Sins of the Father
Chapter 29: People of All Sorts Adrift
Overlooking a long run of unbroken rock faces and patchy, sun-bleached gravel stood a person of small stature, a simple purple gi wrapped around them. No taller than a large child, they gazed out across the wasteland before them, their eyes darting between points in the horizon. Eventually, they settled on a small outcrop of rock some hundred feet away, bridged by a large vertical chasm. Carefully, they began to walk forward, stepping off the edge of the flat rock they were upon to seemingly plunge to the distant ground below.
Like his father before him, he flew.
His rapid descent slowed then stopped; after a moment, he began to rise, leveling himself with his intended outcrop. Gently, he drifted through the air, arms and legs clenched in wary unfamiliarity.
It was over in less than a minute- he tapped down onto the outcrop, his brown, sleeve-like footwear contrasting with the burned yellow hue of the rock. There was much he had to remember… and even more he had to learn.
The reincarnation of the Demon King Piccolo was alive and well.
He would show the world- and that tailed monster with his pitiful friends- the true power of his father.
0o0o0
The cave was, more or less, how Yamcha had remembered it. Great braziers of wood burned on the walls, giving the entire chamber a flickering, dancing glow. Yamcha stepped into the center of the cave, and just like before, Baba awaited him on the doorstep of her home, donned in her trademark black witch clothes and floating on a magic ball. She seemed to be expecting him. 'Nice to see you again, Yamcha. How are you enjoying life among the living for the second stint?'
'Well, no matter how good or bad things are right now, it's better than spending time in…' Yamcha visibly shivered. 'Whatever the realm beyond this life is. As it is, I'm not looking forward to dying again.'
'Oh, you don't have to worry about that little plane of existence. That was just King Piccolo mucking around with the afterlife. Otherworld is much nicer than what you experienced.'
'King Piccolo… made that?'
'Uh-huh.'
Yamcha paled. An entire dimension to trap dead people in?... Something occurred to Yamcha. 'Wait a second, Baba- does this dimension still exist? Is Master Roshi still trapped there?'
Baba shook her head. 'Not a chance. When Piccolo died his creation started to disintegrate. Not to the mention that the Eternal Dragon had to bring Roshi out of there to fulfill as much of the wish asked of him by your friends. As of now he's now safely settled into where all dead souls go.'
Where all dead souls go… Yamcha thought on this for a moment, then asked. 'If you don't mind me asking, aren't you a little sad? He was your brother, after all, right?''
'Sad? Me? Not at all. The world beyond this one isn't as scary or unknown to me as it would be to you. This is my business, after all. Beyond my traditional duties of convening with the dead relatives of my clients, I'm sort of a semi-official communicator between the living and souls beyond this plane for this planet. How do you think I was able to summon Gohan a few months ago for you and that other girl- what was her name-'
'Rayne'
'-Rayne, yes. Gohan appeared because I can do that with any dead soul originally from Earth.'
'Really? Huh. That must be pretty cool… So it is possible... 'If you can do what you did with Gohan with any person, that means- then there's actually a chance! You could summon Master Roshi, right now! Or even anytime you want! Man, I thought doing this would be a pipe dream at best! But you can do this, right?'
'Of course I can! I've already done it countless times just to talk to him. He's handling it all very well, actually-'
'Summon him!' Yamcha cut in, extending his hands towards her crystal ball possessively, 'summon him now!'
Baba frowned and floated over to Yamcha on her crystal ball. She drew her hand back and smacked him across the face. 'How dare you speak to me that way!' she yelled. I'm not your mystic mule! Your waiting witch! I am a professional! And I don't do things for free!'
Yamcha held one hand to his smarting left cheek. 'But… you helped us a few months ago free of charge! What's with the change in policy?'
'That was extenuating circumstances!' Baba pounded her ball with her fist. 'Did you forget that I'm chiefly a fortune teller! That I can see into the future! Did it not once cross your mind that I helped you because I knew what was going to happen!?'
