King Kai wasn't watching where he was going as he walked through the halls of the Grand Kai's mansion. His eyes were staring straight ahead but they weren't seeing anything, his mind was too busy on other matters to spare any processing power for something as unimportant as vision. Dende's question had... thrown him. It had been completely unexpected.
The answer was yes, though. Kais started their existences on the Mortal Plane. All of them had. Him, his fellow lower Kais, the Grand Kai, the Supreme Kai. Even Kibito, a future Supreme Kai. But he hadn't known that anyone in the Mortal Plane had known this. It wasn't really something that came up often and only the dead ever met the Kais. And the dead typically remained dead, with the obvious notable exceptions now and then.
But the reason Piccolo had even brought up the question with the young Guardian had caught King Kai off guard even more. As soon as he'd broken the connection with the Earth's Guardian he'd turned his gaze toward Planet Vegeta and located the young girl in question. As far as he knew no one had ever discovered a future Kai before they actually became a Kai. So the possibility had drawn him instantly.
When he found her he could tell that something was definitely different about her energy. There was something about it that was familiar and yet not. He figured the Grand Kai would be able to tell better than he and so he had instantly gone back to the Grand Kai's world to speak with him. But his mind was still contemplating the possibility.
If the child truly was a future Kai... which? Kai's rose almost directly to their intended post. That meant a 'to be' lower Kai would spend only a hundred years 'in transition' between being mortal and being a true Kai. During this time they would study under the Kai they were to replace and learn the ropes of the job. After their hundred years passed they would take over that Kai's post and the Kai could then pass on to Heaven or become one of the many fighters 'living' on the Grand Kai's planet.
The Grand Kai was the same. The mortal to become the next Grand Kai would spend four hundred years in transition and then take the post. The former Grand Kai would then have the options of moving on to Heaven or staying to train. For the Supreme Kai the transition period was eight hundred years. Kibito was currently four hundred years into his transition.
King Kai knew that he wasn't the one to be replaced, he was too young. Only a little over a hundred and six thousand years old, the youngest Kai currently in place. At least until Kibito's transition finished. The West Kai was about fifty thousand years older than him while the South and East Kais were around four hundred thousand each. The Grand Kai was just over five million and the Supreme Kai was about fourteen million.
"She is the oldest but Supreme Kais usually last for around twenty-five million years. Grand Kais for around ten million and lower Kais for about two million." King Kai said to himself as he continued to walk. "No one is close to passing on yet. At least, not close enough to warrant a new Kai to come along. Unless...." King Kai came to a stop then and blinked behind his glasses.
It had almost slipped his mind! Kibito wasn't replacing an existing Kai, he was replacing one of the ones lost to Majin Buu over twenty thousand years ago! When he'd first come along four hundred years ago they all figured the next replacement for the other Supreme Kai killed by Buu wouldn't be too far behind. Was it possible that....
"Oh, oh, oh...." King Kai said quickly, as he started walking again, far more hurriedly than before. As he still wasn't paying attention to where he was going this proved to be an issue as he ran right into someone and fell over. Blinking a few times and rubbing his sore bottom he looked to see who he'd hit. It was the West Kai.
Before he could say anything, though, the other Kai spoke up. "Watch where you're going North Kai!" he cried. "Geez, why were running anyway?" he asked, getting to his feet.
"Running? Was I running?" King Kai asked, rather surprised. He'd not realized he'd even started moving again.
"You getting senile?"
"I... no, I am not getting senile!" he retorted. "I was just... thinking.... I need to get going." he said getting back to his feet. "I must speak with the Grand Kai, it's urgent! Very, very urgent!"
The West Kai blinked. "Was there something wrong in your galaxy?" he asked. "Other than an inexplicably destroyed planet nothing seemed off in mine...."
"Hmm? Oh, no, no. Well, yes, sort of. But no, that's not why I'm rushing." King Kai said as he brushed himself off and then hurried on his way again. "You should come too!" he called back. "Because... well, if it's true it's big!"
The West Kai blinked after him a few times before following after him as quickly as he could. "What's this about?" he asked as he finally caught up with him. King Kai didn't answer, he was lost in his thoughts again, contemplating things. Only this time his mind wasn't on Akemi and the possibilities she presented but on what the West Kai had said about an inexplicably destroyed planet. "Are you going deaf as well as senile?" the West Kai asked.
