Yo! Son Goku and friends! Bibidi Saga (Chapter 4)
Goku
Goku chewed with a smile, some food lucky enough to spill out of his mouth before he wiped it clean with a white cloth, chowing down meal after meal as The Kai was just content to watch and sip tea.
"Thanks for the meal again, King Kai."
"No problem. I get bored every once in a while, long as you do the dishes, I don't see a problem with it."
"You're not the one cooking, Master!"
King Kai tipped his shades down at Gregory and the little cricket just put his hands on his bug hips with an air of sass, jiving his head, antennae following through.
"NomNomNomNom~"
Clinck.
"I'm all done! Now you said I was going to King Yemma's Forest, right?"
"Mmhmm."
"What was I supposed to get from there?"
"Ask Montgomery for a Spirit Crystal."
"A Spirit Crystal?"
The Kai nodded a single time.
Snapp!
"Gregory."
"Yes sir?"
"Go with Goku and be nice."
"Sheesh, you act like I hate the guy."
"You were pretty bummed out at how fast he caught you, Gregory. You were holding that over him for a long time."
"Come on, that's all in the past."
"Yeah. Let bygones be bygones." Goku chipped in as he patted the little cricket on the back hard enough to almost swat him right out of the air. "Oops~"
"~ssokay. Hegh! lessjus go." The wobbly insect stated as he floated away with a less than stellar attitude.
"We'll be back in a bit!" Goku shouted as he gave the monkey and Kai a wave and a smile.
Goku and Gregory cleared the jump, walked right through Snake Way and into Yemma's Check-In Station, white clouds nothwithstanding.
"Hi, King Yemma!"
"Below. Hey Goku. Above."
"Bye, King Yemma!"
"Below. Later, Goku. Below."
The pair leaped the snake drop off and Goku spread eagle into a beautiful dipping dive on the air that sailed out into the unknown Gregory hot on his tail, his own tail buzzing and glowing ever brighter.
"Yemma's Forest is in Hell?"
"Where else would it be?"
"I don't know. I guess I just assumed it would be… not here! Huh-Hah!"
Goku let Gregory take the lead as they passed by white fluffy clouds playing volleyball with skulls.
"Hey at least I actually got killed by that rocket. I didn't get killed by no stupid kid with a tail."
"Bruh that kid faded the whole army, what was General Red gonna do about that? Heard he did even more crazy stuff after we died."
"Didn't he kill a God or somethin'?"
"Nah, he uhh, what'd Mez say? I think he killed a demon king or some shit, whatever."
The pair soared through the sky, the dark greys, the blood reds, and the surprisingly somber blues until they reached a checkpoint of sorts. A forest broke out of nowhere from the craggy red, cracked ground. Goku looked left, then right, it was as if the giant forest had nothing else behind it, taking up the entirety of that half of Hell, no end in sight. He loomed high over the treetops and still saw nothing but a fade forest green and more colourful jelly beans.
"I haven't seen many people around here. No clouds for a while."
"Yep!" Gregory replied as he buzzed to life, his glow seeming to colour shift to a sharper and more vibrant white the closer they got to the greenery. "Yemma's influence forces people away from here. This is The Land of The Sprites."
"The Sprites?"
"That's me."
Bonk. Swuuu~
Gregory tapped Goku on the head with his little bug fist and buzzed on into the treeline with a swooping motion. Goku followed and the trees parted soon enough to reveal a gigantic red leafed tree with dark brown oak roots bursting out of the grass. He whistled and smiled to himself as he gazed up at the tree's majesty.
"Get a look a that! Huh-Hah!"
The two Spirtes gabbed and gabbed as the father of two took in the sights, it was intense, red leaves and mystifying orbs floated all around. Goku took in a deep breath through his nose and could finally smell something, sharp and pleasing spices felt good to inhale, forcing a deeper smile.
"This really the guy?" The clearly more elderly and also chalky Sprite raised a brow at the goofy antics of the Saiyan. His whole body shimmered with the ethereal aura rather than just his tail like Gregory's though that started to happen to him too.
"Whatdoya mean is this the guy!? Juss look at em'."
