Chapter Four - Out of the Darkness
The Lookout:
Piccolo walked out of the shrine atop the Lookout and made his way over to where Dende stood. "It's getting stronger." he said gruffly as he approached.
The short Guardian nodded. "Something big is coming... something very big."
"Well then, perhaps I should make my next visit to Otherworld a bit more permanent." Baba said as she floated up from below the Lookout sitting atop her cyrstal ball.
"I'm not even sure how safe that would be." Piccolo said scowling slightly. "I can't sense any unknown powers that are very high, but I can feel an immense darkness... an evil like nothing I've ever felt. And it's growing daily. On top of that I have this sense of dread, something big is about to happen soon, something very big."
"I definitely don't like the sound of that." Baba said. "Anyway, I need to be going. It seems King Yemma wants to speak with me." She floated passed Piccolo and into the shrine. The taller Namek watched her enter the shrine curious as to what King Yemma would want with her.
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Warehouse:
It had taken a half hour to round up the kidnappers and get the parents of the children to the warehouse. Gohan and Videl had stayed behind in case any of the kidnappers woke up and caused more trouble. Now the last of them was being hauled off to jail and the commotion was dying down. When the news crews had arrived, shortly before Hercule left, Gohan asked Videl and her father to not mention him because he didn't want his mom worrying about him. Not entirely the truth, but close enough.
Hercule hammed it up as usual, and claimed Videl's entrance the back way had all been part of his plan. And they mentioned a third person helped them but that he wished to remain unnamed and left it at that. After the news crews had gone Hercule had left as well. And now it was just Gohan, Videl, and one last officer who had offered to give them both a lift home. "So, where to young man?" the officer asked as Gohan and Videl approached.
Gohan wasn't exactly sure what to say. Getting a ride home would take longer than flying, and besides, he wanted to go to Capsule Corp., and that was in West City, even further away than his house. He needed a place to be taken in the city that he could take off from... "Could you... give me a lift to the Capsule Corp Center here in town?" he asked at last.
"Sure, no problem." the guy said climbing into the car. Videl and Gohan followed suit and the car lifted off and started on its way. "Hercule's mansion is on the way so I'll drop you off first Ms. Videl."
"Ok." she said leaning back in the seat and relaxing.
"How's your leg?" Gohan asked.
"Hmm? Oh, it's fine now." she said rubbing it a little. "Like I said, just a flesh wound."
Gohan shook his head slowly and had a feeling Yamcha was right. Videl was great with having just trained with her father and on her own, a little training from Yamcha or anyone with Ki control... He let the idea slide though. He wasn't so sure about it. It'd definitely make Videl better, but there was the chance she'd end up learning a few things he didn't want any of his new friends knowing. Not so soon at least. Like the fact he was the one that beat Cell, or that he was part alien. And he wasn't so sure how well Videl would take learning that her father really hadn't beaten Cell, that he'd just taken the credit for it.
The rest of the ride went in silence until they said their good-byes outside her house. And then the officer drove him into downtown and the Capsule Corp. Center. "Thanks for the lift."
"Sure, no problem." the officer said with a wave before pulling off.
Gohan dug into his bag and pulled out the Capsule Corp. ID card that Bulma had given him a couple years before. Turning he made his way inside and over to the counter where a receptionist was sitting. "Yes, how may I help you?"
"Um..." he showed her his ID card. "Where's the elevator to the top floors?"
"Oh, right over there Mr. Son." she said motioning to the far wall. Turning to look he saw the card reader. He gave her a nod and walked over to it. As soon as he swiped the card the elevator opened and he stepped in. The top floors of these buildings were used for classified research. Gohan knew that Bulma's time travel research and her Nano-Machine research were housed on the top floor of the building.
However, that wasn't what he was after. These elevators also went all the way up to the roof. It would be the perfect place for him to take off from for his trip to West City. It might be a good idea to send a message to his mom too. As he pushed the button for the roof he took the phone out of it's box and dialed home.
