Yardrat is a place unlike any I've seen before. If you were just visiting one of it's cities, you wouldn't be surprised to see that they are fairly advanced in technology, with craft capable of interstellar travel. They have an economy that has merged with intergalactic trade, and grow food and produce specific valuable materials and resources that other planets want or need. There forests are dense and rich with life, and their people are mostly peaceful. None of this, is what makes them so unique.
Yardratian mastery over their psychic abilities are unrivalled, so far as I've seen. Their unique use of Ki, or spirit as they call it, have many practical uses. First of which is controlling my Ki, beyond what I've already learned, and sensing it.
Standing outside in a clearing, safely away from the temple, Master Pybara is instructing me on how to master my Ki, and how to sense it. Afterwards I will be able to learn their other techniques.
"When you draw on your inner power, what do you feel?"
"My might, rage, pride, and ambition made manifest into lethal force."
"Where does this might come from? What do you take pride in? What are your ambitions, young Prince?" Without even thinking I responded.
"My own strength, earned through countless battles since I was a child. I am a Warrior Elite now, Prince of all Saiyans. I will grow in strength, and by my hands, free the Saiyans of Frieza's rule. It is my destiny." Pybara remained still as he studied me.
"And what of this rage you speak of? Where does it come from?" On Planet Vegeta, Saiyans don't normally ask each other about their feelings, especially what's angering them. Normally it was best to steer clear, lest you be used as a scapegoat. Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this question.
"Weakness and cowardice are unforgivable."
"What else?"
"What do you mean?"
"I feel as though your responses mask the truth of your feelings. I understand your species as a whole values strength and ruthlessness above most everything else, but there is more to you than meets the eye Sadala."
"What exactly are you getting at Pybara?"
"Simple, young Prince. Weakness is something you were ostracized for, were you not?" A spark threatens to ignite fury in my heart. My patience for my mind being invaded wearing thinner and thinner each time it happens.
"I'm warning you Pybara. Peace be damned, I will not have you rooting around in my head." The small creature bowed his head with a frown... or at least what I thought was a frown.
"I did not take that piece of your history from your mind. When you're mother and I were in communication, she offered some knowledge in order to gain my trust. She showed me how she trained you, and how most of her peers viewed you. It is heartbreaking for one so young to be put under such scrutiny for something they had no control over."
"Keep your pity, attendant! It made me stronger! I pushed and thrived for greatness, no matter the odds, and look at me now. I'm Prince of All Saiyans! And one day I will be King." My proclamation seems to fall on deaf ears for the blue creature shows no reaction to my claims. Instead he waves his hand dismissively.
"Perhaps. If you do, will you suddenly shun your half-brother, Kakarot, for being as weak as he is?" Pybara's words strike me, knocking the momentum out of me. "He, like you, were born weak. You despise weakness. Will you destroy him for it?"
"No." Silence falls over us. I think about Kakarot and how his upbringing will be different from my own. I will make sure of it.
"Why not? If he is too weak for what an ideal Saiyan should be-"
"Like me he can become stronger. I will guide him if necessary. Though I'm sure Bardock can handle that well enough on his own." Pybara nods.
"You can lead your people into a brighter future, but your rage will only bring them death. You want to liberate your people from slavery with your strength alone, but it takes more than might to make right. And wrath, will only bring your people ruin." Pybara's words are aggravating to say the least.
"It is not your place to question our ways, Pybara. I am not here to debate ethics or cultural differences."
"Perhaps not, but you may find yourself considering different paths to victory on your journey Sadala. Life isn't so simple as many would believe. Yet also, not so complicated."
"I grow tired of your riddles, Pybara. What's the point of all this? Surely you did not bring me out here for a philosophical lecture. If you have, than I'm wasting my time on this planet." Pybara closes his eyes and sighs heavily. I am unsure if he is agitated, or defeated. Either way, my patience is wearing thin.