The Sprites shifted their position near the tree and gazed at the silly childlike goofs and gaffs of Goku brushing along butterflies and orbs of energy. The elder Sprite agreed with the assessment pretty immediately as soon as he heard that laugh, like music to his old antennae.
"Huh-Hah! Oh~ for me?" Goku questioned with a smile as tiny Sprite handed off a minuscule orb to him. The white aura dissipated like a snowflake melting on contact.
"Are you, Son Goku?"
"Hiya! Yeah, I am. I'm looking for Montgomery."
"You're lookin' at em'." The old Sprite fired back with a bow of the head. Goku smiled and returned the favour, putting his hands together with a martial artist flair.
"Nice to meet you, sir. Did King Kai say I was coming?"
"He did… tryin' to learn The Spirit Bomb?" Montgomery asked with wide eyes, they were like two 8 balls.
"Yeah! Can you help me out?"
"Sure can, just have to observe you for myself."
The white critter flashed into a brilliant rainbow orb with a blazing white center and looped around Goku's frame many times, his antennae bopping and jiving the whole way.
"Marvellous."
"What?"
"Your purity is beyond measure."
"Huh-Hah! I'm just doing what my grandpa always told me."
"Truly?" The Sprite asked, intrigued. "Who was he?"
"Son Gohan."
"..!"
The eldery cricket looked over at Gregory but he clearly didn't give a fuck, talking up a big game to the nearby lady Sprites.
"Ooo~ Greg, you learned Kaio-Ken?"
"Oh, you know, somethin' slight."
Goku scratched his head.
"Are we talking about the same Son Gohan?"
"Huh-Hah! Probably! How many could there be other than my grandpa and son, silly?"
"I'm just… I never got to thank your grandfather for his contribution."
"Huh?"
"The Cleansing Machine."
"What?"
"He kept his body after he arrived here but as soon as he was picked up by Baba and then came back to Other World. He went right over to The Cleansing Machine and offered up his spirit." Montgomery remarked with a truly bright smile, the kind you couldn't fake with 1,000 hours of practice. The elderly Sprite looked up at the large tree shadowing the rest of the forest with its titanous stature. "He was a true martial artist, out only to help others."
Goku shot the cricket a curious look, he tilted his head to the side as the elder motioned over to the tree.
"Here's a Spirit Crystal, friend. You earned it tenfold."
"So what do I do with this thing, do I just bring it back to King Kai? King KAI~"
"Nope, that's all yours, kid." The Sprite reinforced with an 'OK' sign.
Goku just looked at it with childish eyes, its sparkling nature illuminating the shaded lowground under the giant tree.
"It's so that you can learn The Spirit Bomb. You ingest it."
"..? Like Yemma's Fruit?"
"More or less."
It was like a shard of glass, Goku stared deep within the illumination, hundreds of colours gleamed as he studied the surface of the cut up shape.
Clincc!
"NomNomNom."
"Classic." Montgomery replied, hands on his hips as he watched Son Goku devour the shard of glowing glass like candy.
"Was that not the way to do it?" He asked with a glowing mouth, orbs and lights playing out like a nightclub that traveled down his throat.
"You're fine, Son Goku. It was nice meeting you."
"It was nice meeting you too, Montgomery." Goku replied as he bowed again and took the Sprites hands into his own.
The Saiyan and The Cricket went on their merry way, soon enough arriving back on North Kai's humble abode. Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory sat in a criss-cross meditation on the lawn, all in front of the tree.
"You seem to be taking to this pretty quick. I always pegged you as someone who couldn't stand waiting around." King Kai commented as the quartet sat with stoicism.
"Well I am doing something by waiting around. I'm feeling out the energies."
"Could take a long time."
"Huh-Hah! Not really. I can feel the clouds, the grass, the air, the gravity, I can feel you, Bubbles, and Gregory too! Didn't think there was energy in gravity."
"Ki is just a colloquialism. Everything has energy, Goku, either at rest or while active. It is this passive energy that we are trying to draw from for The Spirit Bomb."
"Right." Goku answered with closed eyes.
The other three spared glances at Goku as he mimed his hands in rustic martial arts incantations before a small wispy white aura formed in his left hand.
"Huh-Hah! I did it!"
"That was fast."
