A Dragons Calling

by the pen

A future that lies in darkness. Mankind's only hope lays in the hands Goyan, the last surviving Saiyan.

5. The Voyage of the Spirit

Foreword

Before you kill me, let me just say that this piece has taken so much work it's not funny. I've made changes and corrections, and have had some close mates give me some ideas to help me through some long nights. So, please, deal with me when I say it takes a long time to write these kinds of things, especially when you have a lot of other commitments to attend to as well. Also, if you like this story, I BEG YOU, PLEASE REVIEW, it makes writing a lot easier.

I'd like to warn you that the following part of A Dragon's calling will spread out for two pieces, that's how important it is for the development of the story. I can't, and won't, say how long it will take for Part 6 to come out but knowing how much I have ahead of me, please don't hold your breath. It will be out in due time, but anyone who has ever tried to write something this big will know how frustrating it can be.

Thirdly, I would like to really thank all of you that have given me encouragement by sending reviews and emailing me. Although I've had some pretty crazy ideas about this story (sorry, the web page won't be going ahead, it's not that people aren't interested, it's just that I don't have the time or talent to work on the web like that). Special thanks goes out to my friends Jacob Barkan (I think that's right), Andrew Gossan, Jasmine Endive and Alexi Gernokoff. I haven't even met some of you guys in person but the support you have given me is outstanding and I would have given up a long time ago if it wasn't for the great reviews and help that you have provided. A big wrap has to be given to the author of Dark Pokemon Master, Ace Sanchez, who gives me inspiration to write as well.

Cheers,

The Pen

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A Dragon's Calling Part 5- The Voyage of the Spirit

A nasty accident leaves Goyan in a place of darkness and sorrow. Here he meets the one person who may give him the most important help he can get…the great Saiyan Goku.

Chapter 10

Air swirled around the three warriors at a screeching pace. They had been travelling through what had once been the Barima Ocean for at least 10 hours now and both Alura and Jeisen agreed that they needed to stop soon. Goyan, whose arm was still wrapped in a tight sling, continued to push on.

"We need to get to the other side of this desert before we can do anything more," he shouted to the others over the howling winds.

"But I don't know if I can make it that far!" Alura cried in the background. The Super Saiyan spun his head around to the blue-haired warrior, who immediately stopped her whinging. She didn't have to wait long anyway, as in the distance Goyan spotted the first signs of vegetation. Slowly the trees grew larger and larger until the trio were flying over dense forest.

"I can see a clearing straight ahead of us", Goyan called to Jeisen and Alura with his normal monotone voice. "We can camp here for the evening." The teenager behind him mumbled thanks to the forces above as they began to make their decent. The clearing was excellent for their purposes, large enough to safely light a fire yet with enough scrub around them to protect against any sudden ambushes.

The night began to progress rather steadily. They had all finished a rather large meal (Jeisen and Alura dined on the fish they had caught in a nearby stream while Goyan enjoyed a rather large meal of rice) and were lazily resting around the campfire. However, the Super Saiyan did not feel particularly well. His damaged arm was still throbbing much longer after he had expected it to be healed. Carefully he began to unwrap the rough dressing that he had wound around his wrist. The cut was extremely deep, with the flesh around it looking a deadly pale. The cold forest air didn't seem to help as the coolness cut into his arm like a hot knife through butter.

"Hey Jeisen," he called to his young friend who was sitting across from the campfire, "would you please have a look at this arm?"

"Sure thing," the green-haired boy said, looking rather worried. He had never known Goyan to complain about any injury, no matter how bad it was. Normally the boy was stunned to witness how fast he managed to recover from injury and during that time how little the problem affected him. To have the Super Saiyan ask him to look at his wound meant that it must look rather bad. As the boy continued to walk across the campsite, the injury began to really demonstrate how bad it was. From his medical experience Jeisen could tell immediately that the cut had also introduced a type of poison into the system. The tissue around the arm seemed to be dying straight away.

"Damn big G, that's bad," he murmured, lightly extending the arm to assess the injury to the fullest. "It looks like you've been poisoned and that it's a pretty toxic poison too." The teenager heard his master give a slight groan. As quick as lightning the boy lifted his head to meet the other warrior's eyes. The deep blue that normally radiated an icy coldness were now a dull grey and a profuse sweat had built around his forehead. It looked like that the poison had finally reached his internal systems.

"ALURA!!" Jeisen called into the darkness, searching for his female partner that had wondered off to collect more firewood for the night. Almost immediately he heard a rustling through the bushes and the "purple warrior", as he liked to call her, appeared carrying a large pile of sticks and twigs. Her eyes told him that she was about to give a sharp, sarcastic remark but was stopped short when she saw Goyan, who had now collapsed onto the ground.

"Oh no," came the cry as the blue-haired girl dropped the bundle and ran over to her fallen comrade. A small tear appeared from the corner of her eye as she lifted the large man's head off the dirty ground. Rather harshly, the teenager grabbed the shocked woman's jaw with his hand and forced her to look at him.

"Alura, you need to listen to me. It looks like Goyan was poisoned during that fight we had with the Barima Dragon. If I'm right, I think I know what poison it is." The girl looked at him as though he was the grim reaper himself.

"Is it curable? Is he going to be alright?" she asked nervously, her arm now grabbing a tight hold of the green-haired boy's arm. He shook her off almost immediately.

"The poison is extremely deadly, and I mean extremely. I'm surprised that Goyan didn't feel the effects of the toxin much earlier than now. Fortunately, I think I know the herbs we can use to help treat the problem. I need to collect them quickly though, so you have to stay here and watch him. Make sure he drinks plenty of water." The girl nodded and Jeisen stood to his feet and sprinted into the surrounding forestland without saying another word. Alura now looked down at where the Saiyan laid, his eyes closed and a slight moaning coming from his voice. This had to be the most vulnerable she had seen him, the normal energy that secretly oozed from his body was now gone, left with only a hint of distinguishable strength.

"Hold on Goyan, you have to hold on", she whispered as she tucked her backpack under his head. When she lifted her hand it was dripping with sweat. The mighty warrior was now slowly dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

The marble floor made no sound as the mysterious person walked upon it. He could not believe his luck, the biggest threat to his strength was almost out of his way and he hadn't needed to lift a finger. That foolish dragon-woman Talisa had managed to poison the Super Saiyan just before he defeated her. The figure smiled again at the knowledge that he had just hit two birds with one stone. He could not let anybody find out the true power of the prophecy. Although he refused to acknowledge the fact, deep down the ancient scrolls were the only things that truly frightened him. Not the old, wizened pages themselves, but the hidden power that they hid, the truth. He could not let anything of the sort happen.

"Master, I have come," a deep, billowing voice called from the far side of the dark, marble room. The cloaked stranger awoke from his trance and stared down the long hall. A huge, ape like shadow loomed from the great doors leading into the castle's throne. As eye contact was met the large man knelt down on one knee to his master. Then, with a low guttural beckoning, he began to stroll his way up into the darkness where his master awaited him.

"I see that you have returned to me sooner than expected Nappa, I presume that you have done enough training to accustom yourself to your new powers?" the mysterious person said. The huge Saiyan laughed.

"I have, my lordship, and I am pleased to say that my new power is like nothing I have ever seen since my creation. If I had my chance again," he growled, cracking his knuckles, "that pathetic Saiyan Goku would have been destroyed in my first attempt." Nappa now grew bright red as he recalled his most hated enemy. The cloaked being sitting above him simply chuckled.

"Really Nappa, I would have thought that you would of forgiven Goku of that fight. After all, it has been almost a century since that great battle."

"All the more reason I should have destroyed him!" the bald headed man roared back, but quickly retreating. He knew that it was not a wise choice to argue with his master like that. However, instead of being reprimanded, the dark person simply laughed, letting his high-pitched voice echo throughout the walls of the empty room. Nappa watched, stunned, as his lordship pointed a long, bony finger to the centre of the hall. Almost immediately the dark marble floor seemed to liquidate, leaving the bald-headed Saiyan foot deep in a thick, metallic goo.

"Look Nappa," the dark figure said quietly as he sat back down on his throne. The warrior now had retreated back onto the steps where he could watch the shiny substance without touching it. For a moment he thought that his big, dark eyes were betraying him, but as reality hit the large fighter thought he was going to die from pleasure. The floor of the entire room showed an image of the Super Saiyan Goyan, lying in a puddle of his own sweat. Before him kneeled an attractive girl, towelling his head with a cool rag.

"You see my servant, you do not have to worry about fighting anymore. The legendary Goku is gone, the last of his relatives dying a slow, painful death."

"Are you sure that he is dying?" Nappa asked. He knew just how hard it was to kill a Saiyan, especially ones that had the royal blood running through their veins. Vegeta and Vegeta Snr had been living examples of this.

"I am positive he is dying," the master said quietly, shuffling slightly on the large ebony throne. Nappa grunted lightly as to confirm his master's beliefs before watching the strange pool of water around him once more. It just seemed so strange, to see what was one of the strongest beings on the earth dying so easily. Deep in the large beast's heart he felt a slight pang of pity, to have a Saiyan warrior die without knowing what it was like to see death with his own eyes was indeed a great tragedy. However, the master had made it quite clear that this was the way it had to be. It was his job only to finish off the puny resistance put up by Goyan's friends, and that would be of no challenge.

