Chapter 8: Time Stands Still for no Namek.
Piccolo waited with bated breath on the white surface of the Lookout tower with Goku and Krillin standing beside him, the now familiar trio clustered together yet again. The three could sense Gohan, Videl and the now familiar Cukumbri approaching, whilst the two massive forces of Tomatta and Vegita came from the opposite direction, accompanied by the smaller forces of Goten, Trunks, and Applor. Both groups landed on the Lookout at similar moments, the three kids yapping excitedly as Vegita and Tomatta talked with purpose. Piccolo watched the two former adversaries talking and frowned.
"Hey, I thought those two were mortal enemies?" the Namek asked as he turned to look at Goku, who shrugged.
"Yeah, but I guess Vegita respects him as a warrior. I guess," Goku added, not knowing the real reason. Tomatta gave Vegita a large grin and crossed over to where Goku stood, waving at Gohan, giving a cheerful 'Hello'. Videl and Cukumbri talked together and then stopped as they watched 18 and Fru arrive and then walked over to greet the android with her Saiyan guest. Piccolo walked over towards where the three Saiyan youngsters talked and cleared his throat. Applor turned and stood rigidly to attention, the other two just lounged mid-sentence.
"What you will be exposed to will be the most gruelling ordeal all three of you have ever encountered," Piccolo said, looking at each of them in turn. "In order to teach you new kids how to fight, Goku, Gohan, Tomatta and myself are going to train you for a day solid."
"But Mister Piccolo!" Goten exclaimed, obviously agitated, "Me and Trunks aren't new kids!" Trunks nodded in agreement, but stayed quiet. Piccolo glanced over at the two of them and smiled.
"No, but this experience may prove crucial for you two. It will undoubtedly boost your power levels much higher than they already are." Piccolo said, looking across the group with his lopsided smile. "Gohan went into training for the Cell games as a normal Saiyan, but he returned as a stage two super Saiyan. I expect better from you three!" Piccolo snapped. Goten and Trunks flinched, but Applor was intrigued.
"How can anyone assume so much power in any single day? It's impossible!" he thought. Piccolo paced back and forth in front of them, a cold, calculating expression on his face.
"When you train, you will face conditions that you could never possibly think of encountering. Depend on it! You will be forced to endure dangers and pains you wouldn't dream up in your wildest nightmares. Depend on it!" Piccolo kept on, haranguing the troops in his own way. "I am a relentless teacher, Gohan will tell you this himself. But Goku and Gohan himself are harsher and much stronger than I could ever become!" Piccolo stopped his pacing, spun around and pointed a green, clawed finger at Goten, who leaned away as if it would explode. "They will teach all you need to know about being Saiyans, specially about transforming into the Super Saiyan state."
Goku stood with Gohan and Tomatta several metres behind Piccolo, all three Saiyans having their arms folded across the chests and looking stern. Goku had told Tomatta about what was install for him, but Tomatta had shrugged it off as nothing. Goku grinned, and knew it would be an experience for his naïve cousin once they started training.
"You will be trained in pairs. One teacher and one pupil. Goten, you are going with Tomatta." Goten nodded, and Tomatta stepped forward, nodded back. "Trunks, you will train with Goku." Again, Goku stepped forward, nodding towards Trunks. "And finally, Applor, I will train you myself." Piccolo concluded taking a pace towards the newest member of the three Saiyan kids. Applor nodded, understanding the choice of tutor. Goten and Trunks were immensely stronger than he was, and their instructors were immensely stronger than Piccolo. It made sense that way.
"Alright, Mister Piccolo, when so we begin?" Applor asked, as the other two strolled over to there trainers.
Vegita stood aloof, watching his son approach Goku, whom they had decided would be best to teach the young Super Saiyan. Even Vegita had approved of this choice, thinking since Goku had already trained Gohan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and done such a remarkable job with it, then he would also do the same with Trunks. The newcomer Tomatta would teach Goten, his skills as a fighter making up for his lack of experience in the chamber. Piccolo's patience, lack of strength and ingenious approach to training would be good enough for the eldest boy, though the Namek could increase the rigours of his training by using the Multiply technique that he learned from that weakling Tien. Vegita turned and looked at the person he had been assigned the dumb woman Cukumbri. Bulma was uneasy about the pairing, sending off Vegita to be alone with this woman for a whole year. She would prefer it if he had gone with 18, but she was staying outside to train with her husband, Videl and Fru before going into the chamber, after Vegita and that blasted Cukumbri, to train with Krillin before the other two trained.
