Post by Krillin on Oct 18, 2010 0:40:06 GMT -5
Krillin cringed when he heard the shouting going on inside the building just ahead of them. Not that he was feeling good about his impending Judgement before, but this took the confidence down an extra notch.
He spared a glance at Gohan Senior as the office demon that they had approached exited the building, normally slicked hair looking mussed, and horn rimmed glasses hanging halfway off his face. Shaken up by all that shouting, Krillin assumed. He couldn't blame him.
"King Yemma will see you two, now," the office demon said weakly, voice hoarse. "But you'd better hurry; he's in a mood and hates to be kept waiting."
With a deep breath, Krillin screwed up his courage and took a step forward. He could sense Gohan Senior moving right alongside him. They passed by the line of wisps, of souls, some of whom chattered in confusion. But while he noticed this, his thoughts were not on them. They remained solely focused on Judgement. First on Gohan Senior's, and then on his own.
He was in so much trouble.
The inside of this building was far more imposing than the last one he had been to in Otherworld. It was wide, with an impressively high ceiling, while ornate tapestries decorated the walls in colours of red, gold, and green. And though these features were striking, they could not compare to what sat at the room's very centre.
Even on its own, the gigantic desk would have been quite the sight to see. Upon it were high stacks of papers, a phone that had to be at least two and a half times Krillin's height, and what was perhaps the mother of all computers. But these were not what made Krillin gulp. No, that would be the occupant of the desk. He was a tall, broad demon with crimson skin and horns sticking out of either side of his head. The thick black beard on his face and the navy blue suit that he wore bespoke that this guy meant business. The plaque on the desk read "The Honourable Yemma", leaving no doubt who this particular demon was.
This was Yemma, the lord and judge of the dead.
"Well, I'm surprised that the two of you had the nerve to show up here!" King Yemma bellowed, his voice shaking the room to its foundations. Krillin fought the urge to cover his ears. He had the distinct impression that doing so would only prompt the huge demon to shout even louder. Not exactly something that he had the great desire to hear.
The room stopped shaking, and Krillin felt compelled to say something. "Uh, I guess we figured that it was the right thing to do over all the trouble we've caused, sir. But before you pass Judgement, I just want to say that –"
"Quiet," King Yemma cut in smoothly. He did not raise his voice; he didn't have to in this case, and seemed to be quite aware of that fact. "Why don't we just save the excuses for after we've run down everything that you've pulled since you've been here."
Krillin swallowed, but nodded. He wasn't about to go and defy the lord of the dead. At least no more than he already had, considering his actions here in the afterlife.
King Yemma punched a few keys on his huge computer. "Let's see here. Breaking out of the Relegation Room . . ."
Krillin bowed his head at this.
"Stealing two pieces of my sacred fruit from its tree in Hell . . ."
Out of the corner of his eye, Krillin saw Gohan Senior stiffen at this, and glance about the room in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"Resisting capture and subsequently inflicting severe injury on an enforcer."
Krillin laughed nervously. That certainly seemed like quite the list of crimes. Part of him wondered just how King Yemma had acquired some of this information, but that really didn't strike him as being very important. He had doomed himself for sure. Him and his plans.
"So," King Yemma turned, and calmly rested his chin on one huge fist. His face wore an almost wicked smirk. "Are you ready to make your excuses, yet?"
"Um . . . Heh, heh, heh," Krillin rubbed at the back of his head, hating the nervous little laugh that had escaped him. It probably wasn't going to help his case. "Well, sir, I just want to say that all of this is utterly and completely my fault. I forced Gohan to come with me. He didn't do anything wrong."
King Yemma frowned, and cast a glance over to Gohan Senior. "Is this true? Were you forced into this scheme against your will?"
The question seemed to give Gohan Senior pause. "Yes, sir, technically it is. But I think that –"
"So it looks like kidnapping can get added to Krillin's list of crimes, then." King Yemma's stare landed on Krillin again, taking on a darker edge than it had radiated previously. "This is quite the record that you've assembled for yourself, boy. But be thankful that it's not your turn yet. I'll deal with you in a minute."
In a strange simultaneous pair of actions, Krillin sighed in relief and blinked in confusion. Not his turn yet? So King Yemma had decided that he would deal with Gohan Senior first. He wasn't quite sure whether this was a good thing or not, but he supposed that he would prefer things this way after all. It meant that he would get to know the old man's fate before being consigned to his own. Which was sure to be quite terrible, in light of everything.
