Authors Notes: Hi there! We are currently rewriting Dimensional Destiny. We hope you readers don't mind; there are many changes but none too ginormous, and most importantly, the writing has improved incredibly!
Disclaimer: We don't own Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing, or Sailor Moon. However, we own Rika, Miryo, Pota and Kenja so no touchy.
Warning: Contains foul language.
-x-
"Blah" Talking
'Blah' Thinking
-Blah- Telepathic Talking
Italics Flashback or Dream
-x-
Dimensional Destiny
-x-
Chapter Two: Breakthrough
Rika's first thoughts upon regaining consciousness were to readjust her position and go back to sleep. She was lying rather comfortably on her stomach and arms until she felt the leather bangle on her forearm digging into her cheek through Miryo's jacket. Pushing aside the alluring thoughts of slumber, she forced open her eyes and dragged herself up on her knees to take in the alien environment.
An enormous dome that seemed to be a temple of some sort (or at least an important building), adorned with a line of trees at the entrance, made the centerpiece of her surroundings. There were two smaller, round buildings behind it. Rika struggled to her wobbly feet but continued observing the peculiar environment. The floor was white and tiled, and stretched out farther than she could see. Her friends were sprawled around her – none of them were awake.
She promptly checked her friends' conditions and attempted to wake them (with no success). Once she confirmed that none of them were hurt, she reluctantly began to walk sorely across the tiled floor to the nearest edge, where there were more trees. Upon reaching the edge, her golden eyes snapped wide open with surprise and she lost her breath. Whatever she was standing on was extremely high above the clouds. There was a dreadful bonus too: it was suspended in midair by what seemed to be a thin pillar. Rika stood so mesmerized by the sight that she didn't notice Miryo stir from afar.
Miryo groaned and flipped over on her stomach, rubbing her eyes as they adjusted to a sudden flood of light. She mumbled to herself and yawned, stretching her slender arms up towards the sky. The foreign surroundings gradually seemed to register in Miryo's mind and she suddenly froze and backtracked. Seeing that she was no longer familiar with the area, she knew she was nowhere near the orphanage: their escape was somehow a success! Quickly, she pulled herself up and looked around; the boys were close by but unharmed, and she spotted Rika standing as still as a statue near the edge of what seemed to be a floating platform.
"Rika?" Miryo meekly asked, approaching her shorter best friend.
Rika merely continued staring into the distance. Miryo looked down, curious as to what Rika was so captivated with. A tingly sensation traveled through her body, lingering at her fingertips and the pits of her stomach, when she stared down at the clouds. They were so far up that anything below them looked like tiny, insignificant dots. "Are you sure...we can breathe...?"
Rika snapped out of her thoughts once she heard Miryo's voice. She gulped before briefly turning to face the raven-haired girl. "I've been holding my breath for quite awhile, I wouldn't know."
The two girls continued to gaze down without a word.
"Oh god," Pota gasped sharply when he reawakened. He weakly opened his eyes, noticing the unfamiliar surroundings and not a rain cloud in the sky above.
'Must get up, but...don't...wanna...'
After minutes of pointless banter with his own mind, he reluctantly sat up. "Holy crap!"
He spun his head around, trying to get a good idea of where he was. Pota merely saw the tiled floor, a tall building with potted trees lined in front of it, two more buildings, and two distant figures; one with short blonde hair and the other with long black hair. 'Rika...Miryo...'
Seeing that Kenja, who was nearby, appeared fairly peaceful slumbering away ('For goodness sake, how could he still be snoring?' Pota thought), he stood up and left him there to join the two girls. Waking Kenja could wait. He wanted some answers.
By the time he neared the duo, it suddenly dawned on him that they were very, very close to the edge of what he realized was a chunk of land floating in the sky. Both were frozen still but seemed so unstable that even a gust of wind could whisk them away. Then, Miryo twitched...
"Watch out!"
"Huh?"
Before she knew what was going on, Miryo was lying flat on her back, having been pulled back by a frantic Pota.
"Well, thanks for saving me, oh knight in shining armor," Rika sarcastically said, arms folded across her chest. She was left standing by the edge alone, jolted out of her previous intrigue of the floating platform, when Miryo had disappeared behind her. Pota helped himself and Miryo up and let out an embarrassed, "She was closer."
He cleared his throat and the three assembled themselves in a circle. "What's going on?"
Both girls shrugged their shoulders and raised their hands in defeat; he was startled at their synchronized actions.
"No idea," Rika shook her head in disappointment. "I'm guessing that mud pile...did something to us."
"Maybe it's a science experiment that the orphanage created for security measures?" Pota joked.
"And then locked us up in some kind of virtual reality?" Rika pointed downwards past the clouds, taking Pota's joke to heart. Anything could be possible. "Where can they get the money for that when the orphanage is a mess? All the money's been spent on personal things! I don't think there's a structure this high back at the orphanage, either."
"Or anywhere else in the world, for that matter," Miryo added. "And I remember falling. I don't think it's possible that we can fall upwards, unless they catapulted us up."
"Then they could've tossed us down by helicopter," Rika suggested. "But still...it's weird; we don't have a single scratch on us!"
There was a moment of silence whilst the three struggled to come up with an answer of where they were and how they got there.
"Where's Kenja?" Miryo asked curiously. She noticed a lack of hyperactivity in the air.
"What's this? Miryo worried about Kenja?" Pota teased. Miryo sent a playful punch to his shoulder in response. "He's still K.."
