Chapter 3
Goten had woke up quickly, just in time to speak to Goku one last time, and to watch him disappear. Goku's body had sheltered Goten from a lot of the blast, so he hadn't been as affected as some of the Z fighters. "Daddy!" he screamed as the ship's doors slammed shut behind his father.
Stritle walked up to Goten, still carrying the small screaming bundle. "Seems your father had a change of heart," he grinned at the boy. Goten growled, and struggled mightily. "Yes, the poor guy gave in to save your pitiful lives. And the life of this small creature," he said holding up Chikou. She was still wailing her tail thrashing with her angst. "Let me have her!" Goten roared, and Stritle placed the baby on Goten's stomach. Instantly, Chikou stopped crying and she looked at her older brother with tear-filled eyes.
"Whe'ow Daddy go?" Chikou asked a quaver in her voice.
At her words, Goten felt himself quiver. Her voice was so like the voice inside of him that was asking the same question.
"Well, boy, say good-bye."
"What do you mean?" Goten asked suspiciously.
"To your sister, of course. Just a precautionary in case your father gets out of control. We weren't expecting him to be that strong."
"You don't need Chikou for that!" Goten grated indignantly, freshly aware of him promise to his father to protect his sister. "Take me instead. I want to be near Dad. Leave Chikou with Mom. Please."
"No," Gohan's broken voice came to Goten, "take me. Take me instead of Dad and Chikou. Please."
Stritle looked at them both and snorted. "Oh, you're bringing me close to tears. Never have I seen such devotion." He mimed wiping away a tear. "Well, maybe...nope sorry, I think I've made up my mind."
"You promised Dad!" Goten screamed.
"You think that matters to the likes of him, Goten?" Piccolo's voice grated dully.
"Idiot," Vegeta's voice came to Goten, "he's not letting any of us go, at least not until he has Kakarott safely off this planet. And of course he won't show Kakarott his brat unless the occasion is deemed necessary." Vegeta turned his arrogant gaze on Stritle, "However, don't think you will get away with this. You shouldn't force Kakarott to do something. It will always backfire. I will not allow you to take him away, I will be the one to defeat him."
"I don't have any idea who Kakarott is," the reptile laughed, "but you are right about one thing. We're not letting you loose until we are long gone. Let's go men," and with that, he turned and picking up Chikou, who instantly started screaming again, he turned and disappeared into the ship.
"Daddy," Gohan whispered.
"Chikou," echoed Goten.
Then there was silence as the auxiliary thrusters propelled the ship upward and Goku disappeared. A few more moments, and the bands disappeared, but the Z fighters were left with no where to go.
"Kakarott," Vegeta whispered in a shocked voice.
Just then Trunks woke up. "What's going on? Where's your dad, Goten?" he asked.
The floodgates opened, and Goten began to cry.
"That was incredible," Master Istimus said, awe strong in his voice. "He's incredible. I'm certainly glad I listened to the seer. Aren't you glad I listened to you, Seer?"
A pale slip of a girl sat in the corner, chained to the wall. "He is not fully under your control, Master," she intoned in a hollow voice. "If you are to achieve your objective, you must have mastery over him. You must prove to him that it is in his best interests to cooperate, as you did me."
"Very well, Seer. I'll bring him here."
The Seer smiled in triumph, but Istimus did not see it.
Looking down from high above, Goku was tempted to do instant transmission, but his promise stopped him short. If he'd have known Chikou was on the ship, he wouldn't have even thought about leaving until she was returned to him.
A strange looking blue alien came to his door and buzzed. Goku had a visual camera where he could see who was outside, but he had no interest in opening the door.
"Come on," the creature yelled, "orders of the Master."
Instantly Goku opened the door. "What does he want?" he asked curious.
"He orders you to come and meet with him. I'm to show you the way."
Goku followed the strange alien around the ship. The creature in front of him was barely as strong as Krillen, but he moved quickly. The soon approached a large door. The blue alien knocked and the doors shifted open. "Enter," a sultry voice echoed from the chamber.
Goku walked in, his vacant expression on his face. Sometimes if the enemy thought you were dumb, they underestimated you in battle.
Sitting on the throne was a large humanoid creature. He had the body shape of a man, but his build was more muscular than any man ever made. He had the legs of a cheetah, but built with stamina as well. He face remained human-looking, but the eyes were stuck in a permanant scowl, and he jaw bulged with muscles. He also had cocked ears that tilted like a collie's. However, it wasn't his looks that were impressive. It was his very presence. He seemed to emanate something vile, evil, and malicious. Even sitting still, he almost blew Goku away with the force of his chi. However, Goku could tell the "Master" had no idea how to dampen or hide his chi. Goku kept his own very low.
