Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Easter holiday. Mine was full of bbq! A new filler here for you guys. I want to be clear though, this is a filler chapter that may fill you with goodness after you're done reading it. I also want to note that the story will truly pick up again in about 3 chapters or so, and it will be explosive when it comes. I don't know exactly when that chapter will come out, maybe a month an a half to 2 months away? Depending on the scheduling. So please, have patience. I promise it will be worth it in the end. One more note, this is a long chapter, but the reason's will be evident by the end of it. As always, thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows!
Everyone is steadily picking up their training. From Gohan and Piccolo, to the humans, Chi Chi herself and the guys from Otherworld are getting stronger. With plenty of time left, there is hope that everyone can reach a respectable plateau of strength. Desperate measures will be taken to gauge everyone. How will they stack up to these obstacles. Find out today, on Dragon Ball: BtG
Review(s)
Drunken Hamster: Thank you chief! Appreciate the sentiment. Chi Chi will most certainly come to take a piece of Piccolo when it is time, but will she be able to? Oooohhh boy, that fight is gonna be good. 2 extra, stronger fighters against Vegeta and Nappa will even the odds, not to mention the others from Otherworld. Who do you think is going to fight who? And competence is important. Everyone will be significantly stronger then their anime/Kai/manga counterparts. Nappa was not exposed to the butterfly effect that is Shepard, where as Vegeta and Raditz both remembered what he had spoken about, however those memories are from a time long past, do you think Shepard will be able to jog Vegeta's memory when it comes time? So Vegeta is a bit stronger, and I dare say, even has slightly altered motivations. Yeah the man is freakin evil af, but he has a role to play. So if you think this is one of those stories where Raditz will 'replace' Vegeta, I'm afraid you're mistaken. Vegeta will have personal growth in the future of this story, much the same with our long haired Hedgie :). And that would be interesting to introduce a Super Saiyan this early to the story wouldn't it? But if I did that, Vegeta's mind and thoughts might take a serious declining direction, and I can't have that. Even the False Super Saiyan would be OP at this point of the story. So while that may or may not happen, we will see some explosive stuff in what's to come when the saiyans arrive! Take care, and enjoy the chapter!
Age: May 19, 762
Location: Earth (Mountain Range)
"YAH!"
"HAHHH!" The clashes between teacher and student were reaching a fever pitch. Gohan charged forward again, clashing forearms with Piccolo. True to his word, Piccolo had came to gather Gohan 3 months ago. It had done both wonders. Piccolo's power had reached a new level! He was confident he could fight Raditz on an even playing field. And the boy had shown amazing promise. He was leagues ahead of Goku at his age!
"DODGE!" Piccolo yelled, attempting to claw the boy, but Gohan dodged at the last second. "GOOD! AGAIN!" Piccolo continued to press on the attack, pushing his student backwards steadily. A backhand sent the boy into a rock, but before the boy could hit it, he used his energy, keeping himself from exploding through the rock, tapping it with his foot and coming right back at the namekian, catching him with his small fist in the gut, making Piccolo project spit.
"YAHHHHH"! Gohan yelled out, throwing an uppercut, which Piccolo dodged back, recovering quickly.
"MASENKOOOOOOO!" A yellow beam erupted from above Gohan's head.
"EXPLOSIVE DEMON WAVE!" Canceling each other out, the pair flew towards each other, clashing amongst the thrown up smoke. A swipe from Piccolo's claws tore a piece of Gohan's gi away, the boy lucky that he had gotten away in time.
'This boy's skills are even better then I predicted!' Piccolo thought, ducking underneath a kick and a swipe from Gohan. The boy had mimicked his style, hybridizing his father's Turtle style into it over the course of the last 3 months, making him exceptionally unpredictable. This worked out even better for Piccolo.
"YAH YAH AHH YAH HAAAAAAAA!" Forcing Piccolo to give up ground, the boy's stamina had improved tremendously since training had begun with Piccolo. Palming the boy back in the chest for a quick breather, Piccolo kept his hand held up, signaling an end to their spar.
"That's good enough for now, take an hour break and we will begin a session of meditation, and then we will spar once again. I want you to continue to meditate every day here on out, understand your power. Feel it. Believe in it. It is YOUR power. No one else's."
"Y-yes sir."
Throughout the hour, Piccolo had been floating a foot in the air, eyes closed in a deep meditation. His mind's eye gave him a view of the mountain range. He could feel every bird in the air. Every land animal that crossed his path. Next to him, Gohan, though not hovering, could feel similar things.
"Mister Piccolo?" Gohan said, eyes still closed.
"Hmm?"
"Do you still hate my Daddy?"
The question was very broad. It made Piccolo pause in thought.
'I honestly don't know how to feel about the man. There is this deep hatred that I feel, certainly. But since I've learnt how to sense the difference in just who's feelings they are. My father still has a small influence over my thoughts.'
"If you had asked me that question a couple of years ago, there would be no question that I did. But now? I'm not very thrilled to be around the guy, but hate him? Nah, not like I used to. He's insufferable, and far too happy for my tastes. But, he is a great fighter. I learned something about myself every time I fought him in our spars over the last year when he was alive. I didn't think I was capable of getting as strong as I have. But I won't stop now. Your father may be gone for now, but when he gets back, I'll be ready for him." Easing out of his meditation, Piccolo gathered some of the branches Gohan had collected for firewood, getting them together and firing a small beam to ignite the wood.
"We're not going to spar tonight. We will start after your 2 hours of studying in the morning."
"O-ok Mister Piccolo."
This is the routine that the 2 have been doing nearly every day for the last 3 months. Chi Chi had supplied Piccolo with nearly a year's worth of activities for the boy to do to occupy his training. It wasn't too much of a hamper for Piccolo. But he knew he still had a meeting to prepare for. He felt Chi Chi's energy leave the lookout before he had retrieved Gohan. And it made him curious to sense that she had went out west. Likely to Capsule Corp.
'If that blue headed buffoon has that gravity room thing available, I will definitely have to be prepared for a battle soon.'
"Alright. Focus on each heartbeat. Each, rhythmic heartbeat." King Kai said, guiding Yamcha through the inner workings of the Kaioken.
"A heartbeat is less then a second. In that heartbeat, everything: Strength, speed, perception, acuity. All of this is amplified with the Kaioken. In each heartbeat, your mind, your spirit, your body, must all be in sync with each other. Because it only takes a heartbeat to cause a massive amount of damage to your body. Even with perfect control, the strain on the body can be unforgiving, depending on how much you multiply the Kaioken. Are we clear?"
"Y-yeah. I-I think I got it."
"YAHHHHHH!"
"HAAAAAAH!"
"KAIOKEN TIMES 2!"
2 simultaneous roars didn't move the human a bit, who was so focused on his energy, he also didn't hear the grunting of the former planet trader less then 50 feet away, doing hand stand push ups with Katchin blocks on each of his feet.
He was working his way to the next heartbeat. Time had slowed to a slow crawl for the human. In his mind, he could feel each individual cell in his body, the power brimming just underneath each. As the heartbeat came, Yamcha eased his mind, relaxed his muscles, controlled his breathing.
"KAIOKEN!" The red aura bursted around the human. The strain of the technique caused his blood vessels to begin pumping more frequently, causing his muscles to bulk up a little. The vein in his head protruding, he held onto the technique for as long as he could. For 8 solid seconds, he felt incredibly strong! He forcefully let the technique go, the strain on his muscles evident. He dropped to a knee, taking a quick breath.
"Whew, man. That was unbelievable!" Yamcha breathed out, the strain starting to go away. Standing up, he fist pumped.
"Yeah Baby! Those saiyans are gonna get thrashed when I get ahold of em!"
"Nice going Yamcha!"
"That was pretty fucking sweet dude." Goku and Shepard had stopped their sparring session briefly, watching in anticipation as the human pulled off the seemingly impossible.
"Hmph, 2,956." Raditz hardly acknowledged the feat, tending to his own exercises. He himself had worked on the Kaioken, but King Kai, who he had grown to respect for his strength and knowledge, had told him that he would be able to access the Kaioken at a similar level to his brother and rival when he had better Ki Control. As he had learned to sense energy, he also learned how to suppress his own. He had forgone ever putting a scouter on again! He was peeved that techniques such as these existed! But now he knew, like Vegeta, who had been under the impression that there was a way to suppress Ki naturally. He felt like he had been fighting half blind his whole life! The embers and ice he had seen, and the sheer heat from the human had since become more like peaks in his mind. He still wished he could put a number on his power level, but he knew he had at least doubled his strength, and there was still nearly 6 months left!
