DISCLAIMER:
Vetyga: (Jumps up and down waving her arms in frantic gestures)
Rath: (Sighs) "My wonderful assistant seems to have lost her voice from screaming like a maniac after she finally awakened. She is currently trying to tell me to 'Back off!' and that it is still her turn to do the disclaimer for this chapter."
Vetyga: (Folds her arms across her chest and nods triumphantly)
Rath: (Rolls eyes) "Fine then, all yours, Vetyga!"
Vetyga: (Using sign language) 'We... do... NOT... own... D-B-Z!'
Rath: (Looks to the reader) "Enjoy the chapter!"
IN THE PAST WORLD, WITHIN THE TUNNELS OF THE 'GHOUL SABER':
Goku, Goten, and Bulma were still crawling within the maze of air ducts in the Ghoul Saber. Goku continued to carry the blind Saiyan girl, Rah, on his back as they continued forward at a painstakingly slow pace. Rah's injuries were taking a toll on her. Despite her being the main cause for their pace, they would not complain.
They all knew that the girl was not of the living... None of those trapped within the cursed ship were. Most likely she had died of her injuries somewhere within the very ducts they now navigated. Like the Yuuli, she was doomed to repeat the events leading up to her death over and over again for eternity.
Still, Goku could not bring himself to leave her behind. Even if the curse caused the mini time loop to reset once more, their very presence had given her a renewed sense hope that she'd survive this time. He could not take that away from her. Everyone needed hope, no matter how futile it appeared. He wondered if she was aware of the fact that she was part of a never-ending cycle?
Rah's body drooped from fatigue. She could no longer hold her head up as her death loomed closer. Even so, a faint smile remained on her face.
'The King did not forget about us!' Rah thought contently to herself. 'H-he cared enough to send help... We aren't... worthless!'
"Rah?" Bulma asked gently. "Say we were to head to the center of the ship... Do you know if it would be easier to access the rest of the ship from there?"
Rah took several ragged breaths before replying, "Maybe... For all but... the docks. The docks are at the... edge. ...The only way..." She trailed off as dizziness threatened to overwhelm her.
"The teleportation devices are broken," Bulma continued. "Are there other ways to get around besides teleporting or these tunnels?"
"Broken?" Rah seemed confused. "Th-they do not break. They are spell-locked. You have to be attuned to them to freely use."
"Oh! Ya, I remember!" Goten spoke up. "When we first got here, that Yuuli-lady sang a song to make the platform work?"
"Huh?" Bulma was confused, until she remembered that she was still unconscious when they had first arrived on the ship. She looked to Goten and Goku. "Do either of you remember the words to the song?"
"Nope, but it was kinda cool to listen to," Goten replied.
"I didn't think much about it at the time," Goku admitted.
"It... doesn't matter," Rah continued. "They use a d-different... attunements for each location. I was never... told about alternative routes without tunnels though. The open is n-never safe."
"We'll figure it out when we get there," Goku replied as they neared a fork in the tunnel. The passage separated into three different directions: left, right, and straight ahead. Goku closed his eyes and listened carefully.
"Hey, Dad?" Goten said suddenly, but Goku gestured for him to be silent for a moment as he focused. There was a distinct buzzing coming from the right pathway... A whistling wind from the left... And was that water he heard from the middle passage?
'The sound of electricity leads to the center of the ship,' Goku remembered Rah's words as he re-opened his eyes.
"Maybe Trunks is on his way to the ship area," Goten suggested. "I bet'cha he thinks we are waiting there for him."
"It is a possibility," Bulma considered it for a moment.
"We can't take that risk with Frieza and King Vegeta still milling about," Goku replied, glancing briefly down the left passageway. He added, "Not to mention the anti-Saiyan aliens who run this ship... We must find them before anyone else does and be on our way before we end up stuck here. The center court will be our best bet if we want quick access to the rest of the ship. There's no guaranteeing where they are at this point."
A foreboding silence passed between them as Goku led the way down the right passageway.
As Goten trailed behind, he couldn't help but feel sad as he watched Sarahda drooping almost lifelessly on his dad's back. Like his dad, he hated seeing people suffering.
'I wish there was something we could do to save her,' Goten thought to himself. 'Trunks saved his dad's younger self, why can't I save her?'
