Versus
--Part 8: Flash Back--
"Everyone has a different type of motivation to go to that next level," a 17-year-old Goten said. "For some it's anger. For some it's the desire to help your friends. And for some it's being overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions. You just have to find your own personal motivation to make it to that level."
The 9-year-old Bra stood tense, concentrating on her goal—to go Super Saiyan. She'd cleared her mind like he said, or at least for the most part. But she had a hard time locking into that emotion, the motivation she needed for her transition. She had the desire, but she lacked the key to unlock the door that had remained closed to her for so long. She could feel herself becoming light-headed. Maybe this was the beginning....
"Bra, you have to breathe too," Goten said. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe!"
She inhaled sharply. Her head was spinning from lack of oxygen. How long had she been standing there holding her breath? She collapsed in her trainer's arms, weak with exhaustion. She had failed him once again.
"Maybe...maybe I'm just not strong enough," Bra suggested in a small voice. She just lay there in his arms as they sat on the ground.
"Believe me, you're strong enough. You're almost strong enough to be at level 2. There's just something keeping you from locking into that motivation," Goten told her, holding her and brushing the hair out of her face. "And it's nothing someone can tell you. It's just something you'll have to figure out on your own."
Bra frowned. She'd been trying to go Super Saiyan off and on for two years now and she still couldn't do it. Maybe she was never meant to possess such an ability.
Then she looked up into those eyes—those big hopeful eyes of his. Eyes that if she stared into them long enough time would stand still. And she saw that he believed in her. Everything that she wished to accomplish, she saw in his eyes. He wished for her to accomplish it too.
Bra blushed and averted her eyes.
"Come on," Goten said, helping the blossoming preteen to her feet. "Now I want you to pay attention to me while I do it. Don't just watch. Feel what happens. I'll do it as slowly as I can. I'm gonna need for all your senses to be open. Feel it, see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, taste it." He stood back from her. "Put everything you have into perceiving my change. Think you can do that?"
Focusing on him was no problem. She always focused on him, just not this intensely. This was the perfect excuse to admire everything about him, his abilities AND his physique. Bra nodded slowly, then got into observation mode.
"Okay," Goten said, taking a deep breath. "Here I go." He closed his eyes.
First she felt for his energy. It was low and calm, but there was something else about it that felt different. It was like the outwardly calm ocean while a swarm of sharks stalked quite near the surface. It made her feel a little uneasy as those sharks drew nearer to the surface, yet there was no ripple in the calm waters. Had anyone just scanned for his power regularly, they'd have no idea how strong this young man was about to become.
Looking at him, she could barely see that there was a difference, but there was one. Not in his body. His muscles were relaxed as he stood with his arms down by his sides and his eyes closed. Yet there was something different. Maybe he was a little too relaxed. She could hear that his breathing was even and also calm.
It was easy to tell that something was about to happen by the atmosphere around her. The air had become much more dense. It was like he was collecting all the air particles around both of them. And even though the pressure made it hard to breathe, his inhalations and exhalations remained the same.
But what of smell and taste? What had he meant by opening those senses? Suddenly there was another dramatic change in the atmosphere around her. This time the air became much thinner and her body began feeling lighter. Then came the smell. This was what he had meant. It was almost time for the complete transformation. That smell! Only a person with Saiyan blood would have been able to detect this attribute. It was an utterly unexplainable smell, and when she opened her mouth to catch her breath, there was the taste, identical to the smell. How could she describe it? Salt was the first thing that came to her mind. Salt and something else.... Candle wax. Salt and candle wax. That was the only way to describe the smell and taste she'd picked up during this grand alteration.
Her heart pounded viciously in her chest as she watched his hair slowly flicker between black and gold. A gold aura began to form so close to her, she couldn't believe it. Now, Goten's transformation was complete. His blond hair stood atop his head, his golden aura flared impressively around him, and he slowly opened his eyes to reveal a new color—green.
Goten's aura quickly dissipated and he gave Bra a completely astounded look. He sat where he stood, still in Super Saiyan form.
"What happened? Did you over-exert yourself?" Bra asked.
Goten seemed speechless at the time. He must have used too much energy transforming so slowly.
Bra went over and kneeled next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? I should be asking if YOU'RE okay," Goten said. "I don't believe it."
What was he babbling about? Sure, she'd never seen him go Super Saiyan in slow motion before, but there was no need to panic over what she'd seen.
"You don't even know," Goten muttered. "I don't believe this. Bra, you're a Super Saiyan. You did it."
What?!! She DID feel different. But it made no sense. How could she have transformed into a Super Saiyan without even trying? What was her trigger? She was about to move her hair behind her ear when she noticed it was all standing pretty much straight up. She pulled some of it into her line of sight and saw that it truly was blond. It was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.
--End Part 8: Flash Back--
--That's it. Now, some of you may be wondering why I did this. I don't know myself. I just felt like doing it. Yeah, it was short. Hope you liked it. Please read and review.
--I don't really have much else to say today. As always, thanks for past reviews. Just let me know if you want another chapter and I'll cook something up.
