From Sin, the Author:
Yet another day, yet another chapter. I'll probably be up late tonight working on this, if I don't fall asleep at my computer first. You know an author is dedicated to work when they doze off at regular intervals and can't seem to remember when their last meal was.
Ah well, as soon as chapter four is done I'm going to take a bit of a vacation before starting on the next part. That should give people time to read what I have out so far and give me enough time to catch up on lost sleep and missed meals.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter; it's going to have a lot more DBZ/SM characters in it than the Prologue and Chapter One. Please review with questions/criticisms and please, for god's sake no bland rejections or groundless praise! Give me reviews with some substance people, lots of substance!!!
Disclaimer: As always I do not own any DBZ or SM characters. However, I do have a great deal on Otherworldly beings and other such creatures. Just as long as the authorities don't get wind of it, everything should turn out just peachy. ^_^
***
A Wasted Sacrifice
The fishing village that had been the Guardian's last and fondest memory of the First World was gone. Over the passing centuries it had aged, sickened, and died in the sun until a company hoping to build factories on the east coast had bought it. The charming homes and small dock vanished to be replaced by towering walls of stone and metal and thick clouds of black smog that drifted lazily up into the polluted sky. Fish that lived in the waters nearby were killed and the ecosystem so damaged that it was estimated by scientists that it would take centuries to recover. Even after three hundred years of being left utterly to its own devices, it hadn't quite gotten there yet.
The Guardian stood on a rise overlooking the small cove that had once inspired him to find the strength needed to defeat the invaders. From where he stood he could see the wide expanse of scummy water and the long reaches of coastline permanently warped by years of chemical dumps and leakage from the factory plant. No wildlife could be seen nearby and the few plants that remained were hard, scrubby things that thrived on nothing more than dry stone and disease. Reading the history of the place in the vibrations of the air, the man who had once saved all nine Worlds from utter destruction felt a flicker of rage start at the back of his mind.
"Who're you?" Blinking, the Guardian turned around to see a group of teenagers standing a few feet away. They looked strange, wearing ragged clothing and glaring at him with openly hostile expressions on their faces.
"Well hello. It's very nice to meet you." The teens exchanged glances and the leader, a short girl with spiky hair and a nose ring, spoke first.
"Whatever. Get off our turf." For a moment the Guardian stared at the group, trying to piece together the meaning of the words. Then he frowned slightly and stood a little taller.
"I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a manner."
"Well get used to it gramps." A boy with multiple piercings and a tattoo folded his arms across his chest. "You'd better get outta here if you don't want no trouble."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah yeah. Why don't you just go fuck yourself or something? At least get out of our way. Didn't you see the signs?" A very young girl in a pink sundress waved a hand back in the direction of the main road. "They say no trespassing, and when it says no trespassing, that means old farts like you."
"Gods, what's happened to the world since I've been gone?" the Guardian murmured, staring in wide-eyed shock at the youths before him. "How can you treat me in such a way and act like you are not insulting? Have you no respect for your elders, no manners at all?"
"Manners? If we had manners we wouldn't be asking you to leave; we would have escorted you off the property by now." The boy who spoke was wearing a nice suit, but the expression on his face was similar to the others. "Besides, you're babbling like a friggin whacko and it's getting annoying. Why don't you just take off?" By this time the Guardian's cheeks were flamed with red and he was clenching his fists to keep from screaming in rage.
"If I were you I would grow a healthy respect for others and a better understanding of the world," the Guardian muttered. "As you are now you're not fit to walk on this earth." Hearing this the teenagers laughed, their voices mocking as they jeered at him once more.
"Don't preach old man, just go. We don't care and we won't listen, so there's really no point in staying and grumbling about the youth of today and all that crap. In case you haven't taken a good look around lately, allow me to let you in on a word of wisdom. Nobody cares anymore. Now go back to whatever little hut you crawled out of and leave us alone."
Sparks flying from his eyes the Guardian took a moment to glare at each child in turn before lifting his staff and making his way slowly toward the road. Behind him he could hear snorts of laughter and a few sarcastic comments flung at his back. The insults didn't hurt; immortals such as himself paid very little attention to such things but the empty, glazed look in the eyes of the young people as they told him to leave.he hung his head. What had happened to the world since he'd been gone?
