Outlanders
Chapter 43: Behind the Veil
A/N: Heyo! Welcome back to my time sink! You are reading the first chapter of Volume II: A Wider Universe. The arc you are currently reading is Outlanders. Alright, have fun! Also, this chapter is very long! Dagnabbit!
Something akin to tickling ran across Krillin's body, making him laugh. It was nice- it must have been over a decade since he had last been tickled.
Wait; since when do I like being tickled? This is different… Suspicious, Krillin opened his eyes and examined his body. He was clothed in his orange gi- and he couldn't place where exactly he had felt that sensation. That was really weird…
'Hey pal,' someone said from behind him. Krillin turned and saw a bored-looking blue creature. 'You awake?'
'Yeah… I think so.' Krillin lifted and dropped his arm at his side. 'It's weird… it's almost like-'
'Your arm doesn't exist?'
Krillin stared at him. 'What?'
'Do you know where you are?'
Belatedly, Krillin realized that he did not. It was then that Krillin looked past the blue creature- and saw what could be described as heaven stretching into the distance. Yellow, inviting clouds bounded up and down across the landscape, broken every once and awhile by a stone platform or path. His sight was immediately drawn to a large temple-esque complex with a green roof and red perimeter walls and a long line of… -white dots?-running down a central path into the complex. It almost reminded him of Orin Temple, if where he had grown up had been resplendent and breathtaking.
'So buddy,' the being asked from behind him. 'Know where you are yet?'
Krillin turned, examining the blue creature more closely. He was dressed not unlike how a businessman would dress on a casual work day- he wore black loafers, black dress pants, a white dress shirt, and a black tie. More noteworthy, however, were the two short, stubby horns pointing out of his head. Curiosity got the best of Krillin. 'What… are you, exactly?'
'Me? I'm an ogre. I have to take care of goofballs like you.'
'Okay… but why?'
The blue ogre scowled at him. 'Look, buddy, can you look around one more time and put two-and-two together? Don't you remember the last thing you were doing?'
'Yeah… it was... ' Krillin's expression dropped. 'Wait! I was fighting Raditz!... And… I think he's still alive!' Krillin gripped the ogre by his neck collar. 'Please, you need…' And then it dawned on Krillin. 'Oh… I see…'
'Great. Now get off me!' The blue ogre complained, shirking off Krillin's grip. 'You know where you are now?'
'Yeah… I… died. So…' Krillin's gaze shifted to the rolling yellow clouds. 'This is… the afterlife?'
'We call it the Otherworld, but yes.'
So I guess I really did die against Raditz… I hope it was enough...
'I had to reconstitute your sorry soul,' the blue ogre griped, ignoring Krillin's silence. 'Tell me; what did it feel like?'
'What did what feel like?'
'When you first came to. Usually it varies for person to person- the process takes the nicest sensation a specific person felt during their time in the mortal plane and replicates it to produce a comforting sensation for the person to experience as they "wake-up".'
'Oh… I think…' Krillin scratched his head, 'it was tickling?... but I never really enjoyed it on Earth…'
The blue ogre looked at Krillin strangely. 'Alright. That's weird. But okay.' He then swung back and pointed an arm down a small stone path. 'Now, if you don't mind, please join the line at the end and wait your turn to be judged.'
'Judged? I'm not in heaven?'
'Nope. Call this the neutral ground. This plane is where we decide who to give the good stuff to and who to give the bad stuff to.' The blue ogre then leaned in and started to whisper to Krillin. 'And don't worry- I saw your file. You're a shoo-in for the good stuff, you know?'
'Uhh… yeah? Maybe?'
'Go get 'em!' The blue ogre patted him on the back- or more accurately tried to, because his arm passed through Krillin's chest. 'Uh… sorry about that…'
'What just happened!?' Krillin asked, frightened. 'Am I-'
'Yeah, remember what I said earlier? That's not your real body,' the ogre explained. 'That may look like your real body to you, but it ain't. When people die we typically give people the self-image they desire- makes it much easier for them to process things.'
Krillin raised one hand, bending his fingers back and forth. Huh… now that he points it out, I don't really feel any substantive sensation from my body, let alone any ki… Krillin looked up at the ogre. 'So if this isn't what I really look like… what do I look like to you?'
'Oh, a floating ball of white light. Kind of like a will o'wisp.'
Krillin gulped and reexamined himself. Don't think about it…
'Hey! You'll get used to the idea.' The ogre then pointed down the path again. 'Now go! The faster you get moving, the faster you get to the good stuff!'
'...Alright…' Krillin made a motion to wave goodbye to the ogre, but then decided against it and dropped his arm to his side. 'Thanks.'
The ogre saluted.
Krillin walked down the path for a few minutes, and true to the ogre's word, his path eventually merged into the long line he had seen from earlier. At the moment he found himself entering into the queue of other floating white balls of light, everything blurred-
And suddenly, Krillin found himself within a massive room, it's ceiling as tall as any skyscraper he had seen on Earth and large enough to fit millions upon millions of humans atop of each other.
'Krillin, eh?' A voice rumbled down to him. Krillin shot his gaze towards a tall red creature that resembled the blue ogre he had met earlier- except this one was most likely one hundred times taller than the one from before. This giant red one was seated behind a desk and would have looked ridiculous if the desk wasn't also the size of a skyscraper. 'Your file is pretty interesting…' the red ogre continued. This comment was followed by the sound of shuffling paper.
'Uhh…' Krillin squinted upwards, trying to gauge whether his eyes were deceiving him. This guy is massive! 'Who am I talking to?...' Krillin quickly glanced behind him, seeing an empty line 'And how did I get here?...'
'You're talking to King Yemma,' the massive being said distractedly. 'And you're here to be judged. That's as much as you need to know.'
'Judged?'
'For where you will go in Otherworld. For eternity.'
Eternity!? That seems a bit extreme! Krillin started fidgeting with his hands- hands that, he now realized would be unseen by anyone else. He increased his fidgeting. I shouldn't be a tough case to judge, right?... I mean, I never really did anything bad in life…
Oh man, what if he knows about Zushin?... I didn't mean to break that wall!
Right before Krillin's mind could fully descend into speculative self-doubt, a gentle, probing voice entered his mind. Krillin? Are you there?
The voice was eminently recognizable. Kami? Is that you?
Krillin! Kami's voice was flush with relief. Thank the gods I caught you before you reached King Yemma. It is critical that you wait for my arrival! He needs to be made aware of some important circumstances before he judges your soul!
Uh, well actually, I'm being judged by him as we speak...
What!? Kami telepathically yelled into Krillin's ear. Tell him to wait! I need to speak to him on your behalf!
Ahh… alright. 'Uh… judge sir? King Yemma, is it?' Krillin called out.
The red ogre looked up from his papers and glared at Krillin. 'What?'
'I've been told… to wait for someone.'
'Oh?' King Yemma's face perked up. 'Is this a reference?'
'Uh… kind of?'
'Then fine!' King Yemma swung one massive arm to one corner of the room. 'Wait for them there, then!'
Krillin did as was told and sat in between a few attendant ogres who were on their breaks. As he listened to two ogres talk back and forth past him about their weekend plans (which, judging from how they talked about it, was much farther away in time than Krillin would have assumed a weekend would be), a single thought kept bouncing around in his head. The afterlife- err, Otherworld, is weird...
0o0o0
Over the course of several days, people congregated in a short, squat hospital on the southern edge of West City. Before falling asleep for nearly twenty-four hours straight, Bulma begrudgingly allowed her parents to wield their considerable sway within the city to secure her friends a private floor within an accredited hospital. They considered this to be preferable to the ragtag group of medical personnel running around Capsule Corp. on a daily basis.
Every injured fighter was given their own room- though their beds were on wheels so they could be moved out to a central room to talk to each other if they wanted. Not many people took advantage of this.
It rained unendingly during that first week.
