Warrior Instincts
A/N: I made a retcon to Tien's character, one that I went back and edited in the last chapter as well. He will have two eyes, rather than three, for the moment. Through talks with my friend Doomknight134 we've come up with a nice plan for Tien, to help keep him relevant.
Ch.17- Demons of a different sort
Even as he stared at them, settled there on the ground neatly in a circle, Piccolo still found it surreal to know that in only a single year he'd actually managed to get a hold of all seven Dragon Balls; that now, in mere moments, his youth would be restored to him! Off to the side, his human pet stood nervously bouncing from foot to foot, watching anxiously for any sign that her life may now be forfeit.
'Smart girl,' the wicked demon chuckled internally, 'but...I think I'll keep her, at least for a while.'
After all, sooner or later, one of his future children might be in need of snack.
Thinking of what a grand army he would soon have again brought Piccolo's focus back to the wish-granting orbs nestled in the grass, and he once more turned to Mai and asked if what she'd told him earlier was correct.
"I simply say the incantation, and Shenron appears?"
"T-That's right, just c-call for him like I told you, a-and you'll soon be b-back to full strength M-My Lord."
"Hmm," the scourge scanned over the trembling young woman with a critical eye, "you'd better hope they're the right words then, girl, or you'll pay dearly for deceiving me."
Sure that Mai was now too stricken by fear to attempt fleeing from him, Piccolo allowed his yellow gaze to swivel back onto the orange balls decorated by stars. A feeling of raw anticipation filled the giant, green monster as memories of the past flashed through his mind; power, the smell of fear, the feeling of invincibility.
Soon, such euphoric wonders would be his to savor, and with no foolish old man to seal him away again the Era of Oblivion would go completely uncontested!
'Though, best to be safe than sorry,' Piccolo admonished, 'and my first order of business will be to eradicate the martial arts society from the face of the planet! But first...'
"It is time; Arise, Shenron! Come forth, and grant my wish, he who has gathered the seven Dragon Balls!"
At first, it seemed as though the incantation hadn't worked, and the short-tempered scourge was nearly ready to turn around so as to strike Mai from the world for wasting his time, when suddenly all seven balls began to glow. It was a brilliant, luminescent orange that made the orbs appear to be filled with fire from the underworld, one that was soon joined by sparks of scorching electricity.
Thunder boomed, drawing attention towards the sky, and both master and slave watched as thick, black clouds swallowed up all rays of light that once filled the morning sky. Streaks of lightning struck true to the Earth and a light rain began to descend upon the land as gusts of heavy wind created small cyclones that scattered leaves from the treetops and frighten even the most diligent of birds from their nests.
Animals scattered, and their cries molded together to create a symphony of fright that Piccolo found delightful, while Mai dropped to her knees wearing a mask of discontent and worry.
This...was different from before. When Pilaf had summoned the dragon there had been dark clouds, yes, but these blotted out all light and cast the world in a blanket of shadow that felt...unnatural. The wind had whipped, but only like that of a slight storm, nothing strong enough to form tornadoes, and there had been no terrible thunder and lightning.
As ice-cold rain dropped from the sky in a depressing drizzle, slowly soaking the former military commander to the bone, Mai felt the frigid hand of fear grip at her heart and struggled to breath past what such an ominous scene might mean.
Though, before those thoughts could overwhelm the young woman, a single bolt of lightning came crashing down in the center of the Dragon Balls, or rather, it rose out from within before spiraling among the pitch black clouds and taking the shape of a mighty dragon. Soon, the outer crust of blinding yellow aura faded, and Shenron could be seen floating among the storm in all of his magnificent glory.
Yet as Piccolo gazed upon the legendary serpent with awe and excitement, Mai continued to feel her worries compound as she noticed two very noticeable changes about the wish-granting reptile; he'd grown, nearly twice the size as before, and she could see a dark tint to the edge of Shenron's once emerald scales.
'W-What in the world is going on,' she choked mentally, as there was nothing in the legends about this sort of change. It was, honestly, quite terrifying, and Mai was beginning to wonder if perhaps the Dragon Balls may not be as much a gift from the heavens as people seemed to believe.
And as he spoke, that dreadful curiosity took the form of a cold shiver trailing the young woman's spine.
