Chapter 3: Master Trump
Jeran
"Jeran, are you listening?" asked Jin, taking a seat at the pilot's console. I came out of my thoughts.
"That's Miss Jeran to you, boy," I hissed, "I know that you're supposed to be the leader but let's get one thing straight, you piss me off and I'll hurt you." Jin sighed and folded his arms. We had left the academy three days now and things weren't going so smoothly. Joel wouldn't listen to Jin, not that the dark skinned fighter even tried to talk to him, and even though headmaster Red told me why he did it, I was basically angry about not being the leader.
"Tch...whatever," said Jin, "in case you weren't listening, we're going to a planet called Namek first." I watched him as he punched in the coordinates.
"Why Namek?" I asked him, sitting in one of the twelve passenger seats. Jin took a while to answer.
"They are a race of strong fighters. They're the ones who trained me. They should be able to spare a few fighters." I looked at Jin. He was just sixteen, less than a year younger than myself, and yet his eyes were sharp and his gaze was incisive, giving off the impression that he had witnessed and experienced things that normal people his age shouldn't have. However, strangely enough, he also had a soft, childish look about him, as if he had been untouched by worldly vices, something that totally contradicted his other look. As these observations sank in, I began to feel my anger slowly fade away.
"Why did you let your hair grow into an Afro?" I asked, "Afros are so retro." Jin smirked.
"So is waist-long hair, Jeran," he countered, causing me to smile, 't help it. Maybe you could help me with the hair later." I nodded.
"You look tired," I observed. He nodded.
"You would too, if you hadn't slept for three days," he replied simply. I gasped.
"Three days!!?" I exclaimed, "What were you doing?" He leaned back in his seat.
"Training mostly," he replied, "I've been testing out the new gravity training feature. I just can't rest knowing Joel's still stronger than I am. There's something about him, something that helps him get stronger without having to train. When we fought we were on equal footing. We both had the same powerlevel. I made sure of it. But when Red checked, it had risen."
"Joel?" I queried, "What's up with you two anyways?" Jin quieted significantly when I asked this. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again.
"A long time ago, two years to be exact," came a voice by the bridge entrance. We both turned only to see Joel, wearing his jet-black gi, leaning against the door with his arms folded. "The last headmaster, Razz, had just been killed and I took control of the academy using the Outsiders. I began to sell off the weak students, who all just so happened to be human, to the Cold Empire for use in their...'experiments'...My second in command, Justin, found out about it so I beat him and sold him as well," he continued. I looked at Joel in pure disgust, but of course the Saiyan ignored me. "But he escaped them somehow," he concluded. Jin slowly rose to his feet, anger etching across his countenance.
"What happened to Justin?" I asked. Knowing the Cold Empire and their reputation for torturing their prisoners I could just imagine what the poor thing went through. Joel turned toward Jin.
"Don't know," he answered, "but why don't you ask him yourself?" He pointed directly at Jin, who appeared to be angry to the core. I stared, in pitied horror, at the teenager in front of me. No wonder he wanted to kill Joel.
"You...Jin, you're Justin!?" I gasped. I instantly regretted interrupting Jin and Joel's fight. The smirk on Joel's face seemed to increase Jin's anger and for a second, I was afraid that they would duke it out right there and then, with me caught in the middle. Just then, Jin's eyes shifted to me and his expression softened. Suddenly, the ship's computerized voice rang out.
"Approaching planet #0406...Namek. Please prepare for breach of atmosphere," it said. Jin sank back to his seat and pushed a few more buttons and then he turned to face us.
"Justin died two years ago, Joel, call me Jin," he stated flatly, "The headmaster sent us to do a job." He raised an eyebrow and gave Joel a wry smile. "I'll deal with you after it's done," he finished. The Saiyan's smirk remained on his face.
"Likewise," said Joel, taking a seat next to me, "at the tournament, then?" Jin nodded. I looked at my two companions in amazement.
Red stared at me for a while and then spoke. "I know you're angry Jeran,
but hear me out," he stated. I gave him his chance. "You see, Jin and
Joel are...well, rivals you can say. Neither of them will stop until the
other is dead, there's no escaping that fact. But out of the two, Jin is
more...restrained...more methodic in his rage. If there is a logical reason
not to fight, he'll accept it. Joel, however, will not. He's a Saiyan.
