(Hey y'all, Individual Lies here. With the posting of the last chapter Witness has accumulated over 200 reviews. I cannot begin to explain how much that blows my mind. Also I just wanted to apologize for my recent extended leave of absence. My life has recently undergone radical new changes and I've set myself down a brand new path. I've been caught up in all of this for the past several months and I've allowed it to distract me from Witness. I also wanted to apologize for not saying as much when I posted the last chapter. It wasn't intentional, merely an unforgivable oversight on my part. Anyway, now that's out of the way…I present…)
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Enjoy the Silence
"Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl…?"
Enjoy the Silence – Depeche Mode
DBZ
Bardock took a long draw of water from a canteen, doing his best to ignore the deafening silence. As he lowered the canteen and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, he glanced at Seripa. She was frowning at him, clearly concerned for his wellbeing. He refrained from rolling his eyes and contented himself with placing the canteen on a table beside his bed. He glanced around at the other three watching him silently. Seluri looked annoyed, which was normal; Amotto looked curious and confused, which was not normal; and Mejai looked bored, which was again normal.
After he'd passed out he'd been carried into the infirmary to be checked out. Once Mejai, the resident physician, had determined Bardock to be healthy, they'd left him to sleep it off. They hadn't left him long before he awoke with his powerful thirst. Not much had been said, yet.
"So…" began Amotto.
Ah, there it was. Bardock looked at her. "So what?" he asked, daring her to mention him passing out. Not that he imagined that he could successfully intimidate a Super Saiyan, just so he made it clear to even her that he wasn't about to discuss that.
Seripa scowled as she stepped up and slapped the side of his head. He winced and looked at her curiously. "What was that for?"
"What the hell happened out there, Bardock? First you don't dodge an attack that will clearly destroy you; second you suddenly, out of nowhere, became like Tettuce; and third you passed the hell out for no obvious reason!"
Bardock cringed. Trust Seripa to bring up him passing out. He sighed and waved a dismissive hand. "None of that matters. Frieza is goin' to attack Earth soon."
Seripa faltered as her eyes widened in shock.
Seluri scowled and spoke up, demanding irritably, "How could you possibly know that?"
He looked at her and shrugged indifferently. "Not that you'll believe it, but I can see the future."
Predictably, she scoffed. "Impossible. You're obviously hallucinating, your mind cracking under the weight of all this pressure."
Bardock growled and swung his legs around to hang off the side of the bed. He stood up, towering over everyone except Mejai, who was several inches taller. "I don't have time for this. It don't matter whether or not you believe, it's still gonna happen. And I'm gonna make sure it doesn't."
"Slow down, Big Guy," Mejai said, speaking for the first time since Bardock had awoken. "Short Stuff doesn't speak for all of us."
"Excuse me?" Seluri rounded on the green-haired man.
"Cool it, Savta. People are in danger, so let's focus on that," Mejai said coolly, never looking at her. "So what'd you see, Bardock?" Amotto cast him an amused glance, but said nothing.
Bardock quirked an eyebrow at the man as Seluri turned away indignantly, fuming. He smirked. He was starting to like this guy, stranger or not. He glanced at Amotto and Seripa to confirm they wanted to know, and then he proceeded to detail everything he'd seen. He told them how Turles, Recoome, Burter, and Frieza had all seen and acknowledged him; he told them of his previous visions of the monster he'd encountered; he then told them of the encounter, and of how he'd spoken to the monster. He told them how he'd tried to fight it and how everything then became blurry.
"After that I remember breaking his grip and then I was catching a giant blast," he paused, an odd look on his face. "But looking back, I don't think I broke free." He frowned and tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"Why do you say that?" asked Seripa. She moved closer and rested a hand on his arm.
He looked down at her, still frowning. His brow furrowed heavily. "I saw somethin'…He looked surprised, and almost afraid, when I started gettin' stronger. It's almost like he let go so I wouldn't go any further. He seemed genuinely afraid of me right then. But…why?" He paced away suddenly, moving around his bed to stroll in the aisle separating the rows of beds that lined the walls. "I felt his power. Even if I'd become a Super Saiyan, I wouldn't have stood a chance."
Mejai rolled his eyes thoughtfully. "Hm. Do you think it was a vision, or maybe a psychic-link to the future?"
Bardock paused and looked back at Mejai in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Well," he began slowly, looking down at Bardock. "I'm assuming that your consciousness actually travels to the future, versus you viewing events from the future. The reason I say that is because of the way you describe your visions; like you're actually there. So based on that, I think it's safe to say that your nosey consciousness caught the attention of this Cell character." Everyone looked at him, dumbfounded. He said it so matter-of-factly that they couldn't help but to agree with his reasoning.
Bardock blinked and shook his head as he tried to wrap his mind around what Mejai was suggesting. "Whoa, hold up there. First of all, is that even possible; second, what do you know about any of this?"
Mejai shrugged. "Sure, it's possible. Maybe not for any of us, but if this Cell guy is as strong as you say, then I'd be surprised if he couldn't detect an anomaly like that. More so considering his claims of perfection, and being a creation of science. Surely whoever created something as powerful as that would have had the foresight to ensure his creation the greatest of advantages?"
Bardock frowned, all-but forgetting his second question as he thought about that.
"And I know quite a bit about various different subjects. I'm a scholar." He grinned, winking mischievously.
Amotto frowned. "A scholar? I find that hard to believe."
Mejai turned to look at her, arching an eyebrow. "That doesn't surprise me." He grinned again. "I'm not actually a scholar."
"Then what the hell are you?" Seluri demanded, turning back to face him belligerently. "You are most definitely NOT a Saiyan, so you really have no place here. You claim to have known both Ka'bijj and Turpin, and yet I know nothing of you. I think it is high time you answered some questions about yourself."
Bardock looked at Seluri, his exasperation towards her outweighed by his curiosity surrounding Mejai. To be fair the man had never offered much information, but he displayed knowledge of events and people so casually that it begged so many different questions. His usual dismissive answers had been fine up to now, but even Bardock wanted to know more about this strange man.
