Dragon Moon Z! – By Ocramed
Disclaimer: SM, R1/2, DBZ and other properties belong to their respective owners.
Note: This story is a multi-genre story. C&C are welcome.
Special Note: This story is part of the SMST/TRT series, and is inspired by Team Four Star's Abridged Parody series.
Part 24: "The Namek Saga" (V)
Meanwhile…
"Yes, captain," Freeza said, as he spoke to the leader of his father's elite warriors, the Ginyu Force on "Space Skype", on his headset. "No, allowing that traitor Vegeta to THINK he has escaped my grasp was the way to go in this case. Sure. At any rate, I do believe we have things here on this dreadful planet covered-"
BA-BOOM!
The Freeza's rocked, when something large came crashing through his observation window.
"What the hell?" Freeza said, as he frowned. "Captain Ginyu, I'll be right."
CHIRP!
Freeza turned to see a quivering Zarbon, who had returned to his normal form.
"Zarbon, why are you here like this, and not with my Dragonballs?" Freeza said. "Did you let Vegeta do this to you?"
"Lord…Freeza," Zarbon said, as he tried to stand up. "She…she is a monster…a MONSTER…"
"Just WHO are you referring to as this…monster of yours?"
"It's the girl who had stolen who did this to me!" Zarbon cried. "Sailor Moon!"
"Okay, let me get this straight. A girl, wearing a sailor fuku, had beaten you up…and made you NOT bring me back my balls?"
"Don't let her appearance fool you, Lord Freeza. She is not what she seems to be."
Freeza sighs. Maybe he's getting too soft, where his iron-fisted rule is concerned?
"Minion-43, can you come in here for a moment?" Freeza said. "I need an example."
A humanoid soldier stepped into the observation deck, where Freeza was speaking to Zarbon.
"Lord Freeza!" said the humanoid. "How may I serve you-?"
Instantly, Minion-43 is vaporized, shocking Zarbon and nearby troops in the process.
"Arrrrgh-!"
"That's you if you screw up your second—and last—chance, where MY Dragonballs are concerned," Freeza replied nonchalantly. "Carry on."
"Y-yes, Lord Freeza!" Zarbon said. "I won't fail you this time!"
With that, Zarbon exits Freeza's ship, like his life was dependent upon it…literally.
"Now, where was I?" Freeza said, as he resumed his conversation with Captain Ginyu on Space Skype. "Captain, it might be that I was premature in denying your participation in my quest for the Dragonballs after all…"
Meanwhile, on King Kai's planet…
"Man, your girl is THE bomb, Ranma," Yamcha said, as he and Ranma and the other Z Warriors, the ones who were killed by Nappa or Vegeta on Chikyuu, rested from their training. Well, with the exception of Piccolo, who merely meditated and trained on his own.
"Yeah," Ranma replied with a nod. Since being killed, which frustrated him to no end, Ranma has been training like there was no other. He had perfected the Hidden Lotus Technique to its final iteration on during his training under King Kai. Before, Ranma learned that he could harness the power of all eight chakra points of the body, and thus created the first iteration of his technique. However, he also learned that while a person could harness the power of all eight chakra points, or 256 Radditz(s), he or she typically dies afterwards. Ranma had corrected this flaw in the run up to the Saiyan invasion, so that he would not be dead afterwards. Unfortunately, another flaw was shown to Ranma, when he was killed by Vegeta. Even though he would not die from using the Hidden Leaf Technique, Ranma was still exhausted from his fight with Nappa, thus allowing Vegeta to get the jump on him and the others…
That fact bugged Ranma to no end, resulting in him creating a much improved version of the Hidden Lotus Technique: Sage of the Hidden Lotus.
