Dragon Ball
Heart of the Adventurers
By LastationLover5000 & Demod20
Chapter 48 -Manifest Destiny
Ferris Prime Stadium
Round 2
Son Gokū vs Raze Crimson
The Stadium lit up with a cavalcade of explosions, trailing behind a swiftly moving blur of orange-black. The Saiyan brimmed with bluish ki as he spun around in the air, feeling out the pattern of attacks and nimbly avoiding them at the last second.
The sound of the narrator shouting barely could be heard past the blasts of each projectile nearly making contact with his person. His eyes couldn't make out where his opponent was past the flashes of discharge, remaining still since the start of the match.
Gotta get closer! He determined, stopping with a skidding stomp along the crater ridden floor. Turning around, his body erupted in a momentary flash of red and the hail of light slowed around him; no, more accurately he simply sped up.
Stomping the arena ground, an enormous upheaval of earth with a loud scream came from his throat, forcing the wall of spearing light to shatter and throw back with his fierce cry. A wind of dust flew back, revealing a woman of tall stature, sharp ears and bright red hair flowing back in a mohawk that trailed down her back.
Curvaceous features outlined in a metallic breastplate, revealing her waist down to a cuirass skirt of metal blades and a pair of boots. Wearing a winged helm that framed her face in the same way metal wings spanned from her back, fierce green eyes glared as she raised her hands up; rippling the air with ki that transformed into a pair of ethereal blades in each hand.
"DON'T GET COCKY, SAIYAN!" She shouted out, zooming with incredible speed at Gokū. A circle of spears formed around herself, firing off ahead, forcing Gokū to deflect them with swift chops and punches of his hands.
Allowing her to reach him with a double cross swipe over him.
CRAK!
Gokū's feet crunched the floor beneath himself, his arms flexing and embroiled in red flames of ki. The swords grinded against the thick aura, sparks spraying off the Saiyan's muscular limbs.
The next instant, Raze felt a devastating crunch centered around her unarmored waist. Gokū's boot stretched her back out, her eyes agape and mouth spewing out blood-
THUUM!
-sending her shrieking back across the arena floor straight into the stadium wall. Thunderclap of force shuddered the ray shields protecting the audience, sending her flipping back towards Gokū's waiting fist-
BOOM!
-crashing straight into her face, driving her hard into the ground, shattering her metal wings from the force alone. Steam wafted off the fist, retrieved along with a trickle of blood from its target. With eyes rolled back and tongue hanging out of the jaw, Raze had fallen into unconsciousness.
"ANOTHER SPECTACULAR SPECTACLE! SON GOKU HAS BROUGHT LOW THE FAIRY QUEEN, RAZE CRIMSON, TO AN UPSET DEFEAT! WHO CAN STOP THIS UNFATHOMABLE WINNING STREAK FOR JACO'S CHAMPION?! FIND OUT IN OUR THIRD ROUND, AFTER THESE MATCHES…BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS…!"
As Gokū traipsed back to the arena elevator, he gave a enthusiastic wave back to the bubble his wife and Jaco sat within. The Patrolman looked stunned that Gokū yet again made another victory; all while his wife cheered and blew kisses his way.
He giggled to himself, blowing a kiss back as he descended into dimly lit rail that brought him back to the waiting room. Amidst the few minutes long silence, he decided to contact someone else about his progress.
Hey Kaiō, how are things going on your end?
"Very well, Son Gokū," He said, nodding sagely to himself. "I've been keeping track of your competition from here. Your training has bore much fruit since the last time you used Kaiōken. No opponent has stood a chance of matching you so far."
I know. I'm a little bothered about not getting a good match, but that isn't the whole reason I entered into this tournament, Gokū mentally affirmed, eyes knitting into a frown as lips turned into a thin line of contempt. Is Tullece watching?
"Last time I checked his evil presence, he was paying close attention to your bouts in particular," Kaiō informed, walking around his planet's lawn as he spoke. "He has yet to make a move towards you, though. And Chi-Chi is nowhere near him at the moment."
I see. Thanks, Kaiō. I'm glad you've been helping keep tabs on those two for the last year.
"It's the least I can do for my star pupil," He said with a smile. "Just keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll lure him in. Be sure to be ready the moment he comes your way."
