Dragon Ball: Governed
Chapter 45 - Purpose
Three long years. At literally any moment, the child of Tarble and Gure could have failed, but it's been three years since the process had started and it all seemed to succeed. Seeing a baby inside that looked nearly synonymous to the Saiyan people, save for his eyes, was what amazed the two the most. With his hands against the glass, Tarble looked on with pride. "Can you believe it, Gure? She's growing so fast."
Leaning up against his arm, Gure's eyes begin to water. "I can believe it," she responded. "That's our baby girl." It was only a matter of time before the child was going to be taken out and that they could actually do something that they longed for - function as an entire familiar unit. "Ginger."
As for the King of the Saiyans himself, he wasn't looking for a happy moment with family. He was looking for results from his son. Just mere moments from letting him loose, Vegeta kept his eyes trained on his first-born as he remained in the incubator. As tempting as it was to read the boy's power-level as he was inside, he wanted to wait until he was brought out.
Spench, Kuni, Nion, and all the other Saiyan doctors and scientists were there to witness this historic moment. All Vegeta did was give Spench a glare of the eyes as a non-verbal command to release the boy from the nursing capsule.
Being accustomed to being surrounded by liquid for the past three years was something that the body of the young prince had to learn to go without. Once the bubbling liquid stopped and the water started to drain, his blurry vision saw a copious amount of figures - them being dozens of people. Nobody blinked. Not one single soul dared to look away for a second. They had to see this.
The child was out of it, though he could feel himself being lifted by one of the doctors. He looked just like his father, save for one single bang that came down mid-way of his forehead. And despite only being mostly Saiyan, he had all the Saiyan features, from black irises, his father's gravity-defying hair, as well as a Saiyan-tail. Not one person who wasn't aware of Vegeta's affairs with Kuni would come to ever think that the union of those two produced this.
Getting his vision back and having to adapt to an entirely new environment, the prince began to cry hysterically, kicking all around. Spench, who had the child in his arms, started to lose balance due to the child being far too strong. Without any warning, Prince Vegeta''s tail whacked him square in the face, sending him across the room. The boy fell on one knee and looked up at everyone else, scowling.
Nion, besides most, didn't even flinch when Spench was knocked away. She actually expected that. Looking at the databases of the Saiyan children on her tablet, she clicked on Prince Vegeta's file. "His power grew at a constant rate over the years," she explained to everyone. "His battle-power is likely to exceed anything ever in past Saiyan history."
Vegeta, using his scouter, eyes went wide as he got a reading of ten thousand. Truth be told, he didn't know whether to be scared or proud. It was his son, but a child with such power could be dangerous. He had high expectations, but those expectations had been shattered with overwhelming results.
"Spench...he's dead."
Vegeta regained his composure, coughed into his fist, and gave an order. "Dress the boy up and have him sent to the training room. It'd be best for for Bardock to train him."
"Yes, sir."
A handful of doctors made their way around Prince Vegeta. The child looked around him as they seemed to be coming from all different angles. His father was the first to tell that he was indeed more hostile than the average Saiyan child. Growling from the child was a keen sign of aggravation. Due to his rising anger, the boy's power continued to rise.
Seizing the opportunity to see where he could potentially pique at, Vegeta read over his battle power as it rose more than 10,000...to 25,000...to eventually double in power! Realizing a great big mess was going to take place if he didn't do anything, the king himself glided behind the boy faster than anyone else in the room could see and got a hold of his tail, a weakness that this almighty child would also need to learn to overcome.
Anxiety and tension was through the roof. As he held his unconscious kid, Vegeta held firm with a pride smirk plastered over his face. Yes, this was it, indeed. No other child, not even himself, could ever dream of having such power as a boy. If he had to guess, all that work Kuni and Nion did together worked to perfection. In other words, Prince Vegeta was a special case - a mutant even. Not anymore did Vegeta have any doubt. His son was destined to become a Super Saiyan. The second best thing since he hasn't been able to transform himself. To have a Super Saiyan come from his loins only legitimized his status and helped grow his legacy as the Saiyan King. It was only right.
