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Chapter 5: The Truth Becomes Clearer
The two Saiyans had begun to walk away from the wooden doorway, Vegeta leading. He suddenly turned to speak to Goku. "I don't wan't to stay here anymore. Maybe we will find something if we head back."
He shot into the sky, Goku following closely. They headed back to Vegeta's house, the ground below them becoming a blur. Goku still worried about the prince and decided to keep his eye on him.
They continued on without incident, but Vegeta felt a feeling of uneasiness growing inside of him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. He could feel fear and dread heavy in the air.
Finally arriving back home, he landed in the front yard. Everything still looked the same, but an unusual silence was in the air. Walking up to the front door, he placed his hand on it to find it ajar. He hesitated, then slowly pushed it open.
He narrowly avoided being clobbered by a dented frying pan. His hand shot up to grab the one that held it. He gripped the hand tighly to prevent another attack. Vegeta then glanced down and saw the face of his aggressor.
Chi-Chi was struggling to wrestle out of his grasp to swing the pan again, not yet realizing who held her. She was grunting softly and began swinging her free fist wildly. Vegeta caught her wrist and held her tightly.
"Chi-Chi, stop!" Goku yelled as soon as he saw his wife trying to pummel the Saiyan prince. She turned to look at him, relief evident on her face. She turned again to face Vegeta, and, upon recognizing him, let the kitchen utensil drop from her hand.
Vegeta slowly released her and stepped back. Chi-Chi's face was red and her hair was disheveled, stray strands sticking out in all directions. Her clothes were dirty, smeared with something dark colored.
She backed away from Vegeta and darted towards Goku. She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Goku was slightly startled by this, but wrapped his arms around her.
Chi-Chi then pulled away and began pounding on his broad chest. "How could you just leave me behind like that?! You have no idea what I've been through!" She continued to pound even though she could never hurt him. Goku just stood there and let her release her emotions. After a few seconds, she slowed down, and Goku placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Chi-Chi's fists dropped to her sides, and she fell into his embrace.
"Mom! What's going on?"
Both Saiyans looked towards the kitchen upon hearing this familiar voice. They saw Gohan bolt out, his eyes wide. He halted abruptly when he saw Goku and Vegeta, and his face visibly relaxed.
Gohan appeared as messy as Chi-Chi, his hair quite ruffled. He had dark smears along his face and clothes. A long cut surrounded by dark, dried blood went across his cheek.
Goku released Chi-Chi, but kept one hand on her shoulder. "What happened here?"
"Actually, I'm not really sure," Gohan replied, rubbing the back of his head. "It all happened so fast." He became quiet when he saw that Vegeta had noticed what he was talking about.
Vegeta slowly stumbled into the living room, his face holding an expression of shock. Every window was shattered, glass littering the carpet. All the furniture was overturned, both lamps laying cracked on their sides. Magazines and papers were strewn about all across the floor.
Then he noticed the bodies. Unmoving creatures were sprawled about all over the room. Some looked like the four-armed creature that attacked earlier. Several were similar to the decaying corpses he had encountered six months before. The rest he didn't recognize.
He heard footsteps behind him. He craned his neck around and saw Goku stare around the room with a similar surprised expression that was on the prince's face. Chi-Chi did not follow, but stood on the other side of the wall, peeking timidly around the edge.
Vegeta walked over to the nearest creature and bent down next to it. It was a lizard-like human covered in rough, green skin and scales on its arms and face. Its long, clawed fingers still gripped a narrow dagger. Its glossy eyes still remained full of hate even though the creature no longer breathed.
Goku's voice broke the tense silence. "Is everyone alright? Where's Goten?"
Gohan ran a hand across his forehead. "Him and Trunks have been out back since the attack. I'm sure they're okay. Mom and I are fine. Luckily, those...things...weren't very strong, just really fast. They ambushed us all at once, from all sides of the house. You will find some upstairs, too...all over, actually."
Everyone jumped when Vegeta suddenly spoke after being quiet up until then. "Is Bulma here?"
Gohan shook his head slowly. "No. I haven't seen her."
Vegeta took in a deep breath and gazed into the living room. She's probably alright, he thought. Knowing her, she probably stopped by other stores on the way home. I bet she's not even done shopping yet. Vegeta still didn't take any comfort in this, though.
The prince turned his eyes towards Gohan. "Why are you here?"
Gohan rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Mom called me after you and dad took off. She asked me if I would come over, that's all."
"It's all right, Vegeta," Goku chimed in on his son's defense. "I'm glad he was here to fight those things. It could have been worse."
Vegeta sighed, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he turned and headed out back to see what the two younger Saiyans were up to.
Gohan faced his father after watching Vegeta disappear around the corner. "Do you have any idea where those creatures came from? Did Vegeta tell you anything?"
