A/n: The inspiration for this chapter came from a picture I found on
deviantart.com by an artist going by Risachangtag. It's a very cool picture
of Goten looking up at the stars with a very thought provoking quote in a
DBZ sense. Also I'd like to thank my loyal reviewers for getting my little
vendetta up to 30 reviews! I'm just blown away by the fact that you all
like the story so much. Well I hope that as it comes down to the end, I
don't disappoint you...
Chapter 31: Somewhere Amongst the Stars
"Hey Goten, what are you doing out so late?" Goku asked as he came up and sat down next to him on the grass. They were sitting in the middle of the field outside of the capital city rebuilt care of the Dragonballs.
"I was just thinking." Goten said as he laid back and gazed on the glowing orbs that seemed so much closer here than on Earth.
"About what?" Goku asked doing the same.
"Do you think they'll come back? Naros, Kaykora and Vegeta?" Goten asked worried.
"How old are you Goten?"
"Nine..."
"Your old enough to listen to your heart and understand what it's saying. So tell me Goten, what does it tell you?"
"That Kaiokarsha is really smart and he'll figure out a way to bring back Naros and Kaykora's bodies." Goten said then abruptly closed his mouth.
"But..."
"I don't know if Vegeta's going to come back. And if he doesn't come back Kaiokarsha can't help Kaykora. And we might all die..."
"It's possible but at least we'll all be together on the other side." Goku said in an effort to cheer his son up.
"What's it like over there Dad? Is it as pretty as it is here?" Goten asked rolling over and facing him.
"In some places. In others it's worse." Goku replied passively.
"I don't know if I want to leave just yet." Goten said rolling back over. "I like feeling like I'm helping the whole universe. It doesn't make me feel small and weak."
"You're not weak Goten and a being is only as tall as the size of their heart and their courage; both of which you have plenty of. That's what real power and strength is all about Goten, never taking the easy way out just because it's there. When you accept the challenge and the fight because you're the only one who can. When you see it through to the end. Somewhere Vegeta lost sight of that and the space beyond his little world. But he still has a good heart in there somewhere. I just hope Kaykora can make him realize it again before it's too late." Goku said finishing with a sigh.
"Do you think she can?" Goten queried curiously.
"She's melted his heart before. Bulma thawed it out sure but Kaykora gave him something else to have pride in besides himself. Trunks does the same thing but for some reason Kaykora does it more right now."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I guess Vegeta is used to women and girls being weaker. But here comes Kaykora who's stronger than all of us and he gets to claim her."
"I guess that makes sense." Goten nodded and closed his eyes a moment. He opened them again. "Dad is it true what Mom said about heaven being in the stars?"
"Yup."
"Is it true that some Gods live in the stars and guide us and protect us from there?
"Could be? Why?"
"Well sometimes I wonder if the stars are protecting us or if we're protecting them..."
"Maybe it's a little of both Goten." Goten drifted off to sleep wondering about his friend and if it was really all going to end. As he slept a dream formed in his mind. A dense misty fog cleared revealing the stars above him and the dual moons of Archenakia full and glowing. Goten flew around them with ease and grace as his white downy wings fluttered in the breeze. Ahead of him a figure appeared that looked like Kaykora. "Hey Kaykora! You came back!" He shouted happily as he reached hand out towards her. She disappeared as he came close to touching her.
"Come find me Goten..." Her voice whispered in his ear.
"Where are you?" He called out sadly to the stars.
"Follow the trail." She whispered as a line formed connecting stars and planets that led away from him. He flew forward following the trail until it stopped at a weakly glowing red planet. He flew down and landed on the desolate ground.
"Kaykora!" He shouted above the blowing winds as he used his arms the shelter his face from the stinging dirt.
"Goten!" A voice called out in the distance. Goten immediately started flying towards it.
"Where are you?!"
"In the city in front of you." Goten made his way for the city. All the buildings had been damaged in one way or another and some had fallen completely apart.
"What happened here?"
"Frieza..." Goten had almost found the source of Kaykora's talking as he wandered through the dusty lost city. "They're gathering more energy by draining whole planets."
"Is that why you're here?"
"Yes I'm trying to show my father how much is at stake here." A gust of wind blew away the dust revealing Vegeta standing with his head down and a serious look on his face. He suddenly looked at Goten and held up his hand. A blue ball of ki formed and shot forth towards him. He dodged it but wondered why it had exploded right behind him. When the smoke cleared there stood Frieza poised in position to kill Goten without him even knowing it. Goten's eyes widened as the powerful tyrant walked towards him.
"Not so strong without your friend now are you?" Frieza said with mock sympathy. "No matter you were never a challenge anyways." A sudden chanting of another language came from all around them. Dark hooded figures stepped out of the dust and formed a circle surrounding them. They took their hoods off to reveal they were beings that looked like Tapion! Goten's eyes widened even farther as each held out strange enigmatic green stones about the size of their palms and continued chanting. He backed away slowly as Frieza looked on the morbid fascination expecting this to be the local's futile attempt to stop him and waste the last remaining bits of useable energy on the planet.
