Chapter 4
A Voice

Trunks opened yet another door and looked inside. There was a large box with strange symbols carved onto it. He walked into the room and up to the box. The Saiyan didn't recognize the language written on it; he traced the carvings lightly with his index finger. He squinted and knelt down in front of the box as some of the symbols began to light up.

'Trunks...' A voice echoed through the room. Trunks pulled his hand back in shock. The light dimmed away. The teen looked over his shoulder and out the door. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen so he turned back to the box with the mysterious symbols embedded into it.

Slowly, he ran his hand over the shaped form, setting his hand atop of the strange carvings. The symbols began to glow again, then began to blink and sets began to light up in turn. Trunks' eyes widened as the lights began to flash and change faster and faster. 'Trunks...beware the one...' The voice began to grow.

"Wha—What...?" Trunks' hand began to burn. He tried to pull it back, but something held it there. His left hand shot from his side to grab onto his right, he pulled back as hard as he could. His hand burned even more as he pulled it away from the glowing box, a layer of his skin staying stuck to the box.

Trunks fell backward with a small yelp of surprise. His breath came roughly into his lungs. He ignored the pain in his hand as he watched the symbols on the box return to their normal form. Trunks stared at the box long after it had stopped glowing and talking to him.

"Trunks!" A voice snapped behind him. The young Saiyan turned around, still holding his smarting hand, and looked up at Vegeta's angry face glaring down at him.

"Papa!" Trunks jumped to his feet. Vegeta crossed his arms and continued to glare at Trunks. Trunks lowered his eyes and dropped his hands to his sides.

"What were you doing?" Vegeta's voice was rough.

"I was looking around in here." The younger Saiyans voice wasn't much more than a whisper.

"For an hour?" Vegeta was skeptical. Trunks winced at his father's tone of voice, but didn't answer. Vegeta watched his son for a second. "Let's go, and no more looking in rooms for an hour." Vegeta turned around and walked back out of the room. Trunks followed behind him.

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Goku looked up as a door suddenly appeared on the wall and someone walked through it. Goku got to his feet as he recognized the face of the person who had attacked him before standing in front of him. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." The man said as he closed the door behind him. It faded back into the wall, leaving no signs of it ever being there at all.

"And why would I come with you?" Goku asked glancing at Goten to see if he was still sleeping. Goten didn't move from his sitting position, his back resting against the cold grey wall. Goku turned back to the man.

"You will come with me. Whether you come quietly, as asked, or come unconscious, makes no difference to me." Goku looked the man up and down. He didn't seam to be much of a threat, but the guy's use of energy last time made Goku hesitant.

"Where are we going?" Goku took a step forward. He couldn't feel much Ki coming from the man, so where was he getting all of his energy?

"That is of no concern of yours. Now, if you will..." Sei stepped toward Goku. A yellow line of energy, that looked much like a thin rope, grew in the mans hands. Goku stood his ground as the stranger drew closer. He wasn't going to stand and let this guy take him without a fight. Goku turned sideways, stepping back to drop into a fighting stance, his hands clenched tightly into fists in front of him. Goku's guard was high.

"I think I will stay right here." Goku's eyes grew hard and his mouth turned into a scowl. Sei stopped and looked at the black haired man.

"Have it your way, but I warn you, I am a lot stronger than I look." The light in Sei's hand vanished as he hurled himself at Goku. Goku was ready for him, throwing his hands forward and grabbing the front of the robe Sei wore, lifting him up above his head.

Sei was also ready for Goku's reaction; he brought one of his legs down and kicked Goku squarely in the chest. Goku let out a small grunt in surprise as he leaned back and away from Sei's foot.

Sei growled in slight anger and brought his knee up and into his opponents chin before pulling both legs up to his chest. As Goku put his head back down, Sei brought his legs down and onto Goku's chest; coiling them up like a spring before pushing off of Goku's solid chest and doing a back flip in the air so as to face the Saiyan again.

"Not bad Saiyan, but you are going to have to do a lot better than that to beat me." Sei ran at Goku again, this time as he reached the Saiyan, he flipped over Goku's head and wound up behind him.

