Neither of the girls had been able to get back to sleep after Akemi's latest vision. Both knew that if it was to come to pass it would be within the week. Which meant it was time to focus their thoughts on how best to thwart it. They'd talked, trying to piece together as much of the vision's events as possible. Sakura had her focus on other things she'd seen in the vision during it's various occurrences.
They didn't have much.
They knew there was a battle occurring, a big one, all around her during the vision. But they didn't know who was fighting or why. And the previous day had already seen one battle at the arena's grounds. Obviously Kuriiza wasn't the source of this battle. So, then, what was? "I'm sorry..." Akemi said sadly, barely above a whisper.
"It's not your fault Akemi." Sakura said, stopping in her pacing and sitting down by her sister again.
"But if I could remember more, or if I investigated the area more, then..."
"It's fine. We'll stop it. And... and if we don't mom and dad will wish me back."
Akemi nodded, still not fully convinced. "But how can we stop it?" she asked. "Just the two of us?"
Sakura had to admit she had a point. They needed more people involved. She still planned to tell her parents again, even if they wouldn't believe, but they needed ones who would believe. "Akemi, do you think you could... contact the others? Cheri, Trunks, and Goten?"
"Ummm, I can try..."
"Ok. See if you can have them come here."
Akemi nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating. A moment later she was seeing just as she had in the halls the other day, even though her eyes were closed, as her mind once again moved away from her body. She didn't know where Trunks or Goten where but she knew Cheri was down a floor and down the hall so that's where she went first, floating right through the floor and the walls.
She moved through three walls before she saw Cheri laying in bed sleeping, the sheets barely draped over her in the oppressive and unnaturally high early morning heat, and her tail dangling over the side of the bed. Though, as she neared, the girl shivered slightly. Coming to a stop beside her she lowered her head down beside the girl's ear and focused. "Cheri, wake up. Come on Cheri, wake up." she said, frowning.
The other girl stirred and then opened her eyes. "Sakura wants to talk to everyone."
Cheri blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Akemi?" she asked softly as she sat up and looked around.
"You can't see me." she said. "I'm here in spirit form. Sakura wants you to come up to our room, we have to tell you something."
"What time is it?"
"I dunno. Where are Goten and Trunks?"
"Huh? Oh, umm... I'll get them, I know the intercom channel for Trunks' room."
"Ok. I'll go back to my room then." and with that she floated back up through the ceiling again. Cheri felt her departure as the room began warm up suddenly. Throwing the sheets off of her she hopped out of bed, pulled off the long t-shirt she used as a night gown, and slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank-top to contend with the day's already unusual heat.
Then she moved over to the com panel and entered the code that patched her into Trunks' room. "Hey Trunks, are you awake yet?" she asked.
When she didn't get a reply she pushed the buzzer button a few times. Finally his voice, still groggy, came over the com. "Who is it?"
"Cheri." she said. "Sakura wants us up in her room for something. Goten's in your hall too, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Get him too, she wants all three of us."
"Fine, fine." he said yawning. "Oh man, it's only just after five AM! This better be important..."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Sai-jin Palace, Conference Room 14
It was still an hour until dawn but already a gathering had formed in one of the palace's conference rooms. The two Vegetas, Bulma, Hotaru, Yamcha, Vadora, Piccolo, and Nova were sitting at a table in one of the large rooms discussing the previous day's events and things to come. "We didn't really have the time yesterday for this." the younger Vegeta said. "Not on top of dealing with the panic that followed the battle."
He sighed and glanced down at the screen of the small computer in his hand. It was currently displaying a report from Saiya City about a riot that had broken out at around 3 AM. According to eye witnesses a group of individuals, Sai-jin and alien alike, had been discussing the battle between the Changelings at one of the city's bars. Some comments had been made that, in centuries past, would have counted as treason. And then another group of people, mostly Sai-jins, had gotten into a heated argument with them which had then broken into violence.
What would have only been a bar room brawl quickly turned into a six block riot thanks to high tensions over the current situation. It was starting to look like all the work on the Sennari's formation was falling apart. "Damn it." he cursed, scanning the list. "Vadora, did you see this?" he asked, glancing toward her.
