HI! Are you mad at me for not posting in forever? Too bad!...
Kidding aside, I have been writing the entire time. This chapter simply took me this long to do. No I'm not joking. I mean life stuff got in the way too (HAHA YOU HAVE NO IDEA! THIS PAIN!) , but this chapter was just that difficult for me. That might show through or it might not.
What was that? I can't just leave you hanging with that? Details you say? Well, if you must know I do not have this story outlined. At all. Ok I'm lying, I do. But it's incomplete. Not only is it incomplete, it's actually just bullet points. That I never actually refer to or follow. I know right? Why did I even write them down?
Don't ask me.
Chapter 26
The lab was cold and dark, the only light from the monitor the he was facing. He'd stopped caring about good lighting and heating a long while back, not to mention, he'd passed those limitations some time ago. No… what interested him was the latest feed from a few of the bots he had sent to spy on the Son Family.
Android 20 grit his teeth in fury.
What he was seeing was an extremely destructive element in his plans for revenge. He observed the screen more closely.
That brief golden flash… the boy did more damage than he should have done according to the readings…
Android 20 began his analysis of the data.
[Yadrat]
Riku hadn't come home yesterday and today he was nowhere to be found, not even at his usual spots. Naya was getting more and more worried as time passed. She knew that no one anywhere near their level of power had come close to the planet. She would have sensed something at some point if they had taken Riku out.
A familiar, slender, curly haired, bronze skinned Saiyan within her mind's eye looked at her over his shoulder. You'd be assuming that your ability to sense chi applies to everything and everyone at all times, he said.
Naya growled in frustration as she flew through the Yardratian sky. She'd combed the whole planet to no avail. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. It was possible that Riku was off planet, but it was an idea she didn't want to consider. Finding one person in the entirety of the space-faring universe without a point of contact was ridiculously difficult. It would be the same as admitting Riku was out of her reach, possibly forever, unless dumb luck brought them together again.
Naya landed at the dojo, stumbling slightly. She fumbled her way to the porch and sat on it, head in her hands.
Nappa and Raditz were dead, Vegeta had all but disowned them and now Riku was…
She ran her hands through her curly black hair, lifting her head up and breathing in to calm herself. No. He's not gone. He's around. Somewhere… and if I just keep looking I'll find him.
She mentally repeated the mantra again and again.
"She's kind of a monster ain't she?"
"We don't want you."
-He's not gone. He's around. Somewhere…
"But sir, she's only eight."
"She'll do for starters."
-and if I keep looking-
"Hey, she's already bleeding. You sure she can beat him?"
"She can keep going."
-I'll find him.
"Are you alright?"
Naya's head snapped back down to see two of the blue, smaller Yardrats standing in front of her.
"I'm Pyf and he's Lyf. We were coming by to see if Riku was around. He said he would be taking a break but we haven't been able to sense him since yesterday."
"I can't find him either," Naya replied, not bothering to hide her frustration.
"Well, that's odd," said Lyf.
Pyf held up one hand as he asked, "Do you have any way of tracking him?"
Naya shook her head. "No."
She suspected Riku was off-planet. There was still a chance he could be here on Yardrat but hidden from her senses. Even so, he could be anywhere. Naya considered going to Goku. How would she even find Riku now? She had no guesses as to where he could be or what he could be doing. Was he kidnapped?
Naya paused to breath. Her thoughts were going out of control and she was reaching.
"We can help search," Pyf offered. "If we turn up nothing we might have to consider that Riku is no longer on this Planet."
Naya nodded and stood up. "Fine."
It would be nice to go over again just to make sure. If they still couldn't find Riku she could get these two to keep an eye out on Yardrat while she went out in space to search. But that meant finding transportation off planet…
One thing at a time, Naya. One thing at a time.
[Earth, Capsule Corp]
When Elder Moori had informed Bulma that the Namekian Dragon Balls were ready she immediately put the call out. Everyone gathered around the immense orange orbs. There was Gohan, Piccolo, Oolong, Puar, Seph, Moori, Dende and the rest of the Namekians. Bulma had only one problem though. Gohan looked like he had a couple of fading bruises. Was Piccolo being hard on him again? Weren't they past that? The boy didn't look very happy.
Still, this was a momentous thing. Today they would be reviving Goku and Krillin. They had had to wait months for this moment.
Bulma nodded at Moori and he began the summoning, raising his hands above his head and speaking Namekian words. The balls glowed with bright light, the sky darkened and in a matter of moments a massive serpent was filling the sky above the CC compound. It had a humanoid form that bulged with muscles.
"State your wish."
[Yardrat, a few minutes later]
Pybara observed Goku as the Saiyan tried to balance on one of the stone pillars.
"Is something wrong, Goku?" he asked.
"Nah. My friends tried to summon me just now."
"Oh. It didn't work?"
"I made it stop. It would be a pain to start this all over again."
Pybara smiled. The Saiyan wasn't wrong. This exercise was supposed to last for over a hundred days after all, and at its end Goku could probably work his own way home.
[With Riku]
I woke up to a cold floor still in my robes. I continued to lie down, eyes closed, taking note of my surroundings with my other senses first. A habit initially born of laziness but one that had served me well as a fighter. There was what felt like a breeze going through the room.
Large place. Ventilated. Or open.
I paid attention to the smell of the place. It smelled sterile. None of the freshness of the air usually found in open spaces. Clean but dry in that way that artificial ventilation tended to manage.
I'm in a large room then.
The floor I was on was cold and smooth. Artificial most likely. It also meant I hadn't been here for very long. Certainly not enough for my body heat to seep in, assuming no other technological adjustments.
I sat up and opened my eyes, observing the room while my body adjusted to being upright. It was a very large square white space. The walls were made of a plain white, glossy material and the floor was made of white tiles. What material made up the tiles was unknown to me, but it was smooth. Very smooth. And cold.
The room felt big enough to contain multiple space ships. It was that big. I would've assumed it was a hangar except that the only door was nowhere near big enough. It was a simple sliding double door, very thick, reinforced most likely, with two circular windows cut in the top. Through the windows I could see nothing.