Vegita spun on his new student and glowered at her. She simply smiled.
"Listen, you! I may have reluctantly agreed to teach you, but I do not have to enjoy it! I would prefer to train on my own, but my hands are tied by this matter, do you hear me?" Vegita ranted. She nodded, "Good! My methods of training are intense and painful. If you are screamish, then don't bother coming! I will push your body to the limit, and then beyond! Your life will become my plaything and will use it to the extreme! This is not a vacation, or a pleasant little trip away into the countryside with flowers and little bunnies! This is hell on Earth, woman! In the space of a day, you will gain a full year's worth of intense physical training! You will train beyond the best of your ability! You will do what I tell you, when I tell you and how I tell you! You will ascend to become a Super Saiyan, and I do not care if I kill you in order for you to reach that level!" Again, she smiled and nodded. This infuriated her, he was supposed to inspire her at the least! "Damnit, woman! Are you even listening to me!" He snapped. Again, she merely nodded.
"Yes, sir," she replied simply in that odd accent of hers. Vegita hesitated, unsure as to what to say now.
"Erm… Good!" he finally said, lamely.
Krillin stood behind Goku as he talked to Trunks about the training that was install for him for the year they had in the chamber. Krillin thought it didn't sound too bad.
"Well, there's all the food we could ever need, and the bed's are comfy enough," Goku concluded pleasantly enough. "But, the weather there has gotta be your worse nightmare!" Goku said with a slight laugh. Both Trunks and Krillin frowned, and Goku pulled his face into a serious expression. "The weather is as intolerable as any you will ever see in your entire life! Colossal storms coming out of nowhere and blowing you away, hails of fire one minute, then ice the next! Sunshine followed by rain, snow followed by intense blistering heat!" Krillin swallowed hard.
"Oh man, perhaps I should have packed some factor forty sun block!" he said gloomily, being completely ignored by Goku.
"I will not expect anything less of you, Trunks, than what I got out of Gohan and I will not go any easier on you seeing as you are Prince. From the moment you step into that time chamber, you are nothing more than a raw recruit to me! Something for me to mould into the image of some sort of image resembling a Saiyan Warrior!"
Now it was Trunk's turn to gulp.
Tomatta looked down at Goten's cherub face and swallowed hard. What the hell was he going to do with this kid? Goku had warned him the Goten was more powerful than he looked, just like his older brother, but he should not go easy on him. The whole point of this exercise, Tomatta's cousin had said, was to go as hard as possible on Goten, push him to his limits and then some. Goku had also warned him about the adverse weather conditions but then Tomatta hailed from a tropical planet with weather control satellites in orbit. The only thing he knew about extreme whether came from Bartok's information stored in his ship's computer, which he had studied in depth for years. Never had he encountered snow, or hail or sleet, and just shrugged it off as feeling slightly colder than usual.
"Listen, Goten. Um… I'm gonna push you hard, and make you wish you had never been born?" Goten nodded, this sounded right. He'd seen TV programs about drill sergeants on TV with Trunks. Goten smiled encouragingly, this only hampered Tomatta's spirits. "Um, well. I'm going to push you had and…"
"You've said that, Uncle Tom," Goten said helpfully. Tomatta cringed at the new nickname that Trunks and Goten had invented the night before at the party at Capsule Corp.
"Yeah… um. Anyway, this place - the Time Chamber, right? It will push you to the extreme! It will push you like nothing ever encountered before! Evan harsher than…" Tomatta paused, thinking of an example, then it came to him in a sudden flash of inspiration. "Even harsher than your mother!" Tomatta smiled as he heard little Goten's sharp gasp. That was the reaction he had wanted! "And I will enjoy pushing you, do you know that, Goten? When you cry, I will laugh! When you falter, I will gain! Yes what is it!" Tomatta snapped at Goten's raised hand waving in the air, slightly annoyed at being interrupted now that he was getting the hang of things. Goten lowered his hand.
