"Dragonball AS: Destroyer Saga"
Chapter 20- "Discussions and Decisions"
By- Tiny
Three months on Earth always seem to pass by when the Z fighters are training to face their next big challenge, and the last three have been no exception to that age old rule of thumb. The fighters were becoming progressively stronger with each passing day, their skills and strength growing to heights previously thought impossible, thanks in large part to their increased use of the Room of Spirit and Time and gravity rooms. Still, increasing their fighting powers wasn't the only thing going on in the lives of the Earth's unknown protectors, not by a long shot.
Marron was now in her fifth month in the pregnancy, looking about ready to pop even though she only had a month left to go, and every day living in Capsule Corp. became more of a challenge. Bra had actually been forced to leave the house for a little while until the baby was born, going to stay at the Son household with Pan, but poor Trunks was left behind to take care of his wife. The lavender-haired prince didn't seem to have too much trouble with it, however, as he spent all of his free time away from Marron training in the gravity room, having mastered his powers at the second level.
The humans had started training on a daily basis with Gohan and Kimuchi as their instructors, partly because the Saiya-jin felt they needed the training but mostly so Gohan could keep an eye on Roshi. The elder Saiya-jin still didn't trust the young teen around his daughter, especially after Videl told him she saw them together in the woods once, and Gohan was especially harsh with Roshi's training. Where as the others had to wear a little over one ton in weights, Roshi had to carry around three times that without complaining, but the human bore the load regardless just to try and impress Gohan.
The biggest shock to everyone in the group was when Bonzar showed up for a sparring session once with his girlfriend, a young woman named Reiza, and Gohan had spotted a tail around her waist. He had figured it out a long time ago who Bonzar and crew really were, ex-members of Frieza's army resurrected the hard way, but he nearly got a laugh two weeks ago when he figured out who Reiza was. That had earned him a bit of a beating from the Saiya-jin woman, as she could go to the first level and didn't much care for Gohan laughing at her.
Everything had smoothed out over time, however, and now the humans and even Reiza on occasion were training in the forests of Mt. Paozu with Gohan and his cousin, trying to prepare for the day they knew was coming. The day when they would have to face the ones who had sent Destroyer to their planet and caused the deaths of not only Goten and thousands of innocents, but of Vegeta as well. It was those two deaths above all else that drove the entire group of fighters to become as powerful as possible, but to one, it was not enough to keep pushing powers he had already mastered.
Kimuchi was growing restless, his normally calm demeanor getting worse every few days as he became more and more closed off from the rest of the world, occasionally snapping at people for no reason. The oldest of the Saiya-jin didn't like that, not on bit, and it was for that reason that he had decided to go to the Kaio-Shin's to make a very large request. Needless to say, they had been a little reluctant to go through with the guardian's request regardless of his good intentions, but were persuaded to go along with him after he threatened to destroy their entire planet.
"You do realize that this will take a long time and require you to concentrate on your energy the whole time, yes?" the old Kaio-Shin mused, "Do you think that you can handle that, young one?"
"I don't imagine I have much of a choice, I'm not doing this for myself," Kimuchi nodded curtly, "Just hurry the hell up and get this damn ritual over with! The longer we talk, the longer it takes!"
"As you wish," the elder Kaio-Shin grinned, beginning to do a strange series of dances around Kimuchi, "Don't say I didn't warn you..."
"Gods, this is humiliating," Kimuchi growled, "This Mystic power up had better be worth it..."
Sanil looked around frantically for his opponent as he hovered high over the desert plains of the southern islands, his forehead covered in a fine sheen of sweat as he anticipated the opponent's attack. He didn't have to wait long for the attack to come either as a large, thick white tail came down at his head, just barely missing as the Nameksei-jin jumped out of the way. Ice was getting very good at concealing his ki levels to almost nothing, but Sanil was better and could hear the swoosh made by his tail before it was with a few feet.
