The Coming Storm
Chapter 12: Strength Unfurled
A/N: Nothing new to say, except for a bit of good news- as of this posting I have the next two chapters fully written out but not edited. So except some cohesive story elements for a change! Anyway, as always I respond to reviews on the bottom. Enjoy!
'Rayne? Can I look at your skull for a second?' Chi-Chi asked, putting a hand on Rayne's arm.
'Go ahead.'
They were sitting on the porch by themselves, waiting for Master Roshi to officially start the first day of true training. The turtle shells were stacked ominously against the side of Kame House.
Chi-Chi parted Rayne's hair to get a better view of her scalp. 'It looks good. Perfect, actually. You healed at an unbelievable rate. If I didn't know better I'd say you aren't human.
'Ha-ha. My body just knows better than to saddle me with an injury for too long. I can't afford to be out of commission for too long.'
The early sun splayed on the water was always breathtaking in the morning. They were in no rush to look away from the sight.
'Does this remind you of anything?' Chi-Chi asked after a time.
'You mean,' she gestured towards the glowing waves, 'this?'
'Yea. Growing up on a mountain I never really saw much of the rest of the world. When we came to this island it was actually the first time I saw the sea. It was such a new experience. Still is.'
Rayne bit her lip. 'I had a bad childhood. So no, this does not remind me of anything.'
'Sorry.'
'It's okay.' She leaned forward. 'For the first time in awhile- I actually feel that things are getting better.'
A couple minutes passed and Krillin and Yamcha rounded the corner of Kame House. They were both panting.
'Do you really think it's a good idea to exhaust yourself sparring before we've even started training?' Chi-Chi scolded.
Krillin drew in a big breath of air before replying. 'Training is constant. I'm even training in my sleep. Haven't you heard me doing crunches in the middle of the night?' he said laughing.
'If you're referring to your snoring,' Rayne replied, 'then yes. I've heard you.'
'I don't snore!'
'How would you know?'
Krillin had opened his mouth to retort when Master Roshi walked out onto the porch, his trademark shades hiding his eyes. 'Everyone, put on your shells. We're going to start the day by doing a brisk 100 laps around the island. Get to it!'
0o0o0o0o0
It was if he was walking in an entirely different world. As he crept through the underbrush Kakarot felt like he was almost 'touching' every single living organism around him. In any given direction, even a few feet, he could feel countless living things, to the point of overwhelming all his other senses. It was far too much. This is too much, I can feel too much!
Focus. Kakarot steadied… whatever he was doing, and purposely clenched himself- he was feeling less. The sensation was shrinking. The din of his surroundings disappeared, replaced with his traditional senses- he could faintly hear a pounding in the distance. With what felt like an internal click, Kakarot again perceived within the confines of his own body. He could smell the dirt, blood, and sweat on him- he could clearly see his surroundings. And he could hear what sounded like a pair of boot steps now, getting closer but not with urgency. Whoever this is, they don't know I'm here.
Time for an ambush.
He hid in a small bush before a woman with violet-colored hair came into sight. She was toting an assault rifle and walking tenuously through the forest, scanning to her left and right every few seconds. Kakarot waited until she was right on top of him before jumping out, punching the gun out of her hand and putting her in a headlock. It was entirely too fast for her to respond to.
'I- please stop!' the woman pleaded as Kakarot tightened his arm around her neck.
'If you do exactly what you'll say, I'll let you return to your pitiful life among the living. Got that?'
Unable to speak, she nodded frantically.
'Good. I'm about to loosen my hold around your neck ever so slightly, and you're going to yell, or call, whatever- you're going to get in touch with that man who wears a jacket with no shirt. Got that?'
She nodded weakly, before gasping for air when Kakarot loosened his hold. She reached down and pressed a button at her hip. 'Colonel Silver, he's right on top of me! Come now!' She finished hastily, smirking as she tapped the button at her hip again. 'You're dead. Everyone in a ten-mile radius is now coming to this spot. Kill me if you want.'
