The Heart of the Adventurers
By LastationLover5000 and Demod20, edited by Firegod00
Chapter 12 - Bonds and Heritage
Pan felt the pressure all around her. The half year that has passed training has only increased in intensity as time passed by. Her teachers were what she considered family, even if they never vocally acknowledged it. She had grown fond of their attempts of trying to be distant even though she knew that they looked out for her like real family.
Still didn't make the training any easier, however.
Currently she was in the midst of dodging a flurry of rapid fire from Piccolo's fingers. Miniature bullets of ki were spread in a wide net of range that, on their own, didn't have much accuracy but their numbers made up for that. The flickering hornets of light whizzed and crackled by her scalp, dangerously close to hitting her directly as her little feet carried her quickly out of their reach. Not that any single one of them had the capacity of killing her durably trained frame; the pain however made it a deterrent for taking one too many shots to the everything.
"Come on, kid! You haven't even made any headway towards me! Dodging isn't everything there is to a fight!" Piccolo crowed out madly, echoing out with amused laughter at seeing her frantic movement.
The half Saiyan gritted her teeth with grimacing knowing that the Daimaō was right. If she kept running, she'd eventually trip up or the more experienced fighter hit his target. This meant she had to take initiative, immediately!
In the midst of turning around to flee the energy projectiles, Pan gathered a halo of light around both of her hands. Jerking to a stop, she bent her knees and propelled herself up into the air in a knee tucked back flip over the harrying attacks narrowly missing her minute frame. Unfolding herself near her teacher's forward right, she twisted in the air and launched one illuminating sphere after the other.
Like a pair of grenades, they exploded among the bullets with a pair of overlapping blast waves that made the devil grimace and raise his arms in a reflex. The light dimmed with a curtain of smoke rolling around him.
"Using the smoke as cover, huh?" He growled out, his smile exchanged for a concentrated baring of his fangs. His eyes darted around as his heightened sense of hearing picked up a number of pitter-patters scurrying around him. Even now she didn't charge, deliberately circling around to catch the veteran warrior off guard.
Hearing the feet lift off the ground, he turned to look over his shoulder and saw a rapidly approaching silhouette; one that his arm whipped around and smashed into dust.
"A decoy," The Daimaō grinned at the sight of the crumbling stone thrown at him, twisting his body around to see a shrinking Pan trying to pull herself to a halt. With a hand jutting out to release a blinding wave of golden light, he let out a guffawing shout. "You're finished!"
For a split second, the demi-Saiyan appeared to have been blown away by the well timed counter. But the sight of the tumbling frame fizzling into nothing -like static- did Piccolo's countenance turn to surprise. It was a Zanzōken!
"Bokushin!" A sudden cry sounded right between Piccolo's legs as the squatting frame, once hiding in a split second, shot upwards towards the green fighter's exposed jaw. Coalesced with a curtain of light that emitted a pair of luminous horns from either of her balled fists, the rocketing frame smacked dead on into the chin and made her target reel backwards for several meters.
After tumbling head over heels, Piccolo grasped his bleeding chin and felt the punctures along with the swollen bruise. Wrestling a few molars that were busted free from their cavities, he spat them out, along with a wad of blood onto the ground. Looking over with a brief glare at the hovering half blood that looked ruffled but giddy that she landed the hit, he couldn't help but grin despite himself.
"That was a nice hit, kid. Didn't know you were making up your own moves without me knowing," He complimented halfway, suspiciously inquiring under his statement towards the descending girl.
Landing on her feet, she giggled as she rubbed underneath her nose, "But Uncle Piccolo, if I use any moves you taught me, you'd know how to stop them."
"Smart," He replied with a nod. "You're catching on. Only took you a few months to start getting that. Always improvise and never use a technique twice if you can help it. Your enemies will take advantage of any weakness they discern from your first showing, and given how strong these guys are said to be, we'll need every advantage we can get."
"I'll always do my best!" She earnestly beamed with pumping arms.
A slow clap interrupted the pair's musings, bringing their attention to the smirking Saiyan.
"Yes, truly the work of a mischievous minx. That kind of tact would serve you well against the lower levels," He drawled out, his smile becoming a tinge insincere as his clapping stopped. "But do you really think such trickery would work on Nappa? Aspara? No, those would possibly give you an opening for victory but not defeat them outright, if someone like you couldn't be stunned for more than a few seconds."