"Master, I have seen enough. Give me a few men and I will make my way towards the enemy, and towards your personal victory." A slight chuckle could be heard echoing throughout the room.

"I am glad to see you so eager Nappa. I know that deep down you want to fight Goyan head on, but you know that it cannot be. That foolish moron Radditz only knew the term fighting head on, and he quickly perished against an enemy he had easily overestimated. You, on the other hand, are needed for the small jobs that I have left. You are expendable, my son, but just not as much as your predecessor. Do not let me down when you face those two worthless little friends of the prophesied one. As a reward I will let you dispose of the girl and boy as you wish. Take as many men as you want for the mission, but remember that I am always watching. You are dismissed." With a loud crack the flowing metal below him once again turned to dark marble, a light ebony line outlining the path to the huge doorway out of the hall. Nappa stepped lightly down the stairs of the master's throne, turned and bowed, then left for the door. He was out for hunting time, and as the major quarry had already been shot, he was out to reap the seconds.

Damn him, damn him to hell, so Jeisen thought. His friend, his tutor and guide was no longer beside him, watching his back for any possible attack. All of a sudden Jeisen felt alone, as if he was the only one left. He had started this mission with the belief that he and Goyan were going to destroy the evil that had invaded both of their lives, the evil that had taken both of their parents. Now the leader was ill and even the green-haired teenager did not believe that he could save him. No matter how fast he could run, how wise he was with medicinal training, the warrior knew that it would take something of a miracle to find the cure for the poison that struck Goyan. The reed needed for the base of the potion was only found on the bottom of lakes, and since the Barima Ocean was now a desert only small rivers and creeks remained.

"To hell with you Saiyan!" he screamed into the eternal darkness. With a rapid movement he drew his long katana from it's sheath and drilled it into the nearest tree trunk. The sharp blade shone silver against the moonlight before slicing into a nearby redwood. A split second later the ninja sword had already sliced through the entire trunk, causing the enormous tree to topple over and the sharp blade to bury itself into another nearby tree. As the boy walked over and tugged his weapon free, the realisation of his power struck home. In the last two years he had been with Goyan the strength he weld had raised an unbelievable amount. Even the ability to slice through the redwood with his katana could not have been achieved only a month ago. However, this thought only angered Jeisen more as he now knew that this power would do him no good, that the darkness would win this fight. Even though he would continue to try, he knew that Goyan, the earth's last chance, was dead.

Alura didn't know what to think at that moment. It just didn't seem real, for Goyan to be so strong one moment and so weak the next. The great Saiyan now lay only metres away from her, moaning with pain from the poison that strangled his blood. Quickly she rushed over to him once again, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a cool rag. His head was like a blazing furnace, the heat radiating from him even warming the cool night air. As she was about to reach for another jug of water, she thought she heard him call her name. Another calling confirmed her believes, and as quick as a flash she was by the Super Saiyan's side, grasping on to his burning hand. Although it was pretty obvious to see that he his body was writhing in pain, the fighter's face remained stone cold, the normal expression in which nobody had broken since that tragic day many years ago.

"Alura, I want you to listen to me and listen to me well, because I'm not going to repeat this. I don't think that I'm going to get past this…"

"Yes you are! Don't you dare talk to me like that Goyan because, so the heavens help me, I'll blast you 10 feet under myself. Jeisen's already after the medicine and once he has those in his fast little hands you'll be on your feet in good time." The 'purple warrior' tried as hard as she could to hold back the tears that threatened to burst from her at any moment. Of all the tortures that could face her, this was easily the worst, the fact that Goyan had given up all hope. In fact, the great warrior was already dead, only a shell of what was once hope remained. The energy seemed to be gone, and even Alura believed that she could snap her close friend with a flick of her wrist. The blue aura that once shone from his eyes was now well and truly gone, a death grey remaining in the corneas of this man. All the hope and courage left on a dark world had just disintegrated, leaving a planet devoured by hate and sorrow.

"Alura, I know the doubt you feel inside yourself at the moment," Goyan whispered. The girl's eyes snapped wide open, the presence of tears now dominant around her face. Quickly she noted that he could sense her sorrow and brought a hand up to cover her face with long, blue hair. Could he read her mind? Did he really know the pain that she was suffering, the pain that she had been suffering for a long time now?

"Don't doubt the power you contain Alura," the Super Saiyan continued. "Know that when I pass on there is still hope in this world. There is still hope that we can accomplish what we set out to do…"

"How is that possible? Without you there is no chance, there is no possible way to take on the evil. You have led Jeisen and I to this level, you have carried us through times that we would not have made if it wasn't for your wisdom and strength. Without you the world is doomed to pain and suffering. Can't you understand that?" The tears ran freely from her face now, dribbling down her delicate cheeks and coming to rest on her dying comrade. Dark splotches marked the areas on Goyan's blue gi where the salt water combined the two friends together. However, the heat from the Super Saiyan's fever left little recognition as now most of his body was imbedded with a layer of sweat that could not be lifted. Still, the pain in his face barely showed except for the few involuntary groans that left his throat.

"I did not spend all that time with you and Jeisen in order to create a bunch of slobbering whingers," the warrior exclaimed, his voice now barely an audible whisper. "I brought you this far because I trusted your courage and strength. Do you think that I would have permitted you to join us if I didn't realise your goals? You would still be in Shayiokenia if there were not determination in you to defeat the darkness. And you think I would have persevered with Jeisen if I did not see his courage and ambition? All of us have suffered from this mysterious darkness, as have many people. You lost your mother while Jeisen and I lost our entire families. Together our wish to defeat the darkness brought us this far. Now that I cannot go on, it is up to you and Jeisen to carry the hopes of the world on your shoulders. Never doubt yourself, only believe in the strengths and abilities that you share, both alone and together." The Super Saiyan convulsed as his body was struck with a hacking cough. Alura gently wiped his burning face with the cool cloth once again. She had now lost total control, tears streaming down her face while her voice was only small, shuddering cries.

"Please…please Goyan. Just wait until Jeisen gets back and then we can save you. You can't give up on us like that. We need you, I need you. Please just stay with me." For a moment Alura thought that she saw something in the big warrior's dead eyes, a small flash of the old Goyan she had first met back on the stone road of Shayiokenia. The same glowing blue that had burnt through her body when they first made contact, even if the contact was a flurry of punches and kicks. Still, it had been then when Alura had noticed the eyes, the deep blue eyes that radiated a cold and menacing aura. Now, somewhere deep within her friend's soul the aura remained, trying to find the strength to hold on.

Above them the night's sky slowly revolved, the odd shooting star streaking along the pitch-black river of space floating above.

He just could not understand why he still worried. There, directly in his masked face lay the proof that his archrival was now diminished. The world was now totally open to his order, the order of evil and dominance. Any other resistance would be met by his henchman who was, at that very moment, preparing to leave the darkness of the castle and venture towards victory. Yet still, somewhere in the midst of the black room, he knew that the story would continue…"

No matter where he looked, the teenager could not find a body of water. It seemed as the most pure of essences, water, had been drained from the world. The reed he needed for his potion was nowhere to be found. It seemed as though things could not get any worse…

"GOYAN!" he screamed into the air as he spun quickly around. There was no denying it; the energy drop that he had just sensed was none other but his master's. There was so little left that for a moment the green-haired boy thought that it was too late and the Saiyan was already dead. However, as if it was delicately drifting in the breeze, a small radiance of energy still radiated from the campsite. He knew that Alura could not be emitting the ki, as she knew perfectly well how to hide all of her power. No, it was time. With a blast of bright green energy, Jeisen hurled himself across the sky, oblivious to what may sense him.

For a trip which would have normally taken little more than half and hour by air had taken the boy only ten minutes. Finally he let himself breathe lightly as the light from the camp beamed across the horizon. In only a couple of seconds, which felt like hours for the green covered warrior, his feet planted themselves firmly on the ground as he took the last few strides to stand beside his ailing trainer. Alura knelt before him, her face bright red and shimmering from the tears that poured profusely from her. He too, knelt next to Goyan, whose eyes shifted to look in his direction.

"Jeisen, it's good to see that you have come back," he said with his quiet but expressionless voice. "I have told Alura what I expect of you two but I think that you already know. Just because I have gone does not mean that you can give up, because if you do then you deserve to feel the wrath of misery and hatred that will devour you. If you give up now then you may as well give yourself to the Saiearthians, as you are no better than them. I trust you two, you have the ability and the power to overcome the problems that you will face in the future, and that future is not far away at all. So as for now…"

"Don't you dare say it Goyan!" Alura screamed, ruggedly massaging his face with the cool rag. Jeisen just looked at him, shaking his head. Goyan's eyes slowly passed over the duo for a brief moment before slowly closing.

"Goodbye…"

"NOOOO" screamed Alura as the Super Saiyan drew one last breath. Almost immediately his body slumped, the faint energy ceasing. A gust of wind howled through the open campsite, causing piles of leaves to clatter past the two warrior's faces. Then, just as suddenly as the wind started, it ceased, returning the night to its eerie stillness. The only sound Jeisen could hear was the muffled sobbing that came from Alura as she buried her head into the dead Saiyan's blue gi. It was just so unreal, as if the end had come prematurely.

"Son of a bitch, SON OF A BITCH!" roared the teenager as he once again broke into a flame of green energy. His clenched fists threw out in front of him, sending streams of ki flashing into the nearby forest. The sound of the explosion was deafening as the campsite was covered with pieces of debris. Jeisen just stood still as the torn bark and sticks assaulted his body. Small cuts across his face mixed with salty tears as once again he faced the dead body of his master.