"Yes!" Goku shouted as he jumped to his feet. "Kinda small though…"
"Well, the more energy you have to draw from the more powerful The Spirit Bomb will be."
"That makes sense. I only have this planet, and the clouds to really gather anything." Goku furrowed his brow as he noticed something. King Kai smirked a bit, his antennae bobbing up once as he stood up with the Saiyan.
"You starting to feel it?"
"Y-y-Y~Eah~ Ugh! That's weird. It's like my arm is locking up or something."
"Once you've started gathering for The Spirit Bomb and the energy has materialised, your Ki wants to exit your body as fast as possible, the strain it puts on your muscles is intense. It's not like the Kaio-Ken, where you are actively damaged but it's uncomfortable and hard to hold such pure energy. Your body isn't designed to retain something like that inside you."
Goku furrowed a brow.
"Why not?"
"The Spirit Bomb is a technique of the Gods."
"..?"
"We've been around the block so I know you don't think of me as such but a mortal like you isn't supposed to have a technique like this in his arsenal. That's why I had you go get the Spirit Crystal. It is watched over very carefully by the Sprites to ensure that such powerful techniques are only allowed in the hands of those who deserve it."
"... Wow."
"That's why the Ki feels so strange. It is truly Pure Ki, not Ki that you, Son Goku, have manifested in your body. It is Ki that exists from all the leftovers."
"Leftovers?"
"I didn't feel like getting into it today but it would be really dumb not to. I've been holding onto a few secrets for a while."
"New secrets? Awesome."
"When someone becomes a God, they have effectively signed off on their body never passing on to the afterlife."
"What?"
"When a being like a North Kai, like me, for example, dies, my energy will be passed out into the rest of the universe. There is no afterlife for a God. Some will funnel into everything, and some of that is used up for techniques like The Spirit Bomb. Approximately 80% of all energy ever dispersed when a God dies funnels directly to the Sprites."
Goku blinked a few times as he looked at the pure aura reverberating around his palm and fingers.
"Wow… I get it."
"..?"
"The Sprites were telling me that my grandpa gave a good contribution. This must be what Montgomery meant. Is that what The Cleansing Machine is for?"
"Precisely. Gods are forced to do that when they die, the same as evil entities determined by King Yemma. But anyone else gets to choose whether or not that is their fate. I suppose your grandfather thought it more pertinent to give back rather than live another life."
"..."
"Are there other techniques like this?"
The North Kai just shrugged as he shelved his arms into their kung fu sleeves.
"Heck if I know, probably."
Goku nodded his head to the side a bit at the revelation.
"Ahh~" Goku was forced to let it go, his forearm muscles really starting to cramp up from the affair. The Spirit Bomb floated away into the aether and parted the clouds outside the nothingness around the small planet, Goku got on his knees and used his left hand as a visor as he gazed out into the orange sea. "Huh-Hah! So you're still watching over me all this time?" Goku thought as the final foggy clouds of white energy dissipated into the beyond. "Thank you, Grandpa." He put his hands together for one final prayer and stood up.
Goku shook out his forearm and looked over at The Kai.
"King Kai?"
"Hmm?"
"You said that it was Pure Ki, different from what I use. How many kinds are there?"
"There are only three kinds. Ki, capable of being used by all beings, Pure Ki, the natural energy of the environment itself, manifested by the energy of the deceased Gods, and God Ki, the Ki generated by a divine being inside a divine being."
"I see. So you've been using God Ki this whole time?"
"More or less. God Ki is strictly better, on all terms. More efficient, more powerful, and less wasteful."
"Is there a way I could use God Ki?"
"Become a God. Or a lesser God, something like a Kai."
"Huh. I can become a Kai?"
The North Kai laughed into his left fist, coughing out a bit.
"No, you can't become a Kai. But you could technically file into the position of North Kai if I took you on as my successor, then once the transition is complete you'd become a God. And retroactively start using God Ki."
Goku looked at his palm and closed it.
"Nah. That's your job."
The Kai smiled deeply as the two stared out into the unmoving clouds.
"That's about what I thought you'd say."
Goten & Trunks
"Yeah, I don't know what I'm gonna do with him, he's so smart so I'm not sure it would be right to put him in school with all the other kids." Bulma gabbed on the phone as she descended down the metal steps from the loft.
