Disclaimer- I own nothing
Chapter 3
Gohan felt incredibly light and warm. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see that he was not where he expected to be. In place of the cool valley was a vast white space, much like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Standing slowly, he reached out, 'Piccolo?'
'Behind you kid.'
Turning swiftly, Gohan reached down and pulled his Namekian counterpart to his feet. Keeping his back to his sensei, Gohan extended his senses out into the endless expanse. There was nothing, no ki, no life, anywhere within this void.
'I don't like this. There is something unnatural about this space.' Piccolo's thought was as tense as his body. On guard, they waited for their captor to return.
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"Sir," Kibito bowed low before the Supreme Kai. "I encountered difficulties during my observation."
"What kind of difficulties?" Shin asked slowly looking the prostrate man over. His normally unflappable servant was disheveled and upset.
"I was discovered sir. The Earth warriors attacked me. When I transported away, they were unfortunately pulled with me." Kibito stared at the ground in shame.
"Well, the timing is inconvenient, but it could have been worse. Bring them in." Shin ordered, looking at Kibito expectantly.
"They aren't here sir. This is holy ground; I would never soil it with unworthy mortals."
Shin's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Your distaste for mortals does not suit you my friend. It is our privilege to watch over them, not our right to condemn them. Where are they?"
"'I left them in the Fold, unconscious."
"Go get them, now, and bring them to me. I believe they are worthy of being in this place." After Kibito left, Shin rubbed his face wearily. The Fold is the space between realities. He fervently hoped that the Earth warriors slept through the experience. It would take a strong mind to handle the sheer nothingness of it and remain sane.
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'Head's up,' Gohan alerted as a tall man phased into being in front of him. Piccolo shifted, standing beside his friend, they faced their stalker.
"I am Kibito, assistant to the Supreme Kai. You will come with me now." Kibito held his hand out and waited.
'Do we trust him?' Gohan asked, still tense and on guard.
'No choice,' Piccolo's resigned reluctance evident in his mental tone.
As one, Gohan and Piccolo stepped forward and grasped the offered hand. Once again, the world blurred. As their sight returned the two found themselves in a lush field. Thick green grass and colorful flowers abounded across the rolling landscape. In the purple sky above them, multiple moons of various sizes littered the view.
"This is the Sacred World of the Kais," Kibito intoned. His disapproval was evident in his rigid stance. "The Supreme Kai is waiting. Follow me."
'Supreme Kai? I thought it stopped at the Grand Kai.' Gohan sent as they followed the sour assistant.
'I can recall rumors from Kami's memory about such a being, but he never knew for certain.'
Cresting a hill, a large palace came into view. The marble and granite façade sparkled in the light, creating a shimmering mirage. Standing in front of the steps was a small man with lavender skin and a white Mohawk.
"Welcome Piccolo, Gohan," Shin greeted them, nodding to each in turn. "I am the Supreme Kai Shin. You may call me Shin. Thank you for coming."
Gohan cocked a sardonic brow. 'We really didn't have much of a choice.'
'Play nice, if he is who he claims then we need to be respectful.' Piccolo shot back. He did not like the feeling he was getting from Shin.
Taking his cue from Piccolo, Gohan bowed his head in greeting. "Thank you for having us, I think." Gohan fought the need to clear his throat. His voice sounded rusty, rough from disuse.
Shin laughed, delighted. "That's as close to back talk as I've had in the last millennia. I do apologize for your brief stay in the Fold." At Gohan's questioning look, he expanded. "The place where you just were, it is called the Fold. It is the space between realities and probably not the most enjoyable place to visit. My servant, Kibito was unsure where to bring you after your unintentional transport."
"Forget it," Gohan dismissed. "It reminded me of a place we've stayed at once before, and for much longer."
Shin tilted his head in confusion. To his knowledge, there was no other place like the Fold. In any other case, he simply would have read the thoughts of the person he was conversing with, clearing up any misunderstanding. With these two, he felt as though he was ramming his mind against a kachin wall. Their mental defenses were impregnable even to him.
"Why are we here?" Piccolo's raspy voice interrupted Shin's mental ramblings.
"I need your help, both of you. Do you know what my purpose is? Why there is a need for a Supreme Kai?" At the negative shake, he continued. "Though you may not be aware of it, but every major choice you make creates a different timeline, a different reality. The number is truly infinite, ever changing and expanding as time goes one. In every universe, the four King Kais watch over their charges. The Grand Kai reigns above the Kings, preventing disorder. I am the authority that resides over it all, seeing to the balance between realities."
Shin waited for a moment, unsure if the mortals would be able to handle it all. At Gohan's go-ahead gesture, he continued.
