Dreamwraith... your questions will be answered in chapters hence However, I'd like to make a specific distinction, in case it isn't made clear enough (or for anyone else): Darkness did not cause the Z Warriors to do as they did, their actions are their own. However, they are related in another way.... Meanwhile, yes, Piccolo has a rather dry sense of humor. I like casting him that way, for some reason. Trust me, I hadn't planned alleged "book hitting" in conjunction with finals, nor did it have anything to do with the way the plot went. A bit eerie, though; I really don't want to think about finals week (though by the time this has been read, I will be mostly done).



As I rarely do, I'm going to go on a serious tangent here. As always, you may feel free to skip it and get to the actual story, this is not required for your enjoyment of the story. Past the hyphen begins this chapter. But this is for a certain individual...



Primarily it should be noted that any given chapter of this story is but a single portion of a moderately large story. To expect an entire plot arc within one single chapter would be naive. Each division in this series is a set of combined slices of a world. One alone is just a sliver, and may have some intrinsic value, but together they all form a coherent picture.



This is a fanfiction of DBZ, not the anime itself. There are not several different and completely unrelated plot arcs, all occupying their share of time. All of this story is truly one plot arc, and everything must be considered in the light of this massive battle. To assume that the fights are mere battles of flesh and blood would be to possess a hollow understanding of the story. More is going on here than mere brawling. Though you may not know it yet, this is a war, and a very ancient one. Taken in its entirety, the series is building up to a final conflict, and also building up to a final event that has really been the core thread of the story all along.



Every time the plot takes a twist or jumps to a new subject, it has done so for one of two reasons: character development or to advance the overall plot. There is very little filler in this story, excepting a few events thrown in for interest sake. Perhaps while looking at a fraction of the picture things may seem disjointed, but from a vantage point above all is working together in a smooth continuation.



Such thinking that denies this is the bane of this generation, and I suspect many before us. There are so many who look only in their own narrow field of vision, to the exclusion of all else. Never do they consider that perhaps there is an author, and they are not reading a mélange of characters. Were I emotionally unstable, emotional or truly empathetic, I would weep.



But I have digressed far too long.



-



Underneath reality, tendrils of a Darkness darker than the unreality around them curled up from nothing into nothing. All normal senses seemed useless here, obscured by the darkness that was not darkness. Still, anyone could sense that something was happening. A surge of something swept through the expanse. Had it been a person, it might have seemed like a smile.

A dark flame departed from the shifting mass, and quickly vanished into reality.



Torbie riposted a few times, his fists whistling through the air. Whirling, he let off another series of attacks into the empty air. His wings expanded out briefly as he leapt into the air, then folded and he plummeted to the ground. The shock waves from the crash uprooted the nearby trees. Flipping to his feet, Torbie examined a red fist briefly. Good, but not enough.

True, he was the strongest ever of his kind. There was no warrior from his quarter of the galaxy who was his equal. But he would have to do much better than that if he hoped to place in the Afterlife Tournament. All of the best warriors would be there, including Pakihaun and Olibu. Those two were always meeting up with him and knocking him out of the competition. Not this time. Not if he worked hard enough.

Glancing up, Torbie had a split second to gape before a column of black flame engulfed him.



Alerted by the sudden stream of darkness from the sky and the horrible scream, Caterpie turned and rushed toward the location. Cracking all ten of his fists, he smirked slightly. If this was any more of those manifestations, they had picked the wrong place to appear.

Glancing through some trees, Caterpie arrived in time to see the column of dark flame vanish, leaving Torbie lying in the middle of the clearing. He nearly stepped out to help him, but something stopped him. Torbie would deal with himself; if he did this it was his own fault.

Just then Torbie got up, his frame straightened once again. There was no sign the flames had ever been there, Torbie looked to be in perfect shape. Then he turned, and Caterpie caught sight of his eyes.

Twin pools of darkness, as if there was nothing in them or behind them, stared at him. Caterpie stopped himself from gasping aloud, and began to back away from the clearing. Somehow, Torbie sensed him and his black eyes narrowed towards his exact position.

Realizing this, Caterpie ran as fast as he could. It hardly mattered. A second later a burst of energy sliced into his back. The green warrior dropped nearly instantly. Torbie glanced down at his corpse with expressionless eyes, then leapt into the air. In a few moments he was long gone, leaving the first of the fallen Celestial Fighters.



Chapuchai barely evaded the blast that devastated the ground he had been standing on moments earlier. Turning in midair, he glanced at his attacker. Conflicting thoughts instantly sprang up in his mind. First, it seemed to be another Celestial Fighter, Torbie. But even a slight inspection revealed that there was something behind this menace, something extremely evil. Torbie's black eyes crackled, and he charged.

Ducking the blow, Chapuchai drove a punch toward Torbie's stomach. One hand turned his fist aside, and the other hit his head, knocking him down. Falling to the ground on his back, Chapuchai focused on his attacker, who now dove for him. At the last second, he fired a blast that engulfed Torbie.