Amotto looked pointedly at Mejai, a curious expression on her face. Seripa said nothing, but caught Bardock's eye with a confused look given his way.
Surprising everyone Mejai shrugged and said, "Okay, what do you want to know?"
Seluri frowned and regarded him with suspicion. But she proceeded, cautiously asking, "Who are you and how long have you been here?"
The green-haired man's tail twitched at his waist and he looked around at everyone staring at him. He smiled and shrugged again before saying, "Well, my name is Mejai and I've been here for 388 years."
Seluri and Amotto's mouths fell open as Seripa displayed a look of shock. Bardock frowned; he wasn't sure he believed him. How the hell could someone live that long? Someone that wasn't an Ice-jin, that is?
"You weren't kidding when you said you were ancient," said Amotto breathlessly.
Mejai laughed. "That's just a drop in the bucket, I'm afraid. I'm much older than that."
"I do not believe any of this," Seluri declared, her eyes narrowed in anger. "You are mocking me and I do not appreciate it."
Bardock glanced at Mejai expecting him to respond in kind, but he just looked at Seluri pityingly.
"I'm not mocking you, Seluri. I'm completely serious," he said passively, his tone never changing. Bardock had to admire the man's impressive patience. Anyone else would have most likely snapped at Seluri instead.
"Can you prove it?" she demanded.
Mejai nodded. "I can, actually. Search the Archives for my name and you'll find out everything you need to know."
"Is that true?" Amotto asked. She frowned and shook her head, "Wait. Don't answer that." She glanced at Seluri and sighed. "Just trust him, alright?"
"Why should we trust him? We don't know anything about him!"
"Seluri, calm down now!" Amotto snapped, her gaze hardening instantly. Seluri looked indignant, but she fell silent.
Bardock looked at Amotto in admiration. For the most part the woman was friendly and approachable, but she definitely knew when to take charge. She'd changed so much in so little time that Bardock could hardly believe that she was the same unbearable bitch from before. Seripa had told him all about how Amotto used to be prior to Jynn-jin 13, so he understood her attitude from before. Knowing what he did now he couldn't really blame her, to be honest.
Seripa had also told him how she'd felt that Amotto would make an excellent leader when she first met her. Bardock smirked as he watched Amotto sigh and look back to Mejai.
"Okay, go ahead," she said. "What will we find if we look in the Archives?"
Mejai smiled, a strange look appearing in his eyes. Bardock wasn't sure, but it almost looked like sadness. He wasn't very good at reading people, so he couldn't honestly say. But there was something strange there for sure.
"Well, where to begin?" Mejai laughed quietly and shook his head. "You won't believe any of this, but I've been around for millennia."
Amotto frowned. "How long exactly?"
He shrugged. "I've actually lost count, but it's something like 5 or 600,000."
"What?!" four separate voices asked in unison.
He grinned. "I said you wouldn't believe me."
"But…but how?" Seluri asked her eyes wide.
Amotto, practically stunned into silence, nodded her agreement.
Bardock agreed and it was obvious Seripa did, too. There was no way a mortal man, no matter what race he was, could exist for that length of time.
"That ain't possible," Bardock said firmly. "It just ain't."
"I'm sorry, but it is possible, Bardock," Mejai said, clearly amused. "Look, it's complicated and it's a really long story. But the important details are these: I'm really old; I'm really strong; I'm really smart; and I used to be Kami of Saintya."
Seluri gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. She seemed to be the only one who understood the true implications here, as everyone else merely looked confused.
Amotto shook her head. "What do you mean?"
"I'm a demi-god," he replied simply, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against the wall.
"Did Ka'bijj and Turpin know this?" Seluri asked quietly, her voice shaky and weak.
He nodded his affirmation, smiling pleasantly.
"What the hell are you?" Seripa asked suddenly.
"Ah, now there's the question I've been waiting for." Mejai chuckled, abruptly pushing off the wall to stand straight. "I'm a Saiyan. The last of the original line, that is. Hundreds of thousands of years' worth of evolution separates your DNA from mine, but we are essentially the same."
"So you can become a Super Saiyan then?" Amotto asked.
Mejai didn't immediately answer, seeming to consider the question. After a moment he said, "I can, but I won't. And this is one thing I will not elaborate on. Next question." He looked away from Amotto and pointed at Bardock. "What about you?"
Although Bardock was curious and suspicious of Mejai's sudden evasion, he decided to respect the man's privacy. Bardock could proudly state that he knew when to drop certain subjects. Usually, anyhow. Besides, he did have a question for Mejai.
"Yeah, I'd like to know what you know about my visions."
"Only what you've told me."
"That's not what I mean!"
"What do you mean, then?" Mejai seemed to be enjoying this, though that strange look remained in his eyes.
"I mean, you obviously know a thing or two about psychic powers. Am I right?"
"You are correct, yes."
"Well, then can you tell me why the Kanassan stopped talkin' to me?"
"I'd have to speak with the Kanassan and ask him that question myself to know the answer to that. I'm sorry." He paused, frowning suddenly. "But I might be able to help you, come to think of it. You mentioned that your visions have changed. How have they changed?"
Bardock frowned, unsure as to how that question related to the Kanassan not speaking anymore. But he answered, saying, "Details have changed. I used to see…" he trailed off and glanced at Seripa, realizing that'd he never told her what he'd seen of Kakarrot. He continued, deciding it was time she heard, "I used to see our son, Kakarrot, becomin' a Super Saiyan and defeatin' Frieza."
Seripa's eyes widened as she looked at Bardock. "Why have you never told me that before?"
"Because I don't see it anymore," he replied, meeting her gaze. "My visions still reveal that he becomes a Super Saiyan, but the future is darker than before. Frieza was the only threat I envisioned, but I'm beginnin' to think that we're changin' things."
"For the worse?"
Bardock frowned. "It's lookin' that way."
Mejai nodded as if this answered all of his questions. "It makes sense then. You're worried that knowing of future events is causing you to muck things up."