The wheels started to spin in Yamcha's mind. 'Hold on. Are you saying… that you knew Piccolo would return? That he would kill me, Master Roshi, and countless other people?' He raised one clenched fist and shook it at Baba. 'Is that what you're saying!?'
Baba's expression soured, her wide-brimmed black witch hat tipping downwards almost like a curtain over her face. 'Seeing the future is difficult enough. Changing it is nearly impossible.' Seeing that Yamcha had yet to be placated, she went on. 'Affecting the future is like working out the snags and knots in an endlessly running tapestry. Some hitches are so deeply interconnected with the rest of the thread around it that to try and fix them could cause the entire tapestry to unravel. These deficiencies are crucial, in a way- without them, the thread couldn't continue endlessly.'.
'You need to get way more specific, because I don't understand a word you're saying right now.'
'Err… your death was the linchpin for a number of other events happening as they did- which ultimately included your revival. Without you dying, things would have gone very differently.'
Skepticism oozed from Yamcha. 'I find that hard to believe.'
'Believe what you wish, but the fact is that without your death your friends would have died against King Piccolo quite early on. It made them take the situation much more seriously.'
'I… really?' Did I really help that much just by dying?
'Yes! Though of course, probably the more crucial event was Roshi dying-'
And there it is.
'-but in any case, your death was important to achieve an outcome where everyone comes out okay.'
'But… your brother is still dead. Master Roshi wasn't revived. Wouldn't you have changed the future in some way to save his life?'
Baba narrowed her eyes at Yamcha, sending a chill down his spine. 'If I could have, I would have. As it is, however, there was no possible future where Roshi survived his encounter with Piccolo. Every. Single. One. Ended with him dying while failing to perform the Evil Containment Wave. In every timeline, his use of that move against Piccolo was ubiquitous- err, except for one.'
'What's the exception?'
'For when Roshi died successfully using the Evil Containment Wave against Kakarot.'
Holy hell. That… would have been really bad.
Baba looked amused. 'Got any more questions before you tell me why you're here? It seems like you're a bit out of the loop.'
'Yea, yea…' Yamcha scratched his chin in thought. 'Okay… uh, last question… can you always do this? See future events to a "T"?'
'Oh heavens, no. I was able to see these particular events so clearly because someone from my own family was heavily involved in them.'
'So what you're saying is that in the next crisis-'
'I'll be completely useless in that regard, yes.'
'Great.' Yamcha facepalmed. 'That's just great.'
Yamcha held this position for much longer than Baba felt comfortable with. 'So uh,' she spoke up finally, when she couldn't bear his reaction anymore, 'what's the deal? Why are you here? The last time I checked there wasn't a crisis going on…'
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Yamcha sighed. 'I was hoping that you could let me talk to Master Roshi.'
Baba cocked her head at a perfect 45-degree angle. 'Why would I do that?'
'Because that's what you do! You bring dead spirits to this world! You've been doing that with Roshi! I understand it's your job, but maybe we can work out an agreement. I need to talk to Roshi.'
Baba glared at Yamcha. 'It is my responsibility to maintain the wall between the dead and living on this planet- a wall that exists for a reason. For a living mortal like you, there is nothing to be gained by being able to freely and easily communicate with dead souls.'
'But- but-'
'I'm sorry, but I can't allow that. Perhaps if Master Roshi was your relative, then maybe, but as it is he's my brother, not yours.'
'Well, what if I did you a favor? I scratch your back, you scratch mine?'
'What can you do for me? When I already have willing servants at my disposal?' As she said this, Yamcha noticed the knob of the door behind Baba start to twist from the other side. 'They come from all planes of existence- they can move between the different realms at command. What can you, as just a normal human, offer?'
'I… I don't know- but please!' Yamcha stepped closer, twisting his hands, 'Just this once, let me see him!'
