Beginning with an End
Part 8
Ding-dong,
ding-dong. Ding-dong, ding-dong.
The glorious
echoing of massive bells shook the air, shattering the calm and tranquil
atmosphere with pulsing waves of sound. Goku, too, found himself shaking with the vibrations emitted from the
mighty bells of the Gates to the Other World. Blinding golden light reflected from the gigantic arched doorway,
dancing across the clouds, dazzling the eyes, as the doors began to swing
silently open. Radiant white beams sliced the air from the widening crack in
the door. Goku shielded his eyes; the
shadows created from his open splayed fingers played with his features,
obviously portraying awe none the less. It seemed that from somewhere within the confines of the mysterious
gateway, laughter and joyous singing streamed, complimenting the heavenly
divine atmosphere strung with the melody of hundreds of harps. The space between the doors continued to
widen, and as Goku's eyes began to adjust to the brilliant light, he caught
glimpsed snatches of airborne merrymaking, guided by wings of angelic
splendor. Suddenly, he became aware of
a seemingly insignificant figure framed against the magnificence of the portal,
small and strange in stature, shadowed by the light emanating from behind him.
"Welcome," a
tiny voice chirped with a touch of foreboding, "welcome to the World of Eternal
Bliss, where dreams become reality and darkness an image long forgotten." The minute figure shuffled forward and bowed
low to the ground, r his topknot of translucent white hair brushing against the
silver road. Bright orange skin was
revealed; the gold trimming of his pure white robes skipped across the
ground. On his head he wore a white cap
of similar make to his robes, and from the center his hair protruded through a
hole, flopping in front of his round face. His hands were clasped before his chest, and he stood upright, his thin
slits of eyes opening for the first time. His nose was small and pointed, and wriggled incessantly above his
pursed lips. An air of self-importance
surrounded him, and he bowed once more, extravagantly, lavishly waving his arms
in introduction. "I am," his twitching
nose almost touched the ground amidst his conceitedness, "Lilliputian, Keeper
of the Gates. Follow me and you will be
assigned your wings and halo." He
turned on his heel and scuttled away without a further glance at his
charges. Goku, dumbstruck, with a
trance-like expression on his face, floated, unquestioning, after the strange
orange being.
"Wait!"
Bubbles and
Gregory, who had floated unwittingly behind Goku, turned to face King Kai in
surprise, distant glints in their eyes. Oblivious of his companions, or indeed his actions, Goku continued to
follow Lilliputian, who had already disappeared from sight.
"WAIT!" King
Kai's frustrated voice rang in the air. A loud thud was the only reply, and Goku found himself sprawled on the
cold, hard ground. "Goku," King Kai
massaged his forehead irritably, "there are more important things than
following that arrogant little shrimp!"
Goku stood and
dusted himself off absently, retaining his limp, hypnotic state. "What could be more important than getting
my wings?" he retorted simply, in a distant, dreamy monotone. King Kai leaped into the air with a
disgruntled yell and brought his cupped hand crashing down on Goku's head. A dazed, yet unbearably present expression
befell Goku's face and he rubbed his head tentatively. "What did you wake me up for King Kai?" he
asked bemusedly, "I was having the most relaxing dream where I…"
"Be Quiet!" King Kai cried, snapping Goku
to attention, "Goku, you're only making it harder for yourself!"
"Making what
harder?" Goku cocked a quizzical eyebrow.
King Kai exhaled exasperatedly. "If you give in to the," he waved his arms
around as though he were trying to yank the right word from his mouth, "well,"
he sighed, "I don't know what it is, but until you get your wings there is
something that tries to draw you to them."
"So why try to
resist it?" Goku shrugged lightheartedly, and began to drift into the dazed
stupor once more.
"Because…" King
Kai snapped, startling Goku into agitated alertness, "you want to go back to
Earth, right?" – he didn't allow Goku time enough to disagree – "Well, once you
accept your wings, even any thought
of return is impossible – you won't remember your past or even your own family
until they too arrive in the Other World. Look at the people in there Goku:" he gestured to the fluffy white world
of wonder inside the gates, but this time, Goku did not even look like drifting
off into a dream, "do they look like people who have any worries? No! They don't have a care in the world, let alone for it! You won't be able
to even remember Gohan once you gain your wings, and he will need your help at
some stage in his life if he is to take over your role as the Earth's
protector."