Vegeta moved to the middle of the circle as one by one the green stones shot a beam of green light to the one next to it connecting each other. Frieza stood a few yards in front of him smiling at the interesting display. One by one the stones then shot a beam at Vegeta and as they struck he cried out in pain but didn't move or flinch. When the last beam connected with his body he became engulfed in a strange green light that blinded Goten. He looked away and shielded his eye against the intensity. When he returned his gaze, Vegeta had taken on an odd form. Goten could see right through him! He had become nothing more than a green glowing mass! Through it all though Vegeta stood there with his signature smirk of death.
In an instant so fast not even Goten and his super sight could follow the movement, Vegeta was in front of Frieza staring him down with malicious content on his face. "Now you die." Vegeta said with a voice laced with femininity. Kaykora's soul coming through no doubt. With that, he passed right into Frieza who started contorting and convulsing almost instantly. Green beams of light shot out of him in all directions before he finally exploded with tremendous force, which pushed Goten back hundreds of feet. When he came to again he pulled himself up and staggered back to where he had been except now there was a huge crater still smoking.
"Vegeta? Kaykora? Someone? Anyone?!" He called into the blowing wind. A clunking noise came from the far side of the crater and Goten floated over only to discover one of the hooded beings. "Are you ok?" He asked helping him up to a sitting position.
"I think so..." He looked around frantically for a moment. "Where is everyone?!"
"They're gone I think; killed by the blast." Goten answered looking around. He crawled down in the crater and picked up the green crystal and crawled back out. "You dropped this." He handed it back to the purple tinged being.
"We have to gather the rest! It is the sworn duty of my race to protect these crystals!" He said struggling to get up.
"What's your name?" Goten asked intently as they searched the area for the crystals.
"Tario." His companion answered solemnly.
"What happened here Tario?" Goten reached down a picked up another crystal.
"Thousands of years ago a being came down and said he was the Guardian of the universe. He gave us these crystals and instructed us on how to use them. He told us that one day beings with golden hair and tails would come to claim the crystals in order to fight a great evil. That guy came and at first we tried to attack him until he transformed into a golden haired being. We revered him as our savior but he got mad and left. A few hours later the monstrosity came and started draining everything of its energy and the golden haired one came back. We knew then that this must be the purpose of the crystals and he was the one who had come for them."
Goten nodded. "Hey what happened to Vegeta anyways?! He didn't die did he?!" Goten looked around frantically.
"No we were always told that this would only empower the warrior it was used on."
"THEN WHERE IS HE?!" Goten shouted jumping u and down. "I came to bring him home!"
"Don't get your gi in a bunch kid..." A solemn voice said from behind. Goten turned around and eyed Vegeta then ran over and hugged him.
"Veggie your ok!" He shouted happily. "Is Kaykora ok in there too?" He asked as he backed up and pointed at Vegeta's stomach.
"Don't call me Veggie and stop pointing at me like that! You make it look like I'm pregnant!" Vegeta snapped.
"Sorry." Goten said quietly dropping his head. "Are you coming back with me?"
"Not just yet..." Vegeta said taking to the sky.
"But you are coming back!" Goten shouted after him as he flew up.
"Soon enough." Was all Vegeta offered before blazing away into the sky. Goten floated down and stood next to Tario. "Now I know why my Mom doesn't like him..."
"Hey he has to come back and get the crystals!" Tario shouted frantically.
"I can take them..."
"Not you can't you aren't the golden haired warrior!"
"Well I can be." Goten smiled and transformed. Tario stood in shock a few moments before regaining composure.
"There... There's... More than one?" He stammered out.
"Sure there's a lot of us actually. Hey! I just got a great idea! How about you come back with me and we can use the Dragonballs to wish you planet back to normal!" Goten exclaimed happily as he took Tario by his overburdened arms. Tario dropped a crystal but Goten quickly caught it and Tario breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dragonballs?"
"Sure you collect all seven then make a wish and as long as the Dragon can do it, you get it!"
"Can it really restore my planet?"
"They've done it before lots of times!"
"There's more than one of those too?" Goten nodded.
"So you coming?"
"I guess so..." Goten smiled then there was a bright flash.
---------- ---------- ----------
"Don't you care in the least that your son is unconscious!" Chichi ranted as she walked over to Goku who was transfixed out the large window.
"Not now Chichi I think someone just killed Frieza..." Goku said swatting her away. There was a bright light behind them that caught even Goku's attention. Chichi turned around and screamed as a figure holding ominous green masses stood over her son who was still unconscious.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" She shrieked cowering behind Goku.