***
Hel paced back and forth across the deep carpet of her personal chamber, pigtails swaying with every sharp turn as she reached one wall of the room and began stalking toward the other. Her blue-green eyes were flashing with fury and the white flesh of her knuckles stood out in grim contrast to her dark robes as she gripped her hands into tiny fists. The cause of her anger sat in the small waiting room outside of her office, idly toying with the emotions of her demon secretary as he anticipated the end of her tantrum. With a stifled howl she thrust her shoulder against the door into her office and slumped into her desk chair.
"Send the bastard in.," she muttered over the intercom and her secretary, struggling to regain her composure, quietly told Lord Satan that his little sister would see him now.
In response the tall man wiggled his fingers at her and strolled casually into Hel's office, his hands in his pockets as he sank gracefully into the hard-backed chair placed in front of the desk. For a few moments he regarded his sister with a cool, indifferent gaze but when she showed no sign of speaking a faint gleam of wickedness entered his eyes.
"Why my dear baby sister, is something troubling you?" The insolent tone in his voice put Hel on edge and she gritted her teeth as her nails dug into the edge of the desk.
"I'm not in the mood for any of your bull, Satan," she snapped. "Since when did it become good policy to allow a shapeshifter through the backdoor and into my realm without my permission? Do you have any idea what that little stunt had done?" Crescent-shaped gouges appeared in the wood of her desk as her brother's mouth quirked into a smug smile. "Is something funny?"
"I just thought that perhaps you could use a little action. Honestly Hel, all you do is paperwork from dawn until dusk. A rebellion would give you a reason to get out of this stuffy little office and do something for a change. You can't tell me that you're not grateful."
"Grateful is hardly the word I would use, brother." Hel's eyes flashed, swirling as blue-green as a stormy sea. "Your little friend decided it would be funny to rouse my poultry-geists into an all-out rebellion against my authority. On top of that I just got over four hundred new cases to sort out because some demon on the third world thought it would be funny to cause a few massive earthquakes in major cities. I don't appreciate your intervention into my life, especially when it was neither needed nor requested. Next time, ask me before you set about making my life better." She turned her attention to the stack of papers on the corner of her desk. "Now get out, I have a lot of work to do and I don't need you distracting me."
"Awww, but sis..."
"I said get out!" The girl-ruler's voice rose to a shriek and if there was a graceful way to scurry, her brother found it as he hurriedly left the office and, with a wink at the secretary, made his way out of the building.
"If she's that mad after something that small I hate to think how she'll react when she finds out about the other stuff I did." Then he chuckled to himself as he imagined her face when she discovered his other 'contributions' to her welfare. It would be worth seeing, even if he had to be within range of a fireball to see it.
***
The Guardian was very upset. He had traveled throughout most of the First Earth and everywhere he went things were the same. No one seemed to care about the state of the earth and they seemed even less inclined to do something about it. Even those who did not openly add to the problem refused to even see that there was one, preferring to walk around in a daze as they led meaningless, petty lives filled with outlet malls and fast food. They were lazy, did not want to work for anything, and cared so little about those around them that the immortal had to wonder how they ever managed to reproduce. In short, his sacrifice had been an utter waste.
"Feeling a little down are we?" Startled, the Guardian whirled around to see a very familiar young woman standing a few feet away.
"Kismet?" Never in all of his years as a protector of the Nine Worlds had he known one of the Otherworldly deities to leave the Tenth World for one of the Earths.
"Oh don't act surprised to see me here. Void travels to the Fourth World all of the time so she can buy batteries and Hel likes to chow on popcorn at the movie theaters. We deities aren't so completely detached from life that we don't interact with mortals every now and then." She smiled then and he noticed, as he had eight centuries before, that she had one brilliantly blue eye and one that was a startling gold. It made him uneasy.
"When I gave everything I had for these people I didn't realize that when I woke up I would find they had wasted their chance at happiness and success." Kismet shrugged.
"I'm not surprised. That's why we wouldn't help you. Everyone on the council knew then that the humans were flawed. It was just a matter of time before they went about destroying themselves and now they're almost there. You really shouldn't feel bad. I mean, you never could have seen this coming." She smiled sweetly. "You were too blinded by your devotion to this pathetic race to even dream that they would repay you in such a way." There was something about the way she said it that made the Guardian's muscles tense in anger.
