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The Daughters of Z Saga:
Dark gift of the Goddess
By NishaNisha
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Chapter One
Aboard a pirate star vessel deep within the bowels of the leviathan…
The sweet scent of incense wafted through the dimness of candlelight, extending forward from an urn placed upon the floor within the center of a room. Lazily the fumes from the burning herbs drifted upward into the air, tinting it the color of a purple haze and filling ever corner with a fragrant odor. Then gradually almost as though having realized its boundaries, the smoky mist settled upon the ground to cover it like a billowing blanket. However, still leaving behind a thin violet-shaded fog to shroud all vision with veiled obscurity.
From somewhere within the domicile, the intensity of powerful, piercing eyes sliced through the murkiness to reflect off the surface of a smooth full-length mirror. Though vaguely concealed by whiffs of smoke the body of a young woman stood within the borders of its oval frame. A thick, indigo ceremonial robe hung off her shoulders completely unbound to reveal partially nude flesh. A critical glare forced her brow to lower and her pupils to dilate as she inspected the mirror image glowering back at her. With tension clasped fingers she grasped the front of the robe to reveal herself fully.
Her lips parted in surprise and for a halting moment the flat, hardened look in her eyes softened. Without realizing it she lifted a hand to touch the spiritual marking on her forehead. It had been many years since she had gazed upon the face of her true self. Not since the one moment in her youth long ago when she had first been betrayed, rejected, and then brutally tossed aside.
Almost instantly her joy became poisoned by hatred only to quickly wither away upon a sudden surge of anger and once again realized truth.
This image before her was not real. True the body did indeed now belong to her and even looked like her in every physical possible way… ultimately it was still nothing more than a counterfeit. A sneer marred her face as she viciously belittled the inferior shell now housing her soul. Weak, fragile, second-rate – even if she committed herself to training, it would never suffice to meet the rigorous demands needed of a true saiyan warrior. It simply did not contain the physical prowess nor have the boundless potential that had once been bestowed to her upon birth. No other body that she had ever had besides her original would. But that would soon change.
Looking away from the mirror in disgust, she fastened the clasps of the robe, then reached forward to press a switch on the mirror frame. A short moment later the image of a turtle-like elderly man dressed in a lab coat appeared in place of her reflection. Dried and cracked like old leather, deep lines intersected over the other upon his pale skin. His eyes were tired and fearful, embedded deeply within his gauntly hollowed out face.
"Sorceress Lilkia," responded the old man in a quavering voice.
"Who else would it be you fool? This is my private line," the seemingly young woman said in a harsh, chafing tone.
The old man winced slightly at the lashing force of her voice. While most would have wilted, he simply maintained a steady and low tone.
"I apologize, Sorceress. I know that you only call upon me to know the status of the ongoing experiments," the elderly doctor said quietly apologizing, while keeping his small, dark eyes lowered from hers.
From the doctor's perspective his words had had little effect. Lilkia's impatience and annoyance still remained abundantly evident. For many long years the sorceress had searched for a scientist with enough skill and intelligence to manipulate saiyan DNA. They had all come, failed, and died. Dr. Lolio had been the first of many to come as far as he had in the study and as a reward for his steady progress she had graced him with the opportunity to maintain his longevity.
Lilkia's pensive gaze had set down upon him, "Tell me of your progress."
"I've managed to make a new serum from the DNA of Lords Ricero, Tome, and Beetri…uh with the exclusion of Lord Spineko. I've administered this serum to the first of the three girls, but I think I may have to post pone the treatments for a few days." Dr. Lolio paused briefly waiting for an outburst of anger, but to his great surprise none came. Instead he felt the onslaught of a burning glare.
"Princess Hone almost died, ma'am," he said almost losing his composure. "As did two of the other princesses."
A brief image replaced the doctor's to show the electrified holding cells of the three young girls. Lilkia scanned over them quickly with the last of her indifferent gaze to scrape over a caramel-skinned girl lying on a cot. Her unconscious brown face looked flushed and thick perspiration trickled down the side of her brow.
"Their bodies are rejecting it," the doctor said speaking carefully. Sorrow weighed heavily in his voice.
"Explain," Lilkia demanded, wafting aside his outpour of emotion like a bad odor.
The sorrow remained in his eyes all the same, but he somehow managed to suppress the crack in his soft voice to continue on.
"The first few injections seemed beneficial. The three young women experienced minimal, but notable increases in strength, heightened senses, agility, as well as improved skill in their combat abilities. But nothing extraordinary."
"I believe that's why I told you to strengthen their doses," Lilkia replied, her voice dripping with malice.
The doctor sensed her swelling anger and proceeded on speedily.
"Yes and I have done so. The early doses were already quite potent, but the new serum borders on fatal. It's killing them. I know that you wanted them to be more saiyan-like and I've done that. But its impossi…" the doctors paused as he bit his lip, he could feel his throat tightened. What he was about to say would spell out failure in Lilkia's eyes and she would immediately have him killed.