'Begone! I will not unnecessarily pull spirits back to this plane just to let you chat with them!. Leave now, or I'll have my servants throw you out!' She emphatically pointed towards the darkened, gloomy entrance to the cavern opposite from her.
Yamcha grimaced, opened his mouth to argue more, but decided against it and shut his mouth. 'Okay.' he said quietly. He took a few steps towards the exit, looked back at Baba once more- but she was gone, the door to her house swinging close.
Nothing left to try, he slinked out of the cave. The sun was towering in the sky.
That… didn't go as he expected. In his frustration, Yamcha actually found himself talking out loud. 'What the hell! Are you telling me that I left West City for nothing! Kami damn it!' Yamcha kicked a chunk of dirt out of the ground, skipping it away. 'What am I supposed to do now! I'm in the middle of goddamned nowhere, as directionless as I was before!' he found himself shouting across the landscape. 'HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIX THIS?'
Nothing answered him. 'Alright, alright…' With his shoulders drooped much lower than just an hour before, Yamcha set out. Alright...
0o0o0
The forest zoomed past Launch, the succession of trees and plants giving her an inexplicable sense of freedom. This is nice. I wonder- ooo! She twisted mid-run, hanging right to go down a more underused trail. Logs had fallen over and in some places the forest had begun to reclaim it wholesale. Maybe if I'm lucky there's an out-of-way shop or home that wouldn't miss a few trinkets. Just a few…. She hopped over a small dip in the trail. I bet there's a ton of houses out here. All ready for-
Just as Launch landed, her feet caught on something. Her body swung as if on a hinge, smacking her upper body and head into the dirt path. Percussive light filled her vision as she slowly realized someone- some people- were talking nearby.
'... I don't think this looks like one of them, boss.'
'What? Of course it's one of them! Who else would be out here in the middle of nowhere!'
'But look at her clothes… she looks nothing like them.'
She then heard a quiet bop, like the sound of when a scepter raps on a disobedient subject's head.
'That's what you get for questioning me!' the voice was much shriller than before. 'Now pick her up and drag her from the path before someone sees!'
'Okay...'
Launch felt a pair of hands grip her. After a few moments of finding a good place to clamp down, the person tugged. She didn't move.
'Uhh, boss? She's kinda heavy.'
She heard someone sigh and stomp over before another pair of hands gripped her. This time, she began to move. 'Must I do everything myself…'the voice complained. 'Why can't you be more like Mai?'
'Well, I'm not Mai, boss.'
Another sigh.
Launch knew she could shake them off and walk away whenever she wanted, but so far, she was much too entertained.
0o0o0
'Alright! Do you feel warmed up!'
Suno was panting on the ground beside Chi-Chi, sucking air into her lungs. 'I thought... you said… that we would run… two miles…'
'I wanted to make sure we didn't skimp, so I might have gotten a bit overzealous…' Chi-Chi brought up a pedometer count on her watch. Her eyes bulged in surprise and she quickly clicked away from the counter. 'It doesn't matter anyway. At a certain point 'warm-up' just becomes 'work-out', so if anything, we just got an early start on training!'
'Hoorah…'
Chi-Chi motioned Suno to come over to her and directed her to sit down in a cross-legged position. Once Suno was seated, Chi-Chi did the same. Alright, Chi-Chi wracked her brain, this is how Master Roshi did it, right? Starting with inner peace…
'Close your eyes, Suno, and try to do what I say as best you can. Imagine all the different colors in the world.'
'Colors?'
'Uh-huh. Just think of as many as you can.'
A minute or so passed. 'Okay,' Suno piped up, 'I'm done.'
'Good. Now imagine all those colors mixing, separating, constantly changing and in flux.'
'Okay. I'm doing that.'
'These colors represent ki. You don't know ki, right?'
'Is it like the bright things I saw the bad men do?'
Bad men… yea… 'It's exactly the bright things you saw. Those were physical manifestations of ki. Ki is inside every living being, almost like… do you have batteries in your village?'
