Ginyu

Chapter 65: Pride of Heaven and Earth


Wobbling precariously on his hands and with weights tied to his legs, Krillin labored across the grass of King Kai's planet. A burning crimson aura dogged him, licking across his skin and the ground and coloring everything in his vision- the ground, mostly- red. As concentrated as he was in circumnavigating the planet, he wouldn't have noticed a hulking dinosaur creeping up on him, much less the unimposing Kai who did and whacked him across the back with a familiar bamboo stick. Krillin lost his concentration and his grasp of the Kaioken, and like a pile of loose stones, he and his weights toppled over.

'Hey!' Krillin yelled, most of his body trapped under a pile of weights. 'What was that for!?'

King Kai, avoiding Krillin's gaze from under his round shades, used his stick to slide the weights off of Krillin. 'You need to rest,' he said bluntly. 'Won't be too long now.'

Krillin's eyes widened. 'You mean?...'

'You're on deck for resurrection, yes.'

'Oh.' Krillin relaxed and seemed to meld back into the pile. 'Guess it's time, then.'

As King Kai continued to slide weights off of Krillin, freeing him one-by-one, thoughts swirled in the human's head. 'King Kai,' Krillin asked tentatively, 'how bad are things on Namek?'

'Bad enough that you need to go,' King Kai replied. With his free hand, he adjusted his shades. 'I haven't confirmed it with the Namekians' leader, Moori, yet, but I'm almost certain that you'll be needed.'

Krillin remained motionless as King Kai moved more and more weights off of him. 'I see. So… this will be it, then,' Krillin said, as he wiggled out of the pile of weights and stood. King Kai still kept his bamboo stick raised off of the ground. 'My training is complete.'

King Kai snorted. 'Sorry,' he apologized, rubbing a hand under his jaw. 'That was rude of me. "Complete" is the wrong word. Just because you're being brought back to life doesn't mean you've mastered everything I offer.'

Krillin's mouth stretched to one side, grinning. 'I guess there were some things I could have spent more time on.'

'You barely managed to figure out how to use the Kaioken.'

'Meanie.'

Smiling beatifically to match the playful expression of his student's face, King Kai tapped one of Krillin's shoulders with his bamboo stick. 'Sorry again. To make up for my teasing, I'll give you a compliment. You were a much better student than Piccolo.'

'Well, that makes sense,' Krillin said, brushing off the compliment. 'I've been a student under someone as far back as I can remember. If I wasn't better than the brooding green guy whose arrogance is only surpassed by his disdain for other people, then, well- something went very wrong in my life.'

King Kai blinked. 'Cutting.'

Krillin chuckled- and then he, as well as his expression, paused.

'What about Roshi?'

Just as Krillin said this, a rush of wind broke over them. To their right, preceded by curls of white, Roshi landed on the planet. Even though he was standing easily, everything about his bloodied, burned, and mangled appearance made it look like he had been torn apart and pieced back together.

'Speak of the devil...' Krillin mouthed, squinting at Roshi through the wind.

King Kai's arms dropped to his sides. 'Jeez,' he called out. 'What the heck happened to you?'

'I found the guy,' Roshi called back as he moved over to them. Judging by the way he moved, he was still feeling the battle that had painted him from head to toe. 'Beat him into nothing.' He halted feet away from them both and pointedly looked at King Kai. 'Like I was supposed to, right?'

Krillin saw King Kai make a quick gesture with his head. 'Right- but we can talk about that later,' the Kai replied. 'As for now-' he turned, and seemed to present Krillin, 'we need to say our goodbyes. Our common friend here is about to be revived.'

One of Roshi's eyebrows raised. 'Really? My timing is better than I thought.' As he said this, Roshi quickly surveyed their surroundings. 'So, judging by the absence of a certain person… I assume Piccolo has been revived too, then?'

'He has.' King Kai folded his hands behind him. Either his bamboo stick had dispersed into nothing or it was laid flat against his back. 'Brought to Namek- which is, apparently, the planet his father originated from. Also houses his father's people, the Namekians.'

'Really?' Roshi thought on this. 'So his father wasn't originally from Earth? He was an alien?... ' He grinned. 'Guess it makes sense, considering what you told me about Kakarot.'

Krillin threw a look at Roshi. 'You know about that?'

'I know pretty much everything that's gone on on Earth thanks to King Kai,' Roshi told him with a smile. 'What- you think I wouldn't keep a tab on my students with the celestial equivalent of a CCTV camera available to me 24/7?'

'I'm a lot more than a CCTV camera!' King Kai complained. 'And I'm not available to you "24/7"! We have ground rules!'

Roshi laughed. 'Regardless; I feel a bit better about losing to King Piccolo now knowing this. Failing against an alien isn't something to get worked up about…' he eyes darted from King Kai to Krillin to back again. 'Although I'm curious… why was Piccolo revived on Namek?'

'It's a long story,' King Kai replied, shelving his earlier annoyance while assuming a more serious tone. 'All you need to know is that there's a pitched battle being fought there that Krillin will be joining soon.'

'And Piccolo's helping?'

'He is.'

Roshi nodded. 'That's all I can ask for, then. So-' Roshi paused. 'Krillin?'

King Kai turned and saw what had interrupted Roshi. Krillin just… stared at Roshi, as if he was viewing something great and powerful and terrible. At first, he thought Krillin was fixated on the physical cost wrought across Roshi's body. But King Kai could draw the line present between Krillin and Roshi's eyes.

'King Kai,' Krillin finally said, 'I request that Roshi be revived and sent to Namek in my place.'

'-Uhh, what?' King Kai choked out. He coughed a few times into his arm. 'Where'd that come from?'

'Krillin-' Roshi's gaze was unflinching. '-you don't mean that. You can't mean that. You- you think I should-'

'Alright,' King Kai forced out, taking a step back away from them He wanted nothing to do with the energy he felt rising off of both of them. 'I think this is an issue that doesn't involve me, and considering that I need to set things in motion myself…' King Kai calmly walked over to his house, opened the door, and turned back to them. 'It doesn't matter which one of you goes, .' He then strode past the door and shut it behind him. 'And don't interrupt me by knocking!' his voice yelled out from one of the house's open windows. 'I'll come out when I'm good and ready!'

0o0o0

'Moori? Hello?'

'Yes?'

'King Kai here. Just checking in. The dragonballs are just about ready on Earth. I'm ready to receive your wishes.'

'That is good to hear. I may begin at any time, then?'

'Go ahead.'

'Well- first wish, I ask that the Earth's dragon be used to move our planet, Namek, to an entirely different spot in the galaxy. This spot must have the same or be close to the local solar conditions that Namek presently has- this new spot for Namek must receive roughly the same levels of light and heat as Namek receives now.

'... okay.'

'Second wish, I ask that your warrior, Krillin, be revived on Namek to help us in our fight. I assume these two wishes can be done?'

King Kai, in their telepathic venue, dragged out his silence. 'You want those wishes done in that exact order?'

'Yes. Is there any reason not to?'

'Well… reviving Krillin first, in case the battle doesn't go well-'

'Namek was hit by some weapon from orbit earlier,' Moori interrupted him. 'If Piccolo hadn't been present to defend us, I and the remaining Namekians would have died. The incident emphasized that we know nothing about the capabilities of the people attacking us from space, I do not wish to risk another attack like that.'

'But- I can look into the space around you-'

'King Kai, you were not a party to the deal I made with the humans,' Moori said sternly. 'It is not in your power to alter it… these were the wishes agreed upon. And I have reasons for doing this that even an all-knowing being as yourself may not be aware of. Do as I ask.'

King Kai sighed. 'Alright. I'll get… probably Krillin… to you with the second wish.'

'Probably?'

'...'

'...'

'...'

'King Kai?'

0o0o0

'This has been a day.'

Two hands already gripped around his staff, Korin nonetheless tightened his grip around it and shot his head towards the sky. 'King Kai? Is that you?'

'Who else would it be, dummy?'

'...'

'Sorry,' Korin heard the sound of something being rummaged through on King Kai's end. 'Today has gone from a normal day to a stressful one very quickly.'

'... I was trying to get in contact with you, actually, but I was having trouble-'

'Alright, enough of that,' King Kai trampled on. 'I need to know- are the Earth's dragonballs ready?'

'Mr. Popo has gathered them all and arranged them into a tidy pile behind me, so yes.'

'Mr. Popo?'

'They're an assistant of Kami. And I thought this was urgent!'

'Yes! Yes- it is. Okay… Korin. I need you to-'

'...Yes?'

'...'

'You're not speaking.'

'I know I'm not speaking,' King Kai snapped. 'I'm… thinking.'

'About?'

'... Okay. Korin, don't tell anyone I told you this- but I'm modifying the order of the wishes given to us by our Namekian friends. It'll be our little secret- you can keep a secret, right?'

'Depends on the secret. I assume you have a reason for doing this.'

'I do! The Namekians, they're being a little… annoying. They're not optimizing their wishes.'

'You're not going to change the wishes, are you?'

'No! I wouldn't do that- all I want you to do is to fulfill their second wish first and their first wish second. No tricks. Nothing else.'

'What's your reasoning?'

King Kai sighed.'They- the Namekians- they don't see things as well as I can from up here- they don't understand what they're facing. It's like what I said to you before- things look bad on Namek. Their leader, Moori, is concerned with whatever threat the PTO poses from space- which, if he had listened to me, he would have learned that Piccolo, more or less, neutralized that immediate threat. Everything the PTO has left is either useless in orbit or fighting on the planet… for the moment.'

'For the moment?'

'I agree absolutely with Moori's wish to move Namek,' King Kai admitted. 'but… not now. It can be fulfilled as the second wish while guaranteeing things don't get too bad on Namek with the first. See what I mean?'