Rather than just rely upon a person a person's chakra, which combines physical and mental energy, the sage version draws upon energy from nature itself, or the environment. Ranma, while learning the Spirit Bomb Technique from King Kai, realized that it was possible to wed his own personal energy with that of the energy from his surroundings. King Kai had offered to train Ranma in the Kaio Ken Technique, which he did accept later on, but Ranma, being Ranma, wanted to perfect an existing technique that he had created, so that it would never fail him again. As a result, after much trial and error, Ranma created the Sage of the Hidden Lotus Technique, a martial arts discipline that would increase the power of those who uses the Hidden Lotus Technique up to 6561 Radditz(s), and achieve that power safely. Still, even the Sage of the Hidden Lotus Technique would not be enough to deal with the likes of Freeza, hence the training in the Kaio Ken Technique, which would multiply the potential power, up from 6561 Radditz(s) to 131220 Radditz(s), of the Sage of the Hidden Lotus Technique…
"And I bet she could beat anyone except Goku in a sparring match," Yamcha said.
"Your point?" Ranma said, as he turned towards the Master of the Wolf Fang Fist.
"Well, where else can we go from here? I mean, unless we take that booster serum Bulma made, or bite off a piece of the fruit of the Tree of Might, we're done as fighters," Yamcha said, as he leaned his back against the wall of King Kai's house. "I mean, why do you think I decided to go and become a professional baseball player?"
"Humph," Ranma said, as he stood up, before facing Yamcha. "You may have given up, but I haven't."
With that, Ranma walks away.
"What did I say?" Yamcha said in a confused manner…
Ranma walks to the other side of the King Kai's planet, and sits under a lone tree to meditate alone. While he wasn't jealous of his wife Usagi, Ranma was disturbed by the thought that he has reached the pinnacle of his own prowess…
And then he looked at his arm bracers, as the alien script, etched into the material, glowed softly.
A long time ago, Ranma had received the bracers from the goddess Tsunami, patron of the House Masaki of Jurai, in an effort to control his true power, which ran amuck when he, then known as Izanagi, was cursed with madness by the one named Sauron, the Lord of the Ring. The bracers were designed to keep Ranma's power in check, until he is able to overcome the enchantments placed on them. Only then, when his power exceeds that of the power of an elder goddess, will he be freed from both the enchantment placed on the bracers and the curse placed on him. Until that day arrives, Ranma would essentially have to start over his increasing his personal power levels through training, experience and sheer talent…
"Ah, man," Ranma said, as he leans back onto the tree, after realizing that Usagi's power-ups were getting to him. "Am I really jealous of my own wife? Am I more concerned about getting power-ups than fine-tuning my own self-worth…?"
"Or maybe you have yet to find the key that will unlock your true potential?" said a familiar voice.
Ranma turned to see the shade of the goddess Tsunami herself, who was standing in front of him.
"Lady Tsunami?" Ranma said in surprise.
"Hi," Tsunami said, as she goes over to Ranma, before sitting down next to him. "How's it been?"
"It's been…okay, I guess," Ranma said. "Been training, you know."
"I know," Tsunami said. "And that is why hearing you lament like this is so…disappointing."
"I'm NOT lamenting," Ranma said, as he sees the look of incredulity on Tsunami's face. "Okay, a little bit, but I worked so hard to be the best I can be, only to realize that there is the real possibility to having a limit to my potential. That disturbs me to NO end, more so than Usagi's ease at increasing her power."
"Actually, the Moon Princess had been facing a similar situation that you are now," Tsunami said. "It's the way she has been addressing her dilemma that is different from yours."
"What do you mean by that?" Ranma said. "The only thing I see is that she has gotten power-ups from being experimented on. First, it was because of that gamma-powered jerk named 'The Maestro' that enabled Usagi to become some sort of 'she-hulk'. Then, her next enhancement was because of illegal cloning experiments, thanks to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. And now, because of that damn Vegeta, Usagi took Bulma's booster serum. Result? Usagi is now part-Saiyan herself, who, as we all know, get stronger by pushing themselves to limit, even at the point of death…"
Pause.