Pan's face turned from enthusiastic smile to one of a furrowed frown. She came to like her uncle over the passage of time, but days like these when he pushed her buttons when she did her best made it hard to control herself. The buried furnace always got riled anytime her efforts were made out to be in vain, like now or times before.
However, Piccolo was quick to rebuke him with another audible spat, "I'm not saying she's ready, but she's making progress. If she's going to be ready, we have to make her aware of what her faults are as well as what she gets right; adapt to any situation, just like she did now."
"Tch!" Raditz scoffed, dismissing him with a wave of his arm. "Honestly, Piccolo, I think you butter her up too much. If she goes in with a big head, she'll get popped, and then where will we be? Worse than square one, I can tell you that."
"I'm aware of the stakes," Piccolo retorted, his teeth retracting as he favored a far more calmer stoic visage as his wounds healed over the course of the time they talked. "But mockery can only stir the coals so much. Or do you want to poke the bear?"
Stiffening slightly, Raditz looked over at the glaring little Saiyan and flinched at the look in her eyes. Unbeknownst to the spiky, lavender haired girl her onyx eyes looked almost glazed with a ferocity that was only witnessed by the pair on rare occasions. The hidden well of power that was called upon in what could be amounted to fits of rage was far more frightening than an uncontrolled Oozaru transformation.
Something neither wanted a repeat unless they could help it.
Sighing, Raditz raised his arms up to console Pan and formed a wry smile, "Alright, I was a bit...harsh, my fiery niece. You're coming along great! I'm just apparently a bit too impatient for some people's liking."
Though Piccolo's eyes rolled, knowing where his words were aimed at. But the effect was good enough that Pan's anger seemed to dissipate immediately. Her broad grin stretched across her face and her eyes glimmered with a blush of pride forming on her cheeks.
"Thanks, Uncle Raditz!" She beamed out, much to the older Saiyan's annoyance.
Clearing his throat, he decided to use his presence for something more productive than spectating. Looking over at Piccolo, he grinned darkly and then turned to stare challengingly at his relative. Squatting in front of her, he inquired with a raised brow, "Say, we've been taking turns training you, but I have an idea. How about we both spar against you at once? Twice the efficiency of our regimen, double the results!"
While the Daimaō's interest piqued, he saw that Pan scrunched her face up and considered it thoroughly. Due to the trading of hands during the days and nights where eventually both went to train on their own and against each other, the results were adamantly consistent. It was just not a high enough raise in marginal strength, that much was sure.
Thankfully for Raditz -and by extension, Piccolo as well- Pan seemed up for the challenge.
"Okay, let's do it!" Pan looked up with a challenging grin, a mirror of her parents with a gleam of fierce determination glowing in her eyes. Palming a clenched fist, she bowed to them both before settling into a simple crouched stance. Both arms cocked at an angle with clawed hands aiming fingertips and palms towards each other with legs spread out. With a blue fire born in her pupils, she chirped with eagerness. "Ready when you are!"
A second later, a log for a foot came barreling towards face.
Eyes bulged wide as she barely caught the foot, a clap of force rocking her frame, making her tail spasm from the sheer impact. During her exercises with her Saiyan relative, she always felt like he used only a fraction of his strength when training her. Now, it felt like a completely different force than she was used to.
The sensation took her so off guard that she didn't have time to acknowledge Piccolo's own shoe covered toes crashing into her side. Bowing outward, her face struck an expression of pain and realization merging together just as she was catapulted across the wasteland. Tumbling shoulder over shoulder she grappled the rocky ground with her prehensile limb, straightening upwards with elbows dug into her sides and face forming a strained grimace on her face.
"What's the matter? Is this level too much for you?" Piccolo inquired with bared fangs, threatening; like his leaning clawed stance.
"We don't have the luxury to take it easy any longer!" Raditz announced with a stoic glare affixed towards his niece. With arms at his sides, he launched himself headfirst like a missile towards her with Piccolo darting in a number of angles like a wraith, being only a pace behind the prior. Once they reached her, she only had one option.
Move.
Ducking beneath by a hair's breadth to avoid the Saiyan's sudden swiping elbows, Piccolo's arm tried to cut her escape short by grabbing her arm. Pulling her into a punch, she avoided it by biting hard onto his wrist. Recoiling back at blood being shed, she forward flipped and launched an array of kicks at his face to which only met empty air. Rearing back, his mouth opened and regurgitated a kikōha from his mouth making her twirl sideways away.