He blinked in surprise and nodded. He was worried that he was making things worse, but what did that have to do with anything?
"That answers it then: just stop worrying. You're living longer, so you're seeing further into the future is all. You've changed events up until now, so you're likely to continue changing things. I bet that's what scared Cell; he realized that by threatening you he had inadvertently helped to influence a change in his future. So he let go before you could transform into a Super Saiyan." He became thoughtful, frowning slightly. After a moment he chuckled. "Though it's highly unlikely that the Cell you meet will have any memory of your encounter with him. Just that little bit of influence has most likely erased that version from future history."
Bardock blinked. His head was beginning to hurt just listening to Mejai. He looked at Seripa to see an equally confused expression mirrored on her face.
The self-proclaimed demi-god looked around at the confused majority and grinned. "That detail doesn't matter anyway, so moving on…" He looked at Bardock again. "You became a Gigi Super Saiyan."
Bardock gave Mejai a startled look. "What the hell is a Gigi Super Saiyan."
Mejai chuckled. "Well, gigi literally means half in the ancient language. You half-attained Super Saiyan. And judging from an earlier comment," he said with a glance towards Seripa," you all have seen this form before."
"Yeah, we have." Seripa frowned and eyed Mejai curiously. "A friend of ours did the same thing, only he completely lost himself when he did it."
"Interesting. It's usually very simple to control the state. It gives you a significant power boost, but it doesn't affect your reasoning the way the full state does." He gave Amotto a knowing look and she shifted uncomfortably under his amused gaze.
Bardock had to agree with Mejai. Though he was only conscious of his altered state for a moment, once he regained clarity he found it remarkably simple to do so. Over-exertion had ultimately drained him, but once he was thinking clearly he could've potentially had an epic sparring match with Amotto. The thought brought a smirk to his face.
"How do we push past that state?" Bardock found himself asking.
Mejai shrugged. "It depends really. Once you figure out how to, you're almost guaranteed to want to kick yourself at how simple it actually is. Amotto can attest to that," he said with a gesture towards her. "All Saiyans, even your generation, are born with the ability to transform. In a time before mine it was common place to teach our people in childhood, so there were Super Saiyans everywhere. Old or young, rich or poor; it didn't matter."
Seluri gave Mejai an odd look. "If you really are as old as you claim to be, then you could have witnessed certain historical events firsthand. Your knowledge and wisdom should be unparalleled."
"Well, I'm not a god. But I can say that I've seen thousands of years' worth of history on Saintya." He grinned, his eyes dancing with sudden mischief. "I can tell you all the things the historians omitted, got wrong, or outright fabricated. Aside from that I have seen a great many things, some of which I'll freely share. Others, though, I will not share and I have my reasons for that." Seluri opened her mouth to protest, but Mejai swiftly cut her off by continuing. "Will they benefit you in any way? No, they will not. I will not share them and you will not convince me to change my mind," he finished firmly.
Amotto seemed to accept this. She looked around at the others. Bardock frowned, though He didn't like secrets being kept from him, but he respected Mejai for being forthright about withholding them. Finally he shrugged his acquiescence.
"If you say so, Gramps," he said, absently digging a finger into his ear.
Mejai blinked. "'Gramps'?" he echoed, cocking his head slightly to the side.
"Yeah, that's not important anyway. I want to figure out how to push further and we need to get to Earth soon."
"I do not like to be the one to consistently be negative," said Seluri surly, "but not a single one of you is ready to face Frieza. Not even our lovely Arch-Cleric here," she said, not overly sarcastic, as she pointed at Amotto.
Mejai grinned mischievously. "Your ancestors were always prepared for any situation," he said cryptically before sauntering out of the infirmary.
Bardock blinked and glanced at Seripa. She looked just as confused as he felt. He turned his gaze to Amotto to see her and Seluri exchange a glance. Amotto then shrugged and followed after Mejai. Bardock and Seripa, and finally Seluri, followed after her.
DBZ
Frieza looked down at his glistening silver hands, clenching them into experimental fists. Though he enjoyed the immense power that came with his final form, the unfamiliarity of it frightened him every time he transformed. He'd never before remained in his final state for more than a few hours; unlike his father and brother he'd never invested much time in learning to control his power. Aside from the three of them, there existed no beings capable of generating even a fraction of their collective powers. Frieza had simply never seen the point in using all of his power for trivial matters.
Then the Simian freaks had to go and muck things up, though Cold continued to insist that the fault lay with Frieza. He scoffed at the idea. Sure he'd made a few oversights here and there, allowing a few Saiyans to fall through the cracks. But it wasn't his fault the Saiyans were still around to be the nuisances they were. That fault was entirely Cold's for not wiping the monkeys from the universe when he had the chance. It shouldn't be up to Frieza to clean his father's messes.
Frieza scowled and lowered his hands as he lifted his gaze to the smooth, white wall on the other side of the room. He jumped up, launching into a series of rapid-fire kicks and punches. His father insisted on him spending at least five hours of every day in this gods-forsaken training room. Days became weeks, and weeks became months; every single day Frieza devoted himself to those five hours of training ordered by his father. He endured the punishment the incredible power put on his body. He loathed every single second of it, but he did it anyway.
It started out unwilling, but as time wore on Frieza began to notice a change in himself. He noticed that not only was he learning to better control his power, but he was also growing noticeably stronger. After the second week he decided to up the gravity from 100 times Standard, the setting his father originally ordered for him, to 150 times Standard. By the end of the first month he'd increased it to 200. Throughout it all he never made mention of this alteration, allowing his father to believe that his training was progressing slower than it actually was.
Frieza was little more than a silver blur as he phased around the room; arms, legs, and even his tail cracking through the air like lightning. Even with the setting of 200 his increased speed and strength were nothing to scoff at it. He landed his talons hitting the floor with thunderous impact, sending a shudder running through the whole of the ship.
