Yo! Son Goku and friends! Saiyan Saga (Chapter 22)
King Yemma
"Hey King Yemma!" The jubilant father of Gohan shouted to high heaven, moseying past the cloud apparitions waiting in line, waving to the giant maroon ogre as Baba vanished out of sight.
"Above. What are you doing here Goku? Below."
"I came to ask about a few people."
The large red man sighed, a smirk involuntarily escaping him, his bushy black beard shifting slightly as he did so.
"How did I not guess? Below."
"Huh-Hah!" He laughed out, rubbing the back of his head. "Can you tell me where Chiaotzu, Tien, and Piccolo are? And whether or not any of them have their bodies?"
"Below. Chiaotzu is above, both Tien and Piccolo are below and need to repent. Below."
"And their bodies?"
"Below. Well of course neither Tien nor Piccolo have theirs since they are both in Hell. Below."
Goku nodded to the side plainly before looking back at the giant man stamping the large papers.
"But Chiaotzu is actually in Heaven right now, he's got his body due to running an immaculate empire in Mifan. The people love him and his good deeds have landed him in good faith in Other World. Below."
"That's great! How can I see Chiaotzu!?"
"Above. You can go ask King Kai to take you there or you can go through the higher plane on the right. Below." King Yemma pointed his massive black index nail to the massive green door behind him before returning to his filings. "Above."
"Thanks a lot, King Yemma!"
As Goku was about to leave, he turned around and asked:
"Is there any way I can get your permission to use the fruits on Tien and Piccolo?"
"I had a feeling you'd ask that." King Yemma stood up from his desk causing a myriad of complaints and sighs from the wispy souls waiting in line.
"Is this that Goku fella I've been hearing about?"
"They say he's always holding up the line."
"Hurry up already!"
"Now the only reason I'm letting you do this Goku is because your track record is good. 1 for 1. That, and the fact that Raditz helped avert the possible disaster of many Earthlings dying unjust deaths. If you're wrong about this one that's on me as well as you, but just know." He handed Goku the two large envelopes. "I won't let you touch another fruit ever again."
"That's fine." Goku grunted out as he held onto the cumbersome envelopes. "Thanks, for the opportunity anyway. Eh." He positioned them over his shoulders. "You didn't have to grant me this for my friends but you did anyway. Thanks a lot King Yemma!"
The ogre just nodded, a large toothy smile as Goku ran to the back and down the snake trail to hell just to the side of the giant open double doors in the back. Yemma stroked his beard for a while before turning his attention to the piling line of souls waiting to be processed.
"Oh wow."
"Favouritism, we should go on strike."
"How are they just okay with this?"
"The rich just keep getting richer, unbelievable."
"Hehhhhhhhh~" His heavy sigh shook the establishment. "Below. Above. Below."
Goku
Goku walked the line around the maroon and grey crevices of the damned, making sure to also avoid the cloudy spirits dotting the cherry landscape.
"Whoop~"
"Hey, get tha fuck outta hea'!"
"Sorry!" Goku replied quickly, hopping from surface to surface as he neared the golden tree.
Goz looked down from the top of the tree, sitting up from his lackadaisical lay.
"Yo! Mez!"
"Whazzat?"
"That goofy muhfucka! He back."
"Real?" Mez raised a brow, fixing his thick rimmed glasses.
"Real." Goz landed in a huff next to him, gusts kicking up from the heavy weight on the white steps.
"Ayyyyyy!" Mez yelled, cupping his hands in front of his face as Goku appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
"Hi! Been a while."
"Let me guess." Mez replied, already opening the envelope, Goku totally surprised, having not realised until a full second later. "Yup."
"Well I'll be." Goz shot back sarcastically. "Yemma really like you, huh?"
"I guess."
"Most souls don't get to just take more than one fruit from the tree ya know. And 99 times out of 100 it's for themselves. I don't think I've Ever seen a soul take three from the tree before."
"Me neither, Mez. Young blood must be pretty special." Goz held the 'pretty' in his statement, amplifying the sass as Goku walked up the steps to fetch the fruits.
"Not so fast, Kid." Goz impacted Goku's chest quickly, handing off the fruits.
"Ya know, one of these days I want to go grab a fruit myself."
"Better go make more shitty friends then."
"They're not shitty." Goku pouted.
"That's what they all say, but you do you, Kid!" Mez smirked like a bastard, busting a gut as Goku walked off in a huff.
Krillin
"I mean, it can't be anything else here can it?" Krillin asked, the flaky frozen grass crunching under his feet as he examined the white space ship from below.
"Yeah, this is it. It's pretty sick, honestly. There's a lot of space inside."
Raditz floated up and touched the cerulean blue orbs of glass on the outside. Breathing out harshly, causing steamy fog to expand and then retreat into nothingness. The burly Saiyan nodded his head then landed back on the ground.
"So? We leaving now?"
"Not yet, I want to ask Mr. Popo a few questions about Namek if I can."
The Wolf crossed his arms and looked out into the icy tundra. His brow sharpened and his mouth tightened in a pout.
"We're gonna get you back boys, it won't take long at all." He stated with pride as the streams of frost and winds swept across the icescape.
"My brother came back for me, so now it's my turn." Raditz thought to himself as he ran his hand along the sharp white leg of the ship.
"You guys wanna stay here or..?" Krillin posited to the group with his one arm.
"Well, we should probably go grab Bulma, she's good with this sort of stuff. I'll go grab her if you want to go hit up Popo."
"Sounds good. What are you gonna do, Raditz?"
Raditz looked at the sharp blades of grass under his feet for a while before meeting the turtle student's eyes.
"I might just wait here."
Krillin raised a brow for a moment before prodding.
"You know you should probably go grab an extra set of clothes before we depart. Go ahead and leave with Yamcha. I bet Bulma would be willing to lend you a hand."
Raditz shrugged his shoulders in agreeance and the pair shot off in the opposite direction.
Mr. Popo
"You're sure Namek has survived?"
"No I'm not sure, Mr. Popo. But we can ask the guy that trained Goku. He knows everything that goes on in the-"
"North Galaxy."
"Ri-hight!" Krillin almost jumped in shock, rubbing the back of his head as the Kai spoke.
"Yes, Popo, Namek is still there. The storm that forced Kami away did not destroy the planet."
"Thank goodness." Popo put his hands over his dark black chest and breathed out slowly.
Popo walked forward slowly and put his hand on Krillin's shoulder, a red carpet flying in behind him.
"I'm sorry about your arm, Krillin, I know you boys worked so hard to defeat the Saiyans."
"If you and Kami didn't help us Popo, It'd be more than just my arm missing."
