Hoshito's Odyssey
Part IV
The Beginning of The End
By:
Arthur E. King
Disclaimer: Okay, If I've said it once I've said it twice, I don't own Dragonball. Original, Z, or GT. Nor do I own the Dragonball Z World MUD that half of the characters in this story come by. Only Thing in this story I own, other than the story-line, is Hoshito. So even if you did sue me, you wouldn't get anything.
Author's Note: Here we go again... I'm going to explain this one last time... This isn't the original DBZ Universe. Nor is it the DBZ World MUD Universe. THAT is why your characters probably won't be nearly as powerful as they supposedly are in the MUD. This is also why you'll see a lot of characters that weren't in the series, and are really powerful. So in other words... if you think your character isn't as powerful as they should be, or if you think the characters are just WAY more powerful than in the original series... You're BOTH right... It's artistic licence... It's the only way I could mesh the two Universes together, so shush. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the story.
Oh yeah... Thanks for all the reviews... Really appreciate it. I hope I'll get more when the story is finished, and open to all readers. Now onto the Story...
"Finally! Marrec has returned! And with Shaikoten in tow too... Much sooner than I had expected. The Ultimate Power shall be within my grasp in moments!" Lucavex's rasping voice uttered from torpid lips, his nostrils inured of the foul stench of his breath. His excitement lifted him up so that the dull decaying features of his corpse-like visage appeared as something approaching life.
Lucavex waited for what seemed like a moment, though in reality it was several hours when Marrec's physical presence was manifest within the walls of his tower. For once, The Immortal appeared before his servant directly, without pause. Having waited so many thousands of years, his patience was nearing an end.
Ignoring Marrec, his faithful servant, for the moment, Lucavex pushed the mutated thing away, diving with single-minded determination towards the capsule the being had carried here. The chamber that carried within it, the only piece of the puzzle that had yet to be fit into it's place.
Thrusting his hand deep into the chamber, shattering the Plasti-Glass and splattering the fluid inside in a million directions as it came gushing out the new opening, his long bony fingers stretched around the Half-Breed's naked skull. With the same force with which his hand had been shoved through the Plasti-Glass window, The Immortal plunged into Shaikoten's mind.
With consummate ease, he pierced the frail covering that tried to protect Shaikoten's memories from him, pealing back the innumerable layers of defenses, and denials that had been erected over the years, to hide just this knowledge from one such as he. Deeper, and deeper he flew, throughout years of torment and bitter resignation, till he came at last to the final wall.
A wicked smile of final victory twisted the remnants of his lips upwards, and with a great effort, he assailed this final barrier to his ultimate victory. And was repelled. How could a simple mortal hide anything from me! Furious, he tried again, focusing his great powers to their utmost until they began a single, driving thought, an unstoppable force that would not, could not be denied.
And was repelled once more. This defense was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. This mental barrier was so strong, that it could deny even a God access... How was this possible? Almost Lucavex tried a third time, but held himself in check. If brute force would not work, perhaps there was another way...
With a look of absolute horror on his face, Marrec watched helplessly as his Master ruthlessly broke the Plasti-Glass window on the stasis chamber, and grabbed his captive's head in a cadaverous palm. He couldn't tear his eyes from the body of the Half-Breed as it shuddered convulsively, the spasms seeming to ripping him asunder.
Fixed in place, the shriveled thing that might have been his heart shirked away from the sight of such torturous pain. Those elongated digits enveloping the man's head, smothering the life from those blank white eyes, had become something to fear, something to dread.
In time, Marrec heard the wordless voice of his master cry out in consternation and ire, the meaning of that silent thunderous sound that echoes within his hollow mind filtered through the searing pain it caused. His Master was denied! How could this be?
The shaking ceased, and the limbs lay slack upon the newly thin frame of Shaikoten. All of his captives energies had been taken in the exchange, it had taken as much to refuse his Master, that much and more. Then Marrec saw something he had never before borne witness to, and hoped he would never see again, though the memory of it would stay with him till the end of his days, the scene revisited in daydream, and nightmare.
He saw Lucavex smile.
Little green fingers pressed against the Plasti-Glass, leaving oily marks against the thin barrier that separated the huge warrior from the outside world. Ramza was finally beginning to recover while locked within the healing chamber. It had been several hours, and the Saiyajinn's massive body had been allowed so small a measure of rest before it was time to wake him.
