So the main reason for the delay here is that I struggled trying to end this chapter on an interesting note. Sorry. In other news, anyone with recommendations on how to improve my programming skills is welcome. As always, please enjoy and let me know your thoughts.
Chapter 25
[Earth, Underneath a waterfall]
Piccolo was meditating at the base of a waterfall, floating just above the lake the water was pounding down into from above. His clothes were soaked, but the discomfort did not in any way hinder his meditation.
He sensed two powers growing in size and opened his eyes with a snarl. He quickly unfolded his legs and shot into the skies toward them.
[Far above the forest surrounding the Son home]
Gohan was sent blasting into the sky with a cry of pain. Vegeta appeared behind him and knocked him away with a backhand.
"Fight, boy!" Vegeta snarled.
Gohan brought himself to a stop with after some straining and struggled to recover his breath.
Vegeta grit his teeth in frustration. "Are you always this much of a weakling? Or was your harpy of a mother getting injured not motivation enough for you?"
"Shut up!" Gohan snapped. The boy moved to dive past Vegeta but the Saiyan Prince appeared in front of him and kicked him back.
Gohan staggered backwards, clutching his stomach.
"Trying to go to your mother?" Vegeta scoffed. "Well you're not going to reach her unless you get past me. Perhaps that will motivate you properly…"
"This fight is pointless!" Gohan growled. "You're hurting people!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You say the last part like it's news. I want something simple boy." His glare returned. "Fight me."
The Prince buried a knee in the boy's stomach and lifted him up with one hand. "You call this pointless? Hmmph. Call it whatever you want, but if you do not fight me your life and the lives of those you supposedly care about are forfeit."
Vegeta was about to land another blow when he was caught by a green fist to the face. The Prince was knocked away from Gohan but recovered only a short distance away. He looked up at the interruption with a scowl.
"You're in my way slug man."
"I warned you, didn't I?" Piccolo responded, arms folded as he stood protectively in front of Gohan.
"Piccolo-san!" Gohan called out, relief aand happiness gracing his bruised features.
Piccolo didn't take his eyes off Vegeta. "Go to your mother, Gohan. I will take care of this."
"Big words," Vegeta said, narrowing his eyes. "However my business is not with you. If you move boy, I will come after you."
Gohan froze.
Piccolo stayed still. "You won't get past me."
Vegeta only sneered in response. "Have you "rectified" the difference between us?"
The two warriors only stared at each other, neither moving. A small bead of sweat appeared on Piccolo's brow, so small that had it been anyone else it might not have been noticed.
Vegeta grinned. "I thought not."
The Prince retook his battle stance. "I suppose I can just as easily take both of you. Either way I will get what I came for."
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Valley]
I sat and watched them duke it out high in the skies, twirling 3 pebbles above my open hand with my fingers. On either side of me sat Pyf and Lyf also observing the battle.
"I can't see a thing," Lyf complained.
I shrugged. "It's because you're weak, not your fault." I thought about it. "Ok so it is your fault."
Lyf gave me a wounded look.
There was a loud sonic boom as Goku and Naya clashed fists once more. They separated and Goku quickly set the pace before Naya could start anything.
"What was that explosion?" Pyf asked.
"They punched each other," I supplied helpfully.
He eyed me suspiciously. "Are you making fun of us?"
I kept my eyes up. "Me? Heavens no."
Naya finally got some space, choosing to lash out with a few kicks.
I winced. Ah bad move, you don't do that with someone who's got reflexes like that…
Goku blocked and slipped each kick, landing a solid punch to her mid-section before she could retract her last kick. She went sailing back across the valley.
Pyf looked back up. "What happened now?"
"Goku punched her."
The Yardrat sighed. "You are. I can feel it."
I smiled.
"So what's that you're doing in your hand?" Lyf asked me.
I lifted said hand up. "I've been experimenting with the properties of chi now that I have the time. There's a lot of potential here that I haven't even begun to tap. This is one of them."
Lyf mouth opened in an O shape. "Like the infinitely potent attack you were working on?"
I nodded. I had been aware that they would be curious about my training when they said that they would be visiting. I didn't much feel like editing my schedule because of them. Besides what could they do? Stop me? There was the danger of having my methods copied but seeing as it had yet to bear any fruit I was willing to take the risk. I wouldn't exactly need it to take them down after all. Although they could teach it to someone else…
"It looks like normal telekinesis to me," Pyf observed.
Naya dodged one of Goku's punches and got him in the side of the head with an elbow.
Atta girl. Stick to short moves. He's faster than you.
"It's not," I said. "The results are similar but this is a different technique. With telekinesis you take hold of an object using your chi, sort of like an invisible hand. I'm doing something quite different."
The two of them peered at my hand and the three rapidly circling pebbles.
"Your chi is in the rocks," Lyf said. "It was hard to detect but it's there."
Pyf's eyes widened. "You're making the rocks move by themselves."
I smirked. "Yup. I am directing the chi within the rock to move as my own chi moves. That is what creates the motion you're seeing now."
It was a simple application of the knowledge that everything has chi.
"That's… interesting," Pyf said, seemingly impressed.
"It's not just interesting!" Lyf exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how useful that would be for us?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"
"We can hide in the terrain as if it had always been that way, for example," Lyf said. "This is great!"
"Your race is known for having strange techniques and you're telling me this is news to you?" I asked, surprised.
"Well we know a bit about spirit," said Pyf, "It's just we never looked into this part of things. Controlling our own power requires enough mastery."
"I suppose that makes sense," I agreed, observing the skies once more.
Goku was approaching Naya with rapid jabs that she was blocking easily enough. Except…
No, don't use your other hand-
There was another boom and Naya was knocked flying once again. Using two hands to deal with one hand was pretty much handing your opponent a free shot. Saw that one coming a mile away.
"Why did you come up with something like this anyway?" Lyf asked.
"I was taking a break and I was bored."
The two laughed. "That was not what I thought you'd say," Lyf said, amused.
"This doesn't have much combat utility though," I admitted. "If this planet were to blow up right now Goku, Naya and I would survive the explosion. Maybe we'd suffocate but the actual explosion is meaningless to us. What good would come of hitting someone like that with a rock? It's more a utility skill than anything."
