(A/N: Sorry it took me a while to put this chapter up, but the next one will be even longer because I have other things to work on (like catching up on schoolwork just before finals xx)! So, enjoy this one; it should be longer than normal, and it's really good; I liked this chapter. Um...I think I talk to much so let me finish by sending out a complaint to my rock radio station for playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving! Where's the rock? What the hell happened to the good rock station!!!!!!! Sorry, people; I had to get that out of my system. Oh! And there's clips from two songs in this one; see if you can get them. )
CMG—Were you just hyped up when you reviewed or do you always act so crazy? If you always act like that, then I can give you some pointers on how to hide from the people in white; they don't come to my house anymore. Anyway, yes the song came from Blink 182 (one of their most famous songs, I might add), but of course you knew that already. Let's see; what else can I say? Oh yes, I get upset whenever I kill any character in my stories; heck, I nearly cried when I killed Psyfoam! (Don't ask) But, you have to remember it is Psyfoam's return, and this time everyone is scattered around the planet, so...easy targets. Bad deal there. Enjoy this next chapter! (I do talk too much...)
I am
Little bit of
loneliness
A little bit
of disregard
A handful of
complaints
But I can't
help the fact
That everyone
can feel these scars.
Cannot cease for the fear of silent nights.
Oh how I long for the deep sleep dreaming.
The goddess of imaginary light...
Chapter Four: Faint, Imaginary Light
Supreme Kai sighed again when yet another dead fighter shrugged his shoulders and walked off. There didn't seem to be anybody here that knew what the hell he was talking about, and he hadn't really expected anyone to understand. Not many even knew Psyfoam existed—his existence had been a secret from the very beginning—so why would they care if that demon had returned to wreak havoc? Mentioning Goku or Earth did no good; no one believed that Goku could fail a fight. They were all too arrogant and blind to see what was right in front of their faces. And there was nothing he could do about it!
"Is there not anyone on this Kai forsaken planet that died fighting against Psyfoam?" He shouted in frustration, nearly screaming louder than necessary. Most looked at him warily, lowered their eyes, and walked off without a word. "I give..." His arms midway up in the air, Supreme Kai stopped where he was, meeting the gaze of a well-known warrior. Pikkon. He should know something. How did he die again?
The green figure walked straight, his eyes empty of emotion, his face hardened as if frozen in time. Supreme Kai stood to his full height and smiled, but Pikkon still surpassed him. Hell, Pikkon came close to surpassing Goku, in height only of course. The green man's turban waved lightly in a very slight breeze, Supreme Kai's long hair moving in the same direction.
"Psyfoam is how I died," Pikkon said simply and the purple Kai felt his eyes widen in shock. How could I not know that? I've memorized Psyfoam's life as far back as I could take it...When did Pikkon die again? Pikkon's voice was as hard as his face, never blinking, never stammering. "He was on the verge of destroying my planet, the blast ready to shoot and everything..."
...He stood as still as he could make himself with fear wanting to turn him to madness. The wind rustled his cape as he gulped down his fear. It wasn't for his life; it was fear for his planet, his kind. He wanted to protect them all, but Psyfoam was just too strong. None of them deserved to die, the planet least of all.
Psyfoam was in the atmosphere above, a tiny black speck from the ground where he stood, but Pikkon could still see the evil smirk. Sweat ran down his face at the utter calm on Psyfoam's disgusting face, the stillness of Psyfoam's cape. There wasn't much wind at that altitude, but that cape was a little too still for comfort.
Pikkon blinked, all he did was blink, and a huge black energy blast was right in his face. No! My planet must survive! He held out his arms to block the blast, even though he knew it to be near impossible. Confidence is what sways the battle; luck decides which way it sways. Most of his kind's sayings had proved unreliable in this battle, but this one seemed to shout to stand out. Pikkon smirked and believed in the impossible, believing he could block Psyfoam's attack. Maybe it was the confidence that did sway the battle, but a glowing light in his pocket begged to differ...
...Supreme Kai scratched his head after Pikkon delivered his own death story. The purple Kai was confused. "What does the glowing light have to do with anything?"
Pikkon's answer held some of his own confusion, but confusion masked by acceptance. Acceptance of what? The answer came as quite a shock. All Pikkon had to do was hold up a clear, glowing crystal, and Supreme Kai understood instantly.
"An energy crystal?" He whispered, his voice tight.
