Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z/GT or their characters.
Author's Notes: Whelp, I've finally started this thing (while thinking of a newer, less crappier title). Just so you know, this is NOT RELATED to Total Solar Eclipse if you read it, so don't worry about any continuity between this story and that one. Whelp, this is only the prologue introducing my new original character, but I have lots planned, so I hope you enjoy.
~Prologue~
She could only see a round portion of the cold emptiness of space through the pod's small window, but she hated it just the same. The onyx backdrop with its twinkling white lights was pretty, but only when she observed it from the solid ground of a planet. Once she may have enjoyed traveling through space, but now it brought back awful memories of long past. They were thoughts that bombarded her, suffocated her, denied her mind of rational thought if she was unable to keep calm.
She'd had a panic attack twice, in fact. The first time she'd had trouble breathing, her blood red nails tearing into the mahogany cushions of the little pods single seat. She'd broken into a cold sweat, perspiration sliding down her face and neck and soaking into her clothing. The second time had been much worse than the one prior. She had experienced the same symptoms as before, but soon also became delusional, convinced she was back in that awful place, trapped in that horrible prison and forced to work for the monster who took her away from her father as part of a hellish negotiation. Luckily she had passed out from the stress of the recurring memories before trying to blast anything. She could have destroyed the pod, casting herself out into the barren black nothingness. Her body would have been ripped apart from the inside out due to the unequal pressure. She was grateful for the unconsciousness.
As she concentrated on ignoring the space outside, her aqua eyes were drawn to her traveling companion: a small doll. Its shape resembled that of a gingerbread man, although that comparison would never cross her mind since she was unaware of such a thing. She only saw it for what it was: two standard body-shaped slices of a tan cloth that was akin to leather, loosely stitched together with a darker and tougher type of the same material. This lanyard, weaving in and out of the fabric's edge, held in the stuffing. More stitches formed x-shaped eyes and a single stitch made a mouth. Others had only been sewn for mending purposes when the thick cloth had been torn.
"You're not scared, are you?" she asked the doll, as if expecting an answer.
The doll, of course, did not answer. It only sat on the metal armrest, unmoving. She stared at it anyway, tilting her head to one side as if listening attentively and patiently waiting.
After a few minutes she leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. "I suppose sleep would help," she sighed agreeably. "What if I dream, though? You know they haven't been pleasant recently."
Once again she was silent, but one eye was now open, it's gaze focused on the small figure beside her. Once again she seemed to be listening to an unheard response.
"I guess it is better than having another episode... Will you try to wake me if you see I'm having a nightmare? I know you can't do much, but..."
More silence as she listened.
"Arigatou," she said quietly, closing her open eye. Then she relaxed, pretending she was back on Wycan, her home planet, gazing up at the stars instead being surrounded by them. She pretended she was a young woman again, in the years after her service to the white alien but before the era of chaos began.
Ah, yes. She could see it all perfectly now. She knelt in a vast field of ebony grass and flowers in bright varieties of orange, pink, blue, purple and green. She could feel the soft cushion of grass beneath her knees through the thin, ivory fabric of her short-sleeved dress. The sweet aroma of the flowers drifted around her, the scent relaxing her body. She tilted her head back, staring up at the carnation sky that was spotted with white puffs. The yellow sun was setting on the horizon far before her, streaks of red and orange striping the sky. A peaceful glow emanated from the setting sphere, and the luminescence seemed to surround her...
The glow grew and grew, its brilliance soon taking on an unpredictable violent fervor. Her relaxation vanished as she saw the fire all around her; the coal grass and colorful flowers were consumed in orange brilliance. She stood, stumbling as her bare foot caught onto her skirt in her haste and tore off most of the hem, and she gaped at the orange flames. It felt as if the mere heat of the blaze was scorching her pale skin, and she held her hands in front of her face in useless defense. There was a huge, bright flare from behind her, and she whirled around and cried out in horror.
A city- it did not cross her mind how it could have just appeared behind her- was amassed in flames. The tall skyscrapers were nothing but towering torches and the smaller buildings were flimsy kindle. In the center of the inferno was the blazing palace, it's once intricate snowy shell now scorched black, and large, smoldering chunks breaking off, disappearing into the fires below.
She let out another cry and sped into the fiery city, what was once the capital of Wycan. She gave no thought to the fire; she only thought of her home, the palace consumed in the raging flames. She raced through a lane, which was curiously untouched by the licking, twisting blaze and led directly to the front gates of her home. The ornate metal bars had been ripped from their hinges and lay on the sandy bricks of the avenue, but she just clattered across them and raced on.