"You who have summoned me, speak, so that I may grant you any one wish!"
There was a bit of a 'hiss' to the Eternal Dragon's speech now; one only noticeable if one had heard him speak before. Though it could be found by the shivering, wet soldier and the echo of such a noise nearly made Mai want to hurl.
But not Piccolo. No, the Demon King only grinned wickedly as he stared up at the creature who would be, in a sense, his salvation. Salivating at the mouth, drool gleaming as it dribbled from his fangs, Piccolo shouted loud and clear as his dark heart thundered behind the monster's chest.
"I wish...I wish...to me made young again! RESTORE MY YOUTH AND POWER; RETURN TO ME WHAT TIME HAS STOLEN! CAN YOU DO THIS!?"
The silence that followed seemed to stretch for an eternity, broken only by the crashing of lightning or booming of thunder, and for the second time King Piccolo began to wonder if his hopes had been dashed as rage slowly swelled within him. Had that fool Kami not made the balls as powerful as Piccolo imagined, or was there perhaps a certain way wishes must be made?
It was just as the Demon King was contemplating offering the human fleshbag's corpse to the dragon, that Shenron's voice echoed across the empty plains once more. And as he spoke, the elderly abomination's entire body filled with malicious glee.
"As you wish..."
Large, crimson eyes glowed for a moment and the storm's intensity picked up right before another flash of lightning came down to strike at Piccolo directly. Only, instead of vaporizing the fiend like Mai secretly hoped, this blast energized the Demon King!
"Graha!"
Immediately King Piccolo felt the changes; his muscles tightened, skin pulled itself back together. The aches that plagued him all year were soon vanishing without a trace as the demon's spine straightened him out to a full height of over eight feet tall.
Yellow eyes brightened and fangs gleamed as Piccolo's large, now muscular, frame strained against the stitching of his uniform. Yet, as grand as such a feeling was, what the scourge felt the most excited for was the return of his power.
Raw, primal, uninhibited, the well filled swiftly before overflowing, and Piccolo found himself laughing maniacally as an aura of bloody crimson tinted by a deathly black began to surround him like a flame. With a final, triumphant roar the transformation was complete, and King Piccolo stood tall and in his prime once more.
"Your wish has been granted, now, I must go..."
A devilish smirk found its way to Piccolo's youthful face as he sent the Eternal Dragon a curious leer. In moments, the power he needed was gathered firmly in a single palm, and the Demon King didn't feel the drain one bit.
Flexing his claws, King Piccolo told the dragon, "Oh yes, of course, but before you do...there's just one last thing I need—HA!"
"Raaaawwwr!"
The bright, molten-yellow beam flashed for mere seconds through the sky before colliding with Shenron, and only Mai was there to witness as Earth's Eternal Dragon was turned to ashes in and instant. Shenron's pained, enraged, cries echoed throughout the land as the skies returned to normal and all signs that a wish had been granted disappeared into the wind; the Dragon Balls themselves quickly turning to stone.
With the deed done, Piccolo breathed a sigh of silent relief, before turning his attention onto the human woman cowering a mere few feet away.
"You have served me well, human, so your life shall be spared; under the condition that it now belongs to me. As such, my next task for you is to compile a list of the martial arts community for me, is that understood?"
The young woman didn't even need to think as she answered, "Y-Yes, your E-Eminence, as y-you command. I'll leave, a-at your word."
"Good; then go now, and do try to be quick about it."
Giving a shaky nod Mai pulled out her capsules and selected the fastest jet-coptor she could afford, before clicking the trigger and tossing it. A colorful puff of smoke shrouded the vehicle for only a moment, before the girl quickly climbed aboard the silver hunk of metal.
Turning only once, the blue-eyed beauty asked her Master what he now had planned. The demon's answer though, left a cold shiver running down the young woman's spine her entire ride to Papaya Island.
"I'll just be...getting reacquainted with the world."
xXx
Piccolo wasn't the only devious fiend with a nefarious agenda however; Tien of the Crane School was bubbling with vengeance as well. The bald youth's two onyx-black eyes stared hatefully at the front gate to Capsule Corporation's home-base; home of the Briefs family. Home...to his target.