"2,979!" Continuing his exercise, Raditz was awaiting who would emerge victorious in the spar above him.
"UGH!" A figure slammed into the ground 20 feet away from him, cratering the ground.
"WATCH IT FOOLS!" Raditz screamed.
"Yah hah I win, you wanna try now Raditz?" Goku called out from the air.
"Ahhhoooow. Dammit." Shepard screeched. His body had become a lot stronger since coming here. The weighted clothing he was wearing now had been prepared by King Kai himself.
Him and Raditz had gotten over their fight while alive, promising to beat each other senseless again soon.
Raditz had mellowed out over the course of the last few months, seeing the fruits of the training he had undertaken began to pay off. He was as strong as Nappa now! Or close to his level of strength at least. He no longer considered himself a low class warrior, requesting that King Kai change his armor and garments. Losing the shoulder pauldrons that he had grown up with his whole life, he had dumbed down the armor, having yellow shoulder straps and a black chest armor piece. King Kai had weighted the armor down, as well as the new black planet trade armor boots, tucked into those were brown, weighted pants, which King Kai had fashioned a non weighted version for him also. His cold exterior had melted away, being replaced by a humble, begrudging respect for the people on this small planet.
"Not fair jackass! When I get back up there I'm kicking both your asses!" Shepard yelled up at Goku, who took it in stride and giggled.
"Oh don't you worry, my brother may have gotten stronger, but I'm still the older brother. YOU HEAR THAT KAKAROT? I WON'T BE SECOND BEST!" Raditz yelled, flying up and clashing with Goku. Goku had grown leaps and bounds under the training, having caught Gregory in 3 days, he had taken to the Kaioken quickly, having mastered the first level of it only 2 weeks after learning the technique.
Musing on the ground, Shepard thought about the situation they found themselves in. They still had roughly 5 months left, assuming that Nappa and Vegeta come early like they did in the show. He wasn't so sure however. Raditz had came a few weeks after he was originally supposed to. Who was to say that the 2 saiyans would stick to the script? They were all almost as strong as Goku was when he left King Kai's in the show, even Yamcha, who was not far behind the other 3, had improved the most, easily increasing his power by a factor of 10, so there was still plenty of time to master higher levels of Kaioken. Shepard himself had an idea about a technique he could use, but he would have to run it by King Kai. It was dangerous, and that's not to say that it couldn't potentially damage his body beyond repair, but what it could do to any planet if he misfired!
He watched Raditz and Goku fighting, reappearing several hundred feet away further in the air, their clashes being heard by all. Both had a red aura to their energy, so the Kaioken was being used, each must have been in the basic form of it. Raditz's Ki was a little on the erratic side, still not properly controlling the technique fully, but it was better then previous attempts. Goku's energy didn't waver, indicating mastery. This is where he needed to get to! He was still having slight difficulty mastering the basic stage. The first time he used a double, he nearly broke his body.
"SHEPARD!" Looking in the direction of the little house, he saw King Kai waving him over. Taking his eyes off of the fight but not his senses, he headed over to the house, walking inside and having a seat. The two had shared several sittings together, conversations ranging from technical theory to the potential future as it played out.
"Ahem, thank you for coming in Shepard. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions, but I didn't wanna ask in front of the others." King Kai poured out a hot cup of tea, pushing it to Shepard, who took it gratefully.
"Sure King Kai, what do you wanna ask?"
"Ah hem, I was curious to know if I had ever brought sparring partners for the anyone in the tv show your older self brought to my attention when he came here."
Pausing mid sip, that got Shepard's wheels turning. Did he ever do that?
"No. He didn't. He did bring the Ginyu Force after they died, but that was without Ginyu himself and for the humans who disposed of them pretty easily."
"Riiiiiight! Thanks Marc."
"Well. Yeah but for no reason specifically. Why do you ask?"
King Kai had a big smile on his face, indicating he knew something that Shepard didn't, for once.
"Hm hm hm hm well I may have a good sparring partner for the others, and you as well." King Kai said, holding in his snickers.
"Oh yeah, who might that be?" Shepard was very curious now. He couldn't think of anyone who could spar with them, not without being over outmatched or of no kind of competition at all.
"Hm hm hm hm I'm not telling! But I know that this will provide some good experience for your use of the Kaioken. I will go and call him now, go back outside and join the others."
Shepard did as he was told, in thought about who their mystery sparring partner would be. Joining Yamcha outside, they looked up, watching the clash between the 2 brothers. For all the raw strength Raditz certainly had, his skill didn't hold up compared to Goku.
Attempting to punch Goku's face off, Raditz's hand was caught, before he too caught a fist. They were fighting to out push the other through sheer strength and will, but neither budged. Pushing away, they smiled at each other.
Goku parried a kick from Raditz, quickly kneeing the former planet trader in the back. Attempting to throw a kick, it was caught, before Raditz pulled Goku in, slamming a fist into his younger brother's stomach, making Goku spit out as he flew across the air...
"Computer, set gravity in KKGR1 to approximately 2 times Earth's gravity please." The computer that Bulma was typing at was registering incredible results, her test subject having bore the brunt of experimentation utilizing gravity as a training tool.
"Two Times Gravity commencing in 3...2...1..."
The computer signified that the change had been made. Bulma checked out the vitals on the monitor.
"Still reading normal, slight elevations of dopamine, norepinephrine, higher elevation of serotonin. Should be good to go! Chi Chi talk to me! How do you feel in there?"
"H-h-HEAVY!" Chi Chi said, bristling with annoyance.
"That's to be expected!" Bulma triumphantly replied.
"When do you think it'll be safe for the boys to fully use it?" Tights asked, sitting in a chair next to her sister, holding her now slightly protruding belly.
"It's probably ready for them now. But they're still on the Lookout last I heard. Here can you hold this please? I've disabled the tracking option on it." Bulma asked, giving Tights the scouter that was recovered from Raditz when he died. Bulma and Tights had went back out to the Spinach Wastes a month ago, looking to see if Raditz's space pod could be salvaged, but the only thing they could recover were some spare parts and this scouter, whole with little wear. They thankfully still had Goku's Space Pod in their Dad's lab across the hall.
"What do you want me to do with this junk?"
"Junk you say." A voice replied from the other end, nearly making Tights drop it on the floor.
"YAHHH!"
"I assume that weakling Raditz must have perished. Am I correct?" The voice asked.
Neither woman said anything, not knowing how to answer.
Answer me whore! Or else!"
"W-w-whore? WHORE? YOU LISTEN HERE YOU FREAKING MONKEY! I'M NO WHORE, AND WHEN OUR BOYS GET BACK, THEY'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" Bulma was livid. Whoever this person, this alien was, sounded remorseless, uncaring, a real jerk.
"A MONKEY?!" Y-you dare call me that? What is your name woman? Because I already plan on ripping that clown Shepard apart with my own 2 hands. Piece. By bloody piece. And after I am done with him, I suppose you will make a good concubine, so OUT WITH IT!"
"GO TO HELL!" Bulma shouted back, finding the button and completely severing communications.
"B-Bulma, whoever that was, either knows Shepard and really, really hates him, or doesn't know him and he somehow got under the guy's skin. Sis, Jaco told me a lot about Saiyans while I was out there with him. With the exception of Goku and Shepard, the Saiyans are ruthless, powerful warriors capable of planetary destruction. We need to tread lightly."
"Lightly my ass! That sniveling weasel won't stand a chance when the guys get back." Bulma was very confident, and angry. Whoever that Saiyan was better pay!
"I wonder if they'll go for Shepard's Hammer." Tights was thoughtful. Over the course of the last 6 months, it was rumored that hundreds of people had filtered in around the 2 saiyans battle site, many of whom being the military. They had collected blood samples from the Saiyans, Bulma getting called within 24 hours of the first military operation for suggestions when it was discovered that one of the samples, being Shepard's, came back with nanomachines, which had destroyed the blood sample, likely within seconds of exiting the body. Bulma didn't know what to make of it, but could only guess, after talking with Tights, that it had something to do with Shepard's Watch. He had never taken it off, from what Tights could recall, and it was never discovered. But what was discovered was the BanHammer, which had not moved from where Shepard last set it. People had tried moving it. Several dozen people had tried using various pieces of equipment to move it. But there it stayed.
"Nobody's moving that thing Tights. Alright Chi Chi, how is the Times 2 gravity working out?"
"74...75...t-this is so much harder then it looks. I'm ready for a small break." The mother said through the intercom.
Shutting down the gravity from the outside, Bulma ran to the entrance of the Prototype KKGR, seeing the woman exiting, sweat built up on her brow.