'Yeah, of course.'
'What about rechargeable batteries?'
'What are those?'
'Oh… hmm….' Chi-Chi searched for another simile. 'Ki is like… rechargeable batteries,' she offered lamely, 'if you treat your soul, spirit, and body well, your ki will grow stronger or replenish itself.'
Suno's eyes were still closed 'So that's what rechargeable batteries are?'
'... In a way, yes, though I feel we're getting a little off-topic. Point is, you and I both have our own kis, distinct like specially mixed colors, that fluctuate in power or intensity. No single ki is quite like another one.
'Can you tell me apart just from my ki?' Suno asked, awe present in her voice.
'Yes, actually. And that's true for every living person on the planet, once you train yourself how to spot the differences.'
'Wow, that's… a lot of people!'
Chi-Chi smiled and nodded. 'Yup. But usually there are only a few people you need to be able to recognize off-hand.'
'Like who?'
'Like your friends.' Mentally, Chi-Chi tracked down some familiar kis. Krillin is… somewhere in the sky? Huh? Rayne is half-way across the globe- good. Yamcha is… also far away.
'Who else?' Suno broke into Chi-Chi's mental searching.
'Oh, uh… you also want to know your enemies off-hand.'
'Enemies?'
Kakarot flashed through Chi-Chi's mind. 'Err- more like potential threats. You shouldn't have any enemies dogging you right now- at least this early on…'
'Hmm.' Suno kept her eyes closed and tightened her facial features. 'So… I just keep my eyes closed and search for my ki?'
'Yea- c'mon, I'll join you.' Chi-Chi shut her eyes similarity to Suno. 'It's all about patience,' she said between light breaths, 'and slowly working-'
'Chi-Chi, I'm bored.'
Chi-Chi opened her eyes. Suno was staring at her. 'Oh. Well… we can do something else, then. I have just the thing.' She rose, pulling Suno to her feet. 'Follow me! It's right over here.'
Smiling, Suno fell into lockstep behind Chi-Chi, excited about what they were going to do next.
Her mentor was in a different state of mind. I have nothing else planned. Uhh... how did Master Roshi keep our attention?
I guess through his strangeness, mostly. Hmm…
'Haaah!' Chi-Chi abruptly spun around and launched a tiny ki blast at her student, trying to surprise her.
Suno took the attack head-on and toppled backward to the ground.
Oh… my god. Chi-Chi dashed over to Suno and knelt next to her in the ground. Her eyes were glazed over, her face stuck in a dumb expression. Chi-Chi snapped her fingers a few times, gathering the slightest amount of Suno's attention. 'I… think that's enough training for today. I am. So sorry.'
Suno's expression changed- the corner of her mouth was now curled into a smile. 'That was… pretty cool.'
What did I do to deserve a student like this?
0o0o0
'Do you mind if I ask you a question?'
Yajirobe paused from gorging on a roasted dinosaur leg. He quickly chewed and swallowed what was in his mouth. 'Mmmyeah?'
Rayne gave him a stern look. 'Are you actually a samurai?'
'Uhh…' he wiped away some grease from around his mouth with a fistful of his shirt, 'kinda?'
'What do you mean, "kinda"?'
'My father was a samurai for some local lord in these parts. He gave me this sword when I was young- I'm not actually sure what happened to him. This was for sure his sword, though.'
'What about your mom?'
'Not a clue.' Absentmindedly, Yajirobe took another bite out of his leg.
'So you've never been trained? At all?' Rayne asked.
Yajirobe swallowed. 'I practiced a lot with this blade. Does that count?'
'Not… really.'
He grunted, then continued to munch on his leg.
Rayne took another look at her own roasted leg. Intimidated, she placed it back on the metal spit over the unlit fire. 'Let me ask you another question. Have you ever trained in the martial arts?'
'No, not really.'
'How are you… so strong, then?'
