Dragon Ball Next Generation
The Grey Saga
Part One: The Atrocity
Chapter 5
I was floating. I was floating in water, but I wasn't drowning. It was good, warm, healing. All the pain I had experienced had been washed away. Was this the atonement I had been seeking? All was calm and peaceful. My world was dark, but only because I had my eyes shut. I didn't want to open my eyes; it was just so peaceful to have them closed.
Even with my eyes shut, I could see a light. It was faint, but it was there. It grew stronger, brighter, and soon I could see that the origin was beneath me. Not wanting to look downwards, I just let the source of the light come to me. As it came parallel to my face, I saw that the source of light was Ann. But, this time, she was not some beckoning apparition, charming me to water grave, but she just seemed content to float next to me.
Slowly, she held both my hands in hers. There was no pain in my left shoulder this time. Her eyes met mine, and we gazed at each other for seemingly and eternity, for time had no meaning. Then, through unspoken words, she asked me to dance. So we danced, there in the warm, healing water, my arms around her waist, and hers around my neck, her head on my shoulder. We just floated there and danced, saying nothing, not needing to. It was pure, whole, and good.
BEEEEEEEP!!!!
I was snapped back into consciousness at the ring of a bell. I could feel the water draining, leaving me. Still with my eyes shut, I felt a rush of dry air hit me, and strong arms lifted me into the air. I opened my eyes momentarily, and saw the face of my angle looking back at me. Then I closed my eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness.
***
I could here waves crashing on a beach; I could smell the salt air. I opened my eyes and looked up to see a triangular ceiling. It was the third strange place I had woken up at in less then a week. At least this place looked slightly normal. I sat up and realized two things.
One, there was no more pain, at all. Not in my shoulder, not in my back, I felt great! I inspected my shoulder, and saw that there was only a small scar there, barely noticeable. The last time I had seen it, there was a hole covered with a scab. I moved my arm experimentally, and realized there was no pain at all.
The other thing I noticed was that I was in a very unfamiliar room. Not strange, I just didn't recognize it. I felt a cool breeze wash over my shoulder, and turned to see and open window. I looked out, and saw the ocean. Not only that, but I was on at least the second floor of the building. I was gripped with fear.
Where was I? How did I get here? What happened to me? Where was the angle? My heart thudded as all kinds of scenarios played through my head. Was it all a dream? The robbery, the drug house, Pappy, the aliens, were they real? Had I been kidnapped? Was I still with the aliens, were they doing some kind of test to me? I jumped out of the bed I was in, and began to run for the door. Then I realized I had nothing on except my boxer!
I looked around and saw a suitcase on a dresser opposite the bed. I opened it up, and there were all my clothes! How did they get here? Not really caring, I pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, put them on, and headed for the door.
I opened it slowly, and tiptoed out the door. I was in a hallway. There were two other doors, and a stairway. I crept past the doors and began to walk down the steps. I put most of my weight on the banister, so I wouldn't make any of the steps creak. Holding my breath, I made it down the stairs and came to a wall that separated the stairs from a kitchen. I heard voices coming from the room, and crouched behind the wall.
Slowly, I poked my head past the wall, and peeked into the kitchen. I saw four people sitting at a table. I saw an old man wearing a tropical shirt, shorts, and a huge pair of sunglasses. He was bald, and had a beard that came down to his chest. He looked kind of like Pappy, except he was shorter, and his beard was combed.
I also saw a woman sitting next to the old man. She looked young, maybe in her twenties. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Her shoulder length dirty-blond hair was twisted into a ponytail behind her head. She looked pretty athletic, but very feminine at the same time. I couldn't see the other two because their backs were turned to me, but I could see that they were males.
I wasn't listening to what they were saying. I was to busy thinking of a way out of my situation. Beyond the people was a door, leading outside, to freedom. Maybe I could run for it? No, I would have to run right through them to get to the door. Could I sneak past them? What the hell, it was worth a shot.
I got down on my hands and knees, and began to crawl into the kitchen. My head was almost the whole way through when I saw the old man. His hand was raised just inches above the woman's thigh. Slowly, he let it settle on her leg.
The woman stiffened, very surprised. Then she turned toward the old man, glaring at him. The man gave an innocent look, flashing a smile. Then the woman smacked his head, hard. The old man grabbed his head, moaned, and pretended to faint, right into the woman's lap.
This was too much for me, and I let out a snort as I tried to contain my laughter. Everyone at the table sat up. Obviously, they heard me. My head shot back into the stairwell, my back pressed against the wall.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit! There gonna find me! I held my breath, listening, my muscles tense, ready to run.
