Time Warriors Chapter 3

There was absolutely nothing to do.

Space travel was boring, and Trunks needed something else to occupy his time other than watch diplomats bicker and argue. That was even worse than doing nothing; those people just simpered and sniped at each other, worrying whether they were wearing the right clothes, had enough money, knew the right people - and none of them had any time for reticent, purple haired teenagers. It wasn't even amusing to watch.

Gohan was closer to him in age than anyone else on the ship, but Trunks didn't feel connected to him - he didn't feel as if they had anything in common at all. He was nice, he was pleasant, but . he just wasn't Goten. He hadn't expected to miss Goten this much.

Trying to distract himself, he had offered to help his mother and grandfather in the lab, but was brushed off with a brusque, "Not now, dear. We're not ready to have other people see the machine. We'll let you know when we need your help." In fact, Bulma had shooed him out of the laboratory at that point, as well as the rest of the Earth senshi loitering there. None of them wanted to mingle with the passengers, either.

"Don't you guys have something else to do?" she asked with a frown as she pushed them out of the room. They reminded her of idle, indolent adolescents with nothing else to occupy their time other than eating and quarreling with each other.

Eh ... and when Saiyans start fighting ... She shuddered at the thought, imagining their spaceship floating in space, graced with huge, gaping holes throughout the superstructure, all because some people were bored.

"What would you suggest, woman? We're in space, and there is no gravity room here," Vejiita growled irritably, glaring at her as he shuffled into the hallway with the other warriors. It was no secret that he hated space travel as much as Bulma adored it. In his opinion, suspended animation in the Saiyan spacepods was the only civilized way to travel.

"Oh, honestly, just grow up," Bulma snapped, glowering at her mate. "There's a huge training room at the other end of the ship - my father had it built especially for you and Gokuu. Go use that for a while."

Gohan and Trunks looked at each other and rolled their eyes, but Gokuu suddenly brightened, pushing himself through the crowd to stand in front of Bulma.

"Really, Bulma?" Gokuu looked at her hopefully. "There's a place where we can go spar? Gee, that's great! Vejiita, did you hear that? There's a place for us to spar !"

The smaller Saiyan gave Gokuu an exasperated look and made a disgusted noise as Bulma chuckled. "Well, what did you think, Gokuu - that my father would forget? You guys need something to do other than get on each other's nerves. So go on - get going." Grinning, she gave him a playful shove away from the laboratory door, then scowled again when she looked at Vejiita.

"Bulma," interrupted a faint voice from inside the laboratory, "I've found something here, and I need you ..."

"Coming!" she called, turning her head in her father's direction. Swiftly looking back at Vejiita, she hissed, "You, too - go away and leave us alone for a while."

"Don't tell me what to do," the Saiyan responded in a dangerous tone, his eyes glittering.

"This is great! Come on, Vejiita," Gokuu repeated, eagerly turning toward the back of the vessel. Blithe and carefree, he smiled and said, "Let's go - Piccolo, are you coming?"

A grunt was his only response, but the tall Namekian moved off toward the aft section of the ship, closely followed by Gohan and Kuririn.

Trunks stood next to the door, looking wistfully into the laboratory; he was about to walk in when the door was abruptly slammed shut in his face.

"Stop gawking and get moving, boy," growled a familiar voice in his ear, followed by a meaningful shove in the center of his back, pushing him after the other warriors.

Trunks trotted in front of his father as he hurried away from the lab toward the training facility, shoulders set in resignation. Here we go again, he sighed to himself.

Allyssa's green eyes lit up as she heard scuffling noises coming from the hall, and a sardonic smile spread across her face when Theo dragged herself through the kitchen doorway that morning. She watched her friend totter into the room in her bathrobe, wet hair straggling into bloodshot eyes.

This is it, she thought, assessing Theo's physical state. I'm pushing until something gives. Three times in as many nights is too much ...

Theo completely ignored Allyssa and headed straight for the refrigerator, yanked the door open and pulled out a huge container of orange juice. She unscrewed the top of the bottle with hands that were trembling a little as she swayed slightly on her feet.

"Good morning, Theo!"

