No, not imagine. She would know.
Puar yawned a deep yawn, standing on a table as she was too tired to float, studying a book on human anatomy, looking through the graphically detailed illustrations of a dissected human female; it was a book she had searched for for years, ever since she met Yamcha. Many months ago, she had discovered the book, and had convinced Bulma to buy it for her. Though Puar wondered if Bulma had known why she wanted it, would she still buy it for her?
Nevertheless, it was Puar's now, and it was perfect, just as she hoped it would be; no real photos of course, since the sight of actual violence made Puar cringe. But the illustrations were so detailed, covering the human anatomy, both male and female, in such a vivid detail... skeletal, muscular, digestive, nervous, lymph, reproductive...
"It won't be long now..." Puar said to herself. "I've studied this book cover to cover. If all goes well..." she sighed, then glanced at the mirror, staring at her own reflection.
"... if all goes well..."
"Revision"
By
Ken Blackwell
Kami's Lookout never had so many warriors grace its presence before, ready to be trained by the Guardian of Earth himself. The wizened good half to Piccolo looked upon them as they conversed with each other and saying their goodbyes to Teena. Seven great fighters in their own right... Krillin, Yamcha, Tein Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Videl Satan, Chi-Chi, and Ran Fuan... none of them knew what they would be getting themselves into.
But they will.
"Eighteen. It is time," Kami finally called out.
Teena paused, looking to Kami, then nodding. She then turned back towards her friends for final goodbyes, beginning with a close hug from Chi-Chi...
"Don't die on me again, okay girl?" Teena whispered.
"I'll be careful..." answered Chi-Chi.
... then going to Ran Fuan, who hugged Teena tightly...
"I'll make you proud, Teena..." Ran said. "I'll beat those Saiyans up myself if I gotta."
"You got the heart for it, Ran..." Teena praised. "Train hard, okay?"
... over to Videl, who leapt into Teena's arms and embraced her tightly with tears in her eyes...
"... d-don't go, Teena... you'll b-be gone for so long... I'll m-miss you..."
"I'll miss you too, Videl..." Teena ruffled Videl's hair, then looked into the child's eyes. "I'll see you soon, so don't worry. Oh, don't forget to E-Mail your dad every so often. As far as he knows you're in summer camp."
Videl managed a slight giggle despite her sadness. "Don't worry... I will."
... turning towards Yamcha with a firm handshake...
"Good luck, Teena..." Yamcha said. "Hope your training goes as well as ours."
"It will, I'm sure of it..." Tein interjected, as he gave Teena a Roman handshake. "With all of us, including Piccolo, ready to fight, the Saiyans won't stand a chance!"
Chiaotzu nodded. "Nine against two are certainly welcome odds."
"Well, we'll see..." Teena said, then glanced over to Krillin. "Hey. You've been pretty quiet so far. No well-wishes or a 'good luck' or whatever?"
"..." Krillin looked up at Teena, then lowered his head with a blush. I could die in the coming year... and I'd never have the chance to tell Teena how I feel about her... how I REALLY feel. So what's stopping me?! he sighed, looking up at Teena once more. "... good luck, Teena..."
"Thanks, Krillin." Teena leaned down, and kissed Krillin on the cheek. "See ya."
Krillin gasped, touching the area of his face Teena had kissed as he watched her pick up her duffle bag and walk towards Kami. "... she... kissed me...?"
"Lucky dog..." Yamcha smirked. "'Course I kissed her too, you know. That was years ago, though..."
"..." Krillin ignored Yamcha, still touching his cheek. Why did I get that feeling of deja vu? That... she kissed me before? Just like this...?
"Mr. Popo..." Kami looked to his servant and friend. "Be sure to begin the training in my absence until I return."
"It shall be done, Kami..." Mr. Popo nodded.
"Are you ready, Eighteen?" Kami asked, raising his hand towards Teena, who nodded as she took it firmly into her own.
"Beam me up, Scotty..." she said. And with that, both her and Kami disappeared.
---
"... and so she has come, still alive and in flesh form, to receive training," Kami explained to the giant Lord Enma as he placed a hand on the shoulder of Teena, who couldn't help but look around at the strange settings around her, and back up at Enma himself. "Does she have your permission to proceed towards King Kai, Lord Enma?"
"Let me see..." Enma looked through his book of names. "Eighteen, Eighteen... hm, 'look under Ge...' ah, I see..." He then proceeded to flip through the book's pages, causing Teena to give pause.