He shrugged. 'Just am.'
Rayne pouted. Life is unfair. 'Have you always lived out here?'
Through a munching sound, Yajirobe uttered, 'uhhuh'. He quickly finished his leg and moved onto Rayne's largely uneaten one.
'I think… I should go.'
Yajirobe flicked his eyes up from leg. 'Why?'
She stood. 'I don't think there's anything you can teach me.' She waved, smiling as best she could. 'Thanks for the meal, though!'
'Hold on a second!' Yajirobe clambered to his feet. 'Just because I'm not some sort of master doesn't mean I can't show you a few tricks!'
Rayne stared at him skeptically. 'Like?...'
'Ever try hunting an animal through the forest?'
'Hunting? How's that relevant?'
'You have to keep yourself as quiet as possible. You need to get as close as possible to your prey. You need to strike decisively and effectively, killing, or if not, mortally wounding your prey in one strike. Doesn't that sound useful?'
'Huh,' Rayne sat back down, intrigued. 'When you put it that way…'
Internally, Yajirobe sighed in relief. I was starting to feel a bit lonely. It's been a while since that green guy has come around. Even though he tried to steal my food, I kinda miss him…
Rayne's thoughts were tuned to something else entirely. What an odd, odd person. I know I've already changed my opinion on him twice- from bum to hero to bum again- but maybe he's the real deal, after all. I guess it can't hurt to see if can give any advice... 'Yajirobe, can I ask you a question?'
'Huh? Sure. Go ahead.'
'Hypothetically, if you got into a nasty fight with your friends, what would you do?'
Yajirobe leaned back on his log, running his fingers through his long black mane of hair. 'I guess I'd try to fix things between us.'
'What if the problem that caused the fight in the first place is still a problem? What would you do then?'
'Then I'd make it not a problem.'
Rayne squinted at him. 'What?'
'You know, I'd either fix the problem- or stop caring about it.'
'...'
'What?'
'You are very strange.'
'I know.'
0o0o0
It had taken Kakarot a few days to sort out everything. Memories trickled down to him in bits and pieces, giving him small glimpses of the events of the past week. He remembered competing at the tournament, eventually losing to that familiar old man- though he couldn't remember how exactly he had lost, beyond a sensation centered on his neck. I'm sure it'll come to me soon…
The next time he woke, he found himself in the ruins of a city, unharmed. He had clearly been moved, most likely by the familiar humans he sighted nearby. Then… he fought, I think, and was badly hurt. He still felt hurt from those injuries- he had noticed that his ribs in particular seemed to be surrounded with bruised flesh. Regardless, he had survived whatever fight he had been in and had woken up here in this forest, clearly having been carried away again. He wasn't sure when he had lost his tail. Was it the first or second time I was knocked unconscious? Does it even matter?...
There were other memories filtering back to Kakarot, memories he had wholly forgotten had even existed in the first place. He remembered his caretaker from when he was very, very young- every wrinkle, crease, and fold was in its proper place on his face. The old man's common expressions of both hope and fear mixed into a single indivisible image in his head. Like he couldn't separate those feelings from each other. For some reason, the thought of where Kakarot was raised- in a modest dwelling somewhere far to the north and west, if he recalled correctly- brought a warmth to his thoughts.
He would need to find a map, and from there orient himself as to where he was, but once that was done, Kakarot was sure he could find where he had grown up- or the ruins of it, anyway. There was something… nagging him- or maybe reminding him- in the back of his mind, about something important about that area. Something beyond just the house itself… but Kakarot couldn't quite place it.
A part of him told him that these thoughts were useless, even detrimental- but Kakarot couldn't shake the feeling of needing to do this. What else could he do in the meantime? He had been thoroughly beaten not once, but twice in the past week. To still believe that he was indestructible would be pure self-delusion. Even trying to defeat… well, whoever defeated me, would be a waste of time. I can't.
