Episode Fourteen
'In the Shadow of the Tree'
Konpeito was exhausted when his tribe finally reached the great tree.
Or at least its roots, which extended for miles from the trunk. The roots ended where the trees of the forest did. Like some sort of ancient sentinel the great tree stood alone, the wild forests that surrounded it kept their distance like worshiping subjects to this deity of tree-kind.
"Are you sure this is a tree?" The little sky demon asked, "The forest just stops then it's an ocean of giant roots all leading to a trunk like a mountain! It seems more like it's a whole different planet!"
"Some say it came from the heavens," Korizato said, "but it's definitely a tree."
"These roots should provide us some safety at least." Konpeito said, "They're large enough to be an obstruction to the Oozaru, but they protrude from the ground high enough for us to run under them."
"Must we run?" Korizato complained. "Almost everyone is too tired, Kon. We've run for so long, not all of us are hunters."
"I understand that, but we can't just relax." Konpeito said. "We have to press on, Bingtang and the others sold their lives to buy us time, we cannot squander it."
"But most of us just can't continue." One hunter told Konpeito, "Kon—er . . . well, elder, we're just too tired."
It was strange but it was only then, being called by someone Konpeito would have considered a peer that the hunter finally realized that he had become the village's elder . . .
Even though he wasn't elderly.
He looked at the collection of three tribes from three villages, many of his people were gone forever but he owed it to those who were left to carry on.
"How many strong backs do we have?" He asked. "If we can't run we need to at least walk. Anyone too tired to move forward at all can be carried, but even if it's just a slow walk we cannot stop."
There was a great deal of murmuring, but Korizato snapped, "You heard your elder! I don't like it any better than you do, but Kon is right! Bingtang and the others died for this, and here we are! We have to continue."
With some reluctance the group continued their walk. Little Oozaru actually led the way, the massive trunk was easily visible now without the forest's thick canopy overhead to block out the view.
The sun was rising in the sky and the blue star remained in the distance, though Konpeito didn't hear the Oozaru anymore.
"When will the star disappear?" Konpeito asked.
Little Oozaru seemed surprised, "What?"
"The star, when will it disappear?"
"Soon. Near as I can tell they called it not too long after sunset, but we've been running most of the night."
"Which is respectable for non-hunters." Korizato whispered to Konpeito and Konpeito squeezed his mate's hand.
"You all did very well." Konpeito said, "But I'll feel better when we're to safety."
Korizato nodded. The group struggled on, Konpeito didn't hear any Oozaru but whenever he looked over his shoulder the blue star remained, obscured only by the occasional tree root, or the pillars of smoke from the places where the forest burned.
"The people must know they're in danger." Little Oozaru observed, "Is there any sort of defense at this tree? An army or anything?"
"You'll find only the greatest elders and healers, there's never been a need for anything else." Konpeito said. "In ancient times our people had armies, but resources became more scarce and supporting large population centers wasn't possible around the same time as the tree appeared."
"So every city and nation broke up into smaller villages, those villages help each other when they can but mostly just keep to themselves. We have hunters, but no real warriors." Korizato added. "Still the tree will have the largest collection of hunters there is, it might be like an army."
"Good." Little Oozaru said thoughtfully. "You'll need it."
Konpeito didn't like the way it said that, but the young leader didn't question it.
Konpeito simply led the survivors of the three villages on. They had made it halfway to the trunk when the blue star finally disappeared. It was only then that Konpeito let his people stop to rest.
Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z
"Were you afraid?" Karuto asked.
"Extremely. I was not just afraid for myself and Kori anymore, I had to be afraid for all of my people."
Karuto frowned. "I'm sorry." He said suddenly, surprising even himself.
Konpeito seemed surprised too, and after a while he said, "Thank you. But it was the Saiyans that caused my fear. You were not even born yet."
"They were there because we sent them." Karuto pointed out.
"As you said, they would have attacked us even if you had not."
Karuto nodded slowly, "Yeah . . . but it might have taken them longer to get around to it. When we first encountered them they had just barely built a rocket to get off their planet. They had fought a war and wiped out the species they shared the planet with and they wanted someone else to fight. We paid them to conquer a planet for us, and it went well. So Cousin Frieza annexed their world and made them part of our Empire."
"Little Oozaru mentioned some of that." Konpeito said. "It said the Tuffles were terrible creatures that used its people for their strength but because of that same strength never let them live in the big cities that the Tuffles built. They had to live in the wastelands, in caves. Finally they attacked and after ten years they won. I remember it made Kori very sad to know our—uh that the Saiyan grew up fighting a war.
"Now I understand that there could have been no happier upbringing for a Saiyan child, and it must have been glorious to overthrow their oppressors." Konpeito said, looking off into one of the windows of the lab into the emptiness of space.
Karuto decided to talk to Chillax more about those things before bed, though it was getting late. He had used his off hours to listen to Konpeito's story for most of the trip to Earth, he was eager to learn more.
Chillax's papa was a doctor, Karuto wondered if his cousin would know anything about growing back Saiyan tails.