"So where on earth are we?" Rika sent out a question to no one in particular.
"Kami's Lookout," A voice answered calmly. "How did you get up here?"
The three, startled, looked frantically around for the person whose voice replied to them. Scanning from side to side, they saw the trees, the buildings, a little green figure, more trees, clouds, and then the trio did a double-take back to the green shape.
They all stared in shock as their eyes met with the little alien, who had a tall staff in his ('Could it be a she?' they pondered) grasp. Near him was a black blob with a turban. None of the three had heard or sensed the outlandish duo advance towards them.
"For the love of god, what or who are you? Is this some...some sort of...Halloween party?" Pota nearly jumped at the sight of the two aliens, stumbling over his words.
Before anyone could say another word, loud cheering and chattering interrupted them: a group of strangely dressed, beaten up men (and a girl) had landed on "Kami's Lookout". All merriment came to a halt as their eyes caught sight of the snoring Kenja sprawled across the floor. A staring contest ensued when they discovered the trio standing nearby.
"Who are you?" A man with a scar on his cheek finally shattered the silence, his voice suspicious. A motionless purple-haired boy, brandishing a hole through his back, was slung over his shoulder. Both fresh blood and old dried blood was staining his uniform a deep shade of crimson. The trio gulped, trembling; they realized the boy was dead.
"How did you find this place? It should be impossible for you to get up here too!" The youngest boy spoke up. Although it was strange for him to be the only child amongst the other adults, he appeared to hold a high degree of authority. "Unless...you know Bulma? Are you friends with my dad? Oh, maybe you can fly!"
"Fly? What? You mean you aren't human?" Rika blurted out. Her eyes darted from each person to the next, realizing they were not normal.
"You have a problem with that?" A man with three eyes raised an eyebrow.
"Um...guys, I think we have something more important to do. We gotta summon the dragon!" A short bald man remarked, jerking his thumb the best he could towards a pile of orange orbs with stars on them. In his arms was a blonde girl, who seemed to be unconscious rather than dead. "They look harmless so let's deal with them after."
"You guys better stay where you are," The man with three eyes looked back towards them.
All three nodded vigorously; they were all too intimidated to disobey. Pota looked around and saw Kenja stir. 'Crap, don't make a scene Kenja!'
Kenja rolled onto his stomach and opened one eye. Funny-looking men were approaching him. He looked at each of them in turn before he opened both his eyes wide and realized something strange; there was a midget, a dead boy, a dead girl (he assumed), a man with three eyes, a green thing (make that two, and a black one as well), a boy with gravity-defying hair, and a scarred man. The majority of them were fairly beaten up.
"AHHH! FREEEAAAAKS!" Kenja screamed out loud without warning, scrambling to his feet. He spotted his friends in the distance behind them and made a desperate run for safety. With his expertise evasive skills, Kenja dodged around the strangers in an unnecessarily wide arc that spanned at least twenty feet away from them (even running through trees to do so). "Freaks!"
The group paid little attention to him, continuing their walk to the other side.
"What the hell is going on?" Kenja demanded, out of breath by the time he reached his friends.
"We don't know anything," Rika bit her lower lip in frustration. "But it looks like something big is going on. They might be...you know...aliens..."
An image involving world domination seeped into all four teens' minds.
"Ain't that fine and dandy," Kenja scoffed. "We run from the shit-hole and end upgetting kidnapped by aliens while they plot to conquer the universe. I'm having second thoughts here!"
"Kenja, anything is better than the orphanage," Miryo frowned at the boy. "Why on earth would you rather stay there instead of here?"
"Well excuse me for not wanting to get probed!"
"This isn't the time to be fighting!" Pota tried to step in between the quarrelling friends.
They were interrupted from their thoughts when the sky darkened ominously and a roaring dragon appeared out of nowhere. The mythical creature continued to grow larger until it filled the sky. Kenja promptly ducked and hid from it in terror behind Pota's tall and toned frame. The rest of the quartet was so caught up in staring in shock that they didn't catch in entirety what the dragon, or the people, said – something about granting wishes and bringing people back to life. The purple-haired boy suddenly sat up, startling them: the hole in his back was completely healed.
'Wasn't that guy just dead a moment ago?' Miryo gulped in disbelief.
It was awhile longer before the dragon had disappeared. A disembodied voice had boomed out from the heavens and once it could no longer be heard, the group seemed to casually chat with the enormous dragon. Even afterwards, when the dragon had vanished, the strange group seemed to have forgotten about the quartet and held a small conversation amongst their own ranks.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired girl jumped out from behind a pillar (the quartet just noticed she had been missing since the dragon appeared), apparently yelling at the group. She lingered awhile, before she turned and jumped off the tower.
"Holy, did she just...?" Pota gaped; his eyes were glued to the spot where the girl jumped off.
"Hope she likes pancakes, cause she's gonna be one," Kenja lamely attempted to crack a joke to break the nervous tension.
One of the taller men from afar (apparently the three-eyed man) then unexpectedly flew off.
The quartet was rendered speechless as they viewed the phenomenal events, one by one.
"Explain yourselves," The man with the scars approached them again; the alien group seemed to recall that there were four out-of-place teenagers gawking at them. The others trailed behind him, along with the purple-haired boy who had been dead.
"We...we were being chased by some dogs at our orphanage after we ran away..." Rika began to explain, after recovering from shock. "And something swallowed us up in this blinding light. The last thing we remember is falling. And here...we wake up."
