Dragon Ball Next Generation
The Grey Saga
Part 2: The Sacrifice
Chapter 4
A year. It had been an entire year, and one day. A year ago, my life was, to an extent, normal. Now, I was flying through the air, leaving Heaven.
My 14th birthday had been a few weeks ago. Kargo, never really one for celebrations, had barely grunted happy birthday in passing. But, it was progress. Dende and Mr. Popo, on the other hand, fixed up a huge meal, complete with cake.
But, the day before had been a bad one. Ann had been dead for a year, but it still hurt. I didn't know if it would ever go away. Dende was a small comfort, but Mr. Popo and Kargo just stayed away from me. I was grateful for that.
Now, a day later, I was flying from Heaven to Western Capitol. Kargo flew a few feet away from me. John had been studying the Grey's ship that had abducted Xander and I, and we were going to Capsule Corp. to hear about the information he had gained. Hopefully, it was good news.
When I learned to fly, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I was so free. At a whim, I could spiral, go up, down, left, right. I was in complete control. Being able to control something in my life so completely was deeply satisfying. But, even though I still enjoy it, flying soon became the norm for travel. And so, just like a kid who's just got their driver's license, flying soon became less then entertaining. On the long journey to Western Capitol, I let my mind wander as I flew beside Kargo.
Perhaps, we had more in common then I thought. Not just Kargo and I, but all of the Z senshi. It seemed like we all had to go through some hardship or give something up, and somehow ended up fighting for our planet.
I looked over at Kargo. He stared strait ahead, barely taking notice of me. Of all of us, his past seemed like the most normal to me, as strange as that is. Since his birth, Kargo's fate was decided for him. As the son of the Kami of Earth, he was destined to eventually take his father's place. He was born a warrior. He had no choice to fight or not, it was in his blood. Just like me.
I both pitied him and was jealous of him. He had no chance to make his own decisions, but without decisions, how can you make mistakes? He seemed envious of those of us who had a choice.
His relationship with his father was strained at times. Dende wanted him to live in Heaven, to learn about Earth, so that he will be ready to become Kami. But, Kargo longs for Namek, even though he has never seen it, as his father has. He is stuck on Earth, but longs to go back to Namek, the planet which, in his eyes, his father forsook. And yet, Earth is his home. Once again, his destiny was chosen for him. He lives on Earth.
"So, how long were you going to wait to show me?" Kargo asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Huh? Show you what?" I asked.
"You think I'm stupid, don't you." He said. "I know you've been working on an attack. Your ki changes every time you use it. Even you should be able to sense it."
"You really want to see it?" I asked, a little stunned. It was something I had discovered when meditating. I had been working on how to release it, and by now, I thought I had almost perfected the technique. Kargo nodded. "Alright." I said.
I stopped my flight and scanned the area. We were above grassy plains. I shut my eyes, and consentrated. I found a spot big enough without any wild life, and flew toward it. Kargo followed me. I was a little nervous. Hopefully, Kargo would be impressed.
I cupped my hands as I would a Kamehameha, but put them behind my head. I shut my eyes and consentrated. In my mind, I could see flames. I began to bring those flames to my hands. I could feel the ki gathering and growing stronger. The flames in my mind intensified, and soon I had enough ki in my hands.
"Flame Cyclone!" I yelled, as I threw my hands out in front of me. The bright red ball of ki streaked form my hands toward the ground below. It took a comet like shape as it traveled. It hit the ground, and an exploded. Out of the explosion, two pillars of flame shot up toward the sky, twisting and turning around each other. Anyone caught in the attack would be immobilized, and then incinerated, if the initial explosion didn't kill them first.
I lost my concentration on the twisting pillars of fire, and they disappeared, leaving only a deep crater in the earth. I looked back at Kargo, to see what he thought.
"The ability to put an element in an attack is extremely rare. Not even I can do it." He said, and then flew off. I grinned. Saying that someone could do something he couldn't is probably one of the biggest compliments he could give someone. I've learned that Kargo is very strait forward with a lot of his emotions, and you have to read between the lines.
***
After about a half-hour's worth of flying, we reached Western Capitol. When I first saw it, I was amazed. It was only a little bigger then Satan City, and it looked almost the same, except that many of its buildings were domed. But, it was so clean. You could hardly even smell the difference in the air. The streets were clear, and none of the buildings were in decay.
I wanted to fly down and walk amongst the people, to find out how different they were from those in Satan City, but we had to stay high in the air. If people saw a kid with a tail and green guy flying around, they would probably freak out.
"There's Capsule Corp." Kargo said, pointing to the middle of the city. From my aerial view, I could see just how big it was. There was one huge dome, with more, little domes surrounding it. All in all, the entire complex had to cover at least two square miles. Kargo flew toward the biggest dome.
"This is the residence and personal labs. John also uses built a training facility in here." He said, as we touched down on the ground.
"He lives here!" I asked. I knew they were rich, but the place seemed so huge. How you could ever be comfortable living in a place like that is beyond me.
"Angelina as well." He said, and then walked in the door. I hesitated, wondering if there was a doorbell I should push or something. After a moment's debate, I followed Kargo.
The front hall was covered with pictures. I looked at the first one. It depicted a man with a bushy whit mustache, and a small black cat clinging to his shoulder. A ditzy looking, large haired woman stood next to him. Under the picture was a plaque that read:
"Dr. Briefs: Founder and Creator of Capsule Corporation."
Next to that was a picture of a blue haired woman. Standing next to her was a muscled bound man with a pointy hairdo who looked like he would rather shoot the photographer then have his picture taken.
"That's Bulma Briefs." Kargo said, standing behind me. "And the man next to her is Vegeta." He said. So, that was the Saiya-jin prince. He looked powerful, and with the scowl on his face, exactly as Dende had described him.
