"This...this is why I never trained seriously."
King Cold stood hunched over, catching his breath as sweat flowed freely all over his body. The modified cargo bay was cast in a deep red glow, signalling that the recently completed artificial gravity device was in operation, as it had been for about ten minutes. King Cold, in a vast overestimation of his own capabilities at the present moment, decided that he could easily handle engaging in a vigorous exercise regimen at 250 times standard gravity. His sheer power had initially allowed him to perform basic tasks under the pressure with little difficulty, but as he began the first step of his regimen with one thousand laps around the perimeter of the bay, the reality of his situation quickly became apparent. By the end of this first leg, theoretically the easiest, his stamina had been thoroughly exhausted, and it took all of his energy just to stand under the pressure. He briefly debated whether or not he should continue, but, to his relief, the decision was made for him as a much frailer figure than himself moved to enter the room.
"Computer, return to default gravitational parameters," Jamba called out, causing the computer to respond immediately in a deep masculine voice.
"Acknowledged. Returning to standard gravity." With that, the lighting of the bay returned to normal, and King Cold powered down gratefully with a heavy sigh, collapsing into a sitting position.
"Thank you for your service, Jamba," he said tiredly, to which the three-eyed assistant smirked.
"Of course, my lord. I take it you bit off a bit more than you can chew for the moment?" he asked, with a hint of amusement. King Cold's gratitude shifted to a withering glare of annoyance.
"For the moment," he repeated indignantly. "I take it you have something to report?"
"Indeed. Several things, actually," Jamba remarked, pulling out a tablet as he began to list them off. "For starters, I trust you will be pleased to know that I have successfully gained access to Son Goku's ship."
This caused the king to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Is that so?" he asked, a slight smile forming in response to this news.
Jamba nodded. "I gave it a couple days before I attempted to bypass the security lockouts while Son Goku was asleep, in order to allay suspicion." He naturally elected not to mention the other reason behind his reluctance. "I can sabotage the vessel at your discretion."
King Cold smiled with satisfaction. "Excellent. Have your copy adjust his ship's heading to the first planet in this system. The intense heat should throw him quite off-balance, and I'd rather not have any of the structures on Planet Chilled damaged in the coming conflict."
Jamba nodded again. "Of course, my lord." After a couple seconds of thought, Jamba moved onto the next point. "I also wish to inform you that the copy I have piloting your shuttle has just entered Zoon's solar system, and will land on the planet in moments in order to extract the Armored Squadron and what remains of the Ginyu Force."
King Cold nodded. "Very well. Do keep me informed on their estimated time of arrival. I wish to begin sparring with them all as soon as possible."
Jamba coughed slightly. "My lord, if I may, perhaps I could serve as a sparring partner in addition to those gentlemen? It might be helpful for my copies to be moderately stronger, in order to better secure the empire."
King Cold smiled a condescending smile. "I appreciate your logic as always, Jamba, but I'm afraid that a person of your power level would require far too much...catching up to be particularly helpful at the moment. Once Son Goku is dead, I will allow you to make use of the gravity device to whatever extent you deem necessary."
Jamba did his best to hide his annoyance behind a polite, servile smile. "Of course, my lord," he said amicably, while preoccupied with readjusting his plans to work around this new setback. So preoccupied was he that he failed to notice King Cold attempting to get his attention for several seconds, before finally realizing his error and turning to face the king.
"Is that all?" King Cold asked, somewhat irritated at the delay.
"Ah, well, there was one more thing, yes. I thought it wise to begin with the good news first," Jamba admitted in a sheepish manner. King Cold's eyes narrowed.
"And what, pray tell, is the bad news?" he asked, prepared for disappointment. Jamba sighed.
"It would appear that Zuno has stopped cooperating with us, my lord," Jamba said, causing King Cold to look at him with a mixture of displeasure and confusion.
"How so? Is he refusing to answer the questions you ask him on my behalf?"
Jamba drew a sharp intake of breath, as if he were unsure how exactly to say what he came to say. "No, it's just, uh...well, just listen to it for yourself, my king." He pulled out a scouter from a pocket on his standard uniform, and pressed a button such that it transmitted everything that it was picking up on the other end. Zuno's voice, panicked and showing signs of fatigue, rang out loud and clear to King Cold, who listened intently before growing increasingly confused.
"Blue and orange are complementary colors! Quajit Ferbucks only mate once in their entire lives! The wizard Babidi is currently monitoring the planet Rakesh for worthy fighters to add to his forces! Archaven Warbats tend to travel in packs of up to five thousand! Jamba was born in-!"
Jamba shut off the transmission, his point having been made. "His servants cannot explain the cause of their master's madness, but they are attempting to concoct a remedy. Some backwater herbal medicine, no doubt. Hardly the most reliable of treatments."
King Cold nodded slowly. "Indeed...I suppose the idea of a truly omniscient being at my beck and call was too good to be true." The tyrant thought the situation over for a minute before reaching a decision. "Still, if it is possible to restore his earlier sanity, we must utilize all available means. Keep me informed of Zuno's condition and don't hesitate to ask for additional resources from nearby planets under our control. Fully cooperate with whatever Zuno's servants require of you in their efforts, and make sure to record everything Zuno says in the interim. It's a slim possibility, but some of it may yet prove useful."
Jamba put on his smile once again. "Understood, my king. By your will, it shall be so."
"Yes, yes, of course. Now, if you don't mind, Jamba, return to your duties. I believe I have recovered enough to make a second attempt."
Jamba nodded. "Of course. Good day, my lord," he said before calmly walking out of the room, which glowed red almost as soon as he left, the gravity device now back in operation and ready for further use.
"Inhale...exhale. Inhale...exhale."
Piccolo sat in the gravity chamber alone, Tien having just retired from training for the day in order to spend some time with Launch and Chiaotzu. Piccolo would have hardly noticed his sparring partner's departure were it not for him idly sensing his ki signature leaving the chamber. Neither of them were big on communication, after all.