The two had formed a close bond of friendship over the last several years, always sparring together and often times seen hanging out when not training, presumably because they both felt as though they didn't belong on this planet. Sanil was a Nameksei-jin warrior by birth and nature, belonging on his home world as a defender to the guardian there and not on Earth as an outcast. Ice was the same way, though he didn't talk much about his past at all except that he was sold into slavery at a young age and many feared his great power at a young age.
None of that mattered at the moment, however, as Sanil's fist crashed hard into the side of Ice's exposed cheek, dislocating the jaw and sending a stream of saliva flying out of the corner of Ice's lips. The Kurudo-jin soared back several feet, but was not about to be in that journey alone as he wrapped his tail around Sanil's stomach, pulling him towards his body and slamming a knee into his ribcage. Purple blood flew out of the Nameksei-jin's mouth as he careened into the air over Ice, bringing a smirk to the other fighter's face as he flew up after Sanil.
The Kurudo-jin's red eyes lit up with sadistic glee as he spotted Sanil hovering motionlessly a few feet away from him, a ki blast charging in Ice's palm as he prepared to finish this spar once and for all. He never got the chance, however, as another Sanil came at him on both sides and slammed their elbows into his head, knocking the Kurudo-jin back down to Earth quite roughly. Debris flew all around as the three Sanil's became one again and landed on their feet next to the crater Ice had formed, a smirk over his face as he laughed at how silly Ice looked stuck in a hole.
"If only you could see your face!" Sanil chuckled loudly, "Oh man, this is a Kodak moment..."
"Oh shut up, at least I got a few good hits in for once!" Ice growled, "You never even let me power up to full anymore! Afraid I might actually beat you sparring for once, Sanil?"
"Of course not, just don't want to take any chances!" Sanil huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and turning away, "You don't learn anything from beating somebody around like a rag doll."
"This from someone who wins every spar we have?" Ice grinned, "Who the hell have you lost to recently, Sanil?"
"I used to lose all the time, back when Piccolo was still around to train me," Sanil smiled, remembering his old sensei, "When he died, I vowed that I wouldn't allow myself to ever be caught off guard like he was and avoided the other fighters, straining every day to better myself. I'm just angry that I wasn't strong enough...to save him then..."
Ice didn't speak a word back to his friend, not knowing who the hell this Piccolo character was but knowing that he obviously had meant a great deal to Sanil and he wouldn't ruin such a memory. He knew the feeling thanks to how he was raised, living with Diive and the others since his early childhood, then having to watch the man he respected almost like a father die before his eyes. Sanil clearly felt the same way about this Piccolo at one point in time and Ice wasn't about to make him feel any worse about the whole situation.
The two just stood there in silence for a few more moments, reminiscing silently to themselves about their own pasts, neither opening up to the other because that was just the way they were. Vegeta used to be the same way when he first came to Earth, closed off from the rest of the fighters and not speaking of his past just because he didn't want them to become witness to that kind of horror. It made him come off as a bit of an asshole and an overall bad guy, but that wasn't really the way that he was and if they had known what he went through they would have understood that.
It was the same way with Ice and Sanil now as they rose to their feet once more and looked over towards the setting sun, not realizing they had been out sparring for so long yet again. Ice's past had been a horrific nightmare filled with torture, beatings from those he thought cared for him more than anything else, and his eventual sale as a slave to the dark forces of the universe. Sanil's had not necessarily been horrific, but had still been hard on his mind after the loss of his mentor and both fighters understood this, giving each other soft smiles before lifting off into the air and heading for their respective homes.
Kimuchi was growling quite loudly as he sat down before the elder Kaio-Shin, his gray eyes narrowed dangerously as the old man kept reading some crazy comic while he altered the Saiya-jin's powers. He had been here for a whole day and then some, he knew that much for certain thanks to fact he was still alive, and that made it all the more frustrating since he hadn't eaten in all that time. His stomach felt like it was beginning to eat away at itself while he waited for this power-up to finish, actually hearing it roar with hunger every few minutes.