"Son of a bitch, you didn't have to go and do this," he sobbed. Alura slowly got to her feet and embraced the young adult, leaving them both crying in each other's arms.

Chapter 11

The thunder crackled upon the dark sky, highlighting the vast, barren land before him. So this was where life ended and death started, Goyan thought. The image of a bright place where darkness no longer existed was quickly eradicated from the Super Saiyan's mind. This was hell, a place of torture where the ones deemed unfit for a better life ended. The thought of living here barely bothered the warrior, as now there was nothing to look forward to anyway. He had failed his mission, his quest to save the world from disaster. Only now, in this place of nothingness, did Goyan feel that he was truly being punished for his failure. The thought calmed him slightly, knowing that at least his justice would be served.

His boots made a crunch against the hard ground as he began to walk onwards. The lightning strikes flashed against a nearby range of rocky cliffs. As there were no other landmarks nearby the Super Saiyan found it only logical to continue towards the barren mountains. A slight, somewhat artificial wind blew across the land, slightly ruffling his medium length blonde hair. The air was stifling hot and the ground beneath him seemed harder then rock itself. Goyan now truly felt alone, although the fear forgot to set into his stone-hard face. Instead the expressionless frown remained cast upon his mouth, only the blue radiating from his eyes showed the anger and pain he felt. Nothing moved his face until he saw a quick flash pass by the corner of his eye.

"Who's there?" the Saiyan asked calmly, drawing his legs into a fighting stance. A huge bolt of lightning streaked across the black sky directly above him, providing just enough light to glimpse the dark figure streak past again. Goyan stood still, calling all of his sensory perception into the air around him. The energy caused by the lightning storm interfered too much for him to track onto any moving elements so once again he resorted to his eyes. The sky seemed to be darker then before, the only light being emitted by both the lighting and the faint blue aura surrounding the warrior. Then, in one huge blast of lightning, Goyan saw it walking towards him. The thing had a definite human shape, a head, torso and limbs. However, the thing had no features whatsoever, but instead seemed to be made out of nothing but blackness. As it crept closer, Goyan noted that he could actually see through the thing, as the body was nothing but mist.

"What are you and what do you want of me?" the Super Saiyan asked in a monotone voice, his fists now firmly in front of him and legs clamped to the ground in a full-frontal attack stance. The creature made no attempt to respond to the question, but continued to walk forwards. Finally it came to stop ten metres away from the blue-clad fighter, standing in an erect, stiff posture. The gust blowing around the two seemed to intensify and the lightning cracked more frequently, lighting the barren wasteland a slivery-grey colour. For a rather long duration the two beings made no move, each standing completely still. Finally Goyan slightly relaxed his fighting position. "I don't know what you are…" he started, "but if you have something that concerns me I suggest you speak you mind now." The hard frown on the Saiyan's face seemed to amplify as he let a small flow of ki begin to rotate in his closed fist. The strange creature took a few calm steps backwards, his front always facing it's opponent. Then, to Goyan's amazement, two small slits in the creature's head began to glow a fierce red, slowly opening up until they formed two, evil looking eyes. To the Saiyan's amazement the thing seemed to dematerialise, reappearing, directly behind him. A quick calculation told him that it had not vanished but had moved at a deadly fast pace. However, now it stood idle again, waiting for him to make a movement. With his back turned, Goyan shot into the sky, sending the built up energy inside of him flying down towards his opponent. Blast after blast of ki energy streamed down until the Saiyan knew he had enough for a large attack.

"DESTRUCTO DISK!!" he cried, quickly summoning a large plate of sizzling energy above his head. In a split second he had the attack spiralling towards the ground, air around it sizzling into combustion. Finally it struck the ground where the thing stood, causing a large explosion that rattled the hard ground for a radius of many kilometres. Immediately Goyan's senses seemed to pick up a rising power level and he knew that the job was not done. He turned in time to see the dark figure strike through the sky with an amazing display of speed. He could only watch as the misty fist made contact with his face, causing an unbelievable amount of pain, as it seemed to pass straight through his brain. The Super Saiyan plummeted towards the hard earth, making contact with a large thud. Groggily he stood back on his feet, with senses going overboard. Before he knew it the beast was back in his face, throwing a storm full of dark punches. Instead of parrying Goyan shot backwards, performing an agile combination of back flips and spins to get away from his opponent. This time his senses picked up the black thing's movement and managed to jump into the sky before a huge ki blast was hurtled at what would have been his back. Spinning in the sky the warrior noticed another blast of bright red energy flying at him with a tremendous pace. Quickly he pulled a fist back and punch-parried the energy attack back towards the ground, causing a huge crevasse to form. This did not seem to discourage the opponent who materialised behind Goyan once again, striking him with a volleyball style backhand strike. This time he managed to get his feet on the soil first before he lifted into the sky once again, this time accompanying his attack with numerous ki blasts. The demon-like fighter didn't bother parrying as it flew between the streaks of energy attack with the greatest of ease. Goyan was running out of ideas when suddenly a huge king-hit from his opposition sent him hurtling into the dark sky. He came to as the momentum of the hit was slowing and was now falling back towards the earth. Knowing that he would not be able to land on either his legs or hands, the Super Saiyan quickly pulled at his blue gi, revealing his long brown tail. Using it as a springboard he jumped back to his feet, stopping for a short moment to catch his breath. When he went back into a fighting stance he could no longer sense the thing that had attacked him, only energy from the massive bolts of electricity running along the sky. He quickly spun around but was too late, the black creature had its vaporous hands around his ears, sending a large screaming noise running into his head. Once again Goyan stumbled into a pit of darkness, wondering if he was dying again…

"That's it," Jeisen said quietly as he stepped back from the mound of earth before him. Alura now took his place, gently weeping as she placed a bouquet of flowers on the freshly dug ground.

"I can't believe it's over already," she whispered in a tear-choked voice. Jeisen's face went from one of sorrow to disbelieve to anger. He grabbed his friend's shoulder and spun her around to face him, brown eye's burning with a golden hue of savageness.

"It's not over yet, we're still here and we're going to finish the job. You heard what Goyan said before he died, he said that we must pull together and find our strengths. The bastards that killed by family haven't paid the full price yet and I am not stopping until I finish them!" The boy's muscled shoulders began heaving as he finished speaking, not had bothering to take a breath in between words. Alura grasped his wrist lightly, pushing her hand into his.

"Jeisen, you know that we cannot take the attack now. With just the two of us there is no real chance of getting much further. Our best chance is to go back and defend what we have. Why lose it all when we can still keep what's left?"

"Damn you Alura, how can you turn your back now? We've come so far and done so much, don't you think that you could be putting it all to waste?" Jeisen was now fuming, his face going bright red and body having trouble containing the energy that begged to be released inside of him. The same mood was shared by his female accomplice, who was already glowing with a faint hint of mauve energy.

"There have been enough senseless killings in this world. There's already too much damage caused by the evil that has plagued us. I don't want to be another victim of this stupid charade."

"You were happy enough to when Goyan was still alive!" the teenager spat back. Alura felt as if she had been slapped in the face, the purple energy around her now bursting into a bright flame. Jeisen followed suit, his green energy dangerously clashing with hers.

"Are you trying to say that I stayed with you two just because I liked Goyan?" she said in a hurt voice, "because if you are then you should grow some brains."

"Well what else were you doing, joining the party because you thought it was a fashion show?" The fight was now on the verge of becoming violent, with both members clashing furiously with shields of colourful energy. Alura was crying heavily again, although now it was not because of the loss of her close friend.

"It was not my choice to join remember? It was my father's decision. Even so I was happy to go on because then we had a chance, there was a strong possibility that we could defeat the things that have caused us all so much pain. They took away your family, took away my mother and now they have taken our best friend!" The energy surrounding the teenager quickly died off, as reality seemed to hit. She was right; they had no chance of defeating the darkness now. Even if it had been Goyan's dying wish to fight on, normal sense had to prevail sooner or later. Why fight on when they could spend their time productively protecting their families? He could follow in the Super Saiyan's steps and take Melena to the forest where they could live a moderately happy life.

"You're right Alura." he said softly. "We should give up here and now. We don't stand a chance against the enemy if Goyan isn't here to protect us." The girl's energy now also died off as she once again grasped the young man's shoulder and stared into his large, brown eyes with her own deep blue ones.

"Don't worry little buddy, we're always going to be close to each other. Even if we can't go out and aggressively take out the enemy, I think we have a good chance of keeping order in the area we live in." The two young fighters both stood in silence, staring at their fallen friend's grave when suddenly Jeisen turned sharply to the sky in the east.

"Did you feel that Alura?" he asked suspiciously.

"Feel what?" the purple warrior commented as she also turned in the eastern direction. Suddenly her energy senses began to perk as she felt a small, yet growing force coming from far from the mountains. "Yes, I feel it now, heading rather fast from the east and closing in."

"Do you think it's friendly?"

"Nothing's friendly anymore, remember?" Alura replied to her friend, before raising her hand towards the sky. Slowly she opened her palm, allowing a deep violet energy run from the tip of her pinkie finger to thumb. The energy began to take a more physical shape, growing longer and longer until it formed a hard wooden staff. Expertly she spun the bow around in her fingers, long blue hair lifting to the slight breeze generated from the movement.