"Just taking his first steps and the brat's already the second strongest Saiyan on Planet Vegeta," the King stated proudly. He was then met by applause from the others surrounding him as a few other people picked up Spench's body to discard it. But as soon as he opened his mouth, the clapping came to a halt. "The only dilemma here is that I'm the only one capable of training him to be able to combat properly, and I don't have time for that." He looked over to Kuni. "Any suggestions?"
Kuni had to do her best to hide her smile. Vegeta had been occupied with countless other matters regarding the citizens of Planet Vegeta as well as keeping Freeza content until he decided to make his move - whenever that time was going to come. By the looks of it, Vegeta was putting all his eggs into one basket now. And given that he looked at his son as the golden ticket to liberation, it would take a while. Vegeta, looking at Kuni, awaited a response from her her. She was usually one who always knew what to do.
"We already had an idea we were hoping to put in motion," Nion told the King. "We assure you your son will go through a proper training regimen with little to no collateral damage needed to be fret over."
Over the years, Nion and Kuni have never failed to come through for him. They had helped Vegeta out in numerous ways ever since he was just a little boy. Given their track record in usefulness, he had all the reason to blindly trust them. Vegeta tosses the boy over to Kuni, who catches him. "I don't care how you do it, just as long as you do." Without uttering another word, Vegeta left the room. "And clean up the mess!" his voice echoed.
"And all of these I expect to be tended to within the next three months."
Kureeza and Raditz stood alongside Freeza. The three of them looked over holographic images of their next targeted planets. While Freeza explained to Raditz and his son just exactly what it was he wanted done, the two sat back and listened. "And especially planet mech." Freez rubbed his chin. "I don't want a single piece of equipment, building, machine, or weapon harmed. All of its resources are to be brought back to base so that they can be studied and implemented into the force."
"I highly doubt I'll manage to conquer the people without at least destroying an entire city," Kureeza said, "but I'll try."
Freeza closed the holographic image shut. His hover chair turned around and he looked coldy into his son's eyes. Kureeza mirrored his father's look, showing no fear, though he was a bit anxious. "You will not try. You will do as I command."
"Yes, sir."
PiPiP
"Lord Freeza, you have visitors on your way. Are you expecting anyone?"
Freeza's eyes light up. His pupils dilate and his lips curl. Oh, he has been anticipating this moment for some time now. "Yes, let them in," Freeza ordered. "They just so happen to come with exciting and exigent matters." Once he cuts the reception, Freeza says it's about time.
This leaves Kureeza and Raditz at a loss. The galactic emperor was never one to outright state his plans and let everyone know what was going on unless it had to do something that benefited the entirety of the Freeza Force. No, this was different. Whatever matter this was - it was something that was out to benefit him personally. He could barely contain his excitement, something his two trusted subordinates witnessed as his fingers tapped against the railing of his hover chair as his tail wagged from side to side.
Freeza's eyes are locked onto the doors that give entrance to his own personal room. Raditz and Kureeza, realizing that they were to arrive soon, turned around to also witness just exactly whom the tyrant was expecting. Once the sliding doors opened, Kureeza is just further confused as Raditz's eyes go wide in shock.
There, before them, happen to be Nion and Kuni, the latter of the two holding a young Saiyan child by his tail.
"This is it right here," Kuni says to Freeza, taking a few steps inside. "After just one year of being in a nursing capsule, he showed a record battle-power of 1,000. As of now, just being released, Prince Vegeta the Fifth holds a battle-power ten times that. When angered, data has shown that it can increase by at least another five-fold."
"This…" Nion holds her child up. "Is the Super Saiyan."
Kureeza was confused, as was Raditz, though he was just as shocked. Looking back and forth, From Kuni, to Freeza, to Nion, back to Freeza, then at the kid...his mouth remained agape. He had no idea just what in the hell was going on. "L-Lord Freeza...would you mind filling me in on what's going on?"
"It's quite simple really - a brilliant idea I came up with some time ago - back when you were a child in fact. There was heavy talk of there being a Super Saiyan of Legend rising from the dust ball that is Planet Vegeta, and having enough power to conquer the entire Universe - including myself. A Saiyan with unnatural strength could only prove to be so strong. The thought of just banding all you monkeys back together and disposing of you at once crossed my mind but your value was something that would have surely been missed." He chuckled. "Oh, and trust me, it took some convincing from one of my most trusted advisors to stick with that decision."