Once my blood was accustomed to flowing vertically once more I stood up and stretched, trying to warm up. I began to bounce around for a bit. With that done and my body thoroughly refreshed I began to consider where I was.
"Hello."
My gaze snapped to the door once more, where I noticed a camera and some speakers. Glancing all around the room revealed more of them in the corners.
"There's a communication device in your robe, you can use that to talk with us."
Hmmph. So there's more than one. Young from the sound of it too.
I bounced a few more times.
"You're not going to use it? You don't want to ask anything?"
So loud…
I folded my arms and looked around the room. Now the only question is whether I should blow my way out or not.
"We have a proposition for you."
Right. I'm sure you do. Kidnapping is a great way to get my attention.
I smirked. They weren't offering me a choice.
At least they're polite. Slightly anyway.
"There's someone we want you to train. Now, we know your stats, we have your records, we thought about this very carefully before we chose you. Once you train them you're free to leave."
Records. The only records I had belonged to Frieza, which meant these people worked for Frieza.
Let's file that under highly possible.
The real question was what they thought my stats were…
"The room you are in is a solar room. This room was originally designed to contain some kind of power source. Like a full star. You know, a sun. A solar engine, right. For battleships. You can't bust out of it. If you just work with us we can get you out."
I stayed calm. Interesting choice of words. Implying that they didn't put me here or don't fully understand my situation. Lying..?
"Just train Cel and you can go free."
I had no idea where I was or how long it had taken me to get there. Naya probably had no idea where I was, I had probably lost time I could've spent training and now I was being coerced. See I could tell with my senses that I was the only person in this room, which meant this Cel person would come to me. I could sense a few other powers gathered in a distant area. There were far more elsewhere as well. I was on a completely different planet most likely. The important bit of information was that if Cel could come to me, he controlled the doors. If he was with them, that meant by proxy they controlled the doors.
Lying.
I breathed in and spread my stance.
"What are you doing?"
I filled my lungs deep and placed my hands at my sides.
"Even your maximum strength won't get you out. Do you understand? This does not have to be difficult."
I began to dig for the power within me, running through calculations in my head. "Haaa…"
A power level of about 200 and up qualifies for moon busting give or take. This equates to multicontinental amounts of damage.
"He's not responsive!"
My energy responded and surged throughout my body, empowering it. "…aaaaaaaa…
A power level of 10,000 is standard for blowing up a planet. The planet busters. Very simple. Very clean metric.
As I began to tap into my true strength my body glowed blue. "…aaaaAAAAA…"
Scale up through Planetary, to Multi-Planetary… and finally a power level of 500,000. Dwarf Star.
The higher the power levels go the fuzzier the numbers get. Finding warriors of such strength was difficult and each had their own nuances to how they used their energy. Everybody's signature was unique. Worse still, power levels were exponential. A power level of 10 could smash vehicles and tank even the most powerful ballistics effortlessly but a power level of 5 would fold beneath such forces like wet tissue in a very literal way. One was clearly not just twice as strong as the other. Other times, power levels were not exponential, rather they were linear especially as they got higher and higher. How did the numbers work?
"We need to stop him!"
"No we don't!"
"His energy is way higher than we projected! Stop him now!""
"…AAAAAA…"
They relied instead on benchmarks, took note of who achieved what at a given power level and scaled from there. Zarbon and Dodoria didn't have a high enough power level to do this and Zithis was hiding his strength. So who did they benchmark for the 500,000?
Kin and Hiyori confirmed that for me. Frieza's true strength… 530,000.
Whatever your strength was you had to make do with it until you had opportunities to increase it. The only reason to attend benchmarks was because the technicians needed the data for the scouters. And if that was Frieza's true power level in his first form like he said it was…
I would need to be roughly 200x stronger than Frieza's first form to destroy this room. Minimum.
I grinned. Ok.
My aura burst to life around me as my power maxed out and my control began to strain. I contained it, teeth gritted in concentration as I released it into the air around me and drew it in, gathering for what would be an almighty kiai. I crossed my arms and sucked in another breath-
The door flew open and two boys rushed in straight at me.
I stared. Those tails…
I aborted the attack and dodged the respective punch and kick thrown my way.
Not too shabby. Definitely not professional though.
I ignored them in favor of more important information: The door to the room was open now. I ran out of the room just as the door slammed shut behind me. I turned to face the large slabs of metal and let out a breath.
Next step, figure out where I am and get out.
[In the Solar Room]
Dish growled in frustration as the doors slammed shut on Riku's heels. "Damnit!"
"Mum said no swearing in front of the younger ones," said the guy next to him.
Dish glared over his shoulder at the speaker, Broc. As the oldest of the children, Dish cut the most imposing figure: Black messy hair, black almond shaped eyes and tan skin framed by handsome slightly rounded features. He wore a white loosely fitting body suit, covered by form fitting body armour, thick white boots and some forearm guards at the wrists. The standard uniform they all wore.
By comparison, Broc was slightly taller, skinnier, much paler and had spiky black hair and more open black eyes that were aided by thick glasses. He flinched at the glare.
"Gripe when we catch him," Dish snapped.
[With Riku]
I was in a hallway covered in smooth white metal and polished pale blue floors. I picked a random direction and ran down it, keeping track of the various power levels nearby and how they moved. Those movements in turn gave me a clue which places to explore and which places to avoid.
Let's start with the definite's. So long as these guys aren't completely incompetent there will be someone monitoring comms, someone on surveillance and someone to guard the exit.
The first two could be one and the same person of course. Now the maybe's…
There could be backup headed my way depending on their resources and their competence.
Anyone stationary besides the two I left behind in the solar room would be comms or ambush. Anyone coming at me would be backup or ambush. Anyone staying out of the way and within a small range was a bystander or an ambush. Whoever was guarding the exit could match any of these profiles.
I went down another hallway and skidded to a stop.
Well, well…
[Solar Engine Control Room]
"Hurry with the doors Lery!"
The girl in question moved from console to console pushing buttons and pulling levers.
"Cut me some slack, Dish! That room is supposed to withstand an exploding sun ok? Opening the doors isn't as simple as pushing one button!"