The Saiya-jin was about to go off and say something to the old man when the elder simply stood up from where he was and walked over to his tree, turning to face Kimuchi with a soft smile on his face. The Saiya-jin guardian was confused as to what was going on at the moment, knowing that if the elder was leaving then that meant the power-up was finished but he didn't feel any different. He tried to summon his Super Saiya-jin power up to him, expecting the familiar steady rush of golden power as he ascended, but what he got was completely different.
The power came surging out of Kimuchi's body like a raging flood after the dam breaks open, his white aura blazing more brilliantly than ever before as his muscles bulked up to the size they would have been as a Super Saiya-jin. The increase in his strength was phenomenal, shocking even the wise guardian beyond words as he felt the power cap off at it's maximum. He was easily on Gohan's level now, maybe even a little higher than him due to his abilities as a guardian, and he could feel the massive grin spread over his face even before it was returned by the Kaio-Shin's.
"I take it you are quite satisfied with the results of your power increase, because trust me you are going to need all that new power," the elder beamed, "But with two fighters of your caliber fighting this new evil, you should be quite alright in the battles to come."
"Thank you, great elder," Kimuchi bowed, his white hair flying down around his face, "I will be forever grateful for this honor that you have bestowed upon me."
"Whatever you say young man, now go, your planet needs you to help prepare for the incoming disaster," the elder Kaio-Shin smiled, "We will be monitoring your progress very closely, so good luck."
Kimuchi nodded respectfully to the elder before vanishing in a puff of smoke back to the planet that was now his home, leaving the Kaio-Shin to their own thoughts as the elder turned to face the many moons. The other four Kaio-Shin wondered what was going through the elder's mind as he looked towards the moons, his face going from a bright smile to a concerned frown. He knew what was to come on Earth in the next few years, what was going to happen both good and bad, but they had all thought that he would be pleased by the end result.
"Elder, why do you look so sad?" the female Kaio-Shin from the west asked, "We all know the Z fighters will defeat their new foes, so why is it that your expression is so downcast?"
"Because Kimuchi thinks it is he and Gohan who will obtain victory in this battle for the Earth, and it saddens me to give them false hope," the elder sighed, "They will fight, and they will do quite well, but their generation's time as the strongest fighters alive is over. It is time for a new generation to arise and defend their home planet, one that will make all generations before it proud..."
"But, who could possibly pull such a task off?" Shin asked concerned, "Gohan and Kimuchi are the most powerful fighters they have! Are you trying to say that there is a fighter who will go to Earth that is more powerful?"
"Not one, but two, and one is already on the planet training his heart out to gain revenge for the other savior," the elder smiled once more, his eyes twinkling, "The elder generation of Z fighter's time has come and gone with the fall of the Evil Shenlongs four years ago. It is time for Goten and Trunks to live up to the legacy of their forefathers, a legacy of heroes..."
Author's Notes: Just being sure to clarify, Gohan and Kimuchi are still going to play critical roles in this story as trainers and in the fight that is to come, but they will not be the most powerful for much longer. Goten is about to begin his journey through the Higher Realms of Other World to find his father, and Trunks will soon be going into space to fight the first of his new enemies. They are going to be the great heroes of this story, not their older and more experience relatives and friends, and if you don't like that then oh well, not my fault!
The next chapter will feature the Briefs family as Marron goes into quite premature labor and Trunks witnesses the birth of his first child, a small bit of happiness in all the darkness that is to come. You will also get to see Vegeta and Bulma for a short while as they watch their grandchild with it's parents, reminiscing about the birth of their own children. Stay tuned for all that and now, onto the readers!
Vangey: No, I have not turned gay, I just like a little diversity in my stories.
Erica: Thanks! Hope to see you review some more!
Chaos: Yes, Bruno is Burter reincarnated and thanks for enjoying the last chapter of this story. Hope you enjoyed this one as well!