'Kill you? Why would I do that? You've done exactly what I've wanted.' Kakarot abruptly pushed the woman down to the ground, ramming her head into the dirt and knocking her unconscious. He took a moment to snatch the communicator from her waist and crush it in his hands. 'A deal's a deal. I hope you enjoy what you see when you wake-up…' After scanning his surroundings for a second, Kakarot rushed off into the forest, trying to make as much noise as possible as he went.
I have a purpose here and now. Conquer!
0o0o0o0
It had taken a few days of traveling and searching, but eventually Bulma stumbled upon the camp Yamcha had directed her towards. It was hidden by a rock wall that crept out and around from a plateau. Bulma had to circle for a few minutes before she found a suitable landing spot that was nearby.
When she opened her cockpit door, there was an immediate puff of smoke that cleared to reveal Oolong. 'Bulma! So nice to see you.'
Didn't like Oolong before, don't like him now. 'Hi Oolong. Is Puar here?'
'Back this way. She sent me out here to hide and figure out who was dropping in on us.'
'What were you hiding as?'
'A rock, of course.'
Oh. Of course.
Bulma climbed out the helicopter and followed Oolong down a narrow, sloping path pressed against the rockside. It was a longer walk than she expected.
'So- uh Oolong, how does it work for shapeshifters? Any reason why you're a pig?'
'Excuse me?'
'No- I didn't mean it like that! I meant why you choose to be a pig… when you can shapeshift into literally anything else.'
'Oh, that's because I'm not fully trained. I know a few things here and there but I don't have the full shapeshifting endurance that Puar has. Also- I was born a pig-man. Why would I want to be anything else all the time?'
'Fair enough.'
The camp turned out to smaller than Bulma expected. Other than two tents there really wasn't much around, save for a couple of crates with tarps draped over them and a motorbike. When she entered the camp Puar peeked her head out of a crate she was rummaging through. 'Bulma! Nice to see you. What's up?'
'Not much. With everyone else training with the Turtle Hermit I've been at West City by myself. Had nothing else to do so I've been 'sciencing' a little. I built a helicopter to get around faster with and a long distance transmitter that'll connect you two, me, and the others.' She clicked a capsule and tossed it on the ground in front of Puar, creating a poof of smoke. 'It uses satellite technology, so basically, you can pick up a signal anywhere in the world and talk to us. Hopefully, with this we won't have to make people stick around in one spot to link up with each other.'
Puar floated down to the device and shapeshifted into a human female to pick it up. 'Thanks Bulma. This will help us get information to the others much faster.'
'Speaking of information, have you gotten anything substantial yet?'
Puar shook her head. 'Not yet. The Red Ribbon Army continues to do what it was doing before- acting as an evil pseudo-government/ paramilitary organization with unclear goals. We tried to revisit the base we infiltrated a few months ago, but we couldn't find it- it was like it had ceased to exist. My theory is that the Red Ribbon Army has started taking extra precautions to shield whatever they've been doing from interlopers like us.
'This also means we haven't come any closer to finding their base,' Oolong interjected.
'Right,' Puar agreed, 'and because of that we really can't take any further steps to impede or interrupt their work. At the moment we're limited to spreading mayhem within any groups we find.'
'So you've found groups then?' Bulma asked.
'A few. Nothing as big as what we found at that base, of course. Whatever these people were doing seemed to be pretty unimportant, however. A lot of driving between one place and another, carrying supplies, that sort of thing.'
'Hmm. Well, barring any pressing tasks that come up, I could probably help you look for their base. I can cover a lot of ground with my helicopter in one day.' Bulma paused. 'Though I guess that's something we'd need to fully flesh out later. Tell me- are you having any more luck with your other goal?'