"I can not actually turn them into saiyans," he said in what almost passed for a whisper.
It took Lilkia only a split second to give her next order.
"I want the experiments to continue," the sorceress said flatly. "You can't rewrite DNA - then I suggest you get as close as possible." Lilkia stressed, but not before adding one more thing. "And should they die, I want them replaced immediately."
Amusement sprung faintly across her lips. "I leave the choosing up to you this time."
Dr. Lolio's eyes widened even further as they shot upward to meet the sorceress. Clearly, her mercy given had not been without a price. She had already turned him into a murderer by forcing him to conduct cruel experimentation on the innocent bodies of countless young women, but now she wanted him to play the grim reaper. It was more than he could bear.
He trembled and stammered in utter pain. "Please do not ask this of me. I can not."
The sorceress' eyes narrowed, the amusement dancing in them all but evaporated.
"You do not dare refuse me," she spat lividly, "Should I have to choose, my choices will include members of your family and then I will personally dispose of your worthless carcass…That is if the four lords do not hear of your failed attempt on three of their favorite concubines. Either way your death like your life will be painfully slow and lingering."
The transmission ended shortly afterward. Shaken and frightened, Dr. Lolio all but withered away into the large lab coat draped over his frail shoulders.
Lilkia angrily clenched her teeth in frustration knowing that the genetic experiments had reached a stonewall. How long it would take to break through; she did not have the patience to find out. The current success of the genetic manipulations thus far would not be enough complete the summoning ritual that she had in mind.
Backtracking through her thoughts, she recalled the image of the three young princesses. Puny specimens that she had picked out from one of the many holding cells within the slave quarters aboard the ship. She spat out an angry curse. She tired of waiting for the right one.
I must find a female who would be suitable.
She had no intention of remaining within an inferior body. In the meantime, she had to do something to find a faster solution for solving the problem with the genetic experiments. She would have to devise one through the means of dark mysticism and science. Looking about the room, pride swelled within her at the many bookshelves filled with arcane knowledge, weapons, and artifacts collected from across the galaxy. All of which, taken by her as the spoils of battle after doing away with their previous owners.
Such esoteric knowledge had helped her to master her craft, An'ei-jutsu. Forbidden even amongst the order of priestesses that she had come from on Planet Vegetasei. Yet even so she had continued to practice the black arts. She had had no choice, especially after her Divine rejection from the goddess that she had served so faithfully in the past. It was also because of An'ei-jutsu that she had learned the body possession technique that had allowed her to live as long as she had. And now she would use it to get her the last key toward attaining ultimate godlike power.
Walking toward the still fuming urn on the floor she sat down in the midst of the purple fog, but not before adding a second ingredient to burn with the remaining contents. Mixed together the two with their potent otherworldly properties would allow her reach the realm between here and the next. Once there she would find an entity with whom she could make a pact with to grant her one desire.
It was not the first time that she had done something similar to this, most of which resulting in meager ends. The passage of time had long since provided her with more experience and skill though. However, finding the right body in which to use them had taken much trial and patience. The current vessel that she now inhabited - while consisting of many glaring faults, had belonged to the spiritual leader of a race of changelings. Though for the most part physically inept, it did allow her to gain greater access to strong mystical powers.
Pulling her legs into herself, she crossed one over the other and then placed her hands upon her knees. Then closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths of the pungent fumes now gathering around her body as though it had suddenly become magnetized. It did not take long before she finally began to feel herself slowly slip into one of many dark realms within the spiritual plane.
Her spirit hovered into the void of shadows. Slowly, the luminance of stars scattered near and far revealed themselves to illuminate the surrounding emptiness. In the many past times that she had undergone this ritual she had never been able to control her direction. The darkness had flung her about in the ways that it had deemed her to go. Even now she felt the strong hand of a force guiding her. The sorceress resisted using the powers of the changeling body. This time she would choose her own direction…but not before a terrible power made itself known to her. Almost as powerful as the one that she sought to claim solely for herself.
The aura seemed to hover around the body of a single individual from very far away. Coarse rushing wind blew past her as she propelled her spirit with unimaginable speed through the darkness of space to find the source of the enticing power. Until eventually, her journey brought her floating above a small green and blue planet. She had never seen it before, but its name passed through her mind as though whispered to her by the same strange force …
Earth.
Slowly, she felt herself retreat back into her body. Fatigue caused her to tumble forward, but her eyes shot open with a sparkling gleam. Her trip to the dark planes had given her an answer much different than the one she was looking for to solve her problem. In fact it was even better. She no longer needed to make a pact with anyone because she now knew where to find the one whom could give her the power that she'd always dreamed of. And that one person was no god or entity, but a mortal. Lilkia smiled knowing she would take it from them by any means possible.