Goku took a
resolute stance. He had never realized
that giving up your life meant throwing away all connections with Earth, let
alone memory. He would not let that
enticing atmosphere of this world get to him. "So, what do we do King Kai?"
"Well,
basically," he answered, "we have to get you to the Five High Judges
intact. And don't scoff, but this may
be your hardest test yet. Whatever you
do, don't accept anything from anyone – don't even look at them with the
slightest bit of longing – and most importantly, don't give in to temptation."
Goku
nodded. "So how do you plan on getting
me to Earth without being a threat to it?" He took his first steps inside the gate and concentrated on King
Kai. He figured that if he could keep
his attention focussed on one thing, he could resist the terrible taunting
feeling that scorned his ignorance and attempted to claim it could fulfil his
heart's desire.
"You see Goku,"
he replied thoughtfully; he didn't even seem to be affected by the 'something'
that tugged at Goku's soul, "It works like this," – Goku was barely listening;
a bead of perspiration formed on his brow from the stress of resistance –
"there are four, possibly five, different levels of the soul. The first level is life. The second is limbo, which is only meant to
last along Snake Way and on my planet. We are now in limbo, though you really shouldn't be. That's right hold it off," he added with a
concerned glance at his comrade. "What you should be is in the third stage,
official death. When you are officially
dead, you can gain your wings and halo, if you are deserving. If you are not, you are sent away from the
Gates to spend eternity, or until you have repented and redeemed yourself of
your sins, in limbo. But we don't want
that. The level that we are aiming at
is, well, it doesn't have a name, it just is. This level is extremely hard to gain, almost impossible, but once
gained, you can travel freely between both worlds. To show that you are in this level, you only gain the halo, and
you are alive in almost every way. You
will still have your body in a sense – really more like a dense spirit – and
you won't tire or grow hungry, deeming sleep and food unnecessary. You won't age, and you can choose to accept
your wings any time you wish."
"So Goku will
be an unstoppable force – a totally undefeatable fighting machine!" Gregory
chirruped excitedly, zipping through the air with Bubbles bouncing below him in
agreement.
"No, I'm afraid
not," King Kai shook his head as he continued to walk with his hands held
behind his back, "fighting is entirely impossible. However, luckily, Goku does not want to be able to fight, because
that only attracts challengers, posing a threat to Earth. No, in this level, fighting is impossible
because Goku; you won't have a ki. Your
ki is your life energy, and if your are technically dead, you don't have or
need life energy. Goku, you will simply
exist. Of course, to you it will seem
as though you do still have energy, and you will be able to fire attacks and
transform to super saiyan, so you will be able to train Gohan and…well, never
mind who else. However, there is no way
that you can harm anyone living, or be harmed by them either for that matter. But let me warn you now, this is a level of
the highest difficulty to attain; for most it would be impossible. However, after the number of times you have
saved the Earth, and the fact that you chose to remain here to protect it
further, while remembering that the only reason you want to go back is to help
others to protect it, I'm feeling a lot more confident that they will allow you
to acquire this spiritual level. At
first this level will seem a little strange, but simply being is something even the best have to adjust to. Goku? Goku! Goku, are you listening to
me?"
Goku's back was
bent in concentration, sweat dripping from his deeply rutted brow. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be
almost meditating as he walked. Why do I even bother? King Kai thought
as he looked around; they had come a long way from the Gate, and Goku didn't
even look like bending to the will of the very air around him.
