A/N: This is what you've been waiting for a long time. Arthain gets his body back :). What a spooky chapter title huh? Makes you anxious to figure out what it's all about eh? Some of you may have an idea; I've sure as hell given enough hints throughout the story. Oh well, sit back and enjoy the carnage… err… show.
A/N: This is a very hard chapter to write… I'm shaking with so much excitement when I'm writing it that I can barely type. THIS is what I have been writing for. From this point on I really couldn't give two shits what happened before this, everything I wrote was just leading up to this and the succeeding chapters. The entire last story, the 19 chapters before this one… it's all just to prepare for these last few chapters. I know that may seem redundant but you don't understand so I'll try to explain what I mean. These last few chapters will express what I've wanted to express since I started to write. They are the reason why I started to write, just so I could write them. Anyways, enjoy it or not, I don't care because I'm writing here on out solely for my pleasure and I intend to love every word of it.
A/N: Thanks again to SSJ_ChibiGoten for proofreading this chapter for me.
Chapter 20: Death, Destruction and Chaos
The elders worked feverishly on the summoning stone almost day and night for two months. More runes were traced and drawn during those two months then most people saw in a life time. Vegeta at first was impatient by the delay but when asked to try to carve the stone down to a reasonable size himself he found he couldn't even crack the stone in the slightest, when he hit it with all his might. At that point Vegeta grudgingly admitted that runes magic could do some things he couldn't and he stopped bugging the elders. Eventually the Saiyans were able to see a difference as the rune slowly but surely gave way under the runes.
The Saiyans in the mean time decided to train. They couldn't use any technology aside from the regeneration chambers but that didn't stop them from training to get stronger. Soon the fights above the city became a daily occurrence as Vegeta, Karie, and Bardock fought against Gohan. The three never won because whenever Gohan started to lose he just went to his maximum and beat the other three into the ground faster then they could say shit.
The people in the city at first were scared and horrified by the brutality and power displayed during the fights but after a week they became used to it. When it became apparent that despite the beating the four remained best of friends and recovered seemingly overnight, they didn't mind. Although, they were getting annoyed at the rain of blood that the saiyans caused day after day the runes soon cleaned that up and the citizens were able to enjoy the fights. To them it became a regular fancy dance of lights and sounds. They didn't know why they felt the need to beat each other into a pulp but they also didn't care. It gave them a nice show to watch as they did their daily work.
The Saiyans did two kinds of training. They beat each other into a pulp over the city in the morning and used the late morning and early afternoon time to heal. Just before they went to bed they fought yet again, but this time they did it inside the palace. This fighting wasn't meant to increase their power, but to increase their skill, agility, and technique. They knew better then anyone what they were facing and were determined to be at their peak in every aspect when the time came.
During the 6 months that passed back in the reality from which they came, much had taken place. Bulma had surprised everyone by having a massive team of engineers and scientists create hundreds of thousands of gravity chambers. She had constructed several kinds from several gigantic ones that could fit several thousand Saiyans at a time to tens of thousands of personal gravity chambers. She wasn't a fighter, but she was going to make sure that those who were, got the best training possible. Trunks had whole heartedly agreed with her and started his own set of rigorous training sessions with Goten. The two of them fought in gravity chambers until they were on the verge of death. At that point they were rushed to regeneration chambers to heal and no sooner had the healing finished then they were back in the chambers. Originally gravity chambers had only been given to the royal family and those close to them but times change. The average Saiyan strength began to sky rocket from 20,000 into the hundreds of thousands as they finally had a way of increasing their strength dramatically in a short period of time.
By the time the summoning stone had been completed some extremely dedicated and determined Saiyans that beat themselves into the ground day after day began to evolve. Trunks was happy with the progress of his subjects. He wanted to show his father that he was capable of taking his place and was determined to present to him an army of normal Saiyans. Trunks smiled to himself in his study where he talked often with Goten and Vil'Tani. Trunks had been extremely busy. He was in his final year at the academy with Goten and Vil'Tani and he also had to train himself and deal with administrative details of governing the race. Goten had taken control of their corporation and was managing it fine; expanding it everywhere he could. Despite the preparation for war, people still needed to have fun and pulling pranks on one another had become the single greatest pastime in the quadrant. Goten and Trunks had talked about creating a tournament. Although, it couldn't be done like average fighting tournaments; but they did have the rough drafts ready.
Horial had, by this time, finished connecting every planet that had a civilization on it together with warp gates. The gates all linked to her home planet and from there one could take another gate to any other planet in the quadrant providing they had the proper papers. The cyan color was watched for closely by everyone in the universe. When it appeared in or on an organic life form that being was taken into holding and question thoroughly until the people were satisfied that they weren't under Aerie's control. Those that were under her control were only killed if her influence could not be removed. The planets that had organic cores were quickly destroyed. The people living upon them were relocated to a new spot and the planet was ground into space dust by planetary bombardments.
Most people had protested against the need for this, after all they only had the word of a child to go upon. Their protests were quickly silenced when a patrolling star ship found the rift a month after his speech. They barely had time to send out a distress beacon before they were destroyed. The place where the ship had been destroyed quickly became monitored and the rift was soon located and captured on film and picture. The pictures of a being of cyan energy tearing at it was quickly spread across the quadrant and all doubts about the creature were quickly removed. Fear increased at that point; there had always been hope that they weren't going to fight a being of infinite energy but one look at the tentacles lashing at the reality around the rift revealed otherwise.