A sinister smile crept onto his face as he savored the feeling. Frieza had been frustrated beyond description when he'd first learned of his brother's additional form. He did, however, manage to take solace in the fact that though Coola was stronger than him with his new form, he wasn't by much. Frieza had discovered this by comparing their readings; Coola was stronger for sure, but at his max Frieza was pleased to see that he was hot on his heels.
And that had been before training nonstop for over four months after being posted to the Omega Territory. Frieza hadn't yet compared his new power to his brother's, preferring to wait until he could be confident that the gap in their powers had shrunk.
A hologram of Captain Ginyu appeared standing before him, rudely interrupting Frieza's thoughts. With a huff of frustration he looked at Ginyu and scowled.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The hologram Ginyu bowed. "Forgive the intrusion, Lord Frieza." He straightened up. "But I wanted to be the first to tell you that the planet known as Earth has finally been located."
Frieza's scowl was replaced with look of approved joy. "That is magnificent news, Ginyu. And it is about time, I say."
Ginyu nodded, remaining oddly formal. Since he was normally prone to being energetic and boisterous, the abnormality could not escape Frieza's notice.
He frowned slightly, wrinkles barely furrowing his smooth, silver and purple forehead. "You seem troubled by this, Ginyu."
Ginyu stiffened and shook his head. "Not in the least, Lord Frieza. I am merely frustrated that one of my own men turned his back on the force."
Frieza arched an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued. "Oh?"
"Jeice is still alive, Lord Frieza, and has betrayed us all by joining with the rebels. We initially believed Jeice to be dead, but further investigation revealed that he was last seen spiriting the missing Prince Vegeta and Nappa away months ago. As you know we originally believed that Nappa had fled with the Saiyan prince and that Jeice had been killed in a space several days following their disappearance." Ginyu's eyes narrowed and he looked away. "We should have done this from the start, but we investigated a seemingly unrelated ship theft that occurred the same day Vegeta and Nappa went missing. Due to the recent activity of the Galactic Band we were led to assume that they'd been picked up by their comrades.
He paused, taking a breath. "After doing some digging we finally discovered the connection between the two events, and from there were able to remote activate the tracking beacon; we tracked the stolen ship all the way to the Omega Territory and then finally to Earth."
Frieza regarded Ginyu silently. He shook his head and sighed. "I must admit that I am disappointed, Captain. You usually display much better judgment in choosing your members."
"Yes, Lord Frieza. I am sorry for this mistake and I will do everything I can to fix it." He returned his gaze to Frieza. "I have to make up for my negligence and oversight on Jynn-jin 13, as well as this. Please allow me this opportunity to make up for my past mistakes. I swear that I will not disappoint you."
Frieza tapped his chin as he regarded Ginyu curiously. "Your failures on Jynn-jin 13 are nearly unforgivable, Captain Ginyu. My father recommended I either kill you or at least relieve you of your post. As you know I decided against those options." He lowered his hand, clasping both behind his back as he narrowed his eyes. "I allowed you to retain your post, and though I initially desired to demote you back to foot-soldier I settled on Captain."
Ginyu shifted but said nothing.
Frieza, on the other hand, smiled. "I do not abide traitors, Ginyu. And I know that you are not, nor will you ever be, a traitor."
"No, Lord Frieza," Ginyu replied simply.
"With that in mind I believe it is safe to assume that Jeice will be properly dealt with. Right?"
"Yes, Lord Frieza."
"Good. Succeed and all your past mistakes are forgiven. But know that if you fail I will kill you myself and rest assured that it will not be quick and painless."
"Understood," Ginyu said with a sigh of relief.
"Have you found a replacement for Jeice, yet?" Frieza asked, abruptly changing the subject. This gravity is far too easy to stand in now. I wonder if the setting goes beyond 200?
"We had several interesting prospects, including one that was capable of freezing time. That ability could be used effectively in battle, but the little toad was weaker than a standard issue foot-soldier." Ginyu scowled in annoyance. "I told him to stop wasting my time and to come back when his power level was at least 20,000."
"So no one then?" That ability did sound useful; he almost ordered Ginyu to reconsider, but the mention of the weak power level changed his mind.
"Yes, we did find one. Like Jeice he is an Akatian; however, unlike Jeice he is wholly devoted to you and your family. Jeice has apparently been a mole for some time, whereas this guy has been with us since childhood."
"I take it he is trustworthy then?" Frieza asked.
Ginyu hesitated, seeming unsure for a moment, but he squared his jaw and nodded. "Yes, Lord Frieza. I am confident beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is wholly one of us."
"Good. What is this mystery warrior's name?"
"Hani, Lord."
Frieza arched a brow. He'd never heard of this fighter before. "You're sure that he can be trusted?" he found himself asking warily.
Ginyu nodded again. "Without a doubt, Lord Frieza. I'll be bet my life on it if I have to."
Frieza smiled, pleased by that declaration. "Now I am sure that will not be necessary. What is this Hani's power level?"
Ginyu hesitated again, his red eyes cutting away sharply. "It's…It's 72,000."
Frieza blinked. "Oh? That is very interesting. That would make him second only to you then?"
"Yes, Lord. But only just." Ginyu looked at Frieza once more. "Even so, his power will be a major benefit in dealing with the rebels. They will NOT escape our grasp this time."
Frieza grinned. "I expect not, Ginyu. Gather your team and dispatch immediately. I shall relay this information to my father; he will be especially pleased by this fortuitous turn of events."
"Yes, Lord Frieza."
DBZ
When Bardock and the others had first arrived, he'd been told of the Control Room. He hadn't given it much thought, however, since he had only a basic understanding of anything computer-related.
Now, standing before a gigantic supercomputer the likes of which Bardock had never seen before, even on the most advanced of ships, he, as well as Zether, Falmer and Diamond, Berik, Amotto, Seripa, and Seluri could only stare in disbelief as Mejai told them that the entire complex they'd been residing in for the past few months was also a starship.
