The Tale of Tennin
In Original Japanese:
Tennin's Account!! Mysterious Visitors Arrive!!
(See Chapter 1 for a lengthy explanation of this title.)
I left out some stuff in the first chapter, so here it is:Disclaimer
I am not Akira Toriyama. I did not create, write, or illustrate Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or (thankfully) Dragon Ball GT. I did not create any of the characters featured therein and both the characters and all respective likenesses thereof are the sole property of Shueisha/Bird Studios and Toei animation. The characters Tennin, Mirabi, Tennin's father, Genshu, Torren, the Shadow Kids, and Mushube are solely my property, and may not be used or reproduced without my express permission, or unless, strictly in the case of written fanfic, you acknowledge that they are mine. This applies STRICTLY in the case of written fanfiction. I mean, if you like them well enough to write fanfic featuring them, I'd be flattered. Knock yourselves out. But, I digress. I guess that's it.
Well, now that crap is all finished, on with Chapter 2!
"When the Saiya-jin home-world, Planet Vegeta, was destroyed, Goku's and my mother, Mirabi, died. Mirabi was a kind woman and a powerful Saiya-jin warrior." Tennin's eyes went down to the floor, and everyone present felt their eyes sting a bit with his sadness. "But her hands were not clean of blood. None of the Saiya-jins were."
He looked back up, straight into the eyes of Videl, who happened to be sitting on the sofa in front of him. She started slightly as his intense orange eyes met hers. "For her kindness and caring she was allowed to keep her body in the afterlife. She tried to find Goku's father, but during her search was noticed by a Kai from far away, who fell in love with her and took her as his concubine." Videl started in shock once again at this. "She went willingly," he continued, looking down. "At least, she said she did, but I expect that she never felt she could circumvent the will of a Kai in the afterlife."
Tennin sighed and continued. "I was born. . . um, probably when you were about seven or eight, Goku. My birth was an unusual and fearful event for the Kai. A Kai is not supposed to be able to impregnate someone from another race, and yet here I was."
"Wait a minute," said Goku, raising his hand. "Are you a Kai?"
Tennin looked up at his brother and smiled. "Not really. I'm virtually a pure-blooded Saiya-jin. Only about 5 percent of my genetic code is Kai."
"Goku!" Chi-Chi said. "Be quiet and let your brother speak!"
Goku's shoulders and eyes drooped. "Sorry, Chi-Chi," he said, his voice as sheepish as his face.
Tennin smiled until Chi-Chi looked at him and nodded. "Anyway," he started again, "my father, whose name I don't know and don't care to know, was surprised at my birth and ashamed that he had spoiled the bloodline of the Kai." There was a sense of loathing in Tennin's words, and the others felt his emotions once more, growing slightly angry. "He... left me on a planet called Nubion when I was just an infant." Tennin smiled with heavy sarcasm. "He left me to be raised by the kindest of caretakers. I was raised in the Nubian Battle Arena, trained as a fighting slave in the Arena Style of Yubo. I was extremely good at it, and learned to either beat my opponents quickly, or go hungry."
Tennin's eyes now seemed empty and distant, and everyone felt sympathy for him as they sensed the emotional detachment with which he viewed this part of his life. "When I was four I officially entered the Arena. I quickly became popular, but never killed unless absolutely necessary. I became a Super Saiya-jin when I was five, and just kept ascending. I was eventually awarded the status of Saibot. A Saibot was a slave, but an important, especially appreciated, and high-ranking slave. When I was twelve, a strange man came to the Arena and challenged me. The only time I ever lost was to my father, who came and 'rescued' me from the arena."
He looked around. "I use the word 'rescue' sparingly, because my father had a slightly more explosive idea of rescues than is usually considered common. I had a collar around my neck, which would explode when it left a certain sensor radius. He threw me far away from the arena, and, when I survived the explosion, he decided I was worthy to train with him. He trained me in the arts of the Kai for the next four years, and I also spent time with my mother. Apart from seeing my father, those were the most wonderful four years of my life, and the next ten were even better. I really got to know Mirabi in those years, once my father left me alone. She taught me about the noble, but flawed, Saiya-jin race, and about their fighting style."
He looked up at Vegeta, who had only just become displeased. "What do you mean, flawed!?" He asked, stewing.
Tennin smiled. "Although the Saiya-jin race has a noble and proud tradition, they committed acts of mass genocide all over the universe. To me, that makes them flawed."