Even after days of training with Max Power and trying to put everything Goku had told him about the Kaio-ken into practice, Piccolo still had not yet mastered the technique. To say that he was frustrated would have been an understatement. In an effort to calm him down, Kami suggested meditation, which Piccolo begrudgingly agreed to. Thus, he had sat in the center of the chamber for the last ten minutes, the weight of five times Earth gravity continuing to press down upon him. With nothing but the hum of the artificial gravity device keeping him company, Piccolo followed along with Kami's mental reminders, breathing in and out at a proper rhythm. Nevertheless, even as he continued to breathe calmly, Piccolo's thoughts were far more reflective of his current mood.
"I don't understand," he thought. "What am I missing?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid," Kami replied with a light chuckle. Piccolo scoffed internally.
"This situation may be amusing to you, but I am trying to grow stronger! Strong enough to at least call myself a worthy foe to Goku, or even to surpass his strength!"
Kami murmured in agreement. "Well, if nothing else, you could always ask him for more in-depth instruction once he returns from space. Who knows? Roshi and the others may even pick up the technique by the time they return to Earth."
"At which point, no doubt, they too will be more capable than I in combat," Piccolo remarked bitterly.
"What makes you say that?"
Piccolo scoffed. "A fairly simple chain of reasoning. Assuming that the technique functions the same way for them as it did for Goku, and considering their respective levels of strength, it is highly likely that even Roshi will grow strong enough to use the Kaio-ken Times Ten for brief intervals. The strongest among that group may even become powerful enough to go beyond that level for a similar period of time. Based on the level of power Goku possessed when he could first use the Kaio-ken Times Ten, this would make Roshi and the others' maximum power level over twice as high as my current base power level."
Kami murmured again, considering Piccolo's argument. "You could always utilize Max Power to overcome that difference. The stamina drain from that technique is likely less than that of the Kaio-ken, even if it does result in reduced speed."
Piccolo grumbled. "The degree to which I would need to use it to overcome such a gap in power would reduce my speed beyond the point where I could still be effective in combat. Even growing in size would only present my foes with a larger target that still moves slowly enough to be avoided and countered with moderate difficulty."
"The Kaio-ken would certainly make things easier."
Piccolo murmured in agreement. "Indeed. At my level of power, I should be able to make greater use of it than they can, unless they've improved the technique beyond what Goku could manage. But I need to develop it first if I want to have any hope of growing stronger." After a couple seconds of silence, Piccolo stopped breathing in and out and growled slightly, his annoyance evident. "Agh, I can't afford to sit around doing nothing any longer! I must resume my training!"
"Hold on, Piccolo," Kami interjected, his tone a bit more forceful than normal. "Keep meditating for at least five more minutes. I think I have an idea."
Piccolo grumbled, but made no move to get up from his seated position. "I'll give you three. What's your idea?"
"Turn off the machine," Kami commanded. Piccolo promptly reached out with his ki in order to push the button with a small kiai, shutting down the gravity chamber and restoring the gravity to normal.
"Done. What now?"
"Do exactly what you were doing before, but pay close attention to your heartbeat. It should be the only thing you hear, and the flow of your ki the only thing you sense. Tune everything out, as much as you can."
"Including you?" Piccolo asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. Kami scoffed.
"Why, yes, 'smartass,'" the old man replied, himself a bit amused at his "nephew's" tone. Piccolo frowned slightly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, a little annoyed. Kami chuckled.
"Oh, just a silly Earth expression," he replied innocently. "Now, do exactly as I told you, and see what happens."
Piccolo sighed. "For the moment, I don't have any better ideas," he admitted, getting himself comfortable as he closed his eyes and began his carefully paced breathing once more. His acute Namekian hearing slowly, but surely tuned out what few sounds he could pick up, until only the sound of his heartbeat remained, steady and strong. Focusing on what he could sense about the flow of his own ki, after a moment he began to notice something: a slight rise and fall in his own power level which coincided with the beating of his heart. Under ordinary circumstances, particularly in the dim of a pitched battle, he would never have noticed it, even with his exceptional hearing. At that moment, an idea soon struck him.
"Goku described the Kaio-ken as being a boost of power which lasted for a heartbeat. I wonder..."
After about ten seconds of carefully monitoring this slight variation in his power, Piccolo decided to try something. Drawing on his experience with Max Power and adjusting his power level, Piccolo allowed his ki to flare up when he hoped was the instant it rose above its resting power level. Frustratingly, he overshot slightly, causing his power level to rise, but no more than slightly below his maximum power under normal conditions. A second attempt not long after led to a similar result, his ki flaring up too early to accomplish what he wished. With a frustrated snarl, Piccolo tried one more time, and for a brief instant, he felt his entire aura change. He wasn't any stronger than his base maximum, but for some reason, his ki felt more defined, alert, and, quite simply, stronger. Like his body had been on the precipice of pushing beyond what it should be capable of, hinting at powers much greater than Piccolo could imagine. The next instant, this feeling faded, and his aura returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Opening his eyes with a start, Piccolo quickly got up off of the floor, exhilarated. He looked around the chamber for a moment, disoriented, before taking a deep breath to steady himself.
"...Alright," Piccolo began, trying to think things through like he always did. "That...that was a start. But now...now I must see if I can hold on to that power."
Wasting no time, Piccolo tuned everything out once more, not even bothering to sit back down, and in a matter of seconds, Piccolo managed to replicate his feat from earlier. With his eyes open, Piccolo could now clearly perceive the reddish tint in the aura which surrounded his body, a cosmetic difference that he had become accustomed to. He grinned. This was it.