"You knew him, didn't you?" I asked Kargo, but he was already making his way down the hall. I chased after him.
I was a little intimidated by the size of the building. And the staff. Everywhere we went, there was a maid or servant there, cleaning, or asking if we needed anything. None of them seemed daunted by Kargo's appearance, and he seemed to know his way around, so I figured he had been there before.
After we walked around for a while, Kargo stopped a maid in a hallway and asked her where John and Angelina were. She gave us directions, and then went back to cleaning. The sheer number of rooms was mind-boggling. How could someone use so many rooms?
Eventually, we came to a room with a huge computer on one side. Its monitor had to be as wide as I was tall. A woman sat in front of the computer, seemingly oblivious to our presence. From the way she sat in the chair, you could tell she wasn't using the computer.
With a sigh, she flipped a pen in the air. As it spiraled downward the woman leaned back in the chair and caught the pen in her teeth. In that position, I could clearly see her face. Angelina.
Her hair was shorter then when we had first met, but I remembered her face. The dull look in her eyes dissapeared when she saw us. She spat out the pen and leapt out of the chair.
"Kargo! It's good to see you! How's your father? I can tell you've grown a lot stronger." She said in rapid succession. Kargo smiled. He was about to answer when her gaze shifted to me.
"Celic! Wow, you've grown." She said, leaning towards me. "Roshi told us you had gone to train with Dende after only four months! I can't believe it. It's been about a year since I've seen you..." She trailed off as she her eyes traveled downward... "You have a tail!" She yelled, leaping backward as if it had tried to bite her.
"Ya, I guess it's sort of a Saiya-jin thing." I said, trying not to laugh at her expression. She regained her composure.
"Sorry, John's not here. He's working on some project that he won't even let me see. He'll be if the staff can get him back to Earth long enough to tell him you're here." She said. Then she began to ask Kargo about some training tips.
I was amazed that someone like her could seem so happy. Of all of us, she was perhaps the most like me.
Like me, she had grown up in Satan City. Her mother had left her and her father when she was very young. The main reason being that her father was a drunk. After her mother left, Angelina's father turned more and more to alcohol to get over his failed marriage. But, soon that wasn't enough to vent his frustration.
When he was drunk, Angelina's father turned violent, and Angelina was the target. Domestic problems are very rarely handled in Satan City. The police have their hands full with murders and drugs, and most of the other people close to kids just didn't want to go through all the trouble of doing something about it. So Angelina was on her own.
As grotesque as it sounds, Angelina learned how to survive when she lived with her father. It "toughened her up". But, by the time she was thirteen, she had enough. She ran away from her father.
Using the tactics she had learned by living with her father, and her natural skill at fighting, she soon learned a way to live. Street fighting. Because of her age, and the fact that she was a girl, her opponents, and those betting against her, underestimated her.
All the money that she didn't spend on food or clothes was saved up for one purpose, to enter in the 134th Tenkaichi Budoukai...
"Sorry I'm late." John said, as he hurried through the door, removing a pair of glasses and loosening a tie. He looked around the room.
"Is Xander here yet?" he asked Angelina. She shrugged her shoulders.
"He's been training in the Everwake Mountains, he'll probably be here soon." Kargo said.
"But, that's on the other side of the world. Couldn't he find someplace closer to train?" John pouted.
"It's the only place he can find the training conditions he wants." Kargo said. The Everwake Mountains were the highest mountains in the world, and the conditions there were very extreme. I was impressed that Xander could train there.
"Oh well." John sighed, and looked at me. "Wow, you've grown. How's you training with Dende going... What the hell is that!" He jumped back, his right hand automatically going to his shoulder, where his sword would be sheathed, if he had it. I don't think he really wanted to cut me, it was just his instinct when surprised.
"It's a tail." Angelina sighed. "I thought you were supposed to be a genius." She said playfully. John dropped his hand, and glared at her.
Genius runs in the Briefs family. Every child is expected to be one. John Briefs is no exception. By the age of twelve, he was doing calculus and designing complex machines. His parents saw a bright future in him, and in Capsule Corp.
When he was fifteen, he found a safe, covered in almost a century's worth of dust in one of the oldest complexes at Capsule Corp. He cracked it, and found two capsules inside. In the first was an ancient floppy disk. In it was a document, written by Bulma Briefs, labeled "The Truth". It was the same disk that he had shown me on Master Roshi's island. He doubted it at first, until he opened the second capsule. In it was the sword of Tapion, inherited by Trunks Briefs, son of Vegeta. It is the same sword that John now uses.
John wanted to pursue a career in martial arts, and his parents allowed him to hire a trainer, as long as he was active in the company. But, when he was 17, the 134th Tenkaichi Budoukai was going to be held, and John increased his training to participate. Because of his almost completely shirked Capsule Corp., his parents demanded that he give up martial arts. After a heated argument, John walked out, intent on participating in the Budokia.
He made his way to the Budoukai, and entered. He did very well, and made his way to the final match. His opponent was Angelina.
After a long battle, Angelina eventually won by knocking John out of the ring. John's plan was to prove himself in the Budoukai, and then seek out Master Roshi, and train full-time. He had been deeply impressed with Angelina, and invited her to come along, as a rival. Eager to leave the streets of Satan City, she accepted.
Master Roshi couldn't refuse the descendant of Vegeta, or a beautiful girl, and accepted his first students in three hundred years. He eventually sent them to Dende. During their training, they became very close, and by the time they arrived in Heaven, had become a couple.
Three years after the Budoukai, John's father had a heart attack, and became too sick to run Capsule Corp. His mother was on her last leg, still heart broken over her estranged son, tending to his father, and trying to manage the largest company all in one. After a lot of thought, John came back to Western Capitol, with Angelina. He made amends with his parents, and took over the company. Now he runs the largest company in the world, while training as one of the Z senshi.