A little further and she was at the entrance to the palace itself. One of the massive double doors had been knocked down and now lay in the front hall. As with the gates, she did not cease her hurried pace to even glance at the slab of metal and continued across the strip of plush red carpet to the doors of the throne room. It took her longer than usual to reach the doors; the long, crimson carpet seemed to stretch on forever, as if she were running suspended in air, but she could feel the impact of her bare feet against the fabric. Finally it seemed more like she was actually moving, the doors moving closer to her. She threw herself at one of the two doors, heaving all her weight against it and pushing it open. The door was lighter than she had estimated, though, and she stumbled into the room. She fell, and her hands and knees hit the marble floor hard. She looked up from the spotted white floor to the scene before her and let out a devastated scream.
Her father lay sprawled on the stone, his body limp and unmoving. He faced her, and she could see that his body had been ripped apart, crimson blood staining what remained of ivory clothing and seeping out around him into a pool of red on the cream-colored floor. His eyes silently screamed and stared into his daughter's pupils. She knew he couldn't see her, but his empty gaze still bore into her blurry, terrified stare.
A superior, victorious laugh erupted, and her eyes were jerked from the king's thrashed body to the man reclining in the throne. Their gazes locked, and her terror was slowly being matched by the rage she felt in reaction to the being before her: a dark gray-skinned man with white, pupil-less eyes and a grinning mouth of light gray canines. His long black hair was tucked behind his sharply pointed ears and flowed down to his waist. His olive green uniform was decorated with yellow lines going down the sides of his pants, around the cuffs of his shirt and circling his neck at the collar, with matching gold epaulets on his squared shoulders. The esteemed wardrobe was marred by splotches and streaks of red from the ashen man's attack on the now lifeless body that lay on the cold floor.
She stood up, eerily still as she concentrated her red vision on the chuckling traitor on the throne. "You will pay, Kouruji," she hissed, preparing to launch herself at the traitor and thrust her red nails into his chest.
His laughter never ceasing, Kouruji stood up from his seat and narrowed his cold gaze at her. "You forget the low odds of you winning, child," he replied.
The laughter suddenly increased in volume as he threw his arms outwards from his body and then raised them toward the room's curved ceiling. A ring of fire circled him and then expanded outward, the ferocious, licking flames reaching her in an instant. Every nerve in her body only knew the pain of burning fire. She tried to escape the excruciating heat, but at every turn the inferno was around her and consuming her flesh. She could feel her skin blistering as she twisted around in the fire that tore at her dress until she was left nude in the blaze that left scathing caresses on her bare flesh. There was no way out!
Gods, what was that sound? It was everywhere, ringing in her melting ears. Kouruji's laughter? No. No, it was much more high pitched and shrill, and the source followed her everywhere as she desperately raced around the room to escape the sea of flames. Suddenly she tripped and fell right into the flames. The sharp sound became more ear splitting, and she realized that it was the sound of her own panicked shrieking as she desperately scrambled to her feet.
The fire was all over her now; she had become a screaming, flailing torch. She felt nothing but agonizing pain and saw only the flickering of fire. The flames twitched now and then into her open mouth and she could taste her own burning flesh. She could no longer smell the stench of smoldering skin and muscle, and somehow she knew that her nose must have been charred away.
Oh, God, her eyes! One moment she had been encountering constant waves of yellow, orange, and red, but now there was a terrible scorching sting in her eyes and she could only see black. She could feel the scalding power of the flames more acutely now as her body was swiftly being eaten away like paper by the flaring force.
Then the pain began to lessen, slowly at first but then more rapidly, until she could feel absolutely nothing. She no longer had any sensation of touch, sight, taste, or smell. She knew her hearing still functioned, for the fading purr of the fire still registered in her mind.
But the darkness was more inviting than the soft hum, and she let herself sink into it...
There was a jump in her chest as she sat upright in the tiny pod. Her head swung back and forth frantically as she looked about for the flames. Rational thought registered suddenly, however, and she realized that it had only been a dream: past memories twisted into a gruesome nightmare.
Panting, she leaned back against the small seat and ignored the soppy cling of her sweat-soaked clothing as she forced herself to relax. She slowly breathed in the pure air supplied by the reserves of the pod until her heart resumed its steady pumping and her muscles became less tense. Her eyes caught a hatch on the left armrest and she opened it and pulled out a full bottle of greenish liquid. She drank until only half was left, then replaced it in the compartment. Her eyes glanced to another square on the opposite armrest by the small doll, and she lifted it open to reveal a control pad of some sort. She pressed a few keys- by now she knew the sequence by memory- and read the readings given on the small screen.
She sighed. "Only two more days," she muttered. "Two days." She closed the panel, holding her palm flat against it for a moment. The same hand then moved toward the doll and took it in its fingers, letting it rest in her palm. "I know you tried," she muttered, "but I suppose you weren't loud enough. There isn't much you could have done." She placed the figure in her lap. One arm returned to her side, but the other remained softly holding the doll.
She stared blankly at the curved side of the pod as she ignored the intimidating emptiness of space that surrounded her- physically and mentally.
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Er... so you like? O_o Any constructive criticism would be appreciated for while I'm writing Chapter One.