Hey guys! Really really sorry about the lack of continuation, had a massive spike in real life activity with college work and the like. I'm afraid I may not have another break hit until summer to where I might be able to keep pumping out chapters, but I will do my best to make sure I finish this story in a somewhat timely manner, and appreciate your feedback and criticisms! :)
Chapter 12: The Foundations of Power
Upon that day of success, the warriors continued their year long training to further enhance their abilities. Day after day, Leiji guided the four Saiyan warriors in mastering themselves as more than warriors.
The warriors training consisted of nearly an entirely different approach. Instead of harnessing power and developing new techniques with the Super Saiyan 5 transformation they achieved on the first day, each Saiyan worked in mastering patience, control, and self discipline at the urging of Leiji. Denying impulses and meditation over sparring and practicing energy attacks, in order to face the mental front that the Dread Masters would undoubtedly employ. However, despite the near year long meditation and self reflections being undertaken, only Vegetto could ascend to the strange transformation of the white hair, empty eyes, and a light bluish glow to his hair and aura. The transformation itself put the fusion far beyond the levels of a Super Saiyan 5, much to the dismay of the others in their failed attempts to replicate what Vegetto underwent mentally to achieve the form.
During this year long training, Vegetto and Leiji grew closer with each passing day. In addition to sharing minor interests in small areas, the two developed a strong relationship more out of Vegetto's desire to discover who he truly was. Nearly three months away before the time inside the chamber had allotted, Leiji gave birth to healthy baby boy who was named simply Junior due to his unnaturally striking resemblance to his father. Ultimately, because of their inability to care for the child, the warriors emerged from the chamber prematurely, having felt the time had come to finally confront the darkness spanning from the unknown planet in the Northern quadrant of the universe, believed to be an undeniable trap set by the Dread Masters.
The Elder Kai's eyes remained wide, staring dumbfoundly at the group of five standing in front of him. The only sound in the room came from the new addition in the group, the loud wails of the baby boy resting neatly in Leiji's arms. The Elder Kai blinked hard before turning to Kabito Kai, who also shared his wide eyed gaze. The two then turned back to the five. "Well, I didn't really see this coming at all." Vegeta kept his arms crossed in front of his chest, his eyes narrowed. "I did." Goku grinned at the sound of Vegeta's confirmation, his eyes turning to Leiji as she glanced down with slightly red cheeks. "Yeah! It was pretty obvious once you saw how those two acted in each other's company." Vegetto smirked, glancing to Goku. "Well Kakarot, you were right. But we can talk more about this later, with more pressing matters to attend to."
He crossed his arms.
"Now that the Kais have been filled in on what we discovered and how we can best approach this threat, I think it's time we head to that planet and face these Dread Masters once and for all."
Leiji turned her head back up, nodding to Vegetto in response.
"Right, let me go ahead and make sure Junior is comfortable and then we can leave."
Vegetto turned his head to the side, his eyes following Leiji as she quickly scurried out of the room with the wailing baby in her arms. His eyes turned towards the ground once she had disappeared into the hallway, a small frown etching onto his face while he sat in silence for a moment.
He then turned his head back to the others.
"I'll go make sure she...umm...doesn't have any problems with Junior."
Vegetto quickly turned on his heel, following after Leiji while Gogeta smirked at the fusion, chuckling.
"Alright, well make it quick Vegetto. Whatever it is you two plan on doing in there."
The Potara fusion offered no response, his attention dead set on Leiji's trail and disappeared into the hallway shortly after the other three Saiyan's each stifled a chuckle at his expense.
Vegetto soon came to a halt in the doorway leading into the room, nearly breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of Leiji kneeling over the cradle at the opposite corner of the room. Junior's wails had ceased entirely, the small baby boy now resting his head on the pillow inside of the cradle at the soothing whispers of Leiji's command, who smiled down at the boy.
Her smile widened a little bit, Vegetto's muscular arms wrapping around her waist from behind shortly after. She fell back more into his embrace, glancing slightly to the side at the sound of his dual voice.
"Hey."
Leiji giggled back in response.
"Oh hey."
Vegetto smiled back down at her, nearly resting his chin on her shoulder.
"You know, we don't really have to face the Dread Masters right now. I'm sure we can wait a little bit."
Leiji barred her teeth as she chuckled in response before locking eyes with Vegetto.
"C'mon, you know we shouldn't waste any more time."
