The Saiyan Gamer


Chapter 12: Galar

The week leading up to the mission was mostly the same as the last two. I worked on improving my Ki control, aiming to get it to level 10 before we had to leave. I didn't quite get there though, with the skill hanging at level 6. It wasn't perfect, but my control had improved a decent amount, enough that I wasn't constantly wondering if I was going to completely ruin my attacks.

That was good, considering that the words already told me that people would be following us in hopes of stealing the egg. If they tried, they wouldn't know what hit them.

Cooking with Gine at least twice a day for the last two weeks brought my cooking skill to level 10. It wasn't fun or even enjoyable, but I couldn't imagine my life without good food, and I wouldn't have Gine to cook food for me forever. Once the skill hit level 10, it changed into 'Average Cooking Lvl 1', and my food suddenly didn't taste like crap anymore.

My observing skill also leveled up again, but it didn't change much.

Other than those three skills, I didn't work on any others, even after realizing that I had a skill for things that I didn't know about. It turned out that fighting with a sword had a skill, and I was very low in it; and so did things like Meteor Fist. I decided that I'd work on those later, once I finally mastered Ki control.

Convincing Gine was a lot harder than I'd expected, but Turles said that he knew that she'd protest. Of course, they didn't know where Turles and I were really going, but even the idea of him leaving the mountain for longer than a day had caused Gine to freeze up and immediately reject the idea. It took several days to convince her, but with some help from Bardock, she eventually agreed.

"We'll be back in a few days!" Turles waved as we flew off.

"Be safe! Both of you!" Gine waved, despite the sad frown on her face. Bardock didn't wave, simply nodding his head at us approvingly.

When we got to the base of the mountain, Turles turned to me with an annoyed expression on his face. "She's so suffocating! If it was up to her, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere."

"Yeah, that's a bit irritating," I said. "Are all parents like that? Because if mine is going to be, maybe I'm better off in my cave."

We both laughed at the joke, before landing down at the waterfall and waiting for Leeku. It didn't take her long to get there, and with her, she had three cloaks in her hand. On her back, she had a large bag, along with her bow and arrows.

"So, you decided to come then?" Leeku asked Turles, a sly smirk on her face that only proved to irritate Turles immediately.

"I wouldn't let my friend go and do something this dangerous alone," Turles retorted before he looked at her hands. "Did you know that I was coming?"

"I had a feeling that you weren't a complete pussy," She said, before throwing one of the cloaks at each of us. He caught it while staring daggers at her, only to be matched with her smirk.

"We won't need these until we get to the city, right?" I asked, holding up my cloak.

"We shouldn't," Leeku replied. Nodding in response, I put my cloak into my safe place.

"I've already put mine and Turles things in my safe place, so if you want, I can put yours in too," I suggested to her, but she dismissed it immediately.

"I'll be fine, it's not heavy at all."

"Yeah, compared to your ego, I'm sure it's very light," Turles smirked, earning himself an angry glare from her.

"Where's this place anyway?" I asked, trying to break the tension before it escalated.

"It's small island southwest of here. We'll pass plenty of border cities on the way there, but as long as we don't bother them, they shouldn't bother us," She said, while also pulling out a map and showing us both.

"What's a border city?" I questioned her as my eyes roamed over the map and the shape of the planet.

Most of it was green, with the exception of the very top of it and what was clearly the Great Divide, which was on the southwest side of the map and covered a much larger size than I originally thought that it did. On the top of the map, the land went from green to white. The most interesting thing on the map, though, was what was on the southeast side. Or rather, what should have been.

It looked like someone took a fist and punched that side of the map. The land was split into pieces, now floating around in the ocean. You could tell that it was all once the same piece of land, though, because the pieces looked like they could fit together. What happened there?

Map Has Been Updated!