"Um, what does that mean?" Goten asked, looking up at his 'uncle'. Tomatta sighed and patted Goten on the head, which he knew annoyed the child.
"Just shuddup kid, I know what it means and that's all you need to know." Goten said a silent "Oh" and waited for Tomatta to continue.
"When we go inside, we will begin training immediately!" Tomatta growled, then started pacing up and down in front of Goten, smacking a fist into the other cupped palm. "Strength!" Smack, "Speed!" Smack, "Skill!" Smack, "Control!" Smack. "These are the principle things that you need to need to learn to become an accomplished warrior. The strength flows from within, that is the key spiritual lesson! The speed comes from your energy. The skill from intense practice on honing your abilities and control comes from the mind! Be competent in all these things, and a great warrior you will become!" Tomatta finished and beamed on the inside, proud of himself for finally managing to get the boy to listen. Goten, however, was just nodding for the sack of looking like he was paying attention and didn't know about half the things that his new teacher was telling him.
Gohan walked over and waited as he patiently gave Applor a more in depth lecturing of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"And finally, the thing you must remember is that if I feel that your life is threatened inside the chamber, then I will simply decrease the challenge I give you, rather than allow you to pull out. Remember that we have an entire year in there. Just me and you, kiddo. Remember, this won't be easy," Piccolo concluded then turned to talk to his first pupil who he had felt approach him.
"Mister Piccolo, I don't have a partner to train with. I was wondering if you…" Piccolo waved his arms and shook his head.
"Nuh-uh, not me Gohan. I wouldn't posses much of a challenge. You'd cream me in an instant," Piccolo said with a chuckle, then saw Gohan's downcast expression. "Maybe your father would like to go Double Time with you after he finishes with Trunks." Gohan nodded.
"Yeah, maybe. Thanks all the same, sir," Gohan replied.
Behind him, Krillin sauntered over to 18 and listened cautiously as the group of women laughed at their own private jokes. What was more disconcerting was the hushing noise h heard and then the immediate silence that followed, Videl trying to keep a straight face.
"Hi honey," 18 said smoothly and too sweetly, "we were just talking about you!" Krillin laughed nervously and put an arm around her waist.
"Yeah, that's nice. Listen, are you sure that you want to go through with this? I mean. Brolli is an absolute monster!" Krillin said, having second thoughts about going into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. 18 looked down at him and smiled.
"Yes dear, this will be an interesting experience. Don't you think?" There was a chorus of 'yes's from Videl and the Saiyan. Krillin shrugged.
"I dunno, I just have the feeling that this isn't such a good idea. I mean –"
"We will go through with this, Krillin!" 18 said evenly as she cut her husband's sentence short.
"Yes dear!" Krillin piped and wandered away again.
Gohan watched as Goku ushered Trunks away for now and he approached Goten and watched with a smile as the two boys infuriated Tomatta by calling him 'Uncle Tom' at least once a sentence.
"Hey, dad, I was wondering…" Goku turned his attention to his first born and clapped a friendly, fatherly hand on the left shoulder.
"Sure, what is it son?" He asked smiling.
"Well, the thing is I don't have anybody to train with, you know, it being uneven numbers and all. So I was hoping I could train with you, if you don't mind going double time that is." Gohan added. Goku squeezed his shoulder and smiled harder.
"Sure son! Of course I wouldn't mind. As it happens, I was going to ask you if you would help me train more. Vegita's just become unbearable now he's surpassed my strength!" Goku beamed. Gohan beamed back.
"Cool dad! It's going to be like old times again, me and you training together!" Gohan said eagerly, remembering back to the training they had done together to prepare for the Cell Games. Goku nodded and grinned back, then frowned and scratched his head.
"Hold on, didn't I die last time?" he said. Gohan open and closed his mouth once or twice.
"Dad! I didn't mean it like that! I…" Gohan said hurriedly, but Goku just laughed and placed his other hand on the other shoulder.
"Relax, Gohan, I was just kidding!" Goku said, laughing. Gohan looked visibly relieved and sighed.
