Disclaimer: I do not own, neither do I claim to own, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, or the Dragon Ball Z franchise. Neither do I own any branch, spin-off or anything pertaining to the two series. SEGA owns Sonic, while Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation and FUNimation all own Dragon Ball.
I also do not own the following characters: Zoey Arsaldi the Wolf, Mira 'Ally' Prower, Axel the Bandicoot; Noah Raymond Thompson and Spencer Franklin Ricardo. The former trio belong to Pekiunai, while the latter duo are owned by werewolf99.
Claimer: On the flip side, I am the owner of Luster the Cat, Megan the Wolf, Jack the Cat, Entity, Quill, Unknown, Virga, Paterno, Roserie, Gren, Dewx and all the original Eggman robots that appeared in Season 1. Contact me if you want to use any of these characters or ideas in your work.
Last time, on Luster the Cat...
Sonic's very own video game, 'Sonic the Hedgehog', had finally been completed. SEGA had sent the blue blur himself a copy of the game as a thanking message, but the speedster was already out on a run. It did not take long however, for Sonic to be brought to the Thorndyke Mansion.
There, Christopher was tasked with checking out the game. It was a platformer, something to rival the popular Mario Bros. series. Sonic noted that the environments represented through the game's sixteen bit processing power looked much like the places he had visited on his very first adventure. Needless to say, the game was enjoyable all round. Chris was even able to complete it in some hours, leaving the young Luster to desire a turn.
After it became bedtime, Chris found a burning fire within his heart. A fire that drove him to want something, like a moth to a flame. However, Chris knew what he wanted would not get him hurt. It was quite the opposite. He found himself wanting to become stronger.
We now come back to a day after we left off!
June 24th 1991 - 9:12 AM
Thorndyke Mansion, Chris' Room
Emerging from the white, comforting aura of the bed, Christopher Thorndyke stepped onto the floor of the bedroom. He rubbed his eyes, removing the sleep from them and swapped his pyjamas for a red shirt and jeans. With several more steps, the boy brought himself to the bathroom next door in order to brush his teeth and apply mouthwash.
Now there was only one more step. One more step to complete his daily ritual. One more action to liberate him from the endless cycle of waking: having breakfast. It was provided by Ella and he ate on the long, multiple seater table that has certainly seen a lot of strange use in certain times. There was that tall, light blue alien from an alternate universe, a bunch of Mobians Chris has come to be great friends with ever since they first arrived in this world - as a younger child, Chris would never be able to believe any of this had ever happened.
It was all thanks to those Mobians that brought him, Chuck, Tanaka and Ella such excitement. Without them, their lives would be as boring as ever. At the thought of this, Chris smiled, which brought the attention of Cream - who was also having breakfast alongside her faithful Chao friend, Cheese.
"Did you have a good dream, Chris?" Cream asked, curious.
"You could say that. I was just thinking about all the crazy things that have happened ever since you guys got here, like Eggman's many attacks, Chaos, the ARK, Emerl, Metal Sonic, the Black Arms..." Chris answered. He paused his eating. "Man, my life would have sucked if you guys never came along."
Cream smiled, as did Cheese. "I'm happy that you're happy!" the young Mobian rabbit exclaimed. Cheese seemed to say the same thing, but in chao-speak, which required a bit of translation. "Cheese says he's glad to be here!"
"Awesome," Chris grinned. At that point, Vanilla (Cream's mother), had walked in. "Oh hey there, Vanilla! I felt like we haven't talked in a while."
"I don't do too much, anyway," Vanilla admitted, sighing. "I help with the cooking, the buying and I act as Cream's protector. Sometimes, I feel as if I'm useless."
I understand where you're coming from, Vanilla. I'm gonna make sure I become useful, Chris thought, determined to his later goal. "As long as you're doing something, you have to be important to something or someone. Don't forget that."
"Yeah! You're a great mother, mum!" Cream commented. It must have been the time all the Mobians spent in England that caused them to start picking up British pronunciations.
This boosted Vanilla's confidence. "Thanks, you two. Now I know I'm doing a good job," she thanked.
"No problem!" Chris smiled, nodding. At that moment, the boy remembered to ask a question. "Oh yeah, have you guys seen Luster anywhere? I wanna talk to him."
"He should be out back. At least, that's where he told me he was going," Vanilla answered, recalling to several minutes before Chris woke up. "That cat always goes to train after his breakfast. It's crazy."