Everyone dealt with the events of East City differently. Tien, arranged in some nightmare of a rotund medical construction to prevent his broken ribs from unsetting every time he breathed, never spoke until Chiaotzu arrived, and even then, he spoke no more than a few minutes each day to his close friend. Despite being in better shape than Tien, Yamcha was uncharacteristically silent, instead choosing to stare out his rain-laden window for vast stretches of the day. Launch and Suno were too debilitated by pain to speak for more than a few seconds at a time. Chi-Chi was understandably consumed with recovering and caring for Gohan. Out of everyone who had fought and lived, Rayne alone seemed open to talking about it. Nonetheless, she spent most of her time alone in her room with only her thoughts to converse with.
Too bad I wasn't there… at the end… oh, Krillin… A part of her didn't want to accept that Krillin was now permanently dead; as "normal" as it should have been, it was surreal to imagine a world without dragonballs.
But she had watched Piccolo die herself. And Korin had come to them a few days ago and confirmed it for them; Kami had passed from this world. He gave us a lot of freakin' bad news. No more Senzu beans for a month? Give us a break…
Even among those who hadn't fought, the mood was bad. Chiaotzu and Retu alternated between passing "okayness" and long periods of time spent brooding to themselves. Retu in particular seemed to be taking Krillin's death especially hard. For the first time in which Rayne had known Yajirobe, he was serious- and she hated that. The only person who seemed to be handling things well was Bulma- but Rayne suspected that she kept herself too busy with work or attending to other people's needs to let herself dwell on the state of the world.
Taken together, every single person on this floor was in a horrible mood. On the fourth day of utter silence and on the verge of losing her mind, Rayne demanded Bulma assemble everyone together and force them to talk. What she expected to happen at first did happen- a lot of time was spent quietly comforting those who couldn't hold in their grief anymore. Eventually, however, the conversation turned outwards, and with that turn came a discussion of what came next.
Which, is to say, nothing was said. They could cry until the sun set, rose, and set again, but Rayne didn't see the point of doing any of that if they weren't using that… to do something? I don't know. No amount of motivation can will the dragon balls back into existence. Kami is dead, and that's that…
But, regardless, it felt good to discuss. If one thing was made clear during their talk, everyone was greatly saddened by Krillin's death. That made Rayne feel a bit better.
A week after the battle in East City, Rayne felt good enough to get up and walk around on crutches to her fellow patients. She found herself first enter Chi-Chi's room.
'Hey?' She asked uncertainly, sticking her head through the doorway. 'Can you talk?'
Chi-Chi was sitting up in her bed, her eyes not lifting from Gohan cradled in her arms. She motioned her to come in without looking at her. Rayne grabbed a chair and pulled it up to Chi-Chi's bed. 'Do… you want to talk?' She probed.
Chi-Chi looked up at her. 'One second.' Chi-Chi then pressed a button in her hospital bed- the next moment, Bulma sprung into the room, swooped Gohan up in her arms, and whisked him outside. 'Bulma put in a private beeper,' Chi-Chi explained, 'to be used specifically whenever I need a break from caring for Gohan.'
'This counts?'
'It does. I haven't really talked to anyone over the past week. I don't think Bulma minds.'
There was a distinct sound of something banging outside, like the sound of something metal hitting the floor and rolling across the room. This was followed by a quite loud curse. Chi-Chi blinked. 'She'll be fine.' She then settled a bit more comfortably into her bed. 'What's up?'
'Alright… so, let me ask. How are you doing?' Rayne asked, trying to be as considerate as possible.
'I mean, I've been better,' Chi-Chi replied, pointing to the ugly gash that ran down the center of her forehead. 'Ignoring the pain in the rest of my body, it's going to be a long time before my face looks like normal again.'
'Right…' Rayne anxiously rubbed her hands together. 'Not the best.'
Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 'Do you have a particular thing you're trying to get at?'
'Er… yes. How are you dealing with… uh…'
'Kakarot dying?' Chi-Chi finished for her.
Rayne hesitated. '...Yes.'
Chi-Chi held her gaze on Rayne for a few seconds, then sighed. 'I guess that's a fair question to ask. Presumably, we had a good relationship at some point if we had a child together.'
'Did you?'
'Not really.' Chi-Chi's face sagged. 'Well, honestly, I don't know… Would you be surprised if I told you that I never really knew him?'
'Well, at this point,' Rayne said, sticking out a hand and counting on her fingers, 'Considering that you've interacted with him… what, three times outside of a fight? First before the 22nd World Tournament, then right after, and then… sometime before Gohan was born? You should know him better than me.'
'I think I had a good understanding of what was pressing down on him,' Chi-Chi said, glancing out through the rainy window. 'He came to this planet with a task he never fully loved, and spent his formative years under the care of someone who recognized his vile behavior but treated him well regardless. When he did finally leave his home and started walking the Earth, he seemed to commit himself to the task of finding and fighting strong enemies instead of wiping wholesale villages off the map- though why he did that, I don't know. Eventually, he reached a point where he became weaker compared to us and Piccolo; never being properly trained probably enhanced this divide. From there, he became disillusioned with his own power… I think.' Chi-Chi swung her gaze back to Rayne. 'There was nothing for him to be proud of in his life. I think that's what Raditz capitalized on- his sense of alienation and isolation. I don't see any other reason for why Kakarot would turn again to killing humans en masse.'
'That's… incredibly sad,' Rayne said, fighting an urge to let her eyes tear up. 'That was his life? I never knew…'
Chi-Chi nodded- she averted Rayne's gaze, however, and continued to look downcast at her sheets.
'What about you?' Rayne asked after a time, catching Chi-Chi's attention. 'You knew so much about him. Surely he knew… well…'
'I think he did, in a way, but something held him back,' Chi-Chi murmured. 'I don't know... was it pride? Fear? Disdain?' She sighed. 'Whatever it was, it made him run away from me the moment I felt I really got through to him. So that was when he essentially ran out of both mine and Gohan's lives. After that, I didn't see him until… yeah,' Chi-Chi trailed off.
'And in the end…'
'He cared,' Chi-Chi said simply, 'for both me and Gohan, and his brother. I think he appreciated what Raditz did for him… but he couldn't let me and Gohan die.' She made eye contact with Rayne. 'I'll never be able to thank him for that.'
Things grew quiet between them. The susurration of rainwater running down the side of the building provided a faint ambiance within the room.
'Rayne,' Chi-Chi said, taking her by one hand. 'Thank you for talking to me about this. I don't think anyone else cares about… him,' Chi-Chi voiced her fears, her mouth quivering. 'I can understand why everyone else hates him right now… but he did redeem himself. So thank you…'
'It's okay,' Rayne said reassuring, squeezing Chi-Chi's hand, 'it's okay…' They held that position until Rayne stood up on her crutches. 'I'm going to go walk around and stretch my body a bit more. Do you want me to get Bulma to bring Gohan back in?'
'In a few minutes,' Chi-Chi replied, turning his gaze back out the window. 'I want to sit with my thoughts for a moment.'
'Sure thing.'
0o0o0
Rayne exited the room and saw Bulma sitting in a rickety wooden chair bouncing Gohan on one knee and a thick folder of papers on the other. 'Bulma? Is that safe?' Rayne asked, drawing closer.
Bulma looked up absentmindedly. 'Huh?' she said, addressing Rayne. She then noticed how Gohan was positioned. 'Wanna take him off my hands?' Bulma asked, holding Gohan out with one arm.
Annoyed, Rayne accepted the baby. In order to carry him, she had to lay against a nearby wall, using one arm and crutch to balance herself upright. 'Shouldn't this be your job right now?' She complained.
'It would under normal circumstances,' Bulma said, now using both hands to sort through the papers in the file. 'Events beyond my control are in motion that necessitate my control, however. That comes first.'
'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'
Bulma glanced up at Rayne, a predatory smile painting her face. 'Opportunity. Capsule Corp. has been playing with house money ever since Raditz's been taken out of the picture.'
'How so?'
