~Takula Saga~

Chapter 43 – The Sword in the Stone

Goten and Trunks silently snuck through the dimly lit halls of this space station. From what they could tell, besides the two whom they had met back in that white room, there was no one else in the station. Goten smiled as he looked from left to right. Most of the rooms were just full of books. Books after books after boring books. Trunks lead the two as they looked for something more interesting. As their hallway came to an end, Trunks looked left and then right.

"I say we go left."

Goten blinked, looking both ways as well. "What make's you say that?"

"You always go left. All the interesting stuff is always left in the games I play."

Goten nodded, and the two took off again. This hall was different though, it didn't have any doors on the side, but the boy's could make out one door far down the hall if they squinted. Trunks and Goten zipped down to the door, stopping just before running into it. The door automatically slipped up to let them through, and their little chibi eyes grew wide. Behind the door was a huge room full of different exhibits, some large gun looking items, others were small one man ship looking things, and what the boys could only figure to be battle armor with wires and a power pack on back. All of it was neatly arranged, at least five different rows of stuff and the rows went at least as far as the length of the capsule corp building.

Goten and Trunks slowly walked, looking over the many different items on display. There was a fine layer of dust on most of the items, but that didn't take a way the splendor. There were so many different looking technical items that Bulma would look more like a kid in a candy story rather to a genius, company owner, or mother. As the two walked down towards the other side of the items however, the items seemed to be getting less and less sophisticated. Now the item's were starting to look more like simple swords or metal armor.

Trunks then eyed a simple sword that looked like a knight would have used on earth. However, this sword was buried almost to the guard. Lower in the rock closer to eye level was a golden plaque. Trunks ducked under the rope as he tried to get a closer look and read it.

"- The Z-Sword - "

"A legendary sword that had been stuck into this rock. It is stuck and no force on this plane or the next seem to be able to pull it out. It is said that who ever pulls this sword out from the stone shall be granted power which is above all others."

Goten looked towards Trunks as he read aloud the plaque. Looking up, he tilted his head towards the handle. "Wouldn't it be easier just to blow up the rock?"

"Idiot, you'd probably blow up the sword too."

Goten thought for a second, before another idea came to him. "Well, just punch the rock then! No explotions, so the sword will be fine."

Trunks looked to Goten, blinking as he thought it over. Turning back to the rock, he pulled his fist back and gave the rock a good punch. Not a single piece of ruble came off as Trunks started hopping up and down in pain, blowing on the red mark his knuckles now held. Goten scratched his head, floating up to the sword. Looking at it, it didn't look anything special. Just a simple silver/metal ball on the end, a black grip, and a silver guard. The blade, or what you could see before it disappeared below the stone was the same metal looking color as the pommel.

Goten leaned down putting his hands on the grip as he started to pull up. Trunks finally calmed down from the pain and glanced up at his friend. Goten's face quickly started to turn red as he tried to pull out the blade, but for the life of him it wouldn't budge. Finally, Goten's fingers slipped and he was sent falling backwards as he rolled down the large stone. Trunks didn't hold back and started to laugh as he pointed.

"Hehe, nice try Goten!"

The small boy pouted, holding his hurting head. "Oh ya? Well, you try and pull it out then!"

Trunk's smiled confidently as he floated towards the sword. Spitting on both hands and then slapping them together, the oddly haired saiyan glared down at the grip. Placing his hands on the sword, Trunk's tried with everything he had as he tried to pull it up. But once again it didn't bother to budge. His face soon two started to budge. Goten flew up on the other side of the rock as he watched his best friend try, but it once again wouldn't move. Finally Trunks gave up, taking a step back from the sword as he glanced at his throbbing red hands.

"Not so easy, huh?"

Trunks blew on his hands, glaring at his friend. "Fine, let's both try then."

Goten nodded, his pout turning to a smile. Goten gripped the handle at the bottom, Trunks taking a hold at the top. At once, both put their everything into pulling this sword out. They both nearly went cross-eyed, but the sword would not move. They both started to groan from the strain, a white aura starting to come from both of them.

