Hello everyone! I wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but I seemed to have some problems getting started with it. Every time I would begin writing, I could only get to a couple of sentences and then my mind would freeze! Very annoying! But, here it is…the next chapter! I hope you like it!
Chapter 12: Training and Recruiting
It had been over a week since Piccolo had visited Elyon at her house. Since then, Elyon had sang at Kayla's funeral and she had also gone back to school. Because it was entering the winter season, it became more and more likely that Elyon's school would close soon due to the weather, which meant that Elyon would have more time to train with Piccolo. For now, Elyon was only available on the weekends. The first weekend she spent training with Piccolo took place after Kayla's funeral. She went to visit Piccolo at the Lookout Saturday morning. She got to see Dende and Mr. Popo and drop off her overnight bag before taking off into the mountains to train.
The training was a mixture of fighting and meditation during those two days. They would focus on fighting stances, the power of their attacks, blocking, and aim for a while and then they would move onto meditation and keeping their minds focused on one thing at a time. Piccolo learned a lot more about Elyon's fighting abilities during that first weekend and he asked her a lot of questions. Technically, she had been fighting and training longer than he had, so it was only natural that Piccolo was so curious! After that weekend, Elyon returned home, feeling more capable and energized in her body…more than she had in a while.
When Elyon awoke early Monday morning, she looked out her bedroom window and saw that the ground was covered in a fresh blanket of snow. It looked deep. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the radio. While she was listening for the radio host to name all the local schools that would close for the day, she made herself some toast with strawberry jam and cinnamon oatmeal. Just as she set her food on the table, she heard the man's voice over the radio.
"Here is a list of the local schools that are closed for the day due to the weather: Ravenswood Local Schools, Riverside Local Schools, South High St. Preschool, ABC Early Learning Center, St. Paul Elementary School, and this just in…"
"Come on, come on…" said Elyon under her breath.
"Yes, Brier-Pine Preschool is closed as well." That's all she had to hear…her school was closed for the day, which meant she could go train with Piccolo today!
She finished her breakfast quickly and went to her room to pack a small bag with some clothes and other supplies. I can just imagine Piccolo's face when he notices I'm back to train with him today. After packing an extra pair of clothes, shoes, a water bottle, some trail mix, her IPod, a book she was currently reading, and a first-aid kit, she got dressed. She put on a leotard that was black on the torso and the legs were white. She also put on a pair of black velvet lace-up flats. She put her hair up into a high ponytail and checked herself out in the mirror. She looked like she was ready for ballet practice, but she found this outfit very comfortable to train in. She smiled at herself as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes and began sensing out Piccolo's energy. It took her a moment. She could sense him in the mountains far away, but she also sensed another familiar energy as well. She disapparated and reappeared a few miles away from Piccolo. She flew the rest of the way until she reached Piccolo, who was standing on top of a cliff. Someone else was standing beside him…Gohan.
Elyon sighed a little bit. Even though she had apologized to Gohan after Frieza's defeat, she still felt a little awkward around him. She stopped right next to Piccolo and smiled. Piccolo looked up with surprise. "Ellie! I thought you had school today?"
"Well, I was supposed to, but they closed the school down because of the snow storm that hit last night. So…here I am."
Piccolo smiled. "Well, I'm glad you decided to come. Now, the three of us can train together." He gestured over to Gohan, who looked a little distant. Elyon could sense how uncomfortable he was, right now. She didn't want to disturb Gohan's training if he only wanted to train with Piccolo.
"Um…actually, why don't you two train for a while together? I'll sit out until later."
"Why?" asked Piccolo. Gohan didn't say anything.
"Well, we already trained this past weekend. It's only fair that Gohan gets some one-on-one training with you now. Besides, I don't want to get in the way."
Piccolo turned to Gohan. "What do you think?"
Gohan shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me. We can take turns." Piccolo nodded.
"Are you sure, Ellie?" Elyon nodded and smiled. She floated over to a cliffside and sat down. She pulled out her IPod and turned on some music. She also got out the book she packed and began reading it. For a while, Piccolo and Gohan were hovering in the air, trading punches and kicks back and forth. They went on for about a half an hour before Gohan needed to take a break.
"Sorry, Piccolo, but it's been so long since we trained like this...my body is just not used to it."
"Not a problem…Ellie and I can train for a while until you're ready." Gohan nodded slightly and landed over to where Elyon was sitting and reading. He tapped her shoulder and she looked up. He pointed over to where Piccolo was hovering in the air, waiting for her. She shut off her music and tucked her book and IPod into her bag. She stood up and flew off toward Piccolo.