'Do you know how much useful tech he's left behind for us to study? An entire spaceship that ignores all modern laws of space aeronautics is now en route to one of my warehouses, begging to be examined. What kind of fuel does the ship use? How is its onboard computer programmed? What galactic languages can be deciphered from its drives? Don't you understand?' Bulma asked, growing more excited as she enumerated the possibilities. 'Progress in the field of spaceflight is going to advance centuries if we can decipher everything that ship has to offer. And I intend to be the one leading that progress. Even as we speak, while humanitarian efforts are going on in East City, scientists on my payroll are combing through the ruins, looking for any equipment or tech that Raditz may have dropped.'
'Bulma,' Rayne said, her face vaguely disguising disgust, 'can I be frank?'
'Yes?'
'You shouldn't be saying this out loud,' Rayne said unpleasantly. 'It makes you sound like a horrible person.'
Bulma frowned. 'I won't deny that what we're doing isn't exploitative. But I'm not someone who's going to sit around and do nothing. The ship in particular is proving hard to crack. We have no idea how to even get inside the damn thing. If I had to guess, Raditz had a remote control for the ship, or at least some sort of key…'
Rayne drew her face into a grimace. 'What do you mean, "sit around and do nothing"? Do you think we're choosing to stay here?'
They glared at each other for a moment, giving the room an uneasy silence. 'Alright,' Bulma said after a time, closing shut the file and placing it on a nearby table. 'Here's the state of my life, Rayne. My on-and-off boyfriend was in the fight of his life, nearly died for his efforts, watched one of his best friends die- and he refuses to talk about it. All he does it stare out of the window, his eyes focused on something that isn't there, while I try, day-in, day out, to help him.' Bulma stood and started to pace.' And his best friend that died? Yeah, that was my best friend, too. Krillin is dead. Permanently, considering that evil megalomaniac Piccolo died too. Rayne, your boyfriend is dead, permanently. Frankly, I don't know how you're dealing with this,' she threw a look of disgust towards the room around them, 'considering the squalor of this place!... If I wasn't doing something to get my mind off of all this… I would be going insane. I'm surprised the same hasn't happened to you yet!'
Spent, Bulma collapsed back into her chair, flopping her arms onto her knees. Rayne looked at her for a second, then said, 'Okay.' She took a breath. 'That's okay. I now know where you're coming from. More than I can say for everyone else…'
Something clicked in Bulma's head. 'This is how you're coping, isn't it?' Bulma asked. 'Asking everyone how they're doing?'
'Whatever,' Rayne replied off-handedly.
'Has anyone asked how you're coping?'
'No.'
'Do you want me to?'
'No.' Rayne threw an intense look at Bulma: but it wasn't ill-intentioned or malicious- it was serious. 'You said everything for me. Things are what they are. We just need to move on.'
'Hmm.' Bulma changed tactics. 'Do you know why I've been focusing on this so much?' she asked, holding up the folder from before.
'No.'
'In this work, I see… hope. Or potential, at least.'
'For what?'
Bulma shrugged. 'Dunno. Technology can do a lot of things. My hope is that if I keep plugging along, something good will come of it.'
She let that sentence hang in the air, then said, 'But, there's a reason why I'm here and not at Capsule Corp. I have my friends to keep an eye on. Though that doesn't mean I can't read up on what our scientists are reporting every now-and-then.'
Rayne thought on this. 'Well... I'm glad you're here, Bulma.'
Bulma waved away her conciliatory comment, then noticed Gohan was making quiet whimpering sounds in Rayne's arms. 'Want me to take him back to Chi-Chi?'
She gladly relinquished Gohan. 'By all means.'
0o0o0
Ten days after the battle in East City, Yamcha rolled himself into Tien's room on a wheelchair after having checked Bulma was out doing errands. It was also, coincidentally, a time when Chiaotzu was out of the room. Wordlessly, he rolled himself right up to the side of Tien's hybrid bed/medical tomb.
'Hey…' Tien said. 'How are you?'
'I've been better,' Yamcha replied quickly, keeping his gaze leveled at the ground.' Abruptly, he lifted his head. 'Things are kind of awful.'
'You don't have to tell me…'
Yamcha leaned closer. 'Tell me, Tien…' he began, mechanically smoothing out his hospital gown. 'What would you have done if you were fighting at the end?'
Tien gave him a look. 'What do you mean?' he asked cautiously.
'How would you have killed Raditz?'
Yamcha asked this without any hesitation or inflection. The question would have made Tien shiver if he physically could- the manner in which it was delivered was chilling. 'What kind of question is that?'
'The kind you have to answer if you're fighting at the end,' Yamcha replied. 'Would you have used an energy attack? Maybe drive him into the ground and-'
'Yamcha-' Tien bluntly interrupted him, 'if I was in your shoes… I wouldn't have thought about any of that. I would have fought to survive and hoped that something I did would defeat him.'
'And what if your attack worked, and he was lying helpless on the ground? What then?'
Tien eyed Yamcha for a moment. He was struck by how vacant his eyes were. 'I don't want to talk about this,' he decided, 'and you don't want to think about this.'
Yamcha's nostrils flared. 'I can either think about what I should have done to Raditz on his deathbed, or I can think about the fact that Krillin is dead forever because of us. Which one would you choose?'
Tien didn't respond- but Yamcha seemed to have expected this, and had begun rolling himself out of the room. 'Thanks for the help,' he said indifferently. Several seconds later, Yamcha was out of the room. To Tien's annoyance, he hadn't bothered to close the door behind him.
0o0o0
Twelve days after the battle in East City, while Chiaotzu was checking in on Tien, Launch rolled herself into Tien's room on a wheelchair. Tien frowned as she approached. Why does my room have to become the meeting ground, of all places?
Dimly, he remembered the terrifying medical construction encompassing his entire chest. I guess a better question would be: why did I have to receive the immobilizing injury?...
Launch wasn't surprised to see Chiaotzu hanging by Tien's side. 'Chiaotzu,' she greeted.
'Hey,' Chiaotzu said quietly. 'You feeling better?'
'Eh, so-so,' Launch replied casually, waving one hand in the air to emphasize her "mehness". 'Out of all the other sorry patients, I'd say I'm definitely above average in terms of mood.'
'Good to hear.'
Launch smiled, then turned to Tien. The three of them as a group had barely talked since the fight in East City. When Launch made eye contact with Tien, something seemed to crack in her facade- her face started to quiver.
Tien would have been blind to not notice this. 'Hey?' he probed, 'Is there?...'
'What I'm about to do,' Launch said calmly, alternating a glare between Tien and Chiaotzu, 'does not leave this room. Understand?'
'I think so,' Tien answered, his eyes widening. Chiaotzu nodded vigorously. 'Launch,' Tien continued after a second, 'don't do something you'd regret-'
She collapsed against the medical construction keeping his and arms ribs in place, awkwardly wrapping her arms around the metal beams. 'I was really worried,' she said quietly right before straightening and banging her own wheelchair with her fist. 'I was really angry, too. Never… Never…'
'Never what?' Chiaotzu asked.
'Never let someone do that to you again,' She raised her head, angry tears running down her cheeks. 'We will never let someone do that to you, or me, or Chiaotzu ever again. We're going to get stronger so that we can handle any challenge that comes our way. Right!?' She barked.
Chiaotzu nodded- Tien frowned, and lacking the mobility to nod, said, 'Of course.'
Then, as quickly as she had done before, Launch again collapsed against Tien's brace. She made a strange sound that wasn't quite crying but wasn't really normal either. A set of these sounds came from Launch before Tien heard a similar sound start to peter out from Chiaotzu- soon enough, the room was filled with a chorus of stilted choking sounds.
Tien would have joined them if he hadn't known better that doing so would have collapsed in his ribcage. Thus, he weathered the tide of sympathetic emotion roiling through his body. In an effort to distance himself from the present, he began to stare up and over Launch's matted hair that draped across his neck at a stained section of the ceiling. 'It's okay…' he muttered. What a mess…
0o0o0
Around the same time, Retu was snoring away in Suno's room. He was vaguely dreaming of a desert landscape when a hand clapping down on his knee woke him. 'Ugh?...' He muttered, opening his eyes.