"Wha? No, I am not!" King Kai cried. "That planet you said was destroyed. Was there a tear near it?"
"A tear?"
"You know! Between there and Otherworld!"
"I don't know, I didn't check."
"What do you mean you didn't check!? The Grand Kai told us to see if anything was wrong and you didn't take the time to...."
"In case you've forgotten the West Galaxy is the biggest one in the universe!" West Kai shouted. "It's nearly twice as big as your dinky little North Galaxy!"
"Well excuse me for having nearly half of my galaxy destroyed by a rampaging wad of bubble gum!" King Kai huffed. The two Kais kept quiet for the rest of the trip to the stadium where the Grand Kai was still at. King Kai could also sense Kibito there as well and that caused his mind to return to Akemi again.
A few moments later they walked in to the room where the Kai and future Kai were located. "Ah, West Kai, North Kai, finished with your checks then?" he asked.
King Kai nodded. "Yes, and I found something. West Kai may have as well if he'd bothered to investigate enough."
"What! Why you..!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there. Settle down now, settle down. What's all this about now?"
King Kai clasped his hands behind his back as he spoke. "While investigating my galaxy I discovered that there was an explosion on Earth. Further checking revealed that a tear between Otherworld and the Mortal Plane existed at almost the exact epicenter of the blast radius." he said. "I spoke with the planet's Guardian and discovered that he witnessed the same light as us, and felt the same presence."
The Grand Kai rubbed his beard as he thought. "My, my, my, this is getting interesting indeed." he said. "What was it the West Kai found?"
West Kai blinked. "I, er, didn't really find anything...." he said. "There was a planet that had exploded but...."
"But he didn't bother to check for a tear." King Kai finished for him.
"Hey!" West Kai shouted. "I said I've got a big galaxy! How was I supposed to know that...."
"Relax, relax." Zenryou said waving his hands. "I get it, I get it. I'll take a look." He lowered one arm and then waved the other above his head causing the mirror to shimmer again and the West Galaxy to come into view. The image faded and was replaced by a cluster of stars, then again it faded away and a star system appeared, then once more it faded and the rubble of a destroyed planet appeared.
The view then began to pan around and sift through the rubble for a few moments until, at last, it zeroed in on a small blue light that occasionally sent out flashes of blue or gold light. "Ah, there's the tear." he said. "Hmmm, this would have been about dead center in the planet's core.... North Kai, you said an explosion occurred on Earth from a tear there?"
"Well, sort of." King Kai replied. "Based on the reports from the Humans who worked at the facility at the epicenter of the blast I believe the energy caused an overload in a reactor plant and the plant caused the explosion."
"Ah, yes, I see." said the Grand Kai thoughtfully. "A planet core and a reactor are much alike in energy production. An influx of energy would have easily caused a meltdown and planetary explosion like this. Hmmm, I can't say as to these being directly related to the incident but at the very least the explosions were the result of it.
"We'll have to wait a little while for the South Kai and East Kai to return yet and I'll see if they found anything similar. With luck the other tears spread through the galaxies wont be in such... unfortunate locations."
King Kai nodded and went silent for a moment, his thoughts on the current situation and what could have caused it. He'd never, known in all of his time as a Kai, of such an occurrence as this. A disruption in Otherworld could have disastrous ramifications through out all of the Mortal Plane, especially with the tears in place allowing for things to pass between the planes much more easily than normal.
The Supreme Kais functioned in a set of four, much like the Lower Kais. Each Supreme Kai had a specific plane in the Afterlife that they ruled and watched over. The Kai Plane, Heaven, Otherworld, and the H.F.I.L. were their jurisdictions. The one remaining Supreme Kai oversaw the Kai Plane. Without a Supreme Kai to watch over Otherworld there was no way to repair the current damage. Mikomi had no powers over the workings of Otherworld.
It was unknown which position Kibito was to fill, and wouldn't be known for another 400 years. It could be a while yet before any repairs could be done. Until then... things could still get worse. But this was the first real sign of damage from the current imbalance. With any luck no further signs would surface and it would remain business as usual. If not....
King Kai shook his head. There was another matter he needed to deal with while they waited on the other two Kais. "Grand Kai, there is something else."
"Oh?"
"When I spoke with the Earth's Guardian I was presented with... a possibility." he said. "Piccolo had contacted him to speak with me on behalf of him and the others currently on Planet Vegeta about a question they have. They were curious if mortals became Kais." He paused there and let the fact that the question had even been posed sink in to the three present.