Vegetto's smile disappeared, his eyes avoiding hers and turning towards the ground.
"I know. But I just...well...want to feel like we're a family for once before we have to..."
Leiji blinked once, her smile fading as well at the sound of Vegetto's concern. She gave another half hearted smile, attempting to laugh.
"What? What do you mean?"
Vegetto glanced back up to her, locking eyes with a frown. Leiji instinctively matches his frown with one of her own.
"You've been having those nightmares again?"
Vegetto shook his head once, his embrace loosening around her waist.
"Not another nightmare...I just..."
He let out a deep sigh.
"I don't have a good feeling about this whole plan of facing the Dread Masters. And well, if something happens, I want to at least have the chance to say we were a family. Even if it's only for a few more minutes..."
Leiji smiled, quickly nudging her head on his chest.
"It'll be ok hun, we'll still be a family at the end of all this. I promise."
Vegetto kept his gaze close to the floor.
"I hope so."
Glancing back to the side, Gogeta smirked once more as Vegetto and Leiji soon returned back to the others, walking side by side separately.
"Well, that was a quick one. Shorter than most, since you only kept us waiting for about five minutes this time."
Leiji smirked back, raising an eyebrow.
"What? Not enough time for you to try and catch a peek, pervert?"
Vegeta chuckled at the retort, yet kept his eyes narrowed with his smirk.
"C'mon, we should focus now. The darkness coming from that planet will likely affect our minds the moment we enter the atmosphere of the planet, so we should transform now to avoid any trouble."
Kabito Kai turned to Vegeta with a confused look.
"Why transform now?"
Gogeta clenched his fists together, his attention landing on Kabito Kai as well.
"While we continued to train, we soon discovered there was a more effective way to master the power of the transformations we used. While we maintain our new transformations, the negative emotions we experience such as anger, fear, sorrow, guild, and the like are amplified with the primal introduction."
The fusion grunted, a golden aura rapidly shooting up from underneath his feet and quickly ascended into a Super Saiyan 5 with a small flash of light, followed shortly by Goku, Vegeta, and Leiji.
"Unlike before, where Goku and Gohan simply just lived and maintained the Super Saiyan transformation to master it, we spent the last set of months in the Time Chamber to actually meditate."
The Kais watched in in awe, studying the bright and golden transformations of the four Saiyan warriors as the auras violently surged around the room at winds that brought a breeze inside from the show of energy and power.
"Now, instead of having more control over our emotions, we no longer feel them. The anger, the fear, everything. It's all gone."
Kabito Kai grinned, nodding in understanding.
"Ah, I see now! That means these Dread Masters will definitely have no control over you without them, well done!"
Gogeta smirked back.
"Thank you."
The fusion then turned his attention towards Vegetto, raising an eyebrow.
"What about you, Vegetto? Why don't you go ahead and show them what you learned from Leiji's teachings?"
Vegetto couldn't help but smirk back in response, having remained in his normal state through Gogeta's explanation. Without a word, the fusion clenched his fists together as a forceful white aura erupted up from underneath his boots, quickly engulfing Vegetto in a snow white flash of light. His pupils had disappeared in the flash, his hair having turned to a bright snow white with a bluish glow and a pure white set of lightning sparks erupted around his body to match the white aura itself.
The Kai's mouths hung even closer to the ground at the demonstration, Gogeta grinning slightly while he gestured to Vegetto.
"Vegetto, however, discovered a different transformation altogether when we first entered the Time Chamber. The type of power he wields now is on a level beyond our own, something we've never even seen before."
The Elder Kai glanced at Vegetto from head to toe, his robes ruffling in the strong breeze emitting from the white aura encircling Vegetto.
"Impressive, very impressive. But you forget one thing."
Vegetto raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the Kai.
"And what is that?"
The Elder Kai kept a stern expression, his arms crossed behind his back.
"Your confidence still remains, despite what you claim to have discovered the path to true peace of yourself. To rid yourself of emotions is a fruitless task, you of all people should know that your power comes from them. Why forsake the only source of power you have known your whole life?"
Vegetto frowned.
"Because the threat we face manipulates that very power source."
His eyes narrowed, his tone pointing.
"You, of all people, should know that."
The Elder Kai paused for a moment, his stern expression lightening as he let out a small sigh.