This was a prime opportunity for Raditz to land a painful lancing palm thrust into her backside. Drawing out a winded gasp from the child, she couldn't react in time for another punishing blow to her face by an instantly appearing Piccolo. Her world spun as her stomach was bashed in, punting her high up into the air by an unknown attacker, arms immediately pulled around her affected area of injury.
"Don't simply react!" Raditz shouted loudly, his right arm wrapped in a curtain of scarlet bio-energy. Thrusting it up at her, a bolt of lightning streaked towards her with the intent of producing intense pain upon the child if she failed to act. "Fight as if your life depends on it!"
"MA-"
Inches away did Pan's body unfurl, glowing in a luminous glow of gold as one arm braced by the other shoved into the offensive ki with her own.
Then she shrieked like a banshee.
"-SENKŌ-HAAAAAAAAAAA!"
An unleashed torrent of gold light shot downward, briefly colliding into Raditz's attack. Sparks flew to and fro from the contact, hissing and snapping. Overcome like a tidal wave to a tree, the blast wave rushed onward to hit both warriors standing on the ground below.
Without even looking at each other, the pair reached one hand up to brace against the ki threatening to burn away everything beneath their soles. The ground quaked, the wind blistered but they held firm. A concentrated shout and both tore the plasma in half, sending it scattered in either direction, leaving a burning trail before it exploded fantastically in the distance.
But Pan didn't use it as a simple counter. No, instead she was already upon Raditz, the ferocity renewed in her eyes. Despite the contrast of her beaten frame she managed to launch a strong punch into his left jaw, making the Saiyan jerk back albeit only a small distance. Twisting around to whip her tail into his already reared head, he was sent up into the air, enabling her to turn her attention to Piccolo.
Already forming a kikōha in her left hand, she shoved it towards his retaliating energy bullet from an erect finger. The blasts exploded in midair, creating the smokescreen she needed for cover. Despite the setback, the Daimaō simply clapped his hands hard in a forward direction, the shockwave blowing away the dust and debris swirling around him.
Even amidst the harsh condition, she was already on the ground, hands cupped by her sides in an all too familiar stance.
"Ka! Me!" She shouted out the syllables deliberately, the ki forming sprayed rays in a circling fashion and formed an overcast of zealous blue over the environment.
"You're not in the air this time, kid!" Piccolo retorted, forming a Masenkō in one hand without even needing to brace it. "Plus, we're facing two different directions. You can't take us both out with that."
"HA! ME!" With increased vigor, Pan's teeth gnashed and her glare intensified, her body awash in a white light with blue accents that was almost blinding to any nearby observers.
"No niece of mine is going to use such a worthless technique!" Raditz baited, his own hands both alight in a rose color. Grinning darkly, he goaded her into attacking him. "Go on, I'll squash that little beam of yours with two of mine!"
Just as both warriors were expecting the obvious, a sudden thuum was felt. Pan's body ignited in a towering inferno of ethereal flames, the neon sphere swelled to a magnanimous proportion till it was even larger than herself. Before their very eyes, the half blooded Saiyan had generated consciously a power greater than she had before.
In turn, she had formed the Super Kamehameha.
"HAAAAAAAAA!" She screamed, her hands thrusting out in both directions, effectively splitting her technique in half while the halo of blue outlined white continuously burned around her. Like a pair of columns the ki racing headlong towards them was far greater than they anticipated, and forced them both into a corner.
With Raditz forcing himself into a frenzied blaze of cherry red, he shoved himself bodily into the technique with his twin beams, using their discharge as a offensive and defensive maneuver. Grounding his teeth, he felt the heat wash over him, enough to make him sweat profusely. Just as burns began to blister his more exposed body parts, he completely eviscerated the technique into a shower of exploding sparks.
Heaving heavily, his armor was scorched and charred away in certain areas but still very much intact. Turning to look over, he saw that Piccolo's extended limb was intact but burned more extensively along the palm and outstretched fingers. He grimaced in pain and the effort, looking equally relieved that he didn't suffer as much damage as he could have.
Looking over with astonishment, he witnessed Pan looking exhausted, falling back on his haunches and giggling a little to herself.
"Man. I didn't know I could form such a big Kamehameha. Haha! Papa would be so proud of me!" She declared out loud with a beaming smile.