"That w-was intense. Did you get your data?" Chi Chi asked, accepting a towel and a bottle of water gratefully from Tights.
"Yup! It all aligns with your energy readings, we can proceed to Times 3 when you're ready to try." Bulma said, hiding the fact that she had spoken to one of the alien invaders.
"I'll need a couple more days at Times 2 to get used to it."
"That's alright Chi Chi, take your time. I need to run some more trials before we go to the next step anyway."
Chi Chi had trained with Goku marginally after their visitor had left. She was still uncomfortable with the idea of sparring Gohan. She was afraid to hit him. She still had a bit of rust to knock off! The training on the Lookout had done a great job of doing most of that, but if she was going to get stronger, she needed to learn to control her anger. She was still greatly upset at Piccolo for what he had done, and she still wanted to hurt him before the Saiyans arrived, but she knew she still wasn't quite strong enough to make that happen yet. She had been talking Tights through her pregnancy. What to expect, what foods she should eat, helping her control her potential angry urges that would come every now an again. She was going to get stronger, for her husband, for her son!
'One day at a time Chi.'
"Kaioken times 2!" Shepard yelled, igniting a deep red aura, shooting his power through the roof. Floating in the air, away from his other peers, Shepard cupped his hands.
"KAAAMEEEEHAAAMEEEEEHAAAAAA!" A blue beam surged forth, rocketing around the planet. Dissipating the aura immediately, Shepard turned, bracing himself.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Screaming as the beam arrived and slammed into his hands, it pushed him back several feet, before he was finally able to gather the strength to throw the beam up and away. His body had become far more durable in recent months, capable of tanking a blast at roughly twice his own strength if he was prepared.
"Yah yah hah yah hah yah yah yah!"
"Ahhhhhh!" The two turtle students slammed into each other on the ground, throwing many punches and kicks trying to one up the other. A forearm from Yamcha caught Goku across the face, making him skid back. Yamcha followed, swiping at his friend, who nimbly dodged away. Before the two could continue, a shout from less then a hundred feet away got their attention.
"DOUBLE SUNDAY!" The twin pink colored beams rocketed towards the duo, who both took different approaches on how to deal with this.
Yamcha charged energy into his hand, swatting the blast away, while Goku braced his body, tanking the attack. The explosion that erupted threw up enough smoke to reach the floating Saiyan, who took a look down after tanking his own blast.
"I wonder how he'll like this." Shepard smirked, creating an orb of Ki and inflaming it, much like Vegeta had done in his 1st battle with Goku on the show. Chucking it, it splashed fire on Raditz head, who looked up in anger for a moment before he smelled something burning.
"YAHHHHOOOWWW! PUT IT OUT PUT IT OUT PUT IT OUUUUTTT!" Raditz yelled, signaling Goku to phase in over at King Kai's garden, grabbing a bucket and filling it with some water from the pond, he showered Raditz, making the now wet Saiyan breathe in relief.
"Aghhhhhhhhh." Raditz said, feeling cooled off. He checked his hair, thankful that it wasn't burnt to a crisp.
"SHEPAAAAAARD!" He screamed, charging after the laughing Saiyan, who in turn phased to the ground. Raditz followed, clashing with the young Rogue.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT! HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF I JUST BURNT YOUR HAIR AND MADE YOU BALD? I WAS BORN WITH THIS HAIR! I WOULD LIKE TO DIE WITH IT!" The irony of that statement was ignored as their hands were clenched together, the aura from the pair eating away the ground.
"AH HEM! BOYS!" Their teacher screamed from the house, causing the 4 warriors to look in his direction.
"Come on down, I have a special..training exercise for you."
The hesitation did not slip past the warriors, who now grew concerned at King Kai's evasiveness. He had been staying in his house quite a lot the last few days since his talk with Shepard. They approached the deity, who coughed into his hand.
"Now, the 4 of you have made incredible leaps in your power these last 5 months, but I believe if any of you are going to be ready for what's to come, I have called a former student of mine."
"F-former?" Shepard asked. He knew King Kai was going to summon someone here, but didn't know that the fighter would be a student of his as well.
"But it makes sense, doesn't it? I just don't have any clue who it could be. It couldn't be Olibu. Even now, he's so many leagues above our strength that the training wouldn't be as good as it COULD be. We need to be careful."
"No shit Sherlock."
As Shepard and Marc were having an internal dialogue, King Kai clapped his hands, nodding his head twice. A portal opened next to him. Feet emerged first, black shoes attached to them, followed by blue slacks, a sleeveless orange jacket, over a long sleeved blue shirt. The face that emerged was youthful, easily Goku and Shepard's age respectively. Tan colored skin, with black eyes, long black hair, somewhat smoothed down but in a messy sort of way.
"Master. It is good to see you again." The man bowed to King Kai, who nodded his head in appreciation.
"It's been a while my friend. Has your training been going smoothly since you left?"
"Yes it has. Though my friends are a bit...demanding, I have made great improvements." The stranger said, bowing once more before looking at the 4 warriors. They could each feel that this man was stronger then any of them, but they couldn't tell by how much. The man's eyes however, lingered on the Saiyans for a second longer then the human, a momentary look of shock flashed across his face before he clamped down on whatever he was thinking, his face becoming a mask.
"He feels strong! But he is kind of...small." Shepard said, hesitating as the stranger looked at him.
"Do not mistake my smaller stature for weakness, young man." Was all the man said.
"My former student here is going to spar with each of you. You are to use the Kaioken at your fullest capacity without damaging yourselves, he can handle it." King Kai said, eliciting a small smile of pride from the stranger.
"There is one that I am particularly interested in sparring, but I will be patient. I will spar each of you one on one. Whichever order you decide to go in, is up to you." The man said, looking intently at the group. "I don't expect to be disappointed."
"Who are you?" Yamcha asked. Goku himself also wanted to ask, because the energy he sensed from the man was...calm, friendly, and positive. For whatever reason, the feeling of the energy calmed Goku's nerves.
"He's a simple human who got lucky with learning techniques from otherworldly deities, that is all." Raditz brashly said, but Shepard wasn't so sure. Something about the stranger screamed familiarity to him.
"You could always test me young one. And... I suppose I can let you in on a little secret." Crossing his arms, Raditz was not amused in the slightest. Since being able to sense energy, Raditz had certainly come a long way in refining his senses and skills, but he still couldn't necessarily tell just how strong this man was.
"And what would that be pipsqueak." Raditz was the only one laughing at his quip. But the smaller man gave a small smirk of his own.
"When I died, I had planned to go to Heaven. My mortal affairs were done. I had fulfilled everything I had wanted in my life, and I had no intention of fighting anymore. Until of all things, a Saiyan barged into the Check Out Station, demanding that I think along a different line. He convinced King Yemma that I would be able to accomplish the impossible, and seek the famed Lord of Worlds for his training."
"You were the first human!" Yamcha said suddenly. "T-the first human to accomplish the million kilometer trek across Snake Way! It has to be!"
"You would be right, which would make you the second to do so. Quite the accomplishment warrior."
"You got anything?"
"Nope...well. Maybe...? I need to hear more first." Marc replied to Shepard's inquiry.
"So, I was content, and ready to travel, until the Saiyan made another suggestion. I did not know it was even possible to attain your prime form upon death, so he suggested that I do that, so I did. I haven't felt like this in decades! So I made the journey. It took me over a year, but I managed it. I never imagined I could get this strong, but now I know that I am nowhere near that plateau. I myself still have a long way to go!" The stranger excitedly said.
"So, who will be going first?"...
"Mr. Popo, prepare the Pendulum Room." Kami said to his most trusted assistant.
"As you request Kami." Mr. Popo replied, going down the hall. Turning back to his 3 students, Kami was amazed at their progress. They were each individually stronger now, with the exception of Chiaotzu, who was not far off. It was time for a training test!
Krillin had caught up to Tien in raw power, but the Crane student's main focus as of late was Ki Refinement. They clashed in the air, Turtle and Crane style, meant to be effective against each other, but when used by masters of their individual craft, it was a dangerous dance, only witnessed by a rare few. Chopping across his body and missing, Tien held his fingers out.
"DODON RAY!" The yellow, thin beam traveled fast, nearly catching the monk as he dodged, his gi torn at the leg.
"That was close." Krillin said to himself, coming back in and exchanging with Tien. He threw a kick, which Tien blocked. Tien threw a hard, straight punch which Krillin leapt over, going for a roundhouse kick, which his friend ducked under.
A hard series of taps were heard from below, making the pair look down.