'I do. I guess, considering that… if I do this, what are the chances that I ever meet a Namekian, besides Kami or Piccolo?

'Well, I'm not a fortune teller, but I am omniscient for one-fourth of the galaxy, so I'd put them pretty darn low.'

'Then it's alright with me- it's not like they can hear, see, and talk to everyone at a whim, unlike some people.'

'...'

'What?'

'Was that aimed at me?'

'No.'

'I felt like that was aimed at me. Are you mad because I didn't keep you in the loop on what was going on until just now?''

'Not at all, and if I'm mad at you later- well, you'll probably never hear of it. I've found you to be pretty uncommunicative.'

'Are you ready to hear the wishes or not?'

'Go ahead.'

0o0o0

With a deep breath, Korin opened his eyes and turned away from the Lookout's edge. Mr. Popo's gaze was fixed on him. 'I know what the wishes will be, Mr. Popo,' Korin said. 'Are you ready to begin?'

Several feet across the Lookout, Mr. Popo stood much like a servant waiting on a command. 'I am,' they replied placidly, hands folded behind their back. Next to Mr. Popo was their carpet, on which seven dragonballs were neatly stacked. 'Shall I fetch Kami?'

'Err…' Korin frowned in thought. I know he wanted me to wake him… but he really seemed like he was suffering before. And doing this on my own shouldn't be too hard. I just need to word the wishes correctly. 'He's resting,' Korin said aloud. 'It would be best not to wake him.'

One corner of Mr. Popo's mouth curved up. 'You are prepared to go alone?'

'I take it that Kami does not keep you around to question him,' Korin bristled. 'And, to your answer your question- yes.'

Mr. Popo, now smiling, dipped their head. 'Very well. I shall summon the dragon.'

Korin's staff made soft thumps across the tiles of the Lookout as he moved closer to Mr. Popo and the dragonballs. Once at their side, Korin gave a final nod to Mr. Popo, and seeing this, the Earth's attendant spread his hands wide above the dragonballs. 'Shenron, Almighty Dragon; come forth and grant our wishes!' they said in a clear, crisp voice.

Light and sound flickered, then caught, and a great wave of sensation rushed out from the seven glowing dragonballs and passed over both of them. After a second wave, coinciding with a growing cover of dark-as-night clouds, a golden line shot into the air, twisted in every possible direction. A vague shape took hold in the sky, became more defined and greener, and once a formidable tangle had formed high above the Lookout, the leading golden line stopped and transformed itself into a head. With whiskers streaming past his features, Shenron swung down to them.

'I AM THE ETERNAL DRAGON,' he rumbled, shaking the tiles underneath Korin and Mr. Popo's feet. Korin leaned on his staff to keep his balance- Mr. Popo didn't even flinch. 'SPEAK YOUR WISH AND I SHALL GRANT IT.'

It was Mr. Popo's turn to nod- clenching his staff tighter, Korin stepped forward and gazed up at the dragon. It would never not be intimidating to relay a wish to such an awesome sight. 'Dragon,' he said with forced calm, 'I request that the human named Krillin be revived on Planet Namek.'

Shenron's eyes glowed briefly. 'THAT WISH CANNOT BE DONE IN ITS UTTERED FORM.'

Korin glanced back at Mr. Popo. 'Meaning?' he asked of Shenron.

'TWO CONDITIONS MUST BE SATISFIED TO FULFILL THE WISH. ONE; BECAUSE THE ONE NAMED KRILLIN HAD HIS BODY FULLY DESTROYED ON THE MORTAL PLANE, AND SEEMED TO HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY REGAINED IN THE AFTERLIFE, REVIVING HIM WOULD PLACE WITH HIS BODY IN THE AFTERLIFE. AS SUCH, IT WOULD REQUIRE A SECOND WISH TO MOVE HIM FROM THE AFTERLIFE TO PLANET NAMEK. THEREFORE, YOUR WISH MUST ONLY INCLUDE A DESIRE TO REVIVE HIM WITHOUT ANY MENTION OF LOCATION IF TO BE CONSIDERED ONE WISH.'

Scrunching his face, Korin thought on this. He knew he couldn't use two wishes to revive Krillin. 'Is it possible for someone who is revived in the afterlife to make their way to a specific planet on the mortal plane by themself?' he asked.

'IT IS,' Shenrom answered. 'WHILE I DO NOT INTIMATELY KNOW THE WORKINGS OF THE AFTERLIFE, EVERY PLANET IN THE MORTAL PLANE HAS A GATE THROUGH WHICH DEAD SOULS MOVE THROUGH TO THE AFTERLIFE. THE ONE NAMED KRILLIN, IF ALIVE, SHOULD HAVE NO DIFFICULTY FINDING NAMEK'S GATE IN THE AFTERLIFE AND PASSING THROUGH IT.'

Korin thought on this more. It wasn't optimal, but Krillin's convenience would have to be sacrificed if he was going to get everything asked of him from the dragon. And he really wanted to avoid King Kai screaming at him if he could.

'That condition is acceptable,' Korin informed Shenron. 'As for the other one?'

'SECOND; THE ONE NAMED KRILLIN IS… DISTRACTED.'

'What do you mean?'

'I… LACK THE WORDS TO EXPRESS IT.'

Korin threw a confused look at Mr. Popo. 'Can you clarify what he's trying to say?'

'All Shenron can do is simply state the status of the wish's target if the wish cannot be fulfilled,' Mr. Popo calmly explained. 'As for why the wish cannot be fulfilled, it is my understanding that, whenever wishes are used to revive a deceased person, the deceased is informed of the wish's intent to revive them. It appears that Krillin is too preoccupied at the moment to grant his consent to be revived.'

Korin blankly stared at Mr. Popo. '...Why is that a thing?'

A thin smile rose on Mr. Popo's face. 'We may be working with what appears as magic, but Kami was careful to make sure that careful rules dictated its use. One rule he created was that wishes with the dragonballs could never be used to violate another person's will. Thus, they cannot be used to alter a person's character or desires- you can't make any given person kinder or have them fall in love with you- unless the person in question agrees for this wish to occur. This is true of wishes targeted at the person asking for the wish, though in that case, that person deciding to utter their wish in the first place, if given not under duress, conveys their consent for the wish to take place. So, for this regard, dragonballs can only change circumstances with consideration to the desires of individual people. The choice of revival offered to Krillin requires a willful acceptance on his part. Thus, if Krillin does not give his consent, Shenron can do nothing.'

Korin furrowed his brows. 'Must it be explicit? Does he have to literally say "yes"?'

'As part of the power granted to him, Shenron can determine whether a person's internal state is compatible with a wish affecting them,' Mr. Popo explained. 'All it requires is that Krillin feels okay with being revived.'

'THE ONE NAMED KRILLIN HAS BEEN REVIVED.'

Korin and Mr. Popo swung their heads towards the dragon. 'What?' Korin exclaimed. 'Really? But you said-'

'I WILL REPEAT MYSELF ONLY ONCE; THE ONE NAMED KRILLIN HAS BEEN REVIVED. WHAT IS YOUR SECOND AND FINAL WISH?'

Korin gulped. Brisk as always, this one. 'Alright... for my second wish, I ask that the planet Namek be moved to a spot in the galaxy with the most similar local solar conditions to what Namek has now.'

Like before, Shenron's eyes glowed before speaking. 'FULFILLING THAT WISH WILL TAKE TIME,' he informed them. 'THE GALAXY IS A VERY LARGE PLACE, AND WHILE I MAY NOT FIND AN EXACT MATCH OF NAMEK'S SOLAR CONDITIONS, DETERMINING THE CLOSEST THING TO THAT WILL DEMAND A SIGNIFICANT AND LENGTHY INVESTMENT OF EFFORT.'

'That is permissible,' Korin said. 'You may take as much time as needed.'

'THEN I SHALL BEGIN IMMEDIATELY.' Shenron said, before his eyes began to glow again. Korin sensed, even though Shenron remained physically present, that his attention had moved far away from their present circumstances. As such, Korin let out a sigh of relief and turned to Mr. Popo.

'Good thing I followed King Kai's advice, huh?' he said conversationally. 'Who knows how long Krillin would have been stuck behind this monstrous wish!'

Mr. Popo cocked their head. 'King Kai? And who is that?'

'Oh, you... nevermind.' Korin pressed his fingers into his forehead. 'I think I'm going to follow Kami's lead and take a rest myself. I've had too much stress for one day already…'

0o0o0

Once the noise from King Kai's house had died down, Krillin and Roshi were left alone, standing a few feet away from the single tree that grew on King Kai's planet. The leaves that grew on it were green and wide, and in the time both of them had been here, not a single one had ever fallen from any branch.

Neither of them did notice one sag and fall, coming undone at its stem, and drift slowly to the ground. They might as well have been in a tunnel, with either one blocking the way the other wanted to go.

For a time, Roshi's face looked anguished, a striking contrast to Krillin's own displayed determination. Eventually, however, Roshi gathered himself and pinched his face into something more battleworthy. 'Reviving me is impossible with the Earth's dragonballs. We both know that. I've died twice-'

'King Kai doesn't know that,' Krillin shot back, holding his ground. 'He might even think of a way around it. Maybe, if he put your soul into another body-'

'Stop,' Roshi commanded, holding out a hand and covering half his face with a hand. 'Please, stop. What you're saying is insane- and it pains me to hear it. I don't know what's going through your mind, but as to what's going through mine- please, for my sake, stop.'