"I just know that power source is coming for us," she said in a quiet voice, "and they're going to get their just desserts for what they did to Goyan."

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go," the men sang in chorus as they soared through the air. Some were dressed in black gi's while others opted for the dark, shiny Saiyan armour provided for them. Every member of the 20-strong pack was brute ugly, each supporting a wide grin upon their faces. Those not wearing full karate gi's opted to let their long, dark tails trail in the air after them. Soaring at the front of the gang was Nappa, his baldhead reflecting the moonlight that beamed upon them.

"Let's not get carried away boys," he said with a sarcastic chuckle. The laughter radiated throughout the group before the leader signalled for all to stop. Once again he faced his soldiers. "I want no mistakes to be made," he said sternly. "Five of you will attack the enemy head on while eight take the back route and seven of you take the sides. I will come in and finish off, do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" the Saiearthians shouted in chorus, each filled with the pride that their leader was letting them do all the plundering. They could not have known that underneath Nappa's broad skull was a mind that had learnt how deceit and treachery worked. The once stupid Saiyan was quite learned in how people could backstab and manipulate. He had suffered that death from Vegeta, and now, unfortunately, these men would also suffer that same fate. Nappa knew quite well that the two fighters in the camp, even without Goyan, would easily defeat any opposition from the group of men. However, when it came to the time for him to be challenged, the tables would turn drastically…

Falling. Darkness everywhere, then light. Goyan felt the swirling air beneath his feet become solid as he found himself in a place that was all too familiar. Long, green grass rustled slightly in the fresh breeze as the Super Saiyan eyed the tall pines that towered above the cabin behind him. This was his home, the place where he had trained to become the warrior that he was. Once, as his grandfather told him, it had been a place of happiness and peace, although he knew it only as the place of his upbringing, the centre that had toned him closer and closer to the fighter that he achieved to be.

Something was strange. The normal power levels that he could normally sense from the forest were absent. Even the wind showed no form of energy, and as the Westerly gusts were the first form of energy power that Goyan's extra sensory perception picked up, the missing ki disturbed him slightly. Then, in one second, the Super Saiyan's doubts quickly subsided. He stood still as a middle-aged man, purple hair slightly tinted with grey, ran into the clearing, his forehead slightly covered with sweat.

"Grandpa Trunks!" he shouted, but for some reason the man could not hear him. Instead he turned towards the bush, his hands flaring with yellow energy. Another rustle came from behind the shrubbery and within moments a small brown blur came tearing into the opening. Immediately the energy being stored by Trunks was released towards the movement, the sky slightly moaning against the huge attack. Despite the strength however, the movement easily jumped above the attack, back flipping into a safe part of the clearing. As it came to a halt, Goyan finally noticed what it was, a small boy with long brown hair and cheeky dark eyes. His body was showing the faint signs of muscle development underneath an orange gi and blue undershirt. Small droplets of perspiration peppered the soft skin of his forehead as the boy swept into an attacking position, letting small bolts of energy hurl towards Goyan's grandfather. Trunks managed to counter most of the attacks but finally left enough opening for the young child to perform an aerial kick into the ribs.

"NO!" Goyan shouted, his hard face creasing slightly as he tried to dive towards the young attacker. He made only two metres before something hurled him back onto the ground where he had stood. The air around him quavered slightly, indicating to the warrior that he was trapped in the middle of some type of force field. After making two more valiant, yet worthless, attempts to protect his grandfather, Goyan simply helplessly watched the young attacker come in for a final attack. The young boy's chubby little hands curled into a cup beside him…

"KAMEHAMEHA!" he roared, letting a decent sized ki beam soar ahead towards it's final destination. It was only until the last split second that Goyan was relieved to his grandfather pull into a handstand, deflecting that attack away with his two powerful legs. The defensive move was followed with a backspin into the sky, with the older man coming down with a quick karate chop on the youngster's neck. The child let out a small groan before his body crumpled to the ground, small gasps of air accompanied with small cries. The middle-aged Trunks walked slowly over to the heap, each step demonstrating how tired he really was.

"Way to go Grandpa", Goyan said out loud, now quite aware that his Grandfather could not see nor hear him. Immediately he stopped grinding his jaws and settled his face back into his normal melancholy frown. A few metres away the middle aged Trunks stood over his opponent, blue eyes burning fiercely. He quickly thrust his fist down towards the ground, but to Goyan's surprise did not hit the boy, but scooped him into his arms.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you should never fight close range with ki attacks if it is one on one?" the man asked sternly, but lovingly. It was obvious that he had no idea on the confusion he was causing the invisible warrior behind him.

"Sorry Grandpa, I should of known better. Next time I'll just come in for a physical attack, I promise." The man laughed out loud.

"You always promise to use a physical attack but always end up using your ki. I swear Goyan; sometimes I worry that I can't get anything through your thick skull.

"Oh shucks Grandpa, I'm not that bad." Trunks gave the young boy a quizzical stare before breaking into another deep chuckle. Standing metres away from the duo the older Goyan stood perfectly still, something deep inside of him spinning wildly around.

"That boy is…me?" he asked quietly to himself, jaws grinding against each other once again. For all the pictures that his grandpa had shown him after the 'incident' Goyan still could not remember anything about his childhood. Now, as he stood staring at his younger self, the Super Saiyan could feel something burn deep inside his body, the dark shadows which would hopefully one day escape and grant him the memory of his parents and younger days.

"Hey Grandpa," the young Goyan continued, now in rather a jovial mood, "do you think that I can enter that martial arts competition next month? I promise I won't use any ki attacks, and only one martial arts form."

"I don't think so Goyan, just think what your parents would say if they found out," Trunks said as the two walked towards the cabin. "If I do let you go in the competition then you have to spend at least 3 hours a day in the gravity room for the next month."

"Deal", the young warrior said laughingly as the two walked to the back veranda of the cabin. Goyan edged as close to the invisible barrier as possible to get one last glance at the child that he could not remember. He could not contemplate the idea of him being ever able to laugh, yet as a child it seemed to come to easy. What had he lost that had caused him such pain? All these questions that had no answers began to confuse the warrior, who now had slumped to the ground. He was trapped in a place so familiar, yet so strange…

"GOYAN!" roared the voice of Trunks as a huge explosion rocked throughout the cabin. Fire and smoke thundered throughout the air as the small wooden cabin disintegrated into nothingness. As quick as a flash Mirai Goyan was on his feet, his eyes searching for the attack that his extra sensory perception could not pick up. In a few moments, although they felt like hours, his eyes settled upon a sight that slightly made his insides churn, although his hard face did not show it. Slowly through the rising smoke came a figure with no real definitions, merely a body of blackness. Goyan recognized it immediately, the mysterious creature that had sent him here in the first place. However, instead of attacking him, the figure slowly crept upon the backyard to where Chibi Goyan and Trunks lay, both recovering from the smoky air and flying debris that had surrounded them. The creature lifted a shadowy limb towards the heaped bodies, the dark mist slowly reforming into a long, dark blade. Inch by inch the sharp weapon slowly elongated even further, stopping only when the tip was millimetres away from Trunk's face.

"Get away from them!" Mirai Goyan yelled, propelling his body towards the creature. Throughout his anger the warrior had forgotten all about the invisible barrier that contained him to a few square metres. Almost immediately his body was thrown back onto the hard ground. Using his long tail as a springboard, the Super Saiyan propelled himself back onto his feet whilst almost simultaneously letting a large bolt of ki hurtle towards the mysterious opponent. To his dismay the attack made no further distance then his body had been able to, blue energy dissolving into the air like mist. Nearby Chibi Goyan began to whimper, his grandfather's voice whispering words of comfort to him whilst at the same time eyeing off the strange creature that threatened to kill him.

"I don't care what you are, if you dare touch my grandson I'll kill you with my bare hands", Trunks said menacingly. The creature's featureless face did not look down as it raised the sharp blade as if to strike. Goyan watched in horror as the thing pushed forward, letting the long sharp weapon thrust through his grandfather's body. The middle-aged man screamed, a loud painful scream that echoed throughout the forest trees. His body thrashed for what seemed like hours until it finally came to rest, the visible energy ball in his hands slowly evaporating. Even from where he stood Goyan could see that the blade had created no physical wound, there was no cut or blood anywhere. However, something more powerful must have destroyed the insides of Trunk's body, leaving a dead corpse clutching on to his young, innocent grandson who lay on the ground weeping. The sight of it all caused the Super Saiyan's blood to boil to intolerable levels. The blue energy aura that surrounded his body sizzled away the sweat that now formed on his face and body.

"You just sealed your fate," he said calmly, face burrowed into an intense frown. Within a second the blue ki surrounding his body reformed into a dazzling display of yellow, pounding away from the bottom of his boots to the tip of his hair, which now had turned to an extremely pale cyan colour. Ice blue eyes grew even icier and the muscles on his body rippled to almost twice their original size. Goyan had once again reached the level of Super Saiyan 2. With his new power he thrust towards the shadowy opponent, knowing quite well that there was an invisible barrier between him and this creature who attacked his younger self. To his amazement however, the barrier started to give him some leeway, and slowly the mighty warrior gained foot upon the monster that now brandished his sword like limb against his younger self. For every step he took his power seemed to increase, letting him move that little bit faster.