I will, Gokū thought with a dark smile.
Finishing his descent, he returned his expression to a blank normal as he got off the elevator into the corridor. Waiting for him is a red skinned woman with a crop of short hair covering the ears and bangs cut short above her brow. Her black tresses framed her sharp chin and soft cheeks to slim brows creased at him with black eyes staring intently at him.
"You, Saiyan," She said, her voice light yet slightly grated as her arms unfolded from her short black top, hands placed on either hip. "We need to talk."
"Oh, okay," He blinked, wide eyed with innocent confusion. Did he do something he wasn't supposed to?
"I saw that technique you used," The young woman said, squinting her eyes with a scowl. "Who did you learn that from?"
"Kaiō," He answered.
Her eyes opened wide. Hair rose up on end in a crown of waving black spikes, revealing a pair of short sharp red ears with a pair of gold star shaped earrings. Her body radiated an intense aura, reverberating the hall like liquid, the floor wobbled unsteadily and a hot gust blew back Gokū across the room past the elevator.
"NGH!" Gokū grimaced, crossing his arms over his face as he dug his heels into the floor to slow his backwards flight.
"You've just sealed your fate, Godling!" She shouted out, squatting down and suddenly evaporated in a crimson line straight towards Gokū.
Tenfold Kaiōken!
In a roaring eruption of crimson that shook the floating satellite to its core, Gokū caught an incoming fist inches from hitting his face. His bulging physique dwarfed the opposing woman, yet her momentum pushed him further across the hallway, smashing his back into the opposing wall.
Snapping a kick, she spun around to his right, backhanding him across the jaw further down the adjacent hall. Leaping back to counterstrike, she leaped up and over, kicking him into the ground by his crown.
Palming the floor, he twirled out of the way from a downward stomp, launching a kikoha as he did so that she deflected in a fiery impact near them. Amidst the flames, an invisible kiai shot forth, bowling into the woman's midsection with a loud crack that staggered her backwards.
"Why you-!" She growled out, her eyes glowing red.
Gokū yelped with fright, leaning backwards, narrowly avoiding a piecing pair of eyebeams that scraped the top of his gi, drilling through the floor. Jumping up, he leaped at her in a crimson burst just as she did her own red forward blur forward.
Their fists made contact, causing the foundations to crack and warp around them, shaking the floating entertainment center. Black eyes glared opposing to Gokū, a pure hatred echoing as much as her aura did.
"What's wrong with you?!" Gokū yelled out.
"A Godling dares invoke the name of my family, and expects nothing to be done about it?! You're a fool of the highest order!" She spat, angrily grinding her smaller knuckles against his throbbing ones.
Lightning crackled between the pair, snapping and tearing through the barriers on either side as both pressed against one another. Neither side gave an inch, yet the seconds ticked by and it was Gokū who felt the toll of his persistent power-up.
Gotta end this fast! He thought with a teeth bared grimace.
Releasing the tension in his fist against hers, she moved forward with his retreating limb-
KOOM!
"Gak!" She gaped out, feeling a sharp impact of Gokū's elbow drive into her chest. A successive uppercut drove up her chin, sending her spinning up into the ceiling, crashing back to the floor with a series of bounces.
Flipping over back to her feet, she sneered angrily. Her thin aura rose up into a jagged flame, a scream came into the air from it and her eyes glowed a pupiless glare at him; flaring out, her ki exploded, causing Gokū to widen his eyes in alarm.
She's stronger than Freeza! I gotta transform now, before she-!
"Hold it right there!"
A voice called out behind the red skinned woman, instantly causing her to freeze in place. Her aura dispersed, hair still rigid but held upright as her black eyes looked over her shoulder to what Gokū could see.
A handful of Herasian Employees stood there, their stoic features staring hard at the woman and Gokū. Each one a rigid posture that bore the look of an energy restrained yet could be unleashed in a given moment.
Worse, Gokū suddenly got the impression he broke a rule of some kind by fighting just now.
"Mazak, your scheduled fight isn't for another couple of hours," Rivesh said calmly, eyeing her before looking towards the Saiyan. "Son Gokū, yours is over for the round. If you two can't follow the rules we will eject both of you from our station."
"I-I was defending myself!" Gokū protested with wide eyes, pointing straight at the woman. "She attacked me!"