'You don't have to accept this,' Krillin clung on stubbornly, his face twitching faster and faster. His eyes glistened. 'You could be the hero on Namek, the hero I know that you are, and then rejoin everyone on Earth-'

Roshi gripped Krillin by his shoulders. 'Krillin, listen-'

'What!? Do you-'

Before Krillin could say anymore, Roshi's arms pulled on him and drew him into a hug. It was such a smooth and deft movement that Krillin wasn't aware it had happened until his face was pressed against Roshi's chest. Reassurance glided through his body, filling his heart, his blood, and his mind with an unapproachable calm. The man had always been a rock to him. Even in death, this remained true.

After a time spent together like this, each one hugging the other underneath a near-perfect tree with green leaves, they separated, and Roshi began. 'I'm going to say this with as much kindness and truth as possible, Krillin, because I see that you need both right now. But you need to understand- I am no longer your master. Certainly not old enough in the afterlife to be one, anyway,' he said, gesturing to his youthful appearance. 'And, when I was- how long has it been now? 5 years? How old were you then? 15, 16?'

'15,' Krillin confirmed, his voice small. He found that he couldn't look at Roshi- he looked away and stared at King Kai's house instead.

'You were still growing into the man I see now. You were impressionable. You were, on occasions, brash,' Roshi said with a small, glinting smile on his face. 'But you were, most importantly, young. And I had trained you for years- since you were 12, if my math and my brain are correct. You… idolized me, right?'

Wordless, Krillin nodded.

Roshi registered this. 'I was your teacher,' he said wistfully. 'And a good teacher will do that to their students. I was by no means perfect. But, looking at you now, I think I understand the extent of how far that goes. How deep it went. The life we might have had together, if we had both survived King Piccolo, might have outgrown that relationship, one day. You were close to surpassing me before he arrived. And you certainly surpassed the peaks of my strength in life since then.' Roshi shook his head. 'Maybe…'

'... Maybe, once you, and Yamcha, and Rayne, and Chi-Chi, and Launch truly outgrew me, as you were all destined to do, and became warriors and teachers in your own rights… maybe I would have continued on as what I was.' Roshi made a wry face. 'The Turtle Hermit would have stayed on his island with his shells and his magazines and have continued to teach every young and bright-eyed student that set foot on his shore. He would have watched those students of his grow stronger, supplant him in the way that every great student eventually does with their master. And,' Roshi glanced away, his gaze distant, 'he probably would have been content. Not overjoyed, but content. Before you and everyone else came along to study under him, Krillin, he was considering... '

A focus returned to Roshi's eyes, and judging by his stop-and-start mouth, he struggled to express something. 'I died at the age of three hundred and twenty-three,' he half-said, half-sighed. 'A length longer than three human lifetimes. I saw people I cared about- family, students, some even more cherished than that- die and move on to another existence even as I stubbornly clung to life. Did I ever tell you how- or even why- I lived to be that old?'

Krillin's face was wide, hanging on every word said. He silently urged Roshi to go on.

'Sometime around my 80th birthday, I was trudging through a forest far away from any settlement with my sister, Baba. She had pulled me along on some crazy trek based on some vision she had experienced- mind you, my sister is older than me, and with my own mortality bearing down on me, I was half-convinced that I was leading a 90-year old woman suffering from dementia straight into a premature death in the wilderness.' A distant smirk appeared on Roshi's face. 'That, even at the age of 80, was a youthful error in judgment. If I have learned anything about my sister in the time since then, it is that she is never one to do something without absolute certainty in the end result. It was in this case I learned that first hand.'

'At some point into our expedition, no different from any other day so far, we broke into a clearing. Sweaty and stained by the day's heat, we were looking for a suitable place to pitch our tent for the night. But in the twilight's glow of the encroaching night, she found it- the plant that had dominated her dreams for months, taunting her with the promise of untold life. Still skeptical of her, I tried to keep her cautious; I wanted her to wait a week or even a few months to make sure she had actually found what she was looking for and not something that would poison her- but-' Roshi laughed. 'Again, a youthful error in my judgment.'

'That very night, she brewed the plant into tea, drank it, and fell into a deep sleep. Deep enough that she didn't come out of it for a few days, and during that time, I had to grapple with whether I was spending my days standing watch over a dying woman and doing nothing. But on the fifth day, with our food very nearly gone and Baba's skin dry as sandpaper, she awoke.'

Roshi rolled his neck. 'Of course, it took a few years for her to be sure; aging doesn't happen overnight, after all. But when we met again at a later time and did some basic physical and mental tests- the conclusion was inescapable. She was de-aging.Not so far as to return her to her youth, as you've probably noticed, but enough that she wouldn't be living on forever as a decrepit old woman. She would just be… old. Her bones might creak, her back might hurt, but she would continue on in the state she was in for however long the plant remained in her system. She soon determined that the plant had to be brewed into a tea and drank about once every one hundred years to keep her alive. So, from that day on, Baba cultivated that plant within the privacy of her own home. And if I know my sister well, she will continue to do that for as long as the existence of the universe will let her. She's seen the other side of death- and she has no desire to go there.'

Roshi paused and swept his gaze over the rest of King Kai's planet. If he listened closely, he could hear King Kai's quiet muttering from inside his house. 'I am unlike my sister in many ways,' he went on. 'In this regard- as to whether I wanted to prolong my life- we differed substantially. In my youth I was fearful of dying- it was so far off, so unknowable- but as I grew older, and outlived more and more people around me, I lost that fear. Death became something I knew. Something I could understand. And, as even more of my companions in life died, and I found myself living a lonely life on an island in the South Sea, I began to look forward to it. I made this known to everyone I still knew- I would welcome death whenever it came.'

'That didn't stop Baba from offering me the tea, of course,' Roshi said, half-smirking. 'I was in my mid-80s at the time. At first, I flat out rejected her- which became such a nasty fight that I didn't end up speaking to her for five years.'

Krillin, for the first time since Roshi began to talk, snapped himself out of a stupor. 'You thought your work on Earth was done, didn't you?' he asked, feeling like he had hit on something crucial.

Roshi gave Krillin a bright, affirming smile. 'Bingo. I had accomplished a lot in my long life- I had trained under the greatest martial artist to have ever walked the Earth up until that point, defeated enemies as numerous and varied as the number and type of stars in the night sky, bested my rival more times than not- heck, I even once prevented a Vampiric Emperor from overthrowing a small rudimentary kingdom that went on to become the present-day World Government. Nearing my 90th birthday, I was feeling… an acceptance with what I had done.' Roshi landed on. 'Do the old gurus not teach that pride and arrogance prevent good people from accepting when their influence on the world has waned? That, at a certain point, the time in life where you can challenge every enemy and climb every mountain is over? That there comes a spot in the path where you must sit on your hill and look fondly on the land you traveled to get there before climbing down? I never wanted to be a servant to my past; the last thing I wanted to do was vainly replicate what I did when I was younger. And so I did not expect anything more from life by the time I hit 90-years-old. I was ready, mentally and spiritually, to move on.

A stubborn smile refused to leave Roshi's face. 'And, yet... something continued to nag at the back of my mind. I had done my part in training the best and brightest of the next generation. There were several promising students that had trained under me and graduated out into the world. There were a lot more Turtle Students back then. But I still felt there was something left for me to do. And in my 90th year on Earth,' Roshi's smile melted into a frown, 'I, as an old man, was forced to reckon with a string of events that had would have been near-impossible for my younger self to stop. As I was then 90... those events were impossible to stop.'

A rare breeze blew through the area. The leaves on the tree fluttered. 'I mentioned my rival before. I can't remember if I told you this in life- but he was the same man who trained Tien and Chiaotzu before the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Shen, like myself, trained under the foremost master of our day, Master Mutaito. We both served our master until the day he died sealing away King Piccolo all those centuries ago. And, then, when we were both standing on an empty battlefield, both of us young, we fought each other. We had always clashed while in training, but back then, Master Mutaito was around to defuse the tension between us. But with him gone, we both realized that our clashes weren't a result of us competing for the honor of being Master Mutaito's best pupil- it was because we truly despised each other and what we stood for. Shen, I found out, was an aggressive, vicious man, who sought strength out as an end, not as a means.'

'You two were nothing alike, then,' Krillin said.

Roshi nodded. 'He never could surpass me for long. Even as we neared the end of our lives, I still held an edge over him. But, then…' Roshi shook his head. 'Shen had a younger brother, Tao. Tao had received an entirely different upbringing from Shen- he had been trained as an assassin. He was good at it, too, if I remember his exploits in my youth correctly. But he was a glory seeker- he wanted to make a name for himself. And Shen wanted to become an undisputed champion of the martial arts- at my own expense.'

A long sigh left Roshi, and he interlocked his hands on his abdomen. 'I had twenty-nine former students on the day I turned 90. A week before I turned 91, and I had none. At the same time that Shen founded a school which emphasized the training of the martial arts of assassination, Tao hunted down and killed every single Turtle School student in the world.' Roshi's fingers pressed harder, coloring white at the knuckles. 'I hadn't even known this had happened until Shen, in his victory lap, had come around to my house to tell me what had happened. At first I refused to believe him- but, stretching out my ki sense, I confirmed his account over the course of many agonizing days. Every single one of my students was dead. Whatever reputation the Turtle School had as one of the greatest martial arts schools in the world died alongside it.'

Another breath from Roshi, and he unwound his fingers. 'Old wounds. Don't hurt as much anymore- but they still sting from time to time. Back then, to avenge my students and my school, I challenged Tao myself- and I lost. He wasn't much younger than me, but it was enough, and my old age prevented me from securing a knock-out blow. I later learned that both Tao and Shen had found the same plant Baba had, and had begun to cultivate it, same as her, to extend their lifespans. Regardless, Tao left me beaten and broken on the doorstep of my own house, near-death, and laughed as he left surfing a tree through the air. I turned 91 crying on the front porch of my house.'