"You're gone mist man!" he shouted as finally the invisible barrier broke, letting him fly towards the strange thing in front of him. The attacker stood still, his shadowy head slowly turning towards the charging fighter. Then, before he could even react, Goyan once again saw its eyes, those deep red eyes that had first burnt through him in hell. With one quick movement, the monster drove the blade into the young boy on the ground, dark mist slicing an invisible wall through the chest of the young, cheeky boy.

Pain erupted through Mirai Goyan's head, a pain unlike any he had felt before. He dropped to the ground, muscles seemingly ripping apart from one another. His eyes came in and out of focus, showing him not the forest where he had just been fighting, but a dark vortex of colours and lighting. Around and around he spun, the darkness seemingly devouring his every inch of power and strength. Only when he found the ability to see again did his eyes come upon what stood in the middle of the dark hole. A young boy with dark brown hair, himself, standing over two little mounds of dirt.

"I will avenge you Mum, Dad, I swear I will avenge you," the boy said, his hair warping into a bright yellow colour. Goyan now knew that this was himself again, only a few years older then he had just seen, probably the day of the darkness. Even with the terrible pain that he felt assaulting his body, the Super Saiyan forced himself to watch on, keeping all of his concentration on the small dot in the vortex. His younger self now began to turn around, and what confronted the warrior sent a wave of shock throughout his entire aching body. He was staring at his younger self…except the eyes. The eyes glowed a dark menacing red, the bloody red shown by the mysterious demon that had used this type of attack on him. His young face did not frown, but released a cold, evil laugh that caused even more pain to invade his head. A small finger pointed towards him, a small, chubby finger that began to grow darker and darker as the seconds moved on. Soon it was also dark mist…and no longer was a small boy looking at Goyan, but the evil creature himself. Then the sky grew dark once again, and the mighty Super Saiyan saw nothing…

…but the darkness around him.

The green blur flew stealthily through the deep forest foliage, his eyes darting back and forth looking for danger. Every five or so trees he stopped, pinning the long rope-like vine he had sewn to the large wooden trunks. After first sensing the original power, Alura and himself had waited to see if the power they had sensed would increase any higher. When it had, and had increased rather drastically, the pair had decided to booby trap the forest around them to stop any surprise attacks that may pop out to greet them.

"We've lost our main source of defence," Alura had said, meaning Goyan, "so we have to fight smart. It we're right, the power force that's coming towards us is more than one being (I hope it is, because if it is only one then we are in really serious trouble) thus they will be able to split up and attack us at each side of the clearing, which is obviously not hard to do."

"Alright then," Jeisen had said in a voice that was still rather depressing, "I'm not one for guerrilla warfare so what we do is up to you."

"One good thing about being the head of the town's militia was that I soon learnt all the dirty little booby traps that can be set in all kinds of places, especially in dense forest like this around us. The first thing that we have to do…" and she had continued on that same path for the next 10 minutes. Jeisen thought of it as the most useful crash course in jungle warfare that he could possibly ever attend. Now as he silently leapt from one tree branch to another he felt like an expert at hidden booby traps. Still, deep in the crevasses of his heart he felt like he had been holding his breath for almost his entire life. If anything were to fail now, there would be no back up. There would be no protection from a surprise attack. There would be no Goyan.

Alura stood still in the middle of the camp, having set all of her booby traps. She couldn't come to terms with the fear that she felt building inside of her. The last time she had felt such a fear was when her village had been attacked by Radditz and his band of goons. But, in what seemed as a memory that radiated within her mind, Goyan and Jeisen had materialised out of the sky and had crushed the evil force single-handed. The Super Saiyan had continued on to battle Radditz by himself, probably the most equal match he had faced until then. It had only been towards the end, when the warrior's anger almost exploded through his emotionless shield, when he finally got the upper hand over his opponent. The fact that Radditz confirmed he had killed Goyan's grandfather had sent the mighty fighter over the edge, causing him to go to the next stage, SSJ2. He had easily defeated the cowardly Radditz with a gigantic energy blast, and since then had managed to protect Alura and Jeisen as the trio had continued on their journey to rid the world of evil.

However, now he was gone, and Alura began to feel fear creeping back into her stomach. She knew she had to fight it, for Goyan's memory, but at the same time she could not deny it. It was also, for the first time in many, many months, that she missed her mother. Her mother had been the only person, besides her two best friends, that had managed to comfort her through life. When she had been a child, it was her mother that had saved her from the nightmares that had invaded her sleep. It had been her mother that had persuaded her to continue her martial arts training, even when the workload seemed overwhelming. It was her mother that had made many of the great features that Alura possessed, from her long blue hair to her deep emerald eyes to taught body. When she had died the girl swore that she would continue on her legacy and protect the innocent from those that sought evil. That promise would not be broken until Alura died, and that was a statement the purple warrior was willing to uphold until the bitter end.

She continued to stare at the freshly covered grave, sorrow and anger devouring her body as she thought about the two people she had loved more than anything in the world. Her mother, and her precious Goyan, the Super Saiyan that she now knew held her heart.

The pain continued to pound through the Super Saiyan's head, a deep pain that seemed to slice through his brain. For a brief moment Goyan managed to open his eyes, allowing him to see where he was this time. The image that floated through his retinas told him that he was back in the dark, barren wasteland that he had started off in. Small periods of mental relief also told him that he was being grappled from behind, with some object holding his head with an icy set of hands. However, before he could manage to attack the mysterious opponent, pain shuddered throughout his body once again, causing him to fall into unconsciousness. As he surrendered his mind once more he was drawn back into a swirling vortex, and once again he was confronted by his younger self. Except that this time this mirror image did not transform into the creature made out of black mist, but screamed a horrendous shout of pain through the swirling air. Goyan, still battling the pain burning through his head, valiantly pushed towards the centre of the vortex, reaching out to his younger self.

"Grab my hand!" he roared, but his younger self simply let out another ear shattering cry. The sound seemed to increase steadily, causing more pain to puncture throughout the warrior's skull. Even at SSJ2, the pain was like nothing he had felt before. It was as if somebody was assaulting him by his mind instead of body, where he had no great protection. Slowly he began to lose the ground that he had gained in the vortex, slowly tumbling back into the darkness.

"Goyan…Goyan," a voice whispered in the corner of his mind. Through the torture he was sustaining, the fighter concentrated all of his though in the small section which beckoned him. Flash by flash he began to remember one of his training sessions with his grandpa. A training session he thought that he had forgotten…

"Goyan," Trunk's voice said in a faint, faraway place. "When there seems to be no hope, no place for you to hide inside yourself, you must draw from the heart."

"Don't be silly grandpa," his melancholy voice seemed to repeat in his head, "What true power can be found in your heart. All the power I'll ever need is in my ki, and my muscles."

"But where do you think you ki comes from? It is not just a source of energy which is infinite. It is not a force which can be drawn from thin air or even from the elements around you. True ki lives in your heart and spirit, the two most holy sources of energy in the world."

"Come off it Grandpa…"

"No Goyan, it's true. Until you can find these two power sources inside of you, you will always be weaker than those who can manipulate this energy to their advantage."

"Whatever Grandpa."

The voices in his head came to an abrupt halt, leaving the agonizing warrior to decide between the two forces. He could decide to believe in his grandpa, who had taught him all the strengths and virtues that had guided him throughout life. Otherwise, he could listen to himself, and continue to hold the ideas and beliefs that he had developed himself, and over the years had come to truly believe to be correct. Whatever the choice, only one could free him of the pain that erupted throughout his head.

A strange warmth passed throughout the Saiyan's body. In a brief moment, a power source surged throughout his veins, a power different to any he had wielded before. Immediately the pain in his head passed and Goyan found himself hurtling towards the centre of the vortex, towards his crying reflection. Once again the screaming increased, but this new power that the warrior wielded continued to push him forwards. In a desperate lunge the Super Saiyan spread his arm out and grabbed the small, bunched fist of Chibi Goyan. Immediately the crying stopped, leaving an eerie silence in the spinning darkness. The two figures, one small and one large, stood facing each other each with equally depressing frowns. Then, in a sudden flash the young version was young no more, but an exact replica of the physical, adult Goyan.

"Congratulations," the mirage said, "you have freed yourself and freed your spirit of the darkness."

"Is that so?" the real fighter replied, "and this is supposed to mean what?"

"You will realise very shortly."

Chapter 12

Once again, Goyan found himself in the barren wastelands, his head being pinned down by two icy cold hands. However, he now felt a new power surge through him, the power he had unleashed in the vortex. With a mighty lunge the Super Saiyan arched backwards and grabbed the wrists of his invisible attacker. With a quick somersault he managed to come face to face with the mysterious creature once again. Within the swirling darkness that was the head Goyan noticed two opening red slits start to emerge. This time though he did not back off, but concentrated on the power he felt trembling though his arms.

"Not this time asshole," he spat into the thing's featureless face as he smashed an open palm into the eerie blackness. A shrill cry rang throughout the empty horizon as the black creature hurtled into the ground over two hundred metres away from where Goyan had hammered it. To the warrior's dismay however it quickly jumped to it's feet and charged at him with a blinding pace. Within a split second the two bodies were fighting at full force again, the battle slightly more even now with the Super Saiyan beginning to handle his new strength and speed more efficiently. Soon the competition was blow for blow, with every hit rippling a wave of energy throughout the barren land. The hard ground beneath the two conflicting characters quickly became a blur as the two bodies flew across the land faster than the natural eye could see. Goyan began to notice that he could sense his opponent's power level flashing around him, giving him the chance to counter-attack every kick and punch made by his dark opponent.