Goku sighed. "I don't think he wants me to tell anyone else yet."
Gohan understood. Whenever Vegeta told someone something that he usually wouldn't reveal, he expected that person to keep quiet. And he rarely told anything secret to Goku.
Goku suddenly tensed, sensing that something was wrong. Without warning, he darted after Vegeta out to the backyard. His eyes moved rapidly around even though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. Spotting Goten and Trunks sitting under a tree talking quietly, he dashed over to them.
They both immediately saw him and scrambled to their feet. Each one watched him nervously.
Goku didn't hesitate. "Where's Vegeta?" he demanded forcefully.
Goten and Trunks' eyes met, then stared at the ground. Neither one said anything.
"This is important! You have to tell me where he is!"
After a few seconds, Trunks answered meekly, "H-He said not to tell anyone. He said he wants to be left alone."
Goku whirled around and took off into the clear sky without waiting for them to tell him more. This was just like Vegeta. He probably felt he could do this on his own without needing to ask for help. If this is as bad as it sounds, he thought, he'll need more help than he thinks.
Clearing his mind, he focused only on finding the prince. Vegeta must have been traveling much faster than Goku had expected. He felt the familiar energy of the Saiyan a great distance from his position. Goku sped up, attempting to reach Vegeta as soon as he could.
Within a few minutes, Goku's eyes quickly spotted a tiny form up ahead. He recognized it to be Vegeta, still not slowing down. Picking up even more speed, Goku caught up to the prince and flew beside him.
Vegeta immediately turned his head and glared at the third-class. "Why won't you leave me alone? I can do this by myself without any help from anyone!"
"Sorry," Goku just shrugged his shoulders. "I can't let you do that. This whole thing sounds worse than I thought. We are all going to need help, including you." Goku saw that Vegeta's pride was surfacing, but right now, he wasn't in the mood to put up with it. These last words made the prince bristle, but he kept silent.
Seeing that Vegeta wasn't going to speak, Goku continued. "Don't you think we should at least try to find out something about what we are up against? There has to be someone who knows something."
Vegeta sighed, exasperated. "Alright, whatever." He stopped suddenly and crossed his arms. "Where do we start looking?" He had a hint of contempt and sarcasm in his voice as if mocking Goku.
Goku rubbed the back of his neck, dismissing Vegeta's rudeness. This was one of those times that required a lot of thinking...not his strong point. Goku wished Gohan was here. His son would at least know where to begin looking.
"Uh...I...don't know where to look," Goku sighed, the prince still staring hard at him. Vegeta threw his arms up in the air in frustration and grumbled something unintelligible. Goku had no clue where to start searching, and asking Gohan to help seemed like a pretty good idea right now.
"W-Why don't we go back. Maybe Gohan will help..." Goku suggested hopefully.
"I've got nothing better to do." He shrugged his shoulders. "Lead the way."
Goku turned around and blasted off, heading back with Vegeta close on his tail. Goku craned his neck around to glance at the prince. His face showed no sign of any emotion, and he barely even blinked.
Within several minutes, they arrived back where the others were waiting. Goku landed, and ran into the house, going to find Gohan. Vegeta lagged behind, staring after the third-class. He jumped when he heard sudden screaming resounding from within.
Vegeta bolted towards the front door and swung it open. He ran inside, wondering how things could get any worse. The yelling was louder and in a high-pitched, familiar voice.
"What have you done to my house?!" Bulma was shouting at the third-class and his son. Both Saiyans looked miserable as if they hadn't been through enough already. They were trying to explain and attempting to calm Bulma down at the same time.
Seeing no immediate emergency, Vegeta leaned against the frame of the doorway, enjoying the fact that Bulma wasn't yelling at him. Well...at least she's all right...
"Did you see that mess? The entire house is trashed!" Bulma's voice amazingly went up in volume. "Who's going to clean it up? What was going on here?"
She placed her hands on her hips and spun around. She quickly spotted Vegeta watching from the doorway with an amused smirk on his face.
"And where were you, Vegeta?" She tapped her foot impatiently on the tile floor, awaiting a reply.
Vegeta just shrugged and turned to walk towards the living room. He heard her sigh heavily in annoyance. She continued to grumble to herself as she left the kitchen and headed up the stairs.
Picking up the overturned couch, Vegeta set it upright, then flopped down onto it. He closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relax his muscles. He could still hear faint voices coming from the kitchen.
A few minutes later, Goku strolled out, Gohan right behind him. "If we are lucky," Goku said, "the library in the city may still be in one piece." He pointed over his shoulder at Gohan. "He thinks he may be able to help."
Back to the city, Vegeta mused. "Let's go," he said softly.
The library and surrounding area had been nowhere near the path of destruction. It still stood intact, but a vague feeling of dread remained in the air.
