New Judgment
Chapter 8: In the Name of Science
"… Hnngh… Hmm…?"
"Good morning, Indi."
"Oh…! Good morning, Court!"
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now, thanks for asking."
"That's good to hear. And guess what? There's someone here that might help you feel even better! Bulma?"
Even though Professor Tano was a very smart scientist with more knowledge than anyone else in the camp, he was limited by a lack of experience and resources. If we were going to save Indi, we needed someone that was constantly breaking the boundaries of scientific discoveries. We needed someone like Bulma.
I asked Whis to bring us back to Earth so that I could inform Bulma about the situation in Planet Aether, putting an emphasis on Indi's condition. I didn't want Vegeta to find out, however. With his bottomless ego about being the Prince of All Saiyans, who knows what that maniac might have tried if he met the people here. He might have tried to rekindle their "warrior flames" through torturous training, even though these Saiyans were some of the calmest and nicest people I'd ever met, opposite to their nasty rumors. They were skilled in craftsmanship, cooking, tailoring, exploration, care taking, you know, things besides punching people in the face. That'd be a shocker to the proud prince if I ever saw one.
Bulma alongside Professor Tano were doing an examination on Indi, while I waited outside. I realize that I was neglecting my duties as Goddess of Destruction, but I liked to think that I was also doing my job as a divine deity of the universe. Gods were generally seen as these superior beings of unrivaled authority, but I don't think anyone deserves such praise by doing nothing. I wished for people to want me as a goddess… Or well, maybe not a goddess, just… someone they could look up to. It never really crossed my mind too much, but mom was, in fact, a princess. If she had been more dedicated to her duties as royalty, I think she would act the same way I am in this situation. Mom, I hope you're proud of me.
Bulma came out of the tent with a worried expression on her. "Bulma, how'd it go?"
"I'm sorry to say this, Court, but it's worse than I thought. The only way for Indi to recover is if she regained her arm and leg so that blood circulation is restored to normal. However, I'm afraid we're not able to reconstruct that much body mass; we can only heal medium-sized wounds at most."
"Damn…" A thought crossed my mind. "Wait, do you think the Dragon Balls would be able to cure her? Surely that's something Shenron would have no problems with."
"The problem is that the Dragon Balls won't be active again for at least eight months, and… I'm afraid Indi doesn't have eight months."
"No… She's that bad…? Then… Please, Bulma, there has to be something we can do!"
"Ehh… I-I don't know…"
Professor Tano stepped out of the tent at that moment. "This may be a bit of a stretch, but… Would it be possible to create artificial appendages?"
My eyes lit up with that idea. "Oh, you're right! There're plenty of people on Earth that use prosthetic limbs, so this could work!"
"It's not that simple, Court." Bulma shot my dreams dead… "… But you're onto something." Or not?! "We would need some kind of material capable of circulating blood, while also having resistance far beyond any metals found on Earth."
Professor Tano added. "And it would also need to be morph-able, in case Indi ever transforms into a Great Ape. With how delicate her condition is, cutting her tail off would only make matters worse." Unsurprisingly, I was very relieved at the idea of not amputating an amputee further.
"Now, where exactly do we find such a material, though…?"
"… Maybe… right here, in Planet Aether." The scientists looked at me with curious eyes. "With how powerful Aether energy is, there's bound to be some kind of metal around here that can fulfill our needs."
"Hmm… Almost." Professor Tano had an idea. "There may not be a metal like what you're suggesting out in the open, but we may be able to forge one ourselves. I'm sure one of Mrs. Bulma's inconceivable contraptions will allow for such craftsmanship."
"If that's the case, then leave it to Capsule Corp's. top-of-the-line technology to take care of this! All we'll need is the materials."
"I can take care of that!" I volunteered.
"And therein lies the problem…" What's up with people shooting my dreams down today?! "In theory, we'll need two kind of Aether crystals to create the ideal metal for Indi's operation: Earth Aether… and Fire Aether."
"Oh… What's the problem with that?"
"While we know of its existence, we've never found a dense enough concentration of Fire Aether in all of our years here. The only place where it could abundantly exist is inside a volcano, possibly guarded by a Fire Dragon. I don't believe I need to explain why that's a dangerous task."
"Hmm… Even if it's dangerous, I'll do it."
"Are you sure about this, Court?"
"What's there to worry about? I beat Frieza and I'm immortal! If it's to save a friend, fighting a dragon is but a minor inconvenience!"
"Hehe… Just what I'd expect to hear from Goku's daughter."