"...a weird and short story," The young boy blinked and cocked his head sideways. Rika guessed that they didn't buy their mishap. Perhaps they thought they were a threat of some sort? "Oh, how rude of us, we haven't even told you our names! I'm Gohan; that's Dende, Mr. Popo, Piccolo, Krillen, Trunks, and Yamcha. We're the defenders of the Earth, otherwise known as the Z-Warriors!"
"Gohan! How could you give out our information like that?" The one known as 'Yamcha' cried out, clearly distressed.
"Well, they seem friendly enough," Gohan blinked with a boyish innocence. "I don't sense any evil ki in them..."
"O...kay..." Rika uncomfortably replied, debating whether or not to introduce herself and the rest of her friends. She concluded that there could be no harm done. "I'm...Rika. That's Miryo, Kenja, and Pota."
Few "nice to meet you" lines were exchanged between the two groups before they partook in another staring contest. Silence followed and the quartet began to feel queasy. One of the more menacing "Z-Warriors" was boring holes right through them with his intense glare.
"Their ki...it is...unusual," The green alien, Piccolo, murmured. "It possesses a strange flow of energy."
The quartet shifted uneasily as all eyes were busy scrutinizing them. Discreetly, they edged closer to each other for protection.
"Hey, it's true!" Gohan said, looking at the four with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.
"But their ki is too low to fight," Krillen put a hand to his chin.
"They can train like the others did," Dende said. The quartet stared incredulously at him; had they suddenly been recruited into an army of some sort?
"And for future enemies, we could always use some new hands..." Gohan stared at the tiled floor, thinking hard.
The quartet looked on with bewildered expressions at each other, not knowing what to say, or what the strangers were discussing.
"We should start you off with helping you control your powers first," Dende suggested.
"What powers?" Kenja questioned, and then added on in a whisper so only his friends could hear. "Keys? Like the power to swing a giant key around?"
"Yes, you have strong ki signals (-Keys are like cell phones here?- Kenja wondered in bewilderment) and dormant powers inside you, kinds that normal humans don't have," Dende explained. "I don't know how you got these powers, but I think we should train you to control them for future uses."
"Okay, hold on a minute. You mean we're gonna be superheroes?" Kenja bluntly asked. "Like the Justice League?"
"Superheroes? I suppose you could put it that way...let's start with you, Rika," Dende pointed to the blonde girl, who was the closest to him. "We'll go someplace else where you can concentrate better."
Rika glanced at her friends and shrugged; it couldn't hurt to see what these "powers" were like. She cast of her jacket and returned it to Miryo. "See you later."
Upon analyzing the situation a second time, Rika hesitated before she decided to run after Dende, who had already entered the main temple. "Um, I gotta confess. This is a little too weird to be real. I don't exactly believe you..."
The blonde girl expected Dende to rip off a mask and reveal a familiar face that would say, "hah, almost gotcha!", but her imagination did not become reality.
"Don't worry, you'll understand soon," Dende assured the wary girl.
"But why exactly do I need to control these...'powers'?"
"In case something happens; say you get into a fight and you accidentally trigger your powers. Someone may unintentionally get hurt if you can't control it," Dende explained. "You would like them for self defense too, wouldn't you?"
"You have a point," Rika admitted. She could use some extra fire power when dealing with the older bullies back at the orphanage. And perhaps even get revenge on her unethical caretakers as well...if they ever returned, that is.
"Please, sit," Dende said, motioning towards a mat. Rika nodded as her train of thought was interrupted and kneeled on one of them. "First of all, I'll help you tap into your powers. Just look into your mind and concentrate. Find a spark, something unusual just floating around."
Rika stared. She still didn't know if it was some joke of some sort but decided to go along with it halfheartedly. 'Can't hurt to try.' "Alright."
Rika closed her eyes and searched. What seemed like hours were mere minutes as she finally found something that might be considered "an unusual spark" inside her body. It felt bizarre and displaced, yet strangely powerful...and it seemed as if it wasn't part of her. She had never felt something like it before. "Got it."
"Focus on it. Think of nothing else but it."
Rika opened one eye and stared at Dende through it. It wasn't normal, and Rika knew that feeling far too well. It felt very awkward. 'This has gotta be a joke. A joke. Nothing else.' But again she decided to go along with it; there was nothing to lose from trying.
She found that after she had opened her eyes and thought about it being a joke, she had lost the "spark". Frustrated, she searched again.
-Rika! What's going on? Is he trying to perform The Exorcist on you?- Kenja's voice burst into her mind.
-Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!- Rika snapped. –And the proper word is exorcism!-
"Don't stress yourself trying. We can do this again later if you want," Dende suggested, seeing stress marked on her face.
"No," Rika stubbornly murmured. Dende fell silent and allowed her to concentrate in peace. He was a bit surprised at her determination of learning something she had never heard of before.
Finally, Rika got hold of the abnormal feeling once again. She concentrated long and hard. Suddenly, she felt as if she were choking, as if something was trying to burst out from within her. Rika had the urge to scream. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Light engulfed her as it escaped her mouth, swirling madly around her until it felt as if the force seeped back into her body through the pores of her skin. Rika's eyelids fluttered open and she inhaled deeply, and thankfully.
"God, what was that?" Rika coughed, her mouth feeling dry. Her body however, felt refreshed, like she had taken a shower.
"That was a great job," Dende smiled, but not long after, his face transformed into one of surprise. "Your hand..."
