Chapter 43: Talking with Family, Training with Potential Unleashed and Seeing Bage in a Leotard
(Opening Theme: Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace)
Pearl woke up with Kenshiro to see he was already awake. "Hi," he told her before giving her a kiss. "Hi," Pearl responded, "How long were you up?" "About an hour. You looked very peaceful in your sleep," Kenshiro told her. "That's about the only time I do feel peaceful," Pearl told him. "This is about your brother, isn't it?" Kenshiro asked. Pearl nodded and got on her glasses then grabbed her phone. She tried to call Jasper first, even though she was sure their parents had already tried that thousands of times by now. As she feared, no answer. Pearl then called her Papa. Glutto answered on the second ring, "Pearl, how have you been?" Pearl heard how tired he was on the phone, "I've been doing good. I just, wanted to make sure everyone was okay." Glutto sighed and told her, "No. We still can't find Jasper. And Jade…she's been having nightmares. We're…thinking about talking to a specialist about her." Pearl nodded, "I see. Papa, I'm so sorry, I failed you and Mama. You were counting on me to watch Jade and Jasper, and I didn't. I…I should have paid more attention to them…I…"
"None of this is your fault. You stop that right now," Glutto told her. "Look, I may not know much about fighting, or this dimensions, alternate universes, and time travel stuff, but I know that this isn't your fault. Fact is we never expected you to watch them like a mama hen. You're twenty years old now, you're out of the house, and ready to pursue your own life. A lot of things happened, but I know that you have, and you're doing everything you can to make things right," Glutto told Pearl. "I should have tried harder though," Pearl told him. "Pearl, my Precious Pearl, you are already trying your hardest to make sure we have the life we have. I can't ask for more from you. We'll take care of Jade, and we will find Jasper, you have enough on your plate," Glutto said. "Can I talk with everyone else?" Pearl asked. "Sure, give me a minute," Glutto said, and suddenly Pearl was on speaker as her Mama, and younger siblings all said, "Hi, Pearl!"
"Hi everyone!" Pearl greeted the rest of her family, "How've you all been?" "The search for Jasper is ongoing," Buudikka told her, "But the Chief of Police says he's confident that he has some leads. The dojo is doing fine, though, I've had Fern take on a lot of the teaching responsibilities." Fern was Buudikka's first and most advanced student, an Earthling girl with natural green hair and eyes that liked to wear sci-fi themed clothes, she would have been a great Time Patroller if she hadn't decided to stay at Buudikka's dojo. "I got all A's on my Report Card," Amber happily said. "She's turning into you," Jade said. "How are you doing, Silver?" Pearl asked. "Papa's been teaching me how to grill different meats, so I can do them right. But, I really miss you, Onee-san, and I miss Onii-san too," Silver told Pearl. "I have to talk to the Kai's, but I'll try to come home sometime, I promise," Pearl told him, "Can I talk to Jade, privately?"
"Alright," Glutto said, and Pearl heard as his phone was switched off speaker mode and Jade said, "Yeah?" "Jade, are you alright? Papa told me you've been having nightmares," Pearl asked. "I…keep on thinking about Brocc. I know it wasn't really him, that bitch Shadlyn was making him…evil, but still…" "Jade, I'm sorry I didn't pick up on everything going wrong earlier. Brocc's fine now, apparently, Praxtic is his Dad, and he took him away to get help. Brocc wants you to know that he's sorry for what happened, and he hopes you find someone that is better than him," Pearl told her sister. Jade was quiet for a minute and said, "I hope he's alright." "Jade, take care of everyone, alright? You're the strongest person at home now. I don't know what will come, so you need to take care of everyone for me. I know that's a lot to ask, but I know I can count on you," Pearl said. "I'll do what I can," Jade answered. "I'm going to do everything I can to make things alright again, I promise," Pearl told her. "Okay. I…I'll do what I can. I think it's time for you to go back to your own thing," Jade told Pearl, and put Glutto's phone back on speaker. "I love you guys, all of you. Take care," Pearl said. "We love you too, Pearl," Buudikka, Glutto, Amber, Jade, and Silver all said, and Pearl hung up her phone.