"The Saiyans prefer to win battles with a heavy hand, and rule with an iron fist. Conquering those they deem weaker than themselves. All of your might and strength is on full display when you descend onto a planet. A brutal stampede of warriors stomping onto a battle field. No subtlety, or finesse. As you've been instructed, your mother has sent you here to learn new ways, in order to incorporate them into your uprising. We start with your spirit, which is unbalanced and roaring like a wild inferno." My pride swells at his mention of my spirit, but I recognize the lack of appreciation for the methods of my people. I scowl at the thought this being thought we were inferior in anyway.
"Brute strength determines the outcome of battle. Not subtlety or goodness as I'm sure you're about to lecture me about. I've heard it before, and it's always been from the mouths of those that fall at my feet, defeated and crushed. The mightiest survive-"
"-and the weak perish. A similar sentiment shared by those would be conquerors and killers that have come to Yardrat. Shared even with the one that holds your people, among a large portion of this sector of the Universe, under his tyrannical rule." My eyes narrow at Pybara's interruption, but my anger stems from the audacity he has for comparing me and my people to Frieza. "Alas, it is as you said. We are not here to debate. However, you need to start accepting new ways of dealing with conflict should you wish to master our techniques. We are not warmongers."
"Right. You're cowards."
"No, Sadala. We are Pacifists." I roll my eyes at Pybara's distinction.
"Ah, yes, of course. You're cowards patting themselves on the back." Pybara glares at me now, a low rumbling sound coming from his throat.
"Prince Sadala. All due respect, not that there is much to be had..." How dare he?! "...I will no longer tolerate your disrespect of our ways or our people. If you wish to train with us and keep this alliance, you must learn to respect others, instead of looking down on them." I growl at Pybara's words. The small creature didn't even raise his voice, or his Ki. He simply and calmly spoke down to me, as if I wasn't the onelooking down on him.
My whole life, I've been spoken down to. Treated as low-level trash. All because my mother was in hiding, I couldn't benefit from the perks of being royalty. Fighting tooth and nail to get to where I am today. The blood, sweat, and tears, all just so I can be dressed down by a tiny blue weakling.
"If you are done throwing your internal tantrum, we shall continue." I have half a mind to just blast him, blow up this planet, and leave for new potential allies, but I know my mother would have my hide for such an act. I decide to swallow down my emotions, like I always did, reserving them for when I needed to kill something.
"Go ahead, master."
"Good." Pybara takes a long deep breath as he closes his eyes, stopping after a few seconds and holding his breath.
Shortly after his eyes fly open and he expels some of that breath, and his Ki rises rapidly. The pressure is immediate and overwhelming. The very earth shook. Debris from the forest began to rise around the small creature as his aura swirled around him. Wind speeds picked up, and I could hear thunder in the sky above us. His voice could now be heard, releasing a lengthened kiai as his power grows and grows. I suddenly do not see him as a small weakling.
As I have the thought, Pybara releases the rest of his breath and allows his power to settle. The earth stops shaking, the thunder disappears, his aura dissipates, and the debris that he was floating with his raw power rapidly descends back to it's place on the forest floor.
"That power? Where... how...?" Pybara smiles at my utter bewilderment. Or at least I'm sure that's what he finds amusing.
"I am older than you may believe, young one. The training I've received from the Kaioshin in order to fulfill my duties as an attendant were extensive. Like you, I trained hard, and for many years, but where we differ is where I training was focused. I refined my Ki, my control over it, and it's expenditure. Tell me. When you take big swinging attacks, what are you doing?" I'm still in disbelief at what I just felt as he talks, but his questions draw me from my stupor. I ponder his words before giving the obvious answer.
"Over choreographing your attacks."
"Correct. But what does that mean exactly?" I cock my head to the side now as I try to understand what he's getting at.
"Well, if you're opponent isn't a joke, they can telegraph where your blows are coming from and counter you. And you're wasting energy." Oh. I just got it.
"Precisely. Very many sentient species through out the universe with the ability to manipulate their spirit, never master spirit control, or in the case of civilizations like yours, or the Heraads, and even Frieza and the Korimites themselves, don't even realize that it's possible to the degree we have mastered here on Yardrat. Like you, they go in full force, expending energy unnecessarily, leaking excess spirit as they fight."
"So we're wasting Ki when we fight?" Pybara nods.