The races combined every possible resource available on every planet in the quadrant to construct moon size star bases around the area of the rift. They had an idea when the rift would be large enough for the creature to rip through it so they didn't post too many ships on duty at first but as the time grew closer the number of ships in the area started to increase. Once a month the leaders of each race gathered together on planet Vegeta to discuss what they had done and what was left to do. It was more of a progress report then anything else. They all knew their duties and were doing them far more efficiently and quickly then anyone had dared to hope.
Trunks looked around; the sixth council meeting was just being adjourned. It had been like the others, just a progress report on what has already been happening. He wished that his father would come home. He was capable of handling this but he really didn't want to. He wanted to be out having fun with Goten, Vil'Tani and his other friends.
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In the main throne room of the royal palace in Vihn…
Vegeta rubbed his hands together in anticipation. The two months had finally gone by and the elders had said that the summoning stone was finally ready to be used. The throne room held all the elders. They were arranged around the summoning stone on one side while the Saiyans were on the other. Gahlanthas and Vegeta were facing one another across the stone from their position in the center of their group. The sword had been set into the top of the stone with the blade entering into it. The sword had easily cut into the surface of the stone showing that it could cut through just about anything. The egg was place in front of the sword in a small grove that had been carved especially to hold it. Other then those 10 only one other person was present during the summoning, but she remained hidden from sight and sense of everyone in the room. She would make the summoning work properly no matter what happened.
"Alright everyone, brace yourself, I will now summon the gods." Gahlanthas announced as he rolled the sleeves of his robe up.
Runes suddenly lighted up on his arms and hands as he began to trace runes in the air. The other elders followed suit and soon there were many runes twisting and spiraling around the summoning stone. Bright flashes of light began to accompany each rune as they were traced and sent to join the others that spiraled around the stone.
Arthain turned to talk to Vegeta, "Well, if this doesn't work at the very least we get a flashy light show." Arthain confided.
Vegeta frowned and replied, "It had better work, I spent way to much time and effort into this shit."
"Shut up you two, you are going to distract them!" Gohan hissed at them.
Vegeta shut up but was furious at being addressed like that. He could see the wisdom in the command so he didn't say anything further; he just made a note to explode at him later.
Suddenly an explosion sounded as a rift opened in the air 20 feet above the altar. Lightning crackled across the opening and from the darkness and lightning descended what they had all been waiting for, a god. The god stood twelve feet tall and had a commanding presence that made even Vegeta want to go down on one knee. The elders did just that but the Saiyans resisted, they knelt for no one except Vegeta, and Vegeta knelt for no one at all. The god was a being of pure energy but when Gohan sensed out his life force he was surprised. The god was weaker then he was. The only thing he had over him was his presence, height, and immortality. Gohan exceeded him in all other aspects. Gohan strained to figure out how such a presence could be emitted when he realized something else. He already knew, on a subconscious level. What he was feeling was just pure power radiating off the being and invading his senses. Gohan could emit even more energy then the god but he never realized the kind of presence he had when he was at maximum because he was usually to busy concentrating on something else.
The god wore pure energy. Nothing else could describe it. Waves of pure energy rolled off from his body and wrapped his legs and torso up. His arms and face was bear and white hair flowed down his back. The hair to was pure energy and moved like it had a mind of its own. The god looked at the people gathered before him for a moment before he spoke.
The voice wasn't loud, but it was penetrating. It also had a slightly electric distortion to it.
"Normally I would not have come but I was asked by a fellow god who has been interested in your activities to reveal to you what you wish to know."
Arthain grinned, he had suspected all along and now he had the proof. Vegeta stepped forward and spoke, "So if you know what we need then we don't have to spend time explaining it to you, good. Mind telling us so we can leave your reality?" Vegeta asked.
The god smiled, "Ah, you have fire in you mortal. I find it refreshing to speak with someone who isn't afraid to speak his mind. You are definitely not like the cowardly mortals of this world that bow and scrape every time so much as a hint of us appear. It makes holding a rational conversation with them near impossible." The god said with amusement.
The Saiyans all laughed out loud, Arthain more then the rest. "Nevertheless you wish to get your companions body back? Well I do not need to tell you, the elders that sent you on the quests know where the vault is. Just describe it to him and he'll be able to lead you to it." The god said, revealing to everyone that all the effort they had gone through wasn't necessary. "Now if you do not have any more requests…" The god trailed off.
Gahlanthas stood up at that point, "I have a request." He said.
The god turned to regard him and beckoned him to go on, "What's going to happen to me? To my city? I try to look into the future but for some reason… I can't see anything anymore." Gahlanthas asked.
This question surprised many even the hidden observer. The god looked down at Gahlanthas and shook his head sadly. "You are trying to see something that will no longer exist through eyes that no longer see." That was all he said as he rose into the air and shot back up through the rift. As soon as the god had left the rift closed and the runes that circled the stone dissipated.
Gahlanthas stared up in confusion, "Does not exist? There is no way my city can be destroyed… That doesn't make any sense." Gahlanthas said.
