Kress staggered, feeling all but a trickle of his energy leave him suddenly. "You… what did you do?" he asked, stunned, just as the rocks beneath him crumbled. Suddenly, he was being caught by Kai Goten, and just as the planet exploded around them in a blinding flash…
There was nothing.
Kress was on his knees, in the dark, and he began to fear Vegeta had him back in the pit, that this had all been a dream, when Kai Goten spoke from behind him. "Don't be afraid. This is just a pocket dimension, I stash stuff here sometimes," he said. "It helps if you look at the stars, and pretend you're flying," he added, and as Kress's eyes adjusted, he could see tiny pinpricks of light all around him, even under him. It was unnerving.
Kress turned to glare at Kai Goten. "Somehow you reactivated the energy absorber, didn't you?" he said more than asked, and the Kai nodded.
"You're still pretty strong with it on, I'm impressed," Kai Goten said, crossing his arms with a sigh. "Those people, the ones you killed," he said softly, looking deep into his brother's eyes. "Do you care?" he asked.
Kress sneered, turning away, his arms crossed. "I'm Saiyan," he said in response, his eyes cold as he looked out toward the stars.
"That's not an answer," Kai Goten said, stepping towards his brother. "I can read your thoughts, Gohan, but I'd rather you just tell me. Do you care?"
"Caring requires a soul. Mine was burned out of me long ago," Kress responded darkly, still not looking towards Kai Goten.
"You're wrong," Kai Goten said with a sigh. "That's part of the problem." Suddenly, he sat down, his hands around his knees, his head against the invisible wall behind his back. "I'm starting to see why I was created, Gohan. And I know what you're thinking. You think that, if you die, it will all be over, those screams that you hear will be silenced, and you can finally rest. And the terrifying part is, it's actually the opposite that's true," he said, casting his brother a glance. Kress had twitched at that last statement, but so far hadn't moved. "The screams you hear, Gohan, are coming from your victims. The weight of them weighs your soul down so much, it's being crushed beneath them. Your soul's burden is so heavy, you can even hear their screams when you're awake. The moment you die… you will bear the full weight of it. That is when your torment really begins," he said softly, and his brother turned to him, horror in his eyes.
Still, though, Kress was nothing if not proud, and merely grunted. "So be it," he said grimly. "I'll take whatever is coming to me."
"Pathetic," Kai Goten spat, causing Kress to wince in surprise. "I don't know much about Saiyans, but I didn't think they were the type to just roll over and die," he said, and Kress glared at him. "I saw your memories, Gohan. What the hell? You really believed that shit Raditz fed you about some probe orbiting the Earth? And whatever happened to getting strong enough to come home? You know the Earth was destroyed, right? By androids. Androids! Not Raditz's stupid probe. I don't care how scared you were of what Mother and Father might think, the Earth might have been saved if you were there. Father died from a heart virus, Gohan, we needed you back home. And then, you finally get free, Gohan, you FINALLY get free from Frieza, from Vegeta, and what do you do? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR FREEDOM?" he screamed, standing in front of Kress now, his face inches away from his brother's. "Our people are pretty much extinct, Gohan. Both Saiyans and Humans. And then, you had to go and add more extinct species to the list?! Do you have any idea how many you killed this time? How many you killed total? And you want to go rush off to HFIL to get tortured, and not do a damn thing to help anybody!" he spat.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!" Kress bellowed, glaring down at the Kai. "What could I possibly do to make up for what I've done?" he demanded, his voice cracking.
Truth. Kai Goten blinked, the question reverberated within him, he could feel the import of it sending tremors throughout the pocket universe in which they stood. Even Kress could feel it, he was looking around, trying to figure out what was happening. Creative energy flowed around them, seeking direction, and Kai Goten was suddenly aware that whatever happened next would shape the universe in a profound way.
He blinked, and turned to Kress. Very carefully, mindful of the power behind his words right now, he spoke. "If there was something you could do, to help others for once instead of hurting them, would you do it?" he asked softly. "Only speak the truth right now, Gohan. It's important…" he warned his brother, gazing around at the waves of invisible energy lapping about them, ready to do something. The universe was doing something to this tiny bubble of his, and he wanted it to be something good.
Kress wasn't sure what was going on, but he'd stopped trying to figure the universe out long ago. His brother wanted truth? Kress sighed, and thought of the truest thing he could think to say. "Yeah. If it were possible, I'd like to be anything other than a monster," he said.
Kai Goten swallowed hard, and glanced around them. The energy was still waiting for something. For him. He nodded, and gazed into Kress's eyes. At the potential he had, to do evil or to do good. "Then we're going to make that happen," he said softly, as his eyes began to glow white.
Kress's eyes widened at that, and he stepped back, but an invisible force pushed him down to his knees, pulling his hands out in front of him. Kai Goten's voice was deep, and seemed to echo through him as he spoke. "You will not kill," the young Kai commanded, and suddenly bright blue energy surrounded Kress's wrists, looking very much like shackles, and he cried out as a strange icy heat burned into the backs of each one, in the form of a symbol Kress didn't understand. "You will protect the weak," Kai Goten said again, and Kress hissed as a similar pain seared into his chest, over his heart. Kai Goten reached out a hand, placing it on Kress's forehead, and suddenly his every thought, his every feeling, was laid bare, even the ones he tried to hide from himself, and he cried out as it all played before him. And then, behind it all, he felt a cooling presence, and his brother's words washed over his mind. 'Together we will heal your mind, Gohan. You will go to the survivors, and you will help them, you will seek out the weak and protect them. You are a protector of the weak, now, not their destroyer. And, from this moment on…' The energy swirled around them then, pushing against the barriers of the small pocket dimension, and he said in a loud voice, "YOU ARE MINE!"