"The same applies for flying. Even if you are only using it to travel a short distance." I never realized that this was even possible. I had always thought that whatever I used in combat or to fly was the amount necessary.
"So mastering Spirit control, will allow me to retain more of my Ki, meaning I can sustain myself in battle for much longer."
"Among having the understanding to master other techniques, yes." The possibility of winning battles of attrition due to this mastery over others got my blood pumping.
"How do I get started on this?" Pybara raises his hand.
"Hold a moment. Your eagerness is admirable, but we must first teach you how to sense Ki."
"Why's that?"
"Leaking Spirit is unnoticeable to the untrained. Being able to sense how much is being lost will help greatly."
"Okay. How do I know when I start sensing it?"
"Open your senses. Do not focus solely on what is in front of you. Focus from what is within, and then from what is without."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"What was the last thing you tasted?" This is very strange.
"I hunted game this morning. I cooked it to tender perfection. Savoury, juicy. It filled me up.
"What do you hear, when listening to your thoughts?" I want to hit something instead of standing around listening to jibberish all day long. "What else?" Get out of my head. "What else?" Fine.
I show Pybara the landscape of my mind. Battles. It's all I've ever really thought about. My whole life has been a war. A fight. A Battle. My head is constantly going over different sequences of manoeuvres and strategies. The memories of battles before and the images of battles to come. He seems to nod his head in understanding.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. The injuries of my last battle were healed before arriving here. I have a few scars to show for it, but I'm fine with the reminders." The little blue creature shakes his head.
"I'm asking about your emotional condition, Sadala. What do you seen when you look within?"
"I don't know. I'm fine."
"Why lie to one that can read you like a book." Pybara scoffs.
"Okay. I'm agitated that you are in my head." I respond.
"It's more than that boy. What is bothering you."
"For starters, you calling me boy."
"What, else?"
"This is completely asinine. How does this have anything to do-"
"-if you don't know yourself, how can you begin to even differentiate between yourself and another entity? If you can't recognize your own spirit, and what lies within, how will you be capable of detecting the spirit of another?" Pybara walks towards the woods, and passing through the tree line. As I go to follow him, unsure of what his plan is, I find my self blocked by branches that were not there a second prior.
"What the hell?"
"You are young and still developing. Who you are will change with time, but you need to start considering your true self, and separating that person from the imitations of you made by others. Once you've done that, you may leave this forest." Pybara's words fade to the recesses of my mind, and I am wondering just exactly what the hell he's talking about.
"This is such a waste of precious time." I am furious at this joke of a training regiment. Turning around to leave, I see that the clearing that should have been right behind me, is now gone. Replaced with a dense forest.
Looking around and seeing no clear indication of the clearing I was just in, I curse under my breath and just begin walking. Half expecting this to be another vision I walk through the woods, in search of my master, so I can ring his neck.
After travelling long enough in the direction I am certain where the temple is located, I find myself... still in the woods.
"I was certain it was this way." I growl in frustration, wondering if this is some kind of trick. Yet another technique known by the Yardratians to toy with any invaders. Not wanting to get anymore lost or turned around, I start marking trees as I change the direction I'm walking. "Maybe it was more this way."
I walked in a straight line for what felt like hours, expecting, or more hoping, that Master's Pybara and Shen would pop out any second and laugh in my face. Instead, I walk endlessly, only to come face to face with a previously marked tree. "How is this possible?! I didn't take any turns! I've been walking straight for ages!" I'm just getting more and more frustrated every second that goes by. "Where the HELL AM I?!"
Breaking off into a sprint, I continue straight to see if the second tree I marked was in the same place, much like the first. Surely, I hadn't been walking long enough that I had looped the whole planet, right? It isn't small enough. It is hot though. I feel as if a heat wave has just started. Almost immediately I begin to sweat.
"Where is it?" I run and run, but the second tree I marked never shows. In fact, none of them do. "Did I pass it?" I hear a low rumbling sound as I turn back around to see if maybe I had missed the tree I am looking for. "No..." It can't be. "NO!" The minute I turn around I see the first tree again. As if I am facing the direction I thoughtI was already facing. As if I hadn't taken off into a sprint moments prior. Causing me to run in a random direction.