His is a race that is born to fight. Therefore, in an attempt to curb any
potential violence, I'll put Jin in a situation where he will choose not
to fight. As a leader, his main job will be to keep order, and with each
new recruit, his sense of responsibility will increase. You, and the
other recruits will be... peacekeepers...of sorts. Do you understand now
Jeran?"
I didn't then, but as I stared at these two I finally understood my
purpose on this journey. I was a peacekeeper, and the more recruits we
got the better. As long as we were there Jin and Joel would be forced to
work together.
"Brace yourselves for landing you guys," instructed Jin. Joel and I
both strapped on our seatbelts and we soon entered the planet's
atmosphere, feeling only slight turbulence when we landed. "Joel, you'll
have to stay here," said Jin, "these people have had some really bad
experiences with Saiyans." Jin attached a scouter to his ear, waiting for
Joel's response. I guess I was expecting Joel to be upset but he
surprised me by just nodding.
"Fine, I've got to start training anyways," he stated, leaving the
room. I glanced at Jin and smiled, all the time thinking to myself 'The
poor boy...'
"Grab a scouter Miss Jeran," he said, "and let's go hunt us some
Nameks."
We emerged from the ship only to find hundreds upon hundreds of green
faces staring at us. This was my first encounter with the Nameks. We
walked straight up to the ones in front. The old ones looked fearsome.
The younger ones appeared strong and formidable, and the children, they
were sooooooo...cute!!
"Be you friend or foe?" asked an old Namekian. I waited to see what
Jin would say, but all he did was survey the crowd and I couldn't help
but feel a bit nervous with the silence. Finally he broke the silence.
"If I said I was a foe, what would you do about it, huh?" he said,
tauntingly. A few murmurs came from the crowd and suddenly a young
looking Namekian stepped forward.
"Well then, I'd just have to ask you politely to leave, or if you
prefer, I could just kick you out," he said in a rough voice. I edged a
little closer to Jin.
"What the hell are you doing?" I harshly whispered. He ignored me and
took a step to face the young Namekian. For a second I saw Jin and Joel
again, instead Jin was the one smirking. Their faces were, in reality,
masks of seriousness and I thought hey would fight but then they both
smiled.
"Justin!" cried the young alien.
"Furion!" replied Jin, "how the hell have you been?" I gazed at the
two of them in shock as the entire Namekian congregation began laughing.
"You two know each other!?" I asked, coming out of my daze. Jin nodded
and then I remembered that Jin had been trained on this planet.
"Who's your friend?" asked the old Namekian from before. Jin
introduced us and I found out that the old guy's name was Dessin.
"Come! You must tell us everything, Justin," said Furion, gently
pushing Jin toward a house. I lingered outside for a while to observe the
Namekian landscape. The island we were on was a small one. There were
countless others, as far as the eye could see, with small, lollipop
shaped trees and the same types of domed houses strewn all over the
landscape.
"You coming, Miss Jeran?" asked Furion. I snapped out of my thoughts
and replied, "Oh? Oh yeah, I'm coming." I followed him into the house
where Jin had already begun to tell Dessin our purpose.
"...and so, we need to recruit fighters," he finished. The old guy
nodded and ordered Furion to bring the strongest warriors he could find.
Soon five fighters entered the small room and Dessin spoke.
"They are at your service, Just...I mean Jin," he said.
"Thank you very much Master Dessin!" exclaimed Jin, giving a slight
bow. I watched the five green skinned warriors through my scouter. They
were each at a high 3000! There was just one problem.
"Master Dessin, don't you have any fighters a bit younger, like
Furion?" I asked. Jin gave me a quizzical look and I elaborated. "Well,
it's just that it'll be difficult for anyone to believe these five are CC
academy students," I continued. Jin slowly nodded,
"You're right," he said, "Master Dessin, don't you have anyone around
Furion's age?" The old Namekian shook his head.
"I'm sorry. Furion is the youngest warrior we have," he replied. Jin
smiled suddenly.
"Well Furion, how 'bout it? Will you come with us?" he queried. Furion
seemed taken aback.
"Uh...well, I'm not sure," he answered," I've never left the planet
before." Master Dessin rose to his feet suddenly.
