The Gravity Chamber. Why was I back here? What drew me to get stronger? And in my mind, I knew the answer to that. It was the same answer that drew me awake at night, the face that I saw when I looked at myself in the mirror. The same face that would haunt me until I found peace. As I approached the dome, I saw that the Chamber was fixed after the last time that I was in it. New, reinforced metal surrounded the outside edge, meaning more physical training with it. And after my last fight with the Icer, I would need it. I barely survived that fight, I thought.
The smell was the first thing that put me back into this room, when I spent eight months of my life here.
Everything was the same, save for a new floor, a slight dent in the middle where I connected with the Black Crush. I wouldn't spend that much time in here. I had only two weeks to spare. I had to make this count. Closing the door behind me, the Chamber Spoke.
“Welcome to the Chamber, Elijah Black. How long are you expecting to stay?”
“Two weeks.”
“And what gravity would you like to start out on?”
I thought about that one. I needed to make this count.
“30 times. Increase gravity by 2 every day.”
“Processing....end result: 64x normal gravity. Continue?”
I thought about it, wondering if it was something I could take. What if it killed me?
I couldnt let that get into my mind. I had to do this.
“Yes,” I said, confidence booming in my voice.
“Proceeding...”
And the gravity hit me. It bent me, but not as much as it used to. I would have to master it soon, It would increase in 24 hours.
Day 1
The First day, I spent getting used to the pulls of the gravity. I spent the first five hours just doing normal bodyweight excercises, eventually being able to throw punches and combinations. Sweat poured from my body, hitting the ground, sounding like hail when it hit. Every inch of my body was screaming for me to stop, to quit, to give up, but I wouldn't. I refused to. After getting used to the weight of today, I was doing ki projections, to strengthen the ki surrounding my body. Getting it to extend more that 3 inches from my body was a task in itself. In retrospect, It was harder than the walking around. Twice I almost passed out from the exertion, but my mission was clear, I knew what I had to do. I willed myself to keep going, to keep pushing. Eventually, I was able to push it out far enough to move objects. I counted that as an accomplishment. Then, I turned the bot on. I remembered the last time I faced a bot. It didnt end well for it. But I was in more control of my emotions now, I was able to keep them in check. The bot circled me, unaffected by the gravity. He lauched his attacks with me barely able to keep them checked. Eventually my body was able to match, and eventually overpower his attacks. The bot went for a punch. I easily duck it, and yell, “Black Wave!!”
Catching it in the midsection, sending it flying across the room, hitting the wall. With a whirring sound, the red lights faded, and the bot was out of it for this match. Exhausted from the battle, I collasped to the ground, a smile on my face.
The days blended into one another, the gravity increasing, me fighting to master it, and a bot to kick my ass before I get the upper hand and end it. The last week was the hardest one for me.
It started with me waking up, unable to move at all. I tried my arms, legs, everything. It didnt work at all. I was able to turn my head to look at the gravity measurement: 70x.
What? I thought. How did that happen? Did it malfunction?
I yell out to the computer. “Computer, please decrease the amount of gravity my 30.” Maybe it was a mess up, a glitch of some sorts.
But the computer wasnt answering. Nothing was.
“Computer, you piece of shit! Turn the gravity down, NOW!!”
Silence. Then he spoke.
“I cant do that. The voice commands for the machine have been locked. Gravity staying at 70x.”
Oh no.
“But I can't move! How am I supposed to train?!”
Silence again. I was left alone, with nothing to keep me company but my thoughts. And they did nothing for me.
Every thought took me back to that place, that time that was so long ago, but it was still fresh in my mind. As a little kid, watching my parents die, Vegeta laughing at me. My mind was overcome by these thoughts, and I could do nothing but scream. I screamed for a while, then was overcome to a blubbering mess. Minutes passed, seeming like days, Hours like weeks. I finally got my thoughts under control, pushing them away until I could think clearly, come up with a formula to get myself out of this. Doing nothing but yelling and crying like a baby would get me nowhere. I had to get to my feet somehow. It took me three days to get to my knees. It took another four to get to my feet. I could barely move my arms, and I could barely take a couple of steps. Each step felt like a lifetime, and eternity. Even taking a breath seemed like it was taking forever, as if I was sucking in air through a sand filter.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each one putting me closer to the machine console. All I had to do was reach out and turn it off. It was soo close...But my arms werent cooperating. It was as if they were bound to the sides of my body. Straining every muscle in my body, I tried to reach those buttons. I was almost there.....and I missed, not only throwing my chances away from stopping this insane gravity, but tossing myself off balance, striking my head against the console. Then, darkness took me.
A dream. I was in the middle of a gigantic field, mountains and other creations around me. My mother and father are in the field too, holding each other like you would see in the photos, smiling at me. I reach out to them and pull my hand back. I am a child again, the age of ten.