I feel as if though I am in a desert, sweating through my armour as a frustrated panic takes hold of me. I clench my fist and rush the tree, burying my arm into it with little effort. It isn't terribly thick, so ripping through the trunk at an angle, now freeing my arm from the hole in the tree, takes out enough of the tree trunk to make it begin to topple over. I step back and watch as the tree falls to the ground, realizing only then just how quiet it was.
As the tree hits the ground, the only noise being made in the woods, I look around, noticing that no critters, birds, or any other animals of any kind are running away from the scene. Not a sound was made before or after the tree fell, save for any sound I made. In fact, I'm beginning to realize I haven't seen any wild life since the clearing disappea-
Turning to walk away I see it there again. The tree I marked. The character for 'Kill' in the Saiyan language is carved into it's wood made with Ki focused into my finger tip. Something is very wrong. I used different characters for different trees, and I just toppled this one behind... me...
My mind lurches, my mouth falls open, and a fearful confusion permeates my mind as I'm looking all around me. As far as I can see, which isn't far in this dimly lit and dense forest, are trees marked the exact same way. All with the character for 'Kill' on their bark. On every single tree.
What is happening?
"I won't be trapped here. You here me Pybara?! I will not perish in this forest of illusions!" If I have to destroy the landscape to escape these woods then I will. Clenching my fists I start focusing my Ki so I can release a blast wide enough to make a large gap in the forest. However, attempting to channel my Ki produces no effect. No aura, no disruption of the environment... nothing.
NO! This can't be. I... how am I going to get out of here.
"You're pathetic." I turn rapidly towards the source of the voice, and see Prince Vegeta walk out from behind a tree. "You're such a weakling. I can't believe we share the same blood."
I feel the animosity that I have held for my cousin swell and shove its way to the front of my mind. Did he find me? Was he actually here? Or am I going mad?
How long have I actually been here.
"You've been gone a long time." I turn around, hearing the voice of my mother from behind me. I see her silhouette in the trees, and oddly enough her eyes are the only things I can really make out. Were they here eyes though? They were cerulean, instead of the onyx eyes that all Saiyans were born with.
"You failed us." I look down. Underneath my mother's spot on the tree branch, standing next to the base of the same tree is a bloodied and battered Bardock.
"Bardock? What happened to you?" The man is caked in blood, his armour all but gone and his body has bruises and open wounds all over. Strangely, his tail is on fire. The flame itself is slowly crawling up the appendage.
"Same thing that happened to me." Stepping out from behind the tree next to my biological father, is my adoptive one, Rhiz. He isn't the man I remember, but a walking corpse, resembling that which I found in that security room. "They all died because you were too weak."
"What?"
"Failed. Lost in the woods, we never got the power we needed from you. We were ill prepared, and Frieza killed us. We're all dead, because you lack the strength to be of any use." My mother spoke as she stepped off the branch she was standing on and landed next to my two fathers. She looked to be dead as well. Why do they look like this?
"Ill prepared? Maybe I wouldn't be if you ever filled me in ahead of enacting whatever convoluted plan you've concocted all on your own!" Fury was wrestling with my confusion and fear.
"Excuses. Can't believe that you're my son." Bardock's disappointment stings.
"Nor mine." Hearing it from the one who raised me is just as bad.
"Curse you! The three of you kept the truth from me! My whole life I was an outcast! Nobody from either echelon of our society accepted me! It's all because you wanted revenge for a throne, and you were too much of a coward to stand up to her!" I'm yelling at all three of them but directing most of my frustration at Bardock and my mother.
"You're blood dictates your destiny, Sadala. You never get a choice in these matters when you are one of your station. You will do what is expected of you. It is your duty."
"But it's already too late. You didn't fulfill you're destiny, and now the Saiyans will crumble to nothing."
"Blown away in the cosmic winds of fate."
"You failed us."
"This isn't real." I take a step away from them as my stomach drops to the soles of my feet. There's no way they're dead.