"I know he's smart, babe, but he's gonna have all this time on his hands if we don't put him somewhere."
"Put him somewhere?" Bulma laughed, forcing a laugh from Yamcha on the other end.
Goten and Trunks sat in the middle of the loft, playing a fighting game, two characters.
"No fair!" Trunks shouted. "Hellsweep is OP and you know it!"
"K.O."
"This is bunk!" Trunks remarked as he tossed his controller on the sofa behind him while Goten giggled up a storm.
The youngest son of Son Goku blinked a few times as he placed his controller daintily on the loft carpet as his friend sat deep in the leather.
"What are we gonna do, Trunks?"
"I don't know. You keep getting lucky in those games so I don't want to play anymore." He said as he looked over to the loft stairwell.
"..." Goten literally twiddled his thumbs as he sat his butt on the floor.
DongDonDon~
The two kids had their interest piqued as they heard rapid metal clangs near the stairwell.
"Trunks!"
"Yeah, what is it!?"
"You're goin' to school."
"Give me a break." The little kid let out as he threw his hands up in the air.
"Goten?"
"Yes ma'am?" He asked, standing up straight and polite in front of the scarred blue haired Trunks' mother.
"I just got off the phone with your mom and she gave me the go ahead."
"..?" The two boys spared a glance before Bulma continued.
"You're both going to Southern Transformation Kindergarten."
The two children stared at each other until reality warped around them and their clothes changed and the environment did with it. The boys were ready with backpacks and yellow construction hats with kanji on them. Puar and Oolong waved them off from The Pig's car.
"Hey boys!"
"Yeah?" Trunks questioned with a raised brow and some attitude.
"Make sure to give Ms. Pongitsune a hard time for me!"
"Heh~ You think I won't give everyone a hard time?"
"That's why I asked, I knew you could get it done for me, kid." Oolong said with a salute.
Trunks saluted back.
"Yes sir."
"Don't do that! Ms. Pongitsune is really nice!"
"Hehh~" Trunks nodded his head to the side, Goten not really paying attention to anything, just absorbing the sights.
"Lata'!" Oolong shouted as he peeled out with Puar in tow.
"We'll be back at one!"
The gate in front of them looked like a mouth, red protrusions came out like teeth and the wall was constructed with decade old stone.
"Whoa~" Goten commented as he gazed upon the stone slab.
"It's just a wall, dude. Why are you so interested?"
WHAMM! Krunckle~
The two boys' eyes widened immensely as a deep crack formed in the wall, the pair whistled and walked in like nothing happened soon after.
"So we're gonna learn how to become shapeshifters, huh?"
"I want to shapeshift into ice cream."
"Sick." Trunks said as he laughed and the pair waddled into Ms. Pongitsune's class.
They looked like late arrivals, kids already in their seats as the boys entered the premises. They were out of place, Goten didn't care, he didn't think he was, but Trunks' face bunched up and he squinted, eyeing everyone in the vicinity. Every single student besides them were not humans, they were all animals with cheery dispositions. Goten even looked a more reasonable addition than Trunks because of the furry brown tail weaving behind his back.
"Hello, boys!" The fox-lady yelped from the front desk. "Are you Goten and Trunks?"
Goten raised his arm childishly as he proclaimed:
"Hi! I'm Son Goten! Nice to meet you, ma'am." He said as he bowed to the teacher.
"Oh my, you have good manners."
Trunks said very little, only waving meekly before taking a seat at the back of the class with his friend. Goten was content to bob up and down in his chair.
"Okay, class, now the first principle of Shapeshifting is~" She surveyed the room with her ears twitching rapidly as the class stayed mostly silent. Goten raised his hand. "Yes!?"
"Can I go to the bathroom?"
"... Of course."
Goten got up and sprinted out the door.
"Okay, anyone else?"
"Miss?"
She looked over to see the little boy with a tail in the doorway.
"Where's the bathroom?"
She pointed over to the symbol on the far right side of the big room, two different doors. Goten dashed to the door only for the woman to shout:
"That's the girls~"
"Ewwwwww~ Cooties!" A bushy panda shouted as she flew past Goten.
"I only need to take a poop, what's the big deal?"