"... what's he doing?" she asked Kami.
"You must not be officially listed under the name 'Eighteen,' so he's looking up your real name for reference," Kami answered.
"..." Teena's eyes widened. "... I don't even remember my real name..."
"Here you are..." Enma said, finding Teena's real name. "Yes, quite a list of meritorious achievements. If she were dead it'd be enough to fly straight to Heaven, and yet you want her to risk Snake Way to see the Lord of Worlds?"
"Yes, sir..." Kami answered.
"So, everyone comes here when they die?" Teena asked Kami.
"They do." Kami nodded.
"And he knows my real name... which means..." Teena looked up towards Enma. "Did my parents come here? Or are they--"
"Yes, they did..." Enma answered. "Fifteen years ago, in fact."
"..." Teena lowered her head, eyes closing. "Well, at least I know they're gone. I wish I can learn more but I don't have time to explore my past." She looked back up to Enma. "I must see King Kai. I'll take any risks. I have to protect my world!"
... A brave soul, to speak like that in front of a lord like Enma... Kami observed.
"Very well, it is done!" Enma proclaimed. "If you want the Lord of Worlds so badly... go!"
Teena smiled brightly, and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, sir."
"Wait for the guide by the side entrance," Enma instructed. "Please note management takes no responsibility for what happens on Snake Way."
"Well then... good luck," Kami told Teena. "You'll need it this year."
"Yeah, no kidding..." Teena hefted her duffle bag up over her shoulder. "See ya soon, Kami. Train my friends well... teach them everything you taught me, will you?"
"That I will, Eighteen.." Kami nodded. "Godspeed."
Teena nodded back. "'Second star from the right, straight on till morning.'" And thus, she turned around and headed out the side entrance.
"'Peter & Wendy...'" a wise, wizened crone sitting upon a floating crystal ball recognized as she flew to Teena's side. "I see this one's well-read in the classics."
"And you are...?" asked Teena.
"Baba Uranai. I'm your guide to the beginning of Snake Way. It's quite a trip, but considering your liveliness it shouldn't take too long in getting there. Fly with me, will you dearie?"
"Sure..." Teena smiled, and pushed off of the bridge, floating alongside Baba. "So what's this King Kai guy like, anyhow?"
"Well, I've never met him, personally, but it's said he stands above all the gods of the universe!"
"That big, huh?" Teena whistled. A long pause settled in as she and Baba continued on their way. "... you know... I've always loved flying this high back home, above the clouds..." she finally said. "For some reason it's nicer out here, but at the same time, lonelier. You think?"
"An intellectual of sorts, I see..." Baba smiled. "Not like the other one who came before you-- ah, here we are!"
"Hm?" Teena turned facing front, and paused to see a giant serpent staring back at her. "..."
"Snake Way, my dear!" Baba proclaimed, then stopped, noticing Teena's hesitation. "Is there something wrong, child?"
"N-no, it's just... didn't expect Snake Way to be a REAL snake..." Teena laughed nervously.
"Well, it's not going to eat you or anything..."
"If you say so..." Teena sighed deeply.
Baba cocked her head. "Do you have a problem with snakes?"
"No... I don't mind snakes. It's the food chain I have issues with. And me being a part of it." Teena glanced at Baba. "Stupid, isn't it? That I'd be afraid of something like that?"
"Not at all, child..." Baba answered. As I thought... despite her loss of memory she is still troubled by the past... she added in thought.
"So... now what?" asked Teena.
"Just follow the green scale road!" Baba answered. "And it'll take you straight to King Kai himself."
"Right..." Teena stared at the gaping maw of Snake Way, still hesitant. "... are you SURE it--"
"IT'S NOT GOING TO EAT YOU!!!" Baba retorted sternly. "Gracious, you face an entire army and a Saiyan warrior stronger than you and you're scared of being eaten?!"
"Hey, you don't see ME harp about YOUR hang-ups!" Teena stated back. "Which... if I knew what they were then I'd wouldn't harp. 'Cause harping's not cool and... and stuff..." She sighed, and gazed out at the winding distance of Snake Way. "... how long is this thing anyhow?"
"Legend says it's about sixty-three thousand miles," Baba answered.
"..." Teena paused for a good long moment, then looked back at Baba. "No, really. How long is it?"
"Sixty-three thousand miles," Baba repeated.
"... Well, hell..." Teena sighed. "Did anyone reach the end?"