I didn't need to look to guess that my map generated by the game likely now spanned the entire planet. Leeku's map didn't have the names of each city, apart from the one that we were headed to. Greenmoss City…

"A border city is what they call the cities that border the Great Divide, and therefore the Tuffle territories," She informed me. "Omato village is one, but there are dozens more. They typically aren't that big, because not many people want to live so close to a sleeping enemy, but there's enough that if the Tuffles tried to sneak past, they'd get caught pretty fast."

"I understand…" I said, still looking at the map. "Looking at the map makes me realize just how big this planet really is. It took us a day to walk to Avaross mountain, but on the map, they look so close."

"Planet Plant is pretty massive," She mused, before closing her map and shoving it into her bag. "But keep in mind that we walked to Avross. This time we'll be flying. It would take forever if we walked."

"My grandpa and some of my cousins live close to the city that we're heading to," Turles mentioned, a small smile on his face. "We have time to stop, right?

"Of course no-"

"Yes, Turles, we can," I interrupted Leeku, who rolled her eyes at me and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are they your dad's parents?"

"No, they died a long time ago," Turles informed me, although his expression told me that he had no feelings attached to them. "This is what's left of my mom's family."

"The rest?" I asked, curious. I remembered the small description under Gine, about her having to watch her city get destroyed, but it didn't mention anything about her family.

"My Mom grew up in a city called Galar, and all of her family lived there. It was one of the cities that were wiped out when the Tuffle's destroyed the moon and a piece of it struck Planet Plant," He explained.

And suddenly the massive smashed part of the map made sense. I had to pause and take a mental step back though, having not fully comprehended what he said until a few seconds after.

"Did you say that the Tuffles destroyed the moon?" I asked, skeptical.

"They knew that it only came around every 100 years and that we'd use it to turn the tide of the war, likely destroying them in one night, so they destroyed it before we could get the chance," Turles said, a frown on his face. "Most of the rubble was completely obliterated in the blast, but a small part of it fell down to the planet, completely destroying a large part of the map and killing billions."

"Wow," I said under my breath, already having second thoughts about willingly going to a Tuffle filled city.

Probably seeing my expression, Leeku said, "We don't have to go far into the city at all. The place we need to go is just on the outskirts."

"Well, that's good," I sighed in relief.

"So, are we ready to go?" She asked me.

"Almost," I said, before turning to the forest and whistling as loud as I could. My whistle echoed for a few seconds before a howl called back from not so far away. About a minute later, Luna came rushing out of the forest and stood next to me. She watched Leeku with hesitation and narrowed eyes.

During the week between Leeku telling me about her plan and now, Luna had made it very clear that she didn't like, or trust Leeku. The fact that Leeku had almost got us all killed wasn't easily forgiven for Luna, even if the fact that Raphalos woke up was entirely her own fault. In her own words, 'it was her fault that we were there in the first place.

"Something about her looks different," Leeku noticed immediately, bending downwards to look into Luna's eyes.

"That would be because I am different," Luna replied, shocking Leeku so much that she jumped back at least ten feet.

"You can talk now?!" She yelled, her eyes wider than dinner plates.

"Clearly," Luna answered smoothly. "A lot has changed since the last time we met."

"It's only been three weeks!" Leeku emphasized, still shocked. "When you suddenly got bigger, I was able to get my head around, but speaking?!"

"All Meta-Wolves have the potential for speech, I just picked it up faster than the rest," She said, a small smirk forming on her face. "And you can call me Luna."

Once she calmed down, Leeku said, "Yeah, I knew your name wasn't No Name. Boys are so simple."

"Indeed they are," Luna agreed, and slowly they both turned to me and Turles.

"Are we going to hit the road or not?" Turles asked, getting slightly impatient. "I'm getting a bad feeling the longer we stand around."

"Alright, well then let's go," I said, before looking at my small map and starting the journey southwest. They followed and caught up to me a second later, with us flying and Luna running across the ground.

I grinned to myself, deciding that nothing was going to go wrong on this mission.