"I think it's a great idea! It will be a good experience for you,
Furion, not many Nameks have ever left the planet. It's decided, you're
going with Jin!" he stated. The young Namekian grew wide-eyed, with a
scared look on his face that made me feel sorry for him.
"Furion, it'll really help us out a lot if you join us," I said in my
sweetest possible voice. A huge sweatdrop fell down Furion's face.
"But what about Master Trump?" asked Furion, desperately, "since Jin
left I'm his only student, he'll be lonely if I go!!"
"You have a point there, Furion, you must request Master Trump's
permission," said Dessin.
"But my master is out searching for the dragonballs, Master Dessin,"
said Furion.
"Dragonballs?" I inquired, "What're they. They sound like
something...perverted." Furion didn't seem to understand my comment, or if
he did, he chose not to say anything about it.
"You didn't tell your friend about the dragonballs, Jin?" asked
Furion. Jin merely shrugged. "Miss Jeran, when all seven dragonballs are
collected, the Eternal Dragon, Porunga, appears and grants the person who
summoned him three wishes," he explained. I couldn't believe my ears.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said in disbelief. Jin nodded.
"It's true," said Jin, "Why's old Master Trump after the dragonballs
anyways?"
"Just for kicks, I assume," answered Dessin, "why don't you rest up
here until he returns?"
We waited for a good few hours, in which I got myself acquainted with
as many Namekians as possible, especially those cute children. Jin and
Furion both sat against the wall of a house and chatted away. I activated
my scouter and spied on them. Jin's powerlevel had grown since Red's
reading three days ago. It now stood at a high 2700!! He wasn't kidding
when he said he had gravity trained three days in a row! Although I had
begun my training yesterday, it hadn't been with the gravity machine. My
powerlevel barely crossed the 1000 mark. I'd have to start gravity
training in order to keep up with my comrades.
Next I checked Furion. The green skinned warrior had a powerlevel of
only 300. I smiled. At least I'd have company while training. Suddenly,
my scouter picked up a new power heading this way. Jin's scouter
activated as well.
"Master Trump returns!" cried a cute little Namek. Jin and Furion rose
and walked up to me as the old Namekian known as Trump came flying in
with a sack slung over his shoulder. He landed quickly and came toward
us.
"I think I'm finally going senile!" he cried in a loud voice. My
scouter finally stopped and I gasped.
"What makes you say that?" asked Jin.
"Didn't you leave just two months ago?" asked Trump, "that's right,
you left your old Master and now you want to take Furion away too."
"How'd you know that?" I asked, making sure to stay behind Jin.
"He has really good hearing," replied Furion, "so I guess you don't
want me to go?" He sounded too eager
"Actually, I think it's a great idea!" boomed Trump, "but I need to
see how badly you want him." Jin stood straight and turned his head to
face Master Trump.
"Is that...a challenge, master?" he queried. Master Trump dropped the
sack from his shoulder and began to stretch.
"I don't feel like beating you senseless today boy, I had enough of
that when I trained you," he replied. I gave a sigh of relief. Jin
wouldn't stand a chance. Master Trump's powerlevel was 38,500!! "However,
if you can catch me, I'll let Furion join you," he finished. A huge
sweatdrop fell down the side of Jin's head and I knew why. Master Trump
began to levitate.
"I...I still can't fly, master," Jin said. Master Trump fell out of the
sky in embarrassment and both Furion and I sweatdropped. Trump recovered
first.
"Well then, I guess my student stays," he stated.
"Wait!" I shouted suddenly, "I'll do it." Everyone looked my way.
"Are you sure?" asked Trump. I nodded.
"Do it, Miss Jeran!" encouraged Jin. The old Namekian pushed off into
the air and flew away from everyone, with me close at his heels. He
peered back at me.
"You're very fast young lady!" he commended.
"Thanks," I replied, increasing my speed, "but you haven't seen
anything yet!" I reached out to grab his leg as I drew closer to him but
I only caught air as his speed sky-rocketed. He flew around me in
circles, as if to mock me. I blurred out of sight and reappeared right
behind him. By the time I reached out to hold him he was already gone,
letting himself drop out of the sky. I chased after his descending body,
which was well relaxed, and getting closer to the ground. Suddenly, his
smiling face appeared right in front of mine, startling me greatly. When
I came out of my shock I tried to get him but he darted away swiftly. We
were now a very great distance away from our friends.