"So, while I can admire Usagi for her dedication at martial arts training, I don't know if I can respect her for, well, cheating her way to the top," Ranma said, as he realized what he just said. "Oh, damn…"
"So, that's the real issue," Tsunami said. "You think she's cheating?"
"Yes…no…I don't know," Ranma said in frustration. "I love my wife, but…it's just that…I don't know. I would like to think that I can be there for Usagi, but, now…"
"Then perhaps you fear that you can't be her protector, with her stronger than you?"
"Yeah, well, maybe," Ranma said. "I just don't want to be in a position where punks like Vegeta make me realize that I can't even protect my wife in a pinch. True, I AM stronger than Vegeta at the moment, but it's only a matter of time before HE gets stronger. Then what?"
"What, indeed," Tsunami replied.
"And these bracers you put on me aren't helping things."
"So, you want me to do away the limiters?" Tsunami asked.
"No. I understand your reasons for it, and I wouldn't ask you to undo them, especially since I still have Sauron's curse hanging over my head."
"You do know that Usagi also has a curse placed on her, too, thanks to Sauron."
"Yeah, I never understood that. Why does SHE have limiters on her? I don't see her going through a fit of madness."
"Sauron's curse on Usagi is different from yours," Tsunami said. "The Dark One knew that Usagi, as the Moon Princess, would simply reincarnate, and go back to him for revenge. So, Sauron's curse is the 'Curse of Final Death', in that once Usagi dies, she is gone forever. Why do you think that I implored you to make sure she receives her new bracers, when she was reborn as a fully-realized clone of her old self?"
"Yeah, I did think that was a bit strange," Ranma said. "And there is NOTHING different between my limiters and hers?"
"Other than the reason for having limiters, no."
"Then…how is it that Usagi is able to get stronger, then?"
"What is Usagi's motivation for getting stronger?" Tsunami asked.
"She wants to get stronger in order to acquire the Dragonballs on Namek."
"That's incidentally. Think deeper than that."
Ranma looks at Tsunami for a moment, and then looks up at the night sky…
"Wait," Ranma said in realization. "Usagi is doing all this…out of love for ME."
"Correct. So…"
"Love is the motivator," Ranma said, before realizing that the answer to his dilemma was staring directly at him. "Aw, man! Dang it…"
"Keep in mind that 'love' is the fuel of Usagi's motivation," Tsunami said. "Your problem is illustrated by your friend Yamcha. Sure, he has mastered his martial arts, but he has limited himself because he sees martial arts as a means to an end. That is the way mortals think. You, Ranma Saotome, are better than that. You have the capability of transcending beyond your 'human' capabilities, just as the Bodhisattvas—the 'Enlightened Ones'—and many other mortals on Earth have learned to do. For you, at this point, you must discover the means to transcend the limitations that are place upon you."
"Ah," Ranma said, as he nods his head. He then took a look at his limiters.
"So, there is something more to these bracers, then."
"Now, you're getting it," Tsunami said with a knowing smile. "In her way, Usagi has learned the trick to the limiters, even if it's on a subconscious level. Merely getting artificially-induced 'power-ups' is not what makes it possible for her to get stronger. It's her love for you, for her family, for her friends and for those who are the victims of tyrants that has enabled her to get stronger. Now, it's up to you to figure how to transcend your own limitations."
Ranma nods his head with a smile on his face. For the first time in a while, he felt confident in himself…
"Thanks for your help on my…situation," Ranma said. "I really do appreciate it."
"You're quite welcome…Izanagi," Tsuanmi said, as she gave Ranma a kiss on the cheek. "Be seeing you, and good luck…"
With that, Tsunami fades away.
Ranma sighs contently, as he realizes what an arrogant idiot he had been, in laying his difficulties on his own wife.
'I promise you, Usagi, that when we see each other again, I'll make it up to you by being the protector you deserve,' Ranma thought to himself. 'Yes, indeed…'
Tbc.