"Well, Lord Enma did, and in just the past hundred million years. Then there was another... he did it in at least six months. Figured the latter would prove more motivational than the former..."
"Yeah... I'd choose six months over hundred million years any day..." Teena looked back at the gaping maw, and sighed before making a quick jump onto Snake Way's neck, avoiding the head entirely. "Better get moving..."
"A word of warning, Eighteen..." Baba pointed down. "Hell is right down there, past the clouds. If you fall in, you'll never get out."
"Good to know..." Teena looked towards the distance. "Wasted enough time. Thanks, Baba."
"Good luck, Eighteen..." Baba nodded.
Teena smiled, giving Baba a thumbs up, then took a single step and rocketed through the sky, following Snake Way closely.
"... she may get there faster than Goku ever did..." Baba remarked, nodding to herself.
---
Bulma sighed, sipping a cup of milk tea as she looked out at the tropical setting the Kame House was surrounded in. "It's going to be a quiet year, without Teena and the others..." she remarked to herself. "... the calm before the storm... God, I hope we make it through this one in one piece..."
As Bulma turned around, she noticed Puar slowly floating by, a mug of coffee held close between her forepaws. Puar...? What's she up to that'd make her drink coffee? I've never seen her drink coffee before, ever! Curiosity overtaking Bulma, she crept towards Puar's direction, following the cat into Yamcha's vacant bedroom.
"Okay..." Puar floated down to the table with the anatomy book open wide, sipping her coffee before going back to read a particular paragraph. "'... take note however, when you assume this perfect shape, you will remain this shape for all of your natural life, though your powers will remain intact.'" She sighed softly. "It'll be worth it..." she said to herself, before pausing. "... I must REALLY be tired if I'm talking to myself..."
"Puar?" Bulma walked in, causing the cat to panic and quickly close the book. "... Puar, what's going on? WHAT will be worth it? What's this 'perfect shape?' You're getting all this from that anatomy book I bought you?!"
"..." Puar hesitated, and then sighed dejectedly. "Yes... it's not really an anatomy book, you see. It's a lost, forbidden tome from my shapeshifting school. On how to assume a humanoid shape in place of your original one. Permanently."
"... say what?" Bulma opened the book, looking through it. "... Puar, there's nothing in this book that says anything about shapeshifting...!"
"The information's encoded..." Puar explained. "It took me months to decipher the words and to understand the book's true nature."
"But Puar, why?" Bulma asked. "We all like you the way you are! Why do you want to permanently shape-shift into a human?"
"..." Puar lowered her head, choosing what to say before speaking. "... I just... want to be useful to Yamcha again. You see, by changing into a humanoid form my own powers will increase in potency! There's details as to how that happens in the book but it's too much to get into at the moment... but while I'll never be able to assume my original shape anymore I'll be able to do things with my powers that I or Oolong would never be able to do now, and at longer intervals of time, too!"
"Oh?" Bulma queried, cocking her head as she crossed her arms.
"Yes..." Puar sat down with a sigh. "I remember the old days when Yamcha and I were a team. Just a couple of bandits living by our own rules, not a care in the world. Then you, Teena, and Oolong showed up and everything changed." You stole Yamcha from me... she added in thought. "And... with the Saiyans showing up and all I figured... now would be a good time to prove my worth to Yamcha once and for all. Somehow..." Prove my love to him is true. Truer than yours... you can't even decide if you love him or hate him...
"Oh..." Bulma sighed softly, sitting down by Puar. "And you can't do that as you are now?"
Puar shook her head. "I'm ready. I've learned all I can from the book, Bulma. "All I need to do is concentrate hard on the image of a human female. It won't be like my past transformations. It'll be painful. Excruciatingly so. I wanted Yamcha to be with me when I change..."
"But he's at the Lookout..." Bulma sighed. Then looked to Puar and smiled. "I'll be here for you. After all, I'm more medically trained than Yamcha anyhow, what with giving Teena physicals every so often... I'll be there to check you and make sure everything's in working order, okay?"
"...?" Puar blinked twice, looking to Bulma. "You'd do that for me?" Even though I may steal Yamcha away from you?
Bulma nodded. "Tomorrow. We'll head back to Capsule Corp so I can better monitor you and check you. If anything goes wrong, we'll handle it on the spot."
Puar smiled, and floated over, hugging and nuzzling Bulma. "Thank you, Bulma. You're a true friend." I just hope you'll still be my friend if I win Yamcha from you...