Roshi's expression was flat- the act of recounting such long-ago events made him seem tired. 'Baba came to me soon after. Helped nurse me back to help. And, as if she had read my mind- she had brought a brew of tea with her. It was, and remains, one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. But the thought of Shen replacing the Turtle School- which exemplified every good the martial arts were supposed to embody- with his Crane School, which was nothing more than a pipeline for assassins who went on to make Tao and Shen egregious amounts of money- it repulsed me. Generations and generations of talented martial artists would be made into killers. I knew that this would come to pass if I didn't stick around to rebuild the Turtle School. So- I had to live.' Roshi made a motion with his hand. 'I drank the tea.'

'Things settled down after that point. I de-aged slightly and felt some former vigor and strength return to me. I worked at rebuilding the Turtle School and was more selective with the students I took- knowing that, one day, any one of them might have to fight for their life against a Crane student. I fought Tao to a standstill a few times over the next few centuries, which seemed to deter him from making any more attacks on my students. The Turtle School never regained its former level of prestige and fame- but it chugged along, and as long as it did, I was happy to train new students.'

A sore smile graced Roshi's face. 'But the funny thing about living beyond a normal human lifespan is that none of your worries about your legacy fade away- if anything, they just get stronger. You become totally aware of what you can and can't do at the artificial, biological age you're at- which only drives home the point that you could do better and greater things when you were younger. In all truthfulness, the fears I had about living past my proper time always ate at me, but I continued to feel that there was more work to be done for my school, for the martial arts, and the world. And as long as that was true, I would never let myself drift from the world.'

Roshi's gaze, sharp, landed on Krillin. 'And you know the rest. You and everyone else came along and trained- hard. You befriended Crane students, mending the founding divide between the Turtle and Crane Schools. On your first attempt you defeated an ancient evil that I had failed twice against. And you defended your planet from two aliens who, if they had had their way, would have wiped all life off the face of the Earth. You all did this- without me. Do you understand what I'm saying? I know I took a long time to get here, but I wanted to make this point clear-' Roshi put his hands on Krillin's shoulders and squeezed. '-You all let me move on from a life I did good in, because I know the world is in good hands. That is not something to be sad about. That is something to be proud of.'

Krillin looked at Roshi. Silence settled on them. Even the mutterings from King Kai's house seemed to have stopped. 'I understand that,' Krillin said, frowning, 'but, if we need the strongest fighter, then-'

'-then what?' Roshi said. 'Krillin: it doesn't matter if I'm stronger than you- not that I'm bragging, because I do have a five-year head start on you here, and from what I've sensed, you've narrowed the gap between us considerably since arriving here. All that matters is whether you're strong enough to close the job, which, according to King Kai, you are. It's your friends who are fighting on Namek right now. It's Piccolo who's fighting on Namek right now. Do you think I, of all people, want to fight side-by-side with Piccolo? But, you-', Roshi showed a prideful smile, '-you've done it before, and you can do it again. Krillin; this is your moment, because your time and your life aren't over yet. There's still a lot of good for you to do. And I want to see you do that good.'

At the end of this, Roshi let go of Krillin's shoulders. Krillin took a breath to glance away and back. 'Okay,' he said, staring at Roshi. 'I can do this?'

'You can.'

'I can save the day?'

'Yes.'

'And you're sure?'

'Me and King Kai both.'

Krillin looked up at him. Roshi saw, beneath a rawness that pervaded his entire face, the smallest bit of determination. 'Well, then- I won't let you down.'

Roshi, holding back his own emotions, gave a short, quick nod. 'Just your friends, really,' he corrected. 'You don't need to prove anything more to me.'

Something settled in Krillin's eyes. 'You like being here, don't you?' he asked. 'In the afterlife. Training.'

With a crooked smile, Roshi shrugged. 'Breaking barriers is fun. So is getting back my younger body. But, more importantly and as I said before- I felt good about what I had done in life, and was confident my good work would be secured in the future. And, after a certain point, you can't see much else that's different from other people…' Roshi trailed off. 'Hey… question,' he said slowly. 'Did you and Rayne?...' He made a certain face.

Krillin's eyebrows rose. It took him a second to read Roshi. 'I- err- how did you-'

Roshi flashed a smile. 'Teachers will always see some things in their students before the students themselves. I'm glad for you and her both. And don't think I was being a lecherous old man specifically to you two! There are a few others I would have asked the same question to.'

Krillin gave a nervous laugh, and scratched one of his cheeks. 'Hah!... haha!... hah… But, uh… who else-'

The sound of a door swinging open on its hinges broke through their conversation. King Kai, wielding a trowel, exited his house and pointed at Krillin with the tool. 'Why are you still here?' he accused. 'Damn that cat!'

Krillin narrowed his eyes in confusion. 'I don't understand-'

'You should have been revived on Namek! AUGH!' King Kai pulled at his own robes in frustration. 'Horrible! You'll be delayed now- damn it! Damn me!'

'Oh, Krillin…'

Krillin turned back to Roshi. The black-haired human was staring into space above him. 'It's… gone.'

'You mean?...'

'Your halo is gone.'

'Really?...' Mutely, Krillin raised a hand above his head and began to search for his halo. True to Roshi's word, it was gone. 'I… wow. I didn't even notice being revived. There was no flair at all- nothing.'

Roshi crossed his arms and smiled. 'Well, let me be the first to say- welcome back to the living.'

Krillin didn't have a chance to reply. 'No time for any of that!' King Kai chirped, barging into the space between them. 'You need to get going immediately!'

'What?' Krillin asked even as King Kai pushed him across the planet. 'I don't- stop this, King Kai!' he protested, squirming out of King Kai's grip. 'What's the rush? Explain what's going on!'

King Kai huffed. 'You're needed on Namek,' he said. 'I was hoping that, when revived, you'd be brought directly to Namek, too; but it seems now that you'll have to fly all the way across Snake Way back to where you were originally checked in, and from there, find the spiritual gate to Namek. Going to take- hmm-' he froze.

'What? What is it?' Krillin asked.

'You're much stronger than you were when you came…' he thought out loud, scratching his chin and staring down at the ground. 'Getting down Snake Way in a timely manner shouldn't be too hard for you, actually- but you need to go now!' he finished, jumping on Krillin again. 'Every second counts!'

'Okay!' Krillin said, stepping back from King Kai.' Okay!... Alright.' He looked between King Kai and Roshi. 'I'll… miss both of you. And I remember what I said to you before, Mas- Roshi.' Krillin caught himself, smiling at his near-goof. 'Just Roshi. To both of you; we'll meet again.'

Another breeze rolled across the planet. Roshi, his eyes as kind and as gentle as Krillin remember them in life, gave a dip of his head. 'Until we meet again.'

'I'm going to telepathically scream at you for the rest of your newfound life if you don't get going now!' King Kai yelled, jumping up and down. 'And I'm a Kai! I can do that! I can make your life a living hell!'

Krillin cast a good-humored and nervous gaze over to King Kai. Then, with a flicker of red, the Kaioken blazed into life around him, shrouding him in a casing of pure, restrained power. He waved, and blasted off of the surface of King Kai's planet, scattering the one leaf that had fallen from the one tree into the pink air, and arced down towards the yellow clouds below. Snake Way appeared and blurred into a single unending white mark as Krillin's flight grew faster and faster.

He was moving quickly. He wished he was quicker. I'm coming guys- just hold on!

0o0o0

Three blows smacked across Piccolo's body- three blows in the form of a fist, a kick, a headbutt. The first two had batted away still-charging ki blasts from his hands, throwing them and their wiry yellow discharge into the air around them. The headbutt, with small black horns leading it, dove straight into his chest, sinking into him and piercing deep into his flesh. He froze.

His opponent- who Piccolo, by this point, had come to despise like few other people he had ever known, took this opportunity, like all the others before it, to prattle to him.

'My boss, Frieza- have I mentioned my boss?' Ginyu spoke to him normally- as if his horns weren't lodged into Piccolo's chest and being stained further with purple with every second he spoke. 'Nice fellow. My men like him, too- not as much as me, of course, but notable all the same. I once heard a rumor that the body he wears around on a daily basis isn't him-' Ginyu's voice became small. '-that he hides stronger, more monstrous shapes beneath his present veneer. You think there's any truth in that?'

Piccolo made a gurgling sound. A splash of purple blood fell out of his mouth a second later, pattering onto the back of Ginyu's head and contrasting with the alien's purple skin. This lunatic expected him to talk with his lungs impaled!?

'Apparently, one of the forms he hides has horns,' Ginyu said conversationally. With a gross-sounding splooch, Ginyu pulled his head back, leaving behind two holes in Piccolo's chest, and appraised him at his own height. 'I wonder how big they are, sometimes. Whether the monster that lives in him embraces or rejects how it looks, walks, talk. Get me?'

Piccolo sank back in the air, holding a hand over his wounds. He twisted his head around, scanned the horizon- and Ginyu sank his fist into his gut, bucking back the Namekian's entire body with his force. Piccolo plummeted down to the ground like a meteor, and made an appropriate crater for one.

Above, Ginyu watched the plume of dust shot into the sky cease its upward motion before deciding to glide down to the ground. When he landed in the house-sized crater, he saw that Piccolo was laid up on his stomach, half-buried in the dirt. The scum hadn't even made an attempt to free himself. Ginyu frowned.

'You know what irks me the most?' Ginyu growled, grabbing Piccolo by the hem of his gi. He jabbed two fingers into Piccolo's back, causing his opponent to audibly choke. 'Burter always asked me those types of questions. "Boss, what'd you think Frieza's hidden form would even look like?"' A jab went into Piccolo's sides, causing his entire body to shiver and flinch in Ginyu's grip. "Boss, how fast do you think Frieza's hidden form might be? "Boss, boss, boss!' Jab after jab rammed into Piccolo's body, each one digging deep and causing Piccolo immense pain. 'He could be so annoying!' Ginyu seethed.