"Yes I do. But I fear this threat doesn't hold power over you or the others in the way you may believe. I fear, that when the time comes, the pride and confidence in what you hold above all else will be what the Dread Masters manipulate and twist before your very eyes. In the end, I fear as if the greatest tactic they will employ is tearing down the walls that lift you up"
The god turned on his heel, dipping his head.
"As always, it is your own pride that will lead to your defeat. It is the only emotional value you still have, don't let it be your undoing..."
Vegetto's eyes followed the Elder Kai as he exited the room, the sound of his aura surging in the room with the other warriors being the only sound ringing out in the area. He glanced to his side, staring back at Gogeta, Goku, and Vegeta who offered stone face expressions in response. His eyes then traveled to Leiji, who frowned heavily at him and prompting a sigh from the Potara fusion.
"C'mon, we should be off."
Vegetto didn't wait for a reply, quickly vanishing into thin air and teleporting across the universe to the planet's dark signature surrounding the atmosphere with the other four warriors quickly following after him.
The desert floor quaked as the white Saiyan boots suddenly dug into the dirt, Vegetto lowering his arm once he had arrived and turning his head to the left. The air was dry with sand slightly flying up from underneath his feet from the small breeze that ruffled his gi in the apparently deserted city before him.
Gogeta soon appeared next to Vegetto, frowning at the sight before them as Vegeta, Goku, and Leiji soon arrived behind him.
"It looks like this place has been abandoned for years."
The stone buildings stood in neat rows, despite the crumbling walls and open rubble cluttering the empty streets with rubble. The Potara fusion's eyes narrowed, his attention landing on the tower looming over the ruined city of stone before them that stuck out in the skyline with black metal walls, twisted in the shapes of uneven and jagged spikes towards the top.
Vegetto then suddenly flipped backward, the ground beneath wear he had been standing nearly seconds ago crushing underneath the force of another pair of black boots, ornately covered with white tribunal markings along the front. The warriors quickly tensed at the sight, moving into defensive stances as the new arrival quickly straightened his form up.
Vegetto narrowed his eyes, studying the black armored figured standing before him. His suit help a bright metallic shine, the metal robotic looking armor contrasting heavily with the bright sunlight shining down on him with giant single spike pauldrons pointing to the sky, resting on above his clavicles. Yet the most striking feature of the warrior's outfit came in the golden skull like mask he wore, nearly an identical copy to the ones worn by the Dread Masters themselves, despite the absence of the ornate fins protruding from the sides.
The stranger cracked his neck, his head titling to the left for a moment before he spoke, his voice darkened in a mechanical and menacing tone.
"I am Dread Guard Commander Ciphas, leader of the Masters' forces stationed here on the planet of Oricon."
The Commander crossed his arms behind his back, his tone unchanging.
"Come with me, the Masters have granted you passage to the Palace grounds."
Vegetto grunted in response, clenching his fists together tightly with a surge of white lightning erupting around his body.
"And what makes you think I need your Masters' permission to enter their little palace?"
Dread Guard Commander Ciphas extended his arms out to the side, gesturing to the buildings to his right and left. The fusion glanced up at the gesture, locking eyes with the soldiers clad in heavy black metal armor, pointing uniquely rectangular shaped rifles down at the five warriors. Totaling in six overall, evenly distributed between each rooftop, more riflemen soon moved up from behind Dread Guard Commander Ciphas, each one kneeling down on one knee in front of the man with another squad of five soon moving up behind the warriors to bring the total count to fifteen heavily armored soldiers.
"You have no control, you will face the Masters on their terms or die here on mine."
Vegetto's lips lifted into a smirk, letting out a small chuckle.
"You think you can stop us?"
Gogeta turned his head to Vegetto, frowning.
"Vegetto, let's not do anything rash..."
The Potara fusion whirled around, his smirk quickly vanishing as he stared back at Gogeta incredulously.
"What? Don't tell me you're actually thinking about accepting this 'offer'."
Vegetto kept his perplexed expression, grinding his teeth together at the sight of Gogeta's head dipping slightly.
"I can't believe this. We haven't even faced the Dread masters and you're already losing your mind."
The Potara fusion then suddenly twisted back forward, hurling his right arm forward with a violent roar, a massive blast of white energy blasting forward at the Dread Guard Commander. As the white energy blast traveled forward, the Commander quickly uncrossed his arms from behind his back, springing up into the air at untraceable speed.