"You could have told me." It was true. Eight hundred years ago Kismet had known this would be the eventual result of his sacrifice and she had chosen not to tell him. Now she merely shrugged, fixing her mismatched eyes on the ancient man before her.
"You would never have believed me." She informed him bluntly. "As I said, you were too blinded by your devotion and too certain that you were doing the right thing. It really is too bad though." She glanced around with a strange kind of satisfaction, as if she somehow reveled in the downfall of the human race. "Well, I have to be going now." She turned to leave.
"Kismet, what should I do?" he called after her, and she paused in mid-stride before turning slowly around.
"You nearly gave your life to save them and this is what they do with your gift." One hand waved in the air, gesturing to the city streets and the masses of people making their way through their lives. Her eyes flashed as she looked at him and her words struck him to his very core. "If you ask me, you should take it back." And then she was gone as if she had never been, leaving him to stand on an empty hillside outside of a city and wonder about her advice.
"Maybe I will," he said after a moment. "Maybe I will."
***
When Vegeta felt the flicker of power in the distance he was training in the gravity room of the Brief's house. The surge of energy brought him to a stop mid-punch and he glanced around in annoyance as though trying to identify the source of the interruption. With a scowl fixed on his face he thrust the door of the g-room open and stepped outside, his dark eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the strange fighter. There was no one in sight save Bulma's mother who was busy hanging the laundry out to dry, not even noticing that for the first time in months the Saiya-jin prince had left his training in the middle of the day.
"What the hell is that?" Vegeta muttered, his eyebrows drawn together as he fixed his concentration on the power that hovered at the edge of his senses. Even as he settled on it the power flared, causing his muscles to tense.
"Oh Vegeta, can I get you something?" Ignoring Bulma's mother, who had finally noticed him standing a few feet away from her, Vegeta took a step in the direction of the strange energy.
"Vegeta?" Bulma's voice sounded from the house but he did not turn around. Instead he paused for one last moment to consider the direction that the power was coming from before leaping into the air and flying away. On the porch Bulma stalked forward angrily, watching as he disappeared from view. "VEGETA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
***
In her chamber in the Palace of Crystal Tokyo Neo-Queen Serenity was having a nightmare. She was unaware of her husband's desperate attempts to wake her from her slumber, and she did not know that somewhere beyond the walls of her palace her enemy was making their final plans to take her kingdom. Instead she knew only the darkness of her mind as she fought desperately against an enemy that would not die.
"You are a fool Serenity." The man who spoke to her wore a dark cloak and she could not see his face above the crystal glowing between his hands. "You think you can hold your palace against our forces any longer? We know the crystal is drained despite the fact that you have repaired it and there is nothing standing between us save the pitiful efforts of your guardians." The man laughed, a low chuckle that chilled her to the bone. "By this time tomorrow we will have your kingdom and it will not matter if you try to fight because we will have the crystal."
"No." The Queen bit her lip and took a step back. "It's not going to happen that way! We're going to defeat you even if we have to die in order to do it." Tears sprang to her eyes. "You're not going to win!"
"That's it Serenity, tell yourself that you still have the strength you need to defeat me and the forces I have at my disposal. Believe that you can triumph even when I am standing over you with the crystal in my hands and your beloved at my feet. None of it will matter when the time comes for you to die." Screaming, Serenity tore her face away from the robed figure.
"Don't cry my love."
"Mamoru?" She blinked and stared at the pale-haired man standing before her. "Who are you?"
"Come with me darling, and don't cry. It will be all right." He reached out a hand and she shied away, staring at him.
"I'm dreaming," she whispered. "I'm dreaming, someone wake me up!" Anger hardened the lines of the strange man's face and a third eye opened in his forehead.
"Come with me now!" The light was blinding and she struggled to look away, screaming even as fingers closed around her arm and tried to pull her away. There was an explosion, a flare of power surging toward her and she tried to raise her arms to block it...
"NOOOOOO!" Serenity jerked upright and screamed as she felt a pair of arms close around her. She clawed at the person holding her, struggling to get away from the man with the eye glaring down at her from the middle of his forehead.
"Usako it's me, it's Mamoru. Usako what's wrong?" His voice brought her out of her hysteria and she turned to stare at the dark-haired, blue- eyed man who sat beside her in the bed. As she looked at him her chin began to quiver and tears filled her eyes until she couldn't see.