Not allowing himself to be distracted by these new sensations, Piccolo moved to retain his focus on his heartbeat, now slightly faster. Piccolo felt the power fade as he failed to adjust to this new rhythm, but he was more determined than ever now. He caught hold of the slight rise in ki once more, managing to adjust to the new rhythm and maintain his focus during the next heartbeat. He seized upon the heartbeat after that, and the heartbeat after that, until he had maintained the heightened level of power for exactly thirty seconds. At that point, there was only one thing left to do.
"Kaio-ken...times TWO!" Piccolo cried out as he located the rise in his ki, sharper and more pronounced now that he had entered into this enhanced state, and powered up in tandem with it once more. As he had hoped, he could feel his ki reach heights he had only before reached through Max Power, capping out at exactly twice the amount it had been previously. He moved rapidly throughout the area, jabbing the air with swift strikes from his legs and feet in order to test out this newfound power. After about fifteen seconds of this, Piccolo let out a satisfied laugh, allowing the power to slip away as he stood triumphantly with his fists clenched and his arms outstretched.
He had learned the Kaio-ken.
Kami laughed a little in Piccolo's mind, his approval evident. "Well, I'll be. I must admit, I wasn't entirely sure that would work."
"Nor was I," Piccolo replied, still caught up in the rush of it all. He was already considering what to do next.
"Well, I'm sure that Tien will be eager to learn of this immediately. Why don't you join him and the others back at the house?"
Piccolo grinned. "Not yet," he said simply. "First...I must see how much further I have to go."
Kami murmured slightly, a part of him worried about Piccolo's plan of action, but Piccolo ignored him, already readying himself to use the Kaio-ken once more.
"Let us see...based on my previous attempts, adjusting to each shift in rhythm at just the right moment should allow me to..." He activated the Kaio-ken before almost immediately powering up even further into Kaio-ken Times Two, smirking as he did so. As the new rhythm of ki was simply twice as fast as the previous one, it only took him a couple seconds to seize on the right moment and enter Kaio-ken Times Three, falling back out of it once he confirmed the pattern he needed to follow. He chuckled to himself, immensely pleased with the progress he was making as he absentmindedly wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.
"You are feeling well, correct?" Kami asked, his worry evidently not having gone away just yet. Piccolo brushed him off.
"I'm feeling fine, old man," he snapped in annoyance. "I haven't felt this well in weeks!"
"Still, it is important to pace yourself when attempting a technique you have only recently learned-"
"Kaio-ken Times Four!" Piccolo interrupted, riding the rise of ki from one rhythm to the next in just over a second as his power grew even further. Paying no mind to the sweat developing on his body, Piccolo was already on the way to the next stage. "Kaio-Ken Times Five!" he cried out, growing stronger still. He had crossed an important milestone: as he was now, Goku was only one hundred times stronger than him.
"Piccolo, you mustn't push yourself too hard! Remember what Dende told you!"
"Calm yourself!" Piccolo retorted, his tone slightly harsher than he had originally intended, almost as if it had taken extra effort to get out the words. "I just want to see if I can make it beyond his base power. Then, I'll stop. Simple as that." Piccolo felt his veins tense up slightly, but brushed it aside. He could do this.
"Piccolo, I'm not sure it's wise to-!"
"Enough! Goku could do it when he was barely a third as strong as I am now! If he can do it, so can I!" Piccolo believed it. He had to. What other option was there?
"Piccolo-!"
"Kaio-ken...Times Ten!" he cried out, his aura flaring to life as Piccolo powered up rapidly from one level of the Kaio-ken to the next, with a level of skill that would suggest he had been practicing the technique for hours instead of minutes. The reddish tint around his aura grew even more pronounced, to the point where the red had overshadowed its original white-ish color, casting Piccolo's body in a darkened green shade. For one brief moment, Piccolo was stronger than Goku's base form. It had seemed like an unimaginable leap in power back on Namek, but now, Piccolo had reached it. And if he could reach that...he could do anything.
The next moment, everything hurt.
As his veins bulged out all over his body and sweat began pouring from everywhere it could, Piccolo dropped out of the Kaio-ken Times Ten with a cry of agony, his ki falling all the way back down to the normal range of his base form as he fell to his knees. With growing apprehension, Piccolo became aware of a moderate, nagging pain which could be felt all over his body, like he had exhausted himself running laps. Piccolo took a series of haggard breaths, trying to regain his composure and process what this new information meant before the chamber door suddenly opened and bathed the area in the light of the waning afternoon.
"Piccolo!" Tien called out. "Piccolo, what's going-?!" He paused as he looked at Piccolo hunched over on the ground, veins still bulging as he tried desperately to breathe regularly. In no time, Tien was at his side, paying closer attention to the flow of his energy. He thought he heard Piccolo mutter something, and leaned down slightly in order to hear him better.
"I did it," Piccolo said, his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. Tien's eyes widened.
"The Kaio-ken...that would certainly explain it. But...that power-"
"Was as strong...as Goku is in his base form," Piccolo confirmed. "Stronger, even."
Tien simply nodded in response before he saw fit to voice his concerns. "But what I sensed...your ki was so erratic, it...for a second, it felt like you were dying."
Piccolo chuckled, but there was no humor in his voice. "Yes...yes. I believe I was. Dying...just to match a fraction of Goku's strength."
Piccolo looked down at the ground, a complicated mix of emotions swirling around in his head. Tien merely looked at him for a moment, unsure what to say. He held out his hand in front of Piccolo, catching the Namekian warrior's attention.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get you inside. You should probably rest for a while, and...well, I wasn't the only one worried about you."
Piccolo looked up at Tien for a moment, his pride demanding that he refuse Tien's offer. He didn't need this human's pity. He needed to get back to work, to try and overcome this new limitation. This was nothing more than an unexpected setback. He could still accomplish what he had set out to do, without Tien coddling him.
