Who am I?
Am I Jordan? A gifted young man that squandered his talents, content to laze his life away and pursue his meager interests? A man whom detested effort if it wasn't advantageous to him in some way or form. Someone who always looked for a short cut to goals he set for himself. A man that knew his biggest faults, but was too lazy to change after the way he had to turn his entire life style around years previously due to an illness.
Or am I Goku? A happy go lucky teenager always on the search for more training and stronger opponents. A naive boy who saved the world already at a mere thirteen years of age and would someday go on to become the greatest protector of his universe.
Or could I be Kakarot? A young saiyan toddler who never got the chance to live his life. Jettisoned away from everything he knew, from his mother, father and older brother in order for his life to be saved. Only for that life to be cut short with a harsh fall and painful injury to the head, resulting in the birth of the one known as Goku?
...Ah, I suppose this one would be best, wouldn't it? But for now I think I'll just rest my eyes a bit and enjoy the pleasant haze of darkness around me.
"Doll, it's time to wake up now." A soft, pleasant voice roused me from my slumber, "The Earth needs your assistance."
I blinked my eyes open groggily, spots appearing in my vision. The darkness I'd been submerged in for so long slipped away and light invaded my vision. When the spots faded away, I saw him standing above me. My creator I suppose? Mr. Popo staring down at me with wide, unblinking genial eyes. In a way, it almost felt surreal to see him standing before me. I have three separate sets of memories and one of those sets believes the black genie and the universe he comes from to be nothing more than fiction.
I should be even less real than him and the others. There was a reason he called me Doll after all.
I stood up from where I found myself laying, a soft white quilted bed situated in the middle of a bright stone walled room, one small window with no window allowing a soft light to trickle in and alight the room. The stiffness I felt in my body was almost unbearable, how long had I been laid upon that bed? The last I remember was that I was put to sleep after the original finished his training with me and went on his journey to the past. Still, I scowled at the attendant of Kami, "Don't call me a doll." I near snarled.
Aggressive of me. A byproduct of my choice I'm sure, of who I would become when the three sets of memories collided within my head.
"Oh my!" Popo gasped, taking a step back in what seemed to be surprise at my tone, "How extraordinary, you seem to have already developed sentience immediately upon awakening!"
Sentience. Meaning I'm alive right? Why though? The memories I inherited tell me that my existence should have faded after Son Goku completed his training with Kami. "Why do I live?" I asked Popo, cutting straight to the point.
"Odd, you're very much different from Goku despite being a perfect copy of him," Popo pointed out before smiling at me, "To answer your question though, once Goku completed his training Kami tasked me with collecting the dragon balls and bestowing true life upon you in case the day ever came when the Earth would need a hero once more, I just didn't think you'd need to be awakened so soon."
He's right this is odd. I can understand keeping me around for that reason, but why would I be needed when Goku was around? I can see where time differed and my existence remained. I have memories of training with Goku as his opponent off and on for for around a year, although I was only awakened for fighting him and remember only hearing Popo comment on it being a year just before I was put back to sleep for the last time.
Either Goku lost to Piccolo at the World Martial Arts tournament or something along those lines has occurred and Goku is dead. It must be early on to a degree though, because with my current strength by time the Saiyan Saga was finished I would be twice as weak as even the likes of Chiaotzu and Yajirobe. I felt my lips pull up into an angry snarl, as I am now I'm complete fodder to even a Saibaman. Shameful, simply shameful. My father would be so ashamed of my weakness, even mother was stronger than me and she wasn't even a warrior like myself.
I'm maybe around a quarter the power of a Saibaman. Son Goku was estimated to have a power level of around 260 when he fought King Piccolo. Comparing my strength to the memories I have of that fight, I should be around the 350 mark by estimating my current power with the strength I had then, but I'll need a scouter to measure it fully.
"Now that I have answered your question," Popo spoke up breaking me from my thoughts, "What should I call you, or shall I give you a name?"
"There's no need," I replied stretching the kinks out of my body, "You can just call me Kakarot."
Popo gasped again and I had to hide a smirk that threatened to split my face. That reaction alone told me enough. And from the six powers I feel on the lookout, all weaker than my own and one I recognized as Kami I know when I am exactly in the timeline.
I chose to become Kakarot. I couldn't be Goku, for he already existed and I refused to play second fiddle to him. I couldn't be Jordan either despite the massive amount of information I gained thanks to his memories, people would question where the name came from. It was just simply much easier to be Kakarot than either of the other two and I'm perfectly fine with being Kakarot.
"You know my Saiyan name," I pointed out in lieu of his reaction, "But while I've gained the memories the original lost, it's unlikely he ever did. So what's going on?" I prodded.