"No I don't want to go with him," she wailed, throwing herself at his chest and breaking into heart-wrenching sobs. "I want to stay with you. I don't want him to take me away from you. Don't let him take me away."
"Ssh, it's all right Usako. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you." He rubbed his hands over her back, concern filling his eyes as she began to shiver. "It was just a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of." She cried herself back to sleep in his arms and as he lay awake long afterward, still holding her, he wondered what she had dreamed about that had frightened her so. Closing his eyes he kissed her hair and knew deep in his heart that he never wanted to find out.
***
The man was old. In fact, to Vegeta's eyes he looked downright ancient and the sight made him feel sick. Among the Saiya-jins no one was ever allowed to get that old, that frail. They died in battle long before that could happen and were honored as the warriors that they were. Therefore the sight of an obviously old man emanating immense power was enough to make the Prince of Saiya-jins a little more than merely annoyed. It made him want to kill the man just so he wouldn't have to look at him any more.
"Who are you?" The question was asked in a voice that was firm despite the man's obvious lack of real physical strength. Rather than answer the question, Vegeta allowed his senses to assess the man, realizing with dismay that this was indeed the holder of the power he had felt earlier.
"You're a fool, old man." Vegeta scowled. "Go back to where you came from before I get annoyed and kill you. I don't have much patience for the elderly."
"No one seems to these days," the man muttered. "I am the Guardian of this planet and as such I demand to know who you are."
"I don't see a reason to give my name to a dead man. Besides, I wasn't aware that this planet had a protector. If that were true I would not have had to lower myself to fight creatures that were beneath me in the years since I came to this planet."
"There was an invasion eight hundred years ago and I used all of my energy to protect the world. I have been regaining my strength since then."
"You did that to save humans?" Vegeta laughed. "You're worse than Kakarot."
"Are you saying you're not human?" The Guardian paled as he regarded the warrior standing before him.
"Of course not, how ridiculous. I am Prince of the Saiya-jins."
"And you say that you've been fighting ever since you came to this planet?" Vegeta did not reply, merely folded his arms across his chest and fixed the Guardian with his best glare. "But if you've been doing all the fighting then that means an alien has been protecting the earth since I've been gone."
"At last you show a glimmer of intelligence. I was beginning to think you were more of an idiot than Kakarot, protecting weaklings like the humans. Now either fight or be on your way. I will not tolerate your presence any longer." But the Guardian was not paying attention to Vegeta any longer. He was remembering what Kismet had said even as she walked away into the crowded streets of the city.
You nearly gave your life to save them and this is what they do with your gift
He clenched his jaw in anger and felt his limbs begin to tremble with the strain of keeping his temper in check.
If you ask me, you should take it back
take it back
take it back
The words echoed in his mind as he raised his arms and let out a scream of pure fury, his eyes flashing as energy poured out of his hands. Power flared out from his body and surged in a wave out across the First World, splashing out toward the Second, the Third and the Fourth.
If you ask me, you should take it back
There was a roar of power and blinding light as the Guardian of the Nine Worlds set about destroying the very thing he had nearly given his life to protect.
***
Kismet watched in sorrow as the first four Worlds were destroyed by the power of the Guardian's wrath. Even as she felt guilt seeping into her she shook her head, staring determinedly at the threads of the future. They changed before her very eyes, reweaving into a different future, one that came about because of her own interference. She forced her thoughts to the outcome that had been woven first, the destiny that would have claimed the Nine Worlds if she had not taken matters into her own hands. That fate would have been far worse, she knew, and far more permanent.
"May I be forgiven for what I have done," she whispered, and turned her face away into the darkness to stare at the distance stars glittering with their heavenly light. Then she bent her head and wept shining tears into her pale hands, her mismatched eyes clenching shut against the visions of the future that descended upon her mind. At this point, she didn't want to see anything more.
***
From Phèdre, the Editor:
So...Satan can scurry gracefully. Who would have thought? Oh well, I quite enjoyed this chapter. Did you? If so, maybe you should tell Sin. If not, well, maybe you should tell Sin anyway. She's very much fond of all the nice long reviews she's been getting. ^_^
Next chapter, you get a character guide. A lot of the characters haven't even been introduced yet, so you'll get a jump-start on them. Also, Goku shows up next chapter, and you get insight on the poultry-geist rebellion. It's really quite funny, if I do say so myself.