Piccolo remained motionless in his grip. 'Are you even listening to me!?' Ginyu growled as he swung around the Namekian in his grip.

To his surprise, Piccolo's gaze, bloodshot but crystalline, was focused on him. That, and a small yellow blast held in one of Piccolo's hands.

The attack leaped and slammed into Ginyu's chest, pushing the PTO soldier across the landscape. His feet carved out a gaping, rocky trench in the earth, as he painstakingly brought his hands around to his front and placed them underneath the blast. Ginyu slowed, then stopped, while the veins on his head bulged from exertion.

From his crater, Piccolo stood, panting and protectively holding a hand over the last spot in his right side where Ginyu had jabbed him. Far-off, he watched Ginyu incrementally shut his hands before breaking through and dispersing his attack wholly. Yellow ki spurted out from his fingers like dust, and Ginyu, grinning, looked over to Piccolo.

I'm going to die. Piccolo watched the Captain of the Ginyu Force advance on him, smoke rising from his hands. This man is an abomination. There's no way I can beat him in a straight-up fight. I need help… or a cheap shot. Piccolo, his eyes still glued to Ginyu, focused his ki sense on the abandoned village they had left everyone else in. All his allies were still on their feet- but he sensed the same was true of all his enemies, too. Not bad, but not good, either.

Ginyu came to a stop several feet away from Piccolo. The last of the smoke billowed from his hands. 'I'll ask again, because I'm a patient person,' Ginyu said through a forced smile. 'Are you listening to me?'

The repetition of a question snapped something inside Piccolo. He was trying with every ounce of his will to tune this lunatic out and focus on the far-off village- and he still heard the voice of the most insufferable person he had ever met bounce around the inside of his skull like a rubber ball.

'What do you want from me!?' Piccolo burst out, surprised by his own response. 'You've made it clear that I die no matter what I do- so, what, do you want an apology!?' He moved his hands away from his body and braced his arms. 'Do you want me to profess my regret over killing one of your insufferable, imbecilic men, who slaughtered just for the sake of it!? SOLDIERS DIE WHEN YOU TRY TO COMMIT GENOCIDE!' Piccolo screamed. 'Soldiers die when they go to war! Soldiers die when they're sitting around, in every shape, position, pose- so get over it and stop crying about it! And even if I wasn't someone who cared about what slaughter does, the harm it does to supposedly "innocent" people- I would never find anything admirable in what the clowns underneath you do! What's there to respect in them!?' Piccolo drew in his breath, his face contorting. 'What's there to respect in you?' he hissed.

Piccolo let his words hang in the air. A smile flitted up to Ginyu's face; unlike previous ones, it looked easy, along with something else Piccolo couldn't place.

'That,' Ginyu said, pronouncing every letter, 'was exactly what I wanted- without even knowing I wanted it. You just gave me something far better than an apology- you gave me perspective.'

Piccolo narrowed his eyes. 'Oh?' In the back of his mind, he continued to probe the abandoned village for ki signatures.

'You have no reason to respect me- and that is a mistake I need to correct. The Ginyu Force has always been known for, besides its clinical efficiency, its class and honor. So…' Ginyu drew a foot back in the dirt, and Piccolo instinctually braced himself.

Ginyu posed, throwing out his arms and legs to either side and crouching. 'I AM CAPTAIN GINYU, OF THE GINYU FORCE!' he cheered.

To Piccolo's horror, his opponent held this position for many seconds. Long enough that there was no other conclusion he could reach other than that Ginyu was doing this purposefully. And then Piccolo felt warmth rise in his cheeks. I'm going to die embarrassed for this purple idio-

Over the space of one word in one thought, Ginyu rushed forward, de-posing himself in the process, and planted a blow into Piccolo's body. 'But you still killed one of my men.' Piccolo felt Ginyu twist his fist in Piccolo's gut, flooding him with pain. 'Humiliation must be met with such. And, as the Captain of this Force, I can multitask.'

A surreal moment hit Piccolo; even as he felt one of his ribs snapping out of place, Piccolo felt an even greater linking of his mind with another.

0o0o0

The row of houses in front of them was flattened, but beyond that, there was no sign of Yamcha or Bez. No sounds in the air, either. The entire village had gone dead quiet.

Tien was watching Bez turn over some rubble when someone piped into his head.

'Status?'

The voice in Tien's head was as abrupt as the crash heard from a nearby house a second later. 'Piccolo?'

'Status,' Piccolo growled.

Tien watched Bez spin to the sound nearby and dash off. He hesitated in following him. 'We're having trouble. We can't find our opponent- and yet he keeps landing blows on us.'

'And Nail?'

'We haven't seen anything of him.'

The smallest pause possible came from Piccolo before he said: 'Destroy the village. Flush our your enemy. Do it quickly. I need help.'

Tien was floored by what he was hearing. 'Piccolo?'

He got no response. A moment later he felt the connection between them sever. That was… new. Having Piccolo inside my head… Tien shuddered.

But he finished this quickly and cast his gaze to the sky. His idea, on the other hand…

0o0o0

Aching, Yamcha fell to one knee at the same time as his blood splashed onto the side of a nearby white house. His left arm drooped useless at his side as more blood ran down its length, dripping faster and faster off of him.

Yamcha took one at the left side of his body and shirked his gaze away. A long, deep cut ran from the top of his shoulder to end of his upper arm.

Won't be able to use that anytime soon. Gritting his teeth, Yamcha looked around him. He was in an alleyway and appeared for all intents and purposes to be by himself- though he knew he wasn't. He was convinced he was fighting a phantom. What he saw before the fight began- a short, green, chubby alien- was, in fact, a ghost that moved through walls and appeared in places he shouldn't be, hit him with unblockable strikes, and disappeared before Yamcha knew what had even happened. He had leveled a section of the village, which created the flat, rubble-strewn section of his vision to his right, just from sheer frustration.

For all the good that did. All I've got to show is a busted arm and blood on a wall… Yamcha lifted his head to the sky. Maybe, if I had gotten up in the sky… maybe I would have seen him coming...

The sky, as always, was maddingly green with at least one sun streaking through it. Though- Yamcha saw two, And one was much smaller than the other.

Tien. Yamcha recognized the yellow energy as belonging to his friend. That's Tien.

It took him another second to realize why Tien might be in the sky above the village gathering energy.

Yamcha shot to his feet. It appeared he had seconds before Tien launched his attack. Shit! Tien, you need to give me a heads up! Shit, shit! He scanned his surroundings- he wasn't anywhere near the edge of the village, and he wasn't sure if he could fly away fast enough to outrun the inevitable blast radius of the attack. Which meant...

An idea- the only one available to him- popped into his head.

Shit, shit, shit! Blue-ki fangs materialized around Yamcha's right hand, and crouching, he used that side of his body to dig himself into the ground. Whole sections of earth were vaporized as he wormed himself farther beneath the village. You've outdone yourself with the crazy this time, Yamcha! Flecks of dirt flew into his eyes and coated his mouth. He took a deep breath as he felt his makeshift tunnel collapse in behind him. You really have!

0o0o0

'Oi, Recoome!'

The giant drew back a thrown fist inches away from Nail's haggard guard. The Namekian, trembling, forced his gaze above his guard and spotted Jeice hanging in the air behind and above Recoome. The red-skinned soldier was looking away from them. 'You see that guy over there?'

Recoome followed Jeice's gaze and saw one of the other fighters from earlier hovering in the air above the closeby village. Yellow energy swirled around him like clouds circling the eye of a hurricane.

'What's he doing?' Recoome asked loudly.

'I think he's gonna blow up the whole freakin' village!' Jeice exclaimed. 'Hey- I better put a stop to that! Guldo might still be down there! Back in a bit!' He gathered his ki and boomed towards the village.

Nail, reflexively, tried to launch into flight after him, but at the last second Recoome grabbed his leg. No!

'Nah uh uhh!' Recoome chided. He pulled Nail back and rammed a knee into the Namekian's gut, launching him helpless into the air. With a flare of his pink ki, he zoomed up and rammed another strike-his fist- into Nail's gut. The Namekian coughed a spray of purple blood into Recoome's face. 'I haven't finished complaining about the haircut you gave me!'

0o0o0

Bez, lost among the houses of the village, suddenly felt something brush against his head. Turning, he felt wind and ki strike his face from above. 'What the?...'

He squinted into the sky. Like a sun hanging in the air, Tien gathered light and heat around him high above the village. Even as he looked, Bez had to shield his face from another savage gust of wind.

Bez traced in what direction Tien was facing, which was probably one of the silliest things he'd done in a battle, because Tien was facing directly at him. That's bad.

He spotted something else while doing this- a red shape was flying steadily across the sky. One of Ginyu's men. And he was zeroing in on Tien.

Frantic, Bez threw himself into the air. That's really bad!

0o0o0

Jeice resisted the urge to slide his hand under his chestplate and scratch his skin. Just because the fighter he was presently rushing towards seemed content to let him close in didn't mean that that couldn't change in a heartbeat. He had no intention of throwing another Burter on Captain Ginyu's conscience.

But, in the end, he should have scratched himself, because when Bez rammed into him from below, he was so unprepared for an attack from that direction that his limbs got caught up behind him.

'Got you!' Bez yelled, as gripped Jeice with one hand and rammed a number of quick punches into his armor. They were more annoying than anything to Jeice. Even so, their collision threw them off course from where he wanted to go.

'Piss off!' he barked, while vainly trying to spin around and throw Bez off of him.