"Are they alright?" Kenshiro asked. "As well as you'd expect," Pearl said, she sat down in Lotus Position, and then focused her mind with all her might, and expanded it throughout the Earth. She sensed all of the individual ki signatures, from the mightiest warriors to the smallest of insects, throughout planet Earth. But she could not find Jasper. After fifteen minutes, she finally stopped trying and sighed, "I can't find Jasper. He must not be on Earth, somehow." "Could he be…" "Don't jinx it," Pearl told Kenshiro. "Then, maybe he's in another dimension or alternate reality, or something," Kenshiro suggested. "Maybe," Pearl agreed, as they left their room to make breakfast, and then it hit her, "We also have no idea where Soon-sensei is either…" "Do you want me to try looking for him?" Kenshiro asked. Pearl shook her head, "I…I think he's in another Timeline, I'm sure of it. The Supreme Kai of Time isn't worried, that makes me think that he must be alright."
Kenshiro reassuringly patted her shoulder, and they started making breakfast. Barit came out of the shower and got dressed in time to eat as soon as they were done making it, and the three roommates sat down together. "So, Barit, how did training with Hit go?" Kenshiro asked. "Huh? You're training with Hit!?" Pearl asked. "Yeah, a lot of Time Patrollers tried out, but I was the only one he appoved of. He wants to see me at ten today, and I have no idea how long he'll be training me," Barit told her, and cracked his neck, "Man, he's a brutal instructor, I think he'd make Shurayuki cry." "I doubt it," Kenshiro said, "Mom was too stubborn to cry out of pain. She'd have pushed herself harder to succeed or die trying." "Speaking of training, what are you doing today?" Barit asked Kenshiro and Pearl. "Well, I didn't really think about it, but I know I want to spar Kenny, and go on one or two Parallel Quests as well," Pearl told him. "I like that idea, do some light training, and then some sparring. I wanna see for myself how strong you are," Kenshiro told Pearl.
"Sounds good," Barit said, and checked the time on his phone, "It's almost time, I'll head out to see Hit-sensei now. See you guys later." "See ya," Kenshiro and Pearl said, and Barit left. Kenshiro and Pearl got dressed, but before Pearl did, Kenshiro tossed her a Capsule, "Here's a new outfit for you. There's this one Saiyan who won a fashion contest, Amy, her battlesuit is in there." "Thanks," Pearl said, and opened the Capsule. The armor was white with yellow patches on the stomach, and and single shoulder patch with a black undershit with no shoulderguards, tight white gloves, the typical black Saiyan armor short shorts, and black, pink, and yellow boots. "You just want a good view of my ass, don't you?" Pearl said. "Yep," Kenshiro answered with a chuckle. "Fine, I'll wear it, but you need to wear that Turles armor for me, quid pro quo," Pearl said. "Sure thing," Kenshiro said as he got the armor out. Pearl decided to wear her weighted wristbands and boots under Amy's Battle Suit, and the two of them headed out as soon as they were dressed.
They made their way to the Bamboo District and saw Kenshin and Kaoru were relaxing with Kenji. "Hi, Himura-sans," Kenshiro greeted them. Kenshin and Kaoru saw how Pearl and Kenshiro were dressed, making Kaoru blush, "Isn't that rather…revealing?" "Well, it's a gift," Pearl said, "and it's a kind of armor too." "I see…" Kaoru said, "Well, Kenji can't train today, he's spent the last three days training, so he needs to rest today." "We understand," Pearl said, "But I do need to train some. Would you like to train as well?" "We could use it," Kenshin admitted as he stood up and started stretching. The adults all stretched while Kenji watched them, and Hirohito flew over. "So, they're all training, and you're not?" Hirohito told Kenji. "It's a rest day for me," Kenji said, as he stretched a little. "A healthy body needs rest too," Pearl said. "Fine," Hirohito said, as he sat down to watch them.
