Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball/Z/GT/Super, I just enjoy playing around in the wonderful sandbox they provide.
Chapter 3: They finally arrive!
"Come…on…*grunt*...Bulma!..*gasp*...I didn't…think…*groan*...it would…*grunt*...be…this…*moan*...tight!"
"And what…*ahh!*...is that…*grunt*...supposed…to…*moan*...mean?!"
"*Gasp*. *Pant*. Nothing…just a…*groan*...thought."
Kakarot made a note, in between working on stretching out the fabric to make it more comfortable, to ask his friend to build a machine to do this in the future. It was hard to do by hand, even with his superior strength. He looked over at where Bulma was working on her own new outfit, a longsleeved red dress that only went down to mid-thigh. He had to admit, especially with how tight the one she was currently wearing was, it would look fantastic on her. He turned his attention back to his own clothing and stretched the fabric out some more.
"I swear," Bulma said an hour later, "the next batch will be much better quality, and I'll have the fabric pre-treated so we don't have to do that again." She let out a low moan as she lay back on a couch.
Kakarot happily agreed with the sentiment, but didn't say a word. Aside from the hassle of working on the fabric himself, he was more than happy with the way it turned out.
Loose, after lots of muscle work, black pants went down to his ankles, where he used red cloth to bind them in place around his lower shins, while he wore simple black cloth shoes on his feet. A bright blue sash held a tiger pelt around his waist, and red bands were on his wrists. The last thing he wore was a red-trimmed black vest, held loosely closed with gold-colored thread. He thought he looked epic. Bulma, however…
"Are you sure that's what you want? It just seems so…tribal?", she finally decided.
He didn't care. "Yup, this is what I want," he said. Then thought to himself, 'A mixture of a tribute to Sun Wukong and SSJ4 Gogeta'. All he was missing was the power pole, but he had a feeling Kami wouldn't let him take it back. "Anyway, thanks for all the help, Bulma. It's been great!" She smiled at him.
"No problem, Kakarot. It's been nice having someone to spend time with…" Her eyes grew distant for a moment, and he realized what she meant.
"He'll be finished with his training soon, Bulma. Everyone plans of giving themselves at least a week to relax and decompress before the Saiyans arrive," he told her as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "If it wasn't for the need we have to get strong so quickly, he'd be here every day."
She let out a sigh. "I know. It just sucks."
He let out a light chuckle before grabbing the small capsule that held all his extra sets of clothes. Several dozen sets, for now. Considering how brutal fights can get, having spares seemed a prudent idea. "I need to head out and check on a few things." She nodded before looking at him curiously.
"How come you're not pushing yourself like crazy like everyone else is?", she asked. He was surprised it took her so long, to be honest.
"Something I heard a long time ago. 'Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance'," he told her. It was clear she didn't understand what he was saying. "I've already hit the goals I know I need to hit before things go crazy here. I've properly planned things out prior to the event in question, so I have done what I can already to prevent a poor performance on my part." She still didn't look like she was following. "I've reached a level of strength I feel is acceptable, and the rest of the group is playing catchup."
The lightbulb went on. "Ah, gotcha! But you're still training every day?", she asked. He smiled with a slight nod. "Well, you muscle heads must have everything worked out already, then. I'll see you later?"
He kept smiling. "Absolutely. I'm hoping you can make some outfits for everyone, though they don't have to be as cool as mine," he joked as he went over to the balcony door and opened it. "I'll catch you later, Bulma. I'll see if I can't remind Yamcha to take a break now and then."
Bulma watched the clone of her oldest friend fly away before shaking her head. He really was a solid friend, like Goku. But much more considerate. She wondered if it was because he wasn't so…focused on fighting?
Kakarot quickly made his way over to the Lookout first. He wanted to see how everyone was doing, not to mention his promise to Bulma about making sure Yamcha spent some time with her. He also needed to talk with Kami about the timing to wish Goku back to life. They'd already gathered all the Dragon Balls, having them sit at Kame House with Master Roshi. That had been a fun visit to make.