Allyssa's booming voice startled Theo so badly that she almost dropped the entire container on the floor - as it was, juice sloshed over her wrist and fingers, dripping into a small puddle. The look Theo threw in Allyssa's direction would have maimed anyone else.

"Uhh," she grunted at Allyssa, glaring.

"Think you might want a glass with that?" Allyssa asked, nodding at the bottle. "Or do you just want it straight?"

"Shut up," Theo croaked as she turned her back on her companion. She grabbed a plastic cup from the stack next to the refrigerator, filled it to the top, drained it, filled it again, put it on the counter and stood there, panting.

Damn lucky I could get this far, she thought, clutching the counter as her knees threatened to buckle. Her head felt as if it was five times its normal size and filled with broken glass. Ah, but it's better than the dreams, she rationalized. Anything's better than that ...

Allyssa cocked her head as she regarded Theo, the white line of her scar showing faintly against her throat. Arms crossed, she casually leaned her shoulder against the opposite wall and inquired with a mocking grin, "Can I help you with anything?"

"No. Shut up and go away," Theo retorted, returning the bottle to the refrigerator. Uhh ... this is the part that's really going to hurt, she groaned, steeling herself, grabbing a towel from the counter. As she bent over to mop up the spilled juice, the headache that had anchored itself behind her eyes suddenly erupted through her head. Pain flared out, beating her without mercy, and for a moment she thought she saw stars. Theo groaned aloud and remained bent at the waist, her legs collapsing under her.

Magically, Allyssa appeared next to her and plucked the towel from her nerveless fingers. "No, of course you don't need my help with anything. Come on. Let's get you over here," she said, slipping an arm around Theo's waist, stopping her slow fall to the ground. She dragged her over to the small wooden table that stood next to the wall and guided her to a large chair.

Theo sank down and immediately put her head into her hands, elbows propped on the table. Her orange juice suddenly appeared next to her, along with several large, blue pills. My head's going to explode...

"I thought Time Lords didn't get hangovers?" Allyssa commented, sitting opposite Theo at the table.

"They don't," Theo's muffled voice came from her hands. "I'm not a Time Lord, idiot." The pills disappeared quickly, followed by another wave of orange juice. But how does she know this is a hangover? Tightly slitted eyes peered at her smirking companion from behind her hands. She's just guessing, that's all.

"Hmm." Allyssa looked at Theo as she tossed the soiled towel at the open laundry chute. "Had you considered that drinking an entire carafe of ghee might not be the best way to get to sleep at night?"

Theo groaned and huddled in her chair, miserable, still holding her head. Ehh ... she knows. "You're a sadist. Go away and let me die in peace."

"Heh - you're not going to die." Allyssa leaned over and snapped on the glowlamp by Theo's chair with a mischievous twinkle. The bright light caused Theo to cringe and shudder, trying to make herself even smaller. "You're only going to wish you were dead."

Theo groaned again. "Stop gloating and go away," she said in her hands, her fingers tightly drawn together to push the light away from her eyes.

"Can't do that," Allyssa said cheerfully, watching Theo. "Told your mother I'd look after you."

"Well, you've failed miserably," Theo snapped. "So now you can just go away and leave me alone." Her slitted eyes changed color from dark blue to forest green as she lifted her head from her hands and glared at Allyssa, curling her lip.

Allyssa leaned close and said, "How did I fail? I like to drink as well as the next person, but I wasn't the one who snuck out of bed and stupidly drank themselves blind with nearly a liter of straight ghee - for three nights in a row - was I?" Satisfied at Theo's stunned expression, she pulled back and asked, "And if that's how you're getting to sleep these days, what are you going to do tonight? There's no more ghee anywhere on this TARDIS."

Theo looked at her for a long minute, saying nothing. "I'm ... I'm ... making more," she finally mumbled, averting her gaze, all bravado gone. I can't even lie to her, she thought, staring at the table. How totally pathetic is that ...

"Oh," Allyssa replied, staring at her until Theo started to squirm uncomfortably. "I see. You've decided to kill yourself with ghee - slow, but eventually it'll happen." The other woman folded her arms across her chest and continued to stare at Theo, an implied challenge in her look. "It's been done before. I don't think that's such a good idea."