He didn't feel any sort of excitement at fighting whoever those people were again- not when he felt utterly weak.
Kakarot rose to stand to stretch, immediately eliciting a growl of hunger from his stomach. I haven't eaten anything in a while, have I? Without wasting another moment, he set off to find a meal.
0o0o0
Disguised as a low-profile, skinny and lanky pushover, Oolong stumbled into the bar, holding onto the side of the wall as he went for support.
He had to keep up appearances. He had never shown up to a mission set up by the Central underworld drunk- but appearing inebriated was the best way to avoid attention, given what the bar was like right now.
Drunks were staggering to and fro, caught in an ever running loop from their tables to the bar counter. They pushed, fell, and hanged on each- and looked happier for it.
Staying clear of the main crowd as best as an acting, paranoid drunk man could, Oolong fell into a chair in the far corner of the bar, flush up against the corner wall. Ahh, my favorite spot. Now to wait and-
As Oolong was falling into his chair, he heard a poof and saw smoke spill out from behind him. The next thing he knew, two powerful arms were gripping him from behind and pulling him upright.
'It's been such a long time,' the man purred, sending a chill down Oolong's spine, 'Oolong. What have you been up to?'
Oolong swore under his breath. 'Kami take you, Puar.'
0o0o0
Chiaotzu crouched down at the side of a beat-down trail. 'Tien, come over here!' Once his friend had wandered over, Chiaotzu pointed down at the ground. 'Footprints lead down this path. This must have been Launch.'
Tien nodded, agreeing with his judgment. 'Lead the way,'
They didn't need to walk far down the side-path. About a hundred feet into it they came to a badly disguised… 'what would you call this?' Chiaotzu asked. 'A scene?'
In the dirt, they saw the pair of footsteps suddenly stop. Immediately beyond the last pair was the imprint of a body crashing into the ground. Around these two imprints, there was a flurry of smaller steps. These smaller steps seemed to have eventually dragged whoever had fallen away, judging from the body-wide streak mark in the dirt. Afterward, someone had tried to cover up the area by sprinkling a bunch of leaves over it. The effort looked half-hearted.
'There's no way Launch was captured by whoever did this,' Tien decided, 'or, at least, not unintentionally.'
'You think she let herself be captured?'
Tien shrugged. 'Maybe.'
'Guess there's only one way to find out.'
They set off hesitantly through the forest, not sure what to expect when they reached the end of the tracks. This must have been the work of the people Bora mentioned. Why would they take Launch, though? She doesn't look associated with the village in the slightest.
They rounded around an old, thick tree, stepping into a small camp- in the process stumbling into one of the strangest sights either of them had ever seen. A blue imp-like creature was slurping noisily from a cup while a dog in what seemed like a ninja costume was dozing off half-leaning on a table. Launch appeared to be tied up to a motorcycle. Upon sighting them. She winked. The blue imp spat out his tea. 'Aaah!' he threw his tea-filled cup at the dog, splashing him with hot tea and knocking him on the head.
'Aaaaooooh!' the dog immediately jumped up, shaking off the scalding liquid from their head. 'Aoh Aoh Aoh Aoh Aoh! Why did you do that!?'
'You imbecile!' The blue imp was pointing towards Tien and Chiaotzu. 'Look!'
Snarling, the dog swung his head- and immediately yelped at seeing them. He fumbled a moment with his sword before successfully pulling it out and brandishing it at them. 'Don't come any closer!' he threatened, as he stepped between them and Launch, 'or the girl gets it!'
'What do I get!?' Launch teased.
'You stay out of this!'
'Uhh… what are you two doing?' Tien questioned.
'What does it look like we're doing!' the blue imp jumped up and down as he talked. 'We're threatening her, and we'll go as far as to hurt her if you don't do what we want!'
'...which is?' Chiaotzu said.
'What? Which is what?'
'What do you want us to do?'