Buruma tried Chi-Chi's approach, but was quieter about it. "Vegeta! Pipe down! Geez!"
"Hey, you guys, this is a good story, could ya kinda try not to ruin it?" Kuririn interjected.
Tennin smiled, which made everyone happy. "There really isn't much left to tell. I figured I had been hanging around with dead people long enough, so for the next four years I wandered around space, having adventures of my own. I just never found a place where I could. . . belong."
Tennin began to end his story. "Eventually, I came here, because I knew you were my brother and had heard stories about you, Goku. Honestly, I expected you to be much scarier than you are."
Goku laughed slightly. "And, that's about it," Tennin continued. "I came here to find a place on this planet. That's all I want."
"That's... such a sad story..." Goku said, honestly feeling for his brother.
"Yeah..." Buruma said. "I've never known that people actually go through those sorts of things."
Everyone sat in silence for a moment, all slightly sad about Tennin's story. "Uh..." he began, "I... hope I didn't kill the mood as completely as I seem to have done." He smiled. "Cheer up, everyone!" Everyone looked at him. "That's in the past, and I'm done with it. I came here to start again." He dropped to the ground once again, and turned to Buruma. "And I would like to start by asking you out."
Everyone smiled and chuckled at this, except for Vegeta, who seemed to be relatively unhappy about the idea.
"Uh..." Buruma said, awkwardly. "Normally, I'd love to, but..."
Trunks was turning red trying to hold in his laughter. Finally he let it explode. He pointed at his mother through painful spasms of laughter. "You asked my mom out!"
Tennin was very confused by this reaction. "Is she in a dry spell or something?" He asked earnestly. At this, the room exploded with laughter, until Vegeta spoke up.
"Married would be a better guess!" He yelled, angrily.
"Oh!" Tennin said. His face screwed up oddly. "To you? Yes, to you..." he said, sensing for the first time their spiritual connection. "That's gotta be a screwed up relationship."
At this point, the laughter increased to such a level that Kuririn fell over the edge of the couch, and lay on his head, giggling.
Only Vegeta was not laughing. "It's getting late!" He said, louder than necessary. "Let's go, Buruma!"
Everyone left over the next hour or so. Tennin was welcomed by the still-bemused Goku and Chi-Chi to take Gohan's room, until they could figure out what had become of him.
Some time afterwards, Goten was sneaking off to bed, desperately hoping to avoid his mother. He stalked quietly through the kitchen, wondering if she was there, moving like a spikey-haired shadow.
He did not see her creep out. "I heard you cut out of school today, Goten!" Chi-Chi's voice stopped him in his tracks.
Goten looked over his shoulder anxiously. Chi-Chi wore her usual angry face. She sighed. "What am I going to do with you? You're getting too old for me to discipline you. This is all your fathers fault!" She turned, angrily, arms folded, which worried Goten more than a burst of rage would have. "Oh... just go to bed!"
"Mom..." Goten started, but Chi-Chi interrupted him.
"Goodnight, Goten," She said, indignantly retiring to her room.
Goten stood in the kitchen for a moment, not sure of what to do.
A voice came from behind him. "Don't worry about it, kid. She just hates to see you growing up."
Goten looked and saw his newfound uncle, Tennin, standing in the doorway, being tall and looking self-assured. "How would you know that?" He asked.
Tennin shrugged. "I can sense things," he gestured towards Goku and Chi-Chi's bedroom. "And your mom is really easy to read, even if I couldn't. She'll probably be alright in the morning." The tall man yawned and spoke once more. "Later, Goten." He waved as he turned and walked off to bed.
When Tennin was gone, Goten smiled. He liked his new uncle.
Goku and Chi-Chi's home in East District was not a difficult place to sleep.
Tennin was rapidly discovering this, laying in Gohan's room, experiencing a level of comfort, relaxation, and fulfilment that could only be referred to as abject. It was just the right temperature, and just the right amount of noise penetrated the walls to tell you that there was a breathing wilderness sleeping without being annoying.
He understood why his brother was so happy, living in a place like this. Tennin already felt as though he had lived here, with his brother's family, for years. He knew for a fact that he wanted to. Tennin yawned once more into the darkness, a drowsy, dreaming relaxation taking him as he slipped into dreams of the waking world, the curtains fluttering in the warm summer breeze.
All around him, loved ones slept.