She had curly black hair and dainty, elfin features.
She pushed one last button. "There!"
She saw both boys shoot out of the room and turned around with a sigh. She picked up a nearby security tablet and eyed the footage to see where the soldier had got to. Not in the medical room, not the main control room… Ah there…
His movements were really odd though. Was he choosing randomly? This place was pretty big. He wouldn't get very far with that.
He burst into another hallway.
Lery promptly began to asphyxiate.
[Riku]
She was a little girl wrapped almost completely in a white blanket. She was so small, barely up to my knees. She was adorable though, very much so. She was pale, with long messy black hair that went down to her waist. Her eyes were big, but also sleepy. Her face was still round with baby fat. Absolutely adorable. Definitely.
"Dish…" she said.
Her voice was also cute. I could almost see fluff balls flying off the words. I stood watching her as she fiddled with the blanket, eyes only half open.
"Are ducks predators?"
[Dish and co.]
"Lery! Lery what's going on?"
Incoherent sounds came through the comms device and Dish growled in frustration.
"She's choking again," Broc noted.
"Tch! Useless."
Broc frowned.
"Coli…" Lery gasped into the mic. "He's with Coli…"
Broc's eyes widened. "She's not asleep?"
"Where?" Dish snapped.
[Riku]
I dropped into a squat to face her.
"Yes," I said. "Yes they are."
Her eyes widened marginally. "Really?"
"Yup," I confirmed. "Now I've got a question for you. Where's the exit?"
She turned completely around and pointed.
I gave her head a gentle pat. "Thank you."
I ran down the hall and took a right.
[Base Entrance]
Sand, dirt and rock as far as the eye could see were painted in hues of blue and black by the polluted moonlight. The night sky was lit up as always with the myriad lights of the facility several kilometres away. All was cool and all was calm, quiet as the nights tended to be.
Cel sat on a particularly large rock formation with a digital tablet held in front of him. The cold night air rustled his uniform with its passing. He swished his tail absently as he scrolled through the cams. It seemed Riku was on the verge of escaping.
Cel sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea…"
It looked like it would come down to him, like usual. He eyed another much smaller rock formation that concealed a hydraulic trap door. Riku would come from there… Hopefully he wouldn't make too much noise. They'd chosen this night because most of the scientists from the facility would be occupied. Tonight was supposed to be a big night for them, supposedly.
Cel put the tablet aside and jumped off his rock. Seconds after he hit the ground the trap door hidden beneath the cave-like rock formation flipped open and a slender male in a red robe climbed out. Riku's face was impassive, the only sign that he had noticed Cel at all was a single blink and nothing more. The Saiyan brushed dirt off his robes and looked at Cel.
"So, you're the guard?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," Cel replied.
If this information disturbed Riku in any way, it wasn't showing. He looked like someone had just informed him what a beautiful day it was and gee what fine weather we are having aren't we?
Cel felt very awkward. "I'm sorry that you were kidnapped."
Riku only raised an eyebrow but somehow it managed to come across as slightly irritated. Cel was fairly certain his apology had annoyed the Saiyan somehow. This did nothing to ease his discomfort.
"You speak like you had nothing to do with it," Riku replied.
Cel was certain he had that sheepish look Dish was always disgusted by on his face right now. "I… well… they brought you here for me."
"Ah. So you're that Cel guy?"
Cel widened his eyes in surprise. "So you did listen."
Riku eyes narrowed. As to why, Cel couldn't guess.
"Then why…" Cel asked.
"Why what?"
"Why didn't you respond?" Cel asked, hands held out in inquiry. "We could've talked."
For the first time there were visible traces of irritation in Riku's features. A sudden change in his gaze, a stillness in his posture. Cel suddenly felt very unsafe. Like he was about to get hit. He moved slightly to protect himself better. The videos did not do justice to how intimidating Riku was. It wasn't size. It wasn't strength… nevertheless there was something…
"How much time has it been since you took me?" Riku asked.
"Well Dish said it took a week to get you here," Cel responded. "We had to wait a few days to wake you. Why?"
"So thanks to you, I've lost an entire week of training," Riku said. "Do you have any idea what I have to deal with from this point on? What I need to be prepared for?"
No. The answer was a resounding no.
We did not think this through very well, did we?
"Well surely you can overcome anything Frieza tosses your way," Cel replied. "You've done it before. You guys are the Saiyan Army."
If Riku seemed angry before now he was blank. Cel could read nothing from him directly. But he could not deny that there was a change in the atmosphere that was not there previously. He could not quite put his finger on why, what or when but he was suddenly very convinced that Riku was furious.
"Saiyan Army…" the soldier snorted.
"There is no such thing." He stared at Cel, his gaze ice cold. "Frieza? I serve no one by that name. No, there is only one thing I care about at this moment. More than the lost time, more than the kidnapping, more than your asinine attempts at reason…"
He cut himself off and glared. "I don't give a damn what you want."
"I'm really sorr-"
"Can it, shortstuff. Find me a ship and I won't murder you. I'm leaving. End of discussion."
"Please if you would just listen to me. You've always been the one who listened."
"Not this time."
"You can't be that blind!" Cel was shocked how easily he snapped at his hero but his mouth kept moving, the words kept coming. "Can you really not see that we are Saiyans too?!"
You've always listened. Even when they were outright lying to your face you listened! You were thoughtful… in your own way.
"I can see."
Cel stared at Riku. The older Saiyan had relaxed now, his entire demeanor radiating calm.
"Then why-"
"Because I don't care."
That statement actually hurt. Cel had grown up watching this guy. Him, Vegeta, Nappa, Naya and Raditz and of them all he was Cel's favorite. He didn't want to do this. This power… it made him angry. But if Riku didn't care… There was so much riding on this too. He couldn't back down at this point either.
Cel's voice quivered and his eyes stung as he finally found his resolve. "Then I guess I don't either…"
Golden energy exploded from Cel's body, filling him with the comforting heat of wrath. Green eyes glared at Riku.
Cel crouched and charged at the soldier he once admired more than anyone else.