"Hey King Kai,"
Goku struggled to ask, entirely aside from the subject that he had not even
heard, "will this feeling last the whole time I'm here, like, when we get – ah
– to wherever it is that we're going?" He didn't open his eyes; he didn't want to know how much further he had
to travel. If it was far, it could
cause him to lose hope, and faith in himself. Blocking all sounds while trying to listen to only one would be
difficult, as he discovered it was with King Kai's incessant droning, but he
desperately needed to know the answer to this question. He found it was easier to simply refuse
acknowledgement of his surroundings than it was to try to focus on one part of
it, but he wasn't sure that he could hold out for much longer, and the Judging
would surely take much longer. "King Kai, I don't know how long I can keep
this up." His words were extremely
forced.
"Don't worry, once you reach the Palace you
won't be able to feel – whatever it is that is doing this to you. We're nearly there, but I hope you're
prepared to face an interrogation, because that is something that you must
surely expect, though I can't really say exactly how they weigh up the worthiness of your soul. It must
be intense for them to need five judges though."
"Gee, thanks
King Kai," Goku laughed sarcastically, but it was far from his usual full,
hearty laugh; it was strained and almost hollow.
If he thinks that's bad, King Kai mused ruefully, then I'm glad I didn't tell him about how
perilous this journey can actually be for a man. If he only knew the side
effects resistance could cause. It
could drive a normal man crazy. But I'd
never ask him to do something that I didn't think he was capable of.
******
Gohan and
Trunks sat quietly at the dining table, stirring their soup, bent over it with
their heads resting in their hands. Nahmi's place was empty beside Gohan, and Indigo, in utmost formality,
had explained that she could not dine with them and would most likely not be
there to see them off. They had faked
surprise, which in truth hadn't been so difficult, as they couldn't believe
that Indigo had simply accepted the note: Nahmi had been right. They continued to stir their soup
disinterestedly. Laughter erupted at
the table as Krillin cracked a joke, but they had barely noticed, just like
they didn't have an inkling that Indigo was staring at them intently.
"You two seem
preoccupied," Indigo stated in an unspoken question, rousing them from their
thoughts.
"Huh?" they
both looked up, genuinely surprised by the remark, and even more so by the rapt
gaze that now fixed their eyes. They
looked back to the soup, wondering whether she had been talking to them the
entire time, as her eyes suggested, and they had simply not noticed. They had both been too engrossed in their
own thoughts to even sense that someone had been watching them for quite some
time. In unison, they took a spoonful
of soup and grimaced, pushing their bowls away. "I'm just not feeling too well," they said in time, and glanced
at each other, startled. Indigo smiled
and pushed the carved wooden bowls back towards them.
"Soup is best
for illness." She spoke knowingly from
experience, as though she saw this all the time and expected them to drink it
down without further question, judging by the 'I know what's best for you' tone
of voice she had acquired. Perhaps they
had managed to halt any thoughts of doubt about their quietness, that may have
arisen in her mind. "I suspect you have
both been affected by the cold, no?" They nodded in reply. Others
began pushing away empty bowls, and a girl with long blonde pigtails hanging
loosely over her ears began to collect them. Trunks offered her his untouched bowl, but Indigo stopped her with a
calmly raised hand. The girl moved on,
and the raised hand suddenly became a shaking finger. "You must eat as much of it as possible if you wish to regain
your health. We will leave you to
finish in peace, and I will see to it that you are recovered before you leave
my care. It is the least I can do for
having the honor of the presence of such worthy guests, it would be wrong to
let you leave in any lower repair than when you arrived, indeed, to let you
leave feeling any less than your best." Gohan opened his mouth to protest, but was shushed by Indigo, as she
stood. To their surprise everyone had
finished and obediently followed suit. They watched as everyone filed out of the room; Indigo with a well
wishing bow of her head. As everyone
sought the warmth of the morning sun on the veranda, they were left to
themselves in silence.
Trunks sighed.
"It seems we've delayed ourselves even further."