"It was a safety measure that was decided on in the event of a catastrophic collapse of civilization; the elders wanted to be able to be certain that Saiyan history would survive. Thus they designed these complexes to be capable of departing from the planets they were built on; they would become intergalactic libraries that would roam the endless sea of stars, eternally detailing the history of the Saiyan race. Sadly only this one remains. The elders could not foresee the coming of the Ice-jins." He sighed remorsefully, shaking his head as he touched a gray pad on a slanted panel before the computer.
As far as Bardock could tell, there were no visible buttons to activate or operate the computer. Even to him this seemed to be a severe oversight on the parts of the designers.
Seluri snorted. "They were dense fools if you ask me. They had already fought the Ice-jins once before; they could have seen the second wave coming from less than 12 parsecs away," she finished in a grumble as Mejai regarded her with amusement.
"I can't agree more, Seluri," he said, almost cheerfully. He looked back to the screen, his hand still on the pad. An image appeared on the screen, catching the attention of all those gathered.
It took Bardock a few seconds to realize that they were being shown the schematics to the complex. The image changed steadily, displaying different three-dimensional drawings of the same complex. Finally they screen stopped on the plans detailing the propulsion and life-support systems for deep space travel.
"Well I'll be damned," Zether muttered approvingly. "This place really is a ship."
"Yep," said Mejai as he pulled his hand away. He turned to face the others. "The system is set up to recognize only me as of right now. But we have plenty of time to change that while we prep this place for launch. I've kept the engines in top condition since I've been here, and I've kept a regular routine on maintaining their working order. I try to start them once a month and let them idle for a few days. I'm confident this place will launch without any issues, but I still prefer to be safe than sorry." He grinned. "How's that sound?"
Bardock couldn't object; it sounded great to him. They could fly this beast of a starship to Earth and still get in excellent training on the way. Even through hyper-space it was going to take weeks to get there.
"Oh, and one more thing: this ship is faster than anything any of you have ever flown in before. Trust me on this one," he said with a laugh. "A trip that normally takes a week through hyperspace takes only two days in this beast. And if my calculations are correct, Earth is several weeks away at best. Therefore we should get there in little more than a week in this."
Amotto frowned. "Hm, that's not much time for training."
"We could double the gravity," Seripa suggested with a shrug.
"Yeah, and you train hardcore for most of the week and then rest up in recovery chambers, you'll be more than ready." Mejai nodded, folding his arms as if that settled it.
Falmer smiled gently. "Given Saiyans' propensity for returning from near death with even greater strength, I suggest having the four of you sustain life-threatening injuries."
Bardock scowled at the grinning Gylderian. "Screw you, Falmer. We ain't riskin' our lives so you can get your jollies."
Zether doubled over howling with laughter, everyone else looking at him oddly. Mejai blinked, amused as always. Seluri glanced at Falmer with a quirked brow but he just waved a hand dismissively.
"You will have to excuse my brother. He was brain damaged as a child."
Zether straightened up, his mirth gone as he glared at Falmer in apparent anger. "You swore to never tell anyone that!" He grinned and flashed a sudden wink.
Falmer sighed. "Zether cares very little of what opinions others may form of him."
"Nope. But I think I'm gonna join the Saiyans in their training. I am not about to let Bardock pass me up," Zether said firmly, pointedly folding his arms and taking a stance of finality.
Bardock quirked an eyebrow as he focused his senses on Zether's ki; he immediately scowled when he realized his power was still far higher than his and even Seripa's. "Dammit! How the hell have you been outpacin' me and Seripa?"
The obnoxious Gylderian grinned smugly. "It always frustrated Tettuce, too."
"It's more than frustratin' you little ingrate," Bardock seethed. "Maybe if you weren't so fuckin' smug about it, it wouldn't be so bad."
Zether dropped his arms to his sides and turned to face Bardock. His grin became a smirk and he narrowed his luminescent golden eyes threateningly. "I think someone's jealous."
"Oh brother," groaned Falmer as he cover his face with his hand and shook his head. He looked at Zether in disapproval. "We do not have time for this."
"No, we don't," agreed Seripa as she positioned herself between the tense warriors.
Bardock rounded on Zether, stepping around Seripa and moving to stand in front of the Gylderian, glaring heatedly up at the taller man. He'd never liked the Gylderian and he'd gone out of his way to steer clear of him because the prick annoyed the hell out of him.
Zether only sneered as he looked down at the Saiyan. He was more than happy to remind Bardock of the fact that he didn't like him either.
"I'm jealous of no one, especially not a full-of-hisself, ass-of-a-Gylderian like you!" Bardock growled, his onyx eyes narrowing dangerously.
"So you're scared," Zether all-but crooned as he shrugged.
"Bardock," he heard Seripa caution.
Bardock smirked. "I fear nothin', Kid."
"Oh shit," Falmer said loudly, his eyes widening.
Zether reacted instantly, his fist striking Bardock across his face; the Saiyan staggered, his head whipping around violently. He caught himself from being thrown by the hit, altering his stance to allow his legs to absorb most of the impact. He looked at Zether, his eyes burning murderously as bright red trickled from the corner of his lip and his left nostril.
Zether's grin was gone, his eyes set into a glare. He brandished his blood-stained fist threateningly as he growled, "No one calls me a kid, Saiyan."
Bardock touched his hand to the blood and looked at his crimson-stained fingertips. "You're gonna regret that." He was little more than a blur as he lunged forward slamming his forehead into Zether's nose as hard as he could; Zether recoiled from the hit, blood squirting from his crushed nose.
"Argh! Gods damned Saiyan!" he cried as he clamped his hands to his shattered nose.
But Bardock apparently wasn't finished; he stepped in again, bringing his fist up in a powerful uppercut that landed with sonic boom force, snapping Zether's head back viciously with an audible crack. The Gylderian stood frozen for a moment before his hands dropped and then he crumpled into a heap, out cold.
Silence fell on the small gathering as Bardock spat a wad of blood and saliva onto Zether's chest. "S'what ya get asshole."
Falmer cleared his throat. "Well, that was unexpected." He eyed his brother curiously. "Zether will agree." He smiled sheepishly as his brother began to snore. "That is about right."
