her stomach and threw her backwards, whirling through the air. She tried to stop her spinning, but the next moment, pain exploded in her back as his foot connected and sent her whirling the other direction. Gritting her teeth she tried to control herself, but to no avail. A milisecond later she felt another attack his her back and Vegetto's fist slammed her down towards the ground where she crashed with a loud thud. She tried to turn around, but her body was aching all over, her strength having been decimated by only three attacks of this warrior. Rage filled her, rage at being tossed around like that, rage at herselffor being so weak in front of others. She couldn't be weak, she couldn't be defeated like this, not against another Sayajin!
And with the rage, strength flooded back into her body. She whirled around in time to see Vegetto approach, almost leisurely. Gathering the energy of her rage together she concentrated it in her hands and sent it blasting against Vegetto. For a brief moment, she felt the energy crackle all around her, felt an allmighty surge of power. She saw Vegetto raise his brow, stop his approach and to her utmost disappointment, he extended a hand and simply slammed her energy attack to the side. The surge of power left her and she dropped down, blackness engulfing her.
"Well well, a Super Sayajin in only three hours of training. That's promising." Vegetto mused. Gohan came hovering to his side and glanced down to the body of the unconscious Jari.
"She has a lot of potential." He nodded in agreement, eyeing his father from the side quietly.
"Let's hope we have enough time to coax it out of her fully. We will need it." Vegetto mused and hovered down to pick Jari up and carry her to the building.
Gohan was left, staring after the super-warrior quietly. He, too had been surprised by the exceptional speed, by the way he had evaded his and Jari's attacks as if they were nothing and then even let himself be hit and not even carried away a slight scar. Gohan knew he was still holding back his true power. And that frightened him. Because if such a devastating force, contained in one warrior, was not enough to stop this monster that was coming for them, then what could?