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As it turned out there were only two cooling system operators and one guard, so Vegeta and Goku's attack was a little over zealous. Luckily the two Saiya-jins had the element of surprise so they took the three down with little noise. Physically fighting with someone for the first time their 'new' bodies proved to be an interesting experience for both.
This reminder of how weak he had been rendered did not improve Vegeta's mood. Goku did not seem overly disturbed by his drop in power but considering their situation couldn't help but wish he could at least go SSJ 1. They dragged the bodies of the three unconscious Saiya-jins around the back of the tank, Vegeta considered killing them but immediately dismissed the idea if only because Goku would never allow it.
The Saiya-jin prince went to the control panel of the Temperature Regulation System and was pleased to find his memory had served him correctly. From that computer he could hack into the Compound's security systems, which would tell him the locations of every guard or servant in the palace. Goku watched him tapping deftly at the keyboard with mildly confused interest.
"What are you doing?" he asked inevitably.
Vegeta didn't look away from the screen but answered shortly, "Finding Ranorik."
"Would he still be in the palace?" the younger Saiya-jin went on.
"Yes," Vegeta retorted then pointed to the screen, "See, lower levels. That's were he would be at night. All the servants sleep down here..." The prince trailed off as more information came up on the screen, "He's on this level."
"Not far for us then," Goku commented. His tone suggested this was a good thing.
Vegeta didn't agree, "This is the maintenance floor, why would he come down here?" he muttered to himself. He tapped a few more keys hurriedly, "His key card shows the last room he entered was-"
The prince bit off the end of his sentence as his mouth snapped into a thin line of frustration and anger.
"Hey Vegeta," Goku started suddenly, turning away from the console to look around the room, "I think there's som-"
"I know," the Saiya-jin prince cut him off, trying to decide which particularly filthy Saiyan-go curse to utter first. He turned from the computer screen and scanned the shadows with his eyes and Ki. Sure enough both methods of sensing turned up a result.
Ranorik sidled out of the shadows with a smirk, "I suppose you thought that was terribly clever, my king," he said mockingly.
Vegeta growled under his breath, "My objective was to find you," he pointed out, "And that is what I've done. So yes, I do think it was terribly clever," he added scathingly.
"The two of us are stronger than you alone, so I suggest you start giving us some answers," Goku added his voice hardening in what Vegeta recognized at the tone he used when he had run out of patience. Not a harsh tone but definitely an ominous one. Vegeta himself had been at the receiving end of it many times before.
Ranorik glowered at them, "This isn't over yet," he told them, "I can swing things my way."
"I don't care about your petty plans to overthrow your king," Vegeta snapped but his wrath was slightly ruined when he shivered, "How did we get here and how do we get back?" he demanded.
"I can have this room filled with a dozen guards in a moment," Ranorik said conversationally.
Vegeta ground his teeth audibly, "This body may be weak but my anger at you is so much that I will find a way to harm you beyond repair," his voice practically oozed the promise of imminent pain and violence, "If you don't give me answers NOW!"
Ranorik, for all his contempt, paled slightly at this onslaught. He grimaced at his own weakness, "I suppose it makes no difference now," he muttered himself then looked at Vegeta and Goku critically as if weighing up their ability to understand, "You have heard of time travel?" he asked sounding put upon.
Both nodded, Goku somewhat more enthusiastically.
"Well," Ranorik sounding annoyed with himself, "Time travel is only possible is you don't change anything in the past to which you travel, which defeats the object. If you do change anything-"
"You spilt the future into another timeline, yes we know," Vegeta finished irritably, "Skip that part, what then?"
Ranorik looked surprised for a moment then continued, "I discovered that it didn't take much to adapt a time machine to be able to," he paused, "Surf? Peruse? Anyway, to travel to the different timelines or dimensions with ease. I could visit as many as a hundred a day." The advisor sounded excited despite himself.
Vegeta nodded in understanding, "But how did you know I existed?" he demanded.
Ranorik shrugged, "I didn't," he told them, "I just happened upon your timeline one day and that was when a brilliant idea occurred to me. The end to all my troubles with our weak king." He sneered slightly.
Vegeta gave a smirk, "Yes," he said sarcastically, "Brilliant."
Ranorik glowered at him but before he could retort Goku cut in, "How did you switch us?" he wanted to know.
The advisor sighed in irritation, "A short while ago we developed a molecular weapon," he started.
"What for?" Vegeta demanded suddenly, "Saiya-jins have no use for such things!"
"To sell," Ranorik told him maliciously.