"Anyone who serves the Gods is an enemy who must be eliminated!" Mazak spat back.
"I don't know what you're on about, but Kaiō just taught me Martial Arts! I don't serve him!" Gokū rebuked.
"You're one in the same in my eyes!"
"You're so frustrating…!" Gokū growled out with fists balled up.
"Enough!" Rivesh snapped, clapping his hands together as he addressed them both. "Save your bickering for the ring, where Ferris Prime can entertain the audience. Your battle caused structural damage to the station and repairs need to be made at once. You will accompany us to the waiting room or be thrown out," He narrowed his eyes, glaring at both of them intently as he enunciated with a hiss. "Do I make myself clear?"
A few long seconds passed by as Gokū felt sweat crawl down his scalp. The woman knew about these people, or at least what they were capable of. He senses something there as well and didn't want to provoke them needlessly.
Yet, her eyes spoke of a fury for him based purely on saying who taught him the Kaiōken.
What did Kaiō ever do to her? I'll have to ask him about it when I get the chance…
Finally, she hissed out an exhale, her hair falling back to her crown and she turned to nod at him.
"Very good," Rivesh said, turning on his heels, allowing Gokū and Mazak to accompany him with his coworkers flanking them on either side. "You're both profitable contenders and have earned a respectable following on our interstellar channels. For this reason we will let you off with a warning on the grounds you keep your fights within a contained environment."
Neither said a word.
Gokū already knew that he nearly cost Jaco and Bulma this trip by running into the wrong competitor with a chip on her shoulder. There wasn't anything he wanted to say unless he felt safe from an unknown consequence.
Returning back to the waiting room, a number of the fighters gave the pair a wide berth. Having felt the whole station shake - likely overhearing their shouts as well - they likely didn't want to cross either of them.
Mazak gave a cold glare at Gokū before making a stride to the far end of the waiting room out of sight.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Gokū leaned on the nearest locker.
"Yo," A man said next to him, causing the Saiyan to blink at him. "I saw your two matches earlier. You seem like a tough one, Son Gokū."
Gokū recognized the man from an earlier hologram broadcast. Rajeel Bloodwolf, standing at 6ft tall with a lean muscular figure with arms exposed down to fingerless leather studded gloves. A single pauldron rests over his right shoulder, black feathers embroidered on it from some unknown large avian creature. His chest is wrapped in a simple sleeveless top, leading to a pair of dark gray pants with black flight boots. Sporting long frayed black hair and skin of a light complexion, his sharp features from cheek to jawline and nose gave him a predatory look; his red eyes staring at him looked eagerly for a fight.
"You're Rajeel, that Slayer guy who beat the Bulk guy, right?" Gokū asked, remembering the massive emerald skinned man with an angry disposition from before.
"Kulk," Rajeel corrected, grinning with humor at Gokū's name he misremembered. "He was a tough guy, but I'm something of a different breed. Even Datsu never beat me in the ring. Question is, will you?"
"We'll see, now won't we?" Gokū said coyly with a grin.
"Gehe, looking forward to it," Rajeel chuckled, walking around and away from Gokū as he kept his hands swaying at his sides. "Just make sure you don't get kicked off this station before then. It'd be a shame if you lost by disqualification before I got a chance to tear you apart, haha!"
Milky Way
Sierra System
Planet Junko
The planet of Junko, once a world of riches in both nature and civilization, now a sand blasted wasteland that serves its purpose as a graveyard for aging technology. Since a time before the reign of Cold, the world has been desolated long before their tyranny began an age ago.
Rolling seas of sand, fiery twisters that cyclones about stood giant, half buried husks of ancient starships and land based armor units, stretched out like dessicated carcasses with their internal components peeled away like flesh from bone by the harsh desert winds. Amidst the enormous trash heaps that are piled miles high as mountains of metallic debris were an assortment of modular colony apartments.
Founded by scavengers, these ramshackled shacks belonged to hundreds to thousands of the denizens of the tech cemetery. They oversaw large scale operations to dive upon the piles of trash far below, to mounting expeditions into the faraway wastes where yet to be discovered prizes awaited for recovery and perhaps sold for quite a decent kan to anyone interested in forgotten technology.