In the mountains where Gohan had fought with the girl, the dust from their battle was only just settling. Detritus and debris left over from the titanic struggle lay strewn about the mountain range for miles. The ancient sentries of rock, weathered and wind-beaten, that overlooked the ground stood as a reminder that the damage would heal. Rock would weather rock and wind would rub it dry with sand until no traces of the confrontation remained.
Somewhere deep in the silent, sleeping mountains, a light flickered. It was a sickly, pale light, that cast a cadaver-like pallor about the ground in front of it. It was a small oval of light that opened within a crater where a large standing rock had used to be, before it was wiped out of existence. The light flickered for a moment, and then grew steady. Small, nocturnal rodents squeaked worriedly and scurried away from it, hid from its now-steady glow.
It stood there for a moment, as the wind blew, like it was waiting for something to happen. And then, the light was dimmed by a shadow, a shadow that passed from out of the light, a tall, indistinct form with a body draped over its shoulders.
Setting the body down gently, the shadowy figure extended a hand towards the oval of light, and stood patiently. For several more moments, there was nothing, and the wind had chosen to go silent.
Then, a shadowy hand shot out of the light, dimming its glow once more as the first figure caught the hand and pulled. A smaller figure fell into its arms, a figure draped in shadow and obviously exhausted. The second figure extended an arm, thin and graceful, towards the pale door, out of which a shard of brilliant green light floated, settling in the figures hand; it's glow subsiding as it sunk into the shadows. The pale, sickly light disappeared, as the shadowy figures spoke hurriedly and quietly.
The smaller figure held to the taller, as both flew off to the Southwest.
The knock wasn't anything remotely like loud, but after a certain state of unconsciousness, the mind is shocked by any noise. Tennin sat bolt upright in bed, stirred from out of a dream about pasta and girls with large breasts. He sat for a moment, not believing his sharp hearing.
The polite, quiet knock, a knock which would have awoken nobody not possessed of Tennin's superior hearing, came again. Sensing that everybody else was asleep, he rolled from bed, pulling pants on and immediately stubbing his toe on a protruding section of the wall that he was certain had not been there when the light was on.
Suppressing the need to swear extremely loud, Tennin went slowly down the stairs, taking them one by one, drowsily.
The knock came again.
Tennin reached the door and opened it.
He had been drowsy, but what he now saw, or rather, one of the things he now saw, woke him with surprising expediency.
Before the Saiya-jin stood three people, or more accurately, two people stood, with a third draped, unconscious, across the shoulders of the less grippingly lovely of the other two. The unconscious party was a dubiously living Gohan, who had no outer wounds but much more than that, Tennin could sense.
Gohan was draped carefully across the shoulders of a tall, proud-looking man with very long white hair, no shirt, white pants, black boots, and a sword slung across his back. He had tan skin, and engaging green eyes. Around his waist a black sash was tied.
The more engaging of the two, the one that had fully awoken Tennin, was a woman, shorter than either of the others, but not too short. She had long white hair as well, and wore a hooded cloak. The hood, currently, was down. She had pointed ears, both of them did, looked very tired, and was unbelievably, amazingly, almost painfully beautiful. She was leaning heavily on a simple, unadorned staff.
Tennin chose this moment to speak. "Uh... hi," he managed.
The man stared at him for a moment. "May we come in?"
The woman eyed him angrily and spoke. "Hello..." she began, but fell short when her green eyes met Tennin's engaging orange ones. Both of them flushed deeply and then smiled, bewildered. "I. . . I'll start again," she said. "Hello. My name is Genshu. This is my guardian Torren," the tall man gave a short bow. "Please excuse his rudeness. We have brought your. . ." She stopped and thought hard for a moment, biting her lip so that it bunched up enticingly. "Oh!" She said, suddenly. ". . .kinsman. . ." she emphasised the word proudly. "Back to you." Seeing Tennin smiling at her slightly, she blushed, looked at her feet, and said: "Your language is new to me. I apologise... if I have got it wrong."
"Oh uh. . ." Said Tennin, feeling non-verbal in the presence of this person he wanted simply to look at. He was trying, currently, to articulate a way to say that he was in love, and that additionally he simply had to go to bed with her as soon as possible. What he came out with was: "Ah. Is that all you've come for?"
"Oh. . . no. We have come very far," she began, earnestly. "To warn you."
Tennin looked up at the sky, which had chosen this moment to get stormy. "Why don't you warn us inside?"