Until next time.
Yet another day, yet another chapter. I'll probably be up late tonight working on this, if I don't fall asleep at my computer first. You know an author is dedicated to work when they doze off at regular intervals and can't seem to remember when their last meal was.
Ah well, as soon as chapter four is done I'm going to take a bit of a vacation before starting on the next part. That should give people time to read what I have out so far and give me enough time to catch up on lost sleep and missed meals.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter; it's going to have a lot more DBZ/SM characters in it than the Prologue and Chapter One. Please review with questions/criticisms and please, for god's sake no bland rejections or groundless praise! Give me reviews with some substance people, lots of substance!!!
Disclaimer: As always I do not own any DBZ or SM characters. However, I do have a great deal on Otherworldly beings and other such creatures. Just as long as the authorities don't get wind of it, everything should turn out just peachy. ^_^
***
A Wasted Sacrifice
The fishing village that had been the Guardian's last and fondest memory of the First World was gone. Over the passing centuries it had aged, sickened, and died in the sun until a company hoping to build factories on the east coast had bought it. The charming homes and small dock vanished to be replaced by towering walls of stone and metal and thick clouds of black smog that drifted lazily up into the polluted sky. Fish that lived in the waters nearby were killed and the ecosystem so damaged that it was estimated by scientists that it would take centuries to recover. Even after three hundred years of being left utterly to its own devices, it hadn't quite gotten there yet.
The Guardian stood on a rise overlooking the small cove that had once inspired him to find the strength needed to defeat the invaders. From where he stood he could see the wide expanse of scummy water and the long reaches of coastline permanently warped by years of chemical dumps and leakage from the factory plant. No wildlife could be seen nearby and the few plants that remained were hard, scrubby things that thrived on nothing more than dry stone and disease. Reading the history of the place in the vibrations of the air, the man who had once saved all nine Worlds from utter destruction felt a flicker of rage start at the back of his mind.
"Who're you?" Blinking, the Guardian turned around to see a group of teenagers standing a few feet away. They looked strange, wearing ragged clothing and glaring at him with openly hostile expressions on their faces.
"Well hello. It's very nice to meet you." The teens exchanged glances and the leader, a short girl with spiky hair and a nose ring, spoke first.
"Whatever. Get off our turf." For a moment the Guardian stared at the group, trying to piece together the meaning of the words. Then he frowned slightly and stood a little taller.
"I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a manner."
"Well get used to it gramps." A boy with multiple piercings and a tattoo folded his arms across his chest. "You'd better get outta here if you don't want no trouble."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah yeah. Why don't you just go fuck yourself or something? At least get out of our way. Didn't you see the signs?" A very young girl in a pink sundress waved a hand back in the direction of the main road. "They say no trespassing, and when it says no trespassing, that means old farts like you."
"Gods, what's happened to the world since I've been gone?" the Guardian murmured, staring in wide-eyed shock at the youths before him. "How can you treat me in such a way and act like you are not insulting? Have you no respect for your elders, no manners at all?"
"Manners? If we had manners we wouldn't be asking you to leave; we would have escorted you off the property by now." The boy who spoke was wearing a nice suit, but the expression on his face was similar to the others. "Besides, you're babbling like a friggin whacko and it's getting annoying. Why don't you just take off?" By this time the Guardian's cheeks were flamed with red and he was clenching his fists to keep from screaming in rage.
"If I were you I would grow a healthy respect for others and a better understanding of the world," the Guardian muttered. "As you are now you're not fit to walk on this earth." Hearing this the teenagers laughed, their voices mocking as they jeered at him once more.
"Don't preach old man, just go. We don't care and we won't listen, so there's really no point in staying and grumbling about the youth of today and all that crap. In case you haven't taken a good look around lately, allow me to let you in on a word of wisdom. Nobody cares anymore. Now go back to whatever little hut you crawled out of and leave us alone."
Sparks flying from his eyes the Guardian took a moment to glare at each child in turn before lifting his staff and making his way slowly toward the road. Behind him he could hear snorts of laughter and a few sarcastic comments flung at his back. The insults didn't hurt; immortals such as himself paid very little attention to such things but the empty, glazed look in the eyes of the young people as they told him to leave.he hung his head. What had happened to the world since he'd been gone?