"You are too kind."
"Nonsense."
"I'll lead the way, Krillin."
"Of course."
The turtle student trailed behind the red carpet Popo flew on, having trouble keeping up.
"What the~ why is that thing so fast?"
After passing through the clouds for a while, the cold breeze of the tundra finally impacted them, almost all at once. The pair touched down and the hatch for the ship opened.
"Piccolo."
DWRRRRRRRRRRRRR~
"How'd ya get it open? That's what we were having trouble with."
"This ship uses Namekian phrases and voice recognition for its controls."
"Wild."
"Indeed." Popo crossed his arms and stepped onto the platform, Krillin following suit seconds later.
"Oop, sorry."
Popo said nothing as the two rose slowly into the ship.
"Did you say Piccolo out there? Or did I mishear you?"
"No, I did." Popo responded as the floating panel closed.
"What does that mean in Namekian?"
"New World. Or to put it another way: Traveler or Travelling. Namekian names usually don't just mean one thing. Piccolo is technically Kami's name."
Krillin's eyes widened.
"As you might remember, Kami was forced to leave Namek on this ship just after he was born, I assume his parents named him that for good luck."
Popo spoke into the console and in a flash the two of them were staring at the moon.
"Whoa…" Krillin put his hand on the glass like a kid.
"I cannot leave The Lookout so I'm going to have to teach at least one of you the common phrases you'll need to pilot this ship to Namek."
Krillin looked back with a stoic smile.
"You can count on me, Popo." He presented his right hand for a shake and the red vested Co-Guardian shook with pride.
"I know I can count on you all to bring Kami back safely."
"Thanks, Popo."
The pair turned around, after Popo spoke again the platform started to slowly descend. Krillin deep in thought, hand on his chin.
Gohan
"This is so exciting!" Bulma exclaimed cheerily, waving as she got on the platform.
Chi-Chi looked into the eyes of her son with a motherly and worried air about her. She pulled him in close and they hugged it out.
"It's okay, mom. They took really good care of me last time, I know they'll make sure I'm fine this time. When am I gonna get the chance to go to another planet again?" He waved his toddler arms around in the only way a child can to reinforce his point.
"You're right baby, I'm just-" She wiped tears away with her right wrist. "You're just growing up so fast and~"
"You worry too much, Chi-Chi. Little man's gonna be just fine."
Yamcha wore a sly smile as he extended his left hand for a fist bump. Chi-Chi just laughed through her nose and stood up, arms crossed in a sassy manner. He smiled again with charm and she broke.
"Fiiine." She let out with a smile before returning the display of good faith.
"What's up, Gohan?"
"Ha-ha!" He laughed out jubilantly before high fiving The Wolf.
"Gohan?"
"Ohp~" He turned around quickly to meet his mother's gaze before bowing deeply with respect. "Nice to see you again, Yamcha."
"Hagh-Hagh!" He laughed from the gut at the little boy's respectful greeting.
Chi-Chi shot a frown and a stink eye at The Wolf but he didn't care, patting Gohan on the back and maneuvering him towards the platform.
"I'll make sure he brushes his teeth and stuff!"
"I'm counting on you!"
"I know!"
"You better take good care of my boy!" Chi-Chi yelled again as she neared the platform.
"I will!" Yamcha yelled back, getting into a pushup position to maintain eye contact as the platform closed off from the outside. "Welp! Now that you're here kid, we got one little hurdle left."
Raditz stared at Gohan sharply from the seat in the front and it knocked him on his ass.
"Yeah…" He scratched his face with a cringing expression. "Not my best moment, kid, I'll keep it 100. My bad."
Gohan backed away slowly until he made contact with Krillin's chest.
"Don't worry, he's with us now. Even if he isn't, Yamcha and I will make sure to protect you."
Gohan looked around, noticing Krillin's missing left arm right away. The turtle student just laughed it off and rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah, heh heh. That last battle was pretty crazy. Your mom is making the right call with you sticking to your studies, Gohan. This planetary defence stuff can get really dangerous."
Gohan bowed with respect and looked around again.
"Hey kid!" Bulma exclaimed, bent over, hand raised for a high five.
"Hey Bulma!" They met hands and Bulma stood up, shifting her stance to that of hands on hips.
"Do the honours, bro."
"Oh, little old me?" Krillin pointed to himself with a smile.
The turtle student wandered to the front of the ship and spoke into the console with a smooth but subtle tone. The ship whirred and hummed lowly before it tore across the sky and into the stars instantly.
"Whoa…" Gohan let out dumbly as he practically planted his face on the glass.
Yamcha smiled pretty slyly and sat back into one of the many chairs in the stark white loft. Raditz got up and brushed his cargo shorts while letting out a harsh breath. The Saiyan warrior looked a lot more like a hippy stoner tourist at the beach and much less like a Saiyan who trained with one of the strongest fighters in the afterlife. He waddled over to Gohan carefully and squatted down to eye-level.
"Can we talk?"
Gohan just made a silly face and looked to Yamcha.
"Hear that Yamcha?" He pointed to the would-be conversational partner. "This scumfuck wants to talk to me."
"HAGH-HAGH-HAGH!"
"We can't keep letting him say things like that." Bulma barely got out through snickers as she almost fell over.
"Ehhh…" A deep sigh of defeatism slipping out at the statement. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry for treating you the way I did."
Gohan just looked back out the window and Raditz nodded with a squirming lip. The tourist-Saiyan flapped the collar of his green and tangerine coloured hawaiian shirt and flopped down onto a reclining chair. Krillin's attention was stolen by the stars and spilling colours of the galaxy, his smile wide before he turned around and headed out the door in the back of the loft.
Bulma, Yamcha, Raditz, and Gohan sat in silence for a while. Yamcha broke it soon enough however.
"Yo, Saiyan!"
"Hmm?"
"When are we gonna have our fight?"
"I assume after we revive everyone, that way no one can cover for your bitch ass when you lose. They'll all have eyes on the fight."
"That's just not true. I'm gonna mollywhop you so hard you're gonna have to shave your head in shame. There's only gonna be one long haired martial artist around here."
"We'll see about that."
There was another small silence that Yamcha soon broke once more.
"What are the Saiyans like?"
"How do you mean?"
"Like other than the tails and what not. I knew Goku was different but Earth has a lot of strange stuff. I learned not to ask questions when Tien showed up, some dude with three eyes and four arms is about the same level of weirdness as a kid who can transform into an ape."
"Well, the Saiyans are a fierce race of warriors. It's in our blood to want to fight. It's honestly kind of strange to see Gohan so mild-mannered. That's not how children are on Vegeta."