"Aaahhh... One moment..." The purple creature said laying down the green things. "Goten? Goten? Are you ok? Goten?" Goten groggily came to looked up at Tario.
"Huh? It wasn't a dream after all?"
Chapter 31: Somewhere Amongst the Stars
"Hey Goten, what are you doing out so late?" Goku asked as he came up and sat down next to him on the grass. They were sitting in the middle of the field outside of the capital city rebuilt care of the Dragonballs.
"I was just thinking." Goten said as he laid back and gazed on the glowing orbs that seemed so much closer here than on Earth.
"About what?" Goku asked doing the same.
"Do you think they'll come back? Naros, Kaykora and Vegeta?" Goten asked worried.
"How old are you Goten?"
"Nine..."
"Your old enough to listen to your heart and understand what it's saying. So tell me Goten, what does it tell you?"
"That Kaiokarsha is really smart and he'll figure out a way to bring back Naros and Kaykora's bodies." Goten said then abruptly closed his mouth.
"But..."
"I don't know if Vegeta's going to come back. And if he doesn't come back Kaiokarsha can't help Kaykora. And we might all die..."
"It's possible but at least we'll all be together on the other side." Goku said in an effort to cheer his son up.
"What's it like over there Dad? Is it as pretty as it is here?" Goten asked rolling over and facing him.
"In some places. In others it's worse." Goku replied passively.
"I don't know if I want to leave just yet." Goten said rolling back over. "I like feeling like I'm helping the whole universe. It doesn't make me feel small and weak."
"You're not weak Goten and a being is only as tall as the size of their heart and their courage; both of which you have plenty of. That's what real power and strength is all about Goten, never taking the easy way out just because it's there. When you accept the challenge and the fight because you're the only one who can. When you see it through to the end. Somewhere Vegeta lost sight of that and the space beyond his little world. But he still has a good heart in there somewhere. I just hope Kaykora can make him realize it again before it's too late." Goku said finishing with a sigh.
"Do you think she can?" Goten queried curiously.
"She's melted his heart before. Bulma thawed it out sure but Kaykora gave him something else to have pride in besides himself. Trunks does the same thing but for some reason Kaykora does it more right now."
"Why do you think that is?"
"I guess Vegeta is used to women and girls being weaker. But here comes Kaykora who's stronger than all of us and he gets to claim her."
"I guess that makes sense." Goten nodded and closed his eyes a moment. He opened them again. "Dad is it true what Mom said about heaven being in the stars?"
"Yup."
"Is it true that some Gods live in the stars and guide us and protect us from there?
"Could be? Why?"
"Well sometimes I wonder if the stars are protecting us or if we're protecting them..."
"Maybe it's a little of both Goten." Goten drifted off to sleep wondering about his friend and if it was really all going to end. As he slept a dream formed in his mind. A dense misty fog cleared revealing the stars above him and the dual moons of Archenakia full and glowing. Goten flew around them with ease and grace as his white downy wings fluttered in the breeze. Ahead of him a figure appeared that looked like Kaykora. "Hey Kaykora! You came back!" He shouted happily as he reached hand out towards her. She disappeared as he came close to touching her.
"Come find me Goten..." Her voice whispered in his ear.
"Where are you?" He called out sadly to the stars.
"Follow the trail." She whispered as a line formed connecting stars and planets that led away from him. He flew forward following the trail until it stopped at a weakly glowing red planet. He flew down and landed on the desolate ground.
"Kaykora!" He shouted above the blowing winds as he used his arms the shelter his face from the stinging dirt.
"Goten!" A voice called out in the distance. Goten immediately started flying towards it.
"Where are you?!"
"In the city in front of you." Goten made his way for the city. All the buildings had been damaged in one way or another and some had fallen completely apart.
"What happened here?"
"Frieza..." Goten had almost found the source of Kaykora's talking as he wandered through the dusty lost city. "They're gathering more energy by draining whole planets."
"Is that why you're here?"
"Yes I'm trying to show my father how much is at stake here." A gust of wind blew away the dust revealing Vegeta standing with his head down and a serious look on his face. He suddenly looked at Goten and held up his hand. A blue ball of ki formed and shot forth towards him. He dodged it but wondered why it had exploded right behind him. When the smoke cleared there stood Frieza poised in position to kill Goten without him even knowing it. Goten's eyes widened as the powerful tyrant walked towards him.
"Not so strong without your friend now are you?" Frieza said with mock sympathy. "No matter you were never a challenge anyways." A sudden chanting of another language came from all around them. Dark hooded figures stepped out of the dust and formed a circle surrounding them. They took their hoods off to reveal they were beings that looked like Tapion! Goten's eyes widened even farther as each held out strange enigmatic green stones about the size of their palms and continued chanting. He backed away slowly as Frieza looked on the morbid fascination expecting this to be the local's futile attempt to stop him and waste the last remaining bits of useable energy on the planet.