"Yes... very well," Genshu agreed, smiling and stepping in. Torren laid Gohan on the couch and immediately stood by the door. Genshu collapsed in a chair, looking as tired as she was.
Tennin stood awkwardly and stared at these two extraordinary people, one of whom he found particularly extraordinary in many extraordinary ways. "Why don't I go wake the others?" He offered, kindly.
Genshu nodded, trying to stay awake.
Several minutes and several unhappy conversations later, Chi-Chi and Goku staggered down the stairs, followed by a seemingly zombie-esque Goten. Goku collapsed into a chair not far from where Genshu sat, groggily paying attention. Chi-Chi, too tired to care if anybody saw her, collapsed heavily into Goku's lap and threw her arms around his neck, snuggling her face into his chest and making unintelligible noises about trying to sleep on orange things. Goten collapsed down beside Tennin and fell asleep rather obviously, snoring.
Chi-Chi had been restrained from making too great of a fuss about Gohan, whose condition Tennin had told her was bad but quickly added that it would subside. All three were in their nightclothes, Chi-Chi wearing a long nightgown that did nothing to show off her still-stunning figure, Goku, Tennin, and Goten all dressed in pants and nothing else. Torren stood quietly by the door despite Chi-Chi's groggy insistence that he sit down.
After everyone was through being grumpy and tired, Genshu looked around at all of them. "Which. . . one of you is Goku?" She asked, looking from Tennin to Goku. "Spiritually, you feel very similar."
"I'm. . .hungry. . ." Goku mouthed drowsily, his eyes only half-open. He made a loud snoring noise and then quickly added: "I mean. . . Goku. . ." dozing and then waking up.
Genshu gave a sweet smile. "I apologise that I have awoken you. But you should stay awake for what I have to say," despite her sweet demeanour, she spoke with strength and purpose. "It is very important."
"Yes, we realise that," Tennin said, maturely. "Go on."
"Yes..." Genshu looked at the floor, and made Tennin light-headed with her beauty. "My name is Genshu, Torren is my guardian. We are Mikkon. We are a race whose sole purpose for the last ten thousand years has been to stop a great evil known as Mushube. Mushube is an ancient pan-dimensional being, who has laid waste to billions of realities. He is currently travelling to your dimension, and is a great danger to you all. Mushube destroyed our entire dimension, along with our home world Mikkona.
I am known as the Itton, or sword, of my people. I am part of a long line of specially-trained magic-users whose destiny is to seal Mushube." Pain filled her beautiful face. "I... have already made an attempt and failed once..."
Tennin blinked. "What... do you mean?"
She looked up at him, and he could see the pain through the resolute strength in her eyes. "Our entire plane of reality was destroyed as a result of my failure. I do not intend to fail again."
Goku yawned broadly. "So, this Mushube guy, he's pretty strong, huh?" Genshu just nodded, apparently finished speaking. "When's he gonna get here?" Goku continued.
"It will not be for some time..." Genshu said. "His power has grown so that he cannot travel through dimensions as easily as he once did. Although... he is coming even now. He will arrive in perhaps one to three of your years."
Goku looked at his brother. "We'll all have to start training tomorrow."
"Hopefully, you won't have to fight," said Genshu. "I told you, I do not intend to fail a second time."
Goku stood up and yawned once more. "Well, we're gonna train anyway, right Tennin?"
Tennin nodded. "Of course."
"Oh yeah," Goku said, looking at the prostrate form of Gohan. "How's Gohan?"
"He'll be fine," Tennin said. "He's trapped in darkness right now, but he'll emerge from it."
Goku yawned yet again, louder and less restrained than before. "Man, I've had a long day... I'm going to bed." He looked at Genshu and Torren. "You guys just sleep anywhere you want. Tennin's got Gohan's room, though." Goku walked up to bed, followed by an already-sleeping Goten.
"They are good people," Genshu said to Tennin, who was the only one left.
Tennin smiled awkwardly. "Yeah..."
She returned the smile with less awkwardness. "Sleep well," she told Tennin.
"Oh... you too," he returned. Tennin retreated to bed, not sure if he had said the right thing of any kind at all.
The next day, everyone was back at Goku's house once again, as Genshu retold her story.
"We sure are meeting a lot of new people," Kuririn noted after she had finished and everyone had gone outside to enjoy the sun. "This Mushube guy sounds scary."