"I have something for you, Celic." John said, reaching behind his back. "I found it in one of our old complexes last year. It belonged to Son Goku, and I think it should stay in the family." He said, as he revealed a small, orange ball. It easily fit into his palm. Four stars were embedded onto it. I took it. It seemed to have a warmth about it, somewhat comforting.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's a dragon ball." He said. A dragon ball... one of seven, with the power to grant almost any wish one could think of. When Dende originally created them, they could grant two, but after the destruction of Il Shenlong, they became dormant for one hundred years. When they became active again, they were only able to grant one wish. Dende thought it had something to do with the disappearance of Goku.
"Thanks!" I said, still inspecting the ball. I placed it in a small bag attached to my belt, which had a few senzus in it. I found it convenient to always carry some around, especially when training with Kargo.
"Xander's coming..." Kargo said. The room became quite. John stiffened upright. When I looked back, I realized that he had seemed uncomfortable with Xander on Roshi's island, but I hadn't known him well enough to realize it. Kargo seemed almost anxious, as if he was expecting something.
Now, I could feel his ki as well. Just as each person has a signature in their ki, past experiences can also leave a mark, if they affect the subconscious enough. There was a layer beneath Xander's ki, riddled with pain, hate, and confusion. Now that I could sense it, I understood John's discomfort.
We left the computer room, and made our way outside. Xander was just appearing over the horizon, surrounded in white ki. He made his descent when he came above us, landing nimbly on his feet.
I was about to say hello, when I saw their eyes. Xander and Kargo. They were locked on each other, completely absorbed in sizing to the other up, maybe looking for some weakness. There was no hate in their eyes, but respect. They were obviously rivals. Their concentration broke, and Xander turned my way.
"Celic, how are you? You've grown a lot since we found you." He said, his face changing to the kindly expression that I had associated with him. Before I could answer, I saw his eyes shift downward, to my tail. If he was surprised, he didn't show it.
When Xander rescued me from the Grey's ship, I had thought he was an angel. But, he had grown up in Hell.
It started twenty-three years ago. When the military found the remains of a laboratory of a scientist by the name of Dr. Gero. Gero had attempted to build artificial humans, in order to kill Son Goku. He failed, and was killed in the process. His main laboratory had been destroyed, but he had others, where he had done research on the Z senshi. The military had found one of those labs.
The information was sent to a group of scientists loosely associated with the military. Their orders: to create the perfect weapon using the information from Gero's lab. They decided that artificial humans were too complex to build, and they seemed to have a limit of power and could grow no stronger through battle. But, using the information on the Z senshi, they decided that a human could, if conditioned properly, break all barriers and eventually become The Perfect Weapon, a weapon with the ability to cause unimaginable damage, with no limit to it's power, and completely obedient to only a select few. Under the hopes that the subject would have unlimited power, it was labeled "Project X", because "x", being the most common variable, has no limit.
From thirty unwanted babies, they chose the one judged to have the most potential. The others were killed. That baby never knew compassion, or the love of another. Before he could talk, or even walk, he was taught obedience, or pain.
The top martial arts instructors were brought in, and trained the boy. Mistakes were not taken lightly, usually punished with whips. He was taught the most effective ways to kill someone, and how to manipulate his ki.
After twenty years of cruel training, brain washing, and unimaginable pain, "Project X" was deemed ready for a trial run. His mission was to destroy the nearby Ginger Town, slowly.
What I had learned as The Ginger Town Massacre, a terrorist attack that left eight buildings destroyed and over three hundred people dead, was actually "Project X". But, something happened there that those in charge couldn't predict. A man had pleaded, groveled, for his children's lives to be spared. He even had offered his own life in exchange for theirs. They were killed anyway.
But, what the man had done confused him. He had been taught that emotions were weak, that they were needless. His whole life, the only emotion he had ever felt was fear. What the man had done, shown love for his children, even at the expense of his own life, went against all he had been taught.
Confused, he left most of the city still standing, and headed back to the base. While he had no answers, he had discovered something: humans were weak. Even those he feared, the ones with the whips, were weak. And he was strong.
For all the pain they had inflicted upon them he gave back tenfold. His wrath was great, but he took his time, letting them feel the pain and fear he had felt his whole life. Because of that, some were able to escape, and probably live today.
John and Angelina had just arrived in Western Capitol a few days earlier, so they got there before Kargo. They attacked, but they were easily beaten, and were about to be killed when Kargo arrived.
Kargo was more powerful, but "Project X" was able to match his power with skill. It was a fierce battle, which Kargo eventually won. But, he was spared, because Kargo saw nothing inherently evil in the man. He saw only a person who was never given a choice, and who had only know pain and suffering.
It took a many months, but the Dende eventually was able to help that man, and reverse most of the brain washing. He learned happiness, laughter, but also grief. Dende forgave him, and the man put his experiences behind him, as a past life. He even took up a name for himself: Xander Keith.
We went inside, back into the large computer room. An awkwardness John felt around Xander was lost when we entered. Like any Briefs, he was in his element. We stood while John sat at the computer and began to type.
I realized that, for the first time since I "joined", our group was complete. It was us five, who in other circumstances would probably never meet, together because it was our heritage, because we were destined to be there, or because it was all we knew, joined by one purpose. The defense of our home, and our people.
John finished typing, and swiveled around in the chair, facing us.
"From the computer we found inside the ship, we have been able to find out quite a bit about the Greys." He taped on the keyboard, and a picture came up, showing beings of similar shape, but different colors. I recognized the one on the left, with its gray skin, and its bulbous head. It was one I had seen inside the ship. From there, each being seemed to become more muscular, with a much more proportional body shape.