Bardock wiped his face with the back of his hand. He hated cheap shots, but he attempted to retaliate to them in equal manner given the opportunity. For all his boasting, Zether had fallen short and allowed a brief lowering of his defenses. He'd been too cocky and Bardock had taken advantage of it with staggering efficiency. He was more than glad to admit that Zether was a talented warrior, but a seasoned veteran knew to always keep their guard up.
"He'll live," the Saiyan said simply. His head was feeling funny all of a sudden; he needed to get some air. "He'll be pissed when he wakes up, though." He ignored Seripa's searching look, pretending not to notice as he simply walked out of the room.
The effect was instantaneous as Bardock was no longer in the complex, covered in blood, or even there. His body was an abstract thought as images flashed all around the world he now resided in; familiar faces stretched above him as if spread across the sky; around him and across the horizons; continuing down to coalesce in a point where his feet would be. He existed within a giant bubble filled with kaleidoscope images.
If his previous vision had been unlike his others, this one was most definitely unlike anything Bardock had experienced since he first started having his visions. But these could not be compared to those early ones as Bardock quickly noticed that though the visions he was seeing were different, they seemed to feature the same scenario: mass murder.
Some of the visions featured him and the others falling to an unseen foe, one by one; others featured their already lifeless corpses; and still others featured them in various states of battle. Some of them had him fighting with Seripa and Amotto; sometimes Amotto was the only Super Saiyan and other times all three of them were. Some of the visions showed the lifeless bodies of Zether, Falmer and the others, and Seripa and himself as Amotto continued fighting the unseen foe.
The visions continued their rapid-fire shifting, leaving Bardock beyond disoriented. Cell's laughing face filled his field of vision as the visions blurred together until Bardock could make no sense of anything. He wanted to grab his head, but he couldn't be sure if it even still existed.
"Oh, it exists."
"Kanassan?!" Bardock found himself crying as the visions faded and he was enveloped in blackness.
"Yes and no, Bardock." The familiar voice briefly changed, becoming another voice that Bardock recognized but could not immediately place.
"What's goin' on? What's happenin' to me?"
Every other word said in the voice of the Kanassan, and the others in the other familiar voice, he replied, "You're scared, Bardock. Though you refuse to admit it."
"That tells me nothin'!" Bardock protested. "I can't control this; I can't leave it! What happened to my control of these visions?"
"Fear happened, Bardock." The Kanassan's voice continued that annoying shifting; it was really starting to irritate Bardock. "But again, you refuse to admit it to yourself. If you only would, you would see how to overcome your fear."
"Oh, and I suppose you know so much about me, hm?" Bardock demanded sarcastically, his frustration mounting.
The Kanassan laughed and when he spoke his voice was completely that of the other one that Bardock still could not place. "More than you realize, my friend."
"Just give me a straight damn answer! I'm sick of these shitty games!"
"Listen, Bardock," the Kanassan implored, still using that alternate voice. "Just listen."
Bardock wanted to scowl and stalk away, but he still couldn't see his body. He couldn't feel it and he couldn't anything around him. He couldn't even feel if his body was reacting if he tried to move his arms or turn his head.
"I ain't scared of anythin', dammit." He'd already been frustrated to begin with thanks to Zether; add his disorienting visions and this annoying turn of events and he was border lining being pissed off.
The voice sighed. "Yeah, you are Bardock. You're scared of what may be happenin' to the future 'cause of what you've done. Unless you can get it together your visions ain't gonna be makin' sense before long."
The change in the voice's speech pattern did not escape Bardock's notice. It was so familiar now that he was practically kicking himself for not recognizing it. He remained obstinate, though, refusing to acknowledge any fear.
"Now that's just downright childish, Bardock. You already told Mejai you were worried," the voice said, anger tinging his tone. "Admit it already so we can get on with our lives!"
"FUCK YOU!" Bardock screamed in rage, crimson cracks shattering the blackness around him. "If I admit that, I admit that I'm screwin' the future up!"
The voice didn't respond and Bardock was left briefly to float in that red and black void. The cracks were growing, the red beginning to push the blackness away.
Finally the voice said gently, "You're not screwin' up the future, Bardock. You've changed it before, haven't you? You're still alive, ain't you?"
Bardock blinked as he was suddenly aware of his body. He looked at his hands and then around at the ever-changing landscape: the red had begun to swirl with the black.
"Are you givin' up?"
Bardock frowned. "I…no, I ain't."
"Good," the voice said approvingly. "We know how we feel about that."
It hit him then: the voice was his. He was talking to himself!
"Oh gods, I've gone off the deep end!" he groaned.
The voice was quiet. He remained silent for a few minutes, but the voice didn't return. He frowned again and slowly rose to his feet.
"Was the Kanassan ever really there?" he asked the void. The silence told him all he needed to know.
What good would come from admitting that fear? I might be able to regain control of my visions he thought miserably, his eyes tightly closing and his face screwing up in frustration. With an exclamation of irritation he opened his eyes.
He found he was now standing in a vast meadow, tall green grass waving pleasantly in a breeze he couldn't feel. He blinked as he spotted a man standing with his back to him, staring at the setting sun. He recognized the familiar spiked hair, but he couldn't tell if it was Kakarrot or not.
The man turned and started towards him, and Bardock could tell that it wasn't Kakarrot: it was HIM. He was startled to realize that he was seeing an older version of himself as the other him had a rough, weathered face, and gray had started to show in his hair.
Bardock watched his older version walk calmly by him and he felt his apprehension and fear leave him. He allowed himself a smirk as he continued to watch his future self walk away.
His future version paused and looked back, a peculiar look on his face. His eyes slid this way and that for a few moments before finally settling onto where Bardock stood; though he didn't seem able to actually see him.
The older Bardock stepped closer and folded his arms. "Remember what Mejai said about powerful being's and your mind visitin' the future?"
Bardock, the younger one, frowned. "So you can see me?"
