Pt 7
Nexus gazed down at the Doctor, who had just finished expressing his outrage that his loyalties were being questioned. "I have served you faithfully for nearly thirty years my Lord! Why would I choose now to betray you?"
"Your work had been lacking lately, Jessna. Tell me, is it not true that you have been desiring the boy for yourself?"
Jessna's yellow eyes darted to where Zora silently stood and Nexus saw contempt flash quickly through them. "Hm. What else have you been keeping to yourself, Doctor? Have you perhaps been aiding the boy's father with the ultimate goal being to take Nekura for yourself?"
Jessna's eyes snapped back to Nexus, shock filling their depths. "Again, my Lord, I wouldn't dream of such a thing! I admit, I do desire him, what man of science wouldn't with the power he possesses, but I would never betray you for anything! Surely my years of service count for something!" His gaze moved back to Zora. "If you feel the need to be questioning loyalties, perhaps you should be questioning the Commanders'! She is the strongest telepath aboard, it wouldn't take much for her to do some manipulating."
Zora laughed quietly. "And how would I manipulate his Lordship when he is immune to mental abilities?"
Jessna glared and growled, "I'm sure you don't need telepathy to be manipulative. You are a female...a species that specializes in manipulation no matter what race they belong to. I know what you creatures do. I've watched it...studied it and I warn you, my Lord, do not trust her. She will be the root cause of your destruction if and when it comes."
Zora laughed again. "I never realized you had such an entertaining side to you, Doctor. Even Toral is amused."
Nexus watched Jessna with interest, noting the slightly nervous look that entered the little doctor's yellow eyes. "Why are you nervous, Doctor?" he asked softly. "Are you perhaps not as innocent as you claim?"
Jessna's eyes hardened as he looked up into the shadows Nexus sat in. "I am innocent of these accusations, my Lord." He looked back at Zora and said, "Bring in the little beast. I have nothing to hide."
"Very well," Zora replied and raised her arm out. It glowed for a few seconds and then Zora gave a high pitched whistle. It echoed around the room and when it died out, it was answered by a matching whistle. There was a soft glow in one corner of the room, near the ceiling which something zipped out of seconds later. It flew around the room a couple of times before descending and perching on Zora's outstretched arm.
The little creature was the size of a small cat and resembled a mouse with wings, though its ears were longer, slimmer and bent down at the tips. Its long tail curled around Zora's arm as she brought it in toward her, where it nudged her face in greeting.
Despite her appearance, Toral was highly intelligent, able to communicate both telepathically and by projecting images from a hidden source somewhere around her head. She was a rare being called a Spana. She was among the last of her kind and very few knew anything about them. Zora had found Toral as a baby, injured and with no parent in sight. Recognizing what the little creature was, Zora had taken her and nursed her back to health. Toral had remained with Zora ever since, a priceless asset and friend that Zora would always protect.
Zora was looking Toral in the eye as the animal made chittering and whistling noises even as they spoke telepathically. After a moment, Zora smiled, eyes moving to Jessna. She stretched her arm out again and Toral's eyes grew wide as a projection appeared next to Jessna. It showed the Doctor in his lab with Nekura laying unconscious on the table. Zora was nearby, watching silently.
"Ah yes," Zora murmured as they watched the projection. "This, my Lord, is just the other day when Doctor Jessna 'discovered' someone seemed to be tampering with his work."
The scene played on, relaying the conversation between Zora and Jessna and then Zora leaving to report to Nexus. They watched as Jessna turned back to Nekura, laughing quietly.
"Fools," he whispered, lightly running his finger through Nekura's hair. "You're doing wonderfully, my boy. Just as planned. Now we can move on to the next and final phase."
He turned and grabbed some tools he needed, setting them on a tray next to him. Next, he pulled over a machine and positioned it over Nekura's head. He laughed softly again.