The soldiers let out cries of their own, their screams engulfed by the roar of the energy as they were instantly vaporized at the bright blast's touch, which continued to fire forward and tear through the city's ruined stone buildings before blasting a massive whole in the front entrance of the tower standing a near mile away.
Vegetto quickly flipped to the side, springing with the other four warriors at the laser bolts slamming into the ground where they had stood milliseconds ago from the blaster fire erupting from the laser weapons of the Dread Guard soldiers. His eyes never left the palace before him while he dodged the blaster fire, erupting into a powerful dash. Goku blinked, having subdued a couple of the Dread Guard soldiers and watched the fusion dash forward, projecting his voice.
"Vegetto?! What are you doing?!"
The Potara fusion titled his head back, his eyes glaring.
"Keep them busy!"
Gogeta grunted, slamming his left elbow into the stomach of a Dread Guard soldier, effectively subduing him as he frustratingly swore at the others.
"Has he lost his mind? They'll rip him apart if he fights them alone!"
Vegeta snarled as he sprang forward into the air, having finished subduing his own contingent of Dread Guard.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The three Saiyan warriors began to erupt into a dash, only to flip backwards as a powerful shockwave blinded sided all three Saiyans and forced them to the ground. Standing to their side, with his hands stretched out, Dread Guard Commander Ciphas chuckled at the warriors, his amusement clear despite his expressions being hidden underneath the golden skull like mask.
"The Masters' plan is proceeding as expected. You will stay here, while your friend confronts his destiny once and for all. And by the end, you will understand the true depths of your failure."
Roaring into the air, Vegetto's white aura brightened the dark room as he cut off his dash once he had moved through the gaping hole left by his monstrous blast, smoke billowing out into the outside atmosphere. He turned his head up, the open corridor nearly bare aside from the lone platform that stuck out in the circle room, nearly one hundred feet off the ground.
Vegetto kept his fists clenched, landing onto the grey stone tiled pathway in front of him, walking slowly in the dark and silent room as his white aura brightened the path before him. His blank white eyes had shown no indication of his focus, catching the sight of six large and hellish shaped black thrones surrounding the circle platform that he now stood on, staring up at the middle throne that was occupied.
"You thirst for our blood."
The robed figure rose up to his feet, the glaring shine of his golden and twisted mask prevalent in the darkness from the glow of Vegetto's volatile aura.
"It is the thirst that has given you strength, never once leading you astray from the path of power. Like a rabid dog, you grow stronger as your emotions amplify."
With ground shaking eruptions, the five remaining Dread Masters instantly entered the room and stood at the edge of their respective thrones yet still hidden in the darkness, Raptus' voice continuing.
"But like all animals without a Master to hold their leash, you wil fall before the true power of the universe in motion."
Vegetto scoffed, his fists tightening.
"Do you really think a few words and metaphors are going to stop me? I have purged my fear, you hold no power over me, Dread Master."
Dread Master Raptus remained silent, floating down onto the platform where Vegetto stood. The emotionless and empty stare of the golden mask remained locked on the transformed Saiyan fusion before him, studying him for a moment before speaking in a questioning tone.
"Do you really believe so?"
Vegetto kept his glare, offering silence in response and taking note of the other five Masters cloaked in darkness, listening to Raptus continue.
"Your pride and arrogance have blinded you from the truth, Saiyan mortal. You do not stand before the Masters in a sense of control or power; you stand before me as a product of fear."
The fusion kept his eyes narrowed, watching the flat toned Dread Master gesture to him.
"You use bravado and confidence to hide your true feelings, believing the masquerade will fool your opponent into believing the lie you desperately have attempted to turn into truth with a new power up."
Vegetto snarled back in response, preparing to dash forward.
"You're wrong. And I'll prove it by killing you."
The Dread Master's empty black eye slits then immediately shone with a bright orange glow, his arms crossing behind his back.
"Yes...good. Embrace the anger, let it replace reason and rationality. Let it guide your actions..."
Vegetto blinked, letting out a deep and heavy breath as he suddenly stumbled backwards, staring incrediously back at Dread Master Raptus.
"Wha...what did you just do?"
The Dread Master chuckled lightly in response, standing still.
"Were you foolish enough to believe the only emotion we could control was fear? You come to this palace, believing your strength and power will save you, and yet you truly still have yet to comprehend who it is you are truly dealing with?"
Vegetto's eyes narrowed slightly, yet his fists unclenching slightly.