Gohan walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, "Do not worry; while I am here I will make sure nothing happens to it." Gohan looked back at Arthain, "Arthain, what does the vault look like?"
Arthain thought for a moment, "It looks like a really thin piece of metal. It's made of pure black rock and has powerful runes written all over it. There is a keyhole in the center of it where the key we brought with us should fit. The vault is actually in a pocket plane that the door leads to." Arthain explained.
Gahlanthas' eyes widened, "OH! That thing! We found it a long time ago in some underground cavern and brought it here. We tried to open it because we were rune users but without the key we couldn't. No matter what we tried the runes on the door foiled all of our attempts to open it. It's in our main treasure vault just behind the thrones in this room." Gahlanthas said, "Come, come, let us finish this. I want to figure out the meaning behind the god's words."
Gahlanthas and the other rune lords walked away and headed across the room. The others followed but Gohan stopped to pick the egg up. He had sworn to protect it and he wasn't about to back down on that promise. Twin, intricately designed, gold doors served as the entrance to the treasure vault. When Gahlanthas placed his hands and forehead on the center edge of the door it caused the runes to light up. Silently the door swung open to reveal mounds of gold, jewels and magical items and at the far end of the room stood the black door. It stuck out like a sore thumb in this room. Everything else was glittering and glowing while the door simply absorbed the glow.
No one was impressed by the room aside from Karie. Arthain had had access to far more then that back in the ancient days while Gohan, Bardock and Vegeta all had access to Vegeta's treasury and it also held far more, although it didn't have any magical items. When they reached the door Arthain turned to Karie.
"Do you have the plate and key?" He asked curiously.
Karie frowned, "I have the key but I gave the plate to Alihvan just before I went out to search for the dragons. I figured it wouldn't be a good item to carry around with me." She said.
Arthain smiled, "Good, good. Alright, put the key in the door and let's get my body back." He said excitedly.
Karie nodded, she wanted to feel how much power Arthain truly had, to see if he was as strong as he boasted. Everyone gathered anxiously around the two as Karie slowly put the key into the keyhole. Arthain stood beside her, almost trembling with anticipation at the event that was to occur. He had made sure he was just behind and to the right of Karie, for a very specific reason.
Karie turned the key and the runes on the door blazing brightly into light and disappeared. The door dissolved into nothing to reveal… nothing. There was nothing beyond the door, just empty black space.
Karie turned to look at Arthain in surprise, "I thought there was suppose to be something here…" She stopped as she saw the look on Arthain's face. The fear the suddenly enveloped Karie's face concerned everyone.
Karie what is it!?" Gohan asked in apprehension.
Arthain grinned maliciously at Karie, "Thank you so much for coming along but I'm afraid your journey ends here… You will serve a new purpose… for the rebirth of my body!" Arthain yelled and suddenly hundreds of tiny black tentacles lashed out from the darkness to wrap themselves around Karie. She screamed in horror as she felt herself dragged back into the darkness despite all her attempts to break free.
Arthain moved forward swiftly so that no one could interfere with this next crucial part. Arthain stuck his hand into Karie's chest and grabbed onto something, "This will only hinder things." Arthain said and yanked Karie's spirit from her body. The body shuddered and went lifeless and was pulled effortlessly into the blackness. Everyone stared in horror at what was going, frozen in shock and surprise.
Arthain smiled again at Karie, "No point in letting you float around as a spirit… time to give you your reward… OBLIVION!" Arthain roared as he used his spiritual energy to cause Karie's spirit explode. There was a soundless detonation and Karie cried out silently in agony. The cry of agony wasn't heard through the ears, but by their souls. They cried out in horror at witnessing the worst form of torture that can be exacted upon anyone, the destruction of their very existence. Karie hadn't been killed; she had been erased from existence.
Arthain turned to address everyone, "Thank you so much for your efforts, I could not have made it this far without you. I shall reward you when I am whole." Arthain said and backed into the darkness. The door reappeared but this time the runes were much different. They all glowed bright red and dark blue as the process of recreation went on behind the door. Arthain's body hadn't been stored; the genetic instructions for making it is what had been stored. To bring that body back a female Saiyan was required. A male wouldn't work because males don't give birth, but females do. A rebirth of his body required a creature that was capable of giving birth, and hence Arthain chose the strongest female alive to be the mother of his body.
Vegeta gawked in surprise, "HOLY SHIT! What the fuck just happened?" Vegeta demanded, completely clueless.
Gohan was just as clueless but then everything fell into place causing him to snarl in anger, "He fucking used us! He didn't give two shits about helping us; all he cared was getting his body back! He manipulated us into getting his body back for his OWN purposes, not for ours. He had no intention of EVER helping us! DAMN HIM!" Gohan yelled, upset at not having caught the treachery before it was too late.
Gohan collapsed to the floor, gently placed the egg beside him and began to hammer on the floor as he released his frustration. Bardock shook his head in shock, he couldn't believe it. He still couldn't accept what was happening.
Vegeta snarled and began to power up, "That fucking asshole! I'm going to make him wish he was never BORN! He had NO right to keep this from us!" Vegeta yelled.
The rune lords were looking at one another in confusion. They thought this was what they wanted but by their tones something had obviously gone very wrong.
Alihvan came running in a minute later. "What's going on?" She asked curiously and then looked around, "Where's Karie and Arthain?"
