OK, first off, to anyone who actually read this story (I know, you're few and far between), you have my apologies for being both lazy and busy. Between school and my lack of wanting to type/post what I have of this fic, it's been far too long since I've updated. If you care, prepare for a lot of reading. I'm posting everything I have, rather than trying to draw it out over a couple weeks. Happy reading.

Dragonball FT, The Black Thorn Saga
Chapter 8: Answers

Xavier stood motionless, his voice had left him just like his ability to move. All he could do was stare at the strange, humanoid figure, eyes wide open and mouth agape. Upon seeing Xavier's reaction, the man half-smiled. He had expected some sort of reaction to his appearance. After a brief moment of absolute silence, the green figure took one step towards Xavier, closing the ten foot gap between them by a couple feet. This action snapped Xavier out of his stupor. His right arm shot up, parallel to the ground, with his palm facing the figure, almost trying to command the figure to stop. After doing this, and seeing the figure stop his approach, Xavier barely managed to ask, "W-W-Who...w-w-what...are you?"

"You have no reason to be afraid of me." the figure said in a calm, reassuring voice. "To answer your immediate questions, my name is Dende, guardian of the Earth. I am a Namekian, from the planet Namek. But, my history is not what is important here, Xavier." As he was saying this, Dende took two more steps towards Xavier. When he finished, he extended his hand towards Xavier. Xavier, who was still trying to reclaim his motor skills, managed to stammer,
"H-H-how do you know my name?!"

"I know more about you than your name." Dende replied. "I know this has all got to be a little overwhelming, but if you come with me, I'll explain everything."

"Let's see..." Xavier started, having just regained total control over his voice. "Lately, I've almost killed someone, almost been killed, been hearing voices, a beautiful girl takes an interest in me, got into a huge fight with my best friend, and now I'm standing here talking to a Nameky, or whatever it is you call yourself..." here, Xavier let out a sigh. "Oh, what the hell, I might as well take the trip down the rabbit hole." After he said this, Xavier reached out and shook Dende's hand. The instant he did so, both Xavier and Dende vanished from the roof top.

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Xavier opened his eyes. The moment he shook Dende's hand, he felt a slight pain throughout his entire body that made him close them. Now, the pain was gone. Xavier looked around, and what he saw, or rather what he didn't see, surprised him. Rather than the neighboring buildings, all Xavier could see was the clear blue sky. He looked down at his feet and saw that he was no longer standing on the black rooftop of his apartment building, but rather on a grey marble floor. To his left, Xavier saw a row of well kept trees, and on his right, he saw a large white building with a golden domed roof.

Xavier gasped. Once again, he could barely talk, but he managed to ask, to no one in particular, "Where the f*ck am I?"

"You are at my lookout, high above the Earth. It is from here that I watch over the events taking place across the entire world." Xavier heard Dende reply.

"How the hell did we get here? We were just on the roof?" Xavier asked, now starting to get a little frightened.

"Simple, I used the instantaneous movement. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to learn that technique." Dende told him.

"Suuure," Xavier replied. "One more question: Why did you bring me here?"

"Because I need your help, and here, I can tell you why. I felt this would help you to believe what I am about to tell you." Said Dende.

"Wha? Why do you need my help...I mean, there are billions of other people in the world. Why me?" asked Xavier.

"I will get to that in due time." replied Dende. "First, I'm sure you've heard of the Tenkaichi Budoukai."

"Tenkawha?" Xavier interjected.

"Tenkaichi Budoukai. It's also referred to as the World Martial Arts Tournament." Dende told him.

"O...k..." Xavier said, unsure of what it was that Dende was talking about.

"Oh my, how silly of me," said Dende. "I forgot...the last Tenkaichi Budoukai was almost 200 years ago. Perhaps you've heard about it in your history class? The last tournament was held not too far away from your own city."

"I really don't pay much attention in Local History. In fact, I never really believed much of what they teach in that class...especially that stuff about the "Great Sayia Man."

When he heard this, Dende fell over in shock, but quickly returned to his feet. He then continued, "You should start paying more attention from now on. Most of what they tell you is probably true...unless they try to tell you that Mr. Satan saved the Earth...but that's a story for another day. Right now, there are more important matters. I'll be blunt, I'd like you to participate in the tournament, which will be held in eight months."

"You've got to be shitting me." Xavier replied. "I have absolutely no fighting experience, no desire to fight in some sort of tournament, and besides, like I said, there are probably billions of other people that are better suited for something like this."

"I know you have no fighting experience. That's why I came to you now. This way, you will have time to train." Dende told him. "Also, you are the person best suited for this. While you may not be very strong now, with the proper training, you can become very powerful. I sensed that power within you the day you almost killed Chris."

Xavier raised an eyebrow when he heard this. He had temporarily forgotten about that day. His mind trailed back to that afternoon. He's right...for a moment that day, I felt incredibly strong, Xavier thought to himself.

"That may all be true, but why do you want me to enter this tournament so badly? And what makes you think that I'll be so willing to go along with your plan?" Xavier asked Dende.

"Why should you enter?" Dende began. "That is twofold. The first, and most obvious reason is the prize money, $50 million to be exact."

Xavier's eyes shot wide open when he heard the figure. With that money, my family could live comfortably for years. Xavier thought. Mom could work a regular nine to five job, if she even worked at all. And I would be able to afford any college I could get into.

"Ok, you've got my attention, but what's this other reason that you've got?" Xavier asked.

"I know much of the way you think Xavier." Dende started. "I know your father is dead and that you think about him often. There is one thing, however, that you do not know, which will change the way you think about your father's death forever."

Xavier was now hanging on to every word that Dende said. What could this green guy know about dad's death that I wasn't already told. It was a car accident, simple as that. The brakes failed, and there was nothing that could've been done to prevent it. Xavier thought.

"So, you think your father's death was an accident, hmm?" Dende said, as if he were reading Xavier's thoughts. "The truth is," here, Dende's voice took on a very solemn tone. "Your father was murdered."