"Come on down here you two, I have a training exercise which I believe you are ready for." Kami said. Krillin and Tien both floated down, each taking a senzu bean for their hard work and effort, wondering what they could be in store for.
"What ya think Tien?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps it is finally time that we may learn techniques that Goku could have learned himself."
Mr. Popo joined Kami's side as they landed, nodding his head that he had accomplished what Kami needed, making the old namekian smile.
"Thank you Mr. Popo. Now, Tien and Krillin. I believe this exercise will benefit the both of you for what's to come."
"Why is Chiaotzu not participating?" Tien asked, prompting Kami and Mr. Popo to begin to walk in the building.
"Because this exercise could prove very dangerous for him. As you know, Chiaotzu is a very gifted telepath and telekinetic. What you are about to do, will be something I believe only you two will be capable of attempting. I must warn you before you do this training. It is for keeps. What happens in there, will happen out here. This is another reason why I have sent Chiaotzu to the other side of the Lookout. To prepare himself as mentally as he can, I have tasked him with strengthening his senses by sensing the populace below us. I feel more comfortable you would say...placing you two in this exercise."
"So if we die in this place?" Tien asked, concerned about the implications.
Kami did not answer, merely looking at the two for a few more moments. He finished walking, appearing in front of a massive wooden door. Mr. Popo walked in front of the others, opening it, holding his hand out and letting the others pass.
"What is this place?" Tien asked.
"Here, past, present and future are mixed." Mr. Popo said.
"Your minds can be transported through time, to a point in place of yours, or my choosing. You must understand, this is not Time Travel. You will not be able to change the overall outcome of what has already taken place. The interactions you may have within will have never happened in real time, think of this as more of an interactive vision of the past."
The pair looked around the big room, clocks ticking everywhere, including a massive Pendulum clock, which swung over a ring that Mr. Popo was now standing next to.
"If you will stand in this ring please, the exercise can begin."
"W-w-wait a minute. How does this help us? Our minds are being transported but not our bodies? How can we get stronger from this? Is this what Goku did?" Krillin had a litany of questions, which made the old Namekian smile.
"This helps you by recognizing who your enemies truly are. It will help you improve, just not in the traditional way. And to answer your final question Krillin, yes. Goku once used this room to train with the legendary master Mutaito, your very sensei, Roshi's, former sensei."
"W-wow, I wish I could've been a part of that." Krillin said, scratching his cheek.
"Ok, so you've answered one of the questions that I already had. However, I wish to know where we will be going. Is there something in Earth's history that can help us grow stronger Kami?" Tien asked, more reserved and cautious about this training.
"You are right to be wary, Tien Shinhan. But no, Earth has not had a grand warrior of their own for thousands of years. The last great one perished long before I ever came to this planet. I have a different training in mind for you. If you would step inside the circle, we can begin. If not, then I will find another avenue of training for you to endure." Kami said, holding his hand out towards the circle.
"Well, I guess we can't wait around forever. If we fail, Chi Chi, Piccolo and Gohan as well as Chiaotzu can step up." Krillin said.
"I really do not know if I want to do this Krillin. You heard Kami, this is for keeps. If we die here and now, we're leaving a lot of responsibility for the others. I don't want to leave Chiaotzu, but if this is what we must do to grow stronger, then we may need to do this, even if we don't want to." Tien was resolute, talking himself into it. The dedicated martial artist stepped inside the circle, followed by a wary monk.
"Gentlemen, I can only recommend that you see with your hearts. Now close your eyes please. The next time you open your eyes, you will be in a far off place exactly 100 years ago. I wish you luck, gentlemen." Mr. Popo said. The eyes of the 2 warriors closed, the sensation of magic coursing through their veins...
Location: Planet Vegeta
Age: Circa 660
The pair opened their eyes, the world around them visibly changed from when they were in the Lookout before.
"W-where is this place?" Krillin asked, looking up and seeing the red sky. A sound not to far from the pair alerted them, making them get into fighting stances, only to see a skeleton fall down a small, jagged cliff.
"I don't know Krillin, but if I had to guess, specially after training with Shepard for a while, that these are saiyan skeletons."
"Wha? Wait so does that mean we're on the saiyans homeworld? Man...it looks like a big battle took place here."
"Yeah, and we were late to the party. Let's investigate. Be on your guard Krillin, this place doesn't feel right at all." Tien suggested.
The two walked for several minutes, finding more saiyan skeletons in a pile, more scattered throughout the desolate world. The skies were littered with a hazy smoke, indicative of the potential battle, or battles that must have taken place. They found more saiyan skeletons as they continued to walk, careful not to step on the many bones that littered the path.
"This doesn't feel right at all, Tien?"
"Yeah, it feels like something is..."
"Whaddya think Scarface?"
"A combined battle power of 3290. They may make for pathetic sport Shorty."
The two warriors' scouters had went off minutes prior. They thought they had cleared out many of the weaker saiyan warriors, not having a care who got in the way of their destructive tendencies. So they decided to investigate. They made it without the alien visitors discovering them, seeing the pair of weirdly dressed warriors.
"Hey Shorty, why dontcha give them a little...wake up call. Hm hm hm hm hm."
"I've been looking forward to this." Charging a massive amount of green energy, Shorty fired a big energy wave...
"MOVE KRILLIN!" The monk jumping in the air with his friend, barely milliseconds before an explosion erupted underneath the two.
Tien's third eye saved their lives. He picked up on the energy moments later, but he trusted his third eye's instincts, grateful that he had it.
The smoke that billowed up created a more hazy atmosphere around the battlefield. Two silhouettes emerged from the smoke, smirking at the martial artists.
"It looks like ya missed Shorty."
"Hm hm hm hm they were faster then expected Scarface, but now...it means we get to beat them to death more slowly."
The pair of warriors each wore traditional battle armor, much like Raditz had when he arrived. "T-these guys power, it...i-its insane."
"They're not men, they're monsters. Those scouter things on their faces. I've heard about them. We may need our full power Krillin."
"Y-you're right. No holding back." The pair's white auras erupted, shooting winds back an forth. However the pair of Saiyans in the air weren't bothered.
"Look at that Scarface, their power is climbing."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The pair screamed, pushing all the power out that they could muster.
"2670...2302... not bad for a couple of weaklings... you take that three eyed freak Shorty. I'll handle the noseless pipsqueak." The human's power got their warrior blood boiling in excitement. Finally! Some warriors who could fight back!
Before the pair were ready, they were both hit with powerful kicks. Tien and Krillin were not playing around. They pounced on the distracted alien's before they could defend, sending them back a ways. Shorty landed in a broken down building, blasting out of the other side. Scarface was sent through the ground, smashing through saiyan skeletons. The pair recovered quickly, both back in the air within seconds.
"Cheap shot. But not bad wimp." Scarface said, wiping a small bit of blood from his mouth.
"Damn, those kicks should've hurt them more." Krillin said, eyeing the shorter saiyan.
"Hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm." Both the saiyans we're laughing as they both raised their hands, firing green energy waves, making the 2 Z fighters scatter.
Before Tien could process, Shorty was behind him, palming his head, eliciting a shout of pain from him.
"Heh heh heh heh. Too slow three eyes. Heh heh heh heh." As Shorty squeezed, Tien felt like his head was smoking.
"HAAA..AHHHHHHH!" Tien screamed, trying to break free, but the Phantom Saiyan just laughed more in his ear.
"Watch and see what happens to your little friend over there...after Scarface is done with him, we are going to have our fun tearing you apart, freak."
The fight between Krillin and the scar faced saiyan was not going in the monk's favor. A fist slammed into the top of his head, sending him down into a sea of bones.
"Ughh...AIEEEEE!" Krillin screeched, opening his eyes and seeing a skeletal face, the spiky brown head of hair that once accompanied it falling away in tatters. Scooting back on his butt, Krillin trembled.
"HAHAHAHAHA die weakling." Scarface said from above, firing a purple looking beam towards the monk.
"CRAP BASKETS!" Pushing himself away from the explosion, the heat made Krillin sweat.
'I can't dodge this guy forever. I got to think of something! Anything!' As Krillin dodged another purple blast, he made his move. Shooting down to the ground, Krillin implanted several balls of energy into the ground, doing it inconspicuously.
"C'MON BIG UGLY!" Krillin yelled up, making the saiyan angry. Shooting down to the ground looking to tear the monk in half, Scarface was feet away when a ball of yellow energy came up, slamming into the saiyan's stomach. Spit flew out of the saiyan's mouth as he looked at the monk, who was moving his fingers in different directions. Hearing energy behind him, Scarface turned, firing an energy wave at the energy ball, destroying it.