Vegeta moved to the middle of the circle as one by one the green stones shot a beam of green light to the one next to it connecting each other. Frieza stood a few yards in front of him smiling at the interesting display. One by one the stones then shot a beam at Vegeta and as they struck he cried out in pain but didn't move or flinch. When the last beam connected with his body he became engulfed in a strange green light that blinded Goten. He looked away and shielded his eye against the intensity. When he returned his gaze, Vegeta had taken on an odd form. Goten could see right through him! He had become nothing more than a green glowing mass! Through it all though Vegeta stood there with his signature smirk of death.
In an instant so fast not even Goten and his super sight could follow the movement, Vegeta was in front of Frieza staring him down with malicious content on his face. "Now you die." Vegeta said with a voice laced with femininity. Kaykora's soul coming through no doubt. With that, he passed right into Frieza who started contorting and convulsing almost instantly. Green beams of light shot out of him in all directions before he finally exploded with tremendous force, which pushed Goten back hundreds of feet. When he came to again he pulled himself up and staggered back to where he had been except now there was a huge crater still smoking.
"Vegeta? Kaykora? Someone? Anyone?!" He called into the blowing wind. A clunking noise came from the far side of the crater and Goten floated over only to discover one of the hooded beings. "Are you ok?" He asked helping him up to a sitting position.
"I think so..." He looked around frantically for a moment. "Where is everyone?!"
"They're gone I think; killed by the blast." Goten answered looking around. He crawled down in the crater and picked up the green crystal and crawled back out. "You dropped this." He handed it back to the purple tinged being.
"We have to gather the rest! It is the sworn duty of my race to protect these crystals!" He said struggling to get up.
"What's your name?" Goten asked intently as they searched the area for the crystals.
"Tario." His companion answered solemnly.
"What happened here Tario?" Goten reached down a picked up another crystal.
"Thousands of years ago a being came down and said he was the Guardian of the universe. He gave us these crystals and instructed us on how to use them. He told us that one day beings with golden hair and tails would come to claim the crystals in order to fight a great evil. That guy came and at first we tried to attack him until he transformed into a golden haired being. We revered him as our savior but he got mad and left. A few hours later the monstrosity came and started draining everything of its energy and the golden haired one came back. We knew then that this must be the purpose of the crystals and he was the one who had come for them."
Goten nodded. "Hey what happened to Vegeta anyways?! He didn't die did he?!" Goten looked around frantically.
"No we were always told that this would only empower the warrior it was used on."
"THEN WHERE IS HE?!" Goten shouted jumping u and down. "I came to bring him home!"
"Don't get your gi in a bunch kid..." A solemn voice said from behind. Goten turned around and eyed Vegeta then ran over and hugged him.
"Veggie your ok!" He shouted happily. "Is Kaykora ok in there too?" He asked as he backed up and pointed at Vegeta's stomach.
"Don't call me Veggie and stop pointing at me like that! You make it look like I'm pregnant!" Vegeta snapped.
"Sorry." Goten said quietly dropping his head. "Are you coming back with me?"
"Not just yet..." Vegeta said taking to the sky.
"But you are coming back!" Goten shouted after him as he flew up.
"Soon enough." Was all Vegeta offered before blazing away into the sky. Goten floated down and stood next to Tario. "Now I know why my Mom doesn't like him..."
"Hey he has to come back and get the crystals!" Tario shouted frantically.
"I can take them..."
"Not you can't you aren't the golden haired warrior!"
"Well I can be." Goten smiled and transformed. Tario stood in shock a few moments before regaining composure.
"There... There's... More than one?" He stammered out.
"Sure there's a lot of us actually. Hey! I just got a great idea! How about you come back with me and we can use the Dragonballs to wish you planet back to normal!" Goten exclaimed happily as he took Tario by his overburdened arms. Tario dropped a crystal but Goten quickly caught it and Tario breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dragonballs?"
"Sure you collect all seven then make a wish and as long as the Dragon can do it, you get it!"
"Can it really restore my planet?"
"They've done it before lots of times!"
"There's more than one of those too?" Goten nodded.
"So you coming?"
"I guess so..." Goten smiled then there was a bright flash.
---------- ---------- ----------
"Don't you care in the least that your son is unconscious!" Chichi ranted as she walked over to Goku who was transfixed out the large window.
"Not now Chichi I think someone just killed Frieza..." Goku said swatting her away. There was a bright light behind them that caught even Goku's attention. Chichi turned around and screamed as a figure holding ominous green masses stood over her son who was still unconscious.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" She shrieked cowering behind Goku.
"Aaahhh... One moment..." The purple creature said laying down the green things. "Goten? Goten? Are you ok? Goten?" Goten groggily came to looked up at Tario.
"Huh? It wasn't a dream after all?"