"Why would they ask something like that?" the West Kai asked after a moment. The surprise evident in his voice.
"Apparently the Tanarians have legends that speak of it." King Kai said. He'd done a little investigating into those legends. He wasn't sure where The Oracles had come from any more than they were but he had a feeling the Kai they had known in the Mortal Plane had either been him or the West Kai. Nothing concrete in that, just a guess, but the other Kais were all much older than either of them and for such knowledge to persist that long was unlikely.
"This, coupled with some information presented to them, lead them to bring the matter to my attention." he continued. "It's unconfirmed but... the girl, Akemi, and her sister have made claims that Akemi can... Spirit Walk."
"Akemi?" the Grand Kai asked, leaning back into his seat. "Ah, the young Tanarian girl in the tournament." he said after a moment.
"But, is it even possible to locate a future Kai while they are still a mortal?" asked Kibito. "No one knew of me until after I had died and come to Otherworld."
"This is true." Zenryou said. "However, even as mortals Kais have some of their abilities, such as Spirit Walking, and heightened minds and mental attributes. No doubt this would be highly apparent in a Tanarian as they already have well developed minds. They also possess an aura that should have enough of a Kai energy to it to be noticeable as such...."
King Kai nodded. "I checked before coming here." he said. "I couldn't place it but there was something to her aura."
The Grand Kai raised an arm and waved his hand before the mirror again. Once more the image changed to that of a galaxy. Then it shifted to a star system, a planet, and then an open field. There, in the field, were the children, Akemi among them. "Hmmmm." the Grand Kai said softly as he gazed at her. "I do sense something unusual." he said. "I can't quite place the energy but it does feel connected...."
He trailed off then as the Supreme Kai appeared behind him. "Good timing." he said, glancing back at her. "North Kai may have come across something that should interest you. Sense the energies of those children."
Mikomi gave him a glance before looking up at the mirror. She'd been about to say how her search in the H.F.I.L. had gone before the Grand Kai had spoken. As she looked at the kids, quickly recognizing them as the children from the tournament in the Mortal Plane, her mind reached out and felt their energies. "I'm not sure what you expect me to find..." she said slowly.
"Concentrate on the youngest one. The smaller of the silver haired girls."
She nodded and narrowed her focus to just that girl. As soon as she did she felt it. It was an odd familiarity to her power and as soon as she attempted to place it she knew what it was. "Incredible...." she breathed. "North Kai, how did you...?"
"It was brought to my attention by Earth's Guardian." King Kai said. "And brought to his attention by Piccolo after he learned she supposedly has the ability to Spirit Walk."
West Kai looked from the kids and over to the Supreme Kai. "So, she is...?"
Mikomi nodded slowly. "The energy is... unmistakable to me. She is, or rather, she will be a.... Supreme Kai."
"We knew, once Kibito appeared, that another would follow before too long." Zenryou said, steepling his fingers. "The universe is finally catching up to the events of twenty plus thousand years ago, restoring the balance. And none too soon it seems."
"Yes, about that." Mikomi said, turning her gaze back to the other Kais. "Has Kibito informed you of what we found?"
"He has." replied Zenryou.
"I tried to track the Demon we spotted but I lost it." she said with a slight shake of her head. "Near a tear between in the H.F.I.L., though I don't know where it leads. No doubt it used the tear to escape, which worries me as it seemed to know where it was going, where the tear lead to." She sighed. "This also explains how the energy we tracked before passed into the H.F.I.L. from Otherworld."
"The Demons are using the tears in the planes as transportation lanes." Zenryou said with a small nod. "That is not good. Tears exist in all planes but the Kai Plane. A Demon invasion now is... the worst possible time."
"For us." Mikomi said. "But not for them. I had wondered earlier why Dabura would have waited this long to attack if he had intentions to. I have been the only Supreme Kai for nearly two thousand years. But this makes it clear. They must have been monitoring the tears, waiting for them to develop enough to use as passage between the planes here."
"Another war with Makai..." Zenryou said softly. "It's been over fifty million years since the last. They are... never good things. Especially with us under manned now."
"I worry that this is one we will not win." Mikomi said. "Muzai was stronger than Dabura but I... do not compare."