Pyf put a hand against his non-existent chin. "I see what you mean but not everyone is as strong as you."
"It's still a useful skill if its application is taken further," Lyf agreed.
I nodded. "That's something I might look into whenever I'm free."
I watched Goku and Naya trade blows for a bit. Naya ducked a round kick from Goku and blocked the follow up hook kick. She pressed in to take advantage.
And that's game.
Goku drifted out of range on his back and rammed her with both feet. Naya was knocked away, Goku blurred behind her, caught her by the arm and threw her down to the ground. He held his hands in the pose for his Kamehameha and paused just as Naya hit the ground in the centre of the valley.
She climbed out of the small crater she'd made, saw Goku holding his pose in the air and held up her hands in surrender.
[Earth, Skies surrounding Mount Paozu]
Vegeta was the first to attack, unleashing a charged blast that Piccolo smacked away. The shorter man was immediately up close and burying a punch in the Namekians mid-section. Piccolo heaved briefly but responded with a fast knee that Vegeta blocked with his elbow. The two hit each other with head butts and Vegeta followed up with a two handed explosion of energy to Piccolo's body that knocked the green fighter away.
Gohan floated in the middle of all this frozen. To help his mother or to help his mentor.
Piccolo recovered and sent his arms shooting toward Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince smacked both aside and prepared another blast.
"Big Bang-"
Piccolo unleashed yet more ki from his antennae that struck Vegeta and caused the Saiyan's body to sieze up.
"What-"
"Go to your mother Gohan," Piccolo said. "I've got this."
Vegeta glared. "This green slug bastard… underestimating me… the Prince of all Saiyans."
He summoned more power with a roar. "This is no game Namekian!"
He burst free, closed in and smashed a punch of such power into Piccolo's face that the green man was launched clear to new landscapes. Vegeta shot after him, hammering blow after blow into the flying Namekian's body, eventually battering him with a two handed haymaker that had him digging a trough in a wasteland kilometres away from where the fight started. Vegeta chased after him.
Gohan stared in horror. "Piccolo-san!"
He made to fly after him and remembered his mother. Indecision crossed his features briefly before he eventually dove toward his house with tears in his eyes.
Piccolo rose to his feet, clutching his face with one hand. Vegeta landed opposite him with a scowl and began walking toward him.
"Do you think pitiful tricks like that will allow you to compete at my level?" Vegeta demanded, visibly angry. "I despise fighters like you."
Piccolo removed his hand from his face and smirked. "You're not as far away from me as you think."
Vegeta turned and smacked away the ki blast a clone of Piccolo fired from behind and returned fire. It exploded and the Prince turned back around only to find himself caught in a melee with the now de-robed Piccolo. The Namekian was hitting faster and harder and moving quicker. Vegeta growled as he was promptly overwhelmed and kicked into a nearby rock formation.
The Prince burst out to find himself surrounded by several ki blasts.
Piccolo swiped his hands inwards. "Makuuhouidan!"(Demon Air Besieging Bullet)
All the energy rushed in and enveloped the Prince in a spectacular explosion.
[Son Family Home]
Gohan landed next to his mother and took a look at her. There were no visible injuries besides the bruise from Vegeta's strike and the dirt and bark from her collision with the tree. Chichi was out cold.
Gohan was not sure what to do. And Piccolo was still fighting, he could sense it. He focused his senses on his mother as he examined her, waiting to see if her energy showed signs of fading or dropping any lower than it already was. There was no bleeding anywhere either. Gohan was surprised to note that his mother was actually quite tough…
She would be fine. Piccolo though…
Gohan sensed an overwhelming amount of power come crashing down on Vegeta's own energy. Piccolo seemed to have the upper hand at the moment. Gohan lifted his mother and carried her back inside the house. He set her on the bed in her room and ran to his own room, pulling out a miniature copy of his father's gi.
He sat, staring at it. He didn't like fighting. It was scary. People were always trying to hurt him. His friends were always getting hurt. Some of them were dead. Everyone was stronger than him. Nothing good ever came from fighting!
[Wasteland]
Vegeta's ki roared to the skies in a brilliant purple beam. Piccolo shielded his eyes and mouth from the environmental backlash with one arm.
Vegeta smirked and held out his hands behind him, gathering the leftover ki from his Galaxy Breaker into them. "Nice try Namekian but I can counter moves like that!"
Vegeta shot his hands forward and fired a massive Galick Hou(Galick Cannon) at Piccolo. Piccolo blurred into the skies above the attack and flew toward the Prince. Vegeta cut the beam and flew up to meet him. The two collided in a concussive wave of force and proceeded to trade blows at incredible speed, twisting and turning around the other in the air.
The two knocked themselves away from each other and came to a stop panting.
Vegeta recovered first. "Interesting as this is, you're not the one I want to fight."
"What do you want with Gohan?" Piccolo demanded, recovering his breath.
Vegeta responded by powering up even further and smacking Piccolo back to the ground. There was an explosion of rock and dust following the impact, which cleared to reveal Piccolo lying still.
Vegeta looked down at the stunned warrior. "You've trained well I'll give you that. You're much stronger than you were on Namek…"
Piccolo strained to rise once more and fell back.
"You are no Saiyan," Vegeta scoffed. "You were never going to keep up with me for long."
[Son Family Home]
Gohan felt Piccolo's ki suddenly falter. It did not bode anything good.
Are you going to sit back and watch someone else die?
Gohan's hands were trembling as he reached for the gi.
Nothing good comes of was why his father was dead.
Piccolo is going to be killed!
Krillin had been blown up.
He hit mum!
Gohan picked up the gi.
[Wasteland]
Vegeta held out one hand toward Piccolo, charging a giant blue ki blast within it. Below Piccolo struggled to get to his feet, Vegeta had hit him in a weak spot and his whole body was out of whack. The Prince eventually had a blue-white ball of ki in front of his palm that rivalled himself in size.
"Big Bang-"
"STOP!"
Vegeta turned just as Gohan crashed into him headfirst. The Prince was knocked away and the attack dissipated.
Piccolo eye's widened. "Gohan!"