Vegeta turned to glare at her, "Karie is fucking dead, and Arthain USED us! He sacrificed her body to get his own and the detonated her spirit because it was 'inconvenient,' that fucking bastard!" Vegeta snarled.
Alihvan stared in horror at the door, "No… This can't be happening… Why? I thought he had changed… He seemed fine…" She whispered as she collapsed to her knees.
Gahlanthas rushed over to her granddaughter and put his arms around her, "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything is alright." He whispered to her.
She looked up at Gahlanthas with tears in her eyes, "You don't understand… Arthain… He hates me… He hates us … He's going to kill everyone, and destroy everything… he never got over his grudge from the god war…" She said in a panic.
Gahlanthas looked at Alihvan in surprise, "What… You know Arthain? The God War? That was several thousand years ago…. Alihvan? Who are you?" Gahlanthas asked suddenly.
Alihvan looked up at him with sad eyes. She was about to respond when suddenly the door Arthain had entered began to buckle and crack. Suddenly it detonated and a power beyond anyone's imagination came into being causing everyone to freeze in fear. Hands gripped the edges of the door and Arthain stepped out from the inky blackness. A smile creased his face as he looked at everyone.
"Ah, it feels so good to be back in my body. You have no idea how much it sucks being trapped as a spirit, not being able to die yet not being able to live; being trapped as the door between life and death closes on you while you are halfway through. No matter, that is all done with now, and the wait was worth it. I feel so ALIVE!" Arthain said as he stretched his arms apart.
Vegeta had been about to blast Arthain when the door opened but when Arthain's power washed over him he felt fear like had never know before. The only thing that crossed his mind was, 'so this is what the Saiyans were like back then.' Vegeta was an insect compared to Arthain. Arthain hadn't been joking when he said Gohan was a candle compared to his bonfire. The presence he gave off made the gods appear like fruit flies.
Vegeta snarled and reinforced his resolve with the image of Karie's death. "ARTHAIN! How DARE you use us like that! I TOLD YOU TO TELL ME EVERYTHING LIKE THIS!" Vegeta roared snapping everyone out of their paralysis.
Arthain turned his gaze to Vegeta and smiled, "I really don't think so you pathetic weakling. Saiyans have an unspoken code am I right? Those that are weaker must defer to those that are stronger? Since I was the strongest I had no reason to tell you anything. I only revealed what I wanted because I enjoyed the expressions it created, nothing more." Arthain said, "One thing I forgot to mention… Insanity is contagious, especially when it's conveyed through the bond. I not only receive a portion of my mate's power, but her emotions and thoughts as well! Our bond was much stronger and more intimate then anything you could ever imagine! The only difference between me and her is that she is suffering from her insanity while I revel in mine! I know where she went wrong when she absorbed the world crystal. I don't intend to make the same mistake!" Arthain finished with a crooked grin.
Gohan's eyes widened, "NO! You would not dare!" He said in shock, he knew exactly what Arthain was talking about, the Cerians.
"Wouldn't I? Aerie will either accept me by her side… Or I will throw her down and take her place!" Arthain declared. Arthain glanced behind them and smiled at Alihvan, "So the daughter lived after all. My poor dear, it's a shame you didn't recognize me, your parents killers, until it was too late." Arthain mildly said.
Alihvan stared at Arthain in fear, "No… I recognized you. I just gave you a second chance… I thought you could change, I thought you had changed when I saw you with someone as pure as Gohan… I was so wrong…" Alihvan said in a broken voice.
Arthain nodded thoughtfully, "Yes I suppose that makes sense, he was the perfect cover now that I think about it. Oh well it doesn't really matter no does it? You are the only immortal goddess that has ever been born by reproduction. I thought I had killed you but I see I was mistaken, oh well I can rectify that easily enough. If you'll be good enough to hand over the plate I can get started, I do have an engagement I must keep after all." Arthain said in a light tone.
The Saiyans were staring at Arthain with a mixture of horror, shock and surprise. Vegeta took a step back, "No… what have I done… I have aided in the revival of… No… I won't allow it… I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" Vegeta roared as he powered up in rage, "YOU TRICKED US YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY! YOU WON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE IT TO MY REALITY! I WILL KILL YOU HERE!!" Vegeta roared as he exploded into rage. The thought of being used to destroy everything he had worked so hard to protect sent him over the edge and he arched back as he exploded into evolution. The shockwave knocked Bardock back and forced Gohan to cover his eyes. All of the rune lords disappeared and reappeared behind Alihvan as she erected a barrier to protect them. Arthain merely smiled and didn't bother with any form of protection. The vault didn't have any such protection or much luck. The runes on the vault strained and buckled under the pressure being released before they finally collapsed and exploded outwards as Vegeta finished his transformation. Gohan had covered the egg with a shield to prevent it from damage.
The explosion was seen all over the city and panic started to spread. Never in the history had the palace ever been attacked yet now part of it had just exploded. The runes in the city flew towards the disturbance bent on stopping whatever was causing the damage.
Gohan looked from Vegeta back to Arthain and he snarled as he too exploded into evolution. Bardock was once again thrown to the ground and what was left of the vault exploded outward sending chunks beyond the city limits. Bardock quickly regained his feet and took this as his cue to power up like his companions; he had a score to settle with Arthain, just like them. Arthain threw his head back and laughed.