They struggled for a time, each one somewhat unprepared to brawl with each other in mid-air. Eventually, however, Jeice freed himself and smashed his fist against the side of Bez's head. The purple alien caved around the blow and was launched across the plain ringing the village. Jeice spent a second watching Bez impact the ground below before a mighty after wave of energy in the form of force and heat slammed into his back. He spun around and saw that the village was consumed in crackling, hissing energy.

'Ah, hell!'

0o0o0

Tien waited until the very last second to launch his attack. Once he saw Yamcha disappear deep under some rubble, and Bez intercept someone racing towards him and tackle him into the sky, he let out a breath of relief. They're out. So...

Forming a triangle in his hand, he pulled the swirling energy around him into the space between his palms. A neat shape formed in his palms. Every muscle clenched, he titled his hands down to the ground and hoped.

'TRI-BEAM, HAH!'

And the last image he saw of the village was overpowered by light.

0o0o0

Nail had nearly missed what amounted to be the only opportunity he had been given in this fight so far- but he wasn't that out of it yet. Even as Recoome's fist sank into his gut, Nail could sense the energy gathering around Tien not far off. And he had a pretty good idea where he was going to throw it towards.

He didn't really know why the village was the target, or how their battle was going at all- but he knew the facts of the situation told him that that would be the target, and that was all that mattered.

Below him, Recoome sauntered back in the air, charging another strike. Nail had realized quickly that, while it was hard to go blow-for-blow with the red-haired giant, he was pretty easily redirected.

'Recoome!...' The PTO soldier had one hand placed over the middle part of his other arm- Nail guessed he was about to say "elbow".

No way I'm going to let you use another ridiculous move! For the first time in their fight, Nail aimed his arms at Recoome and extended them, stretching out and gripping a surprised Recoome by his legs. Then, tipping backward, with his back towards the village behind him, he retracted his arms at a rapid rate, dragging Recoome along.

And so, like he was a rock in a giant slingshot, Recoome passed over Nail and was let go, free to hurtle uncontrollably. Nail turned and got a sliver of an image of Recoome sailing through the air above the village before Tien's attack from above crashed down across the entire area.

0o0o0

Just as Ginyu was about to slam Piccolo into the lake just below him- the Namekian was still stunned from a previous blow and was going to enter the lake at any rate, albeit at a much slower speed- Ginyu's scouter beeped. 'Hmm?'

As Ginyu studied his scouter, below him, Piccolo stabilized and forced himself to a halt just above the surface of the water. Ragged wounds ran up and down his body, whole sections of his gi were non-existent, and he was having trouble keeping himself in the air. Despite all this- he was breathing, and intended to do so for some time. But he would be lying to himself if he thought he had any other plan beyond just trying to survive moment-to-moment. He lifted a shaking hand to his face and wiped away a glob of dried inside his mouth with it.

'It seems that someone just made a mess of the village we were at,' Ginyu curtly informed him. He tapped his scouter one final time and settled his gaze fully on Piccolo. 'In order to prevent another Burter, I should go check up on that.'

'That was my work, you know,' Piccolo said. He was, this close to death, feeling arrogant. 'I gave them the idea to blow up the village.'

'Good for you,' Ginyu said, mocking with his tone and smile. 'I'm glad you have at least one accomplishment to your name from today.'

That blow rang as true as any other strike Ginyu had landed on him. Piccolo wasn't the type to be easily shamed. But he was feeling just that right now.

'Oh, don't look so sad,' Ginyu suggested, noticing Piccolo's glum, tired expression. 'You've helped me work through some serious issues of mine today. It's been a long time since I've used battle as therapy; so long, in fact, that I forgot what battle could do in the first place! Made me remember- so what if Burter is dead? Does it matter if my mission is done and I can crush every one of my enemies with a simple thrust of an arm? Soldiers die, new ones take their place- it's true of any grunt, in any organization. Even my men, as talented as they are, may find themselves outclassed. But, me? The Captain?' Ginyu hooked a thumb towards himself. 'The Captain beats everything. And the Captain always lives to fight another day. And when that's true, every fight for me is a victory lap.'

Nothing of what Ginyu said made Piccolo any less glum and tired. If anything, it made him show more of those two things. But Ginyu seemed so deep into his self-aggrandizing stupor that he failed to notice.

'In whatever hell they put you in when you die… just know that Captain Ginyu of the Ginyu Force will remember your contribution to his mental health fondly.'

Piccolo made a show of flashing his bloodstained fangs. 'You intend to leave me?'.

Ginyu looked up and down Piccolo, and found something to be disgusted at. 'Like this? Hardly.'

No sooner had the words left his mouth did Ginyu appear before Piccolo, press his hand to Piccolo's chest, and smirk.

'From me to you.'

A short, narrow cone of energy erupted out of Ginyu's hand and came out the other end of Piccolo's chest. The water below trembled from the energy released. It lasted no more than a second. Piccolo hadn't made a single sound, and had barely moved. Color fled his face in a sickeningly short amount of time.

He would have dropped into the lake if Ginyu hadn't grabbed him by his neck. 'Come find me again if you want to go another round!' he said as one last insult. It didn't feel quite as good as gloating to a still conscious opponent, but it still made him happy.

'Hah! This has been a real mood changer!' With a toss, he let go of Piccolo. The Namekian noisily splashed into the water. The lake, churning, drew what was most likely by now a corpse beneath the surface.

Ginyu retracted his hand. He noted after a few seconds that the lake looked just as undisturbed as before Piccolo was dumped into it.

'Fitting.'

0o0o0

It was over in the amount of time it took for Tien to breathe. In one instant, the village was, barring the trench Piccolo had carved through it earlier, mostly present. In the next instant, it comprised little more than a flat, brown-and-white concave crater in the ground.

A horrible cramp seized the entire right side of his body. He had used a lot of energy. Without wasting any time, he focused his attention on the minute places of the crater- he watched for any type of movement. On the verge of passing out, he found what he was looking for; near the center of the crater, he spied a greenish shape struggled to free itself of the ground.

Tien gave a weak smile. His vision of the ground blurred, and as he felt his body start to fall, unconsciousness took him.

0o0o0

For about a minute after the last of Tien's energy spent itself in what had formerly been a village, there was no movement from anywhere across the rubble-strewn ground. The artificial silence bought by the attack that pervaded the area lasted no longer than Guldo's efforts to dig himself out from under the rubble. It was situations where he had to conserve his breath that he was the most unprepared for- no amount of slowing down time would slow the rate at which his body needed air to survive.

So when he finally succeeded in clearing his head and most of his body from the fist-sized chunks of white that had buried him, Guldo felt unadulterated relief.

'Sweet heck!' he swore, jumping up and using an arm to brush off a patch of white dust that had landed on his chest. His armor had been mostly destroyed by the attack, and he was covered with some minor energy burns from the heat of the attack that had leveled the village, but he was still alive, and that was all that mattered. The others were right- I'm really out of shape! I could have asphyxiated if I was pushed any deeper by that attack!

The sounds of rubble adjusting behind him caught his ear. Guldo threw his head over his right shoulder. 'Who's there!?' he cried, preparing to hold his breath again.

Pieces of rock rolled away from a bloody hand sticking out of the ground a few feet behind him. Guldo stared at it; judging by how it was oriented, it seemed that it was still attached to a body buried beneath the surface. But it did not move nor, it seemed, did it bleed. Its surface was covered with dried red blood.

His earlier haughtiness returning to him, Guldo strode over to the hand and kicked it. Other than being forced back from the force of his blow, it didn't react. It also felt like it was connected to a body buried beneath it.

'Hey? Little man? Still alive?' he teased as he stomped on the rubble around the hand. 'Clench your hand if you're still alive!'

The hand, of course, didn't move. As a final check, Guldo gathered a ball of pink ki in his right hand and aimed it down at the dead appendage. He grinned maliciously as he pressed it against the hand's palm.

SMAAACK! Guldo, wide-eyed, cradled his empty hand. The dead appendage had jumped up and flopped against Guldo's ki attack, severely damaging itself but succeeding in knocking the attack out of Guldo's hand. The rubble underneath Guldo's feet shifted in the same measure, as the body beneath began to rise. 'NO!' Guldo squealed as the lifeless hand smacked against him again, staggering him back a few feet. 'NOOO!'

The rubble parted around Yamcha like a flowing ocean- as soon as his head was above ground, the shell of blue ki around it broke and released a cutting blast of air. He had his good arm gripped above the elbow of his useless arm, wielding it like a club. Guldo was frozen in place by the sudden release of energy. He tried to hold his breath to stop time, but once he did, he found two legs wrapped around one of his feet, trapping him in place. That, coupled with the unexpected blast of wind pushing most of the air out of his lungs, forced him to breathe.

Surging up and forward into a sitting position, Yamcha drew back his usable arm, silhouetting it in blue ki. 'HYAAAAAAAGH!' He roared, as he plunged his blue-wreathed hand, shaped like a knife, straight into Guldo's gut. His arm traveled through the choking, shuddering alien, burst out of the other side, and was yanked back in a single second.

Guldo, white-faced, stood on his feet for a few seconds. He collapsed to the ground after the first wave of his blood crashed onto the white rubble at his feet. To Yamcha's preference, he collapsed backward and away from him instead of forward and on.

Catching his breath, Yamcha wiped at his forehead with his right arm. In the process, unknowingly, he smeared blue blood across his forehead like paint. 'Serves…' he huffed, 'you right…'

He couldn't feel his left arm anymore- which was probably good, because his left hand looked more like a piece of charcoal than a part of his body. He looked at it. The hand was black and gray instead of tan.

Oh no. He felt blood leave his head. Bad idea to look. Oh no…

Without any warning, Yamcha fainted and fell to the ground on his back.