The boy dressed in an orange gi with dark blue boots, let out a battle cry as he charged his power to its maximum and shot straight at the Prince.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Valley]
Goku was now standing in front of Naya and me. We were finally getting to the good bit and the entire reason I had joined them for today: Super Saiyan. Goku had questioned my presence at first but when I asked him if he wanted me to leave he said no. You'd think he would be a bit less trusting but ah well…
Goku took on a serious look. "Alright, here goes."
He sank into the power up stance and began to build power. "Haaaaaaaaaaa…."
I noted the use of a kiai (breath gathering). A kiai came in two forms: it was essentially a release of the breath meant to build and focus power from within you. For those who never mastered chi that was all it remained. For those of us who could actively use our inner energy a kiai became more than that. It literally became a focused release of the "breath" within us i.e. chi. Goku was using the first application, which implied concentration and effort.
Goku's hair began to rise and billow as if he was underwater. His chi seemed agitated. It was not a blatant increase in quantity or size or however you wanted to describe a power increase. It was like there was something itching in there somewhere and his energy was responding to it. Wind blew past us, ruffling our clothes and sending dust flying by us. The valley trembled…
"Haaaaaaa…" Goku straightened up. "Hah!"
Golden chi burst from his body, and Naya and I had to raise our guards and dig in to not get thrown into the valley walls.
The mayhem died down shortly after and I brought my arms down to see…
"This… is Super Saiyan," Goku said.
I stared at him. He looked… he looked… terrifying actually. It wasn't a monstrous transformation by any means, but his eyes… his face… his entire demeanor oozed aggression. The way he spoke, slow and with intonations of hidden threat put me on edge. He stared at me with a piercing emerald gaze. Of course there was his power too…
"Wow," Naya breathed.
So this is what brought Frieza down, I thought.
Goku's chi was wild now. His aura was visibly fluctuating at a far greater frequency than was usual and his clothes were rippling as if he was caught in a high wind. This was without even talking about the fluctuations I could actually sense. It was as if his chi was trying to get away from him, in a similar manner as the surface of a sun would randomly throw out flares of solar energy. Controlling that power couldn't have been easy and that was simply considering the increased energy alone. Add in what looked to be instability to the mix and it must have been something else.
And he's making it look easy…
"Is this your full power?" I asked.
"No."
He does short answers now. Ok, I can work with that.
"So how do I do it?" Naya asked him.
Goku turned to her. "Anger. You need to get mad."
I sat down with my legs crossed and closed my eyes, giving all my concentration to sensing his power. It seemed unruly but Goku was keeping it reigned in pretty well. He was losing energy though, it was a small thing, barely noticeable. It told me something else, the form was something you needed to maintain.
The more I learn the more work it sounds like…
I wished for a moment that I could sense his individual chakras and see which of them was being made the most use of for a clue as to how exactly this form worked. I stopped paying attention to Goku's chi and kept my eyes closed, thinking on what I had observed.
A short distance away I sensed Naya starting to power up. The ground rattled beneath me.
"You're just making your chi bigger,"Goku said. "You need to get mad."
I heard Naya grunt and her chi increased at an even faster pace. She quickly hit her peak and after a few minutes of straining gave up and slumped over, panting.
I opened my eyes. "That can't be it."
Goku and Naya both looked down at me. I tried not to shiver when Goku's eyes rested on me.
"It can't simply be rage," I said. "I can't speak for the rest of you but if it was just rage I'd have been a Super Saiyan by age ten maximum. And you can only get so mad. I'm pretty sure the same applies to the both of you."
Goku seemed vaguely surprised but said nothing, instead levelling a slightly curious gaze on me.
"So what do you think it is Riku?" Naya asked.
I looked at Goku. "Based on what you said rage was a trigger… but there may be more than one. Or even other requirements we're unaware of. Are you angry right now?"
He frowned briefly and responded, "No."
"Did you get mad to transform this time?" I asked.
His eyes widened ever so slightly. "No."
I nodded. "I'm about to make some guesses…"
Both Goku and Naya stared at me.
[Earth, Wasteland skies]
Gohan was smacked away again.
"Come on boy! Is that all you've got?!"
Gohan charged the Prince with a yell, unleashing a very poorly executed barrage of blows. The Saiyan Prince dodged them all, putting a knee in the boy's guts for his troubles then hammering him into the ground with both fists. Gohan leaped up quickly and fired a Masenkoha (Demon Flash Wave) right at Vegeta. It was slapped aside easily and a counter beam fired.
Gohan leaped aside only to find Vegeta right next to him with a fist incoming. The punch blew Gohan back over the ground, skipping like a stone over a lake, before he crashed into a pile of rocks.
"This is hardly worth a warm-up boy," Vegeta taunted.
Gohan crawled out of the rocks huffing and puffing as he hauled himself to his feet. He grit his teeth, visibly angry and frustrated. Here was danger and he could not stop it. Vegeta would hurt everybody and he wouldn't be able to do a thing.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Valley]
"It's possible that this transformation is unique to you Goku," I said. "Maybe something you specifically did in prior times that gave you whatever qualifies you to be a Super Saiyan."
Goku shook his head. "This doesn't feel like anything I might've done."
I blinked. Did his grammar improve?
"Well it's just a possibility," I said, recovering quickly. "Seeing as there are legends about it you may not be the first. Besides this I think I've identified some things…"
[Earth, Wasteland]
"What's wrong boy? Giving up?"
Gohan charged the Prince once more. He collided with Vegeta's guard with a powerful punch. Vegeta swiped the punch aside and countered with a blow to Gohan's body. The boy curled around the shot, spittle flying from his mouth. Despite this, he spun in the air and slammed a kick on top of the Prince. That was blocked too and the boy was knocked flying upwards with an uppercut.
Gohan flipped several times in the air before crashing to the ground on his back. The small boy spat up blood.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Valley]
"Rage is useful," I said. "But it is not the trigger per se. I'm guessing there is an instinctual reaction in rage that allows one to transform. That reaction is the trigger."
Goku did not rely on rage to transform after obtaining the state after all, meaning he could now feel instinctually what he needed to do to transform. All he had to do was try to "do that thing he did when he was mad at Frieza". He was likely trying to get Naya to work off a similar method.