"That technique could've killed us if we took it at full power. Her splitting it in half just barely allowed us to take it head-on," The full blooded Saiyan gawked as those thoughts circled the forefront of his mind. Even as Pan leaned back and snickered to herself, he was almost aghast at how far this little neice of hers had come. A part of him was both relieved that they had a chance and another was somehow proud of this girl.
He couldn't place why, or how it happened, he just...was.
"Go ahead and take five. Once you rested up, we'll continue where we left off," Piccolo took charge, doing his best to dust himself off and straighten his posture. In a flicker of light, he even reformed his discarded turban and cape. Turning to look over at the Saiyan, he gave him a nod and the Saiyan could sense right away why he acted this way.
The women were here.
Groaning with annoyance, it didn't take long for him to see the arriving Earthling vessel arriving in their general vicinity. The yellow hover-vehicle was curiously enough, followed by the Galactic Patrolman's flying saucer, setting not far away from theirs. Once they both landed, Tights and Bulma exited their vehicle while Jaco slid off the surface of his and landed in a 'cool' pose.
"Given by the horizon lighting up, I see you guys are busy as always," Bulma commented dryly. The look on her face doubly reinforced how deadpan she was to see the disheveled landscape, the fires set to some areas and large craters formed not far from their general location. Looking over at Pan's happy yet clearly injured frame, she angrily twitched at them.
"Woman-!"
"I'm glad to see you're all in good health!" Tights quickly interrupted Raditz, knowing that if it was dragged out, a repeat of past verbal arguments was going to have them standing around and waiting them out. In her hands she held what looked like a big picnic basket, raising it up towards the stunned Saiyan with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I bring offerings to our soon-to-be-heroes who will save us all!~"
"That's presumptuous of you," Piccolo huffed with an eye roll. "We haven't even finished half a year's training yet and you think we're going to pull this off."
"Well of course," She waved her basket, making Raditz's hungry eyes track it as she idly moved it to and fro in front of him. "After all, you guys are crazy strong and are probably as strong if not stronger than Goku. Even Pan could probably beat these Saiyans singlehandedly."
"That kind of optimism could land you in an early grave."
"I prefer it to be the force of my undying will!"
"...right," Piccolo sighed, relenting at the blonde woman's chipper attitude. Massaging the bridge of his nose, her mere proximity was enough to give him a headache.
"I believe Son will," Bulma intoned with a sigh, withdrawing a capsule and clicking it to let it unpack in a poof of smoke to reveal a first aid kit. Looking to the Daimaō, she saw him just stare at her incredulously which made her snort. Handing some salve and bandages to her sister, she took the kit and walked over to console her daughter. "Hey sweetie. How's my big girl doing?"
"I'm ok, mama!" Pan insisted, wincing at the touch of some iodine that was applied to a bleeding injury.
"Uh-huh, I can see that," She replied with a hint of doubt. "Then again, if you have the energy to smile like that I can imagine you are okay by your father's standards."
"Have you heard from papa yet?"
"No, unfortunately not. Though I'm sure he's busy training just as hard as the others are," The mother of one reassured her daughter with a comforting smile, kindling the cheery spark she so cherished in her girl's eyes.
"I've gotten so strong! I bet papa would be so happy!" The lavender haired girl flexed her arms in proud declaration.
"Yes," She smiled, wrapping a bandage around one of her injuries as she looked off a bit distantly. "Yes I know he is."
"Woman, I don't need you meddling-"
"Oh hush. You big tough guys are all the same. You're even more sensitive than even Jaco," Tights teased as she continued to apply salve while keeping the basket full of food out of his snatching reach. Seeing him growl just made her laugh, and he fidgeted at not taking anything or moving away by force. If it wasn't for his brother and his niece, he wouldn't be in this awkward situation on a near daily record.
Looking over at the aforementioned space cop, he noticed him seeming to be holding out what looked like a device similar to, but not precisely, his Scouter towards him. This made him scowl at being examined, the being already unsightly enough. He didn't desire him prodding his person for his own ulterior motives.
"What the Hell are you here for anyways?" He snarled at him, making the Galactic Patrolman shrink before wave a fist indignantly.
"I'm not here of my own volition! If it wasn't for these two bullies, I wouldn't be stuck here, waiting for an impending doom!" Jaco reacted in a frantic manner.