I was wrong.


"We're here."

Turles dropped from the sky slowly, and I followed. We'd been traveling for the last six or so hours, at incredible speeds, and we were still only half way to Mossgrove city. Leeku hadn't wanted to take a break, but I wasn't going to go another six hours without food, and neither were the rest of us.

The town below us was small, probably about a quarter the size of Omato town, and unlike Omato town, it was built directly outside of the Great Divide. The contrast from forest to sandy nothingness was sharp, so much so that it looked surreal.

We dropped down right at the front gate, where two people were standing with crossed arms. I noticed straight away that the one on the left looked like Gine, the only difference being that he was much taller, and had plenty of muscles in contrast to her lack of it. His sheet confirmed as much.

Level 20

Gune

Race - Saiyan

Gender - Male

Age - 45

Reputation - Neutral

HP - 27,200

Ki - 31,620

Power Level - 2040

Gune is the eldest brother of Gine, and in line to rule the village of Galar once his father dies. He is, by far, the strongest person in Galar village, having used the 'old ways' to gain strength.

He has a very strong love for his village, as it is the remainder of the original Galar City. He will do anything to make sure that the village stays afloat.

He is currently wondering why his nephew is visiting after so many years.

"Turles, is that you?" Gune asked, unfurling his arms and squinting his eyes.

"Sure is!" Turles said with a grin on his face. "Good to see you Uncle Gune!"

Gune immediately smiled, in a way that reminded me very much of his sister. It was warm and welcoming. I watched in silence as they spoke and laughed for a few minutes, before taking a few steps back so that it was just Leeku, Luna, and me.

"We should just leave him," Leeku frowned, arms crossed. "He's just slowing us down."

"If anything, we're slowing him down," Luna countered. "He's much more powerful than we are. He can probably fly twice as fast as we can."

"Pshh, I doubt that," Leeku rolled her eyes.

"It's true," I told her. "Turles is very strong."

"Well, I've gotten stronger since our time on the mountain top," She snapped at me, directing an irritated glare at me.

Ignoring her clear annoyance towards me, I said, "Oh, that Zenkai thing right?"

"Exactly," She said, directing her gaze back to Turles. "I bet I could take him."

Wondering if that was somehow now true, I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, observing her.

Level 17

Leeku

Species - Saiyan

Age - 15

HP - 19,051

KI - 14,288

Reputation - Liked

Description:

Leeku is an ordinary Saiyan girl, with a promising future. Her recent brush with death, despite being very dangerous, has drilled in the idea that you can only get far in life if you take dangerous risks.

Due to you bringing her to safety, effectively saving her life, she is now indebted to you until she pays off that debt, somehow.

She is currently feeling anxious about the success of the mission, wanting to get it over with sooner, rather than later.

Power Level: 1,394

She gained a level and her power level went up by 300. I realized, surprised. Even still, she wouldn't be strong enough to fight with Turles. I didn't repeat it though, not wanting to anger her any further than she already was.

I wonder if I'll be able to see Turles power level now.

I was shocked to see that his power level was 3000. I stared at his back in amazement.

"Uncle! This is my friend Sprout," Turles said, drawing attention to me. When I looked up, Gune was standing right in front of me looking down at me.

"Interesting hair color. Very rare for a Saiyan," Gune said. His voice was deep, even deeper than Bardocks.

"Is it?" I asked, having not heard that before.

"Very," He repeated, before tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at me for a few seconds. "Have I met you before?"

"Definitely not, but you might know my parents," I said. "My Dad is Omato."

His eyes widened for a brief second, as he looked at me a second time, "Now that's a surprise! I never thought that I'd see either of them again, let alone one of their children!"

"You knew them too?"

"Of course I did!" He said, a large grin appearing on his face. "Omato was one of the ones who came to warn Galar before… Well, I'm sure you know what happened to the original Galar by now."