"Is that all you-" before he could gloat any longer, another ball smashed into Scarface's mouth, making him step back several feet.
"Alright noseless punk." Spitting on the ground, the scarred saiyan begin walking towards the monk, watching as the monk held up his right hand, legs spread apart evenly, a yellow, flat blade of Ki forming.
"It's now or never Krillin, you've been working on this technique for months. It's time to put it to use!" Moving his left hand, another yellow ball of energy came towards Scarface, who smacked it away effortlessly.
"Heh heh heh heh heh, nice try maggot."
"DESTRUCTO DISK!" Krillin shouted, firing the somewhat slow, but dangerously sharp razor blade of ki towards his foe. Scarface tilted his head to the side, eyeing the blade. A deep, instinctual feeling told the saiyan that this technique may be dangerous, too dangerous to touch. As it flew by his head, he dodged it at the last moment, feeling the heat from the blade, he turned and watched it head towards a cliff side, before it went clean through it, slicing it clean in half.
"Heh heh heh anymore-" BAM
Krillin came in hard, hitting the saiyan with a right hand, sending the warrior's scouter away. The saiyan turned his head back, throwing a punch in return, but the monk was quick enough to get below Scarface.
"You tried to ruin my beautiful face with that little blade of yours?" Scarface smirked, but Krillin started giggling a bit, causing the saiyan to stop.
"What's so funny? You think your beating is something to laugh at?"
"Well he he he, well for one, he he he he... you're anything but beautiful. And two..." Krillin held his mouth, threatening to burst at the scene with laughter.
"If-if you had a mirror, I'd say your hair is a little...he he he he he he...it's a little...uneven...!"
Whatever quip the saiyan had died at that. Feeling the left side of his head, his eyes widened when he felt a couple inches of his hair had been cut off. Trying, and utterly failing to hold his anger in, the saiyan roared, charging at the monk with ruthless aggression being in the forefront of his mind. Krillin could hardly react when a fist smashed into his face, blasting him away.
"YOU!"
A kick in the back sent Krillin towards the ground, but before he landed, he was met with another fist to his face, sending him head over heels forcefully into the ground.
"No more holding back on you. You've messed with my wonderful hair. That blade thing of yours, I may have a use for it one day. But that won't matter to you!" Picking up the monk, Scarface slammed him back into the ground.
"My grandmother can gather energy faster then that." Picking the monk up and slamming him again, spittle left the saiyan's mouth as he looked at his battered foe.
"But don't feel bad freak, she was one tough cookie in her time, when you see her in hell, tell her that her grandson Pumpkin sends his regards!" Charging a purple energy beam in his fingers, the saiyan pointed his hand at Krillin.
"I-I-I have to get out of this." Krillin was desperate, he looked over in the distance, seeing his friend still struggling mightily against the taller saiyan, no doubt going through his mind that Tien was planning something, somehow to get out of his situation. 'I need to do the same. Sorry Tien."
"GOOD RIDDANCE!"
"SOLAR FLARE!" A bright light flashed in the saiyan's eyes, causing him to misfire, just missing claiming the humans life by a fractional amount. But the beam that the saiyan did charge did not miss completely. It tore through the monk's shoulder, eliciting a scream of pain. As the blinded saiyan furiously wiped at his eyes, Krillin stood up weakly, blood flowing down his useless shoulder, he lifted his right hand up, charging up another destructo disk.
"YAHHHHH!" Throwing it, Krillin watched as the saiyan instinctually tried to get out of the way, but was too late, but as the blade cut through the saiyan's midsection, he had fired another Kankousen, the purple beam getting lucky and tearing through the monk's head.
"KRILLIIIIIIIIIIIN!" Tien screamed, watching his friend, his rival, fall back, a hole through his cheek, having gone clean through. Krillin had 'died' before he hit the ground.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Uh uh uh, that freak may have killed my partner, but he isn't exactly alive to talk about it either heh heh heh heh heh." Shorty continued to use his energy to claw through the Crane's head, but Tien was ignoring it, focusing all of his energy.
Before Shorty could dig his hands through Tien's skull further, a pair of shadows fell over his sides. Hearing what sounded like skin ripping, Shorty was caught off guard as a pair of fists slammed into both sides of his face, knocking his scouter away and forcing him to let go of the Triclops.
"You...you sick...monsters. I'm gonna hurt you." Tien said, coldly turning around and eyeing his foe. Shorty had recovered, spitting out a small amount of blood.
"Oh so the Triclops wants to fight back eh? Heh heh heh heh." Charging towards the martial artist, the saiyan turned into a field of green energy, ramming past Tien, who tanked it, before turning quickly, only to be elbowed in the jaw by the saiyan.
"YAH AHA HAAHAAAAH!" Tien screamed back, rushing the saiyan and unleashing all 4 of his limbs. The saiyan was crudely blocking much of it, but Tien was relentless. Grabbing the saiyan's hands as he stretched them out to charge energy, Tien slammed his other 2 fists into Shorty's face, letting him go as he did. It sent the saiyan towards the ground, cratering it and sending bones and dirt flying everywhere. More bones and dirt, and metals that had long been torn down exploded out into the air, the saiyan freeing himself from his temporary enclosure.
"That does it!" Charging a Kankousen, Shorty fired it up at Tien, who held out his hand.
"DODON RAY!" The yellow beam met the purple, causing a vibrant but condensed explosion in the middle. Tien flew through the smoke, hitting his foe with all 4 hands, he used one of his hands to knife edge the saiyan in the throat, a palm to slam into the armor, cracking it. He threw another fist but it was caught, the saiyan looking menacingly at the Triclops.
"E-enough!" Bringing Tien in, Shorty tried to tear through him with a knee to his gut, but the Triclops blocked it, barely with 2 hands, before using his other 2. One chopped the saiyan's throat again, making him gag, before Shorty's face was punched in, sending him away.
"I've had enough of you, monster. You'll pay for taking Krillin's life!" Forcing his hands into a triangle, Tien eyed his foe through his hands. An immense amount of yellow energy began to burst forth through his hands, waiting to erupt. But Tien held on even more, refusing to let this saiyan live. His muscles bulged, before his other 2 hands joined in, also creating a triangle.
"You're going to eat all of this for what you've done!" Veins came out on Tien's forehead, clearly the technique was taking a lot out of him.
'If I miss this, it's all over. I don't want to leave you Chiaotzu!'
"DOUBLE TRI BEAM!" Tien roared, the energy he'd been gathering, rushing forth in a torrent of yellow from both points.
Shorty could barely get his hands up as the energy slammed into him, shouting in agony and sending him deep underground.
The explosion plumed out a lot of smoke, forcing the Triclops to squint down to see if he got the saiyan. But his energy was dangerously low, causing him to start to float down towards the ground. Before he could process, he dropped to the ground like a stone, his 2 extra arms disappearing as quickly as they arrived. Breathing heavily, he looked over towards the crater, only to be in dismay as he saw Shorty floating above the crater, still alive. His armor was gone, he had burns and cuts going all down his body. The only garment that survived was his undershirt. The saiyan's energy was sapped, having to defend himself the way he did. Getting onto even ground, the saiyan fell to his hands and knees, coughing up blood.
"Y-y-you actually hurt me. I-I-I can't believe a freak like you managed to h-hurt me." Shorty said, barely conscious as he fell to the ground.
"I...I'm sorry...Ch...Chiao...Chiaotzu..." Tien breathed out, barely conscious any longer. His eyes closed, the last thing he saw was the red, hazy sky...
"Ien!"
"TIEN!"
Opening his eyes slowly, he heard the clock, swinging back and forth. The Pendulum room had not changed, minus a new appearance.
"TIEN!" A small voice yelled out, a familiar one which caused the Triclops to smile.
"Chiaotzu!" Tien was overjoyed, seeing his lifelong friend.
"Man Tien you really scared us." Another voice said, causing Tien to snap his head over, seeing Krillin rubbing his head and chuckling.
"Kr-Kr-Krillin! What is this? I thought you were dead. Speaking of, shouldn't I be...dead?" Looking at the other 2 people in the room, they were both stoic, emotionless.
"Only your mind was sent back. Your mind made a...facsimile of your appearance, sending you through time." Kami answered.
"So you lied to us?" Tien got right to the point. He had gave everything in that...place. He was ready to die!
"If I had told you the complete truth, do you believe you would have beaten that Saiyan? Do you believe that you would have fought as hard as you could, already knowing the outcome?" Kami asked, causing Tien to come up short with a retort.
"But Kami, are you saying that room can only be used once?" Krillin asked.