He nearly panicked when he saw a newly cognizant Suno awake, wearily trying to shake him. 'Stop!' Retu cried, forcing her hand back onto her bed. 'Don't strain yourself! This... this is the first time… ' he shook his head in disbelief. 'You're awake…'
'Yeah-' She said hoarsely, halting what she heard how badly her voice sounded. 'My voice…' she croaked, motioning for a glass of water set out next to her bed.
Retu sprung into action and handed her the glass. 'Here… take it slow… you haven't been doing much of anything recently…'
'Wait…' Suno absentmindedly finished the glass and handed it back to him. Her eyes moved towards the IVs fed into both of her arms. 'How long was I out? Last thing I remember was that guy with the dumb hair slamming into me…'
'You've been out for a while,' Retu informed her. 'About twelve days now... '
'Twelve days? What happened?'
'Well, Raditz died. And… Krillin, and Piccolo, and Kami. So…' Retu trailed off. 'That's where we are.'
Suno seemed to grow distant upon hearing this. 'Oh.'
'Yeah.'
The news was horrifying to hear- but before Suno could fully process it, she caught sight of a bedroll on the floor on the far side of the room. 'Whose is that?' she asked.
'Mine,' Retu replied.
'Yours?' Suno looked Retu up and down. 'Who are you, exactly?'
Retu's face suddenly dropped- then dropped even further beyond that. 'Oh! Sorry!' He said feverishly, propping himself up on his crutches and hurriedly moving over to the bedroll. 'I misspoke!' He laughed, as he frantically collected the bedroll into a ball under one arm. 'I have the wrong room! So sorry!' He flew over to the room's door and stepped through the doorway. 'Bye!' With that, Retu slammed the door to Suno's room closed.
She stared at the door for a second. Eventually, she shrugged and picked up a plate of food set beside her bed. 'Weird guy,' she muttered.
0o0o0
About two weeks after the battle in East City, Bulma got a call she hadn't expected to receive. After hailing a taxi to a rundown warehouse on the north side of the city, she practically sprinted up the building's stairwell and burst out onto a second-floor catwalk.
'What? He had two ships?' Bulma exclaimed as she hung over the catwalk's railing, examining the identical pods arranged next to each other in the garage the floor below.
A Capsule Corp. scientist leaning on the railing next to her was also smiling down at the craft. 'The second wasn't too far from the first,' she explained. 'About a mile away, actually.'
Bulma's attention didn't err from the nearly identical craft. 'I don't understand… if they had two ships, why wouldn't they have left once they met up?...'
'That's above my pay grade,' the lead scientist mumbled, turning. 'You'd have to bring back that guy who attacked East City back from the dead to find that out…'
0o0o0
After spending a few hours doing a cursory examination of the two nearly identical ships, Bulma took a taxi back to the hospital but asked the driver to drop her off a few blocks away from the building. The remaining trek on foot back to the hospital gave her time to think. It won't be too long now until we can open one of the ships and start studying them… and I'm fairly certain that, given a few months, Dad and I could make a working prototype that can easily carry a few people into space. But should we even bother?... We have no idea what the galaxy is like out there- and I doubt any possible alien civilization has discovered a way to reverse death… She visibly sagged as she walked. The more I throw myself into my work, the less confident I feel about everything turning out okay in the end...
She rounded a corner and walked down the final street to the hospital. The rain was starting to soak through her jacket- she wrapped it tighter around her. Worst thing about it all… What do I tell everyone? What do I tell Yamcha? I can't bring myself to tell him he's never going to see Krillin again...
Just as Bulma came to the hospital's main entrance, a sudden change of light brought her out of her thoughts. 'AAAH!' she screamed, as she saw as flying carpet levitating in mid-air just above and behind her. Right above the lip of the carpet's edge, an otherworldly face peeped out. 'Hello? Are you Bulma?'
She froze- what the hell was she looking at? 'Y- Yes?' she stammered out.
The being smiled, their mood lightening. 'I am Mr. Popo, formerly an attendant to the guardian of this planet, Kami.'
'Kami? He's dead, isn't he?'
'Yes.' Mr. Popo's tone was inflectionless- it was unclear whether they were saddened by this fact. 'It is because of his passing that I am here.' They then offered their hand, lowering the carpet some. 'There is something I must share with you and your friends. Please, if you would, I shall take us to their floor immediately.'
'Can't I take the elevator?' When their expression didn't change, she sighed and accepted their hand. Strong-arm me some more, why don't you…
The instant that both of her feet were on the carpet, it zoomed upwards and nearly threw her off. She was caught half-over the edge near the central room's main window. 'Aah!- Uhh…' she muttered to Mr. Popo behind her, 'thanks…'
She caught the attention of Yajirobe, who was hanging out in the central room reading a newspaper. After they were let in- Mr. Popo's carpet was parked next to the window- and a few minutes were spent wheeling out everyone who could listen, Yamcha, Tien, Chi-Chi, Launch, Retu, Suno, Rayne, Chiaotzu, Bulma, and Yajirobe were either laid up in bed or standing nearby.
'For those of you who do not know me,' Mr. Popo began, 'I am a former servant to the Earth's guardian, Kami. When Piccolo died two weeks ago, because his life force was linked to my master, Kami, the Guardian perished as well. As I'm sure you all know, this means the dragonballs have ceased to exist.'
Mr. Popo paused, giving people a chance to respond. No-one did, save for Yajirobe coughing. 'This does not mean,' Mr. Popo continued, 'that Kami and your friend Krillin must remain permanently dead, however.'
Almost instantaneously, the mood in the room became accusatory. 'What are you talking about?' Yamcha demanded hotly, tottering on his crutches. 'Are you saying there's a chance they could be brought back?'
'Yes. Would it come to any of you as a shock that Kami is not originally of this world?'
'Well,' Launch spoke up from her wheelchair, 'considering Kakarot was an alien, no, not really…'
Bulma's fingers snapped. 'A ship,' she deduced. 'Kami must have come here in a spaceship.'
Various people turned to Bulma confused. 'What are you talking about?' Chiaotzu asked.
'How else would Kami have gotten to Earth? If he's an alien, he must have used a ship…'
'It makes sense,' Chi-Chi spoke up. 'Kakarot came here in a ship, too.'
'Bulma is correct in her assumption,' Mr. Popo interjected. 'The being that was once both Kami and King Piccolo arrived here in a spaceship many centuries ago.'
'The being? Who?' Chiaotzu asked, a bit lost.
'Kami and King Piccolo were once one being. That being traveled from a planet called Namek to Earth and split himself into two beings to assume the position of Guardian of Earth. That is why Kami and Piccolo's life forces are connected- they are originally of the same person.'
'That's… incredibly confusing.'
'Is it like my multiform technique?' Tien asked, curious. 'Did it cut his power in half?'
'In a way, yes, and in a way, no' Mr. Popo answered ambiguously. 'To be honest, this detail, and broadly, this being isn't important. What matters is that this original being came here in a spaceship.'
'So... correct me if I'm wrong,' Suno said, 'but there must be a whole planet of people like Kami and Piccolo hanging out in space somewhere. Namek, was it?'
'And…' Realization flickered in Yamcha's eyes, 'a whole planet of people who might have dragonballs…'
'Potentially,' Mr. Popo replied. 'The being who fled Namek who eventually became Kami and King Piccolo did so to escape a natural calamity. Namekian civilization was on the verge of collapse- there was a chance that the Namekians would not survive the changes occurring to their planet. Thus, a Namekian named Katas who wished to spare his son from the ravages of this possible extinction event built a ship and sent his child away to another planet to ensure that he would live. The planet this ship eventually landed on was Earth.' Mr. Popo paused. 'That was the story Kami told to me, at least. His account may have forgotten or embellished what actually happened. And, ultimately, he did not know whether the Namekians survived this calamity. It could be the case that the planet is now a barren husk, devoid of all life. But I am certain that this ship could return to Namek if need be.'
