Warrior Instincts
Ch.16- Two becomes one; Kakarot reborn?
Goku was getting tired of dreaming; it never seemed to do him any good! And why had he just gone ahead and listened to some stupid talking cat, and drink anything without first truly knowing what was in that bottle? For all he knew, Korin had actually found a way to poison him and now Goku was in hell!
Only the memory of what so many of his other dreams felt like gave the alien boy piece of mind to realize that he was not, in fact, dead though. Instead the world champion deduced that Korin's 'Sacred Water' merely overloaded his system with its potency, and his body collapsed as a result.
'So then, it's only a matter of time before I'm awake again,' Goku surmised, 'and then I'll begin my training with that mouthy feline.'
Forced to accept this as fact, the young martial artist continued to walk the dark void of his mind in an aimless trek. It had been quite some time since his last session of meditation, and it showed in the way Goku found it difficult to pull forth memories from his last transformation; though he blamed a bit of that on those strange black outs as well.
Instead, the things that came vividly to mind were those images of the man he assumed to be his father, and the man's demise at the hands of who Goku assumed was 'Frieza'.
How he held such memories Goku couldn't even begin to fathom, but he kept himself trained on his father's final moments for quite a while, tracing over every inch of the man and his battle-worn appearance; from the scar on his cheek to the tattered armor, and even the man's blood-soaked bandanna. He stared and stared, ultimately unsure of just what it was he was looking for, before allowing his gaze to travel over to Frieza.
Strangely enough, unlike the last time he'd had the dream, the horned demon was near impossible to see beyond a hazy blob surrounded by the endless vacuum of space. Goku attributed this to the lucidity of this particular introspection, and sucked his teeth before willing the images away.
These apparent memories did nothing for him, served no purpose, so why did they settle so deeply in the back of his mind? What was he missing?
Such wonders began to prick at the boy's mind, agitating Goku with their taunting presence until finally he shut the memory away with a snarl. Striding through the void, Earth's world champion stalked his own mind with clenched fists until stumbling upon a most peculiar sight; a cave. It seemed so out of place at first, but when Goku gave another look he realized that his endless void had vanished to be replaced by a barren wasteland littered with rocky outcrops and sky-high stony structures.
The ground was red and muddy, almost clay-like in its constancy, dotted by pathetic attempts at floral life that better resembled dying grass. Up above, the sky was awash with violet hues bleeding into crimson clouds; two suns orbited the sky as well, telling Goku that he was no longer on Earth.
And yet...this did not feel like a memory. There was no tingle at the back of his neck and the hairs along Goku's muscled arms did not raise.
'Then is this my mind? Is this what happens when I don't meditate; this is my mindscape?'
Gohan had taught him about 'mindscapes' before his death, had told Goku about their importance and how to create one that left his mind fully focused when during battle, but the boy had never actually attempted to make one. Even during his sessions on Kame island, Goku's main objective was to try and recapture the power of his ape form as well as settle the blood-lusting inner beast who'd nearly killed Krillin.
So to actually see what his mind looked like before his eyes was a bit surreal to the young fighter; though he was also a bit unimpressed.
Figuring that this was his subconscious instinct attempting to bridge the gap between he and his home world, Goku sighed through his nose before turning to walk away. His past was just that for the time being; with training to undergo, Goku wanted no distractions. The mystery of his birth as well as the inner mechanics of his power would have to be put aside until this 'King Piccolo' was dealt with, and then, the boy could devote himself once more to discovering the truth about himself...
Or so he thought.
Barely two steps were taken before a tremendous weight bore down on Goku's entire body, forcing him to his hands and knees as he quickly found himself struggling to breath.
Never had the young fighter ever experienced a pressure, a power, like this before! It was raw, primal, and spoke of a force similar to a planet-wide typhoon. Even as he pushed with all his might, Goku found that he wasn't able to bring himself back to his feet, and even moments later, when the surge suddenly calmed, he felt a furious anger bubbling up inside at being brought so low.