Genshu smiled at him, a gesture that would cause most people to go from solid to liquid. "There is no need to fear him," She said. "I will not fail the Sealing a second time."
"Hmph!" Vegeta snorted. "I would prefer to fight this Mushube, as opposed to sealing him away." He leaned forward, speaking adamantly to all present Saiya-jins. "Where is the honour in that!?"
"Honour plays no part in it," Torren broke in. "Mushube must be stopped by whatever means possible."
"I wasn't talking to you, boy!" He said, menacingly.
"Do you have to address me before I develop the capacity for speech?" Torren asked Vegeta with equal menace.
Vegeta stormed after that. "We should start training," he said. "You're coming with me, boy! I'll whip you into shape."
"Yup, everybody," Goku said, loosening his joints up. "We all better decide who's gonna train with who." He looked to his little brother. "Hey Tennin," he said, quieter than was at all necessary.
"Uh... what?" Tennin responded, wondering why Goku was whispering.
"I was hoping we could train together," he said.
Tennin smiled. "Hey, me too!"
"Alright!" Goku shouted exuberantly.
"Alright!" Tennin said as well.
"Come on, boy!" Vegeta thundered to Torren.
Torren looked at Genshu inquisitively. She gave him a half-frown. "Oh, go on, Torren. You know I can take care of myself."
Torren smiled, something which he did only for Genshu. "Alright, then," he said, amusement in his fathomless eyes, and took off after Vegeta.
Genshu frowned at him, her arms crossed.
"So, what are your plans?" Tennin asked her from behind.
She started and turned towards him. "Oh! I must go and prepare..." she began feeling the awkward shyness that she had felt since first meeting him. They stood and smiled at one another for a moment.
"Hey!" Came Goku's voice. "You've got a crush, don't you, little bro?" He laughed excitedly at the prospect. Tennin grit his teeth and blushed, turning to look at his brother.
Genshu was blushing too. "I... I should really go..." she said, flying away. Tennin watched her go and turned to Goku, who was still smiling broadly.
Seeing Tennin's frown, he spoke up. "Uh, hey... what's wrong...?"
Tennin sighed and shook his head. "You aren't the most subtle person on earth, my brother."
Goku laughed and smiled, scratching his head nervously. "No, I guess not..."
Tennin just grinned. "Do you know of a good place to train?"
Goku flared with white energy. "Yeah! Follow me!" He rocketed off into the sky with his brother following.
In the great, grass-covered plains of the central continent, Vegeta and Torren landed, facing each other.
Torren crossed his arms, smiling. "So, what do you think you can teach me?"
Vegeta snorted. "Why don't you show me what you've got, first!?" Almost before he had finished saying that, he had slammed his fist into Torren's face.
Torren stared over Vegeta's fist and into his grinning face in the split-second before both forms became blurry and vanished.
Huge craters bore their way into the docile plain as plates of rock were kicked up by their incredibly fast battle. Vegeta finally reappeared, knocking Torren down to the ground below with a roundhouse kick.
He followed up quickly, racing down into the crater for yet another crushing kick. Torren's hands shot up and caught it, as he quickly whipped his legs up, using his left to push against the knee of the leg he held, barring it so Vegeta could not pull away, and then quickly slamming his right foot up into Vegeta's stomach.
The kick did little but anger the Saiya-jin prince, but the several thousand piston-like blows that followed in less than a second did a bit more. Torren's foot hammered at lightning speeds into Vegeta's abdomen, with Vegeta held in place by Torren's grapple on his right leg. As the last kick hit home, Vegeta bent over Torren's foot, grimacing in pain.
He opened his sharp eyes and growled at the calm fighter. "You're going to. . . pay for that one. . . boy. . ." Vegeta stood bent over for a moment, then reared up to full height, screaming as he drew back his free left leg, preparing to bring it crashing down into Torren's stomach.
As Vegeta's kick sliced down, Torren's eyes widened, and, at the last second, he released Vegeta's leg, phasing out and away.
Heedless, Vegeta screamed loudly and bore down into the crater for fifty feet or so, before leaping back out like a bullet and landing on the opposite side from Torren, facing him again.
The light mist from Vegeta's ki-fueled attack cleared quickly, as he stood staring at Torren.
Torren stared back, breathing hard. Vegeta wasn't even winded. "Hmph," Vegeta snorted, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "You've got a lot of determination, boy, but you need more power to back it up." He smiled and balled his fists. "We'll work on that one."
