CHAPTER TWO: Blight
And here it is! I can't remember the last time writing came so easy to me, boy am I glad I commenced this story.
Craig: We discussed the points you mentioned on MSN, though I will explain them as a part of the narrative in any case at some point.
Warriorofdark: Hopefully I will! Thank you very much!
Reaver72: The point about King Piccolo being dead will be elaborated on in this chapter and further explained in the next. As for Gohan, GT did screw up badly. I have plans, just keeping them mum for now.
AnimeMaster24: Don't you worry child, Heaven's got a plan-… I mean, Hell's got a plan in this case :D I wish the chapters could be shorter, but I'm in the middle of finals right now and this is the only means of relaxation I have, so uploading chapters as soon as I can is the priority. Once they're done I'll try to revert to my usual 10-12 thousand word chapters, or even 8-9 at least.
In the Brief household, Vegeta's family sat around the TV. The message from Hercule had just finished, and everyone was contemplating what they just heard.
Bulma spoke up first. "Well, isn't that an interesting bit of news! Can you imagine seeing the Namekians again? It's been decades! I wonder how Moori and the others are doing; boy, they must be getting up there in years."
Vegeta didn't reply. Trunks looked nervously from his father to his mother.
"Well?" queried the only human in the room, turning to her husband.
He absently raised his right hand to stroke the beard that had once anointed his chin and horrified everyone he came in contact with. He stopped this when his daughter cleared his throat. He didn't have a choice, she was the one who had forced him to shave.
"I'm not sure if it'll be worth it," he said finally.
All three of the others were quite surprised. Vegeta, turning down fights? Plural?
He raised his right hand and began speaking in a business-like tone, dropping his fingers as he did so.
"Kakarot and the Namek are gone. Kakarot's younger son is a hopeless weakling. The triclops has gotten stronger but if I even powered up to Super Saiyan One he'd be history. You've been training, boy, but in a no-holds barred battle I'd demolish you," he stated, not even deigning to look at his son as he spoke these words.
"The other human, the reincarnation of that overgrown wad of bubble-gum," Vegeta had never been able to call him 'Uub' unless he was directly addressing him, "and the eldest son of Kakarot are the only ones who'd give me a challenge. I'm just not sure if it'd be worth sacrificing training for a week or more just for two, maybe even one, fights with opponents I could face any time I wanted right here on Earth."
Bulma groaned inwardly. She was not going to let her husband's ego get in the way of her first inter-galactic trip in decades.
"But there are fighters from all over the galaxy! There could be any number of fighters who'd give you a challenge!"
Vegeta smirked. "Please, woman. When I'm powered up to my max, any somewhat adept senser of energy can sense me a few stars away. If there was anyone outside Earth in that league, I'd know."
He got up and made for the door.
"If you're so eager to go, don't miss it on my account. Trunks can as well, though he'd be foolish to miss out on a week of training with me over some ridiculous tournament-..."
He had opened the door, and was just turning back to it, when his wife closed it.
He turned to stare at her.
She had a tight smile on her face. Trunks and Bra looked on impassively.
Vegeta knew that when his wife got this look, she was more dangerous than Frieza, Cell and Buu combined. It was a look she pulled out rarely from her arsenal, perhaps once every few years. The last time she had done it was when he realized his daughter was dating someone. He had demanded she reveal his identity, and she had steadfastly refused. Things could've gotten ugly, until Bulma had intervened with the look.
"Don't look at me that way, woman," he muttered.
His wife continued smiling sweetly at him.
"Honey, if you don't join us on the trip to Namek," she began.
Then she leaned in and whispered something to him the children couldn't hear. At least, she thought they couldn't. Both had advanced hearing due to their Saiyan genes, and the words made them both groan.
Vegeta went pale, then the anger began to build up.
However, she continued looking at him with that terrifyingly sweet look. Finally, his shoulders slumped.
"We're not leaving until the last possible day; I want as much real training as possible."
He then reached over, grabbed his son's shoulder, and dragged him back to the Gravity Chamber, eager to beat him as badly as possible for being witness to his utter humiliation.
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Raditz was spellbound by his apparent ally's words.
"But… how? I mean, you're…" he gestured to the halo above the Namekian's head wordlessly, "dead."
King Piccolo scoffed. "Dragon Balls, and indeed the dragon residing within them, require energy. It doesn't have to be vital energy that keeps a being alive, because the dragon itself is not truly alive and is more a being of energy."
