Raditz stood and observed the man standing next to his daughter. Odd, I can't get a read on his power at all. "What business do you have with me?" Silver leaned against a gravestone.
"Before I begin I was wondering how Goku passed away." Chi-Chi stood.
"Krillen had told me that when Gohan was fighting Cell he had yet to achieve his full potential. In an attempt to draw it out of him he dispatched miniature versions of himself which beat our friends down within an inch of their lives. Cell continued to beat Gohan to the point of unconsciousness. Feeling unsatisfied by his show of power he decided to taunt him by absorbing his father in front of his eyes."
Chi-Chi turned and placed a hand on the gravestone then continued. "Gohan barely managed to beat him. He came home to me with his father's bloody tattered clothes. It was the only thing of him we could bury. I don't think my husband will be coming back again. We all had a chance to see him again but of course that had to be brief as well." Silver nodded.
"I see. I'm sorry that you had to go through that. You may not believe what I have to say but I come from a different reality. I'm here not only to learn what makes your reality different but I'm also here to recruit Raditz and other God Tier Saiyans from other realities to fight against a threat that destroys them. I need your help and your reality needs it. Please join me." Raditz folded his arms. Alternate realities and the destruction of this one huh? Not too farfetched.
"I've seen and experienced far too many odd things in my life to turn skeptical from the get go when someone says these things. Let me say my goodbyes to my little brother before we continue our chat." He turned then rummaged through his pocket as he pulled out a Senzu bean and laid it atop the gravestone before continuing. "Hey little brother. Your wife is still healthy and misses you dearly. Gohan will be a married man soon. He's upset about it and I understand why. It amazes me that your son hasn't decided to kill Vegeta. He could do it, and with relative ease too. Though he probably doesn't because of Bulma and Trunks.
The old me would say that your son's unhappiness is his own fault for not joining the inner workings of King Vegeta's system which would allow him the true freedom he deserves but I can't. Your son told me that he refused to be a part of a system where backstabbing, treachery and murder are commonplace. Gohan has a strong base of supporters within the King's system. The woman that he's being forced to marry is the daughter of one of them.
Perhaps if we're lucky she'll be able to seduce him into King Vegeta's system and make this world a better place. It took a long time and I'm sorry but I've finally learned to stop killing the humans on this planet for trying to kill not only me but my wife and daughter as well. I'd know that they were sent by one of the higher ups to intimidate me but my instincts ran deep. I understand why they take those impossible contracts out on our lives. They're not allowed to pursue their dreams, their love or anything. Unfortunately the hierarchy of Pure Blood, Half Breed then Human will be the case for maybe another generation or three.
Please, talk to your son. He may not listen to me but it is the truth. In order to do some good, blood has to be spilled. He has the respect of almost all the pure bloods and the half breeds worship him as if he were a God. Gohan has so much power in his grasp. Oh well. Talk to you later little bro. I know that you're probably getting on King Kai's last damn nerve. I'll let you get back to that." Raditz placed his hand on the gravestone for a moment then turned and left as the others followed him. As they made their way back to his house they noticed a small crowd and a stage. Silver broke off from the group and headed into the crowd as he looked back at them.
"I hope you don't mind. I think I spotted a familiar face. Please understand that I'm trying to figure out what makes this different from the other realities I know." Launch and Juu continued walking followed by Chi-Chi while Raditz stood next to him.
"If I needed any more proof that you're foreign to this reality of mine then this solidifies it. I'll save you some time and explain this. Those people that are on stage have forfeited whatever little freedom they were granted when they decided to become criminals. I would guess that the majority of the people who are on stage right now either attempted or successfully killed a half breed through underhanded methods." A tall bald man walked out onto the stage followed by a woman with long blonde hair who wore a long heavy black coat that hid her body. The man tapped the mic twice then held it.
"Welcome! You know what time it is! My wife and I have been working hard catching these criminals so we could sell them to you at a fine price. Each of these prisoners has been fitted with collars made from Dr. Gero's greatest and latest technology. Are you tired of repeating yourself? Weary of hitting a human you know isn't fit to spar with a five year old half breed?
Never fear! With a simple scan of the code on the side of the collar you can control and admonish them as you see fit. Now that these humans have become much cheaper for sell you don't have to limit yourself anymore. No longer do you have to hold back. Crops coming in slow? Buy one of these criminals. Want that harem you always wished for?
Buy one of these criminals. For those of you who want this technology but are happy with the humans you own now then that is fine! We sell the collars too! Isn't that right 18?!" She slowly zipped the coat down and spread it open revealing not only white lingerie, stockings and high heels but several collars. The crowd roared. Nappa smirked then continued. "Don't get too riled up. Remember, I'm the nice one." 18 laid the coat down onto a table and posed directing attention to their wares.