Gaining his feet, Chapuchai jumped backward, only just in front Torbie's foot. Apparently he had gotten a lot stronger, something was different about him. Whatever it was, Chapuchai didn't like it, and he resolved to beat it out of him. His fists moved faster and faster, slamming into Torbie until the fighter made no move to resist. Chapuchai ended with a massive uppercut that sent the much larger fighter into the sky.

Instead of coming back down, Torbie stayed suspended in the sky. He fired four swift blasts downward, all of which Chapuchai easily dodged.

"Is that the best you've got?" Chapuchai mocked, glancing up. He saw Torbie's hands spread out, pointing towards him.

"Spread Fire!" Torbie roared, his voice deeper and darker. A torrent of energy blasts flooded downward, in a far large scope than Chapuchai could ever hope to avoid. One clipped him on the shoulder, slowing him long enough for a few more to hit him. Slamming into the ground, Chapuchai found himself unable to move as more and more shot their way into him.

Eventually the attack stopped. Torbie tried to kick him, but Chapuchai managed to roll out of the way, then trip up his opponent. Gaining his feet, Chapuchai was halted when Torbie reached up, grabbed his beard, and dealt him a haymaker to the jaw that sent him reeling.

"Multi-form!" Chapuchai yelled as he jumped back. Instantly he began to fracture into a number of different copies, all of which danced before Torbie menacingly.

The next thing he knew, Chapuchai was hurtling backward, his stomach hurting from an incredible pain. His multi-form had done nothing to Torbie, who had somehow sensed which one was real. But where was Torbie now? Chapuchai's question was answered as a foot flew through the air and smashed into his face, sending him to the ground.

Before he could attack again, Chapuchai found himself immobile as Torbie gripped him in two vice-like hands. For a while he struggled to move, but eventually went still. Sparks flew between their eyes, as Darkness was slowly transferred from one to the other. Slowly, Chapuchai's eyes began to fill with a cold blackness.



Something was definitely going on. Arqua picked up a bit more speed and headed for the source of the disturbance. He could feel the kis of some of the Celestial Fighters, but not what they were fighting. In any case, one was waning fast, and another had been extinguished. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

Now, however, he had a way to make sure his victory was insured. With his new technique, he could take the fight to his own terrain, and then he would have the advantage. Beneath him, he sensed Tapkar running. Great, just what he needed. Another of the Celestial Fighters to try and stop the problem as well. Brushing aside the bluish fin atop his head, Arqua dropped to just behind him. Let Tapkar try first; he could learn from the experience.

They had nearly reached the clearing when Arqua dropped down to the ground to avoid notice. From between the trees he saw an odd sight. Torbie, his ki incredibly twisted, was kneeling in front of Chapuchai, doing something to him. There was a dark ki flashing all around, and he could feel Chapuchai's slowly dissipating. Had Torbie suddenly decided to become evil?

In any case, Tapkar was walking out into the clearing; he would find out. Torbie seemed momentarily distracted, and for a brief moment he looked worried. Arqua tucked that piece of information away.

"What are you doing?" Tapkar called. Torbie said nothing and returned to his work. Gritting his teeth, Tapkar spun into a whirlwind and sped forward in attack. Just as he had crossed half the distance, a massive surge of darkness welled up from the ground, strands of it wrapping around Tapkar. He fell to the ground, then slowly rose to his feet. His eyes were identical to Torbie's.

Sensing that things were quickly turning against him, Arqua sped forward to attack Torbie. Tapkar collided with him in midair, but Arqua merely shook him off. Diving down at Torbie, Arqua realized that he might be too late. Torbie rose to his feet, and with one arm easily bashed Arqua, sending him into the nearby grove of trees.

"Now," Torbie said in the ghastly imitation of his old voice, "it has begun. You," he pointed to Chapuchai, who looked at him silently. "Find the ones in our way and finish them. Return when they have been destroyed. You, stay with me. We will have more opposition soon."

Chapuchai nodded and blasted off, soon vanishing over the horizon. Just then Arqua burst from the trees, energy flying wildly out from him. Reaching Torbie, he found himself hitting nothing but air. In the next instant, he felt a blow to the back of the head and he tumbled over the ground.

Slowly gaining his footing once again, Arqua glanced up at Torbie, who began walking toward him. Tapkar hadn't even joined the fight. Realizing this would get ugly fast, Arqua decided to pull out his secret weapon. Grinning an evil grin, he raised his hands. There was an explosion of water as the entire area became incased in a giant cube of water that surrounded them.

Tapkar floated above the water, but Torbie struggled on, continuing to move forward. Flexing his fins, Arqua swam forward in attack.



Goku pushed aside a book and reached for another. Glancing through it briefly, he nodded to himself, then sat down and began reading as fast as possible. Across the table from him, Piccolo was sketching something out on a sheet of paper, frowning at his work. 18 was part-way across the room, looking for another book.

There was a lot of information here. Goku was impressed that someone had taken the trouble to compile all this knowledge. He thought he recognized a lot of what had been written from his previous studies. Maybe later he'd have to ask Piccolo if this was everything that had ever been written. Then again, maybe it wasn't. In any case, that was irrelevant, because it had a lot of information on the topic they wanted.