-=Flashback Start=-
"So, you're the one Yamcha told us about," the old turtle hermit said as he met Kakarot on the beach in front of his house. "Kakarot, right? Taking Son Goku's Saiyan name?"
Kakarot shrugged. "He wasn't using it, didn't even know he had it until the day Raditz showed up, so I don't think he'll mind too much."
The old pervert let out a loud guffaw as he saw the cheeky attitude this young man had. "Good for you, boy! Good for you. You keep that attitude front and center, and you'll do just fine," he counseled while cackling with laughter. Kakarot just waited the old man out until he'd calmed down enough to keep talking. "So, what can I do for you?"
Kakarot pulled out a bag from inside his pocket and tossed it to the old teacher. "Mind holding onto these for now? Kami wants to wait for the wish, for some reason, though I'm trying to talk him into doing it sooner rather than later. From my understanding of Otherworld, just because we wish him back to life, doesn't mean he'll appear right in front of us."
Roshi checked the bag and noted the seven orange starred orbs inside. Letting out a sigh, he nodded. "I can do that, sonny. I can do that. Just let me know when to make the wish, and it'll get done."
Kakarot smiled. It had taken a while, but he'd finally come to accept his situation with regard to Goku. He realized that he didn't need to be jealous of everyone's admiration and friendship with the guy, as they were more than willing to include him in that, for the most part. He'd just been upfront about his desire to remain his own person with each of them and made the most of it.
Which brought him here, to Master Roshi, where he happily pulled out another package, this time from a backpack he'd worn just for this occasion. This time, when Roshi looked inside, a bright golden glow seemed to emanate from inside, and he gasped in wonder.
"Is this…?", he asked in a hushed voice. Kakarot nodded once.
"It is," he admitted.
"How did you…?"
Kakarot grinned. "Let's just say that I stumbled upon a group of filmmakers as they were finishing up some final shots for the sequel," he said. Roshi turned to him in complete shock. "I gave them a hand with some problematic wildlife, and they thanked me with a copy of the original, as well as promising an advanced copy of the sequel in two weeks."
"The rumors of a sequel were true?!", he said in an excited voice. Then his eyes went even wider. "And you're getting a copy?!"
He raised up his hand in a victory pose. "You got it. Women of the Wilds, and Women of the Wilds 2, When Cavemen Call. The copies each have complimentary posters of each of the leads, too."
The old hermit couldn't hold it in anymore, and his nose started pouring out blood, causing him to faint with a massively perverted grin on his face. Kakarot was officially, from that point on, Master Roshi's favorite unofficial student.
-=Flashback End=-
He'd taken the sequel, as promised, to the island a couple of weeks later to a grateful perv. Not that Kakarot judged. Some people were just desperate.
He made a point to not think about his own lack of social life outside of hanging out with Bulma. Not to mention he had no desire to go meet with Chi-Chi. That was just a Spirit Bomb waiting to happen. No thanks.
Arriving at the Lookout, he noticed Mr. Popo tending to the plants outside. Not seeing anyone else around, he descended and gave the genie a wave as he approached.
"Ah, Kakarot. It's good to see you again. Your training has been going well, it seems," Kami's attendant noted with a smile.
Kakarot just grinned in reply. "Yup. Training has been going well. How's everyone else doing?", he asked while purposefully looking around for them.
Mr. Popo turned back to his plants. "They are inside the Room of Time, gaining experience from fighting Saiyans of the past. Their first attempt…left an impression upon them."
Kakarot didn't bother joking about it. He'd gone up against them himself, once. While he'd come out on top, it had been a brutal fight. "How long have they been inside?", he asked instead.
Before the attendant could answer, they both felt several powerful sources of Ki coming from inside the Lookout. Exchanging glances, they both moved over to greet the warriors as they exited the building.