"Now. Son Gohan. Your case had come up for Judgement a few weeks ago . . . "
Krillin slapped his forehead. He had just spent all this time rescuing a guy who didn't need rescuing in the first place. Just another one of his bright moves, this one.
" . . . and this is when you and Krillin were discovered to be missing," King Yemma continued. "Normally, any escape attempt is grounds for a very severe punishment, but since it has been confirmed that you were acting under duress . . ."
Hope leapt up in Krillin's throat. King Yemma was going to let Gohan Senior off. He could feel it. Krillin had not felt this reassured since a few moments before his death.
"Thus it is my decision that your fate be the same as if you had never left relegation." A strange half smile, half grimace came upon King Yemma's face. "Which means that you're headed up to Heaven. Lucky you."
This brought a smile to Krillin's face, and the relief that swept through his stomach was almost palpable. He was so overwhelmed by this that he almost missed what happened next.
A pudgy blue office demon entered the room and put a hand on Gohan Senior's shoulder. "Come along, now. I'll escort you to your transportation."
But to Krillin's surprise, Gohan Senior jerked away from the office demon's hold. The old man's face was as stern and determined as he had ever seen it. "Not yet. I'll not leave until I learn of my companion's fate."
Krillin might have been touched by this, save for the fact that the new office demon and King Yemma did not look very happy at this statement. Stunned into silence, he waited for the disagreement to break out.
King Yemma sighed angrily, a breath of air that knocked every person in the room flat on their backs. "Mortals. But in light of the fact that you've done nothing wrong in this, and the fact that I'm already sick of this case and want it over with, I'll let you stay. But not for one second past his sentencing. And no protesting."
Shocked – this seemed to go against the huge demon's temperament – Krillin climbed to his feet just as Gohan Senior nodded. His face paled as King Yemma fixed a glare on him, grabbing a sheaf of paper from one side of his desk. Krillin figured that this must be his file; perhaps his escape from the Relegation Room had made the search for his files more urgent and far shorter than the seventy or eighty years that a particular office demon had told him it may have taken.
"So," King Yemma began, flipping through the file's pages. "Let's figure out exactly what I'm going to do with you."
- -
And as Krillin's life and afterlife began their review, something of marked significance was happening on another plane.
Black clouds rolled menacingly over a once blue sky, seemingly out of nowhere. These clouds were not storm summoned, or they could not be classified that by anyone who believed a weatherman. And since very few people did such – and rightly so – very few people found this to be a strange occurrence. That it happened so quickly caused the occasional eyebrow to lift in curiosity, but not the fact that it had happened at all.
Of course, the huge, monstrous, creature that appeared in the sky once the clouds had settled in place was a little tougher for people to explain. Some stared in awe. Some screamed. And still others braced themselves for a horrible catastrophe, for what else could a creature such as this portend?
But these varying states only lasted for a few moments, stopped by the words coming out of a megaphone. Nothing at all to worry about. Just some experimental work being done on the Capsule Corporation grounds. Such was not an uncommon thing in this city, so the residents relaxed upon hearing this news. A few people commented on the impressiveness of the work, while others commented on the Briefs family's sanity, or lack thereof. Either way, the explanation was all they had needed, and their lives instantly returned to normal.
Normal save for the people at this enormous creature's base, the only ones who truly knew what was going on. No, their lives were not back to normal yet, but they were working on that at this very moment.
A child with green skin and antennae spoke a few words to the creature. In response, the creature's eyes glowed red, and then it spoke itself. And the people at its base were stunned by its words.
But the stunned feelings were mixed with joy, and once more the tiny green child spoke to the creature. With a nod of affirmation, the creature focused its power to do what it had been bidden . . .
- -
It wasn't often that King Yemma got to see the face of someone who feared his impending fate. Oh, many who came to him feared their fates, to be sure, but most of them had been stripped of their bodies. No bodies meant no faces, and a greater difficulty to detect fear.
But this one, Krillin, had a face, and it was afraid. Something that King Yemma got an honest kick out of. It was fun to freak someone out every now and again. And he would like to do more to this one than make him afraid. He would like to deprive him of his body and send him into the depths of Hell for the whole fiasco that he had perpetrated here in Otherworld.
The only problem was that he might not be able to. While Krillin had been ill behaved in this world, his file showed that his life worked in his favour. He had done a lot of good, which made this decision rather difficult. King Yemma frowned; sometimes he hated having to be impartial.
But his job was his job, and this case had already frayed his nerves too much. His decision would be quick and final, thus freeing him from having to see this irritating mortal ever again.
He closed the file, and folded his hands on his desk. Always best to look proper and official. "I've come to a decision. Krillin, you are hereby . . ."