"Tell me more." Karuto urged. "Tell me what happened when you reached the tree. Did you meet the sages?"
"Not right away . . ."
Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z
"What do you mean?" Korizato roared, taking a menacing step forward. "I know this creature seems strange, but it can help us! How dare you refuse it aid!"
"Our own kind must come first." The servant speaking of the healing sages said very slowly, as if he were speaking to a small child, or a fool. Konpeito bristled at the insult, and many of his hunters and followers did too. They were of the same village after all, an insult to one of them was an insult to all of them.
That might have been why Kori was so defensive of the little demon as well. Perhaps, Konpeito thought, Korizato had decided that the monster was of their village as well.
"I am a healer, I will help any injured while the sages see to this one!" Korizato insisted, "But it's for the good of our race that you help!"
"Our own kind must come first." The servant repeated. "The Wise Elders are busy seeing to as many of the hurt and injured as they can, they simply cannot help this strange monster. Your pet must-"
"My pet!?" Kori roared and one of Konpeito's hunters quickly rushed forward to place himself between the outraged healer and the surprisingly unfazed servant.
Konpeito was surprisingly annoyed as well. The newly appointed elder stepped forward in a far more diplomatic manner, large hands outstretched to show no malice and said, "I am the leader of this village by the command of Bingtang who surrendered his life so that we could reach this place and so that this creature—who is no pet—could reach this place. I assure you, this creature knows about the attacks, it understands and it can stop them if we can restore its tail."
"Even if the elders had the time to spare I don't think they could restore a limb unless you had the severed limb with you." The servant said with only the very slightest hint of an apologetic tone.
"I don't need the old one back, I need the new one to grow!" The little demon suddenly spoke up, sliding down from Konpeito's shoulders and taking a menacing step towards the elder as Korizato had done. Konpeito thought it cute until he felt the sharp increase in the little demon's energy and saw the fiery aura begin to spark around its small form.
The servant saw this too and took a step back in surprise. Little Oozaru seemed to remember itself and quickly backed down, it lowered its gaze and said, "Please, I have to have my tail back. Without it . . . I'm just not complete without it. I need it!"
The servant was quiet for a long time, simply standing there seeming stunned. Konpeito was rather surprised as well. Finally the servant said, "I have only ever seen the elders make their auras visible like that . . . whatever your crea—uh your companion is, clearly it is special. Weak, but special."
Little Oozaru glared when it was called weak, but Korizato said, "My ward is stronger than you know. But we still need the help of the Wise Elders."
"I . . . will tell them . . . but I do not know that they will choose to lend aid. And in any event even I cannot simply approach them, there are . . . hierarchies and channels to go through." The servant admitted. "If you tell me where your band will be camped I can have word to you no later than nightfall . . . but no sooner than midday."
Konpeito nodded and said, "Thank you," before anyone could complain or argue. "That will be enough. We don't know where we'll be camped, but either I or one of my people will be here waiting for you until nightfall."
The servant nodded and rushed off, Korizato seemed annoyed. Konpeito said, "Midday to nightfall is better than nothing."
"Nightfall is when the attacks happen." Korizato reminded him.
"I know." Konpeito said. He looked at his ward and asked, "Will that be enough time for you to stop the Oozaru?"
Little Oozaru folded its arms and said, "I don't know . . . but I've got an idea."
"What?" Korizato asked.
"The fruit. The fruit might heal me, right?" The little creature asked.
"Yes, according to legends at least." Korizato said hesitantly.
"And the tree might have some fruit left at the very top." The little monster said.
"Yes but we could never climb that high." Konpeito sighed.
Little Oozaru looked up and said, "I don't need to climb."
Without another word the little creature grabbed Korizato's wrist and Konpeito's and suddenly the three of them were rising into the air. Konpeito shouted in alarm as his feet left the ground. The rose higher and higher. They were above the roots, they were rising up the trunk.
Konpeito was amazed as it slowly dawned on him . . . Little Oozaru could fly . . .
Little Oozaru could fly, and was strong enough to lift both him and Korizato, but somehow still the most impressive thing was that Little Oozaru could fly.
"Kori . . ." Konpeito said breathlessly, "You always dreamed of flying."
"Yes . . ." Korizato said, holding tight onto little Oozaru's hand, "But would you believe . . . I know now that I'm afraid of heights, Kon!"
"I won't drop you." Little Oozaru said, "You've been too kind to me for that. Besides, I don't know what the fruit looks like."
"The fruit of the gods . . ." Korizato whispered breathless either from the realization or the fear of the situation, though Konpeito suspected the latter.
"You're flying us to the top of the tree?" Konpeito asked.
"Thats right! Could a weak creature do that?" Little Oozaru sneered, though Konpeito knew the anger was directed at the Wise Elders' servant, not at him.
"You are a truly amazing being, my little one!" Korizato said, still clutching the monster's hand tight in fear, but looking at the ground below them with awe.
The little monster didn't answer, they only flew on.