And yet...the more he heard himself say these things, the more he struggled to believe that any of it was true. That his goal of surpassing Goku was nothing more than an arrogant fantasy at this point. After all...Tien had that same goal, had he not? How many years had it been since Tien committed himself to it? Nine years, going on ten? Just about as long as Piccolo himself had been alive. About as long as Piccolo had had that same goal. Tien's determination didn't seem to have wavered in all that time. Before, when Piccolo hadn't been presented with such a visceral reminder of the gap between him and his rival, he would have admired Tien's relentless dedication. Now...now it just seemed foolish.
Piccolo grabbed onto Tien's hand, letting his sparring partner pull him up into a standing position before the two walked out of the gravity chamber together. Kami didn't have to say a single word to him to get him to do so.
"Well...it's about damn time."
Salza stood with a hand on his side, gazing up as King Cold's ornate, expensive shuttle came into view miles above where he was standing. Nearby, the rest of the cobbled together squadron of mercenaries, having been preoccupied with sparring, now turned and followed Salza's gaze, registering what it was that had caught his attention.
"Heh. I'll drink to that," Jeice remarked, to which his friend Recoome nodded while Dore and Neiz ignored them both. All Pui Pui could do was watch in wonder, still fascinated by the technology which these offworlders he had come to know possessed.
"How far is this place we've been told to travel?" he asked of Jeice, who simply shrugged.
"Hell, I dunno. Couple months in an Attack Ball, easy."
"And this ship came from there in three days?"
Jeice chuckled lightly at the wonder in Pui Pui's tone. "Yup. That's the kind of high tech shite you can get when you rule most of the universe."
Pui Pui could only nod wordlessly as he watched the shuttle descend, Jeice and Recoome contend to stand by and watch with him. After a moment, however, there was a moderate intrusion.
"You do remember our agreement, yes?" Salza interjected, suddenly appearing close to Jeice before he even realized it. The red-skinned alien couldn't help but gulp nervously as he replied.
"Right," he said promptly. "Once the fireworks are done with, we'll be heading off to Namek, as thanks." He turned around to look Salza right in the eye. "Thanks for giving us the last two wishes on the bloody things, anyway."
Salza nodded. "Good. Do make sure that I don't need to remind you of it a second time, my dear Jeice."
Jeice forced himself into a smile. After working for men like King Cold and Frieza long enough, it was as instinctive as breathing. "Certainly, Sal." Salza immediately grimaced at that, making Jeice's smile significantly more genuine. "Now, how's about you do the honors so we can get off this bloody rock?"
Salza forced himself to smile as well. "I intend to," he said with faux politeness, flying off to where King Cold's shuttle seemed likely to land. Seeing their leader depart, Dore and Neiz quickly followed suit at a similar speed, landing 5 feet behind Salza. Once he was sure Salza and his men weren't in earshot, Jeice allowed himself to mutter what he was truly thinking.
"Wish I could leave you on it, you rat bastard," he said before he felt a strong hand on his shoulder. Jeice looked up into Recoome's eyes. He knew.
"Come on. We should all be there when that sand-devil arrives, huh?" Recoome said calmly, causing Jeice to chuckle.
"Well said, mate. Come on, then, Pui! It's time to meet the least honest person in the whole damn universe."
Pui Pui's eyes narrowed slightly at that, but he followed the two mercenaries regardless as they took off to join the others.
After another minute, the shuttle had landed, kicking up dust and drowning out any attempt at a conversation the warriors assembled might have made while they waited. After a couple more minutes, a familiar blue-skinned figure stepped out, curiously accompanied by a second, identical figure.
"Well. I hope that the wait was at least productive?" The two Jambas began simultaneously, causing a collective eye-roll among everyone assembled except for Pui Pui, who simply stood there confused, yet intrigued.
"Strange. I seem to remember being told of one person taking us to your master, not two. And twins, no less. A rather curious coincidence."
Jamba chuckled as Jeice turned to Pui Pui in order to clarify things.
"They ain't twins, Pui. Jamba has this weird shite where he can clone himself. It's bloody creepy sometimes."
"A pleasure to see you again as well, Jeice, although I do wish it were under better circumstances. And perhaps with...additional company."
Jeice and Recoome both looked at Jamba with a look of quiet fury, as if they were contemplating how in trouble they'd get for splattering both copies' brains against the hull of the shuttle.
"He'd be more upset about redoing the paint," Recoome muttered, causing Jeice to start in surprise for a second before nodding. Years of serving together had left them and the other Ginyu Force members a startling ability to tell what the others were thinking. Jamba, having heard the remark, simply deepened his diplomatic smile.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked sweetly, causing Jeice to scoff in annoyance.
"Just get ready to take off, triclops," he remarked. "I wanna get this whole bloody mess over with." With that, he brushed past the pilot and his copy with Recoome close behind him, having to duck under the shuttle door. Jamba simply smiled his usual smile, the smile that those who knew him always found difficult to read.
"Ah, yes. Don't we all?" he asked, maintaining that same sweet tone. Salza would admit without shame that he found it unsettling, a fact clearly communicated by his face at that moment. Nevertheless, he quickly adjusted.
"Although I must apologize for my dear Jeice's rudeness, I must admit, he and I do have similar sentiments on this matter," Salza said candidly. "I assure you, if I am not presented with my master soon, the consequences upon you and your fellows will be...severe." With most people, Salza's ultimatum would've been extremely threatening, but Jamba simply kept up the same expression.
"Oh, I'm sure," Jamba said, placating the mercenary. "You don't have much to worry about. Cooler is already en route to our destination as we speak. He should arrive within one month."
Salza looked into Jamba's eyes for a moment before nodding. "A month," he repeated. "Do make sure that he arrives not a minute later than what you claim." He brushed past Jamba and entered the shuttle, Dore and Neiz following close behind. Before Neiz could get into the shuttle, however, he was stopped by Pui Pui, who placed himself in front of the entrance after catching Jamba's attention.