Yamcha raised a brow.
"That your planet's name or somethin'?"
Raditz nodded, turning around the chair, leaning over the top with his arms, legs out at the side and sitting backwards.
"I dunno, Goku's pretty chill so I guess Gohan's chill as a result. I bet he'd be more into training if he was Tien's kid. All that dude does every day is like train."
Bulma averted her gaze to the stars, her lip sliding down a bit melancholically.
"Could have something to do with his half-breed genetics. I could see that." Raditz glanced loosely at Gohan and furrowed his brow.
Tien
"Tiennn!" Goku yelled loudly into the dreary and blood red unknown of Hell until his gravelly friend's voice cut across sharply.
"Goku!"
The younger brother smiled with pride and scurried along the broken and upheaved ground until he came across a banging red stream of liquid pouring into a reservoir below. A lone white cloud floated atop the waterfall and Goku just assumed.
Splushh!
"Hey Buddy!" Goku called out, landing and splashing in the red water.
"My man!" He responded quick, turning his goopy cloud body to face him.
"Eat this!"
"What? A fruit?"
"Yeah!"
"How? I don't have teeth, Goku."
Tien's friend just smiled and shoved the golden apple into the middle of his cloudy apparition.
"What the?"
Moments later, shining golden lights streamed out of the cloud and soon enough, Tien's full frame touched down into the water. Streams running along his arms and hands and pulling the current astray ever so slightly. He instinctively touched his neck, a large scar mark around it.
"Unreal."
"Good to see you, Buddy!" Goku chimed out as he hugged Tien.
The Three-Eyed Man smiled and reciprocated, throwing an arm over him as he stood up.
"How did you..?"
"This is what I had to do for Raditz to train with him."
"Wow, so you weren't bullshitting?"
Goku just shook his head plainly to both sides.
"I never got to see him, that Saiyan was incredibly strong. He got Chiaotzu too, and now that he's gone…"
"Don't worry, Tien."
The Crane raised his brows as high as they would go, the trickling stream of thick fluid passing underneath the both of them adding a backdrop of noise to the affair.
Kshhhhhhhh~
"Krillin, Yamcha, and my brother are working on a plan to get to Kami's home planet. There's Dragon Balls there too."
"Yeah, I know better than to doubt you." He shoved his palm into Goku's chest with a smile. "Where's Chiaotzu now?"
"He's up." Goku just loosely pointing his index at the sky. "We gotta go get Piccolo first and then we can-"
"Are you sure, Goku? This is our chance, we could let it go now. Piccolo served his time and he can repent in peace. I figure he might even like this solitary lifestyle after getting to know him a bit."
"I can't do that. Kami needs to be revived too and besides, we have to let bygones be bygones. Piccolo fought for the safety of our planet twice now. He's more than covered the debt his father gathered."
Tien looked to the streaming water around his ankles in thought.
"You're right, Goku, though I wouldn't exactly say twice. It was definitely not a real defence the first time against Raditz. He didn't even attempt to cover our asses that time."
"You worry too much, he's a good guy. I can tell."
"Phuuu~ Whatever you say, Goku."
The Kai student smiled and waved Tien along as he blasted off of the water and into the crimson sky above.
Piccolo
The fluttering of his cloudy soul waved back and forth as Piccolo sat by his lonesome in an enormous pile of steely spikes.
"Welp. I guess I got what I deserved. Didn't conquer the Earth, killed Goku for the wrong reasons, barely even got rid of the Mongrel's armour. Looks like I can't do anything right."
"Piccolooo~"
"Hmph. If I didn't know any better I'd think that's Goku right now."
"Piccolo! Buddy! I Got Tien With Me!"
"You've got to be joking." Piccolo floated right through the spikes to the outside, yelling back. "I'm over here, Mongrel!"
"Piccolo! What's up!?"
Shuup!
Tien touched down behind his friend and crossed his arms, watching carefully as Goku sauntered ever closer to the wispy white cloud.
"Just biding my time. Can't do much with only this cloud form I've~ how do you have your body?"
"Long story, here!" Goku jubilantly shoved the golden fruit into his cottony midsection before laughing in hysterics and rising high into the sky, Tien followed suit as the light show started.
After a short while, golden lights shot out of the crevices here and there until Piccolo stood next to the pair, floating high above the spiked area.
"What in the?"
"Yeah! King Yemma's fruit! It's how they give people their bodies back. Can't do it any other way apparently."
"And you got this fruit..?"
"I asked for it. Once for Raditz and once for you guys!"
"You got Raditz his body back?"
"Yup!"
"I would have assumed they wish you back, not that Mongrel that attempted to steal your son. Did we even win?"
"Yeah! Krillin beat Vegeta and Raditz sent them both packing on their spaceships."
"So Raditz is on Earth right now?"
"Maybe? I dunno. They're making a plan to wish us back with another planet's Dragon Balls I think. Can't wish us back with Kami's. That's for sure. Huh-Hah!"
Tien just shook his head, wearing a sly smile to the side as he had both arms crossed.
"We were gonna go looking for Chiaotzu up in heaven. You want to come with us?"
"Why do you care, Son Goku? I killed you." Piccolo answered back, a sharp cold glare at his eyes.
"You helped save my son. You helped save the others, and you bought time for me and my brother to arrive. I know we're not on the best terms, but I want us to be rivals. Not enemies… if that's okay with you." Goku's bright smile almost made Piccolo consider shaking his outstretched hand but The Namekian refused, brushing the hand aside.
"I'll think about it."
"Thanks, Piccolo." The upbeat smile he still wore after being denied was almost disgusting.
"Hmph." Is all Piccolo could get out before Tien and Goku flew towards the snake path at the entrance.
They left him to his thoughts and exited. Piccolo pondered for a long time, bringing his legs in close and crossing his arms in meditation.
"Makes sense why Gohan is the way he is. Goku asks a lot of questions and likes to learn as well. Most of the time Gohan wasn't even saying much, just asking why something was the way it was. If I can get along with Gohan, I guess I can learn to get along with Son."
The heavy thoughts floated around in his mind for a while before he broke the meditation and stood on the ground. He looked to the drained red sky housing the strange gelatinous and brightly coloured beans. Piccolo stared up at the sky for a long time and promptly decided to go with the others, even though they had already left some time ago.
The Green Man floated through the scarred grey landscape and to the snake-like entrance. He stopped his flight and just walked regally up the steps in thought. After a while he rounded the 90 degree angle at the top and strided into Yemma's check-in station. The giant red ogre still hard at work filing the papers. He glanced back at Piccolo's presence instinctively.