He raised his right hand, and black electricity crackled across his fingers.
"And I have plenty of energy that's been building up after the training we've done over the last thirty years," as he stared at it.
Raditz continued with the dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Are you sure about this?"
The Namekian turned back to him, almost affronted. "Listen you little twit, if you want to be a part of this you'd better stop asking questions and do what I tell you."
Raditz was wired in a way that would normally cause him to respond to the insult with a punch, but he nodded wordlessly this time. Thirty-one years in this hellhole, and he might have actually found a ticket out of here. Back to the world of living where one thing and one thing only would take priority: revenge.
"To begin with, I'm going to need you to find a wide-open area with absolutely no witnesses. I don't care what you have to do. Beat the shit out of any stragglers, but it's crucial that no one knows what I'm up to. If your dear master Frieza or that blasted demon Babidi have even an inkling that a set of Dragon Balls are in Hell, they'll either step in and ruin the whole process, or attract the attention of the higher-ups in their attempt to do so. That would land the both of us in solitary for the next century, which wouldn't really help our cause, would it?"
Raditz nodded again. He knew just the spot.
Piccolo thrust his finger out. "Now go. I need time to configure the specifics of the new dragon before I actually begin to form it."
Raditz lifted off silently and made north.
He was heading for the canyon at the very limit of Hell, where Kakarot had fought Frieza and Cell when he had been tricked into entering Hell two years ago. It was a good location because it was permanently ice cold, and no one really enjoyed that kind of weather considering Hell was pretty much an ice-box anyway, except if one ventured near the volcanoes.
It took him a good twenty minutes to get there. He increased his altitude until he had literally a bird's eye view of the place.
There were two stragglers. Raditz recognized one as Dr. Wheelo, the apparently 'brilliant' doctor who had attempted to steal Kakarot's body. He was in his usual robotic vehicle that almost made him look like a robot to begin with. The other was a frog. For a minute, Raditz believed the old doctor was losing it, but then he realized the irony of the situation. He had heard that while Kakarot was on Namek, Captain Ginyu had attempted to change bodies with both him and Vegeta. In the process of the latter, he had had a frog thrown in the path of his path and was now permanently stuck in the amphibian's body.
Raditz shrivelled his nose. He didn't care much for Wheelo, but Ginyu in particular had gotten on his nerves for decades while he was forced to work for Frieza.
He would enjoy this.
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Raditz swung his neck from side to side, cracking the muscles in them that had been tightened up during the ninety seconds he had spent pounding the frog and his devious companion to near death. He would have happily extinguished Ginyu from existence, but the Other World had a system which alerted Yemma and the guardians of Hell as soon as a being was killed while dead, which resulted in their being lost forever. Raditz knew his vengeance could wait until he was alive and able to escape this dump.
The canyon he was in was surrounded by the hills on all sides, making it a very hard place to spot unless one was specifically looking for it.
He dusted his hands off as he saw Piccolo Daimao in the distance. Raditz had purposely not suppressed his power level, allowing the Namekian to sense where he was and follow.
The demon touched down, a casual smirk on his face.
"Are you ready?" inquired Raditz.
Daimao waved him away. "Stand watch. Anyone approaches; blast them out of the sky. If they're too strong, hold them off until I'm done here."
The Saiyan nodded. There weren't many inhabitants in Hell who were too strong for him to blast out of the sky.
The Namekian stalked over to the centre of the clearing and stretched both his hands out. He closed his eyes momentarily and murmured a few words.
When he reopened them, they were a stark crimson, which took Raditz aback for a minute.
He began murmuring in ancient Namekian. It was a language Raditz had never heard, because it was not as if too many other Namekians made their way to Hell for Piccolo Daimao to converse with. There was Lord Slug of course, but there existed an incredible enmity between the two for reasons Raditz did not care to fathom. He of all people understood the nuances of intra-race hatred, and didn't press the matter.
King Piccolo extended his right hand out in a spiny fist, with only his index finger pointing outward. He then fired out a very thin red beam, which struck the air a few feet from him and stopped. As he moved his finger, the beam left a trail in the air. It was as if he was using the beam on the air as one would a piece of chalk on a blackboard.