"I do," I said, frowning. "Why didn't more people come to warn the city?"

"Because some believed that our city wasn't worth saving," He said, his grin falling into a frown. "We were known for being pacifists, and you know how most Saiyans feel about that."

"Pacifists?" Leeku repeated although it was very clear by the disgust in her tone that she knew exactly what it meant.

"Point proven," Gune went on, not even turning to give Leeku an ounce of recognition. "Your father didn't care about that and tried to save us anyway. Because of that, at least some people on the outskirts got out of the fallout area in time."

"And how'd you know my mom?" I asked, digging further.

His face changed again, going blank. "She was a War Chief too, a powerful one at that, but let's just say that was her only good quality."

I wasn't surprised, considering the colorful word that Bardock had called her. Perhaps that's where Brussel got her personality from.

"We don't plan on staying for long. We'll probably go to see grandpa and eat something, and then we'll be gone," Turles told his uncle, who chuckled and wrapped his arms around his nephew's shoulders.

"Don't be ridiculous. You haven't visited in a long time, I'm sure your cousins will want to see you. Surely there's not that much of a rush?" He chuckled as he pulled Turles through the city gates. Turles nervously laughed back, but not answering the question.

"Knew this was a bad idea," Leeku grumbled, before following reluctantly, with me close behind.

Territory Alert!

You Are Now Entering Territory Ruled By Gintama, Leader of Lesser Galar!

The town wasn't only smaller than Omato town but didn't look as well put together either. For one, all of the houses were made of wood, instead of some being made of metal. Not only that, but most of the wood looked like it was about to fall apart, with some houses completely collapsed.

People sat on the side of certain houses, looking starved of food. A few people that we passed, I wasn't sure if they were even alive or not. When I observed, I realized that, yes, some of them were dead. Most of the time their description had it that they'd died from starvation.

"Something is definitely wrong here," Leeku whispered just loud enough for Luna and I to hear.

"This is the only village that I've seen besides being in Omato town for a few minutes," I reminded her. "But still, I didn't see any dead bodies or starving people there."

"There isn't," Leeku told me. "And it stinks here."

"I don't want to be here for any longer than I need to be," Luna said, keeping her voice low so that no one would hear.

Looking around again, I silently agreed.


"So, what was your first purge like?"

I stared across the room at Turle's cousins, who were looking over at me with grinning faces. There were the two sons of Gune, and ever since the end of the meal, they'd been glued to Luna, Leeku, and I, but only now had they started to ask questions.

We were currently in Turles's grandfather's house, which was just as broken down as the rest of the houses. Thankfully, the food all but made up for any uncomfortable feelings about the state of the town. I'd never admitted it out loud, but Gine's father cooked even better than she did, which was a pleasant surprise.

The older man was nice, and although he was well over 70 years old, he didn't look very different from most other men over the age of 40, the only feature that gave it away being his slightly greying hair. Just like Gine, he was extremely nice and welcoming, even offering to let us stay over for the night, which Leeku impolitely refused.

So now, we were just sitting and waiting for Turles to finish talking with his grandfather and uncle. Which was how we ended up sitting in front of two kids who wouldn't stop talking, even after I'd tried ignoring them completely.

"My first purge was… Successful," I replied after a few moments of silence.

"How many people were on the planet?" The one on the left, Ki, asked.

"About a billion."

"How long did it take you to kill them?" Yo, the one on the right, asked.

"Four years," I said casually, not counting the years that I didn't know about my mission. "I would have wiped them out faster if they didn't live in moving cities."

"Moving cities?!" Ki exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. "That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah, until you're chasing them for weeks on end while being shot at," I grumbled, leaning back in my seat. "And they were very quick."

"What about you?" Yo turned to Leeku, who sat sitting next to me, a neutral expression on her face. She'd been ignoring them since the moment that we were introduced, but finally, she turned to them, a small smirk sliding onto her face.