"Son residence!" Goten's cheery voice called out.
"Oh, hey Goten. I thought you were going to play with Trunks today?"
"I was, but Bulma never came by." he pouted. "Mom called her about ten minutes ago though so she's on her way over now. So, what's up?"
"I'm actually about to head off to Capsule Corp. myself to talk to Bulma. Could you let mom know?"
"Ok!" Goten cheered.
"Alright squirt, I have to go, I'll talk to you later." he said as the doors opened onto the roof. Goten said good-bye as well and the two hung up. Gohan stepped outside once more and lifted into the air. After getting his bearings he sped off toward West City. He wasn't in too much of a hurry, Bulma had to get to his place and then back to Capsule Corp so it'd take her a while.
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Capsule Corp, Lab 07:
Mirai sighed as he looked at the blackboard full of calculations. Fifty square feet of math. The time traveler was still trying to figure out two things. One, how his mother, no matter what the time period was, always roped him into working. And two, what was wrong with the math. He and Bulma had figured out that the machine was working just fine, but her solution wasn't enough to get the right charge.
So now they were working on the math to figure out what the right solution amount was. As well as figuring out where she went wrong to begin with. They'd spent the entire day working on it and hadn't even realized it until Trunks came in asking when Bulma was going to get Goten. After which the boy had gone into hyper mode upon seeing his older half back already. It had taken him a good twenty minutes to get him out of the lab.
Mirai was about to adjust something on the blackboard when he heard a rustling sound. He paused and looked around the lab. Nothing seemed off. But then he felt it. A faint power that seemed to be rising and falling steadily, almost like breathing or a heart beat. "Who's there?" he called out moving towards the energy. It was behind some piles of scrap metal in the corner. He was a few feet away when the rustling sound came again. Suddenly a small shadow seemed to run from behind the metal.
As it bolted away the power fluctuated faster. Mirai only got quick glimpse of what looked like a black cat. But not a normal black cat. This thing seemed to have no actual substance, like it was made of shadow. There were whisps of shadow like darkness just drifting up from it. "What the..." he breathed as it ran around a corner and down a hall. It took a moment for him to shake off the oddity and he ran out into the hall and chased after it.
He saw it clear as day racing down the hall. It was the only darkness to be seen and it was casting no shadow. He ran after it and gained quickly. As he reached another bend that it had taken a second before he saw it leap at the wall where a metal crate was casting a pitch black shadow. It passed into the darkness and vanished from his sight and Ki senses.
Mirai came to a stop at the shadow and examined the area for any signs of a hole but there was nothing unusual. "What the hell was that?" he wondered standing again. "Could... could mom's invention have done that?" He turned and made his way back to the lab contemplating the matter. "It could have been some sort of echo maybe... mom's theorized about alternate realities... maybe that was some sort of resonance with a parallel realm?" As he entered the lab he gazed at his mother's invention and wondered if it was having an unexpected side effect.
"Well, I shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like that." he said at last. "That... thing could have been a lot of things. Including my imagination after staring at those numbers for so long."
"Taken to talking to yourself now, have you?" Gohan asked from the doorway.
"Gohan!" Mirai cried turning and smiling. "I didn't realize you were there. How've you been?"
"Good." he said walking in. "I didn't expect you back until next month."
"Mom thought a vacation would be good for me now that our world is finally back in one piece." he explained. "It's good to see you again."
"You too." he said with a nod. "Guess I beat Bulma here then?"
"Yeah, she should be back in a few minutes. So, what's up?"
Gohan sighed. "Well. Mom decided I should start going to school at an acutal school. You know, make some friends of my own, my own age and all. Today was the first day, and it went pretty well. Well, the school part did." He then went on to explain the fight before class and then the little mission he'd accompained Videl on afterwards.
"Wait, you're friends with Hercule's daughter?" Mirai asked laughing.