"It looks like our visitor is awake." I heard a voice say from the other room. Then I heard a screeching as a chair was pushed against the floor. My heart was now comfortably settled in my throat. I heard two or three footsteps, and then all was quiet.
I looked up, and there standing before me was the man who had chased me the night of the abduction! I let out a squeak, and jumped up. I hit the stairs and bolted up them. Maybe I could find a place to hide! I got to the top, and was about to run into one of the rooms, when the man appeared in front of me. I crashed into him, and then leapt back, not realizing that the stairs were behind me. I yelled as I fell backwards.
"Gotcha." I heard as I realized my descent had been stopped. I looked up, and saw that the angel had caught me. What was he doing here? To confused to speak, I just let the angle carry me down the stairs, though the kitchen, and set me on a couch. The old man, the woman, and the man who chased me also came into the room. Not saying anything, the man and the woman sat in a smaller couch next to mine. The angle sat in a chair, and the old man sat on a pillow in across a coffee table in front of me. I looked at them, and they looked at me. Breaking the silence, I looked at the angle and said:
"Where are your wings?" the angel looked at me, puzzled.
"You know, your wings, so you can fly. You're an angel, right? I mean, you flew? Right?" A look of understanding crossed his face.
"Oh, you thought I was." He had to stop as he let out a little chuckle. "Sorry kid, but I'm just a human like you. Well, kind of."
"But you flew!" I insisted. Did he not want the others to know? The old man cleared his throat.
"Well, I suppose you have quite a few questions." I nodded. "Well, lets start off with introductions. You're Celic, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah, that's me. The orphanage never gave me a last name cause they didn't know my last name, and I haven't been adopted yet." I didn't know why I told them that, it just came out.
The old man smiled. "Well, perhaps I can help you with that. But, anyway, my name I Kame Sennin, but you can just call my Master Roshi." He pointed at the woman, "this is Angelina Wells," then to the man, "and he is John Briefs." Then, he motioned to the angle/man, but I stopped him before he could say anything else.
"Wait a minute! You mean this guy is John Briefs!? Mr. Capsule Corporation John Briefs!? The millionaire genius!?" They all nodded. I looked at him, and said:
"Why did you need to kidnap me? You don't need any money." I said. At that point, everyone else in the room burst out laughing.
"You thought we kidnapped you!?" Roshi asked, having a hard time talking through all of his giggles. I nodded as I felt my cheeks redden.
"Well, I guess that is kind of what it looked like." Angelina said. "I mean, he did wake up in a house full of strangers." As their laughs subsided, Roshi spoke up again.
"I'm sorry if we scared you, but know that you are free to leave at any time. We just decided that we would try to explain some things to you while we had a chance."
"OK, so what am I doing here?" I asked.
"Well, we brought you here so you could be healed. You were almost dead after you fell from the ship." Roshi said. So I hadn't dreamed it! The abduction, the man flying, it was all real!
"So why didn't you just take me to a hospital?" I asked.
"Well," Roshi started, and then stopped. He looked around the room with a pleading look on his face. I saw them all shake their heads softly. What was that all about?
"Well, lets just say that there might have been a few questions that you might not have been able to answer. Besides, we weren't sure if you wanted to go to a hospital." Roshi explained. Then I remembered I was wanted by the police. So these people somehow knew what I had done. Did they know everything?
"Listen," said the angel/man, who had yet to be introduced, "if we continue this conversation, you might know a lot more then you might like. What we have to tell you will be very hard to swallow, so if you would like to have a normal life, just say so and we'll take you back to Satan City." How could they tell me something that could change my life? After all, they weren't actions like shooting a gun, they were just words. Non-tangible words. How could they affect me more then everything that had already happened?
"I want to know." I said. Despite my confidence, I heard my voice quiver a bit. The others just gave a solemn nod toward Roshi. Then, John Briefs cleared his throat. We all looked at him.
"Well, I think we should start off with the facts of his abduction, as that would probably be the most believable." I stared at him. How could the "facts" of my abduction be the most believable?
"Besides, some of this is new information for the rest for you too." He cleared his throat and began. "From what I have been able to derive from the remains of the computer," He stopped and glared at the angel/man, who studied the floor, "these aliens are what some scientists have labeled 'Greys' because of their color, which is almost all the information they have been able to gather from the abductees. While there are many reports of abductions from Greys and other aliens, most are false. But there are a few true accounts of previous abductions. These Greys have been abducting humans, and other animals, for study. They are trying to find out the weaknesses and strengths of the inhibitors of Earth. They are planning an invasion of our planet." What!? I looked around at the others, to see if they also thought he was crazy. Angelina looked proud as she gazed at John, the angel/man looked bored, and Master Roshi was too busy staring at Angelina's legs too hear what John had said. Obviously not getting the response he desired, John spoke up again.