Puar frowned. 'Unfortunately, no. Shapeshifters are hard to spot- they can blend into the densest or sparest setting with ease. Also doesn't help that we don't even know what we're looking for, to be honest. We have no idea what actually happened to the rest of our classmates. We do know that there are a lot of shapeshifters already working for crime syndicates- but again, we don't know where to look to find these people.' Puar sighed. 'At this point, we need to trust that other shapeshifters have heard of us and will seek us out. Otherwise, there's not much we can do.'
'Puar,' Bulma said, closing the distance to reassure Puar, 'I'm sorry to hear that. If you think there's a way I can help out, just say.'
'Thank you, Bulma. And if I think of an idea I'll tell you.' Puar stopped for a moment, thinking. 'Though I think you'll be of more help trying to track down the Red Ribbon Army. But otherwise I think there's nothing else to update you on. Is there anything else you wanted to say?'
'None. Thanks for the information. Though you might want to relay the news to the others.'
'Will do. See you Bulma.'
Bulma waved to both Puar and Oolong before again setting down the path back to her helicopter. I guess they really have found out nothing… where in the world is the Red Ribbon Army hiding?
0o0o0o0
'Alright everyone, form up!'
Master Roshi waited for his students to finish their last grueling lap around the island. Though it would be more accurate to describe the 'lap' as a crawl by the end. It had taken much longer than they had anticipated.
'Let me ask a simple question,' Master Roshi said once they had grouped up, 'does everyone, more or less, understand ki?'
Various half-hearted nods.
'Should I explain it?'
More nods, stronger this time.
'Very well. Ki is all around us- it is the energy that flows within every living being. Ki powers life, essentially, allowing living beings to eat, sleep, to be alive. Most living things are usually not aware of their latent ki. Consequently, they're as strong as their bodies- dependant on muscles, metabolism, that sort of thing. Some few, however, such as myself, know how to harness this internal energy. When you learn to control your own ki, you can use it not only to increase your own strength but also to grow the strength of your ki. That's it in a nutshell, at least. Typically ki is something learned by doing, not by knowing.'
'What I want all of you to do now is meditate with your right hand open. Focus on your body and the feeling of ki flowing through it. When you feel that you've grasped something, I want you to pull on that feeling, pooling it into your right hand. You'll know when you're doing it as soon as it starts.'
'Master Roshi, if you don't mind me asking,' Yamcha questioned, 'doesn't exhausting us make concentration like this harder?'
'Exactly. Though more importantly safer. Ki use can be very dangerous- an untrained user can draw on
too much of their energy and kill themselves if they're not careful. Thankfully, in the state you all are in now, there's no chance of any of you having enough energy to perform such a sustained action. Now, focus!'
The four Turtle students sat on the beach, trying to find this ki as Master Roshi described it.
After a few minutes, a source of light caused everyone to open their eyes. A small blue sphere had appeared in Yamcha's hand.
'Master Roshi, I'm doing it!'
'Well done! Seems like you've had practice at this.'
'Have I never told you about my Wolf Fang Fist!? But uh- is there any reason why it's making light? And why it's warm?'
'Oh yes! I forgot to tell you. When ki is taken out of the body it manifests as pure energy- so it can take a number of forms, usually all at the same time. These forms include heat and light.'
While Yamcha and Master Roshi were chatting, a second source of light gradually appeared in Chi-Chi's palm. 'Got it,' she said, smiling.
From where Krillin was sitting, he muttered to himself.
After a whoop of surprise from Rayne a few minutes later, Krillin was the last one still sitting on the beach. The others had stood and joined Master Roshi at his side.
I don't understand why I'm having so much trouble! I can call on ki almost automatically in combat!
Sensing Krillin's frustration, Master Roshi asked the three others to give him and Krillin some space. He tapped Krillin on his shoulder with his walking step. 'I think I know what's going on in your head, Krillin.'
'I can use ki Master Roshi! I just- I'm having trouble summoning it right now.'
'Krillin, tell me; have you ever used ki outside of a fight?'
'Outside?... Hmm… I can remember using it in a demonstration a few months ago, but not recently. Why do you ask?'
