Well, this is the last upload. See ya at the end.
***
Chapter 8: The Beginning of the End
Trunks had reached the cabin and had explained to Goku and Vegeta about Angel and Tiger. Goten was the only other person in the house because the others had gone home to visit their families. Goten was in the shower at that moment, luckily for them all.
"I couldn't save her," Trunks cried, angry tears falling from his eyes, "It's all my fault, I should've known better! I should've brought her back here." Even Vegeta hadn't the heart to reprimand Trunks for his tears. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to scold him.
"Trunks," Vegeta said sharply, "It wasn't your fault, do you hear me, boy?"
"But you should've seen the way she looked at me," Trunks said bitterly, angry and confused, "She was so frightened and I just sat there and looked at her like a mannequin!" Vegeta was going to try and talk him out of this trip again, but was interrupted by a wonderfully welcome voice.
"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, now would you, Trunks?" I asked with a smirk on my face. I had heard it all and Vegeta probably knew.
"Angel!" Trunks shouted, tears running down his cheeks, "Angel, are you okay?" While he was saying this, he'd leapt over the couch and hugged me so tightly that my breath was taken away, and in more than one way, too.
"T-Trunks," I managed to choke out, "Can't...breath!"
"Oh, sorry!" He yelped and let me go in a blur. He still hadn't noticed Tiger and I hoped he wouldn't until I told him what had happened.
"Trunks," I said as soon as I had my breath half-way back, "Trunks, it wasn't Tiger." He looked at me, obviously confused.
"Angel are you sure you're all right?" he asked, feeling my forehead, "What do you mean, 'it wasn't Tiger'?"
"It was Dirken," I said, "He was in Tiger's mind for the past three years."
"A demon who was in your little brother's brain for the past three years wants to rape you?" Vegeta asked, his eyebrow raised.
"Yes," my brother stepped into the light. Trunks' automatic reaction was to kneel into a fighting stance, causing my brother to back away in fear.
"Does that run in the family?" Goku asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, unfortunately," I said, bringing my brother back into the light, "Bro, what should I call you? I mean, now that Dirken isn't in your head anymore."
"Tiger was your idea, right after you started writing, remember, nutcase?" he asked with a goofy Son-like grin on his face. I stared at him then burst into tears. I threw my arms around his neck.
"That's the little brother I remember," I said, "Trunks, meet my real brother." Tiger still was a little afraid of Trunks from before so he resisted me a moment, so I tightened my grip on his shoulder.
"Ow!" He shouted, "Angel, have you been working out or something, let go, that hurts!" He was causing a scene, but I had completely forgot that I had been training for a while.
"I'm sorry, Tig!" I said as I released his shoulder the others were on the floor rolling in laughter and I was giggling nervously as well.
"Gee, what did you do, train with your new boyfriend or something?!" Tiger shouted, rubbing his shoulder. I blushed, as did Trunks.
"Actually, yeah, Tig," I said with a grimace, "Sorry, I don't know my own strength at the moment."
"I heard that you were actually a Saiyan and then an angel in your past life," Tiger said seriously, "And I found out that it was true." That stopped all laughter right there.
"How do you know?" Vegeta asked dangerously, "I thought it was just some crazy wish she made!"
"The old guy, in the antique shop," Tiger said to me, "Remember? It was another of Dirken's illusions. He just transformed you back into your normal self. What you look like right now, that's the real you!"
"Y-You're certain?" I asked, afraid, "Then I really am the angel from that prophecy?"
"What prophecy?" Trunks asked.
"To get the full answer, we'll have to go to Dende's," Tiger answered, "But I know one thing. That demon will try anything and I mean anything to get to you, Angel."
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere, my little Angel," said a now-all-too-familiar voice.
"Dirken!" I growled and whipped around.
"Get to Dende's!" Goku shouted at me and I grabbed my brother, Trunks, and Goten, who had just entered the room and did the Instant Transmission, following Goku and Vegeta's kis.
"I'll get you, Angel!" I heard Dirken shout after me, "Dragon will be born!" When I landed on the platform, my head was swimming. I finally fainted from exhaustion.
Trunks caught his Angel in his arms and was glad she could get a little rest.
"What on this crazy planet is going on?!" Goten shouted, glad he'd been in a new gi when they'd left.
"Several things," Tiger answered with a shrug, "Too many."
