Demon Saga - Part 1: Twist of Fate
The scream reverberated around the atmosphere, blissfully being unheard by the majority of the audience as they clamored excitedly about the battle that had just unfolded before their very eyes. It seemed as if it were nothing more than a mere whisper to the general masses, yet to the select few who could hear it, it was nothing less than a shriek of absolute terror.
'T-That sounded like G-Gohan...' Chiaotzu thought to himself, his gaze transfixed on the entrance to the building. What could've possibly happened to him to elicit such a cry? As far as the Crane student knew, the battling had finally ceased for the day; the tournament had finally ended.
Master Roshi, having the distinction of being able to sense energy, had already ruled out the idea of an accident occurring. His pupil's power signal had simply plummeted like a stone; there was simply no other explanation for that other than brutal, cold-blooded murder.
Chiaotzu and the Turtle Hermit tending to Tien's body quickly locked eyes, unable to dispute that cry could've come from anyone else—undoubtedly, that was Gohan's voice. A collective chill of fear ran through both of them, almost as if this was a sign of things to come.
"Chiaotzu, stay here with Tien and Krillin," quickly ordered Roshi as he stood, his brain running a mile a minute. Gohan was one of the strongest men alive—whatever could strike fear into him was surely something supernatural, something out of this world. "I'm going in after Gohan and making sure everything's all right." He knew that if this monster was strong enough to fell his strongest pupil, then only three warriors held the skills to combat it—and as fate would have it, he was the only one with the energy to fight right now.
"D-Don't tell me you're going in after him, right?" stuttered the imp as he turned to meet Roshi's gaze. "I-If we are under attack, wouldn't it make more sense for us to wait until our other fighters are strong enough to help?" Immediately, though, he recognized the elderly man's logic—they couldn't make their own stand if there were none to oppose this new attacker.
"I understand your reasoning, Chiaotzu… but there is no time for concern," Roshi said solemnly. "There is only time for action. I need to know that I can count on you to watch over them for the moment… in case I myself don't make it out alive, I need to make sure that those two are safe." During his battle with Tien, he had envisioned that both the triclops and Krillin would be the Earth's primary defenses in the future, but never had he expected that future to come this early.
Realizing the reality of the situation, Chiaotzu swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. "O-Okay, but hurry back!" After all that had happened today, the imp simply wanted all the conflicts and fighting to cease, but it seemed that the temporary tranquility they'd received was only a false alarm. The hounds of war were still roaring out for blood, and it seems their bloodlust would not be satiated with just Gohan's demise—he was certain that they were next.
Much like the pale-skinned psychic in front of him, Roshi knew that the day was far from over. Whatever ambitions their enemies had would surely not cease with just the death of one; they likely had some grander scheme in mind. But what could they accomplish with just senseless murder? He had to know just what was going on; everything was happening right under his nose. Though he had passed the torch to his younger, potential-filled students and the next generation, Roshi knew that he owed it to his friend to investigate further.
"All right. I'm off."
After replying to the imp with the quickest of nods, Roshi broke out into the fastest dash he could, speeding through the hallways of the tournament building at nigh detectable speeds. For every second that passed, he zipped into another room, his careful eye scouting for any clue of his pupil. Unfortunately, it seemed lady luck wore a frown this evening— any sort of hint pertaining to Gohan was simply far too elusive for the Turtle Hermit to capture.
'He couldn't have been killed,' the aged warrior thought to himself, refusing to accept the very real possibility of Gohan having perished against whatever monster he had seemingly encountered. 'Gohan is nothing if not a tactician—surely he must've been caught off-guard and hidden to avoid his foe.'
With each passing moment, though, he recognized that the chances of his friend's survival were more and more unlikely. His energy signal had dropped right off the map, his life force barely sensible at all. Could he really have been killed right under their noses?