"You sure you don't want to give up?" he queried, "you will never
catch me if we go on like this." I knew he was right, but I couldn't give
up. I ceased my senseless pursuit and just hovered in the air trying to
think of a way to catch my green adversary and suddenly it hit me. I shot
off in the opposite direction, back toward our friends and I knew that
Master Trump was following out of pure curiousity. Soon the island came
into view and I dove toward the sack that, I was certain, contained the
Namekians' precious dragonballs. I grabbed it, heavy as it was flew up to
face Master Trump.
"What're you planning on doing with that?" he asked, eyeballing the
sack that I held. I grinned as I tore the sack open and the dragonballs
fell to the ground at insane speeds. Master Trump let out a cry and, with
a couple of zanzokens, caught six of them. As he looked about for the
last one I pulled it out from behind my back. I blew him a kiss and
darted away, the five star dragonball in hand. Master Trump carefully
placed the others on the ground and came after me just as I expected.
With his superior speed he easily caught up to me. He yanked the
dragonball out of my hands and I seized the opportunity. I quickly
wrapped my arms and legs around him and held on tightly. It was only then
that he realized what I was up to and the mother of all sweatdrops fell
down his head.
"You are a clever one!" he said, "Well, looks like you caught me!" I
nodded, making sure to maintain my hold on him. He lowered us to the
ground in front of Jin and the others and I finally let go. "Furion!
You're going with them! You can learn a lot from these two!" exclaimed
Trump, patting the distraught Furion on the back. Jin held my shoulder
and gave me an impressed look.
"Good work, Jeran," he told me. Instantly I gave him a hard glare that
made even his emotionless face flinch. "I-I m-mean...Miss Jeran!" he
stuttered. I gave him a smile.
"Jeran's fine," I stated, winking at him. Master Trump called out to
everybody.
"Come everyone!! I will now summon Porunga!" he shouted. Jin seemed
excited.
"C'mon Jeran, you're gonna love this!" he cried, grabbing my hand and
pulling me forward. Trump stood before the dragonballs and began chanting
in some strange language.
Suddenly, the sky grew dark and the dragonballs began to glow. A light
shot out of them began spiraling around in the sky, the most spectacular
thing I had ever seen, and soon where there had been nothing before, a
huge muscle bound dragon appeared before us!!
"I WILL GRANT YOU THREE WISHES," it said, in an extremely loud voice,
"SPEAK NOW!! I HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE!" I was very afraid of it, but Jin
seemed totally excited.
"Justin...Jin, why don't you make a wish," suggested Master Trump.
Dessin and Furion both nodded in agreement. I turned to Jin and all he
did was stare at the ground. Then he smiled.
"I have the perfect wish," he said. He took a step forward and
shouted, "I wish that I had the same advantage that gives Joel more power
without having to train!!" The dragon's eyes began to glow and almost
immediately Jin began to levitate. I gave a startled cry when he began to
glow as well. A bright yellow light emanated from him.
"Jin...wha-what's happening!?" I cried. Just as suddenly as it happened,
it ceased and Jin fell to the ground.
"IT HAS BEEN DONE! STATE YOUR NEXT WISH!!" boomed Porunga. I hurried
over to my fallen comrade as Master Trump told the dragon to keep the
remaining two wishes for later use. Jin sat up groggily and shook his
head.
"Are you alright!?" I asked, "What happened?" He rose to his feet and
called Furion over. I gazed at Jin now and gasped. Jin's hair was no
longer in an Afro! His hair wasn't curly and wavy as it had been mere
minutes ago. It was now wild and spiky. His look changed as well,
although I didn't really figure out exactly what it was, but he
definitely changed. He seemed more wary...more alert.
"Jeran, check his power," he instructed. I came out of my thoughts.
"I did already. He's 300," I replied. Jin shook his head so I checked
Furion's power once more and was astonished to see that it had increased.
"1500!!" I cried, "This day's just full of surprises."
CHARACTERS RECRUITED INITIAL P/LVL
FURION 1500
SOUNDTRACK: DOWNFALL by Trust Company
Jeran
"Jeran, are you listening?" asked Jin, taking a seat at the pilot's console. I came out of my thoughts.