As Goku had sized up the "master", the Master had also sized up Goku. He didn't seem very impressed with what he saw. He saw a tall man, with strong features, but a vapid expression colored the features, adding a sense that the creature was either dumb or ignorant. He walked with the grace of a cat, and his presence was full of confidence. He seemed tense and prepared, even as he looked around wide-eyed, taking in everything. Istimus had seen enough on his screen however, to know he was not to underestimate this creature.
There was someone sitting in the shadows beside the "Master", but to Goku's sight they were hidden so far in the shadows, it was hard to make them out. Goku stood, letting the creature stare at him, waiting for it to make the first move.
"Hello, Goku," the humanoid said smoothly, "I trust your inauguration went smoothly."
Goku quickly decided stupid was not the way to play it with this guy. Goku wanted information, and the only way to get that was to intelligently ask questions. "Why am I here?" Goku asked, skipping over the pleasantries, his face hardening into its battle mask. He was not going to play it nice with his kidnapper.
"Why such rudeness!" the creature exclaimed, "and here I was led to believe you were such a nice guy."
Goku's look didn't change. He simply waited.
"Very well," the creature sighed in its silky voice, "I'll tell you. Well, actually I'll let her tell you. How about that, Seer?"
From the shadows something rustled and a creature came out, dragging a chain. It was a small wraith-like creature, and as she gazed with bright green eyes into Goku's black ones, he could sense the strength of the creature's soul. Goku grew outraged.
"Why is she tied up like that?" he roared in anger, his chi soaring out of his control.
Istimus watched him calmly. "She likes the chains. She says they make her feel secure," he explained, with a small smile on his curling lips. His ears were cocked toward Goku with interest.
"Don't worry about her," he continued, "you'll soon be in the same position. Now continue, Seer."
"I have seen you Goku, since before you were born. The day I met Master Istimus, I had a vision of your birth. I saw your mother, a beautiful creature she was as she put you in the incubation chamber. She saw you power level reading, but knowing Freeza would control you if he knew, she changed it to a much lower reading. Then she went to a battle and never came back. I then saw your father come and look at the reading and leave in disgust.
"The next vision of you I had, you were a young wild boy. Mean and viscous as any Saiyan ever, you were on your way to conquering the world, then came the fatalistic fall where you bumped your head. I saw you afterwards, a nice sweet child, and hardly recognizable as the same lad.
"I don't know why I always saw you, even at times when I'd see some sign of the Master's future, I'd see bits of you growing up. I saw you becoming stronger, and though the human taught you as well as he could, if you'd have been taught by a Saiyan you would have already been stronger than the Saiyan Prince at that point, and he undoubtably would have killed you."
"I saw you meet your brother, and I saw you kill him, and die along with him. I wept at your death, for I thought the visions would end, but instead I saw you travel the snake road and pass all expectations as you finally received the type of training you should have received from the start.
"I saw you defeat the Saiyans and overcome your heritage. I saw the difference between you and them, and the strength of spirit you exhibited.
"I saw you defeat Freeza, and my heart soared with joy as you became a Super Saiyan, cementing yourself finally as the strongest of the Saiyans. I saw the love you exhibited for your family, especially your son, Gohan as you trained him to become the strongest he could be.
"I saw you succumb to the heart virus and my heart ached for your pain. I couldn't sleep for worrying about you. However, I also saw you come back stronger, and ready for whatever might come.
"I saw you give up your life so the earth would be saved when you fought Cell, and again I despaired, especially when you declined to come back to life. I almost lost all hope at that point, for my visions of you provided the little joy in my life. However, I continued to see you, and to watch you train in the next dimension. I saw you improve drastically, and saw the gap widen between you and the rest.
"I saw you return and saw your reunion with your youngest son. Oh how I wept at that meeting. I wept with joy for the first time in my life. I saw you fight Vegeta again, knowing you could have beat him in an instant if you had wanted to humiliate him. I saw his anger when he returned and the struggle you had to convince him to fuse. I saw Vegetto and the end of Vegetto. I saw you destroy Buu and once again save the earth. I saw your power continue to grow. I saw your joy with your family, and then I saw my visions of the future of the Master mesh with you, and saw that you were the only obstacle standing in the Master's way. Sadly, I cannot lie about my visions to him, so now you are under the Master's control. I urge you Goku, don't fight, though I know you will. It will be easier if you just do what he asks. He is still much stronger than you."
The Seer's voice had been strong, though her body seemed weak. Goku stood in amazement as she'd told of his life story. His mother had changed his reading? That might explain a few things. Goku looked at Istimus and said, "What are you up to? What exactly am I in the way of?"