"Maybe the manners aren't so great…"
Trunks kept his laughs to himself as he chuckled like a madman in his seat. Hours passed in the class as the boys had a goof and a gaff, making silly faces while the teacher wasn't looking at practically every opportunity.
"Is there something funny, boys?"
Wsst.
They filed into position like businessmen at a meeting.
"No ma'am."
"Hmm." She doubted that. "Trunks?"
"Yes?"
"Can you demonstrate the first principle?"
"Of?"
"Of Shapeshifting. Right up here."
"Oooooooh~" The class hyped it up as she pointed to the ground in front of her.
Trunks strolled up to the front of the class with some swagger, hands in his yellow short sleeve hoodie pockets.
"MmHmm!" The rambunctious kid cleared his throat loudly. "Soo the first principle of Shapeshifting is to visualise what you want to transform into."
The teacher looked down her nose at Trunks, furrowing her brow and worming her lip up.
"The second principle is~" The rascal continued with a shiteating grin.
"That's enough."
"Heh-Heh." The little gremlin laughed it up as he dramatically waddled back to his seat in the back.
The room was decorated so that two students could sit at each table. Trunks and Goten were sitting in the back right next to the door. They continued to goof off and laugh it up during the entire rest of the class period until it was time to leave. The boys packed their things and headed out the door, Oolong and Puar waiting for them in The Pig's tiny beater of a vehicle.
"Hop in!"
Klm.
"You boys do well today?"
"Yeah." Trunks smiled. "I think we got under her skin."
"Huh-Hah-Hah-Hah!" Goten laughed. "Trunks almost got in trouble but he remembered the first principle."
"Visualise what you want to turn into." Oolong and Puar stated like a mantra as The Pig fired it up and started to hit the road.
"Why did mom even want to send me to that place, anyway. It was pretty lame."
"How can you say such a thing!?"
"It was easy, and we didn't even learn how to transform. It was a waste of time."
"Now, kid. I'm not gonna say school is the hypest thing ever, but you can't expect results the first day."
"Why not? I ask the robots back at home to make a sandwich and they just do it, I turn the channel to which TV I want to watch~"
Snapp!
"-like that. I don't see why I can't just hop in there and be goated."
"That's not how it works, Trunks." Goten countered. "My dad always says that you have to take it slow with things that matter."
"Oh yeah, is that why you keep getting lucky and beating me? I own the games, and you only play em' when you come over. I don't see how time has anything to do with it. I should be beating You."
"It's about how effectively you spend that time." Puar cooed, flying in a circle in the front seat.
"Oh yeah?" Trunks replied as the blue and white furball floated in front of him.
"Are we going back to Capsule Corp?" Goten asked.
"Well uhh, yeah… you sound like you don't want to though." The Pig laughed out.
"I don't want to go home, I want to go do something."
Oolong and Puar glanced at each other up at the front.
"Do something?"
"Yeah, bein' at home all the time is boring."
Groooaww~
"And I'm hungry."
"Listen, Goten."
"Yeah?"
"You're not gonna break the bank and eat everything on the menu, are you?"
"I don't know." Trunks smiled as he folded his arms behind his back. "If you're payin', you might not want to take Goten anywhere."
"I don't care where we go but it better be soon." The youngest son of Son Goku declared as he grabbed his tummy.
Puar and Oolong looked at each other for a while and smiled.
"I think I know a spot."
The car sped along the road, drifting and steering out of the way of traffic on the tube networks and such.
"This thing has gotten really crowded." Puar commented with his face plastered onto the window, paws too.
"That's what my mom always says." Trunks replied as he looked out the window and eyed the many cars passing by.
Soon enough, the four of them arrived in a diner with a yellow logo at the top on the outside. It was a happy face licking its lips labeled:
Big Mouth
"Oh, I've been here before." Trunks stated, hands in his pockets all huffy. "It's mid."
"Mid? But it looks so cool." Goten responded as he marveled at the smooth white tile, lovely ornamental maroon carpeting, low mood lighting, and big counter at the back.
"You think everything looks cool, Goten."
Puar floated to the front of the line.
"Give me a 6-inch on italian herb and spice please! Extra tuna and a tall glass of milk."