Without warning, something broke inside Theo. Most of her energy went toward keeping her memories at bay; because of that, her tenuous hold on her temper finally snapped. She rose out of her seat, leaned forward threateningly and glared at Allyssa. "I really don't CARE what you think!" Theo shouted as she slammed her hands on the table, then winced reflexively in pain. "I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm the one that has to live with this - this - thing - not you!"

What thing? Allyssa wondered, watching Theo's expression. I must be close ...

She was panting again; fine beads of perspiration clung to her forehead and her hands were visibly shaking as she stood at the side of the table, obviously trying to control herself. "It's been years since it's been this bad. And I know what started it, but that doesn't help." Theo glared at Allyssa as she massaged the back of her neck with one hand and sank down into her chair again. "You don't know anything about this - you have no idea. I haven't slept well, if at all, for weeks. Weeks!" Her mouth a thin, compressed line, she bit out, "If you know of some miracle drug that'll help fix this - whatever it is - I'll take it. I don't care. Otherwise, I'm going to keep doing what seems to work, because-" and her voice shook with the force of emotion behind it, "-I will not have that bastard in my mind again - ever!" An expression Allyssa had never seen cut across Theo's face - it was a mixture of pain and revulsion, coupled with a healthy dose of fear.

Ah, now we're getting somewhere, Allyssa thought. Theo had never before shared any of her dreams with her partner; Allyssa had been forced to deal with the aftermath, only guessing at the source of her pain.

"Have who in your mind, Theo? Who are you talking about?"

Eyes wide in consternation, Theo almost stopped breathing and stared at her friend, belatedly realizing she had said too much. Allyssa reached across and snared one of Theo's hands in her own; it was ice cold and trembling.

"You must tell me, Theo," she said, gently squeezing her hand, putting as much compulsion into her voice as she could. "I can't help you unless you tell me ... and you need to think about Elyse as well. If she's in danger because she's with you, I need to know that."

Several moments passed before Theo responded. "I ... I will try, Ally," she said slowly. "I will tell you as much as I can."

Allyssa exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath until she heard Theo's answer. She let go of her hand and settled more comfortably in her chair, waiting for Theo to start.

Theo swallowed and grimaced, lacing her fingers together tightly, forcing herself to speak. "So that you understand," she said, looking down at the table, "you need to know what I was doing thirty-five years ago." Ravaged eyes flew up to look at Allyssa, eyes that were mournful and haunted, bitterness and despair moving in their depths. "I don't know how much my mother told you, but it was ... horrible ..."

Allyssa listened, engrossed, as Theo haltingly told her story.

The training room wasn't actually a room at all; rather, it was its own sector of the ship, double-hulled and isolated from the main body. The chamber itself was contained in a cylindrical shell at the rear of the vessel; it spanned four vertical decks, and had almost half of that width. Dr. Briefs had taken great care when designing it, as he knew that both Gokuu and Vejiita were particular about what they needed .

All the standard equipment was available to them; weights, showers, whirlpools for aching muscles, and the like. Several other features had been added just for Saiyans, such as "blast proof" walls; the "blast proofing" was simply for errant shots and misses, projected at a half power level. All in all, it was the perfect place for a Saiyan to let off a little steam.

They had been working out for several hours - initially, it had been one-on-one sparring, with Gokuu and Gohan, Vejiita and Piccolo, Trunks and Kuririn. After several rounds, partners were switched and new offensive tactics were tried; several times the group attacked one person en masse, just to see if they could fight as a unit instead of just individuals.

Kuririn was sourly surprised at the ferocity of Vejiita's attack against him; it was almost as if the Saiyen knew exactly where Kuririn was going to be and what he was going to do before he did anything.

What's he want to do, kill me now? he wondered angrily as he picked himself up from yet another savage assault. The back of his head itched; he rubbed it fiercely as he glared at Vejiita. He should just finish it and get it over with, if that's what he's going to do.

Vejiita gave him an ugly grin, as if he knew precisely what Kuririn was thinking, and gestured for him to attack. Kuririn scowled and leaped at him, throwing everything he had into the fight; he knew he couldn't win, but he hoped to score at least a point or two again the Saiyan.