Goku turned to him, but not quite fast enough; Sei had grabbed one of Goku's wrists and had wrapped one of the yellow lines of light around it. Sei grinned and back flipped away. Goku took a step to go after him, but something held him back.

He looked down at his wrist to see the yellow line glowing. "What...?" Sei laughed. Goku looked back up at him.

"That will keep you from moving so fast and well. You will notice that you can no longer lift your arm, correct? That Weight String finds your strength level and then doubles its own, making it impossible for you to move whatever the String is attached to. You will not be able to lift your arm until it is removed." Goku frowned as he clenched his fist and tried to pull his hand back to him, all the while still staring at his opponent.

Sei laughed again. "Now for the other arm and you will be finished." Sei moved toward Goku, another yellow rope of some kind of foreign energy in his hand. Goku stepped back and jumped at Sei, throwing a kind of drill kick into the mans stomach.

Sei moved enough to miss the full blow of the attack, but the edge of Goku's foot connected with Sei's side. The man flew sideways and collided with the grey, hard, wall, making a pile of rubble fall around him before quickly regenerating to make the wall whole again. Goku continued to glare at him as the room shook.

Goten opened his eyes and lifted his head off of his knees. He looked around as Sei climbed from the of rubble his run in with the wall had made. Sei frowned deeply as he looked up at Goku. "You are going to regret that."

He flew like a flash toward Goku.

Sei drove one of his knees into Goku's stomach and used his elbow to knock Goku's head around. Goten sat stunned at the scene before him as Sei began to through rapid punches into Goku's stomach and face. "Otousan...?" Goku turned his head back to Sei as the man backed off, his eyes narrowed in anger. A small amount of blood ran down Goku's lip and into his right eye.

"Now will you come quietly? I'm quite tired of playing around here. I have a lot of other work to do before today is over." Goten looked from his father's angry face to Sei's face, a face of which reminded him very much so of Vegeta.

"I'm not going anywhere with out Goten." Goku pulled again on the weight keeping his arm where it was and blinked blood out of his eye. Sei slowly began to smile. Goten watched as Sei put his hands together, his palms facing Goku.

"Fine, then you can die and stay here." A blood red ball of energy began to gather in Sei's hands. Goku locked his jaw as he took a wide stance, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Otousan! No!" Goten got to his feet and began running at Goku as Sei released his energy of dark blue with red sparks. "NO!" Goten cried as the ball of energy engulfed Goku. Something grabbed Goten's ankle and made him fall to his knees. "Otousan!" Goten said again as a flash of the red light from Sei's energy blast blinded him.

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Goku threw his free arm up to try to protect his face from the bright light of the energy Sei had let loose at him. He heard Goten his name as the light engulfed his body. Then his ears failed him and his breath seamed to stop. 'No...' Goku thought as time seamed to slow down. 'I can't leave Goten...'

'Goku... wake up... Goku...' Goku couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't breath, but something was calling to him... 'Goku, open your eyes...' The voice in his head kept calling to him.

'Goten...' Goku thought. 'Chichi... Gohan... Piccolo... Vegeta... I can't leave them...' Goku drifted off into a total blackness.

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Gohan walked back to Piccolo. "Did you find anything?" Piccolo shook his head.

"Hum..." Gohan hadn't had any luck either. "Did you feel it?" He asked suddenly turning back to his mentor. Piccolo looked at the Saiyan for a second.

"Yeah." Gohan's eyes filled with even more worry as Piccolo confirmed his feelings.

"Otousan..." Gohan's voice was barely a whisper. He turned away from Piccolo.

"Let's go." Piccolo turned and began walking off. Gohan followed after him. Gohan and Piccolo had both felt Goku's Ki disappear from their senses. Gohan could still feel Goten's and so the two followed his little brother's Ki, hoping beyond hope that they would not find Goku dead.