'Oh- haha! Good question, future subject!' The blue imp made a show of laughing. 'I want you two to sneak into the village and search the premises for a special artifact. My sources tell me that those communal cretins are hiding it right under our noses!'
'What does this artifact look like?'
'Haha! As if I'd tell you! If you knew what it looked like you'd steal it for yourselves!'
'...But how are we supposed to find something we can't recognize?' Tien asked, deadpan.
'Search their biggest dwellings! I don't know! You're working for me, not the other way around! Figure it out!'
Tien glanced over at Chiaotzu; he saw the giggling pale fighter had gotten as much enjoyment out of the situation as was possible. 'Alright,' Tien said, making a show of closing his eyes as if to agree, 'We'll get right on- HAAAH!' In a split-second Tien surged forward, surprising the dog samurai by gripping his sword and snapping in two like a twig. Panicking, the dog samurai took one look at his useless weapon before throwing it to the ground and dog-tailing it out of the camp. 'These guys are serious, boss!' he yelled as he ran past the blue imp. 'I'm getting out of here!'
Momentarily flummoxed, the blue imp collected himself.'Mai!' he cried, 'help us!'
Tien instinctually dodged as a bullet zoomed over his head. He twisted while crouched, coming face to face with a black-haired woman who had stepped out of the underbrush. She blinked in surprise before leveling her silenced pistol at Tien once more and firing.
He didn't even bother to move this time. The bullet halted its momentum on him harmlessly and bounced off.
Mai dropped her pistol in utter shock before running away similarly as the dog samurai.
'Mai! Get back here you coward!' The blue imp jumped up and down in frustration. Once it was clear he had been deserted by his goons, he scowled at Tien and Chiaotzu. 'You haven't seen the last of King Pilaf!' he practically yelled, 'mark my words!' When he finished, Pilaf broke into a stubby flight.
Chiaotzu walked a bit further into the camp. It was obvious that the three who had run away had taken nothing of their camp supplies with them. Uhh...
'That was fun,' Launch said as she slipped out of her poorly tied binds, 'Now- wonder what I should do-'
A hand clamped down on her shoulder. She turned- Tien was manifesting his most serious look possible. 'You need to sit.'
Launch wrinkled her nose in displeasure, but she sat all the same.
'Launch, I think there's something funky going on with your spiritual energy,' Tien said as soon as she was seated.
'What do you mean?'
'I mean I can sense something's off with you. Ki wise, that is. It feels like all your energy is being forced through a choke-point; it's being gated, or constricted, in some way. It's strained, like it's under a ton of pressure… I'm sorry if I'm not describing this perfectly, but I only noticed this when you ran off earlier. Long story short, something's off.'
'Yea? And? Why should I care?'
'Be quiet for a moment and maybe I'll tell you,' an impatient Tien said. In response to his harshness, Launch pouted. 'Sorry,' Tien apologized, 'but this is important and I don't feel like you're taking this seriously. Just give me a few minutes to explain, alright?'
'Okay, okay…'
'I think whatever's going on with you is stopping your 'other' self from coming out. That's why when you sneezed earlier you didn't swap control. Your ki is so out-of-whack it's affecting whatever power-sharing agreement your body has.'
Launch snorted. 'Maybe I want to keep control. Have you considered that? Maybe I don't like my other 'self'. Maybe I think she's a coward and a pushover.'
'Are you actually causing this?'
'Maybe. Maybe not.'
Tien was silent for a moment. ''You may not care about your other half- though I suspect you actually do, deep down- but this 'situation' is affecting you in other ways. You've been much more impulsive.'
'Is that a statement or a question?'
'A statement. Look at me in the eyes, Launch. No lying.'
Launch glared at him. 'Fine,' she relented, 'so maybe I've been more impulsive. But what if I am? If anything, acting on my impulses feels more fun than it used to.'
'Launch, didn't you say earlier you had a past you didn't want to repeat?' Chiaotzu asked. 'Are your impulses related to that in any way?'