Gohan led the way up the stairs and pushed open the front door. The other two Saiyans were behind him, keeping their senses alert for any surprises.
Except for the librarian and several other patrons, the library was otherwise empty. It was peacefully quiet in here, the only sound was the soft clicking of the librarian's keyboard. She glanced up briefly to see the threesome enter. She gave them a warm, welcoming smile, then looked back down at her computer, the typing noises of her keyboard resuming.
"This way," Gohan whispered, pointing towards the right hallway. They began heading in that direction, their footsteps echoing off the walls and ceiling. Many rows of shelves stretched across the floor.
Oh, man, Vegeta thought wearily. Look at all of these books! I hope Gohan knows where to find what we are searching for. I don't have any idea where to begin looking!
"Um...Gohan?" Goku rubbed his shoulder anxiously. "Why don't I just wait over at a table while you go look, OK?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. I should have known that Kakarott would be intimidated by the thought of even having to look at a book, Vegeta mused silently. He heard Gohan let out a long sigh.
Vegeta turned and followed Gohan past the tall shelves as the Saiyan looked over the signs that labeled what each row contained. One by one, Gohan checked each bookshelf.
Suddenly, he turned down the next row which was labeled, "History: Myths and Legends." He ran his finger along the edges of the books, scanning over the titles. He stopped about halfway down the length of the shelf, then bent down onto one knee. Keeping his eyes fixed on the books, he brought up a hand and waved at the prince to join him.
"Let's start looking through these books," Gohan murmured, motioning to the ones in front of him.
"What are we looking for?" Vegeta asked, crossing his arms.
"I'm not sure. This is the best place to start." Gohan stared directly into Vegeta's eyes. "You know much more about this than I do."
Vegeta swallowed hard, then answered, "Fine. We might as well get started."
He uncrossed his arms and let Gohan pile some books in his hands. Gohan then picked up several more and followed the prince who was already heading back to where Goku was waiting.
Turning the corner, the two Saiyans carried their armload of books to the table. Seeing that the third-class was watching his son, Vegeta set his books down hard causing Goku to jump slightly. Goku glanced briefly at him, then stared at the books and began to fidget.
"Grab a book, start looking," Vegeta ordered, pulling up a chair. Gohan was already seated and reading through the pages of one of the larger books. Goku almost seemed to groan inaudibly, slowly reaching for a book.
Vegeta leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He stretched his arms as a yawn escaped him. They had been here over two hours, and had still come up empty. He glanced over at Gohan who was concentrating hard on a book he had been reading for the past thirty minutes. All the books they had found were scattered messily across the table, several still laying open.
What a delightful waste of time this has been, he thought tiredly. We haven't found anything to help us yet.
Vegeta's ears suddenly picked up what he was sure was soft snoring. Shifting his gaze to Goku, he saw that the Saiyan had his head down on the book he had been reading. The third-class had dozed off, his mouth moving as if he were talking in his sleep.
Vegeta let a small grin cross his lips. This was too tempting...
Before he could think of what he could do to Goku, his eyes happened to glance over part of a picture that was half-covered by Goku's head. He abruptly stood up, his chair scraping loudly on the floor. Gohan jumped, his train of thought interrupted. Vegeta's hands shot forward and yanked the book out from under Goku's head.
Goku's forehead smacked against the table, jolting him out of his sleep. He sat bolt upright, sitting back hard enough to cause his chair to topple over. Goku tumbled backwards, limbs flailing in vain to try and stop his fall. He crashed to the floor, shattering the silence.
Gohan was already up and helping his father to his feet. Goku was apparently wide awake, but was mumbling as if still dreaming.
"Wha-? Uh...wha-?" Goku stammered as he rubbed his forehead gently. He slowly sat back down in the chair that Gohan had picked up off the floor. "What was that?" he asked, still dazed.
"What did you do that for, Vegeta?" Gohan asked as he returned to his own seat.
"Nevermind that," Vegeta replied. "Look at this picture."
He turned the open book around so the others could see it. He pointed to the photo in the center of the page. It was a black and white picture of an intricate, circular design.
"This is the design that was on the door to the place I found. I know it is!" Vegeta was barely able to keep his voice at a whisper.
"What does it say?" Gohan stood and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table. After receiving no answer, he walked over behind Vegeta who was reading to himself silently.
Setting the book down on the table, Vegeta began to read softly. "The photo above was taken by an archeological team on a research expedition to the northern Shinalu Forest fifteen years ago. The team was to study and gather evidence of the rumored ancient people who inhabited the forest and surrounding area many thousands of years ago. The leader of the team, Dr. Thorton had heard of a legend told amongst the citizens of a small town just west of the forest."
"The team headed out the next day, led by one of the natives who knew the forest well. Several weeks went by without any word of their progress or location. Knowing of the legend and fearing the worst, the officials of the town sent out help to find out news of the group. A few days later, the group sent to help the archeologists returned with only the journal of Dr. Thorton. The team of researchers were never found."