"Come on!" he baited, letting the thing fly straight towards him. In a flash Goyan quickly spun around and latched on to a shadowy leg, throwing the monster down on the strange, barren wastelands below him. He didn't wait for a response, hurtling after the creature and smashing into it's dark back, grinding it further into the ground. The hard rock beneath them split into two and formed an ever-growing crater as the ascended Saiyan continued to drill the mysterious being into the ground with a barrage of punches and hand strikes. "This is it you monster, you'll pay for what you did!" he roared, letting his spare hand charge up with crackling yellow ki. Then, only seconds before he smashed his fist into the featureless face a sharp pain rippled through Goyan's rib. Gasping for breath, he looked down at his chest. The beast had formed its hand into a sharp blade that had penetrated his body but not leaving any physical mark. All the Saiyan could do was to look into the red, ferocious eyes of his opponent as the blade was agonizingly twisted inside his ribs. The pain was severe, as if his organs were being burnt inside of him. In one desperate attempt, he charged all the ki energy he could into his open palms.

"HAAAA" he roared as he used the excess energy to propel himself out of the crevasse he had formed, letting his body down lightly on the ground with the remainder of his strength. The pain in his chest began to subside rapidly, letting Goyan to breathe once again and prepare for a counter attack. Finally his senses picked up again as he saw the creature thrust out of the ground at amazing speed. The Saiyan stood his ground, letting the beast get as close as he thought safe.

"BARRIER!" he cried, throwing his fists out in front of him. The yellow light that radiated from him increased as a semi-transparent wall formed around him, little crackles of energy jumping from it's outer shell. Goyan watched as the monster continued to fly towards him; it's shadowy hands forming icy cold blades once again. Then the energies met, causing a small sonic boom to crack the ground around them. The Super Saiyan strained to hold back to swinging attacks made by the beast, which seemed to increase its strength every hit. The yellow energy forming the shield crackled in contempt as both opponents looked at each other, the steely blue eyes of one staring into the bright red strips of the other. "What do you want of me?" Goyan grunted, straining his muscles to continue to hold up his invisible barrier. A raspy noise seemed to come from the monster's mouth, as if it was a dying snake. Then, with one great swing the energy protecting Goyan was shattered with an icy blade. He flew backwards, blue gi ripping on the harsh surface underneath him. At the speed he was going, all he could do was watch as the strange beast charged ahead to impale him with a long, shadowy limb.

"SPIRIT BEAM!" a voice shouted out over the barren wasteland. Goyan turned his head in time to see a brilliant flash of white soar through the air, lighting the air around it. Swiftly it made contact with the monster, tearing into it and melting away the mist-like limbs. The Super Saiyan streaked straight past the place where his enemy had stood, pulling himself up to see what had happened. Quickly his eyes found what he was looking for, about a hundred metres away, a strange figure in a coat. Its finger was still extended; smoke lifting from where the great attack had sprung.

"Who are you?" Goyan called out to the strange-cloaked figure. Quickly he pulled himself into a fighting stance, waiting for a surprise attack.

"Goyan, it's good to see that you still trust nobody. I'm glad to see that you haven't lost your senses." The mysterious man chuckled as he calmly walked towards the batted warrior.

"Like I said before, who are you and what do you want?"

"What's the matter Goyan, don't you remember me? I may look a bit different to what you're used to, but deep down I'm still the same guy." With that the stranger brought his hand up to his cloaked face, pulling away the cover to reveal the face of a young teenager with straight purple hair and piercing blue eyes. Goyan's face remained stone cold, yet his eyes flared a marvellous blue as he recognized who it was.

"Grandpa, it's…it can't be…you're…"

"Young? Yes Goyan, I am young in this world. When I died I was able to come here in the age that I loved the most, the age where I first met my father and did battle with the Androids and Cell."

"But how…?"

"There are many questions to be asked and answered my boy, but it's best that we speak in safer places. Besides I know somebody who may be able to answer your questions a lot better than I can. Come with me, and I will take you to him." Immediately the teenage Trunks flashed a bright blue energy and floated into the air. Goyan, coming out of SS2, joined him. Together they began to fly into the thunderstruck horizon.

"They just keep coming don't they?" Jeisen quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead as he noted another huge Saiearthian sprint from the buses to ambush him. Quickly he drew his katana from its sheath and sliced through the rope by his feet. The netting underneath the thug's feet sprang alive as he was caught in another of Alura's traps. Jeisen finished him quickly with a blast of ki energy before turning quickly to behead another with his deadly sword. Over at the other end of the clearing Alura made a clean head kick to her attacker, cracking his neck clean in two. Just as her feet hit the ground she brought her hands around to strike directly in another thug's ribcage. The monstrous man groaned loudly as the "purple warrior" splintered his ribs into his lungs, killing him instantaneously.

"Hey Jeisen, check out the reception party dead above you, coming in fast," Alura called out, knocking out another rampaging Saiearthian with a quick spin-kick to his collarbone. The teenager glimpsed up to see three gigantic brutes force their way into the other side of the clearing, immediately moving into a position where they could corner him with ease. Taking a few steps back, Jeisen lifted an open palm towards the sky, letting his ki begin to travel up his arm and form a swirling plate inches above his body.

"DESTRUCTO DISK ENGAGE!" he uttered to himself, letting the energy blade reach it's full strength. With a large grunt, the teenager hurled it towards all three attackers. Despite the speed it moved at the opponents merely swerved their heads to duck the flying energy attack.

"Is that the best you've got little boy," the largest of the Saiearthians chuckled at Jeisen, "I have a better aim in my sleep".

"What are you talking about?" the green-haired warrior asked innocently, "I'm right on target. Have a look for yourself." The three punks turned in time to see the sizzling green disk slice directly through the trunk of a tall pine behind them. It was too late for them to see the trip rope go down with the massive tree, causing a barrage of sharpened rocks to be catapulted through their Saiyan armour. The trap dropped two of them immediately, but the largest stood his ground, blood gushing from numerous cuts.

"That's it you little punk, you're going to pay for this!" he roared, lurching towards Jeisen with incredible speed. Using his tutor's infamous zanzoken technique, the green-haired warrior jumped clear of the huge man's grasping arms. With one swift movement he drew his katana and cleanly beheaded the man. His feet hit the ground just as the gigantic body behind him started to crumble to the ground.

"I've already payed for this," he whispered to the headless corpse, "I've payed more than I or anybody else deserved to pay." With that he turned abruptly, staring at the dirt mound where his mentor was buried. Once again he felt his energy level rise, the green aura around him bursting into a formidable light. A rustling came from some nearby bushes, immediately exposing another ten Saiearthians coming in for the charge.

"It looks like they've given up on the surround and surprise technique," motioned Alura who flipped away from the Saiearthian she had just fallen. With a quick wrist motion she dematerialised her staff, leaving both her hands open for a fight. Jeisen's energy continued to flare as he stared angrily down the clearing at the charging opposition.

"Well, if they want a direct approach to fighting, then they can have it", he spat, twisting his torso to the side and cupping his hands. Alura nodded and brought her hands behind her head, letting her body radiate with a bright magenta energy.

"GALICK-HO!"

"MASENKO BLAST!"

The cries came simultaneously as the two warriors, side by side, released their massive energy techniques. The tall pines surrounding the clearing toppled like dominos as the surging ki attacks hit the charging Saiearthian party, stopping them in their tracks. The explosion rocked through the land, forming a huge crater in the ground. Alura brought her hands to her face to shelter from the backlash, but watched from the corner of her eye as her spiky haired friend continued to belt his gallet gun technique towards the centre of the crevasse. His hair stood taller than usual, and for a brief moment the purple-clad warrior thought her friend was going to truly become a Super Saiyan. However the thought quickly vanished from her mind as the youngster's energy drained out of him, leaving the boy totally exhausted.

"We defeated them Jeisen, we got the bad guys," Alura said softly to her friend, who was crouching on the ground catching his breath. He spat in the nearby bushes and stood up, his brown eyes flashing menacingly towards the gigantic crater only metres away from him.

"We got some of the bad guys Alura. There are still many left to fight." The wind picked up in the clearing, blowing the girl's long blue hair into her eyes. As she pulled the hair back from her head, she took a glimpse of Jeisen and saw something she had never seen before. There, standing before the freshly blown out crater, was not the cheeky, bright teenager that she had come to know with a sisterly love, but a mature, stern faced warrior. He now radiated the same aura that Goyan had radiated when he had become determined to win and now had passed it on to his student. There and then in that desolate war zone the magenta-clad female from the city of Shayiokenia knew that hope had not died, it had just changed faces.

"I'm ready to fight Jeisen," she said quietly, "I'm ready to take on the next challenge, and the one after that. I'll fight for Goyan's purpose until my last breath, I owe him that much." Jeisen nodded solemnly, looking into dark sky. Somewhere above him the sun was trying to escape the beckoning clouds that entrapped it. Goyan had always told him that he would never know the true evil that he faced, not until the bitter end. It was the first time the teenager thought that his mentor had been wrong, for now he did know the true evil in the world, but it was not the bitter end. It was just the beginning, and he was ready to step up and take the place of his predecessor. He turned sharply towards his female companion and stared harshly down her wide, emerald blue eyes.