[Minutes later]
Dish and Broc climbed out of the trap door once the tremors stopped.
The first thing they noticed was Cel, wrapped in an intense golden aura, standing over Riku who lay face down at his feet. The soldier wasn't moving. The environment was surprisingly intact except for the area behind Riku. There, was a straight line of pure destruction.
"You didn't…" Broc began, then stopped.
Cel turned his gaze on them, and narrowed his eyes. Dish and Broc tensed. All three stood like that for several seconds. Dish's hands flexed ever so slightly. Broc had difficulty swallowing.
The golden hair and aura faded, green eyes darkened to black and suddenly Cel was just a tired ten year old boy.
He walked past them both. "He's alive."
[Yardrat, Riku's Training Ground]
A week and they couldn't find him. It was safe to say that he was off-planet entirely. Naya looked at all the holes Riku had made in the earth, wondering just what it was he working on. She was distracting herself while she waited.
"I can't trust you. That's how it always is."
Naya sighed.
"Oi. Whatever your name is. You're pissing me off."
It wasn't working very well.
He just wouldn't! Get! Off! GET OFF!
"Naya?"
She blinked and turned around. "Oh sorry."
Pyf and Lyf shared a worried look before looking back at her. "Because we Yardrats can all use Instant Transmission we don't really have much in the way of space travel," Pyf explained. "Since you rejected our offer to teach it to you we thought we might be able to take you to a planet where you could obtain your own means of transportation."
"Except I don't have money…"
"That's the problem," Pyf agreed.
"Space ships are expensive too," Lyf chimed in. "We've also got no way of tracking which way he went without one."
Frustration boiled up within her but she pushed it back down. Getting angry would solve nothing.
"Just put me somewhere," she said, eventually. "Anywhere I can start looking."
Both Yardrats were visibly concerned. "Isn't that a bit reckless?" said Pyf.
She paused, breathed in. "You're right…"
The two Yardrats shared another look.
"We'll travel with you."
All her building frustration suddenly disappeared, leaving Naya off balance and completely unsure how to react. The two Yardrats put their fingers to their foreheads.
"Give us a moment," Pyf said.
They disappeared.
[A few days later]
[Riku]
I was only knocked out for a few hours when I found myself back in the solar room, except this time the children, for that is what they were, were much too scared to open the doors a second time. It was not something they explicitly said to my face, rather they hinted it at one another in that subtle way children do when they want to say something only a specific person should understand.
Food was shoved into the room at irregular intervals to prevent me from timing another escape. If I spent any length of time near the door they would never open it, even if it meant that I would starve. I was already starving to be honest. The food was never enough. They each had various ideas about how to get me to do what they wanted. I learned very quickly who was who and what they were like, especially since they each took turns, some more frequently than others.
I spent most of the time training mentally, spawning enemies within my mind and taking them on. I made sure to never practice anything that could be seen through the cameras and therefore copied. It would force them to come to me. They'd concluded that I had given up but they would notice any time now. They would learn and if they didn't well…
Today was the bespectacled child's turn.
"Good morning, Mr. Riku."
I sat cross legged on the white tiled floor meditating. Ha! He called me mister!
"Would you be willing to talk to us now? Maybe tell us if there's something you would like?"
My freedom please and thank you. A close second would be how exactly one of you was a Super Saiyan.
I ignored him as he continued asking me questions until he finally gave up and left.
I continued meditating.
[Later that evening…]
Broc was reading a science book. Those were the only books around. He was a Saiyan and he did like to fight however, there was little point in fighting because Dish took everything so seriously and Cel had no clue what to do until he turned gold. When he did, he was a bit dangerous to be in the same room with. Coli was too young and Lery was not a fighter.
Of course, none of that was enough to get to the Big Brain. None of them were anywhere near good enough. Even Cel had been overwhelmed and they hadn't even pulled out their big guns. At this rate they would never find a way.
He was on his bed, in a greenish hospital gown that served as his pajamas. This room was one that they all shared. It was supposed to be a surgery room but all the sharp tools had been removed so they didn't play with them and end up stabbing one another. Broc felt that was silly since the tools would break before his skin did.
Coli was in her cot in a small corner fast asleep. Cel lay on his side though whether he was asleep or not was debatable. His bed was close to the back of the room and he was facing the wall. That left Dish opposite Broc, with Lery on Broc's left and nearer to the entrance. Dish was sitting cross-legged and facing Broc despite not really paying attention to anyone.
The room was silent.
"He hits the wall every night before he sleeps."
Broc raised his eyes from his book to look at Lery.
"So?" Dish was paying attention now.
Lery sat up and looked between them. "There's a dent in the wall."
"That should be impossible," Broc pointed out. "He never trains."
"We've never seen him train," corrected Lery.
"Except if he did, it would be in the footage," Dish said.
"The dent wasn't there before," Lery said, looking at Dish now. "We've lived here for years and there's never been anything like that. It's him. He's getting stronger somehow."
"That or he was hiding his true strength at the beginning," Broc theorized. "Can he do that?"
"What I want to know is: Does this mean he's stronger than Cel?" Dish asked.
All three fell silent.
"He's already far more powerful than we expected him to be," Lery said.
"That doesn't mean he'll get strong enough to break out," Broc said.
"What we need is a plan," Dish snapped.
The three fell into heated debate.
[Earth, Kame House]
Roshi was lounging on a green lounge chair on the beach right outside his front door. Behind him was the small pink house he had lived in for several years now. On a small green table next to him there was cocktail with a small umbrella in it. The sea breeze was rather calming for the old man, always had been. It was why he chose this island way back when. The hermit had his shell lying at one side of the chair, nearly identical to an actual live turtle that was laying in the sand next to the relaxing old man if not for the colour.
"The sea isn't the same these days," said the turtle.
Roshi only took a sip from his drink, his large shades hiding his eyes from view.
"You don't care?" asked the turtle. "It could be a big deal this time."
"Are there mermaids involved?" Roshi asked.
The turtle scowled at the old man. "I'm serious, Muten Roshi-sama."
Roshi only grinned in response.
The turtle took on a resigned look.