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Trunks shot past Vegeta, taking flight as he did. "Goten..." The teen muttered as the Saiyan in question's Ki got stronger. Vegeta had also felt Goku's Ki suddenly vanish and Goten's Ki flare up, but refused to move any faster toward their direction while his son was there. Trunks had also felt Goku suddenly vanish from his senses and now feared for Goten's safety.

Vegeta quickened his pace as soon as Trunks had gone. He had felt something unusual for him—a kind of worry... the word felt weird on his tongue, on his mind even. "Goten!" Vegeta heard his teen son shout. Vegeta turned a corner and saw Trunks lying on his stomach with his ear pressed against the floor.

"Now what the Hell're you doing?" Vegeta growled as he stopped over Trunks. The younger Saiyan didn't look up as he answered.

"It's Goten!" He told Vegeta. "Goten, can you hear me?!" Trunks asked back through the floor.

"Trunks?!" A small and almost distant answered back.

"Yeah! Stand back Goten, I'm gunna get you out!" Trunks stood up and aimed a Ki blast at the floor. He let it go, making the hall glow white for a second. Trunks dropped his hand in shock as the light faded to revel a very small crack in the floor. "Wha...?"

Vegeta stood watching as Trunks powered up, making his light purple hair stand straight up and change to a light gold color. Trunks gathered another Ki blast into his left hand, Vegeta noticed, and only his left hand. What else had happened in that room he had found his son in? The floor still held little more than a crack, even after all of Trunks' blasts.

Trunks screamed, his energy crackling around him as his Ki blast grew stronger. Vegeta shook his head and uncrossed one of his muscled arms to throw a single Ki blast at the same spot as Trunks. The added power broke through the floor.

"Goten!" Trunks flew into the hole and down into the darkness. Vegeta looked around once before he followed into the darkness.

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Goten knelt next to Goku's motionless body. Why had this happened? It wasn't fair. Goku shouldn't have died! 'I'm the one who should be dead...not Otousan...' Goten rubbed at his eyes as hot tears steadily filled them.

What was his mother going to say

"Otousan..." Goten looked over at Sei who stood watching the two. "You! Why did you kill him!?" The sad and angry Saiyan got to his feet and stood in between Goku's body and Sei. Goten couldn't hide the tears any longer, they began to fall down his cheeks like waterfalls. Sei looked at the crying teen a second before answering.

"I told him to come quietly. He wouldn't leave without you, and Lord said to separate him from you. I did what had to be done." Goten growled, his Saiyan power growing inside him. His hair began to stand straight up and sparks of power began to flash around him. Sei smiled.

"You won't last long in that form. Edin has taken your Ki away." Goten growled lightly, his anger still building. He wasn't going to let his Otousan's death go unpunished.

"That won't stop me. I will avenge Otousan's death..." Goten yelled and flew so quickly at Sei, that he got about ten good punches and kicks, sending the man under his attack flying into the wall once again; all of this happening before Sei realized what was going on.

"Not bad. Almost as good as him." Sei said as he got to his feet. The man nodded at Goku behind Goten. Goten yelled again and attacked harder.

"Don't talk about my Otousan!" Sei, now fully aware of Goten's ability, blocked every blow thrown his way. Goten began to scream as he attacked Sei harder and faster. Sei matched his movements, step by step.

Goten began to slow down. The Saiyans breathing began to become ragged and his blows less accurate. He could feel whatever Edin had down to his Ki taking effect. Goten's Ki was fading so quickly he dropped to the floor on his hand and knees. Sei looked at him as he lay gasping at his feet.

"Humph." Sei waited a second before stepping on Goten's back, making Goten's face smash into the hard, grey, floor. "Such a naughty boy," Sei spoke as he reached down and took one of Goten's hands into his own. The Saiyan winced as Sei bent his arm back further than it would have gone on its own.

"I wonder if all of you Saiyans are the same." Sei reached down and grabbed Goten's other hand, keeping his foot on the middle of his back the whole time. The teen on the floor bit his lip as more pain when through his shoulders.

"What's that—suppose to mean?" Goten gasped. Sei looked at Goten's hands as though seeing if they looked like any other humans.