"Well, can't say I'm surprised, given that I basically just let Goku do what he wanted. Hello, Piccolo. Below."
"Yemma."
"Below."
There was a pause as Piccolo just glared deeply at the large ogre.
"Above. Is there something you need? Below."
"How do I get to Heaven?"
"HAH-HAH!" The King's laughter shook the building with ferocity, but The Demon maintained his frame with arms crossed in a declaration. "Well, let's just say people like you have a hard time getting there. Above."
"Save me the patronisation, how do I physically go there? Goku and Tien are going there to meet up with Chiaotzu."
"You think I'm going to let someone like you into Heaven just because you want to?"
Piccolo's mouth shifted under the reality.
"Tien's come a long way, he was actually probably going to be released after only like a year of self-reflection. You on the other hand, I'm not so sure. You are technically just King Piccolo. It's not really like a father-son deal. All of his sins are attached to you, no one else. It's the same soul."
Piccolo had some suspicions about that, but hearing it out loud made it all the more real.
"Demon King Piccolo died, sure, but his soul never came up here, all of it's in you."
"I see."
"So, no. I'm not letting you into Heaven. Above."
Unlike with Goku, the waiting souls got some insight into the business of the afterlife and were less inclined to yell insults at The Demon King.
"He's a Demon King!?"
"And he's got his body? No way!"
"That's fuckin' sick! Rock on man, The Demon King goes hard. He committed sins and still got a body and shit."
Piccolo let out a determined sigh and rested his back against the wall, the door leading to Snake Way wide open. After a while, Yemma looked over, annoyed by The Demon King just standing there.
"That's the path that leads to King Kai's. If you've got nothing else to do, you might as well just go through there. Below."
Piccolo reared his head around the doorway and pondered for a moment.
"King Kai is the one who trained Goku, correct?"
"Yes. Above."
Piccolo nodded and stepped out onto the large purple tongue of the snake head.
Kami
"I'd like to say those seats were comfy, but I couldn't feel anything." Tien laughed as they walked down the steps of the plane and onto the glistening green grass of the prairie.
Shining flowers breezed across the landscape. Around the perimeter was a bright sky blue gate that almost shined white. Tien looked around, perplexed.
"This place seems kind of small, doesn't it?" Right as Tien finished his question, Kami and Chiaotzu walked right into view, almost as if they faded in from nothingness.
"Tien!" Chiaotzu yelled as they brought it in for a clasping of the hands.
"I'm proud of you, Chiaotzu. You deserve to be up here."
Chiaotzu just smiled as Kami walked in from behind, his brown staff parting some of the grass. Tien raised a brow.
"But I thought that~"
"I have yet to fulfill my guardianship. I died in battle technically. I also have not yet chosen a successor, so unless I went down there and withered away I cannot. Not yet anyway."
"Oh."
"Good to see you again, Young Tien, Young Goku." He bowed respectfully to both.
Goku forwent a bow and leaped at The Guardian of Earth for a hug, clinging to him tightly.
"Heh-heh. How did I not see that one coming?"
"It's really great to see you, Kami. I'm glad you helped me with my ki blasts all those years ago."
"Nothing to it. It's my job to help Earth defend itself. Now why are you boys here?"
"I'm here to grab Chiaotzu, but now that you're here Kami, I'm grabbing you too."
"Grabbing?"
"Yeah! Tien and I were gonna go train with King Kai until our friends wished us back!"
"We were?" Tien smirked.
"My bad. Haugh-hee-hee." He giggled out with the goofiest smile. "Come on!" Goku commanded, waving them back towards the immaculately polished airplane at the entrance of Heaven.
Kami and Chiaotzu glanced at each other for a short moment before Kami spoke:
"After you."
Chiaotzu and The Guardian of Earth smiled, tailing behind Tien and Goku.
Slug
"Nail~" A squeaky and unnerved voice called out from the darkness, it told of solemnity and sorrow.
The darkness of the room shadowed the three figures inside, one child, one enormous being, and another tall but distinctly more thin figure. The only light streaming from the ceiling illuminated a large golden sphere with red stars on it. A dominating green hand laid upon the sphere and palmed it.
"You don't need to do this, Slug is not virtuous. He does not care for the survival of the Namekians."
The imposing shadow stood tall, much higher above the other shadow across the room. Another figure stood close to the person with the large Dragon Ball. The smaller figure spoke up, from behind the Namekian with the large orange orb.
"A man we do not know the origins of is now responsible for the safety of the Namekians, Cargo. It's my duty as destined by Guru to make sure that I am this planet's Guardian. I'm not foolish enough to think that I can challenge him... Yet. Goodbye, my friend."
The small Namekian ran around the illuminated table and grasped tightly onto the pantleg of the shorter figure.
"Please, Nail. I know that you're no-"
DMM!
The imposing and full shadow slammed his back hand onto the child's cheek, thrusting them across the room and into the wall
"Not what, kid? Are you saying that being like me is a problem?" The booming, masculine voice echoed through the darkness loud and clear. The tall figure shook his head and walked out of the building.
"Nail…" The small child called out through coughs.
"I'm sorry Cargo, but I won't let Cooler be the one who reigns over us. This is Namek. It should be watched over by Namekians."
Nail bowed his head to little Cargo and strided out of the house and into the bright green skies of Namek. He breathed in deep before looking over at his partner, a large scar over his left eye.
Cooler
A being resembling Frieza and Emperor Cold stood next to a shorter Namekian with a red vest and white pants. A white scarf at the neck line.
"I'm sorry Elder Muri but I'm just not interested in that level of responsibility."
The Namekian nodded his head at the statement and the two of them stared into the green shimmering water in front of them.
"Guarding Namek from would-be invaders is enough for me. I don't need to be meddling in your political affairs as well, it's not my place."
"You've shown more grace and respect for our culture than some of the Namekians that have lived here their whole lives. You deserved at least a chance at it."
"You flatter me Muri, I'm just trying to do the right thing. Your people welcomed me with open arms and asked no questions. Guarding this place is the least I can do." He replied once more, crossing his arms behind his back.
The Elder's brow furrowed downward, weathered by time. The green on his skin a tad mellowed out. The Elder looked to his companion and patted him on the back.
"Thanks for speaking with me, Cooler."
Cooler nodded and The Elder walked away, his brown shoes brushing against the blue grass softly as Cooler looked to the sky. Cooler also wore a vest and a scarf. The vest the same colour as the gem piece atop his head, a royal blue. He wore white pants and no shoes, they would just get in the way of his large purple talons. Unlike Frieza, Cooler's white portions were segmented. A fleshier purple skin on his legs, arms, feet, neck, and tail. His shoulders, chest, shins, forearms, and head were the only parts that resembled Frieza's
Cooler breathed in deep through his nose and looked at the white suns in the sky, three dots littering and blazing down from far away.