But today, all of the natives stayed inside of their mountain top sanctuaries. Not for the usual reason such as the flesh rending sandstorms or the terrifying creatures that have adapted to the hellish sands of this world.
It's because they have visitors using the planet for other more unorthodox purposes.
Black goggled men stared out of porthole windows of their cylindrical apartments, seeing distant speckling lights followed by the sounds of thunder. Every once in a while a spark of light streaked by the mountain of trash, shaking it fiercely as a volatile explosion gave way to a vibrating shockwave. Balls of fire cast eerie glows around the base of the debris peaks, columns of smoke doing little to help witness the ongoing battle that assuredly is taking place.
Then, in an impact that sparked off lightning, a speck streaked quickly in a blur of uncontrollable motion. The scavengers shrieked in impotent terror, as this particular mountain shook as the form of velocity sheared the peak, smashing into their abode and tearing through enviro-shielding into a cramped kitchen.
"Pardon me," Tapion said, rising up from the smashed cans and ruined table he crunched upon. Wiping away the bits of food and metal off his leather jacket overlapping a dark blue jumpsuit, the red haired Konatsian stood up from the wreckage.
Just in time to see the swelling halo of an incoming kikoha.
The screams around the ancient warrior faded as he leaped through the way he came in, thrusting a palm out to repel the blast back the way it was launched. Sensing a shift in mana above him, he twisted around and caught a downward scythe of energy, either gloved hand crackling with intensity at contact with the volatile crescent shaped discharge.
KAPOW!
Tapion's eyes winced, his body lurching from a teleporting roundhouse kick planted into his spine from behind, dragging the blaze of shredding ki along the face of the trash mountain. Flames erupted from a molten scar the energy blade left in his wake, though his own body remained unscathed upon righting himself along a distant sea of sand a few kilometers away from the immolating mountain face.
A blur of black and purple pulsed in front of the man, a fist slamming into an upraised palm. He snapped a kick, which was parried by a rising knee, and a follow-up triple jab from the left arced towards his head.
Weaving in and around each strike, he snatched the wrist and twisted around to pull over his shoulder in a rough tumble. Even as his adversary rose to all fours, he rammed a knee straight into the temple, releasing a palpable shockwave that billowed the sandy dune around them.
Thrown back by the force of the knee kick, the foe rolled across the sand shoulder and back in flips into the grained floor on hands and knees. Dazed, they rose up, staggering up while clenching their head, taking rasping breaths to recollect themselves.
Tapion breathed evenly, feeling a lull in this fight to catch his own breath. Bruises enamored his body beneath the roughed up jacket and suit, with minor scrapes around his skin where the covering couldn't protect. This battle has persisted for hours, and only now does his foe show signs of fatigue.
I shouldn't be surprised, Tapion thought with a smile. It's been a year since I began training with her. She's every bit the fighter her father is.
"Damn, you hit my head really hard, Tapion," Aspara griped, rubbing her head as she closed one eye shut as the other scowled at him. Her long wavy hair flowed in the desert wind; smooth even after so much wear and tear to her battle jacket and pants leaving an assortment of bruises and scrapes of her own.
"I'd apologize to you, but you did take several cheap shots at me earlier," He replied, standing upright as he felt his body relax. "Consider that repayment."
"Cheap shots, shmeep hots," She growled, shaking her head as her red aura rose up around her in a shriek that cut the air and blew back the sand below her feet.
"In a fight, everything is fair game!" She hollered, leaping back at him with a fist cocked back.
"Really?" Tapion asked, raising a hand up to his face, one eye staring hard at her between his thumb and index finger-
RIIIIIP!
-bringing down a skeletal mask over his face in a burst of black flames.
Her fist whiffed air, the red haired warrior stepping aside from her path of assault with ease. Eyes wide with alarm bulged in pain from a concussive blow to her chest that stretched her back out.
Launched up into the sky, air spewing from deflated lungs, Aspara felt her arms nimbly flop below with her feet with her rapid ascent. Air popped in her ears, her sight blurry of the retreating desert wastes below as her back struck the upper atmosphere.
THUUM!
Smashing into the planet below in a corkscrew of fiery reentry, Aspara felt darkness claim her. The pain stopped, and for just a little while, she didn't feel anything.