"That's Miss Jeran to you, boy," I hissed, "I know that you're supposed to be the leader but let's get one thing straight, you piss me off and I'll hurt you." Jin sighed and folded his arms. We had left the academy three days now and things weren't going so smoothly. Joel wouldn't listen to Jin, not that the dark skinned fighter even tried to talk to him, and even though headmaster Red told me why he did it, I was basically angry about not being the leader.
"Tch...whatever," said Jin, "in case you weren't listening, we're going to a planet called Namek first." I watched him as he punched in the coordinates.
"Why Namek?" I asked him, sitting in one of the twelve passenger seats. Jin took a while to answer.
"They are a race of strong fighters. They're the ones who trained me. They should be able to spare a few fighters." I looked at Jin. He was just sixteen, less than a year younger than myself, and yet his eyes were sharp and his gaze was incisive, giving off the impression that he had witnessed and experienced things that normal people his age shouldn't have. However, strangely enough, he also had a soft, childish look about him, as if he had been untouched by worldly vices, something that totally contradicted his other look. As these observations sank in, I began to feel my anger slowly fade away.
"Why did you let your hair grow into an Afro?" I asked, "Afros are so retro." Jin smirked.
"So is waist-long hair, Jeran," he countered, causing me to smile, 't help it. Maybe you could help me with the hair later." I nodded.
"You look tired," I observed. He nodded.
"You would too, if you hadn't slept for three days," he replied simply. I gasped.
"Three days!!?" I exclaimed, "What were you doing?" He leaned back in his seat.
"Training mostly," he replied, "I've been testing out the new gravity training feature. I just can't rest knowing Joel's still stronger than I am. There's something about him, something that helps him get stronger without having to train. When we fought we were on equal footing. We both had the same powerlevel. I made sure of it. But when Red checked, it had risen."
"Joel?" I queried, "What's up with you two anyways?" Jin quieted significantly when I asked this. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again.
"A long time ago, two years to be exact," came a voice by the bridge entrance. We both turned only to see Joel, wearing his jet-black gi, leaning against the door with his arms folded. "The last headmaster, Razz, had just been killed and I took control of the academy using the Outsiders. I began to sell off the weak students, who all just so happened to be human, to the Cold Empire for use in their...'experiments'...My second in command, Justin, found out about it so I beat him and sold him as well," he continued. I looked at Joel in pure disgust, but of course the Saiyan ignored me. "But he escaped them somehow," he concluded. Jin slowly rose to his feet, anger etching across his countenance.
"What happened to Justin?" I asked. Knowing the Cold Empire and their reputation for torturing their prisoners I could just imagine what the poor thing went through. Joel turned toward Jin.
"Don't know," he answered, "but why don't you ask him yourself?" He pointed directly at Jin, who appeared to be angry to the core. I stared, in pitied horror, at the teenager in front of me. No wonder he wanted to kill Joel.
"You...Jin, you're Justin!?" I gasped. I instantly regretted interrupting Jin and Joel's fight. The smirk on Joel's face seemed to increase Jin's anger and for a second, I was afraid that they would duke it out right there and then, with me caught in the middle. Just then, Jin's eyes shifted to me and his expression softened. Suddenly, the ship's computerized voice rang out.
"Approaching planet #0406...Namek. Please prepare for breach of atmosphere," it said. Jin sank back to his seat and pushed a few more buttons and then he turned to face us.
"Justin died two years ago, Joel, call me Jin," he stated flatly, "The headmaster sent us to do a job." He raised an eyebrow and gave Joel a wry smile. "I'll deal with you after it's done," he finished. The Saiyan's smirk remained on his face.
"Likewise," said Joel, taking a seat next to me, "at the tournament, then?" Jin nodded. I looked at my two companions in amazement.
Red stared at me for a while and then spoke. "I know you're angry Jeran,
but hear me out," he stated. I gave him his chance. "You see, Jin and
Joel are...well, rivals you can say. Neither of them will stop until the
other is dead, there's no escaping that fact. But out of the two, Jin is
more...restrained...more methodic in his rage. If there is a logical reason
not to fight, he'll accept it. Joel, however, will not. He's a Saiyan.