"That's not what I asked, bug-man," Raditz snorted.
"If you must know, I'm measuring your energy levels," He explained, pointing at the hand-held version of the Scouter that was merged with technology he possessed. "Given what Bulma has shared designs with me so I could help her decipher the languages you and the squad come from, I was granted with this mercenary tech. A number of companies outfit warriors with this for long-range communication, translation and to measure the approximate metric amount of a being's battle power."
"Out of curiosity, just how much as the other Earthlings' risen?" He inquired, visibly grimacing but doing his best to ignore Tights' placing salve and bandages over his burned skin.
"From their original counts, they've had amazing progress. While I don't know the metric scale to compare to your Saiyan friends, it could help accumulate in a strength of numbers matter. Yours seems to have also raised quite high, with your young friend being the most amazing for a Saiyan her age," He commented.
"Comforting to know, but I know for a fact what kind of numbers we're dealing with," Raditz somberly explained, his eyes exchanging with Piccolo's with a reserved expression. "But we're going to do what we can to beat fate. I won't end up like my parents or my race."
"My-My, what a heroic thing to say," Tights teased with her eyes fluttering and her shoulder brushing against his breastplate. "If you follow through with that, I might just give you a victory kiss."
"Flattering," Raditz deadpanned, reaching out with an almost demanding stare. "Food. Now!"
"Though, that attitude can always be polished a little," She snickered, grinning lopsidedly as she unpacked the basket and handed food all around. Even offering Piccolo, who adamantly shook his head, confusing the blonde haired woman. "Oh? You don't like?"
"I don't need to eat," He answered bluntly. "If you have some water, though, I won't say no to that."
"Haha, just like a plant. Does sunshine help your complexion too?"
"As a matter fact it-...oh shut up!" Piccolo snarled afterwards, making everybody laugh lightheartedly despite his fearsome, fang spread glare. Huffing exasperatedly, he took a water bottle and began to drink from it, casually looking over at Pan who munched happily on some sandwiches handed to her. He wondered just how deep her power went and wondered why somebody like her warmed up to him so easily, even after displaying his habitually nasty actions and talk all the same.
Then she looked over at Jaco, who was drinking from a carton of milk, and smiled at him, "Ah, you're Taco, right?"
Sputtering out the milk with exasperation, much to Tights and Bulma's amusement, he turned to angrily shout at her, "My name is Jaco, the Super Elite Patrolman! Or have I never introduced myself properly?!"
"No, you actually attempted to shoot her," Bulma narrowed her eyes dangerously while glancing at him from the side.
"C-Can we just let that go?"
"Only if you allow her to call you, Taco," She replied with a teasing smile.
"Agh! You're a cruel woman. It's a wonder you ever got married-"
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"OH LOOK! WHAT'S THAT?!" Jaco pointed at something behind Bulma, and made a mad dash towards his flying saucer. Unfortunately he was tackled from behind and was dragged back, placed in several painful holds that bent him in unnatural angles. It was all amusing, even to Raditz and Piccolo.
"A toast," Tights raised a juice box, while Pan raised a cup of lemonade, Piccolo unwittingly his bottle of water and Raditz a double BLT he was in the middle of eating. "To the heroes of Earth and our survival."
"Hmph," Raditz huffed as he finished his sandwich. While everyone drank to it he chewed thoughtfully as her words echoed in his head.
Hero. He never considered that as a synonym for the Saiyan race. They were all glorified thugs, killers for hire and perhaps the easiest bunch to amuse when it came to maiming and murdering. It wasn't until the age they lived in that royalty, government and a form of bureaucracy was formed. The tenderness of his mother and a honorable pathos his father lived always disconcerted him, making him wonder why he had such an odd pair for parents.
Even he never quite fit in. Fights were never an all-in thing like the rest of the Saiyans such as the Prince, his caretaker Nappa and the others above his station. Even as an adult he only put forth the effort so he wouldn't be slated as expendable. But now, he had a drive and purpose, for the first time in his life. Even people depended on him, a realization that dawned on him.
Was he a hero? No, he was just using them as a means to an end. Surviving this was the best outcome, and nothing less than that was seen as a victory. Could there be something worth in valuing them as more than acquaintances?
Shaking his head, he returned to his feast, knowing it'd be a matter of time till their newer and harsher training regimen went into full motion.
He hoped that Tights' optimism had a grain of truth in it; otherwise this year of preparation was for naught.