"For starters, the name "Greys" is not really correct. All these beings are from the same species. When born, they are white in color. The color and body shape depends on how powerful they become when they reach maturity. The gray ones are very weak, and are the scientists of the Greys. The orange ones come next. They are physically strong, but lack the natural ability to control ki. The red types seem to be the most common, they can manipulate ki, but it's limited. These are going to be the ones you see most on the battlefield. The blue ones seemingly jump far ahead of the others. They have the ability to fly, and can do a considerable amount of damage. The purple ones, while not having any real new talents, are much more powerful, but few Greys become that strong." He turned, and hit a couple more keys. "And then, the black ones." An image of a well muscled being showed on the screen. Its skin was night black, like Mr. Popo's, but rough and bumpy. White bone came out of the elbows and knees, creating spikes.
"These are the generals of the Grey army." John continued. "With the natural weapons, such as the spikes coming from the elbows and knees, and with the ability to control ki as well as anyone of us," he glanced at Xander when he said this, "they are extremely dangerous. For a Grey to become this, it would have to have a ki level of at least one hundred thousand, by my calculations. Luckily, they are very rare." He concluded.
"I haven't had time to study the ship its self, but I should be able to get some information on their weaponry before the month is over." He said.
"Why is it just us, against that?" I asked, pointing to the image of the black Grey. "I mean, can't we show this to the army or something?"
"I'm sorry, but we can't." Kargo said, gazing at the screen. "One of these could easily destroy an entire army, a being with half of its power could. Besides, the military's action could easily just to blow everything up, which would cause more damage then it would help. It might not even destroy the Greys. Unfortunately, we truly are the Earth's only hope."
I stared at the image of the black Grey. It looked fearsome, and very dangerous. So, that's our enemy. I began to sweat.
***
Two weeks later, back in Heaven, we met again. I saw John and Angelina flying toward us while I was training with Mr. Popo. I went to meet them, but I halted as soon as I saw John's face. He looked tired, drained, and his face was creased with worry. The couple brushed past me, John not saying a word, and Angelina looking back at me, her expression filled with sorrow. I followed them.
"Is Xander here yet?" John asked Kargo, who was talking with Dende when we entered.
"He'll be here in a couple minutes." Kargo said.
"What happened?" I asked. Once again, the others seemed to know something I didn't.
"I Dende's the only one with the whole story, but we'll piece it together when Xander arrives, as long as he did what he was supposed to do." He said, the last part almost under his breath.
Soon, Xander appeared. His face was grim, and I decided to wait to hear what had happened, still a little afraid of the weapon-turned-man.
"Did it work like you planned?" Kargo asked. Xander nodded. Obviously, no more needed to be said between the two.
We gathered outside, everyone else seemed grim, and I was starting to become worried. Finally, Dende spoke up.
"When the previous Kami came to this planet, there was another who wanted this position. He was a demon named Garlic. The reigning Kami had them battle to decide who would be his successor. Garlic was defeated, and the new Kami took his rule over Earth. But, Garlic still coveted his seat, and awoke the Dark Army, an army made of demons, and tried to overthrow Kami. He was defeated again, and killed.
"But, he had a son, Garlic Jr. Garlic Jr. collected the dragon balls and wished for immortality. As soon as his wish was granted, Son Goku, who came to rescue his son, Piccolo, and Kami came to stop him from taking over Earth. Goku and Piccolo, while they could not kill Garlic, made him create a tear in the dimensional fabric, creating another dimension, called the Dead Zone. Garlic Jr. attempted to trap Goku and Piccolo inside, but Goku's son, Gohan, managed to push Garlic Jr. into his own portal, sealing him in forever." Dende finished, and looked at John. John nodded.
"Last week," He began, "Two people came into my office. They told me that they were members of a cult, and they wish for me to join, or at least for Capsule Corp. to support them."
"It seems," Dende said, "that this cult is actually run by a demon, Turmeric, one of the last disciples of Garlic Jr. He wishes to bring Garlic Jr. back, and with him, his Dark Army. His cult merely serves him with entertainment, as those that join are cruel people, without conscience, the kind of humans a demon would surround himself with. I doubt that the majority of them know his true intent.
"What we need, is to find out more about how Turmeric planes to resurrect Garlic, and where. The Dark Army is also a problem. Garlic Jr. controls it, and it is as eternal as him. If he is allowed to come back to Earth, we will be annihilated before the Greys come here. We don't know if Turmeric can raise it now, which is why I don't think we can try to kill him. Which is why we need a spy in the cult." At that, all eyes turned toward me.
"What, me!" I jumped back, away from their eyes. "I... I can't do that! Why me! How would I get in? How would I get any information!"
"I took care of that." Xander said. "I just came back from where the cult." He involuntary shuddered. My heart sunk. If Xander, of all people, could barely think about what he had seen, what would my reaction be?
"The strongest person in the cult is called their Champion. Basically, it's someone to represent the humans in a world of demons. I made an "attack" on the cult, and defeated their Champion." His eyes shot towards Dende. "I left him in pain, but he's still alive. Any way, they will be looking for a new Champion. And, they will probably look at the upcoming Budoukai. They have several people involved already."
"So, you want me to enter, and win, in hopes that this cult will try to recruit me as their Champion?" I asked. "But, why me? Aren't I a little young? Why can't any of you do it?"
"Actually, I think your age might help." Dende said. "Turmeric might see you as someone he can mold, another disciple of Garlic. Unfortunately, you are our only chance. They would instantly recognize Kargo as my son, even if they don't know that the previous Kami is dead, they would never accept him. They have already asked John, and he refused. They would recognize Xander as the one whom attacked them, and the cult is a male dominated society, and they would never accept Angelina. You're the only one who can help us."
