Chapter 11: Joel's Brute

One Star

Four Star

Five Star

As I stood in the dark, cold temple, I attempted to process what I've just been told. Could I really be the reincarnation of the legendary warrior? The more I thought about it, the smaller the temple seemed to get. What began as a large room suddenly felt like a small box. My body tingled. It couldn't be true, my grandfather was a warrior, a legend; and what am I? I barely have any Saiyan in me, and on top of that, I only know a fraction of the martial arts that he did. My power level isn't even anywhere near where his was. I'm a measly two hundred at best. I suddenly remembered where I was and looked down at the old man.

"That's impossible," I said, "I'm not half the fighter my grandfather was."

"You came riding on a cloud, didn't you?" he asked, "Only those who are the most pure of heart have the ability to ride a cloud like that. Goku was able to ride that cloud without any difficulty, and it looks the same for you. You may think that you're a mere speck of dust compared to him, but that can't be farther from the truth. You have the ability to tap into him and his power. When the time is right, you will know what to do."

At that moment I thought that I had felt a small flicker of something in my chest. Could it be the flame of my grandfather's soul begin to spark inside me? The feeling was gone as soon as it had started, but even a tiny feeling like that allowed me to feel immense power; power beyond anything that I could ever imagine. Could my grandfather be present in me? I guess I'll find out eventually.

I nodded at the old man and we made our way back up the stairs. As I began to walk I felt myself falling backward. It feels like something was pulling me back. I felt around behind me until I felt something fluffy. It looks like that little flicker inside my chest was enough to pop my new tail out. Now that I got use to not having it, I suppose I have to readjust to having it there again.

We approached the exit of the temple and I flinched at the sunlight that shone through. We returned to the tribe to find them all down on their hands and knees in neat rows. At the other side of the rows triumphantly stood a man with orange curly hair with a mustache. His arms were thick and veiny, his muscles bigger than the old man. He stood tall, but at the same time not being very. He wore something that the city folk I use to see on the street wore, just a regular old dark grey button-down shirt and jeans. He also wore black fingerless gloves and dark brown brown boots.

He stood laughing as he held one of the tribesmen by their hair. The tribesman wasn't moving, and he was covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like his face was mangled more than anything. Cuts everywhere, bent nose, black eyes, lost teeth, and the color of his face was drained. It would be a miracle if he wasn't dead yet.

"Oh dear," said the old man in surprise. It was then that the brute looked in our direction. He spotted us and released the man from his grasp. He began walked rather briskly toward us with an evil-looking grin on his face.

As he got closer he began winding up his fist. He came almost running towards us as he swung a powerful right hook at the old man. Luckily, right before his fist made contact, I was able to block it and countered with a right hook of my own. I landed my fist right on his cheekbone and sent him flying off about ten feet. My block caused my entire arm to be enveloped in a wave of pain. I had forgotten how much my arm hurt from my fall. I winced and held it as the brute got up, him holding his bruised face.

"Nice shot, kid. I'll definitely feel that one later," he said in a grungy voice.

He walked over and I attempted a right jab. He blocked it and punched me in the stomach. I began seeing stars and fell to my knees. Once my vision cleared I noticed something red on the statue behind him. It was the Power Pole!

As I held my stomach with my left hand, I landed a hard punch to his shin, right below his knee just before he was about to knee my face. He fell to the ground and I start speed wobbling toward the pole, clutching my stomach, each step feeling like it was about to pour out. When I reached the Power Pole, I quickly took it out of the holster and called out the words "Power Pole Extend!". As the pole quickly grew to more than double its original height, I swung it around as fast as I could and it nailed him in his face, about the bridge of his nose. The pole made a loud thwack that echoed throughout the woods. As he fell to the ground, I quickly ran up to his body, jumped into the air, and kneed him in his chest. I could feel and hear his sternum crack against my knee. He was coughing blood and gasping for air. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the bridge of his nose was now concave, bending inward almost three inches, with a bruise that looked blacker than the night sky. His chest had a massive bruise on it as well.

Lying on the ground, covering his chest, the brute muttered "Joel isn't going to like this," with each word in between either a loud gasp for breath, or a cough of blood. Then he passed out.

I collapsed on the ground, holding my stomach, my vision going foggy, and soon I found myself unconscious as well.