Refusing to contemplate that last thought, Roshi rounded the corner as quickly as he could. His sudden swerve in direction nearly caused him to collide with one of the hosting monks—had he not quickly slammed on the brakes and swerved slightly to avoid his path, that would've been the end of the poor human right then and there.
He didn't have the time to worry about the monk, however. There was still a monster running amok that he had to stop in its tracks—when a warrior of such caliber was running around amok, Roshi couldn't afford to tarry in the slightest, especially not when the lives of millions were on the line.
Refocusing himself, he kicked off the ground once more and quickly ran through the corridors as quickly as possible, recognizing that with each second that went by the monster could be preying on another helpless innocent. A burning vengeance immediately began to creep into his consciousness, though the aged, experienced warrior quickly repressed such feral emotions. After all, there just wasn't any possible way that Gohan could've—
All of a sudden, Roshi skidded to an abrupt halt, his eyes locked onto what was undoubtedly one of the most horrific sights he had ever come across.
There, lying in a pool of his own crimson blood, was his pupil's fallen carcass. His skin, once an aged caucasian hue, was now a ghastly pale. His eyes, which were always so full of kindness and love for everything around him, were glazed over, a sickening, deathly gray.
"G-Gohan…" voiced the master aloud, tears beginning to brim at the corner of his eyes as he fell to his knees and cradled his friend's cranium in his hands. Already his skin felt cold and lifeless, all the more proof he had passed on from the world of the living. "H-How could this…?"
It had all happened so quickly, taking the Turtle Hermit on a whirlwind of emotions. In one moment, Mother Earth was safer than ever before with new, up-and-coming martial artists ready to take up the mantle of the Earth's protectors; in the next, one of their greatest had seemingly fallen to a sneak-attack.
"...It was a monster…" whispered the announcer as he cowered in the shadows, his voice cracking in obvious fear. "It struck from behind and killed that man before he even had a chance to fight back. It then took a ball with strange stars all over it and a list of the martial arts society!."
Immediately, Roshi's head turned to face the other man in the room, eyes firmly locked onto him. He needed to know anything and everything he possibly could if he were to fight this threat. "So that means he's got the address and location of each and every fighter who's participated in these last few tournaments… I don't like this. Whatever this monster's up to, its grand scheme surely involves all of these fighters…"
"That beast…" the announcer continued on, eliciting a small cry of pain from his sudden movement, "that generous old man never saw it coming. It was just two quick claws that ended his life. I… I'm so sorry…"
The hermit paused for only the slightest of moments, reality finally settling in for him at long last. Gohan had passed from this plane of existence, an action that, sans usage of the Dragon Balls, could never be undone. Even then, the odds of being able to gather up the seven mystical spheres again were slim to none at all. They were no longer the only ones with knowledge of the Dragon Balls, it seemed, and they would now have to battle to protect them from falling into the wrong hands.
Roshi tightened his fists hard enough to draw blood from his aged and wrinkled skin, the substance oozing through his palms and dropping to the ground. 'They're gunning for the Dragon Balls themselves, are they? That surely means they're aiming for some sort of malicious wish of their own… but just what could this beast want?'
It was then that he noticed a small, nearly unnoticeable, sheet of paper directly below Gohan's fallen form. The crimson blood that had poured out of him since his untimely death had stained it a magma red, but as Roshi held it up to the dim light the kanji was unmistakable.
In that moment, Roshi knew that it was indeed time for the next generation to face their first true threat to the Earth. It was then when he realized all hell was about to break loose, the very nature of Planet Earth about to be warped and twisted into the devil's playground.
It was then that he knew that the war for Earth's control was once again reborn. Somehow, someway, he had escaped from his confinement. He had somehow found the strength to begin his quest anew after all this time, lying in wait until his opportunity came for him to wreak havoc upon Mother Earth and her people once again.
Suddenly, Roshi realized just what the seven magic Dragon Balls were being assembled for: nothing less than absolute, undisputed world domination.