***
Hel paced back and forth across the deep carpet of her personal chamber, pigtails swaying with every sharp turn as she reached one wall of the room and began stalking toward the other. Her blue-green eyes were flashing with fury and the white flesh of her knuckles stood out in grim contrast to her dark robes as she gripped her hands into tiny fists. The cause of her anger sat in the small waiting room outside of her office, idly toying with the emotions of her demon secretary as he anticipated the end of her tantrum. With a stifled howl she thrust her shoulder against the door into her office and slumped into her desk chair.
"Send the bastard in.," she muttered over the intercom and her secretary, struggling to regain her composure, quietly told Lord Satan that his little sister would see him now.
In response the tall man wiggled his fingers at her and strolled casually into Hel's office, his hands in his pockets as he sank gracefully into the hard-backed chair placed in front of the desk. For a few moments he regarded his sister with a cool, indifferent gaze but when she showed no sign of speaking a faint gleam of wickedness entered his eyes.
"Why my dear baby sister, is something troubling you?" The insolent tone in his voice put Hel on edge and she gritted her teeth as her nails dug into the edge of the desk.
"I'm not in the mood for any of your bull, Satan," she snapped. "Since when did it become good policy to allow a shapeshifter through the backdoor and into my realm without my permission? Do you have any idea what that little stunt had done?" Crescent-shaped gouges appeared in the wood of her desk as her brother's mouth quirked into a smug smile. "Is something funny?"
"I just thought that perhaps you could use a little action. Honestly Hel, all you do is paperwork from dawn until dusk. A rebellion would give you a reason to get out of this stuffy little office and do something for a change. You can't tell me that you're not grateful."
"Grateful is hardly the word I would use, brother." Hel's eyes flashed, swirling as blue-green as a stormy sea. "Your little friend decided it would be funny to rouse my poultry-geists into an all-out rebellion against my authority. On top of that I just got over four hundred new cases to sort out because some demon on the third world thought it would be funny to cause a few massive earthquakes in major cities. I don't appreciate your intervention into my life, especially when it was neither needed nor requested. Next time, ask me before you set about making my life better." She turned her attention to the stack of papers on the corner of her desk. "Now get out, I have a lot of work to do and I don't need you distracting me."
"Awww, but sis..."
"I said get out!" The girl-ruler's voice rose to a shriek and if there was a graceful way to scurry, her brother found it as he hurriedly left the office and, with a wink at the secretary, made his way out of the building.
"If she's that mad after something that small I hate to think how she'll react when she finds out about the other stuff I did." Then he chuckled to himself as he imagined her face when she discovered his other 'contributions' to her welfare. It would be worth seeing, even if he had to be within range of a fireball to see it.
***
The Guardian was very upset. He had traveled throughout most of the First Earth and everywhere he went things were the same. No one seemed to care about the state of the earth and they seemed even less inclined to do something about it. Even those who did not openly add to the problem refused to even see that there was one, preferring to walk around in a daze as they led meaningless, petty lives filled with outlet malls and fast food. They were lazy, did not want to work for anything, and cared so little about those around them that the immortal had to wonder how they ever managed to reproduce. In short, his sacrifice had been an utter waste.
"Feeling a little down are we?" Startled, the Guardian whirled around to see a very familiar young woman standing a few feet away.
"Kismet?" Never in all of his years as a protector of the Nine Worlds had he known one of the Otherworldly deities to leave the Tenth World for one of the Earths.
"Oh don't act surprised to see me here. Void travels to the Fourth World all of the time so she can buy batteries and Hel likes to chow on popcorn at the movie theaters. We deities aren't so completely detached from life that we don't interact with mortals every now and then." She smiled then and he noticed, as he had eight centuries before, that she had one brilliantly blue eye and one that was a startling gold. It made him uneasy.
"When I gave everything I had for these people I didn't realize that when I woke up I would find they had wasted their chance at happiness and success." Kismet shrugged.
"I'm not surprised. That's why we wouldn't help you. Everyone on the council knew then that the humans were flawed. It was just a matter of time before they went about destroying themselves and now they're almost there. You really shouldn't feel bad. I mean, you never could have seen this coming." She smiled sweetly. "You were too blinded by your devotion to this pathetic race to even dream that they would repay you in such a way." There was something about the way she said it that made the Guardian's muscles tense in anger.