The energy exploded around them, the walls of the pocket universe were pushed back, and everything was bathed in a white light. Kai Goten could feel creation happening all around him, and something clicked within him, binding him to this place. It was his world, that was what was being created. Every Kai had his own world from which he watched over their part of the universe, with few exceptions, and his was being created now. He wondered what it would be, what it would look like.
When the light faded around them, he was surprised. And yet, over time he would realize, it couldn't have been anything else…
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Goku sat back, a small smile on his face, and looked up at the Supreme Kai and Kibito, who were staring into the glass ball, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "The… the XenoKai!" the Supreme Kai whispered, shivering.
Kibito sputtered at that. "The XenoKai! He did that?" he exclaimed incredulously.
Goku didn't understand what was going on, but took a small bit of satisfaction in anything that could ruffle the Supreme Kai. He grinned. "Well, whoever this XenoKai is, tell him I said 'thanks'," he said, getting up and stretching. Kibito nearly choked at the thought of seeking audience with the Creator of the Twelve Universes for something so trivial as a thank you. The Supreme Kai shook his head. "Goten… he can't just take souls like that, especially not living souls!" he said, feeling very much as though he may have created a monster.
Goku watched him for a moment, then decided to take pity on the small ruler. "Goten's a smart boy, and he's responsible, you taught him really well. He'll follow the rules, and he won't let this power go to his head. You've got nothin' to worry about. But, if he ever does," he said, and narrowed his eyes at the Supreme Kai, "then you'd better call me this time, so I can come straighten him out. Deal?" he asked, a tiny bit of danger in his tone.
The Supreme Kai turned his wide eyes to Goku, and searched his eyes for a long time, before nodding. Goku smiled and gave him a single nod. "Well, then, the universe is saved, both my boys are still alive, and you've got yourselves a new Kai. I think it's time for me to go back to King Kai's place, don't you? After all, only got a thousand years to train for the next Otherworld Tournament, this time I'm gonna beat Pikkon!" he said excitedly as he walked down the hill, sounding very much like his old, chipper self. "Hey, can I get a ride, you guys?" he called, snapping the two Kai out of their stupor.
Supreme Kai shared a look with Kibito. "Kibito, I think our lives are about to get a lot more interesting…" he said softly. Kibito nodded, speechless. Supreme Kai smiled and stood. "So be it. I look forward to seeing what will become of our new Kai," he said softly, as he and Kibito walked down the hill to take Goku back home.
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Kress stood, rubbing his sore wrists as he and Kai Goten looked around them. "What happened to the space bubble thing?" Kress asked, gazing around at what looked like an ancient temple of some sort. All around them were corridors that led in different directions. On the wall just behind them was a large doorway carved in stone, covered in more symbols he didn't understand. Light streamed in from above, but Kress could see no obvious light source.
Kai Goten smiled softly. "I was given a new home," he said, and looked at the door uneasily. "That door leads to HFIL," he said grimly, glancing at Kress.
Kress gazed at it, frowning. "So, when I die…" he began slowly.
Kai Goten looked down. "I'm sorry, Gohan. There's nothing I can do to keep you from HFIL in the end. All I can do is to give you the chance to ease your sentence," he said softly.
Kress smirked at that, sliding his eyes to Kai Goten. "Well, at least I'll know most of the people there," he said, and looked down at the marks on his wrist. "This stuff you branded me with, what does it mean?" he asked, causing Kai Goten to come closer to look.
"Huh. It's written in Kai," he said, looking them over. "They both say, 'do not kill'," he said, looking at his brother's face. "You probably have another one somewhere, I gave you two commands," he said, feeling somewhat abashed for doing so, now that all that creative energy was gone. He didn't want to be a bully. Kai commands were serious stuff, they were binding. But it had been the right thing to do, he had felt it.
Kress looked away and tapped his armor, over where his heart was. He didn't need to ask what that symbol meant. Probably something along the lines of 'protect the weak'. He had no intention of taking off his armor to find out. Changing the subject quickly, he asked, "What do you want me to do first?"
Kai Goten walked to the small pool in the middle of the room they were in. Its water was still and clear, and he had the sense that it wasn't for bathing. "What needs to be done?" he asked the universe softly, and touched the surface of the water.
Images glided across the surface of the water, ships shooting at each other, a planet beneath them under siege, looters taking advantage of Frieza's absence to take over whatever planet they wanted. He glanced at Kress. "I'll send you there. Find the weakest of them, and help them. You will be their strength," he told his brother.
Kress growled. "You know this goes against everything I've ever been taught," he said, narrowing his eyes at the scene. "Besides that, how the hell am I supposed to protect the weak without killing anyone?" he asked.
Kai Goten smirked at that. "You're smarter than me, figure it out. Now… I just have to figure out how to get you there, without being able to leave this place," he said, scratching the back of his head in thought.
Kress sighed. Was it just him, or was life simpler before he met this Kai?
A/N: Okay, guys, that's a wrap! I've already been working on the sequel, Redemption of a Dark Saiyan, I'll have it up soon. It's a cross-over with the canon from Dragon Ball Super. All of you Beerus fans out there will get to see him, and exactly what he thinks about Kress. And, of course, a father and son reunion! Who wants to miss that battle?
Until next time!