Rapping his knuckles lightly on the transparent shield, the fluid carrying the sound of it to Ramza's ears, rousing him from his slumber. "Wakey, wakey!" The smooths notes were almost inaudible to him, but being adept at lip-reading, he understood. The water slowly drained from the chamber, and the pleasant buoyant sensation was eventually gone, and the sensation of weight returned.
He reached up, undid the straps, and removed the breathing mask that covered his nose and mouth. The door to the chamber opened with an audible hiss of pressurized air rushing out of the chamber. His ears popped with the sudden decompression, and he sniffed experimentally, tasting the faint medicinal quality to the air.
Ducking his head, he extricated himself from the healing unit, stretching his aching muscles, and limbering up, as if he was ready for another bought already. Perfectly calm he was, as if he hadn't a care in the world, as if he had not been on deaths door only a few scant hours ago.
"Come on. Lets go see Durine and Hoshito. I'm sure they'll want to know you're awake." Vorack reached up with his right hand, just standing there, smiling lightly, as Ramza finally demurred, grasping the little green fingers, with his own great brown ones, and allowed the Namek to lead him off down the hall.
As they walked down the darkened hallway, the deep comforting silence that had begun between them upon that mountainside, continued. There seemed no need for words, for everything that needed to be said was over. Words were superfluous, needless, a tool that had been put aside for it's use was ended.
"You know, silence is all very well and good, but sometimes something need to be said." The voice came from behind them, accompanied by the loud rustle of cloth against cloth, cloth against skin, and cloth over stone. The two compatriots turned rapidly, to find themselves the butt end of the cloaked man's joke.
"You again... What news do you seek to send us this time? Now it's my brother in need of saving? Bah! Away with you and your secretive ways." Ramza was harsh, abrasive, and uncaring. He had worked hard to give people the impression that he thought little of them, and had succeeded for the most part.
The figure's face, shrouded in the protective shadows of his cloak emerged from the shade, and into the dim light of the hallways, his face twisted into a wry grin of barely suppressed humour. "No... Not your brothers... For you have none. Actually the danger is to your greatest friend and ally. There will come a choice you must make. Either way, someone will die."
Vorack allowed a tiny squeak of pain to be forced from his lips as the pressure increased upon his fingers, caught in Ramza's vice-like grip. The sound alerted Ramza to what he was doing, and he released his comrade's hand at once. "Are you okay?" Ramza knelt down upon the stones, concerned for his friends pain.
Already there had begun a swelling as one finger hung loosely perched at an odd angle. Without further comment, Vorack re-aligned his finger, and concentrated for a moment, watching the green puffiness recede, his hand restored. Hurriedly he reached up with his newly healed hand, to wipe the wetness from his cheek.
Then a cry of utter, incomprehensible torment slammed into them. They flew backwards down the hallway, away from the cloaked figure as he writhed in agony. It lasted only a moment, but it seemed as if the universe might be torn to pieces in that fraction of time. When it was over, the pale cloaked man lay on the floor, still shuddering slightly.
The two rushed over to the man, trying to find out what was wrong. Seeing no obvious injuries, they brought him back the way they had come, to the infirmary. They placed him into the chamber only recently vacated by Ramza himself, and begun the chambers cycle of healing, hoping, but not knowing, if that would be enough.
Frustrated after his meeting with Rei, Xev left her palace, transporting himself to his own, where he might find some clue as to what Lucavex was up to now. Where the other Immortals favored stone, or steel, he preferred cloth, and so the ever-changing palace of Xev, a riot of colours, was crafted from the myriad fabrics of the Universe. From the softest silks, to the coarsest burlap. Linen, denim, corduroy, velvet, canvas, and wool. Every fabric known to man was put on exhibit.
Through unique designs, and incredible technique, the entire castle was crafted from only cloth, though the pillars seemed stone, they were not. Hanging suspended in mid-air, and in constant chaotic movement, the multitudes of fibers formed a seemingly random pattern that only an Immortal mind might come to understand.