Raditz was speechless. Given what Freeza just told him, he went on to further connect the dots. Vegeta, who was the most talented and skilled young warrior of his time, managed to have a child who's bound to be even more talented and skilled than he is, just like the prince's father was regarding the former king. It all made sense that somewhere down the line, one of Saiyan royalty would hold enough power to transcend into legend, but was it even really true? Raditz still had his doubts and rightfully so. Regardless, Vegeta more than likely decided to use his own flesh and blood as a way to help dethrone Freeza...only for it all to inevitably backfire. That was Freeza's grand master plan. He was going to use the own King's son against him.
"Unbelievable…" Raditz muttered under his breath. "All this time and they still can't stay loyal, can they?" The man shook his head. "Pathetic. I'm glad I wasn't surrounded by those idiots any longer. And it's a blessing that the prince isn't, either. His loyalty will remain as they should be...with Lord Freeza."
"By him being trained by whomever you trust the most, he will become more accustomed to this environment than being back home," Nion explained. "Being exposed to you, Lord Freeza, will also be sure to have him establish more rapport with you than his own father, who appears to be far too busy to be concerned with the prince in the first place - an opportunity that we must capitalize on. Every now and then he will need to go back home and be appointed missions so that the king doesn't suspect anything, but that will be for a far later time. Asides from that, he will spend most his days here, training and learning under you all...where his allegiance will be strongest. So whenever the king decides it's finally time to hold a special audience with you, his plan will blow up in his face."
Freeza smiled. In his hover chair, he approached Nion and looked into her eyes. "You, you beautiful creature. I had high expectations of you ever since you were a little girl and you did everything to perfection. You earned the idiot, royal Saiyans' trust and used them as your own pawn in a way to benefit me." Caressing her cheek, Freeza proceeded to nod his head of approval. "To go to such lengths to tolerate a simian in order to please me will be rewarded, believe me…" Backing away, Freeza clapped and expressed just how excellent the both of them are.
"This is the most genius thing I've ever seen or heard," Kureeza mused. "There isn't any way that we will ever suffer defeat."
"Not that we ever have," Raditz chuckled.
Peace. Quiet. Absolutely nothing.
Growing up, the now 20 year old Saiyan Kakarot never had these things growing up. Time and time again, he's proven to the citizens of Planet Earth that he's a good man. But it's still been a struggle for him to prove such to some of the friends of Chi-Chi. To be frank, he felt like he needed a break from the drastic change of life. Deep down, he still desires to charge other worlds and fight for the sole sake of doing so, but doing that would only hinder him from attaining his only one and true goal.
Through earning more trust from Kami, Kakarot was offered the Room of Spirit and Time, a mystical element for training that Kakarot would never think to be true. A day's time outside in the real world was a year time's passing in this entirely different realm. With the heightened gravitational pull and dramatic changes in temperatures by the hour, Kakarot felt it to be the perfect place for him to train in peace and gather his mind.
He's one of the - if not - the absolute strongest fighter on Planet Earth at this point. In times of peace, most everyone else has been relaxing on their training and just enjoying tranquility. Though by being in this room, Kakarot would surely get stronger, growing in strength was never his main goal; becoming a Super Saiyan was.
After screaming his lungs out and pushing his power above the limit for what felt like the hundredth time, Kakarot fell down to his knees, blinded by sweat and overtaken by the aching muscles in his body.
Punching the ground, Kakarot snarls. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" Getting up on his feet, Kakarot ignites his aura once more. "I've done everything! That fat bastard Zuno told me what it would take to become a Super Saiyan! I've done that and then some and yet here I am, looking like an absolute idiot!" His quick burst of anger dies down and he just lowers his head. A subtle smile takes form on his face, that of acceptance. "I don't understand how that short chubby prick transformed. He needed to lose someone he loved dearly. But I can't have that...I can't have someone kill Chi-Chi or my son...I care too much." Looking over to the only building of the room of spirit and time, Kakarot sees from the clock that his time is coming to a close.
The Saiyan scoffs and begins walking to his exit. "So be it. I can live with just being the strongest Saiyan the universe has ever birthed."