"Thank you for reminding them husband. While the idea of putting some of you apes in your place makes my skin tingle with excitement I know that it'll hurt our profits. Treat me with some damn respect and I won't kill you!" The crowd cheered as men and women yelled out confessions of love and how lucky Nappa was. 18 picked up a collar and continued.
"As you are all aware, the collars that many of you are used to only have a range of a hundred yards. It doesn't exactly cater to your all your needs." Nappa cleared his throat and continued to speak in low lifeless monotone. "Should the merchandise stray too far from you they'd be rendered unconscious and useless for a day or two. Please remember that in extreme cases accidental death would follow."
Nappa's face showed disgust as life returned to his voice as he continued. "These new collars give you the option to adjust the distance so you don't have to keep a close proximity to the merchandise which is perfect for outdoor labor. With ranges varying now to a mile or as low as twelve yards you'll now have options." 18 walked over to her husband with a hip swinging gait then stopped, as she looked into his eyes. She moved her hand slowly down the right side of her neck and shivered.
"I don't pity these poor fools. I have no need for a collar on my neck when the feel of my husband's lips there are enough to keep me by his side." Nappa blushed and the crowd went wild. 18 pressed a button and the curtains parted behind them revealing twelve humans.
They were naked and wearing collars around their necks. 18 walked over and guided a man with long blonde hair to the center of the stage and continued. "This one's name is Sharpner. I must warn you all, he is sick. He tried to blow up a Maternity Ward full of not only half breeds but human children as well!. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" 18 stepped aside and let him speak.
Sharpner looked around at first and glared at everyone he saw. "I didn't know there were Earthing children in that ward. The point is that you're all monsters. I understand that you think you're protecting us but you're wrong. You're protecting yourselves. I tried to do what I thought was right. You bastards are too difficult to kill normally. So I figured what better way to go about getting my people's freedom then to attack your vulnerable young.
We know that you're not invincible! One day we will-" His lips continued to move for a while until he noticed that no sound was coming out. He gaped in horror as he realized that he was mute. 18 patted him on the shoulder as silent tears streamed down his face. 18 held up a control.
"As demonstrated you can either lower the merchandise's volume or render them mute as well. The choice is yours. Now, I know he isn't much to look at and a half breed toddler would probably destroy him. I know that I'm not making him out to be some kind of great get but maybe, just maybe one of you can find some use for him. Let's start the bidding at thirty Zeni!" Silver turned his back on the sight and started walking away.
"So this is your reality. I'd like to see your people try to put one of those things around my neck. I highly doubt they'd enjoy the idea of their lives being instantly cut short. What happened here? How did this become acceptable? Where's Bardock?" Raditz sighed.
"He's dead. When Buu first appeared Gohan and Bardock met him head on. Bardock died during that battle. Instead of being revived he chose to stay with his wife and son." He noticed the look on Silver's face and continued. "Gine died due to a heart disease several years ago." Silver remained quiet until they were at his house. Silver sat and linked his fingers together.
"If it seems like I'm judging you, I'm not. It's just that it's not often that I get to see a reality as warped as this one is. This could be kind of fun. What happened to Yamcha, Krillen, Tien and Master Roshi?" Raditz smiled as he went into the fridge and pulled out a couple cans of Hetap.
"Yamcha is the most successful, sought after gigolo. He's considered strong and attractive enough to be of use to several pure blooded Saiyan women. No one knows how many children he has. There have been several attempts on his life and yet he's still alive. Krillen settled down and got married to Maron. Everyone thought it was a bad idea but it worked out. She hasn't cheated on him as far as we know." He handed Silver a can, sat then continued.
"Tien settled down too and got married to a pure blood Saiyan. His wife gave birth to fraternal twins about a year ago. So he's happy. Especially considering that he has Chiaotzu to watch over them. Master Roshi is still himself. He just lived to brag about groping half breed about a couple months ago as he lain in a hospital bed. So tell me, how are things different in comparison to your reality?" Silver placed his elbows on the table and looked him in the eye.
"Bardock warns your people but they ignore him. Just about every Saiyan except two or three depending on what reality it is that has Tarble in it makes three pure blooded saiyans. You die several years later when you try to kidnap Gohan. Nappa dies about a year later, though not before killing Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Tien. Something tells me that you never had someone visit you from the future…which reminds me. Only in your reality did you have to deal with cybernetic zombies so bonus points for originality." Silver looked around then continued. "No human slaves?" Raditz shook his head.