"Why do you require a copy at the moment?" he asked bluntly, which Jamba received with his usual calm demeanor.
"Well, to tell the truth, I was hoping that I might leave a copy on this planet for...safekeeping. I have a handful scattered about on worlds like this for that very reason. I'm sure you understand the advantages such a practice has when it comes to my own survival."
Pui Pui nodded calmly. "Of course," he said, right before charging up a concussive ki blast and firing it at the copy of Jamba slightly further back than the other. The sheer power behind the impact broke bones throughout the copy's body as the wave of ki sent him flying over the rough desert ground. Left with no time to react, the remaining copy of Jamba, as well as Neiz and Dore, stood watching Pui Pui with apprehension, wondering what had provoked such an extreme response.
"The conquest of my planet will begin when I have had time to know your master," Pui Pui stated simply. "Not before," he finished, in a tone which brooked no argument. Neiz and Dore continued to look at him, unsure what to do, while Jamba did his best to swallow his pride.
"...Of course," he said, a part of him smarting from his copy's brief flashes of pain prior to death. "Now, shall we depart?"
Pui Pui looked at Jamba for a moment before nodding. "Yes," he said, gesturing for Jamba to move past him and start up the ship. Jamba obliged, entering the shuttle along with Dore. Satisfied that he had gotten his message across, Pui Pui moved to join them, but noticed that Neiz was still looking somewhat surprised. He decided to be direct. "Is there a problem...?" he began before he stumbled on the tall alien's name. "Uh...Nayz?
Neiz's surprise and slight degree of fear faded away instantly, replaced by a growing irritation.
"Nei? Neiche? Agh, I feel like I should know it by now...is it Niez-?"
Neiz interrupted Pui Pui's rambling with an animalistic roar of annoyance, a harsh sound which made sense for a reptilian humanoid such as himself to make. Nevertheless, this time it was Pui Pui who had been caught off guard. He had expected a lot of things if and when the tall alien finally spoke. That...was not one of them.
Neiz angrily brushed past the outsider, his teeth pushing against each other before he growled something under his breath which Pui Pui definitely couldn't understand even if he wanted to.
"I, uh..." Pui Pui began, to which Salza decided to chime in from inside the shuttle.
"His name is Neiz, good sir," Salza explained. Pui Pui could only say the first thing which came to mind.
"Ah. I, uh...I stand corrected. Is that what he was saying just now?"
Salza chuckled. "No, that just means he doesn't like you."
Pui Pui nodded again, admittedly a little worried. Neiz was stronger than him, after all.
"I see," he said, before finally stepping inside awkwardly, making sure to take a seat as far away from the reptilian warrior as possible.
"What on Earth happened?"
In no time, Tien had led Piccolo from the Gravity Chamber to the couch in the Son family living room. The Namekian warrior was unable to provide much resistance as Chi Chi moved to drape a blanket over his body, which still trembled slightly on occasion. Blue Launch was busy in the kitchen preparing some cold water for him, while Chiaotzu and Gohan hovered nearby, not quite sure what to do. Tien spoke up immediately in response to Chi Chi's inquiry.
"He attempted the Kaio-ken," Tien said simply. "This is the result."
"Good lord," Chi Chi muttered as she placed a hand to Piccolo's forehead. "Goku told me that it wrecked a person's body, but...Piccolo, you're burning up. I think you have a fever. I-I didn't even know you could get those!"
Piccolo let out a couple weak breaths. "Yes, this is quite the-nnng!-new experience...for everybody," he said dryly, seized by a wave of trembling.
"Don't worry, Piccolo, I've got a nice big pitcher of water right here for-OH MY STARS!"
As Launch walked towards Piccolo, pitcher in hand, she and everyone else in the room were surprised to see Dende instantly teleport into the house, appearing at chest level directly in Launch's path before dropping to the ground. In her shock, Launch accidentally spilled the pitcher, sending its contents hurtling towards the young Namekian and soaking him thoroughly. Dende blinked a couple times as Launch put a hand to her mouth in embarrassment.
"Sorry," she said anxiously, to which Dende responded by instantly drying himself and his clothing with a kiai powerful enough to evaporate the water.
"It's fine. I obviously still have much to learn about the art of Instantaneous Movement." The others simply looked at him in awe. He had told them about accepting the position of Guardian the day after he had done so, but he had neglected to mention that part of the job training for that position entailed learning how to teleport to anywhere on the planet. He swiftly flew to Piccolo's side, examining him. "Now, what's his situation?"
Tien was quick to regain his composure. "He succeeded in pulling off the Kaio-ken, but suffered some...unanticipated side effects."
"He has a temperature," Chi Chi added. "Launch had been about to give him some cold water when you, uh, came in."
Dende nodded. "Got it," he said before he placed his hands onto Piccolo's chest, causing Piccolo's entire body to glow a faint yellow light as Dende repaired the damage as best he could. After a moment, Piccolo's breathing became more regular, and he had enough strength to lift up his arm and touch his hand to his forehead, groaning as he did so.
"I still have this bothersome headache," he complained, to which Dende nodded.
"Yes, I couldn't do anything about the fever-like symptoms, unfortunately. You're going to have to take it easy for a few days."
To Dende's surprise, Piccolo simply sighed. "Very well," he said, offering little in the way of argument.
Tien raised an eyebrow. "Just like that? No protest, no 'I will not be coddled, puny weakling?'" he asked, putting on his best impression of Piccolo's voice. Everyone but Dende laughed to varying degrees, while Piccolo growled in annoyance and slight embarrassment.
"Your sense of humor still needs work," he said irritably.
"Speak for yourself, man, that was hilarious," Chiaotzu remarked with a chuckle. Meanwhile, as Dende and Gohan looked over Piccolo more closely, both of them were left puzzled.
"I don't get it, though-how did this happen?" Gohan asked. "From what I was sensing, you couldn't have gone above ten times your power level. Dad could handle going even higher than that when he was, like, half your strength."
