Chapter 36: Departure for Earth

A rumble sounded from Mr. Satan's stomach. He and the puppy, who he now called 'Bee', had stopped about a quarter mile down the street from the Budokai stadium entrance. There were no signs of life in any of the buildings or on the streets. The wind howled as it wound its way between the skyscrapers.

"Everyone must have taken off after the explosions," mumbled Satan while he scanned his surroundings. His head continued to pulse with dull throbs of pain. Bee looked up at him questioningly.

"Well, if everyone's gone, then they won't mind if I loot a little. A guy's gotta eat, after all," Satan decided. Bee panted and followed Mr. Satan into a nearby store.

Once he had taken all the food and supplies that he could fit into a large sack, Mr. Satan made his way to the street in search of a vehicle to borrow. The sack was slung heavy over his right shoulder. He could feel his muscles tense under the weight and his head responded with more throbs.

"There, that will do." Satan and Bee approached a small hover car. The Capsule Corp logo was painted on the side of the shiny blue finish. Satan opened the door and pushed the sack into the back seat. He turned to Bee.

"C'mon, get in. We're gonna go find some people. If this is a dream that I'm having, we probably won't run into anyone before I wake up. If we do, I can ask them what the hell happened last night."

Bee barked in agreement and hopped into the passenger seat.

"Makankosappo!"

A neon purple blast of chi barreled towards a cloudy sea from over 100 feet in the air. Hatsuko and Piccolo hovered within a thick grey cloud with their bodies inverted. The chi blast erupted from their index and middle fingers. They were positioned back to back with each of their right hands extended towards the ground. Their latest combination move had culminated in one of Piccolo's signature attacks, although now its power had doubled. The two single beams of spiraling light came together in a V formation and then twisted around each other until they met with the giant body of water below. The blast sliced through the water with ease and created an open space that exposed the rocky ocean floor. Salty droplets of moisture burst into the air instantly.

Hatsuko watched the beam of energy leave her finger tips and her eyelids lowered slowly. She lost control over her body and began to fall.

When she awoke, Hatsuko's back felt stiff against a soft carpet of grass. Piccolo was sitting beside her while resting his elbow on his knee. His head was bowed deeply as his upper body heaved up and down with exhaustion.

"It…worked," Hatsuko said weakly. She could not help but smile a bit.

Piccolo lifted his head and looked down at her. His mouth hung open as he struggled to catch his breath.

"…Yes, it did. We just need more chi to perform it without nearly killing ourselves. It could, however…serve as a good last resort against Boo."

Hatsuko sighed deeply.

I never thought we would achieve this much in such a little amount of time, Hatsuko thought to herself.

Just as she thought she heard Piccolo responding to her statement, she drifted off into unconsciousness again.

Warm light surrounds your body. You are suspended in water but can somehow still breathe. Voices sound all around you, traveling in waves. They send small vibrations through the water that ring against your skin. The sounds penetrate you, enter your core, and fill you with life.

The once paralyzed muscles of your extremities begin to contract slowly. The voices are singing some indiscriminate language, yet you somehow recognize their words. Your body is warm, but your veins are ice cold as blood flows through them forcefully, giving your muscles more strength still.

The sounds crescendo so much that they seem to be coming from your own throat. Your aura bursts out of your body and encircles you while flowing with unfathomable speed. You absorb the sound from around you and contain it within your mouth. The voices are now your own. As your lips form the foreign words, your aura builds in intensity. Your nerves lose sensation as sparks ignite them. Your vision becomes clear. The water retreats and begins to swirl around you with the current of your chi. You are unstoppable.

Piccolo stood up suddenly. The grass beneath him and Hatsuko had started to rot, turning from a brilliant emerald to a pale brown color. His muscles began to twitch as his last stores of chi seeped from them into the surrounding air.

No…what's happening?

Hatsuko's aura formed around her body. She still appeared unconscious. Piccolo clenched his teeth together and took large strides backward to put distance between them. Every step left his legs shaking as if his body were twice its normal weight.

Hatsuko's eyelids parted suddenly. Her pupils shrunk, causing pain to shoot through her head. She gasped for air and grasped at the now sandy soil beneath her. She felt grains of dry dirt clump beneath her fingernails. Her rose aura pulsed once and then disappeared. All of her muscles felt as if they were coursing with tides of ice water.

I have to move, she thought, forcing herself upright in one swift movement. Her legs moved next, lifting her body into a low crouch. Hatsuko's eyes examined the ground beneath her. The grass had all but died. The soil was completely void of the moisture that it held just moments earlier. Her brows lifted in fear.

Did I do this?

Mr. Satan drove the hover car over a massive bridge that connected the island to the mainland. Not another car was in sight, even on the other side.

"Wow, Bee…everyone's gone," he whispered. Bee was in the passenger seat gazing curiously at the water below them.

The car reached the opposite shore. Satan stopped fully at a road sign that indicated the next town over was 60 miles away. He frowned.

"Well, we better head that way if we're gonna find anyone," he decided. The pain in his head had subsided a bit, but now his ears were ringing. Satan shook his head before stepping on the gas pedal and turning left. The landscape had changed drastically from that of the island. Steep cliffs lined the highway and a chain of mountains interrupted the horizon before them. Far off in the distance, a grumble sounded that resembled thunder.

"Looks like rain, Bee," said Satan. The pup looked out of the windshield towards the mountains and began to shake.