"You could have told me." It was true. Eight hundred years ago Kismet had known this would be the eventual result of his sacrifice and she had chosen not to tell him. Now she merely shrugged, fixing her mismatched eyes on the ancient man before her.
"You would never have believed me." She informed him bluntly. "As I said, you were too blinded by your devotion and too certain that you were doing the right thing. It really is too bad though." She glanced around with a strange kind of satisfaction, as if she somehow reveled in the downfall of the human race. "Well, I have to be going now." She turned to leave.
"Kismet, what should I do?" he called after her, and she paused in mid-stride before turning slowly around.
"You nearly gave your life to save them and this is what they do with your gift." One hand waved in the air, gesturing to the city streets and the masses of people making their way through their lives. Her eyes flashed as she looked at him and her words struck him to his very core. "If you ask me, you should take it back." And then she was gone as if she had never been, leaving him to stand on an empty hillside outside of a city and wonder about her advice.
"Maybe I will," he said after a moment. "Maybe I will."
***
When Vegeta felt the flicker of power in the distance he was training in the gravity room of the Brief's house. The surge of energy brought him to a stop mid-punch and he glanced around in annoyance as though trying to identify the source of the interruption. With a scowl fixed on his face he thrust the door of the g-room open and stepped outside, his dark eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the strange fighter. There was no one in sight save Bulma's mother who was busy hanging the laundry out to dry, not even noticing that for the first time in months the Saiya-jin prince had left his training in the middle of the day.
"What the hell is that?" Vegeta muttered, his eyebrows drawn together as he fixed his concentration on the power that hovered at the edge of his senses. Even as he settled on it the power flared, causing his muscles to tense.
"Oh Vegeta, can I get you something?" Ignoring Bulma's mother, who had finally noticed him standing a few feet away from her, Vegeta took a step in the direction of the strange energy.
"Vegeta?" Bulma's voice sounded from the house but he did not turn around. Instead he paused for one last moment to consider the direction that the power was coming from before leaping into the air and flying away. On the porch Bulma stalked forward angrily, watching as he disappeared from view. "VEGETA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"
***
In her chamber in the Palace of Crystal Tokyo Neo-Queen Serenity was having a nightmare. She was unaware of her husband's desperate attempts to wake her from her slumber, and she did not know that somewhere beyond the walls of her palace her enemy was making their final plans to take her kingdom. Instead she knew only the darkness of her mind as she fought desperately against an enemy that would not die.
"You are a fool Serenity." The man who spoke to her wore a dark cloak and she could not see his face above the crystal glowing between his hands. "You think you can hold your palace against our forces any longer? We know the crystal is drained despite the fact that you have repaired it and there is nothing standing between us save the pitiful efforts of your guardians." The man laughed, a low chuckle that chilled her to the bone. "By this time tomorrow we will have your kingdom and it will not matter if you try to fight because we will have the crystal."
"No." The Queen bit her lip and took a step back. "It's not going to happen that way! We're going to defeat you even if we have to die in order to do it." Tears sprang to her eyes. "You're not going to win!"
"That's it Serenity, tell yourself that you still have the strength you need to defeat me and the forces I have at my disposal. Believe that you can triumph even when I am standing over you with the crystal in my hands and your beloved at my feet. None of it will matter when the time comes for you to die." Screaming, Serenity tore her face away from the robed figure.
"Don't cry my love."
"Mamoru?" She blinked and stared at the pale-haired man standing before her. "Who are you?"
"Come with me darling, and don't cry. It will be all right." He reached out a hand and she shied away, staring at him.
"I'm dreaming," she whispered. "I'm dreaming, someone wake me up!" Anger hardened the lines of the strange man's face and a third eye opened in his forehead.
"Come with me now!" The light was blinding and she struggled to look away, screaming even as fingers closed around her arm and tried to pull her away. There was an explosion, a flare of power surging toward her and she tried to raise her arms to block it...
"NOOOOOO!" Serenity jerked upright and screamed as she felt a pair of arms close around her. She clawed at the person holding her, struggling to get away from the man with the eye glaring down at her from the middle of his forehead.
"Usako it's me, it's Mamoru. Usako what's wrong?" His voice brought her out of her hysteria and she turned to stare at the dark-haired, blue- eyed man who sat beside her in the bed. As she looked at him her chin began to quiver and tears filled her eyes until she couldn't see.