As I approached the nearest volcano, I couldn't help but be reminded of the time that my dad had to travel to the Furnace of Eight Divisions to stop Fire Mountain from… well, being on fire. Gohan and I hadn't been born yet, but mom told us the story when we were young. It sounded like an epic adventure, and it made us look up to our father that much more. It was the little reminders like these that made his loss more painful, but also made me want to try harder to make him proud in the afterlife.
The outer area of the volcano was littered with Earth Aether crystals, so getting a hold of those would be no problem. There were also some Fire Aether crystals, but those were few and far between. At least it was a sign that I was going in the right direction. And indeed, once I got to the top of the volcano and took a peek inside, the inner walls were covered the elusive red crystals. I would need to come in and out quickly, because the heat would only allow my consciousness to stay for so long.
I probably could have waited for Bulma and Professor Tano to make some kind of heat-resistant suit so that I wouldn't be burning up so much in here. However, that could take a lot of time, and I couldn't stand to see Indi suffer any longer. All I had was a pair of gloves like the ones the Professor used, pumping cold Water Aether essence so that my hands wouldn't burn upon touching the Fire Aether crystals. I looked for the biggest piece I could find and started pulling it from the wall, quickly but carefully to make sure I didn't damage it. Luckily, there were no signs of any dragons around he—Oh, I just had to open my big fat mouth, didn't I?!
From the lava in the core of the volcano emerged a giant Fire Dragon! It let out a deafening roar before shooting a ball of fire through its mouth! I managed to dodge it, but it left a large burn mark on the wall. The fire crystal was unscathed, though. Fire was probably its life essence after all. Even luckier for me, the damaged wall loosened its grip on the Fire Aether that I was trying to extract, so I rushed to grab the entire crystal and made my way to the top exit as fast as I could. Unlucky for me, the Fire Dragon had wings, and it started chasing after me out into the jungle that surrounded the volcano!
As the majestic beast persecuted me through the skies, it constantly breathed fire in my direction. Dodging wasn't the problem; the problem was that the flames fell to the wildlife below us, putting thousands of animals in danger. And if this kept going, the dragon could even put the people back at the camp in danger. I understood that the dragon was territorial and it was justifiably angry at me for stealing its possessions, but the damage it was causing was simply too great. I had to stop it.
I quickly traveled down to the ground to put the Fire Aether down, knowing full well that the dragon wouldn't leave anyone alone until it had the crystal back. I flew back up to the sky and unsheathed the Mediator from the scabbard on my hip. Facing the dragon, I imbued the power of Destruction onto the Mediator, giving the blade a deep purple glow. I went full speed towards the dragon, dodging its pyre bombardment along the way. Once I managed to get close enough to it, I flew to its side and slashed the dragon's abdomen with the Mediator, causing a lethal wound that became engulfed with Destructive energy. I witnessed as the behemoth began to disappear, its life fading from its eyes as it fell from its once graceful flight. I wish things hadn't turned out this way, but I had no other choice – the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
"Bulmaaaa! Professoooor! I'm back!" I called out for the scientists as I descended onto the camp. I'm sure Bulma had taken her time to learn more about this place and its people… maybe more than I had. I was so focused on helping Indi that I didn't even properly introduce myself to anyone, not even Gine who had been nice enough to give me food and welcomed me into her home. Once my role in saving Indi was done, that was probably something I should do.
"Court! You brought the Fire Aether crystal, I see! It's hard to believe, but I've never seen one this big in all my years in this planet." Professor Tano was impressed by what I brought.
"Great job, Court! I knew we could count on you!"
"Thanks, Bulma."
"I must ask, though, did you encounter a Fire Dragon on your expedition?"
"Ehh… Unfortunately, yes. I… had to get rid of it before it could set the whole jungle ablaze."
"Oh… I-I see… Well, there's nothing that can be done about that. You did the right thing, young lady."
"I sure hope so…" For being a Goddess of Destruction, the feeling of guilt is something that I was too susceptible to. "A-Anyways, is there anything else that you'll need me to do? If there's anything I can help with, I'm all ears."
"Hmm… Well, actually, there was something…" Bulma had a confused expression as she pondered.
"What is it?"
"You see, since the arm and leg need to extend in accordance to Indi's size when she transforms into a Great Ape, we're going to need precise measurements to make sure that the expansion is consistent. And since you and Indi are roughly the same height on your normal forms, it's safe to assume that you're not too different on your transformed states. So…"
"You… need me to transform into a Great Ape?" I brought my tail up to my hands to enhance the sentence further.
"Yes. Not to mention, we don't know if any of the other Saiyans in here are able to control themselves in that form, but we know for a fact that you can."