Vegeta gave him a dirty look but before he could say anything Goku interrupted again, "Go on," he said forcefully.
Ranorik frowned as he remembered, "The beam was successful, too successful," he added, "The beam was designed to force pressure between the molecules of mass, people, animals, planets, you name it, effectively disintegrating them. But a side affect we didn't consider was that it would disrupt the molecules at a dimensional level," he sighed, "It was a mess, the entire timeline's inhabitants were switched instantly with random counterparts from other dimensions instead of destroying them."
"This timeline?" Goku asked with a frown.
"No," Ranorik told him, "We tested the weapon in another timeline, I'd already perfected my dimensional jump by that time."
Vegeta looked a bit confused, "But the weapon was designed to harm, why weren't the people disintegrated?"
"It seems the weapon's beam did reduce the people it hit into particles but it reformed them again, and the entire timeline it would seem, in another dimension only with that timeline's memories," the advisor told him wearily.
"Kind of like Instant Transmission for the mind," Goku said thoughtfully.
Vegeta shook his head in frustration, "I still don't understand," he growled, "Did you alter our entire timeline? Why are only Kakarot and I here?"
Ranorik smirked, "No, I found a way to concentrate the beam," he told him smugly, "I could eventually switch only one person's psyche between dimensions and now I can even dictate which dimensions I want them switched between."
Goku blinked hard while Vegeta stared at counsellor in a deceptively calm manner.
"Why is he here?" the Saiya-jin prince pointed at his friend.
Ranorik looked confused for the first time, "I'm not sure," he said truthfully, "When I arrived in your timeline you tried to fight us but we had superior ships and weapons so you couldn't do any damage." Vegeta made a face at this, "I fired the beam at you but he," the advisor gave Goku a disdainful look, "and you did some sort of...dance and next thing there was only one person before me. The beam hit that person but he didn't look like either of you while looking like both of you at the same time."
"Fusion," Goku murmured in understanding while Vegeta growled under his breath, not sure whether it was aimed at the advisor or his companion.
"I don't remember fighting you," the prince pointed out.
"That can be a side effect," Ranorik told him, "Memory loss. Not always but sometimes."
"What time of the day was it?" Goku asked suddenly.
Ranorik and Vegeta both looked blank.
"Midday, why?" the counsellor said eventually.
"If it was midday when we switched why did we wake up in the morning here on Vegeta-sei?" Goku wanted to know.
Ranorik laughed, "Don't be simple," he said, "The time on earth is not the same as here. Earth is approximately five hours ahead of us. I coordinated the switch."
"Are this timeline's versions of us in that body?" Vegeta demanded suddenly.
"Of course," Ranorik told him, "Before I left your timeline I saw the fused warrior turn back in to two. They looked a little confused," he laughed, "And that's an understatement."
"Your machine is still coordinated between out two timelines?" Vegeta wanted to know.
"Yes but don't think-" Whatever Ranorik had been about to say was cut off when Vegeta barrelled into him at midriff level slamming him backward into the side of the metal reservoir. The advisor slumped down to the ground slightly in shock and pain but Vegeta grabbed him by the collar and pressed him against the slick metal.
"Enough!" Vegeta snarled, "I am sick of you and this place. I am going home now and you are going to show me were you keep these machines of yours that will make it so."
Ranorik gasped for breath, fear evident in his face, "I ...but...how," he stammered in surprise at Vegeta's show of strength.
"Pure determination in the mind can out weigh the weakness of a body any day," Vegeta told him with a humourless smile, "Where?" he punctuated this question by slamming Ranorik against the reservoir again.
"The labs, second floor," Ranorik croaked.
"Thank-you," Vegeta said insincerely before rendering the man unconscious with excessive force.
Goku raised an eyebrow at the unconscious man at the prince's feet. Vegeta shrugged at the scrutiny, "I never did like him," he explained glibly.
"I can't believe they have weapons that are stronger than us," Goku commented.
Vegeta grimaced as he walked to the doorway, "If these Saiya-jins spent as much time training as they do developing weapons and technology, they'd be a lot stronger," he pointed out. The doors slid open soundlessly as he approached and the prince glanced out quickly. The halls were deserted at this time of night.
At his signal that the passage way was clear Goku followed him out. The two Saiya-jins quickly made their way to the second floor of the compound, where they would find Ranorik's laboratory and the time machine that would take them home.
As they entered the lab both paused momentarily to marvel at the sheer amounts of equipment and half completed machinery and weapons that lined the floor of the huge room. It seemed Ranorik devoted a lot of time to developing technology.
