Beginning with an End

Beginning with an End

Part 10

"P-p-pregnant?!" Goku nearly fell over with disbelief.

"Uh-huh," Chichi nodded sullenly.

"But honey," Goku protested gleefully, "that's wonderful!"

"No it's not, Goku," she countered, tears welling in her eyes, "You won't ever get to meet your own child!"

"Aww, c'mon Chichi," Goku eased, "You know I'll do my best to get back down to Earth."

"No you won't, you chose to stay up there, remember?" she prompted unhappily.

"That was before King Kai told me that there might be a way that I could come back to Earth without being a threat to it."

"Goku," she shrieked, "how in the world could you ever be a threat to Earth? You spend practically all your time trying to protect it, or some other god forsaken planet!" She threw her hands in the air wildly, but slumped again, and returned to her weeping.

"Think about it, everyone who has tried to destroy the Earth has actually been trying to get to me," he answered calmly. "I know that sounds big-headed," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, "but it's true. – But don't worry," he added quickly, "King Kai has found a way that enables me to come back to Earth."

"You mean it?" her eyelashes fluttered, as smile creeping across her face, and she wiped her eyes.

"I promise," Goku said confidently.

******

King Kai cleared his throat, "I wouldn't promise anything Goku, but, oh yeah, that's right, you didn't hear me. Well, this whole plan of mine might not work. It's almost impossible," he explained.

Goku took his hand away. "I don't care how hard it might be King Kai, or how long it will take, or what I have to do to make it happen. I am promising you now that I will be back on Earth before the birth of my child, no matter what it takes." He moved to replace his hand.

"Goku, you can't get Chichi's hopes up like that," King Kai protested.

"I'm not. I'm making that promise to you," – he replaced his hand – "Chichi honey, did you hear? I promise I'll do the best I can, but King Kai says that I you can't be too sure that it will work, okay? So you have to promise me that you will take good care of Gohan and the baby if I don't make it back. And be strong."

******

Chichi nodded gladly. "Don't talk like that Goku, I know you'll make it, you always do." She couldn't contain her joyous laughter as she stood up, wiping her face.

That had been the most emotional moment in anyone's life that Bulma had ever witnessed. She ran up and hugged her friend, congratulating her and Goku, crying her own tears of joy. Goku laughed too, enjoying the literal moment.

"Uh Dad," Gohan interrupted, "Mom, you had better listen too." They all fell silent, Chichi and Bulma starting at Gohan's serious tone.

"Yes, Son?" he prompted, no longer laughing.

Gohan couldn't remember how many times he had explained this already, but he knew that this was the most important time of all. He had no idea of how he was supposed to stop Nahmi from being evil, and he really needed his father's advice. Somehow, Goku always knew what to do.

Goku paused, calculating. "If all that you say is true, then you have to find her quick."

"Oh, Trunks is now," Bulma interjected, casting an apologetic grin at Chichi. She didn't notice. By now, she was clutching Bulma and trembling for her son's safety.

"But surely," Goku continued, thinking aloud more than anything else, "if she was truly trying to conquer the Earth, then she would have started destroying things by now, and you would have sensed her ki, right? But you haven't."

Gohan shook his head in reply.

"Is there any reason that you can think of, why she wouldn't have started straight away?" Goku questioned. It was Bulma who answered.

"Well, she was ill when she left, so she probably has to rest and regain her strength before she could do any real damage. She only left a smut of black and took off a little paint on my ceiling."

Gohan shook his head; it didn't make sense. According to Bulma, her fever was really high and she had remained unconscious for hours. He doubted that upon awakening from a fever like that, that he would have even been able to even sit up, let alone fly. The answer suddenly struck him, how could he have forgotten?

"The flask," he answered quickly, "she told me that she carries her flask with her at all times. Whatever it is that is in that flask, it works like Senzu beans – she could have drank from it and easily regained enough strength to get away. I'll bet that Trunks and I flew right by her; she can cloak her ki perfectly, but to do that it takes a lot of concentration and peak condition. I don't think it's a question of not having enough strength." Then he remembered something; what she had said to him in those few seconds during which he had glimpsed the evil in her eyes. "She's gone to find her ship," he stated matter-of-factly.