"Finally, something interesting to talk about," She began. "My first purge was great. I purged it all off in three years. You see, the moon on that planet comes up twice every year and…"

She went on and on about her first purge, Ki and Yo firmly hooked on her story, while I sat back and wondered how that was at all fair. She was sent to a planet where she could transform into their ultimate state at least twice a year, while I was sent to a planet where the moon's light couldn't even penetrate the clouds.

And I'd bet money on the fact that her ship wasn't tossed into the bottom of an ocean, where it couldn't be reached. The entire conversation put me in a sour mood, and I was about ready to get up and walk out but was stopped by Ki turning to me, ignoring the story, and speaking.

"It's not fair that some people get to go on purges!" The kid threw his hands in the air. "I've always wanted to go on my own!"

Wait, what? I leaned forward with confusion written clear as day on my face. "I thought everyone goes on purges?"

"Not everyone! Dad says that it's because our city doesn't have enough money to pay for any extra ships!" He whined. "We only have one!"

Still shocked to find out that not every baby was sent off-world, I didn't reply immediately. So I didn't have to be sent away? And even if I did, it could have waited until I was at least able to receive and understand the mission on my own? A great annoyance built up in me, and I turned to Leeku.

"Leeku, what age are people sent on their purges?" I asked, trying to quell the harsh emotion. She didn't look very pleased that I'd interrupted her story, but upon seeing my face, she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, it ranges. It all depends on the parents really," She told me. "I was sent away when I was three. My Mom was worried that I wouldn't come back, so she waited until I was definitely sure that I understood the mission, so if anything happened to my ship I'd still remember."

I suddenly felt very hot and the only thing I could do to quell the emotion was to clench my fists so tightly that it hurt. I didn't need to wonder how old I was when I was sent, because my very first memories were on Planet X32. The fact that I would have been back on Planet Plant years ago, had they just waited until I was old enough to know my mission without relying on a ship, made me angry. But what made me furious was that I got beaten up, humiliated, and abandoned because my parents had been impatient.

Why am I trying to get stronger? For what? Just so that I can go and live with a family that abandoned me for having a low power level, and for coming back late, even though it was their fault? I growled to myself. A mental image of Brussel, Omato and I sitting at a table in the same way that Turles family usually does send a jolt of anger through me so violently that my Ki activated involuntarily. No… I'm going to show them that they were wrong to judge me so quickly. And then I'm going to rip that smug look right off of Brussel's face.

"Sprout?" Leeku asked, placing a cool hand on my shoulder. I immediately broke out of my thoughts and turned to her. The entire room was as silent as the night, and another look around confirmed that everyone was staring at me, even Gune, Turles, and his grandfather, who were on the other side.

"I'm fine…" I said, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

"You definitely don't look fine," She snorted, but I ignored it as best I could.

"Young man. Sprout, was it?" Turles grandfather, Gintama, called me.

"Yes."

"What's got you so worked up?" He asked, in the same, calm tone that Gine uses. Something about that voice made it much easier to talk, so I stood up and walked over to their table.

Considering that Gintama, and most of the village apart from Gune, were weak, I figured that they'd understand where I was coming from. With a frown on my face, I said, "I'm thinking about my family. They abandoned me when I came back from my purge because I'd taken too long, even though it was out of my control."

Gintama's frown matched mine, if not even more troubled, "Saiyans have always been fixated on strength, but the war only made it worse in the younger generations. How foolish."

"Omato…" Gune said, head tilted down and a fixated look in his eyes. "That's not like the man I knew."

"Apparently the scouter read that Sprout's power level was 100," Leeku said as she slowly walked up as if that explained it all away. I looked up at her in confusion, surprised that she knew something like that, but realizing that someone must have told her after I brought her back from Avaross.

"So?" Turles asked, eyebrows raised and somehow even more annoyed than usual with her.