"Alright, thanks," Chris finished, returning to his bowl of cereal. Vanilla left, letting the two children eat their food in peace. As soon as Chris ended the eating of his food, he placed the bowl and spoon he was using back in the kitchen and immediately darted for the outside world. Time to change my life. I'll no longer stand on the sidelines! Sonic, Tails, everyone...I'm not gonna be weak any longer.
Christopher started making his way towards the back of the mansion, where a certain light blue furred Mobian cat was training his fighting prowess.
Luster the Cat: Season 2 Opening 4 (Courage - Sword Art Online II, English ver.) -
There's something way over there
A sight that I cannot see
I'll grasp the air then I will be free
Being beaten down I don't like
You and I, we're so alike
But know that I can't let myself be beat easily!
Through the reaches of the Earth
I will soon find rebirth
With every encounter I'll not ever flounder so trust me
There is still someone that I can be!
Now it is time for me to be let free of your looming grasp
With my own two very eyes, I will find my prize
I will find the light that has been keeping me on my path
That keeps me strong (through this reality)
Now it's time for me to be let free of my supposed end
Turn away from my misery, I'll not lose a friend!
Running far, I will bear this ever-present scar
That keeps me strong (ah)
It's giving me my way!
"Luster!" Chris called out, watching the Mobian throw out some supersonic fast punches and kicks. This got the cat's attention, forcing him to turn around and pause his training. "How's it going there?"
"It's all good! Was just improving my attack speed," Luster told the human boy. He hovered over to Chris, with a curious expression on his face. "What's the matter?"
Christopher paused. He gulped, then took a deep breath in and out. "I want you to train me. Make me strong, someone that can be useful against any further incidents. Can you do that?"
"Sure!" Luster nodded, without hesitation. This sudden reply both surprised and did not surprise Chris.
"Really? Just like that? You're going to accept me so quickly?" Chris questioned.
"Uh-huh! Why wouldn't I?" shrugged Luster. "You're a friend. If you ask me to do somethin', I'll probably do it for ya, because that's what friends do for each other! That's what I've been taught."
Chris smiled. "Heh, alright. So uh...what do I do now?"
This caused Luster to think. He had never trained someone else before, so how was he going to be able to do so now? It was not long before he was able to remember. "Punch me!"
"Punch you? W-why?"
Luster grinned. "I just wanna see how strong ya really are. I should be fine, because I can tell you're pretty weak compared to me."
The human's head drooped in self-doubt. "That really helps my self esteem...oh well. I guess I have nothing to lose!" Chris clenched his fist and put all the strength he could muster into it. He released it when he felt the time was right. Such a punch would be decent for any boy his age, but for someone like Luster? It barely did anything.
Speaking of Luster, he was certainly enjoying this, in a nostalgic way. "You've got determination...to be honest, I was startin' to get a little worried. I've seen you in moments where you've been unable to do anythin', like that time when Eggman tricked you into givin' him the Chaos Emeralds. You really looked like you wanted to beat those guys up."
"But I couldn't, because I'm weak. Weak compared to everyone else," Chris finished. "Everyone else does all the fighting. You, Sonic, Tails, grandpa, even Mr. Tanaka...I haven't had a chance. I wanna be just like all you guys, I don't want to be left behind like a civilian."
"And I'll make you into a strong warrior!" Luster smiled, giving Chris a thumbs-up that the now fighter-in-training happily accepted. The cat then pointed to the nearest tree on his right. "First, you gotta keep punching that tree until it falls over!"
"What?!" Chris doubted aloud. "How d'you expect me to do that?"
"If you're anythin' like me, you'll do it in time. A few hours, probably," Luster explained, recalling an event from almost an entire year in the past. "It took me like, four hours? I can't really remember."
"Four hours? It's probably gonna take me way longer than that." At the mere sound of the task, Chris was already mentally exhausted. "No matter how long it'll take me, don't make me stop. I wanna keep going."
"Sure thing." Luster kept in mind. As the Mobian began to think to himself, Chris started on the tree punching exercise. He reminds me of me, before I started trainin' with Goku. I was pretty weak too and kinda dumb, but I knew I had to become strong if I wanted to save my parents. Now I'm strong and I don't know where they are. Pretty sure I'll find 'em soon. But anyway, I don't really know if Chris has anythin' like that. I know his parents are still around-oh. I get it, Chris. I understand.