Hatsuko turned her attention to some distance away from her where Piccolo was standing. His body language indicated that he was on the defense.

Before she could ask what happened, Hatsuko's ears rang with the sound of Sugiko's authoritative voice.

"Well done, Kiku. You may have the potential of your heritage after all."

Hatsuko stood up swiftly and bowed to her grandmother. Beads of sweat ran down her face and fell from the tip of her nose.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked, her voice shaking. Sugiko lifted Hatsuko's face upwards by pulling on her chin more forcefully than she should have.

"Child, you used the genki technique. As I explained earlier, you siphoned chi from your surroundings to rebuild your own stores. It seems as if it was activated by your severe exhaustion."

Hatsuko shook her face out of Sugiko's grasp.

"How long have you been watching?" she asked. There was a metallic taste in her mouth that she was trying to ignore.

"For some time…Once you absorb chi from other life forms, your body and energy composition may change a little. In time, you may be able to control from whom and what you borrow energy from. Those who truly master the art of genki are able to select their target, control how much energy they take and fluctuate their speed of extraction."

"It's as I thought…you were taking my chi," said Piccolo. He had since returned to Hatsuko's side when he spotted Sugiko.

Hatsuko glanced up at him.

"I thought you were going to take everything I had left," Piccolo said. Hatsuko lowered her brows apologetically.

"Do you think you could spare some in return?" he asked. She met is gaze and extended her scarred palm to him. When he took Hatsuko's hand, Piccolo felt a surge of energy flood his body. His eyes widened.

Hatsuko removed her hand.

"Is that better? I apologize…I didn't realize," she said, her voice trailing off.

Piccolo examined his hand that had received Hatsuko's chi. It tingled slightly. The chi coursing through his muscles moved quickly and felt strange.

I see what Sugiko meant now.

The younger Seigan called Momia approached the group. She had emerged seemingly out of nowhere with a sullen facial expression.

"You two have depleted your energy and your resources. I can no longer offer you anything more than you can offer yourselves." Sugiko spoke to Piccolo and Hatsuko as she rested her fists on the small of her back. "I've summoned for Kibito to come for you. He should be arriving any moment now. He will see to it that you are healed before you go off to fight your enemy."

Hatsuko noticed that the younger Seigan woman was staring at her. She locked eyes with her and cocked her eyebrow.

"Kiku, you are so much like your mother," Momia began. She approached Hatsuko and placed a hand on her shoulder. Hatsuko gazed at her questioningly. Momia's face remained still, her smooth pale skin shining. "I was very close with her when we were children. I must say that I, like Sugiko-sama, do not have fond memories of your father. However, I cannot deny that you carry greatness in you. If you are half of what your mother was, then you are family to me, and I send you away with my love."

When Momia finished speaking, she opened Hatsuko's hand and placed a coiled rope into it. Hatsuko looked down at the rope, which appeared similar to the one that hung loosely around Sugiko's neck. It was tightly wound and shimmered as if it were made of gold or silver. A translucent object that resembled a pale blue crystal rested in a knot at the end of the loop.

"Take care of this. It's a piece of sea glass your mother and I found one day when we were young. I've worn it around my neck every day since her death. I want you to have it to bring you strength," Momia said. Her voice had decreased in volume. She placed her hand on Hatsuko's head.

Hatsuko fought back tears as she bowed to Momia in thanks.

"I will try to make you all proud," she promised.

Just as Hatsuko stood up from her bow, Kibito appeared next to Piccolo in a flash of light. He nodded to Sugiko in acknowledgment without speaking.

"Are you two ready to leave, then?" Kibito asked.

Piccolo glanced over at Hatsuko. She turned towards him and nodded.

Kibito smiled softly. "I can sense the shifts in your chi. I'm eager to see the fruits of your training."

"It would be best if we made haste. Every second wasted is a second that Majin Boo can destroy the earth," said Piccolo. His body was tense as if he was ready to sprint forward. Hatsuko made her way to Piccolo's side and turned to her grandmother and Momia once more.

"Thank you for everything, Grandmother," she said.

Sugiko closed her eyes, bowed her head slightly then smirked.

Prove me wrong, Kiku.

Hatsuko clenched her right fist in response to the thought she had received.

I will.

"Piccolo, you and Kiku are both welcome back to Seiga any time, especially in our village," Sugiko said. Piccolo turned to face her and smiled.

"Thank you, Elder," he said.

"In fact, I would like you to consider becoming a Namekian envoy for our village. With your ties to our people, I would be hard pressed to find a better suitor. We haven't had one since Katas and I would be honored to appoint you as his descendent."

Piccolo's mouth became dry. He was unsure of what the elder was proposing, but it seemed to be too much for him to process. His face fell and he bowed.

"I apologize, but my home is on Earth. I have served as its guardian for many years and I'm finally able to defend it freely. My duty is there, but I am still in your debt for the knowledge and strength you have given Hatsuko and me," Piccolo responded. He tried to decline as graciously as he could. Sugiko still intimidated him.

She smiled and blinked slowly.

"A loyal creature you are. I understand. Then, Kiku, I hope you will return when you wish to train with us. If you survive this battle, you will be more than worthy of testing your abilities here amongst our people."

Hatsuko grinned and nodded. "You will see me again."

Kibito raised his hand to Sugiko and Momia in farewell. He then placed both his hands on Piccolo and Hatsuko's shoulders. In a flash of white light, they were gone.