"So, Omato has a reputation to keep. His eldest daughter is first class, and his youngest son is already a second class at eight," She said. "Can you imagine how it would look to have a son with a power level of 100? It would bring dishonor on his family."

Something powerful stopped me, just before my fist collided with her nose. She had a stunned look on her face, before stepping back and falling onto her ass. I growled a deep, dark sound. When I looked down, I saw that Turles had grabbed my arm and Gune had grabbed the back of my neck, keeping me in place.

The silence was thick, before I spat out, "If it wasn't for these guys holding me back, I would have killed you for that."

She held her shocked expression for a few seconds before it turned into a scowl. "You would have tried."

"Alright kids," Gintama spoke louder than us both, "Just because she has a different opinion than you, doesn't mean that you have to get violent."

I turned to him, eyebrows narrowed. "Her opinion is wrong."

"It just might be," Gintama said, although I could tell that he agreed with me. "But it's, unfortunately, the opinion of many Saiyans. Do you plan on getting into a fight every time that someone says something harsh towards you?"

I considered saying yes, but I also knew that it would probably get me killed. Now that I was a little calmer, I realized that, if push came to shove, Leeku could have probably killed me, easily. She was stronger than Kakarot, if only by a little bit, which wouldn't have boded well for me.

"I take that as a no," He continued. "So you're going to need to learn how to get a handle on that temper, or it'll get you in real trouble one day. The girl will forgive you this time, but I doubt she'll be as forgiving next time."

When I looked down at Leeku, her scowl had turned back into her normal frown. "Only because I insulted you first. Try to hit me again, and I'll break your fucking neck."

"As long as you don't insult me again," I said firmly, looking over at Turles as I did. "Or Turles. Deal?"

She glared at me for a few seconds, before saying, "Deal."

"Besides, young woman," Gintama began, drawing our attention. "Power is an illusion. Strength, and the meaning of it, changes like the seasons. In the eyes of our ancestors, even our super-elite warriors would look like mere bugs."

That gave her some pause, her eyebrows scrunching together while she thought. In the meantime, I picked my seat off of the ground and sat back on it, now facing Gintama. He said something that piqued my interest.

"These ancestors… How far back are you talking?" I asked.

"From the beginning of time itself, until the destruction of Planet Salada," He told me, a small smile now on his face. "Compared to them, we are but a shadow of greater things."

"How strong were they?" I asked, totally fixated.

"So powerful that if left unchecked, a fight between two could punch holes through the fabric of time and space, and even shake the galaxy itself," He continued. "In legends, Saiyans such as Yamoshi, Cumber, Gibblet, and Shallot were rumored to regularly battle with Frost Demons and the Kais."

"Kais?" I asked. "What's a Kai?"

"The beings that govern the natural laws of the universe, and supervise us, mortals," He explained. "Even if every Saiyan on this planet tried to kill one, we wouldn't even be able to touch the weakest one."

"Wow."

"Keep in mind, this is mostly legend," Gune cut in, breaking my immersion. "It is all too far back in our history to confirm if it's true or not."

"How do you know all of this anyway?" I asked.

"Because Galar was so peaceful, we were trusted with keeping records of our history. They knew that our libraries wouldn't be destroyed by a random violent conflict," He said, a brief, sad smile on his face. "Most of the books were lost during its destruction, but some remain. Thankfully, I was an avid reader and remember a lot."

"Do you have any more?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Looks like you've found a new interest, Sprout," Turles smiled at me from across the table. "History."

"I guess so…" I said. The subject certainly built up excitement in me.

"I do. I've made several copies, and I'll be glad to let you have a few," He said, eyes twinkling. "Besides, there is one book, in particular, that was made for those who wish to grow stronger. A way of training long forgotten by our race, but can make even the weakest of Saiyans powerful."

Turtle's eyebrows furrowed at this, and he leaned forward in his seat. This surprised me too, and apparently Leeku, because she was suddenly back at our table with her attention firmly on Gintama.