Bulma smiled back, hugging Puar. "I try, Puar. I try."
---
Teena stood silently upon Snake Way, brushing back her hair as she took time out to take in her surroundings, to appreciate the lonely beauty the afterlife had to offer. She had it all calculated, within her biocybernetically enhanced brain, how long it would take her to get from Lord Enma's checkpoint to where King Kai would be; factoring in the fact that she would never tire, the surmised distance of Snake Way, and the rate of speed she could fly.
"... four and a half months, tops..." Teena projected. "... if I'd known how long it'd take I would've brought a Game Mate with me..."
Sighing, Teena picked up her duffle bag, slinging the strap over her shoulder. Before taking off, she paused, turning her head towards the sky. "Mama... Daddy... I don't remember you, your faces... anything about you. But if you can hear me. I still love you..."
Teena looked ahead, then took a short jump and shot off like a bullet towards her intended destination.
---
Night set upon the Earth, and the seven warriors were given a reprieve from their rigorous training. They all sat upon the ledge of the Lookout, overlooking the stars in the night sky.
"Beautiful night out..." Ran Fuan remarked, looking upward. "We're so high above the clouds there's no obstruction of the stars or the Moon. Mmmm, and that cool night air... feels good after the training we had." She slipped her shirt off, baring her bra-clad chest and causing blushes from the shy Krillin and Chiaotzu and glances from Tein and Yamcha.
"Hope you're not planning on beating the Saiyans with just T & A alone..." Chi-Chi remarked.
"No way... I learned my lesson with Namu..." Ran Fuan replied, recalling her lost fight in the first Tenkaichi Budokai she participated in. "Showing a little sex appeal's good for taunting, but it can only take you so far. Which is why I am so grateful to Teena... thanks to her training me I've become a much better fighter than I was before."
Chi-Chi nodded. "When you've got a sufficient motivator like Teena, it seems like anything is possible. And with the additional training we'll get from Kami we should hold our own against the Saiyans well."
Videl nodded, petting Teena's kitten Neney who purred in her sleep, laying on the girl's lap. "I wonder how Teena's doing now..."
"Are you kidding?" Krillin smirked. "Knowing Teena she's probably half-way done with her training by now. You know her, she never stops until she's done!"
"She's got more determination than anyone I know..." Tein remarked. "Adding in the fact that she never feels fatigue... I'm definitely thankful she's not my enemy."
"Me too..." Yamcha agreed. "Personally I wouldn't want to fight anyone so beautiful for fear of damaging such a pretty face."
"Heh, and instead she'd go and damage yours..." Krillin retorted. "That's Teena for you. I don't think she's afraid of anything!"
"Other than losing her friends..." Chi-Chi added softly.
The Lookout became unsettlingly quiet for a good long moment, all seven warriors unable to find anything to say after Chi-Chi's statement.
"Well, it's true..." Chi-Chi spoke up. "She's scared of her own longevity. She told me herself, after she beat Piccolo back at the Budokai. She called herself a digital immortal... unable to age with her cybernetics keeping her young... while everyone and everything around her grows old and dies."
"She could wish to be human with the Dragon Balls, and yet she chooses not to, wanting to use her full strength to protect the Earth..." Chiaotzu nodded. "Our friend indeed lives quite the tragic life."
"Someday she'll quit. But until then..." Chi-Chi sighed, then turned her head to see Mr. Popo, who waited quietly for her and the others to notice him. "Yes, Mr. Popo?"
"I wanted to tell you before you retired for the night..." Mr. Popo said. "Kami has a special training session prepared tomorrow. I trust you will be ready?"
"You bet your turban we'll be ready..." Ran Fuan answered with a wink.
Mr. Popo chuckled. "Such enthusiasm," he remarked, before turning to walk away.
"I wonder what kind of training Kami's got lined up..." Yamcha said, cocking his head.
"We'll be ready for it. I'm sure of it..." Krillin smiled.
---
Morning arose.
"I want to thank you again... for doing this for me," Puar said as she lay on the examination table in one of Capsule Corp's medical rooms, Bulma attaching EKG sensors to her small body. "I guess, considering the change I'm going to go through, having you here is a blessing."
"Of course it is..." Bulma winked at Puar, before looking to the EKG readout. "Well, heart rate, vital signs're all normal. For a cat, anyhow."