"Everything is afraid," the turtle said. "The water feels cold in a way it didn't before. There's a menace. Everything feels so still. Despite the currents, despite the schools of fish… it doesn't matter how far I swim."
"No mermaids either?"
"No, no mermaids either!" The turtle sucked in a breath of frustration. "Something big is stirring down there somewhere. I don't feel safe in the water anymore."
A drop of blood slid out of one of Roshi's nostrils. "Yeah they ain't safe…"
The turtle scoffed in disgust and gave up talking. It stared at the waves as they lapped against the shore in quiet froths. There were powerful creatures in the sea, creatures that could give even Roshi a run for his money, moon buster though he was. There was more than just fish in the sea. Most creatures like that were content to live as they were designed to, preying mostly upon one another or perhaps feeding on the ambient chi present within nature itself. None of those creatures had ever had an effect quite like this. For all their vaunted power, they were a natural part of the eco system of the planet and were treated by the merfolk and some seaside civilizations with respect.
No, even they were afraid. Something had changed, something fundamental. For all the years that the turtle had spent under Muten Roshi it had never encountered anything like this in the ocean. It began to wonder if it could find this same vibe elsewhere and what it would mean. What could be causing it? Where did it come from? What did it want? Was it even a living thing? Or was it simply nothing?
There was a whistling sound as a short bald man landed on the island beach. He had been resurrected shortly after the failed attempt to resurrect Goku and had since settled back in with his teacher. Yamcha had also been resurrected but that guy never came here anyways.
Krillin, dressed in his orange gi, turned and bowed in Roshi's direction. "Good afternoon, Muten Roshi-sama."
Roshi turned immediately in his direction. "Did you get me magazines?"
Krillin grew indignant. "Of course not! Why would I buy those things?"
Roshi only looked disappointed. "There is every reason to buy those things… it enhances you in every way."
"I don't think I want that kind of enhancement…" Krillin muttered, face twitching with visible disgust.
Roshi snorted. "Fine, be that way."
Krillin was about to go inside the house when Roshi spoke once more.
"Krillin…"
Krillin turned. "Muten Roshi-sama?"
The old man sipped his drink and stared out at the sea, completely relaxed.
"Would you like to train?" he asked.
Krillin looked surprised initially, but that quickly gave way to something else. It took him several seconds to reply.
"No," Krillin answered. "I'm alright."
Muten Roshi waved without looking back at him and Krillin, after a moment's hesitation, went into the house.
Roshi stayed on his chair with his drink in hand and the turtle Kame at his side. There were always problems it seemed. He'd lived for hundreds of years and really…
What else was new?
[Solar Room]
Things had been getting more and more agitated. Whispered arguments sometimes came through over the comms when they were trying to speak to me. They were trying all sorts of things, messages and meals at odd hours. Taunts and insults from one, reason from another and simple pleading from a third. It was mainly those three. The one who fought me on my first night was nowhere to be found.
In all that I maintained my training. There was nothing else to do. Whenever I began to go stir crazy I would pace the room, pull off some random movements meant to get me moving more than to hone my body. They could copy those if they pleased for all the good it would do them in combat. Since I could not go through my full training regimen I could now devote the majority of my time to ki control, mental fortitude and sheer power level.
After about four or five days, they finally made a move.
I was on the floor meditating when the doors opened and three children walked in. The boys were the same two that attacked me the first time. The girl was new… and visibly nervous. I resisted the urge to grin. The three came to a stop some distance in front of me.
"You won't run for the door?" asked the tallest one. Handsome fellow with messy hair. Attitude to rival Vegeta.
"No," I replied.
"And why not?"
"Because you want me to. Of course knowing I'll do it and being prepared for it are two different things. I might be overestimating your competence."
He scowled and went silent. I did notice a faint smile on the other boy, a pale fellow in glasses. It was barely there, mostly overshadowed by worry.
"Then… that means you're willing to listen to us now?" the girl asked. She looked delicate. In a subtle, pointy sort of way. There was a word for that.
I stayed cross-legged on the floor. "No."
I saw how the bespectacled one immediately paled and the aggressive one tensed.
That was when the girl broke in, completely concerned. "Why? I really don't understand. If you could tell me, whatever the problem is, if we can fix it…"
It felt… genuine. Unless she's a really good actor…
I sighed. Still…
"What is wrong?" I asked. "Nothing is wrong. You took an action and it has consequences."
Each one of them shared looks of confusion, the aggressive guy's being the most subtle.
"Just as you took me from Yardrat with no regard for what I was doing there and who I was with, I will likewise leave with no regard for what you need me for or who you are," I answered. "Being Saiyan, if you truly are Saiyans, does not move me in the slightest. I am treating you, the way you treated me."
Naya was on Yardrat with Goku in a universe where Frieza hated all three of us and was still alive to do something about it. The minute she learned I was missing there was no telling what she'd do. She was still far too volatile.
Vegeta and I certainly didn't help things…
She could be killed, either by Frieza or her own recklessness and I'd never even know. There was a sudden clenching feeling in my chest that I decided to ignore.
The three children went quiet. The aggressive one had a grudging expression on his face, the bespectacled one seemed to be having an epiphany and the girl looked very uncomfortable.
"What were you doing?" asked Glasses.
I glanced at him. "Does it matter?"
"Yes. You're powerful and we really do need you and it really is urgent," the boy said. "You're literally all we've got at the moment."
I raised an eyebrow. "You trying to say my power is better spent here than on whatever I was doing?"
"Well depending on what it was-"
"I see. So I work hard to become rich and you, a no name from nowhere important, get to tell me how to spend my money, preferably for your benefit or personal values. Did I miss anything?"
"From an objective-"
"Regardless of what I was doing it is not your place to decide what I can and cannot do with my power, no matter how beneficial it is in general. I put in the work for it and I own it," I said. "You can only decide how you will respond to the way I use it. Whether that means convincing me to help you or simply trying to stop me with your own power. I will not share what I was doing with you. If you do not let me out, I will let myself out."
He flinched at that and I smirked. "It is only a matter of time, after all."