The Grey Saga
Part 2: The Sacrifice
Chapter 4
A year. It had been an entire year, and one day. A year ago, my life was, to an extent, normal. Now, I was flying through the air, leaving Heaven.
My 14th birthday had been a few weeks ago. Kargo, never really one for celebrations, had barely grunted happy birthday in passing. But, it was progress. Dende and Mr. Popo, on the other hand, fixed up a huge meal, complete with cake.
But, the day before had been a bad one. Ann had been dead for a year, but it still hurt. I didn't know if it would ever go away. Dende was a small comfort, but Mr. Popo and Kargo just stayed away from me. I was grateful for that.
Now, a day later, I was flying from Heaven to Western Capitol. Kargo flew a few feet away from me. John had been studying the Grey's ship that had abducted Xander and I, and we were going to Capsule Corp. to hear about the information he had gained. Hopefully, it was good news.
When I learned to fly, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. I was so free. At a whim, I could spiral, go up, down, left, right. I was in complete control. Being able to control something in my life so completely was deeply satisfying. But, even though I still enjoy it, flying soon became the norm for travel. And so, just like a kid who's just got their driver's license, flying soon became less then entertaining. On the long journey to Western Capitol, I let my mind wander as I flew beside Kargo.
Perhaps, we had more in common then I thought. Not just Kargo and I, but all of the Z senshi. It seemed like we all had to go through some hardship or give something up, and somehow ended up fighting for our planet.
I looked over at Kargo. He stared strait ahead, barely taking notice of me. Of all of us, his past seemed like the most normal to me, as strange as that is. Since his birth, Kargo's fate was decided for him. As the son of the Kami of Earth, he was destined to eventually take his father's place. He was born a warrior. He had no choice to fight or not, it was in his blood. Just like me.
I both pitied him and was jealous of him. He had no chance to make his own decisions, but without decisions, how can you make mistakes? He seemed envious of those of us who had a choice.
His relationship with his father was strained at times. Dende wanted him to live in Heaven, to learn about Earth, so that he will be ready to become Kami. But, Kargo longs for Namek, even though he has never seen it, as his father has. He is stuck on Earth, but longs to go back to Namek, the planet which, in his eyes, his father forsook. And yet, Earth is his home. Once again, his destiny was chosen for him. He lives on Earth.
"So, how long were you going to wait to show me?" Kargo asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Huh? Show you what?" I asked.
"You think I'm stupid, don't you." He said. "I know you've been working on an attack. Your ki changes every time you use it. Even you should be able to sense it."
"You really want to see it?" I asked, a little stunned. It was something I had discovered when meditating. I had been working on how to release it, and by now, I thought I had almost perfected the technique. Kargo nodded. "Alright." I said.
I stopped my flight and scanned the area. We were above grassy plains. I shut my eyes, and consentrated. I found a spot big enough without any wild life, and flew toward it. Kargo followed me. I was a little nervous. Hopefully, Kargo would be impressed.
I cupped my hands as I would a Kamehameha, but put them behind my head. I shut my eyes and consentrated. In my mind, I could see flames. I began to bring those flames to my hands. I could feel the ki gathering and growing stronger. The flames in my mind intensified, and soon I had enough ki in my hands.
"Flame Cyclone!" I yelled, as I threw my hands out in front of me. The bright red ball of ki streaked form my hands toward the ground below. It took a comet like shape as it traveled. It hit the ground, and an exploded. Out of the explosion, two pillars of flame shot up toward the sky, twisting and turning around each other. Anyone caught in the attack would be immobilized, and then incinerated, if the initial explosion didn't kill them first.
I lost my concentration on the twisting pillars of fire, and they disappeared, leaving only a deep crater in the earth. I looked back at Kargo, to see what he thought.
"The ability to put an element in an attack is extremely rare. Not even I can do it." He said, and then flew off. I grinned. Saying that someone could do something he couldn't is probably one of the biggest compliments he could give someone. I've learned that Kargo is very strait forward with a lot of his emotions, and you have to read between the lines.
***
After about a half-hour's worth of flying, we reached Western Capitol. When I first saw it, I was amazed. It was only a little bigger then Satan City, and it looked almost the same, except that many of its buildings were domed. But, it was so clean. You could hardly even smell the difference in the air. The streets were clear, and none of the buildings were in decay.
I wanted to fly down and walk amongst the people, to find out how different they were from those in Satan City, but we had to stay high in the air. If people saw a kid with a tail and green guy flying around, they would probably freak out.
"There's Capsule Corp." Kargo said, pointing to the middle of the city. From my aerial view, I could see just how big it was. There was one huge dome, with more, little domes surrounding it. All in all, the entire complex had to cover at least two square miles. Kargo flew toward the biggest dome.
"This is the residence and personal labs. John also uses built a training facility in here." He said, as we touched down on the ground.
"He lives here!" I asked. I knew they were rich, but the place seemed so huge. How you could ever be comfortable living in a place like that is beyond me.
"Angelina as well." He said, and then walked in the door. I hesitated, wondering if there was a doorbell I should push or something. After a moment's debate, I followed Kargo.
The front hall was covered with pictures. I looked at the first one. It depicted a man with a bushy whit mustache, and a small black cat clinging to his shoulder. A ditzy looking, large haired woman stood next to him. Under the picture was a plaque that read:
"Dr. Briefs: Founder and Creator of Capsule Corporation."
Next to that was a picture of a blue haired woman. Standing next to her was a muscled bound man with a pointy hairdo who looked like he would rather shoot the photographer then have his picture taken.
"That's Bulma Briefs." Kargo said, standing behind me. "And the man next to her is Vegeta." He said. So, that was the Saiya-jin prince. He looked powerful, and with the scowl on his face, exactly as Dende had described him.
