Chapter 56: Castle in the Sky
The ship basically just appeared. It wasn't moving; it was just sitting there like the Lookout just sits here.
"It must have been here a while, and whoever is on board decided to make its presence known. It must have had a cloaking device." Vegeta said, shocked as we all were, but trying to figure out how it could have just all-of-the-sudden appear like that.
The ship wasn't exactly a ship by normal terms. Even from the Lookout the ship looked more like a large castle. By judging its speed and size I figured it was about two-miles away, but I couldn't be for sure. A human's eyes would have only seen a dot, though a large dot, abut a Sayjin's eyes are like a cat's, and we can adjust them in the light or dark so we can see better. It's similar to zooming in or zooming out at will.
"What is that?" Mirai asked in awe.
"It looks like a giant castle, but how is it up in the air?"
"I don't know, but that must be where this new evil is now. Lets go." I went to kick off, but Goku grabbed my arm.
"We can't go rushing in without knowing who or what's in there."
"Goku, it's the evil, can't you feel it?" I said, trying to get loose from Goku's grasp.
"Yes, and that's why we have to be careful."
"Alright, " I put my hand out into the middle of our group, "We're Sayjins. We're the earth's only hope, and the hope for this entire dimension to beat this thing." As I said this, Goku, Mirai, and Vegeta also placed their hands into the group.
"We'll fight hard, and we'll die proud if it needs to be so." Vegeta added.
"We're going to protect our loved ones and the universe. Nothing will get past us." Mirai said.
"I will fulfill my destiny and beat the evil." Whatever it is…
"We'll succeed where others failed. We've beaten Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu. This will only be our next adventure. We're with you all the way, Katie." Goku said.
"All the way." Vegeta added.
"Till death do us part." Mirai whispered.
"Well spoken, guys." I said with a smile.
"Fight hard!" we all cried and broke up our little circle.
We all took off toward the castle, and as we got closer the castle's size grew, and grew, and grew. It was much bigger than I thought.
It looked very much like an old scary castle you'd imagine in a fairytale, and the fact that an evil aura was coming off it in waves added to the dread of entering. There was a mass of land around the castle and old, dead trees hung over to one side and all the grass was dead. The castle was at least twice the size of the Lookout and had the stench of death and blood also coming off it in waves. The area of land surrounding the castle had to be at least a square-acre, maybe more.
There was a time five years ago I enjoyed this smell. And even though I still like the scent of blood, this is too much, even for a Sayjin.
"Well, looking at it all day isn't going to get us anywhere." I was trying to overcome my fear by acting like the brave one, but in truth the aura this place was giving off made me want to run away, crying home to mommy. But I had to do this, so I stepped up and landed first on the marshy ground. But the ground wasn't wet from water; I could tell by the scent that it was blood soaked ground. The others grimaced, and I did too, but we trudged on toward the castle doors. The air was smoky, either from its aura or fire; I couldn't tell and didn't want to know.
We all walked in silence, and I was reminded of the Super Sayjin legend once more. The actual story of Tiom. He was on a mission and his crew, his family, all died by the hands of the enemy. He survived because they thought he was dead. Enraged, he transformed and destroyed that planet with ease. But mad with grief and power, he nearly destroy his home. No Sayjin on the planet could stand up to him, but when his daughter came to him he got control and decided he had to destroy himself or Planet Vegeta would be destroyed. It is said a Super Sayjin shall be born every thousand years, but I guess they messed up that little detail, huh? Right now I felt like something similar might happen, that a terrible monster would burst through those giant doors I was getting closer to and kill the others, then I would transform into an Angel Sayjin, whatever that is, and nearly destroy Earth.
I shook the thought out of my head. I had better control over my powers now, and I would keep this control.
"What is that smell?" Mirai asked, holding his arm over his nose like the rest of us were.
"Brimstone, blood, and burnt flesh." Vegeta said, nearly gagging. None of us had to ask how Vegeta knew.
"This scent of blood is too strong. We have to be careful. Technically we're still predators, so try to keep control of yourself." I said, knowing the others must have felt as I did now. The smell of the blood, though old, was strong enough to incite a Sayjin to want to hunt.
"Right." I looked over to Goku, who seemed to be keeping control very well. Like me, he was raised human, so it would be Vegeta or Mirai we'd have to worry about if any of us were going to loose control. Mirai might be okay, being half-human, or that may also be our problem. Vegeta might be okay because he has a high sense of pride and wouldn't let animal instinct overpower him; but then again he has killed for pleasure in the past. So have I, but technically I wasn't myself.
Blood… kill… need to taste fresh blood…
I was fighting the urge, and I knew the others were, too, but the longer we were out here the harder it would be to control ourselves.
"We have to hurry, its getting harder to control the urge to hunt." Vegeta stated, "But we're almost there. Just find something to focus on and you'll be okay." Vegeta ordered.
Okay, something to focus on…lets see… uh… oh, this'll work, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut…
I recited all the states in alphabetical order over and over in my mind, but the instinct was too strong.
…And Wyoming… I have to think about something else… pie equals 3.14159265498, pie equals 3.14159265498, pie equals 3.14159265498, no good, I still feel the urge… why did the chicken cross the road, really? Why didn't he just take a bus? Why didn't the show Teen Titans ever reveal more of the pasts of their characters? If you think about it, DBZ really never did, either. We have no idea exactly what happened to Vegeta while he was working for Frieza. We don't know what happened to Mirai after he went back to the future. We never really found out that much about Bibi-Dee. I didn't learn what Freiza's species was called until I came here. And that goes for the Super Sayjin legend, too.
"Thank God, we're here." I got to the door first and turned to the others. They seemed relieved as well that we finally made it to the door.
"A few more minutes and it could have gotten really ugly." Goku said.
"Goku? You too?" I asked, surprised. He nodded.
"I'm surprised nothing bad happened the walk up here." Mirai said.
"Can we please hurry up and go inside? The smell is driving me crazy!" Vegeta spat.
I touched the door and a shock went through my hand, causing me to pull my hand back.
"Katie, are you okay?" Goku asked. I looked at my exposed fingers, slightly red but fine.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"What was that?" Mirai asked. When he touched the door he got the same result.
"Whatever it is, its evil." Vegeta said.
"Well, we have to get in somehow." I said.
We all looked over the front wall for clues, and I came upon some carvings.
"Hey, over here!" I called. The others ran over and I pointed out the carvings.
"That looks like some form of Namekian writing." Vegeta said.
"I knew this part of my training would come in handy." I looked over the carvings carefully, trying to decipher them.
"I can't be for sure, but I think I can read it. To enter, all one must speak is destiny."
"Well, that's interesting." Mirai said. We all went back to the door and I stepped up.
"Destiny!" I called.
"Nothing's happening." Goku said.
"Maybe you didn't say it loud enough. Destiny!" Vegeta called. But still, nothing happened. "Damn it all!" I turned away from the group to think clearly.
"Hey, wait a minute. This reminds me of something I've read." I turned back toward the doors, "Nichikxsa!" the doors shook and opened slowly.
"What was that?" Goku asked as we started inside.
"The Namekian word for Destiny. I figured if the carvings were written in Namekian, then you would have to say the password in Namekian."
"Clear and simple. Don't know why I didn't think of it." Vegeta said.