"Unfortunately, the rest of the information that we have on the Greys would not be understood by Celic, so I suggest that our, um, 'history' be revealed to him. That is, if he agrees to it." With that, everyone in the room turned to me in unison.
"Why would I have to agree to it? Is it like, confidential information or something?" I asked. They all looked around the room, as if they were trying to decide who would be the one to tell me. As if it would harm me in some way.
"Well, as we said before," said Master Roshi, "what we have to tell you will be extremely hard to believe, and it could change you. But, what we have to tell you might help you in the future, and might help some of the things you've gone through." I just shook my head.
"I really don't think that words can change me so easily." I said. Maybe these people were crazy.
"Very well." John stood up, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out an ancient floppy disk. But the way he was holding it, you would think it was the winning lottery ticket or something.
"In this disk contains all the information you need to know." He said as he handed the disk too me. Then he reached in his pocket again, and produced a capsule. The pushed the button and threw it on the table. There was a poof of smoke, and I saw a laptop computer sitting on the coffee table. I put the disk in, and I heard whatever ancient dive it used to open it whirl.
"Just one more question, before I read this earth-shattering information," I said, sarcasm heavy in my voice, "how did you heal me? I mean, I don't remember much, but I know my back was a mess, and so was my shoulder." With than, I slid the sleeve of the t-shirt up so that the tiny scar was visible.
"Oh, that was easy." Said Master Roshi. "We just put you in a healing tank. There were other methods to heal you, but we decided you needed rest."
"You have a healing tank!" I couldn't believe that this old man had something that only the finest hospitals could afford. I mean, they were some of the most expensive medical equipment you could buy.
"Well, I do have some connections." Said Roshi, as he glanced up at John. Of course! I slapped myself. Here was the president of Capsule Corp. standing right in front of me, and I asked where he got the healing tank. My God, just how stupid can someone get!?
Trying to hide my embarrassment, I turned to the computer screen. The document was already open, so I began to read. I mean, how could some little text on a computer screen affect me? It just seemed impossible after everything I had gone through. If only I knew how wrong I was.
Chapter 5
I was floating. I was floating in water, but I wasn't drowning. It was good, warm, healing. All the pain I had experienced had been washed away. Was this the atonement I had been seeking? All was calm and peaceful. My world was dark, but only because I had my eyes shut. I didn't want to open my eyes; it was just so peaceful to have them closed.
Even with my eyes shut, I could see a light. It was faint, but it was there. It grew stronger, brighter, and soon I could see that the origin was beneath me. Not wanting to look downwards, I just let the source of the light come to me. As it came parallel to my face, I saw that the source of light was Ann. But, this time, she was not some beckoning apparition, charming me to water grave, but she just seemed content to float next to me.
Slowly, she held both my hands in hers. There was no pain in my left shoulder this time. Her eyes met mine, and we gazed at each other for seemingly and eternity, for time had no meaning. Then, through unspoken words, she asked me to dance. So we danced, there in the warm, healing water, my arms around her waist, and hers around my neck, her head on my shoulder. We just floated there and danced, saying nothing, not needing to. It was pure, whole, and good.
BEEEEEEEP!!!!
I was snapped back into consciousness at the ring of a bell. I could feel the water draining, leaving me. Still with my eyes shut, I felt a rush of dry air hit me, and strong arms lifted me into the air. I opened my eyes momentarily, and saw the face of my angle looking back at me. Then I closed my eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness.
***
I could here waves crashing on a beach; I could smell the salt air. I opened my eyes and looked up to see a triangular ceiling. It was the third strange place I had woken up at in less then a week. At least this place looked slightly normal. I sat up and realized two things.
One, there was no more pain, at all. Not in my shoulder, not in my back, I felt great! I inspected my shoulder, and saw that there was only a small scar there, barely noticeable. The last time I had seen it, there was a hole covered with a scab. I moved my arm experimentally, and realized there was no pain at all.
The other thing I noticed was that I was in a very unfamiliar room. Not strange, I just didn't recognize it. I felt a cool breeze wash over my shoulder, and turned to see and open window. I looked out, and saw the ocean. Not only that, but I was on at least the second floor of the building. I was gripped with fear.