Vadora nodded. "Mellona came to me before the reports even started coming in." she said. "She said she takes full responsibility for her actions but that she'd do it again in heart beat."
Vegeta couldn't help but smirk a little. It was times like this where such strong loyalty as that was rather comforting. At least not everyone thought he'd gone insane. "What about that guy, the one from Sedana?"
"Mazda." Vadora said with a nod. "He was arrested this morning at around 4 AM." she said, reading the information off her own computer. "Charged with inciting panic, disturbing the peace, disrupting law enforcement, and trying to incite a riot."
"Once again, I am sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." Nova said.
Senator Vegeta shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Had you not been here I think things would be even worse than they are. Kuriiza would have been believed to be the new Changeling ruler. You can imagine the backlash that would have caused."
"Right." his son said with a nod. "Instead of just calling for your execution they'd all be demanding we go and wipe you all out. It'd just give them the 'proof' they've been waiting for that no one's safe while the Changelings exist. At least now we actually have all the facts."
"And getting those facts out to the public is our current task." his father continued. "Even our supporters are getting tired of hearing 'no comment' and 'we're still investigating' by this point."
"What about the tournament?" Hotaru asked. "The Arena took a bit of damage."
"It's still structurally sound." Vadora replied. "I had the engineers comb over it all night and put up some temporary repairs. It can still be used."
"Then we continue." Vegeta said. "I'm not letting some conceited, egotistical, self-important, over compensating brat with a superiority complex derail seven years of work."
Hotaru smirked. "Are we talking about you or are we still talking about Kuriiza?" she asked.
Vegeta glanced over to her and gave her a half smirk half scowl before turning his eyes back to the computer in his hand. "What we need to work out right now is exactly what we're going to tell the public. I had originally hoped to stay away from any association with the Changelings for at least another two decades, no offense." He added the last part with a glance at Nova.
"None taken." she replied. "An understandable sentiment, and far more reasonable than a lot of others. If I thought my slipping away quietly and disappearing for a few decades would help any I'd do it."
"Well, why not just tell them the truth?" Yamcha asked, putting his hands behind his head.
"Because most wont believe it." replied the elder Vegeta. "Especially not the part about conditions on Henka for the other Changelings. General opinion of the masses has always been that Henka was some sort of over indulgent paradise where everyone thought and acted like the Cold Family and everyone lived like kings standing on the backs of the other races. That can't just be changed overnight."
"Well..." Bulma said slowly. "We could put a slight spin on it. Give them half the truth."
"What do you mean?" asked Nova.
"Well, we explain it like this. We say that you're the leader of a resistance movement the Changeling's have had for some time, that you have been fighting the Cold Family as well. The people can't believe that every Changeling is exactly the same..."
"What about what she told Kuriiza though?" Hotaru asked. "She as much as told everyone, and I saw on the news that it's spread to the whole galaxy already, that she was related to him."
Senator Vegeta straightened up in his seat in thought. "Well, I don't know about other races, but we Sai-jins have a similar event in our pasts."
His son glanced over at him, his brow furrowed in thought, and then realization dawned on him. "Rasbara and Cantala."
"Who?" Bulma asked.
"Sisters who lived about two thousand years ago." he explained. "Descendants of the first Sai-jin King. Rasbara was crowned as Queen when she turned eighteen, after her father's death. Cantala disappeared shortly there after. Records show that Rasbara was... not the greatest of leaders. By the end of her reign six years later she could have made even Frieza look like a saint."
"What happened to her?" asked Yamcha.
"Cantala came back. Turns out she knew what her sister was up to, that she'd been obsessed with power, paranoid that everyone was out to kill her, and just generally psychopathic. During the six years of her absence she'd trained heavily so that she could overthrow her sister and put things right again. Obviously she succeeded. Rasbara was killed in the battle and our line continued through Cantala."
"Right." his father said. "We can make that connection with our announcement. It'll probably convince most Sai-jins. As for everyone else, they'll have to come along in time."