******

Nahmi laughed as she floated above the city. She couldn't believe her own genius. She knew exactly where to find her ship. Before she had fallen into the misty depths of unconsciousness, she had managed to establish a telepathic link with the one who called himself 'Boss.' She grimaced; she didn't know how she remembered what had happened, and she couldn't remember why she thought it unusual that she had been able to remember what the 'Boss' had been thinking. All she knew was that she had a feeling that this was the first time that she had ever been able to remember what someone had said when she maintained a subconscious telepathic link. She also had the feeling that she had only just recently discovered that she even had the ability to keep a link while unconscious. She shook her head, it was all too confusing and it was clouding her thoughts. Either way, she knew that her ship was being hidden in a warehouse by the river, next to a large vacant lot scattered with mangled car wrecks and busted tires. Now all she had to do was find it. She laughed again; she did not realize that it would be no easy task.

******

Trunks could have sworn that he had seen a tiny speck in the sky hovering above the city, but in an instant, as he glanced at one of the houses far below, it had disappeared. It was still very far off, and had most likely been a bird of some sort, seeking prey amongst the rich pickings of the city. He drew his sword; he had a very bad feeling about all of this.

******

"Why would she be trying to find her ship?" Goku pondered aloud; "I can't see what use she could possibly have for it if she's evil. Something that small wouldn't be capable of getting her home once she's completed her mission. And I doubt that she would even care if she ever found her family or not. If she remembers her mission so easily, then I'd say that she would remember more than that about her origin and who sent her, so it's not her evil side that's searching for it. She has no use for it other than a link to her past. If she still cares about the ship so much that she is willing to postpone her mission, then maybe, somewhere deep inside her heart, she is still fighting for good. Finding her ship could be her subconscious way of giving the Earth time."

"Wow Dad," Gohan spoke with astonishment, "I never realized you could be so insightful."

"Well," he replied, abashed, "I do have a little experience with this sort of thing, you know. But listen Gohan," his voice grew deathly serious, "You are the only one strong enough to stop her. You have to hold her off for me, I think I have an idea…"

"But Goku," Chichi tried to protest, but was interrupted by her husband.

"Chichi, it's the only way. Besides, I don't think that she will be able to transform to Super Saiyan while she's evil. She must have truly been good for her to be able to transform with a tail; it took her a lot of effort to make it disappear when she transformed. The tail is the root of evil in Saiyans, which is obvious when we transform into Oozaru, but she managed to overcome that and transform into a Super Saiyan. That only proves to me that she is actually good at heart, and she is still subconsciously fighting for good. We could just remove her tail, yes, but I don't know what sort of affect that will have on her. I think that we have to try to help her good side overcome the evil, or she may be left with a continuous fight between good and evil inside of her and she would never be able to reach her full potential. I think that the goodness inside her needs to be obvious before we risk removing her tail, which, remember, we may not be able to get close enough to do. I think that that is the only way, because if we take the root of evil from her when she is good, she would have the strength to fight off the rest." He finished determinedly.

"But surely that wouldn't happen if we take the evil by taking her tail? If we take away the root then the problem would vanish as well. She's evil because of the tail, right?" Gohan questioned.

"You've never been evil and you had a tail," Goku retorted knowingly. "I know you want to save her, Gohan, but I think that the evil in her is more than just because of her tail. But that's just what I don't understand about all this, if she's good enough at heart to be able to transform into a Super Saiyan, then where is the evil coming from? I think that the tail only made her vulnerable to the real evil."

"Oh," Gohan said in understanding, "so the problem is more than it seems. But how are we supposed to help her good side fight the evil?"

"You just stop her from destroying the Earth," Goku answered wryly, "I've got a plan, just leave the rest to me…"

"Wait!" Gohan called.

"Go find her, Son," he answered distantly.

"Goku!" Chichi shrieked, "Don't leave!"

"Hurry!" His last word echoed faintly in their minds and disappeared.

******

There it was again, a slightly larger dot in the sky on the other side of the city. It was no bird, Trunks was sure of that. He had just reached the place where he had last seen it, after he had searched many streets of the city fruitlessly. He hoped that if it had been Nahmi he could gain a vantage point, get a bird's-eye view of where she had been looking, which may have given him a clue as to where she was headed. The distant figure disappeared right in front of his eyes; no one but an experienced fighter could have moved that quickly, and no one but alive but Nahmi or Gohan could have moved so fast that he could not see them. It was her for sure. He took in the scenery below him before flying to the place he had seen Nahmi disappear from.