"Hey, Dad?" Goten piped up after a while.
Goku looked back curiously at his son. "Is something wrong, Goten?" he asked.
"We're going to save her, right?" Goten asked as his eyes darted between his father and Rah.
Goku's eyes softened towards Goten, but there was a trace of sadness within his expression. "Of course, son. We wouldn't dream of leaving her behind in this retched place. We will... do our best."
Goku suddenly turned his gaze away from Goten and continued forwards.
Goten stared after him in confusion. Why did he see such despair in his dad's eyes?
The silence between them grew more and more uncomfortable as the time passed slowly. The only sounds breaking it were the sounds of their own thoughts, the shuffling of their hands and knees as they crawled, and the increasingly loud buzzing noises of electricity ahead of them.
"Here," Rah broke the silence with her labored speech. "Generator should be... near. It... will... linked to... many paths... Between... an opening..."
It was getting harder and harder to understand Rah as her speech became forced. She wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
"It's okay, we understand," Bulma replied, her voice wavering slightly in spite of her efforts to keep her emotions in tact. "Save your strength."
"N-No, it's... it's important..." Rah insisted. "Care... t-the... genera..." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she finally lost consciousness from over-exertion.
"Is she...?" Bulma couldn't bare to finish her train of thought.
Goku shook his head. "No, but we don't have much time. I see it though. There up ahead! It must be the generator she was talking about."
The generator was made up of several intricately woven large metal rings lined up such that the openings for each ring lined up in a vertical orientation. Every few seconds the rings spun around with high acceleration until they reached their peak speeds. At that moment a powerful pulse of blue energy shot up between them until the rings finally decelerated back to a still position. The rings then accelerated in the opposite direction. Once again a pulse of blue energy shot up between them as peak speeds were reached. This cycle repeated itself back and forth indefinitely. The power it generated was immense.
"Impressive," Bulma commented as they entered the generator chamber. The static in the room made her hair stick out in random directions.
The circular chamber was wide in diameter and tall enough for them to stand in. The railing surrounding the generator in the center suggested this was a maintenance area. Several dozen narrow passages, each similar to the one they had just left, connected to the chamber. A teleportation device was seen to their left, but if what Rah said was true, they had no way of operating it without being attuned.
"There must be an opening somewhere in this room," Bulma thought out loud as she scrutinized the floor and walls of the chamber.
Goku agreed, "Yea, I think that's what Rah was trying to say." His face glowed with a blue tinge as more blue energy shot up from the generator.
The sound of the electricity rushing passed was frightening as the passageways amplified it back towards them in an echo. It took several pulses before Bulma and Goten stopped jumping at the sound.
Goku looked over the railing. Below was what seemed like an endless pit of darkness... Or so it was until the generator once again pulsed with blue electricity. Goku turned his gaze upwards. It was the same in that direction- endless darkness.
"It looks like we have no choice," Goku muttered as their search for an exit turned up futile. "The only way out is through the center of the generator itself."
"There has to be another way..." Bulma shivered at the thought of getting electrocuted as they traveled down the rings.
"Afraid not," Goku replied, a serious expression set in his features. "I wouldn't risk it otherwise. Goten?"
"Yes, Dad?" Goten asked anxiously. He didn't like the idea of traveling through the generator any more than Bulma did.
"We will only have a few seconds to act," Goku said as he readjusted Rah to a more secure position on his back. "My hands are full, so I am going to need you to help carry Bulma through. Can you do it?"
"I..." Goten hesitated. "B-But what if I'm not fast enough, Dad?"
Goku gave his son a wide grin. "You will be!"
"But..." Goten started, but Goku interrupted him.
"You can't afford to think of failing," Goku encouraged. "You have what it takes!"
'Trunks would be confident in his abilities,' Goten thought as he looked at the generator. 'Trunks wouldn't hesitate, would he? I... I have to do it or else we'll be stuck in the Past forever. I have to do it to save Trunks... and Rah... a-and Vegge too! I have to!'
The sound of electricity sizzled through the air as though testing his resolve. Goten returned his gaze back to his father's eyes. A look of pure determination was on his face as he declared, "I can do it, Dad! I will do it!"
'That's my boy!' Goku thought with pride.
Goten looked towards Bulma. When she nodded at him, his resolve increased.
