I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 20: Dabura's Pillar O' Fun
"I see, I never realized that Frost kept a stash of pure blooded Saiyans away from Frieza, but then again it was outside of my domain. East Kai gets a little upset when myself or others look into her quadrant, even though she rarely checks on things as it is. Must be maintenance on that wig, which could surely drag her down, I mean have you seen the size of that thing?" King Kai joked, barely getting a twitch out of Lenz after she gave her story. He waited for a second before knowing that she wasn't going to budge towards laughter, Bah, typical Saiyan.
"Anyway, how far are you in your training? Any Saiyan no matter what age surely has some experience," King Kai added.
Lenz's shoulders slumped a bit more than they had been, "Not much other than how to use my fists and feet, my father and mother were not able to teach me very much other than basic combat moves," she said with an embarrassed tone.
"I see, this may take awhile. How long do you plan on staying here?" he asked.
"What do you mean, I'm dead aren't I?" she asked, stunned at the question and frankly unsure.
"Well you mentioned that you were killed in the line of fire and that you had planned to head back to Earth with Gohan. It stands to reason that he will probably wish you back when the time comes. I'd guess that you have just shy of six months before you have to deal with life again, as the two other girls and another around here will be wished back at about the same time. That should be fairly sufficient for you once you get the hang on things. Training with me on this planet for six months is like training for several thousand years on a normal planet, plus you have a lot of fighters to learn from if needs be. Shouldn't be a problem, and its been awhile since I've had to train someone weaker than me, but I'll give it my best shot," King Kai explained, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles a bit.
"So I take it I can stay here while I train?" she asked, though she didn't need to.
"As long as you can handle doing the dishes, yes. Just try not to break too many of them when you start getting stronger, but I imagine you'll probably have a lot of them to do," King Kai joked, but thinking that Lenz knew what he meant by that.
"So where do we start?" Lenz asked, standing at a ready position.
"First a basic strength and speed test, try to punch me in the face, right now!" King Kai ordered. Lenz looked stunned but complied and rushed towards him as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast at all since she wasn't used to the gravity. She reeled back and punched forward as hard as she could towards his face, seeing her healed fist caught easily by a blue hand she never saw coming.
"This might take longer than I expected, at least Bubbles will be happy for awhile," King Kai muttered as he walked towards the door. Lenz followed slowly, a little disappointed at her failed attempt. She spotted the three sparring partners walking up, dirty and sweaty from their sparring match. Olibu changed directions after waving goodbye, and the two girls were chattering about needing a bath. She eyed Fasha carefully, mostly noticing her spiky hair and tail.
"You're a Saiyan," she pointed out.
"Takes one to know one," Fasha grinned back, wiping her face off with a towel that Videl handed her.
"What about you?" Lenz asked.
"Nope, just a regular Earthling," Videl said, wiping her own face off.
"Yeah, who just happens to be mated to the strongest Saiyan out there," Fasha said, rolling her eyes.
"Your Gohan's mate?" Lenz asked, astonished. This turned Fasha and Videl's cheerful glance into a suspicious and surprised one respectively.
"Who are you, girl?" Fasha asked with a much colder tone as she looked her over. Wow, can't say I've ever been jealous like this before. Even Clerpe has nothing on this girl's looks, other than the height of course.
"You've met Gohan? How is he, is he alright?" Videl asked a little more hysterically.
"I'll fill you two in later, right now she needs to start her training. Bubbles!" King Kai called out. The quick monkey stumbled closer from a nearby tree, looking eager to have a little fun.
"Hold up, she needs to pass the initiation!" Fasha claimed, grinning very evilly at both King Kai and Videl, who returned it. Lenz looked nervous, then surprised at what she had to do. The joke she came up with after about 5 minutes barely made the Kai twitch and made the other two girls frown in disappointment when even he gave up.
King Kai only sighed, "Like I said, you've got a lot of work to do, better get to it. We can work on the humor thing later," King Kai pointed as Bubbles had already taken off at a very slow walking speed.