"That'll change, I guarantee that..." Puar said. "They'll probably be very screwy during the change. I'm switching species, after all..."
"Yeah..." Bulma sighed softly, and reached down to scratch Puar behind the ears, causing her to coo softly, purring happily. "One last scritchy for the road..."
"Mmmmmrrrrrr..." Puar sighed, then opened her eyes, looking to Bulma. "... Ready?"
"I'm ready, Puar..." Bulma nodded. "Good luck."
"Thanks..." Puar closed her eyes, and began to breathe slower and deeper, her chest rising and falling, as she mimicked a human breathing rate. "... okay... oohh, kaay..."
Bulma watched intently as Puar proceeded to slip into her focus, and she remembered what she had told her, how the transformation would take place.
"I have to visualize the human shape I want, and then I have to deconstruct that shape layer by layer, from the skin on down to the skeleton. Once I do that, then the hard part starts... I have to change into the skeleton, then force the organs, nerves, muscles, everything to form. It won't be a pretty sight, and the moment I form the nervous system, shortly after the skeleton, it'll hurt. A LOT. There's a good chance I may actually die doing this. But for Yamcha... for the chance to be useful to him again, it'll be worth it."
Bulma's train of thought was abruptly interrupted with the familiar poof sound that signaled Puar's transformation on so many different occasions, and in place of the blue-grey furred cat Bulma was proud to call a friend was a humanoid female skeleton with a three-foot tail grown from the base of its spine. The EKG readouts were all flatlined, but Bulma did her best not to panic, forcing herself to rationalize that it was simply because her brain and heart hadn't reformed yet. Bulma then heard the blip-blip sounds from the brainwave readout and watched as the nerve endings began to take root.
The skeleton suddenly jerked back, showing signs of life as it writhed in agony, the jaw open in a silent vocal cord-less shriek. "Hold on, Puar!" Bulma shouted, despite knowing Puar couldn't hear yet. All Bulma could do was watch, refraining from touching Puar for fear of interrupting the astonishing transformation which looked fascinatingly like a kind of reverse-autopsy. Organs liquified into solidity now... lungs, heart, stomach, liver, ovaries, and the like... and Bulma heard a gurgling, cracking sound which quickly evolved into a female scream of pain as Puar's vocal cords reconstructed themselves.
"B-BUL--M-MA!!!" she screamed. "AAHHHH!!! IT HURTS!! OH GOD IT-- IT-- AAAAHH!!!"
"Hold on, Puar!! You're halfway there!!" Bulma shouted. "You can do it!!"
Puar trembled in agony Bulma could only imagine, looking into her friend's eyes now that they were formed; gold irises with vertically slit pupils gazed at Bulma almost pleadingly, then her partially-reconstructed body stiffened as the muscular system began to close around her bones, her breathing becoming erratic, the EKG going mad with blips.
"Don't give up, Puar!!" Bulma shouted more word of encouragement. "Do it... do it for Yamcha!!"
"... yam... cha..." Puar gripped the edges of the examination table, gritting her teeth as she whimpered, her lymphatic system and fatty deposits forming at the same time to create Puar's mammary glands. Cartilage growing from Puar's head to form ears, pointed and cat-like.
"You've almost got it!!" Bulma said. "All you need now is your skin!"
Puar nodded quickly, taking short breaths as if she were in labor, and in a way she was, re-birthing herself, as she let out a high-pitched cry, and like a wave her skin flowed over her exposed muscles, from the soles of her feet all the way up to the crown of her head. And she finally went limp, panting exhaustedly as her hair grew out in record time.
Bulma stood there for a moment, staring at Puar, once a small cat-like creature, now a beautiful and naked cat-girl, lengthy tresses of grey framing her cute face, a tail covered with grey fur with a tannish brown tip at the end. Bulma guessed her height to be roughly five feet five inches, and as her eyes focused on Puar's newly formed breasts as they rose and fell with each fresh breath she took with new lungs, an astonished realization crossed her mind.
... her breasts're bigger than mine! Only by a few inches, but still...!
Bulma paused, noticing Puar shivering a little. Quickly she grabbed a lab coat from a hanger and draped it over Puar's nude body. "There you go."
"T-thanks..." Puar said; her voice was similar to her former one, but it was no longer exaggeratedly high-pitched. "Never factored in h-how c-colder things'd get w-without fur t-to keep y-you warm..." She pulled the coat closer to her, still shivering.