In the centre of this vast tapestry, through the warp and weft of it, lay the only craft not of the textile trade. A shining crystalline orb lay within, clear as air, and pure as water, the orb merely sat there, immotile, unassuming, merely waiting. As Xev approached it, he lay his palms lightly upon it, the cool ball warming at his touch.
Leaving no oily traces of their passing, his fingers played lightly upon it's surface, eliciting a reaction that was as close to a climax as the Immortal would allow himself. It would be quite some time before his eyes left the inner, unseen depths of that great creation, but when they did they were filled with an element of desolation, and fear.
How was this possible? No future? Nothing? Was the Universe to end so soon? Xev stood there unbelieving for a moment. He knew only that there was a danger to someone, and only one person could change their fate. He needed to warn them...
With a flick of his wrist, his cloak began to billow around him, transporting him to the only person who might be able to give the Universe a chance. He found himself next in the confines of a dark hallway, the two beings within it turning around only as he spoke.
It was only after a brief exchange of words that it came. The blinding pain ripping through his brain. Someone was trying to gain access to Shaikoten's knowledge! Without being prepared for it, the pain sent him reeling, spiraling down into the blank darkness of oblivion.
Lucavex again probed the mind of the unconscious Shaikoten. This time however, it was with silent grace, not solid power. Slowly, he inched his way back, into the deepest recesses of the quiescent mind. It took considerably more time, but when he finally came to the barrier, he had precious time to analyze it, define it, and name it.
Family! The single soundless word lay still upon the air. Marrec, waiting once more nearby was shocked to the core by his Master's telepathic message.
The orders were given even before the echoes of the word left his mind, the plan already full-fledged. Marrec took pride in the fact that his Master had entrusted this task to him. In as little time as it took for an eye to blink, the servant felt the viscous touch of his masters mind once more.
Anguished cries of agony were borne unsaid from Marrec's throat at the insidious gift that was given to him for this errand. The gift was given, and received, in the space between heartbeats, but the memory of that pain would linger for a lifetime. Had Marrec the breath he would have screamed, but air was something of a luxury in his masters presence.
Instead, Marrec drew upon this newest of gifts he had received, and activated it. As the mutated thing slowly faded from view his last thoughts were of how great a pleasure it would be to feel the hot splash of blood once more.
"What the heck was that sound?" Durine was anxious, worried. He looked around, as if maybe the source of the noise was in the room with us. I knew better.
"Come on!" We ran.
Out of the room, down the hall, and in time, to the infirmary. In total, it took perhaps two minutes to make a trip that walking normally would have taken two hours. Breathing hard, I nearly ran down my little Namekian friend, Durine in hot pursuit.
"It was that guy in the cloak. He just screamed, and collapsed. We haven't a clue as to just what's wrong. We just got him in the recovery chamber. He's out cold." Too calm. Ramza was too calm for the events that were taking place. People just don't appear out of no where, scream, and fall unconscious every day.
Durine walked from behind me, brushing against my shoulder. His gazed centered on the man in the healing unit, "Who are you?" He voiced the same words we were all thinking. "Ramza... What did he say? He never comes by unless he has something to tell us. Did he say anything before he fell?"
Ramza opened his mouth but never got the chance to speak. The words died unsaid as he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned, not nearly swift enough, and saw something, no, someone, materialize out of nothing. He had no time, no second with which to ponder the motion.
He saw the motion, impossibly fast, as if in slow-motion. He saw the new man, a mutated thing, lift his arm. The finger-nails on that one hand extended, long, straight, narrow, and he knew razor-sharp. In one swift motion the being swung his arm forward, hoping to impale his friend Durine on those claws.
The black nails reached eager for that instant of pain before the end. They flew, faster than any eye could possibly detect, plunging deep into flesh, piercing the skin, the serrated edge ripping muscle, and they seemed to curl around the beating essence that was a heart. In truth they didn't, they just smashed that life-force into nothing.
Marrec stood before them, glorified in his action. Then his face contorted into terrified ugliness as he saw Ramza's lifeless body fall on top of him. The blond hair fell over Ramza's forehead, the yellow turning red as the blood was smeared into it, marring it's perfect golden hue. Blood was gushing out of his chest, pooling on the cold stone floor.
Marrec screamed once, and disappeared, his deed done.