"Somehow… he's back... Piccolo…"
"Hyah!" Kakarot's cry reverberated around the wide expanse of land as he bolted towards Nail, ready to partake in yet another round of sparring. His blue cloak billowed wildly in the wind as he charged, the slight breeze even causing Nail's jacket to flutter in the turbulent gusts of air. Then, finally, he jabbed forward and aimed for his foe's abdomen, but it was easily countered by an olive forearm.
"You've learned how to throw a punch quite well, Kakarot, but your form is far from composed. Your movements are painfully simple to predict," he added, guarding a bare-knuckled blow with relative ease. Upon hearing this, the boy tried to vary up his strikes, though Nail's guard didn't let up in the slightest. Each and every blow the spiky-haired Saiyan threw Nail just somehow seemed to have a counter for, no matter how hard he tried.
"No, this time your movements are far too quick," criticized Nail as he evaded a roundhouse kick from the Saiyan. "You're sacrificing fluency for agility. In which case…" His arm shot out and grasped Kakarot by the leg, watching as the boy feebly tried to squirm his way out of his hold. "...I can easily halt all of your prior momentum and get in an exposed strike."
With that said, Nail flicked his wrist, sending the boy tumbling into the ground due to the strength behind his throw. He rolled through the grass momentarily before awkwardly using the momentum behind the throw to spring upwards.
"Your balance is quite uneven." He rocketed forward, and – being careful not to use that much power – swiftly struck with a chop block to his student's exposed knee, forcing him to once again pitch forward and slam into the ground roughly. He soon halted and pivoted around, looking down at the spiky-haired warrior with a stoic expression.
"Something like that can cost you in a battle," he added, making sure to emphasize each and every point. He had to admit that despite him giving a glorified crash-course lesson on martial arts, Kakarot was picking up on it exceptionally well—it hadn't taken him very long to learn how to throw a punch or kick, and by the time five minutes had passed the boy was throwing rapid flurries and blows at him as if he'd known it all his life.
"Mmph…" Kakarot grumbled to himself as he stood tall again, brushing off the dirt on his blue cloak and his white gi underneath. "You really are strong, Master… but I didn't ask you to train me just to give up now!"
Just as quickly as he finished his sentence, he had blasted off once again toward his opponent, a wild battle cry sounding from his lips as he did so. It took him all of three seconds to reach his foe, surprising him due to the Saiyan's sudden increase in speed.
Unfortunately for him, Nail was still easily the superior warrior of the two, and as such was able to keep a solid defense against the Saiyan's wild, unconcentrated barrage of punches. For each strike the boy threw, the Namekian seemed to have a counter ready a millisecond before it connected.
"I'm—not—giving—up!" the boy repeated to himself, struggling to keep up as sweat cascaded down his face in rivulets. His body was aching from the continuous exertion of energy, but though his body was aching with tremendous pain, Kakarot absolutely refused to slow his movements down.
Finding no other option but to stop beating around the bush, Kakarot dropped back and concentrated as much strength as he could before immediately launching forward once again. He threw his full body into the attack, attempting a double-booted strike to the chest which struck against Nail's pure, solid muscle.
Needless to say, the searing, blistering agony he felt from such a blow forced Kakarot to cease his attacks; instead, he focused his attention on supporting his now aching legs. His foe's defenses had been rock-solid, nearly impenetrable—so much so, in fact, that Kakarot's knees simply couldn't take the aggravation of standing any longer. His legs buckled in that next moment, the force of gravity shoving the child to fall onto his back.
"Haaah… haaah…" Kakarot gasped heavily for air, trying to drown out the blaring pain coursing through his legs. "Y-You really are powerful…" He tried to will himself upward, but Namek's gravitational pull kept the boy flat on his back, unwilling to let him move.
Though he hadn't wanted to admit that he fared no chance, Kakarot could quite clearly see now that Nail was vastly stronger than him. All the rumors about the loner Namekian had indeed been true—undoubtedly, he was the undisputed strongest warrior of Namek.