"Come here, Goten, I'll give you my memories, it'll be easier," Goku told his youngest son (I don't know if he can really do that, but in my stories, they all can, 'kay? They can read certain things if someone let's them, too, but I'll explain that later.). Goku pressed his hand to Goten's head and fed his memories of the past three months into his head. When he was through, Goten looked at Trunks and Angel to his father and Vegeta and back again.
"Too much information!" he cried and threw his arms into the air. Trunks laughed at his best friend.
Trunks was the first to remember their reason for coming to the Lookout.
"Dende, what prophecy was Dirken talking about?" he asked the Namek.
"Come on," Dende told them, "It isn't completely safe out here. Try to wake her up, Trunks, this is her past we're talking about, after all." Trunks shook Angel a little and was pleased to hear her moan softly and begin to wake up.
I opened my eyes only a sliver and stared out into the depths of two pools of deep water. I saw myself in them and wondered how that was possible. Then I widened my view and found myself staring into a pair of blue eyes. Trunks' eyes.
"Can you stand up, Angel?" he asked me cautiously, "Dende said that you might want to hear this." I nodded, my face a slight pink as he set me gently on my feet.
"Hello, Angel," Dende smiled at me, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. The Supreme Kai has referred to you many times in the time I've known him." (The Supreme Kai is kind of like the highest god or Guardian, of the Z universe. The universe is divided up into four quadrants and each used to have a Supreme Kai, a Grand Kai, and a normal Kai. In the first battle with Buu [Which did occur in this story, but not the second] all the Supreme Kais except East Kai [named Shin] and one of the Grand Kais [they don't specify] were killed in the battle before Buu was enclosed. They all have angels that were killed before serving him, and I'll explain about them more later.)
"T-The Supreme Kai?" I asked in shock, "How does he know me?"
"Before you were reborn, you were his personal servant angel," Dende smiled, "The most beautiful angel in heaven. So beautiful, she retained her name as Angel." (See? Angel was an angel for the Supreme Kai.)
"Dende, is there any way me or my brother are ever gonna get home?" I asked.
"No, Angel," he shook his head sadly, "The portal that Dirken used is closed. I'm not sure what the Supreme Kai is going to do."
"That's okay," I said with a smile, "I couldn't have left without Trunks anyway."
"Why's that?" Tiger asked as he looked at me in confusion.
"He doesn't know?" Trunks asked in surprise.
"No, he's only watched three episodes," I grinned, "And that's only because I forced him to."
"Which ones?" Trunks asked, "Did he ever see me or Goten?"
"I saw one where you came back in time to give that guy in the weird costume some medicine for some heart virus," Tiger said hopefully. I laughed.
"That wasn't this Trunks, Tig," I said with a furtive grin, "It was Mirai Trunks. And that medicine saved this planet. This Trunks wasn't born yet." (This isn't important, just a few inside jokes.)
"What else?" Goten asked, interested now.
"That one where the blond kid with really weirdly colored eyes killed the giant grasshopper," Tiger said, "Never understood that one."
"The 'blond' was 11-year-old Gohan and the 'grasshopper' was Cell," I said testily, "what about the last one, Tig?"
"It showed that fat blue grasshopper and a crazy fool who knocked over the grasshopper's house running on something that looked like the Great Wall of China up in the sky going to see some weird old guy and then they killed the other grasshopper again," Tiger said, "It was weird."
"Weird if you don't know what you're watching," I grumbled, "The 'blue grasshopper' was King Kai and the 'crazy fool' was Goku here. The path that looked like the Great Wall of China was Snake Way. The 'old guy' was the Grand Kai and the other grasshopper was Cell again, dead. He was put back inside the HFIL."
"I remember that!" Goku laughed, "It was so funny, meeting Pikkon for the first time and the Grand Kai."
"Then you beat 'em both!" I grinned, "And that's how you got back down here."
"Yup!" he grinned at me, "You really do know all about us, don't you?"
"No, there are several places that Mr. Toriyama, the writer, skipped," I said, "And then I've missed some episodes that I only could see on TV. But those were all Dragonball stuff, things from when Goku was 12 and Krillin was 13. Back before the Saiyans."
"Oh," Goku said, still clueless.
"The things I put up with," Dende shook his head.
"Welcome to my world," I said with a grin.
"It is your world," Dende told me, his tone bitter.
"What?!" I screeched, "What do you mean, it's my world?"