******

Nahmi gazed at the city below her; it was much larger than she had expected, and the task at hand was proving to be all the more difficult. Suddenly, a ki nicked her senses, and she turned her gaze towards the direction in which it came from. A grin slid across her face. The weak Saiyan…she mused, and her features snapped to a look of disgust…if he's one of Us, then there's no point in killing him, a playful smile suddenly appeared, but that doesn't mean I can't play games. This is the perfect playground. She dove into hiding in the maze of streets below her.

******

"Goku, I don't know what you think you're doing!" King Kai yelled in vain, walking backwards, slightly in front and to the left of Goku. He was being ignored.

Goku continued to march towards the doors of the heavenly Taj-Mahal. "This place looks like that palace on Earth," he acknowledged, "that one in India."

"The Taj-Mahal?" King Kai was glad to at least get some speech out of him. "That would be because the one who built the version on Earth was trying to replicate what he had seen when he passed through here and received his halo."

"His halo?" Goku questioned.

"Yes," King Kai answered with exasperation, and explained about the levels of the soul once again. He finished as they ascended the wide glittering, golden stairs.

"Wow, you're right, if I do get this level I will get the best of both worlds," he said confidently, he had to make sure of everything that he had thought King Kai had said earlier, "so what should I expect when I get inside?"

"Well," King Kai answered, scratching his head with an embarrassed grin, "to tell you the truth I don't actually have a clue!" He laughed uncomfortably.

"Well," Goku took in a deep breath, full of determination, "here goes nothing, I guess. HELLO!" He banged on the golden door, as he stood on a terrace scattered with winding white-gold pillars.

"Goku!" King Kai hissed, "What are you doing? If you want to get inside you are going about it the wrong way!"

"No I'm not," Goku countered, "look, the door's opening."

King Kai rubbed his face in exasperation, "Goku, this is the palace from which the lives of everyone are governed. Don't you think they deserve a little more respect…"

He was suddenly interrupted by a booming voice. "We welcome you, Son Goku," the voice reverberated around them. A silver mist emanated from within the open doorway. It began to slowly disperse, but not before the speaker had finished. "You have passed the tests of will and loyalty. Your will was strong enough to guide you to this palace, and you show loyalty enough to your friends, that they are willing to risk themselves to return that loyalty." The smoke had cleared enough to reveal a large room, at the back of which was a long bench with five strange figures seated at it. "Come forth and we will hear your cause for requesting the position of the fourth level of the soul, and if we believe your intentions to be pure, you will be allowed to take the final test. Come forth and speak!" The voice commanded.

Goku walked forward into the room, not at all phased by what surrounded him. King Kai slapped his forehead, He's going to mess this up, I just know it. He never brags, but he'll need to do some serious bragging if he want's to be allowed to return to Earth. These people may control where his soul goes, but they don't take any notice of what happens on such a tiny, insignificant planet like Earth. He scurried forward, clearing his throat as he stopped in front of Goku.

"…" He was interrupted just as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Be silent! This is not a court room, and there are no lawyers permitted!" King Kai was now able to see the speaker. He was the smallest being he had ever encountered. His skin was light yellow and his face was long with a wide frowning mouth that seemed to separate a small sliver of a chin from the rest of his face. He was heavily wrinkled with deep frown lines and sagging cheeks. His forehead was dented with small ravines and his eyes were tired with heavy bags beneath them. He wore the same uniform of the Other World as the gatekeeper had, with royal blue hair protruding through the hole in his cap. He stood up in his high seat in the center of the bench, hands arched on the table as he bent over it. To his left and far left sat two similarly aged figures with wisdom engraved deeply in their features. One was surprisingly human, but he was from a time long forgotten and was no longer remembered. His white beard extended far below what was visible, and he wore half-moon spectacles. The frazzled white hair was left to grow and held in place with the white cap. The other appeared to be a large insect that continuously gnashed its large jaws. To the far right of the being whose minuteness was only rivaled by Chaozu, was a seemingly young manlike creature with the head of a jackal, and beside him was a large green being whom Goku was most astounded by.