"It's very real, worm." Vegeta speaks again. "Imagine that. You went through all the trouble of killing my father and usurping the throne, all so that you could lose our planet, and fail our people anyway. Hahahaha!" His laughter scorches my ears. I turn to strike him, but he's gone, leaving only his mocking laughter behind. It burns. Everything burns!
"You were supposed to be the best." Bardock pleas.
"This isn't real."
"You killed me." Rhiz proclaims.
"No. That was the Manhunters!"
"You should have died during birth." My mother's harsh words strike a chord deep within. I feel the shame and anguish of my upbringing, and I want it to go away. It makes me so angry. I want it all to BURN!
"STOP IT!" My demands fall on dead ears, as undead Saiyans begin to come out from behind all of the trees marked 'Kill'. All shouting at me, and cursing me the way they did when I was a boy.
"Low-Class scum!"
"Pathetic bastard! He deserves to die!
"He'll never become anything useful. Just another low-class clown."
"He's low-level trash."
"He'll never amount to anything."
"Oh look? Sadala is scared! Hahaha!"
"He clearly was a mistake. Born to high-class warriors and he's a weakling."
"ENOUGH!" Yelling at the top of my lungs, I try to dig deep, searching for my Ki. I'm still standing, and I don't feel exhausted, so I must have something left to use. I just have to find it. But it's so hard to focus with all that's going on.
Saiyans start to rush me, faster than their mangled corpses look to be capable of. They extend their arms and try to grab and claw at me. No skill is involved, they seem to be mostly mindless, despite the coherent mocking they partake in while trying to physically assault me. I strike one, and it explodes into dirt and mud. I'm taken aback, wondering what that means, as I put up a defence against the next few assailants.
Every one of them shows the same results when I attack them. My fury, fear, shame, are quickly being over ridden by my determination to find out just exactly what's happening. After awhile, all of their faces are replaced with mine, from various points in my upbringing. Some scarred, some not, some younger, and even some older versions of myself that were likely from my visions. All have that same clueless look to. They don't know what is happening. They look scared, confused, and desperate. Probably mirroring the face I've had since I realized I was trapped in these woods, running in circles looking for a way out.
Stealing glimpses here and there, Bardock, Rhiz, and my mother are no longer anywhere to be found. All there is... well it's just me here now. Something I've also noticed is none of my copies look like corpses. No rotting flesh or exposed muscle, tendons or bones. They all look alive, like me. But they aren't me. They aren't real. They are turning to mud and dirt. Except they don't seem to be dwindling. So what am I supposed to do? Do they have a source?
"That must be it." I started to understand the point of all this now. My fear, anger, and shame starts to wash away as a laser focus and determination take over.
I find an opening to break away from the clones and start running. They give chase and I try my best to focus on finding the source of the one creating them. Though my mind is a bit clearer now that I have a clear goal to focus on, the heat of this forest is still sweltering. It's as if I'm standing in the hottest fires of hell.
"Wait." Taking a sharp turn, sending some clones about to grab me into a cluster of trees, I feel the intense temperature drop considerably, the further I go. "Finally, some reprieve from this infernal weather."
It appears the further I go, the less clones there are. A bonus to the refreshing cool air I am racing towards. However, I'm feeling as if though I'm missing something.
"I'm sure it's nothing." After several minutes I finally lose the clones, and stop to take a break. Turning back to check if there were any stragglers, notice that damned tree from before.
Instead of rushing in a panic as I had before, I take stalk of what I've gathered from all this. Namely, I can't trust my senses. Whatever is going on in these woods, is messing with my head. I can't trust my eyes or ears, nor my other senses for that matter.
That heat however, was the only thing that seemed to constantly change. It was gradual at first, barely noticeable after the initial heat wave, but by the time I was in the thick of it with those clones, it was as if I was approaching the sun itself. I'm not entirely sure how I managed to get away from it though. I'm not sure I had picked any particular direction when I was getting closer to whatever the source of that heat was. Maybe it was just an environmental thing?
"Not likely. If anything, it's likely that whatever the source of that heat was, is the source of those clones." Pondering out loud about the current events something jogs my memory. "Of course."