His lips stopped as the small form of Krillin wavered in front of him. The tiny human looked rather befuddled for his part, and stared down at his hands in confusion. And just as Krillin wavered, he soon vanished from sight altogether.
All was quiet for a moment. The other human, Son Gohan, was rooted to the spot, staring at the place where his companion had once stood. Even the office demon beside him looked on with a puzzled expression on his face. Neither seemed to know what had just happened.
King Yemma did, however. He had seen enough resurrections to recognize one when he saw it. And he could easily guess just what the instrument of resurrection was.
"Stupid Dragonballs," he muttered irritably, wishing that he could have at least stated Krillin's sentence. He cast an annoyed look at Son Gohan and the office demon, who still had not moved. "Well, what are you two waiting for? You've got an assignment, so get out of my sight!"
- -
Krillin was sprawled before a large mountain. He lay motionless as a pool of blood gathered below the unmoving body. Two demons, one red, one blue, were celebrating a good distance away from the mountain.
“We got him brother!” The blue one yelled in a cheerful tone as he danced about.
“That’s right we did!” The two continued to dance, they were going to be paid handsomely for the triumph over the human.
“He wasn’t even that tough, I don’t understand how he managed to win against two of our best fighters.” As the two laughed and conversed with each other another man entered the room.
This man was much taller and much more muscular than the two demons. The second he entered the room the two demons dropped down to one knee. The man commanded respect from his lackeys and respect is what he got.
“Congratulations on a job well done.” The man spoke in a calm, cool voice. The man cast a side ways glance towards the fallen human, and a small smirk appeared on his face, he knew that it wasn’t over but he would let the demons pay for their own mistakes. “I will return momentarily with your prize money entertain yourselves until then.”
“Yes Lord Mondrin!” The demons yelled in synchronization as the human, Lord Mondrin, walked back out of the room.
Unbeknownst to the demons Krillin had begun to twitch back to life. Slowly but surely his wounds healed, his body began to react, and Krillin managed to rise on to his knees. The ground was covered in Krillin’s blood and brains but he was unaffected by this. With his recent adventure still in his mind Krillin got on to his feet and looked back towards the demons. “THIS ENDS NOW!” The newly risen monk got into a fighting stance as the demons looked upon the human in fear.
Word Count: 2502
(Just as a note, the resurrection sequence was real, in a sense. The person that revived me will be revealed later.)
He spared a glance at Gohan Senior as the office demon that they had approached exited the building, normally slicked hair looking mussed, and horn rimmed glasses hanging halfway off his face. Shaken up by all that shouting, Krillin assumed. He couldn't blame him.
"King Yemma will see you two, now," the office demon said weakly, voice hoarse. "But you'd better hurry; he's in a mood and hates to be kept waiting."
With a deep breath, Krillin screwed up his courage and took a step forward. He could sense Gohan Senior moving right alongside him. They passed by the line of wisps, of souls, some of whom chattered in confusion. But while he noticed this, his thoughts were not on them. They remained solely focused on Judgement. First on Gohan Senior's, and then on his own.
He was in so much trouble.
The inside of this building was far more imposing than the last one he had been to in Otherworld. It was wide, with an impressively high ceiling, while ornate tapestries decorated the walls in colours of red, gold, and green. And though these features were striking, they could not compare to what sat at the room's very centre.
Even on its own, the gigantic desk would have been quite the sight to see. Upon it were high stacks of papers, a phone that had to be at least two and a half times Krillin's height, and what was perhaps the mother of all computers. But these were not what made Krillin gulp. No, that would be the occupant of the desk. He was a tall, broad demon with crimson skin and horns sticking out of either side of his head. The thick black beard on his face and the navy blue suit that he wore bespoke that this guy meant business. The plaque on the desk read "The Honourable Yemma", leaving no doubt who this particular demon was.
This was Yemma, the lord and judge of the dead.
"Well, I'm surprised that the two of you had the nerve to show up here!" King Yemma bellowed, his voice shaking the room to its foundations. Krillin fought the urge to cover his ears. He had the distinct impression that doing so would only prompt the huge demon to shout even louder. Not exactly something that he had the great desire to hear.
The room stopped shaking, and Krillin felt compelled to say something. "Uh, I guess we figured that it was the right thing to do over all the trouble we've caused, sir. But before you pass Judgement, I just want to say that –"
"Quiet," King Yemma cut in smoothly. He did not raise his voice; he didn't have to in this case, and seemed to be quite aware of that fact. "Why don't we just save the excuses for after we've run down everything that you've pulled since you've been here."