Stuck in a situation where they could not coerce me or hold me. Sucks to be you…
I wondered vaguely whether they had enough world experience or knowledge to feed me that tripe about "if everyone took an eye for an eye the universe would be blind" like I was some kind of idiot.
"How about if I fought you?" said the aggressive looking one.
"What for?" I asked. The other two were looking at him as well.
"To show you what we're capable of," he responded. "Don't you want to know?"
"No."
"Tch! We should've gone for Vegeta," he muttered. "That would've worked on him."
I folded my arms. "I can hear you."
He only scowled at that. The other two flinched.
They were silent once again and I sat there content to let it continue. Eventually the girl stepped forward.
"Please, help us."
"No."
She stared at me for a long time, long enough that I got bored and started to scratch my fingers against the tiled floor. After a few minutes of this she eventually got on her knees and bowed her head.
I observed this with mild fascination. I mean… this is nice but it won't work either.
"We are sorry for kidnapping you," she said.
I blinked in surprise.
The two boys were staring at her.
"Please forgive us," she continued
I remained silent.
"Could you please, please let it go and help us?"
"No."
She stayed bowed for a few more seconds, nearly half a minute before she stood up again. "I'll take you to the dorms to get clothes."
The two boys seemed surprised. "Lery, what-"
"We can't hold him and he won't help us," she said. "I think we should just let him go before he does something."
I nodded helpfully. "You should listen to her."
"But-"
"We'll have to do it ourselves."
The boy in glasses went silent at that. "We'll fail."
She sighed. "Well…" She turned back toward me. "Once you're cleaned up we'll give you a ship and you can leave."
I stood up. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go."
[Earth, Capsule Corp]
Vegeta was going stir crazy. Absolutely batshit insane. He! The GREAT VEGETA! Held by some weakling Earthling woman! Ordered to stay in bed like some kind of peasant low level trash! The insanity!
Vegeta squirmed as he tried to break free of his bindings. The woman in question observed him calmly, sipping on some drink or other he had not bothered to inquire about from a cup.
"You're honestly being very rude you know?" Bulma said with a scowl. She was seated at a desk opposite the bed he was tied to. It was a swivel chair that she'd turned in order to face him.
"And after making so many sacrifices on my part," she went on. "Do you know I haven't even let Yamcha in here since he was brought back to life? He thinks I'm pushing him away."
She snorted, holding the cup just before her lips. "Although, he might deserve it. Ever since he got over his fear of ladies he's been a bit of a womanizer-"
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR ASININE PROBLEMS WOMAN! RELEASE ME, WENCH!"
How could he not break free of these bindings? Even if they were made of space pod alloy he could bust through it if he really wanted to, full strength or no. He'd been trying for hours without any progress.
"Well! I guess I'll just leave you here to rot you ungrateful thankless ingrate!"
"You cannot bind me! I will get free!"
"Oh yeah? Good luck with that one buddy. Those metal links use all your kinetic energy to reinforce the material."
Vegeta paused. "Only kinetic energy?"
Bulma's eyes widened. "Oh no, no, no, no-"
Vegeta let out a cry and a flash of ki.
[Riku]
I was fully prepared to be ambushed. I studied every room closely, kept my senses peeled for if the two boys at my sides got any ideas, watched the girl in case she turned out to be some kind of hologram or some other messed up trick. There was none of that.
It turned out that this was a science base, complete with a medical, spacefaring and R&D wing. I'd been held in the spacefaring wing within a room meant to test an engine that ran on a literal star. Hence why they called it the solar room. I had to admit that was big brain stuff. The fact that these kids could communicate a concept like that, even as simplified as it was said a lot about how smart they were.
They all wore white body armor with loose white bodysuits underneath, white strapped boots and white forearm guards. They'd lifted them from the medical wing and liked how they looked. There was a certain hesitancy when they said this to me that said that they'd likely left out information. Which was just as well… I was leaving anyway.
I was led to one of many shower rooms, allowed to clean up and then dressed in an outfit similar to theirs. I of course did extensive testing to make sure there was no trick and then asked for a completely different set of clothing because I'm paranoid like that, ignored both and wore one that I picked myself. It was particularly amusing watching their faces twitch with barely contained fury.
I never ran into the Super Saiyan guy again. They left me alone for a bit to get the ship ready. I spent that time exploring the base, ignoring the instruction to stay put. It was pretty big. I would nearly have gotten lost if I wasn't using a combination of keeping track of my turns and my ability to sense chi as a way of staying aware of where I was. There were a lot of rooms.
Some of them were locked of course. They asked for key code passes. Some had the cards right next to them along with notes like "Place exactly here", "Make sure you put it back Broc" or "Leave out of reach of little ones". Others simply had nothing and looked very dusty. I called it quits when I sensed them moving back toward the room I was supposed to wait in.
And now here we were, outside in some sort of ravine that connected to the spacefaring wing. The ravine was utterly dry and filled with sunlight and was so large that I probably shouldn't be calling it a ravine in my head. The other side was literally kilometres away, the space between littered with potholes.
This would make a great training spot.
"So there's the ship," the girl said. "That's the only one we learned how to hotwire."
I folded my arms and held one hand up to my chin as I examined the ship. "Nice guilt trip. Skillfully inserted as a form of information too."
The ship looked like a medical transport: Small, white and wedge shaped.
"I was just telling the truth."
But was it necessary for me to know that truth?
I contemplated that thought for a second and looked at them over my shoulder. "I'm overestimating you again aren't I?"
I took time to appreciate the sound of three gnashing teeth.
"We didn't put any bombs in it," said Glasses.
"Even if you did would you admit it? Your scenario was awfully specific."
"We just don't want a repeat of the jumpsuit thing."
"Fetching the extras was annoying and you didn't even wear it," agreed Handsome.
I smiled. "I thought you were very helpful."
"Helpful my ass!-"
"Right. Anyway, thanks for the ship. I'll see you again hopefully never."
I got a growl and two glares in return. I entered the ship after more extensive checks, performed more extensive checks before turning it on, did several environmental scans, casually raised my power level just in case something hit the ship, powered up the engines and took off.