'I think you're suffering from a learned association between ki and fighting. Which is not,' Master Roshi tapped his stick into the sand, 'the way of a martial artist. Ki use should open and potentially present at all times- it serves as a connection to the life of this world in more ways than you think.'
'I'm… sorry, Master Roshi. I thought I could do this.'
'You will! Just give it time. It's good that you learned this sooner rather than later. Now, go join your fellow students. It's time for a demonstration.'
As Krillin rejoined his peers, feeling a little self-conscious, Master Roshi began to address them. 'You all, more or less, have a very basic grasp of ki use. The fact that you all attained this basic grasp on the same day the idea of ki was formally introduced to you is remarkable. I am truly honored to have a class of students as talented as this. I feel that you are all ready to see the signature move of the Turtle School. For the next few minutes,' Master Roshi advised as he began taking off his shades and shirt, 'simply watch.'
Master Roshi bent his knees and brought his arms to his side, sliding into a guard position. He turned towards the ocean and tensed. 'Hooo…'
The sand around Master Roshi's feet started kicking up, flying into the air and circling around Master Roshi's form. Wind started to move so fast around Master Roshi that a translucent white outline started to form around the Turtle Hermit. Almost instantaneously, the skinny, physically small Master Roshi was transformed into a monster of a man, his muscles growing to astronomical sizes to make him easily 4 times as big as before. 'HAAAH!'
Everyone's jaws collective hit the floor.
Not finished, Master Roshi brought his massive arms to his sides, veins bulging as he drew his hands back and cupped them at his side.
'KA...'
The wind picked up even more than before. A blue light began emanating from Master Roshi's hands.
'ME…'
An actual physical outline of something appeared in Master Roshi's hands- it was generating a massive amount of light, and was growing bigger by the second.
'HA...ME…'
Light was pouring out of Master Roshi's hands- it was if he had summoned the sun itself.
There was a brief pause, where it seemed that Master Roshi's body would explode, before a roar erupted.
'HAAAA!'
Master Roshi thrust his arms forward and out from his hands a wave of energy launched, blue at its core and the color of sea foam at its edges. It shot out towards and over the ocean, speeding like a missile and blinding everyone on the beach with its light. In a few seconds, the beam finished emerging from Master Roshi's hands, and he lowered his arms, exhaling. 'Hooo…'
The beam continued its path across the ocean until it seemed to fade and dissipate a few miles out. Chaotic waves lapped up onto the island, disrupted by the energy of the blast. Master Roshi dropped his guard, and in space of a second had resumed his previous form as an old man. He turned to his students, grinning. 'So? What did you think?'
Everyone was too shocked to speak, save for Rayne. 'A lot more things make sense now,' she mumbled.
'Hah!'
0o0o0o0o0
'Please, come in doctor.'
A man with graying hair stepped into the brightly lit room, sitting in the only chair opposite of the desk where Commander Red sat. The desk itself was bare except for a simple pen and paper laid out in front of the leader of the Red Ribbon Army.
'Gero, I understand that you've come a long way to talk to me. I assume there must be an important reason for why you need to talk to me face-to-face.' Commander Red said, eyeing the man across from him.
'Indeed there is. I want to talk broadly about the Red Ribbon Army's A-tech program, and my potential involvement with it in the future.'
'Potential?' Commander Red yelled, 'are you threatening me with your resignation! No one resigns from the Red Ribbon Army! The Red Ribbon Army resigns from YOU!', he bellowed, pointing a finger across at Dr. Gero.
Dr. Gero calmly held up his hand in a stopping motion. 'I'm not suggesting anything of the sort, Commander Red. All I'm saying is that, unless we make changes now, I'm not going to be here in the future.
'Implying?...'
'That I'm going to die.'
Commander Red huffed. 'Well, that's quite morbid.'
'There's a clear pattern affecting our operations over the past few months- our forces are encountering more resistance, more losses, and more enemies than we know what to do with. Is anyone even trying to find the people who broke into our R&D lab a few months ago? Anyone at all?'