"Impossible. You're born with your power level, and that only increases with age until you're an adult. And then it's only Zenkais, and that isn't a reliable way to get stronger," Leeku said, although her tone wasn't entirely dismissive.

"That is what most believe, but history proves otherwise," He replied. "It's believed that Yamoshi himself was born the weakest of all, and look what he became. A god among Saiyans."

"How?" Turles asked. "And if that's true, why didn't my dad teach it to me?"

"This particular book was hidden deep within the archives, and I admit that I've only found it recently when making copies," He told us.

"Then how do you know that it works?" I asked.

"Because of me," Gune said, catching all of our attention. "Before using the methods in the book, I wasn't even as strong as my little sister, Gine. And now my power level is over 2000."

"That's incredible," I said, wondering for a second if it was anything like the 'game'. "So you'll give me us a copy of that book too?"

"Oh yes," He said, grinning. "But only if you all agree to spend the night."

I, mentally agreeing already, looked over to Turles, who was looking at Leeku. I turned to her slowly, watching her frown deepen. She didn't reply immediately, obviously thinking about the benefits of this book.

"Besides, what are you guys in such a rush to do?" Gune asked, putting a comforting arm around Turles shoulders. "It's getting dark, you might as well rest and be on your way in the morning."

Turles seemed to hesitate for a second, before saying, "We're heading over to a city a bit further along so that we can sell something. No one could buy it back where we live."

I tried not to give any outward reaction while inwardly hoping that Turles wouldn't tell them what this thing that we were selling actually was.

Gune's face shifted for a split second, into one that I wasn't fast enough to catch, before going back to normal. "I see. Well, you guys will need rest then."

"Alright, fine," Leeku finally spoke, before crossing her arms over her chest. "As long as we get that book."

"And the history ones," I added in.

"Deal," Gintama said, before turning to Turles, who had a question ready.

"Why is the city so beat up?" He asked bluntly. "Last time I was here, I don't remember it being like this."

"Last time you were here, you were very little. Besides, things have gotten a lot worse here since then," Gune answered instead.

"Why?" Turles pressed.

"People don't like buying and selling with 'weak Saiyans'," Gune continued a certain poison about his voice. "It's rare that any other border cities will do any sort of business with us."

"But you've gotten stronger?"

"I'm one of the only ones," He revealed, followed by a long sigh. "I tried to get the others to join me, and while a few did, the others decided that the few strong ones would take care of the rest."

"Oh.." Turles realized, his head falling down. "So even though Galar has some strong people, because the majority is weak, people don't bother to help you."

"Exactly," Gune said. "Which is why so many people are dying on the streets. We can't buy enough food to provide for everyone, and they're too weak to go and catch it on their own."

"So strength is important," Leeku chipped it.

"It is important, young woman," Gintama spoke up again. "But it is not the most important."

"Anyways, I'd better be getting home," Gune said rather abruptly while standing up. "Ki! Yo!"

His kids zoomed across the ground to stand at their father's side. He put a hand on each of their shoulders, before saying, "It was great to see you, Turles. And nice to meet your two friends."

Turles said something under his breath about Leeku not being his friend, but Gune simply laughed, before leaving.

"Due to the limited space, you'll all have to share a room," Gintama told us. He stood up and began to walk through the house, so we followed.

Luna followed us, and I realized for the first time that she hadn't said a word since we entered the house. In fact, she didn't speak much at all when in the presence of other people, especially in groups. Breaking a little behind the group, I stepped in line with Luna.

"You alright?" I asked in a voice a little above a whisper.

"Apart from the fact that this household is the only one that didn't look like they wanted to eat me?" She replied casually.

"Apart from that."

"Well, I've never really liked Leeku, so I'm a little disappointed that they held you back from punching her," She sighed lightly. "You understand my viewpoint now, don't you?"

"A little," I replied glumly. "Her opinions aren't the best, and she says some cruel things, but she's still fun to be around."