After the adults all stretched, they spent about two hours running through various pushups, situps, and jumping jacks and finished with a race around Conton City with Pearl leading them, before calling a stop. "I think we'll do some training in Parallel Quests now," Pearl said, and they all headed to the Time Machine Station. Pearl saw her choices and decided, "I'll do Parallel Quest 53: The Fist fo Justice." "Good luck," the robot manning the station said, and in a flash of light, Pearl found herself at Capsule Corp. Gohan as Great Saiyaman and Videl as Great Saiyawoman were there, facing against some Saibamen. "Eliminator of every evil and defender of Justice, Great Saiyaman is here!" "And let's not forget Great Saiyawoman! Now is this an entrance or what?" "Now that we're here, your days, no, your seconds, are numbered!" Great Saiyaman said to the smirking Saibamen. "Let's go!" Pearl yelled as she and the superheroes flew into battle.
Great Saiyaman and Pearl easily killed two Saibamen each with ki balls, while Great Saiyawoman managed to destroy one with Justice Combination. "We really laid into 'em," Great Saiyaman said, "But, I sense something evil is happening in West City, we must hurry!" "Alright, let's go!" Pearl said, as the Parallel Quest's Portal to West City opened. Pearl, Great Saiyaman, and Great Saiyawoman all flew in, and saw that Krillin and Yamcha had both been corrupted by a dark energy. "Oh no!" Great Saiyawoman yelled. "We have to defeat them, just, try not to hurt them too badly," Great Saiyaman said. "Understood," Pearl said, and the three of them flew to their sorrupted comrades. Pearl went at Yamcha, who managed to block a punch and kick from her before trying one of his own. Pearl dodged it and sent the corrupted Yamcha flying back with Ill Flash.
Pearl got an idea and powered up a Kamehameha, and then used Instant Transmission to get in front of Yamcha, blasting him full on, and knocking him out. Pearl looked and saw Great Saiyaman blast the corrupted Krillin with a Full Power Energy Wave, and then sensed another ki signature. Tien Shinhan flew in with the same dark aura swirling around him. "You too, Tien!? Pull yourself together!" Great Saiyaman said as he and Tien clashed. Pearl saw that Tien was strong enough to give Great Saiyaman trouble, and quickly summoned a Vanishing Ball to distract Tien. Great Saiyaman used the distraction to turn Super Saiyan and knocked Tien out with a hard uppercut, before setting him down peacefully. Great Saiyawoman managed to knock Krillin out, but she looked worse for wear. More Saibamen showed up then, and Pearl quickly made short work of them, before sensing more corrupted ki signatures.
"Let's go," Pearl said as another Parallel Quest Portal activated, and they flew in to the resident district of West City, to see Goten and Trunks were already corrupted. "We got to make this quick! Goten's Mom will have a fit if she sees her son like this!" Great Saiyaman said, and quietly mumbled, "Not to mention the pain I'll be in for…" Pearl quickly used Warp Kamehameha to blast Kid Trunks back then was hit with a Kamehameha by Goten. Great Saiyaman blasted Goten back with ki balls, and Great Saiyawoman quickly started trading blows with Kid Trunks. Pearl hit both Goten and Kid Trunks with Vanishing Balls to help her comrades, before going to help Great Saiyawoman subdue Kid Trunks. She quickly got behind him and grabbed his neck before pounding on his head and stretching back to kick his back hard, knocking him to the ground. Great Saiyawoman unleashed a Full Powered Ki Blast Barrage on Kid Trunks, knocking him out. The two women saw that Great Saiyaman had subdued Goten as well, and Great Saiyaman crowed, "No matter how strong evil's flame, the Fist of Justice shall rise to the occasion!" "Thanks for all your help," Great Saiyawoman said, and the Parallel Quest ended.
Pearl returned to Conton City in a flash of light and Kenshiro decided to try the same Parallel Quest. Pearl sat back and watched as he quickly went through the same motions as she had, albeit with different techniques, and saw that he was much slower than her. By the time he completed the Parallel Quest, he only had about four minutes left on the clock. "Whew, that was harder than I thought it would be," Kenshiro commented, "That dark energy really made them a lot stronger." "Yeah, but, I still got through it faster than you did," Pearl told him, "While I was weighed down." "So, you've surpassed Kenshiro?" Hirohito said, smirking at the Earthling. "I think so," Pearl said. "We'll see," Kenshiro said, and they went to the other robot that allowed people to spar together. "Send us to the Mountains," Kenshiro told the robot, "No time limit." "Very good sir," the robot said. Pearl cracked her knuckles, and in a flash of light, she and Kenshiro were out of Conton City and were in the Mountains simulation.