---
"Yes, this should do nicely," Dabura said, looking up at a rather skinny mountain. Before he mentioned what he would be teaching me next, he went scouting for what he called the perfect mountain to test my skills in the manner he wanted. I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to do quite honestly, and why it would involve a mountain, other than blowing it up of course.
"Alright, I want you to fly up to the top and stand or sit there, whichever you prefer. The rules are simple, you cannot leave that small area until this drill is over, and no floating above it. Should part of it give way or be destroyed, you will be allowed to float downwards, but you must stay on top of the mountain. Try not to resort to your transformation until you have to!" Dabura said, vague as ever. Okay, now what the hell is he going to have me do, just stand there? Somehow I doubt it. I flew up to the top as he had directed and planted myself on its rather small peak. It was rounded off and about five feet in diameter, so my legs had plenty of room to shift around if need be. Dabura waited until I had looked things over before flying upwards and staring me down, his power fluctuating just a little bit.
"So are you going to tell me what I'm supposed to do up here that I couldn't do down there?" I asked carefully. He didn't answer, only stared back as if he was measuring me up. I frowned slightly and returned the stare as his power level started to rise just a bit more. He's going to do something, maybe he just wants me to defend his attacks without moving from this spot so I can focus on only defense, he's mentioned it after all. I spread my legs slightly and readjusted my arms, ready for whatever assault Dabura was about to throw at me. Dabura's stare relaxed just a bit as I did this, and he backed off just a bit and crossed his arms.
"Well?" I asked, a bit impatiently. No answer came from the demon, and somehow I wasn't overly surprised. I crossed my own arms and tapped my foot slightly, already bored at what Dabura was doing, or lack thereof. My foot then stepped down just a bit too hard and a small chunk came off the edge of the mountaintop. I didn't think much of it as I glanced down and readjusted my feet, but its meaning hit pretty fast. A sudden red beam came rushing in where my right foot had been, polishing the jagged corner as I barely avoided it. I glanced back at Dabura, who held his finger outstretched.
"What was that for?" I asked by instinct, trying to sort out what Dabura was doing. The thought that he was attacking me came to mind, but that seemed to be the point. I kept my senses on him and glanced back at the small corner that was torn off the mountain, seeing that it was still bright red and steaming. I sensed a sudden Chi surge from him and dodged another beam aimed for my head. It sailed through and blew up on the ground harmlessly, but catching my attention to what he was up to. So that's his game, be ready and patient at all times while he takes pop shots at me, great. His energy surged again, but he kept it centered on the air between his hands. A large hourglass appeared there and he allowed it to float into the sky, slowly draining.
"You have until this runs out until this drill is over. I suggest you don't dwell on remaining time, it can be distracting," Dabura suggested before assuming a cross-legged sitting position in mid air, crossing his arms and shutting his eyes. Great, looks like this is going to take awhile to even get interesting.
-
I wasn't sure how much time passed until Dabura even moved again, but it was awhile. I stood in my powerup stance the entire time, staring him down while he floated with his arms crossed. His energy didn't even flare for the longest time, so blinking and breathing was not a problem, but it did get boring in a hurry. Not much of the hourglass sand seemed to dump into the other side, and it quickly became clear that I was going to be here for a long time. I scowled slightly, I wasn't very patient as it was, and it was showing badly again. Shortly thereafter, I sensed Dabura's energy finally flare. He did something unexpected though, and allowed it to disperse around him and then slowly spin around him. I barely detected it with my eyes, but there was a spinning circle of red Chi around his form, not very thick either. This shield of his then spun faster until I barely saw its movement, a process that did not take long. In no time it looked and felt like the shield he had used against Friezell, at least the initial one. The one that blocked against the death ball wasn't like this one, otherwise it would have torn up half the stadium. This one wasn't a bunch of thick energy layers like that one had been. Maybe quick rotation is what makes it stronger without adding energy, is that the lesson he's trying to get across here? Hell for all I know its been one big lesson ever since the tournament. A spark lit from his shield and spun around once before releasing itself in the form of a small blast, heading right towards me. I deflected it easily with one hand, seeing another coming already. He must want me to attempt to do the same. I quickly charged up my aura and spun it around in the same fashion, quickly forming a dim green shield despite the fact that my aura was naturally silver and clear. Dabura's attacks ceased for a moment, giving me time to examine just what I was attempting. It didn't feel that much stronger, but it felt a lot more versatile. I had been able to easily maneuver the energy around to the point of attack before, much like Aldaris had done, but this seemed a whole lot simpler now, and it didn't require near as much energy. Hell, it felt like I was just trying to use my Storm technique, only to block instead of attack. And to think fighting that old goat again wouldn't teach me anything new.