Rika looked down and gasped. There was a beautiful Japanese sword clasped in her fingers: a Katana. Flat daggers lay down on the ground in front of her, and once she picked one up, several others formed in her hand. She realized in amazement that she could materialize them at will from thin air.
"That's strange...I've never heard of someone materializing weapons at will," Dende looked perplexed. He paced around the room while Rika examined her weapons joyously. "It must be a new type of power, or perhaps, something to do with your past?"
"I've been living at the orphanage since I was six," Rika looked up, her eyes promptly turning cold. "I was miserable but normal. If I could summon weapons just by thinking it, I would've busted out long ago."
"I see, so this must be something recent," Dende put a hand to his chin thoughtfully. He suddenly laughed. "Looks like you can't control it yet."
Rika shot a questioning look at the little green alien but felt her hand grow heavy. She looked down immediately; one of the daggers she had picked up earlier to examine was multiplying by the minute.
"Gyah!" Rika let out an involuntary yelp and dropped the heavy daggers. All of them disappeared as soon as they made contact with the floor.
"Although you can summon weapons with your mind, I was hoping to release powers that were ki based. If I'm right, then you can also gather your energy to form an energy attack we call a 'ki blast'." Dende explained. "Picture all your energy in your hand, or both, even. Think of it taking shape as a little ball of energy."
Rika stared into her hands as her sword disappeared. 'If I can make swords and daggers come out of nowhere, I can do this.'
She concentrated hard yet again and imagined energy forming in her hands. However, her ki did not form a little ball. Instead, as if it were natural, she screamed out, "Phoenix Inferno Blaze!"
A huge flaming phoenix flew out of her hands and broke through the window, shooting straight into the air. Glass was both broken by the sheer force of the blast and melted into a gooey paste by the hot embers of the phoenix.
"Well, that was unexpected," Dende blinked. "It must be a unique ki blast, like the Kamehameha. But how strange yet again...your attack seems to fuse ki with elemental power, and this attack takes the shape of a creature..."
Dende looked up to see Rika holding a blank expression at his rambling. He chuckled to himself, embarrassed. "You're doing well; your attack will become stronger over time. I'm impressed that you caught on."
"Thanks. And um, sorry about the window," Rika smiled sheepishly.
"It's alright. Now, with your harnessed powers, I believe your physical abilities improved as well. Does your body feel any different?"
"Well..." Rika stretched her arms and legs around, and then cracked her knuckles. She blinked; her body seemed...much lighter since she channeled her newfound powers. Testing herself, she stood up and took a few steps forwards. Her footsteps hardly made a sound.
"I feel...a lot lighter than before..."
"Hmm...then I believe you specialize most in speed and stealth. Quick and sneaky, which creates the perfect type of person for offensive strikes. Why don't you test these abilities?"
Rika nodded and positioned herself in a starting position for racing. '3...2...1...GO!'
The moment her foot left the ground, she felt as if she were running on air. Everything around her soon blurred and she couldn't hear her footsteps. She abruptly stopped, her head feeling dizzy and her surroundings spinning. "Whoaaa..."
"Alright! Now all you need is to learn how to control your powers better and develop them. I'm sure someone would gladly take you four in to train," Dende said enthusiastically. "Now there is one more thing for you to learn: sensing ki."
"Ki? What's that?" Rika asked, puzzled. Dende had tried to teach her a 'ki blast' just minutes before, but she forgot to ask what ki was supposed to be.
"The life force and energy of others, and how much power one might have," Dende explained. "It is also a way to identify and track someone."
"Oh, I see...so it's like I'm scanning you, right?" Rika looked around and tried to read Dende's ki. After a few more tries she still couldn't read it. How was she supposed to sense it? Did words and numbers magically appear above their heads? Did they glow a certain color? Did she just know? 'Okay girl, calm yourself. Clear your mind.'
She breathed and tried again, this time very faintly she could sense something for a split second before she lost it. The blonde girl wrinkled her brow in frustration. "I almost got it. It was too faint!"
"You're catching on. Call in Miryo once you see her. You can practice reading the warriors' ki while she's training."
"Thanks again," Rika took a small bow and rushed out of the house, contacting Miryo telepathically. -Miryo, you're next.-
-Okay. How'd it go?- Miryo asked with curiosity.
-It was amazing! You'll have to see for yourself to know.-
"She's back," Miryo announced, breaking the silence once Rika had fed her all the details of her experience that she could before she returned. Conversation between the two groups had been scarce (but plentiful among their own), save for the event in which Rika's giant phoenix burst out from the house. All the warriors nodded in acknowledgement as Rika came into view.
"Good luck," Rika said, giving Miryo a reassuring smile. Miryo, with renewed courage, made her way towards Dende.
It was about the same amount of time that Rika had spent in the little temple, before Miryo burst past the doors with a lively voice. "Guys! You won't believe this!"
Dende trailed behind her with a sheepish grin while the blue-eyed girl ran at full speed ahead. Rika was about to pry for details until she noticed something off about Miryo, who was getting closer by the second.
"M-Miryo!" Pota gasped, when it finally hit him. She was completely invisible, save for the clothes framing her slim physique.
"She became Invisible Woman!" Kenja cried out in excitement.
"Yeah, isn't this awesome?" The trio could tell she was grinning, even with her facial features missing. "I can't poof my clothes with me yet, but still..."