'I wouldn't know. I leave that stuff for General Blue to handle. Besides, I thought you didn't care about the 'meat' of the Red Ribbon Army.' He leaned back to plop his feet on his desk. 'You care about the metal and oil, so to speak.'
'You're correct. I wouldn't care if not for the fact that one of those intruders. Destroyed. My. Android!' Dr. Gero leaped out his chair, his face brimming with rage. 'I spent months creating that model and it was destroyed by someone who matched the description of one of the persons who infiltrated our base! That can't be a coincidence!' He huffed, before sitting down again. 'What I'm trying to say is that unless we do something now, eventually it's not going to be our subordinates being destroyed, but us too.'
Commander Red readjusted his eyepatch, thinking. 'You make a persuasive case doctor. But what exactly do you suggest we do?'
'Two things. I want my own self-sufficient private laboratory. Off the grid, underground, absent from every single logistical and administrative document the Red Ribbon possesses. No distractions, no interruptions. That way, I can work unabated and continue to hand off my androids to the Red Ribbon Army from a discreet location. Second, I want one of our infiltrators… alive. Or if that fails, some sort of genetic material. Hair, blood, whatever you can get. It is imperative I study these mystery interlopers and find out what makes them so much stronger than our own troops. Do these two things, and I guarantee our fortunes will improve.'
'Doctor,' Commander Red said as he pulled out a cigar, 'you're one scary man.' After a moment he lit the cigar and took a long drag. When he spoke smoke came out of his mouth and nose. 'I'm glad you're on our side.'
0o0o0o0
Kakarot paused from his brisk run through the forest to listen. Close behind him he could hear footsteps. A lot of footsteps. Perfect.
He put on another burst of speed, running up a small hill to stop at the top. He spread out his 'sense'- he could feel a mass of humans following his footsteps, about to break into the open where the hill stood. Perfect!
Kakarot glanced at the sky, feeling a newfound strength pulse through him, before turning his attention back towards the Red Ribbon soldiers. He closed his eyes and started focusing energy into his hands, forming two small pink balls of ki. I've never done two before… let's see if this plan works. His wounds started to ache again as he forced energy out of his body. That's enough. He held the two blasts in his hand. They're there… I know it.
Taking a breath, Kakarot chucked the first ball towards the very edge of the tree line, throwing the second on a higher trajectory a second later. As the first ball accelerated through the air a line of Red Ribbon Army soldiers emerged from the forest, having only a brief second to stop before the ki ball made contact at their feet.
A flash of pink light filled the forest as trees closest to the blast topped over. The second ball, which was traveling above it, was detonated by the first one further back, its way cleared of trees by the first blast. After another concussive explosion, there were two small craters in a line from Kakarot leading into the forest. And not a single soul was left. He squinted as he felt something from one of the craters. Give it a minute.
Kakarot walked over to the second crater, and upon peering over, was uppercutted and knocked backwards. What the- He fell painfully on his back, as he saw Colonel Silver climb out of the crater, his jacket incinerated, his body a mess of scorch marks and cuts, but alive. He was unsteady on his feet but he weakly raised his arms into a guard, grimacing. 'It takes… more than that to kill me.'
Smiling, Kakarot rose to his feet, waving his hand encouragingly towards Colonel Silver.
'Raugh!' Colonel Silver charged, aiming to knee Kakarot with his right leg, but this time Kakarot avoided the kick, sliding into Colonel Silver's guard and slamming a fist down on his outstretched leg, cracking Colonel Silvers femur.'Au-ACK!' Colonel Silver drew back his leg in shock, losing his balance and collapsing in a heap onto the ground. He tried to stand but his leg was useless- it was dead weight at this point. 'It was-hoof', Colonel Silver said through spasms of pain, 'it was such a stupid mistake… to die from.'
'What mistake,' asked Kakarot, curious, 'do you mean?'