He never had the chance. Vejiita thoroughly trounced him, to the point where he thought he might need some of Karin's sensu beans. Strangely enough, Vejiita had stopped his assault immediately after Kuririn had that thought and turned his full attention on Gohan, completely ignoring the human. That had given Kuririn the opportunity he needed to crawl out of the way to the edge of the arena and snag one of the beans from Gokuu. Now recovered, he was standing with his friends and watching the prince attack Gokuu, nursing a large bruised ego.

Break that bastard's face for me, Gokuu, Kuririn thought, his eyes cold and fixed on the spectacle above, his hands clutching a towel draped around his neck.

Unexpectedly, the black eyes of the prince flashed down and met Kuririn's, shocking the human to his core.

Not today, little man.

Kuririn's mouth fell open as he stared up at the fighters; Vejiita's gaze was locked on Gokuu again. That ... nah ... impossible ... he decided, shaking his head, confounded.

Vejiita and Gokuu were sparring about three stories in the air while the others watched from the training room floor. Neither had transformed, and neither looked tired or winded at all. Gokuu seemed to be having the time of his life, and Vejiita was laughing and taunting him.

"They could be doing this for hours," Gohan muttered, craning his neck to get a better view.

"They HAVE been doing this for hours," Trunks observed wryly.

Kuririn stood next to Piccolo as he watched the combatants. "Well, I'm ready. After these guys are finished, who wants to go with me?"

Gohan turned and said, "I will, Kuririn - we haven't sparred today, only-" His last thought was cut off as his mouth twisted in an expression of disbelief. "What - is - THAT?" he said, pointing to the walls of the room.

Trunks and Piccolo turned and stared at the wall - and with the exception of the grunts and punches from the fighters in the air, there was absolute, stunned silence. Translucent, multicolored globs of tendrilled something flowed soundlessly through the ceiling and walls of the chamber and dripped down its sides as freely as running water. They shimmered and wiggled and gave off a strange power signal, almost as if they were pure energy.

They ARE pure energy, Gohan thought, amazed. He had never seen their like before; while he was intrigued, he also felt an irritating, persistent itching at the back of his head, accompanied by a low buzz. It sounded like insects that flew around his mother's flowers in her garden, and felt as if a swarm of gnats was trying to land all at once on the back of his neck. It was, to say the very least, incredibly annoying.

"Look, it's there, too!" Gohan lifted his arm to point at the opposite wall, but felt as though he was moving through some thick, atmospheric sludge. Forcing himself to drag his head around, what he saw when he looked at Kuririn was enough to make him react, gasping in shock. The earthman looked as though he was frozen in place, not breathing nor moving, his eyes wide open, his hands grasping the towel around his neck.

Trunks and Piccolo seemed to be having the same trouble as Gohan; they were moving in slow motion, their movements exaggerated. Trunks was saying something, but Gohan could not hear him; in fact, the small sounds that Gohan could hear were coming to him in waves, in bits at a time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some of the multicolored tendrils puddle on the floor and flow, inexorably, toward them. The buzzing and itching on the back of his head increased the closer those things moved to him.

Exhorting himself to look upward, Gohan saw that Gokuu and Vejiita suspended in space; however, they were still mobile, albeit extremely slow. Tendrils pulsed from the all sides of the room toward them as well, waving their arms lazily in the air.

"I - can't - move!" grunted Gokuu, tensing his muscles and grimacing at Vejiita. "What's - happening?"

"Ka - ka - rotto," Vejiita forced out of his lips, feeling his movement impaired. A buzzing and itching sensation that started moments ago intensified with every passing second. Even his thoughts seemed to be getting sluggish ...

A feeling unexpectedly surfaced, vaguely recognized - the feeling he always heeded in battle, his sixth sense:

... this happened to me before! Where - when - was it?

A memory burst into his head unbidden; he had been in his private training room in the palace, waiting for someone, and all of a sudden he felt something buzzing around his head, trying to keep him from thinking clearly ...

...and that was all he could remember. Frustration turned almost immediately to rage as he realized the substance in the ship was actually controlling everything it touched - and everything it touched was under his protection, and therefore, belonged to him - which meant that the impudent power was challenging him and wanted to dominate him as well ...