A swift, yet vicious, interrogation of Jingle Village's chief had lead the teen here earlier in the year, but the past twelve months had been spent in harsh training in preparation for taking down the one who proved themselves even stronger than Mercenary Tao. Not even the odd, short storm from moments before had stopped Tien's journey, and now...
'Now, Champion, it's your turn!'
xXx
Another set of the world's beautiful, blue eyes could be found closed in meditation, as Lazuli took steady breaths of the floral air around her. Blocking out the sounds of her brother as he worked through a kata he'd found on the internet, the blonde attempted to delve deep within herself and find the power to use energy techniques like Goku and Jackie Chun.
After witnessing just how powerful the 'Kamehameha', and even the 'Dodon-Ray' were, Lazuli realized that, if she truly hoped to stay by Goku's side, then she herself would need to harness that same energy and make it her own.
The task proved difficult however, especially with how often the blonde beauty's thoughts would stray to thinking about the monkey-tailed World Champion. Even now Lazuli could feel the blush starting to stain her cheeks as she recalled the night before; her only hope being that Bulma didn't hear her cries of passion.
However, such wonders were pushed aside at the sound of an explosion, followed swiftly by the rumbling of Capsule Corps grounds.
'W-What in the-'
"Sis, you alright!?"
"I am," Lazuli answered as she dusted herself off, "but we need to hurry and find Bulma! That didn't feel like any earthquake I've ever experienced!"
Sprinting from the garden, the twins ran at full speed through the large, empty house in search of their friend, yet stopped dead at the fierce shout that soon rang throughout the building. The owner's voice was firm and full of rage, and a weight seemed to settle over Lapis and Lazuli from it simply carrying through the air...but it was what the voice said that truly tightened their cores.
"Kakarot! Where are you!"
Immediately, Lapis' eyes sharpened with focus and his arm went straight across Lazuli's chest, before the pair began a much slower trek; this time in the direction of that voice. Lazuli's own face was twisted into a mask of curious indignation, as she wondered who could be looking for her crush in such an uncivilized manner.
The answer? A bald young man, who looked to be about Bulma's age, if not a little older, standing in the destroyed entrance to Capsule Corp. His attire mirrored that of Tao's, though the colors were an emerald green, trimmed by a bloody-red, and the kanji for 'vengeance' stitched over the breast. A look of pure fury was settled over the guy's face, and his fists were clenched so tight that Lapis was sure he could hear the knuckles pop from where he and his sister were ducked away.
Before anything more could be gleaned from their intruders appearance though, he opened his mouth wide and yelled once more...
"Kakarot, you coward, show yourself at once! It is time for you to pay for your crimes!"
"The only one paying around here, is you buster," Bulma hissed as she finally came storming into the room, "look at what you did to my front door!"
"A paltry offense," the stranger scoffed, "when compared to the wrong I have come to make right. Now, tell me where Kakarot is hiding; I will not ask nicely a second time."
Bulma's blue eyes widened for a moment, her hands still on her hips, before a snort rippled through the air and the young woman pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, what, are you someone he put the smack down on, and now you want a rematch? Kami above, that little punk, he goes off to train and leaves me to clean up his mess huh?"
"Kakarot isn't here!? Where is he, then, surely you must know!"
"What am I, his keeper!?"
"As that coward's lover, I'm sure he told you before departing!"
The female genius' pretty face erupted into a fierce blush at the accusation, though a thrill tingled at the base of her neck at the thought some stranger already assumed she and Goku were lovers. However, it was the reminder that there was, indeed, a stranger in her home searching for the aforementioned alien that drew Bulma's ire back to the forefront of her expression.
"E-Even if he did tell me, what makes you think I'd tell a creep like you? Besides, if you couldn't beat the kid a year ago, you're definitely not gonna be a match for him now; go home, and tell your parents that they owe me for the door you destroyed!"
Tien felt his whole body fill with rage then, and aura flared around the martial artist as his power rose. Staring coldly at the heiress, he grit his teeth and began to move towards her.
"I have no family; Kakarot stole them from me! So now, I'm going to do the same to him!"
Bulma's anger was quickly replaced by fear, as her strengths lay in science and machines, and was about to turn and try to run for her gun when Lapis and Lazuli stepped out from behind the corner of the hall.