"If that is the case and rage is the key and not something that happened to you when you were younger…"
[Earth, Wasteland]
Vegeta glared at the fallen boy with a scoff.
He aimed a hand at Gohan. Show me something special boy, or this will klll you!
Vegeta sensed a power behind him and dodged the blow from behind, turning and firing the blast toward the Namekian. Piccolo smacked it away and faced the Prince with an expression of pure rage on his face.
"You won't get me again with that trick," Vegeta said.
The very first blow the green being had thrown had been thrown from afar with the aid of his arms ability to stretch. Piccolo fired more blasts at Vegeta. Vegeta summoned his power with a yell and flew into the air, twisting and turning to avoid the barrage. He let off a quick burst that put him behind the Namekian in a blur of movement. Piccolo turned just in time to block Vegeta's elbow. He responded with a punch. Vegeta slapped it away and countered with a chop. Piccolo blocked that too and the two were off, firing blows at each other at intense speed.
The entire valley trembled from the exchange. The air vibrated. Small pieces of rock rose around the two fighters, suspended by the sheer energy they were exuding. Both were powering up, even as they exchanged blows. Piccolo's power topped out first but the Saiyan Prince's power kept going past even the green skinned warrior's maximum. The Namekian leaped back before he could be overwhelmed and unleashed a storm of ki blasts.
All he saw was a flash of purple before a Galick Hou of immense proportions swallowed up all his blasts and hit him dead on.
"Piccolo-san!"
Vegeta smirked at the boy staring in horror at the side.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's training valley]
"Any Saiyan who is angry enough should become a Super Saiyan," I said. "It needs to be real and true anger, intense enough to cause that instinctual reaction that leads them to activate the real trigger for the transformation…"
Naya nodded. "So I wasn't mad enough?"
I looked at her. "When Goku asked you to get mad what did you think of?"
She sighed. "You, way back when… didn't really work though." She shrugged. "Those feelings just aren't there anymore now that I know you the way I do."
I nodded. "Yeah you'll need something much stronger than that."
[Earth, Wasteland]
Gohan was in tears. Piccolo was still standing but he was heavily wounded. Vegeta had taken some damage as well of course, but his wounds were light and easily ignored. He could sleep it off very easily. Neither Gohan nor his so-called teacher had done any significant damage to the Prince of all Saiyans.
As it should be, thought Vegeta.
Gohan was inconsolable. He was doing it again. He was letting things like this happen right in front of him again. The anguish pooled within him. Hanging back was what cost him his father and what cost his father his friends. His mother was hurt and now Piccolo too.
Gohan let out a cry of pure rage. The injustice of it! Nobody had asked for any of this! Gohan's power skyrocketed in his response to his fury, reaching heights he had only observed in his father. A white aura exploded to life around him, hurling wind and earth away from him as it raged.
Vegeta observed this with a narrowed gaze. This power the boy was exuding was nothing like anything Vegeta had sensed from him earlier. Was this the secret? Where was this strength coming from? Was it simply his natural Saiyan biology? Vegeta had never gotten such a massive increase out of a fight. The boy had gone from the most inferior person here to a power that could rival the green man and it was still climbing.
Gohan's aura flashed brightly several times.
Vegeta eyes widened in shock. Is… is he? Him too? HOW?
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's training valley]
"Frieza blew up Krillin," Goku said, emerald eyes narrowing slightly at the memory. "That's what got me going."
Naya looked stumped. "I don't think I've got anything like that."
[Earth, Wasteland]
Gohan's power was still going. The flashes increased in intensity to the point where Vegeta could barely see the boy. All through this the cry of outrage and pain increased in volume.
This was getting out of hand. Vegeta charged toward the boy just as he held his both his hands above his head. Gohan's eyes had whited out as he poured his heart and soul into one final attack.
A purple aura charged toward a large flashing white one. Somewhere in the mayhem, was Piccolo fallen to his knees and unable to do jack squat. No, not jack squat…
Vegeta rushed in with a glowing fist cocked back, ready to knock the boy right out. He was in the boy's face. The Prince's arm shot forward-
Vegeta saw Gohan's eyes flash emerald. He froze.
Gohan fired.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Field]
"There's more though," I said. "You've gotten enraged before right?"
Goku nodded. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you become a Super Saiyan then?" I asked.
"I dunno."
I nodded. "Exactly. So far, if it's not something you did as a kid and we're going with the idea that it's not a specific trait belonging only to you then we need to look at what has changed about you from the last time you got similarly angry. In other words, what was different between the first time and when Frieza did it?"
Goku seemed lost in thought.
"It's power isn't it?" Naya asked. "From the stories you've shared with me you weren't always this strong. It was something you gained over time." She stared at Goku but the man's expression was unreadable in his Super Saiyan state. "Based on what you've told me it's the most drastic change you've gone through," she continued, looking down at her hands. "And what that means is, no matter how mad you get…"
"…a certain amount of battle power is necessary," I concluded.
[Earth, Wasteland]
Vegeta stood gazing up into the sky as he swayed on his feet, trying not to fall over. Half his battle armor had been ripped right off him. His heavily bruised chest was heaving. Behind was sheer devastation. He looked down at the boy lying in the dirt at his feet.
Vegeta had seen it briefly. A flash of gold in his aura and the emerald in the boy's eyes. The same sharp gaze had rested on him back on the Planet Namek when he had confronted Kakarot. Except the boy's power fell through. It was only for an instant and weakened the boy so much that Vegeta was able to power through the blast and floor him with a single blow.
He did it… it was brief but he did it! How?
Vegeta did not understand. All the boy had done through this past month or so was to study. His power had been inferior to Vegeta's. What was he missing that this useless joke of a half-breed had? Was it truly genetic? Would no amount of training ever suffice? Could he, Prince Vegeta, accept this? This… this was failure!
So preoccupied was he with his thoughts that he did not notice the Makankou Sapou until it tore a hole in his chest.
Vegeta fell to the ground, with a choked gurgle. What-
The Namekian from earlier walked over to the boy and picked him up. He glanced back at the Prince with a snort before taking off.
The Prince of all Saiyans slowly lost consciousness in a growing pool of his own blood.