At that moment, Mister Popo came around the corner from the chamber with Dende and clapped his hands loudly, calling for everybody's attention, then cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, but the Time Chamber is ready, if the first pair would like to go through?" He said, looking about the crowd. Goku raised his hand and yelled.
"Hey! Trunks! We're up, little buddy!" he said, waving a hand. Trunks turned and waved back, took a deep breath, and ran towards Mister Popo to meet up with Goku.
"Good luck, Trunks! Have fun!" Goten shouted, waving his friend goodbye. "See you in a year!"
"No, you idiot! You'll see me tomorrow!" Trunks replied, baffled by his best friend's stupidity. Goten beamed with delight.
"Oh, okay!" the littlest Son cried out. Trunks reached Goku, and looked up at the big man and smiled nervously.
"Nervous, little guy?" Goku asked pleasantly. Trunks thought for a moment.
"Nope!" Trunks replied with a grin and Goku laughed.
"Well, let's go then. Time awaits us, a whole lot of time!"
Brolli flew onwards through the sky arms stretched out behind him and watched the land pass beneath him. He was beginning to enjoy his time on Earth; it was more fun than the last planet. That place got boring quickly after it stopped being a challenge. Their armies were useless, and he found them easy to destroy without breaking a sweat by simply hitting them softly in the face. But, he had to admit; these humans were a lot more interesting. He had wandered through a city one day, intrigued by the sheer self-importance that the whole species had bestowed upon themselves. They were convinced that aliens didn't exist and anybody who claimed they did were immediately shunned and called insane. Oh how he had shown them the true meaning of insanity the day he strolled down the street in his gold armour and blood red kilt, towering over even the tallest of them, pushing them away when they got in his way, throwing some through windows and laughing as the plexi-glass smashed, sending shards flying everywhere. The razor-sharp shards had bounced harmlessly of his skin, but he had enjoyed seeing the populace cringing and yelping as pieces of the sharp glass-like material sliced through clothing and flesh.
Remembering back, Brolli laughed at the audacity that several of the humans had when they accosted him in an alleyway when he was in one of his thoughtful, observant moods. And how he hated being interrupted out of them. A blonde haired male had came up to him bearing some sort of primitive projectile weapon, pointing it at his chest and sneering.
"Come on, man! Gimme all your money!" The fool had said. Brolli ignored him and chewed his way through the meal he had taken from some complete stranger. "I said gimme!" The youth said, gesturing with the gun. Brolli gave him a sidelong look.
"Fuck off," he said simply and turned away again. The youth's companions snickered as their leader took a step closer, gun still raised.
"Why don't you make me?" The youth taunted, and there was a click as he pulled the cocking handle back on the pistol, charging the energy bolt. There were more clicks as his companions did the same with their own weapons and they were raised to point at him. Brolli ignored them and finished his meal. When he turned back to look at them and they were still there he gave them his full attention, pulling himself up to his full size, looking down at them with a grim smile. His bulk blotted out the dim light coming in from the alley opening, but the group was un-phased. After all, there were six of them, all armed with guns and knives, whilst here was a half-naked nut walking around in broad daylight covered in enough gold to buy half the city!
"I told you, fuck off!" Brolli growled. The leader pulled the trigger in his pistol and the bolt sizzled across the alley and hit Brolli in the chest. The leader smiled, expecting the tall man to keel backwards with the blow, not the laughter that ensued. Gritting his teeth in furry, the leader started firing round after round into Brolli in an attempt to floor him. But still Brolli laughed, and soon the whole group was emptying their clips into the monster before them. Soon, the working parts of their weapons were all clicking, and nothing came out of the firing chamber. The dust and smoke cleared and Brolli loomed there his grin satanic and grim. He ran is left hand through the thick locks of turquoise hair and then with a blur had the leader by the face in his right. The leader squealed in vain as Brolli squeezed gently and felt the satisfying crunch of the skull shattering in his grip. The leader kicked and flailed his limbs in order to try and escape the grip of Brolli, but soon the body went limp as blood splattered to the floor as Brolli dropped the corpse. He looked at the other five with a comical expression on his mad face, and smiled.