'Do you know if the ship still exists?' Bulma asked, curious.
'Yes, it does; it has remained untouched and unused within a remote wasteland near North City.'
Rayne frowned. '...Sorry,' she uttered, 'but if that ship brought Kami to this planet… shouldn't it be ancient by now? Has it been sitting out, exposed to the elements? If so, I doubt it's still spaceworthy.'
Mr. Popo turned his gaze to her. 'I assure you that it still works. The ship was designed to be nearly unbreakable- it had to carry potentially the last surviving Namekian- the son of Katas who became Kami and King Piccolo- in the galaxy.'
'So, just so everyone's on the same page-' Bulma stated, '-whoever… Kami was before splitting into himself and King Piccolo fled his home planet where other Namekians live. Some of these Namekians, like Kami, can possibly do something similar to the dragonballs… perform wishes, magic, that kind of stuff. And this ship that arrived on Earth centuries ago is more-or-less ready to go back to this planet…' Bulma shook her head. 'Honestly, this seems too good to be true…'
'I understand if you do not believe me outright,' Mr. Popo said, 'but as a permanent attendant to the Guardian of Earth, I have learned a great many things over the course of my existence. Kami entrusted the knowledge of his ship and his origins to me in case of this specific situation arising.' They abruptly moved over to the window and gestured to the carpet parked just outside. 'Which is why I request one of you accompany me to this ship.'
An awkward silence ensued when no-one immediately volunteered to accompany Mr. Popo. None of them have ever actually met Mr. Popo before, after all.
'You're a pilot, right Bulma?' Suno asked after several seconds.
Bulma cursed under her breath and moved to glare at her, but was stopped when she saw a spread of brightening expressions among her friends. 'Yes…' she unenthusiastically replied, 'I am…' Damn it. How I am supposed to say no to a room full of hopeful injured people? Though what most motivated Bulma to do what she was about to do was a look from Rayne. If you're being truthful about being there for us, the look said, you'll do this.
Sighing, Bulma turned to Mr. Popo. 'Fine. I'll go. This trip better not take up the whole day…'
'It'll be quicker than you think,' they responded pleasantly. Mr. Popo ably climbed up onto the carpet and helped up Bulma with one hand. The moment both of her feet were on the carpet, she and Mr. Popo vanished.
0o0o0
In the absence of Kami and Mr. Popo, the Lookout was deathly quiet. The wind blew across the tiles in long rolls, tugging the flowers in the garden one way or another depending on the current mood of the wind.
It was soundless- mostly.
Progressively, a sharp, rhythmic echo began to grow in volume. Within the main complex, in a room in a far away from any main hallway, rested an outwardly normal-looking, teal-colored vessel. This sound, which could have been characterized as a slow dragging of nails across a rough surface, grew louder, growing to a slight murmur, before abruptly halting.
With a quiet hiss, a crack appeared in the vessel.
0o0o0
In the span of a second, Bulma found herself, Mr. Popo, and the carpet floating amidst a wasteland. She would have yelled in shock if Mr. Popo hadn't spoken first. 'Here,' they said, pointing down. The carpet then lurched underneath her feet, bringing them both slowly to the ground.
At first, Bulma thought they were approaching a smile cluster of trees- as they approached, however, she noticed that the greenery covering the top of the cluster was too regularly spaced to be leaves. When the carpet finally touched down to the ground, Bulma saw the dull white underbelly of what must have been an ivy and vine-covered ship.
With some hesitation, she followed Mr. Popo forward.
They stopped almost directly underneath the center of the ship. Mr. Popo glanced about the bottom of the ship before their eyes settled on some unseen thing. 'Nbaesk.'
Upon Mr. Popo's utterance, a circular platform descended from the center of the underbelly. 'The ship responds to the Namekian language.' Mr. Popo explained, stepping onto the platform once it came to a stop. 'Shall we?'
The ship works. This… could work. Despite feeling out of her element, Bulma sensed her intellectual curiosity start to catch. She grinned. 'Let's.'
0o0o0
After her brief expedition, Bulma had been quick to relay the good news back to everyone else; the ship was still spaceworthy, and would be retrofitted and ready in a matter of weeks.
About a month after the battle in East City, while Bulma and her father were frenziedly adopting Kami's ship for a new voyage into the stars, a welcome friend entered the hospital grounds for the first time. As he had grown accustomed to doing, Yajirobe was sitting in the central room, reading his newspaper. When he looked up at the visitor, his mouth blossomed into a smile. 'About time,' he remarked, standing.
Armed with two bulging pouches under each arm, Korin grinned victoriously. 'Never doubt me,' he said lightheartedly. 'I've been doing this for a long time.'
A short time later, after a senzu bean had been given to every injured patient, Korin was promptly hoisted up on everyone's shoulders and paraded around the floor like a hero.
0o0o0
Tucked into a corner of the bafflingly large building, time passed slowly for Krillin. He assumed there was some kind of time dilation going on in this building- time passed noticeably slower than it should have, considering how fast the line outside had moved before. Or, at least, how fast I think it moved. Still not totally sure what happened there...
King Yemma performed his job with an ethereal quality- for whatever reason, Krillin could never quite catch what he was saying while he was in the process of judging another soul. As a result, the only thing Krillin had to rely on to determine time was actually moving forward was the intermittent sound of King Yemma slamming a wooden stamping block down onto his desk. A piercing 'NEXT' would then ring through the room, followed by the curtain of audible incomprehensibility drawing close again.
There was strong magic at work in Otherworld. Not unreasonable.
After what felt like another lifetime, Krillin miraculously sighted Kami, standing with his staff in his hand and a golden halo over his head, pop into existence in the center of the room- the first entity he had seen enter in his time here who hadn't looked like a white orb. Krillin started to bound over, happy to see a familiar face-
-and nearly jumped when he saw who was to the right of Kami. Adorned with a similar halo to Kami's, Piccolo scanned his surroundings like a hawk. It was clear from his posture and his expression that he was not comfortable in… well, wherever they were now.
Weirdly enough, Piccolo seemed to not recognize him- a vague look of disgust crossed his features and he tried to swat Krillin away like a fly. 'Go away, spirit!'
Krillin felt his being be dispersed before Kami grabbed Piccolo by his wrist. 'Stop that,' he chided his counterpart. They struggled briefly for a moment before Piccolo growled and pulled his hand away. 'You are lucky to be where you are now,' Kami scolded. 'Do not give me a reason to request that we both be sent to hell!'
'That one was getting too close,' Piccolo responded coolly.
Confused as to why he hadn't been noticed yet, Krillin began to shout and yell to catch their attention. Despite being a few feet away from their faces, they didn't respond in the slightest.
Looming above them, King Yemma leaned over his desk. 'Hey!' He rumbled down, causing Krillin, Piccolo, and Kami to jump, 'stop that racket! You're giving me a headache!'
Kami and Piccolo exchanged looks. 'We didn't say anything,' Kami said on their behalf.
'Not you,' King Yemma said dismissively, turning his gaze towards Krillin. 'You! The one who waits! What are you yammering on about?'
'This!-' Krillin pointed towards Kami- 'this person is my reference!'
'Oh?' King Yemma swung his massive head towards Kami. 'Are you here on behalf of Krillin of Earth?'
'Yes!' Kami chirped up. 'I've been looking all over for him! Where is he?'
King Yemma chuckled- shaking the entire building as he did- and swept his hand over Krillin.
Krillin immediately felt a rush of blood and energy shoot through his body, as if he had just been re-tethered to an actual body. The sense of weightlessness that had permeated every facet of his being disappeared. Lastly, he noted a golden halo pop over his head. 'What just happened?' Krillin asked, feeling the new unaffectable accessory over his head. 'And is Raditz dead!?' he added somewhat frantically as if he had just remembered the question.
At Krillin's side, Kami and Piccolo nearly jumped upon seeing Krillin materialize into existence from thin air- wait… '... Yes, Raditz was defeated… Were you that spirit?' Kami asked, disbelief clear in his eyes.