"My name is Torren," said Torren, standing at full height, but still looking winded. "What is yours?"
Vegeta smiled. "You don't get to find that one out until you've knocked me down." He dropped his stance, assuming the position that Saiya-jin warriors had used for generations. "Let's go," he said.
Son Goku and Tennin landed on Kami-Sama's Lookout. Tennin looked around worriedly. "This is your great place to train?" He asked, half-heartedly.
"Nah!" Goku said. "Not here, inside the Room of Spirit and Time!" Goku said.
"What's that?" Tennin asked, confused.
Dende came out to greet the brothers. "Hello," he said. "What do you guys need?"
Goku and Tennin looked ad Dende. "Hey, Dende! Tennin and I were hoping to train in the Room of Spirit and Time."
Dende looked concerned. "I'm. . . afraid we had to seal off the time chamber, Goku. You can't go in."
"What?" Asked Goku, confused. "Why not?"
"Because one of those girls came from it. Something strange is happening in there."
Tennin spoke up. "How are they, Dende?"
Dende looked up at Tennin. "They're still asleep. I have no idea what to do for them. They don't sleep well. I can only begin to purge the evil from them. The rest is up to them."
Tennin nodded knowingly. "I see."
Goku was annoyed. "Ah, c'mon, Dende! Are you sure we can't go in there?"
Dende smiled nervously as Goku got face to face with him, invading his personal space. "Absolutely. And, even if there wasn't something weird going on, haven't you already been in twice?"
"Oh yeah, right. . ." said Goku, standing and stroking his chin thoughtfully. He snapped his fingers excitedly after a moment. "Hey, Tennin!" He said, "have you ever heard of Dai Kaio-shin's Planet?"
Tennin looked at Goku and nodded. "Yes. I was there a long time ago. If I'm not mistaken, that was where you defeated Majin Buu."
Goku blushed. "Wow, guess I'm famous, huh?"
Tennin smiled lightly. "Are you suggesting. . . we go there?"
"Yeah!" Said Goku excitedly. He looked at his brother's not-totally-thrilled expression. "Something wrong?" He asked.
"Yes, I can think of a very good reason for us not to go there. . ." he said.
"Um. . . what reason is that? Cause I'm lost," said Goku.
Tennin sighed heavily. "Dai Kaio-shin. Have you ever met him?"
"Yeah, a few times. . ." Goku said, bewildered. "What's wrong with him?"
Tennin looked at Goku, touted as the strongest fighter in the universe, amazed he had to explain this. "He is one of the most crotchety, annoying, chauvinist, crotchety, perverted old men I have ever met. I seriously don't want to see him again."
"Didn't you say 'crotchety' twice?" Goku asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, it's a very important point," Tennin responded tersely.
"Why, did you guys not part on good terms?" Goku asked.
"Good terms!?" Said Tennin crossly. "Last time I talked to him he rambled on literally day in and day out about how I was the promised of the Kai, and how I needed to live up to my destiny and go through that ridiculous ceremony of his."
Goku stared at Tennin. "That ceremony can really help, y'know. . ."
Tennin smiled. "It can't help me," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I already know how to do it. The technique he uses is basically the same as the Kaio-Ken, on a higher level. I can use the power he gives people at will."
Goku smiled back. "So that's what you did when you were fighting those kids. I thought it was something like that. The ability to increase your power that much is pretty impressive." He balled his fists excitedly. "Training with you is gonna be fun!"
Tennin sighed in annoyance. "I suppose I can deal with the bastard," he said, looking to Goku. "You can use Shunkanidou, right?"
Goku nodded and assumed the position, reaching out for Dai Kaio-shin's energy signature. . .
A moment later, they had both vanished.
Genshu walked nervously down the busy streets of Satan City.
She had realised almost immediately that her flowing white robes, indiscriminate beauty, and long, simple wooden staff made her look slightly out of place around here. She looked around warily, slightly intimidated by the tall buildings, cars, power suits and palm trees.
However, Genshu was a strong woman and always had been, and resolved simply to make herself fit in. What she really wanted was to get a feel for the people whose dimension she was trying to save, but beyond that she needed peace and quiet to prepare for the sealing. . .
Even thinking that word brought painful memories to mind.
The events of her last sealing had happened such a short time ago that recalling them to mind was still painful.