Vegeta dismissed the machinery and quickly searched through the warehouse- sized room until he found the most likely machine. It resembled the time machine Mirai Trunks had used to travel between his timeline and theirs but it was larger and held three seats. Goku wondered out loud why it would need three if only Ranorik used it.
Vegeta shrugged as he climbed the steps up the side and peered through the dome, "Maybe he toyed with the idea of doing a straight switch," he smirked, "Bet he dismissed that one pretty quickly," he turned and looked down at the younger Saiya-jin, "Looks like the beam is here in the time machine." He pointed to a large gun, which resembled a high tech bazooka.
Goku nodded slowly looking concerned about something, "How does this work?" he asked, "If we fire the beam on the other versions of us we'll get switched back right? But those versions of us will still be our timeline."
Vegeta thought about it, "Kill them?" he suggested just to see the look that appeared on the other Saiya-jins face, "Send them back here in the time machine then," he added climbing into the machine.
Goku scaled the ladder quickly, "But if we send the other Goku back here they'll execute him," he pointed out.
Vegeta sat down in one of the chairs and studied the control board, "What do you suggest Kakarot?" he snapped, "Invite him to stay at your house? Let him keep your body so he'll have a fighting chance?"
Goku sat down in the seat next to the prince's, "I don't know," he said with a sigh, "Just a thought."
"We'll deal with that when we get home," Vegeta told him, "Kami knows what we're going to find," he added actually sounding worried.
Goku nodded with a deep frown, "You know how to work this thing?"
"Of course," Vegeta lied unashamedly, pushing a button. To his relief a low hum started and the screens flickered to life. At least he knew how to turn it on.
The screen to the left of his hand showed the destination the machine was set for and Vegeta looked at the identification number for the dimension with a slight frown. It meant nothing to him; he just had to trust that Ranorik had been telling the truth. He also hoped that the machine would take them to earth and not to the Vegeta-sei of that timeline that just happened to not exist. Goku face showed even more confusion, as he couldn't even read the language.
Vegeta followed the prompts on the screen until it told him to hit the 'launch' button. He looked at the button beneath his finger, paused then buckled his safety belt. Goku copied him without question.
The Saiya-jin prince gave him a sidelong look and half smiled, "Ready?" he said.
Goku shook his head.
Vegeta smirked and pushed the button.
Hope you're enjoying!
As it turned out there were only two cooling system operators and one guard, so Vegeta and Goku's attack was a little over zealous. Luckily the two Saiya-jins had the element of surprise so they took the three down with little noise. Physically fighting with someone for the first time their 'new' bodies proved to be an interesting experience for both.
This reminder of how weak he had been rendered did not improve Vegeta's mood. Goku did not seem overly disturbed by his drop in power but considering their situation couldn't help but wish he could at least go SSJ 1. They dragged the bodies of the three unconscious Saiya-jins around the back of the tank, Vegeta considered killing them but immediately dismissed the idea if only because Goku would never allow it.
The Saiya-jin prince went to the control panel of the Temperature Regulation System and was pleased to find his memory had served him correctly. From that computer he could hack into the Compound's security systems, which would tell him the locations of every guard or servant in the palace. Goku watched him tapping deftly at the keyboard with mildly confused interest.
"What are you doing?" he asked inevitably.
Vegeta didn't look away from the screen but answered shortly, "Finding Ranorik."
"Would he still be in the palace?" the younger Saiya-jin went on.
"Yes," Vegeta retorted then pointed to the screen, "See, lower levels. That's were he would be at night. All the servants sleep down here..." The prince trailed off as more information came up on the screen, "He's on this level."
"Not far for us then," Goku commented. His tone suggested this was a good thing.
Vegeta didn't agree, "This is the maintenance floor, why would he come down here?" he muttered to himself. He tapped a few more keys hurriedly, "His key card shows the last room he entered was-"
The prince bit off the end of his sentence as his mouth snapped into a thin line of frustration and anger.
"Hey Vegeta," Goku started suddenly, turning away from the console to look around the room, "I think there's som-"
"I know," the Saiya-jin prince cut him off, trying to decide which particularly filthy Saiyan-go curse to utter first. He turned from the computer screen and scanned the shadows with his eyes and Ki. Sure enough both methods of sensing turned up a result.
Ranorik sidled out of the shadows with a smirk, "I suppose you thought that was terribly clever, my king," he said mockingly.
Vegeta growled under his breath, "My objective was to find you," he pointed out, "And that is what I've done. So yes, I do think it was terribly clever," he added scathingly.
