Dragonball z lives on:
The Guardian Saga
Prologue
10.21.##
Dear Journal
I’ve decided to finish the story I started writing the other day. I’ve been talking with the others and they told me a lot of details I didn’t know about that time and the years that passed since then, sense I was, well, sort of . . . incapacitated during that period.
I didn’t learn this until much later but someone was watching over me during those years, someone who refused to let me be forgotten . . .
Remember the past
But look towards the future
High above the Earth, located among the clouds, floated a circular island made of stone and marble. Once upon a time, it was the home of a young Namek and his friend, a wise old genie. But now the buildings lay empty, awaiting someone new to take up residence and again watch over the planet laid out below.
Not many people knew of this place’s existence. And most of those who did know, did not care to visit. Unpleasant memories haunted the place like lingering ghosts. There were only two beings that dared to occasionally visit, facing the memories of the past without succumbing to the sadness.
Those two beings were there again today. Flying through the air to stand on the white tiles, their intimidating stature calling attention to the well-toned muscles of their bodies, the bright green color of their skin, and their intense coal black eyes. The two Nameks, for that was what they were, glanced at each other, then separated. The elder one methodically examined the interior and exterior of the buildings, then went to the edge to look out over the world below.
The younger one went straight to the garden, where the center of the haunting sadness seemed to be located. His goal was an old tree, which stood at a statuesque height and held something hidden high among its branches. Something that was of precious value to this young adult Namek and several of his friends. Standing beneath its branches, his pierce gaze easily spotted the oversized cocoon hidden there, safe from all harm.
After reassuring himself that the cocoon was intact, the young Namek sat upon the grass, folding his legs Indian-style as he leaned back against the tree’s solid trunk. His thoughts became melancholy as his mind drifted to the past, dwelling on who was in the cocoon and of how she came into their life . . .
"She’s not breathing," said Marron.
"What do we do?" cried Pendril.
"Marron! Help her!" yelled Pan.
"I don’t know CPR" Marron began to panic as Bra began to cry. "I . . . I don’t know what to do!"
"I’ll go get help!" yelled Pan, jumping to her feet. Suddenly a figure appeared beside her. "Let me through. I can help."
Shocked, all Pan could do was moved aside as the newcomer crouched beside an equally shocked Marron. "Will you let me help?"
"Please help her! She’s my sister!" pleaded Pendril.
Marron nodded and moved over. The stranger kneeled beside Lidal’s still prone body and began to perform CPR. The others watched, tense with fear. Tilt chin, one breath, five chest thrusts, check pulse. Begin cycle over. Tears streamed down Pendril’s cheeks and Marron was losing hope when suddenly Lidal began to cough and gasp. The stranger tilted her and patted her back as she coughed up all the water she inhaled.
"There. She’ll be alright now," said the stranger.
"You saved her. You saved Lidal . . ."
The stranger had saved his sister. But she didn’t remain a stranger for long, for they insisted on making her their friend, though she tried to remain mysterious . . .
"What’s your name?" asked Bra.
The young woman faltered before answering. "My name’s Katherine . . . but people call me Mystic."
"Why do they call you that?" asked Pendril, curious.
The newly introduced Mystic shrugged. "Some people think me mysterious just because I don’t walk up to them and reveal everything about myself on the spot."
"You keep secrets. Everyone does," said Lidal.
"Well, I guess I just keep more secrets than most," replied Mystic.
Reaching under his clothes he pulled out a sliver chain from which hung a delicate silver butterfly. Precocious children they were, he and his friends proceeded to give her a new name to fit who she was . . .
"You know, your name just doesn’t sound right."
"What?" said Mystic as she set Pan down on the ground. Marron stared in puzzlement at Pendril as she set Bra upon the stump.
"Your name, Mystic. It sounds . . . incomplete," said Pendril.
Marron glanced at Mystic. "It does seem to need something more."
Mystic raised an eyebrow. "It’s just a name."
Lidal frowned in thought. "How about Ali? Mystic Ali?"
Mystic raised the other eyebrow. "Ali?"
"It means butterfly in the Shizen language," explained Pendril.
Mystic’s eyebrows both went down as she frowned. "Shizen?"
"Wouldn’t Ali Mystic sound better?" suggested Pendril.
Lidal smiled. "Perfect. From now on, you are Ali Mystic."
Mystic shrugged. "If you say so."
They had fun with her but as always, the fun times did not last as her secrets caught up with her . . .
"Ali? What’s the truth?"