"Of course not. But you must realize that the effectiveness of the Pendulum Room is not in its ability to send a soul through Time, but what the soul is able to garnish through said training. The Pendulum Room is far more of an effective tool for recognizing who and what your enemies are. I must warn you however. The Saiyans you fought once existed in that time, and their power was frightening for you. Unfortunately, the weaker of the 2 saiyans that will be arriving on Earth is at least twice as strong as those." The news sent a shock through Krillin and Tien both!
"I...I see why you excluded Chiaotzu from this training. The sensations...the...the pain.. it all felt so real."
"Damn. H-h-h-how do we stand a chance against that?" Krillin said, his will to fight almost completely drained from Kami's words.
"If you wish to stand down and not continue this training, I completely understand. The reason I forbade you at first to gander at the equipment Bulma left behind was to see how far your natural progress would go. I am pleased with all 3 of your progresses, but now I feel it is time to see what Bulma has made for you. Should you wish to not continue, I ask that you help who decides to push through with their training." Kami expected the humans to give up, hoping they wouldn't, but was genuinely happy when the look of fear left the monk's face, the look of grimness left the former assasin's face, replaced by pure determination. Chiaotzu was right by Tien's side. His telekinetic powers had grown leaps and bounds these last months. He was not going to let his friends leave him in the dust!
"We're not going to quit Kami."
"Yeah we've come too far! If we quit now, how could we ever stand with Goku when he needs us most?" Kami smiled, hearing such words brought a warmth to his heart.
"Splendid. Let's go take a look at this equipment shall we?"...
"KAIOKEN TIMES 3!" Shepard screamed out, feeling the strain almost instantly. He charged the youthful human, throwing a fast and deadly right cross, but it was parried. The human smirked at him, before turning, spinning a hard kick that planted Shepard to the ground, making his jaw hurt.
The stranger had sparred Yamcha and Raditz so far, giving them both pointers. Raditz was pissed that a human had gotten the better of him, but with his senses as attuned as they had become in recent months, he could feel that the human had held back, for all their sakes, much like he was doing with Shepard.
Kicking up, even with the heavier weighted clothing, it was a simple action for Shepard now, who was able to remain in Kaioken through the kick.
"Damn he's just too fast." Shepard said to himself, wiping a little blood from his mouth. The stranger smiled at him, floating down towards him.
"You did quite well maintaining the Kaioken. But you're still wasting your energy. A calmer mind often prevails through the hail of storms." He said. Whoever this was, he was definitely wise. Much wiser then his youthful body would tell.
"Stand down Shep. It's over. The Kaioken is about to start doing more damage then good." Marc said internally. Shepard could feel his bones buzzing beneath his skin, the Kaioken trying to tear him apart. He let it go, falling to one knee, sweat pouring off of his face and body, steam rising from the sheer heat of the technique.
"That was really impressive to hold onto the Kaioken for that long. Hm hm hm Hm. You had control of Times 3 for a few seconds before it became hazardous. Good work." King Kai praised.
"Hmph, it wasn't all that impressive." Raditz grumpily said.
"His power shot higher then anything I've felt so far. Did better then us anyway." Yamcha said, standing next to Raditz.
"Y-yeah, well at least I c-can do a Times 3." Shepard said, finally standing up. His body was still hurting. He knew the ache would go away with a little time.
"We will see what you can do after Kakarot has his turn with this human." Raditz was done with the conversation.
"I think ya did great Shep hehehehe you still haven't done a Times 4 yet." Goku said, scratching his head.
"I'm mastering each stage before I move onto the next. And by master, I mean that I've mastered Times 2, and that was the second time I've tried a Times 3. It's your turn jerk. Go get your ass kicked by that little guy." Shepard couldn't believe how smooth this stranger was!
Goku began to stretch as the stranger walked up to them.
"Ahh, Goku. I have heard great things about you. I cannot wait for this opportunity." The stranger bowed. The way he had looked at Goku put the saiyan off kilter.
"Neither can I, but aren't you so much stronger then me? This is going to be a great opportunity for me." Goku said, adopting the Turtle Stance. The stranger smiled wistfully, recognizing the stance when he fought Yamcha earlier. But there were variations.
"No holes in your defense, excellent. You have truly become a strong warrior." The stranger said, adopting his own stance. But what threw Goku off was that it wasn't a stance that the man had used before in the other spars. This one felt so familiar to Goku. It made the young saiyan look sideways at the stranger.
'I-it's like I'm a kid all over again.'
"W-w-who are you?" Goku needed to know. He had seen the man fight the other 3, but he did not use this style! The stranger loosened his stance, bowing.
"Fight me, and find out young man." The answer spurred Goku forth, throwing martial strikes that were deftly evaded, the stranger moving just enough to dodge them. Sweeping around, Goku threw a wide kick, which the stranger leapt over. Trying to push the stranger back, Goku attempted to palm the man in the chest, but his wrist was caught, before he was picked up, and tossed hard over the man's shoulder's, hitting the ground hard.
"You have quite a bit more variety in your attack then that Goku, I know it."
Getting up quickly, Goku flew up, backhanding the stranger, but only an afterimage was left behind. "Cra-" kicked in the back, Goku landed back on the ground, spinning and twisting away.
"KAIOKEN!" The red aura came through smoothly, Goku having hardly felt the change in his body. He sped up to the stranger, trying to hit him in the back, but the man turned his body at just the right moment, making Goku barely miss. Turning quickly, Goku threw a kick which was dodged when the stranger moved his head back. Following through, Goku continued to attack the stranger, who was beginning to block the blows. Ducking one, he flew back, forcing Goku to follow.
"Not bad at all Goku. Not bad." Knocking Goku's fist to the side, the man made his first offensive maneuver, sending a palm into Goku's stomach, pushing the saiyan back. Goku slid back on the ground, the force of the blow nearly making him heave. Finally stopping on the ground more then a few hundred feet away, the Kaioken having left him, Goku spat out a bit of blood.
The stranger phased in front of him, hands to the side, a blue light shining behind the man.
"N-no way!" Goku was stunned, but he was not done yet. Deciding to try something no one would think of, Goku rushed forward, causing the stranger to look at him wide eyed.
"GOTCHA! HAAAAAAAAAA!" Throwing his fist forward, Goku unleashed a kiai, something the stranger could not have anticipated. It slammed into the stranger's face, causing the energy he had gathered to be dispersed. It pushed the stranger back a few dozen feet. Bruising his face and skidding back on the ground, he slammed his foot into the ground, stopping himself and looking at Goku.
"Very good. You have impressed me Goku. The others are good, but you. You are special. This is the fight I have been waiting for most..."
Over on the sidelines, King Kai, Shepard, Raditz and Yamcha were all watching the fight closely. Feeling the fight out, they could all tell that Goku was outmatched, but there was something different about the way the man had fought them compared to how he was pressing Goku. He did not press any of the others. He was mainly on the defensive, and had countered them expertly when left open, parried what was exposed and capitalized on openings, however small.
"The man is an expert. That's for sure. But there's something...kind of strange with his style." Yamcha pointed out. Raditz had not noticed it at first, but now that he was paying attention, he could tell that the man and his brother had a similar way of fighting. But the man's style seemed purely based on discipline, the purity of his art form.
"It's like the two are mirrors of each other. The only reason Kakarot is even losing is purely on power's principle." The long haired saiyan suggested.
"His style is cleaner. If I didn't know any better, I would say I was watching Master Roshi fight." Shepard said aloud not meaning to, causing the others to gape at him.
"W-wait you mean-?"
"Yeah Yamcha, I think I'm starting to figure out the mystery..."
"KAIOKEN TIMES 3!!" Goku roared out, feeling the pain for a couple of seconds before it ebbed away a bit. The strain was clear on his face, but he pushed forward, a red meteor attempting to plow into his target. The stranger sidestepped, kicking off of Goku and pushing away. The saiyan followed, throwing a ferocious storm of attacks at the human, who was blocking everything mostly. He dodged one kick, throwing his own over it, making Goku block in return. He quickly grabbed the stranger's leg before he could pull away and started spinning, letting go and nearly falling over himself from being dizzy. The human soared past the others, hitting the top of King Kai's house and smashing through it.
"M-M-MY HOOOOOOOUUUUSSSSSSSE!" Tears poured out of King Kai's glasses.
"HEY AT LEAST HE DIDN'T TRASH YOUR CAR!" Shepard yelled out. King Kai stopped crying, looking at the 3 other warriors.