North Kaiō's Planet - Earlier
"I almost had 'im that time!" groaned Goku, sliding into the grass as Bubbles rushed away to the other side of the small planetoid. He was wearing his weighted training gi again, and was feeling the effects. He'd taken them off earlier, and had come so close to catching that monkey without them, but North Kaiō had urged him to wear them during the chase. It was supposed to be training after all, and if he could run on this planet with 113 kg of extra weight, he would be far lighter on Earth.
The bentō that contained the Enseiji fruit rested near the base of North Kaiō's house, and he'd considered eating the fruit to give him an advantage against Bubbles, but his better nature told him it wouldn't benefit his training at all. "I'll catch that monkey if it's th' last thing I do!" thought the Saiyan, pulling himself up from the ground and dusting off. He flexed his fingers, grinning. "You just hold on, Bubbles! I'm comin' to get ya!" His tail twitched behind him eagerly, and it was hard to say he wasn't feeling the benefits of having this old appendage back. His body finally felt whole again.
"Yargh!" He let out a cry, and rushed after Bubbles. The monkey dashed across the planet, followed by the Saiyan, the latter's arms outstretched. Goku's pacing was beginning to adjust, and he was no longer lagging as far behind Bubbles. It had only been twenty days since he'd begun this little run around with the simian, and Goku was showing progress at a rate that North Kaiō had never seen before.
"Now...stay still you little bugger..." Goku thought, though he knew this was futile hope. The monkey took a sharp left turn, and Goku sprinted right past it. Rather than pursue, however, an idea struck Goku, and he made his way towards the tree that grew in North Kaiō's yard. He clung to a branch, and kept his eyesight primed on the planet's surface.
"Oh? What's he doing?" North Kaiō looked at the tree with interest.
Bubbles made his round across the planet, and was approaching the tree to pass it up at breakneck speed. When the monkey made it under the timber, Goku launched himself forward from the branch. With a long reach, the Saiyan grabbed the monkey by the waist, using his own tail to keep a grip on the tree's branch and avoid a painful landing with the ground.
"H-He did it!" The deity gasped, eyes wide behind his sunglasses. "With 194 days left, he managed to catch that blasted Bubbles!"
"Whew!" Goku slid out of the tree, sitting down on the grass as he let Bubbles run off. "I can't believe I did it...it felt like I've been going at this for years!"
"Those are the effects of training on my planet," replied the Kaiō, grinning. "I'm surprised you caught Bubbles in only twenty days, that's remarkable progress Goku! You've earned a bit of a break; you're not working with a dead body, and training too hard will simply be detrimental rather than helpful."
"Yeah...good point," replied the Saiyan, leaning back on the grass and letting the wind blow across his body. His tail twitched at his side, and he was still getting used to being able to feel with the extra appendage — it had simply been too many years without his tail. The tail. The mark of the Saiyan race.
"Your tail! Where is it!? What happened!?"
"My tail? I got it cut by God a long time ago."
"Y-You idiot! Do you realize what you've done!? You're walking around maimed, bereft or your precious full power!"
That was Raditz's reaction when he'd told his brother that he'd lost his tail. Sure, when he was a kid, he'd been very attached to it — it was a part of his body, after all — but was a tail just that important to a full-blood Saiyan? He knew so little about his race. Raditz had given him a limited explanation about their parents, but kept quiet about anything in regards to the Saiyans in general. Granted, they had been pressed for time.
Goku inclined his head towards North Kaiō, feeling the cool grass on his face. "Kaiō, what do you know about the Saiyans? I only jus' found out that I am a Saiyan, so I don't really know all that much."
"What do I know about the Saiyans?" mused the deity. "Well, if you're asking for personal details on your own family, I don't know all that much..."
"No, no, my brother can fill me in on those details," replied Goku. "I just wanna know about them in general. I am one but I know so little."
"Well..you probably won't care for the details, but the Saiyans were hardly a species that were well liked within the Northern Galaxies," shrugged North Kaiō. "But where to start? The Saiyans were originally from a planet called 'Sadal'. However, long ago — I can't even remember when, I was focusing on another section of the Northern Galaxies at the time — the Saiyans destroyed their planet due to infighting. You are a very violent species, but I'm sure you've noticed this."
Goku couldn't deny this much. He always enjoyed the thrill of a good fight, and felt the most alive when he was fighting a strong opponent. Was that a Saiyan urge?