"Remarkable, it didn't even occur to me during your creation that you would even retain the memories he lost," the genie said, "As for what happened, your brother Raditz came and a fight broke out between Goku and him. Both were killed during the battle and now two more, much stronger saiyan's are coming and will arrive within a year's time."
A memory flashed before my vision. One of the few I have from the gestation period I had during my time on Planet Vegeta. A smiling boy with a lion's mane of spiky black hair, gesturing wildly and boasting happily about his power level, 517, and he'd been chosen to form a squad with Prince Vegeta himself. A happy declaration that he would be sure to help me become just as strong when I was finally allowed to leave the pod I was kept in during my infantile years.
I clenched my fists and banished the memory. Rage built in my chest and I had to let loose a calming deep breath from my nose and delve deep into the meditation techniques I learned through the original to stop my ki from fluctuating outwards and destroying my surroundings. I cannot allow sentiment to cloud my judgment, especially when Jordan's memories showed me how Raditz turned out in the end, that caring brother was long gone far before he ever fought the original and Piccolo.
Instead;
"Hoh? Goku must have gotten a lot stronger then, " I said as if impressed, "Raditz had a power level over five hundred by the time he was seven years old. With all the years he's had he must have been closing in on father's strength." I cannot allow any of my future knowledge to be shone, I need to keep their suspicions off of me.
"I am unsure of how strong this father you claim is," Popo replied, "But the information myself and Kami received tells us that the strength Raditz displayed had a numerical value of 1,500."
I had to stop myself from sneering. Sure Raditz spent most of his time on missions and in stasis, but he was seven years older than the original, nearing his thirties and he hadn't even tripled his power in all that time. The warrior in me was disappointed in him, especially because I know how simple it is for a saiyan to grow stronger.
"Hmph," I snorted, "He must have slacked off for years on end."
"You talk like that, but he was still much stronger than you are now." Popo input.
I snorted, "Not for long," I turned on my heel and began to make my way out of the room, "Now come Mr. Popo, I suppose I should meet with the others before getting down to training." Left unsaid was the fact that I won't be training with them. They won't be able to keep up with what I'm planning right now, especially if Korin has a good stock of Sensu Beans.
The second I walked out of the lookout residence and onto the large outdoor area all activity ceased. The five engrossed in training all froze in their tracks and turned towards me. Krillin was the first to react, breaking away from Tien and racing over, "Goku!" The bald monk cried, "You're alive!? And you're so young again!" There were actually tears beginning to form in his eyes.
To bad I'd have to crush that joy forming within him, because I may have Goku's memories up until he was thirteen years old, but I'm not Goku.
"Goku!?" Yamcha gasped and Yajirobe outright tumbled backwards out of the cross legged pose he sat in for meditation.
Ah Yajirobe, always good for a laugh.
Thankfully, I didn't need to explain anything. Kami who was standing a few feet from the entrance spoke up, "I'm afraid he is not the Goku you know my friends," the guardian of the Earth spoke up, "He is a perfect clone created by Mr. Popo some years back that was used to help Goku during his training with me leading up to the battle with Piccolo."
"What!?" Krillin shouted, jerking back, "He's a clone?"
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I'm a clone idiot," I snapped, "But I'm not Goku, just call me Kakarot alright?"
"That name!" Krillin hissed.
I rolled my eyes again, "Yes I'd heard you had a run in with my older brother," I said drolly, "Don't worry so much Krillin, I'm a perfect replica of the original, meaning I even have the memories he lost as a toddler, memories about being a saiyan that he lost."
"You certainly talk a lot differently from Goku that's for sure," Tien finally joined in on the discussion having been silent up till now, "A bit arrogantly too."
My eyes lit up, "Tien, perfect just the guy I need." I replied. The others would be far too hesitant to do what I asked, but a former assassin like Tien should be able to help me out. "I'm gonna need you to come with me, oh and you as well." I told him, then added to that while pointed at Kami. That said, I floated slightly up into the air by pushing ki out from the bottom of my feet and hovered there for a moment.
"What, why?" Tien asked in confusion.
"I must confess that I too am rather perplexed." Kami added.
"Just come with me to Korin's," I ordered, "This will help out a bunch when the other saiyan's come trust me." It'll help me at least. A plan had already been forming in my mind the moment I woke up. With my knowledge of the future I know how strong I need to become. I need to become at least strong enough to deal with Frieza so he can't get immortality, a daunting task but it just made me excited at the prospect.
You gotta love those saiyan instincts.
I flew off without a second thought, dipping over the lookout in a moment and descending downwards to where I know Korin's is. They may be Goku's friends, but they're not mine. I'm really not interested in getting chummy with them right now. Though I kept my speed light enough for the other two to catch up quickly.
"So what's this plan of yours?" Tien asked as he got level with me, Kami following in his wake.