[Yardrat, Goku and Naya's Training Valley]
"There's a bit more to it obviously," I said. "We're all far stronger than we were on Namek. Case in point, I could probably go toe to toe with some of Cold's men right now and that's not even talking about you two."
Naya nodded. "So rage and strength… and what else?"
"That's what I'm not sure of," I admitted, rubbing my chin in thought. I looked at Goku to see if he could offer any more clues and he shrugged.
"What does it feel like?" Naya asked him.
Goku looked thoughtful for a moment. "It feels heavy. Like I'm carryin' something but I'm not. I'm faster too."
Naya face palmed. "That makes no sense."
"How does your energy feel?" I asked.
"Warm. It's all over the place and I gotta hold it back."
"Turbulent?" I offered.
"I got no idea what that means."
Ah well…
I got to my feet and brushed off my clothes. "Well, I suppose you'll just have to play it by ear."
Naya blinked. "You're not joining in?"
I shook my head. "Nah, it looks like a hassle. Maybe when I figure it out or it's convenient then yeah."
For a moment she looked stunned. "You're… you…" She gave up. "Wow. Just wow."
I couldn't help laughing a bit. "I will observe whenever you guys are training though. Just signal me and I'll be here."
Naya was already off somewhere muttering to herself about unbelievable laziness and complete disregard for one of the most impressive abilities we've ever seen among other aspersions on my sanity.
Goku only looked vaguely amused.
The two proceeded to spar for the rest of the day. Considering that Goku could easily put Naya down in his normal state it was no surprise that as a Super Saiyan he toyed with her even though he obviously wasn't going all out.
I observed closely. I needed to glean everything about the form that I could.
[Otherworld, Check-in station]
King Kai stared up at the great big desk behind which the red ogre sat.
"Enma," King Kai said. "You're saying there are no disturbances whatsoever on Snake Way?"
Enma shook his great shaggy black haired head. "No, as you can see. Souls are still coming in. If anything they're coming in quicker than usual."
"Jadoushin is hurt," King Kai said.
Enma looked like someone had hit him between the eyes. "What? How?"
"I don't know," King Kai said. "That's why I'm here. She guards Snake Way so I thought there was some trouble there. I didn't see anything on the way here but I was hoping perhaps you would know what could cause this."
"Maybe she tried to eat someone?" Enma suggested. "You know how she gets sometimes. She's not supposed to do that. Some people are so powerful that taking away their bodies is not an option. It's possible she gave in to the temptation to eat them and they hurt her."
King Kai vaguely remembered a younger Enma going out to put a stop to Jadoushin's rampage for that exact reason.
A thought occurred to him. "Didn't you marry her?"
Enma became distinctly uncomfortable and refused to look King Kai in the eyes. King Kai remembered large numbers of jealous spirits and other deities.
"She's not my wife, King Kai."
King Kai grinned. "Right, right. In any case, if you've got nothing on what's going on I'll just have to find out from her when she wakes up."
Enma nodded. "That would be best. Maybe if you could inform me of what goes on as well? I would appreciate it."
King Kai's grin widened. "Of course, Enma."
[Elsewhere…]
Deep in space a large ring of black metal spun. That ring was hollow and filled with rooms. Those rooms were generally not very comfortable and held some of the most powerful people in the universe as prisoners. In the middle of this large black ring was a tower of respectable size. It was connected to the ring surrounding it by means of various corridors all attached to various levels of the tower. Somewhere outside the ring there was a docking bay with a transport ship floating right next to it.
"Latest prisoners in," said the driver.
The guards checked his cargo and handed him some money. The prisoners were escorted in by more guards.
"Damn, Frieza pays this much now? It's pay time already?"
"No. This is a bonus. The extra comes at a price."
The transport driver eyed the guard. Most of the transports were outsourced. There was no mistake they were under Frieza's thumb but he paid them well and let them generally have free reign on deliveries for him.
"What's happening now?" asked the driver.
"Order's out for any transport teams to keep any eye out for a golden haired, green eyed fighter, hails from a planet named Earth. Call in the minute you see him."
A comm link passed between them. "This is a special line."
"That's it?"
"There are two other targets you can go after: First is a planet known as Earth and second is Prince Vegeta. If you are able to find or identify the location of any of these three targets call in. There are promises of bonus pay on top of what you have just received."
Looks like Frieza really wanted to incentivize them for this search. Weird targets too.
"That sounds like a lot of targets to go after…"
The guard gave him a look. "Getting greedy are we?"
"I need money man, what can I say?"
The guard snorted. "You have your orders."
"Aye sir."
[Earth, CC Apartments]
Bulma had a set of apartments built to house her guests from outer space while they waited for the Dragon Balls to recharge. In light of little else to do but wait and see if their friends would make it back or not she had taken to simply doing her job and visiting those few friends who were still alive. She had also taken to seeing her new guests from time to time.
She was currently standing at the entrance to room 4 of apartment complex 3. It belonged to the soldier known as Seph. All the apartment complexes were tall white cylinders with rounded roofs. The door facing her was a deep shade of violet that stood out from the white walls it was built into. The door opened to reveal the warrior known as Seph dressed in a sleeveless red jersey of some sports team or other and black shorts. He was barefoot.
"Oh hey Bulma," he greeted.
Bulma smiled. "Hello, Seph. I was just stopping by to find out how you were doing."
Seph looked bemused. "You do that every week."
Bulma only smiled and he let her in. The hall was fairly small and compact, with the same white walls and blue carpet as flooring. There was a small red sofa, two armchairs of the same colour and a brown coffee table in the middle of the room with a TV hung on the wall opposite them. To the right of the door was the kitchen, a place of blue counter tops, grey sinks and a white fridge. To the left was another door that likely led off to the bedroom and another door after that that would be the bathroom.
There was a laptop and various bags of chips spread out on the coffee table. Seph flopped onto the sofa and picked up his laptop, purchased by Capsule Corp naturally. He'd been obsessed with the internet lately.
Bulma sat on one of the armchairs. She was dressed in blue jeans and a white blouse. All she'd had to do was shrug off the lab coat in order to look presentable really.
"So what've you been up to?" she asked.
Seph shrugged. "Not much. This planet's got tonnes of interesting things. It's very relaxing."