"Mmm," Gohan
nodded glumly. They took to the soup no
less slowly; Gohan truly did feel ill, and Trunks didn't want to raise
suspicion. Through the windows they saw
Vegeta land outside; he had evidently been taking advantage of his surroundings
for training purposes, as the sweat covering his face glistened in the
intensifying sunlight. They could also
see that Indigo was watching them. Vegeta was looking rather wrathful at the
delay and glared in at them sporadically. At least he wouldn't allow Indigo to hold them back any longer, but they
suddenly began to dread their arrival at Capsule Corps when they contemplated
what he would have to say about it all. It appeared that Indigo was having a harsh word to him, when suddenly,
familiar words took shape on his mouth. He appeared to be yelling, 'I don't
have to listen to you, woman!' and took off as suddenly as he had arrived. Trunks and Gohan glanced at each other and
groaned simultaneously: they had both come to the conclusion that Nahmi was
more important than anything Vegeta would have to say. They forced the remainder of the soup down
with false actions that could have only indicated recovery, even to a wary
onlooker. Indigo returned through the
french doors.
"You're right,"
Trunks chirped cheerfully before she could get a word in, "that soup was great;
I'm feeling heaps better."
"Yeah," Gohan
chimed in, though he didn't quite look the cheery part, "much better." He gave a little stretch and stood, pushing
his bowl away.
"Hmm," Indigo
smiled, "I thought so. However, I
insist you drink some of my herbal tea before you leave just in case."
"Sure," Gohan
accepted dejectedly but politely, and sat down, but Trunks cut him off.
"Ah, no thank
you," he rejected the offer even more politely than Gohan had accepted it, "I'm
sure we'll be fine, it's only a short flight home."
"I insist,"
Indigo urged and left the room for the kitchens in one sweeping movement. "Oh," she added, stopping at the door,
"Vegeta will not be accompanying you on your return journey." A look of distaste twisted her mouth but
triumph glinted in her eyes and she swept through the doorway.
"Gosh," Gohan
gave Trunks an astonished glance; "I wonder what she said to Vegeta?"
"I don't know,"
Trunks shook his head, "but she must have won one over him. He did look pretty ticked, didn't he?"
"Mmm," Gohan
agreed in wide-eyed amazement. "Hey, do you think we could just kinda…well,
leave?"
"No," Trunks
answered, "They'd wonder why, and then Indigo would find out and try to
help. We can't chance anyone getting
hurt. She may have been able to handle
Nahmi when she was younger, but now it would be impossible."
"Mmm."
******
Bulma rushed
down the stairs, skidding to a stop at the bottom and raced into the
kitchen. She ripped open the cupboard,
grabbed a bundle of herbs and a box of medication, and ran back up the stairs
to the bathroom. She hurriedly
half-filled bowl of water before she realized that she had forgotten the
ice. She continued to fill it and
sloshed into her bedroom, throwing it down onto the bedside table. She noticed that the sun was well into the
sky, as she turned and hurried back down to the kitchen with many a curse and a
stubbed toe.
Meanwhile,
Nahmi lay thrashing in the bed, screaming with the terrors conjured by
fever-dreams. Scattered speech
interrupted her ceaseless moaning, as she tossed around, threatening to hit her
head.
I've never seen
anyone react to a temperature so badly, Bulma thought, feeling the frosty air
of the freezer hit her face. She filled
a bowl with ice and ascended the stairs at an alarming pace. Nahmi had already melted all the icepacks
sufficiently heated a bowl of cold water. She entered the room and took her seat, wrapping the ice in the wet
washcloth. She had to admit that even
she didn't know how to handle a temperature of this magnitude, and she was
growing panicky, as Nahmi's condition seemed to be worsening. If she could manage to calm her, she
wouldn't be so worried, but how am I to
calm her when she's still asleep? She
tried her hardest to cool Nahmi's boiling face, amidst her constant rolling and
jolts of movement. These nightmares must be terrible. Suddenly, Nahmi lay almost still, panting and shivering amidst slight
moans and turns of her head. Bulma sat
back and breathed a sigh of relief. I think I'll apply her ointment now, while
she's quiet, but the medication will be useless until she wakes. She bent over the girl, gently rubbing the
herbal oil into her wound – it was the very last drop, and she would have to
concoct another batch very soon.