"Hm hm hm hm hm you gotta good point hm hm hm hm." The 3 warriors fell on their faces, clearly amazed at the idiocy of their teacher. Moving his hands around, King Kai's house instantly repaired itself.
"Ahhh that's better. Bubbles come out buddy." The monkey came out of the house, grumpy.
"Now don't you give me that Bubbles. Get out here and watch this fight." By the time King Kai and Bubbles got back to the others, they were already back on their feet, Raditz looking the other way, peeved.
Goku was tired. He knew he had more to give! As he was contemplating what to do next, his decision was made for him when the stranger had flown back, several hundred yards away in the air.
"You've done quite well Goku. I have thoroughly enjoyed this fight. But it is time to end it." The stranger signaled that by pulling his arms back to the right side of his body, blue energy building up once again.
"D-darn, I have to try it."
"NO GOKU! IT'S TOO MUCH!" King Kai yelled out.
Shepard and Raditz weren't so sure. Yamcha cheered Goku on.
"COME ON BUDDY. PUSH IIIIIIT! SHOW THIS PUNK WHOSE BOSS!" Yamcha yelled up.
Goku had made his mind up. Pulling his arms back, he began to charge as much energy as he could. "I-I have to try. Kaaaaaaaaaa."
"MeeeeeeeHaaaaaaaaMeeeeeeee..."
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Two roars, two beams of shining, powerful blue energy coming towards each other. They slammed into one another, each trying to push the other back, however the stranger's was stronger, and it steadily gained ground on Goku.
"N-no. I-I can't give up. I-I have to KEEP GOING. TIMES FOOOOOUUUURRRRR!" His beam gained twice as much thickness, and it started to push the stranger's back to an even stalemate. Unfortunately for the Turtle student, the stranger's beam also seemed to be quite hard to push back. As if. As if.
"Goku can't win this." King Kai said.
"Hey don't count him out yet! He's holding it together." Yamcha said, his eyes shining in awe at the amount of power his friend had, and was still growing.
"Not for long." Raditz said. He was watching the same fight. But he wasn't biased. He could see the strain on his brother. The times 4 in training was doable, but only because they hadn't tried sparring in it yet. "Frankly he's an idiot for even trying it."
"H-hey shut up. He can do this!"
"No. No he's about to break." Shepard said, flying up as quick as he could...
The Kaioken left Goku's body, the beam he had been trying to hold back being only a handful of feet away from him now. Before he could put his hands up to defend himself, he was tackled upwards further into the air. The beam soared past, blowing clouds out of their way, before it dissipated moments later off into the distance.
"Hey. Goku. Hey man you're alright."
"O-OWWWWWWW, lemme go lemme go owwie owwie owwie owwie." Goku was let go by Shepard, who followed Goku down to the ground in case he needed to keep him from falling hard.
"I told you a Times 4 would be too much Goku. Your body is thrashed right now." King Kai scolded the saiyan.
"Y-yeah I know."
"I always knew you had it in you Goku." The stranger said, landing on the ground near them, taking a small breath.
"Yeah but you were s-so much stronger then me. You didn't even have to use the Kaioken at all did you?" Goku asked. His body was still strained, having a hard time getting off the ground at the moment.
"No. I didn't. But you also have to understand. My beam had no Ki leakage. It was fuller, heavier, and likely would've pushed your beam back even if you tried a Times 5." The stranger smiled at the young Saiyan. A wistful glint in his eyes.
"I never did finish my story of how I came upon this training."
"We don't care. You've beaten all of us, so why don't you tell us what we did wrong, and move along." Raditz interjected, clearly not in the mood for story time.
"Well my young friend, if that is what you want. Let us start with you for instance. You fight like a bear. Your blocks are rudimentary, you waste much of your movement even after you've learned how to suppress and unleash your power. Your hair may not get in the way of your fighting skill, but your brain certainly does. You need to relax more, let the fight flow through you, take things in stride."
"A BEAR? IS THAT WHA-"
"As for you Yamcha of the Desert, you are truly an unpredictable fighter. The Turtle influence that Master Roshi has trained you under is deeply involved with your style. However you also waste much of your movement as well. When you see an opening, take it. Any good fighter, can beat a great fighter, if they use their abilities to the best of their own. The Kaioken is a tool to be utilized with your full impact, not wasting it on your extravagance. You still have much room to grow."
"W-well, I mean, I a-am a badass!"
"Oh fuck off."
"Whatever Hedgie." Goku had to step in between his brother and friend. It was a common occurrence these days. Yamcha may have forgiven the saiyan for his actions, but he still wanted to dish out some vengeance of his own.
"And you Shepard, you were hesitant in our fight, as though you didn't wish to harm me. I could assure you that I could have handled whatever you currently have in your bag of tricks. Drop your restraints. Quit being afraid of fighting with your entire being, and just let go."
Shepard could see what the stranger was saying. There was a deep, unconscionable feeling within the saiyan. He really did not want to hurt the man, but he didn't understand why.
"And finally, Goku. You have truly made me proud. Your Kamehameha can still use a little bit of work as far as Ki leakage, but even at a Times 3 Kaioken, I can see that there was very little residual leakage. As you progress through your training, it will get easier. Your martial arts was exceptional. I look forward to another potential spar with you."
"T-thank you sir. But you were amazing! It's like you knew everything I wanted to try and had an answer for." Goku had finally recovered from the strain, standing on his own two feet now.
The stranger turned back, looking out at the otherworldly sky.
"Yes, maybe I had a general idea. But anyways, the Saiyan who had pulled me from my dream of slumber, had other...plans. Part of him felt that he owed me."
"What could a Saiyan ever owe a human for? Don't you get it? The only reason you've won today is because you've had more time and training! If we had the same time to train, we would destroy you in an instant." Raditz said.
"He said he owed me, for taking care of his son."
That stunned the 4 warriors.
"That's it! I know who we're dealing with!" Marc suddenly said. Shepard was starting to come to the same conclusion.
"I don't believe it. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't of seen it with my own 2 eyes."
"He said that I had done a good job of raising him. That he would grow to be an exceptional warrior. A powerful warrior who would grow strong enough to avenge his race for the damage that the tyrant Frieza had caused."
"F-Frieza? No. Wait it can't be." Raditz was finally starting to understand what was going on.
"I introduced myself to him, and he told me his name. That it was Bardock."
Not a sound could be heard. For several moments, the group were stunned, completely taken back by the information.
"F-Father would do something like that? B-b-but why? I only ever remember him being a hard ass, a mean spirited asshole who only had time for Mother in his life." Raditz said, more to himself then anything.
"You k-know my Dad?" Goku said. Walking up to the short man, he really looked at him. Finally noticing the full attire, the kind, but noticeably older eyes that adopted the younger body. The man looked up at him, a prideful, genuine smile graced the stranger's lips.
"One of my everlasting, living memories, is of seeing my grandson, his wife, and their newborn son, who they named...Gohan."
"G-G-Grandpa?" Tears were beginning to leak out of Goku's eyes.
"I knew it." Shepard said, everything finally kicking into place. Now he knew why he had not fought the man with everything he had.
"Deep in our subconscious, we just had a feeling."
"This is the human that raised Kakarot?" Raditz was conflicted.
"It sure is. The first human to cross Snake Way." King Kai said, happy at the reunion.
Goku bent down and hugged his grandpa fiercely. Gohan returned the hug just so.
"It's so good to see you Goku. Of course I wish it had been many years later, but from what I hear, the dragon balls will be bringing you back."
Sniffling into his adoptive grandfather's shoulder, Goku didn't answer. Everything was there, down to his smell! He remembered when he was a young boy that Gohan had smelled like nature, a small trace of ocean water, and the very wood from which his Power Pole was made. Even now, Goku could smell all of this on Gohan, and it calmed him. Pulling back from the hug, Goku wiped his eyes, a smile on his face.
"Y-yeah. My brother and I got into a serious fight. I... I didn't walk away from that. But you're right, the dragon balls will be bringing me back. I've needed this training to stop the saiyans that are coming to Earth!"
Gohan smiled at his grandson, before looking over at Raditz, the smile dropping, a subdued look on Gohan's face.
"Bardock said that you would have to make a choice Raditz. And that very choice would come down only to you. Given this opportunity to train, to learn from your brother, would you be so willing to go back to work for Frieza? Or do you believe you can have a life on Earth?"
Gohan did not give Raditz time to answer, looking back up at Goku. "He's going to be a handful in the coming years my boy. Show him the right path."
"Like you showed me?"
"Perhaps. It is your choice. Bardock believes in you just as much, if not more then even I do. Keep up your training, eat and sleep plenty. Never accept what your limits are. You make those limits, to break them and to keep climbing." Hugging his grandson one last time, he had one last thing to say to him.