Where was I? How did I get here? What happened to me? Where was the angle? My heart thudded as all kinds of scenarios played through my head. Was it all a dream? The robbery, the drug house, Pappy, the aliens, were they real? Had I been kidnapped? Was I still with the aliens, were they doing some kind of test to me? I jumped out of the bed I was in, and began to run for the door. Then I realized I had nothing on except my boxer!
I looked around and saw a suitcase on a dresser opposite the bed. I opened it up, and there were all my clothes! How did they get here? Not really caring, I pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, put them on, and headed for the door.
I opened it slowly, and tiptoed out the door. I was in a hallway. There were two other doors, and a stairway. I crept past the doors and began to walk down the steps. I put most of my weight on the banister, so I wouldn't make any of the steps creak. Holding my breath, I made it down the stairs and came to a wall that separated the stairs from a kitchen. I heard voices coming from the room, and crouched behind the wall.
Slowly, I poked my head past the wall, and peeked into the kitchen. I saw four people sitting at a table. I saw an old man wearing a tropical shirt, shorts, and a huge pair of sunglasses. He was bald, and had a beard that came down to his chest. He looked kind of like Pappy, except he was shorter, and his beard was combed.
I also saw a woman sitting next to the old man. She looked young, maybe in her twenties. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Her shoulder length dirty-blond hair was twisted into a ponytail behind her head. She looked pretty athletic, but very feminine at the same time. I couldn't see the other two because their backs were turned to me, but I could see that they were males.
I wasn't listening to what they were saying. I was to busy thinking of a way out of my situation. Beyond the people was a door, leading outside, to freedom. Maybe I could run for it? No, I would have to run right through them to get to the door. Could I sneak past them? What the hell, it was worth a shot.
I got down on my hands and knees, and began to crawl into the kitchen. My head was almost the whole way through when I saw the old man. His hand was raised just inches above the woman's thigh. Slowly, he let it settle on her leg.
The woman stiffened, very surprised. Then she turned toward the old man, glaring at him. The man gave an innocent look, flashing a smile. Then the woman smacked his head, hard. The old man grabbed his head, moaned, and pretended to faint, right into the woman's lap.
This was too much for me, and I let out a snort as I tried to contain my laughter. Everyone at the table sat up. Obviously, they heard me. My head shot back into the stairwell, my back pressed against the wall.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit! There gonna find me! I held my breath, listening, my muscles tense, ready to run.
"It looks like our visitor is awake." I heard a voice say from the other room. Then I heard a screeching as a chair was pushed against the floor. My heart was now comfortably settled in my throat. I heard two or three footsteps, and then all was quiet.
I looked up, and there standing before me was the man who had chased me the night of the abduction! I let out a squeak, and jumped up. I hit the stairs and bolted up them. Maybe I could find a place to hide! I got to the top, and was about to run into one of the rooms, when the man appeared in front of me. I crashed into him, and then leapt back, not realizing that the stairs were behind me. I yelled as I fell backwards.
"Gotcha." I heard as I realized my descent had been stopped. I looked up, and saw that the angel had caught me. What was he doing here? To confused to speak, I just let the angle carry me down the stairs, though the kitchen, and set me on a couch. The old man, the woman, and the man who chased me also came into the room. Not saying anything, the man and the woman sat in a smaller couch next to mine. The angle sat in a chair, and the old man sat on a pillow in across a coffee table in front of me. I looked at them, and they looked at me. Breaking the silence, I looked at the angle and said:
"Where are your wings?" the angel looked at me, puzzled.
"You know, your wings, so you can fly. You're an angel, right? I mean, you flew? Right?" A look of understanding crossed his face.
"Oh, you thought I was." He had to stop as he let out a little chuckle. "Sorry kid, but I'm just a human like you. Well, kind of."
"But you flew!" I insisted. Did he not want the others to know? The old man cleared his throat.
"Well, I suppose you have quite a few questions." I nodded. "Well, lets start off with introductions. You're Celic, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah, that's me. The orphanage never gave me a last name cause they didn't know my last name, and I haven't been adopted yet." I didn't know why I told them that, it just came out.
The old man smiled. "Well, perhaps I can help you with that. But, anyway, my name I Kame Sennin, but you can just call my Master Roshi." He pointed at the woman, "this is Angelina Wells," then to the man, "and he is John Briefs." Then, he motioned to the angle/man, but I stopped him before he could say anything else.
"Wait a minute! You mean this guy is John Briefs!? Mr. Capsule Corporation John Briefs!? The millionaire genius!?" They all nodded. I looked at him, and said:
"Why did you need to kidnap me? You don't need any money." I said. At that point, everyone else in the room burst out laughing.