"Oh nothing," Sei looked down at Goten as he tied a strand of yellow string around Goten's wrists. One hand held Goten's arms in the air, while his right hand reached down and rested against Goten's right shoulder bone. Sei moved so his knee was just barely on Goten's right shoulder blade. Goten bit his lip harder as the pressure on his shoulder grew.

"This might—" a loud noise like a POP! and CRUNCH! together echoed through the room. Goten screamed in pain. Tears filled his eyes, but he blinked them back. He wasn't going to cry, Otousan wouldn't cry. "—hurt a little." Sei finished.

He laughed as he got off of Goten. "Stupid, bad, little Saiyan. You shouldn't have put your nose into things." Goten's shoulder joint was know knocked out of place and his upper arm was snapped almost completely in half. Goten closed his eyes as Sei took his yellow rope of light off of his wrists. He lay breathing roughly, staring at nothing, as he arms fell apart and back to the ground.

"Let that be a small lesson to you to behave and do what is asked of you."

Sei laughed again as he walked back to the wall and left through the door he had entered from in the first place.

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'Goku...Goku open your eyes...' Goku moved his head. 'Goku...' The Saiyan moaned lightly and opened his eyes.

'Wha...?' Goku still couldn't move, but he was breathing again and he could see a bright yellow light instead of the blackness of earlier. 'Where am I...?'

'You cause a lot of trouble for someone who shouldn't be here.' The voice said in his head. 'You will not mess my chance up. I didn't mean for you to have to go through that, but you were messing with my plan.' Goku blinked as these words registered.

'Who... who are you? Where am I...?'

"My name is Edin, and you are inside my lab." The voice was no longer only inside Goku's head, but in his ears. He blinked again as his vision began to clear a little.

"Lab...?" Goku muttered as the room around him came into further focus. A set of crystal purple eyes locked with his. "Wha—?" The eyes lightened at Goku's voice.

"Good, you have finally awoken." Edin turned away and walked to the other side of the lab. Goku turned his head, a dull throb echoing in it. "Your son--Goten right?—was not doing what I brought him here to do while you were with him." Goku watched as this new man stopped in front of a black wall.

"What does Goten have to do with this?" Edin smiled at the screen and shook his head. His smile turned into a light laugh. Goku blinked. "What's so funny?" Goku tried to stand up, but something was still keeping him where he was.

"I am just surprised that you would not have known how strong your youngest son is." Edin pushed a button on the wall next to the screen and it lit up.

He turned back to Goku as the youngest of the teen Saiyans appeared on the screen behind him. "Your son has been giving me his power—lending it if you will. I will soon be more powerful than anyone in the galaxy." Edin stopped in front of Goku and looked into his eyes. He smiled almost too kindly to be real. "Even you." Edin laughed and turned back to the screen.

"What do you mean you've been taking Goten's power? How?" Goku's face was turned into one of question and confusion. He had never heard of someone taking someone else's Ki. Edin didn't reply to the question, instead he shushed Goku.

"Quiet, watch." Goku looked over Edin's shoulder as Goten got to his knees and walked over to someone's body.

"Hey! That's me!" Goku stared shocked as his own face came into view beside Goten.

"Yes, that kind of is you. It is a replica. Sei's attack replicated you, all of you, while sending your real body back here. That's why you were slow to rise before." Back on the screen, Goten was cradling his father's head with his one good arm.

"What did you do to him?" Goku asked seeing Goten's broken arm.

"Ah, Sei's work." Edin left his explanation at that. Goku turned back to the screen as an explosion rocked the building. "What the...?" Edin began to type quickly on a hidden keyboard. Goku saw Goten get to his feet and run to a hole in the ceiling.

"Trunks!" He yelled to someone off the screen.

"Damn..." Edin said as he turned back to Goku. He smiled as he walked back to Goku's side. "Well it seams your friends have come to save both of you."

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What does everybody think? Yes no? Please tell me! And I'm sorry about the delay, it was kinda my fault and the fact that I got like no reviews.... Grumble... anyway, I'm almost halfway through with ch. 5 so it will be up soon!

mystwriter