As Raditz looked closer, he could see that the former tormentor of Earth was drawing the outline of a dragon in the air with is energy beam. It was very rough and crude, as Raditz could barely make out the shape of its head as it was slightly triangle-shaped as compared to the length of its body, which was basically a curved line.
Finally, he was done, after what seemed to have been ages. His eyes returned to their normal white, and he stepped back with a heaving breath.
Raditz stepped forward and peered over his shoulder to get a look at his work.
It was jet-black in colour, though its underbelly was a mild grey. Blood red horns began at the base of its neck and extended all the way down its sinuous body and extended all the way down to the end of its tail, which was tipped with five different spikes at a ninety degree angle to it, making it look like some kind of demonic fan. The dragon's face was really just a circular cavern of teeth. It had two slit like eyes, whose colour Raditz could not make out with its present size.
He gave a low whistle.
"So this is it, huh?"
Daimao turned to glare at him. "Of course not, you fool. Does this look like an Eternal Dragon with the power to grant wishes to you? It's a goddamn model! And I thought I told you to keep watch!"
Raditz had plenty of retorts saved for a moment like this, but for once, he decided to keep mum. Though he was fuming at the tirade, he left it at that. The old man had to be humoured, for now.
He took a few steps back, and decided to keep watch on the sky, but kept a single eye on Daimao, who was bent over the creature, muttering incessantly in Namekian.
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Goten was alone at the top of the mountain, training by himself.
He ducked an imaginary punch, and then sprayed his 'opponent' with a series of upward kicks. He then dodged once more, before obliterating a nearby boulder with a key blast.
"Careful, bro," laughed a voice from behind him. "If we keep this up, Mom's not going to have any rocks left to use in our garden path."
The hybrid turned to see his brother behind him, casually leaning against a tree with his hands in his pockets.
Goten grinned. "I was just getting in some work by myself. This tournament's going to be pretty tough."
Gohan nodded. "That's for sure. I was talking to Videl about it, and she said that Hercule told her he was making sure that anyone weaker than a Saiyan wouldn't be invited."
Goten dropped out of the air and landed on his feet before giving a low whistle.
"I guess that means my thoughts of you, me, Trunks and Vegeta in the semis just got harder."
Gohan shook his head. "You shouldn't be so overconfident. Uub is insanely strong. I had gone up to meet Dende the other day; he says Uub already finished his two days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber a week after Dad left. Since then, he's been training by himself in a wasteland a few miles from West City basically all the time. Considering he was already stronger than Dad's base form before he fused with Majin Buu, I think he could max out near a Super Saiyan two right now. If I didn't know how much work I'd put in myself, I'd say he'd probably be the hot favourite to win the whole thing."
Goten threw a playful punch. "And since when did you become so confident?"
Gohan took the punch full on his chin. It barely left a scratch. He grinned. "Hey, if anyone else was whooping your behind every day of the week like I do, they'd be feeling pretty good about it too."
Goten stepped back and clenched his fists. His hair erupted upward and he went Super Saiyan. He laughed back.
"Let's see if you're so confident after I send you back home with your tail between your legs!"
Gohan sighed. "Goten, we've spoken about this. Transforming is not always the solution. There's a cap to the power level you can reach as a Super Saiyan. Then, it's only going to go up if you transform further, or get stronger in base. Since you haven't done the former yet, you need to work on the latter!"
Goten was seemingly oblivious to the criticism. He danced around his brother, jabbing playfully and tempting him to join in.
Gohan sighed internally. Despite everything, he knew Goten was still basically a child. He'd never experienced the weight of a pressure like Gohan did when he was fighting Cell or Super Buu when Goku was dead. He'd been training more since Goku left, obviously, but his disposition hadn't changed a bit. He still joked around while working out, and it never seemed like he was giving it his all. Gohan could hardly blame him, when he was in his twenties he didn't train, period. But he didn't want his brother to make the same mistake of course.
He decided to try a different route.
"You know, just imagine if you're fighting Trunks in the knockout stages, and you transform. He'll just go Ascended Super Saiyan in reply and you'll be out of the ring before you can blink. Do you want Bra to see that?"
He trailed off with a knowing grin.
Goten's eyes widened. "Hey…! Where did you hear that?!"
Gohan threw back his head and began laughing hysterically. Between racks of mirth, he managed, "Come on! My daughter is her best friend!"
"That tears it," declared the younger Saiyan, darting forward and unleashing an uppercut.