"You thought we kidnapped you!?" Roshi asked, having a hard time talking through all of his giggles. I nodded as I felt my cheeks redden.
"Well, I guess that is kind of what it looked like." Angelina said. "I mean, he did wake up in a house full of strangers." As their laughs subsided, Roshi spoke up again.
"I'm sorry if we scared you, but know that you are free to leave at any time. We just decided that we would try to explain some things to you while we had a chance."
"OK, so what am I doing here?" I asked.
"Well, we brought you here so you could be healed. You were almost dead after you fell from the ship." Roshi said. So I hadn't dreamed it! The abduction, the man flying, it was all real!
"So why didn't you just take me to a hospital?" I asked.
"Well," Roshi started, and then stopped. He looked around the room with a pleading look on his face. I saw them all shake their heads softly. What was that all about?
"Well, lets just say that there might have been a few questions that you might not have been able to answer. Besides, we weren't sure if you wanted to go to a hospital." Roshi explained. Then I remembered I was wanted by the police. So these people somehow knew what I had done. Did they know everything?
"Listen," said the angel/man, who had yet to be introduced, "if we continue this conversation, you might know a lot more then you might like. What we have to tell you will be very hard to swallow, so if you would like to have a normal life, just say so and we'll take you back to Satan City." How could they tell me something that could change my life? After all, they weren't actions like shooting a gun, they were just words. Non-tangible words. How could they affect me more then everything that had already happened?
"I want to know." I said. Despite my confidence, I heard my voice quiver a bit. The others just gave a solemn nod toward Roshi. Then, John Briefs cleared his throat. We all looked at him.
"Well, I think we should start off with the facts of his abduction, as that would probably be the most believable." I stared at him. How could the "facts" of my abduction be the most believable?
"Besides, some of this is new information for the rest for you too." He cleared his throat and began. "From what I have been able to derive from the remains of the computer," He stopped and glared at the angel/man, who studied the floor, "these aliens are what some scientists have labeled 'Greys' because of their color, which is almost all the information they have been able to gather from the abductees. While there are many reports of abductions from Greys and other aliens, most are false. But there are a few true accounts of previous abductions. These Greys have been abducting humans, and other animals, for study. They are trying to find out the weaknesses and strengths of the inhibitors of Earth. They are planning an invasion of our planet." What!? I looked around at the others, to see if they also thought he was crazy. Angelina looked proud as she gazed at John, the angel/man looked bored, and Master Roshi was too busy staring at Angelina's legs too hear what John had said. Obviously not getting the response he desired, John spoke up again.
"Unfortunately, the rest of the information that we have on the Greys would not be understood by Celic, so I suggest that our, um, 'history' be revealed to him. That is, if he agrees to it." With that, everyone in the room turned to me in unison.
"Why would I have to agree to it? Is it like, confidential information or something?" I asked. They all looked around the room, as if they were trying to decide who would be the one to tell me. As if it would harm me in some way.
"Well, as we said before," said Master Roshi, "what we have to tell you will be extremely hard to believe, and it could change you. But, what we have to tell you might help you in the future, and might help some of the things you've gone through." I just shook my head.
"I really don't think that words can change me so easily." I said. Maybe these people were crazy.
"Very well." John stood up, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out an ancient floppy disk. But the way he was holding it, you would think it was the winning lottery ticket or something.
"In this disk contains all the information you need to know." He said as he handed the disk too me. Then he reached in his pocket again, and produced a capsule. The pushed the button and threw it on the table. There was a poof of smoke, and I saw a laptop computer sitting on the coffee table. I put the disk in, and I heard whatever ancient dive it used to open it whirl.
"Just one more question, before I read this earth-shattering information," I said, sarcasm heavy in my voice, "how did you heal me? I mean, I don't remember much, but I know my back was a mess, and so was my shoulder." With than, I slid the sleeve of the t-shirt up so that the tiny scar was visible.
"Oh, that was easy." Said Master Roshi. "We just put you in a healing tank. There were other methods to heal you, but we decided you needed rest."
"You have a healing tank!" I couldn't believe that this old man had something that only the finest hospitals could afford. I mean, they were some of the most expensive medical equipment you could buy.
"Well, I do have some connections." Said Roshi, as he glanced up at John. Of course! I slapped myself. Here was the president of Capsule Corp. standing right in front of me, and I asked where he got the healing tank. My God, just how stupid can someone get!?
Trying to hide my embarrassment, I turned to the computer screen. The document was already open, so I began to read. I mean, how could some little text on a computer screen affect me? It just seemed impossible after everything I had gone through. If only I knew how wrong I was.