"The balance between realities is kept in check by maintaining a fairly even distribution of both light and dark energies. Due to their very nature, those that contain dark energy strive to overwhelm the light. If they succeed, and the balance shifts drastically enough, the affected reality warps. Over time, if the imbalance is not corrected, it creates a domino effect. One reality after another warps until the entire Multiverse is destabilized. If the Multiverse was ever allowed to completely destabilize, it would mean an end to everything."
"How do you keep it in check?" Gohan asked.
"I don't, the Guardians do," Shin answered.
"The Guardians?" Piccolo questioned. Half of him had been a Guardian and that had not been in the job description.
Kibito blinked at him, as if appalled that he had to ask. Stepping forward he explained "Not a planet Guardian, but a Guardian of Light. A Guardian of Light is a special kind of warrior. To become one you must have shown great bravery, compassion, honesty, intelligence, strength, power, and have a pure heart through it all. These special warriors are the guardians of positive energy. They protect all the worlds in the Multiverse from those that wish to destroy life and happiness."
'Why do I have a bad feeling about this conversation?' Gohan glanced at Piccolo out of the corner of his eye.
'You and me both kid.'
"Okay, where are the Guardians?" Gohan asked Shin.
"There aren't any. They all perished several thousand years ago against the greatest evil the Multiverse had ever seen, Majin Buu. The Guardians managed to seal the creature into the deepest bowels of Hell, but paid the ultimate price in the process. Since their deaths, the realities have been left unchecked and the effect is devastating. If something doesn't change soon, the Multiverse will collapse." Shin explained his tone somber.
"When a planet's Guardian dies, a new one takes his place. So why haven't you replaced these Light Guardians?" Piccolo asked.
"That is Guardian of Light," Kibito corrected, scowling in irritation.
Shin looked sharply at his servant, demanding his silence. Returning his attention to Gohan and Piccolo, he resumed. "In all this time, there has not been a single person qualified for the position. That is, until now." He turned and looked directly into Gohan's eyes. "I've been watching you for a long time Son Gohan, in every reality that you exist in. You are the first in many millennia to possess all of the necessary criteria."
"Why, why me? I know so many good people that would be willing to help. My father gave his life more than once to protect the lives of others, why not him?" Gohan asked; horrified by the direction this was taking. He hated the constant fighting in his life and the death, blood, and screams that went with it. The thunder rumbling in his mind increased in volume as Piccolo sought to keep him calm.
"You, both of you, have been chosen, not Son Goku. The Supreme Kai has been watching your progress ever since you destroyed the Makyo Star. Only an incredibly powerful blast of pure positive energy could have done that. You did that." Kibito said carefully.
"I did in fact consider Son Goku, but found him to be unsuited to the position. Every battle he participated in was prolonged by his need and love of fighting. In one case, his choice to test his limits caused the destruction of an entire planet. Such tendencies in a Guardian would be dangerous to say the least." Shin's eyes never left Gohan's as he offered his explanation.
"What did you mean; you've been watching the kid in every reality? You could have taken him from any other version, why our reality?" Piccolo questioned, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.
"He is unbalanced in the other realities." Kibito answered.
"I'm going to need a little more than that," Gohan demanded.
Shin sighed; he had been hoping to avoid this. "Follow me." Turning, he led the way into the palace. Twisting through several hallways, he brought them to a large room. It was empty except for a massive crystal ball in the middle of the room. "This is my window into the Multiverse. From here, I can watch the different realities, monitoring the levels of light and dark. From here, I discovered you."
Gohan looked up at the sphere. 'Baba would love this thing.' Piccolo's eye twitched in amusement. He could imagine quite well the reaction of the small witch.
"You two are in perfect balance," Shin said slowly, wanting them to understand. "That kind of balance is rare, very, very rare. Apart, neither one of you is quite complete. You both seem to lack something vital. However, together, you are like the finest sword. The blade perfectly counterbalanced by the hilt. While the blade may be the stronger part of the whole, without the hilt to ground it, even the sharpest blade useless in battle. You are the only versions of yourselves that have managed to achieve such balance."
Shin walked up to luminescent ball, holding his hands up a faint glow surrounded them. From the depths, images slowly formed, solidified, and came to the forefront.
"Everything you see is real. It is not what may be, but what is. This is happening, right now." Shin intoned quietly.
Stepping forward, Gohan and Piccolo took in the view being offered. Gohan cringed as a version of himself pranced about in a ridiculous costume. Declaring himself the Great Saiyaman, he tossed out poses worthy of the Ginyu Force.
'What in the hell is that all about?' Gohan demanded, outraged that he had sunk so low. He let out a disgusted grunt as the gaudy red cape danced in the breeze. He looked down at his wrists, fingering the red bands uncomfortably. A tingle caressed his skin as Piccolo replaced his red wristbands and sash with dark blue ones.