"Sure you can finish that, Puar?" The big man in the back asked as he gathered up the ingredients and bread necessary to make the transaction.
"I get closer every time! Don't you have any faith in me, Floyd?"
The handsome man laughed it off and got to work.
"Same thing, Oolong?"
"Yup, gotta fight off the gout."
"Pigs get gout?" Trunks asked as he filed next to The Pig. "Bruh."
"Uhh~ I want this and this and this!"
"Slow down, little guy. You gotta let me finish Oolong's first."
"Ohp. Sorry, sir."
Floyd laughed it off and looked to ring up the pair before Oolong:
"We're together, I'm paying for the kids."
"Ahh, who are these?"
"Trunks."
"And I'm Goten."
"Nice to meet you boys, I'm Floyd."
The two animals and two kids got their food and settled down. Oolong went to town on his food but his big eyes kept wandering over to Goten's.
"NomNomNom~" The little boy chewed, his black Goku-like locks bouncing up and down as he did happily in the seat. "You keep looking at me, Oolong. You want some?" He offered across the table.
"No, I'm good. You just remind me of your father."
"Hawmnn~ NomNom~" Goten made sure to finish, swallow, and dab his face with a napkin before speaking. "That's what mom says. She says I look way more like dad than Gohan does." He finished the rest of his food and was content to chew on it as he hopped over and over, his chair squeaking a bit in the commotion.
"Did either of your parents ever tell you the story of The Dragon Balls?"
"The dragon whats?" Trunks responded with a laugh.
"Man, that must be one unlucky dragon! Hyahahaha~!"
Oolong and Puar shot a smirk each other's way before continuing.
"It was the first adventure either of your parents went on together."
"Adventure?" Goten asked.
"Like in a video game?"
"Nope. A real one! Back then your father was known as The Great Lord Yamcha! The Bandit King!"
"Ehh~" Oolong deflated a bit, scratching the top of his fuzzy pink head. "Well that's not exactly how it was…"
"No way." Trunks fought back with sassy crossed arms, putting his sub back on the plate. "My dad is lame. He doesn't even win anything!"
"He beat Goku!"
"He beat my dad?"
"Mmhmm. And he defeated him twice with my help." The floating cat proclaimed, pointing his little cat limb at himself.
Oolong snickered.
"You're really livin' this up, huh? That's not really how it happened eitha'."
"How did it happen?"
"Well it went a little something like this."
The four spent the day together recounting events of long since passed.
"Emperor Pilaf? Sounds like a bad guy." Goten stated with wide eyes.
"Nah, he was probably some punk. People who have to call themselves emperor are just chumps. Where was his empire at?"
The sun started to set.
"You made a wish on The Eternal Dragon for panties? Bruh."
"What are panties?"
"Heh~ Guess you kids wouldn't understand."
They were on the way back to Capsule Corp. in the car on the tube tunnels.
"Oh! That's why dad says not to look at the moon!"
"Are you sure we should have told him that, Oolong?"
"Chi-Chi watches the home phone like a hawk, I'll jus' give em' a call later, no big deal."
"And then what happened?"
"I used Shapeshifting to turn into a pair of scissors and Lord Yamcha used me to cut off his tail."
"WHAT!?" Goten shouted. "Ouchie~ that doesn't sound good at all." His eyes narrowed as his extra appendage furled into his left palm.
"But we got the win and Goku turned back to normal."
"Wow. That's crazy. Is Goten an alien or something?"
The animals just looked at each other for a fraction of a second.
"..."
"..."
"Yeah basically."
"Sure. I bet you're gonna tell me that he's gonna turn into some kind of super alien just like his dad." Trunks smiled like a rat bastard as they all hopped out the car, leaving Oolong in the driver's seat.
"Later!"
"Thank you for dinner, Oolong." Goten bowed deeply and generously.
"No problem, kid. You got way better manners than Goku anyway. You ate a lot for such a little guy but it was actually pretty reasonable. Gotta go!"
Puar and Goten waved him off as Trunks rebelliously walked on the grass.
Krillin
Krillin ran drills over and over in the courtyard as he sweat it out, the sun beating down on all the officers out of uniform. He popped his tank top rapidly with his right hand.