"They managed to steal a ship from a space-faring race who had visited their planet and met a pretty gruesome end. With their new technology, they set out into the vast reaches of space, leaving behind an exploding planet and made their way towards a new planet. It was called 'Plant' at the time, and the Saiyans inhabited it for a few centuries before it was eventually overtaken by them. They renamed the planet Vegeta, slaughtering the native inhabitants of the planet, and the Saiyan monarchy began."
"They...slaughtered everyone!?" Goku gasped, horrified.
"Men, women, children, the Saiyans didn't leave anyone alive," replied Kaiō. "As much as I regret it, I was...privy to this particular part, however, I wasn't able to stop it. We Kaiō are not allowed to interfere with humans; all I could do was watch it. Training people like you who come to me is the closest I can come to physically impacting anything that goes on down there."
"Were all of the Saiyans...monsters?" Goku inquired. His brother had spoken of their parents in positive terms, even if he wasn't truly proud of them.
"Every species has its black sheep," answered Kaiō airily. "I heard tell a few centuries back, when the Saiyans had already settled onto planet Plant, of a pure-hearted Saiyan who tried to rise up against the rest of his race. He took on the entire Saiyan army with himself and five comrades, but he wasn't able to eradicate evil in the Saiyan race before he was killed. It's not a tale that the Saiyans typically pass down.
Regardless, Saiyans were a species that have evolved to fight," continued North Kaiō. "They become stronger after every brush with death, and are naturally attuned to their ki. A tyrant by the name of Freeza would go on to find the Saiyans, and became highly interested in utilizing them as part of the the Galactic Freeza Army. So the species was conscripted as soldiers. Twenty-one years ago, however, the planet was struck by a large meteor, and entirely destroyed. Very few Saiyans survived. The majority of those who did were scattered on other planets at the time, like you. And most of them have returned to their service in the the Galactic Freeza Army, though I believe they are stragglers who have simply neglected to return."
Goku finished listening to the end of the entire explanation with a bitter look on his face. These were details he wasn't too fond of. Based on his first impression from Raditz, and everything his brother had said, he didn't have much respect for his Saiyan heritage after all. It wasn't something to be proud of. But, at the same time, he couldn't just escape that anymore. His Saiyan tail twitched behind him, reminding him of what he was.
"So who is this 'Freeza' guy?" inquired Goku deciding to take the line of query to the name North Kaiō had dropped that he didn't recognize.
The moment the name was uttered, North Kaiō's face darkened. "He's not someone to concern yourself with, Goku. Forget Freeza; I only mentioned him because he had a role in Saiyan history. You don't want to meet him!"
"Whaaaaaaaat?" Goku replied, indignant. "But when you put it that way, I've got to know!"
"No, Goku!" was the Kaiō's answer. "I'm not backing down on this." Ignoring Goku's disappointed groans, he continued. "Now that you can move around easily even with this planet's gravity, it's time to take you to the next step of your training — the Kaiōken."
That had been a few months ago when he began. Goku had confidence in his skills, but North Kaiō was no slouch as a teacher. Before Goku could even learn the 'Kaiōken', his new teacher had insisted he train his body first. The past few months had been nothing but physical drills, and Goku's body was building up strength and durability. But now was a change of pace.
A sparring match with the North Kaiō himself.
"Your form is sloppy!" the deity shouted. Goku was pushed back with immense force, the stout god sending Goku back with a powerful palm thrust. The Saiyan flipped back onto his feet, skidding along the grass, North Kaiō standing up to his full, admittedly nonintimidating height. His hands were placed in front him, palms hanging flat. It was a relaxed stance, but it told Goku everything he needed to know — there was no opening here he could exploit.
Goku rushed forward again; if there weren't any openings, he'd have to create one! Pressing into the ground with his left palm, the Saiyan swung his right leg towards the deity with a powerful kick from the side. His boot soared through the air, aimed at North Kaiō's face.
North Kaiō's hand raised instinctively to block the blow, Goku's leg collided with the flat of his blue palm. Twisting his hand, he grabbed Goku's leg and pulled the Saiyan within striking range. With a powerful blow, North Kaiō's palm struck Goku in the chest, and the Saiyan was winded, futilely gasping for air. Each strike from North Kaiō was more powerful than anything he'd experienced before; stronger than Piccolo, stronger than Raditz. That this kind of power existed to oversee the universe boggled his mind.