"Crazy world, isn't it?" Gohan said shaking his head. "But she's an amazing fighter. Almost as strong as Master Roshi. And you should have seen Hercule at the warehouse. When he's up against normal people and not super powered bio-engineered killing machines he's really good. I finally got a chance to see where his ego comes from."
"Catching up are we?" Bulma asked walking in. "So Gohan, what brings you by?"
"Well..." he said scratching the back of his head and then told Bulma about the warehouse incident. "It would be a lot easier to deal with stuff like that if I didn't have to worry about people at school recognizing me later... If I hadn't had to hold back Videl wouldn't have gotten shot..."
"Ooooh, got a crush on her do you?" Bulma asked.
"Wha?! No, no, it's not like that!" Gohan said waving his arms.
"Sure, whatever you say Gohan. So, you want a disguise of some kind then?"
"Yeah, I figured if anyone could help me out you could."
"No problem. Just give me an hour or two. I'll be back when I'm done. In the meantime, you can help Mirai out." With that she turned and left.
Mirai shook his head. "And she's even able to rope you into doing her work." With a sigh he turned to face the blackboard again, all thoughts of the shadowy cat temporarily forgotten. "I guess we should get to work..."
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Capsule Corp, Lab 15:
"What if your mom catches us in here Trunks?" Goten asked looking around.
"Don't be such a crybaby Goten. Mom's at the other end of the building." Trunks said frowning. "Anyway, I know it's in here somewhere." The child flicked on the light and the lab lit up bright as day.
"What are we looking for anyway?"
"The spare Dragon Radar." he explained.
"What for?"
"I had a great idea for a wish last night. We're going to wish for a box that will create any food we want it to whenever we want it." the chibi said grinning. "Think about it Goten, an unlimited supply of anything we want to eat!"
"That's great Trunks!" Goten cheered practically drooling at the prospects the wish presented. "Now our mom's threats of no food wont matter!"
"Exactly!"
"So, where should we look?"
"You take this side of the lab, I'll take the other."
"Ok." Goten nodded and started poking through cabinets and boxes. Trunks moved to the other side of the room and started digging through things as well. It took the two chibis only fifteen minutes to locate the spare Dragon Radar sitting in a desk drawer. "Got it!" Goten chirped holding it up.
"Alright Goten!" Trunks cheered running over to him. "Ok, now, let's see where they are." he said taking it from the other and turning it on. A few clicks and he saw all seven Dragonballs. "What the?" he wondered looking at the blinking lights. "Six of them are already gathered up north..."
"Where's the seventh?" Goten asked.
"Way down south, but it's heading north kinda fast..." He watched it for a moment before saying anything else. "If we leave now we can get to the other six first and see who's gathering them."
"Ok."
The two turned and ran from the lab and through the halls. As they passed the lab Bulma was in, Trunks called to her. "Goten and I are going out to explore and train, we'll be back later!" By the time the last of it was out of his mouth they were leaving the lab area and moving through the main lobby. A moment later they were outside and flying north as fast as they could go.
Trunks kept his eyes on the radar as he flew. "Yeah, we'll definitely beat whoever has the seventh ball to the other six." he called over to Goten. "They're way slower than we are."
"Hey Trunks... where are we anyway? I've never been up this way before..."
Trunks thought for a moment as he looked around. "I think Ginger Town is off to the east a little from here..." he said. "So then... the Dragonballs are..." He looked ahead as they began to pass over ocean. "I think mom said the Yunzabit Heights were out here."
"Yunzabit Heights? Why would anyone take the Dragonballs out there?"
"Don't know. But I guess we'll be finding out." They flew the rest of the way in silence and a few moments later the rocky peaks of the Yunzabit Heights came into view. Trunks motioned and the two dropped down behind a rock outcropping and gazed down into the canyon below them. There sat the other six Dragonballs pulsing slowly and in sync with each other. There was no one else in sight and neither boy could sense anyone either.