"We shoot our beams to the sky!" He shouted in correction as he changed an officer's form.
The man himself stepped out onto the lawn, tapping Krillin's shoulder.
"What can I do for you, Chief?"
"I'm moving to Orange Star City."
Hercule's cold delivery forced a solemn reaction out of The Grandmaster of The WCPD.
"You're serious?"
Hercule nodded a single time.
"You've done more for this city than I ever could have, we're experiencing a revolution in crime. It's starting to not exist anymore. The police are so threatening that people don't do it in West City. You've taught me enough that I can comfortably move out to the countryside and teach what I learned there. Also~"
"..?"
"The boss wants to see you."
"Between you and me, I'd say goodbye to West City."
"Why is that?"
"It wasn't ever a secret to start with but now everyone knows of West City's Superman. And all the others want a piece of the action. I heard he wants to transfer you to South City to train the police force there."
"Real shit…"
"Yup."
"Heh-heh~" Krillin let out meekly. "That's how it is, huh?"
"Being a police officer is about self sacrifice. You are capable of a lot of good, and it'd be a shame if only West City got to benefit from that."
"You're right, Chief."
"I'm not your chief anymore, you walked in here the best, and you'll walk out a legend."
Hercule took off his hat and bowed with respect before leaving the short bald man with the incense burns to ponder his next move as he looked out over the city. Golden orange rays set off the tube tunnels and skyscrapers as he leaned over the railing.
Piccolo
Piccolo stood in the frozen cold mountainside, snow pelting down on him harshly as the gales threw his white cape every which way in the darkness. All he had were his thoughts.
FWUUUUUUUU~
"I remember…"
Piccolo recalls events from long since passed.
The words echoed around in his head, banging off walls in weird ways. The sights were fuzzy and in first person, it was strange and difficult to comprehend with a pulsating pain surging through his veins at every juncture.
"Now you've done it. Even after you narrowly escaped death… still you persist in defying me…"
"You got it!"
Buwuwu~
"I said I ain't gonna die until I take you all down!"
"Very well, you shall die in the next five seconds."
Piccolo finally broke through, recalling everything.
"I see."
Fwuuuuuuu~
A cold sweat broke out from The Demon as The New Demon King landed behind him
"He's much more serious this time…" Dabura rumintated as he stared from across the white plains. "I can't afford to mess this up."
"Mongrel."
"Greetings, Daimo."
"Cut to the chase!" Piccolo barked back.
"... I need to know. Why in the world The One True Demon King backed out on The Demon Clan? Our people have suffered great losses and you sit by and do nothing! I can't reign in these fools, I admit it! I might be strong but they don't respect me! I can't lead them! I can't even take over this damn planet if I wanted to! My ranks dissent and choose the path of anarchy, not of true rebellion of order but of our clan! They'd rather die than follow my lead!"
"Is that my problem?"
Dabura flinched as Piccolo turned around with a killer glare.
"I made my own vessels to carry out my deeds when I was freed from the rice cooker. I knew I couldn't rely on those pesky Mongrels in Devil's Hand. There is no way such low-level thinking and inability to follow orders could accomplish any goals other than mindless destruction. They would have gotten in the way and been too much of a pain to deal with."
Piccolo stood right in front of Dabura, his height barely dominating the also very impressive stature of The New Demon King. He grabbed at the front of Dabura's cloak and pulled him in close.
Fwoff~ Fwuuuuuuuuu~
Piccolo strained a bit, as if he forgot what he was going to say.
"I gave up simply on a whim. There's no point in beating Son Goku. I already did that, but I realised that I can't beat him And his friends. They're too good, and there's too many of them."
"You'd just give up?"
"You have an answer for me?"
"... I uh-"
"No, you don't. I thought as much. You came to Me because you don't think for yourself. That's just too hard for you. You'd rather suck up to the man because deep down you know the truth. The humans of this planet are so strong for no reason. We live hundreds of years but what do we get? Hmm? Martial artists that are thousands of times stronger than Mutaito..? The strongest of them to ever live before this generation? The era of the demons has come and gone. Just snap out of it, Mongrel. We missed it. It's all but a fantasy now."
Fwuuuuuu~
"And you're content to just let it happen?"