"You knew him, didn't you?" I asked Kargo, but he was already making his way down the hall. I chased after him.
I was a little intimidated by the size of the building. And the staff. Everywhere we went, there was a maid or servant there, cleaning, or asking if we needed anything. None of them seemed daunted by Kargo's appearance, and he seemed to know his way around, so I figured he had been there before.
After we walked around for a while, Kargo stopped a maid in a hallway and asked her where John and Angelina were. She gave us directions, and then went back to cleaning. The sheer number of rooms was mind-boggling. How could someone use so many rooms?
Eventually, we came to a room with a huge computer on one side. Its monitor had to be as wide as I was tall. A woman sat in front of the computer, seemingly oblivious to our presence. From the way she sat in the chair, you could tell she wasn't using the computer.
With a sigh, she flipped a pen in the air. As it spiraled downward the woman leaned back in the chair and caught the pen in her teeth. In that position, I could clearly see her face. Angelina.
Her hair was shorter then when we had first met, but I remembered her face. The dull look in her eyes dissapeared when she saw us. She spat out the pen and leapt out of the chair.
"Kargo! It's good to see you! How's your father? I can tell you've grown a lot stronger." She said in rapid succession. Kargo smiled. He was about to answer when her gaze shifted to me.
"Celic! Wow, you've grown." She said, leaning towards me. "Roshi told us you had gone to train with Dende after only four months! I can't believe it. It's been about a year since I've seen you..." She trailed off as she her eyes traveled downward... "You have a tail!" She yelled, leaping backward as if it had tried to bite her.
"Ya, I guess it's sort of a Saiya-jin thing." I said, trying not to laugh at her expression. She regained her composure.
"Sorry, John's not here. He's working on some project that he won't even let me see. He'll be if the staff can get him back to Earth long enough to tell him you're here." She said. Then she began to ask Kargo about some training tips.
I was amazed that someone like her could seem so happy. Of all of us, she was perhaps the most like me.
Like me, she had grown up in Satan City. Her mother had left her and her father when she was very young. The main reason being that her father was a drunk. After her mother left, Angelina's father turned more and more to alcohol to get over his failed marriage. But, soon that wasn't enough to vent his frustration.
When he was drunk, Angelina's father turned violent, and Angelina was the target. Domestic problems are very rarely handled in Satan City. The police have their hands full with murders and drugs, and most of the other people close to kids just didn't want to go through all the trouble of doing something about it. So Angelina was on her own.
As grotesque as it sounds, Angelina learned how to survive when she lived with her father. It "toughened her up". But, by the time she was thirteen, she had enough. She ran away from her father.
Using the tactics she had learned by living with her father, and her natural skill at fighting, she soon learned a way to live. Street fighting. Because of her age, and the fact that she was a girl, her opponents, and those betting against her, underestimated her.
All the money that she didn't spend on food or clothes was saved up for one purpose, to enter in the 134th Tenkaichi Budoukai...
"Sorry I'm late." John said, as he hurried through the door, removing a pair of glasses and loosening a tie. He looked around the room.
"Is Xander here yet?" he asked Angelina. She shrugged her shoulders.
"He's been training in the Everwake Mountains, he'll probably be here soon." Kargo said.
"But, that's on the other side of the world. Couldn't he find someplace closer to train?" John pouted.
"It's the only place he can find the training conditions he wants." Kargo said. The Everwake Mountains were the highest mountains in the world, and the conditions there were very extreme. I was impressed that Xander could train there.
"Oh well." John sighed, and looked at me. "Wow, you've grown. How's you training with Dende going... What the hell is that!" He jumped back, his right hand automatically going to his shoulder, where his sword would be sheathed, if he had it. I don't think he really wanted to cut me, it was just his instinct when surprised.
"It's a tail." Angelina sighed. "I thought you were supposed to be a genius." She said playfully. John dropped his hand, and glared at her.
Genius runs in the Briefs family. Every child is expected to be one. John Briefs is no exception. By the age of twelve, he was doing calculus and designing complex machines. His parents saw a bright future in him, and in Capsule Corp.
When he was fifteen, he found a safe, covered in almost a century's worth of dust in one of the oldest complexes at Capsule Corp. He cracked it, and found two capsules inside. In the first was an ancient floppy disk. In it was a document, written by Bulma Briefs, labeled "The Truth". It was the same disk that he had shown me on Master Roshi's island. He doubted it at first, until he opened the second capsule. In it was the sword of Tapion, inherited by Trunks Briefs, son of Vegeta. It is the same sword that John now uses.
John wanted to pursue a career in martial arts, and his parents allowed him to hire a trainer, as long as he was active in the company. But, when he was 17, the 134th Tenkaichi Budoukai was going to be held, and John increased his training to participate. Because of his almost completely shirked Capsule Corp., his parents demanded that he give up martial arts. After a heated argument, John walked out, intent on participating in the Budokia.
He made his way to the Budoukai, and entered. He did very well, and made his way to the final match. His opponent was Angelina.
After a long battle, Angelina eventually won by knocking John out of the ring. John's plan was to prove himself in the Budoukai, and then seek out Master Roshi, and train full-time. He had been deeply impressed with Angelina, and invited her to come along, as a rival. Eager to leave the streets of Satan City, she accepted.
Master Roshi couldn't refuse the descendant of Vegeta, or a beautiful girl, and accepted his first students in three hundred years. He eventually sent them to Dende. During their training, they became very close, and by the time they arrived in Heaven, had become a couple.
Three years after the Budoukai, John's father had a heart attack, and became too sick to run Capsule Corp. His mother was on her last leg, still heart broken over her estranged son, tending to his father, and trying to manage the largest company all in one. After a lot of thought, John came back to Western Capitol, with Angelina. He made amends with his parents, and took over the company. Now he runs the largest company in the world, while training as one of the Z senshi.