The only thing Kakarot had on his mind after completing his training was getting to go home and eat some of Chi-Chi's succulent home-cooking. But boy, couldn't urgent matters come at a worse time. The thought of a relaxing evening was shattered when Mister Popo came to Kakarot, expressing there were dangerous matters going on about down below.
"What do you mean? Have more Saiyans come here?"
That's the only thing Kakarot could think of. Sure, Earth wouldn't provide much for Freeza's Force, but still, he often wondered that there would be an inevitable time where some of Freeza's men would come here if they happened to get a signal of high-battle powers. And though Kakarot was on the right track, believing that there were attackers on Earth, it wasn't the Saiyans.
"No, something far worse than your kind…" Kami solemnly expressed.
Raising an eyebrow, Kakarot's mind starts to race. Freeza? Could he actually be here, and was he ready to confront him? Sure, sure he was. But still...Freeza...
"Down in South City," Kami continued to explain. Everyone has rallied on to fight this dangerous force, but they're not really capable. They're far stronger than what you can imagine.
Kami said 'They', so Kakarot immediately scratched out Freeza being a potential threat. It had to be something else then. "Does Karin have any spare senzus?"
Kami just shook his head. Kakarot scoffed and shoulder bumped Kami out of the way prior to sprinting off the edge of the look-out and rocketing down below. The Saiyan wasn't even wearing any clothing besides pants. He was going to enter this battle bare-chested, mainly because of its urgency. It was just a risk he was going to have to take.
Though Kami told Kakarot there was much trouble, it became obvious that the Namekian didn't even dare in elaborating on the horrors down below. The entirety of South City had been set ablaze. Crisp corpses lied all around, consisting of men, women, elderly, and children. Kaston and Liban were one of the first victims as their bodies were ice cold and pale, seemingly drained of all the life that they happened to have.
Gyumao, Tien, Chaotzu, and Krillin also tried to fight them off, but to no avail. They were on their last legs, bloodied, bruised, beaten, with seemingly no way out. The ring leader, going by the name of Android 20, accompanied with Android 19, had cyborgs 17 and 18 toying with them, just to save them for a meal so that the other two Androids could drain them of whatever life they had left.
Kakarot is shocked to see that the Earth's strongest have been resorted to such states, but keeps his expression emotionless, not giving the enemies any chance to see an ounce of weakness. Android 20 claps as smoke covers his body, mostly showing a silhouette.
"We were wondering when you would finally rear your ugly face," he said, greeting Kakarot. "You're the reason I do this, after all."
"I couldn't care less," Kakarot responded. "But what I do want to know is what the hell are you? I can't get any energy signals from none of you."
"They're androids," Tien says as he coughs. "We couldn't sense them either and that's how they got us by surprise. Those two can drain people of their energy and the other two...they're just crazy strong."
"Please…" Krillin groans. "turn into a Super Saiyan or whatever you call it...we can't win otherwise."
Kakarot frowns. He can't, but he doesn't tell Krillin, for the sake of whatever pride he had left. Android 20, waiting, watches as Kakarot powers up.
"That's right. Power up as much as you can! Everyone else is far too pitiful to light a candle to me, much less my subordinates!"
With his powering up, Kakarot has blown away all his peers, clearing the battle-field. Though the only reactions he gets from 17 and 18 are giggles and chuckles. "All of you, stay out of my way."
Kakarot zooms toward 20, who signals to 19. 19 gets in the way and goes to grab at his face. Kakarot ducks under 19's arm, grabs it, and turns around while holding him in an attempt to throw 19 right at 20, who shoots in the sky, missing the smart move just in time. Kakarot continues flying after 19, charging an attack in his hand. 19 slides on the ground and stretches his hand out, awaiting Kakarot's attack. The Saiyan stops in his tracks subsequent to witnessing 19 absorb his power.
Being shocked, Kakarot hadn't even seen 17 and 18 coming from behind. He was kneed in the spine and elbowed in the face. He hopped back up after sliding on the ground and dashed for them both. 17 blocked his punch and 18 ducked under him. The two cyborgs both took on Kakarot's attacks head on, dodging and blocking them. The Saiyan proceeded to maneuver behind him, but the two elbowed Kakarot in the face simultaneously.