On tired limbs Goku stood to full height again, his face a mask of pinched brow and tight jaw as he stared into the dark abyss that was the cave standing before him. Clearly, whatever his mind wanted the martial artist to meet, was hidden away within the depths of that cavern.
'Fine then,' he thought with a snarl, 'let's see just what sort of monster lives within.'
It was with sure steps and a chin pointed towards the sky that the alien fighter strode forward and into the mouth of that mental darkness. Met by a rush of cold and the stench of death, Earth's martial arts champion chocked back the gagging sensation in his throat as his enhanced sense of smell was assaulted by the hideous odor of rotting corpses. Clearly, this cave was a place within his mind that spoke to the animal inside, to the transformed state.
And so, Goku walked for what felt like an eternity through darkness and gut-wrenching nausea, before finally being bathed in a pale, silvery glow as he entered what could only be the very center of the cave.
What he found however, was enough to nearly give the young teen a heart attack. Because, standing there seemingly bathing in the moonlight...was himself. Only, this twisted reflection was garbed in a brown, fur pelt and boots; his tail wrapped tightly around the waist. Dark, spiky hair was unkempt while muscles bulged just that much more strongly than what Goku saw in the mirror.
This reflection's had their eyes closed, yet they shifted underneath their lids as elongated canines shuffled over the other boy's lower-lip. It was easy to spot the hint of claws tapering off from his fingertips with the way he seemed to enjoy flexing them, yet one could easily make out that this motion wasn't one of stress...but contentment; this reflection enjoyed being under the full moon.
Goku found himself lost as to what he was supposed to do, supposed to say, as he gazed upon this odd mental image of himself; luckily, it seemed, he didn't need to. The reflection's voice was thicker though, carried more of a rumble to it, as though it carried around a mouthful of gravel.
"I was wondering when we'd finally meet; I've been waiting, for so long. I'd hoped, after fighting that skinny weakling, that we might have the chance to talk but your...friend, they got in the way. But now...now, Goku, it's just you...and me."
"And who are you exactly; what happened to me at the tournament, and against Dr. Gero. What purpose do you serve, if any, that has you rooted here inside my mind?"
"Your mind? No, Goku, this is our mind; I am you. I am where you pull your amazing strength from, I am why you can take the beatings you do and get back up stronger than ever, I am the reason we are the strongest fighter on this pathetic ball of mud!"
"Then where were you while I was fighting Tao; why did he defeat me-"
"Because you shut me out!" The roar echoed throughout the cave, and Goku felt that same weight from before beginning to press down on him again, only this time he tried harder to fight it; to not be seen kneeling before this...stranger."
As he struggled though, the twisted reflection finally dropped his head from staring at the open ceiling, letting the shaggy bangs of his already wild hair shadow the things face before turning to look at Goku with newly opened eyes.
Gold, instead of black, with a single circle of coal settled dead-center. These were the eyes that met Goku's own wary facade with a glinting stare of bitterness. The tail that had once been around the reflection's waist now bristled as it waved through the air like an agitated snake, and when next he spoke, it was as though venom burned the very tip of his tongue.
"Back then, on that old fool's island, you awoke me from my slumber; you tapped into your true power. But then, all because some dried-up fossil threatens not to train you, you shove me back into a box and try to forget about me! While I am grateful to the one with blue-hair for showing you a world that helped you find me, they have clearly made you soft, Goku."
"Listen, I may not fully understand what's going on here, but one thing's for sure; stop calling me Goku! Just because I let Bulma call me that, doesn't mean some weird shadow of myself is gonna do it too, my name is-"
"Your name," the reflection sneered, "is Goku! I am Kakarot! You, who have forgotten himself, have no right to carry that name any longer. You, who have become content with being second best and running around on silly little adventures, simply because something pretty bats their eyes at you, has no right, to carry the title of a warrior!"
The gi-clad boy's temper was starting to get the best of him, and he stepped forward in challenge as he matched the nasty look being aimed at him.
"And what makes you so much of an expert; any time you come around, I black out! So tell me, why would I want you anywhere other than locked away in here so that I could win my fights!? You say that you're supposed to be the real Kakarot, that I've forgotten myself, well maybe that's a good...thing..."