The older one was silent, staring towards the younger one almost sternly. Finally he smiled and gave a slight shake of his head. "This is foolish," he muttered, almost to himself. "If you're really there, I'm not like Cell was. My mind ain't made for sensin' the things he could. But I'll say this anyway, 'cause I know what I was thinkin' when I was there: ain't no sense in frettin'." He smirked. "But I'm sure you done realized that much by now. But I know you want to know how to push beyond Gigi Super Saiyan. Feeling out the Gigi state is the first step; after that you need to reach full power."
Bardock frowned. So his future self couldn't actually see him, but he could apparently feel his presence. Or he at least thought he could. Given the same chance, Bardock knew that he'd try and offer some advice to his past self. So he decided to heed the advice, closing his eyes and seeking out his new Gigi state. He could remember what it felt like right before he passed out; he was confident he could do what Tettuce had been unable to do: control the Gigi state.
He found the power almost immediately and he accessed it, his golden aura exploding to life and his power sky-rocketing.
He opened his eyes and looked patiently to his unexpected mentor as he quickly reached his full power.
"Once you reach full power…don't stop."
This part startled Bardock until he realized that he'd already sailed past what he'd thought his limit to be. His power surged further, rising to levels he'd only dreamed of until this moment.
His future self bowed his head slightly. "That's the best I can do for you now. The rest is up to you."
The vision shattered, crumbling away around him...
DBZ
Seripa frowned as she watched Bardock stalk away. She was completely thrown off by his sudden change in mood. She'd known for a while that Bardock despised Zether—and with good reason she now saw—so she'd assumed he'd want to stick around and gloat a bit. But he'd seemed almost shaken, at least to her, by the ordeal. She wanted to follow after him, but she knew better than to disturb him when he walked away like that.
She sighed. He'd come around, she knew. And he'd eventually tell her what that was all about; she just needed to be patient.
"You know," Mejai said, breaking the silence that had followed Bardock's departure, "Falmer's idea isn't a bad one. But I say everyone that's planning on fighting participate in the training." He glanced at Falmer. "I know you and your brother have been training daily, and I also know that Gylderians come back with a power boost, as well."
"Yes, that is correct," Falmer replied, seeming pleased by Mejai's knowledge of the Gylderian race. "Though, to be fair, it is nowhere near the same as the Saiyan ability."
"Either way, it's a good suggestion," Amotto noted.
"It is, but I believe that I will leave that to Zether. You see, I would have to transform to do any good, and to be honest I have not yet attempted to transform again for fear of losing myself over to the Beast."
Seripa grinned when Amotto grimaced.
"Look, it's none of my business, but couldn't you call it something else? That name is lame," Amotto said. The look on her face clearly said she didn't care if it was her business or not.
Falmer laughed. "Zether and I were discussing that, and we agree. The names are rather childish, but that is the problem as they were more or less pulled from children's stories."
Amotto breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Any ideas?"
The Gylderian shrugged as he glanced down at his snoring brother. "Zether is set on calling the first level the Super Beast. I, however, firmly disagree."
"That is great and all," Seluri began with a huff, "but could we not get down to business?"
Seripa was curious to hear more as she had not seen this "Beast" form of Falmer's, but she couldn't help but to agree with Seluri that they needed to focus. She opened her mouth to say as much, but she caught sight of Bardock standing in the middle of the hallway beyond the door.
She frowned and stepped towards the doorway. She was sure he had gone already. "Bardock?" she called out to him. She gave a start upon realizing he was standing rigid, his muscles tense and bulging; she felt his ki pulsing in sharp spikes. She walked around him and her eyes widened when she saw his empty, white eyes. "Bardock," she repeated. "You okay?" she asked in concern as she reached a hand out to touch his arm. Was he having a vision? Other than earlier she'd never seen any signs indicating that he was having a vision. It was her understanding that he had them when he was asleep or unconscious; but then that made them seem like dreams.
He blinked when she touched him, his black eyes swimming into view. He frowned in confusion and looked around as if he was unsure where he was. His gaze finally settled on her and his eyebrows rose slightly as the light of realization appeared in his eyes.
"What?" he asked, somewhat warily.
"Are you okay?" Seripa asked again, her thin eyebrows knitted together in obvious concern. She should be concerned; something was apparently wrong with Bardock.
He shrugged dismissively and turned to walk away. "Yeah, I'm fine." He seemed distracted, something clearly on his mind. She knew him too well.
She frowned and caught his arm and he looked at her, startled. "No, you're not. What's goin' on with you, Bardock?"
He frowned. "Nothin's goin' on with me, Seripa. I'm tellin' you I'm alright."
Seripa scowled. "I'm not buyin' it. That's twice now today that you've blanked out, so out with it! What the hell is goin' on?"
Bardock mirrored her scowl. "Nothin's goin' on, Seripa. Now drop it, 'cause I ain't in the mood for this. We've got other things to worry 'bout, namely gettin' ready to fight Frieza."
She shook her head firmly. "Not happenin', Bardock. Not for you, anyway."
He blinked, his scowl vanishing to be replaced with a look of surprise. "Now what the hell does that mean?"
Seripa raised her chin as she crossed her arms. "If there's a risk you're gonna do this during a real fight, then you don't need to be around one. We can't afford to have you frozen and helpless in the mid-"
"Excuse me?" Bardock interrupted his tone hardening and his eyes narrowing as he turned to fully face her. "Did you just say 'helpless'? 'Cause I could swear I just heard you call me helpless."
"I didn't call you helpless," she said with an exasperated huff. "I said we can't afford to have you helpless," she continued. "I know you're not helpless, that's the point. What I'm worried about is if this is goin' to be a problem later on."
Bardock snorted in satisfaction, accepting her response. "No, it ain't gonna be a problem, Seripa." He turned to walk away once more, but Seripa caught his arm again.
"But how do you know?" she asked, annoyed as he looked down at her again.
He scowled. She could tell that he was getting irritated, but she didn't care. She wanted to make sure he would be alright and that he was alright now. She didn't think that was unreasonable.
"I think I know myself pretty damn good, Seripa." He brushed her off, a little too roughly in his frustration.