The hell with this, he thought furiously, and projected his thoughts to Gokuu. Kakarotto, he sent, brushing his mind, use more power, and do it before this 'stuff' reaches us!

Gokuu's eyes flicked up to meet Vejiita's with instant comprehension.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed, and immediately the golden halo of a Super Saiyan surrounded his body. An instant later, Vejiita joined him, flooding the area with his own corona.

"There!" Gokuu exclaimed, flexing his arms and fingers. "Wow, that's much better - I couldn't move!" He swiveled around and, fascinated, watched the waving tendrils in front of his face, their slow rhythm causing his eyes to droop. "And my head feels funny -"

"Baka, MOVE!" Vejiita commanded, pushing him out of the way. "Don't let them touch you!" He looked down at the tableau on the ground, and telepathically sent to both Trunks and Gohan, use your power as we did, and do it now!

Luminous radiance instantly surrounded both Trunks and Gohan, and they jumped just in time to escape the energy flooding the floor. Both Piccolo and Kuririn were ankle deep in the flow, and as they watched, the energy snaked up and over their bodies, engulfing them. Piccolo's head was moving slowly from side to side, and then stopped completely.

"NO!" cried Gohan, ready to go to Piccolo's aid.

"Get up here, boy!" a harsh voice from above ordered. "We're going to fight this thing together, and we need you!"

The Namekian heard his protege's anguished cry and Vejiita's harsh rejoinder, even though his body was covered with the transluscent goo. It was an odd feeling; his body was functioning perfectly - it just couldn't move.

His mind, though, was hearing some pretty strange things. Whisperings of power, of other beings searching their psyche, trailing in and out of their minds like hushed thoughts.

We are many, yet we are one. We will not harm you - we wish only to observe and study and classify. We will do no harm, but we will know you thoroughly, your heart and soul and mind.

Piccolo was unable to respond, but felt an involuntary response to their energy signal from his merged Kami, a small pulse. A pleasant feeling suffused with wamrth grew in his mind, something that tweaked memories of languid days on Namek; well-being washed over him, and he felt complete.

You are unique, Namekian. Be well and happy.

Without warning, he could feel the character of the ooze's thoughts changing; they suddenly became taut and defensive, shielding portions of itself from-

-from what?he thought, curious.

-from your companions, the being replied, strained. We are leaving now, Namekian. Our power is vast, but we use it only in self-defense. We will not use it here. Advise your companions well, Kami - they need you.

Surprise and bewilderment at the last statement of the ooze ran through Piccolo's mind as he felt its quick withdrawl of power. Advise them? he wondered.

Frustrated, Gohan glanced at Piccolo and Kuririn's forms once more, then flew up to meet his father, Vejiita and Trunks, avoiding the tendrils of energy that seemed to reach out for him. The other three Saiyans were already floating back to back in defensive postures. Gohan was pushed into the circle between Vejiita and Gokuu.

"Now listen," Vejiita snarled. "If we were able to move ourselves just by becoming Super Saiyan, then what do you think will happen if we push ourselves farther?"

"If we're going to do it, it'll have to be now!" Trunks exclaimed, eyeing the waving tendrils and shaking his head. "These things are coming right for us!"

"And think before you do anything!" Vejiita snapped. "If you don't, you'll put a hole in the side of the ship and we'll all be sucked out into space!"

The tendrils of energy were now everywhere; above, below, and around them. Now! Vejiita said mentally, and in an instant, they had powered beyond the Super Saiyan level. The brightness they created could have been mistaken for a small sun; the energy waves were enormous.

The multicolored energy threads had united around them; as one, they descended on the Saiyans, softly wrapping around their bodies and flooding into and through them. Vejiita screamed and pushed his energy level even higher; Gokuu, Gohan and Trunks followed his lead, increasing their own power levels.

Immediately, almost as if they had been burned, the energy beams withdrew from their inspection of the Saiyans, turning bright red and pulling away several meters away in all directions. A different character came from them; before, they had been slow, searching, almost lazy in their inspection - now they seemed to be alert, poised on the brink of attack or retreat, cautiously waving back and forth.