"Sorry," the younger boy snapped, "but we can't really allow that. If you want her..."
"You'll have to go through us first..." his sister continued
"And we won't be making it easy," the twins finished together.
Tien allowed himself to be be drawn away from the trembling girl before him, and instead stare down the pair of fighters who now challenged the Crane school prodigy. A vicious smirk made its way onto the bald youth's face then, and as he watched the twins carefully, grew interested when he saw them step one behind the other.
"Bulma, run," Lapis ordered, "we'll hold him off as long as possible, but you need to get away from here."
"R-Right; please be careful you two-"
"Nobody's going anywhere," Tien growled, flexing his fingers, "besides, you'll both be dead long before the bitch can get too far, so what's the point?"
"I guess we'll just have to see about that!" Lapis and Lazuli screamed back, before dashing forward.
Even after seeing it, Tien couldn't help trying to keep his focus after the pair split off, and came at him from two sides. The blonde went low, trying to sweep his legs, while her brother tried for an aerial kick, but a lift of the leg and a single forearm stopped both attempts, and Tien returned fire by throwing Lapis across the room by the ankle.
Lazuli found herself rolling backwards to avoid being knocked in the head by her foe's pivot-kick, before pushing off the rug to try and land a straight shot to their stomach. He parried it, but the blonde managed to duck under the knife-strike aimed at her throat before a knee to the stomach sent Lazuli flying back into the wall.
Tien didn't get to rest though, as Lapis had returned to his feet and went for a full-body tackle, before attempting to put the bald martial artist into an arm-bar.
"Nice try," Tien sneered, before ripping his arm free, and bringing his elbow down hard.
"Gaha!"
"Lapis!"
Lazuli scrambled to her feet despite the pain she'd been feeling, and barreled into she and her brother's opponent as he rolled to his feet, before sending a full-force punch down to crush the young man's nose.
Only, the attack never made it, as Tien sent the blonde rocketing away with a burst of his aura before rolling back onto his feet with an irritated look creased into his brow. Looking between the twins, the Crane-school student sucked his teeth in annoyance at the sight of them both unconscious after such a short scuffle.
"Pathetic, " energy began to build at the tip of Tien's finger, "though, you did get in my way; so I'm afraid you'll both need to pay. Maybe in the afterlife you'll learn your place-"
"Don't even think about it!"
Bulma's biting command drew the martial artist's own fury to where she now stood, feet firmly planted and the barrel of a handgun aimed straight at him. Normally, Tien wouldn't worry about some weak civilian pointing such a weapon at him, but when he stared into Bulma's eyes, the young man could tell that she was perfectly capable of pulling that trigger, of taking his life.
...and that's when he laughed.
"W-What's so funny," Bulma hissed, finger on the trigger even as the mocking guffaws echoed inside her home, "This isn't a joke; get out of my house, or I'll shoot you!"
"Were I an ordinary man, I'm sure you would, unfortunately...I am nothing so simple."
Before she could blink, Tien vanished, only to reappear with her weapon clutched in hand. Gaping in both shock, as well as horror, Bulma' entire body began to grow cold as her knees shook. The weight of fear quickly became too much for the young woman to handle though, and she dropped to the floor, left helpless as the martial artist now towered over the heiress; a cruel look etched into his own face.
"I'll commend you for your efforts," Tien snickered, "I even respect that you were fully prepared to kill me, simply to save those two, but I'm afraid this is the end for all three of you. I'll kill you each quickly, and then wait here for Kakarot's return so that I can watch as his entire world comes crashing down around him...Hahahahahaha!"
Tears welled at the corners of Bulma's eyes then, as instead of the end of her own gun she now stared down the point of Tien's finger; a bullet of yellow energy beaded at the tip. The horrible truth, that she may very well die, began to finally settle in the blue-haired genius could feel her body starting to shut down. A strangled cry for help, for Goku to appear and save the day, lodged itself in Bulma's throat, and in its place was a singe gasp; like that of a dying fish.
All hope seemed lost then, as Tien lowered his fingertip to rest no more than an inch from Bulma's forehead, letting the young woman feel the heat of his attack, and finally those tears began to fall as the young woman broke out into a fit of sobs.
"N-No...please...y-you don't have to do this."