His is a race that is born to fight. Therefore, in an attempt to curb any
potential violence, I'll put Jin in a situation where he will choose not
to fight. As a leader, his main job will be to keep order, and with each
new recruit, his sense of responsibility will increase. You, and the
other recruits will be... peacekeepers...of sorts. Do you understand now
Jeran?"
I didn't then, but as I stared at these two I finally understood my
purpose on this journey. I was a peacekeeper, and the more recruits we
got the better. As long as we were there Jin and Joel would be forced to
work together.
"Brace yourselves for landing you guys," instructed Jin. Joel and I
both strapped on our seatbelts and we soon entered the planet's
atmosphere, feeling only slight turbulence when we landed. "Joel, you'll
have to stay here," said Jin, "these people have had some really bad
experiences with Saiyans." Jin attached a scouter to his ear, waiting for
Joel's response. I guess I was expecting Joel to be upset but he
surprised me by just nodding.
"Fine, I've got to start training anyways," he stated, leaving the
room. I glanced at Jin and smiled, all the time thinking to myself 'The
poor boy...'
"Grab a scouter Miss Jeran," he said, "and let's go hunt us some
Nameks."
We emerged from the ship only to find hundreds upon hundreds of green
faces staring at us. This was my first encounter with the Nameks. We
walked straight up to the ones in front. The old ones looked fearsome.
The younger ones appeared strong and formidable, and the children, they
were sooooooo...cute!!
"Be you friend or foe?" asked an old Namekian. I waited to see what
Jin would say, but all he did was survey the crowd and I couldn't help
but feel a bit nervous with the silence. Finally he broke the silence.
"If I said I was a foe, what would you do about it, huh?" he said,
tauntingly. A few murmurs came from the crowd and suddenly a young
looking Namekian stepped forward.
"Well then, I'd just have to ask you politely to leave, or if you
prefer, I could just kick you out," he said in a rough voice. I edged a
little closer to Jin.
"What the hell are you doing?" I harshly whispered. He ignored me and
took a step to face the young Namekian. For a second I saw Jin and Joel
again, instead Jin was the one smirking. Their faces were, in reality,
masks of seriousness and I thought hey would fight but then they both
smiled.
"Justin!" cried the young alien.
"Furion!" replied Jin, "how the hell have you been?" I gazed at the
two of them in shock as the entire Namekian congregation began laughing.
"You two know each other!?" I asked, coming out of my daze. Jin nodded
and then I remembered that Jin had been trained on this planet.
"Who's your friend?" asked the old Namekian from before. Jin
introduced us and I found out that the old guy's name was Dessin.
"Come! You must tell us everything, Justin," said Furion, gently
pushing Jin toward a house. I lingered outside for a while to observe the
Namekian landscape. The island we were on was a small one. There were
countless others, as far as the eye could see, with small, lollipop
shaped trees and the same types of domed houses strewn all over the
landscape.
"You coming, Miss Jeran?" asked Furion. I snapped out of my thoughts
and replied, "Oh? Oh yeah, I'm coming." I followed him into the house
where Jin had already begun to tell Dessin our purpose.
"...and so, we need to recruit fighters," he finished. The old guy
nodded and ordered Furion to bring the strongest warriors he could find.
Soon five fighters entered the small room and Dessin spoke.
"They are at your service, Just...I mean Jin," he said.
"Thank you very much Master Dessin!" exclaimed Jin, giving a slight
bow. I watched the five green skinned warriors through my scouter. They
were each at a high 3000! There was just one problem.
"Master Dessin, don't you have any fighters a bit younger, like
Furion?" I asked. Jin gave me a quizzical look and I elaborated. "Well,
it's just that it'll be difficult for anyone to believe these five are CC
academy students," I continued. Jin slowly nodded,
"You're right," he said, "Master Dessin, don't you have anyone around
Furion's age?" The old Namekian shook his head.
"I'm sorry. Furion is the youngest warrior we have," he replied. Jin
smiled suddenly.
"Well Furion, how 'bout it? Will you come with us?" he queried. Furion
seemed taken aback.
"Uh...well, I'm not sure," he answered," I've never left the planet
before." Master Dessin rose to his feet suddenly.