"When you get back to Earth, after this fight you will have, go to the house. I've left everything for you in a special location. You'll know it when you see it."
"I-I'm gonna miss you Grandpa." Goku said, letting go of Gohan.
"And I will miss you too grandson. Just...just don't make it so soon that I see you again. That is all I ask."
Walking over to the others, Gohan shook Yamcha's hand, the Bandit smiling as he did. Gohan gave him a few quick tips on his energy control as he walked by.
He shook Shepard's hand, who was still in a bit of awe that he was seeing the very character that made this Universe even possible. Without Gohan's influence, Kakarot would have likely went through with his programming, eroding the very beautiful nature that Earth provided. The man had instilled lifelong, positive values in the Saiyan.
"Thank you for this, Gohan." Shepard said, bowing to the shorter human.
"And thank you Shepard. None of this would be possible right now if not for you know who." The stranger smiled, the kind of all knowing smile that one has when they know something no one else does. But Shepard knew. This was one of those changes. The butterfly effect had somehow worked out to their advantage! There wouldn't be too many of those happening, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. This was monumental!
"And the older version of us somehow...smuggled Bardock into Otherworld? How does that work?"
"How could Bardock even be here in the first place human? He was more of a slaughterer then I am!" Raditz was furious. His father? In Otherworld, with his body intact?
"What the hell did he do that was so grand?"
"Dude did you forget that Bardock and King Vegeta held off Frieza to save innocent Saiyan children?" Shepard asked.
"That doesn't mean anything! A few children hardly mean anything when you've destroyed planets."
"If I may answer. Bardock made a choice at the end of his life. To give everything so that the Saiyan race would not go extinct. It is a sacrifice that any father would rightfully go forward with. Even one as hardened as your very father." Gohan said.
"Hmph. Whatever. Then where is he now then?" Raditz wanted to have a word with Bardock.
"Hmm. Last I checked he was training for the upcoming Other World Tournament." Gohan answered.
"Whaaaaaat? A tournament? That sounds awesome! Can I fight?" Goku's cheery nature was hard to resist. His grandpa couldn't help but laugh.
"Ho ho ho ho ho oh Goku. I'm not participating in the tournament myself. Some of these warriors have been training for hundreds, if not thousands of years to fight in these tournaments. I think your father is just a glutton for punishment. He's competed in the last 3 and has gotten his face smeared every time! Bardock is pretty confident about this one for some reason, last I checked. Wait until it's your natural time grandson. You will be more then ready by then. That goes for you 3 as well." Gohan said, calling out to the other warriors, each giving various degrees of acknowledgement.
"I guess it's time for you to go back to the Grand Kai's Planet?" King Kai asked.
"Yes I am afraid so. I have my own training to get back to. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. It has been joyous to spar with these fine warriors, especially my grandson." Gohan bowed to King Kai, stepping back after he did so. He looked at Goku one last time.
"Good luck Goku, and remember. When you believe you're ready, go to the old house. I hope to not see you for a good number of years, perhaps when you are old and wrinkly like I once was hm hm hm hm."
A tear escaped Goku's eye. This was the most fun he had had with training in such a long time.
"T-thank you Grandpa. I can't wait to see you again someday." Goku said, waving to his grandfather one last time.
Gohan waved back, smiling as he looked up, disappearing in a portal...
"HAAAAAAH!"
Gohan charged hard towards Piccolo, swiping at his teacher, who flew backwards, dodging. Losing a small piece of his uniform, Piccolo gave a small smile of approval, before ferociously coming back with a kick, which Gohan leapt over, coming in with a kick of his own. It connected with a quickly raised forearm from the namekian, who grunted through the struggle. Pushing the boy away, Gohan fell back, maintaining his footing and readying to charge back once again. Piccolo however had other plans. Holding his hand up at the boy, Gohan stopped, putting his hands down.
"That's good for right now Gohan. We will rest. You are getting much better at adapting to your opponent. But remember, the saiyan's will fight differently then me. So always seek opportunities, whether through your environment, or the situation."
"Yes sir." Gohan smiled, running over to his small camp he had made.
It was late afternoon. Piccolo was ready to begin a session of meditation, but there was something that he needed to do first. Conjuring a notebook, with different colored pencils with his ki was of no concern. He also made a quick stop to the forest, picking a few fruits and grabbing firewood.
Coming back to the small boy's temporary camp, Piccolo dropped the firewood next to the boy who was preparing his evening meal.
"Here kid. I know it was your birthday an all a few days ago. I don't have much in the way to give you. But I just wanted to say.. h-happy birthday." Piccolo held out the notebook, the pencils and the few fruits he had gathered, but then he also held his hand out, a light surrounding Gohan. When the light faded, Gohan was in an exact replica of Piccolo's outfit, with the exception of a different colored obi's, Gohan's being blue. There was also no kanji at first, for Piccolo had given up his father's kanji. Thinking for a moment, for his student, he decided on the kanji meaning 'balance.'
"F-f-for me?" Gohan was shocked. He stood up, grabbing the notebook gently and the pencils, before jumping up and hugging the tall namekian warrior.
"T-THANK YOU MISTER PICCOLO!" The boy cheered.
"Ugh-Uhh...I...I..can..."
"Huh. What's that Mister Piccolo?"
"I CAN'T BREATH!" Piccolo yelled out. The boy instantly let go, bashful as he fell back to the ground softly.
"S-sorry Mister Piccolo." Piccolo held his neck, breathing easier again. The boy's strength was becoming a serious threat. Those saiyans were going to be in serious trouble!
"Yeah..w-whatever kid. You were talking about wanting something to write on. I chose a symbol for you. With your studying, and your training, you have your own balance to uphold. We will begin our meditation in an hour. So rest up, or write, I don't care." Piccolo said, turning his back and finally settling down for his own meditation.
"My Daddy said you used to be angry, that your Daddy was very evil, and mean. He used to be worried about you. But he also said you could change. You're not so bad Mister Piccolo. You're like a big green Uncle hehehehe."
"S-SHUT UP! If you know what's good for you, or else we'll be sparring double time from now on!"
The boy scratched his head, smiling as he ate one of the fruits...
Kami smiled at the showing between his counterpart and his student's son. The boy was truly a prodigious one! If he kept up his training and remained pure, the boy would surely be a savior! His 3 other students had called it a day as far as their training went. The warriors on this planet were making great strides in various ways. It was remarkable to see! But he also had a feeling that everyone's current level of training would not be enough in the given time they had.
"Mr. Popo."
His assistant, his faithful, most trusted assistant, looked up at him, having an idea of what was to be asked.
"Is it time Kami?"
"Yes. Have the Room ready. We may need it in the coming months..."
Whooooaaaaa! And that's the end of this chapter. I really enjoyed writing the reunion between Grandpa Gohan and Goku. Will they meet again? Perhaaaaaaaps, but I'm not sure yet. I've not seen a fanfiction where Gohan is brought to his 'prime' age. It is speculative, but I would put his age in Otherworld to be around 30 years of age. With this chapter marks over 200k words written. I hope a lot of it hasn't been wasted on many of you. I'm an action guy just like some of you, and I do like impactful, Action Jackson type Dbz stories, but I really wanted to create the drama behind this story. If anybody asks why I didn't make Yajirobe train with the rest of the guys, don't. My stupid ass just forgot about him lol. Sorry guys, Yajirobe may have a part later on, but it's not definite. So. How bout some power levels? I want to note, that there is still plenty of time for these guys to train, so they will be getting stronger!
Power Levels
Piccolo: 3,300 (and rising)
Gohan: 2,400 (and rising)
Rage Boost: ?
Tien: 2,670 (and rising)
Double Tri Beam: 4,700
Life Force: 7,000
Krillin: 2,302 (and rising)
Shorty: 3,000
Scarface: 3,000
Nappa (mentioned): 6,000
Chi Chi: 1,700 (and rising)
Shepard: 8,000 (and rising)
Kaioken x 2: 16,000
Kaioken x 3: 24,000 (and dropping, because of non mastery)
Raditz: 8,300 (and rising)
Kaioken x 2 (implied): 16,600
Kaioken x 3 (implied): 24,900 (and dropping, because of non mastery)
Yamcha: 6,000
Kaioken x 2 (implied) 12,000
Goku: 8,600
Kaioken x 2: 17,200
Kaioken x 3: 25,800
Kaioken x 4 Kamehameha: 34,400 (and dropping, due to leakage)
Grandpa Gohan: 60,000 (slightly suppressed!)