Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! There will be some gift giving in this chapter. :)
AnonymousDBZFan - always abject delight when I read your reviews. :D I wish I could use emoticons on FF, because words fail. I am so glad I could deliver on a kick-ass transformation that was both inspirational and scary. I adore your comments and I'm so glad to have you as a reader. Action is such a challenge to convey through writing, but your enthusiasm tells me I'm doing something right. Thank you so much!
The battle in the healing lake of water ended up as a last minute change, and it's because I continually look to source material for inspiration. From the very beginning of writing this fic, 3 stories were on my mind, all of Slavic origin: Dobrynya and Marinka, Dazbog and Morena, and Dobrynya and Zmey Gorynych. At the beginning of the last story, Dobrynya is bathing in a river when he's caught with his pants around his ankles by a three headed dragon. He defeats it (with a hat no less) and spares its life on the condition that it doesn't terrorize the kingdom or go kidnapping princesses. The dragon agrees, but it breaks its promise and Dobrynya slays it. Anyway, this part of the story inspired me to work it into the final battle.
I LOVE hearing your feedback on Touketsu Vegeta's relationship with Bra. Way back in "Touketsu", I drew a brief parallel between Touketsu and Piccolo while they had a conversation outside the CC hangar. I expounded upon the parallel by using Piccolo and Gohan's relationship as a template for Touketsu's and Bra's. They both end up training and looking after these pain-in-the-butts, and they both end up falling for them. They're paternal, but they're not quite like parents. More like grumpy uncles, lol.
Thank you so, so much for your devoted readership and your heartfelt comments, AnonymousDBZFan! I thrive off them, and I'm incredibly happy that I've been giving you a story that you truly enjoy! Two more chapters after this. :) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!
Phoenix from the Flames
Touketsu sat with Bra, his shaggy, mud-covered arms wrapped around her. Something occurred to him as she wept: She thinks her father is dead. "Bra. Your father's alright. Look, that…" He sighed. "That wasn't him you saw. It was me." She sniffed, and he looked away when she leaned back. "Bra, I was going to tell you. That water changes my appearance. I just wanted to give you a goddamn minute, but then that fucking reptile showed up!"
"I knew it was you."
He looked at her, dumbfounded. "You knew?" His expression darkened. "You knew?! Why the hell did you come back, fool girl!? I told you to leave!"
"And I told you I wouldn't let you die, stupid!" His angry countenance tempered, and her face softened. "You were telling the truth in that graveyard. You're Vegeta, but you're not my daddy."
He rubbed his face. How was he going to explain this to her? "Bra-"
"You're Trunks's daddy. His other one." He looked at her in shock. "You said you traveled back in time to save Daddy, and you said you missed Mama and Trunks. They're your family. You're an alternate version of my daddy, one that got turned into a monster before I was born."
"Bra…how…what-"
"Mama's been teaching me about parallel realities and quantum gravity theory."
He blinked. "…Oh." Perhaps Bra's talents leaned closer to science.
"What did you save Daddy from?" Bra asked quietly.
He dropped his eyes. "From becoming this. If he had, he would have lost everything. His memories, his family, his access to the Life Force." He looked away uncomfortably. "You're right, Bra. I can't use ki. Not true ki, anyway. Without it, I can't even fly now. I can only use my power to destroy."
She studied him, her face curious and a little sad. "Why did the water change you back?"
He shrugged a shoulder. "Its nature is purifying. Complete submersion shows the ideal self, the true self, but it's an illusion. It disappears as soon as I dry off."
Her brows pinched in bewilderment. "Why didn't it change me?"
Touketsu looked at her fondly. "Guess you're already ideal."
Bra smiled a little, but it faded. "How did this happen to you?"
His eyes dulled. "I made mistakes." Bra's brow furrowed, and she dropped her eyes. "Enough of this. Let's get moving," he said gruffly as he made to get up. He stopped when he saw something glinting on the ground near him. Sighing in resignation, he leaned over and picked it up.
It was a single piece of his shattered armor. The small fragment was of the upper left chest plate, a couple gold shoulder links still attached. His hand closed around the shard. It wasn't that he didn't want the armor when he threw it in Nav's ocean, it was that he did. He wanted it all back. His grip tightened around the jagged piece until it punctured his palm.
"I was never meant to keep them."
His grip relaxed as he recalled his words to the Supreme Kai. No, he wasn't. He was meant to serve, as the Lord of Lords told him. His purpose was to serve them: his family, his descendants, his people. His hand opened, and he let the piece fall to the ground. The armor had served its purpose. He'd do the same.
Unbeknownst to him, Bra had been silently watching. "Get the doll out," he said brusquely as he shifted her off him and stood. His back to her, he wiped some of the bloody mud off his body. "Hold it light side out and start sweeping. Be on the lookout for warm areas."
Bra looked sadly at the shard lying on the ground, the bit of blood on it glistening under Toska's waning crescent moon. On a whim she bent down and picked it up before slipping it into her pocket. A wave of dizziness struck her.
"Bra. The doll," he said impatiently as he turned around. He saw her collapse to her knees. "Bra!" He rushed over and gathered her in his arms. "Bra, what's wrong?"
"Just…tired," she breathed out, her eyes drooping.
Oh no. She'd just gone Super Saiyan. He couldn't recall his experience making the transformation, but he imagined it was a physically taxing one. She couldn't afford to drain herself! He looked out to where the vast lake of life-giving water had once been. Then he remembered.
"Bra, sweetheart," he coaxed, not knowing where the term of endearment came from and ignorant that it was something Bulma would call him. "Is that skull with the water anywhere? Did you bring it with you?"
"Mmhm," she murmured sleepily.
"Where is it?"
She made to get up when his arms tightened around her. "No. Conserve your energy, just tell me."
"In a tree," she mumbled. "Tied my…belt on it."
He looked at her robe, and sure enough the belt was missing. "Can you show me the direction, Bra? Bra?" He cursed softly when he saw she'd fallen asleep.
For all he knew this random tree had been destroyed in the battle. Lifting her up, he turned around and saw the edges of a forest in the distance. He raced towards it with the wild hope that it was somewhere there. That hope began to flag as he sped past flattened timber, the forest leveled by the blast generated from Zeygorn's transformation.
He stopped when he reached the surviving trees. "This is fucking hopeless," he panted as he scanned the forest edge, the wind gently rustling through his hair. Then he got a whiff of something. It smelled a bit like…He put his nose to Bra's fleecy robe - Bra and a faint whiff of fabric softener. He raised his head and sniffed again. A match?
He followed the scent into the forest, head craned back as he searched the trees. His eyes widened. Tied to a branch and waving like a red flag, was Bra's belt. "Smart girl," he breathed as he strode over to the old tree. He spotted a pale object stuffed into a crack at the base of it.
He grabbed the skull and settled on his knees with Bra. Clearing the clay that plugged the hole at its base, he tilted her head back and let the water drip into her mouth. To his relief she began to come to. He gave her a bit more, silently grateful that she wasn't cognizant to know she was drinking from a skull.
Bra blinked, fully awake now as she looked around. "Did I fall asleep?"
He set the skull down behind his back. "Yes, but don't worry about it. You did well, Bra. I found the water. Pull the doll out, alright?"
"Ok." She stood and pulled the effigy from her pocket while Touketsu jumped up into the tree to retrieve her belt.
He dropped down and knelt across from her. "I'll carry you," he said as he looped the belt back through her robe before grabbing the skull. "I'll look for warm spots, you use the doll." She nodded, and he hoisted her up with one arm.
They walked through the forest, Bra sweeping the effigy back and forth. Every now and then she saw dim balls of blue-green light bouncing amongst the trees. Spooked at first, she relaxed when Touketsu didn't react to them.
"Touketsu?"
"Hn."
"What are those?" she asked as she pointed to one.
"Spirits."
"Oh." She frowned in thought. "I thought all the spirits in Nav look like people."
"Where not in Nav anymore. We're on Planet Toska."
"What? How did we get here?"
"We crossed a bridge."
"What bridge?"
"The bridge connected to Marenna's palace."
"I didn't see a bridge! Are you sure?"
"Bra, that's enough now! All your yapping is wasting your energy. Do you want to drink more water from a skull?"
She blinked and looked at the skull in his hand, its clay plug gone. "…More?" she grimaced as she looked back at him.
"Just stop, kid."
"Okay," she pouted, shooting the skull a wary look. She resumed her tracking duties when she bit her lip in hesitation. "Can I ask one more thing, please?"
He sighed. "Yes, Princess."
"Are Mr. Nappa and Mr. Raditz ok?" Touketsu faltered, and Bra's brows drew together. "Those bad guys didn't get them, did they?"
Touketsu gave her an easy smile. "Of course not," he scoffed. "Those weaklings couldn't kill them in life, much less death. They're fine."
"Oh, yeah," she mused before resuming her tracking duties. "I keep forgetting they're already dead. I wish they could have come with us."
Unseen by her, Touketsu's small smile disappeared.
Touketsu trudged on, Bra cuddled under his chin and cradled against his hip. She was holding the effigy half-heartedly in front of her when her stomach growled. "I'm hungry," she whimpered.
"I know, Bra," he said quietly. Food could help Bra stay alive just a little longer on this plane, but aside from skeletal trees they hadn't seen a single living thing here. Without ample Life Force, Touketsu was also flagging. It didn't help that the last thing he'd eaten were those few fish at his cohorts' shack.
Bra yawned and shifted in his arms, and Touketsu balked when the effigy came near his face. He didn't know if Marenna could track him if the effigy touched him while being held by another, but he wasn't chancing it. "Why don't you put the doll away, Bra. Rest a bit. I'll keep looking."
"K," she murmured.
Touketsu let out a breath when she stuffed the effigy back in her pocket. Bra wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, and he switched the skull to his tail to better hold her. Touketsu continued when he caught wind of something curious. Was that woodsmoke? Following his nose, he eventually came upon firelight flickering beyond the trees. He stopped when his senses picked up on a miniscule ki signature.
Bra had been drifting to sleep when she realized they'd stopped. "Touketsu?" She twisted around in his arms to look at what he was staring at. "What's that?"
"Shh. Don't know." He slowly crept up and peered through the trees.
In a small clearing, silhouetted against a campfire, was a diminutive form clad in black. It sat upon a crystal ball, the campfire shining through the orb appearing upside down as the light refracted. Purple hair peeked beneath the being's conical hat. Touketsu frowned in suspicion at the person's lack of a halo.
"I'm checking it out," he whispered as he began setting Bra down.
She tightened her grip on him. "I can go Super now. If they're bad, I can help," she whispered back.
"You will not," he hissed softly. "You need to conserve your strength."
"Are you going to stop whispering among yourselves and come out already?" a voice asked saucily as the crystal ball rotated around. It was a little old woman, her chubby jowls drooping from a wizened face. Her wrinkled mouth dropped open in surprise. "Bra! There you are, child." It was Bra and Touketsu's turn to look surprised as she quickly rounded on the demon Saiyan. "And you!? What are you doing with her?"
He blinked before narrowing his eyes. "Do I know you?"
"We've never formally met, Touketsu," she sneered.
His eyes widened. "…Wha? Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"You can call me Uranai Baba. Most do. Bulma hired me to help find her daughter."
Touketsu's brows drew together. "Bulma sent you?"
"You know my mama?" Bra asked.
"Oh yes, I've known your mother for a while. I know…of your father," she said, giving the confused Touketsu a pointed look. "Thought you left for good, Touketsu. What are you doing now, kidnapping children like some bogeyman?"
"Oh, no, no, he didn't kidnap me," Bra said. She held up the effigy. "He dropped this, and I followed him to give it back. We're looking for a hotspot so I can get back home."
Baba looked from the effigy to Touketsu with a raised eyebrow before turning her attention to Bra. "Well you must be famished." She reached into her broad sleeve and pulled out a chicken drumstick. "Here you are, dearie."
Bra's face lit up. "Oh, thank you!" she began wriggling out of Touketsu's arms.
"Bra…" Touketsu warned as he tightened his hold on her.
"It's quite alright. Bulma paid me a substantial amount of money to find her, she won't come to harm. Now come on out of the shadows, you two. It's very important Bra eats something."
Touketsu glanced at Bra's eager face before reluctantly approaching. She leaned down from Touketsu's arms and snatched up the morsel before greedily biting in.
Baba looked up at Touketsu. "You were trying to bring her home?" Scowling, he gave a short nod. She studied him for a few moments and shrugged. "Sit down, I'm betting you're hungry too."
Not fully convinced the witch worked for Bulma, Touketsu wouldn't just hand Bra over. Still, the fact remained that food could be the difference between life and death if they were to press on. He put Bra down and sat cross legged between her and Baba, his tail setting down the skull. "Got a ten-course meal up your sleeves?"
After making a curious inquiry about the skull, Uranai Baba used her magic to clean them before producing copious amounts of food. They feasted, and at length Bra leaned up against Touketsu. He watched her drowsily nibble on a pork bun until she dozed off, the food falling from her hands. He frowned; they either had to get moving, or he had to put his faith in the witch. Unbeknownst to him, Baba was watching as she nursed her cup of tea.
She shook her head with a smile. "Vegeta was split in two," she chortled, garnering a surprised look from Touketsu. "And I thought the Demon King Piccolo was trouble. At least his other half was good!"
"You…know about all that?" She sipped her tea and nodded, and his brows drew together. "Demon King Piccolo? What, the Namekian?"
"Yes, though he doesn't go by that title anymore. He's just Piccolo, and a decent person ever since he fused with Kami."
Piccolo had apparently been brought back. It also seemed he wasn't being metaphorical when he told Touketsu he'd 'returned to Kami'. "Just how much do you know about me?"
"I know you're the same Saiyan brute that was beating up on poor Gohan and dead-set on destroying the Earth," she said blandly, giving him the side-eye.
"What the… you saw that?!" he demanded in a harsh whisper.
"I watched the tail end of it through my crystal ball. Huh, I can't believe Bulma ended up marrying you of all people. Even my crystal ball couldn't have foreseen that."
Huh. Mortals were spying on him, too. "How much have you seen after my…change?"
"Ah well, this old baby has spotty reception," she said, patting the crystal ball affectionately. "I suppose it's time for a trade-in. I watched your whole first fight with Goku after I brought him back, and I caught bits of the last one. Goku filled me in on the details later."
"Wait, you brought Kakarot back?"
"The 24 hour visit was pre-arranged," she said, magically topping off her tea with a wave of her hand. "He wanted to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament, and his request had already been processed by King Yemma. We were lucky that bureaucrat was lenient enough to bump up the date."
Touketsu's eyes narrowed as he watched her sip her tea. "You watched the Kagemazoku's assault on Earth through that orb of yours, and you know King Yemma. Any other acquaintances in Other World?"
"Oh yeah, plenty. That reminds me, I have brunch with Gaido at the Snake Way Cafe tomorrow-"
Touketsu swiftly scooped up Bra and the skull and began stalking away.
Baba did a double take, the teacup and saucer in her hands disappearing in a puff of smoke. "Touketsu! Where are you going?"
His tail wrapped around the skull and he turned to her, Bra barely waking before falling asleep again. "Madam Baba and her crystal ball," he sneered. "Have tea with Marenna lately?"
"Queen Marenna? What does she have to do with anything?" He continued walking away, and Baba stood on her crystal ball. "Turn around and get back here this instant."
"I'll have nothing to do with-"
"Now! I'm not conspiring with her, you twit. Now you get back here and explain yourself."
He turned and held a hand up threateningly at her, but it was a bluff; he wouldn't channel the dark ki while Bra was in his arms. "You work for King Yemma, and I know all about the gods' little manhunt for me. I don't trust you in the slightest."
"I work with him, not for him, sonny. Know the difference," she snapped, a drop of sweat trickling from beneath her hat. "I work for paying customers, and Bulma paid me good money to find Bra. Now, are you are going to do something?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or are you runningfrom something?"
He stood unmoving for several moments before lowering his arm. He could only hope that she worked for his wife. "Marenna is after us," he said gruffly, walking back to her. "She wants to destroy all that Bra is and make her a goddess."
Baba was momentarily speechless. "What in the world for? Has she lost her mind completely?"
"She wants to displace her grief into Bra so that she'd be free to-" he looked away uncomfortably and ground out, "…force her will on me."
Baba caught his reddening cheeks as the moments stretched on awkwardly. "How. Just how did you thaw out THAT frigid woman?!"
"It's complicated," he grumbled.
"Well I don't understand what women find so attractive about you, but this is a problem. Corrupted gods become demons."
"That's why I need to get Bra off this plane, aside from the fact that being here is killing her." He took a breath and offered Bra to her. "Take her home."
"I'm sorry, I can't."
"What!?"
"Hush! You you'll wake her."
He grit his teeth. "What?" he hissed, his voice lowered as he lay Bra and the skull down on the grass. "Why the hell not?"
"It's not within my power," she whispered back.
"Bullshit it isn't! You just told me you can bring people from Other World back to Earth!"
"I can bring the dead back, and only for 24 hours. My word, you don't listen at all, do you? If I was able to take Bra home, don't you think I would have done that instead of having a picnic with you two?"
"Well what the hell did Bulma hire you for!?"
"Shh!" Baba admonished him with a finger to her lips. "To help find her daughter, you dunce. I never guaranteed that I'd succeed, and I certainly didn't agree to bring her home if I did. Job's done."
He stared at her incredulously, and his expression again hardened. "I hope Bulma isn't paying you by the hour because she's getting ripped off!"
"Bulma got a bonus. I fed her daughter and bought her some time, didn't I? Now why haven't you brought her home with that technique of yours? Kuro-whatsits?"
He sighed and sat down cross-legged, rubbing his face. "Look, Baba Yaga-"
"Uranai Baba."
"Whatever! The gods can track me if I use it, but I couldn't if I wanted to. Marenna hobbled the ability with her damn magic. We need to find a hotspot with the effigy." He caught her bewildered expression. "That doll Bra showed you."
"Ah, Yes. What's the story behind that?"
"Marenna gave it to me so I could reveal and use hotspots and cross planes undetected. I ended up in Bra's bedroom when I used it last, and the hotspot had sealed for the night. I was forced to use Kuromon, and it took me back to Nav."
"And you left the effigy behind. Hmph, careless." Touketsu looked flatly at her. "So Bra picked it up and opened a hotspot to you. Thought you said it closed?"
"Turns out Kuromon creates hotspots," he grumbled. "The original one in her room was created when I sent myself back from…Zhernobog's plane." he finished, bewildered. "Bra needs to hold the effigy to cross back onto the Physical Plane without dying. How is it he didn't?"
"I think the better question is," Baba said knowingly, "how did you not die while you were stuck there?"
The answer suddenly came to him. "…It's not Other World. It's a limbo."
Baba nodded. "A limbo is a plane isolated from the Physical and Spiritual worlds like an island, but it shares the properties of both. Kuromon created a temporal rift, and that's all a hotspot is."
"Well we need to find one. Do you know of any hotspots on Toska?"
"I can check my crystal ball." She looked at him craftily. "…For a healthy price, of course."
He gaped incredulously. Was she serious!? "How much?"
"10,000,000 zeni, normally."
"Wha?!" he choked. "Ten mil-"
"Buuut adjusting for inflation…$30,000,000."
His jaw dropped in disbelief. "You money grubbing old bat!" he hissed as he leaned towards her threateningly. "Bra's life is on the line!"
"I fulfilled my job - I found Bra. I'm working overtime now, and I don't work for free, young man. You're not going to put a price on her life, are you?"
Little extortionist! "Why don't you put it on Bulma's credit, I'm sure she's good for it."
"Hm. We can work something out," she smirked as she hopped off her crystal ball. She leaned over it and began chanting. "Oh, hoi, hoi, hoi, poi…"
Touketsu stared slack jawed for a moment before his eyes rolled heavenward and slid closed. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Ah, I see something."
Touketsu opened one eye. "A new line of work?"
"It appears to be a crossroads."
"I don't see shit."
"Probably because you're faithless."
"Or maybe because you're a scam artist! There are no roads out here, this whole blasted planet is an uncultivated wasteland!"
"Well that's what my crystal ball tells me. I see fields of small blue flowers…mountains…the moon…Hm. That's all I'm getting."
Touketsu grit his teeth. What a rip off! "Well that's just great. So I guess we'll just keep wandering Toska until we stumble over these crossroads and hope that Bra doesn't die!"
"Now calm down, just fly towards Toska's moon," she said, turning to point at the large crescent visible through the clouds. "I've divined that the mountains are in that direction. They're a ways off, but with your speed you should make it before it's too late. I'd take the gig myself, but my crystal ball moves about as fast as a golf cart." She looked back to find him massaging his forehead in distress, his elbow planted on his knee. "Something wrong?"
Weary of explaining his handicap, he didn't answer for several moments. "I lost connection with the Life Force," he murmured.
Baba's brows drew together, and she held her hand towards him. "You barely have life in you," she breathed.
"It's this blasted form," he snarled as he brought his fists over his knees. Just then Bra turned over in her sleep, and the armor shard slipped out of her robe pocket. Touketsu's shoulders slumped a little, and he snorted as he picked it up. Sentimental kid.
Baba was studying him, her wizened features illuminated by the flickering campfire. "That have some significance?" she asked.
He glanced at her for a moment. "It's a piece from a set of armor Bulma fabricated. I was wearing it the night the Kagemazoku got to me. I rediscovered it when I traveled back to Earth with the effigy."
"You have a connection with it," Baba affirmed. His head whipped to her when she snatched it out of his hand. "I may be able to do something with this. Come on, and bring that water with you," she said as she walked off a short distance.
Raising an eyebrow, Touketsu looked back at Bra. For all their bickering, she was still sound asleep. Doubtless, she needed it. Scooping up the skull, he followed Baba and watched her produce a small forge with a wave of her hand.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"We are going to reforge this," Baba said as she set the piece down before gesturing to the skull.
He handed it to her, and she sliced its top off with the wave of a finger. "Huh. We're going to 'reforge' synthetic material?" he chuckled as though she was senile. His expression sobered as he cleared his throat. "You're going to use magic, aren't you?"
She nodded and set the skull down. "Personal belongings carry some energy from their owners. That armor belonged to you before you were changed, so it carries a little of Vegeta's energy. Therefore, it has some connection with the Life Force. Because you're a version of your original self, your body may remember its true ki signature if you can forge a new bond with this piece."
Zeygorn's armor and weaponry was capable of housing and channeling his very ki. If Baba was planning on creating something similar, it could in fact help. She pulled a lantern from her sleeve, and his eyes widened in recognition of the multi-colored flame flickering within: It was the Fire of Life.
"Reforging objects in this manner requires special fire and water. It must be cleansed of any residual negative energy," she explained as she used her magic to draw some fire from the ever-burning flame. She whipped the small ball of fire into the forge before picking up the shard. This your blood on it?" He nodded wordlessly. "Ok, then we're all set. It's small, but we'll see what happens," she said as she tossed it into the forge. "Sit down."
He haltingly sat down on his knees next to the witch, his legs tucked under him like hers were. Baba closed her eyes and held her hands up. "Meditate on its new form." Touketsu resisted the urge to roll his eyes when she began her strange chant again. He closed his eyes and imagined the broken piece becoming something new.
Baba paused in her incantations. "Don't think about its appearance," she said quietly as though she'd read his mind. "Think about what you need from it."
He needed to channel the Life Force, before Zhernobog robbed him of the ability. Meditating on that, his mind wandered to dark memories…
Zhernobog held his right hand out to his side as it transformed into Tosho. Shivering, Vegeta watched as the dark blade was positioned over his heart. Armor suddenly materialized in its defense just before Tosho was plunged in, and the dark blade ruptured into harmless smoke.
"Alright."
Touketsu's eyes flew open when Baba spoke. He looked over as she pulled a pair of tongs from her sleeve before brandishing her hand over the skull. Touketsu recoiled in surprise when it ballooned 5 times its original size along with the water. Getting to his feet, he watched with guarded fascination as she put the tongs into the forge and carefully pulled the object out.
Touketsu squinted at the brilliant, blue-white object still burning hot from the forge. He couldn't make out what it had become, but it was much bigger and looked something like a sleeve. Baba plunged it into the giant skull filled with the Water of Life, flames of pinks, greens and blues flying into the air as the hot piece was lowered in.
Steam was sent into the air as the water boiled furiously, and Baba pulled the object out. Its dark form briefly wreathed in the colorful fire, she laid it down as the empty skull popped back down to its original size and flipped over on the grass.
"Not bad," Baba said as Touketsu walked up beside her, "considering what we had to work with." It was a set of manica, designed to fit over the heart and left arm.
Touketsu snorted dubiously. Protection for my bad arm, at least. "Not very practical."
"It's a supernatural object now, genius. Its purpose isn't that of any ordinary set of armor. Go ahead and try it on."
Touketsu picked it up and inspected it. It appeared black, but as he turned it over and observed the light glinting off its metallic surface, he could see it was actually midnight blue. A half breast plate trimmed in gold and designed to cover the heart alone, a gold-lined shoulder guard was attached to it followed by plated armor down the entire length of the arm. Gold likewise lined the edge of each pointed, overlapping plate, ending in a fingerless gauntlet.
He slipped it over his head and snaked his arm down the plated armor. A pair of linked straps of golden metal fastened the armor securely around him: One going from the breastplate and under his left arm, the other going across his chest, under his right arm, and across his back. All in all, the armor looked like a darker, reshaped incarnation of the original fragment.
"Well channel your ki, already," Baba said with an impatient wave.
He reached out to the Life Force and schooled his disappointed expression when he felt nothing at all. "It doesn't work," he bit out.
"Well if you're trying to channel the Life Force then of course not! Channel that negative energy of yours."
Doubtful, Touketsu's body darkened as the dark light pulsed once through his markings. The stone in his chest lit up, and his heavy, blue-purple aura erupted to flow down his form as the shadow lifted.
"Good, just let your power circulate through you. It will establish a connection with the armor's energy."
After a few moments, a dim, green glow the size of a quarter appeared at the center of the breastplate. It spread, gradually changing to light blue as the center brightened. The energy traveled down the armor covering his arm before coursing back up to his heart, growing in brightness and strength as it strobed up and down. The Icejin stone beneath his chest flashed once with green energy before pulsing with blue-white light. His eyes widened when he felt it: The Life Force, faint as a whisper.
"Maintain your power. You'll need to break the armor in if you want to strengthen the connection."
The glowing Icejin stone suddenly flashed with white energy rimmed with indigo, and there was a burst of power through his markings. His dark, dripping aura of purple and blue changed to nearly white, its outer corona a searing ultraviolet in color.
He gawked down at himself. It was as though the dark ki had changed into something lighter. He attempted to levitate, and he reigned in his expression of elation when he was able to levitate off the ground effortlessly. He could at last feel the Life Force, but as before it was minute and tenuous – far less than what this display suggested. "How is this possible?"
"That armor is imprinted with Vegeta's own energy. The negative energy that's being circulated through it is being purified and fed back into your body, therefore reopening the channels a bit and reestablishing some connection with the Life Force. That's why you're able to levitate, but the change in your aura isn't due to the Life Force. It's the influence of your original energy."
"By engaging in this exercise your body may remember what it is to have give and take with its true energy and thus help clear the blockages in your Chakra centers."
The manica was doing the same thing as Marenna's prescribed ki rehabilitation. He then realized what Baba said."Wait. I'm still channeling the dark ki?" Baba nodded. "Son of a bitch," he whispered. He held up his gauntlet-clad left palm and formed a large, blazing ball of blue-white energy. His eyes widened. It was Vegeta's true ki, fully restored to its original strength.
With the aid of the armor, the dark ki had been converted back. One person's energy can influence another's, just as Marenna said. Grinning, he held up his right hand and generated the energy. His smile faded, his brows pinching in bewilderment at the sight of the black orb dripping with blue and purple energy.
"What is this?" he murmured in disappointment as he lowered to the ground.
"Your memory's not great, is it? I said it's your uncorrupted energy that's attached to that armor. If you want to wield true ki at full power, you'll have to channel it through your left arm.
He extinguished the balls of energy as he looked down at himself. "But my aura's changed…"
"Does that look like your original aura?" Indeed, it wasn't. Lighter but still drifting down his form like dry ice, it was an amalgam of his original aura and his dark aura. "Your dark energy is only being tempered in this neutral state."
Neutral? Touketsu's body darkened as he experimentally tapped into his Berserker form, then his Detached state. Sure enough, his aura changed back each time. He dropped the transformation, his aura dissipating as he tried generating true ki through his right hand. He was only able to produce a weak, baseball-sized sphere. The channels had opened just enough for levitation, but not enough to wield true ki effectively in battle.
He dropped his right arm and held up his left, inspecting the manica. "So I have to rely on this crutch, hm?"
"Stop your grousing, crutches are necessary during rehabilitation. Wear this armor and continue to familiarize yourself with your true ki. Your connection with the Life Force will strengthen over time."
"And how long will that take?" he asked as he turned to her.
"Who knows, but keep in mind that the connection will drop or close off if you remove the armor too soon. You need to keep it on so it can do its work. Well you can fly now, so you're good to go."
He hesitated. "Do Bulma and Vegeta know of my involvement?"
"They didn't mention you, but why would they?"
He apparently hadn't reached them, but it was just as well. It seemed Bulma was keeping Vegeta grounded just fine. "Keep it that way. I didn't mean to interfere with their lives."
She studied him appraisingly. "Fine by me." She smirked. "But that may be a tall order for someone else. I'm sure Bra will have a lot to talk about."
Touketsu frowned. She had a good point. Bra said she wouldn't tell her parents about him, but he couldn't say he trusted a chatterbox 5-year-old to keep her word.
Baba hid her devious grin as she reached into her sleeve. "Here, give her this." She pulled out what appeared to be a crystal pendant. Suspended from a silver chain, the small bottle was shaped like a Greek amphora.
Touketsu immediately recognized the liquid that glittered like diamonds within the upside-down teardrop. "That's water from that river. Lethe."
"You know your stuff. Have Bra drink this right before she crosses over, and you'll be in the clear."
His brows drew together "…Won't she forget everything about Other World?"
"Of course! It's just as well. It's not healthy for little children to be running around in purgatory."
"But…she'll forget everything she's learned! She couldn't channel her ki at all before she got here. I taught her to fly and use her energy. Hell, she's a Super Saiyan, now! Her accomplishments are the single upside to her following me here!"
"She'll learn to unlock her abilities in time. That doesn't need to be now."
"The experiences I went through at her age are what gave me my power!"
"And where did that power take you? Purgatory?" Baba asked dryly. His eyes narrowed. "Just because you went through hell doesn't mean she should."
"You are not her mother."
"You're not her father," Baba snapped. Touketsu's hair and fur bristled. "I'm trying to help you and Bra both, but take it or not, makes no difference to me."
"The hotspot could dump Bra anywhere on Earth," he growled quietly. "I have to accompany her and ensure she gets home. Keep that shit, it would be pointless."
She arched a brow. "You seem different from the creature I first saw through my crystal ball. Tell you what, I'll go to Earth and monitor my crystal ball for her. When she shows up, I'll call Bra's parents and tell them where she is. Her father can get her in minutes."
Touketsu was strongly against wiping memories for obvious reasons. On the other hand, he'd vowed to stay out of his family's life. The witch would reunite Bra with her parents. She'd earned his trust, insufferable though she was. "Fine." He took it and put it around his neck. It was an option.
Baba smiled. She walked past him and hopped back onto her crystal ball. "Now, then. Let's discuss your outstanding balance."
He slowly turned to her, scowling. "…What?"
"I believe you owe payment for that armor…as well as for a 10-course meal, one order of Lethe water, and crystal ball overtime."
"WHAT?!" Touketsu clenched his fists. "You greedy old hag!"
"I don't offer anything without fair exchange. I've never been one to do something out of the goodness of my heart."
"Had you said something I would have told you to take a hike!"
"Ha! I doubt that."
"Well you can take this toilet water back!"
"Non-refundable. That reminds me. If you want to keep our little non-disclosure agreement, you'll have to foot the bill for the directions, too. Otherwise, Bulma will be wondering where those extra charges came from." He stood seething as she wisely added, "If you're strapped for cash, I accept alternate forms of payment. I have four fighters, and I do LOVE me a good fight. I bet Spike's Devilmite Beam would clean your clock."
He gaped in indignation. "Who? Devil what? Huh, my ass. The power I have has no equal."
"I'd like to see you prove it," she cackled as she steepled her fingers. "If someone with your negative energy can survive him, maybe you can pay off your remaining debt as my fifth fighter. I wouldn't mind having a rematch against my brother Roshi's students."
Toukestu raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Your brother is a martial arts master?"
"Yeah, he taught Goku the Kamehameha Wave."
"Wha?! He…he trained Kaka-"
"Well I'm outta here. Good luck, Touketsu." Baba disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Touketsu growled furiously. Goddamn Kakarot and his blasted social circle! He couldn't escape his bullshit even on another plane! Whatever, that crone wasn't getting shit from him…though he had to admit it was tempting to prove his mettle against this Spike guy. Touketsu looked at the manica, musing over its ability to convert part of his dark ki.
Goku's energy had influenced his, enabling him to defeat Zhernobog. His rival's influence gone, Touketsu had nonetheless accomplished the feat on his own right before freeing Vegeta from the Kagemazoku's prison. Why had he not been able to replicate the ability since? His eyes landed on the breastplate covering his heart, and his hand came up to it as something occurred to him:
He hadn't expended all of Goku's energy before his exile.
Goku used his ki to restart his heart. Touketsu carried it with him when he returned to the Kagemazoku's limbo. "But how?" he whispered. Why hadn't his dark ki overtaken that small amount of energy immediately? His hand lowered to his side with another revelation: He'd been dead. He wasn't using Kuroshimo, taking Goku's energy. Goku had given it to him. He'd never converted the dark ki on his own. He was looking at a long road towards rehabilitation.
Touketsu walked back to Bra. He suddenly wished he had a Namekian's attributes. Just fuse with himself and be whole again. He glanced down at the amphora of Lethe water that hung from his neck and grasped it. Tapping it anxiously, he looked at the sleeping girl. No. No, it would be a terrible waste. He'd already broken his vow to stay away from his family, there was no sense trying to cover it up. Bra's achievements more than made up for his mistake.
Bra sat bolt upright with a gasp. "Bra!" He rushed over and knelt next to her. "What's wrong?"
Her head snapped over to him, seeming to remember where she was. "Just a dream," she said shakily. It was obvious that the dream had been a bad one, but Touketsu was impressed that she was downplaying it. She looked around. "Where's Baba?"
"The witch left, but she told me there's a hotspot in the mountains. I'll fly us over and we'll look for it."
"Fly?" She smiled a little. "You can fly now?"
"Yes. With this," he said as he held up his armored left arm. "The armor your mother made? Baba made this with that piece you picked up. With it I can use true ki again." He smiled. "Thanks, kid." His smile faded in bewilderment when her eyes rapidly filled with tears.
She threw herself against Touketsu in a hug. "Daddy was in Hell!" she sobbed against him.
He instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Just a dream, Princess," he said as he patted her back. "Just a dream. He's fine, you'll see him again soon."
"You said he's going to hell when he dies!"
He cursed himself for unloading on her back at the Necropolis. "Bra, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."
"But it's true!" she cried as she pulled away and stood. "Everyone in Nav hates him. You said he killed people. Millions. Little kids and babies…" Her lip trembled, her face contorting with sorrow. She hid her face in her hands and completely broke down. "You both did!"
"And I'm paying for it!" he blurted out, but she only cried harder. His brows knit together. "Bra," he said softly as he gripped her gently by the arms. "Look, your father and I made mistakes. We worked for a bad man, and we turned into him. It's true your father did a lot of bad things, but he hasn't done anything bad to you, has he? Has he?" She pulled her hands from her face and shook her head, her eyes averted and despondent as she wiped them on her sleeve. "Whether or not you know about his past doesn't change his past. But, it doesn't change the fact that he cares about you, or your mother or your brother, do you understand? It's who he is now that matters."
Her little arms were rigid in his hands. "I don't know who he is now," she whispered hoarsely.
His heart plummeted. He'd destroyed her innocence. I'm a destroyer. "Bra, look at me." She didn't. "Look at me." She raised her reddened eyes to his. "He's your father, that's who he is. He loves you, Bra. Because of that, he's a good man. He's now good because of his family. He's good because of you, do you hear me?"
She sniffed as she looked forlornly into his eyes. "I love him, too," she whimpered. Her brows furrowed, and fresh tears trickled down her cheeks. "But he's still going to Hell. Me and Trunks and Mama…we'll never see him again."
Touketsu's mouth pressed into a thin line, and he scooped her up in his arms. "You'll see him," he told her firmly as he levitated into the air. I'm getting you home, and you'll see him again." She hugged him tight as they took to the sky.
Cuddled up against him with the moon in their sights, Bra noticed the small vial that hung from his neck. "Is this a gift from Uranai Baba too?" she asked as she took it in her hand, sleepily scrutinizing its sparkling contents.
"Uh…yes." He took it off and put it around her neck. "But, um, it's meant for you, Princess."
She smiled a little. "It's beautiful," she whispered, the scintillating water within reflecting off her eyes. They closed, and the vial slipped from her fingers when she fell asleep.
Touketsu flew on, conflicted. I've witnessed firsthand what keeping secrets from one's children can do, he thought. Not even a goddess can avoid the repercussions. Bra had to know some time. She may as well know now. She should KNOW the truth about her father!
"You're not her father," he heard Baba say.
His grip on her tightened a little. "I should have been," he hissed. "It's my place as much as his to tell her about my past." He pushed back the guilt that he'd revealed it far too soon.
More lore! ('cause I'm a geek)
I cast Fortuneteller Baba (Uranai Baba in the original Japanese version) in the role of Baba Yaga, a witch of ancient Slavic folktales. They have quite a bit in common. They both reside in 'worlds between the living and dead', and they both aid adventurous young men but only if they can survive her tests (like Goku did when he faced Fortuneteller Baba's fighters in Dragon Ball).
One article described Baba Yaga as 'equal parts trickster, savior, and monster'. She's definitely a free agent, much like Fortuneteller Baba, lol. Interestingly, in some stories Baba Yaga guides the spirits of men back onto the physical plane to visit their descendants– just like Fortuneteller Baba frequently does.
Also interesting to note, there are strong indications that Baba Yaga stemmed from the much older concept of Morana, Slavic Goddess of Winter and Death.
Now, are you are going to do something?" Her eyes narrowed. "Or are you running from something?" Baba's words to Touketsu are a play on something Baba Yaga often asks of adventurers that wander into her territory ("Are you here to do something, or are you running away from something?").
Fortuneteller Baba has a bigger part in the original Dragon Ball. I admit I'm less familiar with the series (I cut my teeth on Dragon Ball Z first), so I researched the Fortuneteller Baba saga. Aside from scrying her crystal ball in exchange for ungodly amounts of money (or a match against her spooky fighters), she's able to pull objects of all kinds from her sleeves.
Spike the Devilman's most deadly attack, the Devilmite Beam, amplifies his opponents' negative energy, however small. He then uses it to make their hearts explode (it doesn't work at all on Kid Goku of course). I thought, 'you know what, this guy may actually be able to kick Touketsu's ass'. Which would be kind of funny considering Spike looks like some dude in a cheesy Halloween costume (they also both have horns and widow's peaks, lol).
Gaido (who's name simply means 'guide') is one of the skinny, bespectacled oni that works at King Yemma's office. After Goku dies in his fight against Raditz, Gaido takes him to Snake Way.
I chose to make the armor glow green when it was being broken in because of the color's association with the heart chakra.
Thank you for reading!