"You're only saying that because you want to mate with her," Luna said, in a very matter-a-fact way, causing heat to rush through my body in a wave. Illustrations from Gine's book flashed in my brain before I locked them deep down.

"No!" I retorted quietly, eyes wide. "It's definitely not because of that!"

"Mhm," She chuckled under her breath. "Apart from that, I don't know how I feel about Gune."

"Gune?" I asked, eyebrows raised. "What's wrong with him?"

She went silent for a few seconds, before saying, "I'm not entirely sure, but I don't trust him. He seemed fine until Turles mentioned that you guys were selling something. Something changed in him then."

"Hm… Well, I'll keep that in mind…" I told her, just as we reached the room.

The rest of the night was short, as I fell asleep very shortly after. The comfort of a bed was still something that could defeat me, no matter how powerful I became.


"Goodbye!"

Turles waved to his grandfather as we began to fly off and away from the small, run-down town. Just like he promised, Gintama provided us with the books, which I'd stashed away immediately in the safe space. Gintama and Gune, who'd come back to see us off, were both surprised, but I brushed it off as an ability that I had.

Resting the night had been a good idea. Now, we'd arrive at Mossgrove just after midday and would be able to travel at least halfway back by the time that it was night again.

We were about an hour away, going a little slower than we had yesterday when I noticed that a lot of red dots were following us. I looked down at Luna from my place flying, and she looked up at me, clearly having seen the same thing.

"Guys, we're being followed," I told Bardock and Leeku, who appropriately, got very serious.

"How many?" Leeku asked.

"Give me a second," I said, before beginning to count. I was shocked by the number, saying with a growl. "About fifty."

"Crap! Who are they?" Turles grunted.

"I don't know… Should we stop, or speed up?"

"If we speed up, we'll be exhausted by the time they catch up to us," Turles said after a second of thought. "We'd better confront them now and hope that they aren't too powerful."

A bad feeling built up in my stomach, followed by a spark of excitement that swallowed it whole. We dropped to the ground and waited for our pursuers to arrive.

I was beyond surprised to see Gune dropping from the sky in front of us, a seriousness about him that I hadn't seen before. All around us, people dropped from the skies, surrounding us completely. We stood in a diamond formation, with Turles staring directly at his uncle.

"What is this?" Turles asked eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Turles, if only you understood how many lives were lost to make sure that Galar could live on," Gune began explaining. "How much effort it took to bring all of our people together again, only to be cast aside by the rest of the Saiyan race for being weak. To be given no support and to fall into poverty."

"What are you saying?!" Turles shouted, his fists clenched.

"He wants to steal what we have and sell it," Luna spoke up finally, her voice rolling out in a growl. Gune didn't reply, simply staring at his nephew, who looked back at him in shock.

"Is she right?!" Turles asked, his voice increasing along with his aura blazing around him.

"You don't need the money, and we do. Would you really sit back in wealth while your own family suffers?" Gune asked, his voice taking a harsh tone.

"Uncle…" Turles started, his voice sounding as if the breath was stolen right out of his lungs.

"Give it up peacefully, and I'll consider giving you and your friends some," Gune said, taking a step closer to his nephew. "We already have a potential buyer ready."

"It's not his money to give away!" Leeku spoke up, stepping in front of Bardock, between him and Gune. She shot him a dirty glare. "It's mine and Sprouts. He just came along for the ride."

"Nonetheless, he is here," Gune said, taking a step closer to his nephew, who took a step back. "Now, give us the item and this can all be over."

"And if we don't?" I asked, balling my hands into a fist and feeling the vibration of my energy seeping out of my skin. He looked at me, his eyes a calm, deadly look. I knew the answer.

"Everybody, fly up at the count of three…" Luna said, her voice low enough that only we could hear. It was thick silence as I stared into the eyes of Gune, and then at the count of three…

All hell broke loose.