I used to matter. Maybe not as much as those Saiyans, but I was reliable, dependable. I fought for the survival of our universe, unfazed even when I was faced with the idea of beings far more powerful than I could ever have comprehended. I stood by my friends, and I fought. What I got in return, a crippling disease. Some... Reawakening bullshit they're throwing around. All that got reawoken in me was the cancer that the Crane Hermit Shen had suppressed all those years ago. Fate... she's an ungrateful bitch.

Tien propped himself up on his levitating chair with great strenuousness. This was his life now. He couldn't walk, much less fight the way he used to.

Why don't I have anyone to help me, you ask? Long story.

Well, no. Not really. They all just bailed on me as soon as they learned that there was no cure for this disease, just... keeping it at bay until I succumbed to it one day. Even Chiaotzu...

Don't think I cannot recognize how bitter I have become. I can. If you ever find yourself in my shoes, you would, more than enough, understand. I never gave up on Chiaotzu, even after he was actually dead. Me? I never got any of that compassion. I just woke up one morning to find a written note by my bedstand. It simply said, I can't watch you suffer like this. Good luck, Tien. Love, Chiaotzu.

It was then that I probably truly broke. It then occurred to me that my comrades might still see me as the guy that tried to kill them in a martial arts tournament, never actually trusting me, even after I'd died fighting by their side...

No. Tien shook his head, trying to drive these dark thoughts out of his head. He propelled the wheelchair out of the room with the push of a tiny lever. At least Bulma had this techno-mechanical wheelchair custom built for him so that he wouldn't have to depend on anyone else to move around.

Tien Shinhan wouldn't even have to move around the house for using the loo. Bulma had an apparatus set for that. It was embarrassing, to say the least. It was bad enough that he should be suffering like he was after everything that had transpired.

I mean, Krillin got a goddamn power boost from that Reawakening bullshit! Why shouldn't I get the same, or at least something that's fair?

Well, what's happened has happened. No changing it, no going back. Even the Dragon Balls couldn't be used to treat his illness; at least, they couldn't know for sure for ten more months, when the Dragon Balls would be activated after the last wish... the one to resurrect Frieza.

Oh, so that bastard's resurrection somehow became more important than me. What the hell did I miss?!

Tien now had to ball up a fist to stop that annoying voice in his head drive him crazy. He had got up from his uncomfortable nap for a reason. He'd heard a noise outside his house. He decided to go explore it.

Tien's house was not conventional. He had converted his dojo after the Tournament. He'd realised that he resented himself for dropping out so early. He'd decided to work through his issues, train to become a better fighter and then reopen the dojo. He never got the chance.

A week into his rigorous training, Tien had suddenly collapsed, his legs going numb and giving out after a fleeting moment of intense pain. Luckily, Chiaotzu was there, and he immediately left to get Goku and the others. They rushed him to Bulma's hospital, and when they couldn't find the issue, they took him to Kami's Lookout, where Mr Popo diagnosed him with a degenerative disease caused by a virus. A virus which was immune to all sorts of antiviral medicines. Essentially, a super bug.

That hadn't been Tien Shinhan's finest moment. He hadn't told anyone about the cancerous substance in Tien's leg that would've eaten away at it until there was nothing left a long time ago. The cancer was supposed to have been suppressed for good by Master Shen.

Fate has not done right by me.

Tien Shinhan pushed on the small lever harder, causing him to whirr on faster. With smooth maneuvering, he reached his front door quite sooner than he would have in a standard wheelchair.

It doesn't mean I'm getting comfortable in my new skin; I'm still the same wronged, broken man. I'm pathetic.

Tien strained to reach the locks. It was certainly a new feeling, having to even open locks. No one in his village was stupid enough to break into the house of the legendary Kiko-ho wielder back then. Now he wasn't even able to harm anything bigger than a sparrow. Even his ki control was fading rapidly.

Finally, he had the last bolt unlatched. The huge metal studded doors swung open slowly, with an ominous creak.

Who the hell could it be?

It was dark outside, and Tien could only make out the silhouette of a voluptuous woman who stood in a posture that teased the beauty of her body, yet was graceful about it.

A woman? At this hour, visiting me?

Tien, using the wireless control of his dojo's electric appliances from his wheelchair, switched the lights on. The woman's visage became illuminated.

Tien Shinhan was left dumbstruck upon seeing the mysterious woman's face. So familiar, yet so... foreign.

"Hello, Tien Shinhan-san," said Launch, stepping inside.

Authors Note:

There will be a Vol 2 release of this chapter. I will do it sometime later, after another character has been introduced. Tien is not an easy character to write, phew.

I will be sure to meet my deadlines for the next upload!

Stay tuned, and stay awesome!