The Grand Kai turned his gaze from Mikomi down into the stadium. It was empty now, all the spectators and competitors had finished filing out about a half hour ago. But as he gazed at the ring he remembered the battles and the powers he'd felt. Bardock was stronger than him, and Goku was likely stronger than that. The two would need to be approached later on to help him in defense of Otherworld, and possibly Heaven as well.
"What about that light?" King Kai asked, breaking into the Grand Kai's thoughts. "The energy that came with it caused explosions in the Mortal Plane."
"Explosions?" asked Mikomi.
"Yes." Zenryou said. "North Kai noticed it. Where the energy met with tears into the Mortal Plane it crossed over into that plane. There, in a few places, it mixed with other things and caused explosions. A reactor on Earth and a planet in the West Galaxy."
Mikomi sighed. "The first causalities of war...." she said sadly. She was quiet for a moment before continuing. "I'm uncertain what the light or energy was from." she said at last. "The Demon Kibito and I saw must have done something down in the H.F.I.L. that caused it. We must assume that the attack will begin within the next few days at most."
The silence that followed was interrupted by a knock on the door which then opened as a silver haired woman entered. "Ah, Sora, what is it?" the Grand Kai asked as the former Tanarian Queen entered the room.
"Something is... off." she said, sparing only a quick glance at the other Kais in the room and noting, quickly, that she didn't recognize two of them.
"Off? How so?" he asked.
"The paper work from Lord Yemma's station suddenly stopped coming in about twenty five minutes ago." she explained. "Neither I nor anyone else has been able to contact him since then. Twenty minutes ago the paper work coming from Lord Jizo stopped as well, and it's been about ten minutes since we received any paper work from Lord Wukong. We have been unable to contact Lord Jizo and I had the Oni trying to contact Lord Wukong as I left."
The five Kais all glanced at each other. They were three of the sixteen Judges of the Dead for the universe. Lord Yemma oversaw the northern sector of the North Galaxy, Lord Jizo the eastern sector of the East Galaxy and Lord Wukong the western sector of the West Galaxy. Every time they passed judgment on a soul paper work would pass from the check-in station they worked at to the filing center in the Grand Kai's mansion.
It was an automatic process, for it to stop could only mean that new souls were not being judged. But that was impossible. It never took more than a few minutes to judge anyone. If a delay of longer than five minutes occurred the Judge would be contacted to determine the cause. For none of them to be responding to contact attempts....
"Kibito, head to Lord Wukong's station and see if you can determine a problem." Mikomi ordered. "I will go and speak with Lord Jizo. Zenryou, meet with Lord Yemma." The other two nodded and then all three of them vanished.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Earth, North City
The city's emergency response teams had been on the scene in minutes. But there was a lot of ground to cover. Those within twenty miles of the explosion's epicenter were dead, completely incinerated without a trace left. About eighty percent of those between twenty and twenty-five miles were badly injured and weren't expected to survive, the other twenty percent were already dead.
Beyond twenty-five miles the survival rate increased by about ten percent per quarter mile. That was where sufficient medical care could be given. In most places, even with the prompt response, that wasn't possible. That reduced the rate to an increase of only five percent per half mile until the thirty mile marker. At which point the injuries became minor enough that survival was near one hundred percent, even without medical treatment.
Trauma Team 6 was just short of twenty-one miles from the epicenter on the south eastern side of the blast range treating some of the worst victims of the explosion. "I tell you, Kadava, I don't know what Capsule Corp. was thinking, having something that dangerous in the middle of the city like that." one of the men was saying as he did his best to stitch up a survivor. One of the lucky ones, this far in, that had a chance of living. A small chance, but a chance.
"We don't even know the exact cause yet, Morcian." his partner said. "My bet, it was some alien using one of them Ki blast things."
Morcian was about to say something but stopped when he heard a groaning from behind him. Turning to look he saw a hand under some rubble twitch a little. "Hey, looks like we missed a live one." he said, looking over to Kadava again. "This guy's all patched up, help me move the stuff off of...."
He trailed off as the moaning got louder and the sound of shifting rubble reached his ears. Looking back again he watched as the rubble was pushed aside and then a man in a tattered business suit sat up. He had a big gash in his side and his head and suit were both covered in blood. Morcian was about to say something when the man's head turned to face them and they saw that his right eye was pure white and his left eye along with the left side of his head, and his left arm, were missing completely.