'And to think… that monster Frieza and his henchmen are far stronger than even Nail..' Kakarot thought to himself bemusedly, unable to fathom that such levels of power existed. According to everything the young warrior had heard about the tyrant, he could cause mass genocide with a simple flick of his finger and destroy all in his path.
'That just means I've got to train harder than ever,' internally reasoned the Namek-raised Saiyan, a small grin spreading his child-like features, 'and the only way to do that is keep on training… even if that means fighting a battle I can't win.'
Immediately curling his knees inward, Kakarot grit his teeth as he mustered up all of his willpower. Then, much to Nail's surprise, Kakarot pushed off the soles of his shoes, flipping back upwards and rocketing back into battle with a diving uppercut.
Just as he approached, however, the Namekian easily side-stepped the attack. It was far too late for Kakarot to change his path, which forced the cloak-donning warrior into extending his arms out fully and using them as a break for his momentum. He then quickly pushed up and off the ground and restabilized himself on the ground, pivoting around and preparing a counter-attack.
However, his swollen, bruised ankle seemed to have a mind of its own, sending an agonizing wave of pain through his right leg and forcing him to remain stationary. A loud cry of pain nearly forced its way through Kakarot's lips, but the warrior stifled it immediately, afraid that the sign of such pain would coerce Nail into stopping his training. Though the pain stung tremendously, young Kakarot wouldn't quit until his body wouldn't allow him to make even the slightest of movements.
Nail, chalking up Kakarot's pain to simple fatigue, remained unfazed in the slightest. "This may sound odd to you, but you might want to try and divert my attention away from the fact that you've wounded your leg. Otherwise, I could easily take notice of it and perhaps..." He disappeared in a blur of static, preparing to aim a rather concentrated blow at Kakarot's leg...
...but now, moving at such hypersonic speeds allowed him to see that the boy's leg was throbbing, pulsing with agony.
'W-What a resolve...!' the Namekian cried internally, shell-shocked with Kakarot's sheer determination and willpower. 'He's willing to break nearly every bone in his body if it meant he'd be prepared to face Frieza!'
Immediately, the green-skinned warrior knew what he had to do.
BZZT! Nail reappeared directly behind his charge, hands behind his back in a non-lethal manner. With his back still to the boy, he spoke calmly, not making any sudden movements. "...I could've capitalized on said weakness and dealt you some rather brutal pain." Normally he would've accentuated his advice by giving a demonstration, but something told him that the boy had had enough for one day. 'I made a promise not to treat him like a Saiyan… but as one of us. His being born on the Saiyan homeworld means nothing; it's not who he is. He has been raised as a Namekian through and through, and that is how he shall learn.'
"D-Darn…" All that could be heard throughout the reticent wastelands was Kakarot's exasperated breathing, all the fatigue from training having finally overtaken him. The pain from that sudden impact had grasped him firmly; his ankles and calves already felt as if they had gone numb. "You could've finished the fight right there if you were trying to kill me."
He received a stoic nod in response as the Namekian relaxed his stance, visibly seeing that the boy could take no more punishment. "Yes, you're quite right. Though it's important to never keep your eyes off your opponent, it's just as essential to maintain a full guard on your body. Offensive strength is nothing if not with an equal defensive power."
Wiping the excess sweat off his brow, Kakarot nodded enthusiastically. "All right!" Just as quickly as he spoke, he dropped into a defensive stance, indicating he was ready to fight yet again. "Let's go for round two!"
Nail observed his student's form as he once again took a fighting stance, determined and motivated as ever. Despite that, however, what he saw that stood out to him was the boy's resilience—despite all he'd put young Kakarot through in a mere half hour of training, he simply just rose back up and came back for more.
'His resolve is truly remarkable,' thought Nail to himself as the boy rapidly approached him again. 'If he puts his mind to it, perhaps there can truly be universal peace. Maybe… just maybe… with the right training, he could put a stop to that monster in Frieza.'