Other than invisibility, Miryo discovered another latent talent: healing. The combination, Dende mused, was perfect for defense. To Dende's surprise, he found that Miryo was able to call upon a Japanese sword as well: the Tsurugi. She also obtained shurikens, which could be materialized at will. As with Rika, she had her own "special ki blast". It was a watery dragon with ice shards surrounding it, summoned when Miryo spoke "Freezing Dragon Cascade". Her element was water.
Kenja discovered that his powers were enhanced sight and strength. His eyes were like those of an eagle's, being able to see faraway and spot the utmost details. Besides the two physical boosts, Dende was shocked that Kenja released another latent ability that should not have been possible...
"Hey! HEY! Look what I can do!" Kenja arrived on scene, blasting out of the house with a huge grin plastered on his face. Positioning himself where everyone could see, he lowered himself into a crouching stance and screamed at the top of his lungs.
Rika, Miryo, and Pota stared in disbelief. 'His power is...being able to scream really loudly?'
Kenja's hair suddenly flickered into a faint yellow from his natural black hair, before it turned completely blonde. Energy flew ferociously around him and ruffled up his hair that was now standing on end.
'His hair...it changed...' Rika gasped. 'And his ki...!'
'His ki is increasing...' Miryo knitted her eyebrows together, wondering how and why his power level was rising.
'...huh?' Pota looked on bewildered, trying to figure out what was going on. The girls seemed to have a clue; unlike them, he had not learned how to sense ki yet.
Everyone else stared in shock and surprise. There, Kenja stood before them, blonde and shimmering, wind dramatically flying through his clothes and hair.
"Hey guys, was that cool or what?" Kenja's idiotic grin returned to his face.
'...that just ruined whatever 'cool' you had before.' The three thought simultaneously.
"How...how can that be?" The Z-Warriors had their jaws hanging open in utter disbelief.
"Is he...a Super Saiyan?" Gohan wondered out loud.
"What's that?" Kenja curiously asked, hair still blonde.
"Well first of all, Saiyans are a race of people who possess inhuman powers, like us," Gohan pointed at himself and Trunks, "and are able to become Oozaru when then look at a full moon. But the moon here got destroyed awhile back so we don't have to worry about that."
The quartet looked at each other in wonder, wondering how the moon could've been destroyed.
"That's a different story," Gohan sheepishly smiled, seeing the quartet's bewildered expressions.
"What's an Oozaru?" Miryo asked.
"A huge monkey," Krillen snickered.
Kenja imagined an oversized monkey with Gohan's face on it, stomping around a city like in Godzilla. After choking down a laugh, he settled down to listen as Trunks spoke up.
"A Super Saiyan though is when a Saiyan powers up and their hair turns golden, much like how you did it," Trunks explained. "Hmm...Your ki shot up nearly five times. It's amazing that you achieved this level so quickly."
"But I can't be a Super Saiyan, I'm HUMAN!" Kenja protested.
"Really? But how'd you change your hair colour?" Pota lowered Kenja's head so that the girls, and himself, could prod at his new hairstyle.
"I knew it, he IS an alien," Rika jested, looking over his chunky blonde hair.
"You guys..." Kenja groaned irritably, trying to wrestle out of Pota's headlock. Suddenly, his hair returned to its original state: black, unkempt, and a loyal follower of the rules of gravity.
"Aw man, I actually liked having spiked hair for once..."
Without warning, a gust of wind passed through and Kenja was knocked flat on his face.
"Kenja!" Rika and Miryo dashed over to help the tired boy stand on his feet.
"Aww...I shouldn't do that again, I'm drained as hell," Kenja groaned. It took him a few more tries before he could stand up, albeit a little shaky, without the girls' help.
"You're only human," Rika remarked.
"Well I guess you can be called a 'Super Human' then!" Yamcha chuckled.
"More like Super Idiot," Pota corrected.
"No, you're the Super Idiot!"
Unlike the two before him, Kenja received a double-headed spear. He was also able to materialize small, but heavy, spiked marbles (he complained that they were not as "cool" as the girls') for ranged attacks. His element was earth, which corresponded with his special ki blast: a muddy tiger with chunks of earth surrounding it. By yelling "Solid Tiger Terrain", he was able to summon his attack.
Pota's powers were the manipulation of light, and like Kenja, strength. He acquired a long Flamberge and could materialize razor-sharp darts. His element was wind and his ki blast was a giant bald eagle formed by his element, summoned when he called out "Rushing Eagle Typhoon".
"This is so cool," Kenja beamed with the intensity of five suns, having regained most of his strength after Pota had his turn with Dende.
"Well isn't that something? We wake up and BAM, we have superpowers," Rika chuckled.
"Hell yeah! But wait...my element...earth," Kenja began.
"Fire," Rika slowly said.
"Wind," Pota caught on.
"Water," Miryo had a wide smile on her face.
"Heart!" They exclaimed in unison. "Gooooo Planet!"
The four burst out in laughter once they remembered a television show they had caught on air at the orphanage. Their newfound friends, however, stared curiously at the laughing teens, unsure of how to react. Once the quartet regained their composure, Rika realized something.
"Wait...how do we...um, get down from here?" Rika asked sheepishly.
"Oh, we can take you," Gohan said casually. "It's easier than it looks."
"That would be great!" Suddenly, another detail popped into Rika's mind. "But, since we don't know much of this place, we need a somewhere to stay..."
"You can stay at Capsule Corp.; I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind," Trunks offered.