As usual, Tien led the group, both in power and in respect. Everyone understood his drive to become the best version of himself possible, reaching for the peak of human strength. Right behind him floated his lifelong friend, Chiaotzu. Kakarot had to admit, he was impressed with the child-like man's strength at this point.
Following right behind them were Krillin and Yamcha, who were both just behind Tien in noticeable power. Even Yajirobe, the last one to exit, had grown to an impressive strength, though he glared at Kakarot every time he saw him. He must still be bitter about preventing him from enjoying the Senzu Beans.
"Well, don't you five look impressive," he noted as they came closer. Tien gave him a sincere smile, while Krillin and Yamcha just waved tiredly at him. Only Chiaotzu gave him a small bow, which he never understood but always returned. Yajirobi ignored him as he collapsed on the ground and pulled out a bag of food from somewhere. From the feelings he got off of them with Ki sense, Chiaotzu was the weakest but had slightly surpassed Kakarot's own strength from when he'd come out of the Room of Spirit and Time.
"Indeed, I must agree with Kakarot. You have all done well this past year," the genie echoed. "Aside from your own personal training, I believe you have learned all we can teach you at this time," he added, which surprised everyone except for the Saiyan standing there. It was true. The only other thing they could learn from Kami now was Mafuuba, or Evil Containment Wave, and how to materialize things, which wasn't something that just anyone could learn. Maybe Chiaotzu, since he already had some skill in that sort of thing.
Then Kami stepped out and spoke to them. "You are welcome to remain here and train, but it is no longer required," he said to each of them. "You have done well, exceeding my expectations. I wish you all good luck in the coming trials."
Each of them, Kakarot included, gave Earth's Guardian and his attendant a deep bow of gratitude before they all started gathering their things. Kakarot made his way over to Yamcha, where he suggested the man finish any training he planned to do over at Capsule Corp. From the smile on his face, Kakarot figured that Yamcha had some other plans for while he was there.
The lucky bastard.
He made his way back over to Kami, who seemed to sense what was coming already.
"King Kai has notified me that it would be best for Goku to be resurrected once his training is complete," he said without preamble. Kakarot scowled but didn't comment. "It's more to keep him focused on the task at hand, than any real need to wait."
Letting out a sigh, he finally gave in. "Fine, I won't push for it anymore. Let's just hope that his training has gone the way you hoped it would," he mumbled before turning around and getting ready to leave. He still had one last group to check on before he took his own little vacation.
"I want you to know, Kakarot, that I am more pleased than I can express with how great an influence you have been here," he heard the Namekian say behind him. "I know we haven't talked about it much, recently, but I hope you'll understand, one day, why we did what we did. Maybe then, you'll forgive an old fool."
Kakarot didn't turn around but did bow his head. "I already do. And I already have," he said in a barely whispered voice before he continued on, leaving a relieved and grateful Guardian behind him.
He spent the next hour flying down to check on Piccolo and the little guy. Kami's other half had truly taken his suggestions to heart, and the results had been more than a little impressive. He landed nearby, already using his transformation to prevent Gohan from seeing who he was.
He needn't have bothered, as he found the kid passed out from exhaustion, with Piccolo not much better. He ended the transformation as he approached and gave Piccolo a happy wave. "Hey, Jr! How've you been?!", he called out cheerfully. The younger Namekian of Earth glared at him as he sat on the ground with a bottle of water raised to his lips.
"What do you want now?", he asked brusquely. He'd never admit it, but he actually preferred dealing with Goku over this version. The original only cared about a good fight. This Kakarot, though, spent too much time making plans. Effective, sure, but almost too focused on planning things out for his liking. He was supposed to be the intelligent fighter of the two, not his rival.
Kakarot shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just came to check on you two. I gotta say, you really made some headway in your training. The kid as strong as you?", he asked curiously.
Piccolo just continued to sip his water for a short while. "Stronger," he finally admitted, "but he still has much to learn before he can beat someone like me."
The Saiyan grinned down at the boy, noting his tail was still there. "Any luck with the lunar transformations?"