It was a very long way to the branches and leaves at the top, but they reached them. Before they went into the tree's greenery Konpeito looked from what was perhaps one of the highest points of his world in amazement at the forests below. The hunter-turned-elder could see the smoking craters where the Oozaru had battled the previous night, there were six of them and one was far larger than the rest, visible even from so high up in the tree.
They were so close . . . it was horrifying. Konpeito could even see the crater where Bingtang and the others had likely made their stand. It was the nearest to the tree, and not nearly far enough away for Konpeito's liking.
Their escape had been closer than he'd realized.
He also noticed that the forest wasn't ablaze . . . the craters were wide, but hadn't spread fires very far the way the flames had spread the night Little Oozaru had come.
"The gods must be weeping at our weakness." Korizato said solemnly as they were taken into the tree's branches and leaves.
"What do you mean?" Konpeito asked.
"So much destruction, and us powerless to stop it. We're too weak." Kori explained.
Konpeito sighed, then said, "The strongest of the strong can stand before the storm and still perish. It is not unwise to seek shelter from forces you cannot contend with. Little Oozaru is our only hope."
"No . . . fruit is." Little Oozaru said. "I need to find some . . . what does it look like?"
Konpeito wasn't sure, the Iwatian just assumed that the fruit would be obvious if it still existed.
But the tree was large, and they searched for more than an hour before finally, "There!" Korizato said, "That must be it!"
Konpeito could see the sunlight shining through the leaves. The three companions were near the very top of the tree and close to the trunk when they saw the small light orange spheres dangling from the topmost branches from thick stems still attached to the green leafed branches.
They were round and covered in bumps. Little Oozaru set Konpeito and Korizato down on a high branch and floated over to one of the pieces of fruit.
The small creature looked at them, it had a strange sort of expression.
Happy . . . excited . . . and yet regretful as well.
Konpeito didn't understand. "Go on," He urged, "this is what you came for . . ."
Little Oozaru nodded and reached out for one of the fruits.
The little monster tore the orange orb from its stem and took a deep breath. Konpeito looked out through the leaves at the midday sun, if Little Oozaru's tail grew back they would have plenty of time before the night came and the next attack to send the real Oozaru away.
"Uh . . . well . . . can you climb down from here?"
"Are you serious?" Konpeito gawked.
"I don't know what'll happen, what if I bite into this and die?" Little Oozaru said.
"Well maybe we should go down first," Korizato said, offering an herbs satchel to Little Oozaru. "Take the fruit down and eat it there, that way if you do get sick the elders can heal you."
"Wait, gather more pieces than just that." Konpeito said, "A few extra pieces of fruit should really get the elders' attention."
"Good idea." Little Oozaru said and, taking Kori's satchel plucked more pieces of fruit.
Then, taking the hands of the two Iwatians the smaller creature began to descent from the treetop, it felt more terrifying than the ascent had been. Konpeito had the distinct feeling of falling and had to assure himself that it was not a complete drop but a gentle one.
The Iwatian refused to shut his eyes though, he was experiencing something he would likely never experience again. Korizato too, despite the obvious fear, watched the world beneath them rise up to meet them.
"This is amazing . . ." Korizato whispered.
"I guess it's pretty neat if you've never done it." Little Oozaru said lightly, "Maybe I can teach you . . . I mean . . . well I don't know . . ."
"That'd be . . . I don't know if I could even learn." Korizato whispered, "I don't know if I'd have the courage to do it even if I could."
"Don't be silly, of course you would." Konpeito scolded, "You're very brave, my love. Brave enough to spend weeks in a cave in the wilds with me and what we all thought was a demon."
"You were the one brave enough to take that demon in." Korizato said, "Maybe you should learn to fly."
"You could both learn." Little Oozaru said dryly, then added, "I mean . . . maybe. I've never taught it before . . . if this works, and if you survive . . . I'll teach you."
"What do you mean 'if' we survive?" Konpeito asked. "Aren't you going to stop the Oozaru?"
"We don't know that it'll work." Little Oozaru reminded Konpeito.
"That's what the extra fruit is for, if it doesn't heal you it might tempt the sages to do the job instead." Konpeito said.
"I just want my tail back . . . I'm tired of being afraid." Little Oozaru grumbled. "I'm tired of feeling confused. I just want this all to be over . . ."
"Me too." Korizato said soothingly, forgetting to be afraid it seemed when the little monster needed comfort.
Konpeito smiled as they reached the ground to the shock and awe of many, many Iwatians.
"Now, quickly!" Korizato said, taking a piece of fruit out of the satchel and handing it to little Oozaru.
The small creature took the fruit and shut its eyes. It swallowed a lump in its throat and with shaking hands raised the fruit to its mouth.
It took a bite . . .
To Be Continued . . .
On the Next Episode of Dragon Ball COED . . . Pastel and Schip show their respective teams what they've got, and Master Roshi asks Trunks just when he feels like his students will be ready. Will Trunks have to accept that training can only get them so far?