"I think it's a great idea! It will be a good experience for you,
Furion, not many Nameks have ever left the planet. It's decided, you're
going with Jin!" he stated. The young Namekian grew wide-eyed, with a
scared look on his face that made me feel sorry for him.
"Furion, it'll really help us out a lot if you join us," I said in my
sweetest possible voice. A huge sweatdrop fell down Furion's face.
"But what about Master Trump?" asked Furion, desperately, "since Jin
left I'm his only student, he'll be lonely if I go!!"
"You have a point there, Furion, you must request Master Trump's
permission," said Dessin.
"But my master is out searching for the dragonballs, Master Dessin,"
said Furion.
"Dragonballs?" I inquired, "What're they. They sound like
something...perverted." Furion didn't seem to understand my comment, or if
he did, he chose not to say anything about it.
"You didn't tell your friend about the dragonballs, Jin?" asked
Furion. Jin merely shrugged. "Miss Jeran, when all seven dragonballs are
collected, the Eternal Dragon, Porunga, appears and grants the person who
summoned him three wishes," he explained. I couldn't believe my ears.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said in disbelief. Jin nodded.
"It's true," said Jin, "Why's old Master Trump after the dragonballs
anyways?"
"Just for kicks, I assume," answered Dessin, "why don't you rest up
here until he returns?"
We waited for a good few hours, in which I got myself acquainted with
as many Namekians as possible, especially those cute children. Jin and
Furion both sat against the wall of a house and chatted away. I activated
my scouter and spied on them. Jin's powerlevel had grown since Red's
reading three days ago. It now stood at a high 2700!! He wasn't kidding
when he said he had gravity trained three days in a row! Although I had
begun my training yesterday, it hadn't been with the gravity machine. My
powerlevel barely crossed the 1000 mark. I'd have to start gravity
training in order to keep up with my comrades.
Next I checked Furion. The green skinned warrior had a powerlevel of
only 300. I smiled. At least I'd have company while training. Suddenly,
my scouter picked up a new power heading this way. Jin's scouter
activated as well.
"Master Trump returns!" cried a cute little Namek. Jin and Furion rose
and walked up to me as the old Namekian known as Trump came flying in
with a sack slung over his shoulder. He landed quickly and came toward
us.
"I think I'm finally going senile!" he cried in a loud voice. My
scouter finally stopped and I gasped.
"What makes you say that?" asked Jin.
"Didn't you leave just two months ago?" asked Trump, "that's right,
you left your old Master and now you want to take Furion away too."
"How'd you know that?" I asked, making sure to stay behind Jin.
"He has really good hearing," replied Furion, "so I guess you don't
want me to go?" He sounded too eager
"Actually, I think it's a great idea!" boomed Trump, "but I need to
see how badly you want him." Jin stood straight and turned his head to
face Master Trump.
"Is that...a challenge, master?" he queried. Master Trump dropped the
sack from his shoulder and began to stretch.
"I don't feel like beating you senseless today boy, I had enough of
that when I trained you," he replied. I gave a sigh of relief. Jin
wouldn't stand a chance. Master Trump's powerlevel was 38,500!! "However,
if you can catch me, I'll let Furion join you," he finished. A huge
sweatdrop fell down the side of Jin's head and I knew why. Master Trump
began to levitate.
"I...I still can't fly, master," Jin said. Master Trump fell out of the
sky in embarrassment and both Furion and I sweatdropped. Trump recovered
first.
"Well then, I guess my student stays," he stated.
"Wait!" I shouted suddenly, "I'll do it." Everyone looked my way.
"Are you sure?" asked Trump. I nodded.
"Do it, Miss Jeran!" encouraged Jin. The old Namekian pushed off into
the air and flew away from everyone, with me close at his heels. He
peered back at me.
"You're very fast young lady!" he commended.
"Thanks," I replied, increasing my speed, "but you haven't seen
anything yet!" I reached out to grab his leg as I drew closer to him but
I only caught air as his speed sky-rocketed. He flew around me in
circles, as if to mock me. I blurred out of sight and reappeared right
behind him. By the time I reached out to hold him he was already gone,
letting himself drop out of the sky. I chased after his descending body,
which was well relaxed, and getting closer to the ground. Suddenly, his
smiling face appeared right in front of mine, startling me greatly. When
I came out of my shock I tried to get him but he darted away swiftly. We
were now a very great distance away from our friends.