When she got there, Piccolo said, "Okay, show me your fighting stance." She took a very common stance with the right side of her body facing out toward Piccolo while the left side went behind. She put her right arm up with her hand forming a fist. Her face looked focused. Piccolo hovered over to her and took a closer look at her stance. "Good…good…" he murmured to himself. "Okay, your poise and posture are good…now, let's see what you can do." Piccolo took the same stance and flew towards her. Like Gohan, Piccolo and Elyon punched and kicked one another and blocked each attack. After about ten minutes of basic fighting, Piccolo disappeared and tried to do a sneak attack from behind. Quick as lightning, Elyon reached around and grabbed Piccolo's arm with both hands and threw him over her shoulder, right into a mountain about half a mile away. Gohan stared wide eyed, shocked that such a thin and fragile girl could have such strength.
Elyon hovered in the air, her arms crossed and waiting for Piccolo to come flying back up to her. He finally did, rubbing his arm in the process. "You have quite a grip," Piccolo smirked. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to do anything like that."
Elyon grinned. "Normally, I just dodge, fly backwards, and attack from behind, but I decided to try something…different." Piccolo nodded.
"Ready to keep going?" Elyon was about to agree, but suddenly, Gohan flew up to them.
"Um, if you don't mind, Ellie, I think I'm ready to continue." She furrowed her eyebrows, surprised that he didn't give her and Piccolo more time to train together, but she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to the cliffside. The rest of the morning, Elyon went back and forth, from reading her book and listening to music to watching Gohan and Piccolo train. Honestly, in her mind, Gohan needed more training than she did, so she wasn't too bothered by being left out of the sparring sessions. By lunch time, Gohan and Piccolo were sweating under the midday sun. They decided to take a break.
Piccolo and Gohan floated down to where Elyon was. Piccolo sat down next to her while Gohan sat across from them. Piccolo picked up his water canteen from amongst the rocks and took a nice long drink. Elyon got out her water bottle and trail mix. She noticed Gohan didn't bring anything to eat or drink so she offered some of her trail mix to him. He took a small handful and ate it. He also took a drink from Piccolo's canteen.
"You both looked great out there," said Elyon.
"I think it would be a good idea for all three of us to go out and fight together. I think it would be much more beneficial in the long run," suggested Piccolo. Gohan remained silent, but Elyon spoke up.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Piccolo…you and Gohan should keep going. I'm perfectly fine watching, right now."
"But…then that would be a waste of your time…just watching us fight and you don't get a chance to do anything. You would be flying all the way out here for nothing."
Elyon smiled at Piccolo. "I'll be fine, Piccolo. Don't worry…you two have fun out there." She picked a sunflower seed out of the trail mix and popped it into her mouth. Piccolo furrowed his eye ridges in concern.
After resting for twenty minutes, Piccolo and Gohan ascended back up into the sky and continued sparring. Elyon watched them as she ate the rest of her trail mix. She watched as Piccolo extended his arm and shoved Gohan into a rock formation. Then, Piccolo and Gohan fought inside the formation, making the foundation break as each blow from their power hit it. As Elyon shoved the last bit of peanuts and raisins into her mouth, she noticed three figures approaching them. When they got closer, she recognized Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin. They waved from up in the air and landed a hundred yards away on another rock formation. Gohan and Piccolo, who also sensed their presence, flew toward them, with Elyon trailing behind.
"Hey, dad, what brings you all the way out here?" From there, Goku and Vegeta took turns telling them about an upcoming tournament between warriors of the 7th universe and the 6th universe. They also told them about the God of Destruction from Universe 6, Champa, Beerus' twin brother.
"So, a tournament between the 6th universe and the 7th universe," said Piccolo, pondering the information in his head.
"Yeah, and we wanted you to be our fifth fighter, Piccolo," said Goku, excitedly.
"But, dad, what about me? Don't you want me to fight, too?" said Gohan, hopefully. Goku looked at his oldest son, a little embarrassed.
"It's okay, dad, I understand. I know I need to get stronger, and that's what Piccolo has been helping me do today. After that fight with Frieza, I realized I needed to get stronger…to protect my family. So, what do you say? Do you mind if I fight with you, too?"
"You have my vote," smiled Krillin. Goku looked at Vegeta, who didn't say anything. Goku smiled.
"Okay, son, you can compete in the tournament, too. It will be four days from now. Whis will pick us up then." Suddenly, Gohan looked concerned.
"Four days from now? What day is that?"
"It's on a Friday," answered Elyon.
"Friday…wow…that's really soon." Gohan began pacing back and forth. "I haven't even discussed this with Videl…and what about Pan? I have that big conference on that day, too." Suddenly, he stopped and shook his head. "Sorry, dad, but I have too much going on that day. I have a conference that day, and if I don't go to it, I could lose my job, plus Pan is a lot of work."