"The two of us are stronger than you alone, so I suggest you start giving us some answers," Goku added his voice hardening in what Vegeta recognized at the tone he used when he had run out of patience. Not a harsh tone but definitely an ominous one. Vegeta himself had been at the receiving end of it many times before.
Ranorik glowered at them, "This isn't over yet," he told them, "I can swing things my way."
"I don't care about your petty plans to overthrow your king," Vegeta snapped but his wrath was slightly ruined when he shivered, "How did we get here and how do we get back?" he demanded.
"I can have this room filled with a dozen guards in a moment," Ranorik said conversationally.
Vegeta ground his teeth audibly, "This body may be weak but my anger at you is so much that I will find a way to harm you beyond repair," his voice practically oozed the promise of imminent pain and violence, "If you don't give me answers NOW!"
Ranorik, for all his contempt, paled slightly at this onslaught. He grimaced at his own weakness, "I suppose it makes no difference now," he muttered himself then looked at Vegeta and Goku critically as if weighing up their ability to understand, "You have heard of time travel?" he asked sounding put upon.
Both nodded, Goku somewhat more enthusiastically.
"Well," Ranorik sounding annoyed with himself, "Time travel is only possible is you don't change anything in the past to which you travel, which defeats the object. If you do change anything-"
"You spilt the future into another timeline, yes we know," Vegeta finished irritably, "Skip that part, what then?"
Ranorik looked surprised for a moment then continued, "I discovered that it didn't take much to adapt a time machine to be able to," he paused, "Surf? Peruse? Anyway, to travel to the different timelines or dimensions with ease. I could visit as many as a hundred a day." The advisor sounded excited despite himself.
Vegeta nodded in understanding, "But how did you know I existed?" he demanded.
Ranorik shrugged, "I didn't," he told them, "I just happened upon your timeline one day and that was when a brilliant idea occurred to me. The end to all my troubles with our weak king." He sneered slightly.
Vegeta gave a smirk, "Yes," he said sarcastically, "Brilliant."
Ranorik glowered at him but before he could retort Goku cut in, "How did you switch us?" he wanted to know.
The advisor sighed in irritation, "A short while ago we developed a molecular weapon," he started.
"What for?" Vegeta demanded suddenly, "Saiya-jins have no use for such things!"
"To sell," Ranorik told him maliciously.
Vegeta gave him a dirty look but before he could say anything Goku interrupted again, "Go on," he said forcefully.
Ranorik frowned as he remembered, "The beam was successful, too successful," he added, "The beam was designed to force pressure between the molecules of mass, people, animals, planets, you name it, effectively disintegrating them. But a side affect we didn't consider was that it would disrupt the molecules at a dimensional level," he sighed, "It was a mess, the entire timeline's inhabitants were switched instantly with random counterparts from other dimensions instead of destroying them."
"This timeline?" Goku asked with a frown.
"No," Ranorik told him, "We tested the weapon in another timeline, I'd already perfected my dimensional jump by that time."
Vegeta looked a bit confused, "But the weapon was designed to harm, why weren't the people disintegrated?"
"It seems the weapon's beam did reduce the people it hit into particles but it reformed them again, and the entire timeline it would seem, in another dimension only with that timeline's memories," the advisor told him wearily.
"Kind of like Instant Transmission for the mind," Goku said thoughtfully.
Vegeta shook his head in frustration, "I still don't understand," he growled, "Did you alter our entire timeline? Why are only Kakarot and I here?"
Ranorik smirked, "No, I found a way to concentrate the beam," he told him smugly, "I could eventually switch only one person's psyche between dimensions and now I can even dictate which dimensions I want them switched between."
Goku blinked hard while Vegeta stared at counsellor in a deceptively calm manner.
"Why is he here?" the Saiya-jin prince pointed at his friend.
Ranorik looked confused for the first time, "I'm not sure," he said truthfully, "When I arrived in your timeline you tried to fight us but we had superior ships and weapons so you couldn't do any damage." Vegeta made a face at this, "I fired the beam at you but he," the advisor gave Goku a disdainful look, "and you did some sort of...dance and next thing there was only one person before me. The beam hit that person but he didn't look like either of you while looking like both of you at the same time."
"Fusion," Goku murmured in understanding while Vegeta growled under his breath, not sure whether it was aimed at the advisor or his companion.
"I don't remember fighting you," the prince pointed out.
"That can be a side effect," Ranorik told him, "Memory loss. Not always but sometimes."
"What time of the day was it?" Goku asked suddenly.
Ranorik and Vegeta both looked blank.
"Midday, why?" the counsellor said eventually.