"Your idiot father thinks I'm aiding him so he can have you back. It will be so much fun watching him kill Nexus and then watching you kill him. And then, in the chaos that will most assuredly erupt, you and I will slip away." He hissed as he turned the machine on. "Oh how I can't wait...."
"Enough!" Jessna shouted and advanced on Zora who raised her other hand, stopping Jessna dead in his tracks. She closed her fist, then opened it quickly and Jessna was thrown back against the wall. He slumped down, stunned and struggling to get his senses back while Zora calmly turned toward Nexus and said, "There is your proof, my Lord. Toral never lies."
"L...Like hell it doesn't!" Jessna growled, struggling to his feet. "Manipulative little...ugh!" Jessna's words were cut off as a bone white hand emerged from the shadows where Nexus sat, glowing a bright blue. Jessna's yellow eyes bulged, pure fear filling them. "L-Lord..." he gasped, "P-Please...it...lies! Please!"
The three attendants in the room had been watching the scene. They now looked away, trembling for they knew what was about to happen. A scream erupted from Jessna's lips and then he fell silent, hands that had been clawing at his throat dropping to his side and his head falling forward limply.
Zora now looked away, never enjoying being her Lord's presence when he did this. Jessna's body now seemed to be shrinking in on itself. It looked as if his very bones were disappearing and, less than a minute later, what was left of Jessna's body floated to the floor. "Well done, Commander," Nexus breathed from the shadows. "You will be well rewarded for this."
Zora bowed low. "Thank you, my Lord," she murmured. She straightened up, rubbed Toral under her chin, then extended her arm again. The little creature took flight, flying up high and disappearing in a quick flash of light. Just as the Spana vanished, one of the attendants called out, "My Lord! The bridge says Lord Nekura is injured and not faring well. They wish to know if you want him to withdraw.
Nexus growled softly. "Bring him back."
"Yes, my Lord." A few seconds later, Nekura materialized on his hands and knees, battered and bloody. Zora moved quickly to his side, helping him to his feet as Nexus asked what had happened.
"I'm sorry, father," Nekura answered, shrugged Zora off and attempting to stand on his own. "The demon in Kakarot's body surprised me with strength he didn't have before. I was forced to retreat." His gaze moved to what had once been Jessna and a curious look passed quickly through his eyes, but he didn't react otherwise.
"I grow tired of this," Nexus began but was interrupted by a piercing alarm.
"My Lord!" one of the other attendants cried out, "The Bridge is reporting intruders on board!"
Without a word, Zora rushed from the room to deal with the threat and the attendants immediately sealed all exits in an effort to protect their master. Angry that Nekura had not been able to destroy his father because of Jessna, Nexus nevertheless remained calm on the outside. He called Nekura to his side and placed his hand on Nekura's head. It began glowing a soft blue as he started to transfer some of the energy he had stolen from Jessna into Nekura. He had not given much when, from out of nowhere, an extremely angry looking Kakarot appeared.
The Saiyan wasted no time in dispatching the three attendants before turning his furious gaze in the direction of Nexus and Nekura. Nekura growled softly and stepped from the darkness that hid them, ready to defend his adoptive father. Nexus knew, however, that the boy was no match for the pure blooded Saiyan thanks to Jessna. But Nekura would try nevertheless.
"Goten, stand down. I don't want to hurt you," Kakarot growled, watching the boy basically stalk him. Nekura responded by initiating a swift attack, engaging the older warrior in a fierce but short lived battle. When Nekura lay out cold on the floor, Kakarot turned his attention to the shadows that hid Nexus.
"You must be Nexus, the bastard responsible for this!" he growled, gesturing to the unconscious boy.
"And you would be Kakarot," Nexus replied his voice, as usual, soft and cold. "Your power is surprising. I hadn't expected you to rise above Nekura."
"His name is Goten you son of a bitch!" Kakarot snarled, his energy crackling around him. "You're going to pay for what you did to him!"