"You think you can stop me? I don't think so!" Arthain said and laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke of all time.
"They may not be able to alone! But they are not ALONE!" Alihvan shouted as she stood up.
Suddenly she blazed into her full glory as her body exploded and all that stood before them was a being made up of pure blazing eldritch runes. The rune lords all gasped in shock as their goddess had suddenly revealed herself to them. Suddenly the sky darkened and split open as a huge rift appeared. Several other gods and goddess started to descend from the heavens to aid their friend in battle. Suddenly a roar was heard off in the distance causing everyone to turn to the east. Soon a second roar was heard as it echoed across the land and the cause of the noise came into view. The elder wyrm had sense it's young in danger and had come like it had promised; only it wasn't alone either. A huge wave of dragons followed her as she descended upon the city.
Gohan smirked at Arthain, "Looks like you are slightly outnumbered. I suggest you give up and die peacefully!" Gohan snarled.
Arthain looked over at Gohan and smirked, "Only small nuisances. Unless you can somehow convince the entire pantheon of the gods to do battle with me I really don't care what you throw at me." He said with a smirk.
An explosion was the only warning anyone had as Vegeta shot forward and planted both of his feet into Arthain's face. Arthain was sent flying away, not being fully prepared for the assault. Arthain was ready for the next attack and easily dodged Vegeta's assault. Bardock blasted forward to join his king in combat but without breaking beat Arthain smashed him in the face just before he kicked him into the city below. The runes that had flown towards the palace quickly found themselves being redirected to swirl around Alihvan as she snarled at Arthain.
"Arthain! I'll make you PAY! I thought you would have learned your lesson! But I guess not!" Alihvan snarled as she stepped forward, the other gods and goddess with her.
Gohan turned to Tixx, "Protect the egg. Arthain is the one that is causing the entire disturbance so the dragons will attack him. If they ask for it, give it to them, do not even hesitate, they are not in the mood." Gohan said and blasted off to help Vegeta who was losing badly.
Arthain grabbed Vegeta by the leg and threw the king into the ruined palace causing the runes holding the walls up the flash and collapse taking some of the palace down with him. Arthain turned to meet Gohan's fist with his face. He merely smirked at him before he slammed his elbow into Gohan's stomach and spin kicked him away. Suddenly a dragon clamped down on his arm and bowled over him as the dragon slammed into him. Arthain merely smiled and sent a torrent of energy through the dragon that didn't stop with just that one dragon. Every dragon behind the one that had attack Arthain found themselves being torn apart by the energy wave.
A complex set of runes slammed into Arthain's back rocking him forward to meet the onslaught of gods. Eldritch bolts of energy and waves of fire and lightning rippled over him as the gods threw their power at him. Arthain just started to laugh and kept on laughing as he fire energy blasts every which way. He didn't care what he hit; he was enjoying his new found life. The people below in the city found themselves running for their lives as many of Arthain's energy blasts slammed into the city destroying huge portions of the city.
The gods backed away on shock, their powers had done nothing but make Arthain laugh. Suddenly Arthain found himself bombarded from all sides by lightning, fire and acid as the dragons let loose their breath weapons. The gods added their might into as well and began to throw spells of cataclysmic proportions at Arthain.
Comets flew from the atmosphere to slam into Arthain as torrents of fire rose from the deepest parts of the abyss. Physic blows powerful enough to crush mountains and words of power said with mind crushing force were slammed into Arthain. Arthain just snarled in anger, his humor and enjoyment suddenly gone as he felt these attacks slam into him. His attackers may not have sent the entire pantheon of the gods at him but they had thrown the closet thing. Arthain arched backwards and exploded in anger and power. When Gohan and Vegeta had evolved they had sent out a single wave of relatively weak energy in all directions. Arthain sent out huge concentrated energy waves towards specific locations. It looked like he released a single wave of energy at first but that changed as the energy drew away from him. The gods, dragons and the city, by accident, felt the force of Arthain's rage.
"PROTECT THE GODDESS!" Gahlanthas roared to his fellow rune lords as he quickly dashed in front of Alihvan and he erected a barrier to protect her and was quickly joined by the other lords.
Alihvan stared in horror at them and stretched her hand forward pleading to the rune lords to stop, "NO!" She screamed as the world turned white.
The city disappeared in a roar of fire and death as everything crumbled into ash and the walls blasted outwards. The only thing that was left standing was the floating palace which was already severely damaged. The energy waves washed over the flight of dragons and their screams of agony were heard all over the country side as the dragons died by the hundreds. The sky rained blood that day as the decimated bodies of nearly a thousand dragons fell from the sky at the same time, lifeless and bleeding. The few remaining dragons rallied around the elder wyrm but their numbers had been reduced to a few dozen and they hadn't even gotten the egg back, not that there was any egg to retrieve anymore.
The gods had received the worst of the assault. They were the strongest, but they also bore the brunt of Arthain's anger and hatred. What made their deaths even worse was when they died they set of explosions with magnitudes equivalent to what was required to kill them. Their screams joined those of the dragons but theirs were not heard just across the country, but across the entire universe. The death of a single god or goddess is a major incident; the death of dozens is cataclysmic. When the gods died they exploded as the energies that had made up their being were released and the landscape was forever altered.