"Thank you so much!" Rika exclaimed, reflexively jumping away from Trunks when he spoke. She was still a bit startled that the boy had seemingly returned from the dead. "You're all too kind."
"Where's Capsule Corp?" Kenja asked.
"It's in West City," Trunks answered.
"West City..." Kenja repeated. There wasn't a familiar ring to it at all.
"Um, if you don't mind, can we stop by a restaurant or something? I'm...really hungry," Pota put his hand behind his head and laughed awkwardly. He didn't want to sound impolite but his empty stomach was relentless in informing Pota that it was time for lunch.
"Sure, we can grab a bite to eat once we're down there," Yamcha pointed downwards. "We can head to Orange Star City first."
"Really? How exactly do we get down there, anyways? Jump off and get crushed to the ground?" Kenja asked.
"Yes," Piccolo answered sarcastically. It appeared that he was not too fond of Kenja's random questions (and there were plenty of them).
"Great!" Kenja, who was quite gullible, took a step towards the edge. He had remembered that a blonde girl had jumped off earlier and assumed that it was a reasonable exit scheme.
Pota grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "You really need to learn about sarcasm."
"Whaaat?" Kenja asked, irritated, still not catching on.
"We can fly," Gohan began.
"WHOA, you can fly! I wanna fly!" Kenja exclaimed cheerfully.
"Maybe another time," Gohan laughed. "As I was saying, we can fly. So we'll carry you guys down."
"Is that a normal thing for people around here?" Miryo questioned.
"Nah, but they won't see us."
"But..."
"Is there a problem?" Yamcha asked.
"I'm a little scared of heights," Miryo blushed lightly.
"It's alright, we'll only drop you when we get close to the ground," The younger boy grinned.
"Hey!"
"Well it's adventure time! Lead the way!" Pota exclaimed with a goofy smile.
Within seconds, the group moved into pairs of Z-Warriors giving the newcomers piggyback rides. Trunks was with Miryo, Gohan with Rika, Pota with a reluctant Piccolo, and an ecstatic Kenja was left with Krillen. Yamcha followed close behind them.
Trunks and Miryo
"..."
"..."
"So...um...how's life?" Miryo asked, hoping to start a conversation. Both had kept quiet after the typical introductions.
"It could be better."
"Oh? What about family and friends?"
"My mother died in my timeline, as did my father and friends," Trunks answered with a hint of sorrow in his voice, but he masked it up relatively well. "They're all alive here, but..."
"Oh...I'm sorry..." Miryo was startled that she had brought up such a dark topic. She was also confused, yet intrigued, on how he was able to time-travel, but figured it was not the most important point at the moment. Feverishly, she began piecing together thoughts to cheer him up in any way.
"It's alright."
"Well, it just means there's lots of room for things to get better. Start anew. You can build a lot of other happy memories with everyone and cherish the ones you had, and in a way, honour them here," Miryo had panicked; she wished she thought more before she spoke, but was desperate to not leave an uncomfortable silence. Now she was just rambling. "It's not that lonely, is it?"
A small smile formed on his lips. "I suppose not."
"Ah, sorry, I'm sticking my nose in your business..." Miryo flushed several shades of crimson from embarrassment.
Trunks shook off her apology again. "Don't worry about it. Thank you."
Silenced dripped in between the two once more. Miryo coughed a little before continuing, "Uh, this might sound rude or awkward but...were you...brought back to life?"
Trunks let out a small chuckle. "Yes, I died in battle, but I was brought back by the Dragon Balls."
"Dragon Balls?"
"Yeah...there are seven magical orbs. If you gather all of them, you can make a wish to the Eternal Dragon, Shenron."
"Ah," Miryo nodded slowly in response. "Must be hard coming up with things to wish for."
Trunks smiled. "It would be peace across the universe if it were up to me."
"Heh, you really are a nice guy."
"S-sure."
They continued their small talk, the uncomfortable silence that first plagued them long forgotten.
Gohan and Rika
"Is this really Earth?"
"Sure is. Where did you come from?" Gohan replied with a question of his own.
"I come from Earth as well, but mine is nothing like yours! Here is so...so different...there's so much more nature in this Earth; we have buildings almost everywhere and so much pollution! Everything seems so much brighter here," Rika observed as they neared a huge clearing after flying down from Kami's Lookout, passing another level after a few hundred feet. The warriors waved to another boy and what seemed to be a cat standing on its hind legs. Rika blinked.
"Really? Tell me more about your Earth," Gohan urged.
"Well first of all, nobody can fly and no one has extraordinary powers. There aren't huge towers like Kami's Lookout either," Rika explained. "Or that...humanoid cat."
"It doesn't sound too different from my Earth, except for that power bit," Gohan commented. "Now hold on tight and get ready for landing, we're going to be near the city soon. By the way, they don't exactly know of our powers; they think we're pranksters or something, so don't do anything extreme."
"OkaaaAAAHHHH!" Rika's reply blended in with a scream of surprise. She felt Gohan's ki flare up as they rocketed off into the distance.
"I warned you," Gohan laughed.
All Rika did was cling onto him from fear of flying off his back.
Piccolo and Pota
"..." Pota was silent.
"..." Piccolo was also silent.
Neither of them spoke for the entire trip.
Krillen and Kenja
"Are there any sports teams on this Earth?" Kenja asked.
"Uh, yeah."
"Great! Do you know which teams are playing right now?" Kenja asked again.
"Uh, no."
"Aw man."
