Not on Namek Any More

[Goku]

Desperation. 

Adrenalin. 

Power.

He'd won! He'd triumphed! The battle seemed hopeless, but he had found power inside him which he never could have guessed at before. He felt as though he were invincible, and yet -- it was all for nothing, the tyrant's spite determined to make his victory come at a heavy cost. As though the death of his best friend wasn't enough, he'd have to give his own life as well.

It wasn't fair! There was a flare of anger - real anger - in his heart. That alone was rare enough, rage being such a foreign emotion to the gentle warrior, but he wanted to go home! He wanted his friends, his family. Hadn't he earned that? After everything he had given to make sure they would be safe from the likes of that alien monster? 

There was a terrible sense of impending doom, of the world finally starting to choke out its last. He threw his head back and howled his anger to the sky--

And then, nothing. A void. A smiling silhouette. He couldn't sense anything, only listen to the odd spectral figure as the strange, intense power he had called up ebbed away from him. He no longer needed that strength; it was not necessary that he keep it.... he really should be paying more attention to what this weird guy was saying. Something about being interesting and not fearing death? Death wasn't something that frightened him - he'd died before, it wasn't so bad. 

Then reality intruded once more with the crushing weight of physicality. All at once, he was rushing back to himself, and that swirling mass of memories was becoming more and more confusing. He tried to hold on to what he could, which meant he wasn't paying attention to where he put his feet and so -- 


"Waugh!"

Goku collapsed to the ground, sweat pouring from his body as he found himself spat out near the Fountain - today, a literal Fountain of pure, sweet running water. The dark-haired martial artist looked as though he had been in an intense fight - one which had, for a start, claimed the majority of his outfit. His chest was entirely bare, his pants ripped and torn to the point that his right leg was mostly bare and his left knee poked through against the fabric. Only his boots and his wristbands had escaped mostly unscathed from the struggle. Yet, his wounds were mostly healed - he had clearly exerted himself greatly if the sweat was any indication, but there wasn't a scratch left on him. Not that he was in much position to really appreciate that right now.

It felt as though his whole body was being smothered under an intense weight. Struggling up to his feet took everything he had, and one eye closed as the saiyan attempted to make sense of the situation. That Omni guy had said a lot of things, and they all stuck clearly in his head where the events he was sure had actually taken place were... not so easy to recall. Was this a dream, or was the fight a dream? Or was something even weirder going on? The only thing he could be absolutely certain of was that he hadn't died. He'd died before, and that was a far less confusing experience than this!

The most obvious thing was that the others he could see walking around this place clearly did not have the same issues with standing as he did. 

Geez! If these guys are used to this much gravity, they must be incredibly strong!

Forcing himself to his full height - roughly five and a half feet tall - Goku cracked his neck and tried to work some of the tension out of his limbs. His heart was still pounding! And yet, slowly but surely, all that stress was starting to ebb away as his body caught up to the fact that - regardless of what situation he might have wandered into - he wasn't fighting for his life... at least not immediately.

You know, this place looks a little like the Room of Spirit and Time...

That was an interesting thought. Maybe there was some sort of link? Although, he didn't remember seeing anything like Omni when he'd trained in there before. Then again, Kami had all sorts of strange secrets, it wouldn't be that surprising... even if he had no idea how he could have wound up back somewhere like that after Namek. 


It would be fair to say that Captain Kahbin - proud Storm Trooper of the Empire - was not exactly happy to be assigned to 'Fountain Watch'. It was important to monitor the area, of course, and to try to make sure that those Primes whom Omni deigned 'worthy' of entrance into the Omniverse (by whatever twisted standards the deity chose to measure by) were given a suitable impression of the Empire upon arrival. It was not, however, pleasant work. There was always tension with the naive fools of the Kingdom, and all manner of other unsavoury characters wandering around - not least of which were the very Primes they were supposed to meet and greet!

A six man squad was sufficient for (most) new Primes, however, and when the squad saw Goku stumble blindly into existence, they shared a look amongst themselves. Whoever this guy was, he'd clearly been through something pretty intense. You never knew how volatile new Primes were going to be, and whilst they could (almost) certainly put him down if it was necessary... there was no telling how many of them he might take with him. 

Then the half-naked man caught them staring at him, and gave a cheerful wave! Still clearly tired, Goku wasn't in any mood to hang around, and began a light jog towards the six man squad.

"Hey, hey!" He called, voice carrying over the distance. "Excuse me! Could I ask you guys for directions, please? I think I need a tailor in a hurry, and a big meal! Hahaha!"

"Oh great." Captain Kahbin muttered. "This is going to be one of those days."

[Goku]

It would have been fair to say that Captain Kahbin did not expect things to progress the way they had. The strange newcomer now sat cross-legged opposite the Captain and several of his men, only a couple of them stayed on guard in case of sudden attack - you could never be too careful in a place like this... but there was just something about this 'Goku' guy which made it easy to relax.