It was clear that Darkness had something to do with this. Before that time, Goku had never heard anything about it. Piccolo told him that it was hardly ever mentioned, mainly because it was a force that existed entirely outside of reality. Due to this, it was impossible to predict, and could change futures that had previously been certain. But all of them were sure that the key to the whole problem lay in what Darkness was, and why it was around again. Goku had his own theory that Eclipse and Ebony were two of a kind, and had something to do with Darkness. The biggest problem, however, was finding any sort of motive. Their actions didn't seem to be aiming for anything in particular.

Just then Goku's eyes narrowed as he realized what he was reading. For the first time ever, an actual bit of literature on the topic of Darkness. It approached the topic hesitantly, as if unwilling to discuss it, but it offered the first actual information they had seen.

Basically, the useful part of the article boiled down to one thing. Eclipse and Ebony were indeed of a kind, and it was definitely linked to dimensional matters. Most likely they derived their power from messing with the different dimensions. That explained most of their actions.

Still, something didn't quite add up. The numbers he was seeing here weren't matching what dimensional rips could logically cause. Then again, maybe he was wrong about that. Piccolo would probably know better than he. Before he could approach him about it, the ceiling exploded and a small fighter landed in the library.

"Chapuchai," Piccolo stated the fighter's name tonelessly. Chapuchai turned to face them, and both Piccolo and Goku reeled back slightly at his eyes. Instantly, Goku recognized the darkness within them: Eclipse. So either Eclipse had taken him over, or there was something in common between the two of them. Darkness?

"18," Goku called. "I'm in the middle of something important here. Could you take care of this?"

Setting down a book, 18 nodded. "Sure."

Tired of waiting, Chapuchai attacked them. Before he had crossed half the distance to the table, 18 slammed her fist into his head. Falling backward, Chapuchai was struck by another shot that sent him flying back out through the hole in the ceiling he had created. Now that the fight was outside, 18 was free to let go with a punch of full power.

Getting bashed through a rock pillar, Chapuchai regained his feet and launched a massive blast toward 18, who calmly deflected it, then flew down to strike him. She barely missed, but sensed Chapuchai behind her and rammed her elbow into his gut. Her opponent fell backward once more.

Below, Goku slid his book across to Piccolo. The Namek took it and began skimming thoughtfully.

"You know," he began, not stopping reading, "you're pretty lucky to have 18, Goku."

"How so?" Goku checked his work again. He was right, something didn't add up. Dimensional rips couldn't possibly fuel everything Ebony and his kind did. What then?

"I should think it's obvious. She's a wonderful person, with all the bonuses: intelligent, powerful, beautiful."

"Says the genderless green humanoid."

"Hey." Piccolo gestured with his pencil nonchalantly. "Think of it like a restaurant. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't look at the menu."

Smiling, Goku continued working in silence. From above there was a massive bang, and then 18 floated back down through the hole again.

"Is everything taken care of?" Goku asked. 18 nodded.

"It was a cinch."

"Wait a second," Piccolo abruptly said, looking down at his paper.

"What?"

"I think I get it."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, walking over to his side and glancing at his figures. 18 joined them.

"I know what powers them," Piccolo announced. "Or at least part of it."

"Does this mean anything to you?" 18 asked, handing Piccolo her own book. The Namek's eyes widened slightly. He paused for a second, processing the new information and building it into his previous theory.

"This is exactly what I needed. Alright, I think I have the case cracked wide open."

"Well, cough it up."

"Alright, here's the situation: the being we know of as Darkness is actually just a force in the universe. It is essentially created by hatred. All the hatred in the galaxy has slowly created this particular being. Except it really isn't a being, it's a lot more than that."

"I think I get it," Goku said thoughtfully. "So were Ebony and Eclipse just manifestations of Darkness?"

"You could think about it that way. When it gets strong enough, it begins to influence reality. With that, it causes as much pain and destruction as possible, to continue to fuel itself. Those we have fought are really just products."

"What do dimensions have to do with it?" 18 asked. Piccolo nodded.

"Right. That's really the key. You probably don't know much about that whole issue, so I'll fill you in. Every different possibility can create a new dimension. In between all these dimensions is nothing, and I mean a lack of even a vacuum. That's Darkness. But certain dimensions, like our own, are core dimensions, they're much more stable than all the others. Because of this, Darkness can't effect it as easily. Which is why it messed with the dimensions that branch off of our own."

"So those side dimensions basically become a feeding ground for their power."

"Essentially. However, at times they simply destroy an entire dimension to gain more negative energy, as well as an expansion of what Darkness really is."

"Did we play into their hands by destroying the universe Ebony was in then?"

"No, they wanted it around for some reason. But it did give them a bit of energy. In any case, this sheds light on exactly what they are doing here. Apparently their power has increased enough to start messing with this reality. The manifestations were merely to gain more energy. Chapuchai there was probably one of the first to fall subject to being possessed by the Darkness."

"You mean it can just possess people?"

"I'm not really certain. If I had to make a guess, I'd say that it takes a lot of energy, but they can do it. Of course, the more damage that is done because of their actions, the more power they gain."

"That's a nasty cycle."

"Yeah. But that doesn't matter, because what we do next is try to find a way to stop them."

"Right!"