Nexus laughed quietly. "By all means, Saiyan. Do try,"
Kakarot released the energy he had been gathering and the beam slammed into the darkness. Nexus laughed from the corner he had transported himself to and Kakarot quickly turned in that direction. "Come out and face me, coward!"
Another quiet, chilling laugh. "As you wish."
Goku was barely controlling his anger as he watched a form in dark robes emerge from the shadows. This was it. He was finally going to see the bastard that had stolen his son and turned him into a monster. He resisted the urge to just up and blast the man, wanting to look in him in the eyes first.
The first thing he saw were bone white hands that he suspected would be ice cold. He raised his gaze from the hands and recoiled as Nexus' face came into the dim light. He strongly resembled a corpse in the process of decomposing. The skin was a bluish white and hung from his bones. His eyes were a liquid white and sunken in their sockets and his teeth were a rusty brown.
"Now I know why you sit in the dark," Goku said in disgust.
Nexus grinned, making his appearance even more gruesome if possible. "I'm sure you'll agree that I am the thing of nightmares. I am most definitely yours."
Goku smirked. "If that were true, you wouldn't have needed Goten." He tried to move to launch an attack but, to his surprise, found himself unable to move. He looked down at his feet and, finding no apparent problem there, looked back up to find Nexus holding out his right hand, which glowed a bright blue. A strange tingle race through his body and a gasp was torn from his lips as he felt a sharp drop in power. It wasn't bad, he had lots of energy considering how many levels there were, so he wasn't extremely concerned, just surprised.
'Goku!' Kitra's voice rang out in his mind, 'Quickly, drop your dark side!'
Sensing there was no time to ask questions, Goku did as he was told, and felt another drop in power. "Right now, you're noticing that you're getting weaker," Nexus said. "That is because I am draining your energy. When that process is complete, I will then proceed to rid your of your vital organs, fluids and bones until all that remains is your deflated skin. You see, that is how my species survives. Interesting is it not? Of course, your energy will take some time to drain completely. Two or three sittings at least but for now, I will drain enough to render you unconscious."
'He can do it, too,' Kitra whispered in Goku's mind. 'Use your dark side to feed you energy as you need it so you don't succumb to unconsciousness. When I tell you, move back into your dark form and start pushing energy out as fast and as hard you can. There's only so much Nexus can take at once.'
"It's a shame Nekura didn't kill you first," Nexus continued. "But it seems we were having issues with traitors so I won't hold it against him. In fact, I want you to know that I plan to take very good care of my little warrior. His power will make me an unstoppable force, especially with you gone."
Rage filled the Saiyan warrior at the monster's words. "I won't let him stay under your control!" he snarled. "I'll kill him before I'll allow that!"
Nexus laughed. "When I'm through with you, Saiyan, you won't have the energy to scratch him let alone kill him."
Goku, despite the white hot rage coursing through his body, gave a grim smile. "It's a mistake to underestimate me. One you won't live to regret."
He closed his eyes, drawing energy from his dark side to replace what Nexus was taking. He couldn't believe how fast the being was draining him! 'Kitra, if you can hear me, I'd sure love that signal about now,' he thought.
'Just a few seconds more, Goku,' Kitra answered, but it was a full minute before she exclaimed, 'Now!'
Goku instantly moved into his dark form and began pushing his energy out as fast as he could. A startled look came over Nexus' terrible face. "What...wait, where is all this extra energy coming from?"
His body jerked and he winced, causing Goku to smirk. "Problem Nexus? Thought you wanted my energy. By all means have some more!" He pushed the flow harder and felt the paralysis start to slip. He watched Nexus struggle with the power flow and seconds later, there was a burst of light that knocked Nexus to the floor and freed Goku. The Saiyan warrior wasted no time in initiating a Kamehameha attack, but Nexus was surprisingly quick for his frail appearance. He jumped to his feet and released his own attack with the energy he had stolen from Goku. His beam slammed into Goku's and started a pushing war.