You fool! The Brother survives! The words roared inside Marrec's mind. How could he have failed? Even with his new power? That stupid bodyguard! Revelation came slowly to the aching mutated mind. Blond! He was a Super-Saiyajinn! That stupid bodyguard Ramza was a Super-Saiyajinn!
The Chosen One! It was he who taught the bodyguard the new trick. No matter. He shall be dealt with in time. They shall all be dealt with...
Marrec fumed, his mission a failure, he sought to placate his master. He replayed the memories over again in his head, trying to come up with some additional piece of information. The Namek child, the bodyguard, the target, the Chosen One... And there was one other... Hidden in the healing unit...
What is that? Give me the image! Lucavex stripped the image from Marrec's brain, assimilating it into his being. Recognition hit him with a shock. Xev! Another Immortal! What is another Immortal doing near the Chosen One?
The answer became obvious at once. Xev was trying to stop him... How DARE he! Then the meaning came to him slowly. Xev was unconscious. Only a short time after he had invaded Shaikoten's mind. It was Xev's energy, shunted through Durine, and into this half-brother that had stopped him.
A smirk of triumphant glee plastered upon his features, he reached into the chamber, still leaking bluish fluids, and grasped Shaikoten's head once more. Nothing. No barriers. There was nothing to stop him... And in moments, he had his answer.
As he flew through space, he was bombarded with a shower of tiny rocks. Detritus from the destruction of a planet probably. Shaikoten laughed in his tiny capsule as it sped onwards to it's destination. As he lay inside though, he felt a slight twinge of power, something he had never felt before.
He delved deeper into this energy, attempting to locate it's source. He punched a few keys on the console, redirecting his ship to home in on it. As he did, his ship began a steep climb into a star, plunging forward. Hurriedly he punched a few more keys, skirting the outer edge of the stellar corona.
That's it! There it is! This energy that he could not quite define... What was it?
He pushed his senses to their limits, straining his energy to determine just what it was that could possibly survive within the confines of a star. As he did so, the energy called to him, rushing to him in a call of pure avarice. Power-mad he could feel the energy of this thing enter him, fill him, and pulse within him.
I must have it! And with that affirmation of desire, of an all-consuming need for ever-greater power, the energy responded, growing within him to the point of ultimate release, and a golden glow that matched that of the star shined forth from the capsule's window.
Finally! The exact location of the No-Star-Ball is mine! Lucavex withdrew his hand from the chamber, tiny drops of blue liquid flying from his fingertips in his haste. Lucavex took a moment to praise Xev's crystal ball for it's information. It had been completely correct when it told him that the path to his deepest desire would lie through the one known as Shaikoten.
Lucavex turned to his servant, and readied himself for the journey to the remnants of the original planet Namek.
"And we're here to stop you!"
I never saw the intruder. All I knew was that one moment, we were discussing the arrival of this cloaked individual, and the next moment, Ramza was lying face-down in a pool of blood. Ramza was dead.
"No!" Durine's firm denial of the situation brought about his own transformation, the familiar golden aura forcing us all back. It had all happened so fast, that only Ramza had even glimpsed the one who had done this, and now he was gone. "You can't die!"
Vorack lay down near the body, his hands over it, and the silver light streaming forth from it again. His face was awash with tears, and his jaw was set in grim determination, but to no avail. He could heal the body, but he could not bring the soul back from the next dimension.
"There is a way you can bring your friend back. But it comes at a great cost." The mysterious cloaked figure was standing on his own two feet again, outside the chamber.
"Who are you?" Durine always seemed to catch the words we all were thinking.
"My name is unimportant. Now time is of the essence. Do you want him back?" It seemed as if that timeless voice had aged a thousand years since that day on the landing pad.
As one we all three answered him with a resounding, "Yes!"
Xev was noticeably impressed that these three would so readily agree to endanger themselves for this one man. He shook it off, and directed them to place their hands upon the motionless body of the man we all had loved. "Concentrate on him, his essence, how you liked him. I will do the rest."
We did as we were told, staring wide-eyed at the man who claimed he could return those to life who had passed on, those who had died. But nonetheless, staring helplessly onwards, we did as we were told.