They one-sided exchange continued on until the ride was over, with Kenja finding random subjects to blabber on about. The only time Krillen caught a small break was when Kenja acted out his over-exaggerated reactions as they tore through the air at top speed towards the heart of the city.
-x-
The group all landed safely in an abandoned alley in a far away city. They were unnoticed until they walked out - by then, reporters leapt out of nowhere and had surrounded them.
"Damn, it's not Mr. Satan. Do any of you know where the legendary Mr. Satan is?" One reporter asked in a rush, disappointed that they were not who she wanted them to be.
"We don't know," Piccolo answered plainly, glaring at the reporters.
None of the reporters stayed to inquire further; all of them were gone in a split second, rushing off someplace else in search of a "Mr. Satan".
"My guess is that he took credit for saving the world," Krillen groaned. "But I guess it could be a good thing to not bring publicity to ourselves..."
"Who's Mr. Satan?" Rika asked.
"A massive idiot," Krillen began. "But one of the strongest humans, besides the ones in our little group, around here. He's not really a bad person."
Rika was about to inquire further information (particularly on the "saving the world" bit), but Pota's stomach growled loudly, disrupting everyone's train of thought. It drew a few laughs and Gohan decided to pick out a place to satisfy the tall boy's hunger.
"Let's try that place," Gohan pointed to a nearby store that read "Orange Star Restaurant!" in fancy letters.
The warriors and their newfound friends entered the restaurant, which was, not surprisingly, crowded. As they entered, they saw a man with an afro posing in front of cameras and flaunting his strength to his audience.
"That's Mr. Satan; everyone apparently believes he defeated Cell, but it was really Gohan," Trunks explained.
"Oh," The four nodded although they did not know what or who Cell was.
Without warning, the crowd rushed by them in a mad frenzy. Mr. Satan had left the stage by a backdoor exit after his posing and boasting. The waiters and waitresses also left, in hopes of getting an autograph or catching a glimpse of the self-proclaimed hero.
"Um, so can we...help ourselves and pay the...counters?" Pota asked, hopeful.
"No, lets not. We'll just go to Chi-Chi's house. She cooks a lot," Krillen sighed. "We have some news for her too..."
Once again, the group took off into the air and this time they headed towards the Black Forest where Chi-Chi and her family resided.
"GOHAN!" A shrill voice nearly knocked over the group as they landed. "I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! ARE YOU OKAY?"
"I'm okay mom," Gohan said breathlessly as Chi-Chi showered him with hugs and kisses. Chi-Chi, however, kept on rambling on and on about Gohan's safety, how she was so worried, and how she never wanted him to do something like that again.
A loud rumble interrupted their happy reunion, and in an instant, all eyes were up and alert. Pota flushed in embarrassment as everyone slowly turned to him yet again.
Chi-Chi blinked, and then understood immediately. She assumed the four newcomers were friends of the Z-Warriors and broke out in smiles. "Oh, you must be starving! Come in then! Today I'll cook a celebration feast!"
Pota smiled idiotically and ran into the house after Chi-Chi.
"Don't mind him," Rika sighed.
"He loves food more than anything in the world," Miryo also sighed. "Never gets full either."
"Just like a Saiyan," Yamcha laughed.
"FOOD!" A distant yell from Pota was heard.
"Uh...must be Pota..." Miryo said sheepishly.
"C'mon, you must be hungry too!" Yamcha exclaimed.
The group went into Chi-Chi's house and followed the smell of fresh food into the kitchen. Rika, Miryo, and Kenja's mouths hung wide open when their eyes met an abnormal sight: Pota was in his own little heaven, having finished eight bowls of rice and was eating his ninth one at full speed.
"He has a Saiyan's appetite," Trunks observed quietly.
"MOO FOO PWEASE (More food please)!" Pota yelled through mouthfuls of rice.
"Did they starve you at the orphanage or is he always like that?" Gohan asked.
"Well yeah, you could say the orphanage starved us..." Rika softly said.
"You must've lived a hard life," Piccolo spoke up for the first time as they entered the house.
"No kidding," Rika replied with a slightly cold voice, having fought the urge to not swear in front of Chi-Chi; she was being so kind to them, being mere strangers.
They sat down at the table and began to eat politely, while Gohan and Pota paved through bowls of rice.
"MOO FOO PWEASE!" Both Gohan and Pota shouted through mouthfuls of food.
Rika began to think Pota might as well be a Saiyan himself; he was locked in competing with Gohan in inhaling as many bowls of rice as he could. Trunks, despite being a Saiyan himself, ate peacefully and politely instead of shoveling food into his mouth.
"Thank you Chi-Chi," Everyone expressed their greatest gratitude as they were about to leave the house.
"That was the best meal I've ever eaten!" The four newcomers happily said.
"Come more often then!" Chi-Chi beamed. "I would be glad to cook for you! And GOHAN! COME BACK HERE YOUNG MAN, YOU HAVE TO STUDY!" Chi-Chi yelled at Gohan's retreating figure.
"Aw, mom! I spent a whole day fighting Cell! Don't I deserve a break? Even a little one?" Gohan complained.
"School is very important for your future! No excuses!" Chi-Chi stormed back into the house.
"I guess I'll see you later," Gohan waved goodbye and dashed into his house without a second glance.
"Then all that's left is for you guys to get to Capsule Corp.," Trunks said.
"Yeah," Rika nodded.
"When you get there, don't mind my father. He can be a bit...moody." The quartet cast shifty looks at each other upon hearing Trunks' rather ominous warning.