"Tell that to Tao, when you see him in the next life."
Resigned to her fate, Bulma simply closed her eyes and waited for the sour embrace of death, when suddenly, a new echo of laughter filled the air .Immediately, Tien whipped his body around to aim the prepped Dodon-Ray at whoever dared to interrupt the start of his vengeance. What he found though, stopped the young man in his tracks, as the hideous cackle slowly came to an end...
Standing at a startling eight feet tall, with skin green like the purest emerald and pointed ears, this newest arrival looked down his pointed nose at the motley crew from high above the ruined entrance. Large, malevolent, yellow eyes stared in sadistic amusement as powerful arms crossed over a muscled chest. Dressed in a purple fighting gi, with the symbol for 'Demon' stitched across the front, it was easy for Tien to discern that the new face was a warrior; though what role they would soon play in this scene was yet to be determined.
"Oh my," their voice was deep, and guttural, with a tint of dark glee coating every word, "please, don't stop the fun on my account; I'd love to see how this story ends."
"So then, you're not here to stop me?"
"I'm here because I sensed an unusually high power, one that's far beyond anything I've felt from a human before."
Hearing his race be spat out like rotten milk from this newcomer's tongue turned something in Tien's stomach, and he moved his attention from Bulma, to the green giant as he called "Oh, really, and what makes you such an expert on what we humans are truly capable of?"
Piccolo raised a single, amused brow as he began to descend from the sky. Clearly, this upstart had no idea just who he was speaking to.
'No matter; he will soon. The hard way.'
"Considering I've killed a countless many of you in my own lifetime," the Demon King chuckled as he finally touched down, "I'd say that makes me quite the expert on your races...limitations."
Tien could hear Bulma's chocked cry of horror behind him even as he stared down the beast that stood before them both. His heart hammered beneath his chest, as adrenaline flooded the young man's veins, and the knot in Tien's stomach grew tighter as he fought the urge to turn and run from the horrible darkness that he sensed coming off this...creature in waves.
"Heh, so it wasn't just your curiosity that brought you here," the Crane-school student sniped, "but your fear. You're so used to feeding off of the helpless and the weak, that the moment you sensed a real fighter you got scared, and came to try and take me out."
A shiver of dejavu traveled up Bulma's spine as she listened to the green monster laugh at her attacker's words. Harder than ever before, she prayed that Goku would arrive soon; that his training would be over and he would come to rescue her and the twins.
"I suppose I should thank you," Piccolo chuckled, "it's been quite a long while since I've had such a laugh; you, a challenge for me? Don't kid yourself boy, I have more power in the tip of one finger than you'll ever have in your entire life; there could be ten of you, and it still wouldn't make a difference here today!"
At the first hint of his new enemy's aura flaring to life, Tien dropped into fighting stance and dug deep within for the power that he'd been saving to use against Kakarot. Staring down the mountainous, green beast, something tingled at the back of Tien's brain to let him know that this foe was nothing like those two younger punks from before.
For Piccolo, the rush of power that surged through his younger, more powerful body filled him with a wicked sense of glee that had nearly been lost to him, and as he looked down at the foolish human who dared to challenge him, there was only one thought going through his mind...
'First, this weak boy, and then...the world; all will once again fear the might of King Piccolo!'
xXx
A/N: These will probably only go on until the Saiyan Saga; I just want people to get an understanding of how I see these characters. Also, I won't be raising anyone's level, such as Vegeta or Nappa, simply to make them more of a threat as this story isn't meant to be a full re-hashing of events.
Power Levels:
Roshi- 350(declined due to inactivity)
Shen- 300(declined due to inactivity)
Tao- 1,000; at time of death(constantly active fighter who trains should be stronger than anyone who doesn't regardless of status, he would have grown stronger had Bulma not shot him)
Lapis- 250(roughly Tao's guidebook power level, for reference)
Lazuli- 200
Tien- 1,500
Korin- 4,000
Kami- 5,000
King Piccolo- 5,000(about 3,000 when old)
Kakarot(after training with Korin)- 4k-5k without 'wrathful' form.
A human's level cap, without any sort of boosts, to me should be about 2,000; anything beyond that without help of a technique or 'upgrades' seems meh.