"Where does all the time go? You think you're doing one thing and then suddenly you're just not anymore." He ruminated, tapping his left foot on the blue grass rhythmically, his large purple tail jiving back and forth.
Cooler put his hands on his hips and looked to the side before shifting his gaze to the grass. He sighed out loudly and then brushed at his deep blue vest with his right hand before turning around and walking past the thin khaki-coloured 'trees' with blue shrubbery at their tops. He sighed out one more time before looking to the green water longingly. All at once he took off the vest, scarf and pants, diving into the water with grace and swimming away.
Krillin
Raditz' periodic looks at Gohan unnerved the boy a tad, edging him to put up a shell with his body language. Bulma breathed out a long sigh. Krillin waltzed around the ship aimlessly and Yamcha laid on deep into the reclining chair. Krillin eventually stepped in front of the console and looked at the strange symbols gyrating back and forth.
"You know." The turtle student's voice caught everyone's attention. "I feel like it would have been smarter to learn a few of these symbols."
"Well what's the point? We only need the commands to fly so I don't really..?" Yamcha played with a small orb of light in his hands, tossing it up high, almost to the ceiling.
"Nah, would've been smarter to cover more bases so we could tell how far along in our trip we are."
"Well Popo said it wouldn't take very long didn't he?" Yamcha replied, catching the sphere of yellow Ki.
"Yeah. Only like two months. Round trip being four of course."
Raditz stood up and stretched it out.
"Dahhh~" He groaned. "Sitting in one place for too long is bad for a Saiyan. I need somewhere to stretch my legs."
"Well the only place we got is here so…" Bulma responded drearily, cheek on her palm, staring out the window.
"Well what do you suggest we do in the meantime, Earthling?"
"Name's Bulma."
"When you earn my respect, I'll call you whatever you want."
The urge to fight back surfaced but she just rolled her eyes and averted her attention back to the outside of the ship. Mystical explosions of colours lay dormant, grey rocks floating about.
"I mean I don't have anything so don't ask me." Bulma replied, her unenthusiasm somewhat infectious.
"You guys want to play hot potato with a Ki blast?" Krillin suggested, turning around.
"Yooo~" Yamcha held the reinvigorated callout for a while as he sat up in his chair.
"I mean, Bulma and Gohan couldn't play for very long but it'd be a good chance to practice our skills and coordination."
"You can manipulate the heat of a Ki blast, Krillin?"
"Well, I can try. Easier said than done, but we'll be here a while. Practicing our techniques with more low key solutions is probably the best we got. I figured we might as well do something like that when I saw Yamcha throwing that ball around."
"Nice thinking." Raditz responded, tapping his temple with an index finger.
"Oh so Krillin gets to be called by his name, But I Don't?"
"I would say something along the lines of: 'Suck my ginormous cock, Earthling' but I get the feeling you'd be into that sort of thing. So no thanks." He remarked, putting his palm on the air as he deliberately made his way around the room on the far end from Yamcha.
The Saiyan stood up and stretched it out, cracking his knuckles loudly.
"Oh-ho my god." Bulma winced. "Gross."
Raditz smiled deeply, the kind of smile you can't hide because your eyes tell of the genuineness.
"Oh? The Saiyan stretches freak out Earthlings?" He rotated his core, waist, and shoulders in a tight formation, another trickle of crackling sounds poppin.
"Euuuuuugh~" She shuddered.
"Hah-Hah-Hah!" He laughed proudly, knuckles on his hips.
Yamcha laughed it out too, taking joy in the small discomfort of his maybe-girlfriend?
"Well?" Raditz prodded, raising a brow and turning his gaze to that of the turtle student.
Krillin conjured a yellow orb in his palm and threw it into the centre of the room. There it remained for a while as the turtle student stared at it.
"So are we gonna do this thing or~"
"I'm trying to see if I can raise or lower it's temperature while it's out of my hand. I can do it easy when it comes back to me in rotation but it'd be better if I could do it without that caveat."
"Well, bruh, couldn't We just add the heat when it comes our way?"
"Sure, that'd work too. You know how to do that?"
"Never tried managing someone else's Ki blast before." He dug his nails in deep to the long shaggy hair at the back, filing and coming through loose strands. "But it shouldn't be too hard for someone like Me. Maybe you'll have to sit this one out though, Saiyan."
Raditz only smirked at the taunt The Wolf provided.
Tien
"Wha~?" Tien squinted and locked eyes with Piccolo who just appeared out of nowhere.
Piccolo looked back and grunted.
"But~" He looked around everywhere. "Where's Goku?"
"This place seems to have some sort of space-alteration. I don't think I've made much progress at all. I can still see where the soul receiving station is from here and I've been walking for a while now."
"But Chiaotzu, Kami~"
"Interesting." Piccolo mused.
"Where'd you get your clothes?"
Piccolo gathered a yellow pulsating moung of energy at his index and middle finger, touching it against The Crane and firing. His traditional green pants and black kung fu shoes shimmered onto his form. He patted at them feverishly.
"You can just~"
Piccolo turned around, not answering. Tien made sure to examine back and forth around the Snake Way. Yielding no results he pranced forward and walked the road, shoulder to shoulder with The Demon. Piccolo shot a piercing gaze before turning his attention back to the path.
"Whatever this place is, I feel that I've only made a modicum of progress since I've gotten here. I'm almost tempted to just go back and leave you fools to your endeavors."
"No sweat off my back."
"I know that, Mongrel."
There was a bit of animosity but they kept it decently civil. After what felt like hours Tien breathed out heavily and turned his full attention to the only other thing on Snake Way.
"Why do you just sit back and watch? That's not how you were at The 23rd. Both in the fight against Raditz and the other Saiyans As Well As during sparring, you would always just stay far away before engaging. Thinking can't take you that long can it?"
"Hmph."
Tien focused his attention, prodding at the Namekian with his trifecta of occulary pressure.
"I've only ever lost since I fought against Goku for the first time. There had to be something wrong with my martial arts so I endeavored to fix it. It worked against Raditz so that's one mark on the board but I'm not quite there yet. Lost to you Mongrels when you jumped me and then again to that shaggy haired dumbass on The Lookout. Shit pissed me off so much I had to get back to the drawing board."
"I'll say. You don't even have the same look about you anymore. You used to be vicious. The guy at the world martial arts tournament and the man standing in front of me now are two entirely different people."
There was no verbal response, he just shot a simmering glance at Tien.