"Wow… I never thought that transformation would come in handy this much, but… Sure, if that's what you need."
"Yup! Besides, this would be the first time I ever perform research on a Great Ape without them trying to kill me."
… This kind of made me feel like a guinea pig in a weird way, but whatever. To think, people were previously terrified of this tail of mine, but now it would be a key feature in breakthrough scientific discoveries. I almost wanted to brag about it to my brothers, but bragging about not getting amputated as a kid was… messed up, to say the least.
"Conveniently enough, tonight the moon will be full." Professor Tano kept a keen eye on the calendar. "There's no time to waste. Mrs. Bulma, we must make the necessary preparations. Court, meet us at the field east of here in an hour. Oh, and make sure your eyes are covered with something until we get there."
As the Professor asked, I was sitting out in an open field with a bandage covering my eyes. The sun was starting to set when I left the camp, so by now it was probably night time. But the main reason I could tell that the sun was long gone is because I felt… tingly. It was the same kind of tingles that I would feel once a month, specifically on full moon nights. Once I found out why I always felt tingly, I made sure to always keep my windows closed and my room dark during those nights, which subdued the strange sensations. This time, however, I knew I was directly under the full moon, even if I couldn't see it. My tail was jumpier than usual, too.
"Court, we're here!" I heard Bulma's voice. I was about to say hi back, but before I could say anything, Bulma interrupted. "Wait, don't uncover your eyes yet!"
"O-Oh… OK, don't worry, I won't."
Professor Tano was there too, of course. "Before we begin setting things up, Court, I'd like to ask you something simple: how do you feel?"
"Hmm… I think 'tingly' is the best way to describe it." I kept swaying my tail back and forth with every sentence. It was kind of like when your body has been static for a while and you instinctively start bobbing your head and whatnot.
I audibly heard the Professor gulp when he heard this. "I-I see! Well then, let's… let's start hooking things up, Mrs. Bulma." It was natural for the Professor to be a bit scared. He probably hadn't seen a Great Ape in decades, and probably never seen one going through transformation process. Bulma had more experience with this sort of thing thanks to dad when he was young.
With a bandage still covering my eyes, I felt Bulma sticking what I assumed to be nerve sensors around my body. The Professor sounded like he was installing a bunch of computers in the distance, most likely to show the readings of the sensors. Bulma eventually noticed something. "Hmm…? Hey, Court, your arm is wounded."
"It is?" When Bulma touched the area in question, I did feel a slight pain, nothing serious though. "Huh… I must've gotten it while fighting the Fire Dragon and didn't even notice it. Well, it's no big deal, don't worry about it."
"Hmm… I'm going to put a sensor here, just in case." She did, then continued setting up all kinds of other things.
"Aaaand… done." The two scientists were finally done with their preparations. I had to actually try to keep my tail still when Bulma was hooking up sensors on it. From what the Professor said, they were already getting some interesting readings from me even before the main event started.
"So… can I take the bandage off now? I'm…" I was getting a bit anxious about it, is what I wanted to say. I didn't want to sound impatient, but I just had this feeling…
"Not quite yet, there's one more thing I have to tell you before we start. I'm going to cover your eyes again a few seconds after you look at the moon. We want to know if the transformation can be interrupted if the source of Blutz Waves is cut off at the right time."
"OK, that's fine, just…"
"Alright, when I give you the signal, you can take the bandage off." I lied down on the ground facing the sky, hearing Bulma walk away. "… OK, Court, you're good!" Hearing those words, I took off the bandage and was immediately met with a luminous beacon of beauty in the sky – the full moon. Whis wasn't kidding, this planet's moon was big, even bigger than Earth's!
"Can you hear us, Court?" I heard the Professor yelling from their safe spot, though I didn't turn to look at them.
"Y-Yeah… I hear you…!" I couldn't turn to look at them, rather. My eyes were glued to the moon. It was… mesmerizing.
"What do you feel, Court?"
"It's like… hahh… Like a…" I had a hard time finishing sentences because my breathing was getting so heavy. My tail was twitching on its own, no matter how much I tried to keep it still. And honestly, I didn't want to keep it still. This felt… this felt good…!
"Red eyes!" Obviously I couldn't see my own eyes, but the next thing I knew, I couldn't see anything. Bulma threw a blanket over my face, as she said she would before the experiment began. I felt my heart rate slow down… a little.
"Oh! You were right, Mrs. Bulma, her readings are slowly going back to normal!"
"Sorry if that startled you, Court, but we needed to act quickly or—" An inner impulse forced me to take off the blanket. I yanked it out of my face and was once again staring at that shining marvel in the sky. "EEK!" Bulma ran back to the Professor as fast as she could. "C-Court, I wasn't ready yet!"