"Why should I care?"
Dread Master Raptus let out a small grunt, his tone darkening.
"You should care because we created your kind. The Saiyan race, the humans, Namekians, even the Kais themselves. We were the ones who came before all else, and gave birth to the existence you live and breathe for."
Vegetto remained silent, studying the Dread Master as he began to pace to his left.
"Your very nature was created by our design, did you ever question why a sudden eruption of desperation and anger gave you such a tremendous power up? Why only your kind, the Saiyan race, could tap into such massive potential through sheer emotion?"
Dread Master Raptus came to a halt, nodding to Vegetto.
"It was by our design that you and the last members of your kind stood face to face with us here today. Because despite all your strength, all your moral authority, the only true victory you could achieve was a lie."
Vegetto roared, blasting forward into a dash in a sudden fury of rage and shooting his right fist forward. He kept his glare locked tightly on Raptus' golden mask, standing still for a few seconds while his fist remained easily locked in the grip of the Dread Master's black gloved hand, having caught the blow with ease.
The fusion's attention then diverted to the arm, his eyes widening in confusion at the lack of white aura surrounding his muscular arm.
"What?"
Vegetto instantly pulled back, taking five paces back while the Dread Master chuckled in amusement.
"Something wrong?"
The Potara fusion's eyes instantly narrowed into a glare, before dropping down to one knee and clutching the sides of his head, groaning loudly as he tightly shut his eyes. The anger that he had developed began to increase against his will, pressure in his head from the immense level of frustration he unwilling began to endure blacking his movement.
"What...are you doing to me..."
The Dread Master moved forward, standing upright nearly two feet away from the writhing Vegetto at his feet.
"Even the source of your power, ki, is but a mere shadow of the true energy that we wield. As a method of control, you and all other beings were created with a energy source rooted within the fallacy and weakness of emotion, granting power only when your mind and body were ruled by the very thing crushing your mind at this moment."
Vegetto panted heavily collapsing to the ground at the sudden alleviation of the frustration he had felt, gasping for air while Raptus continued.
"The battle was rigged from the start, Saiyan, since the day you and all others were born. You power betrays you, because it belongs to us. Born from the one lie you hold dearest in your heart, the one thing you thought you could call true and unwavering love."
Vegetto's eyes widened, springing up to his feet. His black pupils quickly darted to Raptus, having been reverted back to his normal state and wildly roaring at the Dread Master.
"What have you done with her?!"
Dread Master Raptus stifled a small chuckle, his right arm slowly rising in a gesture to the cloaked throne to his right. Vegetto's gaze followed Raptus' motion, staring at the emotionless golden mask that looked down at the two standing in the inner circle, his eyes wide. He paused, shaking his head once as the feminine figure offered no confirmation or disapproval, nearly taking a step back.
"No...Leiji..."
"Bestia."
The Dread Master lowered his arm, his tone becoming flat once more.
"Her original name is Bestia, the lord and Master of corruption and darkness. Deception is a powerful agent, the only force in existence that combines the two polar opposites of emotional power together: fear and confidence. Fused together, the two emotions breed deception, an unstoppable force of nature that can not be controlled, nor defeated. Just as she had mastered the corruption of your own strengths, allowing you to tap into power that only we originally held and fighting on her borrowed energy source to face your foes."
Vegetto's eyes remained wide, his gaze unable to divert away from the silent Dread Master Bestia standing before her throne, Raptus moving forward.
"A Master, holding your leash. There is no greater force in existence that can rival the method of twisting your opponent's greatest strength against them. To rip out the very foundations that lift them up, and watch the fire consume them."
Dread Master Raptus came to a halt in front of Vegetto once more, watching the fusion silently drop to his knees in wide eyed shock and despair, his head tilting to the floor.
"Now, do you see, the true gravity of your mistake, Saiyan. Your pride, your arrogance, all of the values you hold dear are no more real than the imagined power we granted you the day the first Saiyan was born, as your friends will soon come to realize when they too have their power ripped out from under their very noses. The only true foundation of existence that is will always be the force that life and happiness are born from..."
The Dread Master leaned forward, his empty black eye slits of the stone faced, twisted golden mask locking and contrasting with Vegetto's shaking pupils, his body slighty shivering.
"Fear."
Vegetto's head dipped back down, the stone blurring out from underneath him as he felt the world spin around his head and soon passing out into a deep, heavy slumber.