Piccolo grumbled. "Don't remind me."
"Well, Piccolo seemed to take to Max Power more easily than me and the others did largely due to physiological differences," Tien remarked. "Perhaps a similar cause is at work here?"
"Yes, I believe you're right," Dende said, putting a hand to his chin as he thought the situation over. "And I think I have an idea of the cause." The group turned to look at him, their curiosity piqued. "You're all familiar with the Namekian ability to regenerate, correct?"
Chiaotzu nodded. "Very much so," he said, recalling the injuries he'd observed Piccolo sustaining during the fight with the Saiyans.
"This regeneration doesn't just pertain to extreme damage, like missing organs or limbs," Dende explained. "Our bodies are constantly burning minute amounts of ki in order to make sure that we remain in the best shape we can be."
Gohan and Tien's eyes both widened as they began to connect the dots. "So, whenever the Kaio-ken was damaging Mr. Piccolo's body-"
"-his body was burning through his energy reserves in order to counteract the damage-"
"-resulting in the Kaio-ken Times Ten rapidly becoming too much for me to handle," Piccolo finished with resignation, disappointed in himself.
Dende nodded somberly. "Starting fresh, based on the damage your body sustained, I'd give you ten, maybe twenty seconds with the Kaio-ken Times Ten before you collapsed from exhaustion. Growing stronger would likely improve this estimate, but only by so much. I'm not certain how much more you could push the technique beyond that point."
"Hm...trying to combine the Kaio-ken and Max Power to push past that limitation would probably turn out even worse for you, I'd wager," Tien added as he contemplated the problem.
Piccolo grumbled in frustration. "Meaning I would need to become five times stronger than Goku is now just to match his power. And even that would only be possible for a brief duration."
Something changed in Tien's expression upon hearing the resignation in Piccolo's tone, something which only Chiaotzu and Launch were able to notice, given how well they both knew him. "Well. In that case, the two of us will simply have to work even harder. Nobody said that even getting close to Goku's strength would be easy, after all."
Piccolo seemed distant, lost in thought, when he finally replied after a moment of tense silence. "Yes. Yes, of course," he said, only part of him listening to what Tien was saying. For a moment, everyone around him was silent, not knowing quite what to say. They'd never seen Piccolo look so...despondent before. Even Kami remained quiet within his mind, unable to think of any way to comfort Piccolo at the moment. Eventually, Dende awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Well, if there isn't anything else you all need from me, I should probably head back to the Lookout. Let me know if his condition worsens." With that, he instantly teleported out of the room, and the experienced fighters in the room could tell that he'd ended up somewhere very far away and very high up.
"I, uh, I think he missed the Lookout by a good hundred miles," Chiaotzu said, trying to break the tension with an awkward smile. Everyone in the room chuckled slightly, although Piccolo remained silent.
"I should get back to the Gravity Chamber," Tien said, readying himself to depart.
"I'll go ahead and make dinner for everyone!" Launch added, regaining some of her usual enthusiasm. Chiaotzu brightened up at the prospect of more of Blue Launch's cooking.
"I can help you with that!" he said eagerly, floating alongside her. "What were you thinking of making?"
Launch smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but, uh..." As Tien moved to leave the house and fly towards the Gravity Chamber, she leaned closer to Chiaotzu's ear. "I think he needs a buddy in there more than I need an extra hand in the kitchen," she whispered, causing his eyes to widen slightly before he nodded.
"Gotcha," he whispered back before floating off to join Tien. Launch began to move towards the door as well, but stopped as Chi Chi approached her.
"You know, I could help you out in the kitchen, if you'd like," she offered with a smile, causing Launch to smile in return. Before she could respond to Chi Chi's offer, however, Gohan tugged at his mother's leg, catching her attention.
"Um, mom, could we talk for a minute? Alone?" he asked, in a tone which Launch had to admit would have been almost impossible for her to resist. Sneaking a quick glance, she could tell that Chi Chi couldn't quite manage it herself.
"Of course, sweetie," she replied before turning to Launch. "I'll be with you in a moment," she said, to which the blue haired woman nodded, barely able to resist squealing at Gohan's adorableness as she walked out of the room. Wasting no time, Gohan guided Chi Chi into his room, about as far away from Piccolo's finely tuned Namekian hearing as he could get without leaving the house. As he shut the door behind him, Gohan took a deep breath before saying his piece.
"I want to train with them," he said, catching Chi Chi off guard.
"N-now hold on a minute, honey-"
"I know you're worried about Piccolo," Gohan cut in, evidently having thought about his request carefully. "And I know you don't want me to become a fighter like dad. That's fine: I don't want to either." At this, Chi Chi fell silent, more confused than anything.
"Then...why do you want to train?"
Gohan sighed. "I just...with everything that's happened, I'm starting to think maybe I should. Not too seriously, but, like...enough to stay in shape, I guess. Training with them for, I dunno, a few hours every day should help me get a little stronger, at least."
"But why? We're not in danger anymore. Once your father does what he left to do, y-we may never be in danger, for the rest of our lives."
Gohan paused, noticing Chi Chi's slip up before nodding in agreement. "Maybe. We can't know for sure, though. And if we guess wrong..." He left the sentence hanging, knowing he didn't need to finish it. "I just think we need to be ready for it, that's all."
"But why do you feel like you have to be ready for it?" Chi Chi asked, beginning to lose her composure. "Gohan, you're six years old. W-when I was six years old, the biggest concern in my life was whether my father would let me have ice cream or brownies for dessert that night. Also getting ready to marry the perfect husband, and yes, I do know how that sounds!" Having anticipated Gohan's hesitant objection, Chi Chi continued unabated. "Sugary treats and playtime-that's what a six year old should be worried about! Six year olds shouldn't be worried about whether they're strong enough to fight off alien demons or-or planet-breaking mercenaries or genocidal dictators!" Gohan remained silent, giving Chi Chi a moment to take a breath and recenter herself. "Let your father worry about things like this, okay? He's strong, he's...he's an adult, and, for better or worse...I think he was born for this." Chi Chi glowed with a strange kind of love and pride for a moment before continuing. "Soon enough he'll be home, and even if something happens in the future, he'll rise to the occasion and...and take care of it. Just like he always does."