I waited several seconds for something to happen as I cleared the atmosphere. I stayed within orbit in case there was something I'd missed somewhere. That way I could still make it back to the surface and take the required lives as compensation. Seconds slowly became minutes and I still got nothing. No blasts sent up after me, no special missiles or beams, engine failure, bomb in the ship. Nothing. No reprisal whatsoever.
I set the ship to cruise in orbit and sat back in the main pilot seat with a sigh.
They actually let me go…
Well there could be a coordinate proximity bomb or mine on the ship but I doubted they had the technical know-how for that one.
Then again they did hotwire this thing…
Great. Now I've had the thought I don't trust this ship.
I checked it though. I checked it over more than once.
Bombs get smaller and smaller these days.
I looked at the ceiling. "Ah well."
….
None of that was a real problem anyway. My scans had returned other facilities littered throughout the entire planet. I could probably find another one there if I really wanted to. No. None of that had any real weight.
I looked at the windscreen, seeing a faint reflection of myself looking back with a dull expression. I looked tired.
The real question was if I truly wanted to leave those kids behind. Everything I had done from the moment I was captured was mainly because I was pissed. They had no idea how much damage they had just caused in my plans for survival against Frieza. Only God knew what Naya's reaction was going to be…
Nothing good that's for sure.
Practically speaking, I had no reason to stay with them.
I should leave them.
Except I kept remembering that kid's face. The Super Saiyan guy. The look on his face when I told him I don't care was awfully similar to Naya's when Vegeta said the same. I've murdered people wearing that look with no problem but his face kept coming back to me. All the pleading as well. It rather reminded me of the old days, when one of my main concerns was getting to be 5ft tall.
"She didn't even listen! I'm so sorry, Drey."
"It's ok man."
Except it wasn't okay. It really wasn't.
"She didn't even… She actually thought... Is that how people see us?"
"I don't think so. I hope not. I mean…"
"That's the kind of thing they say all the time. About us. They're always saying it."
"That's… true…"
The worst part is the guy was lying. He was lying about both of us. That was it. That was one of the defining moments.
"If this is how it's going to be... If this is how this system works I no longer give a damn what they say or what they do. From now on we take care of ourselves. Being reasonable clearly doesn't work here."
"That might be a bit difficult. I mean… she's grown. Everyone who makes the rules is much bigger than we are. Stronger. More connections."
"I'll find a way."
"You know there may not be one right?"
I was pretty angry that day.
"Then I'll make one."
From that moment on I garnered all sorts of names, most of them insults, spoken quietly for fear of reprisal. I had mainly enemies. People who realized that I no longer cared about their norms, about what was acceptable, about who I hurt if they made themselves my problem. That was when I started to see faces like his… the boy who fought me that night.
And it would always make me furious how they came after me, tried to use me, make fun of me and more. Call me weak, mentally and physically. But I would only react if and when they finally said it to my face… and when I delivered the pain that they had been deserving for so very long, they would make that face. That shocked look. As if it was a surprise that I should hurt them…
I shook my head and looked at the console. "She didn't even listen… that was where it started…"
I remembered the transition. How his face morphed from shock and pain to dispassionate fury…
I didn't really listen either.
They were wrong to do what they did… but I was pretty sure the lesson had sunk in by now. I looked out of the windscreen to see a darkening sky. Out there somewhere was the vastness of space and someone who was likely travelling it at this moment, looking for me.
Sorry…
I turned the ship around.
[Earth, Capsule Corp]
Bulma peeked around the chair she'd swiveled in front of her to find Vegeta dazed and lying on the remains of her bed. Somehow, he had burned himself out trying to get free. Bulma couldn't tell how. Still he was clearly out of it for now, which was good. It meant no explosions.
Bulma folded her arms and huffed. "Honestly, you'd think I was trying to kill him or something. Maybe I'll just leave you to your injuries then."
Try to help him out and he treats you like a disease. Ungrateful swine.
There was a rapping on her door. "Bulma are you okay?"
Bulma sighed. Bloody Yamcha again.
[Medical Base, Shortly after Riku took off]
They stood together and watched as their only ship shot off into the air containing the soldier who they'd bet everything on.
"I can still shoot him down," Dish noted.
"Did you see how paranoid he was?" Broc said, head turned upward. "He might be waiting for us to do that."
"Maybe if we work as a team-"
"Just let it go, Dish," Lery said. "Just because we can keep him from leaving doesn't mean we can get him to teach us."
It was horrible. This was quite literally the worst possible outcome. They had gambled and lost more than they had to begin with. They were in the exact same predicament, except now they had wasted time and lost their only viable ship.
"What are we going to do?" she whispered.
It was a question that weighed on all their minds. The three of them went back inside, heading towards a special room hidden in the northwestern corner of the spacefaring wing. Dish opened the door and walked in first, leading the way to their true sleeping quarters: The pilot dorms.
The room was large, white and rectangular, with walls lined by simple white bunks all around the room. The floor was pure white tiling. Children were gathered in a messy circle in the middle of the room, some laid out on bunks, some on the floor and yet more hanging from the limbs of an amused Cel. Coli was right next to him seemingly distracted by her blanket.
Upon seeing them enter however, Cel stopped smiling.
"We let him go," Lery explained.
Cel nodded but didn't ask questions.
Coli however was curious. "Huh? We got a guy? How come no one told me?"
Broc and Cel flinched. "Yeah well Coli, you know we wanted you to rest in case we needed you," Broc volunteered.
"Complete bull," Dish muttered under his breath.
Cel's eyes twitched violently as he chimed in. "Y-yeah. You're very important you know?"
"You're all lying!" Coli glared at the both of them. "You guys left me out again!"
"Well, to be fair you're not exactly at the age where you can make important decisions-"
"Shut up Broc! You are all liars and I hate you!"
"Come on Coli don't be like that-"
"You too Cel!"
[Elsewhere]
He flew with ease through the night, manipulating his energy like it was just another part of his body. He had been enhanced, like the others and he was one of the best and strongest. The twentieth warrior of several more that had either taken part in or been forcibly introduced to the program. Frieza wanted stronger warriors that could compete with his Father's men and this was the result.