They had known he was near for years beforehand, the elders. Genshu had spent twelve years of her long life of study and deprivation preparing to perform the sealing. On that day, her people had cheered her on as they evacuated the planet, leaving only beautiful Genshu and her guardian, Torren, to stand upon the ancient Tower of the Sealing, looking towards the blackness that filled the sky as Mushube arrived, freshly glutted from the blood of another planet.
Her hair and robes had whipped about in the black wind as she stood silently atop the tower, erected millenia ago on the Great Plain of Mikkona by her ancestors. All fear and apprehension had left her as she prepared to do what so many had been trained to do, as she prepared to change the course of history. As Mushube began to manifest, black lightning tore the planet Mikkona to pieces, ripping into the Great Plains and bringing forth a flow of lava that quickly became a flood. Plates of land shifted and moved as the force of the dark one lashed the planet. Such a sudden release of his wrath met that he would destroy Mikkona outright, that there was nothing powerful enough to interest him on Genshu's world.
This omen had filled Genshu with pride. They also meant that he was frightened, apprehensive, that he had no idea what awaited him here. The Tower of the Sealing stood alone in the suffering of Mikkona, protected and upheld by the magic of the Sword. Genshu felt like the most powerful woman in existence at that moment, a powerful woman in a line of powerful women. The Itton had always been a woman, and Genshu was the fifth generation of her family to carry the title. But she was actually to face him, she thought.
As Mushube approached, Genshu stood tall and prepared to begin the sealing. . .
Genshu was shook from her reverie as she bumped into a wall that had not been there a moment before. She stepped back and looked up at the wall. In her deep thought, she saw that she had wandered into an alleyway.
The wall was a man. He was at least a foot taller than Genshu, rough-looking, covered with as many guns and knives as he could stuff onto himself logically. His head was shaven, and Genshu saw and felt herself surrounded by three similar men, to her left and right and behind her.
She looked at them, sensing their intentions immediately, (as though she needed to), but wishing to end the affair without violence.
"May I help you?" She said, addressing all three simultaneously.
The biggest one, in front of her, laughed. His colleagues followed suit, mostly for fear. "You can help me by coming with us and not getting' yourself all damaged. We like em' breathin'." The other men laughed again, obviously from fear, as there are only a very few almost utterly deranged individuals who might have found his last comment amusing.
Genshu put a finger to her lip, thinking, struggling with the language she had had to learn so quickly. "Uh. . . you speak your language oddly. . . I don't understand, could you clarify?"
The man arched his eyebrow as Genshu looked around, quite effectively convincing them she was confused. "I. . . don't think I'll get hurt, if that's what you're worried about," she told them, smiling personably.
The man grinned. "See, what I meant was. . ."
"Are you hurt?" Genshu asked, inquisitively.
"She must be some foreigner," the man said, as Genshu began to feel violence had very little choice but to happen. He smiled at her with all of his teeth. "You're comin' with us," he said. This was a cue for the others to rush her, clumsily, she thought. She sighed, touching her power slightly, creating a hot wind that threw the two at her sides into and through walls, and the one behind her out onto the sidewalk. The biggest one fell back onto his behind rather embarrassingly.
Hearing the one from behind approaching, she quickly threw her robes over him, revealing a grey and white kimono, and spun around, round-house kicking him in the face. As he fell against a wall, unconscious, she gently plucked her robe off of him and sniffed. She looked at the one on the ground. "Don't you guys ever bathe?"
She turned back towards the other, still on the ground, and began walking towards him. He touched a gun on his side, which he apparently thought she couldn't see or something. He eyed her cautiously as she walked past him, and, when she was ten feet or so away from him, he pulled out the gun and shot her in the leg, still hoping to use her as entertainment and wanting her basically undamaged.
The man was surprised, and didn't see what happened, but felt the staff she had been carrying hit him in the face before he lost consciousness.
Genshu caught the staff as it returned to her outstretched hand, holding her soiled robes gingerly in her right hand. She started as she heard sirens. "What are those?" She wondered curiously, walking through the alley.
Vegeta appeared behind Torren, grabbing his arm in a vice-grip and swinging him round. Swinging faster and faster, he finally released Torren across the ground. Torren hit painfully, kicking up rock, grass and dirt with his bare shoulder as he rolled and tumbled to a stop.
Vegeta dropped down, smiling, beside where Torren lay. "Still haven't knocked me down, boy. You're going to need to get better if you plan to face this Mushube that girlfriend of yours talks about."