Heh ... you should be afraid, Vejiita thought, his fury under tight control as he pushed himself toward the energy vines. As if they could sense his intent, the tendrils hastily retreated to the sides of the ship then disappeared through the hull completely.

Realizing what he had just witnessed, Goku shouted and leaped toward the nearest clump. Just as they had with Vejiita, those energy vines immediately snapped back to the sides of the ship and vanished.

Trunks and Gohan were chasing the stray pieces still left floating in the air of the room, three or four stories from the ground, while Gokuu and Vejiita sped down to the ground to assist Piccolo and Kuririn. These tendrils had turned bright red at the same time those in midair did, and once they felt the Saiyans' power, they immediately retreated from their position. All, that is, except one unlucky creeper that was caught under Vejiita's foot as he landed.

"All right, Kakarotto, let's see what this thing is," he said, capturing the energy vine in one gloved hand. He started to probe its field with his own chi, pushing against a resistance that seemed familiar to him. I know this energy ... I've felt it before ... but where?...

With no warning at all, a dark green energy beam lanced across the deck and struck Vejiita's hand, causing him to drop the tendril with a surprised cry. As he bent to retrieve it, he watched in amazement as the green energy beam twined itself around the red like a helix. The beams glowed and expanded themselves to twice their size, and suddenly shattered into thousands of glowing shards. The warriors just had time to protect their eyes when the energy beams exploded. Glancing back a few seconds later, they found nothing to show that the strange energy beams had even been there.

"What was that?" Gohan and Trunks dropped to the floor, looking at Gokuu and Vejiita in amazement. "What did you do?"

Shaking his head in befuddlement, Gokuu answered, "We didn't do anything - there was this green one that came from over there, and -"

"So, Gohan, what am I supposed to see?"

Gohan whirled to see Kuririn looking at him, confused. Piccolo was standing next to him, his arms folded, a strange expression on his face.

"It looks the same to me - what am I missing?"

"Kuririn, you're okay!" Gokuu said delightedly, moving over and clapping his old friend on the back.

"Well ... yeah ...," Kuririn answered, looking at Gokuu as if he had lost a few more of his marbles. "What did you expect? And why -" he started and stopped, confused, "-why are you in Super Saiyan mode?"

"Oh," Gokuu said, immediately powering down, "that's because Vejiita figured out that more power was better." As Gokuu was speaking, the other Saiyans also powered down as well, looking at Kuririn closely.

"You don't remember anything that just happened, little man?" Vejiita asked peremptorily, striding over and standing directly in front of him.

Kuririn glared up at Vejiita, and said hotly, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you'd better watch it with the 'little' stuff." Vejiita allowed himself a small smile as Kuririn continued to glower at him. "Gohan had just said, 'Look over there - what is that?' - and I looked, and I didn't see anything. As a matter of fact, I STILL don't see anything. So -"

Piccolo broke his silence, looking at Vejiita thoughtfully. "You recognized the power, didn't you?"

Vejiita gave Piccolo a measuring stare. "If I did, it's none of your business. It was familiar," he said, musing. "I just can't place it ..."

"It sure was powerful," Gokuu said, flexing his arms. "That was weird in the beginning, wasn't it? And where did it come from? Through the sides of the ship? But that can't be, because ..."

"Because why, Kakarotto?" Vejiita asked acerbically. "Because you haven't seen it before? There are stranger things in this universe than you or anything you've seen so far, believe me. Just look at the Namek over there." Piccolo stared impassively at Vejiita, who smirked.

"We should probably check the rest of the ship," Gohan put in. Everyone turned to look at him, and he colored. "Well - we should see if any of the systems were affected by it, or any other people, or -"

"We should check out the systems, boy, you're right about that," Vejiita said, staring at him, "but I don't think that we'll have to check out the people. If your friend here is any indication of the average human - which I'm sure he is -" Vejiita smiled cruelly at Kuririn, who was obviously furious, "they didn't notice any disruption at all. Time just stood still for them."

As they walked across the training room floor, Kuririn watched Vejiita's back, steaming. He muttered under his breath to Gohan, "Just once, Gohan -- just one time, that's all I'm asking - I'd die a happy man -"

Gohan muttered back, "I think you'd have to stand in line, Kuririn."

"The wait would be worth it," Kuririn growled.