He was brought back to reality by what was a rather hard shot to the jaw, actually managing to make him stagger backwards and apply a slight amount of pressure onto the muscle. Kakarot himself looked surprised he'd actually connected with his master and even more so that his bare-knuckled blow hadn't stung him in the slightest.
"D-Did I hurt you, Master?" Kakarot asked with a small whimper in his voice—a stark contrast to his outburst of aggression not that long ago. It seemed that isolating and conditioning his mind onto one set subject was working; he barely seemed violent at all.
Much to Nail's surprise, the injury the boy had sustained was seemingly long gone. 'At this rate, the boy won't succumb to these feelings of hatred and angst. I've no doubt he can dispel the shackles of anger and hate inside him… if his mind is anywhere near as determined as his body seems to be, then he can get through this—we can get through this.' It felt somewhat awkward involving himself in the matter, but he could no longer deny it; the boy was a part of his life now as he was a part of his. Their fates were intertwined in destiny's web, and it didn't seem as if they would be falling apart anytime soon.
"Far from it, Kakarot. Though you may be strong, your untapped strength cannot compare to mine." Nail made no movement to relax himself, still taking a defensive form. "And while I may be powerful, there will be a time when you undoubtedly surpass me. When that day comes, you must be ready—not just physically ready, but emotionally ready. I intend for you to be Namek's strongest warrior, Kakarot… but this shall take time." He was nearly tempted to bring up that malicious frost demon again, but thought better against it. Kakarot was indeed wise, but the Namekian wasn't about to risk the boy going on an emotional tirade.
"Well, then, come on!" taunted Kakarot with a half-smirk as he pushed himself back upwards and took a fighting stance. "There's only so much time in a day!"
Nail couldn't help but crack a small grin at the child's eagerness to learn; it was truly contagious, it seemed. It finally appeared as if the boy had a true passion for something that he could get excited for, and now that he'd found his niche, there was no doubt that the boy would go far in life.
"Then, by all means, come at me once again."
'This was supposed to be a day of enjoyment,' thought Roshi to himself as he ran a hand over Gohan's eyelids, gently closing them before averting his gaze from the sight. The sensation was already powerful enough, but just the constant reminder that his student had truly passed on was truly one that was nigh impossible to bear. 'And now… it's of dread and horror. But it won't end. Not yet.'
"M-Master!" a high-pitched, childlike voice blared out, immediately drawing Roshi's attention and provoking him to turn toward the door. Sure enough, there stood a recovered Krillin, terror written over his features.
"T-That's…" Krillin started, his voice cracking and faltering at the horrific sight of Gohan's limp and lifeless figure. "G-Gohan…" He could already feel a lump in his throat beginning to form, tears just barely sneaking past his eyes and cascading down onto the ground. It was just simply too much for the child to bear; he hadn't believed that one of his closest friends had perished.
Seeing the boy's sorrow immediately struck a chord within Roshi, a whole new wave of emotions flooding through his conscience. He'd been afflicted by his student's loss, but seeing the agonized expression on his adoptive son's face intensified the emotion that much more for him.
"Yes…" Roshi murmured quietly to himself, suddenly finding himself at a loss for words. The boy's mere presence complicated the matter; on one hand, he knew that he would have to fight Piccolo once more with the help of the next generation, and on the other he knew that the Earth's next best hope was nothing more than a mere child. "...Krillin, my boy, though I've taught you nearly all I've learned in my years of martial arts and every formidable warrior on Earth, there's one I've refrained from telling you about."
"W-What are you talking about, Master?!" stuttered Krillin helplessly, the sudden change in atmosphere simply too much for his innocent mind to handle coherently. The sight of the bloodied corpse sent small tremors throughout Krillin's body, bile subconsciously building in his throat as he thought about whoever could've committed such a heinous murder.