Torren sat up, and looked at Vegeta. "She's not my girlfriend."
Vegeta cocked his head, curiously. "Casual sex buddy, then?"
Torren suddenly phased out, kicking Vegeta hard in the face with his right leg and appearing above him, blood spraying through the air from Vegeta's lower lip.
While Vegeta was still airborne, Torren flipped over in mid-air, kicking him in the back of the head, sending him flying into the air.
As soon as Vegeta was moving, Torren phased out, appearing above him, and punching him back down to the surface.
Vegeta caused yet another crater with his impact, kicking up a cloud of smoke that was blown away several seconds later as Vegeta went Super Saiya-jin with a mighty yell of power.
He stared at Torren, growling in anger as Torren smiled back. "I knocked you down. . ." he said, whimsically.
Vegeta smiled slowly, then began to laugh. Torren just smiled as Vegeta lost it, quickly regaining his composure. The yellow energy of his Super Saiya-jin form flared up around him as he spoke. "The name's Vegeta. . . lord of all Saiya-jins."
Torren chuckled to himself. "Well, I feel special, Vegeta. . . I've been getting my ass kicked by royalty."
Vegeta laughed again. "Hope you can keep up with a Super Saiya-jin," he said, bending low to the ground in his Saiya-jin stance.
"We'll see," Torren said, assuming a stance.
All was quiet for a moment, then Vegeta rushed at Torren, rocking the earth with an explosion.
Dai Kaio-Shin was fishing.
This meant that he had his pole in the water, and was waiting patiently for something to happen. He called this 'fishing' although there were normally very few if any actual fish involved.
When he heard the high swishing noise and felt the energies behind him, he didn't bother to turn around.
Goku and Tennin stood for a moment, fully expecting to at least be yelled at. They exchanged glances.
Looking back at Dai Kaio-Shin, they were faced with his back, which Tennin had always thought was not so very different from his front.
"Uh. . . Dai. . .?" chanced Tennin at last.
"Hmmmmmm?" Dai Kaio-Shin responded quietly.
"Why are you being so quiet?" Goku asked in what was undeniably the loudest conversational tone anyone had ever used.
Dai Kaio-Shin sat and did not respond for a moment.
Goku walked over. "Hello?" After standing and watching the incredible colour change the ancient God was going through for a moment, Goku said: "Hm." He then turned to Tennin. "Hey, do you think he's finally lost his hearing?"
Dai Kaio-Shin had by this time turned a deep, abiding shade of red. Tennin smiled. "Maybe. If he has, then we can finally say what we really think of him."
The wizened figure now spun around and proceeded to rage at Tennin. "You insolent little punk!" What do you think you're doing back here!? YOU SCARED ALL MY FISH AWAY!"
Tennin backed away lightly, as Dai Kaio-Shin's spittle was flying dangerously close. He raised a finger and made a point. "Actually, that was Goku."
Goku smiled nervously. "Yeah, I guess it was!"
Dai waved his small arms ineffectively. "It doesn't matter it was still your fault you rude little half-blood why if you had been born in the days when I was in charge I'd have seen that you were brought up properly instead of raised by those Nubian barbarians tomato relish!"
Although it has been the subject of hard debate and much controversy, no one has ever explained, before or since, why the ancient ruler of the universe chose to add 'tomato relish' to the end of his rant. He had screamed till his breath ran out, and was leaning over, catching his breath.
"Yeah," said Goku with open and obvious disinterest, walking over and talking to Dai Kaio-Shin. "We need to use your planet to train, cause there's this really strong guy coming here to destroy our entire reality!"
Dai Kaio calmed himself, clasping his hands behind his back. He arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I know of no such person!"
"That would be because he's from another reality," Tennin said very responsibly. "His name is Mushube. The earth was attacked by his thralls yesterday."
"So is that where they came from. . ." Dai Kaio-Shin muttered. He coughed and straightened. "Fine!"
Goku and Tennin prepared to fly off. "But. . ." he noted before they could. "Be careful. This planet is strong, but not indestructible."
The two brothers exchanged excited glances. "Okay master," said Tennin. "We'll keep that in mind when we're going at it!"
"See that you do." A frown covered the wizened frame of Dai Kaio-Shin. "And go somewhere where you will not disturb my fishing!"
Almost before he had finished, Goku and Tennin were gone. The small, old Kai looked after them. "Arrogant young folk. . ." he muttered as he turned and went back to fishing.