"I-I'm sorry, I just… hahh… I-I just… I need… hahh… more…!"
The voices of the others were starting to sound hazy, but I could still vaguely make out what they were saying. "F-Fascinating…! So for… tz Waves are… like a drug of some des…!"
"Look…! … wound is healing… own…! No wond… wants it so…!"
I was hyperventilating like crazy. I couldn't even blink because my eyes were locked dead onto the moon. I don't know what I looked like at the moment, but it probably looked like I was having a heart attack. And it felt like it… but not in a bad way. The last time I transformed I was asleep for it, though I do recall feeling like my body was convulsing a lot. This time I was fully awake, and hoo boy, let me tell you, this was… incredible…!
I blanked out for… I don't know, a minute? Maybe more, maybe less. Either way, for however long that was, all I felt was euphoria. A sensation unlike anything I'd felt before, which was especially weird because I had supposedly felt this previously. Maybe the moon on Planet Aether being bigger than Earth's had a more noticeable effect than I thought. Either way, once I came to, I realized that the transformation was complete. I was a Great Ape, and just like last time, I was still in control of my body and mind.
"C-Court…? Are you…"
"W-Wha—Wha—Oh… Hi, Bulma." I replied in a dorky tone, horrendously contrasted (or complimented, depending on how you look at it) by my teratoid voice.
"Oh, good, you're… well, you. It's OK, Professor Tano, she's fine!" The Professor was hiding behind all the lab equipment, but came out once Bulma spoke up.
"Boy oh boy, Court, you gave me a big scare there for a moment! You were acting so unusual, I thought for sure that we were goners!"
"Yeah, sorry about that, I don't know what came over me back there…"
"Well, with these research results, I believe we will know soon enough."
"It looks like Blutz Waves might be like catnip for you Saiyans, except a lot more potent – you actually passed out for a moment, you know!" I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, which, again, anything I did while looking like a giant monkey must have looked ridiculous. "Anyways, we're going to need you to lie back down for a while. The main reason we're here is to get your limb measurements, after all."
As instructed, I was back on the ground, looking up at the moon once again. It was still… enticing to look at, but not nearly as addicting as it was just a few minutes ago. I was very interested to see just what kind of research results the scientists would find, but that would have to wait until later. Our top priority was making sure that Indi's prosthetic limbs would be ready ASAP.
Since all I needed to do was stay perfectly still, I started to get kind of sleepy. Since I was so big, Bulma and the Professor touching my arm and leg, even stepping on them at times, felt like small tickles. And once again, looking up at the moon was… soothing… Very soothing… Like it was singing me a lullaby… sending me to sleep…
"… Hnngh… Hmm…? Hm?!" Waking up, the first thing I saw was Indi lying on top of me! It startled me, but then…
"… Hmm…? Hehe… Good morning, Court!"
"I-Indi…! That arm…! And your leg!" She… had an arm and a leg! They were made of a very high-quality looking metal, undoubtedly the work of Bulma and the Professor. Once I turned to look, I noticed that the aforementioned duo were sleeping on chairs by their lab stations, signaling that they had pulled an all-nighter working. I was incredibly grateful for their hard work, though I guess letting them rest would be the best thanks I could give at the moment.
"Yup! Mrs. Bulma and Professor Tano stayed up all night fixing me up. I feel better than ever!" Seeing Indi looking so alive made me feel warmth, like a great burden had been taken off my shoulders. "And of course…" She lied back down on my chest… "It's all thanks to you, Court."
"Ah…" I placed my hand on Indi's head, gently stroking her hair. "… Heh, it was nothing."
Author's Note: I'm going to dig fifty feet deep into Saiyan physiology because nobody else wanted to. This is inevitably going to lead into having to come up with a bunch of stuff that no canon media has ever mentioned, but I'll at least try to make some logic out of it. I may not be very good at writing a memorable, epic scene, but I do like to write things that'll make you (and me) go "Ooh…!" As an avid gamer, I like it when things are mechanically sound.
Also, I have changed my profile picture (not the fic's picture) to Indi. Though, as of me typing this, the site is telling me that it's going to take four hours for the changes to take effect, so uhh… If you check now and it still hasn't changed, that's probably why. I also added a link to an album containing the pictures of both Court and Indi in higher resolution, and I will be adding anything else I come up with in the future to it. Though again, the link is giving me issues, so it may not work at the time you're reading this. I'll be periodically checking to make sure it works, and if it doesn't, I'll try something else.