Maybe it was just that he was so laid back. He'd eaten enough ration bars to feed the unit for a fortnight whilst they gave him the usual spiel - and he seemed to listen to most of it, although he was clearly bored of the talk about 'dangerous anarchists and criminals' and not too interested in hearing all about the Empire and its innumerable good qualities.

Goku had summoned up a new shirt and gi at least, which meant that the soldiers could stop staring at his abs. By the Emperor that had been distracting - you could grate cheese on those things!

"So that Omni guy is why my body feels all funny, not gravity, huh?" Goku said, "That's kind of a cheap trick!"

Hopping up to his feet, Goku lashed his foot around in a quick arc, following it up with a series of three fast punches. There was just the faintest hint of a frown on his face as he did so; it really did feel... off. Now that he was taking the time to really pay attention to how he felt, though, it was less like simple exhaustion, or the extra weight of gravity; it felt like his whole body had been altered somehow; his ki felt funny too! Right now, he didn't feel confident that he could even attempt something like the Kaioken technique, and he'd mastered that ages ago!

"My understanding." The Captain said, "Is that Omni changes a lot of Primes to keep things ... interesting. If you want your old self back, you can get there, but you need Omnilium."

"That glowing stuff he gave me when I couldn't move?"

The Captain nodded his head. Goku's brow furrowed deeper. "And he also said that everyone else would be after that, so we'll have to fight for it I guess?"

The Captain continued to nod, "In general terms. If you join with the Empire, I'm sure that we can arrange some sort of Omnilium signing bonus, help you get back to your feet quicker."

Goku laughed, and scratched behind his head, "Hey, let me just try one thing real quick."

Cupping his hands next to his side, Goku crouched low and reached inside himself. Sure, a lot of things had changed, but if anything worked the way he was used to, this technique ought to keep functioning just fine...

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaa.... Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...."

Brilliant blue light sparked and fizzed between his fingers as he compressed the energy, grasped it and forced it into place. The swirling power coalesced into an orb, brilliant lanes of sharp, clear blue spilling between his fingers. The Troopers - Captain included - stared in awe at the strange display before them.

"G-Goku!" One of them said, "What are you doing?!"

Stopping mid-technique wasn't really a great idea, though.

"Haaaaaaaaaaa.... Meeeeeeeeee...."

The power surged with his words, and Goku could feel it bursting at his fingertips - interesting how different it felt here compared to how it felt back home. That Omni guy must be incredibly strong to be able to effect other people like this! Now that was someone it would be exciting to try and fight!

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Thrusting his hands towards the sky, Goku unleashed a bright beam of shocking intensity. Three-foot wide (huh, he would have expected a lot more) the burst of energy rocketed upwards until it connected solidly with some sort of impenetrable barrier. There, the power splashed against it and then fizzled away to nothing.

Goku was left breathing hard again, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. An uncanny silence had settled over the group of Troopers, and he looked amongst them - noting the discomfort with an awkward laugh.

"Ah, sorry, I just wanted to see if I could figure out where I am at! That seemed like the easiest way."

The Captain stood again so that he could meet Goku's eye. "Not a problem." He said, calling upon years of experience to keep his voice steady in the face of what had been a rather startling display of power. If he knew his men, maintaining an attitude that everything was going according to plan would - in fact - help keep things going according to plan.

"So, if you'll come with us, I'll get the paperwork together for your new apartment and--"

Goku scratched behind the back of his head again, and then shook it. "Ah, sorry, it isn't that I'm being ungrateful..."

The Captain blinked behind his visor. Surely this guy wasn't going to turn them down anyway?

"Thanks for the explanation, really, this has been super helpful." Goku said, "But uh, no offence, I think I'm going to have to turn you down on the offer of a place to stay."

It was becoming increasingly difficult for the Captain to remain unruffled.

"That's, surprising. Are you sure? There's no strings attached, if that's what you're worried about. And if you help us, we can help you."

"Yeah!" Added one of his subordinates - who the Captain was mildly disturbed to notice had taken off his helmet to reveal the fresh-faced young recruit beneath. "Its a really good deal, and you can see what it is like in the Empire for yourself!"

Goku laughed cheerfully in response, and clapped the Captain on the back. "Its not like that! Its just, it sounds like you have got Coruplant--"

"Coruscant."

"Yeah, that place, covered! There's all these other worlds to explore! How can I just sit in some stuffy apartment all day when I could be off having adventures? And anyway..." A cheerful smile split Goku's features, a sudden intensity in his eyes. "Being given power from other people... that's not my style! I'd rather it came from me. So, see you later!"

And with that, Goku burst up into the sky, careful not to hit his head on the 'ceiling' he'd found earlier. Now the question was... which of these places was he going to visit first?!