"I have something for you, Celic." John said, reaching behind his back. "I found it in one of our old complexes last year. It belonged to Son Goku, and I think it should stay in the family." He said, as he revealed a small, orange ball. It easily fit into his palm. Four stars were embedded onto it. I took it. It seemed to have a warmth about it, somewhat comforting.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's a dragon ball." He said. A dragon ball... one of seven, with the power to grant almost any wish one could think of. When Dende originally created them, they could grant two, but after the destruction of Il Shenlong, they became dormant for one hundred years. When they became active again, they were only able to grant one wish. Dende thought it had something to do with the disappearance of Goku.
"Thanks!" I said, still inspecting the ball. I placed it in a small bag attached to my belt, which had a few senzus in it. I found it convenient to always carry some around, especially when training with Kargo.
"Xander's coming..." Kargo said. The room became quite. John stiffened upright. When I looked back, I realized that he had seemed uncomfortable with Xander on Roshi's island, but I hadn't known him well enough to realize it. Kargo seemed almost anxious, as if he was expecting something.
Now, I could feel his ki as well. Just as each person has a signature in their ki, past experiences can also leave a mark, if they affect the subconscious enough. There was a layer beneath Xander's ki, riddled with pain, hate, and confusion. Now that I could sense it, I understood John's discomfort.
We left the computer room, and made our way outside. Xander was just appearing over the horizon, surrounded in white ki. He made his descent when he came above us, landing nimbly on his feet.
I was about to say hello, when I saw their eyes. Xander and Kargo. They were locked on each other, completely absorbed in sizing to the other up, maybe looking for some weakness. There was no hate in their eyes, but respect. They were obviously rivals. Their concentration broke, and Xander turned my way.
"Celic, how are you? You've grown a lot since we found you." He said, his face changing to the kindly expression that I had associated with him. Before I could answer, I saw his eyes shift downward, to my tail. If he was surprised, he didn't show it.
When Xander rescued me from the Grey's ship, I had thought he was an angel. But, he had grown up in Hell.
It started twenty-three years ago. When the military found the remains of a laboratory of a scientist by the name of Dr. Gero. Gero had attempted to build artificial humans, in order to kill Son Goku. He failed, and was killed in the process. His main laboratory had been destroyed, but he had others, where he had done research on the Z senshi. The military had found one of those labs.
The information was sent to a group of scientists loosely associated with the military. Their orders: to create the perfect weapon using the information from Gero's lab. They decided that artificial humans were too complex to build, and they seemed to have a limit of power and could grow no stronger through battle. But, using the information on the Z senshi, they decided that a human could, if conditioned properly, break all barriers and eventually become The Perfect Weapon, a weapon with the ability to cause unimaginable damage, with no limit to it's power, and completely obedient to only a select few. Under the hopes that the subject would have unlimited power, it was labeled "Project X", because "x", being the most common variable, has no limit.
From thirty unwanted babies, they chose the one judged to have the most potential. The others were killed. That baby never knew compassion, or the love of another. Before he could talk, or even walk, he was taught obedience, or pain.
The top martial arts instructors were brought in, and trained the boy. Mistakes were not taken lightly, usually punished with whips. He was taught the most effective ways to kill someone, and how to manipulate his ki.
After twenty years of cruel training, brain washing, and unimaginable pain, "Project X" was deemed ready for a trial run. His mission was to destroy the nearby Ginger Town, slowly.
What I had learned as The Ginger Town Massacre, a terrorist attack that left eight buildings destroyed and over three hundred people dead, was actually "Project X". But, something happened there that those in charge couldn't predict. A man had pleaded, groveled, for his children's lives to be spared. He even had offered his own life in exchange for theirs. They were killed anyway.
But, what the man had done confused him. He had been taught that emotions were weak, that they were needless. His whole life, the only emotion he had ever felt was fear. What the man had done, shown love for his children, even at the expense of his own life, went against all he had been taught.
Confused, he left most of the city still standing, and headed back to the base. While he had no answers, he had discovered something: humans were weak. Even those he feared, the ones with the whips, were weak. And he was strong.
For all the pain they had inflicted upon them he gave back tenfold. His wrath was great, but he took his time, letting them feel the pain and fear he had felt his whole life. Because of that, some were able to escape, and probably live today.
John and Angelina had just arrived in Western Capitol a few days earlier, so they got there before Kargo. They attacked, but they were easily beaten, and were about to be killed when Kargo arrived.
Kargo was more powerful, but "Project X" was able to match his power with skill. It was a fierce battle, which Kargo eventually won. But, he was spared, because Kargo saw nothing inherently evil in the man. He saw only a person who was never given a choice, and who had only know pain and suffering.
It took a many months, but the Dende eventually was able to help that man, and reverse most of the brain washing. He learned happiness, laughter, but also grief. Dende forgave him, and the man put his experiences behind him, as a past life. He even took up a name for himself: Xander Keith.
We went inside, back into the large computer room. An awkwardness John felt around Xander was lost when we entered. Like any Briefs, he was in his element. We stood while John sat at the computer and began to type.
I realized that, for the first time since I "joined", our group was complete. It was us five, who in other circumstances would probably never meet, together because it was our heritage, because we were destined to be there, or because it was all we knew, joined by one purpose. The defense of our home, and our people.
John finished typing, and swiveled around in the chair, facing us.
"From the computer we found inside the ship, we have been able to find out quite a bit about the Greys." He taped on the keyboard, and a picture came up, showing beings of similar shape, but different colors. I recognized the one on the left, with its gray skin, and its bulbous head. It was one I had seen inside the ship. From there, each being seemed to become more muscular, with a much more proportional body shape.