It seemed to take forever, though it was but an instant, time seemed to crawl by as the ugly ragged hole that had been ripped into Ramza's chest closed slowly, returning to it's natural state. The air had begun to sparkle with tiny motes of whitish light. All around us it seemed to take on the significance of a true miracle. Time had stopped it seemed, or maybe even reversed, when all of a sudden, we all snapped back into reality with the force of one in-taken breath.
That first breath pulled into those empty lungs seemed too much for one person to inhale. At first we just knelt there, unable to comprehend that our friend was back. Then it seemed as if we all were too busy fussing over him, making sure he was okay to bother paying attention to Ramza's continued pleas for us to get off him.
"As I said, it comes with a price. One you must all pay." The words hung in the air like a threat unveiled.
"I thank you for what you have done. Though how it was accomplished, I will never know. But what is this price you say we must pay?" Durine's question cut through to the heart of the matter, unwilling to waste a moment with innuendo.
"Direct. I like that. I respect that. I shall do you the courtesy of responding in kind. A man named Lucavex is currently trying to gain control of the Ultimate Power in the Universe. I want you to help me stop him. Hoshito I know is familiar with the Power of which I speak. All else is unimportant. Time is of the essence, we must leave here at once. Take my hand!"
Reluctantly we joined hands with the cloaked figure. At once he closed his eyes, and we could feel our bodies slowly dematerializing into nothingness. In the ageless moment between the stars, that nameless void, we all heard him utter into that nothingness one more sentence. "Oh yeah. You can call me Xev."
Xev. So nice to see you... Give the Universe my regards... Or more accurately, my condolences on it's own demise! I could hear the words, but I knew they were not spoken. Just being here gave me the chills, and when I saw the undead thing that gave those words life I nearly vomited for the first time in my life.
"What are you?" Durine again, using words as a weapon.
I am the last thing you puny weaklings will ever see. With that, there was no more time for words as Lucavex quickly made short work of us, blasts of unimaginable power hurling us back through the tower walls, and onto the dead ground below. A strange fetid stench wafted up as I attempted to extricate myself from the foul-smelling muck that tried to suck me down into it.
The sounds of battle continued above, but were quickly cut off. The four of us managed to get back into the air all around the same time, rushing to the tower again. Xev was unconscious again, and the ugly mutated being who had killed Ramza lay bleeding on the floor. Of the third, the corpse-like cadaverous man who stank of death, there was no sign.
The light would have burned his eyes in his sockets had they been there. Too bright it was. It burned his brain, burned the lifeless flesh from his bones. Too hot. The searing heat obliterated any thoughts he had. There was nothing, only unbearable, endless heat.
He plunged deep into the corona of the star, the gaseous exterior portion of the star. It could not be any hotter than this, it was already turning his bones to dust. And yet the heat only intensified. Had he a voice he would have taken the time to scream, as it was, there was no air to scream with, and he had no lungs left.
His Immortality may protect him from death, but not from pain. Already he had died a thousand deaths, and would die a million more before this was over. There was nothing here, only pain, and heat, and endless torment.
Long before he could ever have hoped to retrieve any power, there was nothing left of him. He had pushed his powers too far before this, he had no power left with which to combat the constant death. Had be been at his full power, he could have hoped to survive long enough to have obtained it. As it was, there was no chance.
His last thought as he disintegrated into his component elements and was burst into atomic particles was that perhaps this sacrifice might mean something to Rei, if she ever found out.
"It's done." They were Xev's first words as he stood. Of all of them, only Hoshito understood what that might mean.
"What do you mean it's done? What's done? That dead guy got away! How could this be done?" Durine was furious that this Xev person had endangered them all but mere moments after restoring Ramza. He did not take the possibility that he might lose his friend as soon as he regained him well.
"Lucavex is no more. His Immortality was not enough to sustain him inside the star. The secret of the Ultimate Power is safe. It is over." Xev's explanation was unsatisfactory, but we all knew we would not be getting anything else from him.
We walked over to the one who brought us here in the first place, the one who had killed Ramza. "His name's Marrec incase you wanted to know..." Xev's voice droned in the background, no longer important.
As we reached down, we saw that he was still alive, though only barely. He was unconscious, so we left him to rot here, thinking it a fitting response to his attack, though Durine was more than willing to finish him off.
And then, the laughter began...