"Dirken used a continuum flux in the Room of Spirit and Time to bring you here," Dende began his long story, "The dark when you first got here, that was the flux at work. He was angry because he was going to lose you to the world again, because he couldn't control the flux completely. So he, bluntly put, beat you up. It was a very lucky coincidence that Trunks found you before Dirken did."
"Lucky?!" I shouted, "How is it lucky that Trunks found me? I could've kept the others out of this!"
"Let me back up," Dende sighed, "I can't remember how long ago this was, but there was once a wizard named Bibidi. He created a monster that even the Kais couldn't defeat. Bibidi used magic to control this monster, but even he couldn't keep control for long. He had to put the monster in a shell to rest. That shell was placed here on Earth for safe-keeping. This monster's name was Majin Buu."
"What does Buu's past have to do with Dirken?" I asked, knowing full well the others knew what I'd said about Buu already.
"After Bibidi's fall, he went into hiding. He went to this world's shadow world, the Demon World. He created Dirken and his twin brother, Dabura. Bibidi had one son, Babadi and left with him all his powerful magic. Babadi had one purpose and Dirken and Dabura each another. We've no idea what Dabura's purpose was, but we are certain of Dirken's and Babadi's."
"Babadi's is to release Buu," I said softly, "And Dirken's is to rape me." Dende nodded. Trunks put his arm around my shoulders and I looked up at him.
"We'll keep him away from you," Trunks told me, "With all the power we have inside."
"That legend," I thought aloud, "It was written by the original Bibidi?"
"Bibidi was a prophet," Dende told me grimly, "And a good one at that."
"But what about what you said earlier?" I asked.
"That this is your world?" Dende asked and I nodded, "It is. You became higher than the Supreme Kai by his hands."
"Whoa!" I shouted and wriggled out of Trunks' arms, "J-Just rewind and freeze! I can't be a Kai or a goddess or whatever it is, I'm barely accepting the fact that I'm an angel!" (Sound familiar? I can't take it without disclaiming it, though. Mia from the Princess Diaries.)
"It's okay, Angel," Dende laughed, "You're still you, no worries there."
"What about this angel thing?" I asked stubbornly, "How am I an angel?"
"Back when Frieza was still stealing Vegeta (The child, not the planet) and preparing the destruction of his planet," Dende said softly, "There was a little ten-year-old Saiyan by the name of Peria. She was hit over the head and forgot everything she'd ever learned only a few moments before the planet was completely destroyed. She died, not knowing anything of her past at all. She was the first Saiyan ever to go to heaven and be an angel. The Supreme Kai liked her so much that he returned her body to her and she moved up the ranks quickly. Peria's name changed to Angel as the Supreme Kai accepted her as his personal angel. She was the most beautiful and righteous angel in all of heaven, and had the most musical voice that any of the kais had ever heard. They all decided that she deserved a second life. Then Dirken happened. They erased all of her memories, but every time she saw Shin, her memories came flooding back. So they finally had to send Shin off on a separate mission and made her unrecognizable to him or Dirken." My life, death, and afterlife had just been completely told to me. And yet through it all, I had been in a state of complete shock.
"All of this really happened to me?" I asked quietly, "Me? Little old me?"
"Angel, stop treating yourself as though you deserve nothing in the world!" Trunks yelled at me, "I know that your past is difficult, but is that any reason to treat yourself like this?!" I didn't know what to say to his outburst. I had always treated myself this way. I thought in my head that I was just too frightened to have a true friend. While I was concentrating on this, I was oblivious to the world.
"It's not that simple," Tiger sighed, "Angel's always been this way. And it takes time and a lot of help to break a thought-line like the one she has." He shrugged pathetically, "I should know." He laughed bitterly to himself.
"How should you know?" Goten inquired, head cocked.
"I used to be the same way," Tiger answered with a grim smile, "She's the one who helped me out of it. I guess it rubbed off on her before she was through."
"That's how she can only respond to you," Trunks whispered to Tiger, "Because she knows you best." They may have been talking about me, but my mind was elsewhere. In a world I was just beginning to see.
"Which is all why I'm bringing the Supreme Kai here," Dende said softly, "He can jolt Angel's memories back."
"Do you really think so?" I asked hopefully.
"Yes," Dende said, surprised by my boldness toward him. After all, it wasn't every day you could get me to be so forward.
"One question, bro," I said as we waited for Shin, "Why did Dirken get you drunk every night?"