Gohan could hear the uncertainty in his mother's voice. He didn't want to think about the one flaw in her logic, much less point it out to her, but in the end, it'd be foolish not to. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say next.
"Except for the time he didn't," he said simply. Chi Chi's face fell as Gohan continued. "The time when everything he, Piccolo, and I had wasn't enough. The time when he had to sacrifice himself to save us. If we weren't able to bring him back a year later, we would've been left facing the Saiyans on our own. We...we might have lost. We might have lost everything." He paused for a while, thinking back on the battle with the Saiyans before he took another breath. "I don't want to fight, but somebody has to be ready to fill in for dad when he can't protect us. And...it makes the most sense for that person to be me."
"Gohan-"
"I'm strong, mom," Gohan cut in. "After pushing himself to the limit with the Kaio-ken, Mr. Piccolo still couldn't manage half as much power as I can manage right now without doing anything. Tien, Chiaotzu, everyone else training on King Kai's planet...it wouldn't be a contest. Even dad would need to use the Kaio-ken or the Super Saiyan form to win a fight against me." He paused, looking up at Chi Chi with determination. "I'm the best person for the job."
Chi Chi sighed, looking down at her son with concern and resignation written all over her face. "It feels wrong," she said. "You protecting me, and not the other way around."
Gohan chuckled. "In the list of weird stuff about our family, I'd say that barely scrapes the top five. And besides," he said, glancing off towards the closed door, "by training with me, Mr. Piccolo and Tien will get a lot stronger than if they just kept training on their own. Maybe even strong enough to where they could take care of anything that happens, and give dad a challenge at the same time. It's a win-win for everybody."
Chi Chi found herself chuckling as well before falling silent, mulling over what her son wanted her to do. "You're sure you want to do this?" Gohan nodded, causing her to think over it some more before she made her decision. "Alright. You can train with them. But!" she said, cutting Gohan off before he could thank her, "there are going to be some conditions."
Gohan nodded. "Okay. Like what?"
"For starters, you get one-and only one-hour of training with them a day. You've still got schoolwork to focus on, after all, and I don't want you flying off anywhere other than that chamber."
"Okay. What else?"
"When you train with them, they're to understand that under no circumstance are you to train with them under increased gravity. I don't care how much stronger it would make you-your body is still developing, and I will not have it subjected to something like that. Same goes with you learning this 'Kaio-ken' thing: I do not want you hurting yourself over the course of this training. If either of them draw even a single drop of blood, Bulma is going to need to gather the Dragon Balls immediately." Chi Chi stood over Gohan with her hands on her hips, her intimidating aura in full force. "Do you understand me?"
Gohan couldn't help but crack a smile as he looked up at his mother. "Absolutely," he said. "Thanks, mom."
Chi Chi's expression softened. "Of course, sweetie," she said. "I don't like it, but...I can tell that this is important to you, and...well, it's my job to support you in the things that you do. Within reason, of course." She gave her son a small smile. "Now, you go ahead and head over to Launch's house for dinner. I'll be right behind you."
Gohan nodded, beaming at his mother. "Okay!" he said before taking off faster than she could see, rapidly opening the door as he went and causing a gust of wind to brush against her.
"Whoa, slow down there, hon," she called out after him, laughing a little to herself. She walked out of her son's room in generally good spirits, even if there were still some nagging doubts in the back of her mind. As she approached the door, doing her best not to think about them, she heard a somewhat weak noise coming from the couch.
"Heh."
She turned to look at Piccolo, who was regarding her with a tired, yet genuine smile. Unsure how to respond, she turned away and said the first thing she could think of as she opened the door.
"Damn Namekian hearing."
"The Yithfrak-rikgul...is worth...twenty gentlefraks. Electrons...are negatively charged. Bryce Matthews...is turning 33 years old today-"
"Stop."
As Zuno exited his trance for the first time in days, he had no time to catch himself before he fell to the floor of his chambers, hoarsely gasping for water as he lay there on his knees. Jamba looked at the man for a moment, a small voice inside his mind wondering whether he had gone too far before being swiftly stamped out. Zuno deserved this.
"Look at me," Jamba commanded sternly, causing Zuno to flinch. When the large man continued to look down at the ground for several more seconds, Jamba became impatient. "I said...look at me."
Zuno looked up at Jamba with a look of absolute terror on his face, exactly what the schemer had been hoping for.
"My...servants...the herbal treatments..." Zuno attempted to get out, his throat hoarse from days of nonstop screaming without the proper remedies.
"Yes, they tried to administer something to you several times over the last few days. I made a copy with the explicit purpose of putting a stop to that." Jamba chuckled. "Of course, I'm sure you already knew that."
Zuno could only nod, clearly not having the capacity to say much of anything at this point.
"It wasn't hard to guess that whatever chemical they insisted on giving you was designed to help with situations like this. Talking for hours upon hours on end...quite taxing on the vocal cords, as I'm sure you are fully aware."
Zuno nodded again, this time accompanied by a hoarse, pathetic gasp.
"Don't worry, you'll be provided with it again shortly. I just wanted to make sure that my point came across as intended. I trust that being deprived of it was very...instructive for you."
Another nod. A weaker gasp of acknowledgement.
"Good." Jamba took a step towards Zuno, causing the man to flinch again. "So here's what's going to happen. Once you've recovered, our arrangement will proceed much as it did before. You will answer any and all questions I pose to you in exacting detail. You will not speak to me unless it serves that purpose. If you do...I will kill you." After taking a couple seconds to let his words sink in, Jamba smirked. "Is that understood?"