"G-Goten...w-we got to g-go...super..."

"K-kay... R-ready?"

At the same time, both the boy's hair spike up and a single golden flame consumed the top of the rock. Slowly, the sword finally slipped up. The rock around the sword started to crack, around the blade and around their feet. Goten and Trunks cried out as their golden energy grew to their max, the sword finally giving way. With the sound of metal sliding past rock, the sword came up. The second the sword left the stone, a white lite consumed the area, both boys shutting their eyes shut tight.

As the light faded, both slowly opened their eyes. They both still had both of their hands on the grip of the sword, but they noticed something different. Glancing their right hands, they saw a strange silver ring with the designs of a dragon on the side. Goten's ring had the design come out from the ring while Trunks' ring design was carved into it. Both glanced from their rings to the sword itself. The metal blade was simple enough. No fancy carvings, nothing special to distinguish it from other ones. And yet that simple design of the blade made it look as if it was hiding something.

The blade stood almost as tall as the boys, from tip to hilt it was 90 centimeters or two feet and eleven inches. For a few seconds the boy's were quiet, but just as they were going to talk a second flash of blinding light erupted from the sword. As the light faded, the two boys were no where to be seen.

-DBZ-

"Wait, what do you mean earth was the Saiyan home-world?" stuttered Krillin. The four from earth had been completely blindsided. They had come here to see if the people here could be reasoned with, or if need by forcibly turned away. No one had expected anything close to this. Gohan shook his head, trying to process all of this new information. It seemed to make sense. To be honest, he couldn't think strait but as far as he could think it all added up. Videl blinked a few times in surprise. Biology definitely wasn't her subject, but she worked hard to get good grades in all her classes. And from what she could remember, what this Takula was saying didn't seem to have any holes.

Takula smiled as he held his hand out towards the hologram machine again. The see through picture turned back to earth, a moon now orbiting the planet. "I should say that human's and saiyan's are a different species now, after thousands of years for evolution to do it's work. But go back far enough, and both races share a common ancestor. Which means, they share some of the same traits such as super saiyan and the later transformations. It's must a matter of trying to dig it out."

Vegeta nearly growled, shaking his head. "No! It's impossible! There is now way those weak human's are related to saiyans! It's impossible."

"Then tell me Prince, why do you think your human saiyan hybrid children are so strong? They're closer to your old ancestor. Human's hold within them their old ancestor's strength, and you saiyan's are the key to getting it out. It truly would be interesting to see earth in a few hundred years."

Videl glanced at her feet, thinking deeply for a second before looking back up and strait into Takula's eyes. "So tell me, is it possible for a human like me to become a super saiyan?"

A strange smile crossed over Takula's face. It almost was enough to put Videl on edge, there just was something about this guy. Krillin's eyes suddenly lit up, interested in the idea as well. "Well. The odds of that happening would be slim to nothing. You do have some spiky black hair though, so there may be some stronger saiyan blood in you than most. But unless you can find a way to grow out a tail, the answer is no."

Videl seemed to be dejected, looking back down towards the ground. Krillin was the same, disappointed as he looked down. Gohan looked over to the girl, and then Krillin. Both the humans were a little more than upset at the idea, but when Gohan looked at Takula, the man still had that smile over his face.

"There is however, a way for me to unlock the hidden potential of a fighter. It is an old supreme kai technique that my people knew. If I were to use this on a human, the user would be even stronger than a super saiyan. They'd be around the strength of your super saiyan three, maybe even stronger."

Both Videl and Krillin's head shot up at that, their eyes nearly sparkling with hope. Takula however held up his hand in the direction of Krillin. "Sorry friend, but I can only unlock two people at the same time. I only have two hands, and I would like to see what would happen if a human/saiyan hybrid, someone who is close to the blood of your ancient ancestors had their power unlocked."

"Aww..." Krillin looked back towards the ground, disappointment on his face.