Kenshiro and Pearl took their stances, and as soon as "BEGIN!" was announced, went at each other like a couple of missiles. Their fists slammed into each other, causing a shockwave that rattled the simulated Mountains before they threw further punches and kicks at each other. For a whole minute, neither one of them landed a blow, but threw hundreds of punches and kicks before finally flying back from each other. Pearl and Kenshiro smiled as they cracked their necks. "That was a good warmup," Pearl said. "Yeah, now, go all out!" Kenshiro told her as they yelled out with all their might, their auras flashing first pink for Pearl and blue for Kenshiro, before they both shined silver, and then Kenshiro's upper body grew to twice its size, destroying the chest plate and armbands of his armor as his eyes turned pure white while his hair floated up as if he was underwater.
Pearl and Kenshiro summoned their power, blasting thousands of ki balls at each other, all the while, moving closer to each other. Just before they met in the middle again, Pearl jumped back and charged up a Special Beam Cannon and blasted it at Kenshiro. Kenshiro dodged the blast and answered with a Destructo-Disc that cut Pearl's right arm off. Pearl however ignored the pain and stretched out her left leg to land a solid kick to Kenshiro's stomach, sending him flying into a mountain that crumbled around him. Kenshiro immediately blasted out of the rubble and punched the air in front of him. The sheer force of the blow sent Pearl flying back, allowing him to fly at her and land an axe kick on her head. Pearl went witht the force of the kick and spun around, landing her own kick to Kenshiro's head, before flying back from him, distracting him with a Vanishing Ball.
Kenshiro blocked the attack and brought his hands together to summon his ki. Kenshiro charged up his attack, and Pearl realized what was happening as he yelled out, "SUPER GALICK GUN!" Pearl barely used Instant Transmission in time to avoid the blast, as mountains behind her were atomized. Pearl reappeared next to her severed arm and quickly reattached it in time to grab a punch from Kenshiro and flip him into the ground hard enough to crack the ground beneath him, and followed up with a point-blank Ill Flash, sending him further into the Earth. Pearl flew up to prepare her own Super Kamehameha attack, but Kenshiro quickly blasted out of the Earth and tried to fire a normal Galick Gun at her. Pearl used Instant Transmission and got behind Kenshiro, only for him to slam his elbow into her face before she could release her Kamehameha Wave. Kenshiro then hier her forehead hard with two of his fingers, hard enough to embed them in her forehead in fact. Pearl kicked him back and rubbed her forehead, and Kenshiro summoned ki into his right arm. Pearl barely blocked his Arm Crash attack in time, and they both head butted each other hard, enough to make them both bleed.
Pearl however endured the pain better and quickly blasted Kenshiro with Ill Flash. Kenshiro was breathing hard already, as was Pearl, but neither one was ready to surrender yet as they both tried a kick, only for them to kick each other in the face. Pearl took advantage of her physiology and wrapped her leg around Kenshiro's neck to try to choke him out. Kenshiro however kept his cool and bit Pearl's leg to make her let him go, then pulled her close to him and into a kick right in her neck. Pearl coughed up blood and Kenshiro blasted her back with Galick Gun, slamming her through two mountains before she rolled to a stop. Pearl stood up and spat out more blood, but she was determined to win. I've trained so much! I can't lose, I won't lose! I will keep moving forward! Pearl yelled out, and her power skyrocketed even more as she summoned all she had and flew back into the fight. Kenshiro was already on his way to her and didn't see her coming as she slammed her knees into his face, shattering his nose and several teeth.