0o0o0

Nail had shielded his body from the attack when it hit the village. It didn't have an incredible amount of energy- a gap was present between him, Nail, and Jeice, and Tien- but it was enough that he would have been seriously hurt if he had been knocked in its path. Which made him all the more shocked when, with his singed arms lowered, he spotted the person he had punted into the attack.

Recoome was in much the same place as before the blast, just that now, he hovered over a blasted crater instead of a village. To Nail's horror, the giant had lost all his armor but nothing more- somehow, his jumpsuit still clung to his body. And he still wore that infuriating, cheery grin.

'My turn!'

Nail's eyes widened as Recoome appeared in front of him, knotting his hands into a giant fist above his head. 'RECOOME… SMASH!'

The blow struck against Nail's hasty forearm guard, and with enough strength to shatter a planet and more than enough to shatter Nail's arms, it rocketed Nail to the ground. He landed with some grace- feet first- but the blow had enough strength to bury him up to his waist.

The pain of two broken arms was too debilitating to shrug off. As used his legs to shimmy out of the ground, Nail was forced to use precious ki to knit back together the bones in his arms. Even so, when every bone in a limb is broken, the pain has a way of lingering for a while after.

Turning his mind outwards and away from his aching body, Nail surveyed the area around him. He had crashed down into the plain surrounding the now non-existent village. He noticed that Recoome had landed opposite of him, and was already pulling back an arm as if to throw an energy blast his way. There are no breaks with this guy! Nail thought, panicking. He's going to continue to fight at full speed until he dies!

'Oi, Recoome!'

Mid-motion, Recoome stopped and swiveled his head around. Nail uttered a silent prayer to the late Guru.

Jeice was hovering high in the air above and behind Recoome. 'You okay?' he shouted.

Recoome flashed a thumbs up.

As soon as Jeice landed, he ran over to Recoome. 'Good Frieza, you took that attack like a champ!' he enthused as he ran around the giant PTO soldier and examined him from every angle. 'How'd you do it?'

Recoome made a show of waving away Jeice's flattery. 'The attack was puny. It was nothing.'

'You say that… ' Jeice said slowly. 'But I'm not sure I'd be looking like you if I had been caught up in it, to be honest.'

Several yards away, Nail continued to observe them. He kept waiting, and hoping, that one of his allies would appear and land to help him fight. So it was only when he sensed someone else right on top of them did he start to charge an attack. He glanced up. Oh. Good.

Bathed in a swirl of pink aura, Ginyu landed next to Jeice and Burter. Both subordinates immediately straightened. 'You're back already, Captain?' Jeice asked.

It was clear to Ginyu from Jeice's posture and tone of voice that he was uncomfortable being around him. The same was true of Recoome.'The one who challenged me is at the bottom of a lake,' Ginyu informed them, swinging his gaze past Jeice and Burter and back again. 'I see… you look uncomfortable, Jeice. You as well, Recoome.'

Upon pointing this out, Ginyu saw Jeice go even more rigid. 'I'm worried about you, Captain,' Jeice said carefully.

'You've been off since Burter died,' Recoome chimed in.

Ginyu looked at them, the ground, and sighed. 'And so I have. Men- you were right to be worried. My head wasn't in the right place. As you all know, we've been together for quite some time now… and I deluded myself thinking we would, over the course of every mission and every year, win every fight with every member still alive at the end.' He looked back at them. 'That was a fault in my judgment. Change is unavoidable. Strength is what carries the day.' Ginyu threw at them a vaguely happy look. 'You are fortunate to have such a strong Captain because of this.'

'We are, sir!' Jeice agreed. 'You're super powerful! We're so lucky!'

'Luckiest soldiers in the galaxy!' Recoome added.

Nail, watching this, felt sick. Bootlickers disgusted him.

'So, let me say this, right now- I-'

Ginyu stopped himself like someone had punched him in the gut. His face was fixed in an odd expression; he turned.

'Something wrong, Cap?' Recoome asked.

Ginyu looked over to Nail and saw that the Namekian's gaze was centered away from him and his men. 'Hmph.'

In a split-second, Piccolo, a prominent hole in his gi revealing his weathered but healed skin underneath, appeared behind them, throwing all his weight into an elbow strike aimed at the back of Ginyu's head. The Captain of the Ginyu Force, however, took a half-step to his right and spun, using his left arm to bat Piccolo's elbow to the side. As Piccolo lost his momentum, Ginyu threw out his right arm and wrapped it around the Namekian's neck, pulling taut his muscles and whipping Piccolo around to face Nail.

Piccolo had charged Ginyu faster than anyone else present could have reacted to. Ginyu still handled him like he was a child.

'Hah!' Ginyu laughed, pushing more pressure through his headlock to choke Piccolo. The Namekian frowned, then purpled, and clawed ineffectively at Ginyu's arm. Slowly, Ginyu forced him to his knees. 'You're alive and as stubborn as you look! You even plugged up the hole I punched in your chest!' he said, admiring the cleanly torn gap in Piccolo's gi where solid flesh was. He even rapped his free hand against that spot to make sure it was real. 'But, now that I know you're still alive, it's so nice of you to follow me and save me the trouble of finding you!' Ginyu twisted, and momentarily lifted Piccolo off the ground by his neck. Red and yellow matter crept into Piccolo's eyes. 'For that, it would be unbecoming of me to not reward good behavior…'

Piccolo's struggling slowed. Ginyu, without any warning, let go of Piccolo and pushed him onto the ground in front of him. Before Piccolo could even gasp for air, Ginyu's nudged the Namekian onto his back and crashed his boot down onto his chest.

'Such a good loser,' Ginyu mused with a smile. He turned to Jeice and Recoome. 'Men, as I was saying- please excuse my earlier behavior. I was not in the right mind after Burter's death. But, luckily, the catharsis of my fight with this one-' he tugged at the arm choking Piccolo, causing the Namekian to make an accompanying set of strained sounds, 'has brought me back to my senses. We, and I, are strong enough to deal with these malcontents. I offer my humblest apology for how I carried this company so far this mission.'

Jeice and Recoome, in unison, clicked their heels together and saluted. 'It was never an issue, sir!' they both said. 'Even at your worst, you're better than everyone else! We are always proud to serve under you!' Jeice added.

'Quite. Neither of you look very damaged. It's been an easy fight, then?'

'Oh, yes, sir,' Jeice replied confidently. 'Just look at us!'

Ginyu did. Jeice's armor was only a little more damaged than Ginyu's- which meant it had only superficial cuts and scorches. Nothing that couldn't be polished out. Recoome, as it seemed to happen every mission, had somehow had all his armor obliterated off of him and yet had his black jumpsuit intact and no actual damage to speak of. Another aspect of his Force that he always admired, Ginyu reflected- their consistency. Even in the face of their comrades dying, they knew how to finish a mission, and finish it in bruising, crushing fashion.

'And where is Guldo?'

Jeice made a thoughtful face. 'Don't see him 'round 'ere,' he said, scanning the area around him. 'I'm sure he'll show up eventually. No one around here is fast enough to get the drop on him, except maybe the green ones we've been fighting and Zarbon. Want me to check on the scouter?' Jeice asked.

Ginyu shook his head. 'No need. Zarbon wouldn't be so reckless to attack us again,' he said. He cast his gaze to their right over to the massive crater where a village once stood. 'He was probably too wounded to escape that blast. Too weak for his body to even survive in one piece, I bet,' he said smugly. 'Shame I won't have a dead body to bring back to Lord Frieza- but, then again, I'll have some live ones to bring back in its place,' he made a point of rubbing his heel into Piccolo's chest. The Namekian, his chest rattling, looked to still be struggling to catch his breath.

Ginyu looked beyond Jeice and Recoome. 'So, before we wrap this up- do you want to practice your poses to the green one over there?'

Nail, hunching over several feet away from them, threw a tired glare back to the three heads turned to him. 'What?...' he muttered under his breath. As drained and damaged as he was and without his allies against three freakishly strong enemies, he felt naked. Which was an easier thought to focus on than his grim failure to protect his people. He didn't even think that sacrificing his own life would make any difference at this point. Piccolo was much stronger than him- and he was being crushed like a bug under Ginyu's heel.

'Oh, sir, thank you!' Jeice replied cheerily while Recoome nodded along. 'That's all we wanted to do- from the very moment we got here-' Jeice sniffed, '-from the very moment Burter passed…'

Ginyu gave a solemn dip of his head. 'I know, Jeice. I know. So put on a good show for him, okay?'

'Uh huh!'

Padding forward, Jeice and Recoome spread out from each other, forming a triangle with Ginyu furthest away from Nail. Both raised their arms and threw on a cocky smile.

'Jeice!'

'Recoome!'

'And together we are!...'

Doomph. A shockwave traveled across the ground, nearly throwing Nail off his feet and stopping Jeice and Recoome mid-routine. Ginyu himself couldn't prevent his eyes and mouth from forming a look of surprise.

Someone had landed in the center of the triangle Ginyu, Recoome, and Burter made. He was facing away from Nail, was shorter (though not be a significant margin) than the three PTO soldiers, and was clothed only in a flowing orange gi. No boots, no sashes or belts, no undershirt. It was if he had been taking a walk and had stumbled into the area. But what caught Nail's eye more than anything else was the violent crimson that had accompanied the figure seconds after landing- which was now conspicuously absent.

Discreetly, Nail let the energy he had been charging in his midsection return to the rest of his body. No need to explode himself just yet.

Without moving his boot from its place atop Piccolo's chest, Ginyu leveled his gaze at the newcomer. 'Well, well- you have the appearance of someone who is either very lost or of someone who wishes to fight.'

Krillin looked down at Piccolo. Slow, laborious breaths were now finally going in and out of his chest. 'This is Namek, right?' Krillin asked of Ginyu.