Bulma smiled. "I'm glad you like Earth. Is there anything you've decided you want to do?"
Seph looked up at her. He had been wary of her since landing. He did not like the way she treated him on Namek and though he seemed to have put it aside because she was providing him with room and board there was a certain distrust that was always there. He was of the belief that she was studying him somehow for some reason or other. Bulma would not deny that he was a source of information she could tap into concerning the sort of technologies being utilized on other planets. Recent exposure to the Saiyans had informed her how backward Earth truly was on the space scene.
She had already learned for instance, that nobody has even heard of Earth. It's that much of a backwater planet. No resources worth taking note of, no tech worth trading for or stealing. As far as the large majority of the spacefaring universe was concerned Earth was just a pretty mud ball that probably had a name but no one was bothered to learn it.
"I've taken to music," Seph said eventually. "The movies are great. The people are nice, compared to where I'm coming from. It's pretty good here."
Bulma tried to hide her confusion. "You don't want anything?"
Seph shook his head. "No not really…"
"You know that we're going to use the Dragon Balls to revive our friends right?" He had been awfully silent on the issue. Almost disturbingly so. It was part of why Bulma was keeping an eye on him.
"Yeah I know."
"You don't want your friends revived?" Bulma asked him. He hadn't brought it up once.
Seph shrugged. "I assumed you would revive them at some point. Gohan's buddies with Naya at least."
Bulma's face twitched slightly. "I-I see. Well, we've got two wishes and we're using them on close friends. After that it might be a year before we can revive your friends again."
Seph frowned but then nodded. "I can wait."
Bulma nodded and stood up. "Alright then."
Seph looked up at her. "You leaving?"
"Yes."
He put the laptop aside, got up and saw her out the door. She said her goodbyes, he responded and closed the door thereafter.
As she walked out of the building onto the compound that housed all the buildings Bulma couldn't shake the feeling that something about Seph had changed since coming to Earth. She wasn't sure what…
The Capsule Corp compound was extremely large and had more than enough room in a small corner to house the Namekians. That apartment complex was fairly easy to put up in a remote corner of the grounds for the Namekians and other visitors from space. It took her several minutes of walking to make it back to the main building.
She eventually took an elevator up to level 2 where she lived with her parents, walking through the massive hallways to her gargantuan room. The room was full of tech and had her computer and books on a large desk that took up an entire side of the wall next to the door. Her bed was somewhere in the back just off the window. The minute she stepped in the lights turned on automatically-
Bulma froze.
There sprawled out on the floor just beneath her window was a certain Saiyan prince.
Bulma balked. "Vegeta!"
[Otherworld, King Kai's planet]
When Jadoushin woke up it was all screams and mayhem. Goku's friends had attempted to get her to calm down and been promptly put through walls. They were not quite at her level yet. It took King Kai himself to get the blue skinned woman to calm down enough to sit as she was now, sipping some tea he had boiled for her. Her pointed ears twitched from time to time and her mass of orange hair was messy.
The beautiful woman scrunched her dainty nose. "This is disgusting. I am a predator King Kai."
King Kai shrugged. "I can't have you eating my students."
Said students were outside, recovering from the fight and training like they should've been. They didn't need to be here for a conversation between gods.
She sighed and put the cup down.
"So, what happened?" asked the Kai. "This is very unusual."
The blue woman's turned to look at his cupboards with strained interest. "There was… a presence."
King Kai frowned. "Presence?"
"Yes," she confirmed, looking back at the Kai with her red eyes.
"What do you mean? What presence?"
Her body seemed to shiver slightly…
"It was cold but also hot," she said eventually. "It was angry but it was calculated fury. I could not…"
She broke off again. King Kai waited while she looked around the room once more, red eyes roaming, never fixing on any one thing for too long.
"You sense of aesthetics is appalling," she said.
"My house is a work of art. You've got no sense of beauty," said the Kai.
She smiled. It was small and brief.
She let out a breath, seeming to steel herself. "It was a beast. It attacked my mind. The very essence of who I am. It drove me mad briefly."
King Kai realized what she was saying. "Those wounds then… they were-"
"Self-inflicted yes," she admitted. "I wanted out. I wanted it gone. I was burning up."
King Kai felt like someone had poured ice down his back.
"I could do nothing, my screams, my roars, nothing," she said, taking a moment to swallow. "I crushed my castle. I have nothing left except my job as guardian of snake way. But now I worry… I do not want to feel that again. I truly believe that if I were not so flexible in my true form the convulsions alone would've killed me."
"But what was it?" King Kai asked. "Whose presence was it?"
"I do not know," she answered, looking straight at him. "I don't know."
King Kai spent some more time trying to get something out of her and failing. Beyond the fact that something had seemingly seared her mind she could not tell what had happened. Something was going on in the Universe. He needed to keep an eye out.
He eventually invited Jadoushin to stay with him in lieu of her duties. The normally predatory woman only gave him a grateful nod and lowered her gaze toward the tea cup on the table in front of her. She kept staring at it the entire time he was training the Earthlings. They could all see her through the window.
She never moved.
[Yadrat, Goku and Naya's training valley, a few days later]
Goku and Naya broke apart after a particularly fierce bout. Goku, as usual, was the winner. Naya rested her hands on her knees as she bent over to catch her breath. Goku on the other hand was relatively fresh and smiling. Both were currently on the ground.
Naya had spent the fight attempting to go Super Saiyan. Needless to say, she wasn't very successful.
"What am I missing?" she scowled as she straightened up once more.
Goku shrugged. Naya was quickly learning that Goku had no explanation for how he did over half the things he did. He just knew how to do things. He fought by feel. He was what they call a prodigy. Naya was familiar with the concept of "Some people do some things better with less effort" but Goku was stretching it. He was so broken it wasn't even funny. He was like a black hole, swallowing all her techniques with ease and spitting them back in her face when he thought it would be funny.
He was still fun to be around though. She sighed.
"I'm gonna be trainin' with the Yardrats soon," Goku said. "There's an Elder called Pybara who can teach me spirit control."
Naya raised her eyebrows. "Spirit?"
"That's what they call chi," Goku explained. "They've got some awesome abilities. They said it would take a lot of days."