Krillin swallowed, but nodded. He wasn't about to go and defy the lord of the dead. At least no more than he already had, considering his actions here in the afterlife.
King Yemma punched a few keys on his huge computer. "Let's see here. Breaking out of the Relegation Room . . ."
Krillin bowed his head at this.
"Stealing two pieces of my sacred fruit from its tree in Hell . . ."
Out of the corner of his eye, Krillin saw Gohan Senior stiffen at this, and glance about the room in an attempt to avoid eye contact with anyone.
"Resisting capture and subsequently inflicting severe injury on an enforcer."
Krillin laughed nervously. That certainly seemed like quite the list of crimes. Part of him wondered just how King Yemma had acquired some of this information, but that really didn't strike him as being very important. He had doomed himself for sure. Him and his plans.
"So," King Yemma turned, and calmly rested his chin on one huge fist. His face wore an almost wicked smirk. "Are you ready to make your excuses, yet?"
"Um . . . Heh, heh, heh," Krillin rubbed at the back of his head, hating the nervous little laugh that had escaped him. It probably wasn't going to help his case. "Well, sir, I just want to say that all of this is utterly and completely my fault. I forced Gohan to come with me. He didn't do anything wrong."
King Yemma frowned, and cast a glance over to Gohan Senior. "Is this true? Were you forced into this scheme against your will?"
The question seemed to give Gohan Senior pause. "Yes, sir, technically it is. But I think that –"
"So it looks like kidnapping can get added to Krillin's list of crimes, then." King Yemma's stare landed on Krillin again, taking on a darker edge than it had radiated previously. "This is quite the record that you've assembled for yourself, boy. But be thankful that it's not your turn yet. I'll deal with you in a minute."
In a strange simultaneous pair of actions, Krillin sighed in relief and blinked in confusion. Not his turn yet? So King Yemma had decided that he would deal with Gohan Senior first. He wasn't quite sure whether this was a good thing or not, but he supposed that he would prefer things this way after all. It meant that he would get to know the old man's fate before being consigned to his own. Which was sure to be quite terrible, in light of everything.
"Now. Son Gohan. Your case had come up for Judgement a few weeks ago . . . "
Krillin slapped his forehead. He had just spent all this time rescuing a guy who didn't need rescuing in the first place. Just another one of his bright moves, this one.
" . . . and this is when you and Krillin were discovered to be missing," King Yemma continued. "Normally, any escape attempt is grounds for a very severe punishment, but since it has been confirmed that you were acting under duress . . ."
Hope leapt up in Krillin's throat. King Yemma was going to let Gohan Senior off. He could feel it. Krillin had not felt this reassured since a few moments before his death.
"Thus it is my decision that your fate be the same as if you had never left relegation." A strange half smile, half grimace came upon King Yemma's face. "Which means that you're headed up to Heaven. Lucky you."
This brought a smile to Krillin's face, and the relief that swept through his stomach was almost palpable. He was so overwhelmed by this that he almost missed what happened next.
A pudgy blue office demon entered the room and put a hand on Gohan Senior's shoulder. "Come along, now. I'll escort you to your transportation."
But to Krillin's surprise, Gohan Senior jerked away from the office demon's hold. The old man's face was as stern and determined as he had ever seen it. "Not yet. I'll not leave until I learn of my companion's fate."
Krillin might have been touched by this, save for the fact that the new office demon and King Yemma did not look very happy at this statement. Stunned into silence, he waited for the disagreement to break out.
King Yemma sighed angrily, a breath of air that knocked every person in the room flat on their backs. "Mortals. But in light of the fact that you've done nothing wrong in this, and the fact that I'm already sick of this case and want it over with, I'll let you stay. But not for one second past his sentencing. And no protesting."
Shocked – this seemed to go against the huge demon's temperament – Krillin climbed to his feet just as Gohan Senior nodded. His face paled as King Yemma fixed a glare on him, grabbing a sheaf of paper from one side of his desk. Krillin figured that this must be his file; perhaps his escape from the Relegation Room had made the search for his files more urgent and far shorter than the seventy or eighty years that a particular office demon had told him it may have taken.
"So," King Yemma began, flipping through the file's pages. "Let's figure out exactly what I'm going to do with you."
- -
And as Krillin's life and afterlife began their review, something of marked significance was happening on another plane.
Black clouds rolled menacingly over a once blue sky, seemingly out of nowhere. These clouds were not storm summoned, or they could not be classified that by anyone who believed a weatherman. And since very few people did such – and rightly so – very few people found this to be a strange occurrence. That it happened so quickly caused the occasional eyebrow to lift in curiosity, but not the fact that it had happened at all.