Gohan blinked, but then glanced towards Krillin. "Uh, sorry Krillin..."

Krillin looked back up, a sad smile as he looked at Gohan. "Oh, it's okay. I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of power anyway. And besides, I want to retire from fighting anyway now that I have a daughter."

At that point, all six in the white room noticed two power level's suddenly disappear. There eyes shot to where the two small children had been standing, finding them missing. Vegeta nearly cursed his brains out as his head shot around the room.

"Damn it! Where did those little brats get to? Didn't anyone notice where they went!"

"I can take you to where their power's disappeared to Vegeta. Maybe if we go there we will find a clue of what happened."

Vegeta growled, but Gohan's face was full of worry. He couldn't sense Goten. Damn it, why hadn't he paid more attention to him? He hadn't expected his mind to be blown like this, but that was no excuse for losing his younger brother. Takula held out both of his hands, stretching them both out. In an instant, all those in the white room fazed out of view.

-DBZ-

Goten and Trunks opened their eyes, finding they weren't on a space station anymore. If the landscape was summed up in one word, that word would be green. As far as their eyes could see it was grass. Off in the distance they could make out white tipped mountains, but those were so far away it might have taken a good half hour of flying at max to reach them. Both looked down at their hands, finding the same strange ring still on their finger. Goten noticed he was no longer holding onto the sword, instead just standing off to Trunks' side. Trunks found the sword on his back, inside a scabbard that seemingly came out of nowhere.

Smoke seemingly came out of nowhere in front of the boys, catching their attention. A shadowy figure appeared in the smoke, and as the smoke died down, he came into view. The figure was a human, or some alien that looked human, and male, who looked middle aged due to wrinkles starting to appear on his face. He was tall, standing at least six feet high. He was dressed in a long dark red silk robe with golden trim at the end of the sleeves and the collar. The gold trim rand down the front of his shirt, arching slightly towards the right slit. The robe was slit on the sides up to his waist, for his legs. He wore red pants as well, which stuck out due to the robe being so dark red it was nearly black. The red gi pants were tucked into his small black shoes, which were the same color as his robe.

His face looked stern, but his eyes seemed to show he had more to him than just that. His skin that could be seen was tan. He had some facial hair, a short beard that was trimmed circled his mouth and went down to the bottom of his chin, a small tuff making its way from the chin to his mouth. His hair was the same black color as his beard, and it was just as short. In his hands, he held a sword in its scabbard. The sword had a long black grip, with a golden ball at the end and a golden cupped guard all around the top of the grip. The scabbard itself was black as well, having gold with intricate designs on either side of it.

"Two children? Interesting..."

-DBZ-

The four from earth along with Takula and his assistant fazed in front of the rock where Goten and Trunks had been moment's earlier. They all quickly started looking left from right, for any sign of where the two boy's may have gone to. The supreme kai's eyes suddenly shot wide when he caught side of the sword missing from the stone.

"I-it's not possible..."

Vegeta quickly turned towards Takula, his face now more than scowling. "What is it? Spit it out!"

"Th-they pulled the sword from the stone! I didn't think it possible. How could they have done this?"

Krillin took charge, just so Vegeta wouldn't kill a supreme Kai. "Uh, sir, what do you mean? What happened to the kids?"

Takula tried his best to right himself, to calm his nerves but he was still taken back, slightly shaking. "Here is another example of the races similar ancestry. I'm sure you all have heard of the sword in the stone? It was a myth even when I was a child. Whom ever could pull the stone was given immense power. You've heard of it, yes? It was a mythic story before the split of your race occurred, so I'm sure both sides have a version of the story."

"Stop blabbering about nothing, before I return you to your own ancestors! Tell us where the brats are now!" Vegeta grit his teeth as he tried to contain himself.

"It is said whom ever can pull the sword first must fight the last person to wield the blade, to prove themselves worthy. If the person proves themselves worthy, they get the honor of wielding the blade. If they fail the sword would return to the stone, the person who pulled the sword out being sent to Other-World."