"You want to fight for Goyan's purpose? Well, you won't have to wait long to start, because our challenge is coming." With a calm finger he pointed towards the horizon, past the fallen trees that made for a desolate wasteland. Alura focused, and after a few moments, felt it. A huge energy still alive, and coming for them. The time was now.

The narrow passage seemed to go forever underneath the ground, or so Goyan thought. He had been following his "teenage" grandfather down the path for over three hours now, each step taking him further from the secret trapdoor they had entered behind a huge boulder above ground. Now the only light that guided them was the flaming branch that Trunks brandished high above his head.

"Why do you live so deep underground?" Goyan asked in his normal melancholy voice, sounding as if he didn't even care for a response. Instead, the purple-haired boy stopped for a brief moment and stared at him with open blue eyes.

"It's the only way to keep away from the shadows. They draw their energy from the despair above ground. Under here the power that comes from us is enough to persuade them away from us."

"A shadow? Is that what it was that I was fighting?" Goyan began to question his mentor about the monstrous being that he had challenged. Trunks' response came after a slight chuckle.

"Yes Goyan, it was a shadow that challenged you. Now, I know that you have many questions to be answered, and they will be answered in good time, but you will have to wait." The Super Saiyan's eyes flared a fluorescent glow throughout the hallway for a brief second.

"How long?"

"Not long at all, as a matter of fact…" Trunks reached out to the side of the narrow hallway, his hand grasping on a loose rock. With one sharp tug the rock budged, revealing a secret doorway in front of them. "We're here," he retorted lightly as the two entered the room. After a few moments to adjust to the lighting change, Goyan took a moment to examine the room. It appeared to be a huge concrete square with many tunnels travelling off in different directions. Directly in front of him stood a huge fireplace with flames rising many feet before fading away. In one corner of the room the Super Saiyan noticed a little bald man sitting by himself, dealing out a hand of Solitaire. In another he noticed a group of people sitting around a gigantic stone table, having quite a heated discussion. A slight clearing of the throat from Trunks and the members of the group drew deadly silent, all turning to see the newcomer.

"Here he is," Trunks said quietly, almost with a sad tint in his voice. The people sitting around the table stood together, each walking towards Goyan. The Super Saiyan stood his ground, showing nothing but a slight flash of his steely emerald eyes. Finally one stood forward, a young man with hair almost identical to Goyan's, except it did not glow golden with the power of a Super Saiyan, but remained dark black.

"It's good to finally meet you Goyan, although I wish we could have met under better circumstances," he said calmly, nodding his head as a gesture of welcome. Goyan nodded back, not sure exactly what to say. He turned to his grandfather, who although looked like a sixteen year old, still held the same authority and calmness in his eyes than he had when he was older.

"I'm sorry my boy, I forgot to introduce everybody. Trust me, you know these people by name, it's just that faces are something you forgot when you "transformed". Firstly, this kind man here that introduced you is your other grandfather. I'd like you to meet Gohan." Goyan spun quickly on his heel to stare at the man who looked almost identical to him. A quick giggle passed through the passageway, as everybody knew that although the Super Saiyan could not show his shock emotionally, deep down he was absolutely stunned.

"Not to worry Goyan, I think that if we were in your shoes we too would be knocked out of our socks," grinned the man as he stood aside so the Super Saiyan could see the other members of the group. Immediately a bald man stood up and walked forward. As he came out of the shadows Goyan noticed that he wielded a third eye on his forehead.

"This is Tien," Trunks retorted, "you may know him best for the solar flare technique, he was the first to use it successfully."

"What good is it to the opposition if they can't see where you are." Tien gave a quick wink to the newcomer and stood aside. Next to him arose a man with long black hair, the flickering of the fire highlighting the scars that ran across his face.

"Hi Goyan, I'm Yumcha," said the man in a gruff tone. Within a blink of an eye he grasped the warrior's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "It's good to see you here boy, I can see that you've got potential."

"Thanks," was all the Super Saiyan could say. Next up was a green figure dressed in a long flowing robe. "Piccolo," Goyan said before the figure could say anything more. "I've seen your picture in some of the training diaries my grandfather kept for me to study. You have a very impressive background."

"Yeah, so impressive I'm stuck here being bossed around by a bunch of whimpering creatures that aren't even solid, little own mortal." Quickly he stormed off into one of the tunnels, letting his long robe flow after him. Goyan didn't budge, but let his glacier blue trace him until he was out of sight.

"Don't worry about Piccolo, he's just a bit frustrated," whispered Trunks, "you can't blame him really. He's been such a strong fighter for such a long time and now he is being defeated by an enemy he can't even outthink."

"Yeah, he's been really tough on himself," chirped a voice from behind the group. Goyan immediately noticed it as the little man who had been sitting in the corner playing cards by himself.

"Oh, I almost forgot, this here is Krillin. I can't really think what you were useful for though," the purple haired boy grinned at his friend. Krillin lowered his voice until it was almost guttural.

"I believe the term destructo disk may have been an original idea of mine," he hissed back angrily.

"Hey everybody, what's all this racket about?" Everybody turned to look at the biggest tunnel. Out of the shadows came a large character concealed by a huge cloak. Goyan took a slight step back, feeling the energy that radiated from this mysterious person. However, in the corner of his eyes he saw Trunks and Gohan spring forward.

"You fool, you forgot to take your cloak off again," they both chirped, grabbing the long grey material and pulling it backwards. After a flurry of cloth, Goyan stood face to face with a man he had been taught to respect, honour and learn after for all of his life. The Super Saiyan stood in shock as he took in the sight before him, a man standing at about six foot two with long, uprising hair and beady black eyes. His masculine body was covered with and orange gi and blue undershirt, his back bearing the sign of King Kai himself.

"Here he is," grinned Trunks to the man. "My grandson Goyan. What do you think Goku?"

"Hey, my favourite great-grandson," the big man roared, throwing his arms over the Super Saiyan. Goyan stood still, his face remaining locked in its stony expression, but his arms slowly prying the great lug from his body.

"It's a great honour to meet you Goku. All my life I have strained to be like you and even greater than you," he said in a serious voice. Goku stopped laughing and looked at him with a bright, cheerful face.

"So I've noticed kiddo. Hey, you've got a lot of my techniques down to pat already. It took me along time to master kamehameha and kaioken, a lot longer than it took you anyway."

"Yeah," Trunks interrupted, "it took some time, but he got there. Especially after the 'incident' he could almost learn a new technique in one day…"

"I'd hate to interrupt the discussion Grandpa, but I have to know what's going on and I have to know now. What are these shadow things that I was fighting up above ground? Where am I? Am I stuck here?"

"Calm down Goyan," Goku said in an assuring voice, ignoring Gohan's smug look at the words calm down. "Sit down, and I will tell you everything that we know, and how you fit into all of this. But I warn you; you'd better be ready for a long story. Have you eaten?"

"No, but if it's a concern I stuffed myself with as much rice I could eat the night before I, well you know…"

"I understand, now come and sit, and I will tell you about the darkness…"

Goku, Goyan, Gohan and Trunks sat themselves around the large stone table. The remaining warriors retreated through the long dark tunnels, each having an excuse to be away from the table. Once the area was clear, Goku began.

"You must remember Goyan that not even we understand the true meaning of the darkness. We have no idea where it came from or who started it. What we can do is tell you what we do know about the darkness and what you can do to stop it."

"So," Goyan chuffed, "let's begin."

"Very well," Goyan whispered. "Our story begins here, on the astral plane. Most of us had died before the coming of the darkness and had no real intention to returning to earth. I had spent so many years being entrapped by the dragon…"

"C'mon Dad, this is not a personal story," Gohan groaned.

"Alright then, were was I. Yes, here we all were enjoying life on the astral plane when, in what seemed like a flash moment the entire land began to change. The trees that lived in the afterlife vanished and the land turned into a desert waste. Then the shadows began to arrive. You see Goyan, the shadows are not separate creatures, they are the entities of pure hatred and evil."

"So how did they get into a place so pure as the afterlife."

"That was a question many of us asked for a long time. Finally we discovered about the Saiearthians on earth, and how they were affected. It seems that the darkness invaded the spirits of all living things. Once inside the spirit, it tore away at the person until they died of shock or they gave in. Once they gave in, they became Saiearthians, human beings with the strength and characteristics of a Saiyan and without a conscience. Those who gave in are now soulless soldiers to whatever mastermind is behind the evil, condemned to do evil while inside suffer from eternal misery…"

"And those who fought the darkness and died?"

"I was coming to that," Goku retorted, "those who were pure in heart and fought the darkness eventually died, the pain inside their bodies to much to bear. Once gone, they came here. However, it seemed that the darkness didn't leave their bodies but remained in them, waiting until it could hatch out. As soon as the poor person entered the astral plane, the evil that invaded their bodies found the strength to become a separate entity, a being created of nothing but human fear, hatred and sin. Once it achieved this embodiment, the shadow could easily overcome its host, somehow killing it again…"

"At least that's what our theory is," Trunks sighed, "we've been lucky enough never to be caught by one to really know what happens when the shadow takes you."

"Trust me, you don't want to go there grandpa," Goyan murmured. Gohan and Trunks both looked at him with astonishment whilst Goku cracked a huge grin on his face.

"I thought you might have gone there. I could feel it in you when you entered this room. Your heart is free from the evil that the shadow tried to inflict upon you. That's why you survived to that long. Without our spirit techniques nobody in this chamber would have survived as long as you did, not even me."