'He was,' King Yemma replied from above. 'I gave him his physical body back so you three could converse with each other.'
Piccolo smirked. 'I have good taste in which spirits I try to swipe at.'
'Oh, give it a rest,' Kami griped towards Piccolo. 'You're dead now- must you really continue to act like a child?'
'Must you continue to act like a know-it-all?'
Before their increasingly hostile conversation could continue, King Yemma's booming voice nearly shook them off their feet. 'KRILLIN OF EARTH WILL NOW BE JUDGED BY KING YEMMA, ARBITER OF ALL DEAD SOULS!' A book appeared in King Yemma's raised right hand. 'Let's see…' he said, as he rifled through the pages. 'Graded as a good soul… performed good acts when he could have done otherwise… heroic sacrifice… check, check check.' He set the book down and smiled at Krillin. 'You check out. Hope you enjoy heaven!' King Yemma then raised a physical stamping block high over his head, preparing to bring it down on a piece of paper on his desk. 'NEXT-'
'Wait!' Kami called out, halting the stamp's passage through the air. 'We wish to make a special request!'
King Yemma narrowed his eyes. 'Go on.'
'I humbly request that Krillin be granted the privilege to train with North Kai.'
'North Kai?' Krillin asked at Kami's side before being hushed.
'Hmm…' King Yemma leaned back in his chair, eliciting a thunderous creakk from the wood. 'You think he's that good, huh?'
'I do. And, more importantly, he'll need this training now that the Earth is being threatened by unprecedented evil.'
'What?' Krillin asked, feeling his stomach drop. 'Who?' Kami hushed him again.
'Hold on a second,' Piccolo called out. 'What are you talking about, Kami? Training? Is this why we have our bodies?'
'You will receive no training,' Kami growled at Piccolo. 'We have our bodies only so that I may make my case for Krillin. Afterward, you will go to hell, I to heaven, as it should be.'
Piccolo wrinkled his nose. 'So I get to cook in hell while Krillin surpasses me? How about no.' Piccolo then turned his attention upwards. 'Hey! King Yemma! I request training under North Kai, too.'
Fury bloomed in Kami's eyes. 'You- you think you are deserving-'
'Let's find out!' King Yemma replied, producing another book and leafing through it, 'Piccolo of Earth, let's see…'
As King Yemma began murmuring what he was reading to himself, Kami spun to Piccolo in a rage. 'I should have known you would try to ruin my noble intents, even in death! You are truly abominable!'
Piccolo flashed a fanged smile. He opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by the sound of a book closing. 'He checks out,' King Yemma said. 'As much as the other one, anyway.'
'What?!' Kami nearly yelled. 'How is that possible!?'
'In my eyes- and my eyes do see or read all- both of you are roughly equally deserving of the right to train under North Kai.'
'Under what criteria?' Kami pressed.
'On net, both of them have contributed the same amount of good to the state of the universe- a lot of good. In other words, their mortal actions have either improved a lot of mortal lives or have prevented mortal lives from getting worse.'
Piccolo momentarily smiled, gloating in his victory, before realizing what was just said about him. 'Wait, what?' He asked, turning to King Yemma. 'I haven't performed any good actions!' Piccolo growled up at the towering ogre. 'I have aimed towards nothing but the domination of every person who opposed me during my time on Earth! I fought to be the ruler of the world!'
'Well… you say that... ' King Yemma examined a sheet of paper on his desk. 'But your actions say otherwise. You're definitely in the top-five "good" people I've judged from your planet.'
As Piccolo began to wring his gi in angry incredulity, Kami stepped forward. 'How do you even determine their net impact?' he asked exasperatedly.
'To perform the role of almighty judge, I was granted limited temporal omnipotence across variant timelines.'
'What?' Krillin asked dully.
'I can see a little bit into the future of potential alternate timelines. Timelines where you as actors didn't exist, didn't do the actions that you did, and so forth. And both of you,' King Yemma pointed one meaty finger at Krillin and Piccolo, 'prevented a lot of suffering… probably.' He rubbed his temples. 'Come back to me in a few years and I'll be able to tell you for sure. At the bare minimum, both of you have done a lot of short-term good.'
'I… I have so many questions,' Kami sputtered.
'How do you think I feel?' Piccolo chimed in.
King Yemma leaned over his desk, examining the three comparatively small mortals gathered before him. 'So… you still want to go to North Kai's?'
Kami threw up his hands in a sign of capitulation. 'If you judge Piccolo to be worthy of training, then who am I to argue! I've only been alive for 350 years! That's nothing! It's not like I've been consumed with studying my evil half for centuries, trying to determine his exact evil nature, so as to minimize his vile impact on the world! Sure, let's disregard the countless atrocities his father committed in the pursuit of power, not to mention the fact that he spawned an offspring with the intent of completing his work of turning Earth into a wasteland! Sure! Let's do it! Shows what I know! Haha!' Kami broke down into an increasingly rote series of mutterings. 'Shows… what I know. Shows what I know…'
'Ignore him,' Piccolo said, moving away from his babbling counterpart.
'Okay… now, here's the thing,' King Yemma, said, looking at some papers on his desk. 'If I granted you two the right to travel to North Kai's residence, that would be the second admission to his planet in five Earth years.' Yemma eyed them. 'Do you understand how short a time that is for a being like me? My lunch breaks are longer than that!'
'So?' Krilin said. 'What's the issue?'
'Well, on the off chance that that person is still there, I don't want to ply North Kai with more people. His house isn't very big, after all…'
'What do you mean, "on the off chance"?' Piccolo barked. 'Aren't you supposed to be an omnipotent god?'
King Yemma leered down at Piccolo, causing the demon to shrink back some. 'My knowledge extends as far as the boundaries of this room. You, as of now, are in this room. Don't tempt me to divulge the true content of your soul to every pair of ears present.'
Piccolo tried to keep an even face, but his nervous nod of compliance was pretty telling.
Satisfied with Piccolo's gesture, King Yemma's mood lightened up again. 'So I'll need to think for a moment… hmm…'
'Do I have any say in the matter?' Kami asked wearily, rejoining their conversation.
'Sort of,' King Yemma replied. 'If you don't give me your permission, neither of these two can go.'
Piccolo grimaced. 'How does that work?'
'Kami was the Guardian of Earth at the time of both of your passing.' King Yemma swung his gaze towards Piccolo. 'You died only .000013 seconds before him! Lucky you!'
Piccolo growled.
While this stilted conversation was going on, Krillin ambled over to Kami and beckoned the deceased guardian to lower his head. 'Kami,' Krillin whispered once he was close enough, 'not to be difficult or anything… but why am I here?'
'Here?' Kami glanced at his surroundings. 'You mean in Otherworld?'
'No- I mean- why am I here trying to go train?' Krillin asked. 'I didn't realize it at first, but we're both dead, aren't we?' Krillin momentarily glanced up at Kami's halo. 'Piccolo must have died fighting Raditz… and thus, you died too. So the dragonballs don't exist anymore, right? So…' Krillin frowned. 'Neither of us are coming back to life. We'll never set foot on Earth again. I don't know how you feel… but I gave it all. I care about everyone on Earth- but it's out of my hands now. I think my fighting days are behind me…' he finished sadly.
Imperceptibly, Kami tightened his grip on his staff, while his mouth formed into a thin, glum line. 'I understand how you feel, Krillin- but, if all goes as planned, we will not remain dead forever.'
Krillin's head lifted at this. 'What?'
'By now, Mr. Popo has set events in motion that may bring about our resurrection. Suffice to say that there are more people like me in the galaxy. More people who can bring us back to life.'
Piccolo's hearing caught the last bit of his. 'What are you talking about, Kami?' He growled, turning to his other half. 'You don't mean-'
'Our race still exists within the galaxy,' Kami said calmly. 'Has your father deluded you so as to your own origins?'