As he turned to fully face the child, Roshi adorned a solemn expression, his unwavering gaze telling Krillin all he needed to know—this was the beginning of a whole new chapter in Earth's defense. "Though there were many malicious fighters out on Earth that wished to cause harm to others, there is one who resides in a league of his own."
"Wh-who, Master? What kind of man would be sick enough to slaughter everyone like this?!" He couldn't see how someone could attain such levels of power and then utilize them for such nefarious purposes.
"He is no man, Krillin… he's nothing short of a demon," Roshi murmured quietly, internally gripped with fear at having to duel with such a monster yet again. He could've sworn his master had sealed him away for all of eternity with his Evil Containment Wave, trapping him in one of his own rice cookers. It wasn't long after that Roshi had taken the rice cooker and hurled it into the ocean with all his might, effectively leaving the demon ensnared by Mutaito's magical bindings.
But it just wasn't enough.
Stilling his fears and doubts for the time being, Roshi found it within to speak up once more. "I'd thought that Piccolo would never have the opportunity to kill another innocent soul again, yet that monster has somehow made a return from his imprisonment… if he isn't stopped, then there's no telling what he'll do to the Earth this time around."
"Yeah, b-but we can take him, right? If the two of us teamed up with Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu, beating the demon king should be a piece of cake, right?" Krillin stuttered nervously, fearful in his master's lack of confidence. The Turtle Hermit was one of the most honest men Krillin had ever had the pleasure of encountering—if he was nervous about the impending battle, then there was certainly reason for concern.
"To be truthful with you, my boy… this doesn't look like a battle we can win on our own," Roshi admitted feebly, much to the surprise of his student. "But there is still hope in the universe… there's still a chance we can prevail. But from here on out, Krillin, you'll need to remember absolutely everything I've taught you about the art of fighting. We need to remain absolutely unified if we are to achieve victory against this monster, and even then our chances are deathly slim."
Despite the pride he held in the Turtle school and its legacy, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that him and his students could win alone. King Piccolo's strength was challenged by no one mortal on the face of the Earth. However, the combined might of the Turtle and Crane schools just might've been enough. The hermit now knew that the dissonant relationship between the two schools could exist no longer, not in the face of such a ghoul like the demon king. Sheer unification and teamwork would be all they could hope for, and though their chances seemed slim, there was simply no other choice.
Krillin nodded firmly to his master, almost subconsciously feeling the weight of the world beginning to balance itself on his shoulders. "I-I get it, Master Roshi. I won't let you down… or better yet, I won't let the Earth down!". This was what he'd been training for—to lead the next generation into being active martial artists that could defend the Earth from harm. The next step in his journey was to begin right here and now.
But just as his master had said, he couldn't do it alone. It would take the combined might of his newfound allies in the Crane school, his master, and himself if they wished to form any sort of defense against the demon's wrath.
"I'll get the others!" Krillin hastily said, pivoting on his heel and beginning a dash toward the door. "They've gotta know about this monster as quickly as possible if we're gonna strike back on the sooner side!"
Just as quickly as he'd spoken, the ex-monk had zipped out the door with remarkable speed and rocketed off toward the tournament arena to relay the information his master had told him.
Roshi couldn't help but beam with pride at his adoptive son and how willingly he'd taken the Earth's fate into his hands. Despite his original reluctance to learn martial arts for anything other than to score with the ladies, Krillin had grasped the technique of fighting and honed it to a degree the hermit had never thought possible for such a young man. It prided him to see that there was such a pure-spirited young man with such determination to succeed in life—before he knew it, the young boy would soon become a man, and perhaps even be leading his own children into battle one day.
But as there is life, there is always death. Such a reminder brought Roshi's attention right back to his student's fallen form, silently pleading with him to succeed where he could not. The blood-soaked garments seemed to grow darker and darker, which was quite the contrast to his sickeningly pale, wrinkled skin.