"For starters, the name "Greys" is not really correct. All these beings are from the same species. When born, they are white in color. The color and body shape depends on how powerful they become when they reach maturity. The gray ones are very weak, and are the scientists of the Greys. The orange ones come next. They are physically strong, but lack the natural ability to control ki. The red types seem to be the most common, they can manipulate ki, but it's limited. These are going to be the ones you see most on the battlefield. The blue ones seemingly jump far ahead of the others. They have the ability to fly, and can do a considerable amount of damage. The purple ones, while not having any real new talents, are much more powerful, but few Greys become that strong." He turned, and hit a couple more keys. "And then, the black ones." An image of a well muscled being showed on the screen. Its skin was night black, like Mr. Popo's, but rough and bumpy. White bone came out of the elbows and knees, creating spikes.
"These are the generals of the Grey army." John continued. "With the natural weapons, such as the spikes coming from the elbows and knees, and with the ability to control ki as well as anyone of us," he glanced at Xander when he said this, "they are extremely dangerous. For a Grey to become this, it would have to have a ki level of at least one hundred thousand, by my calculations. Luckily, they are very rare." He concluded.
"I haven't had time to study the ship its self, but I should be able to get some information on their weaponry before the month is over." He said.
"Why is it just us, against that?" I asked, pointing to the image of the black Grey. "I mean, can't we show this to the army or something?"
"I'm sorry, but we can't." Kargo said, gazing at the screen. "One of these could easily destroy an entire army, a being with half of its power could. Besides, the military's action could easily just to blow everything up, which would cause more damage then it would help. It might not even destroy the Greys. Unfortunately, we truly are the Earth's only hope."
I stared at the image of the black Grey. It looked fearsome, and very dangerous. So, that's our enemy. I began to sweat.
***
Two weeks later, back in Heaven, we met again. I saw John and Angelina flying toward us while I was training with Mr. Popo. I went to meet them, but I halted as soon as I saw John's face. He looked tired, drained, and his face was creased with worry. The couple brushed past me, John not saying a word, and Angelina looking back at me, her expression filled with sorrow. I followed them.
"Is Xander here yet?" John asked Kargo, who was talking with Dende when we entered.
"He'll be here in a couple minutes." Kargo said.
"What happened?" I asked. Once again, the others seemed to know something I didn't.
"I Dende's the only one with the whole story, but we'll piece it together when Xander arrives, as long as he did what he was supposed to do." He said, the last part almost under his breath.
Soon, Xander appeared. His face was grim, and I decided to wait to hear what had happened, still a little afraid of the weapon-turned-man.
"Did it work like you planned?" Kargo asked. Xander nodded. Obviously, no more needed to be said between the two.
We gathered outside, everyone else seemed grim, and I was starting to become worried. Finally, Dende spoke up.
"When the previous Kami came to this planet, there was another who wanted this position. He was a demon named Garlic. The reigning Kami had them battle to decide who would be his successor. Garlic was defeated, and the new Kami took his rule over Earth. But, Garlic still coveted his seat, and awoke the Dark Army, an army made of demons, and tried to overthrow Kami. He was defeated again, and killed.
"But, he had a son, Garlic Jr. Garlic Jr. collected the dragon balls and wished for immortality. As soon as his wish was granted, Son Goku, who came to rescue his son, Piccolo, and Kami came to stop him from taking over Earth. Goku and Piccolo, while they could not kill Garlic, made him create a tear in the dimensional fabric, creating another dimension, called the Dead Zone. Garlic Jr. attempted to trap Goku and Piccolo inside, but Goku's son, Gohan, managed to push Garlic Jr. into his own portal, sealing him in forever." Dende finished, and looked at John. John nodded.
"Last week," He began, "Two people came into my office. They told me that they were members of a cult, and they wish for me to join, or at least for Capsule Corp. to support them."
"It seems," Dende said, "that this cult is actually run by a demon, Turmeric, one of the last disciples of Garlic Jr. He wishes to bring Garlic Jr. back, and with him, his Dark Army. His cult merely serves him with entertainment, as those that join are cruel people, without conscience, the kind of humans a demon would surround himself with. I doubt that the majority of them know his true intent.
"What we need, is to find out more about how Turmeric planes to resurrect Garlic, and where. The Dark Army is also a problem. Garlic Jr. controls it, and it is as eternal as him. If he is allowed to come back to Earth, we will be annihilated before the Greys come here. We don't know if Turmeric can raise it now, which is why I don't think we can try to kill him. Which is why we need a spy in the cult." At that, all eyes turned toward me.
"What, me!" I jumped back, away from their eyes. "I... I can't do that! Why me! How would I get in? How would I get any information!"
"I took care of that." Xander said. "I just came back from where the cult." He involuntary shuddered. My heart sunk. If Xander, of all people, could barely think about what he had seen, what would my reaction be?
"The strongest person in the cult is called their Champion. Basically, it's someone to represent the humans in a world of demons. I made an "attack" on the cult, and defeated their Champion." His eyes shot towards Dende. "I left him in pain, but he's still alive. Any way, they will be looking for a new Champion. And, they will probably look at the upcoming Budoukai. They have several people involved already."
"So, you want me to enter, and win, in hopes that this cult will try to recruit me as their Champion?" I asked. "But, why me? Aren't I a little young? Why can't any of you do it?"
"Actually, I think your age might help." Dende said. "Turmeric might see you as someone he can mold, another disciple of Garlic. Unfortunately, you are our only chance. They would instantly recognize Kargo as my son, even if they don't know that the previous Kami is dead, they would never accept him. They have already asked John, and he refused. They would recognize Xander as the one whom attacked them, and the cult is a male dominated society, and they would never accept Angelina. You're the only one who can help us."