"If it was midday when we switched why did we wake up in the morning here on Vegeta-sei?" Goku wanted to know.
Ranorik laughed, "Don't be simple," he said, "The time on earth is not the same as here. Earth is approximately five hours ahead of us. I coordinated the switch."
"Are this timeline's versions of us in that body?" Vegeta demanded suddenly.
"Of course," Ranorik told him, "Before I left your timeline I saw the fused warrior turn back in to two. They looked a little confused," he laughed, "And that's an understatement."
"Your machine is still coordinated between out two timelines?" Vegeta wanted to know.
"Yes but don't think-" Whatever Ranorik had been about to say was cut off when Vegeta barrelled into him at midriff level slamming him backward into the side of the metal reservoir. The advisor slumped down to the ground slightly in shock and pain but Vegeta grabbed him by the collar and pressed him against the slick metal.
"Enough!" Vegeta snarled, "I am sick of you and this place. I am going home now and you are going to show me were you keep these machines of yours that will make it so."
Ranorik gasped for breath, fear evident in his face, "I ...but...how," he stammered in surprise at Vegeta's show of strength.
"Pure determination in the mind can out weigh the weakness of a body any day," Vegeta told him with a humourless smile, "Where?" he punctuated this question by slamming Ranorik against the reservoir again.
"The labs, second floor," Ranorik croaked.
"Thank-you," Vegeta said insincerely before rendering the man unconscious with excessive force.
Goku raised an eyebrow at the unconscious man at the prince's feet. Vegeta shrugged at the scrutiny, "I never did like him," he explained glibly.
"I can't believe they have weapons that are stronger than us," Goku commented.
Vegeta grimaced as he walked to the doorway, "If these Saiya-jins spent as much time training as they do developing weapons and technology, they'd be a lot stronger," he pointed out. The doors slid open soundlessly as he approached and the prince glanced out quickly. The halls were deserted at this time of night.
At his signal that the passage way was clear Goku followed him out. The two Saiya-jins quickly made their way to the second floor of the compound, where they would find Ranorik's laboratory and the time machine that would take them home.
As they entered the lab both paused momentarily to marvel at the sheer amounts of equipment and half completed machinery and weapons that lined the floor of the huge room. It seemed Ranorik devoted a lot of time to developing technology.
Vegeta dismissed the machinery and quickly searched through the warehouse- sized room until he found the most likely machine. It resembled the time machine Mirai Trunks had used to travel between his timeline and theirs but it was larger and held three seats. Goku wondered out loud why it would need three if only Ranorik used it.
Vegeta shrugged as he climbed the steps up the side and peered through the dome, "Maybe he toyed with the idea of doing a straight switch," he smirked, "Bet he dismissed that one pretty quickly," he turned and looked down at the younger Saiya-jin, "Looks like the beam is here in the time machine." He pointed to a large gun, which resembled a high tech bazooka.
Goku nodded slowly looking concerned about something, "How does this work?" he asked, "If we fire the beam on the other versions of us we'll get switched back right? But those versions of us will still be our timeline."
Vegeta thought about it, "Kill them?" he suggested just to see the look that appeared on the other Saiya-jins face, "Send them back here in the time machine then," he added climbing into the machine.
Goku scaled the ladder quickly, "But if we send the other Goku back here they'll execute him," he pointed out.
Vegeta sat down in one of the chairs and studied the control board, "What do you suggest Kakarot?" he snapped, "Invite him to stay at your house? Let him keep your body so he'll have a fighting chance?"
Goku sat down in the seat next to the prince's, "I don't know," he said with a sigh, "Just a thought."
"We'll deal with that when we get home," Vegeta told him, "Kami knows what we're going to find," he added actually sounding worried.
Goku nodded with a deep frown, "You know how to work this thing?"
"Of course," Vegeta lied unashamedly, pushing a button. To his relief a low hum started and the screens flickered to life. At least he knew how to turn it on.
The screen to the left of his hand showed the destination the machine was set for and Vegeta looked at the identification number for the dimension with a slight frown. It meant nothing to him; he just had to trust that Ranorik had been telling the truth. He also hoped that the machine would take them to earth and not to the Vegeta-sei of that timeline that just happened to not exist. Goku face showed even more confusion, as he couldn't even read the language.
Vegeta followed the prompts on the screen until it told him to hit the 'launch' button. He looked at the button beneath his finger, paused then buckled his safety belt. Goku copied him without question.
The Saiya-jin prince gave him a sidelong look and half smiled, "Ready?" he said.
Goku shook his head.
Vegeta smirked and pushed the button.
Hope you're enjoying!