He turned fully to face the deceased warrior, his eyes ablaze with unbridled fury and anger at his loss. Though the pain of loss still reverberated throughout his conscience, the desire for retribution was simply that much greater. And yet, even further down into Roshi's emotions was the urge to enact vengeance upon his old foe—not only for himself, but for the countless lives that had been lost on his initial attack. Just as they had so many years ago, the Earth's people needed a hero to save them despite the sheer magnitude of Piccolo's power.
And despite his inability to be that sole hero, all Roshi could do was hold out hope that the combined might of Earth's special forces would be enough to let Earth see another day.
"This may seem like the end…" Roshi murmured to himself as he looked toward the door, the faint outline of his allies coming into view as they drew closer and closer to his location. "...We're outmatched. Our combined might could be just enough to repel him for the time being or barely be enough to faze him in the slightest, but it's not the end.
"This is only just the beginning."
Greetings, everyone, and thanks for tuning into the fourth edition of Turbulence! Sorry about the long A/N, but again, things needed to be covered. Thanks for understanding!
Before we kick off the very first 2014 installment of Turbulence, allow me to extend to you my sincerest apologies for the wait I've made you all unintentionally endure - I've been involved in a lot of extracurricular activities that have basically swallowed up my free time for the first month of this year. However, come daybreak of the 29th, I will be relieved of these responsibilities, which will allow me to provide more consistent and exciting updates to you all. Despite my track record with my other stories, I have been extremely motivated to share with you all the story of Turbulence, which, with each passing chapter, is set to grow more and more intriguing and entertaining. I made myself a vow - not a promise, but a vow - that I will be a better author with updating now that my schedule is returning back to normal. I love this story too much to halt its momentum, and I love all of you fans out there who continue to support it!
I pride myself on giving you all the best storytelling I can, so unfortunately this chapter had quite the amount of filler packed into it to transition us from the World Tournament arc into the King Piccolo Saga - or, as I've entitled it, the "Demon Saga." There is a very subtle reason that I've changed the name of the arc, which should become quite apparent to you within the next chapter, as it is the last of the "DB Era" chapters of Turbulence.
That's right, the Turbulence Z Era will be starting in Chapter 6! Starting in said chapter, I will be focusing heavily on the story once again and beginning to unfold what will be a tale of an action-packed DBZ universe unlike any other! You may be thinking that my spoiling of when the Z arc will be will certainly foreshadow the events of Chapter 5: The Second Coming, but I wouldn't be so sure you all know what will be going down. There's going to be a lot of fun had on this next chapter, which I've been pumped to write!
This also reminds me to mention that I've gotten a lot of extensive planning for this story down, which means that, coming fairly soon, power levels will be included as a feature in this story! I had originally thought against this decision early on, but now that my vision is concise with this story, I think I can at least manage the numbers up to the Frieza Saga(however, I won't be starting any calculations for a fair while - I'm going to wait until we see Raditz to calculate them, as they're not exactly going to be a big feature in the fic and I'm only using them for sheer comparison purposes). From there onwards, though, I'll most likely refrain from that - the numbers would be getting absurd after a point in time, really, and I'd rather not have to think up an entirely new system for them to make sense.
I also want to give you all a big thanks for breaching the 100 review mark in literally the 3rd chapter of this fic. That's absolutely phenomenal, but it doesn't just stop there. Thank you so much for providing me with(at the time of this writing) 71 favorites and 80 follows. Though I love all of your feedback and interest in the story, I truly feel blessed that all of you are so interested in reading my story; it means more to me than words can ever describe.
And now, without further ado, your Q&A from the last chapter:
-SaiyanWanderer: Story is going great so far. But i was wondering if Son Gohan will ever be born? Because from what i know from the original story Goku was a little older than 18 when Gohan was born. Since Goku is raised on Namek how will his relationship be with the Earthlings? Ecstatic for the next installment keep it updated!