He stopped, eyes widening to the size of baseballs as those words sunk in, and as his reflection's own face shifted into a smug mask 'Goku' realized that what the mental image has been saying was right; he'd gone soft.
"You see now," the reflection prodded, "Even if your goal is never to destroy this world, even if you choose one of these weaklings to sire your offspring, your true nature should never be ignored; you are different, and you must remember that, accept it. You hold your nose in the air, but do not know why, your pride s a warrior has waned; you've become content with squandering your true potential to sit around with weak fools!"
"So then what would you suggest; should I simply throw Bulma away!?"
There was a snort from the doppelganger, "By this point, that would simply destroy us, destroy you. No, what I 'suggest' is to stop denying who you truly are; to re-embrace all that makes you truly special."
A single hand, raised to shake, now settled between the two monkey-tailed boys. Onyx eyes shifted between it, and the glowing amber orbs of their owner's reflection, a wary look settled over Goku's face.
"So, what, I just need to take your hand then?"
"Seems a bit simplistic, doesn't it," the mental construct chuckled, "but it's simply a visual of you opening up to me and accepting this part of yourself again after so long. I'm not too sure how it'll feel, since I don't know anything you don't, but once you reawaken I'm sure you'll be interested in finding out just how much more powerful you've become."
"Oh," Goku countered with a grin, "so sure are you that I'll agree; how do I know this isn't really just a trap by that fat cat?"
"Heh, because you're nose is too good for such a silly trick, you'd never be caught by something so...human."
That did it. A slick, devilish grin found a home on the alien warrior's face as he went to clasp hands with the more wild-looking copy standing inches in front of him. There was a rush, like a force of fresh air being pumped into the teen's lungs, before he watched the doppelgangers eyes begin to glow. Brighter and more luminescent until finally there was no choice but to look away...
...and then, he awoke.
xXx
It felt like hours, but Korin would find that he'd only needed to wait a half-hour before his newest student re-awoke from his impromptu slumber. Yet, even before Kakarot opened his eyes Korin could feel that something had...changed about him. The cloud that swirled around his aura had settled, leaving a smooth flow of violet in its wake; cold, certain, proud. It was an aura Korin had no real experience reading, so it was difficult to tell what sort of person would be in possession of such an energy, but knowing that it belonged to a saiyan of all things was enough to make the feline wary.
"Hngrh..." That single groan signaled Kakarot's return to the land of the living, and with it came a wave of power the likes of which Korin would have once believed impossible for any living thing so small. The sheer presence of so much power, its stifling thickness as it layered over the air like a blanket, furry paws were forced to tighten around their owner's staff just to keep the cat from falling on his face!
Yet, before Korin could swear his bones were about to break...it all vanished, leaving him panting as though in heat as the grower of senzu beans knees wobbled.
'W-What in the...'
"Damn it all," Kakarot hissed as he pushed himself up onto his palms, "I guess one side-effect is a throbbing headache; though I suppose I should have seen that coming."
Instantly Korin could tell something else was different; Kakarot's voice. It was lower, a bit more guttural, and rumbled a bit reminiscent of a brewing storm. And as narrowed eyes watched, they noticed how the boy even seemed to move differently; seamless, smooth. Almost like watching a jungle cat slink through tall grass, only, this time Korin felt the creeping vines of fear beginning to make their way through his system as he continued to watch this predator.
"So then," Korin jumped at the sudden address, "you mentioned before I drank that nectar that we'd begin my training once I'd rained the bottle. As you can see, the Sacred Water has been drank, and now I stand here ready to begin; so don't you think we should get started? I'm sure you don't want this King Piccolo to destroy too much of the Earth before I'm ready to face him, hmm?"
The cocky attitude was still there too, Korin mused as he agreed in a disgruntled manner, but now it seemed layered with a new self-assurance that hadn't been present before; though this only sharpened the cat's already negative opinion of the boy.