"No I don't want to go with him," she wailed, throwing herself at his chest and breaking into heart-wrenching sobs. "I want to stay with you. I don't want him to take me away from you. Don't let him take me away."
"Ssh, it's all right Usako. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you." He rubbed his hands over her back, concern filling his eyes as she began to shiver. "It was just a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of." She cried herself back to sleep in his arms and as he lay awake long afterward, still holding her, he wondered what she had dreamed about that had frightened her so. Closing his eyes he kissed her hair and knew deep in his heart that he never wanted to find out.
***
The man was old. In fact, to Vegeta's eyes he looked downright ancient and the sight made him feel sick. Among the Saiya-jins no one was ever allowed to get that old, that frail. They died in battle long before that could happen and were honored as the warriors that they were. Therefore the sight of an obviously old man emanating immense power was enough to make the Prince of Saiya-jins a little more than merely annoyed. It made him want to kill the man just so he wouldn't have to look at him any more.
"Who are you?" The question was asked in a voice that was firm despite the man's obvious lack of real physical strength. Rather than answer the question, Vegeta allowed his senses to assess the man, realizing with dismay that this was indeed the holder of the power he had felt earlier.
"You're a fool, old man." Vegeta scowled. "Go back to where you came from before I get annoyed and kill you. I don't have much patience for the elderly."
"No one seems to these days," the man muttered. "I am the Guardian of this planet and as such I demand to know who you are."
"I don't see a reason to give my name to a dead man. Besides, I wasn't aware that this planet had a protector. If that were true I would not have had to lower myself to fight creatures that were beneath me in the years since I came to this planet."
"There was an invasion eight hundred years ago and I used all of my energy to protect the world. I have been regaining my strength since then."
"You did that to save humans?" Vegeta laughed. "You're worse than Kakarot."
"Are you saying you're not human?" The Guardian paled as he regarded the warrior standing before him.
"Of course not, how ridiculous. I am Prince of the Saiya-jins."
"And you say that you've been fighting ever since you came to this planet?" Vegeta did not reply, merely folded his arms across his chest and fixed the Guardian with his best glare. "But if you've been doing all the fighting then that means an alien has been protecting the earth since I've been gone."
"At last you show a glimmer of intelligence. I was beginning to think you were more of an idiot than Kakarot, protecting weaklings like the humans. Now either fight or be on your way. I will not tolerate your presence any longer." But the Guardian was not paying attention to Vegeta any longer. He was remembering what Kismet had said even as she walked away into the crowded streets of the city.
You nearly gave your life to save them and this is what they do with your gift
He clenched his jaw in anger and felt his limbs begin to tremble with the strain of keeping his temper in check.
If you ask me, you should take it back
take it back
take it back
The words echoed in his mind as he raised his arms and let out a scream of pure fury, his eyes flashing as energy poured out of his hands. Power flared out from his body and surged in a wave out across the First World, splashing out toward the Second, the Third and the Fourth.
If you ask me, you should take it back
There was a roar of power and blinding light as the Guardian of the Nine Worlds set about destroying the very thing he had nearly given his life to protect.
***
Kismet watched in sorrow as the first four Worlds were destroyed by the power of the Guardian's wrath. Even as she felt guilt seeping into her she shook her head, staring determinedly at the threads of the future. They changed before her very eyes, reweaving into a different future, one that came about because of her own interference. She forced her thoughts to the outcome that had been woven first, the destiny that would have claimed the Nine Worlds if she had not taken matters into her own hands. That fate would have been far worse, she knew, and far more permanent.
"May I be forgiven for what I have done," she whispered, and turned her face away into the darkness to stare at the distance stars glittering with their heavenly light. Then she bent her head and wept shining tears into her pale hands, her mismatched eyes clenching shut against the visions of the future that descended upon her mind. At this point, she didn't want to see anything more.
***
From Phèdre, the Editor:
So...Satan can scurry gracefully. Who would have thought? Oh well, I quite enjoyed this chapter. Did you? If so, maybe you should tell Sin. If not, well, maybe you should tell Sin anyway. She's very much fond of all the nice long reviews she's been getting. ^_^
Next chapter, you get a character guide. A lot of the characters haven't even been introduced yet, so you'll get a jump-start on them. Also, Goku shows up next chapter, and you get insight on the poultry-geist rebellion. It's really quite funny, if I do say so myself.
Until next time.