"Well I know you better, and I don't think you're gonna be okay if you suddenly blank out in the middle of fighting Frieza!"
"Gods, Woman. I won't blank out fightin' Frieza!" He turned to make another attempt at walking away.
"So you're saying you can control your visions?" she demanded. He froze and sharply jerked his gaze towards her. "That's what that was, right? A vision?"
"Somethin' like that," he said dangerously quiet, his unwavering gaze locked on her. She was vaguely aware of a spike in his ki.
"Then you've got control of them?"
His eyes narrowed. "Yes, I'm controllin' them."
Seripa narrowed her eyes. "So you did that on purpose? You saw what you wanted to see? What'd you even see, for that matter?"
"Believe it or not," he said sharply, his voice rising, "it was nothin' that concerns you! Now drop it!" He turned and stormed away, considering the matter closed.
Seripa, on the other hand, was just getting started. She ran after him quickly moving to cut him off. "We're not finished, Bardock! We've got some talkin' to do."
"Gods be damned, Woman. You're actin' just like your mother!" he snapped irritably.
Her eyes widened and she slapped him. He recoiled from the hit as she cried, "You take that back!"
Bardock rubbed his stinging cheek and scowled at her. "Not until you leave me the hell alone about this! And don't fuckin' hit me again, dammit!"
Seripa ignored his order and slapped him again, harder this time. "I want you to talk to me, Bardock! Tell me what's goin' on!"
He shoved her violently away from him and she hit the floor hard. She blinked in momentary surprise before jerking her gaze back towards him. She snarled up at him as she climbed back to her feet. "Oh, you'll pay for that, mate of mine," she seethed as she stalked towards him.
"Dammit Seripa, leave me alone!" he said, his tone like acid as he backed away.
"Wow. You two need some serious Couple's Counseling."
Seripa looked around Bardock to see Mejai and the others looking on. Of course, only Mejai seemed amused be the whole thing.
She scowled at him. "You stay out of this!" she snapped. "This is between me and Bardock!"
"This discussion is finished," Bardock declared firmly.
"I do not think so," Seluri spoke up. Bardock paused, his shoulders tensing as he glanced back at her.
"Stay of this, Woman. It don't concern you," he growled.
"It concerns my daughter, so it very well does concern me!" Seluri snapped sharply as she gathered herself to her full, not-so-impressive, height.
"Stay out of this, Seluri!" Seripa suddenly snapped, glaring at her mother. "This is between me and Bardock!" She turned to face Bardock belligerently. "Now out with it!"
"Out with what?!" Bardock roared. "Huh?! What d'you want me to say?"
"What the hell is bothering you?!"
His ki spiked sharply, startling Seripa as it continued rising. She blinked as she looked up at the twisted features of her mate.
"Everything!" he bellowed, his fists clenched tight at his sides. The air crackled with electrical currents and his hair stood on end. "Everything!" he repeated. "Everyone and everything here!" His voice deepened to a thick bass, the walls and floor beneath her feet reverberating with the intensity.
He shook his head violently from side to side, his eyes closing tightly. "These visions, bein' pestered about them by all of y'all…" his voice was a low growl as his eyes opened slowly, darting between everyone watching him. "Frieza and his family of reptiles; Amotto bein' a Super Saiyan; me not bein' able to transform." His gaze locked on Mejai, who merely raised a quizzical eyebrow in response. "You bein' here and knowin' so much. Claimin' to be older than dirt and just as strong." He scoffed, his eyes shimmering as they narrowed.
Seripa frowned as gold sparks danced around his body. "I've got nothin' to say! Don't come lookin' to me expectin' me to be able to fix the future! I'm not that guy! I shouldn't even have this fuckin' power! I shouldn't even be alive!" His fists shook and he slammed his eyes closed again. "All I'll do is screw everything up! Just like I'm wrecking the FUTURE! It's my fault; I'm creatin' these stronger monsters! I can't control the visions like I want! I can't see beyond the fight with Frieza! I don't know who'll live and who'll die and it pisses me off!"
His new golden aura exploded into a raging inferno as he threw his head back and screamed, "I CAN'T TAKE THESE DAMN VISIONS ANYMORE!" He looked at Seripa, sharply jabbing at finger at her. "And I don't need you pesterin' me at every turn about them! Or anyone for that matter!" His ki continued surging as he looked at the others. "The same goes for you!"
"SO LEAVE ME ALONE!" The floodgates broke open; Bardock's eyes became green as his hair was suddenly awash with gold and standing up straight. He glared from one person to the next, oblivious to his change.
Seripa gaped at him, feeling a sharp pain in her chest as his words stabbed her heart. She couldn't bring herself to appreciate what had just occurred, because she couldn't get over what he said to her. She couldn't get over the fact that she apparently set him off in the first place.
"Bardock," Falmer started in a low voice.
The Saiyan snapped his emerald gaze to the Gylderian and scowled. "What?" he demanded heatedly.
"You are a Super Saiyan."
Seripa looked away as Bardock blinked in surprise. He looked at his hands.
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah. Congratulations," Seripa mumbled, refusing to look at him.
"Ain't no chance of Zether catchin' up now," he arrogantly declared as he became aware of his new power, but oblivious to her plight.
Seripa fought back tears as she glanced at him. "Fuck you, Bardock," she whispered.
He looked at her sharply, but his eyes widened when he saw the tears in her eyes.
"Seripa?" he asked.
She ignored him and turning, she walked away.
DBZ
(IT FINALLY HAPPENED! WHOOOOOO! I hope y'all liked the route I chose for his ascension. It's different for sure, but one person has already transformed due to tragedy. I figured why not try something different? I mean, hell, it worked for Vegeta didn't it? Lol Also, I've been neglecting this recently, so I'd like to thank Shadowmajin for beta-reading. He's beta'd every chapter I've written since this story began, almost four years ago. He's been a big help to me, and he is a very talented writer. If any of you haven't read his work, I highly recommend you do so. You won't regret it. Anyway if you enjoyed the chapter please review! If you hated it, review anyway!)