Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Gama's Blood Crystal ❯ The Labyrinth of Many Surprises ( Chapter 4 )

Gama's Blood Crystal

Chapter 4: The Labyrinth of Many Surprises

When Trunks started going on about everyone dying, Goten immediately started to freak out too (not total freaking out, just that they are both very upset is all). Gohan and Goku are staring at her in shock, and Vegeta's just shaking his head at his son's behavior. Saria had to suppress a grin at Trunks' antics. Especially when Vegeta yells at him to shut up. Trunks sulks at that, but Gohan quickly speaks to Saria before he does anything else.

"How can you be sure both the labyrinths are the same? Or that there is no escape for that matter."

Saria sighs. "Let me stand up first, then I'll tell you the rhyme."

Gohan looks at her, confused. "Are you sure you even can stand up? Just a few hours ago you couldn't even move!"

Saria faintly smiles at this and immediately pushes herself up, and jumps down from Goku's arms without much trouble. Everyone stares at her in utter shock. Goku says something that Gohan agrees to and then translates. "How did you do that? You moved as if nothing had happened to you in the first place!"

Saria shrugs. "I've always been a fast healer. It sorta runs in the family. Do you want to hear the rhyme?" At Gohan's nod, she starts reciting it:

"Underneath the Temple of the Gama,

Thru the gateway past the Naga;

Stone and sand is what you enter;

A maze with no end has no center.

Powers depleted, the Naga guard your escape,

Look around unworthy one and see your lonely fate.

You liars enter here only to then die,

For those who get out are the ones with our sight.

Look away now, you'll miss it,

From the sky and the forests,

The true way is written.

Look around you and listen,

Nothing here but the blood demon.

Why look if you can not see,

You could navigate these halls for an eternity.

Inside these depths may be an irreplaceable treasure,

But the death you gain in it's place is not of equal measure.

Too late to turn back now,

Your life is at an end by somehow…"

They all look at her, obviously not knowing what it means. She looks back, just as puzzled as they are. "From what I can tell, basically, we are in a labyrinth that is underneath the Temple of the Gama." She looks at Gohan out of the corner of her eyes when she mentions the name. Then looks back at everyone else. "In order to get in or out of this place, we apparently have to get past these guards called the 'Naga'. From the sounds of it, they may just be some kind of machine designed to block everyone's powers. However, it seems unlikely that that is their only function. They are probably also capable of making sure no one gets out of here unless they are 'worthy' which must mean anyone who has 'our sight'. I think 'our' must mean the Gama. And from what I know of the Gama, this treasure that they talk about is probably only a spell or some great knowledge that the rest of their race have to work towards learning before actually knowing it."

Gohan suddenly interrupts her. "Wait. What you know of the Gama? I thought you were one and that English was just another word you used."

Saria looks back at him and leans against the wall, calmly replying "No. In fact, where I come from, no one has even heard the word Gama before."

Trunks immediately asks her "So then how come you know them?"

"Because my mother was one. All of those rhymes that she taught me were the same ones that were taught to her when she joined them." Saria responded.

"Joined them? What are the Gama?" Trunks asks in confusion.

"Depends on what Gohan knows."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gohan asks.

"From the sounds of it, you don't what the Gama are, yet you speak their language and even called me one. What do you know about them?" Saria demanded, not moving from the wall.

Gohan looks at her, sort of surprised, and then thinks for a moment. "I only know that they were an ancient race that used to live on my world. They kept to themselves most of the time, not really sharing their technological advances with the rest of the world. But then they suddenly disappeared and no one has seen them since."

"That's odd. The Gama I know were more like Space Witches. The ones you're describing almost sound like my home." Saria talked as if the whole thing were just curious to her, but inside, fear griped her heart.

"Space Witches?!" Trunks asked incredulously. Then it hit him. "Wait. You said that the Gama we were describing sounded like your home. What's it like?"

Saria lightly laughed his question off, but since her character is not the light and happy type, the laugh came off as slightly evil. "If you think that my race and the Gama are the same, forget it. People who can use power of any kind don't exist on my world."

"Then what do you know of the Gama?" Gohan asked.

Saria thought for a second. Then replied with "From what I remember, they were basically a small race of spell-casters. They lived in a Temple on some uninhabited part of the planet where they kept to themselves. They were always looking for new members, but the only way to join them was if you had any powers at all, and then you would be trained to not only control your powers, but to master them and get stronger. Plus, of course, anything mentioned in the Rhymes."