Suddenly they heard Chi-Chi exclaim from inside the house, "Gohan, wherever has your father gone?"
The question had been asked many times during dinner, but fearing how Chi-Chi would react to Goku's permanent death, they had simply changed the subject. This time they flew off as fast as they could, not wanting to know Chi-Chi's reaction, and feeling sorry for Gohan if Chi-Chi caused a huge outburst. It was expected; after all, her husband was gone and did not plan to return to the land of the living. Yamcha, this time, was paired with Rika.
"That's Capsule Corporation," Trunks pointed out his home to Miryo. In plain view of the growing sight below them, there was a cluster of huge round houses. The company name was boldly printed onto them in large block letters for all to see.
"That's one big place to live in..." Miryo gaped at the spectacle before them. "Don't you get lost?"
Trunks chuckled. "You get used to it."
No civilians were nearby, thus they landed directly into Capsule Corp.'s garden, right in front of a startled blue-haired woman.
"Trunks, you're okay! Hey, who are these guys? Where's Gohan? Where's Goku?" The woman mercilessly bombed the group with questions once they landed.
"Mother, meet Miryo, Rika, Kenja and Pota," Trunks introduced them. "Everyone, this is my mother, Bulma."
"Nice to meet you!" Bulma replied cheerfully.
"Gohan's at home studying," Yamcha answered Bulma's second question.
"What?" Bulma shrieked. "Studying at a moment like THIS?"
"Chi-Chi..." Krillen merely said. Bulma understood at once.
"And Goku...Goku has passed on," Yamcha bowed his head solemnly. "He said he's not coming back."
"Oh..." Bulma fell silent. Her once cheerful eyes were now brimming with tears. Even so, she brushed them away after a moment of silence and looked up with a happy smile on her face. "Well do you guys want to come in?"
"Well, um..." Rika started.
"We sorta need a place to stay..." Miryo continued.
"And we were wondering..." Pota started off where Miryo left off.
"If we could stay for awhile?" Kenja finished, attempting to make his brown eyes look as innocent as possible.
"If it's okay with you, that is," Rika added quickly.
"It will be great to have guests over!" Bulma exclaimed. "Krillen, Piccolo, Yamcha; you guys can come in for a bit, too."
"If you lot aren't planning on training just yet, then I'm leaving." Piccolo left in the blink of an eye.
"I'd love to stay, but I've got some business to take care of. Maybe next time!" Yamcha left after waving goodbye.
"Same here," Krillen sheepishly smiled before taking off. "I'll drop by some other time!"
"Geez, that was sudden! They couldn't even come in for a second to chat...well come on in you guys, Trunks will give the grand tour of Capsule Corp.!" Bulma disappeared into what seemed to be the main house.
Trunks made a motion to follow him inside. The quartet was in awe at the size of the house. It was as large as the orphanage they had run away from, but had a much warmer, wholesome feeling to it. The orphanage was cold, dank, and uninviting; Trunks' home merely blew them away.
"Whoa," The quartet murmured amongst each other.
"Here are the guest rooms," Trunks stopped in the middle of the roomy hall on the second floor. At the end of the hall there were eight doors in total; three were side by side, with the other three facing them from the opposite side, and the last two were at the end of the hall. Rika could tell that the rooms themselves were quite large; the spaces between each door were moderately wide.
"They all have single beds, but if you'd like to share rooms, it can be arranged."
"It's okay, we'll have separate ones," Rika politely said, the others nodding after her.
"Then feel free to take your pick," Trunks pointed a hand at doors. "The washrooms are at the end of the hall. Make yourselves comfortable. You can move things around as you like, but just don't break anything."
"Thank you, Trunks," Miryo smiled gratefully.
Trunks returned the gesture, nodding, and walked away saying, "No problem. Give a shout if you need help or get lost. There are intercoms everywhere."
Once the purple-haired boy had disappeared from view, Rika whispered teasingly to Miryo. "Hey, he's cute, don't you think?"
Miryo pondered a bit before delivering her verdict. "Yeah, pretty cute."
To their dismay, Pota and Kenja overheard them.
"Oi, you girls are lovesick already?" Pota remarked incredulously.
"Jeez, when did the term 'love' ever come up?" Miryo groaned.
"You can't lie forever," Kenja grinned. "Miryo is clearly in love!"
"How thick headed can you be?" Miryo hollered, lunging at the shorter boy. With a yelp, Kenja jumped out harm's way. "And why are you just picking on me? Rika said it first!"
"You reaction is much more entertaining!" Kenja laughed and hurriedly fled into one of the rooms Trunks had pointed to. "My room!"
Still steaming, Miryo began to grumble curses under her breath, claiming the room across from Kenja's.
"Will they ever stop arguing for once?" Rika sighed, walking into the room next to Miryo's. She closed the door gently after Pota sighed as well; he took the room next to Kenja's.
"Only in our dreams."
Explanations:
-1- We are aware that the events from Kami's Lookout may be a bit different from the original. nn;
-2- In this version, Piccolo tags along for a little bit instead of staying at Kami's Lookout. Why? He wanted to start training the quartet right away, but seeing as everyone was all cheery and wanted to rest, he left once he started getting bored. n_n and the group sticks together instead of splitting up when they go down from Kami's Lookout so they can accompany the quartet.
-3- We are also aware that Bulma is still alive in Mirai Trunks' timeline; this is just an adjustment.