"Get ready for some increase in weight." commented the surprisingly calm Vegeta
Tai blinked then stumbled as the gravity in Vegeta's training room increased "Whoa!"
Vegeta blinked "Try to keep your balance, Tai.. It's only at three times earth gravity. You're of Saiyan blood, you should be able to handle ten times with no problem at your age."
Tai slowly
nodded and found his balance "Dad.." he started "Can you
increase it to five times?"
Vegeta blinked "Are you sure? You
haven't trained at all at three."
Tai quickly nodded,
clenching his fists to help keep him stable "I'm sure, dad!"
Vegeta slowly pressed some buttons on the machine and it bleeped. Tai stumbled slightly then found his balance once again.
"Are you alright?" Vegeta asked, looking at Tai struggling
Tai slowly nodded in reply "I'm fine.. Let's train!"
Vegeta smirked, knowing his son was only trying to impress him. He could tell Tai had always looked up to him and Trunks, so he knew Tai would push himself a lot in the first few minutes of the training.
Vegeta
slowly took a step forward "Ok, Tai, do you know how to fly at
all?"
Tai jumped into the air and floated a little off the
ground "Yeah, but not well..!"
Vegeta smirked "How about fast movements…" he seemed to vanish and reappear behind Tai "… Like this?"
Tai
blinked and quickly turned round "N-no.. I don't!"
Vegeta
smirked "Then first off, you will learn how, followed by
concentrating Ki energy into powerful attacks!"
Tai nodded and quickly got to training with his father, wanting to make a good impression.
"Master
Dende.." said a quiet Hiro as he approached him and Mr. Popo "I
investigated the energy, I am unsure as to what the cause was.. I
believe it may have been…"
Mr. Popo butted in "Hiro, duck!"
Hiro stood confused at the sudden command, taking a direct hit, from a black ki bomb, to his back. Hiro stumbled forward to his knees and put his hands to the ground.
"Ah! What the hell was that!" Hiro quickly looked round, and noticed Long standing at the edge of the lookout.
Mr. Popo ran in front of Hiro, he slowly looked back at the injured lad "Can you stand?" he asked
Hiro slowly got to his feet, then stumbled back to the ground "I.. I don't think I can!"
Mr. Popo nodded and looked at Long "Dende, get inside, I'll hold off this man."
Hiro
clenched his fists "Master Dende.. Mr. Popo… I'm sorry, both of
you! I'm a burden to the pair of you…"
Dende knelt beside
Hiro and held out his hands, a warm light coming from them "Hiro,
don't talk about yourself like that. You are a great warrior,
anyone can be injured from a back attack."
Hiro slowly closed his eyes "Thank you, Master…"
Dende
slowly stood up after healing Hiro "It was nothing.. Now help Mr.
Popo. I doubt he can fight this man alone!"
Hiro slowly got to
his feet and nodded "Yes, sir."
Long disappeared and punched Mr. Popo in the face. The protector of Dende slid back across the ground and stumbled over, the punch being too much for him to take to the face.
Hiro slowly frowned "Mr. Popo! Are you alright!"
Mr. Popo slowly got back to his feet "I'm fine, Hiro."
Hiro quickly ran upto his mentor and stood by his side "You protect Master Dende. I'll hold this monster off for you! Please, both of you.. Get inside!"
Mr. Popo
nodded "Yes, thank you young one."
Hiro nodded, watching Mr.
Popo take Dende inside from the corner of his eye.
Long slowly let off a laugh "I see, so this is where you live! I am not the forgiving type, so I came to teach you not to interfere with me!"
Hiro
slowly took a step forward "Don't tell me what to do, you know
nothing about me!"
Long slowly smirked, with a hint of evil "Oh,
I think I do know more about you than you realise!" he said in a
calm voice.
"Prove it!" Hiro shouted, standing his ground
Long slowly took a step toward Hiro "You are unsure of your past. You have no idea where you came from. 'Whatever shall I do if I find out who I am and I don't like it?'.. Sound familiar?"
Hiro slowly stepped back "Sh-Shut up.. You know nothing about me!"
Long laughed slightly "Well, I know the one you call father found you in the Senzu Bean jar when you was only 6. That was, what, ten years ago now!"
Hiro shook his head "Stop playing with my head!"
Long sighed then cracked his knuckles "Fine, we can do it your way, we can fight!"
Hiro slowly smirked "That's more like it..!"
Always being a pupil of Dende and a successor to Mr. Popo, Hiro had waited all his life for the chance to prove he could protect others by himself.
Tai fell to one knee and held his arm "Agh! Dad, you're being too tough on me!"
Vegeta shook his head "Don't let yourself down like that, you were doing so well! Now continue your training!"
Tai slowly stood up and smiled "Thanks, dad.."
Vegeta smirked then held back his arms "Get ready to dodge and counter, son!"
Tai slowly
got into his defensive stance and frowned.
Vegeta smirked "Final..
FLASH!"
A large blast of energy flew straight at Tai, heading for his torso.
Tai
quickly held out his hands "Aahh!"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed
"Tai! What are you doing!"
Tai gritted his teeth and ignored his father's concern. He put all his energy into trying to overpower Vegeta's blast.
"Tai!" shouted Vegeta "You're not strong enough to take an attack like that!"
Tai slowly started to slide backward along the ground, getting closer to a wall. The blast was getting the better of Tai, and started to press him against the wall.
"D-dad!" shouted a muffled voice "I.."
Vegeta quickly frowned and tried to find a way to help his son before it was too late. Tai let out a large wail of agony, as the Final Flash exploded and filled the room with a blinding light.
As the light dulled down, Vegeta moved his arm from his eyes and looked across the room. His eyes narrowed as he noticed nothing but ruins. He had only recently found out that his son was not much different from himself at his age, wanting to be strong at any cost, even his own life.
"TAI!" he shouted as he ran toward his son, being rather worried for someone besides himself.