"He figured you would submit to him easier if he was mixed up," Tiger rolled his eyes, "Do you know how many drinks I've had in the past three years? I counted every last one! 3285 beers and 1 whiskey. He hated the taste so badly he wouldn't even submit me to it, and am I ever glad!"
"Oh, Tiger!" I cried, tears soaking the front of his shirt as I took him into a hug, "I'm so sorry, bro. Dirken won't touch you again, I promise. You're free." He grimaced and shrugged at the others, but I didn't notice.
"Angel, do you remember those Animorphs books you used to read?" he asked me, pulling me back away from him. I sniffled and nodded.
"Yeah, how could I forget?" I laughed a little as I brushed the tears from my eyes, "I have nearly every book Miss Applegate wrote. You know that, Tig."
"It was like I had one of those Yeerks in my head," he shuddered, "Without that '3 day' thing. I couldn't control my own body at all. Sometimes I'd break him, though. I'd be able to keep him away from you. The last thing I told him before he got out of my mind the last time was that somehow, we'd all get him. There'd be nothing left of him."
"What about Buu?" I asked, "In the show he was released when Trunks was only eight! Vegeta killed himself trying to destroy the monster."
"Babadi decided to wait until Dragon was born, since Dirken told him he'd found you," Tiger told us grimly, "I hope he doesn't find you again, Angel, he's crazy! It's like he can sniff you out or something."
"Ditto on that, bro."
"Which one of those Kai-thingies are we waiting for?" Tiger asked, "The blue grasshopper? The old man with the boom box? The purple-skinned guy that looks like an elf with bunchy shoulder pads?"
I giggled at his references. "It's the Supreme Kai, Tiger. Can you remember him? He's the one that saved Gohan from Buu."
"Oh, yeah," he said, "The elf." I laughed again.
"I am no elf, Tiger," said a voice I knew too well for my own liking, "I am a Kai. Hello, Angel, do you remember me?" I whipped around and saw the Supreme Kai. No. Shin. Memories flooded back into my head of the last few moments of planet Vegeta and all my time with my Kai, Shin.
"Shin!" I yelped happily and threw my arms around my neck.
"She remembers all right," Shin muttered under his breath.
"How could I forget my Shin?" I asked as I kissed his cheek.
"With a lot of brainwashing and my absence," Shin replied, "Do you know what I had to go through to make sure you wouldn't remember me when you got to your new world? And you still found a way to be called Angel and see me and all your old friends, even just briefly."
"Have you found out a way to return my old memories yet?" I asked, "You know, the ones of when I was on Vegeta?"
"I'm afraid not," he shook his head, "But you should be glad. You've got the Saiyan prince right here."
"One thing I don't get," Trunks said, "If she was on Vegeta (Planet, not person) when it blew up, how come she isn't around Dad's age?"
"She became an angel," Shin answered simply, "And she was reborn. If she had lived and somehow got to Earth, like Goku or Vegeta, then she'd be older than either."
"Oh," Trunks blushed.
"You gotta learn not to have a one-track mind, boyo," I grinned. "I do remember one thing from my time on Vegeta, though. My father was a royal pain in the butt."
"Who was he?" Vegeta asked roughly.
"Your sensei," I grinned, "Nabo. That's where I got the name. And it just happened to be Spanish for turnip. Huh, weird."
"That's why you looked so familiar," Vegeta said and I smiled again.
"Supreme Kai!" Dende called, "King Kai says that Dirken's dimension hopping!"
"Darn it!" Shin said, "Come on, I'll explain later." He took my hand and everyone followed us into a black hole that simply opened up in the air. "The others are being taken there as well!"
"Shin, where are we going?" We were walking down a dimly lit hallway.
"My planet," he answered grimly, "It's the only place I can think of at the moment. I've asked several of the servant angels to fetch the other Z fighters. Kibito himself has gone to get Dee."
"Don't worry about our parents," Tiger said grimly, "Neither really cared for us. They'll just think that we've run away and won't do a thing about it."
"My thoughts exactly," Shin said, his face taut. I smiled.
"You can still read my mind, can't you, Shin?" I asked with a wide smile.
"Read your mind?" Trunks asked, "How much did you know this guy, Angel?"
"Through and through," I said with a smile, "My one true friend." The darkness disappeared and we were in the lobby of Shin's home. "You've redecorated."
"Things change over time, Angel," Shin said softly, "You know that."
"Angel!" I heard a shout before I was smothered by my baby brother's kisses and hugs.