"What, they'd be killed?" shouted Gohan. Goten... Videl was also shocked. Those two kids thrown into a life or death situation because they pulled the sword? She never remembered hearing that part of the story. Vegeta however was the one who was most worried.

"If they don't come back, I swear you will pay for this, Kai..."

Krillin shot in between the others, waving his hands for them to slow down. "Hey, relax! They both can go super saiyan, so there's nothing to worry about. There's no way this guy can beat them."

Videl glanced towards Gohan, finding him staring off into space. He looked so worried for his little brother, and she wanted to help him any way she could. But the only way to really relieve him would to get Goten out of there, and she didn't know how to do that. All they could do would be to have faith in the two. Looking up to Takula, she raised her voice slightly so she could be heard. "Who was the last person to wield the sword anyway?"

-DBZ-

Goten and Trunks fell into their fighting stances, glaring at the man who had suddenly appeared infront of them. Trunks took the initiative, and ask what the two were thinking. "Who are you? And where are we?"

"My name is Piandao, a master swordsman from a long time ago. And you two are at a place I pre-determined to test you. You need not the specifics Although I must admit I only expected one person, and someone who was a lot older."

Now Goten spoke up calmly, slightly lowering himself in his stance all the same. "But why did we come here? Why are you here?"

"I brought you here so you could be tested. Once you prove yourselves to me, then you will be returned to where you came from. I must warn you, the sword has chosen you both so I won't go easy. You both may come at me at once. Be mindful, I don't want the blood of young-ones on my hands."

Goten blinked, but then a smile crossed hes face. "So you want to fight? Why didn't you just say so?"

"Focus Goten, I don't think this guy is a joke." Trunks raised his hand to the grip of his own blade, his serious face never flinching.

"You think?"

"Just look at his eyes. This guy is good, I can tell."

Goten looked towards Piandao, blinking a few times before tilting his head to the side. "Should we go super then?"

"I think so." Trunks slowly lifted the blade from the scabbard, the metal sword slowly showing itself. Piandao did the same, taking his scabbard in his hand while the sword in the other as he slowly slide the sword out. Goten looked back and forth before a slight pout showed on his face.

"Hey! Don't I get a weapon too?"

Piandao blinked, a slight smirk crossing his face. "Well, usually only one person pulls out the sword, so the challenger uses that. But since the sword chose two, I suppose you will need a weapon. Don't worry, I'll give you a weapon the same way I made mine here. What is your tool of choice?"

Goten thought for a moment, before smiling as he answered back. "Bow Staff please. My dad used to use on, and Gohan taught me how to use one a few years ago."

"Very well." Piandao held his hand towards Goten, causing smoke to slowly seep out of his hand. The smoke took the shape of a staff, and soon a shadow of the staff formed in the smoke. As it cleared away, Piandao tossed the weapon over to Goten.

The three fighters took fighting positions, watching their enemy for the slightest of movements. The two smaller fighters moved first, shooting towards their enemy. Half way, both of them roared out as their hair turned to gold, pulling their weapons into the ready position. Piandao pulled his sword from its scabbard, reviling the rest of the blade. With the scabbard in one hand and his blade in the other, he blocked both attacks as Trunks swung his blade down while Goten swung his staff towards his side. The two young one's eyes widened at that. This man had some real skill with his blade.

But soon all of their eyes fell to Trunk's blade. The sword the two had pulled from the stone began to change as Trunk's own golden energy started to creep up the blade. Soon the silver of the guard and the pommel changed to a gold on. Trunks could feel his energy being pulled into the blade, and then returned to him at least ten fold.

Piandao looked the new blade in Trunks' hands over. "Amazing..."

-DBZ-

Krillin turned back to face Takula. "Who's Piandao?"

"A man who was easily one of the best swordsmen ever. He used the power of the Z-Sword to bring piece to many planets. It is said that he never lost a battle, and he even took on one hundred mercenaries hunting for his head at once. He was the only one to walk away from the battle."