"Let's see..." Bulma glanced a the EKG readouts. "Normal across the board, only more human now and less cat." She looked back at Puar. "... how do you feel overall, Puar? Aside from cold?"
"Weak..." Puar answered. "And h-hungry. Guess it's t-to be expected... I'm reborn after all. It'll take me a while to g-get re-accustomed to my body now that it's n-new.."
Bulma nodded. "Wait here. I'll get you something to eat. Anything you want in particular?"
Puar shook her head. "I don't mind. As l-long as it's edible..."
"Okay. Wait right here then." Bulma smiled at Puar, then turned to leave the examination room, leaving Puar to get re-accustomed to her new body.
Puar stared at her new human hand, clenching and unclenching it from a fist and back. Then with a thought, extracted cat-like claws from her fingertips. And she smiled to herself, liking what she had become. Retracting them, she then sighed, bringing her knees close to her chest.
"... you'll forgive me, won't you Bulma...?" she wondered to herself.
---
"Bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored bored..." Teena sighed deeply, flying across Snake Way with a dejected look on her face, hands behind her head. "'Sure, I'll train your friends, Teena! But you'll have to go to the afterlife and train with the Lord of Worlds! Oh, I forgot to tell you the afterlife will get boring quickly while you're flying across a big freakin' snake for four and a half months!' AAAHHH!!! What the hell was I thinking?!!" Teena skidded to a halt, landing to her feet, and paced about before stopping, throwing her hands up and shouting, "Yes! Yes, I KNOW this is all to stop Nappa and Vegeta from going Apocalyptic on Earth but COME ON HERE!!! I'm bored to death!! Gimme something! ANYTHING!! Or else I'm gonna strip naked and streak the rest of the way!" Teena sighed. "Yeah, that'll be fun for about... I dunno, ten minutes..." Teena dropped down, sitting cross-legged with her head propped up on her hands. "Okay... Snake Way's gonna come to life and attack me right, about, NOW!"
Teena waited.
"Okay, now!"
She still waited.
"Now!"
Nothing.
"... now...?"
Still nothing.
"... crap." Teena fell onto her back and let out another deep, dejected sigh. "Screw whatever's below the clouds here, THIS is Hell." She looked ahead, then blinked, spotting something. Rolling onto her belly she looked closer at what looked like a white pagoda way off in the distance of Snake Way.
"... it's something other than this stupid lizardy road..." Teena realized. "... weird, Baba didn't mention this. Oh, who the hell cares, it's something!! It's something to go to and check out and I'm... talking to myself..." Teena blinked thrice, then shook her head, eyes focused on the lone pagoda. "There'd better be people there or so help me..." Pushing off the scaled road, duffle bag clutched tight, Teena flew towards the pagoda faster than she had ever flown before.
---
"This is where Eighteen did much of her training..." Kami said as he led the seven warriors, or the "Magnificent Seven" as Ran Fuan had dubbed them, into a large room with a circular indentation in the center with runes etched within, and a swinging pendulum up above them. "This is the Room of Spirit and Time."
"Amazing..." Chi-Chi looked around, then turned to Kami. "Excuse me, sir... this room is certainly large, but it still seems a little small for all seven of us to be training."
"It may seem that way, yes..." Kami said. "But it's not here that you will be training. It shall be in the past."
Everyone exclaimed their own level of surprise as Kami realized the Room's purpose. "Wow! We're gonna go back in time?!" exclaimed Videl.
"Your spirits will..." Kami explained. "While your bodies will remain here, your spirits will travel through time to receive the necessary training. It is a precautionary measure, you see... should anything happen to you in the past, your spirits will return to your bodies and you'll be none the worse for wear."
"And you say Teena went through training here?" queried Krillin.
"She did..." confirmed Kami. "Realistically speaking, I didn't train her at all! I merely pointed her towards the right direction, and she trained herself!"
"Wow, really?" Videl blinked twice in surprise. "Teena's so cool...!"
"That's all there is to it?" Tein smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Simple enough. Ready, Chiaotzu?"
"I certainly am!" Chiaotzu answered.
"Yeah, let's do this!" Ran Fuan said with enthusiastic vigor.
"Where're we going, anyhow?" asked Yamcha.
"Twenty-two years into the past... to the Saiyan homeworld of Vegeta," Kami answered as he went to a console, pulling on some levers and turning knobs. "Now, could the seven of you stand in the middle of the circle there, we can proceed."