"Let me get this straight. Your mother was a Gama, yet she didn't teach you anything about your race, and then the one rhyme she taught you that was of any real importance at all, was the one rhyme she didn't think you needed to know. Why didn't you ever just ask her to teach you the rest? Or ask her about the Gama? Weren't you ever interested in them?" Trunks asked, all upset again.

"I was always interested in them. She knew that. That's why she started teaching me about them despite how young I was." Saria replied evenly.

"But then how come she didn't teach you the rest of the blood demon rhyme? What was so important on her agenda?" Trunks asked curiously.

"Dying." Was all Saria said as she then stared at the ceiling.

Gohan and Trunks look at her, shocked and sad upon hearing that. "I'm sorry. I thought -" Trunks started, but Saria bitterly cut him off.

"Why? I'm not. If the bitch wants to take the chicken-shit way out, that's her decision." Saria continues to stare at the ceiling as Gohan and Trunks looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say.

Trunks finally spoke, softly. "So that's how you're used to death?"

Saria at last looks at him. She doesn't say anything, but all could see that what he said had calmed her down. Soon, tho, she is looking back at the ceiling once more. This time, something catches her attention. But before she could get a close look at the design on the ceiling, a scream is heard in the distance. Everyone looks in the direction, startled. The scream isn't heard again, which worries the others because it sounded as familiar as Krillin's had been. But this one wasn't cut off like his had been, so they quickly run towards it, hoping to get there before the blood demon.

Saria, however, started to lag behind, so Trunks picks her up. She's so shocked at this, she doesn't even think to bitch at him about it. Then, the scream is heard again, nearer to them this time, and they all run faster. Just as they round a corner, they run into who had been screaming. It's Videl! And she had bumped right into Gohan, crashing into the ground. The 2 both look at each other in shock for a moment, and then she practically jumps into his arms, crying. Gohan comforts her as best he can, while everyone else stares in shock. And, as if remembering the Blood Demon, they then quickly keep an eye out for it.

There is no sign of the creature anywhere, and Saria gets down from Trunks' arms while Videl is being comforted by Gohan. Suddenly, Videl notices Saria and looks over, immediately asking Gohan who she is. Everyone looks between the 2 girls before telling Videl what they know. But when she says/asks something else, they all sort of just scratch their heads.

Trunks turns to Saria and asks her "Umm…What's your name? We didn't get it earlier."

Saria almost smiles at that. She'd forgotten that they didn't know her name, too. "Saria. Anything else?"

Trunks starts to repeat the information to Videl, but she immediately speaks up, cutting him off. "Saria? Where'd you come from?"

Saria stares at her in shock. As does everyone else. "You know English, too?"

Videl nods her head. "Long story. I'll tell you as soon as we get the hell out of here." But at the looks the others were trying to hide, she immediately spoke up again. "I take it we don't know how to get out yet?"

Saria shakes her head. "I'm working on it, but you may want to get used to the idea that you're going to be down here for a very long time." Gohan sighs, obviously not wanting to have told her that, while Trunks shoots her an evil glare. She just shrugs at both of them and, remembering what she had seen earlier, looks up at the ceiling. Sure enough, the same design is there. While Saria studies it, the others start telling Videl the basics of what happened while she tells them her story. Saria ignores the Japanese conversation and suddenly notices that the design isn't exactly the same as the one she had seen before. In fact, upon closer inspection, she can actually make out words.

She's staring at the design so intently, that Vegeta and Trunks immediately take notice of it and look as well. Trunks has no idea what it means, but does notice that some of it looks like writing, so he asks Saria. "Saria, do you know what that means?"

Saria almost jumps when she hears Trunks voice and abruptly look over at him. "What?"

Trunks half-smiles at having startled her. "I just asked if you knew what that design meant." And then he looks up at the images on the ceiling.

Saria looks at him, then at the design. God I am getting too relaxed with these guys. Lowering my guard like that… "Not at all." She starts reading the words that are wrapped around the design to herself and is blown away by what it says. It was the 1st verse to the blood demon rhyme. And in the center of the design is the 2nd verse. In her head, she reads it:

"To kill the creature of blood and sand,

You must have lightning at your command.

Ice may freeze, but not for long,

Only the poison in the blood of one.

Lightning strikes sand to make a crystal death,

Combined with Ice, will send the demon to its final rest."

She doesn't say it out loud. The others wouldn't have any idea what it means. She doesn't even. But somehow, she knows she was not going to like it at all.

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Again nothing to be translated. From now on nothing will be down here if there's nothing to say. :) er…translate…