"Besides the fact that my wife is human even I know that it wouldn't sit well with either part of her. Still, that is interesting. As for your question regarding a visitor from the future the answer to that is no. Since I take it that you've visited multiple realities do I die off so early in just yours or several?" Silver leaned back in chair and tried to get comfortable.
"In ninety-five percent of the realities that I've visited you are killed shortly after you kidnap Gohan. Kind of makes you wonder a bit what your fate would've been if your father wouldn't have changed events as drastically as he did. Speaking of Gohan there is one constant that doesn't really seem to change much. Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm willing to bet my whole left arm that Gohan has just one slave and her name is Videl. Am I right?" Raditz's eyes widened. That's...well he did tell me that he visited other realities but still...
"Yes, you are right but at one point he had two. Videl was one while Erasa was the other. That boy has a death wish. As a show of trust he made himself vulnerable around those two and let them know it. It's like the boy is ashamed of his Saiyan heritage. A real Saiyan doesn't show weakness to people they can't trust. He removed his tail four years ago. I still can't believe he did that. Anyway, both Videl and Erasa were murderers. They'd wait for Saiyans to sleep, break into their house and slit their throats while they slept. The humans in the house wouldn't even warn their masters but I can't blame them.
If I was put in a kennel I wouldn't be too keen on helping my supposed owners either. Those two killed at least thirty half breeds. They never released to the public how many possible pure bloods they offed. When they were caught there was supposed to be a grand spectacle regarding their execution. People gathered far and wide to see the two killers get executed. After a couple bombastic speeches they were brought out to the stage and chained to a wall.
Fifty half breeds stood on stage and fired death beams at them. From out of nowhere Gohan appeared and deflected all their attacks. With arms wide open he stood in front of the women. Gohan then proclaimed that they were going home with him. He looked out into the crowd and told them that if any of them had any problems with that he'd gladly fight them.
No one did. My jaw had dropped when I heard what my nephew did. Amazingly so, his popularity didn't drop. Instead he was seen as sympathetic and kind. A new possible model for what Saiyans should be. I can't fill in the blanks for the rest of the story. You'd have to speak to Videl. Do you have enough time to do so?" Silver smiled.
"Yes. I'm a sucker for romance. I'm looking forward to getting that story as well as yours. Your relationship with Launch is something I've only seen happen two different times. Quick personal question if you don't mind. Which side of her do you like more?" Raditz shrugged.
"I can't choose. For two obvious reasons if you think about it. One would feel bad and self-conscious while the other would be mad at me for an absurd amount of time. I love them both equally. I get fierce passion from one and unbelievable gentleness and comfort from the other. When I woke up after being attacked by those things the first person I saw was Launch. She was kind, gentle and understanding. When I was feeling down there was a woman that taunted me fearlessly and got me to train. That was her as well but I didn't know it at the time.
Before I knew it I was conflicted about loving the same woman thinking they were two different women. Luckily I learned that they were one in the same. I doubted then that Earthling women would be accepting of sharing anyone. I was right and more surprisingly I cared about what an Earthling thought. Love can be a scary thing, wouldn't you agree?" Silver grinned and raised his can to him.
"I wholeheartedly agree. From one former cold heart to another." Raditz raised his can of Hetap as they drank with a mutual understanding of each other.
Author's Note - Somewhere out there I wouldn't be surprised if someone has decided to create Hetap. I wouldn't mind trying it. If you have no idea what it is I suggest you watch the episode in which Trunks offers cool drinks to the Z Warriors.
Guest - Dabura...I honestly don't see that happening...at all. At least in the way you mention. It's an interesting idea but with Buu the character was too OP to be controlled like that. As for absorbing him and Babadi, maybe. He's an easy character to overlook, at least for me. I managed to remember Cui of all characters over him and all he did was die. I'll see what I can do.
bigblukrew - My writing style has changed slightly. I think after a while you'll noticed the method I use to notify to the reader who happens to speaking at the moment. The reason I write this way is because in my earlier writing attempts I got tired of typing he said, she said, he thought, she thought. It builds up incredibly fast. Glad that you liked my use of the Oracle Fish.
dcp1992 - I can tell you now that I'm going to have a lot of fun writing those scenes later. As for Videl's decision...it's...well damn...you'll have to wait and see.
LegendOfTomorrow - I have a rough idea of how my pattern will work. As for the fifty years the reality I've based the story in to have there seems to be question there. If you know that your world is safe would you put in the effort to stop whatever it is that is destroying realities, or would you procrastinate? Going over the previous episode and what Videl had said you have her answer.
Until next time, peace.