But, he was right, there wasn't enough time to dwell on such thoughts when Piccolo was already so far ahead of them and with such a devious plan in mind as told to him by Kami. It wasn't what the cat wanted, he wished for more time so as to meditate on Kakarot and just what might become of the boy if he should actually defeat the Demon King, but Piccolo's defeat needed to come sooner rather than later and such a luxury just could not be taken.
So instead...
"Very well then, if you feel you're truly ready then we'll begin immediately; follow me."
Together the pair moved towards the center of Korin's tower where, for the first time, Kakarot noticed a raised platform came up from the tiled floor. It didn't look like much, even with how shiny the copper looked, yet as he stepped closer the alien boy began to feel a tug at the back of his navel.
"We're going to do all of my training on this rise? It's not much of an arena, even with us being so small, I doubt we'd have much room to move, cat."
"Then I guess it's a good thing that's not what we'll be doing. Instead, this platform is going to take us to somewhere new; somewhere we don't need to worry about anyone on Earth feeling worried about your power. No, instead we'll be going to a special place known as the Dead Zone."
Kakarot's eyebrows pinched together even as he stepped onto the platform, opposite Korin, and waited to see just how their transport would work.
"What sort of name is that; sounds more like a child's version of Hell rather than a training spot for a warrior."
He watched the cat tap his staff three times, and then a flash of light similar to the one that awoke Kakarot saw them suddenly surrounded not by Korin's tower, but a barren wasteland devoid of any hope to sustain life. Dead tress dotted the dry, clay-like earth while black clouds hung like smoke over a blood-red sky. Kakarot found he couldn't even hear the crickets chittering in the distance.
"This is the Dead Zone; a place bordering the mortal plain and Other-world. Here is where Kami sends the souls of Earthlings who require time to bleed out their negative feelings before taking them to King Yemma for sentencing, though only if he first believes they deserve such a chance, so we'll be pretty undisturbed here."
Korin moved off the platform then, silently motioning for Kakarot to follow, before the two stood facing one another a few feet away.
"Now then," the feline announced, "your training will prioritize both your speed as well as your reaction time, while carrying a secondary purpose of helping to harness that tremendous power Kami seems to be relying on so heavily. Fighting technique as well as raw strength are not my forte, so any such advancements you hope to make will need to be done on your own time."
"So about what I was expecting then," Kakarot sucked at his teeth, "considering your shape and stature practical martial arts is a bit beyond you, isn't it. Very well then; if you are the best Earth's guardian has to offer for my training then let's get on with it, what am I going to be doing first?"
The talking cat's answer was a single word, though one Kakarot had silently been hoping for since he'd awoken. His power had indeed been noticeably increased, yet it was difficult to keep a lid on so as not to have it pouring out in a mass tidal wave; its force had very nearly even crushed the alien's own heart with the amount of pressure that bore down on Kakarot as he opened his eyes!
So, being told that their training would begin with meditation, he allowed a very dense weight to lift from his shoulders.
He would learn to control this power. He would make it his own, and then, he would defeat King Piccolo to become the undisputed power of planet Earth!
All would come to know the name Kakarot and, either through fear or respect, accept him as their true ruler!
xXx
A month; Tao hadn't sent word back in over a month. As Tien worked furiously through a kata he could sense his master's fury even as Shen stayed locked away inside the study; the middle-aged master having begun combing through every contact he had in order to find his wayward brother.
After the man had left to collect on his late payment both of them believed he'd be back within that same day, and even after the first two days it was believed Tao merely needed to track down his runaway benefactor before breaking their arm, retrieving his money and killing them, before finally returning home.
A week later, Tien began to wonder if perhaps his master's kin had found himself a more dangerous foe than he'd been expecting and would be coming back a bit late; it was rare, but it'd happened before.
But then...one week turned into three, before becoming seven, and now Shen's negative feelings weighed down all of the Crane House; students found it difficult to even enter the dojo with how heavy their master's rage.
Unable to contact Tao, and with no true knowledge of what truly became of the man, the Crane-style's creator began to grow sour. He snapped at the smallest thing, and any student who made a mistake was punished severely, to the point some of them began to whisper of quitting if things got any worse.