Goku, wanting to end the fight quickly, poured everything he had into the attack, soon overpowering Nexus. The wave slammed into the dark lord and consumed him, prompting a terrible scream. When the attack ended and the light faded, all that remained of Nexus was a pile of black dust.
Goku dropped to his knees in relief, much of his energy gone. His gaze moved to where Goten lay, still out cold. He took a few deep breaths and pushed himself to his feet, staggering to his youngest child's side. He gathered the boy up and hugged him to his chest, gazing down at his innocent looking face. "I've got you, son," he whispered. "You're safe now. No one will ever take you away from me again, I promise you that."
He looked up as Piccolo suddenly emerged from the shadows, Kitra at his side. "Piccolo, Kitra," he greeted with a weary smile. "Are Gohan and Vegeta all right?"
"Yeah, they're fine," Piccolo replied, looking over at his companion. "They're helping some of Kitra's allies secure the ship."
"Did you guys come across Zora?" Goku asked. "She wasn't here and I'm worried she could be a problem. Second in commands usually are."
A funny smile crossed Piccolo's lips and Goku looked at him curiously as he said, "Yeah, I came across her." He looked at Kitra, who pulled back the hood of her robe, revealing Commander Zora.
Goku stared at her in shocked surprise. "Zora? I...I don't understand."
Zora smiled in her usual cold way. "It will be explained soon. But first things first." She nodded at Goten. "Do you have a secure place to put him?" At Goku's nod, she said, "Good. Take him there and make sure he is kept sedated. It will be best if he does not wake up for a while. I need to finish securing the ship and then I will join you and explain everything." At Piccolo's encouragement, Goku vanished with his precious cargo.
A couple of days earlier, Bulma had gathered them all together at Capsule Corp to show them something special. She led them t o a large, circular building that looked much like one of Vegeta's gravity rooms. Inside had been divided into three areas. A little room for sleeping in should the need arise, an observation room filled with equipment and, separated by a large wall of strange, yellowish glass, was the training room. There was no sign of a door. "This, gentlemen," Bulma had announced proudly, "Is the ultimate gravity room. It'll hold up to power twenty-five times that of Kid Buu!"
Surprised stares met her claim. "Just how is that possible?" Vegeta had asked. "There's no way this planet produces something that strong!"
Bulma grinned. "Actually, there's nothing in the whole Universe that makes something this strong. The materials are from a whole other Dimension. Remember those Dimension jumpers that crashed here last year that we helped out? They showed me small room on their ship made of this stuff. I expressed interest and they actually came back a couple months later with a second ship full of it! So, I designed this gravity room so Vegeta wouldn't be able to blow it up like he's always doing to the others and here it is! I figured you could use it to keep Goten under wraps when you get him back. We can put a cot in there and he'll be observed twenty-four seven."
Goku had been both stunned and pleased. He hadn't actually thought much beyond getting Goten back. He had neglected to consider that Goten would be hostile and that they would no doubt have difficulty keeping him under control. The advanced chamber was indeed just what they needed.
Goku, Goten secure in his arms, now arrived there and found Bulma waiting. Piccolo must have alerted her. She wore an anxious look as she pushed a button on the control unit and an area the size of a door opened up in the glass. Goku headed straight to a corner where a cot had been set up and gently set Goten down on it. He sat on the edge and gazed at the boy, lightly touching his cheek, almost afraid it was all a dream. Afraid he hadn't just beaten Nexus and that his youngest child was still in the hands of that monster.
"Goku." He looked up as Bulma approached and quickly stood, moving away and averting his gaze as she injected Goten with something to keep him out cold. Once she was finished, he returned to his place, content to just sit and watch his son sleep while he waited for the others.
Gohan arrived first. He came running in with a shout of victory and barreled into Goku, who had stood at the shout. They embraced tightly and within seconds, both were laughing and crying at the same time. Piccolo and Vegeta arrived a few minutes later, but all remained in the other room, giving the Sons some privacy.