Kakarot flipped on the ground and pushed himself back off, circling the two cyborgs as fast as he could in an effort to catch them off-guard.
"Truly pitiful," 20 comments. "None of that will accomplish anything."
He clocks 17 with a kick to the face and upper-cuts 18. They both just laugh as they grab Kakarot's leg and wrist. With a tight hold, they rocket into the sky, then come back down, slamming the Saiyan's back into the ground mercilessly. Kakarot lets out a loud scream as they both stomp on his stomach prior to hopping back off.
Sitting up, 17 and 18 are side by side with their hands aimed right for the young warrior. Kakarot is quick to get back on his feet and does his best to counter with an attack of his own, but is effortlessly overpowered and engulfed by their attacks. Everything he's tried, he's been unable to succeed at.
With the cyborgs attack pushing Kakarot through the burning city over across the waters and over to an island, the Saiyan musters up the strength to remove himself from the blast, huffing and puffing, leaking blood. Kakarot can see their figures zooming in on him from afar into the city. He tries to prepare himself, but is caught lacking once more. A solid gut-punch from 17 opens him up to being clotheslined by 18, falling into the body of water just inches below them.
As his body falls into the deep, dark depths of the ocean, Kakarot can see two bright lights charging up above. The Saiyan's eyes widen and he does his best to swim out of the way. However, with their attacks making contact with the bottom of the ocean, Kakarot is impacted by the pressure and shockwave under-water, causing him to crash over into an oversized rock, which temporarily knocks him out.
Gohan is crying in the arms of his anxious mother. With Kakarot's energy levels constantly lowering, she can't help but start to cry. She knows Kaston and Liban are dead. Her father and friends can't do anything at this point. As bad as she wants to help, leaving her three-year old by himself would be wrong. Gohan had eaten and should have been in a good mood, but for Kakarot to teach Gohan how to sense ki at such an early age definitely back-fired. Feeling his father's ki deteriorating by the second brought the boy to a panic as he knew what it meant. Gohan was smart - probably too much for his own good.
A quick burst of energy indicated that Kakarot had sprung back into action, which gave her a bit of hope. But as soon as she felt Kakarot's energy being drained, her heart dropped. Holding a crying Gohan in her arms, Chi-Chi started to tear up as well. Roshi barges right through the door.
At this point in time, Chi-Chi would have inevitably made the decision to leave; Roshi knew this. For such a horrible time, the old man appeared as calm and collected as can be. "Chi-Chi…" Roshi's eyes glance over to Gohan, who calms down just a bit. "I know what you're thinking and just don't. You must stay here with Gohan."
"But what about everyone else!? I can't just let them die! My husband...my daddy…"
"No more is dying today," Roshi assured her. "I promise."
Seeing Roshi head out in the sky was much a shock to her. The old man was actually flying - something he rarely ever did. By the reassuring attitude he carried and his insane composure, Chi-Chi knew that Roshi had something up his sleeve. But still, she couldn't help but worry for him, either.
With Kakarot temporarily fighting 17 and 18, he brought more time for the others to gain some of their energy - as Gero didn't want to bother in sucking them dry until after he got Kakarot first. Said Saiyan could feel his world coming to an end. His body is weak and his vision completely black. With 20's hands wrapped around his throat, Kakarot feels his life being drained as well as the other Earthlings who continuously fail to battle 17 and 18.
But never before had Kakarot's been in a situation so hopeless. No matter what, he's been able to come out on top at the end of it all, but not this time? No, he couldn't have it. If he died here, then there really wouldn't be anyone left out there to protect Chi-Chi and Gohan. Using whatever strength he had left, Kakarot removes 20's hand from his throat and gets back up to go in for an attack, though he was so slow that 19 was able to intervene and clock Kakarot in his face, nearly breaking his jaw. Kakarot fell over like a statue with a loud thud, now truly incapable of any possible movement.
Gero rams his boot against Kakarot's back and sticks a finger out. "I suppose you've given me just about as much as I can take. By killing you in front of them, they will truly realize that there is nothing or anybody who's going to save them. You all die here."
As 20 charges a beam aimed fro Kakarot's heart, Roshi intervenes, kicking 20 away from the young Saiyan.