Of course, the huge, monstrous, creature that appeared in the sky once the clouds had settled in place was a little tougher for people to explain. Some stared in awe. Some screamed. And still others braced themselves for a horrible catastrophe, for what else could a creature such as this portend?
But these varying states only lasted for a few moments, stopped by the words coming out of a megaphone. Nothing at all to worry about. Just some experimental work being done on the Capsule Corporation grounds. Such was not an uncommon thing in this city, so the residents relaxed upon hearing this news. A few people commented on the impressiveness of the work, while others commented on the Briefs family's sanity, or lack thereof. Either way, the explanation was all they had needed, and their lives instantly returned to normal.
Normal save for the people at this enormous creature's base, the only ones who truly knew what was going on. No, their lives were not back to normal yet, but they were working on that at this very moment.
A child with green skin and antennae spoke a few words to the creature. In response, the creature's eyes glowed red, and then it spoke itself. And the people at its base were stunned by its words.
But the stunned feelings were mixed with joy, and once more the tiny green child spoke to the creature. With a nod of affirmation, the creature focused its power to do what it had been bidden . . .
- -
It wasn't often that King Yemma got to see the face of someone who feared his impending fate. Oh, many who came to him feared their fates, to be sure, but most of them had been stripped of their bodies. No bodies meant no faces, and a greater difficulty to detect fear.
But this one, Krillin, had a face, and it was afraid. Something that King Yemma got an honest kick out of. It was fun to freak someone out every now and again. And he would like to do more to this one than make him afraid. He would like to deprive him of his body and send him into the depths of Hell for the whole fiasco that he had perpetrated here in Otherworld.
The only problem was that he might not be able to. While Krillin had been ill behaved in this world, his file showed that his life worked in his favour. He had done a lot of good, which made this decision rather difficult. King Yemma frowned; sometimes he hated having to be impartial.
But his job was his job, and this case had already frayed his nerves too much. His decision would be quick and final, thus freeing him from having to see this irritating mortal ever again.
He closed the file, and folded his hands on his desk. Always best to look proper and official. "I've come to a decision. Krillin, you are hereby . . ."
His lips stopped as the small form of Krillin wavered in front of him. The tiny human looked rather befuddled for his part, and stared down at his hands in confusion. And just as Krillin wavered, he soon vanished from sight altogether.
All was quiet for a moment. The other human, Son Gohan, was rooted to the spot, staring at the place where his companion had once stood. Even the office demon beside him looked on with a puzzled expression on his face. Neither seemed to know what had just happened.
King Yemma did, however. He had seen enough resurrections to recognize one when he saw it. And he could easily guess just what the instrument of resurrection was.
"Stupid Dragonballs," he muttered irritably, wishing that he could have at least stated Krillin's sentence. He cast an annoyed look at Son Gohan and the office demon, who still had not moved. "Well, what are you two waiting for? You've got an assignment, so get out of my sight!"
- -
Krillin was sprawled before a large mountain. He lay motionless as a pool of blood gathered below the unmoving body. Two demons, one red, one blue, were celebrating a good distance away from the mountain.
“We got him brother!” The blue one yelled in a cheerful tone as he danced about.
“That’s right we did!” The two continued to dance, they were going to be paid handsomely for the triumph over the human.
“He wasn’t even that tough, I don’t understand how he managed to win against two of our best fighters.” As the two laughed and conversed with each other another man entered the room.
This man was much taller and much more muscular than the two demons. The second he entered the room the two demons dropped down to one knee. The man commanded respect from his lackeys and respect is what he got.
“Congratulations on a job well done.” The man spoke in a calm, cool voice. The man cast a side ways glance towards the fallen human, and a small smirk appeared on his face, he knew that it wasn’t over but he would let the demons pay for their own mistakes. “I will return momentarily with your prize money entertain yourselves until then.”
“Yes Lord Mondrin!” The demons yelled in synchronization as the human, Lord Mondrin, walked back out of the room.
Unbeknownst to the demons Krillin had begun to twitch back to life. Slowly but surely his wounds healed, his body began to react, and Krillin managed to rise on to his knees. The ground was covered in Krillin’s blood and brains but he was unaffected by this. With his recent adventure still in his mind Krillin got on to his feet and looked back towards the demons. “THIS ENDS NOW!” The newly risen monk got into a fighting stance as the demons looked upon the human in fear.
Word Count: 2502
(Just as a note, the resurrection sequence was real, in a sense. The person that revived me will be revealed later.)