As the bodies of the gods fell from the sky all Alihvan could do was watch in horror as her friends died and witness the devastation their power wrought upon the land. Everything in a hundred kilometre radius was altered as lands fell below sea level while others rose into the sky to form mountains. Lakes of lava and water alike began to dot the landscape as the power of the gods tore through the crust of the planet. The country of Vihn disappeared into the annals of history that day as virtually every living creature that had lived inside its borders died when the gods fell. Alihvan alone had survived but was severely weakened. The rune lords were all dead, including Gahlanthas. They had thrown themselves in front of Alihvan and erected their strongest barriers to protect her, and died. Although they died their deaths were not in vain. Their deaths had weakened the blast just enough for Alihvan to survive but she was still badly hurt by it and could no longer aid the Saiyans.
Suddenly there was an energy spike that caused Arthain to whirl around in surprise; it was more powerful then what he had just fought off.
"DARKNESS ETERNAL!" Gohan and Vegeta roared at the same time from their position beside each other hovering just a little above the ruined palace platform.
The twin energy waves that blasted out from Gohan and Vegeta twisted and spiraled around one another until they slammed in Arthain who was forced to cross his arms in front of himself to brace for the assault. The palace platform couldn't take anymore. The backlash from Gohan's and Vegeta's attack slammed into and demolished it. The platform turned into rubble as it was obliterated. Later people would find chunks of it several hundred miles from its original location.
Arthain snarled in anger as the energy wave kept hammering into him. He couldn't believe two evolved Saiyans could cause him this much trouble and it angered him. The attack wouldn't kill him, or even seriously hurt him, but the fact that it could hurt him even a little made him go ballistic.
"YOU WANT TO SEE POWER! FINE YOU WILL SEE FUCKING POWER! PREPARE TO DIE YOU STUPID SHITS!" Arthain roared in rage held his left hand forward. Suddenly the energy wave wasn't hitting him but was being absorbed by him. Arthain's eyes grew brighter and brighter as the energy built up inside of him. This continued for some time until all you could see of Arthain's eyes was a bright yellow light.
When the energy wave finally abated Gohan and Vegeta stared up at Arthain in horror. He stood before them in all his glory completely unhurt by their attack, but what was worse was the fact that the energy from their attack was held inside of Arthain.
rthain snarled down at Vegeta and Gohan, "RIGHT BACK AT YA!" He roared and sent the energy from their attack from his right hand directly back at them. What made the attack even worse was the fact it wasn't just their energy. Arthain had enhanced it with his own life force causing the amount of energy to double.
Gohan and Vegeta looked at each other and horror and dodged out of the way and watched as the attack flew past them, drilling into the planet and almost reaching the core before it exploded. Lava exploded up from the hole made in the planet and started to gush to either side. Gohan and Vegeta looked up to regard Arthain in horror; their attack had done absolutely nothing except show how badly out classed they were. What made things worse was that they were both incredibly tired. They had poured almost all of their life force into their attack and it had all come to naught.
Bardock floated up to join them, just as tired as they were but badly wounded in addition. He couldn't take the hits Arthain dealt out very well.
Arthain looked down at them and smirked once more, "Ah, look at you now. You poor babies are all tired and here I am barely warmed up." Arthain said with a laugh. He stopped for a second and then burst out into even more laughter. "To think you actually thought you had any chance of beating me. I am the strongest being to have ever LIVED! I intend to STAY that way, FOREVER!" Arthain roared out in rage, his laughter and amusement gone in a second. The ultimate Saiyan looked down at Alihvan and blinked in surprise, "Oh my, you're still alive, what a pity. You seem to have more lives then you know what to do with." Arthain said his amusement back once more. "It really is a shame that you lived. It just means that I have to hurt you even more now. Oh well, your choice, not mine. You really can't blame me for this. It's your fault for not dieing." Arthain said as he started to laugh when suddenly he glared at her, "I have the perfect death for you. The gods go to a nice little ol' place when they die. But I won't give you that luxury. You are going to get nothing but OBLIVION for being so god damn fucking persistent. You're like a fucking cockroach, you won't just die!" Arthain growled in anger.
Alihvan started to float backwards, staring at Arthain in fear. One didn't need to see a physical face to know that is what she was feeling; it was rolling off her in waves. Arthain smiled at her, "Don't be afraid little one, I'll make it as painful as possible. I swear you won't feel it for too long, although you'll probably think it is to long by far… but meh, oh well not my fault, all yours… NOW DIE!" Arthain roared as he whipped an arm up and fired a massive energy blast at Alihvan. Alihvan shielded her face and prepared to die, there was nothing in her reality that could stop it.
Gohan watched in horror as the blast shot towards Alihvan, everything seemed to be slow down as Gohan became lost in both the past and present, no… not again… not again… I can't let her die, I can't bear to see it… oh god… I… I can't… I can't take it… help me… I'm… going to… to… AHHH! "AHHHHH!!!!" Gohan roared in a god like voice as he shot forward faster then he had ever before in his life. An instant later he was staring directly at the energy blast as it rocketed towards Alihvan. Gohan shoved his hands forward and began scream in rage, anger, sorrow and fear as the energy blast slammed into his upraised hands.