'Thank you!'
'Don't mention it kid, really, ever.' Piccolo stated, torn between amusement and disgust. At least he had something to counteract Gohan's knowledge of the Namekian children now, but he had a hard time imagining his friend acting in such a manner.
The image whirled for a moment. As the images came into focus, Piccolo could be seen meditating in the courtyard at the Lookout. Before him, Dende and Mr. Popo were noting that he had been in that state for thirty-nine hours, a new record and how pleased they were that he had cut down the mosquito population on the Lookout.
'Why on Earth am I meditating for thirty-nine hours? Why aren't I training or doing something other than reducing the surplus bug population?' Piccolo all but spat in his vexation.
Over and over, the picture presented to them blurred, only to be replaced by an equally confusing image.
"I think we've seen enough." Piccolo growled, thoroughly put out by the overall picture.
Shin nodded and the ball went dark. "Do you understand now? The choices you two have made in every reality but your own left you in a state of imbalance. Weaker and less stable because you are separate. This is the only reality in which you managed to fuse."
Gohan rubbed his forehead, trying to ward off the headache brewing. "What exactly do you want from us? You are dancing around the meat of the subject Shin. Get to it."
"Very well, I wish for you both to take the position of Guardian on." Shin sighed, his eyes dimming for a moment. "The Guardians have been sorely missed. They were the ones that fought against ones such as the Ice Demons."
"Wait," Gohan exclaimed. "The Ice Demons, you mean Frieza's family?"
"Yes. The Guardians were not responsible for every villain, only those whose power far outranked the champions naturally available within a reality, the ones that would cause a distortion. Without the Guardians, the Ice Demons were able to thrive. The balance was severely affected by the tyrants. One reality was brought to complete collapse."
Gohan's mind reeled at the implications. Vegeta had spent his entire life before coming to Earth under that lizard's heel. Gohan knew he had faced brutal torture of both body and mind.
'It all could have been prevented Piccolo,' he thought. If they accepted and became these Guardians, then maybe no one else would have to go through what Vegeta had. Thinking over his own childhood, he realized that he could also prevent another child, Goten, from being forced into battle. 'What do you think Piccolo? This isn't just me, it's us.'
Images of the death and destruction he had dealt in his original form passed through Piccolo's mind. He had been part of the problem then and at times, he wondered if he could ever atone for it all. Then he remembered what it was like to watch Gohan breakdown as Goku transported Cell away and that dark time that followed. His own death at Nappa's hands flashed before his mind's eye. He had been unable to handle the kid's death; too young to be on the battlefield, always too young. Gohan flinched as Piccolo recalled his death.
"What happens if we say yes? There has to be a catch. What about those on Earth?" Piccolo asked, knowing Gohan needed to watch over his family, just as he needed to watch over Dende.
"If you take this responsibility you may never see them again during their mortal lives. Being called forth into a battle that involves them would be the only way." Kibito said with a horrible sense of finality.
"Why?" Gohan's voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
"If a Guardian were to remain within the mortal realm, the concentration of light energy would cause an equal amount of dark to rise. The Multiverse naturally strives for balance. It would create a never ending cycle."
Gohan lowered his head for a moment at Shin's words. It made sense in a way. The Z-Warriors were constantly coming against more and more powerful foes. Could it be that it wasn't necessarily his father that they had been after? Instead, had it merely been a balancing of his incredible energy? But could he leave, could they both leave, the way his father had?
'No, we can't. Neither one of us is built that way.' Piccolo interjected into Gohan's musing.
"No. If we do this, you play by our rules; we find a compromise. I am not leaving my family to protect everyone else. That does more harm than good." Gohan stated firmly. Piccolo nodded in complete agreement, crossing his arms over his chest, he stared down at the Kai.
"Why you insolent mortal; you do not make demands of the Supreme Kai!" Kibito shouted, his dark pink face flushing red.
"Kibito! That is enough. We need them, especially with what happened." Shin admonished.
"What happened?" Piccolo asked.
"As the realities warp more and more, the borders between weaken. Two miscreants have somehow managed to take advantage of the weak spots. They have started crossing from one to another, speeding up the destabilization process. I had hoped to wait just a little while longer. Piccolo is a full adult, while you Gohan, are not. I wanted to observe you for a time, see if you were truly ready. Since you are here now…I accept your condition. If you two agree to come whenever you are called, I will find a way for you to see the ones you love."
'Piccolo?'
'I'm in, you?'
'Hmm, refuse and let the universe and all reality collapse or accept and fight to keep it all together? No contest.'
"Very well, we accept the position." Piccolo's deep voice echoed in the massive room.
'Man, Mom's going to kill me when she finds out!'
Piccolo could do nothing but agree.