"Well... hey!" Yamcha cried, suddenly leaning forward and grinning. "I know! We tell them that like you said but we also tell them that Nova was here not just to locate Kuriiza but for a meeting with us."
"And how, exactly, would that help us?" Vegeta asked, frowning.
"Simple!" Yamcha said. "We say that she wanted a meeting with us, with you, for help finding and stopping Kuriiza. And to assure you that she and her people would stay away from the Sennari..."
Nova smiled. "That's a good idea. Also, this could help us with another matter we've been trying to figure out for a while now. We Changeling's aren't a large population, we only have a few million people. Those loyal to the Cold Family have fled. The rest have returned to Henka for safety. We... have no use for those worlds Cold once controlled..."
Vegeta nodded. He knew what she was getting at. "That'll help our position greatly." he said.
"What will?" asked Yamcha.
"Returning world's Cold and has family previously conquered and stole to their original inhabitants." Nova replied.
At this Hotaru slid back in her seat and sat up straighter. She couldn't believe this had never occurred to her before now. It... could be possible for her people to go home again...
"We have one other matter of importance." Piccolo said. "Namely, if Kuriiza was working for Raven or not."
"I don't think he was." Hotaru said, pulling her mind away from her other thoughts. "You heard him. He wasn't sure the fruit would work."
Nova nodded. "I'm with her. And, there are records... Cooler had apparently been approached by people who said they represented another Empire from beyond our galaxy. He only made vague references to them but..."
"Makes sense." Bulma said. "But why approach him and not the others?"
Vegeta snorted. "Frieza and Cold would have been too conceited to believe another empire would exist with leaders stronger than them. Cooler would have been doubtful but not against the notion. And willing to form an alliance, though not to submitting to them. Just a 'you help me and I'll help you' situation."
He then frowned a bit, Piccolo's suggestion the previous day about their involvement in Raven's plans returning to the forefront of his thoughts. "His attack here may have actually been their idea, come to think of it..."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Sai-jin Palace, Sakura and Akemi's Room
Cheri had gotten to their room in only a couple of minutes. Goten and Trunks, who were in a different wing of the palace, took longer. When they finally showed up Trunks was already dressed in his blue-green gi though Goten had only grabbed an orange t-shirt and white pants. He also looked like he was still asleep, despite the fact he was up and walking.
"So, what's going on?" Trunks asked as the door closed behind them.
"We think something big is going to happen." Sakura started, deciding to dive right into things. "And soon."
"Big?" asked Cheri. "What do you mean?"
Sakura took a deep breath as she climbed up off her bed where she'd been sitting and paced the room. "We don't... really know." she said at last. "Ummm, well, it's like this... One of Akemi's abilities is... to see the future. She can get visions when her mind is relaxed enough. In other words, unconscious or sleeping."
"Oh, cool." Goten said, wide eyed and suddenly awake.
Akemi glanced at him and then down at her feet. "It's scary." she said softly. "I never see good things..."
Sakura placed a hand on her sister's shoulder to comfort her as she continued. "The last few months she's been seeing something in particular. It wasn't until we arrived here and saw the arena that we realized... what she's been seeing will happen before we leave the planet."
"So what's she been seeing?" Trunks asked. If it were anyone but Akemi he'd be skeptical but he knew she had all kinds of mental powers that he didn't understand. This was just another odd ability she'd inherited from her Tanarian blood.
"A battle." Sakura replied. "Akemi says there's a lot of fighting going on all around the arena..."
"Well, it is a battle stadium." Cheri interrupted.
"No." Akemi said, shaking her head. Her eyes were starting to glisten from moisture. "They weren't fighting in the arena. It was around it. And there were a lot of them. I saw lots of reflected light, from armors I think. And things... I don't know... I never really paid attention to them. My... my focus was... was... was..."
"Was on me." Sakura finished for her. "Because the other thing in the vision she always saw, the thing that always drew her attention, was her crying over... over my body." she said, swallowing.
"Over your..." Trunks began, his eyes narrowed as he thought. And then the meaning hit him and his eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you mean that... she's been seeing you... dead?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah."