"So how are you guys liking this world so far?" Goku asked, his chin supported by his fists as they sat on the dinner table, their meals long since consumed.
At this point, Chi-Chi had left for the kitchen to clean the plates, Alluka and Gon following along to offer assistance. The boys remained behind continuing to exchange stories of both worlds.
"I have… Mixed opinions." Killua stated, a little unsure. "On one hand, I'm glad that we don't have to worry about being chased by my family. On the other…"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing tiredly.
"After hearing about the type of enemies you fight… Monsters that can destroy galaxies with the flick of a wrist…Just the thought of them existing makes me nervous." He looked down at his hands, sweat dripping from his forehead. An overwhelming sense of powerlessness and dread just at the thought of such a foe.
"Yeah…" Goku laughed a little. "It's a little overwhelming to think about, isn't it?"
"Even if me, Gon, and Alluka are stronger in this world, there's no way we'd be able to take something like that on…" Killua said, doubting himself. "While our Nen might make it possible to develop an ability that could help out, It won't do us any good if the enemy decides to destroy the world before we can get to them. I mean, look at our fight with you! We got ONE hit in and the only thing that came out of that was me having a broken arm. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't even feel it."
"I did feel it, actually." Goku refuted.
Killua looked at him in surprise. "You did..?"
"Yeah. It didn't hurt much but I admit it did sting a little. Honest!" Goku nodded, ruffling his hair. "It's not really fair to compare yourself to those bad guys I fought cause, well yeah they ARE on another level." He admitted. "But I think you're underestimating just how well the three of you did."
Killua turned to Goku, listening closely to the man's words. While he suspected Goku knew that, even at their max potential those villains would still trounce them, he honestly wasn't expecting to have impressed him during their battle.
"For kids as young as you guys, you're already pretty impressive for your age. Especially considering the fact you guys are human. Even if you came from somewhere with a higher gravity." Goku smiled proudly. "Alluka is just getting started, but I can tell she already has a lot of potential. The two of you were really good in the fight! You honestly surpassed my expectations."
Seeing Killua fighting a smirk, Goku continued. "I was really interested in those abilities you showed off! I was wondering if you could teach me how to do them?"
"Oh, uh…" Killua stuttered, trying to find the right way to explain it. " I don't think we can..?"
"Why not? Goten asked, both father and son identically tilting their heads.
"Those techniques were made with conditions." Killua said, before elaborating. "Conditions basically help make nen abilities stronger and more effective, but it also makes them more limited."
"OH! Like how you flew up in the sky for your power." Goten grinned.
"Exactly." Killua nodded. "I got struck by lightning while using another one of my techniques called Godspeed. The orbs I conjured up that let me teleport were just normal rocks that I had to carve a symbol into in order to activate the condition. I also can't last in that form for more than one minute."
"So these 'conditions' are the reason you got that much faster? That explains it!" Goku grinned wildly. "I couldn't land a single hit on you. And I was going nearly full speed in this form you know!"
"This for- oh. Right. You Saiyans have different forms don't you?" Killua grumbled. "So unfair."
"If it makes you feel any better." Goku said. "That form you used kinda looked like a super Saiyan… Well, except it doesn't increase your striking power. Just your speed. Also it was blue."
"Yeah…" Killua nodded. "You said this, 'Super Saiyan' had a gold aura right? And that you turned blonde while in it?"
"Yup!" Goku responded. "Want me to show you guys?"
"Sure!" Killua grinned, rather excited to see this so-called, 'Super Saiyan'. "Let's just wait for the dishes to be done."
Once all of the plates were finished, they all went outside and stood just a few feet from the entrance.
The four children stood facing Goku, the three from an alternate universe having a gleam of excitement in their eyes. Goten watched on fondly. No matter how many times he did it, he always found himself entranced at how cool his father's transformation was.
They watched in amazement as a golden energy whirled around Goku, gently enveloping him before it exploded into a chaotically spiky, yet firmly controlled presence. His hair stood as it quickly went from black to a golden blonde.
The energy coming off it was greater than anything the three of them had felt before both in this world and in their previous one. All of them found themselves with goosebumps, their jaws equally gaping at the sight. Gon and Killua even trembled a little when they sensed the vast power this new form gave off. The Sayain opened his eyes to reveal they had turned teal in color.
"This…" Goku smirked at their reactions. "Is Super Saiyan."
"Whoa…" The three let out simultaneously.
Goten smiled pride fully as he ran to his father's side. "I can do it too!" He said, activating the transformation.
The three of them gaped at the two glowing figures. "The power increase is huge…" Killua blinked. "And you're telling us that there are still two more forms?!"
"Yup!" Goku smiled, clenching his hands tightly. A shockwave emanated from him, causing the three to be pushed back slightly. His bangs stood upward, his ki beginning to emanate light blue electricity.
"This is Super Saiyan 2." Goku explained. "It's a form that can only be reached by someone who's mastered Super Saiyan."
He let his golden ki leave him, returning back to its previous color as his hair fell back down. Opening his eyes, they had returned to their original black appearance.
"That was so cool!" Gon said, pumped. Alluka then stepped forward with a confused frown. "You said there were three in total, didn't you?"
"Yeah!" Killua agreed. "What about Super Saiyan 3?"
"I plan on showing you guys that tomorrow at Dende's." Goku explained, ruffling Goten's hair as he too powered down. "It's harder for me to go into that form, and the power of it alone is pretty strong. If I do it now, the house is gonna get blown away!" Goku chuckled, remembering how Goten and Trunks had to hold on to a pillar for dear life when they had first seen it.
"Is it hard to go into the first two forms too?" Killua inquired. He thought that it might have been and that it was merely masked by how well Goku concentrated. "You didn't seem to put in that much effort into it."
"When I first got them, yeah, it was pretty hard." Goku nodded. "Now that I've trained with it a lot, they're actually pretty easy to get into."
Killua thought for a moment, before asking. "When you went into that Super Saiyan two form, Electricity started covering your body. Does that transformation give you the ability to use lightning based attacks?"
"Oh no." Goku shook his head. "My friend, Bulma, actually explained it to me. She said that the energy at that level was so strong, and influencing my body so much that it supercharged this thing called.. um."
"Plasma, dad." Goten affirmed.
"Oh yeah! Thanks." Goku nodded at his son before returning his gaze back to the three of them. "She said that, because of my energy, the Plasma in the air gets charged up which causes lightning to show." He explained, still not fully getting it himself.
"Ah. alright." Killua nodded. "The way I do it is that I have my aura imitate the properties of electricity. With Godspeed, I use that self made lightning to charge up my electrons into sending signals faster to each of my limbs. That's what makes my movement go faster and since I have to power up my brain as well it also increases my reaction time and… um."
Killua sweat dropped as he saw everyone around him stare in complete confusion. Alluka and Goten were barely following along while Goku and Gon were completely lost.
Killua sighed and decided to try and simplify it even further.
"Basically, I change my aura into electricity and use it to power up my body."
Everyone sheepishly let out a 'oh'.
"Hey you know what?" Goku suddenly piped up. "I know a guy who did something similar once."
"Really? Who?" Gon questioned.
Goku crossed his arms and began telling them what had happened fondly. "It was during the final round of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament… I was up against a man named Jackie Chun. We were at a standstill and because of that, he decided to use his ultimate technique."
He made gestures with his hands, clenching his fingers close to his palms.
"I didn't really get a good look at it, but afterwards a friend of mine named Yamcha told me that he concentrated his Ki inside of himself and that sort of…" He sweated a little, trying his best to explain it. "Well, basically just did the same thing as you."
"Huh…" Killua sighed, putting up a thumb to think. "Maybe there is a way…"
"A way? To what?" Goku asked.
"I won't be able to teach you Raijin. But I could probably teach you Godspeed." Killua grinned. "In exchange, I want you to keep giving us training while we're here."
"Oh sure! That works." Goku agreed.
"Can I learn it too?" Goten asked, pointing to himself.
"Don't see why not." Killua shrugged.
Goku turned to Gon eagerly. "I know you said you used conditions on me, but I really feel like I could learn that technique you showed off! Can you use it on me a couple of times tomorrow? I really wanna get a feel for it."
"Oh, alright." Gon nodded. "Just a warning, it drains my nen a lot more than my usual Ja-Janken. So I won't be able to do it that much."
"Nah that's fine." Goku smiled. "One or two times should be more than enough. Also, I have something you three should know."
"What is it?" Killua asked.
"It's about a surprise I've been cooking up around the time you three got here. I think you're really gonna like it" Goku elaborated, smirking. "A parting gift before we wish you back to your world with the Dragon Balls"
The three of them nodded. "Oh... alright." Killua said, nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Goku."
"We really appreciate it!" Gon said. "Is it okay if we stay in the other house tonight?"
"Sure!"
During the conversation, the sun had gradually gone down. The only thing illuminating their figures was the light coming from within the home. The five of them decided to prepare for bed. Gon turned to Goten while they waited for Killua and Alluka to be done with the bathroom.
"Thanks again for letting Killua rest on your bed." He said, sincerely. "It was really cool of you!"
"Aw… It's no trouble." Goten shyly rubbed his head. "I'm happy to help."
After everyone had finished, the three of them headed back to the small home of Goku's grandfather, One sleeping bag in hand..
They opened the small door and made themselves comfortable. Gon took the sleeping mattress and lied down on the floor, leaving the bed for Killua and Alluka.
The three sat solemnly, all of them thinking deeply about their next move. If there was a way back, with everything taken into consideration, they would absolutely take it…
"Nanika told me something…" Alluka said, her tone down. "They said that, if we want, we can stay here where it's peaceful."
Killua and Gon's heads shot up at her in shock. "What?"
"I told them about what Goku said. That all of the major threats to the world had been defeated according to this 'Supreme Kai' guy he mentioned." She rubbed her arm, looking down guiltily. "They said that… If we wanted, me and Killua could stay here while Gon goes back for Aunt Mito. At least then, we wouldn't have to worry about our family going after us…"
"Absolutely not." Killua immediately rejected. "We're going back to our old world so that Nanika can interact with the outside again."
"Yeah! It just wouldn't be the same if the three of you aren't with me." Gon said. "Besides, if I go back alone, your family's definitely gonna go after me to find out where you two are. That would put me and Aunt Mito in danger."
"Exactly." Killua nodded. "Look. All we have to do is keep training in this world and we'll get stronger before we know it. Also, we can't let ourselves become too accustomed to this place. Remember the gravity difference?"
Alluka nodded in understanding. "Honestly, I know this is selfish, but I was gonna suggest going back anyway. I don't want Nanika to be trapped when they just started growing on their own."
Agreeing on the matter, the three of them go to sleep. Alluka had a frown on her face as she waited for her consciousness to fade away.
The next day, all three of them had gotten up, went over to Chi-Chi's house to have breakfast with the family, before leaving with Goku to Korin's tower.
"So what's this surprise you have Mr. Goku?" Alluka asked, riding along with Goten on the Nimbus.
"I'll tell you when we get to the lookout." Goku said as he smiled in anticipation.
"Trunks finally finished with that project he kept going on about. He said he'd meet up with us in about two or three hours" Goten smiled at them. He turned to Alluka and gave her a thumbs up. "I think you two are gonna get along great!"
"Oh really? I can't wait to meet him!" Alluka cheered, having heard quite a bit about Goten's best friend.
In the distance, a large tower, so tall that the tip could not even be seen as it was blocked by the clouds.
"That's it?" Gon asked, gaping as his eyes stretched upward. "That's…"
"Yeah. It's big." Killua nodded, sweat dropping.
As they approached, the group began to slowly fly upwards, until they were moving completely horizontally along the pole of the tower.
"You know, the first time I came to this area, I didn't know how to fly. So I had to climb all the way up." Goku explained.
"Really?" Alluka looked at him, puzzled. "But, didn't you say that you've had the Nimbus since you were a kid? Why didn't you use it?"
"Korin only trains people who climb the tower by themselves." Goku said. "If I had used that, he probably woulda just kicked me off the tower."
"After that, you fought that assassin, right? What was his name, again? Tao?" Killua asked.
"Yup!" Goku nodded. "Before Korin's training, I couldn't even lay a finger on him outside my Kamehameha. Afterwards though I really let him have it!"
Minutes passed as all of them spoke, until eventually they finally managed to see the tip of the tower, which appeared as nothing more than a small black dot.
They went past the railing and entered through the open area, landing neatly on the white stone surface.
"That took a little longer than I was expecting." Killua shrugged, looking around with Gon and Alluka.
"My ears feel weird…" Alluka said, poking them. "It's almost like when I'm underwater."
"They get like that when you're really high up." Gon said. "Try yawning."
As she did, she spotted a little white cat sitting in front of a jar, a stick held in its right paw.
"Yo Korin! How ya doin?" Goku said, greeting him cheerfully.
"Oh hey Goku." Korin greeted, not turning away. "If you're here for some Senzu beans, I just started making a new batch."
"Actually, I came because I wanted to introduce you to these three. They're my students."
"Oh my gosh, you're so cute!" Alluka squealed, running over to Korin and began petting his head softly. "Hi Korin! I'm Alluka! Good to meet you." She giggled.
"Hi! I'm Gon and this is Killua!" He introduced, walking toward him. Killua raised his hand in a casual greeting.
"Hi Mr. Korin. Where's Yajirobi?" Goten bowed respectfully.
"Hey kid. Fatty decided to take his ride out for a spin." The old cat responded by turning around to properly get a good view of the newcomers. "Hello to you three. So what can I help you with today?"
"We wanted to know where Senzu beans came from." Gon grinned, using his own hand to scratch Korin's chin while Alluka patted his head, making the feline purr in contentment. "Also, who's 'Yajirobi'? Does he live here with you?"
"Unfortunately." Korin confirmed. "Well alright. I guess I don't see the harm in it. It's going to take a few hours so instead I'll just tell you how it usually goes."
They spent the next couple of minutes sitting in front of Korin as the old mentor patiently explained to them the process of making the magical beans, even telling of their history upon the inquiry of the four children.
Goku meanwhile simply sat still and decided to do some light meditation as he waited for Korin to answer all of their eager questions.
"Say Korin, how old are you?" Gon asks.
"Well uh… I'd say somethin like 800 years or so." Korin shrugs, peeking on the jar once more.
"Wow! Really?!" Alluka gasped.
"You look pretty young for a century old cat. Some kind of spell keeping you alive?" Killua asked.
"Nah I just come from a race of immortal cats. We don't die unless we either have kids or if we're manually killed."
"Wow… Wait, why do you live here all by yourself then?" Alluka asked.
"Cause society's a pain in the tush, sweetheart."
The four laughed a little at that, Korin meanwhile looked smug at the statement.
"OH! I can't believe I never thought of asking this before but, from your point of view. Why do dogs and cats fight so much?" Alluka asked.
"Ah. That's a good question." Korin sniffed. "Well aside from us being completely different types of animals, making it instinctual for us to not get along, Dogs are just way too needy and affectionate."
"...Is that a bad thing?" Alluka asked, tilting her head.
"Let me put it to you this way…" Korin said, turning to face her directly. "If some guy walked up to you and started sniffing and getting all up in your business, would you like it?"
"...Um…" Alluka said, her face cringing at the mental image she received from that.
"Exactly." Korin nodded to himself.
Killua turned to Alluka, looking a bit disturbed, and whispered. "(If anyone ever does try to do that to you, break their nose. Got it?)"
Alluka nodded vehemently, suddenly feeling creeped out.
"I'll bet it doesn't help that your instincts provoke the two of you to try and establish dominance. I imagine it would feel like a sort of competitive edge, right?" Gon nodded.
"Yeah." Korin sniffed. "Like when you're competing and you see someone do better than you. Or how people see a strong opponent and wanna beat them up or bully them to make themselves feel better. "
The group continued to talk a little more before eventually deciding to head up to the lookout.
"Thanks for having us!" Goten waved before blasting off.
"Bye, Mr. Korin!" Alluka cheered as she settled on her brother's back and they both took off. Killua had offered to carry her up after hearing that the flying Nimbus couldn't make it up to Dende's lookout.
After everyone said their farewells, they began making their way up past the clouds until they saw a floating platform.
Finally reaching it, Alluka took in deep breaths due to how low the oxygen was, Goten and Killua patting her back soothingly.
"Deep breaths. Remember, sis." Killua reminded her.
"Right…" Alluka gasped. "How come you and Gon don't have any trouble up this high?"
"Part of my training back on the manner included being able to hold my breath for a long period of time in case of emergencies. When Gon and I met, we kept having competitions to see who could hold it the longest. You know, right? You've seen us do it."
"I was really close to beating him last time!" Gon cried out. " I lost at the very end though…"
"YO! Mr. Popo, Dende, you guys here?"
"Yes, Yes. We are coming. Please be patient!"" A voice rang out from inside the temple.
Mr. Popo, following closely behind Dende, wore smiles at seeing their companions.
"Goku, Goten. So good to have you with us." Dende nodded pleasantly. "And I'm guessing you three are his new students?"
"You know about us?" Killua asked.
"Piccolo told me about you, shortly after he finished his first training session with Gon." He turned his head at the spiked black and green haired boy. "That is your name, right?"
"Yup! These two are Killua and Alluka.' Gon chirped, shaking the Namekians hand. "Nice to meet you, Dende! Mr. Popo!"
"Likewise." Dende smiled, greeting all three of them. "So what brings you to the lookout? Anything I can help with?"
"I wanted to introduce them to you." Goku said. "They were really excited to hear about the Dragon Balls. So I thought It'd be cool if I introduced them to their maker."
"We were hoping you could tell us more about them." Killua clarified. "Like, what wishes can't it grant?"
"There are only a few wishes that the dragon can't grant." Dende began explaining. "One of them is being unable to revive someone who died due to natural causes."
"Really? Why?" Alluka questioned.
"People are given a life span so that the planet they reside in isn't overpopulated. It also works so that when someone has a particularly strong will to live, unfinished business, or both, that soul can reincarnate. That way a new soul doesn't have to be created." Dende explained dutifully.
"So if someone got really sick and died, they wouldn't be able to come back?" Gon inquired.
"Sadly, that's correct. The only way to bring someone back is if they were killed by some other person..." Dende elaborated. "But you can use one of the wishes to remove the illness from someone's body."
"Can you use a wish to kill someone?" Killua asked. Surely if this dragon had the power to give back life, it could also take it.
"Only if the person you want dead isn't stronger than the creator of the Dragon." Dende said, bashfully scratching his cheek. "Which is good, since I'm not very strong…"
"Has anyone ever tried using it for that before?" Gon inquired, making Dende shake his head.
"Not that I know of." He turned to Goku. "What about you Goku? Do you know anyone who's wished for someone to die?"
Goku pondered, putting his thumb underneath his chin in contemplation. "I think Bulma told me once that they tried to wish Vegeta and that other Saiyan dead, but since they were stronger than Kami, they couldn't."
"Well… good thing that didn't happen. I guess." Dende chuckled.
"By the way…" Killua began turning to Goku. "Didn't you say you had some sort of surprise that you wanted to tell us about?"
"Huh? Oh! Oh yeah." Goku's eyes widened in recollection. "I decided that it'd be fun if all of our friends had a tournament."
"A tournament? Like, for fighting?" Gon asked, his attention caught almost immediately.
"Yup! The winner of the tournament gets a wish from Shenron!" Goku said, holding up his fingers. "Originally, I was gonna give the second and third wish to second and third place, but considering everything, you guys can have the last wish to go back home. Think of it like… a going away party."
"Really? You'd be okay with that?" Gon grinned.
"Sure! It's no big deal." Goku shrugged.
"Wait, how would you get third place in a bracket tournament? Wouldn't it just be first and second who make it to the final round?" Killua questioned.
"Ah, Hercule told me that we could have had one last match between the losers of the semi final rounds." Goku recalled.
"Oh, okay. And the winner of that match would be third place, right?" Killua clarified.
Goku nodded. "Yup. That's it."
"That sounds like fun. I'll be sure to observe it from here." Dende pondered. "Don't you agree Mr. Popo?"
"Oh indeed." Mr. Popo slapped his hands together excitedly. "It has been quite some time since there has been some form of healthy competition."
As they continued to chat, an energy signature suddenly made itself present. Everyone turned to see a blur fly up past the look out before landing slowly on the floor.
"Yo, Goten! These are the friends you were talking about?"
"Hi Trunks!" Goten grinned, running over to his friend and giving him a fist bump. "C'mon! I'll introduce you to them."
The two jogged over to where the rest of the group was, Killua and Gon stepping in closer to get a good look at the newcomer.
"Hey Trunks!" Goku raised his hand in greeting.
"Hello Trunks!" Dende said his own greeting, Popo nodding along.
"Hey guys! Long time no see." Trunks grinned.
"I will go get some refreshments." Mr. Popo said, running off back into the temple.
Goten pulled Alluka by her sleeve, dragging her in front of Trunks. Gon and Killua followed them slowly.
"This is Alluka, her brother Killua, and Gon!" Goten said, pointing to each of them respectively after saying their names.
"Nice to meet you, Trunks!" Alluka grinned at him, offering a handshake which he took. "Goten told me a lot about you."
"Yeah. Good to meet you." Trunks smiled, nodding at her before turning to the other two behind her. "Goten told me a bit about you guys over the phone. Sorry I couldn't come over to hang. Had this BIG project mom wanted me to finish." He said, tiredly. "So you guys have been staying over at his place?"
"Just him and her." Gon informed as he shook his hand. "I stayed with Gohan."
"Really? Was he training you?"
"Yeah. Him, Videl and Piccolo really helped me out for our match against Goku!" Gon nodded excitedly.
"The three of you fought Goku?" His eyes widened. "Jeez, looks like I missed out on a lot. Goten! Can you tell me what you guys have been up to? All mom and dad told me was that Goku was holding some big private tournament for everyone."
"Oh yeah, sure." Goten nodded. "But before we do that, I think you promised to show us something, didn't you dad?"
"I sure did." Goku grinned excitedly. "All right guys in that case hold on to something."
"Oh? What are you going to show them?" Dende's eyes widened.
"Wait, hold up." Trunks held up his hand. "Are you gonna show us Super Saiyan 3?!"
It was the most obvious conclusion Trunks could come to. After all, it was hard to forget how he and Goten had held on to the lookout for dear life while Goku grew out his hair in the most dramatic way possible. Easily the most awesome transformation he'd ever witnessed.
Although he was a bit put off by his loss of eyebrows…
"Everyone ready?" Goku called out, standing in the middle of the platform. Everyone else stood near or somewhere inside the temple looking from a window.
"Let'er rip, Goku!" Trunks cried out excitedly.
"Do it, dad!"
"I hope none of the trees get blown away…" Dende grimaced.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the children gushing at how cool it looked, Minus the loss of eyebrows, as well as filling Trunks in on what had been going on the past few weeks.
The Trees, thankfully, did not get blown away.
A/N
Deadass I had to restrain myself really, REALLY hard to not include Abridged Popo in this fic lol.
Hope you guys liked it! Have a good day and I'll see you next time!