Seeing Kaston and Liban's dead bodies sends a surge of rage like never before through Roshi's bodies, as he was reminded of Gyumao and Son Gohan when they died long ago. But the old man played it smart in not letting those unnecessary emotions overtake him. He can't let them get to him. He has to remain cool, with a clear and level head. That's the only way he was going to win.
17 and 18 drop the bodies of Gyumao, Krillin, Tien, and Chaotzu when being ordered to by 20, who tells them to keep their attention on this old man. Roshi tells Kakarot and the others that they all need to either leave or do their best to stay out of the way. He's going to handle this from here on out.
"I-I'm not going anywhere…" Kakarot says. Wobbling as he's on his feet, he promises Roshi that he's gonna break his limits and ascend to a Super Saiyan before he ends each and every one of them.
"That's not happening," Roshi said as he continues to look over 17, 18, 19, and 20. Each of them are waiting for Roshi to drop down his guard in hopes of getting to him quickly and executing. For being the weakest of them all, 19 nor 20 wouldn't get much out of Roshi. It'd just be best to rid of this nuisance. But as they keep their eyes on him, Roshi proceeds to tell Kakarot, "The hopes of ascending into a Super Saiyan, as you call it, ought to come to you as a need, not a desire. The more and more you chase it down, the more you ultimately lose yourself and why you came here in the first place. Spend time with your family and just be good. That means more than anything."
"I can only do so in the heat of the moment," Kakarot responded. "And now I need it now more than ever."
"Sure...you may need it," Roshi agreed. "but now is not your moment. Go home."
Before Kakarot can insist anymore, Gyumao knocks him out with a karate chop to the neck. Being around Kakarot enough, he was well aware of exactly how stubborn he could be; while a strong characteristic to have, it would only make matters worse. "We're not leaving, but we won't intervene," Gyumao says. Roshi, sure, was much weaker, but he was also smarter than all them. He had a few things up his sleeve that even the strongest of fighters wish they knew.
Seeing Roshi's calm, soft confidence worried 20. Sure enough, there was now something about this old man. He didn't know what, but something was up. Despite his suppressed worry, he showed no obvious concerns. "21, kill him."
Roshi takes in a deep breath as he closes his eyes. With his eyes temporarily closed, 21 comes over to him, hoping to get an advantage. But as soon as the old man opens them, Roshi sees 21 just a few yards away. With a simple exhale, 21 is pushed back. Roshi charges for 21, who doesn't even see it coming before Roshi clotheslines him and rips his head right off. With 21's body falling, Roshi stands still with arms up, catching 21's detached head right in the palm of his hands.
This shocks everyone. One moment Roshi was sitting still right before them, then the next thing they know, he wound up with 21's head in his hand. Android 20 didn't even know what to think at this point. With such extreme power and force, he almost panics and tells 17 and 18 to kill him immediately.
The cyborgs listen and both send out their strongest energy attacks at once. Roshi looks over his shoulder, tosses 21's head into the colliding ki waves and hops up. By just touching their ki wave for a split second, Roshi pounces off it and glides over to 18 as he charges a Kamehameha upside down. Stopping just inches shy of her, he blasts her at point-blank range, disintegrating her body.
17 is stuck, unable to form words. Roshi, standing there by 17, just looks at him. In a fit of rage, he tries to punch Roshi, but the man steps back in time, just missing him. 17 goes in for punches and kicks on the ground, though Roshi, keeping his hands to his sides, dodging all of them effortlessly, much to the frustration of Cyborg 17.
Krillin's eyes flutter as he watches Roshi battle. "H-He's not even trying...I can't believe this."
"We have seen this before…" Chaotzu mused.
"Master Roshi's sixth sense is in action," Tien confirmed. "The way he moves...it's as if he's apart of water flowing down a river stream with the current."
"I really need to learn how to do that," Krillin said.
"In order to do so, you must get rid of all emotions in a fight - let your body do the work. I don't think you're very capable of that, Krillin."