Naya nodded. "That's good for you then. I don't think they'd want to share something like that with me."
Goku nodded. "Yeah they're kinda scared of you guys. I dunno why. You're really not that bad."
Naya snorted. "Right. If you won't be available I can just work on Super Saiyan in my free time. I've got techniques of my own to work on, seeing how you keep beating me."
"Awesome!" Goku grinned.
"I can probably spar with Riku too," Naya said. "Maybe he might take me seriously this time with all the training we've been doing."
Goku blinked. "It kinda sounds like he's stronger than you."
Naya nodded. "He is."
Goku looked unconvinced in much the same way a child is skeptical of free candy after the last one gave him toothache. She was saying it but that wasn't what he was sensing.
"I really gotta fight him some time," Goku said thoughtfully. That way he would know for sure.
Naya leaped away from Goku and settled into her fighting stance. "That's discussion for another time. If you're going to be leaving soon we might as well make this last session count."
Goku slid into his own stance too. "Yeah."
Both fighters powered up.
[Space]
A small white wedge-shaped space ship blazed its way through the emptiness, pushed by a trail of blue flame. Through the clear wind-shield, figures dressed in black could be seen moving about the interior. Said interior was very well arranged, with pilot seats in front, more seats behind those and on the side of the cock pit. Behind those was a corridor with a door on either side that contained the dorms. And at the very back of the ship was a small hold that had various medical equipment in it.
The occupants of the ship were dressed in black body suits and masks that covered the lower half of their faces. Some of them had holes cut in the bottoms for their tails. Brown, furry things that twisted and swung with agitation.
They were all gathered in a circle, holding various digital tablets between them.
"Why must we come for them again?" asked one, looking down at the list. "Aren't there other warriors we can rely on? Watching the videos is fine but they're supposed to be dangerous aren't they?"
"Cel doesn't know how to fight," another explained, their greater height requiring little head movement to observe the other. "We need someone to teach him if we want to do it ourselves." They glanced down at their tablet and scrolled a few pages. "Look at their profiles. He's stronger than all of them, if they try to cause trouble."
"Those profiles are months old now," the other replied. "They could be much stronger."
"They can't do that thingy Cel does. He can learn from them, but he can protect us from them too. They're prime targets."
"It's a bit late to start wondering if we can catch them or not," said one. They had their arms folded and no tablet in sight. "We don't need them to fight our battles for us. It's a simple job. It's even a lazy one."
"Except we can't pay them," said the short one.
The taller one shrugged. "We're not going to."
"If we do that they might not want to teach Cel."
The taller one scrolled again. "This guy might. This girl too."
The smaller one frowned, brows creasing. "Maybe… I can't tell." They glanced down at their own tablet, finding the profile in question.
Name: Riku
Age: 16
Race: Saiyan
Height: 6'1
Weight: 67kg
Planet of Origin: Taem
Squad: Saiyan Army
Squad Role: Hitman
Rank: Mid-Class
Effectiveness Rating: High
Power Level: 3250
Speed: 0.7
Strength: 0.6
Stamina: 0.4
Utility: 0.7
Temperament: Abrasive, Disrespectful, Disobedient, Distrustful, Slacker, Tormentor
Useful Skills: Observation, Strategy, One Strike
It was disturbing that this guy was one of their best choices. Without the supplementary videos this guy would've been a hard pass, without question. Now however, he was merely "extremely doubtful" to perhaps "a dubiously unwise choice". The other one being proposed was this next one.
Name: Naya
Age: 16
Race: Saiyan
Height: 5'11
Weight: 67kg
Planet of Origin: Taem
Squad: Saiyan Army
Squad Role: Brawler
Rank: Mid-Class
Effectiveness Rating: High
Power Level: 3470
Speed: 0.6
Strength: 0.7
Stamina: 0.7
Utility: 0.5
Temperament: Friendly, Helpful
Useful Skills: Extended Combat, Survival, Close Combat
Now going for her made sense. Her skills were relevant to what they needed, she was stronger than the boy and she was nice- to non-enemies at least. If they picked her, things were far more likely to go over smoothly. The supplementary videos more than backed up this aspect of her character.
"Naya might be good," the small one said eventually. "But I don't see how you think Riku will help us."
"He'll realize the quickest way to get free is to help us," the taller one answered. "That's all there is to it."
The small one sighed. "Are we considering all the options? Does it have to be Saiyans?"
The one with folded arms finally spoke up. "They're the only ones we know of that would be of use. Everyone else has no reason to help us by comparison. If they can teach anything we can use in the first place."
"What about Prince Vegeta?" the small one said. "Coli was very supportive."
The taller one snorted. "If you can convince him sure. I like him just as much as everyone but can you see him helping anyone?"
"He's still the best," the small one argued.
They'd been doing this since they hit space. Deliberating over the best way to obtain a teacher for a very specific purpose. They'd thought about the best fighters they had access to in their database, comparing who would be best. There were some mighty people in the universe according to their mum, but their database was very limited. Of the few in their database, they had realized that many of them were not inclined to be of help. Which left having something that the warriors they were seeking would be interested in.
That had narrowed it down to the Saiyans. But which of them was the question. All of them seemed to be bad eggs through and through with the exception of Naya. It seemed a clear choice that an appeal through Naya would net them help. There were some problems with that. They would be assuming that they would find the Saiyan Army together and that Naya could influence any of the members to do something they did not want to do.
In the Saiyan Army, Vegeta called the shots and when he wasn't calling the shots everyone did whatever they felt like. Naya could not sway anyone, nice though she was. In fact, they were more likely to sway her. She was nice but at the end of the day she was a soldier too and she would follow orders. Her trust in her team was a staple of her character in all the videos they had seen. If anyone said no within the team, Naya would only put up token resistance at best.
No matter the angle chances were slim. But if looked at from the angle of who would be most responsive after kidnap, Vegeta was farthest from it. He'd probably murder them the first chance he got without even hearing them out. It would take some serious fast talking to get him to even listen. Worse still, if he saw what Cel could do he might not respond well at all. Vegeta's pride was blatant and obvious, even to the densest of them. His responses could be anything from helpful to outright fatal and no one wanted to risk that. Except Coli.