"You know that you can just jump into a fight and not have to think through everything."
"I understand that, dumbass."
"Then why did you hesitate for so long? In both fights when it mattered. You made a point about that against Yamcha too so I don't really wanna hear any argument."
"The fucker killed me, you, and Chiaotzu. Anyone else I leave out?"
Tien just sharpened his brow, his third eye gazing into the soul of The Demon.
"In both fights we were heavily, and I mean Heavily outmatched. The three of us made one wrong move each and that was enough. I do all that thinking because I'm not foolish enough to run headfirst into a situation in which I'm that outclassed." Piccolo shook his head and sighed. "My perspective shifted once I could learn how to sense Ki. I realised just how weak I am in comparison to the threats in front of me." Piccolo shot one more ice cold glare at Tien. "Looks like we beat the Saiyans and that's that."
The Crane held his glare for a long time but eventually relented and averted his gaze back to the walkway and the pair marched on.
"I can sense Ki too, the big difference between you and me is that I'm not interested in cowering at the sight of my opponent's strength. Goku would never and has never. If I aim to pass him, I have to do as he would."
"You never think of a strategy, you just go all in and hope it works. Krillin basically had to tell you what to think the whole time, and guess what? His analytical mind saved him from a quick death."
"Where'd your analytical mind get you, Piccolo? You're stuck the same place I am. As far as I'm concerned, the reason Krillin survived is because he was a more resourceful and skilled martial artist. Goku and Yamcha too."
"Heh." Piccolo growl-laughed, crossing his arms in defiance. "You really think that dog-eared Mongrel is a good martial artist? Don't make me laugh."
"He's not the one with a halo over his head. He fought like a badass and held it down when we couldn't. End Of." Tien waved his hands in an x motion, looking at the face of The Demon. "Goku gives you way too much respect, Krillin too, I know the only reason you practiced with us was to serve your own agenda and make sure we didn't get any stronger than you. Guess what? I'm now your equal, and you can't deny that."
"Say that again. Yamcha beat me on The Lookout because I was unprepared and taking it easy. You guys trained for 10 months only for me to catch up in two." He said, bringing up the relevant amount of fingers while still maintaining his cross-armed declaration. "That must make you Reeeal uncomfortable." Piccolo turned his full attention to Tien and presented a challenge with his body language, stepping firmly in front of him, barring the path into the unknown of Snake Way. "Knowing that I don't even have to Try to be on your level. I spend hours meditating while you slave away in your workouts."
Tien was not a short man, but Piccolo's 6 foot 7 frame would dominate just about anybody.
"Beat me and I'll think about taking what you have to say seriously."
Tien smirked, a cocky demeanor taking over.
"You said it yourself, all you do is lose. Besides, not that hard if Yamcha can do it."
Tien VS Piccolo
Objective: Shift the ideology!
The Demon and The Crane sidled around each other for what felt like an eternity before Tien made the first move, dashing off of the limited space Snake Way provided. Piccolo evaded the starting jabs his opponent threw using head movement, circling to the outside, his cape following only a moment later. Tien laid down a trap with his left leg, carving a full rotation. It tripped up Piccolo, causing his turban to fall, but The Demon was ready, catching himself mid-air in flight. Tien held no quarter, pressuring The Green Man while he was parallel with the ground and upside down.
Piccolo caught the flurry of crane strikes Tien threw in a barrage, the speed and piercing power of which blaring out a sound of gunfire. The Demon found his moment, parrying and pulling The Crane's left arm inward from the wrist. Off balance, Tien was thrust forward and into Piccolo's crown for a headbutt. Tien reeled after the contact against his nose and Piccolo slammed a left leg onto his right shoulder, forcing him to kneel on that side.
"Gahhh~" Tien grunted as Piccolo dipped back down to the ground, locking his arms into a chokehold over his scarred neck.
Piccolo locked it in tighter, his Namekian arms rotating and weaving around like snakes to bolster the hold. The Demon grunted out loudly as he turned to the right for leverage. Tien clasped his hands together in the volleyball stance and a hefty weight impacted onto Piccolo's chest, loosening his grip considerably. Piccolo's eyes widened as he saw the extra limbs sprout out of Tien's back. Capitalising on the moment, Tien jammed his bottom two elbows into The Demon's midsection, bending him over and releasing the hold. Following through with that, Tien's top two elbows also shot backwards at his enemy's exposed head.
Dmm-Dmm! Dmm-Dmm!
"Rrrrrrrgh!" Piccolo growled through grit teeth as he back pedaled from the two-turned-four strikes.
Tien kept going, turning around and slamming his right elbows into Piccolo's face and stomach simultaneously. To finish the combination, Tien stepped inward after the right elbows and slammed down two overhand lefts right onto Piccolo's temple and jaw.
Dmm-Dmm-DMM-DMM!
"Uwuaagh!" He grunted awkwardly as he slid back from the pummeling.
Tien launched at Piccolo with great speed off of his right foot, raising his left knee up high near his chest. The Demon looked to punish Tien's advancement with an extending long left arm but Tien dipped low just in time, his third eye perceiving the threat perfectly. Tien's advance shifted low to dodge his adversary's arm and he gyrated his hands in a clockwise motion, his upper set of arms fading into bubbles of Ki and he thrusted a killer left elbow, tripling down on the midsection.
"Rrrrraghhh!" Piccolo let out another forceful grunt as Tien winded back and prepared for another left elbow, this time at the face.
Piccolo acted quickly, parrying the attack at the armpit, shoving The Crane's left arm to the salmon coloured sky. Before he could do anything Piccolo sent his own powerful answer to the midsection with a closed left fist. Tien reeled and Piccolo launched The Crane back towards the check-in station with a stepping left thrust kick. Tien skipped along the winding trail of Snake Way before skidding to a halt with his hands on the ground.
The Crane dashed like mad in a straight line after recovering, easy enough to counter for The Demon. He planted a firm left boot right in the stomach, or would have if Tien's reaction speed didn't facilitate a block with his right palm. Tien threw the leg aside and attempted his own step-in side kick using his right only for Piccolo to go with the momentum and duck under the strike, the top of his cape wrapping up around his leg.
Tien's third eye shot around to his right side, ahead of the reaction speed of his other two and he crouched low to avoid The Demon's left roundhouse from behind him. He launched in a low volleyball slide out of pressure only for Piccolo to follow through very closely. The Demon reared back his right hand to strike down with the hand of God but Tien swatted it away with his left leg and kicked with the heel at Piccolo's neck in one fluid motion.
Skfffffffff~Whoo-Swut-WHACK!