Pikkon nodded, his eyes just a tad full of wonder. Probably wonders how I know. "It's a very mysterious thing. I still don't know how it works, but it must do something marvelous. Because of this little crystal, my planet was spared even though my own life was taken."
Supreme Kai took the crystal offered to him and began examining it. There were no dents, no scratches, not even a speck of dust clung to it, even though the light winked out for no apparent reason. "I bet my elder will have some idea what this is. And if not, I'll rush to Earth before he can tell me not to." That brought a grin to Pikkon's face, a laughter grin. As Supreme Kai fazed out he realized why. I sound and act so much more like a child every day I spend with my great elder. No wonder he seems annoyed at me more than usual all of a sudden.
--
Mikirubai (Me-Key-Ru-Bi). That name pulsed through his head as he stared at an open book. The picture of a woman clad in red and black caught his eye. On her forehead, an ancient symbol blared to be known, almost popping out of the book. That symbol; it was an ancient symbol that he couldn't seem to recognize no matter how many times he squinted at it. Lines criss-crossed each other to where it almost appeared to show an 'm' marked over a 'w' inside that symbol. What did it mean? Sometimes he hated the way some ancient occurrences seemed to slip his mind.
The symbol pulsed again, and he was certain the picture changed positions. He wasn't positive she had moved, but now she seemed to be calling or beckoning with one out-stretched hand. Her other hand gripped a strange scepter that boasted the strange symbol and the words: Rah Mikirubai. Mikirubai. He was certain that was her name and Rah was her title name like "Lord, King, Guardian, or Kai," but what was a Rah? Someone of great power, but what? Mikirubai. The name sounded familiar all of sudden. Mikirubai.
"Great Elder?" He dropped the book, startled at the voice behind him. The book burst into dust as soon as his hands lift its pages. One of those magical books, he supposed. The dust would recollect itself and reform itself in about a thousand years, but for now the information was lost.
He turned on the one called Supreme Kai, or Kaioshin, as he would start calling him from now on. "What do you want? Can't you see how close I was to uncovering a mystery?"
Kaioshin flinched and took a step backwards, his eyes full of sorrowful repentance. That was a shocker right there. Had his voice been that hard? "Sorry to disturb you, but I think I've made an important discovery."
Kaioshin made no move to show or tell his discovery so Old Kai felt the need to press him. "What is it?" He mumbled only with a partial real wanting to know.
The younger Kai put his hand in his coat pocket and drew out a blemish-less crystal. Nothing was odd or strange about it, except for the perfect way it had been cut. Nothing was wrong about it, nothing at all. And that alone was enough to make him stare.
"Sir, I found an energy crystal," Kaioshin muttered, his voice unexpectantly quiet.
Old Kai couldn't help feeling that he should know what Kaioshin was talking about. Something else held his thoughts right now. Mikirubai. That name! That person! He knew who that was; somehow, in some back region of his mind he knew that name. Mikirubai. She was a magician, and a very powerful one at that, but who was she? Mikirubai.
"Sir?" Kaioshin sounded confused, yet apprehensive for some reason. What is he so excited about? He's not going anywhere.
He would have to show this younger generation somehow that rash decisions helped no one. He knew exactly what Kaioshin was excited about, and he was not going to allow it no matter what the younger Kai had in mind.
--
In a far away place, or at least some place dark, a woman clicked her blood red fingernails together while she studied the back of her eyelids. Her black, skin tight clothes were damp with sweat, her breathing irregular, her smooth black hair stuck to her bare shoulders, and her fingernails clicked harder and harder with every breath. A strange symbol began to glow, a bright blue bouncing off in tremendous light waves.
A scepter draped in a blood red cloak began to lift above the ground, the same symbol showing through the blood red, giving off an almost purplish glow. Just as the scepter reached arm's reach, the woman grunted, grabbed her rod without ever opening her eyes, twirled it so the cape flew into the air, stood up, pointed the scepter at the only opening in the room, and finally opened her ruby eyes as dark light fled from her magical scepter.
Her breathing calmed and the glow on her forehead retracted to a simple tattoo-looking symbol. She straightened, the red cloak landing squarely on her shoulders, the scepter standing straight in her handgrip. The letters on the almost cane looking rod were fashioned just precisely so to confused many readers. Only a few lucky souls had ever understood "her" language, her people's language and fashion of lettering. Most of her kind were dead, but one had by chance partway survived; she said "part way" because that "one" had been a fusion.