"Coli's not sensible when it's about Vegeta," the tall one had argued. "You know that."
The two were getting into the debate when one of the scanners they had went off. All three immediately turned toward it. The one who had folded their arms ran over to the console.
"We've found them!"
The other two froze. "What?!"
The two tablet wielding aliens glanced at each other. It seemed the choice was no longer theirs to make. Every moment counted and if this was what they found, this was what they found. It was time to make the most of it.
"Which one did we find?"
[Yardrat, Riku's training valley]
I sat up. "Ow."
"That last explosion looked painful," Lyf commented as he worked on spinning some pebbles above his fingers.
Pyf only looked concerned. "Are you alright?" He was floating a small rock between his palms.
I waved them off. "Yeah I'm fine."
I stood up, wobbling slightly. I recovered my balance and stared up at the skies, blinking a few times to get the fuzz out my brain.
"I might have to call it a day though," I said. "I don't think I can take another one of those."
The two Yardrats nodded. "Should we meet you back here tomorrow?" Lyf asked.
I thought about it. "I might take a break to be honest. Or maybe that's just my current fatigue talking."
"We'll just come if we hear any explosions, is that good?" Pyf asked.
"That sounds about right…" I agreed.
"Don't forget to practice the spirit control techniques we taught you," Lyf said. "They'll help you with your technique."
"Right, yeah." I flew upward and turned myself in the direction of the mountain we were living at.
The sun was setting and I could sense Goku and Naya still going at it. Goku had taken to whipping out Super Saiyan from time to time, to practice with it and to keep Naya on her toes. They appeared to be winding down for the day and he wasn't using it. Which was just as well… Naya had been getting frustrated at how he could just do it whenever and she would be at his mercy. By this point both of them had a pretty solid lead on me in terms of raw chi.
I suppose it's my own fault for avoiding sparring matches…
I landed at the dojo with a barely a sound and walked onto the porch. I let out a breath as I stepped into the main hall and looked around. Naya wouldn't be back for a while and it seemed the Yardrats hadn't brought any food around yet. To be fair, this was the first time I was this early. I contemplated what to do.
I suppose I need to clean up. Then I'll take a nap or something.
I walked off to the little washtub that was set up in a small room in one corner of the building and got things ready. I went through my ablutions in a haze of thought.
Naya and Goku getting so much stronger than me was an unfortunate side effect of my fixation with developing my technique but there was no guarantee that if I had stayed with them I would have been able to keep up. If I were to use Goku as a benchmark for the rest of the universe, it was only reasonable to assume that any fighter worth a damn was stronger than me and better than me until proven otherwise. Like Zithis was…
I felt anger at the thought of him. When you fought people, there were usually some inclinations in there, some habits you could read, movements you could plan around. With Zithis there was none of that, everything was perfectly blocked, dodged or countered. It was like he was reading my mind. Not just reading my mind, but responding perfectly to its contents.
I finished cleaning up and dressed in simple red robe and trousers. I didn't bother with footwear.
Was he reading my mind? Possibly. Chances? Not insignificant.
I sighed. I would have to leave Yardrat soon, go out and see what the fuss was all about. There were two guys looking for me, Zithis had been talking like I was relevant somehow and Frieza would probably try to have me killed at some point for my insubordination. Perhaps my insolence too.
I walked back into the main room and stared out of the opening that led to the porch. A realization suddenly came upon me.
What else though?
Putting pragmatism aside for a minute, what did I actually want now? Sure there were all these things going on but what did I want specifically? Assuming none of these problems existed what would I do?
Well first things first I want to find a cool place to live.
I nodded. Yes, I was well on the path to establishing my own future.
It's got to be calm, quiet and easy to defend. Should accommodate lots of hobbies to keep me busy.
And after that?
Get a lot of hobbies. There's so much to learn and so many skills to gain.
I frowned. I might have to travel a lot for that last one. I hate travelling.
Make my body as responsive and useful as possible. I will not be a weak, pathetic potato of a being. I will be strong and healthy and capable for as long as possible.
It would help with the hobbies too. A strong body and a sharp mind… yes. Those were fundamental.
I felt conviction welling up within me. Yes, there were things that I wanted. Worrying about Frieza and Zithis and the others was all well and good, but I had my own dreams to fight for. It was rather disturbing how easily I'd put my own wishes aside in the face of trouble. It was almost like I was letting the universe dictate what I should want at any point in time.
It was true that I could not always have what I want. I knew that lesson very well, but I was completely disregarding even the possibility of doing something I want. That was bad. But now I had given the thought conscious attention I was happy. Even though I would probably have to deal with Frieza first if I wanted any sort of peaceful life… Zithis too…
I heard a thump from the room I shared with Naya. I turned and cast my senses toward the room, trying to sense if anyone was there. I got nothing.
So if someone is there they could be hiding their powers.
I slowly made my way into the room, ready to power up at a moment's notice. I walked into our room, eyes and ears peeled for any intruders. My gaze immediately went to the only window in the room. The beds were fine, if messy, the floor was clean and there was no furniture to speak of. The window however was closed. Whenever I came home the window was open. That could just be because Naya opened it upon returning, since she usually returned before me.
Except I heard a thump.
If the window was closed, what could have caused the thump? If the window was closed it meant nothing could've gotten in, at least in terms of the wildlife. And what was that smell? It was faint, but still distinctive enough for me to notice and enough for it to bother me. I looked around for the source and took a step forward only to stumble to my knees.
What-
My body started to tremble as realization dawned on me. I'm being gassed.
It felt like my brain was subtly vibrating. Pins and needles.
My vision blurred as I fell to the floor. Dammit-
I'd inhaled too much. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but my vision darkened anyway…
Ah hell…
I fell asleep.
AN: So about Super Saiyan. Riku's deductions are based on the Daizenshuu and other relevant guides, as well as an interview with Toriyama about how Super Saiyan works/ is achieved. If you already know what's missing cool. I may or may not add an interesting twist you are not aware of in there.
If you're aware of that too... bro get a hobby you're way too dedicated O.O
Anyway, I think that's everything I wanted to talk about. Merry Christmas!
(I know I'm late but have mercy. My life ain't the greatest right now.)