"Why universal domination of course," Istimus said with a smile. "I want to be ruler of the universe, and I want every living creature to be under my sway."
"I'll never let you do it," Goku declared hotly, and the Seer gave a cry and covered her eyes.
Goku missed Istimus moving. One moment he was in his seat, the next he was slamming his fist into Goku's face. Goku flew across the room and hit the wall, and as he got up he began to power up. Istimus however, never gave him the chance to finish. He slammed his fist into Goku's face again and then grabbed him by the arm, and slammed him face toward his leg as he brought his leg up. Goku screamed on impact and something snapped in his arm. Then Istimus swung him by his broken arm into the wall, which surprisingly did not dent. Over and over he bashed Goku into the wall and Goku struggled to fight back. He was able at least to transform to Super Saiyan, and managed to get out of his grip for an instant. Instantly he was at Super Saiyan 3. Istimus however, just grinned and zipped behind him, grabbing him by his hair.
"Long hair," he whispered in Goku's ear, "may look cool to some, but it is a major liability in a fight." Then he swung Goku around by his hair and sent him crashing into the wall. Goku got up slowly, bleeding from several different places. His arm hung limply, and one of his eyes was swelled shut. He also couldn't stand very well on one of his legs. As he got up, Istimus raced forward and slamming his fist into Goku's gut carried him across the floor at top speed and into the wall. Goku screamed as bile or blood rose in his throat. Then, quick as lightning, Istimus knocked Goku straight up into the ceiling. Goku tried to flip so he landed more gently, but all it accomplished, was to slam one leg into the ceiling, where it snapped. Goku remained floating though he was in excruciating pain. He again tried to power up, but he couldn't muster his chi. Istimus appeared in front of him and head-butted him. Goku gasped and the Istimus spun around and planted a foot into the small of his back and sent him crashing into the floor. Goku felt a few of his ribs crack and as he struggled to stand up, Istimus came down and planted his elbow into the small of Goku's back. Goku groaned and began choking. This time he stayed down. He managed to roll slightly onto his back, and Istimus kicked him cruelly in the side. Then he tucked his foot under Goku's side, flipped him into the air, and kicked him into the wall again. Goku slid down the wall and tried to concentrate on breathing. It seemed for some reason to be extremely difficult.
"Still conscious?" the snide voice came in his ear, "Wow, you really are resilient. Do you concede? Call me Master and I will let up."
Goku spit onto Istimus's foot and holding himself on one arm, kicked Istimus in the gut with all his remaining strength. Goku wasn't too surprised when it didn't even affect him, but smiling, Istimus grabbed Goku's foot and slowly began to twist it, all the while talking in that soothing voice, "Well, it's a shame you and I can't seem to get along. Maybe if you break a few more bones, you will agree to work with me? We could accomplish great things together. You are by far the strongest of my servants, work willingly with me, and no one will stand against you."
Goku gritted his teeth as he felt his leg begin to snap. "No," he gritted, and Istimus grinning twisted the leg. Goku to lessen the pain, tried to twist with it, but Istimus, seeing what he was about, brought his weight to bear on Goku's stomach and continued to twist his leg. Goku heard a bone snap, and then another one. The only time in his life he could compare to the pain of this was when Vegeta as an Ozaru had stepped on his legs, crushing them completely. Another bone snapped and Goku screamed, but still he would not help this madman. Another bone snapped, followed by another one. Istimus pushed harder on Goku's stomach with his foot, and then dropped Goku's leg. "Well, that didn't work," he grinned, "let's try this." Then he jumped on Goku's shattered leg. The pain was so much Goku couldn't scream, he simply laid gasping on the floor.
"Well, seems we might need to continue this lesson tomorrow, unless you concede?" he asked again in that smoothly, pleasant voice.
"No," Goku gasped, and Istimus kicked him into the button on the door, opening it to reveal the guards. "Take him to his room. Do not attend to his injuries. Do not treat him with care. No food nor water is to be accorded him. Understood?"
The guards nodded, and picking up Goku's half-conscious body carried him away.
Istimus turned and looked at the Seer, "Well, what do you see now?"
"I see your downfall fast approaching."
"What must I do to avoid it?"
"Physical pain is not enough with this Saiyan. You must tear him from what he cares about, or hypnotize him to only serve you. The latter would most likely work the best. Then send him on a bloodbath mission so his former self is utterly destroyed."
"Why did you not tell me this earlier? It would have saved us a lot of time."
She smiled slightly, and lowered her gaze. "Well?" he asked.
"I wanted to see him."