Tien rose up with his flight and turned around with 180 degree finesse to jam in a fly-by knee strike with his right leg. Piccolo gathered energies in his bruised up throat and fired, a yellow beam impacted Tien's knee harshly and sent him for a tailspin backwards. The Demon gathered another bolt of Ki in his left hand before he shot it at the rolling Crane. Tien deftly launched himself backwards into the air by thrusting his palms onto Snake Way. The Ki blasted the ground of Snake Way and singed it as Tien flew around in a wide arc. Piccolo focused his attention to his flying adversary and studied closely.
As Tien drew near the sparks of electricity gyrated back and forth on Piccolo's green antennae before firing. Tien limboed the sparks only to be caught out by Piccolo's left hand, The Demon slamming The Crane down onto the pavement with a chokeslam.
Da-DOOMMM!
"Dodon Ray!" Tien shot out quickly, Piccolo's already drawn eye lasers met in the middle, clashing.
The weak support the Dodon had fell away under the thin red beams and blasted back against Tien's left hand.
Zyuuuuuuuu~KOFF!
"Duaaaghhh!" Tien groaned as grey dust combusted off of his fingers.
Piccolo's massive right hand socked Tien from the left side, connecting clean against his cheek. The Demon then placed his left knee and full weight on Tien's stomach to trap his movements. Tien grunted out weakly before assuming the position.
"Solar~"
Piccolo just closed his eyes and socked Tien in the mouth for even attempting. The Crane grunted loudly at the ordeal and Piccolo continued his assault.
WHOCK! THWACK! WHU~
During the wind-up of his third strike in the combination, Tien jammed his left index and middle finger in the adam's apple of his opponent.
"Nail!" He screamed ferociously as he jabbed at the throat. "Hammer!" He yelled equally as loud as he followed through, slamming a closed fist on the location in a two-inch punch.
Piccolo was forced to clutch at his throat, backing up and falling on his ass. Tien also scratched at his throat, red from the hold The Demon had on him moments earlier. His three eyes sharpened on-target and he sprinted with high energy. Piccolo floated up in the air with his flight, grabbing his left wrist with his right hand and extending his left palm outwards.
"MASENKO!" His guttural roar was somewhat compromised due to the attack on his neck.
Tien darted out of the way just in time, rounding the outside on the right. He raised his hands to strike with the crane jabs. As soon as he started to rain them down, Piccolo moved in a teardrop shape with his flight, just out of range of the crane jabs and he sunk a long-legged right roundhouse at The Crane's temple.
WHUMM!
"Uuouughhh~" Tien stumbled forward from the ordeal as Piccolo landed in front of him.
Tien attempted to defend himself with a left jab but Piccolo caught his wrist in a dominating display. Piccolo grunted and jammed a closed left fist into Tien's throat only to be denied by Tien's right hand palming his. They stood parallel, both of them holding on to one limb a piece. Energy and steam radiated off of them as they stared each other down. Tien shifted in a skillful display, floating using Ki and twisting a right thrust kick into Piccolo's midsection. It didn't work as Piccolo blocked the attack using his left knee. Upon the realisation Tien's three eyes widened and Piccolo slammed another weighty headbutt at Tien's nose.
WHOKK!
Tien abandoned the hold he had on Piccolo's right hand and stumbled away, almost falling off Snake Way. The Demon capitalised on the moment of weakness and thrusted a right punch into his midsection. Tien folded over, exposing his head, Piccolo palmed it like a basketball and threw Tien into the air. During the turbulent flight The Demon conjured another beam in his throat and fired it at Tien. The Crane barely dodged in time only to be caught lacking from up above, Piccolo coming down in slow motion with a devastating right chop.
With not even a full second to react, Tien just moved with what his third eye had given him instinctually. Piccolo touched down on the walkway with a huffy grunt. The stone underneath him cracked slowly from the blow as he stood up.
"That third eye of his seems to be on par with my ears. I can't just strike from an unpredictable angle for the sake of it. I have to punish this Mongrel directly. Every. Single. Time. What a nuisance." The Demon kept to himself as Tien touched down in front of him.
The pair stood opposite each other, near the snake head at the check-in station. Tien's third eye stayed locked on target while he gazed at Yemma's Palace.
"Huh." He hummed out in surprise.
Tien leaned back into his stance, hands at the ready as Piccolo just crossed his arms. They held their poses for an uncomfortably long amount of time for the both of them. Piccolo furrowed his brow.
"He's waiting for me to make the first move for once. Finally you're making some smart moves, but it's far too late, Three-Eyes. You haven't built nearly as much of a knowledge base as I have."
Piccolo unsheathed his arms, putting them at his sides before quickly rushing forward. In a frantic motion The Demon raised his hands, yellow light glowing off of them as pushed them close to Tien's face. Only his index and middle fingers were outstretched on either hand, soon enough a white cape was conjured from nothing. Tien, perplexed, was stuck in the jaw, right through the white clothy fabric.
Tien went with the momentum, flying off of Snake Way, evading the uppercut Piccolo had planned, the punch tearing through the rest of the conjured cape.
"Hmph."
"I never thought he'd use it like that…" Tien rumintated out loud, Piccolo's ears picking it up easily.
The Demon smiled and he rose into the air to meet Tien above Snake Way. They had another staredown before Piccolo engaged again. The Demon threw a flurry of hands only for Tien to palm and parry them to the side. He looked to punish Piccolo's overcommitment but The Demon wouldn't have it, shrugging off Tien's right hook on his jaw and slamming his own right back at him. Tien flew back a ways and Piccolo predicted the movement pattern, another chop from above. Tien dodged at the last moment once again, only for The Demon to stop his momentum altogether.
Piccolo suddenly halted, parallel with Tien's positioning, his left hand down in a chop and his right hand next to his shoulder, charged with energy.
Kuh-KOWWW!
The explosion rocked the skies and blasted The Crane back into the air. As Tien flew, Piccolo came from above again.
"Solar Flare!" Tien called out, Piccolo's eyes closed just in time to rocket his opponent into Snake Way with a double axe handle.
Swuuu~WHOCK! Da-DMM!
Tien bounced off the ground harshly, cracking more of the walkway. As Tien tried to stand, Piccolo appeared. He swatted the left jab his adversary started with, rearing back his right hand and looking to chop at Piccolo's neck. Piccolo caught the attempt firmly, iron gripping onto The Crane's wrist. Piccolo stared down with intensity and Ki pulsed in a heavy wave. A plume of smoke later a weighty black band appeared over Tien's forearm.
"Huhhh?" He grunted out weakly, his arm seemingly weighed down. Veins bursting at the seams trying to lift his right arm parallel to his left.