--Part 8: Flash Back--
"Everyone has a different type of motivation to go to that next level," a 17-year-old Goten said. "For some it's anger. For some it's the desire to help your friends. And for some it's being overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions. You just have to find your own personal motivation to make it to that level."
The 9-year-old Bra stood tense, concentrating on her goal—to go Super Saiyan. She'd cleared her mind like he said, or at least for the most part. But she had a hard time locking into that emotion, the motivation she needed for her transition. She had the desire, but she lacked the key to unlock the door that had remained closed to her for so long. She could feel herself becoming light-headed. Maybe this was the beginning....
"Bra, you have to breathe too," Goten said. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Breathe!"
She inhaled sharply. Her head was spinning from lack of oxygen. How long had she been standing there holding her breath? She collapsed in her trainer's arms, weak with exhaustion. She had failed him once again.
"Maybe...maybe I'm just not strong enough," Bra suggested in a small voice. She just lay there in his arms as they sat on the ground.
"Believe me, you're strong enough. You're almost strong enough to be at level 2. There's just something keeping you from locking into that motivation," Goten told her, holding her and brushing the hair out of her face. "And it's nothing someone can tell you. It's just something you'll have to figure out on your own."
Bra frowned. She'd been trying to go Super Saiyan off and on for two years now and she still couldn't do it. Maybe she was never meant to possess such an ability.
Then she looked up into those eyes—those big hopeful eyes of his. Eyes that if she stared into them long enough time would stand still. And she saw that he believed in her. Everything that she wished to accomplish, she saw in his eyes. He wished for her to accomplish it too.
Bra blushed and averted her eyes.
"Come on," Goten said, helping the blossoming preteen to her feet. "Now I want you to pay attention to me while I do it. Don't just watch. Feel what happens. I'll do it as slowly as I can. I'm gonna need for all your senses to be open. Feel it, see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, taste it." He stood back from her. "Put everything you have into perceiving my change. Think you can do that?"
Focusing on him was no problem. She always focused on him, just not this intensely. This was the perfect excuse to admire everything about him, his abilities AND his physique. Bra nodded slowly, then got into observation mode.
"Okay," Goten said, taking a deep breath. "Here I go." He closed his eyes.
First she felt for his energy. It was low and calm, but there was something else about it that felt different. It was like the outwardly calm ocean while a swarm of sharks stalked quite near the surface. It made her feel a little uneasy as those sharks drew nearer to the surface, yet there was no ripple in the calm waters. Had anyone just scanned for his power regularly, they'd have no idea how strong this young man was about to become.
Looking at him, she could barely see that there was a difference, but there was one. Not in his body. His muscles were relaxed as he stood with his arms down by his sides and his eyes closed. Yet there was something different. Maybe he was a little too relaxed. She could hear that his breathing was even and also calm.
It was easy to tell that something was about to happen by the atmosphere around her. The air had become much more dense. It was like he was collecting all the air particles around both of them. And even though the pressure made it hard to breathe, his inhalations and exhalations remained the same.
But what of smell and taste? What had he meant by opening those senses? Suddenly there was another dramatic change in the atmosphere around her. This time the air became much thinner and her body began feeling lighter. Then came the smell. This was what he had meant. It was almost time for the complete transformation. That smell! Only a person with Saiyan blood would have been able to detect this attribute. It was an utterly unexplainable smell, and when she opened her mouth to catch her breath, there was the taste, identical to the smell. How could she describe it? Salt was the first thing that came to her mind. Salt and something else.... Candle wax. Salt and candle wax. That was the only way to describe the smell and taste she'd picked up during this grand alteration.
Her heart pounded viciously in her chest as she watched his hair slowly flicker between black and gold. A gold aura began to form so close to her, she couldn't believe it. Now, Goten's transformation was complete. His blond hair stood atop his head, his golden aura flared impressively around him, and he slowly opened his eyes to reveal a new color—green.
Goten's aura quickly dissipated and he gave Bra a completely astounded look. He sat where he stood, still in Super Saiyan form.
"What happened? Did you over-exert yourself?" Bra asked.
Goten seemed speechless at the time. He must have used too much energy transforming so slowly.
Bra went over and kneeled next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? I should be asking if YOU'RE okay," Goten said. "I don't believe it."
What was he babbling about? Sure, she'd never seen him go Super Saiyan in slow motion before, but there was no need to panic over what she'd seen.
"You don't even know," Goten muttered. "I don't believe this. Bra, you're a Super Saiyan. You did it."
What?!! She DID feel different. But it made no sense. How could she have transformed into a Super Saiyan without even trying? What was her trigger? She was about to move her hair behind her ear when she noticed it was all standing pretty much straight up. She pulled some of it into her line of sight and saw that it truly was blond. It was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.
--End Part 8: Flash Back--
--That's it. Now, some of you may be wondering why I did this. I don't know myself. I just felt like doing it. Yeah, it was short. Hope you liked it. Please read and review.
--I don't really have much else to say today. As always, thanks for past reviews. Just let me know if you want another chapter and I'll cook something up.