She frowned, turning over his statement in her head. 'I'm acting on who I want to be.'
'Are you sure?'
'...' She screwed her face, glancing off to one side. 'No,' she admitted,
'Then let me try and sort this out for you,' Tien pleaded. 'If I find out there's nothing wrong with you, you can be on your way. Just let me try.'
'...Alright. Fine. You can try.' Launch's head twisted, like she was considering something. 'How did you figure all this out?' Launch asked after a moment, curious. 'How do you even know this can be fixed? You sound like an expert.'
Tien gestured to his forehead. 'This third eye isn't just for show. In the best of times, it serves as a potent connection to all matters of the spiritual- primarily spiritual ki.
'So it's because of the third eye? Are you some kinda alien, then?'
'Tien's not fully human,' Chiaotzu explained. 'Which would explain why his third eye can be a bit unreliable.' Chiaotzu turned to Tien. 'I overhead Shen once say that you're half triclops- whatever that means. Not sure how'd he know that, though.'
'What?' Tien looked confused. 'Shen said this? How come you didn't tell me this sooner?'
'I guess it never came up. Sorry.'
'Huh… that would make a lot of sense… I'm not fully "human".'
'How'd you not know sooner? Weren't you curious about why your parents looked different from everyone else?' Launch bantered.
'I don't know what my parents look like. I never met my parents.' Tien shifted his sitting posture.
'You don't know your parents?' Launch asked with a hint of sadness in her voice. 'Really?'
'I don't remember much before joining the Crane dojo beyond simply trying to scrap for bits of food and survive. I was an orphan, I think. I was definitely homeless.' Seeing a bit of sympathy in Launch's eyes, he added, 'it's nothing. Everyone has a history. It made me into who I am, for better or worse. What we need to focus on now, though, is what's going on with you.' He looked her dead center in the eyes. 'Before there are any serious consequences, like losing your ability to use ki or something like that.'
'You think you can fix this?'
Tien nodded.
'Alright. Let's not waste any time, then.'
'Uh, actually,' Chiatozu interrupted, 'before we commit to any time-consuming thing, we should probably go back to the village and tell them their troublemaker problem has been dealt with. I think we scared off their problem people for good.'
Tien turned Launch 'Launch?'
'That's fine. I can wait for a half-hour. Let's go.'
A/N: These transition chapters are turning out be shorter than usual, but on the flip-side, chapters should be rolling out at a faster-than-normal speed over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
Reviews:
LWexe: It is character~development~time; glad you're enjoying it! Things are looking down for Yamcha… but that probably won't be true forever ;).
Lala: I was thinking the same thing about clarifying everyone's ages in the story. I've never been very good at describing characters so it's not like you could figure out from their physical appearance, lol. Roughly, I'd pen everyone in the story as of the end of the 22nd Tournament is around mid-to-late adolescence. I'll definitely make everyone's ages more clear at some point going forward.
I like to think that Saiyan tails influence the minds of the Saiyans that have them. Saiyan tails uniquely contain within the 'parts', for lack of any better word, to transform someone into an Oozaru, which is the ultimate embodiment of rage and aggression. If a Saiyan doesn't train themselves in their Oozaru form, then they lose total control while transformed and act like a feral beast. Personally, I think that having a tail would have some effect on a Saiyan's mindset because of this.
Luke: Thank you! And now you know a bit more about what was going on last chapter with Launch.
Right on the tail part. I'm not quite sure what you're referring to as Kakarot's "head-knocking", though.
TC9078: Thanks for all the info. I haven't picked up the manga in a while and I've never even watched Super, so all of this is good to know.
Also good to know about the tails. Just as Toriyama made his decision on tails based on personal artistic preference, I shall do the same!
And thank you! I've enjoyed your story Rhyme & Reason and hope you continue the great work with that!
Malak18: I will and thank you!
OneofTen: Very true about Launch! And I'm still waiting on the other nine to chime in, haha!