Luster smiled to himself and began thinking about Nelson and Lindsey, Chris' parents, who nobody had seen for a while. They're busy people and last time they visited was Christmas. Good thing I got their ki signature, so I can get them at any time. When Chris has finally become strong, I'll do that. But when that'll be...I dunno.
Hours passed. Six more hours went by; six hours of intense punching from Chris and observing from Luster. At one point, the cat ventured back inside the Thorndyke Mansion for lunch and returned minutes later with a sandwich for Chris to consume. That was Chris' only break. Eventually, the tree did the same - it broke, crashing onto the grass below. The boy was more than delighted with this result.
"Alright, I did it!" Chris smiled. "What do I do now?"
"Punch me again!" instructed Luster, who stood back up after sitting down half an hour following lunch.
Chris nodded, reeled back a right hook and released it with all his available might. Luster recoiled a little, but the attack was not too strong. Luster knew the human was heading on the right track. "You're gettin' there," the cat commented. "Do the same thing you did, but with kicks instead."
"Got it!" Chris found a tree behind the one he had taken down and began kicking at it. Thanks to his familiarity with the task, it only took him four hours to take the tree down. Still, this made him miss dinner, so Luster did the same as he did before with lunch, bringing out a plate of potatoes and carrots along with a fork. When the tree had been removed from its stump, Chris again found the same enjoyment as he did before.
He could really feel himself become stronger. Now he understood what Luster went through in that other dimension - now Christopher understood the warrior's desire. "I'm already pretty muscle-y. What now?"
"You gotta work on your speed. To do that, you hafta run to somewhere and back," Luster stated, thinking for a moment. "You could go to Station Square and back, but that's too long...I know! Why not run to the front of the mansion then back? It's not long, so you'll have to do it many times."
"Whatever it is, I wanna do it," Chris claimed. Especially after increasing his strength, the thirteen year old's confidence grew. "But how will this increase my speed?"
"It pushes your limits, just like what you were doing with the trees. If you start to get tired, keep usin' as much strength as you have. It'll work, trust me," Luster reassured the human. "Since the distance from here to the front is kinda short, do it about...five times? Yeah, that should be good."
Normally, Chris would be deterred from such a thought but thanks to his new found confidence, he was able to easily push past those thoughts and start running. He eventually reached the front after a minute and a half and returned in the same amount of time. After that first dash back to Luster, Christopher started to become tired. However, he also began to notice something. The world around him became more of a blur as he went on. He found air pushing against him at a harder rate than before.
It became clear to him that his speed was increasing. After the fifth and final sprint back to Luster, Chris guessed that he was much faster than the average motor vehicle. Despite this, Chris was only out of breath.
"Pretty good," Luster observed, hovering over to the now superhuman teenager. "This means I now have a trainin' partner! Having those can make trainin' even better."
"I can see why. But I suppose it would work best if the training partners are on equal footing, since they can work off each others' strengths and grow at a faster rate," Chris estimated. "Oh well. Maybe my body will adapt to fighting you, then I'll grow that way."
"Yeah. That sounds good," agreed Luster. He became quite excited - it was not every day that one of your close friends became a sparring partner, let alone a training student. "There's still a few things I gotta teach you. Like Ki, for one."
"Ki? That energy you've been using?" Chris asked. It would be amazing if I could do what Luster can do.
Luster nodded. "Yep! But I think we've done enough trainin' for one day. Maybe tomorrow? It is past five."
"Uh, sure. I'm fine with that." Chris began following Luster towards the mansion and even though neither of them had the ability to communicate with one another telepathically, they still shared a hope. A hope to be as strong as they could possibly be.
Luster the Cat: Season 2 Ending 4 (Many Times Before - Naruto, English ver.) -
Maybe you, had a good self control
But maybe, you were crying inside
You could not, give away, the peaceful dream that you
Chose for your own self
I was treated as a waste, just like a mere shadow
Please just let me dream, yeah yeah yeah
I don't want to be the main part, 'cause that's way too hard
Even though through it all, I never gave it all up
Even though I have survived, I must never give it up
Even though you've been there, I've still been in pain
I've frequently dreamed through it all
I'll never lose it!
Even through all the stupid things, I'm still here alive
And I will survive
Despite being in someone else's shadow, I now want to be the main part
But I know he'll still surpass me, but I don't care I'll still be strong!