They turned to flee, but aimed small blasts of ki blasted out the backs of one of the knees on each person, leaving them helpless and crippled on the floor. Several tried to make their escape by crawling away, but it was no use. A quick flick of the finger was all it took to shatter each man's skull and crushing the brain. Brolli turned and looked at them all, blood dripping softly out of each one's ears as they lay there, dying on the floor. The luckier one's would die, Brolli thought a she turned away and walked into the night. The unlucky one's would be saved in time, only to live out the rest of their lives as lifeless vegetables.
Maylon woke up with a headache. The last thing he remembered was drinking some stuff Turrun had found in a can. It tasted odd, but was strangely addictive and he found himself drinking more and more. A heap groaned beside him and sat up, revealing itself to be the Lady Turrun, her eyes looking red and swollen. She turned herself and looked at her companion.
"Maylon, you look like something out of a nightmare!" she laughed, the groaned, clutching her head. She thought it was going to split in two.
"You don't look much prettier yourself, Milady," Maylon replied before flopping back down. He couldn't see properly, everything was a dark blur, but he could still hear, except there nothing to hear, except for Turrun's groans. He sensed her flop back down and heard a loud crack followed by a louder groan, but didn't turn to see what had happened.
"Hey, Maylon… D'you remember what happened?" Turrun asked, hoping that he knew the answer. He shook his head, even though she couldn't see it, and felt suddenly quite ill as the blur began to spin rapidly. His eyes bulged a she concentrated on stopping his gut from contracting and bringing up what he had don last night in a less sociable manner.
"Nope… everything's a big black blur. I'm sure it had something to do with that stuff you found though." Maylon answered, then winced at the sudden loudness of his own voice. He noticed an annoying ringing in his ear that wouldn't go away, and wiggling his finger in the hole just made it worse. Turrun groaned again and muttered something about wanting to die.
"Do you know where we are?" She asked. This time, Maylon just answered without any sort of voluntary head movements.
"I can hear a ringing noise, so I think we're still in that place with all the food." Maylon said. He didn't see her cheeks bulge at the mention of the word 'food'.
"Please! Don't mention food!" she gagged. He grinned.
"Why not, there's nothing wrong with food! FOOD is perfectly healthy!" he chided.
"Maylon!" she yelled, then winced and clasped her hands tightly to her temples. Maylon heard footsteps and he sat up, still not able to see a thing. He laughed, but didn't know why.
"Hey, you two! Keep it down!" Called out an unfamiliar voice. Maylon turned his head, triangulating on the source.
"Who's that!" he called out, seemingly to the floor.
"I am Officer Monroe, Chicago Pee-Dee," the voice called out again, "And I'm over here!" Maylon turned again, slowly as not to make his head spin round on his shoulders. The blur became a little clearer, and he thought he could make out the image of something.
"Wah?" he asked a piece of mortar in the wall. There was a sigh from Monroe.
"Listen, we found you two Dee An' Dee downtown, so we brought you here to sleep it off. Okay? Now will you please shut up!" The footsteps retreated and Maylon laid back down and tried to make himself comfortable, but something was digging into him.
"Turrun, is that you?" he asked.
"Mmph hmmph!" came the muffled exclamation. Maylon sat up, swivelled slightly and lay down in a different place.
"Sorry," he said and fell asleep.
"Men!" Turrun murmured groggily before dozing off too.
Trunks looked around the inside of Time Chamber and was totally speechless; he just stood there with his mouth open, gazing at the white that stretched as far as the eye could see. Goku came over and stood beside him at the top of the steps that lead down to the floor and smiled.
"There you are, this is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber," he said, "but don't let the scenery fool you. In the year to come, I will show you many wonders and a great many more perils." Trunks looked up at Goku and then turned back to look out at the landscape. Nothing but white from horizon to horizon.
"When do we begin?" Trunks asked, eager to get going. Goku pounded his shoulder lightly with the palm of his hand, then narrowed his eyes.
"Immediately."
With our heroes preparing to take a trip into that fold of time know as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, will they raise their strength and hone their skills sufficiently enough to be able to take on that brute Brolli! Or will it just give him something to do other than destroy cities and murder not-so-innocent bystanders! And what were Maylon and Lady Turrun doing banged up in that Chicago gaol [US: 'jail'] cell? Not even time will tell! Only the next chapters of… TOTAL WAR!