"Guru?" he questioned.

"Yes, Goku, it is I, but it is a sad fate indeed to see the one whom saved my people standing before me in the Other World. It is a sad loss for the Earth and the Universe alike." The aged Namek answered solemnly.

"Oh, but that's where you are wrong Guru," Goku replied, his voice full of awe, "it was all worth it, it if only to meet you. I've heard great things about you, and I can't thank you enough for bringing out some of the hidden powers in my son."

"Gohan? Such a nice boy. And good at heart like his father. It is I who should be thanking you, for saving the Nameks and restoring them to life after the tragedy that befell them at the hands of Frieza. If you had not destroyed him…"

"This is the one who defeated Frieza?" the small yellow being questioned.

"Well, no, actually," Goku answered, rubbing the back of his neck, "Trunks did that. I guess that somewhere in my heart I must have believed that Frieza deserved a second chance, so I didn't put enough energy into the attack to kill him. Unfortunately, it seemed that I was wrong and he used his second chance for evil."

"You mean to say that you believed that Frieza deserved a second chance?" the miniature man interrogated, astonished.

"On some level, everyone deserves a second chance – no one can be born evil, right?"

The Judges simply blinked at him, except for Guru.

"This man does not even need to take the final test for you to know that he is pure of heart," his eyes twinkled with pride.

"That is not for us to decide," the small being snapped, "we are to determine whether he deserves to take that test according to the deeds he has committed, and to judge that his intentions are worthy." He turned to Goku, who, unlike most, did not waver under his gaze. "Why do you stand before us? Why do you deserve to attain the fourth level of the soul? Why is it that you seek us? Answer me now!" he demanded.

"Because," Goku answered simply, "unless you grant me the fifth level of the soul, the Earth will be destroyed. At the moment, the fate of the Earth is in the hands of an eleven year old boy, my son, and he is young and confused, and though he is more powerful than I, he will be forced to fight an evil that has taken over a close friend. We do not wish to destroy this girl, for she is good, but the only way to save the Earth is to save her from the evil inside of her. She is equal in power to Gohan, and if he were to let his guard down for a second to try to help her fight the evil, he too will surely be destroyed. It was she and my son who defeated Cell, and if she were to defeat Gohan, there would be no more in the known universe able to defy her power."

"If she was once good, and defeated Cell, then why did she suddenly turn evil," the Head Judge questioned wryly.

"Does it matter?" Goku retorted defiantly, "Isn't the fate of the entire universe more important than that? I will be able to save her and the Universe if you grant me this level."

"There will be others to rise to the challenge, and she too will be defeated, like the rest," the yellow man answered casually. King Kai was chewing his fingernails.

"In time," Goku rebutted slyly, "but are you willing to let possibly millions die when you have the answer right in front of you? That would not be a good number to have on your head, because it would be your fault."

"There will be more people to take the places of the old."

"People are not expendable," Goku countered coldly, "and neither is this girl. She could be the Universe's most powerful defender for good if you allow me to save her."

"You have not as of yet presented to me how you propose to perform such a feat," the little man slammed his hands down on the bench.

"Does it matter? I'm the only chance you have! Anyway, I thought it was only your job to determine whether my intentions were pure?"

The little man laughed smugly, "I'm the one who makes the rules, and I command you to answer me!"

Suddenly, blackness erupted from the very air surrounding the High Judge. A look of terror contorted his wrinkled face and he let out a scream of pain. At the same instant, white light engulfed King Kai, and they both ascended into the air of another accord.

"What's happening to me!" King Kai shrieked, and in an a amazing clap of white light, and a thundering cloud of blackness, the High Judge let out a last wail of despair and disappeared.

When those left in the room regained their sight after the blinding flash of light, they looked to the High seat in astonishment to see a befuddled King Kai dressed in white robes.

"It seems King Kai," Guru laughed, "that you've been promoted."

by Lolli

Well, that's all we have for this evening… If you've read this far, well then, wow! Thank you so much ^^…But hey, surely you have something to say about it? Please review! Or even better, tell me what you think yourself and email me at lollirulz@hotmail.com …PLZ!!! Oh, BTW, I forgot to mention…heh heh…no reviews, no more – got that!?! Bwahahahahaha! Bye!