Piccolo shook his head. "Not like you. He has almost full control of his mind when he does transform, but he's easy to provoke," he replied, proving to Kakarot once more that Gohan's potential was so much greater than anyone else. Only ten tries or so, and the kid had a better grasp than he did after trying for weeks on end.
Thinking for a minute, Kakarot decided they didn't have time for him to teach the kid his way. "It'll have to wait for after the Saiyans are dealt with." Piccolo just continued to drink for a minute before closing his eyes to meditate. It was clear he felt the conversation was over. Obviously, he was wrong. "I have some gifts for you two, and a request." Piccolo opened his eyes to glare at him, but he wasn't fazed in the least. "The gift won't actually be ready until next week, but we've made uniforms for everyone out of some new material. It grows and stretches to fit anyone, and offers a little protection as well. We're making yours to fit your current style, so there's no reason to not accept it," he said pleasantly. Again, he ignored the glare coming his way. "The request is to take the next week off. Let the kid go home and see his mom, you go off and meditate somewhere quiet, and then meet up when we feel the jerks coming our way have arrived. Cool? Cool. Thanks, Jr!"
Piccolo confirmed, again, that he much preferred dealing with Goku to that nutjob. Looking down at the boy he'd trained for a year, he had to admit he'd earned a small reprieve before the storm came. The boy, too. Standing up, he nudged the boy until he woke up. "Go home, kid. Training is over until the big day arrives. Get some rest, visit with your family, and be prepared for the fight of your life."
Gohan stared up at his teacher in confusion, though he couldn't hide the excitement at being able to see his mom and grandpa again. He'd really missed them for the past year. "Ok, Mr. Piccolo. I'll see you soon!", he called out as he started running before taking to the skies. It wouldn't take long to get there.
-=Break=-
With only a week left before the dastardly Saiyans arrived, Kakarot was lounging on a beach near South City. He wanted to have a few days to himself that didn't involve any preparations whatsoever, and the beach just sounded like a good idea.
It had absolutely nothing to do with his desire to watch hot girls in sexy swimsuits. Nothing at all.
"Hey, cutie! Sorry to bother you, but could you help me with putting lotion on my back? It's difficult to do it on my own," a pretty girl with shoulder-length blond hair, one of the skimpier style black bikinis, and assets that Master Roshi would more than likely pass out from seeing asked him as she held out a small bottle. She then laid on her front and undid the ties for her top. She must not like tan lines.
Yup. Absolutely nothing to do with his desire to watch hot girls in sexy swimsuits. Or put lotion on their backs like the nice, helpful young man he was.
He'd been there for three days when he caught sight of something that surprised him a bit. Or rather, someone. Horribly wild afro, check. Lambchop sideburns, check. Full mustache surrounding his overly large mouth and cleft chin, check. Surprisingly competent martial artist, also check.
Mr. Satan, future World Martial Arts Tournament champion, as well as the future 'savior' of Earth for defeating Cell was doing something Kakarot could actually respect him for. He was beating the crap out of some punks for ruining his daughter's sandcastle. Truly, at this point, he was a decent father. He walked on over to say hi, not hearing the disgruntled murmurs of the woman that had been approaching him for help with her tanning lotion.
"...and the next time I catch you punks messing with my daughter, I won't be anywhere near as nice as I was today!", the overly loud and obnoxious voice was clear from quite a distance. He noted that Videl, Mr. Satan's daughter had already begun rebuilding her original castle while her father had been yelling at the bruised teenagers. "Now, get going!" The 'punks' fled.
He shook his head slightly in surprise. "Those were some decent moves there," he said as he got close enough to talk comfortably. The martial artist turned to reply but froze when he saw who it was. Or who he thought it was.
"Son Goku?! Oh my gosh, it's really you! I'm a huge fan of yours! Ever since I saw your second fight in the final of the World Martial Arts Tournament against Tien Shinhan years ago, I knew you'd eventually take the title. And did you ever!"