Zuno suddenly jerked up straight. He understood. Of course he did; it was a part of his nature to know everything in the universe. He knew that Jamba was now willing to kill him. He knew that Jamba didn't need to ask him whether or not he understood that fact. And he knew that Jamba only asked him that in order to help punctuate his point. And because he really, really wanted to.
"Yes," he said hoarsely. It was the only thing he could say before he exited the trance once more.
Jamba smiled. "Excellent," he said before turning away, prompting Zuno's servants to enter the hall, carrying a pungent blue root between the four of them. They held the root up to Zuno's mouth and began to squeeze it, causing the root to emit dark blue spores which Zuno greedily inhaled before coughing violently. With each cough, his voice grew stronger, until finally he was able to cough at his usual register. After he finished processing the remedy, he looked back up at Jamba, who had just disappeared beyond the shadow of the massive double doors leading out of the chamber. The oracle took a long, deep breath. From what he now knew, his life was only going to get harder from this point onward.
Okay, another chapter done. And we're past 50k views on this? Holy crap, that's amazing. Thank you all so much.
I don't think I have to tell you that the time between the last chapter and this has been rather hectic. Between that and focusing on a few other projects, I've been incredibly busy this spring break, and as such, I didn't get quite as much done as I had hoped. Still, Chapter 33 is mostly completed, and I know where I want to go to wrap up this story arc, so if all goes according to plan, you guys will still get an unbroken, ten-chapter arc before the next hiatus begins. As far as when that hiatus is going to end, the more I'm thinking about it, the more I really need a break from this fic. I was not nearly as prepared to deliver an unbroken arc as I thought I was, and it's honestly been fairly stressful. As much as I'd rather you guys didn't have to wait so long, you probably won't hear from me much for the rest of the year once this arc is over. I still have a mini-arc planned after this, which I figured I'd finish up and drop towards the end of the year to sate demand and move the plot along, but beyond that, my plans are considerably more loose. I'm just focusing on getting this arc wrapped up first and foremost.
With that said, time for some responses!
mastercheif1229 says:
"Great chapter! 1:59 AM this time! Can't wait for the next one!"
Is this all a game to you? I know I'm pulling a "do as I say, not as I do" thing here, but do as I say, not as I do, dammit! xD
RKF22 says: "EXCELLENT WORK CANT WAIT FOR MORE!" Ooh, all caps this time, huh? We love to see it. ;)
Jokermask18 says:
"Good chapter, but I personally never like it when fics go the "Tien isn't really human" route. It really doesn't make sense when Dragonball's native earthings are composed of things like walking talking animals, werewolves, goblin things, and other things. Krillin doesn't have a nose and yet, no one says he isn't human. Chioutzu is an ageless clown child and no one says much. Why is Tien singled out because of a third eye? Forgive the rant. It had nothing to do with this fic or you, just an observation of a rather irksome aspect of the fandom. I look forward to seeing where you take this."
Yeah, that's entirely fair. I sense that criticism is probably going to be a common one, and I'll admit, it made more sense in the original draft of this arc, where Jamba interacted more with Tien, than it does now. At the same time, though, you do have to admit that there's more that makes Tien stand out than just the eye, particularly the whole "actually growing extra arms" thing, and from what I understand, different official sources could support either interpretation. In the end, what's done is done, and I just really liked the concept behind Jamba's powers and thought they fit well with Tien's existing abilities. I am thinking of some ways in which this connection can be expanded in terms of Tien figuring out more advanced techniques, though, so there is at least one silver lining to this. In summary, I can understand your dislike for it, and I hope that my story's positive aspects continue to outweigh this particular narrative choice.
Amanny says:
"Despite all the horrible things he's done, Jamba just lost everything precious to himself, that I can understand why did all of this. Goku won't be able to beat Cooler and Cold together."
Yeah, when thinking of his backstory I wanted it to at least be sympathetic insofar as "Man, this guy's had a rough life," but, as Zuno pointed out, none of that justifies anything he's done, contrary to his own belief. In that respect, Jamba is also pretty heavily in denial about still having righteous motivations even after all of the horrible things he's done in pursuit of them, which has definitely been fun to write.
guest says:
"Your o.c. has killed the story, especially after making Tien an alien just to accommodate it."
Strictly speaking, Tien didn't have to be revealed as being a distant alien hybrid to make Jamba work as a character. I could easily have redesigned him and allowed the two characters to coexist as is. Making them similar in this way was a separate choice I made, because I believed at the time that it had the potential to lead to a more interesting story. It may still do so; I admittedly haven't meticulously planned out the whole fic all the way to the end of Z, after all. This plot point, like any other in this fic, could go any number of directions in the future.
I should have considered that this particular idea would alienate some readers, given the ongoing debates about it. However, I don't like retconning things unless it ends up really not making logical sense for the story or it turns out to be demonstrably incorrect based on canon materials, and I think there's enough ambiguity there that neither of those things is true as of yet. I'm not an expert, obviously, so if there's something I'm missing which proves that Tien cannot possibly be even partially non-human, I would consider altering the chapter. For now, as I said, what's done is done. If that choice has ruined the story for you, then all I can say is that I'm sorry you no longer enjoy it, and that I'll consider any similar choices in the future much more carefully.
With that done, for the first time in a while, it's a chance for some power levels!
King Cold: No change as of yet-still hanging out at around 100 million, but he's going to keep at the training regimen.
Tien: 4,500, 5625 at Max Power
Piccolo: 470,000(do the math for the various levels of the Kaio-ken, cuz he hits a lot of them here)
Dende: 50, after officially becoming the Guardian and training with Mr. Popo to hone his newfound abilities.
Now, with all that said, thank you all for reading, have yourselves a fantastic night, and take care.