"An' th' Saiyans comin' our way are even stronger than him!" Goku thought with awe. The Universe was truly full of strong opponents, and he couldn't help but be amazed, even as he tried to fill his lungs with oxygen. Clutching his chest as he bent down on one knee, his breath grew from raspy to normalizing itself.
"You won't last a second in Kaiōken using that body," said North Kaiō. "You're too uptight, and too anxious when you make your moves. Not only does your body need to be trained to handle the stress, but you need to be able to relax, so you can minimize the stress. Kaiōken is not a move for the faint of heart; even I've never been able to master it. I'm placing all my expectations on you, Goku."
"Well...I'll try an' live up to 'em," replied the Saiyan, a grin on his face as he drew himself into a standing position.
"Then let me show you just a fraction of what I'm hoping for," said North Kaiō. He readopted his stance, and Goku put his guard up. It happened in an instant. North Kaiō's ki spiked tremendously, there was a flash of red, and Goku felt his body hurtling across the planet at breakneck speeds. Pain rocked through his body, centered directly in his torso; he couldn't tell how many times he had been hit. In fact, until his body recognized where every ounce of pain was localized, he didn't even know something had hit him.
His body splaying out, Goku gripped the ground as he circled the planet for a second time, coming to a complete and total halt. He coughed up spittle and blood, clutching his body where North Kaiō had hit him.
"That is the Kaiōken," said North Kaiō, walking over to Goku and looking down at his hunched figure. "A fighting technique I've developed, multiplying the user's ki for the length of a heartbeat, and drastically boosting all of your abilities."
"How...many times...did you hit me?"
"Oh...around thirty or so," shrugged North Kaiō. "To be perfectly honest, even I haven't mastered the Kaiōken. But I believe you can, Goku."
Goku was stunned. North Kaiō claimed to not have mastered the technique...but he struck him that many times with such speed the blows weren't even visible. "That's...that's amazin'! I never knew that kinda technique existed!"
North Kaiō snickered. "Of course not; I'm a martial arts master, after all. The Kaiōken is my own original creation! Now, let's redouble our efforts...after a nice spot of tea."
"...What!?" Goku groaned in exasperation. He'd been feeling all excited after seeing what North Kaiō could do with the Kaiōken, but in that one moment, the deity killed any excitement he'd had. Regardless, as he followed the Kaiō into his house, tailed by Bubbles, Goku grinned. The thought of a technique like that excited him immensely. Training was really going to get interesting.
In The Outer Reaches of Space
The multiple round-type spaceships were making headway towards Earth. Tearing through the North Galaxies, they were looming ever closer. Earth was located on the outskirts of the Milky Way, but distance didn't matter to the spacecraft of the Galactic Freeza Army. As the days ticked down, the Saiyans day of arrival grew nearer. And, even while asleep, once in particular grew fidgety.
Not the prince.
The beautiful Saiyan woman in stasis, laying against the seat of her pod.
Aspara was itching to fight.
A/N:
Demod20: I had a far more enjoyable time writing this scene than I originally had planned. Instead of a simple exchange, I go the extra mile and make Pan the little battle prodigy; a great departure from her Canon counterpart I'm sure. Apart from the cute little badass getting some good hits in on her unlikely teachers, I've found myself enjoying Piccolo and Raditz's brother-like dynamic going on. It wasn't originally part of my plan, but it just happened and works fairly well. My section with Tights and Bulma, even Jaco, was also pretty enjoyable as well. With some hearty development for all, I'm eager to work on the next chapter for the upcoming, inevitable, arrival of the Saiyans!
LastationLover5000: In the end, I'm not even sure who had the most fun with this chapter, Demod or myself. I loved his section, but I rather enjoyed writing my own. Goku never asked North Kaiō anything about his race, discounting that anime-only segment where North Kaiō proved he knew about as much as a dated textbook that hasn't been updated with the latest scientific discoveries. So I loved having the deity regale Goku with as much as he knew about the Saiyans, especially as a way to incorporate some of the latest elements from Super. Even more fun, perhaps, were his training sessions. The clever use of his new tail, and his sparring match with the North Kaiō. Overall, it was a pretty solid chapter: good work on my contemporary's part, and as always, Firegod00 did his best to edit our little mess!
We'll see you guys soon, in the next chapter!