'She has faith in me too,' Goten thought. His heart pounded nervously in his chest. 'I can do this. I can...'
A million thoughts raced through Bulma's mind. Most of them featured various ways this plan could go wrong and end with their horrific deaths.
'Oh, Vegeta,' Bulma thought of her husband back in the Present World. 'This is all wrong. By now, you should know what we have gotten ourselves into, but I swear we'll return. For that, I must be brave. I must!'
When Goten looked to her, she gave him a nod to let him know she was okay with the plan. Bulma knew he was just as nervous as she was, but together they'd all pull through. For her family's sake, she placed her faith in him. Not that she had much of a choice...
"It's not like danger is anything new to me," Bulma said. "I am ready when you guys are."
Goku nodded at her. "We go immediately after the next surge dissipates. Goten, it's important that you to stick very closely behind me. We will follow it to reach other levels."
"Up or down?" Goten asked.
"For now, up," Goku replied without hesitation, though in truth he had no idea which way to go. Rah never got the chance to explain it to them, so he was playing it by ear. "If needed we can always go back in the other direction after we scout around."
"Okay," Goten nodded to his dad as he stepped up to the railing.
Bulma folded her arms tightly around Goten's shoulders. She was trembling slightly as she held on with a death grip.
Goten took in a deep breath as he watched the generator rings accelerating. Any second now, they would have to act.
"Get ready!" Goku called.
"I'm ready!" Goten answered back.
The rings reached their peak speed and once again pulsed with a fearsome long burst of blue energy. When the burst was over, the rings began decelerate.
The split second the energy faded, Goku shouted, "NOW!"
Goten did not hesitate for even a moment as he and his father then jumped into the center void of the generator rings and rushed upwards knowing their very lives depended on their speed. He struggled to keep up with his dad.
'If I don't, then we will never make it back!' Goten mentally chastised himself as he pushed himself harder to keep up. 'Faster... Go FASTER! FASTER!'
The generator rings became motionless for a brief moment before they started accelerating once again in the opposite direction.
"CLOSER, GOTEN!" Goku shouted urgently to him as they raced through the tunnel of spinning rings. "You have to keep up!"
Goten gritted his teeth as he pushed himself to go even faster.
Ahead of them, it seemed that the generator went on and on with no breakpoints in sight. They had mere moments left to find an opening before the deadly blue energy would flood the generator yet again and engulf all in its path.
'Come on! Where is it?' Goku kept his eyes open for an exit. They were out of time...
A dull light could be seen in the near distance.
"THERE!" Goku exclaimed.
The generator rings continued to spin faster and faster, until they reached their peak speed.
Goku suddenly deviated off course as he exited the generator and into another maintenance area.
Goten noticed his father exit off a split second too late as the generator fully charged up another blast of blue electricity. The energy shot up towards him...
"Goten!" Goku exclaimed as the sound of sizzling energy echoed loudly through the air.
Rath: (Nods up at chapter) Yep! This looks like a good place to stop! I thought Goku, Bulma, and Goten deserved their own chapter this round to touch base on what was happening with them, especially since they weren't mentioned for a while. It won't be long now until the gang finally reunites and continues onward to Schreetept where a big twist still awaits!
On a general note, I'm slowly editing all previous chapters to this story. I am approximately halfway through so far with my first pass through the story (so far just Chapters 1-12). I will keep working on the remaining chapters and go back through the whole thing for another pass through as I am able. Any comments made on both on this recent chapter and all past chapters are greatly appreciated.
At Wild Vegeta: Surprise! I am really really glad you liked the last chapter! I was happy to see you are still active on and to see your name again in the reviews! :)
At VegetasPrincess174: I'm happy that you still enjoy reading the story!
Thank you both for reviewing the last chapter. It means a lot! Also thank you to all those that continue to read/watch/favorite TTWV (even without reviews). I do pay attention.
Until next time... Sawatdee!
Reminders for this Story:
Ages: Vegge (8), Trunks (14), Goten (13), Marron (11), Pan (3), and Bra (2)
Pronunciation of "Vegge" : Like "Vh—JEEE" (not like "VEH-Ji" aka "Veggie")
For story recap (for CH 1-22): Read the "Disclaimer" of Chapter 23