Nearly two hours went by before Zora made her appearance. During that time, Chi-Chi and Trunks had been brought in, Chi-Chi bursting into hysterics when she saw her youngest baby. She climbed into the cot with him, rocking him gently as she let out all her pent up worry and fear. Goku had told her everything he knew and, when Zora arrived, she reluctantly left Goten to join the gathering in the observation room to hear the whole story.
Zora stood before the seated group, gazing at them coldly. "I suppose I should start with the most simplest of things: my name. My true name is Kitrall....a name not spoken in nearly twenty years."
She began glowing brightly and those able to sense ki felt it rise dramatically. All were forced to avert their eyes as the light grew intensely bright, and when they were able to look again, gasps of surprise were drawn out. Standing before them was a completely different version of the woman who had secretly aided them in the rescue of Goten. Her features had become soft, kind and more beautiful than before. Her hair was pure white, streaked with frosty blue and her wings had become the same color. Her eyes had become violet and when she spoke, her voice was soft and carried with it a hypnotic, musical quality.
"I am a Valo," she said, "a race few in the universe know of. We are born with our light and dark sides in equal balance and thus are able to transform from light to dark at will. For as long as my race has existed, we have been helping people who have been under the oppression of evil. Bluntly put, we are assassins though in dark form only. We operate by infiltrating the target's empire and gaining the trust and confidence of the leader, learning his or her weaknesses so that we can either destroy him or find someone who can. We have been responsible for the fall of many over the centuries, working only when contacted and asked. Otherwise, we keep to ourselves on a world hidden from prying eyes."
Her gaze slid to Gohan and she smiled. "You are wondering if any of us are evil...if we ever turn our assassination attempts on those who do good."
Gohan nodded, not completely surprised that she had known that considering she was a telepath.
"In our long history," Kitrall continued, "there have only been four of us who have lost the balance. One was among Frieza in fact. His name was Kortan, although you knew him as Jeice."
"What!" Vegeta exclaimed. "That pretty boy moron was one of yours?"
"I remember him," Gohan interjected with a frown. "But he didn't look anything like you. He had white hair, but that's about it."
"No, he wouldn't have looked anything like me. When the males of my race are in their dark forms, they lose their wings and a portion of their mental abilities in favor of greater power. It's how they blend and survive. We females need our wings in both forms. They are vital to our survival, much like a heart. We are opposite to the males. While they give up some of their telepathy for strength, we give up strength for stronger telepathy."
She looked at Vegeta and said, "I'm sure you noticed Jeice didn't seem to possess mental abilities." At his snort, she continued, "If one of us falls from balance, our telepathic abilities become dormant and we lose all memory of who we truly are and of our race. It's a precaution to protect the rest of us." She paused. "But enough about where I come from. I'm sure you'd much rather know about Nexus and Goten. I was assigned to Nexus twenty years ago. Shortly before that, Nexus had attacked a planet deep in the Southern Galaxy. Those who were not killed were taken as slaves. Many of them died in the barbaric games Nexus was fond of holding."
Her eyes took on a sad light that just seemed to add to her startling beauty. "They had been a peaceful people who had no clue about fighting. It was simply a slaughter, something Nexus enjoyed. What he didn't know, however, was that he had missed someone on that planet. The first cousin of the planet's ruler had been away at the time." A gentle smile crossed her lips. "She had a desire for adventure and a thirst for knowledge, especially in all things mystical. In her travels, she learned of my race and when she found out what had happened to her people, she sought out others who knew of us so that she might summon us to request her vengeance.
I heard her call and agreed to aid her quest. I positioned myself among Nexus' crew and within three months, had become his most efficient...well, killer."
"Wait," Gohan said, "I don't really understand this. You help people, yet you kill them too?"