Piccolo smiled and high roundhoused Tien's neck with his right, sending The Crane crashing into Snake Way once again. As he rolled onto the ground Tien reared back his left hand in the triangle position he used for the Tri-Beam and chopped with great force at the weighty apparatus. A dull thud and cracking sound rung out as Piccolo sent down an overhead left hand. Tien ducked even lower, barely evading the blow while gathering energy in his index and middle finger.
"Dodon Ray!" He shouted as he flew past The Demon and towards the head of the serpent.
The weight was destroyed by the beam but Piccolo pursued Tien feverishly, giving him little breathing room. The Demon whiffed by a hair with his left claw as The Crane shot down like a bullet towards the path, front rolling to maintain the momentum onto the tongue.
"What's happening?"
"Who the fuck is that guy?!"
"Yo this dude a tri-clops?"
Piccolo landed in front of Tien with a great gust, spreading all directions outward. It blew harshly into the check-in station, lightly impacting the cloudy souls. The line broke as they looked to see what was happening out the door to Snake Way.
"Above." Yemma shot an almost predatory glance at the combating duo, his brow sharpening.
In record speed for the fight, Tien shot forward and landed a thrusting elbow strike, Ki radiating off the limb and also the back of him in streams. Piccolo was thrown for a loop and in between Yemma's stamp and his paperwork. The Demon crashed into the massive doors on the other side, kicking up a dramatic display of dust. The souls of the soon-to-be damned and enlightened gasped in horror and joy simultaneously.
Tien pursued in three leaps, one off the tile, one off the desk, and one off of Yemma's stamp.
"Sorry!" He yelled out as he thrusted against the tool, white aura flailing wildly.
Yemma's stamp, nor his arm moved an inch, a testament to his massive battle power of 800,000.
The Crane launched a three-piece of kicks to pressure. One descending left roundhouse to start, one back thrust kick with his right to continue pressure and a final left roundhouse at the midsection to send his opponent back into the wall. Piccolo blocked, but the immense force Tien generated locked him in to blocking the rest instead of preparing anything else. The last kick slammed Piccolo back against the giant doors once again. Tien pressured with a left elbow but The Demon dodged in time and punished with a left boot aimed at the head. The downwards attack angle Piccolo provided sent Tien back on to the tile, The Crane had enough time thanks to the massive space of the check-in station to rebound off the tile, onto the wall, and launch back into combat.
Piccolo limboed the cross arm chop Tien flew in with and grabbed The Crane's legs to punish again. The Namekian used his Ki to generate a potent gyration, spinning a full 360 before letting go, white ki streams floating off of him as he sent The Crane to the floor again. Tien landed harshly, sliding across the ground with a grunt.
"Ooooooooh, that sounds like it hurt."
"Yeah! Go green man!"
"Ima call this dude Big Green!"
"Yuh! Big Green!"
Piccolo shot back a cold stare at the audience, doing the opposite of what he wanted, hyping them up and bolstering their volume.
"Hehhh~" He grunted out as Tien stood back up.
"This isn't really hurting nearly as much as I keep thinking it's going to." Tien spoke plainly as he rubbed his jaw. "It's mostly just the initial shock."
"Below. Your bodies are not tied to any sense of physicality while in Other World. Below. You have to reach a very difficult to attain level of fatigue to really start feeling any physical pain while you're here. Above. If you both use up all of your Ki, then you might start to feel something. Below. Though I'd appreciate it if you both got the hell out of my lobby."
"My bad."
"Well?" Yemma practically commanded them with the movement of his eyes.
Tien glanced at Piccolo for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. The two filed out shortly thereafter, much to the dismay of the bored souls waiting in line.
"Above. Below. Below." Yemma made sure to close the door on their way out with a pulse of Kiai with his left hand. "Below. Above."
Tien and Piccolo squared off once again, stance raised on one side, arms crossed on the other. A flash of light illuminated the two as they met in the middle and The Demon remained standing above The Crane once it cleared. Piccolo offered his hand to the bruised and beaten Tien, he himself littered with blue marks and welts. Tien hesitated at first but eventually met the hand given to him by The Demon.
"Why?"
"I do this kind of stuff to test people. What are you willing to do when you're steeped in your rage? That's the anger I felt when you all ganged up on me at The 23rd. That's the kind of resentment I held for myself when I passed the benchmark set by my father only to lose when it didn't matter to you four. It disgusted me, but it also stunted my growth. If I want to get better I have to remind myself to not fall prey to such base instincts, if I incite the rage in others it reminds me to not fall victim to it myself."
Piccolo shot a cursory glance at Tien before he resumed his walk down Snake Way.
"You passed by the way. You felt it, which is natural after I taunted you, but you never let it taint your martial arts. I just happened to be better today… That is all." Piccolo's right hand glowed yellow before it shot a beam at his figure, the cape and turban spawning over him.
Fwofff~
"Huh." He clenched and unclenched his jaw as he stood up.
Tien dusted himself off quickly before catching up with The Green Man in front of him.
"I learned a long time ago that my martial arts weren't all they were cracked up to be when I almost lost to a little kid at The 22nd. Goku inspired a change in me as well, I used to be ruthless and angry all the time myself. That's no way to live…" He stopped for a moment, using the downtime to ponder. "Sorry for pissing you off if I have. Not really my intention, I try not to live for that vengeant thrill anymore. I broke Yamcha's leg just for the fun of it all those years ago and all I can do now is say sorry, I can't ever take that back."
Piccolo took a moment to respond.
"I respect you and Krillin the most out of all the fighters I know."
Tien was totally not prepared for that to come out of his mouth.
"You're the only one besides me and him who take this shit deadly serious. Goku doesn't skimp out on the training but he hardly fights like his life is on the line, smiling like a dumbass, even to the grave. But I can tell, the memories and thoughts that come off you are only about determination and drive. The reason I respect Krillin is because I feel constant worry and unease coming from him, yet he steps right in front of the enemy anyways."
"You can feel those emotions?"
"I have some degree of Telepathy, always have. I can't really use it on humans the same way I can against animals. It's really difficult to break through the barriers necessary to get into someone's mind. Uses a lot of Ki too. This very limited Telepathy lets me catch bleeding or stray thoughts however." Piccolo smiled for a bit and shifted his gaze from the orange clouds to the only other thing on Snake Way. "You're always thinking about that girl or Goku during training, nothing else."
Tien's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and he endeavored to stare forward. He breathed it out longingly and then extended his hand diplomatically.
"We cool?"
Piccolo smirked, pushing Tien's hand away.
"Hmph."
Tien couldn't help but smile as well.