I have a plan now. I need to get back to where that heat was originating from. If it's the source of these clones, maybe when I connect to it, I'll get my power back. Yeah it sounds far fetched, but this place makes no sense at all. If I'm wrong, I'll improvise. I've always been good at that... mostly.
I'm not sure how much time has actually passed, but it takes me a while to find that section of the forest where all the trees were marked and I felt like I was being roasted alive. I'm not being hysterical this time, so although it is extremely hot here, I'm not as uncomfortable as I was before. I kept my eye out for clones and the rotting Saiyans, but so far they haven't shown up.
"You're Pathetic." Vegeta speaks again, and I don't acknowledge him this time. He actually repeats the same lines as he did before, which indicates to me this definitely isn't real.
When he laughed at me earlier, I remember my ears feeling scorched, as if the sound he was producing was the very fires of the sun itself. Sure enough, stepping towards resulted in the heat intensifying. I try to look past him, through all the foliage and bark, and I notice there is a glowing light in the distance. I smirk in triumph. I know this is the path. As I go to step past him he grabs my wrist and holds me in place.
"Don't think you've earned it." We don't look at each other, and I can barely stand his irritating voice. I know that he's going to feel this way when I see him next. Part of me wishes it wasn't like this, but I know better. This is the world we live in. Kill or be killed. Yanking my arm away, his hand crumbles, and then so does the rest of him, as I continue my march towards the source of all this nonsense.
As I'm walking through the forest, I can see bodies of my clones scattered around the ground. They look to be on stand by. There eyes follow me, but none of them move a muscle to respond. I'm certain this is because I'm keeping calm this time. Or at least, that's what I'm counting on.
The light up ahead is getting brighter and brighter, to the point where it should be blinding, but it is only causing minor discomfort. The heat is almost unbearable now, and I almost want to tear my skin off in an attempt to cool down. Despite this, I am not blistering or burning alive. A small comfort, all things considered. Almost there.
Breaking the tree line, I wind up in a very small clearing that has this large star sitting in the middle. A mixture of magenta, red, purple, blue, and yellow are all swirling around it. In the immediate area around me I'm seeing my clones kneeling before it, like a shrine. There has to be dozens of them here, all just staring at this source of energy. Are they worshipping it? Are they hypnotized by it?
Almost as if they knew I was questioning their relationship to this ball, one of them stands up, and shambles it's way towards it. Upon reaching the multi-coloured orb, he slams himself against it, a squelching sound being heard as he begins to slowly sink into the mass.
"What the hell?" The minute I speak, all of the clones spin towards me so fast that I don't even register some of them moving. "Damn it." I hope that I have time to weigh my options on what to do next, but the very next second they all start rushing towards me.
I throw caution to the wind, and decide to head straight for the swirling mass of energy. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I know that I need to reach it before these things rip me to shreds.
I loosen my tail, letting my purple cloak slide off me and use it to chuck the weighted material at one of the clones, as I simultaneously take off all my weighted rings, placing the two that were around my wrists over my knuckles. I clones are trying to collapse on me, but I swing wildly, kick, head butt, you name it. I take out several as I charge through, but I feel my self slowing down as more and more pile on. They grab at my legs and arms, each adding a moderate amount of weight as they try to pin me down, but I forge on.
Another arm wraps around my neck, a hand grabs at my hair, another at my ear, more and more grabbing at me, and the more that do, the more I realize there goal is to make me one of them. To be a hollow lost shell. A controlled, empty being, that is moulded by others. No control of my own fate. No say in how I live my life, or pursue my dreams. These imitations aren't clones. They are manifestations created by other peoples opinions of me. I need to keep them out of the source.
I'm barely moving now, but I'm so close. Only a foot away, reaching out with my hand, arm covered in the hands of those trying to hold me back, hands grabbing at me from every direction except forward. I inch closer and closer, dragging them all with me. In hopes that when I touch this power, I'll be able to shed them all forever.
"Almost there! Just a little... more!" I stretch and push, and expend all the strength I can in order to reach the orb and finally, my finger touches its surface.
And everything goes white.