A flicker of disbelief ran across Piccolo's face before a veneer of mild disgust replaced it. 'Keep your lies to yourself,' he spat.
'So,' Krillin spoke up at Kami's side, 'if this is true, then before I get resurrected, I should train to get stronger? Something to pass the time while I'm… dead?' Krillin finished hesitantly. It was weird to refer to death so casually while dead.
Kami nodded. 'It is my belief that Raditz's arrival was no freak accident. I fear that a number of stronger enemies will soon descend on the Earth- call it an old guardian's intuition. Which is why you and everyone else need to prepare. Both here and on Earth. Luckily, I have Mr. Popo to ensure the latter is done. You, Krillin, must ensure the former.'
'You think North Kai will help me that much?'
'There is no doubt in my mind.'
Krillin frowned and thought on this for a minute, then looked back at Kami and nodded. 'Alright. I can do that.'
'Thank you, Krillin,' Kami said, sounding relieved. 'Have faith in your friends, and I promise that you will walk the Earth once more.'
'Yes…' Krillin glanced to Piccolo, who was bickering again with King Yemma. 'But.. what about him? Are you going to let him train, too?''
Kami's face hardened. 'Piccolo is a vile creature. To let him train underneath North Kai would be a great disservice to the Earth's safety if both he and I are one day revived.'
'But…'
'But?' Kami swung his glare to Krillin. 'But what?'
'He helped us,' Krillin argued. 'He could have fled when he needed him the most… but he didn't. Surely you knew about this?'
'... I did.'
'And King Yemma says he's worthy of North Kai's training.'
'...he said this, yes…'
'So he should be able to train, too,' Krillin said, crossing his arms. 'Regardless of his true intentions… he's a valuable ally against any outside evil that might threaten Earth. To hold him back would just be hurting our own chances of winning in the future.'
Kami stared at Krillin for a second, his brow line kneading and alternating between anger and consideration. '… King Yemma,' Kami said, glancing up at the ogre, 'do you give me your world that Piccolo is deserving of this honor?'
King Yemma picked up a book with one hand and tapped it. 'I swear by the book- and the book don't lie.'
'Very well.' Kami took a deep breath and turned to face his companions. 'Piccolo and Krillin, as the former Guardian of Earth, I grant you my blessing to train under North Kai.' He paused, letting suspicion creep into his eyes. 'May you prove my judgment of you wrong, Piccolo.'
From slumped down in his chair, King Yemma suddenly and energetically sat up. 'Oh! I've just been told North Kai is taking on new students! Great!' He then slammed down a wood block onto his desk- and Krillin and Piccolo vanished from the room.
Kami blinked. 'Where did they go?'
'They've been judged,' King Yemma responded casually, holding up another book and thumbing through it. 'Huh… You've got a thick file.'
'Were you listening to anything I've been saying?' Kami huffed. 'I've been alive for centuries. My record should be expansive.'
'Yeah, yeah…' He turned another page. 'Turns out, that record is pretty mixed.'
'What!?' Kami yelped, tapping his staff down on the floor in anger. 'You can't be serious!'
King Yemma looked at Kami disinterestedly. 'I'm always serious when it comes to this part of the job. And, sorry to say, pal, but you've sprinkled a lot of good and bad on other people during your lifetime.' He grimaced at one page. 'Splitting yourself into a good and evil half wasn't the best idea, in retrospect…'
'Are you saying that it would have been a better idea to keep myself as one person! To keep my evil essence within me?'
'Yes,' King Yemma replied without lifting his gaze from the book. 'And I speak from a position of omnipotence, mind you…'
Kami went quiet. Taking the decision to split himself to who he was now and King Piccolo was a choice he, quite honestly, had never doubted before. But perhaps he should have doubted himself. Despite his best intentions, King Piccolo and to a lesser extent his son was a blight on his entire tenure of Guardian. Perhaps… perhaps. In another life, perhaps...
'Ugh…' King Yemma groaned, setting the book down and looking back at Kami. 'A case like yours is always the most annoying to decide. You're not good enough to be sent to Heaven with a blank check, but you're not bad enough to be sent to Hell, even with all the privileges we can grant to those who aren't so bad who live down there. What to do… hmm…' Slowly, a vulturous smile formed on King Yemma's face. 'You're… up for some work around here, right?' he asked, gesturing to the room they were in. 'You're qualified, at the very least, considering you've worked as a Guardian in your mortal life.'
'Uhh…' Kami said hesitantly. 'What kind of work, exactly?'
'Oh, you know… administrative stuff. I'm always short on staff on account of my ogre employees always being poached by the two jokers who run things in hell.' King Yemma let his face fall into his hands and sighed. 'Can't come anywhere close to the benefits they offer…'
'Will helping out… improve my file?' Kami questioned.
'It will.'
'Well… how can I say no, then?' Kami responded, nervously chuckling.
'Perfect! You'll work in the back!' Before Kami could ask any more questions, King Yemma slammed his woodblock against his desk. Once the sound from this impact reverberated out, Kami disappeared without a trace.
'NEXT!'
0o0o0
With everyone healed and in the right mind for planning, a kernel of an idea began to form. They could bring Krillin and Kami back- they could find Namek and the Namekians. In the best case scenario, all it would take to bring their friends back from the dead was a simple month-long space-hop.
After some discussion, it was decided that Tien, Yamcha, and Bulma would head into space, with Bulma serving as the pilot. While consumed in the process of retrofitting the ship, she had familiarized herself with every facet and quirk of the craft, so naturally, she volunteered to go. She didn't really trust anyone else to pilot the ship, anyway. Yamcha and Tien were allowed to go only after extensive protests were made from everyone else - but they had proven their case that the strongest people were needed to maximize the mission's chance of success. And they were indisputably the strongest among them.
The other fighters- Launch, Chiaotzu, Yajirobe, Rayne, and Suno- accepted Mr. Popo's offer of training that he had made to them not a few days after Bulma had begun working on the ship. They saw themselves as the last line of defense Earth had- and they didn't intend to have someone like Raditz invade the planet unchallenged while this was the case. Eventually, it was decided that they would meet up and travel to the Lookout together in a month's time.
Chi-Chi was understandably preoccupied with other matters. She agreed, however, to train at the first opportunity.
Once these details were hammered out, time flew past. The date of Yamcha, Tien, and Bulma's spaceborne departure came sooner than some people would have liked. Still, everyone made sure to gather in the Capsule Corp. gardens to see them off on their fateful day. Considering the circumstances, the mood was light- lighter, in fact, since any gathering of them all since the party.
As this departure was dragged out, Tien found himself distancing himself from the group. Guess goodbyes have a way of doing that, he reflected as he leaned against one of the ship's pointed landing legs. Personally, he wasn't one to make a big deal of leaving- accordingly, he had said goodbye to Launch and Chiaotzu the night before. By now, they were probably back at the house in the mountains, preparing for Mr. Popo's training. It was better this way. For all of us. Tien scanned the faces amongst the small crowd gathered. Chi-Chi with Gohan, Yamcha, Retu, Suno, Yajirobe, Rayne, and Bulma's parents were stuck together in one big farewell hug clump. Arms were hung around each other, words of good faith were said back and forth; everyone together formed one big ball of emotive cheerfulness.
As happy as everyone acted now, Tien could see the beginning of longing sadness carry through their actions. He didn't blame them. Going into unknown and uncharted territory without a lifeline like the dragonballs to bring you back was terrifying. Once every goodbye has been said, anyone left on Earth could only hope the mission went well and stew in their own anxious misery. He should know- he was feeling miserable right now. But there's nothing good about trading misery with friends who feel the same way. Nothing good...
He lingered for a moment; then, he turned and floated into the ship.
A few minutes later, when the main lift into the ship rose, Tien's eyes jumped when he saw Yamcha up close. His hair, which he had been growing on-and-off for years past his shoulders, was cut so short as to make him unrecognizable. Short as they were, his black strands shot up towards the sky, giving his face a much more vertical look. He also saw that he was dressed in a repatched Turtle gi. The orange fabric and blue wristbands and belt were an odd juxtaposition to Tien's white shirt and green pants with red armbands at the wrists and ankles.