"Is there any way to help them?" Videl glanced towards the stone, worry for both Goten and Gohan etched into her face.

Takula shook his head. He had planned to get these fighters stronger for his plan, but never in his wildest dreams did he think any of them would be able to lift the sword. His plans now might actually work! "No, once the challenge starts... it must be finished."

-DBZ-

Goten jumped back, firing a golden ball of energy once he landed. Piandao brought his foot up and kicked Trunks back. Spinning, the man brought his blade around and up, slicing the ball in half. The two halves landed on either side of him, creating small explosions as he charged. Trunks righted himself, bringing his sword up as he got ready to defend. Piandao brought his sword down, Trunks bring his own up and blocking it. Piandao quickly swung his scabbard to the side, attempting to strike a blow to Trunks' side. Goten fazed in between, holding the bow staff strait up to block. The three fighters grit as they found themselves in a stalemate.

"You two move as one! I am impressed, it is no wonder the sword chose you both instead of just one."

Goten smiled, slowly pushing the scabbard back. "You haven't seen anything yet, mister!"

"That's right. Super Saiyan's don't go down easy!" Trunks smiled as well, glancing towards his partner.

Piandao blinked, looking down at the two. "Saiyan's you say? I see, but then let me ask. Why are you only using one of your transformations? That said, where are your tails?"

"Only my big brother Gohan has a tail, mister. Me and Trunks weren't born with one."

Piandao was quiet for a while, only the sound of metal on metal and scabbard on staff to be heard. Finally, he jumped back, looking the warriors down. "I feel that the sword has been left in the stone for far longer than I had expected it to be. Never the less, the sword is the one who chooses. It must have been waiting a long time for you two."

The boys were silent, though each were wondering how a sword could choose someone. Piandao took a fighting stance, and then once again charged in. The boys shook off their thoughts and did the same, charging in ready to fight. Just before Piandao reached Goten and Trunks, he slammed his scabbard into the ground, using it to push himself into the air. Goten and Trunks could only look up as they watched Piandao fly just over them. Digging their feet in, they started to turn. Piandao quickly landed just behind them both, and quickly slashed his sword up towards Goten. The small boy held his staff out, but it was sliced through as if it were simple paper. The young boy stuttered back, slightly spooked from how close the blade had been.

Trunks took the chance and jabbed his sword at his opponent. Piandao spun, the sword just missing him. As he turned, he took his scabbard and hit Trunks in the back of his head. The boy flew forward, rolling as he hit the ground. It didn't take long, soon he was up again and charging back at Piandao. Goten looked up from his sitting position, taken back as the two swordsmen infront of him started to attack each other with a barrage of slashes.

Despite Trunks' physical abilities and raw speed, Piandao was a master swordsman far beyond what the small boy was. Piandao span his blade, Trunks forced to follow the motion. At the end, Trunks' hands were thrown up and Piandao was open for a strike. Instead, the man kicked the small child in the stomach, sending him backwards. Trunks landed next to Goten, both boys slowly standing back up.

Both looked at each other, a sudden smile crossing their faces. Trunks held his hand out, Goten taking a hold of it with both hands. They both looked towards Piandao, both talking at the same time. "I hope your ready, because this is where we get serious!"

Goten started to spin Trunks around by his hand, leaving Piandao to stand and watch. When they both hit top speed, Goten released his friend, sending Trunk's flying right towards the swordsman. Trunks pointed the sword forwards, yelling charge as he flew. Piandao took a defensive stance, timing when he should parry. Goten took notice, figuring that Piandao would still be able to block from that distance. Cupping his hands behind him, a blue or began to form.

"Kamehameha!"