Pearl followed up by dropping her elbows into his head, sending Kenshiro slamming into the ground again. Kenshiro rolled up in time to avoid her heel stomp and tried to grab her legs, but Pearl jumped in time to avoid his grab. Kenshiro surprised Pearl with a Super Explosive Wave, knocking her down, but she responded by stretching her legs out and kicking him hard in his solar plexus with both feet, making him cough up blood. Kenshiro's body returned to normal as he fell to one knee, and Pearl stood up. He smiled as she charged up a final Special Beam Cannon and said, "You will be the strongest ever." Pearl's Special Beam Cannon skewered Kenshiro, and the simulation announced, "KNOCKOUT! THE WINNER: PEARL!" Pearl and Kenshiro returned to Conton City in a flash of light, none the worse for wear.
Time Patrollers cheered as Kenshiro lifted Pearl onto his shoulders and announced, "The Champion of Time! The Greatest Warrior to Ever Live! Pearl!" Time Patrollers cheered both Pearl and Kenshiro and Kenshin and Kaoru stepped forward. "That was amazing!" Kenshin said, "And your injuries, they're all gone!" "That's the good old Simulation for you," Kenshiro said as Pearl came off his shoulders, "All injuries sustained there aren't 'real' so once its over, you return to Conton City good as new." "Would you mind if I tested myself against you, Kenshiro-san?" Kenshin asked. "Sure," Kenshiro said. "Whoa! Pearl, you beat him!" Beate and Rachel made their way through the crowd, both wearing Ginyu Force Armor, black for Beate and white for Rachel. "Oh yeah, if you're going to fight, Kenshin-san, how about using these?" Rachel pulled out a Capsule and activated out, and in a puff of smoke she was holding two bokken.
She handed one each to Kenshiro and Kenshin. "Thank you, Rachel-san," Kenshin said, "Yeah, this will make things interesting," Kenshiro said. They got in front of the Simulation and Kenshin said, "Send us to The Tenkaichi Budokai Stage. One minute time limit." "Good luck sir," the robot said, and in a flash of light, Kenshiro and Kenshin were out of Conton City and inside the Simulation.
Kenshin and Kenshiro held their bokken and took their stances, looking at each other and not moving for five seconds, before their ki auras shined around them. Kenshiro's was far larger, yet Kenshin had a determined look in his eyes that said he would not lose. Kenshin's bokken was soon covered with ki energy as well, and Kenshiro charged. What happened then surprised everyone as Kenshin seemed to disappear, and then reappear behind Kenshiro. Kenshin said, "Hitten Mitsurugi Style: Kuzuryusen." Kenshiro's arms then seemd to break, along with his legs, as his head bled and then he coughed up blood at the same time, and then he fell. "KNOCKOUT! THE WINNER: KENSHIN!" was announced on the screen, before Kenshin and Kenshiro returned to Conton City. "HOLY COW! WHAT WAS THAT!?" Kenshiro asked Kenshin. Kenshin smiled, "That was this one's swordstyle, Hitten Mitsurugi. This one used the second most powerful technique, Kuzuryusen, Nine-Headed Dragon Flash, to strike all the major targets of kenjutsu, the head, shoulders, arms, thighs, groin, and chest, all at once, that I did." "H-HOW!? I'm faster, stronger, tougher, and yet, that move, I could barely see it!" Kenshin asked.
"Hitten Mitsurugi is a style that pushes one's body into what is called 'Godspeed', before this one learned how to use ki here, this one was considered the greatest swordsman in all of Japan. The training Kaoru, this one, and Kenji-chan have endured have made us all much faster and stronger, correct? It has multiplied this one's speed to new heights, that it has," Kenshin explained. Kenshiro fell to his knees and bowed to Kenshin, "Please, teach me." Kenshin shook his head, "No. This one made a vow, this one will not pass on the killing sword of Hitten Mitsurugi. It is a powerful style, that it is, and its power would reach unfathomable heights in this world. Forgive me, Kenshiro-san, but Hitten Mitsurugi, it seems, shall die with this one." "I…understand, Kenshin-sama," Kenshiro said. "If it is the way of the sword you wish to learn, learn Kaoru's life-giving sword, Kamiya Kasshin Style, it is better for one to learn how to protect oneself than to kill, that it is," Kenshin told Kenshiro with a smile.