This dream feels so real
I start to walk to them, the grass and dirt crunching beneath my feet. I am so close, I want to hold them again--
A blast takes me off my feet, throwing me backwards. Coughing out the dirt from my lungs, I sit up to see that my parents are face down, burns and smoke covering their back. My eyes well with tears. I stand up and run full speed to them, but a barrier stops me from getting to them, holding me back. I cry out for them, I yell their names until I can barely say anything, my voice giving out until it barely becomes a whisper. I start to pound at the barrier, trying futilely to break it. Then I hear my mother's voice.
:Son, its okay. You have to know that we are gone now. There is nothing you can do about it.:
“But I want to try! I want you two back!”
:Your compassion is admiring, Elijah. Its time I told you about yourself. You....are special in a way that I cannot describe. You didnt come from this world, my darling boy.:
I stop pounding the barrier and repeat the words in my head. Not from this world?
:You must have felt it too, son. Your strength, your speed, your abilities far surpass that of a normal human.:
I have noticed it, but I kept it away, locked away. I didnt want to face that truth. But, in my heart, I knew she was right. I let my hand fall from the glass and it hangs limply from my arm, all the emotions from me drained.
“Then-then what am I?”
:You are whatever you want to be, my son. You have the ability to do great things for the people of this world. Do not let vengance and pride be your downfall. You must keep a pure heart within you, or the darkness will overtake you. Do not let that happen.:
Her words stung a hole into my heart. She was right, I was unbalanced, using the hatred of Vegeta to fuel myself. To fuel my training. I needed to do my training for the right reasons.
“You are right, momma. I have to live for myself, not for the vengeance.” I placed my hand onto the barrier and it fell apart, shattering around me. And when that happened, I felt a change take over me....a purity filling me up. I walked over to my parents lying facedown on the ground, and turned them over.
Their faces were not in pain, but serene, as if they were finally in peace. Their hands clutching each other.
“Love you two. You will always be a part of my heart.” I said, and they turned into dust and were taken by the wind. That is when I heard his voice.
“Aww, does the little baby need his parents to tell him everything is alright?” He said, a sneer in his voice.
“No, Vegeta, not anymore,”I said, not turning to face him. I stood up. “Its only me here. And I am done with you.”
I heard his anger. “You do not forget me! I am a Saiyan Elite! You remember me! I am the one that haunts your nightmares! I am the stuff of legends! You do not brush me off like a bug!”
I finally turned to him, cold, uncaring eyes staring at him. He flinches.
“I do.”
He yells then, and charges me, rearing back to punch me. I dodge it, and he goes off balance. He yells, a primal, inhuman sound, and launches a barrage of punches and kicks, aiming to kill me. I dodge them all without breaking a sweat.
“You are not a bother to me anymore, Vegeta,” I say while dodging. “You used to be my waking thought in the morning, my reason to breathe another breath, the reason my heart pumped blood. For years, all I wanted was your head on a platter. Not anymore. LEAVE MY MIND.”
I stop moving, and he lands a kick to my head, smiling while doing it. But the smile quickly fades as he sees that it did nothing to me. My face hasnt even changed emotion.
This ends now, I mouth to him.
I grab his head with my hand, which is glowing with a black aura.
“BLACK CRUSHHHHH!!”
I slam his head into the ground, and unleash the energy into his face. The resulting explosion takes apart most of the surrounding landscape, mountains crumbling, clouds bursting, and the earth cracking almost in two for a mile. When the dust settles, he is gone once again. Completely gone. No trace of him left in my mind. I look back to the spot where my parents were, and I smile.
Thanks mom, dad. You've helped me more than I could ever tell you.
I lift myself up, and adjust my trenchcoat, my cross swinging from my neck.
Then I say something to myself.
“Wake up, Elijah.”
I come to, covered in sweat, caked blood covering my head. I take a couple of deep breaths, getting my bearings back. Where am I?
“Oh right, the Chamber,” I say to no one in particular. Then I remember that the gravity is set to 70x. I test my arms---
They rise straight up. Confusion crosses my face. What?
I try my legs, they move, almost angry at how easy it is to move.
I kick myself up to my feet, in one swift motion. I test it out, throwing punches and kicks. They come easily.
What happened in that dream? I think. Then it hits me.
The barrier. It broke. That was what was holding me back. Its gone now.
I look to the gravity machine. Its still at 70x. I reach up, and turn it off.
A whirring sound fills my ears, and the gravity is lowered. It feels weird, like I am about to float up into the air at any second. I wipe my head, the caked blood coming off onto my hand. It seems like a lifetime ago, like it didnt happen here. I look back behind me, to where I started when it hit 70x. Unbelieveable.
The machine grabs me out of my thoughts.
“Training complete. Please come back soon, Elijah Black.”
I grab my coat and my belongings from the storage area. “You know it, computer,” I say as I walk towards the door.
Its funny, I look back at that point in my life that I finally started living it. Life has a way of making you figure out things when you are ready to deal with them.
~The Book of Black, Chapter 4
Total Word Count: 2251
Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:53 am by 