"So, there's no one here?" Goten wondered. "That's strange..."
"Yeah. They left the Dragonballs unguarded and out in the open... I think we should wait for whoever it is though. See what's going on."
"Yeah, you're right."
The two boys settled down behind a large rock to shield themselves from the strong and cold wind as they watched the blinking dot of the Dragonball near them. It took a few minutes for it to get close and then Trunks switched off the radar and moved to look back down into the canyon, Goten doing the same.
A moment later a large and unusual creature landed by the Dragonballs, the seventh held in his hand. His body was large, about six and half foot tall, muscular, and scaled. Small black horns sat upon his forhead, his red eyes were slanted and angular, his face was Human in structure, though without a nose, and somewhat frog like. Upon his forehead, between the horns, was a third, vertical, pure black eye.
"Who is that?" Goten asked.
"More like what..." Trunks said as the figure set the last Dragonball down. "Shh, he's saying something."
"At last!" he cried happily. "After a little over two years I have them all! Getting that one from the Sai-jin's house was a bit more tricky than I'd expected, it's a good thing the kid left when he did. The woman was easy enough to handle... now, to summon the dragon!"
"Trunks... wasn't that the four star ball he had?" Goten asked.
"I think so..."
"Then... the kid would have been me... and the woman... MOM!"
The man down in the canyon looked up and frowned, the edges of his third eye moving apart so more of it was exposed. "Who's up there! Show yourselves!" he demanded raising an arm toward the sound he'd heard, red and black energy sparking around his palm.
Goten climbed out from behind the rock and looked down at the creature below him who at first looked shocked and then annoyed at who had found him. "What'd you do to my mom!" Goten yelled down.
The creature laughed. "Don't worry too much kid, she's still alive. Killing her would have attracted too much attention." He lowered his arm as the energy dissipated. "Now, get lost brat! I've matters to attend to!"
"If you attacked Chi-Chi..." Trunks said stepping up beside Goten. "Then you must be a bad guy! So we're not going to let you make your wish!"
The man smirked. "You think so? Well, I don't think you can stop me." he laughed. "The great Captain Ginyu has only lost one fight, and that was luck! You wont find yourselves quite so lucky!"
"We'll see about that!" Trunks called lifting into the air. Goten soon followed suit and the two boys charged down at Ginyu sure that they were stronger. They were only feet away and about to attack when Ginyu's energy suddenly spiked up, his fists lancing out and connecting with their faces. The boys were knocked back into the rocks and out cold.
"I'd kill you now, but I don't want to alert the others just yet..." he said walking over to them. His third eye opened wider and and a stream of black energy shot at each boy's head. "There. Now to finish up here." He turned back to the Dragonballs grinning. "Arise Eternal Dragon and grant my wish!"
The balls pulsed furiously as the sky darkened quickly. Clouds appeared from nowhere and lightning flashed. A bolt of energy surged down from the sky and slammed into the Dragonballs. There was a blinding flash and another bolt surged into the sky snaking about this way and that. A moment later the large form of Shenron filled the sky above Ginyu. It lowered its head, its red eyes glowing slightly. "You who have summoned me to this plane, I shall grant you two wishes. Speak now and it shall be so!" Shenron boomed.
Ginyu cackled in excitement. "I'm not sure if you can do this first wish, but let's find out!" Ginyu called up. "I wish for my Master to be free of the crystal that contains him!"
The Dragon's eyes glowed for a moment and then faded. "It cannot be done." he boomed.
Ginyu merely nodded. "Didn't think so. Tejina's magic was pretty powerful I've come to find... Well then. Seems I only have one wish for you! After that you can leave."
"Very well, what is your wish?"
He smirked. "I want you to send me to the Demon Realm!"
"It shall be done." Shenron's eyes glowed brightly and then Ginyu vanished. A moment later the Dragonballs sparked, flashed, and Shenron vanished. The seven orbs lifted into the sky and then scattered as the clouds and darkness faded away.