A roar unlike anything that had ever been heard before echoed across the planet as Gohan screamed, in rage. He stared at Arthain hidden behind the energy blast with insane primal rage and kept on screaming as his energy sky rocketed beyond anything he had thought possible. Alihvan was knocked backwards from the waves of force that were being emitted from Gohan but was able to halt her momentum before she had gone too far. She stared at Gohan in surprise and horror as the reality around him began to shift and warp as he began to evolve. Lightning shot out from the clear sky, the ground and the air around him to seemingly lash out at him in anger. All it did was add fuel to the fire that was burning inside Gohan. Gohan's hair grew long, very long, and stretched all the way down to his thighs as his eyebrows disappeared and became hard lumps. His muscles bulked up as the energy that rippled through him caused them to grow bigger and denser. With another yell Gohan spread his arms wide and crushed the energy blast between his hands and floated there glaring at Arthain.
"NO ONE WILL EVER HURT HER AGAIN!" Gohan roared as he shot through the smoke and fire directly at a very surprised Arthain. At the same time thousands of spatial rifts began to open in the sky around him as the entire pantheon of the gods came to fight Arthain. It was one thing to kill gods, it was another to threaten the very existence of the planet or the world crystal and he had nearly destroyed both when he fired Gohan's and Vegeta's energy wave back at them.
What surprised Arthain the most was that it wasn't just the gods that joined the fray. Beings of even greater power came behind them, the creators and 'the' Implementor of that reality came to kill him. Arthain snarled in anger as he easily blocked Gohan's fist. Even though Gohan had evolved yet again he was no where near Arthain's level. The creators were though, and the Implementor was even stronger then he was. He wasn't going to stay any longer.
Arthain smashed his fist into Gohan's face to get Gohan off him. Arthain shot forward and kneed Alihvan in the stomach and quickly grabbed the plate from her before blasting away. Alihvan doubled over and fell from the sky; her energy completely drained but before she hit the lake of lava below one of her fellow gods caught her. A few seconds later as the gods, creators and the Implementor started to chase a bright flash lit the sky from the south and suddenly the gate pillar exploded. Arthain had gone back into the saiyan reality but he had destroyed the gate afterwards.
The elder wyrm and the remaining dragons decided to pull out at that point. They had lost the egg, along with the majority of the dragon clan. On top of that the gods had appeared and they didn't want anything to do with them so they quietly left.
Vegeta cursed, "FUCK! Nothing has turned out according to plan! What the hell was the whole point of this anyway! God damn it! Fuck!" Vegeta cursed as he stood floating there.
Gohan stood floating there in rage, his quarry had escaped him and he was furious. He would hunt Arthain down until he was killed. "Shut the fuck up Vegeta!" Gohan yelled at him, "I am NOT going to let Arthain get the fuck away with this! I am going to hunt that son of a bitch down and I will make him BURN!" Gohan bent forward and roared out with anger.
The Implementor suddenly appeared before the Saiyans startling all of them. He was huge standing nearly a hundred feet tall and was composed of pure energy. YOU WISH TO GET BACK TO YOUR REALITY DO YOU NOT? The Implementor said through telepathic communication. The voice boomed in the Saiyan's skulls making them feel as if it was about to explode.
Gohan snarled back, "I would figure THAT one was obvious!" Gohan snarled.
The Implementor turned to regard Gohan with disapproval, I DO NOT LIKE YOUR TONE OF VOICE, BUT I ENJOY YOUR PRESENCE HERE EVEN LESS! I WILL SEND YOU BACK ON THE PROMISE THAT NO ONE FROM YOUR REALITY WILL EVER COME HERE AGAIN! The divine being boomed.
Vegeta snarled, "You got yourself a fucking deal, now send us home! Back to this world in my reality!" Vegeta demanded.
"Wait…" A voice said, startling everyone except the Implementor, he already knew what she wished.
ARE YOU SURE? The Implementor asked Alihvan.
Alihvan nodded, "I have to get back at Arthain… He has killed everyone dear to me… including the grandfather of my mortal form…" She replied.
The Implementor nodded AS YOU WISH! He boomed and gently picked Alihvan up with his mind and tore a hole in reality. He then gently took her through the rift and placed her on the old saiyan home world. With the Saiyans he simply threw them through the rift, not caring if they got hurt in the process. REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE! The Implementor boomed to Vegeta just as the rift between the two realities closed.
-------------------------------
Back on the old saiyan home world….
Vegeta grumbled as he stood up, "The stupid asshole could have been gentler." Vegeta complained.
Gohan snarled at Vegeta, "Shut up, at least we are back. Now let's gather your men and let's get home! It'll take that pathetic ship nearly a year to get there and who knows what Arthain will do in the mean time!" Gohan growled.
Vegeta snarled at Gohan but Bardock intervened, "Ok you two, enough! We have to think rationally if we are going to beat Arthain. It was just proven that brute strength won't be enough to beat him! We need to use our brains!" Bardock said.
Gohan shuddered and took a deep breath too calm himself down. It took several minutes but after that both Vegeta and Gohan were fine. Neither had powered down though. They had each made a silent vow to stay that way until Arthain was beaten.