She walked down the corridor of dungeons that streamed from her throne chamber. A death scream brought her to the side of one of her most trusted servants, a dead servant if she ever saw one. She mourned at the sight of his face, leaning down to give him "life" again. Bartimus had possessed a great personality, one that made her laugh; now he would just be a lifeless soul following her every command. Where was the fun in that? She sparked a power of white magic and forced it down the dead servant's throat. She sighed as Bartimus stood and bowed like all of her other soulless friends in this place.
"You can start the day by cleaning out my throne room; it's starting to get a little dusty." Bartimus bowed and left her presence immediately. She sighed. Once, his personality had caused him to stay and flirt all the while playing the willful servant; she would miss the laughs he had provoked from her, and whoever killed him would pay in their own blood.
She stood up, her forehead symbol glowering brightly. She knew exactly who had killed Bartimus; who else but an escaping prisoner? Long ago she had sworn that the Saiyan fusion that went by name of Vree would feel pain at her touch for stopping her conquest to save Psyfoam. She had been so close then; so close! And just as her plan finally began unfolding now, her favorite serving man killed by one of the Saiyans that created Vree. She had underestimated him before; she would not do the same again.z
--
Vee shivered despite his earlier bravery. He swam in a sea of darkness, a sea that had appeared out of nowhere and drowned him in the dark. His limbs he could feel were stretched out in a harsh position, and his stomach was pressed against a hard surface but floor, wall, or ceiling he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of much of anything now, except for his fear of the dark. Calm down, Vee. Psyfoam's not here; he's dead; he can't hurt you anymore. Damn it! Where's your Saiyan pride? Calm down!
"Look what I've caught; a little fly in my big web!" The woman voice sounded angry coming from above his head, real angry. Vee gulped; she was right. Stretched out as he was, and her towering him as she was, the analogy of fly in a spider web worked perfectly. He hated being helpless!
Suddenly, a wind rushed up underneath him and threw his body hard and flat against another cold surface. With the unseen gag in his mouth, his scream was cut short, but somehow he still managed to bite his tongue and taste his own blood. He wanted to see; he wanted to know who this strange woman was. He wanted to speak; he wanted to say what he thought about this. And he hated to admit that he needed help. Reda! I need you! Maybe the plea would make it, maybe it wouldn't, and Vee wasn't sure what he hoped for.
Something cold touched his bare cheek, moving down to slide around his neck, beneath his chin. "I hate you," the woman whispered, her voice in his ear. He had to be on the wall now; it was the only logical place. The blade—it was a blade—continued to play around his face, threatening, in several different ways, his death for certain. Reda! Fear had never gripped him so much. Some power of dark magic—it had to be magic, and it was dark—held him flat against a wall, his eyesight was denied him, his voice was denied him, and a woman who most certainly had to be insane threatened to kill him with a playing blade while she whispered in his ear how much she hated him.
And she began laughing. She was insane; no sane person could laugh like that. "I am sane, you fool, more sane than you'll ever be for sure. Just because a person reacts differently than you does not mean they're insane or you sane. In that sense, no one is insane and no one is sane." She paused, "Well, there's always an exception, and how I wish I could save Psyfoam from insanity."
Vee felt his eyes open and the gag in his mouth disappeared. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark—and it was slowly—he spoke, putting his mouth to work. "How do you know Psyfoam?" That was the most important question to ask; Reda would've agreed, if his life had not been threatened. Idiot! Why not ask what color the sky is? It's just as helpful as knowing this woman's relationship with Psyfoam.
"I spent two-thousand years training to be a savior of the universe, and then they created Psyfoam. And he ruined it all because of his pride." He could now see a blurry shape shaking back and forth. "Pride is a sin you know." Vee blinked. Pride? A sin? "Yes, that means you have lots to pay."
And just as Vee's eyesight came back, electricity jolted pain through his body and he was blind again. He screamed in his own writhing agony and he breathed in disbelief when he was allowed a break only to hear her laughing in pure enjoyment. He forced his eyelids to open all the way and for his teeth to grit against the pain, but when he saw the name on the woman's stick, symbols and all, his concentration left him and he became swallowed up in the sound of his own piercing screams.
Darkness filled his eyesight, but he knew the electricity jumped out of his body, yet to him it was only imaginary light. That name; that title. Rah Mikirubai.
He knew that name.
--
Reda: I'm sorry, Vee; I hear you, but...I can't...sense you. You're too far away, Vee! Where are you? I can't come anyway. Trunks needs me more right now; Psyfoam's destroying him!