Goten thrust his hands forwards, the blue beam flying right towards Trunks. The Kamehameha caught up to Trunks, causing him to accelerate as it pushed against his feet. Piandao's eyes widened, realizing that he he would have to start moving his sword now if he even wanted to just block the incoming attack. Trunks accidentally flew towards the side, not expecting the kamehameha to hit him from behind. Moving his blade to the side, Trunks swung as he passed just to the side of Piandao, the sword cutting strait through the man.

Trunks fell forwards and into the ground in an attempt to stop the Kamehameha from causing him any real damage. He rolled forwards before finally coming to a stop, quickly standing up and yelling at his friend across the battlefield.

"What the hell was that Goten!"

"What do ya mean? If it wasn't for me, he would have sliced you!"

"Are you stupid? Because of you I had to react without thinking and I accidentally killed the guy!"

Both of the young ones looked towards Piandao, whom was somehow still standing. The strange part, even though his eyes were wide as if the attack had hit, he didn't have a single scratch on him. The man slowly shook off his shocked state, straightening up as his sword and scabbard turned back into smoke.

"Amazing. Simply amazing. I can see why the Z-Sword chose you two. You both have the potential to be great swordsmen, and great fighters. It is with great honor that I give you this sword, and all that comes with it."

Both Goten and Trunks looked on with wide eyes, a little shocked that he was still alive. They both listened intently as Piandao continued with what he had to say. They also noticed that his feet were slowly turning to smoke.

"The rings on your fingers, they unlock the swords true power. The original owner of the Z-sword, a man named Arthur, was so powerful that he could not control his powers when he fought. So, he placed a large amount of power into those two rings. If a fight ever got more than he could handle, all he had to do was fit one ring into the other, and the power would be released. Upon his death, he sealed the rest of his powers into the sword itself. Those who have wielded the blade after Arthur also did the same, so now you hold the power of seven master swordsmen. So if you ever need more power than you can muster, insert the rings together and you'll gain Arthur's power along with all the other swordsmen who came before you. Though it will be interesting to see what happens when two people place the rings together."

By now, Piandao had dissolved to smoke all the way up to his shoulders, and it was still moving fast. Trunks and Goten quickly gave a nod of understanding. Piandao nodded back, smiling as he gave the last piece of information.

"Oh yes, there is something else you should know. In my travels, I made my way to a planet that held people who could see the future. They told me something, but it never came to pass. I'll tell you now, because it may very well be you who sees this in your life times. Ehem, how did it go again? Ah yes. A storm is coming. With all its power, it cannot be stopped. All who try will fail, even the mightiest. Golden gods will fall. The Devil's army will fall. All … will fall. Do not fear it though. The sun may rise, but it must fall. Take it in, let it fuel you. It is the only way to survive. A storm is coming, so tap into it. ... I'm not sure what that means, but remember it. It could save your lives."

Once again both boy's nodded, trying to memorize what Piandao had told them. The man waved to the both of them as the rest of his body became smoke, the smoke flying towards Trunks and into the sword. The sword started to glow as the smoke surrounded it and sunk into it. Soon the light burst from the blade, blinding both fighters as the area started to fade away.

-DBZ-

Takula shook his head. "No, once the challenge starts, it must be finished."

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the rock the sword had been. Those in the area shielded their eyes from the dust flying off the other items. As the wind began to fade, all of them looked up to the top of the stone, their faces shifting from startled to purely amazed. A small boy with golden spiky hair was standing on the rock, a sword in a scabbard on his back. He was dressed in dark gray gi pants, white boots that looked saiyan but had velcro strips running up the middle like human shoes, and had hair closer to Vegeta than either Goten or Trunks. He had orange sleeveless shirt on with the kanji for sword over his heart and a blue jacket over that, which also had the kanji for sword on the shoulders. The three kanji's were black with white circles around them which were outlined with a black line. The boy's eyes were green due to him being in super saiyan, and he was looking over the others with a cocky smile.

Takula stuttered as he felt the power the small warrior was giving off. "W-who ... who are you?"

The cocky grin grew larger as he pointed at the man asking him the question while his other hand reached for his sword. "The name's Gotenks. Remember it."