Taking a deep breath, Ali Mystic prepared to tell the truth. About everything. What was the point in hiding anything anymore? "The truth is, Lidal, is that I’m not from around here. And I knew who you all were before I met you." She had everyone’s full attention at this point. "I knew about your parents: Piccolo, Vegeta, Gohan, Bulma. I know them all, except Kya. I know of Goku, of Chichi. I know about Radditz, Frieza, the Androids . . . "
"Who cares about the mission?" shouted Ali Mystic, shocking her young friends with her vehemence. The others stood by, watching the little drama unfold. "Mr. Yondeiru is dead! Getting killed was not part of the mission and as far as I’m concerned, the mission is over. Don’t you care at all that he’s dead? Sometimes I think that all you care about is your stupid research and experiments and . . . "
"Now, tell us, Ali Mystic. What is your mission here? Where do you come from?"
"I come from about a million years in the future, in the year 2002 AD," began Ali Mystic, causing everyone who was listening to gasp.
His sister had predicted that she would save them all at one point or another just because it was her way. And that was what happened . . .
Ali Mystic unhesitatingly let go of the wall and let the wind take her straight to Bra. Flying forward at breakneck speed, Ali Mystic knew she had no control and needed to stop. Reaching out, she took a hold of Bra’s hand inches before she reached the rift and with the other hand she seized onto the ridges along Shenlong’s back. Gritting her teeth, she dug in her nails and held on as hard as she could. Bra shrieked and wrapped both of her hands around Ali’s single one, her untrained Saiyan strength nearly crushing the bones. "ALI!"
Wincing in pain as the delicate bones in her hand gave way and began to crack, Ali Mystic just shouted, "Hold on! I’ve got you!"
The wind continued to roar around them and Ali Mystic wondered how much longer she could keep her hold onto Bra and onto the dragon. Suddenly two green hands covered her own and Ali looked down in surprise to see Dende and Mr. Popo. Setting their feet in determination, Dende and Mr. Popo slowly but surely pulled Ali Mystic and Bra to relative safety behind Shenlong.
Ali Mystic landed with a thud at the edge of the Lookout and looked up in time to see Marron fly past her, over the edge.
Ali Mystic reached out and grabbed Marron’s hand but the force of her falling pulled Ali over the edge as well. Before sliding completely past, Ali barely grabbed on a hold. Seconds flew as Ali strained to keep a hold onto Marron and the edge of the Lookout. She felt a sense of déjà vu as they hung there.
Frieza raised his arm, hand glowing brightly as he powered up an energy blast. Drastic to save her life and Pendril’s, Ali Mystic used the only weapon she had: knowledge. Knowledge she had learned last night beside a campfire. Ali threw up her hands in a ceasing gesture. "Stop! Don’t you know you two have the same mother?"
Her words effectively halted Frieza’s actions, leaving him utterly stunned, his mouth hanging open in an unrefined manner.
Still fingering the necklace, he glanced up at the cocoon that hung above him in the tree’s branches. She had protected them but they had failed in returning the favor . . .
"Shenlong! You share a link with a friend of ours, correct?"
"That is correct. I share a link with the woman known as Ali Mystic," was the Dragon’s reply. His eyes flashed momentarily, as if irritated by something.
"And through this link, can you pinpoint her location?"
There was a rumble, as if the Eternal Dragon was grumbling. Then his eyes began to glow brightly, like when he granted a wish. "It is a simple matter. I can feel her presence at all times. She is approximately three hundred miles east of here, in a cave high in the mountains. And she is currently feeling a great amount of pain."
"Pain?" questioned Bulma, fearing the worst.
"I believe she is being tortured by her captors."
"Oh no," whispered Marron.
Their grim faces upon landing quieted them all, even Baba. Kya approached the men timidly, reluctant to ask what was on all their minds. "Is she alive?"
"Barely," replied Piccolo.
"Well." Bulma stood and headed for the door. "We should go give the others the bad news." Eighteen and Videl moved to follow her.
"Wait." The three women froze and turned as one to face their green-haired friend. Kya was still staring intently at Ali Mystic. She turned to meet their gaze. "I think I may know a way to save her."
And that was how their friend Ali Mystic wound up being placed into a cocoon, while the Earth slowly and carefully healed and altered her body so could live again with the new abilities she had inherited from the former Guardian of the Earth. Sixteen years had passed since that day. He was no longer that precocious little boy that had suggested changing her name because it sounded incomplete. He was a man now, and a strong warrior capable of protecting the whole planet. If only she would wake up, so he could show her that he could keep her safe.
"Pendril! It is time to meet the others at Capsule Corp," yelled a deep voice. It was the elder Namek he had flown here with.
"Coming!" The younger Namek stood and placed the silver necklace back under his clothes. He gave one last glance back at the tree. "I will keep my promise. And I will return this necklace to the rightful owner. I won’t accept otherwise."
He headed towards the edge of the Lookout where his father stood waiting. Together they took off into the air and headed back down to their world below, where friends and family waited. If they had stayed just a moment longer, they would have seen the cocoon stir slightly, from a cause within, and not externally.
Remember the past
But look towards the future
A new creation is about to rise
On that will guard you all.