"Saiyan's are a warrior race, and we have a special ability." I replied, "This is something Goku has forgotten."
"What kind of ability?" Kami asked.
"It's called the Zenkai Boost," I replied, "When a saiyan is injured, when we return to full health we gain a a boost in power to adapt against what injured us in the first place."
"That explains so much!" Tien gasped.
It really did. Tien trained just as much, if not more so than Goku did. Despite that though, he was only slightly stronger now than Goku was when he fought King Piccolo. And once he healed after that fight, he'd gained quite an increase in strength in comparison to where he was previously.
Still, I'm not sure how this will work out. There are two main theories for Zenkai coming from Jordan's memories that I know of. One is that on average a saiyan only gets a 33% increase due to a zenkai, only very rarely do they get what is termed as a super zenkai and gain a multiplier boost, like how Gohan, Vegeta and Goku got stronger so quickly on Namek.
Taking into account Goku's strength against King Piccolo and the strength I have now, alongside the very minor gains I got from training against Goku during his training under Kami, then that one seems to be viable.
On the other hand, there is a theory that zenkai add more when a saiyan can feel a power so much stronger than their own. The stronger the power they feel around the, the stronger the zenkai they get. An instinctive boost to fight against all possible threats that seems very viable as well.
That could be troublesome. Popo is the strongest being on Earth right now. I sensed his strength the moment I woke up on the Lookout and know that numerically it's at 1,080. While I could reach that quickly in that sense, it would sliver down off as well after that.
"I see," Kami said softly, realization clouding his wrinkly features, "Are you sure about this? It's such a barbaric thing to do to yourself just in order to increase your strength."
The upcoming pain didn't really bother me. What did bother me though was spending all my time constantly training. I'm not going to waste my life like the Goku did in the original timeline, there are plenty of ways to shorten the amount of time I need to train and I'll take advantage of any and all of them. I wonder if King Yemma's fruit really exist? I know they appeared in a few games besides the filler episode they were in, so it's possible. A couple of those could save me a hell a lot of time and energy.
"There's no time to waste Kami," I replied, "If a little pain helps us save the world then I'm fine with it."
A moment later we touched down in Korin's home. The tubby white cat was already standing at the ledge to meet us.
"Well well well," Korin hummed, thumping his staff on the floor, "It seems you're pulling out all the stops aren't you Kami?" he said, looking right at me.
"It cannot be helped old friend," Kami replied, "I'm quite glad I did though, for it seems something has occurred that even I did not anticipate and our young friend here has retained even the memories of the saiyan childhood that Goku lost."
"Hoh, well isn't that interesting," Korin hummed one more in interest, "So what can I do for ya?"
I stepped forward, "Korin, how many Sensu Beans do you have left over?" I questioned, getting right to the point.
"Ah, I've only got two left from the last batch, that fatso Yajirobe keeps munching on them when I'm not looking," the cat wrinkled his nose as he replied, "I started on a new batch the moment I sensed what happened to Goku, it'll take a good year for them to be ready though." As if by magic, he held up one white paw and a brown near empty looking little bag appeared held within his grasp and held out towards me.
Only two, I clicked my tongue. The fat blob! If it weren't for him I could make stupid gains rapidly. I sighed deeply, it'll have to do. One for now and I'll use the other just before Nappa and Vegeta arrive, maximize my gains. I accepted the bag and grabbed one before tossing it to Tien.
The bald man caught it deftly before staring at me seriously, "Are you really sure about this?" he asked, brow furrowed.
I hesitated for only a moment before I replied, "Yes," I needed to test the zenkai quickly and I needed to get stronger as quickly as possible. Pain was just a hurdle I have to deal with and overcome, "I chose you Tien for a reason, because you're the only one who has the resolve needed to do this. The others would wimp out on me."
Tien snorted, "Glad to be of service I suppose," he said dryly. I always liked Tien after he mellowed out, he wasn't anywhere near the hassle the others were to deal with. Goku might have been fine with it, but I'm pretty sure their shenanigans will annoy me quickly.
I stepped up and stood just a few steps from the tall three eyed warrior, "Hit me with your best shot Tien," I told him, no trace of joking in my voice, "Don't hold back at all. In order for me to get the most out of this, you need to bring me as close to death a possible."
A bright golden light erupted throughout the tower and all I felt was pain exploding from my abdomen.
So yeah, I've posted this story on a few other websites, and decided to go ahead and post it here. Are you ready for big numbers, and then bigger numbers? Because this shit is all about being autistic and raising numbers and evolving them into even bigger numbers.
Shameless plug. I have a Pa-treon, go by the same name on there as here. Feel free to check it out if you want, but don't feel pressured to support me or anything, all my crap gets uploaded outside of it anyway, I'm not hiding anything behind a pay wall.