Gohan decided to catch it in his right hand this time. Goten seemed slightly aggravated by his brother's good natured ribbing, and began unleashing a hail of punches and elbow jabs as fast as he could. These were combinations Gohan had drilled into him ages ago. It didn't occur to him that Gohan also knew the exact counter sequences, and that he would be better off pulling something fresh out of his book to break through.
"Your opponent isn't going to stay defensive forever, Goten," warned Gohan. He was blocking and dodging the flying blows with absurd ease.
"You're only saying that 'cuz I'm too much for you!" laughed his opponent.
Gohan lost his patience at that. He caught both fists one after the other, immobilizing his brother. With a short cry, he exploded into Super Saiyan. Goten's eyes widened. However, his brother didn't stop there. He continued onto Super Saiyan Two: the legendary transformation that felled Cell. His hair stood up almost vertically, and lighting flashes all along his body.
Goten almost backed away in shock. Gohan never used Super Saiyan Two in their sparring sessions.
As if to prove that he could counter basically any time he wanted to, Gohan then unleashed a backhand that was probably a little stronger than he originally intended to be. It connected with Goten's face. Gohan thought it would only knock him off his feet and a few feet away, but instead he was sent into the opposite mountain.
Gohan winced. He hadn't used Super Saiyan Two on anyone else in a while, and was probably unaware of the kind of power boost it gave him relative to an opponent.
He waited a minute before calling out tentatively.
"Goten, you ok?"
The rocks shifted and the Saiyan's form emerged from the rocks. He had an accusing look on his face.
"What did you use Super Saiyan Two for?" he growled across the gap between the hills.
Gohan made a face. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard! I'm sorry, man!"
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry for this!"
He had been charging a small ki blast in his right hand while talking, and without warning he flung it at Gohan. It was as if it was in slow motion to the Super Saiyan Two. He caught it in his right hand and concentrated, causing the blast to wither into nothingness.
This drew a howl of frustration from his brother.
He looked up with a scowl. "You're just being immature now, Goten."
The younger Saiyan shook his head and lifted off, before blasting off into the horizon.
Gohan was about to follow him, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Pan. "Don't."
Gohan dropped out of his transformed state and turned to look at her. He sighed.
"How much did you see?"
She glared at him. "Enough."
He shuffled nervously. "Enough to…?"
"Enough to know you mentioned something I told you in confidence, because, you know, it was regarding my best friend!"
Gohan groaned. "Ok, Pan, I'm sorry-…"
His daughter was furious, and couldn't be stopped. "I was the only one who knew that Bra decided to end things with Goten because he was more serious about it than her and the only reason I told you was because he was down when it happened and I didn't want you asking him about it! Just because you ended up marrying your first and only girlfriend doesn't mean everyone else is that lucky, Dad!"
Gohan paused before beginning, "Now wait just a minute-…"
But she had already stamped her foot in a huff and walked away.
He was about to follow her, when his wife crept out warily from behind a tree.
Gohan shook his head. "What is it with my family sneaking up on me today?"
She replied with a soft, musical laugh. It was the laugh that had made him fall for her all those years ago.
He hugged her. "I manage to piss off my only two training partners two weeks before the biggest tournament of my life. PhD I may be, but…."
She pulled away and grinned. "I could give you a fight if need be."
He shook his head at the obvious joke. Gohan's little toe vs. Videl would not be a fair fight.
He gestured at the spot where Pan had been standing.
"You knew about this?"
She nodded. "He's my brother-in-law, for crying out loud. It's not as if your mother is someone he could talk to, neither are any of the airheads he hung out with at school. And well, Pan isn't exactly an expert at adult relationships."
Gohan grinned faintly. "I don't remember needing any advice when we were dating."
She smacked his shoulder.
"Pan's right, you know! We did get lucky, but you have to appreciate that something like this isn't easy for everyone. Goten's had ninety-four meaningless, empty excuses for 'relationships', and-…"
Gohan's eyes bulged. "He keeps count? And he told you?"
Videl ignored him and continued. "And Bra was the first one he actually connected with! It was perfect, she was his best friend's sister, they had the same DNA composition for crying out loud, and it was someone whom Chi Chi wouldn't chase away with a frying pan! He had just about gotten ready to tell both families about it when she told him she wanted a 'break'."