"What do you mean by that?" the Super Saiyan asked with his normal coolness. Opposite him his great-grandfather bowed his head for a moment, looking at the hard stone table in front of him.

"This is the interesting part of the story Goyan. Before the darkness even appeared, before I even died, there was a legend that spoke of such an act of hatred cursing the earth. A thick book bound with the ki energy of a being so powerful that only a chosen few could open the pages without killing themselves. It was called the prophecy, and its words were so true that it was spoken as 'the history of the future'."

"Did you ever read it," Goyan asked, his hand grasped firmly on the edge of the table. The great Saiyan opposite him burst into raucous laughter, a boom that seemed to tremble the room.

"Me? Read the prophecy? Nah, even if I had the power to open the covers of the book I could never decipher encryption it was written in. I can't even read very well in my own language. Only members of a certain sacred council could translate the texts. The council were direct descendents of the prophecy's author, and for some reason they could see past the written markings on the paper and see the true nature of the writings. However, there were certain pieces of the prophecy that were passed outside the lines of the council and got around…in particular to Master Roshi."

"Master Roshi?"

"Yes, my old martial arts mentor. He once sat me down and told me about how the prophecy talked about a bad thing happening, and the only way that it could be prevented."

"Gees Dad, you've never told me about this," quirked Gohan, "how come?"

"Because son, Master Roshi later told me not to mention this story until it was needed. The only reason he told me the story in the first place is because he thought that I was the prophesised one."

"There's a term I'm starting to tire of," Goyan said in an angry voice. Goku's eyes darted over to the Super Saiyan, their black beads trying to tear through the icy cold darkness of the opposite.

"Then they are already calling you the prophesised one? So it must be true, which is good, because you're going to have to listen in well for the next part of the story. You see, from the part of the prophecy that Master Roshi talked to me about; there was a terrible monster with power that overshadowed that of the entire universe. The only one that had even the slightest chance of defeating this evil creature was the prophesied one, the one that wielded unrealistic power, but the only person to have a free heart and spirit in one, the only being that could harness almost holy power in order to crush the darkness…"

"And I am that one?" Goyan asked. He, like everybody else at the table, was sitting totally upright, his hands grasped around the table. Goku once again lowered his eyes to the table.

"You may become the one, but not just yet. You have the power, and the potential, but there is one major factor that prevents you from gaining such sacred power." The table fell into a deadly silence, until Trunks threw his long purple hair back from his face and stared directly at the original Super Saiyan.

"Yeah, so enough with the dramatic pause Goku! How do we get Goyan here to have the power of the prophesised one? Hell, how do we even get Goyan back to the mortal world?"

"Because the prophesised one has such sacred energy, the portal between the spirit world and the mortal world can be opened at his will. Once he has such power he will automatically return to the real world. But firstly, he must attain this power. Goyan, do you remember what happened when the shadow latched onto you, during your first fight with it?"

"Yes, firstly it dragged me into this place that seemed so much like the cabin I was brought up in, except it wasn't. Then the shadow killed the younger version of me and dragged me into this huge dark vortex. Then I saw the younger version of myself so I tried as hard as I could to grab onto his hand. When I finally succeeded…"

"You obtained a new kind of power, one that you never felt before," Goku added.

"Exactly, as if it was a whole new kind of energy, not just ki energy running through my veins. It was like a brand new tap root for my strength." Trunks and Gohan looked at each other, bewildered, whilst Goku closed his eyes and nodded thoughtfully.

"That 'tap root' of energy was your heart Goyan. When you grabbed that young version of yourself you freed all the negative energy and pain that was stored in your heart. The vengeance that you held for your family disappeared and you gained the true and righteous meaning of your journey. You successfully gained a free heart."

"Just like that of the prophesised one," chanted Trunks and Gohan together. Goyan eyed both of his grandparents for a moment, wondering how they must of acted back on earth. Goku laughed loudly again before settling back into a serious face.

"Yes, just like the prophesised one. But the prophesised one needs both a free heart and spirit to be truly powerful. To have a free spirit is another thing all together…"

"Whatever it requires just let me at it!" Goyan growled, standing up to his full height.

"Sit down Goyan, it takes a little bit more than just to go out and fight somebody for it. You see, to have a free spirit is to have a free past. To have a free past it means to have you and all your ancestors free of pure evil. Having a pure spirit is one of the hardest things you will ever have to try and accomplish. You must find the weak link in your heritage and make it right."

"Well, who is my weak link?" Goyan asked with a hint of impatience. Trunks began to look incredibly gloomy; his youthful head sinking lower and lower.

"My father, Vegeta," he whispered. "When the darkness came to the astral plane it usually separated from it's hosts and became shadows. But, on rare occasions, the shadows decided that they wanted more power and tried to attack a warrior of incredible strength. Either the warrior would defeat the shadow with a spirit technique or be sucked in by that horrible mist. My father is another story altogether…" A tear ran from the young teenager's eye before he quickly hid his face under the grey cloak he wore. Goku got up from where he sat opposite Goyan and moved closer to him.

"In the beginning, when the shadows were first released upon the earth, they searched out the strongest of us and attempted to get into us and drain us of our mental energy. Most of us got away, some of us gave in and then there was Vegeta. Being the usual stubborn fool he is, Vegeta let the shadow into him in order to prove to me that he was stronger than the rest of us. Instead the creature began overpower him, causing him to lose his energy and strength. He almost died again."

"He should have," Trunks sobbed miserably, "It would have been easier on him and everybody else. Instead he had to hold on, stupid bastard."

"He's right," Goku sighed quietly, "it would have been easier. Instead, small parts of Vegeta held on inside, not letting the shadow quite overpower power him in both body and mind. Instead, the shadow remains in him till today, leaving him to act like a savage animal, attacking both friend and foe alike. We can't go near him without the fear of hurting him or hurting ourselves. Instead we let him run freely above ground in the canyon passes, where few spirits travel through. There he can't do too much damage."

"So what you're trying to tell me is that in order to find my true strength I have to kill Vegeta…" Goyan stated bluntly. Goku shot up from his seat and thrust both hands down on the table, making the whole table rumble.

"No, you must not kill him! If you do this then any chance you have of making a strong enough spirit link is gone. Your parents aren't here to help with the link, so you need to put another step on your history to gain your power." The words Goku used hit Goyan like a ton of bricks. His parents were nowhere to be seen.

"My…" he started.

"Your parents never came here Goyan," Trunks whispered to him slightly. "For some reason a few persons that were killed by the darkness did not come here. Don't worry though, if my theory is correct, then your parents are in a much better place at the moment, even if it is just for the moment." His Grandfather seemed to soothe the Super Saiyan straight away, letting him settle once more into his cold appearance.

"Then what do I have to do to unravel all this foolishness?"

"Free Vegeta of the shadow that haunts him," Goku stated bluntly, "free your great-grandfather and then destroy the evil that has engulfed him since the beginning of the darkness. It won't be an easy job; as a matter of fact it will be the hardest challenge that you've ever come across. Don't worry, we will assist you as far as we can, but as far as this goes, you're our only chance my child."

"Then I know what I have to do," Goyan said coldly as he stood up from his seat, his body radiating a bright blue aura. "I have to challenge my great-grandfather."

"We'll be with you Goyan," Goku said, "we'll help as much as we can, but you must defeat the shadow yourself. Are you ready?"

The warrior looked at his ancestor with eyes blazing, words not needed for the question. Immediately both his grandfathers stood together joining the duo in a small circle. The greatest journey the Z warriors were ever to face had just begun…

The master had been correct again, or so Nappa thought as he slowly lowered himself into the clearing. He had been amazed to see how tactful and cunning the two youngsters had been in destroying his troops. The large bald man thought it had been a rather huge entertainment. But now was time for business. As his feet came lightly into contact with the sandy soil below him he quickly scouted for any surprise attacks waiting for him. To his disappointment there was nothing, just two young people dressed in different coloured gi's, waiting for him on the other side of the clearing. He chuckled lightly to himself before moving in closer.

"Well done," he said, giving a light clap with his hands. The younger one, the green haired teenager, crouched into a horse stance and brought his hands up ready to fight.

"We took out all your pathetic servants, and let me tell you they weren't the last," Jeisen said with anger glowing through his bright golden eyes. Alura stepped up behind him, brushing her long blue hair from her face to also show the anger that she radiated inside of her.

"He's right, you bastards killed Goyan and now you, and however is in charge of you is going to pay as well."

"Oh really?" the Saiyan said with a chuckle, "the two of you are sooo big and strong, you can take on the rest of the world if you felt like it, couldn't you?" Nappa watched with amusement as the anger in the young boy's face intensified, his entire body radiating with a bright green aura.

"You can keep your sarcasm, just remember to smile when I smash that pug-nose of yours into your face!" he roared. A loud billowing filled the air…

…The fight was on.

Coming Soon

A Dragon's calling part 6 – Eternal Light

Goyan has freed his heart from evil but must now fight for the power of spirit. Will he succeed against his great-grandfather Vegeta, one of the greatest Dragon Ball Z legends of all time?

Meanwhile Alura and Jeisen must defeat the greatest enemy that they have challenged yet, the great monster Saiyan Nappa. But without the help of the prophesised Saiyan, the odds are going to be against there favour. Will their love and desire to triumph overcome brute strength, or will the two warriors meet the same fate as their master?