"Wow, thanks a lot…"
After missing over 10,000 punches and kicks, 17 backs up and fires an energy wave at point blank range. Roshi steps to the side and watches the attack go on. Seeing that it's headed over to a mountain afar, the old man glides over in front of the attack, re-directs it upward with a punt, then proceeds to redirect the attack once more down to 17. Before he can get out the way, Roshi appears behind 17 and digs four of his fingers against his spine, temporarily paralyzing him. Absolutely helpless to do anything else, 17 is engulfed by his own attack...and killed.
20, absolutely petrified at this point, sees his only option is to flee. Roshi cups his hands and begins to chant. 20 hops in the sky and starts flying away. Once chanting his Kamehameha, he follows through with as much power possible. 20, in a panic, flies all around in zig zags and other patterns. Though he prolonged his life, he ended up just the same as the others.
Once it's all said and done, Roshi looks over to his students, giving them all a thumbs up. Krillin was the one to go and hug Roshi tightly as tears streamed down his cheeks. He genuinely thought he was a goner, but it was his master to save him and the world. Lovely.
"THAT WAS AMAZING, MUTEN ROSHI!" Gyumao exclaimed. "After all these years, I never thought you still had it in ya!"
Roshi just smiled.
"Now we can use the Dragon Balls to bring Kaston and Liban back!"
Roshi shook his head. "Not going to happen." Upon being asked why by everyone, he goes on to explain himself. "As all my students, you already understand how I feel regarding the process of moving on. The Dragon Balls, though indeed are a great gift, they are also a hindrance in growth. And before you ask how, let me explain. In life, the ability to move on is something that must be learned, and it can only be learned through experience. By always bringing people we love back, we can never truly move and, and in essence, grow. The only thing I want for my students is to grow. Kaston and Liban both understood this perfectly."
"Bulma pretty much said the same thing…" Krillin recalled. "It was watered down compared to how you say it...but it's all the same."
"It explains why she never wished her mom back to life," Chaotzu remarked.
"But what about my daughter?" Gyumao asks. Tien comments, saying that's a really good question.
Chuckling, Roshi says that Chi-Chi isn't an easy gal to get to. "She's grown in more ways than one. No longer is she focused on fighting for the sake of revenge, but she's learning to be there for her family, to have something…" Roshi then looks at Kakarot, being held on Gyumao's shoulders. "and someone to fight for. If one of us were to die now, she'd be upset, but she'd understand this philosophy. By her father potentially dying again, she'd have to repeat the process of grief, and she goes back to stage one. And if it ever happens, she'd go through with it and let it be, for to possibly go through those stages again would most certainly break her. Chi-Chi is fine now. She understands, which I hope the lot of you do."
Wrapped in bandages and ointment cream, Kakarot fought against the natural nature of healing and stood up, looking out the window, instead of getting rest. The battle had long been over and many citizens from other cities came together to put out the fires and help re-establish South City. Though it'd be a far cry from what it once used to be, the good thing was that people started to already make an effort. Chi-Chi and Gohan are both sound asleep in bed. But he can't bring himself to sleep alongside them. Not as his blood boils from internal rage.
"I'm a good man…" Kakarot whispers to himself. "I've calmed down for the better." Though in the back of his mind, he can only think for what. All he's ever wanted to do after freeing himself from Turles was become a Super Saiyan. He can do that and live a normal life, to try and find another genuine purpose.
But he knows that he's also made a promise, spoken a word that he doesn't want to go back on, for it would bring on negativity regarding his newfound integrity and goodness. Though in his eyes, he will never be able to live his promise to Chi-Chi through unless he becomes a Super Saiyan so that he can truly live like an Earthling.
But looking over to Chi-Chi and Gohan in bed together causes Kakarot to smile, something he didn't even notice he did. Because of them being a reason, he thinks that maybe this is the purpose he was meant to seek after. Maybe, to actually live and not want to become a Super Saiyan, it'd actually come. But now? He had a family, people who he needed more than some status of power.
As he gets back into bed, Gohan can feel his father's warmth, which temporarily wakes him up. Gohan snuggles himself into his father's chest as he sleeps facing toward his mother. Just before he falls back to sleep, Gohan mumbles, "I'm glad you're back, daddy…"
Kakarot ruffles his boy's hair before he wraps his arms around Chi-Chi to reel her in closer. "I'm glad to be back, son."