Alihvan approached the others; now back in her human form, "I'm coming with you. I have just as much reason to want him dead as you. I've never wanted to kill anyone before but I think I'll make an exception." Alihvan said fiercely.
Vegeta nodded, "Fine, come with us then. Maybe you can use your runes to speed the stupid ship up a little." Vegeta said and put his fingers to his forehead. After a little searching he found what he was looking for and disappeared. Bardock put his fingers to his forehead and did the same. Gohan walked over to Alihvan and put his hand on her shoulder before they too joined Vegeta and Bardock back at the saiyan base camp.
The saiyans were surprised when four people suddenly appeared in the very center of their camp. They were even more surprised at the transformations of Vegeta and Gohan. The commander of the ground troops ran out to Vegeta and saluted him.
"Welcome back Vegeta! What can we do....? What happened?" He asked.
Vegeta glared at the commander, "We were used that is what fucking happened. Arthain used us and obliterated Karie to get his body back! Now he's on his way to become the very thing we are going to fight! There's going to be two fucking infinite power beings in our universe!" Vegeta snarled out causing the eyes of every Saiyan within hearing distance to pop out, "Now I want everyone back on the ship with the next 15 minutes or you are getting left behind! We need to get to planet Vegeta NOW!" Vegeta roared and the camp suddenly burst into motion as everyone began to pack up. Not a minute later the first shuttle lifted up and headed back out to the star ship that orbited just outside the planet's atmosphere. Vegeta, Bardock, and Gohan carrying Alihvan blasted into the sky and followed the shuttle.
When Vegeta and company had boarded the star ship Vegeta stomped over to the bridge with the other three close behind. Once in there he signaled the crew to start the take off procedures.
"We are leaving once all those shits down below on the surface get up here! In the mean time send a message to everyone one of our fucking allies…" Vegeta began.
The communication offer cleared his throat causing Vegeta to stop and glare at him, "Ahh… my liege. We can't do that. We didn't install any long range communications because this ship can outrun any communication we send. It would be faster for us to just take the warp stream to wherever you want to send the message." The officer said nervously.
Vegeta snarled and slammed his fist on his chair, "FUCK! What else can go wrong! I can't believe this, are our warriors fucking back yet?" Vegeta demanded.
The officer shook his head, "No sir, they're still arriving. Some decided to bring back some of the technology we had found down there so they may be cutting it a little close to the time limit you gave them." He replied.
Vegeta grumbled but didn't say anything. "What have we got so far?" Vegeta demanded.
Another officer spoke up at this time, "Lot's, most of it was decayed beyond use but there was just so much of it that we were able to salvage a substantial amount. We also found some visual records from back then. We aren't able to play them as of yet, lacking the required technology, but we are currently working on that problem. I'm also sure that your mate would be able to figure it out in no time." He said.
Vegeta nodded, his temper had cooled a little. The thought that the expedition wasn't a complete loss made him feel a great deal better. Gohan took his place in his seat just below Vegeta while Bardock sat beside the pilot. Alihvan didn't know where to sit so she just leaned against the wall by the door. The ship scared her. She had never seen something like this before. Technology was a completely foreign concept to her and she had a feeling she would have to get used to it.
Vegeta looked over at Bardock, "How are we going to get through the nebula? Have you any thoughts?" Vegeta asked.
Bardock checked the sensors for a moment before he looked up at Vegeta, "I think we should just go through the gigantic hole Arthain tore in the nebula. Apparently it's extremely volatile and a large portion of it exploded when Arthain flew through it." Bardock answered.
Vegeta smiled, "The asshole finally did something useful for us. Everyone, tell the people down below to forget whatever they are taking and get up here now. I want to be gone in one minute!" Vegeta declared.
The communication officer nodded and relayed the message to the surface below. The Saiyans down there dropped what they were doing and boarded there shuttles. When the last of the shuttles had re-docked with the mother ship Vegeta gave the signal and the star ship Arganon turned around and blasted out through the hole in the nebula. When they exited the nebula the ship entered the warp stream and began its journey back to Saiyan home world.
Once they had successfully entered the warp stream Vegeta stood, "I'm going to do some training. Do not disturb me until we get back to planet Vegeta." He said and left the bridge. Bardock followed suit, voicing similar thoughts. Gohan got up to do the same but Alihvan stopped him.
"Umm… What am I suppose to do? I don't have any room… or any clue about anything here." Alihvan said with trepidation and panic in her voice.
Gohan smiled sympathetically, "Alright let me take you on a tour of the ship. I'll get you a room and show you how to work everything." Gohan said as he lead Alihvan out of the bridge of the ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week later…
Arthain entered the atmosphere of the planet. He was hungry or he would never have stopped there. When he reached the surface he looked around with eyes filled with madness.
"Well, what have we here… A nice peaceful planet… It would be a shame if anything… happened to it." Arthain said to himself and started laughing uproariously.
An hour later a golden glow was seen leaving the planet. A few seconds later the planet exploded and all life upon it was extinguished.
To be continued…
Whew, I LOVED that chapter. It totally did not turn out how you expected eh? Arthain, just as insane and crazy as Aerie. There had been hints before, you could have picked up on it but many probably didn't because they thought it was going to be like the usual run of the mill self-insertion. Oh no, I'm playing the part of the bad guy, kind of hehe. :)