Kakarot felt like crying. Mr. Satan was a fanboy of Goku's?
"I started working on my own martial arts after that fight. My dream is to win the tournament myself, one day," the man kept on going, oblivious to how Kakarot felt.
After another minute of failing to signal to the man to shut up, Kakarot grabbed his shoulder. "While I'm sure that some people love the attention, I am not one of those people," he stated quietly, trying to ignore all the looks he was getting from the spectators talking around them. "And second of all, you've got one thing wrong. I'm not Son Goku."
Mr. Satan, Kakarot thought his name might be Mark, just stared at him in confusion.
"I'm Son Goku's…brother. His younger brother, in fact," he said after a quick thought.
Mr. Satan continued to stare at him in confusion. "Huh?"
He gave up and focused on Videl for now. "Hey there, little lady. That's an impressive sandcastle you've got there." The overly serious face looked adorable on the little girl. "I've got a nephew about your age. I'm sure you'd be good friends if you ever get the chance to meet. His name's Son Gohan, and while he enjoys training and fighting, he also wants to be a doctor when he gets older."
Videl's attention was now completely on him. "Is he strong?", she asked. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at the question.
"Absolutely. He's really strong," he chirped. He leaned in and fake whispered loudly. "He's even stronger than your dad! So he'd always be able to help and protect his friends."
That got a giggle out of her before she tried to be all serious again. "Nobody's stronger than my dad! He's the strongest!"
Rather than correct the girl, he looked at the man in question and grinned. "Maybe," he said. Then he turned back to her and started to float in place. "But he still has lots to learn about martial arts. Physical strength will only take you so far if you don't add in mental and spiritual strength as well." With a cheerful smile and a wave, he flew back over to collect his things before taking to the skies. He planned to spend the last few days back at Grandpa Gohan's cabin. It was the most peaceful, comfortable place he knew.
Videl watched the stranger fly away with wide eyes before turning back to her equally wide-eyed father. "There are people who can fly?", she asked excitedly. Not having a way to tell her no after seeing it happen in front of him, he nodded. "Can you fly, Daddy?"
He took a minute to think about his answer. "I can't, Princess. But I'll do my best to learn…"
-=Break=-
Several days later, Kakarot felt it when Roshi summoned Shenron with the Dragon Balls. He finished his light workout, having only been working at 25 times gravity for the day instead of the full 40, and grabbed some clean clothes to wear after a quick shower. Then he flew off to West City to grab the last few things they'd need for approaching battle.
Once he arrived, he saw Bulma and Yamcha both waiting for him, which made him smile at how far Yamcha had come this past year. They waved at him as he landed, both of them smiling in excitement.
"Yo, Kakarot. We figured you'd be coming here as soon as we felt that," Yamcha told him as they walked into the building. "Man, I'm excited to see how we'll all compare to Goku when he gets here."
Kakarot laughed for a moment as he followed behind them. "Don't be surprised if you're currently stronger than him at your base, though I'm sure he's picked up a few tricks to increase his power in a pinch," he explained as Bulma raised an eyebrow at him. Yamcha shook his head.
"Me? Stronger than Goku? That'll be the day," he said with a small laugh of his own. They'd arrived in the lab by that point, and Kakarot took another look at the massive spacecraft that Dr. Brief was still tinkering with. It had been ready long ago, but Kakarot opted to not take off into the galaxy yet. He still had a couple of Senzu Beans, and he was sure Korin had managed to keep several more out of Yajirobe's grasp, so even if some of them got injured during the upcoming confrontation, they'd all heal quickly and could take off as soon as they'd like for Namek.
The spacecraft in question was larger than he expected until he remembered he'd asked it to be large enough for at least four people to ride in it. Dr. Brief had also told him he'd held off on installing the gravity training machine until they were ready to take off into space, so he could make sure it had the latest model he'd managed to develop. From what he'd seen on the schematics, that was over 150 times Earth's gravity at this point.
He was already salivating at the chance to train at that level.