Ah, isn't that the burning question on everyone's minds? I imagine when/if Kakarot finds a wife, learning about how to conceive a child will be quite awkward for him - we can't forget the race he's being brought up with doesn't exactly know how he can reproduce. Regardless, I will say that there is quite likely a version of Gohan to appear in some way, shape, or form.
-Originality: I'm glad you took my opinion about making your own pairings and awesome own ideas and putting them into your story. Lots of authors are honestly AFRAID to do this because they feel that OC's or other ideas push people away, but they don't realize they're only pushing away the people who don't really care about the story themselves and keeping the ones who do liek the story very entertained.
My opinion on this matter has changed just slightly. While I'm fully willing to throw in my own characters for this story, I will say that I also want to keep some of my own choices about the source material and incorporate them into the story. However, while I'm not pandering to either side of the whole canon/original argument, I will say that I introduce a comfortable balance of what I see works best for the story. If readers are also adamant on a matter, I'll see what I can do provided that it doesn't interfere with the story's long-term goal.
-Nickolaidas: What an amazing story! What a wonderfully performed writing of a beast of a saga of an awesome -(calms down)
Alright, this is truly some of the best fanfiction I've EVER read - I was literally about to start jumping in my chair at the whole Krillin / Tien fight (and I've been sick with gastroenteritis since yesterday). The characterization is spot-on, fresh and simply amazing. While I can't say that the Namek arc is anything mind-blowing so far (which is reasonable, considering it's a slow build-up for Kakarot's progression as a character), the Earth arc, which is basically a retelling of the DB saga, is simply OUTSTANDING - can't wait to see how the Piccolo Daimao Saga will turn out.
There is so much potential for this story, and I'm saying it now - IT SURPASSES THE GUARDIAN - Yes, I've said it - this story, alongside Cognitive Dissonance, are now my favorite fanfics, and I can't wait to read more of this stuff!
Rott, you rock! (hey it rhymes)
I really appreciate all these comments; thank you kindly. It's a real honor to hear that my work was a pleasure for someone to read and really reminds me about how much I love writing for you all. I'm going to give it my all to produce a story that will keep everyone excited and interested in what'll happen next, and it's reviews like these that really help out a writer. Thank you, Nick. Thank you so much.
Oh, and if you didn't notice, as thanks for Nickolaidas' praise and comments, I stuck in a reference to his story, entitled The River of Fate. I'm sure he'd appreciate your readership as much as I do - if you like Turbulence, I guarantee you'll like River of Fate, as it tries to give readers a completely different story from canon. Happy reading!
-DanTheMan: You've said that your story isn't like the "typical" Kakarot story. What does that mean to you? Did it have any actual effect on how you planned your story?
Also, in response to many of these reviews, you have hinted at wanting to tell a pretty different tale when compared to the DBZ verse itself. Your thoughts?
In my view, the "typical" Kakarot story is one where he somehow doesn't lose his memory due to some odd divergence, meets Bulma, and due to his "Saiyan side" prompting him to train… well, he proceeds to defeat every villain with little to no effort put into it. In addition to not only depriving the reader of the classic "uphill struggle" the protagonist is destined to go through, "Kakarot" ends up becoming the ideally perfect mix of the Goku and Vegeta characters; to add even further to this list, he also proceeds to marry Bulma and continue to surpass canon Goku at every turn. This also usually results in Raditz being spared and the Goku/Vegeta rivalry dynamic ultimately being ruined due to Kakarot's being far more powerful.
It did have a small effect on how I planned out this story because - as demonstrated in a few other fics besides this "ideal Kakarot fic -" the protagonist of a story generally ends up becoming overpowered or unstoppable. That's not my goal with this story. I want to present to you a morally-flawed character in Kakarot, someone you can travel with and watch as he rises and falls throughout life's journey. I want to be able to give you a realistic universe that deals with the Earthlings having to step up in Kakarot's absence and become true protectors. Each and every character I write will go through their own struggles and evolutions, and whether or not their paths encounter turbulence remains to be seen.