I allowed the shield to expand slightly out to about 10 feet, keeping my eye on Dabura as I did so, and shaving off part of the mountain peak in the process as I now hovered in the air. Note to self, do not use this when there are bystanders that can touch it, and if so, keep the emotions in check. It shimmered slightly and I kept moving faster and faster, now at a similar intensity that I couldn't even see anymore, much like Dabura's. Speaking of which, I spotted him charging up more blasts, but this time a hailstorm of them came raining down, easily numbering over a hundred. I added a bit more energy to the shield, making it glow even brighter as the first few blasts made impact and bounced clean off. I narrowed my eyes a bit to block out some of the light coming from the shield impact, as it produced more than I expected. Every blast either exploded off the shield or was deflected and blew up elsewhere. I came away pleased, only to look up in dread, seeing Dabura charging up a huge beam in his hands and giving off a devilish grin that fit him well. I crossed my arms in front of my face and added a lot of energy to the shield, seeing it glow as bright as the sun. With a feral yell, his red beam came crashing down, hitting the shield and surrounding it, trying to penetrate any weak spot. My shield began to weaken as I sensed that he was adding power to his red beam. I growled slightly, knowing that he was trying to push me on purpose. I added more energy and the shield seemed to weaken even more despite that fact. What the hell is wrong? His beam is going to swallow me if I don't add energy, but its not working?
I quickly searched for the solution before realizing something, I was adding a decent but not huge amount of energy to the shield, but I wasn't moving it around like he had shown me before. I gulped slightly, and allowed my shield to spin once again, prepping for the possibility of the red beam leaking through. To my surprise, my shield dimmed once again, and the red beam began to disperse until only the continued beam from Dabura was left. I get it, just bulk amounts of energy don't do anything other than block against attacks. Rotation is what keeps those blasts off of me by deflecting them away. Once his beam stopped making any sort of progress, Dabura ceased his attack and floated towards me.
"Good work boy, you picked that one up quickly. We will spend the rest of the allotted time polishing your defensive shield through practice drills like this one, and you will learn how to counterattack without having to move or drop your shield," Dabura explained. I looked at him cautiously while glancing quickly at the hourglass, which had barely made any progress.
"Just how much time will pass before that thing is empty?" I asked.
"About two days or so," he said sternly. My stomach growled on cue, almost as if it were begging for a merciful final meal.
"You will have to ignore your body's needs until that time is over, this is also a test of stamina. We will return to the Grand Kai's planet once you have mastered the Chi shield technique," Dabura growled, crossing his arms. Great, and I thought I was hungry now, this is going to seem like a breeze in two days.
Interlude 20.1 –Nightmares-
Gohan glanced around at his surroundings in shock. One minute he had been relaxing by a pond, the next the skies had turned crimson red and the grass was replaced by red tinted dirt completely void of life. He scanned around with his senses, not picking up anything nearby, not even a small animal.
"What happened?" he whispered. He turned suddenly to his left and spotted a motionless and bloody form on the ground. Running over, he turned the body to recognize Vegeta.
"Oh no, who did this?" he asked himself. Not far away, he spotted Piccolo and Trunks, in nearly the same condition. He growled slightly, looking around for the assailant. Another motionless body crossed his eyes, this one female. His eyes drooped and then widened as he confirmed his mother's dead form.
"No, no…" he cried softly.