"... wait, didn't Teena say that one of the Saiyans' names is Vegeta? And their planet is CALLED Vegeta?!" Ran Fuan sighed, shaking her head. "Can we be any more egoriffic?"
"Focus, everyone!" Kami shouted, as the pendulum above them began to swing faster. "You're about to enter the past! Be advised that your opponents are ruthless! And good luck!"
The Magnificent Seven's vision blurred as it appeared their surroundings melted around them. As their sight cleared, they found themselves no longer in the Room of Spirit and Time, not even on their own world, but on a desert landscape, under a red sky with twin moons overhead.
"... wow... we're on another planet..." Videl looked around, whistling. "This is so cool!"
"Everything feels weird, though..." Ran Fuan thought about it, then walked over to a rock on the ground, proceeding to pick it up. But found herself struggling to lift the small stone. "... uunggh... no way... how can it be so heavy...!"
"... the planet!" Krillin realized. "Its gravity must be stronger than Earth's! I mean, it makes sense! My training with Master Roshi required me to wear a heavy shell on my back and I benefitted greatly from it! No wonder that Raditz guy was so strong! He must have had the luck of training under this gravity!"
"That means the two Saiyans on their way had the same luck as well..." Tein said grimly.
"Then how come we're not affected by it?" asked Yamcha. "If the gravity's so strong then how come we're not all squished by now?"
"Because our bodies are in the present," Chiaotzu deduced. "Our spirit bodies must be unaffected by the intense gravity of this world."
"Well, I guess that makes sen--" Chi-Chi's sentence was cut drastically short as a blur of black and green suddenly struck her in the solar plexus. As Chi-Chi doubled over, coughing up blood, her allies saw her attacker... a man clad in black and green armor similar in design to Raditz's, a scouter over his left eye, wild spiky hair on his head, a scar on his left cheek, and the all-too-familiar monkey tail wrapped about his waist.
"Hmph..." He looked at the remaining six warriors through his scouter, and then down at the injured Chi-Chi. "Such low power levels. You all must be suicidal to try to invade our world."
"We'll just have to teach them a lesson. Eh, Bardock?" A tallish male Saiyan in black and light blue armor dropped down next to the black/green armored Saiyan, quickly followed by a balding giant with three scars on his forehead, an obese Saiyan with a Fu Manchu moustache, and a short-haired female Saiyan, who immediately gave pause, noticing Videl, Krillin, and Chiaotzu.
"... but why are children here as well...?" the female Saiyan asked.
"Kill first, ask questions never, Celipa..." Bardock said as he began to power up. "It's time to defend our world!"
"... we are so pureé-ed..." Ran Fuan dreaded, as she and her friends got into defensive positions.
---
"N-NNOOOO!!!" Ran Fuan screamed, snapping back and hugging herself, eyes wide. She blinked, finding herself back in the Room of Spirit and Time with the others. "Oh... right. Reset button's hit."
"... we're alive..." Chi-Chi sighed in relief, caressing her stomach, then her forehead. "It felt... seemed so real, though..."
"Man, that was a nightmare!" Yamcha exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder. "Those five Saiyans... they were unstoppable!"
"They were indeed..." Kami said simply. "And the two Saiyans coming to Earth are even..." he paused, noticing Videl, who remained standing, unmoving since the seven had returned. "... odd..."
"Huh?" Ran Fuan turned to face Videl; the young girl had a vacant stare, eyes wide but unseeing. "... omiGod, Videl!!"
"Videl--?!" Chiaotzu cocked his head, using his telepathic powers to search through Videl's mind, then pulled away in surprise. "... she... she isn't there. She still lives but her mind is gone!"
"Oh God..." Krillin blinked. "... she's trapped in the past! With those Saiyans!!"
"Kami! There must be something we can do!" shouted Tein.
"I sympathize with you, Tein.. but I'm afraid even I cannot do anything... this has never happened before..." Kami stared sadly at the catatonic Videl. "Eventually she will return to us on her own. But in what state of mind, I cannot dare to guess. One year later in the past the planet Vegeta will be destroyed."
"... oh, man... if Videl's still on that planet when it goes up..." Yamcha muttered.
"... indeed..." Kami sighed solemnly. "Heaven only knows what kind of psychological trauma the poor child will endure..."
"... Videl..." Ran Fuan sighed deeply, and embraced the comatose child tightly in her arms. "... be strong, girl... you gotta be strong..."
-- TO BE CONTINUED.