The sadness passed through her eyes once more. "Unfortunately, it was unavoidable. People who would have been killed had I been there or not. Sometimes, when Nexus wasn't looking, I was able to save some by creating the illusion of death." She paused, then continued. "I never expected the assignment to last this long. But it turned out Nexus was something of a...special case. His species is immune to telepathic abilities so I was unable to get into his mind to either find his weakness or just kill him outright. Months became years. It was five years before I was able to find the secret to defeating him. By then I had become his most trusted agent. Unfortunately, I did not have the power required to destroy him, so I had to wait and watch for someone who did."
Her gaze moved to Goku. "When Frieza was killed, word of his death and the identity of his killer spread quickly. Not many believed it was a Saiyan though. They all knew Saiyans were powerful, but everyone also knew that Frieza was beyond Saiyan power. Besides, there were only three Saiyans remaining in the whole universe and it wasn't possible for any of them to defeat him. So Frieza had to have been killed by someone else. Didn't matter who considering one of the most terrible beings in the universe had finally been taken out. Not long after that, word that Frieza had killed the last of the Saiyans, the Prince he had raised, before his own death increased the belief that it was someone else who had defeated him.
A few years later, rumors that there were surviving Saiyans began surfacing. The stories claimed the two survivors had grown fantastically strong. More so than Frieza had been and that they were living on a small planet somewhere in the Northern Galaxy. Nexus decided to see if that was true, figuring that if he could get control of at least one of them, then he could achieve complete and total domination."
Trunks rolled his eyes. "Big surprise," he muttered and Kitrall favored him with a soft smile before turning her gaze back to Goku. "Skipping forward, Nexus followed the rumors and stories until at last, he found this world and all of you. He studied you all very carefully for months and after determining that he would never be able to bring you or Prince Vegeta into his service, he turned his attention to your children. You know what happened after that. I can't tell you how sorry I am that you and he were dragged into this. At the time, I had thought Goten would be one more poor soul I would be unable to protect from that monster. But then I began to study you and I realized that I may had finally found someone capable of destroying Nexus.
With that discovery, I began interfering in Jessna's work with Goten. I couldn't allow him to bring out the boy's full potential. To do so would threaten the one chance I had come upon. I manipulated Goten as well. Unfortunately, I had to manipulate him from both sides. I had to prevent his full power from emerging, yet I also had to keep him believing that he was Nexus' adopted son. It was a matter of survival you see. If you were unable to defeat Nexus, I couldn't afford to be exposed."
Goku nodded, understanding in his eyes as he looked through the glass at his son. "I'm grateful you even took the chance. I don't know what we would have done had Goten been at full power. It's incredible how much he has!"
Kitrall nodded, another smile crossing her lips. "The boy has fantastic potential. He may become as great as his father some day." The smile faded and a serious look entered her eyes.
"But now you have a difficult task ahead of you. The first thing that must be done is to remove the implants Jessna put in his head. I will be able to assist you with that before I leave. With the implants gone, he will slowly return to his former self. Or at least regain his proper memories. Some of his abilities will return to their dormant state until they are ready to emerge naturally. It will take some time for him to fully recover. I am not certain if the memories of what he did as Nekura will remain with him or if they will fade with time. I pray they fade for some of the things he did will surely torment him, considering what a good heart he has and that he is only a child."
She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "It will take some time before you can fully trust him. Until then, always remain in your dark form and never lower your guard. I'm sorry to have to say it, but you must display complete and total dominance over him. He must believe that you are far more powerful than him and that he will face punishment if he disobeys or angers you. Nexus made sure Jessna had programed that into him so that the boy wouldn't decide to turn on him despite his belief that Nexus was his father. He will test you and if you don't react in the way he expects, it will make his recovery more difficult. Stay in your dark form while around him and it will aid you."
Goku closed his eyes and nodded. It would be hard, he knew, but he would follow her instructions to the letter. One way or another, he would bring his son back to them.
End Book One. To be Continued in Twisted Memories: Book 2, part one: Identity.