"G-Gohan," a meek voice whispered from his right. Goten lay there, barely twitching, as his right arm lay outstretched.
"Goten, who did this?" Gohan asked, almost in hysterics at this point.
"Up, ugh, up there!" Goten groaned before passing out. Gohan shifted his gaze to a small building in the distance, one that resembled a house of some kind. He stalked up there cautiously but sternly, very interesting in paying whoever was responsible back, in spades. As he approached, he spotted another unmoving but breathing form, and the uniform was a dead giveaway before he even saw his father's hair. His body was in shambles, with what looked to be several broken limbs and some sort of injury to the midsection that was soaking his orange uniform.
Gohan raced up, "Dad? Wake up! Who did this to you?" Goku didn't answer, only groaned and shifted in pain.
"Heh, will you look at that? The insane monkey does care for others!" an old and familiar voice stated. Gohan glanced up and opened his eyes wide in shock.
"What, Aldaris? But you're dead!" Gohan exclaimed. A shadowy figure emerged behind the elder Templar and walked up beside him, much larger than Aldaris in both height and mass with a completely black coat of skin along with menacing red eyes.
"The Overmind and Broly!" Gohan whispered, his voice trembling. Both figures laughed for a moment at Gohan's dismay, keeping tight smirks pasted on their faces.
"Why did you do this? And how did you come back to life?" Gohan shouted in anger. The two continued laughing, as if they were ignoring his question.
"They didn't do any of this," a deep voice said from behind. Gohan turned to see Frost behind him, transformed into this fifth form.
"Then it was you, how dare you come to my planet and hurt my family!" Gohan growled with his aura flaring, ready to put the changeling down.
"I did nothing of the sort," Frost declared.
"Then who did it?"
"Look at the stupid monkey, he still hasn't figured it out!" Frost laughed along with the others.
"WHO!" Gohan shouted angrily as he stomped the ground, cracking it in several places.
"If you want to know so bad, why don't you enter and find out for yourself?" Frost dared. Gohan's angry expression deepened as he turned, heading straight for the front door as the other villains continued their laughter. Whoever you are, you're going straight to hell! He opened the door and spotted the figure standing at the window, the room though was much too dark to see his face. Gohan stepped towards him quickly and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to look him in the eye. Once he saw his face, Gohan screamed.
"Wake up Gohan!" Goku shouted, shaking his son's shoulders while he tossed and turned.
"No, it can't be, it can't be!" Gohan said just as he opened his eyes and caught his breath. The sight of Goku's concerned face calmed him a bit, making him come to his senses and calm down a bit.
"Another nightmare?" Goku asked as he released Gohan's shoulders.
"Yeah," Gohan said grimly.
"What's the matter then? Is it something your worried about, is it about Videl? Maybe it's the bond," Goku suggested.
"No, those nightmares were different, they never scared me like that! I haven't had a nightmare like that since, before Cell," Gohan explained, holding his head slightly.
"That's the fourth night in a row, I'm getting a little worried about you Gohan. I talked to King Kai, and he said everything on Earth was just fine. Same goes for Videl and the others up in other world. He did mention that Verto and the others had to fight some sort of super strong demon but managed to beat it and no one was hurt or killed. If that isn't it, then what is it?" Goku asked, stroking his chin slightly in thought.
"Maybe its just space nerves or something, I'm sure it'll pass," Gohan said, getting up and stretching a bit.
"That's what you said three days ago," Goku replied as Gohan left the room, feeling his father's concerned stare even when the door shut behind him. Gohan walked through the halls of the ship, heading for the room designated for training. Maybe a light workout will help me get some sleep. Upon entering, he strode over to the mirror and got a good look at his face. His eyes were slightly baggy from a lack of sleep over the week, his hair was messy and his face was a bit pale. Hopefully this will pass once we get back to Earth, I feel like I have the flu or something. The only thing is, I've never been sick before. Gohan stared at his own eyes for a moment and then proceeded to do some warm up stretches as the stars continued to zoom by the window.