Goku smiled sheepishly. "That's okay, maybe another time."
Piccolo turned to Elyon. "What about Ellie?"
Krillin looked at her, hopefully. "Yeah, Ellie would be a fantastic addition to the team. You should have seen her, Goku, she was kicking Ginyu's butt and absorbing all of Frieza's attacks like they were nothing!"
"Really? If you are really that strong, Ellie, maybe you should compete with us," smiled Goku. Elyon turned toward Gohan, but he wasn't looking at her. She looked down at the ground and shook her head.
"I don't even know if I am going to be able to make it to the tournament." Piccolo looked at her suspiciously.
"Why couldn't you?"
"Well, if it is going to be on Friday, I may have to go to work that day. I can't guarantee that we will have a day off then."
"Didn't you tell me that you have personal days you need to take before the year is over? Why can't you just take a day off?"
Elyon shuffled her feet against the ground. "Well…I don't think I can do that, either. I can't put in a day off this late of notice. We couldn't get a substitute teacher that soon to take my place, so I think it would be better if I just missed the tournament."
Nobody said anything, but all eyes turned to Piccolo. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine."
"This will be awesome!" shouted Goku.
After the preparations were made, Gohan decided to go back home and see his wife and daughter, as did Krillin. Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, and Elyon decided to go to Capsule Corporation to see Bulma and get a little more information about what was going on. Along the way, Piccolo decided to talk to Elyon, telepathically.
Piccolo: So, what were all those excuses for?
Elyon: Those weren't excuses…I was speaking the truth.
Piccolo: No, you even told me a long time ago, that if you needed to take a day off, then you just needed to give your work 24 hours' notice. Now, tell me why you don't want to go to this tournament.
Elyon: Well, isn't it obvious?
Piccolo: (thinking) Does it have anything to do with Beerus?
Elyon: (rolling her eyes) It has EVERYTHING to do with Beerus.
Piccolo: (smirking) You can put him in his place if you have to.
Elyon: If I can just go to work and not worry about seeing him, then why put myself into that situation?
Piccolo: But I'm going to be competing now…don't you want to cheer me on?
Elyon: Oh, don't start guilt-tripping me!
Piccolo: (looking serious) Don't be afraid of him…what can he do you? You know where your feelings lie, so don't be afraid to stand up to him if you have to.
Elyon: Let me think about it…
Once they arrived at Capsule Corp., Bulma greeted Elyon with a big hug. "Hey, girl, how are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm doing okay. How about you?"
"Aggravated, of course! I'm still waiting on Jaco to show up, so we can go looking for the last Super Dragon Ball. Oh, you probably don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"
Elyon smiled. "No, I do…Goku…I mean, Vegeta…explained it to us. Um, is it okay if I take a shower and change my clothes?"
"Sure! Let me show you where it is." Bulma led her friend out of the lab and into her house. Once Elyon got to the bathroom, she stripped down and got into the hot shower. As she washed herself, she thought about the upcoming tournament. She really wanted to go and support Piccolo, but then…she didn't want to face Beerus, either. She began weighing her options.
If I go, I may have to put up with Beerus talking to me and trying to seduce me to dump Piccolo for good and go after him. But…if I DON'T go, then…I'm not being a good friend to Piccolo…and I'm trying to hide in fear of Beerus, someone I SHOULDN'T be afraid of. Besides, I don't have any feelings for Beerus, so why should I be afraid? It's just empty words to me…it shouldn't affect me…but why do they keep popping into my mind?
Her head drooped and she closed her eyes. What is the right thing to do? Resist temptation…follow where my heart is leading me to go…where is it leading me? Eventually…right back to Piccolo…support Piccolo, be a friend to him, show him you care. Once Elyon's hair was clean, she stepped out of the shower, dried herself, blew dry her hair, made a braid twist around the back of her head, and put on her extra clothes and shoes. She had put on a long, flowy pink blouse, soft, white pants, and golden flats. She went back to the lab and saw Piccolo looking over a large device.
"What's that?" she asked.
"It's Bulma's Super Dragon Radar." He handed it over to Elyon. She grabbed it and it seemed lightweight for something so large.
"Oh, and by the way…I'll see what I can do about Friday," she said quietly to Piccolo. She also gave him a wink, which made him smirk. He knew exactly what she was talking about.
Sorry the chapter isn't as long as some of the others, but I tried my best. Coming up…more Elyon and Beerus moments as well as some good Piccolo and Elyon moments. Have an awesome day! ~goldenbelle75