Gohan nodded wisely. It was a rare thing that when a woman asked for a 'break' she was ready to get back together later on.
"So really, you can't blame him for being distracted. It's not like he can hang with you or Vegeta, or even Trunks, so the tournament is just an experience for him, nothing more."
Gohan rolled his eyes. "Ok, Dr. Phil."
She shook her head. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand. Just get back to the house with me and apologize to Pan. I'll talk to Goten later. There's a good chance he'll move back to his apartment in West City now though. He's sensitive about these things."
Gohan looked alarmed. "What am I going to do for a training partner then?!"
Videl shrugged, with a faint smile. "You're not transforming against Pan, so hit the Gravity Chamber. Or punch rocks. Because face it, Goten wasn't much practice for you anyway."
She walked off. Gohan followed her, but not before muttering to Yemma about all the drama that had been lacking in his own younger days being squashed into those of his brother and daughter.
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Raditz was leaning against the cave wall, facing away from Daimao. He was pretty bored now. The whole 'birth of a new instrument of power' thing got old after about four hours. Raditz could swear he had had more fun watching Nappa's hair grow. Watching a green man crouch and mutter strange words lost its charm quickly.
Finally, he heard a roar of triumph. He turned absently to see King Piccolo finally on his feet.
He began walking toward him.
"You're done?"
He noted that there was nothing in front of the Namekian.
His partner nodded. "Almost. Still need to create the Balls. Let me finish."
He extended a hand, and began muttering again. A flash of white erupted from his hand, and a spherical shape formed in front of him. It was the size of a large basketball. As the light began to fade, Raditz could make out further details. It retained the faint orange tone of the other sets of Dragon Balls, but there were some stark differences. To begin with, the stars on them weren't the usual red spots. Instead, they were silver in colour, and seemed to be large and rippling on the surface of the ball. The ball also seemed to be trembling.
Daimao continued to focus, and six more flashes from his hand resulted in six more Dragon Balls. Each one had the same silver, rippling stars on it, from one to seven on each one.
He then bent down, and muttered another incantation. This, Raditz could understand.
"Strong though you may be…"
He then thought he heard a distant and faint roar.
"You're weaker than me."
The roar grew louder.
"I consign you hear for eternity."
Raditz could have sworn he saw a fleeting black form flash through the air and into the balls.
"For freedom, grant me wishes three."
He then stood up abruptly.
"It's done."
He turned to look at the Saiyan, his grin widened. "It's done," he repeated.
Raditz felt his pulse rising. Waiting twelve hours while the Namekian did his work was nothing compared to the prospect of being free after over thirty years.
"Do it."
King Piccolo turned to the Balls, and stretched his hands out before speaking in a loud growl.
"Blight, Eternal Dragon of Hell, I summon you!"
The new Dragon Balls began to vibrate. Raditz had heard plenty of the summoning of an Eternal Dragon but never actually been present at one. Therefore, he was more than a bit surprised when the dark nothingness that was the ceiling of Hell began to rumble. Lightning flashed, and the air around them grew thinner. The temperature began to drop.
Raditz stepped away nervously as the Balls glowed with silver energy. From within them, a single, thin, pencil-like beam erupted upward. He followed it with his eyes as it pierced the darkness around them and slammed into the very top of Hell. It stopped, and slowly began to thicken as more and more of the beam continued to ensue from the Dragon Balls, instead flaring out behind the form.
As it thickened, its features began to take shape. It looked roughly like the model Raditz had seen Daimao make earlier, but now he could see its true horrible magnificence in all their glory. Its jaws were extremely long and pointed; resembling the snout of a dolphin but if it had been tipped with a razor. Inside, its teeth flashed, longer than school buses. It had a pair of flitting crimson eyes framed by a gigantic crown of silver horns that ran all the way across its body, as Raditz recalled.
The body itself was shockingly long. Raditz doubted that if it actually decided not to curl itself so many times and extended straight from end to end, it probably wouldn't fit in Hell. Its underbelly was white, while its back was jet-black. Its tail was not visible this time of course, as it was still embedded somewhere in the silver glow of the Dragon Balls it came from.
When Blight spoke, its voice was greater and more terrible than anything Raditz had ever heard.
"Name thy wishes so that I may return to my slumber."
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To my YGO readers, this chapter should make it rather obvious I still have Nightrise on my mind! I never said this before, but don't worry fellas, that story will not be abandoned.