"You sure you don't want to give up?" he queried, "you will never
catch me if we go on like this." I knew he was right, but I couldn't give
up. I ceased my senseless pursuit and just hovered in the air trying to
think of a way to catch my green adversary and suddenly it hit me. I shot
off in the opposite direction, back toward our friends and I knew that
Master Trump was following out of pure curiousity. Soon the island came
into view and I dove toward the sack that, I was certain, contained the
Namekians' precious dragonballs. I grabbed it, heavy as it was flew up to
face Master Trump.
"What're you planning on doing with that?" he asked, eyeballing the
sack that I held. I grinned as I tore the sack open and the dragonballs
fell to the ground at insane speeds. Master Trump let out a cry and, with
a couple of zanzokens, caught six of them. As he looked about for the
last one I pulled it out from behind my back. I blew him a kiss and
darted away, the five star dragonball in hand. Master Trump carefully
placed the others on the ground and came after me just as I expected.
With his superior speed he easily caught up to me. He yanked the
dragonball out of my hands and I seized the opportunity. I quickly
wrapped my arms and legs around him and held on tightly. It was only then
that he realized what I was up to and the mother of all sweatdrops fell
down his head.
"You are a clever one!" he said, "Well, looks like you caught me!" I
nodded, making sure to maintain my hold on him. He lowered us to the
ground in front of Jin and the others and I finally let go. "Furion!
You're going with them! You can learn a lot from these two!" exclaimed
Trump, patting the distraught Furion on the back. Jin held my shoulder
and gave me an impressed look.
"Good work, Jeran," he told me. Instantly I gave him a hard glare that
made even his emotionless face flinch. "I-I m-mean...Miss Jeran!" he
stuttered. I gave him a smile.
"Jeran's fine," I stated, winking at him. Master Trump called out to
everybody.
"Come everyone!! I will now summon Porunga!" he shouted. Jin seemed
excited.
"C'mon Jeran, you're gonna love this!" he cried, grabbing my hand and
pulling me forward. Trump stood before the dragonballs and began chanting
in some strange language.
Suddenly, the sky grew dark and the dragonballs began to glow. A light
shot out of them began spiraling around in the sky, the most spectacular
thing I had ever seen, and soon where there had been nothing before, a
huge muscle bound dragon appeared before us!!
"I WILL GRANT YOU THREE WISHES," it said, in an extremely loud voice,
"SPEAK NOW!! I HAVE NO TIME TO WASTE!" I was very afraid of it, but Jin
seemed totally excited.
"Justin...Jin, why don't you make a wish," suggested Master Trump.
Dessin and Furion both nodded in agreement. I turned to Jin and all he
did was stare at the ground. Then he smiled.
"I have the perfect wish," he said. He took a step forward and
shouted, "I wish that I had the same advantage that gives Joel more power
without having to train!!" The dragon's eyes began to glow and almost
immediately Jin began to levitate. I gave a startled cry when he began to
glow as well. A bright yellow light emanated from him.
"Jin...wha-what's happening!?" I cried. Just as suddenly as it happened,
it ceased and Jin fell to the ground.
"IT HAS BEEN DONE! STATE YOUR NEXT WISH!!" boomed Porunga. I hurried
over to my fallen comrade as Master Trump told the dragon to keep the
remaining two wishes for later use. Jin sat up groggily and shook his
head.
"Are you alright!?" I asked, "What happened?" He rose to his feet and
called Furion over. I gazed at Jin now and gasped. Jin's hair was no
longer in an Afro! His hair wasn't curly and wavy as it had been mere
minutes ago. It was now wild and spiky. His look changed as well,
although I didn't really figure out exactly what it was, but he
definitely changed. He seemed more wary...more alert.
"Jeran, check his power," he instructed. I came out of my thoughts.
"I did already. He's 300," I replied. Jin shook his head so I checked
Furion's power once more and was astonished to see that it had increased.
"1500!!" I cried, "This day's just full of surprises."
CHARACTERS RECRUITED INITIAL P/LVL
FURION 1500
SOUNDTRACK: DOWNFALL by Trust Company