Only Tien understood his teacher's predicament, knew about the true connection Tao shared with the Crane hermit, since he'd been with them since he was a young boy. It was this past, memories of being taken in when all hope seemed lost and his village burned around him, that sowed the seed of rage within Tien's own heart.
Tao had been as much a father to the bald martial artist as Master Shen, and even went so far as to be the first to of the two to tell him about the 'Dodon-ray' after noticing Tien's vast potential. The young, prodigious teen understood the man's distaste for the Tenkaichi Budokai, which made him respect Tao all the more when he would spend any time at all helping him to prepare; even if it was under duress.
So to think, even for a moment, that someone may have very well killed Tao?
Tien swore on his life, as a powerful beam of yellow energy shot from his fingertip and erased a training dummy from existence, that if something bad happened to his new family, then whoever was responsible would pay with their life!
xXx
Bulma sighed, miserable, even as she worked on the rejuvenation tank that had become the genius beauty's most important project after Goku's near-death experience almost six months ago. However, thinking about the boy with the monkey tail only caused the girl to let out another sigh.
Six months; she hadn't seen or heard from Goku in six months.
There was a brief time, thanks to a telepathic link forged through Master Korin, that she and the boy had been able to speak and say their 'good-byes', but even then it was hard for Bulma because she hadn't physically be able to see Goku let alone give the alien fighter a hug before being left with Lapis and Lazuli.
Yet, as she went back to trying to reverse engineer the power of the senzu bean into liquid form, Capsule Corps. heiress couldn't help but recall just how different Goku had sounded over the mental conversation; it was almost as if he'd been a different person!
'But then, maybe it's just because that's the first time I've ever heard his voice through a telepathic talk before,' Bulma rationalized, 'like hearing someone over the phone rather than in person.'
But even still, the blue-haired inventor couldn't help wondering how much longer it would be before she'd get to see her best friend again, or how he'd change while under the tutelage of this 'Master Korin' who Goku revealed was nothing more than a talking cat with a walking stick!
A loud crash barely registered in Bulma's mind as she made this recollection, and this time the huff was one of annoyance as Lapis has clearly decided to drop his weighted vest on the floor again rather than put away like she and his sister constantly reminded him to do.
Having the twins around wasn't all bad however, as it gave Bulma another girl around the house besides her ditsy mother to talk to, and Lapis turned out to be a big help when it came to the heavy lifting Bulma's father could no longer do without struggle. Although, sometimes, Lazuli came off as a bit guarded when they'd be at the dinner table in the morning or even later on at night right before bed; almost like she were hiding something from her.
Shaking off those thoughts though, Bulma turned her attention back to the computer screen that was currently analyzing the bean she'd received from Bora at after they'd been gifted more of the magic medicine during winter.
She'd put together the actual machine, modeling it after the cloning pods she'd seen in a couple sci-fi movies growing up, and now simply needed to transform the senzu into a serum that could be reproduced en mass in case something horrible happened to Goku, or either of the twins, again. Bulma was done being helpless, and planned to be more than capable of being there for the wild-haired martial arts champion with whatever he needed.
Yet even as her crystal-blue eyes attempted to concentrate on the numbers being run through the computer simulation, a traitors thought that had begun to rear its dangerous head lately made itself known.
It was one Bulma fought with on a near nightly basis, a single question that warped the girl's dreams and clouded her mind during the day until sometimes there was nothing to do for it but for Bulma to lock herself in her room and attempt that meditation stuff Yamcha used to yammer on about. It worked, sometimes, although others it simply made the problem worse!
At those instances, Goku would return to them, return to her, as if like a god descending from the clouds. He'd have hit a growth spurt, he'd be taller than her, with no more puppy fat to hide that strong jaw she'd noticed him developing after the tournament and muscles that pressed firmly against the top of the alien man's gi.
Such dreams always ended with a single, soul-burning, kiss but they always left behind that one traitors question that seemed stuck in the back of Bulma's mind now forever...
'What if, when he returns, what Goku wants is you?'
xXx