Nahmi suddenly
sat erect, screaming, sending Bulma over backwards and onto the floor in
fright. Her eyes were open slightly,
only enough to show that they were rolling madly. Her face contorted, and her body convulsed. "I'll Kill You!" she
shrieked, aiming an attack at Bulma, but her eyes shut and she fell back onto
the bed as she released it, hitting the roof to create a cloud of dust and a
char mark. Bulma stood to her feet,
shaking from head to toe, whimpering with fright. For a split second she had thought that Nahmi had really meant
it. Flustered, she took her seat, still
shivered with the shock; Nahmi's threat echoed in her head. The young girl now lay murmuring on the bed,
tossing around in the sheets. Every so
often, her speech would become louder, and clear enough that snatches became
understandable. "Conquer…Earth…can't!"
she fought with the sheets. Bulma fumbled with the herbs and began clumsily
crushing them in her hands; she couldn't see what else she could do, and the
shock of Nahmi's outburst had brought her beyond the barrier of panicky.
However, she
continued to take nonstop care of her, and her thrashing and outbursts became
sporadic tossing and murmuring, which in turn faded to the odd moan. Bulma was exhausted, but it seemed as though
she had barely guided Nahmi through the worst of it. Her throat was parched and she looked at her watch. She couldn't believe it; it was late
morning. She gazed at Nahmi, who was
sleeping peacefully. At this stage it
couldn't harm to get herself a drink. Or even a nice refreshing cuppa. She tiptoed out and shut the door with a soft click, and made her way
silently to the kitchen.
******
Trunks and
Gohan were finally allowed out of the lodge. They had both at times found themselves ruefully regretting that they
had not taken that chance to leave hours ago during the one time that Indigo
had left the room to make them herbal tea. She had since gone through countless medical procedures, including a
massage, and complete check-up. If it
had been mid morning when they had been finishing their soup, then it was now
late morning with a flight ahead of them that would take them into the
afternoon. Vegeta was nowhere to be
seen and Nahmi, to no one's surprise, had not yet arrived.
It seemed that
the Z-fighters had managed to make many friends during their stay. Gohan learned that Trunks had awoken to find
himself in the lodge only hours before he had. That now seemed an age ago, as he stood on the grass, bidding farewell
to the many girls who had tended him while he slept. Most of them, he had only seen in the dining hall, but he
recognized the blonde with the pigtails who had served the dinners. She, at least, he had spoken to, even if it
was only a thank-you or two. It was she
who came up to him now. It seemed that
it was their custom to farewell everyone individually, and the Z-fighters stood
in a line facing a moving line of the lodge's inhabitants.
The blonde girl
approached him. Like the others, she
wore a blue uniform of slacks and a sleeveless shirt with a collar that covered
her neck. The silver raindrop amulet
hung around her hair; she was really very pretty, and certainly no older than
Nahmi. But Gohan didn't even notice; he
was very far away, lost in his own thoughts and worries about Nahmi. He couldn't let himself think of what would
happen if she awoke while Bulma was with her. If he had have stayed he could have protected her, but he wouldn't have
had the advantage of knowing that she had already turned evil. If they arrived on time, then he could have
the best of both worlds. "Ah Gohan," she began. His sudden snap to attention brought a flush of scarlet to her
face. "I – ah – hope, that you – ah –
come back to visit again, goodbye." She
scampered across to Krillin without a side ways glance. She hadn't even allowed him to reply.
The next girl
congratulated him on his great fight, and last of all to deliver their farewell
was Indigo.
"I must thank
you for your help in defeating Cell. You are a brave young warrior of superior strength with the courage to
stand up for your beliefs. I must
apologize for my insistence on the battlefield, for you were right."
"Huh?" Gohan
was completely taken aback. He could
barely even remember what he had said to her during the fight with Cell.
"You were right
to follow your beliefs and your heart. If Nahmi had have opposed Cell alone…" she glanced at the ground, "Thank
you." She bowed and moved along the
line.
As Gohan flew
along the path he had taken the previous night, he contemplated what Indigo had
said. In her eyes had been a look that
he had only ever seen in his mother's when he left for battle. A new resolution formed in his mind. I
can't let Indigo down…I can't let Nahmi down, she wouldn't want this; I have to
save her.
by Lolli