"Dee!" I grinned at the little blond 8 year old, "I see you've met a few of my new friends."
"Yeah, Kibito came and got me and then I met Mr. Piccolo and Gohan and Chi-chi and Bulma and Videl and-and...." he tried to catch his breath as I picked him up.
"Do you remember who your favorite was?" I whispered in his ear.
"Mr. Vegeta!" he squealed.
"Take a look," I held him eyelevel with Vegeta, who scowled at the squirming 8 year old.
"It's Mr. Vegeta," Dee whispered in awe.
"Just Vegeta, Dee," I said with a smile, "He's been training me, him, Goku, and Trunks."
"Mr. Trunks has been training my sister?" Dee asked, awe displayed on his face deeper than anything I'd ever seen him before.
"Yeah," I said with a smile, "And guess what else?"
"What?"
"I'm a Saiyan." His jaw dropped.
"Can you go Super Saiyan yet, sissy?" he asked me.
"Yup!"
"Do it!" He squealed, his eyes huge and puppy-like.
"Hey Trunks!" called to him. He'd gone over to talk to his mother and sister. He came over and looked at the boy in my arms.
"This the kid your parents made you take care of?" he asked as he stared at the little blond kid.
"Yeah," I said with a smile, "Could you hold him a second? He wants to see his sister go Super Saiyan."
"Why can't you just put him down?" Trunks asked, eyebrows raised.
"Oh," I said, blushing, "I forgot." I put Dee down and he looked up at me, his new blue eyes staring at me behind his blond bangs. "Ready, Dee?"
"Yeah, sissy, I'm ready!" Dee shouted, sitting on the floor. I raised my ki quickly, as to not disturb the floor around me too much. My hair flared up and turned a gorgeous golden blond and my eyes turned a brilliant aqua green. I picked my brother up lightly.
"What do you think, Dee?" I asked playfully, "Could you get used to sissy like this?" He stared at me in awe.
"No, Sarah," he said, using my real name, "I liked the other way better." I powered down.
"Like this?"
"Yeah!" he grinned in relief.
"So, what has Dirken done?" I asked as we sat down in the huge front room.
"He is going from dimension to dimension, bringing back the bad guys from each one," Shin answered with a sigh, "He's left a message on the computer for us. But most of my angels can't figure it out."
"Let me see it," I said with a tight voice, "I might be able to decipher it." He led me to his receiving chamber, where, as an angel, I'd sat long hours serving my Shin.
The computer screen lit up and Dirken began to speak on it.
"Hello, Supreme Kai. I have gone on a little trip and plan on bringing back the following people to help me fight: Giovanni of the Earth Gym, Visser Three, Darth Vader and his Emperor, Voldemort, the Ice Queen, Cell and Frieza, and Myotismon. If you can fight all of these using their world's powers and get through them all, then I will allow you to fight me. If one of these is not beaten by your warriors, Kai, Angel is mine." The screen went blank.
"I know them," I said, my teeth gritted painfully, "We have to be able to change our ages and appearances, and quite possibly our lives."
"How do you know of these people?" Shin asked me, a comforting hand on my shoulder, "How did you obtain this knowledge?"
"Shin," I told him with a smile, "Sometimes watching too much TV and reading too many books is a good thing. Giovanni of the Earth Gym is from Dee's favorite anime, Pokemon. Visser Three is an alien with bizarre morphing abilities from one of my favorite book series, Animorphs. Darth Vader and his Emperor are from Star Wars. The Ice Queen is from the Sailor World. Cell and Frieza from ours. Myotismon from the Digital World. They are each a very good story, but now I find they are also well-planned-out dimensions." Shin's face contorted with shock. "Don't look at me like that, you put me in that other dimension, Shin," I teased him with a grin.
"I-I never expected-" he stuttered.
"Expect the Unexpected," I said with a grin, "The one bit of advice Dirken gave me that I find most helpful."
"You are something else, Angel," Shin shook his head, "You're much more than my Angel."
"Of course, Shin," I said softly, my eyes closed in thought, "Everyone changes. Even angels." He smiled and I knew it, even if I couldn't see it. I followed him out to the others, still deep in thought of what we needed to do.
***
Ooh, getting exciting! We're FINALLY at the core of the plot! Pay attention to Chapter 9 when I bring it out, its important but time-consuming. Informational, basically. Now, I'll let you go.
N: What about the previews?
A: Not this time, Neko.
N: Okay. See ya later nekos!
A:...