"I would be honored to teach you, Kenshiro-san, for all the help you, Pearl-san, Shurayuki-sensei, and all your friends, have given us," Kaoru told Kenshiro. "Thank you very much, Kaoru-sensei," Kenshiro said, and bowed to show he accepted her offer. "Hey! Where is Amaya-san, Bage-san, and Barit-san?" Kenji asked then. Hirohito answered, "Amaya talked Bage into taking dance lessons with her. They're off learning ballet, I think. And Barit…I don't know." "A great warrior named Hit has arrived in Conton City," Pearl explained to Kenji, "Barit is learning from him right now." Pearl checked the time and saw it was about time for lunch and treated the Himuras and Hirohito to hibachi. After lunch, they saw Amaya and Bage had returned.
Amaya was wearing a tight pink tutu, while Bage wore an extremely tight black leotard that looked like it was seconds away from snapping off his large frame. "BY ALL THAT IS HOLY! HOW IS THAT THING IN ONE PIECE!?" Pearl screamed in shock at how tight the leotard was on Bage, even his nipples showed through the tight piece of clothing, while Kaoru blushed scarlet at his bulge and quickly looked away. Hirohito quickly appeared and disappeared in puffs of smoke, snapping pictures with his phone before Bage or Amaya could stop him. "Get back here!" Bage yelled as he started chasing Hirohito. They both went Super Saiyan and flew off, leaving Amaya to explain, "We went to Madame Flora's Studio to learn ballet, and she provided our outfits. The material is tight," Amaya took time to adjust her tutu slightly on the back end, "But durable. Women were all over Bage, none of the other male students were close to his…physique." "You sound proud of that," Pearl said. "Bage was too embarrassed to try cheating on me," Amaya said, "And let's just say I…made some arrangements, I can make some fast cash, if Bage is willing."
"You're going to sell pictures of your fiancé!?" Kaoru said, still blushing. "Of course," Amaya said, with a devious smile, "They can look all they want, but I'm the only one that gets to touch." Bage finally caught up with Hirohito and pulled him into a headlock. "Delete those pictures now, or I'll give you noogies until your hair falls out!" he threatened Hirohito. "Too late, already out in the Interdimensional Internet. As we speak, billions throughout the multiverse are touching themselves to your image, big guy," Hirohito said. Bage blushed and started to give Hirohito the threatened noogies, saying, "You dirty little punk!" "OW OW OW OW OOOOOWWWWW! UNCLE!" Hirohito yelled. "Say, 'I'm sorry Bage-sama' three times," Bage said, as he kept giving Hirohito noogies. "I'm sorry Bage-sama! OW! I'm sorry Bage-sama! OOWW! I'M SORRY BAGE-SAMA!" Hirohito yelled, and Bage let the younger Saiyan go finally. Hirohito rubbed his sore scalp and said, "No wonder you're so small." "Why you!" Hirohito disappeared in a puff of smoke before Bage could grab him again. Bage flew down to Amaya and was still blushing as he said, "Let's head back to the apartment." "Sure," Amaya said, and they headed out.
For the rest of the day, Pearl and Kenshiro hung out with the Himuras, talking about their lives and various little things, and Kaoru explained the philosophy of Kamiya-Kasshin Style. Pearl almost felt at peace, but she knew that it wouldn't last.
Unknown Dimension
Shadlyn and Yuu looked over their assembled army, two whole Dragon World's Universe Seven worth of the undead, both vampires and ghouls. "We will crush them all," Shadlyn said, "After Conton City is destroyed, no one will stop us. And once we're done with Pearl's World, Ryo is next. I will enjoy destroying everyone that Nazo bastard loves." "Not yet," Yuu said, "Let me get one more alternate universe, then we'll be ready." "Fine," Shadlyn said. Yuu opened up a portal and flew in to one last alternate Dragon World. Shadlyn smiled as she patted Jasper's face, "Oh, the pain you'll cause, my pet. It will be glorious."
(Ending Theme: Bring Me to Life by Evanescence)