'Are you talking about the person below me, the place we're in, or the whole planet? Regardless, it doesn't matter- I wouldn't know the answer to any one of those questions,' Ginyu said, chuckling.

'And you are?'

'Captain Ginyu, of the Ginyu Force, proud member of the Planetary Trade Organization.'

With a soft smile, Krillin gazed up at Ginyu. 'Sounds like I'm in the right place, then.'

Ginyu grinned in return.

A wind blew across the plain, tugging at their clothing and carrying a single blue leaf from one of Namek's trees. The leaf circled in the air, skimmed across the blue grass, and came to rest at Krillin's feet. Krillin took a step forward and pressed it into the ground.

By this point, Jeice and Recoome, both confused, had broken their poses and turned around. Jeice opened and closed his mouth a few times. 'Captain-'

A stomp from Ginyu, intended for Piccolo's chest, found itself piercing the plain a foot away. Krillin, now sheathed in a roaring crimson aura, had flung himself forward and pushed Ginyu back. Their feet sank into the ground as their hands gripped around their opponent's and pressed. 'You care about that one?' Ginyu said through a strained smile. Incrementally, he forced him forward, moving Krillin closer to the ground. 'You shouldn't! He can take it! I've seen it; just today, I blasted a hole through his chest and he grew it all back!'

Nothing of Krillin's soft smile from before remained. He was frowning, with even more strain framing his face than what was present on Ginyu's. Nonetheless, his affect from earlier remained in his voice alongside the now present exertion. 'I apologize if my sense of humor won't match yours during our fight,' he said, straining every part of him. 'But, to have a second hole carved into his chest in one day- even someone like Piccolo doesn't deserve that.'

'So his name is Piccolo?' Ginyu said warmly. He looked past Krillin. 'Jeice, make sure to write that-'

A wave of force rushed out from Krillin then, sending Jeice, Recoome, and even far-off Nail skidding across the ground away from them. Ginyu faced an even greater wall of crimson now. 'What!?'

With every pulse, the crimson aura around Krillin whipped harder, and Krillin himself, pushing against Ginyu's grip, stood up a little taller. In a matter of seconds, the human warrior had fought himself to a neutral position.

Ginyu was baffled. His eyes, mouth, nose- even his horns flared from confusion. At the side of his head, his scouter made increasingly louder beeps. 'You- you-' he stammered. 'How did-'

'I have flown millions of miles to be here today,' Krillin said, the outline of his Kaioken giving him a sharp, ultrafine appearance. Another pulse flared, and Ginyu found himself on one knee. This!... fighter!...

Krillin now loomed over him like a red and angry god. The dual suns of Namek cloaked him in blinding light. 'You, your goons, and the organization you represent have hurt a lot of my friends,' Krillin said, finding a calmness and zenness in his voice that couldn't more contrast with the pure strain present across every inch of his body and face. 'So; I am not here to lose.'


A/N: Jesus. This chapter came out LONG and DELAYED. Longest ever of mine, actually. Pretty much a double-chapter. Apologies for everyone's shot attention span. Also felt… weird about it, but there's bound to be chapters like that every now and again for every fic. Tell me your thoughts on it with a review!

If you've read the same chapter that I've written, then you've had a big Roshi monologue thrust on you. That entire section was actually based on a few lines I had thrown into this story in Chapter 9, what with Roshi musing about whether to extend his life another time before the current generation of Turtle students shows up on his doorstep. I had fun turning that little bit into a whole thing! Felt like I was making my text talk to itself.

What actually comes of this monologue felt like the natural path to take Roshi's character in this story. He filled a mentor purpose in life, and now, in death, he found another purpose- reaching heights in a slick new young body that his older self would have thought impossible. IMO, Roshi became a nothing character in canon when he couldn't keep up with his students, and when there weren't any new students to teach. I didn't want the same to happen to him in this fic. So because of the different journey, Roshi is different, Krillin is different, their circumstances are different, and he's moving in a different direction from Krillin. They both got a little closure before that happened, though.

In other news, I recently watched a video that vividly reminded me as to how much Piccolo was thrown to the wayside as DBZ progressed further and further. Made me glad that I made the changes (I'd like to think "fleshing out") to his character and the Namekians in this fic.

also, power levels, so that we're all on the same page:

Bez: 14,500

Yamcha: 15,000

Tien: 16,000

Guldo: 12,000

Nail: 45,000

Jeice: 48,000

Recoome: 49,000

Piccolo: 55,000

Ginyu: 120,000

Krillin: ?

And Reviews! And before that, I just want to emphasize- thank you to every person who's ever left one! I appreciate them immensely.

LWexe: Thank you! Also can't believe that you're still reading along for the ride!

TienFan99: I consider Namekian fusion as working on three levels - first, you add the two people's power levels. Then, you multiply whatever number you got by how whatever compatibility score there is between the two people's souls. Compatibility levels can be high (two fusees come from the same being, are similar in temperament, etc) or low (the opposite of everything just mentioned). Finally, what matters most from a Namekian fusion is the greater unlocked potential that can be accessed by further training. Fundamentally, within any given fused Namekian, you're playing with more than a single soul now, and it seems that souls are definitively linked to power and potential in DBZ. Thus, any fused Namekian has a number of souls to train and develop ki.

Though there is a big difference between the potential to manage/take advantage of having multiple souls and actually doing so.

And thank you for the kind words! I always try to deliver my fics with a healthy dose of blessed cheese on a platter :^)

Anonymous: DBZ fandoms are weird! And, as I've said before on the record: unique attacks add so much to a story! Gives it that unique scene!

I always considered Nail a more astute fighter than Piccolo- before they fused, obviously. Piccolo's arrogance definitely got in the way of him winning fights in DB and early DBZ. If Piccolo doesn't fuse with Nail in this story (who knows…), he'll have to dispel that arrogance all on his lonesome… (question mark?)

I agree with your assessment- Ginyu definitely came off as more unhinged than a balance between that and funny. I probably overestimated how much humor the rest of the Ginyu Force could do while their leader was acting like a maniac. And that's a good point you raised about Vegeta in canon! The Ginyu Force, even when they were brutal, came off as irresistible strength or prompted despair- but they were never terrifying. Why was Vegeta so afraid of them?

If I'm not taking constructive criticism, well- what the heck and I doing out here? I won't improve, and the readers get punished for taking a genuine interest in every good and bad facet of a story. Though I don't think I'm anything unique in this regard- every good fanfic writer I've seen has a healthy respect for whatever suggestion or commentary a reader brings them if it's thought out. Or should, at least.

I'd really like to see your long comment about the earlier chapters! I'm going to make a google doc soon and put down all the back-and-forth I've been doing with reviewers about that part of the story soon! So throw it my way when you get the chance!

Transformers g1's-Prime: I mean, what the heck is the point of introducing the Ginyu Force if you're not even gonna have them speak!? They're easily the most colorful group of villains in all of DBZ! And… who knows what'll happen to them ;)

Zarbon is really screwed right now.

Oooh, you know I'm thinking about the hypothetical matchup between Krillin and Vegeta… because it will happen? Because it won't happen? The future knows all.

Titanfire999: Noooo! Lightfall is different! It can't hone in on one spot like the Hellzone Grenade! It's more like a machine gun than a homing missile!

Glad you enjoyed the chapter :^)

Cityracer:

I like Bez's character, too! He was really just an average PTO soldier scraping by before he ran into Tien and Yamcha, and got caught up in a bunch of change beyond his control. Gave him some new perspectives on life.

Spontaneously developing the ability to sense energy is strange. You could probably justify it by saying how using your own ki requires you sensing your own ki in your body… but it's still strange. In my fic, as in canon, I chalk the development up to simple awareness that it can be done or to proximity with people who have the ability. I also remember how ki works in Savior of Demons- to sense other people, you need to open up your mind, body, and spirit to other people's ki. It's not out of the realm of possibility that being around people who sensed ki in that "open" format may have tipped Bez off on to how to do that as well. I may have actually used that concept earlier in this story around the gang's turtle training- can't remember.

Your theories on Piccolo may or may not bear fruit- but definitive answers to them are coming soon.

All fair points on Ginyu. I started to lean more into him regaining his composure here after beating up on his enemies a bit more- reminds himself that he's in total control. As for where I think Ginyu's character could have gone after Burter's death:

1) He can be exactly as cheery as he was in canon. I think this approach is fine, though I always found it weird that Ginyu shrugged off the death of one of his men- especially when it's implied that they've been together for decades (I recently watched Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which includes the Ginyu Force parading around on Planet Vegeta when it got annexed, so- a really long time together).

2) He can "harden up". I don't particularly like this route because it makes him a much less interesting character. There are already too many gruff, recalcitrant warriors out there, and Ginyu ain't one of them.

3) He can "crack up" but also "harden up". This is the approach I ultimately chose. He shows real grief for one of his men dying, and he fights with as much viciousness as you would expect. He still retains his narcissism and superiority, though, which gets brought out/ is more confident showing the longer a fight favorable to him goes on. Burter's death cracked the veneer. But his fight with Piccolo patched it up, more or less.

4) He can "crack up". I see now that this looked like the route I was going with the last chapter- but, considering how he acts in canon, it's not very reasonable for him to act that way utterly and totally… thus, I came around to option 3.

Mr. Popo always struck me as a neutral observer who likes to collect and curate. I could definitely write a one-shot with him exploring old and abandoned places in Dragon Ball. Maybe several centuries into the future… haha.

Thank you! Fight scenes are always weird for me to write- I always feel that the ones I turn out are too short, but to go anything beyond what I have would make them less engaging and exciting. So you stumbled upon my #1 topic of research when I read other DBZ fics- what makes a good fight scene?

I look forward to your future reviews ;)