"The following are excerpts from the recovered journal: 'March 14. I had decided to check out the library before we headed out. Inside, I happened to overhear a conversation about a legend pertaining to the forest where we were heading. I approached the men to ask them some questions, but they acted as if they had never been speaking about it. The legend I overheard told of a great evil that watched over this forest. Within a dark cavern in the heart of the forest was a sinister, wicked spirit that had been sealed away by the people we believe used to live here. This evil was said to be able to steal the spirits of the living and corrupt them with its black powers, turning them into cruel, spiteful creatures that became its slaves."
"March 16. My team and I have arrived at our camping spot and have finished setting up our equipment. Several members of the group are skeptical as to whether or not we will find anything. Our guide had finally agreed to answer what questions we have about the legend. He explained further about how the creature had been imprisoned. The evil which had been named "Tanra" in the ancient language meaning "spirit fiend of shadows" began attacking and destroying the villages. After the people battled the evil for many days, the wise men from each tribe gathered together and created five keys, each one having the power of one of the five elements: fire, earth, water, wind, and light. When the keys were placed together in the right order, they formed a circle. United properly, they gathered their power to create a seal that was to hold the wicked spirit forever. They succeeded and sealed the spirit and all of its servants away. The keys to the prison could never be destroyed, though, so instead were scattered across the earth and hidden carefully."
"March 17. Several ruins have been found, but they are no more that a few stone walls that are still standing. We did, however, come across an old stone building that seems to be some sort of entrance to the underground. It had writing along the sides of the old wooden door and a circular design which our guide had described to us earlier. We are planning to come back tomorrow and find a way inside.'"
"This was the last recording in the journal. The fate of Dr. Thorton and his research team is still unknown, and the townspeople believe that they unfortunately found the evil spirit. The whereabouts of the five keys remain secret to this day, the evil still imprisoned. There are rumors that even today circulate of the possible existence of ancestors of the anicient inhabitants of the forest who know the locations of the keys, although never proven. No one wants to risk releasing the evil spirit so no one has ever come forth with the knowledge of their hiding places."
" The legend of an ancient people who battled a great darkness seems to be only for entertainment now, told to adventurous tourists. Only the townspeople know of the true secrets that are masked by the stories told by the fireplace each night."
Finishing the passage under the photo, Vegeta sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes. Goku was staring down at his folded hands resting on the table, his brow furrowed. Gohan was still standing over Vegeta, his arms crossed and tapping his fingers against his elbows.
Gohan broke the tense silence. "So, maybe the design you saw was a sort of...old keyhole or lock. Probably, someone else knew of the legend, found the keys, and released the spirit."
"But the design was completely destroyed as if it had been forcefully broken," Vegeta brought up. "I think it just escaped on its own. Maybe it just got too strong and the seal could no longer withstand its power."
"Excuse me," came a soft, female voice, causing the Saiyans to jump. The librarian they saw earlier was standing off to their right, her arms behind her back. "I'm sorry, but it's closing time. I'm going to have to ask you to finish what you are doing and please leave."
"Alright, we're done anyway," Gohan answered politely. The librarian turned and disappeared behind the bookcase.
"It doesn't matter now how it escaped. We just have to find a way to seal it up again." Vegeta ran a hand across his forehead. He had become too jumpy lately. His senses were not as focused as they should be.
He stood up, slamming the book shut. He began walking towards the exit, the others behind him. The library seemed completely empty of all life besides the threesome. It was eerily quiet, the only sound being the three pairs of footsteps echoing off the walls.
Vegeta suddenly stopped and closed his eyes tightly. He felt a chill run through him and he let out a soft moan. The others stayed behind him, unsure as whether or not to help him.
"Vegeta?" Goku whispered, bringing his hand up halfway, but then lowering it again.
Vegeta waved his hand and stood up straight. "Nevermind. I'm fine."
He continued walking towards the front door. He tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but inside he knew how far that was from the truth. He felt the presence of a force not to far from here. An evil, angry force, that was dreadfully close. Vegeta struggled to keep the old fear from surfacing and under control. His nerves shook, and he tried to hide it by clenching his fists.
A sudden bang made him whirl around. He saw the other two staring at him with puzzled expressions. "Did you hear that?" he asked quietly. His eyes darted around the empty library.
Goku and Gohan exchanged nervous glances. "No. What?" Goku asked, shrugging his shoulders.
There was another bang, louder than before. This time, they all heard it. Three pairs of eyes looked around the room, trying to find the source of the sound.
"Wait," Vegeta said after a third sharp bang filled the air briefly. "It's coming from outside."
He spun back around and dashed towards the front entrance. Pushing aside his fear, he swung open the door.
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