While he was fantasizing, Bulma had retrieved a capsule and tossed it to him, breaking him from his thoughts as he caught it on reflex. "Yamcha already has his own outfit, so the rest of them are in there," she informed him. "I'm not sure why you told me to make two for Piccolo, though."
He shrugged. "One of those is for Gohan," he stated, getting shocked looks from both Bulma and Yamcha. "What? He's been the one training the kid the entire time, it only makes sense the boy would wear his teacher's colors." Not to mention giving him an outfit that matched his Cell Saga uniform would look better than the one he'd cobbled together himself. "On a side note, Bulma, can you do me a favor?", he asked. She tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to continue. He glanced over to Yamcha for a moment and let out a resigned sigh. It was true what they said, that misery loves company. "Yamcha and I need haircuts…"
Yamcha gave him a fully betrayed look as he pulled his long hair around to his chest and held it protectively, like a child, while Bulma's eyes lit up with burning flames once more. "Oh! Absolutely! I know just the place, too. I've been hoping to take Yamcha there for years."
Kakarot just mouthed 'sorry' to his friend as Bulma dragged them both out of the headquarters of Capsule Corp, already talking about what styles she thought would look good on them. Yamcha just whimpered in response, already mourning his loss.
The next day, garbed in his 'battle gear', and waiting for Yamcha to finish his own goodbyes with Bulma, Kakarot was ready to head out and prepare for the upcoming fight. He was confident that they'd win. He was confident that they could win without any casualties. He was not, however, going to assume that nothing could go wrong.
Seeing Yamcha step out of Bulma's room, wearing the traditional Turtle School uniform, he nodded once and turned to leave. The plan was to meet up by East City. If things went properly, they could prevent the massacre that Nappa would cause there.
As they arrived at their destination, and he felt their Ki coming through the atmosphere, he could only hope that his proper prior planning truly did prevent poor performance.
-=Break=-
End Chapter 3.
AN: It wouldn't be proper DBZ without a filler episode, right? *wink* *wink*, *nudge* *nudge*.
So, everyone's preparations are complete, Goku is hurrying back to Earth as fast as he can go, and the rest of the Z-Fighters are at least at Kakarot's former strength. I also hope the shenanigans weren't too over the top, but they just came out onto the page as I was writing, and couldn't help myself.
The next chapter, maybe two, will be dealing with Vegeta and Nappa on Earth. I don't want this to just be the Earthlings steamrolling over them immediately, but it will be very clear that the Z-Fighters are no pushovers.
Also, Yamcha now sports his Android Saga hairstyle. Frankly, his best one.
Kakarot: 25,000 (Perfect Oozaru: 250,000.)
Goku: 8,000+ (Kaioken2-4: 16,000+-32,000+)
Piccolo: 21,000 (His growth potential in the Namek saga while training for just a couple of months with King Kai is absurd, so I don't feel bad placing him here.)
Yamcha: 17,000 (Like Piccolo, and everyone else that goes to King Kai, his growth can be very high, very quickly.)
Krillin: 20,000 (Baldy can lift more! Still secretly my favorite non-Saiyan character. Shhh! Don't tell him!)
Tien: 21,000 (Still the strongest Earthling!)
Chiaotzu: 13,000 (Not that he's going to, but a suicide attack on either Nappa or Vegeta would now kill them.)
Yajirobe: 14,000 (Still strong, but doesn't feel the need to push more than he already has.)
Gohan: 23,000 (He's stronger than his dad! Until multipliers take effect.)
As a side note, I've decided that Kakarot is not going to learn Kaioken. His Oozaru transformation will be his only boost until Super Saiyan, and canon has shown that Kaioken and Super Saiyan don't mix well. Sure, it's possible, but the most that has been done in any media that I've found is Kaiokenx2 + Super Saiyan. Oozaru mixed with Super Saiyan will be a struggle for him to train, but I like the idea of him only using purely Saiyan multipliers and transformations.
As always, comments and reviews are welcome!
-Phail