Yamcha noticed Tien's focused attention. 'I felt the need to change,' he professed.
'You look different.'
'I am different,' Yamcha said seriously. 'There's a chance that you, me, or Bulma doesn't come back from space. I'm going to try my hardest to make sure that doesn't happen.'
Tien regarded Yamcha for a moment, then shrugged. 'Alright.'
Bulma entered into the ship a moment later. Without wasting any time, she glided into the cockpit, wordlessly leading Tien and Yamcha inside. They all began seating themselves for launch.
'Strap yourselves in, boys,' Bulma cautioned them, letting her hands settle on the controls of the ship. 'This is going to be one hell of a trip…'
Outside, a few tense seconds passed before the ship sped upwards like a rocket. The blast of wind from this was so strong that everyone present was blown off their feet.
0o0o0
Amidst a burning landscape filled with ruined corpses, fallen warriors, slaughtered civilians, and countless broken artifacts of a new defunct society lorded an indomitable figure. His armor had been licked by flame, energy attacks, blaster fire- but the body underneath was untouched, even in the spots where the armor had been punched clean through. Far from being disturbed by the scene of carnage surrounding him, the figure seemed to bask in the devastation, using the quiet sound of ruin permeating his environment to clear his head. To him, there was nothing quite like the peace felt after a victorious battle.
Another job well done, Vegeta mused, as he absentmindedly reached down to an alien corpse and laid his grip around an arm. A second later, the sound of sinews ripping filled the air and Vegeta tossed the arm onto a cooking fire he had started just a few minutes before. He had worked up quite the appetite.
After a few minutes where only the sound of cooking flesh could be heard, the scouter on the left side of Vegeta's face beeped. 'Vegeta?' a voice buzzed into his ear.
Vegeta frowned. 'Yes, Nappa?'
'As per your instructions I've been directing the technicians to monitor the interstellar traffic going to and from LPT076. There's been nothing for the past month, but just a few hours ago, a single ship left the planet's orbit, with a speed not comparable to one of our ships.'
Vegeta paused. 'What do you mean, not comparable?'
'It's not one of our ships- its too slow.'
'Do you know where it's going?'
'The technicians can't tell me anything. If the ship is going to a planet, it's not on any of our maps.'
Vegeta smiled. 'So he chose the path of a coward. Funny what happens when vermin congregate.'
There was silence on the other end of the line. 'What do you mean?'
'Don't you understand, Nappa? Raditz has finally turned tail and deserted. All it took for him to grow some guts and try his luck betraying us was gaining a brother to boss around.' Vegeta spat. 'Pitiful.'
'But he's been with us for years! Since the very beginning!'
'So?' Vegeta chuckled. 'I never thought very highly of him- and I didn't bother to conceal that fact.'
'But… If he's fleeing with his brother, shouldn't he be taking two ships, not one?'
'Think about it, Nappa. If he and his brother wanted to disappear, why would they take the ships provided to him! We could very easily track them if he did so! They must be taking a ship they acquired on Earth to a planet he knows we have no knowledge of. That way, we wouldn't be able to follow him…'
More silence. 'Did you expect this?'
'To a certain extent. It struck me as odd that Raditz would so abruptly cancel a contract to make such a pressing appeal to be allowed to go to Earth and recruit his brother.' Vegeta wrinkled his nose. 'Why else would I order you to watch the interstellar traffic of the planet he was sent to?' he asked disdainfully. 'Use your head more, Nappa- typically, it comes in handy…'
'Yes, Vegeta…'
A gentle wind blew across the ruins, causing a dull echo to reverberate across the landscape. While Vegeta was grateful that he was able to complete this contract so quickly, it hadn't provided much of a challenge.
'Have you finished purging your planet?' Nappa asked after some time.
'More or less,' Vegeta replied. 'I'll have to spend a bit more time doing my final checks. But, if everything goes according to schedule, I'll be done in a week or so.' An idea sprung into Vegeta's head. 'Nappa, tell me; how far ahead are we for the year's quota?'
'A few months or so, the last time I checked.'
A smile tugged on the corners of Vegeta's mouth. 'Listen to what I'm about to say very carefully, Nappa. Here's what I want you to do…'
A/N: Welcome to Volume II, or as I like to call it, LOTS OF MOVING PARTS. Hope you enjoyed another chapter of Strength of MOVING PARTS. Did I mention this chapter has moving parts?
I really had to bust some moves to get this chapter out on time. Wonder how it came out…
Reviews:
Perfect Carnage: Thank you for this wonderful review! Considering the top-notch writing I see in Perfect Future, that's high praise!
And my new story is out, albeit just the one chapter. Your watch has ended.
TC9078: *Rubs hands evilly*
LWexe: Krillin :(
Piccolo! :(
Luke: Thank you for the kind words! Also, who knows what happened to Raditz!? I guess we'll see what the future holds.
I'll try to have this story live up to your #1 status!
SomeCallItKye: Thank you for the review! As it turns out, Mr. Popo acted in much the same way he did in canon upon Kami's passing… but the galaxy is in no way the same. Events are in motion…
We'll see what goes down!
And my other story is out! Give it a look if you're so inclined.
Lala: Krillin gave it his all.
skyreal: Sorry about chapter 41! It's been fixed now! As for the rest of your review: thank you!
It certainly looks like the dragonballs are coming back into the story. But… we'll see.
Yeah, what is Gero doing right now? HMM!?
You're right about Frieza (and, really, anyone under him like Nappa or Vegeta) not knowing about the dragonballs. No reason for any of them to hop to Namek anytime soon, huh? I'm just as excited as you are to explore what a "normal" reign of Frieza looks like.
Anonymous: I'll respond to your review as it goes:
Piccolo is assuredly dead.
Kakarot had a change of heart. Raditz probably should have treated Kakarot better.
I mean yeah, you could make the argument that it was a bit unrealistic for Gohan to be able to protect himself, but in canon he was only 4 or so when he slammed Raditz at full power, not to mention that he was only 5 when he was going toe-to-toe with Frieza in his third form. I don't think it's unreasonable to say that he reacted to protect himself and Chi-Chi when under duress last chapter. That's pretty much his MO- using his hidden power when forced. Also, you pointed it out yourself that Raditz was nowhere near full strength, plus his blast had been (somewhat) weakened by cleaving through Chi-Chi's attack.
I'll admit the events surrounding Raditz are a little plot device-y, but in my defense:
1) Yamcha really hated Raditz at this point. If he wanted to inflict maximum suffering on someone, letting them slowly bleed out would be the way to do that. Yamcha went out of his way to prolong Raditz's death by flipping him over, after all.
2) Yamcha clearly wasn't thinking clearly. I wouldn't be thinking clearly either if my best friend had just died.
3) Raditz was unquestionably in the process of dying. It's an unsafe decision to leave him alive if there's a risk an ally could save him, but if you're Yamcha or anyone else, who's going to help Raditz? Kakarot is dead. Piccolo is dead. You don't know about Nappa or Vegeta lurking in the background. The world, by all accounts, was purged of every possible threat in one day. I think it's reasonable for Yamcha to think that Raditz is going to die a lonely death because he has no allies left.
Don't make any assumptions about Raditz. I think it's reasonably clear he wasn't going to survive on his own. So, who then?... But what purposes?... I'm not going to give anything away.
Thank you for the detailed review! Have this update as a thank you!
Guest: Holy cow! You've been reading for awhile! Congrats for sticking through my wonky writing in the beginning (if my recent editing/review of the Pursual arc is any indicator).
The review above you gives a good outline of why I thought Yamcha doing what he did wasn't unreasonable in the context of the story. That being said, you're free to think it doesn't stand up. I'm sure there's someone out there who could have handled that plot development better than I did.
That would be a good guess. I guess we'll just have to see, huh?
Thank you again for the review! Here's to another 40-something chapters for you to read!