Scanners had picked up a ship firing several signals, likely probing the planet. Eventually the ship had set down somewhere and it was now his job to find it. This planet and the facilities on it were not supposed to be public knowledge. The various people who manned the security systems had been called in, because of the newest breakthrough. They were all excited and busy, much like ants that had found a source of food. So against standard protocol he had been sent to find the threat and eliminate it.
He tapped his scouter and watched as the display highlighted a particular spot among a group of rock formations. That was where the last transmission came from. He flew down and landed smoothly and quietly, not even a dust cloud to announce his presence. He stayed still, watching and waiting. If it was those Saiyan children they would more than likely attack him. If they didn't well, he would find them soon enough.
Their last attack had been dealt with very easily by the lower members of his program. By himself he should be more than enough.
He carefully stepped through the area, looking around rocks before turning corners. After a few minutes he relaxed and pressed the scouter for comm functions.
"Marshall 20 calling in. I didn't find anything."
"They must have run away," a voice replied. "Those kids might be up to something... Never mind. Return, Marshall."
"Will do."
He turned around to see a figure dressed in white with its arms folded. He staggered back in surprise.
Riku smirked. "Hi."
AN: I foresee a lot of confusion about how exactly Riku reached his estimates. (Or basically where I pulled those ridiculous numbers from.)
I'll explain without diving too deep.
The moon busting power level of 200 is not an actual stated power level from anywhere in the series. I chose this value based on two feats in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.
First was Roshi's moon busting feat. People like to downplay this but for now lemme just explain. He has a power level of 139, used his buff form which is obviously stronger than that (by an unspecified degree) and a full power Kamehameha to blow up the moon.
Second, Saiyan Saga Piccolo had a power level of around 300 when Raditz showed up. He shouldn't be too much stronger than that since it's only a month or so since the fight when he faces Great Ape Gohan. He repeats the feat with a basic ki blast. The ones they like to spam a lot. In comparison to Roshi, this was pretty casual.
This is how I decided on 200. The value is arbitrary but it does have firm logic behind it. It's also a rough estimate, not the word of God. IF you picked say 215, nobody could really call you out on it.
The planet busting power level of 10,000 is from the Legend of Manga, a spanish only guide released exclusively for the manga by Bird Studio (Toriyama's Studio).
Next for Frieza's Dwarf star power level.
This is from his planet Vegeta feat. It's usually calced as large planetary but if you want to be as accurate as possible it actually comes out to a dwarf star level feat. You could argue that he's only barely in that range but considering how casually he did it and the fact that he can control how much power he uses in his first form (When he tells Nail he won't use all his power on him) I say it's quite fair. If anything it should still be a low end for Frieza. The only reason he isn't put any higher is because we can't quantify how much he "wasn't trying".
(I say we a lot because I had help from some cool people and it's habitual.)
The 200x difference Riku mentioned is (roughly) the difference between Frieza 1st form PL and final form PL at maximum power (Using the Daizenshuu power levels). Incidentally, this would take Frieza from Dwarf Star to a full on Star buster.
Last Thing:
Please do not send me messages about devoting my life to taking a show about flying men seriously. Honestly, that argument is both stupid and useless. That's like questioning why people have a passion for sports. Everyone has what entertains them. Also a story centred around combat requires a consistent scale of strength, (not necessarily in the form of power levels or some other numerical system) that characters belong to. There are less technical (and less accurate) ways to go about this. I chose this one. Get over it.
Now if you actually have a relevant concern, like anti-feats, etc. that's fine.
For anyone confused an anti-feat is, loosely, a feat a character performs that is below their normal standard of power that has no obvious explanation or just no explanation period.
For example: Ninja in Naruto tanking all these powerful jutsu but they still gotta dodge knives.
This actually has an explanation supported by the story and therefore does not qualify but I feel it communicates the idea of an anti-feat clearly enough.
(Sorry, if you tried to stab Madara in a fight your knife would break and he would kill you. Chakra-jacked ninja can stab each other with kunai. That doesn't mean you can.)
Or (and this one is solid gold hilarity) SSJ Vegeta failing to lift Magetta because he weighs 1000 tonnes in the DB Super Manga when SSJ Goku on King Kai's planet had 40 tonnes to each limb, which comes out to a total weight of 1600 tonnes(Remember 10x gravity). And that fker was moving around no problem.
Pre-Buu GokuPost God Vegeta now?
(DB's always been inconsistent with weight though so nobody really pays attention to weight lifting feats for Dragon Ball. As observed here, they are usually far below the character's actual consistently displayed abilities.)
This is an example of a valid argument.
But that is an extensive debate that has been done over and over. (Remember valid =/= Sound)
I will win, it'll just take a while depending on how familiar you are with basic concepts like preponderance of evidence and so on and I hate wasting time. This is stuff you could find out on your own if it really concerns you. HOWEVER…
It wouldn't be cool to leave you hanging so on my profile you can find a short explanation of what power scaling is all about and why it's useful to a writer. I believe Totally Not Mark has also done an excellent video on it. When you write a story, you do not necessarily need a science degree but you must think very carefully about what each character's capabilities mean.
P.S. For anyone wondering how one would go about determining how strong DB characters here's an (extremely bad) example that will hopefully communicate a basic idea of how to go about it.
Frieza while half-dead (Haha half geddit?) could survive Planet Namek exploding with him on it with no visible damage beyond what he already sustained. While Frieza was in peak condition, Goku could hit him hard enough to hurt him. Therefore, Goku must be capable of putting even greater amounts of force than Frieza experienced from the planet exploding behind a punch.
Something like that.
… Ok I can't resist I'm sorry, I have to include one of the more ridiculous feats. Hate me if you like.
Our man Gohan by the time he faces the Ginyu Force is stronger than Vegeta was on Earth. He fires a blast and Recoome literally blows it back at him. Like, huff and puff blow your house down type of blow. Recoome can breathe away a desperate attack from someone powerful enough to bust planets.
And people get literal millions of times stronger than this guy.
Yup. DB is crazy.