'Trying to fight… in my condition. I should have just played dead…'
'So you know who I am,' Kakarot smirked, 'and you knew you had no chance against me.'
'I have no idea who you are. All I know is that I've only ever seen one other person do what you just did, and they were so far above me…'
'Really? Who were they?'
Despite the pain, Colonel Silver managed a weak chuckle. 'Do you really think- heaugh- I would tell you anything- heaugh-...the Red Ribbon Army is going to destroy you. Hahaha…'
'Red Ribbon Army? Wait a second…'
Those troops with the silly outfits. That camp he destroyed. They were all…
'What is the Red Ribbon Army?' Kakarot asked, gripping Colonel Silver and shaking him. 'Is the person stronger than you in it?'
Colonel Silver ignored Kakarot's question, gazing up at the full night sky above them. 'This isn't a bad way to die,' he whispered.
So be it. Kakarot raised his hand, and was done with it.
0o0o0o0o0
'Are everyone's gis fitting well?'
'Master Roshi, it's baggy around my legs. Could you snip off something here? And here?'
'One second! There… and there. Better now?'
'Better.'
'Master Roshi, why is the Turtle School symbol on the back of our clothes, instead of the front? We can't see them when we fight!'
'It's to maintain the brand! Much easier for spectators to see the symbol on your back when you're in the ring than if it was on the front. Besides, there's a small one on your front too.'
'Oh yea…'
'Master Roshi, do I have to wear this at the tournament? I'd much rather wear my own clothes…'
'Of course you have to! Your skills at this point are largely what I taught you! So until you learn from another master or improve significantly, you represent who taught you.'
'Fine, fine…'
'Do you think any of us can win Master Roshi? Be truthful with us.'
'What kind of question is that? Obviously I think you can win! Otherwise I wouldn't be bringing you in the first place. Just make sure to get to at least the quarters, or you can never call yourself a student of the Turtle Hermit ever again!'
Master Roshi paused, looking over his fully dressed students, their orange gis shining brilliantly in the morning sun. So that's what I'm feeling. Pride.
'Is everyone ready?'
As a sign of agreement, everyone thumped the turtle shells on their backs.
'21st World Martial Arts Tournament, here we come!'
0o0o0o0
In a forest halfway around the world, Kakarot perked his head up from the deer carcass he was roasting over a spit. That strongest sensation- that familiar one- it was moving for the first time in months. Maybe even half a year. Going somewhere. It's about time.
Time to see how far they've come.
A/N: And that's it! World Tournament here we come!
Reviews:
Jredd:
I really appreciate the review! Little messages like that remind me I'm not just throwing chapters into the void. I'll admit that I've never been the cleanest writer but I've been trying to improve my editing going forward (and retroactively too!). To be honest, editing is my least favorite part of the writing process, but I constantly feel like I'm writing crisper than I was before so I feel compelled to check over previous chapters every now and again. I also think I'm getting better at keeping track of story elements now that I'm writing ahead of the current chapters (so, I can at least ensure continuity between adjacent chapters).
Also really glad to hear you're doing a story of your own! It's tough work but as long as you feel that you have a story to tell, keep at it.
Anonymous:
1-You're right. At this point (and for a good bit of time now) all the Turtle students have been immune to bullet fire because of their natural ki. They're all obviously more talented than the standard human. I tend to think untrained 'talent' in someone in DBZ actually just means higher natural ki. That doesn't mean, however, that these individuals know about ki. It's for that reason that Rayne (and company) didn't know they were immune to bullets- they weren't aware of their resistance that grew alongside their ki over the course of the Pursual Arc.
2- I don't want to give up anything about the state of Kakarot's mind but it's safe to say that he's undergoing a shift in thinking right now. Read and find out.
3- Again, don't want to give anything away, but Kakarot seems to be dealing with a lot of past baggage (both recent and old).
:
The Red Ribbon Army is going down a somewhat different path in this AU.