"I'm content to watch my documentaries with Son Gohan, and I'm a little pissed that he's been so busy. Now beat it."
Dabura sheepishly sighed and left the premises, Piccolo's blood still boiling.
"Fuck Son Goku. I'm winning this next tournament just to spite him."
Dabura
The New Demon King was forced to return to his abode, sitting on the throne as the demons and monsters yelled from the rafters.
"Took you long enough!"
"He got me fucked up! He actually came back!"
"I'm tellin' ya! Yao wouldn't do us dirty like this!"
It drew the same reaction as last time.
"YOW!?"
Dabura sighed deeply, looking up to the skies almost in prayer as the cackles of the damned reigned supreme in this courtroom of dunces.
"Someone come take me away from this torment. I'm not going to be the doom of demonkind, but I have no wish to lead fools to their certain deaths either. These humans really have gotten far too strong."
"Anarchy!"
THUNKK!
"I'd do anything for some peace and quiet."
Just like that, Dabura's prayers were answered, warping purple energies tore through the fabric of existence.
"What in the world..?" He asked aloud as he stood up.
"Yo whodat is!?"
"Send his shit back to the dark ages, Dabura! Or you not hard enough for that!?"
"Quiet."
The room silenced immediately with a wave of his palm, only Igor stood and watched with Dabura as another tall figure stepped out of the purple warping space rip. He was tall and stark white, like a vampire. His hair coiled and cuaffed back in sharp red spikes. He brandished a staff as well as a litany of gold bangles, jewels, gemstones, rings, and other expensive trinkets. His attire was segmented halfway down the middle, white on the left side, and black on the right, finishing his look with grey pants and wizardly boots that matched the torso.
"You've seen enough, have you?"
"Who..? Are you?"
"I'm not answering that. Do you wish to come join me?"
The tall figure stretched out his left hand, beckoning to The New Demon King.
"I know you want to cause some trouble."
"..."
"Why not come do it with someone who really understands?"
Dabura strided forward, the many gems lining the figure of the stoic man glowing brighter as a result. The New Demon King took a while to ponder, furrowing his brow at the stranger who refused to reveal his identity. He paced and paced, studying the rip just behind him and double checking the rest of the throne room.
"Don't worry. I've got all the time in the world to wait for your answer."
"..."
"I know you. You desperately want to be a part of something that matters. Why not take part in my design?"
"..."
The White Man smiled. Dabura walked forward and presented a handshake.
"Excellent decision. I'll make sure you don't regret this."
The White Man turned tail, Dabura following right behind him.
Zvwoip! Duwu~
And just like that, the pair vanished into thin air as the mix of purples and blues closed. The leftover ghouls, goblins, terrors, beasts, rascals, scoundrels, and demons were hung out to dry, making various noises and causing a general ruckus. Three demons in particular stood out from the crowd as they leaned over the railing from the very top level, low red lighting seeping in from overhead.
"Huhhh~" A thin demon let out in a long sigh.
"So what's the move, Shula?" A woman asked, stark cerulean crown standing out against her crimson red hair.
"Yeah~ tell us watcha' thinkin'!" A behemoth of a man blurted out, he was more of an ogre really, wearing an old viking hat with a gigantic blade at his backside.
Shula fixed his hair and scratched at the mark on his forehead as he stood up tall and stretched it out, the goons still gooning with grunts and guffaws.
"Fuck this place. I was waiting around for Piccolo anyway." He let out in a lame yawn as he threw his own blade over his shoulder, a golden number with several jagged edges that stuck outward in hooking shapes. "I want to find a nice den. This hoe is far too drab."
"Agreed." The demonic miss replied, checking her long porcelain nails.
"HEY!" Shula shouted down to all who would listen, his booming but still distinctly controlled voice bouncing off the walls of the cylindrical cavern.
The leftovers looked skyward, all stopping to think for a moment before Shula continued.
"Party's at my place! If you want a good time, follow me!"
"You have something in mind?"
"Why yes, yes I do, Melee. Thank you for asking."
Melee let out a snicker and brushed back her long locks.
"It's got our names on it. Lovely doors too. Well fortified."
The big ogre lumbered behind the pair as they skated on the air and into the unknown, darkness enveloping their frames.