Not the fear of her father. Not the hatred of Vegeta and her cousins.
Just a calm silence.
It wasn't comfortable but it was a solace to take in between the sensation of unease she had been feeling for the last year. She is stronger, now more than ever before. Yet she felt something was missing.
Why is she not stronger than this?
"Make no mistake, Aspara. Among these bargain bin rejects, you'll surpass them all as a Legendary Saiyan."
Slap!
"Augh!" She gasped out, her eyes fluttering open aghast at the fresh wave of pain marked over her cheek.
"Good, you're still breathing," Tapion said with relief, kneeling over her prone body. Her eyes looked into his stunning green orbs, his gentle smile and an outstretched hand to help her up held over her chest.
With a begrudging snort, she grasped his gloved hand and felt her aching body rise up in a smooth motion.
"I apologize for using so much force," Tapion said, scratching his own cheek with a little embarrassment. "It's hard for me to restrain myself when I Mask. Hirudegarn's power is usually meant to kill, not spar."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," She grated out, hissing as she rubbed waist where she was hit first. "I egged you on, so it was my own damn fault."
Tapion's hand placed over hers on the abdomen. Before she could protest a warm bubble formed from his palm and the agony began to subside.
"I'm not as good at healing others as Zard is," Tapion confessed with a smile, retrieving his hand as soon as the last bits of damage were undone. "But internal damage is not a problem."
"I could've managed," Aspara griped, her hand still holding her waist, fingers tingling from the gentle touch she received. It had been the first time she ever had been given a helping hand, though she often refused it in the past year from Tapion.
What stopped her now? The pain? Or did she grow complacent, and soft around him?
"I'm sure you could," Tapion affirmed with a nod, though he smiled teasingly. "But we can't keep training if you keep using one hand to brace yourself from a blow like that."
Aspara's face swelled up with blood, her ears turned red with shame at the realization of how weak she felt. Eyes flickered in color, her hair fraying out as tendrils of light shot off her.
"You're looking down at me!" She shouted, whirling around, her hands shaking into fists and her tail whirled from her waistline behind her.
"No, I simply said-"
"NO ONE LOOKS DOWN ON ME!" She roared out, her ki erupting from the seams of her being.
Her aura no longer appeared a scarlet red as before. A torrent of wisping white, translucent and ghostly with hints of gold sprayed out from herself. Her growl turned into a harrowing scream as the sandy dunes surrounding them swirled and blew about from her rising fury.
Tapion stood still, realizing what could be happening.
Is she about to transform?! He thought as sweat beaded down his pale brow, his hair and clothes rustling from the ki venting off of her.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah!" She yelled out, the silvery light coursing up and around her as she held onto that feeling she senses inside of her. Past the shame, past the guilt and past the fear. The primal force that is buried below it all and awaiting to be pulled out.
She reached inside, digging deeper, and-
Thud!
"D-Dammit…" She swore, falling to her hands and knees, weakness assaulting her tired muscles. Her aura sputtered out, dispelling and the environment returned to normal around the two.
Tapion sighed.
In the past year, Aspara had moments similar to this one where she attempted to will the transformation of a Super Saiyan into being. Each time, something stops it.
Fatigue, perhaps? Or maybe an internal trigger she can't quite pull?
"You almost transformed this time," A voice sounded from behind. Tapion turned and saw the familiar sight of the Saurian, draped in his usual refined armor chested robed regalia. Though now in purple highlights to show his current allegiance to Tullece, much in the same way Tapion had done with his own field uniform.
"Why? Can't? I? Do it?!" She shouted, punching the sand below with heavy breaths. Her eyes misted up and sweat beaded off her face onto the floor below.
"Now now, Aspara," Zard said, walking past Tapion to stare down at her from her side. "You should know better that throwing a fit won't change what didn't happen," he paused, looking up at the bluish sky, hazy with heat, as he pondered aloud. "You simply don't have the proper catalyst for the transformation, not the lack of ability or skill. It's why I have you train against Tapion, someone who is your father's equal and perfectly capable of handling your eventual rebirth as a Legendary Saiyan."
"It's already been a year, Zard," She rasped out, gradually pushing herself up to her feet.
Her expression no longer looked angry at him or Tapion. It simply showed a look of despair, borne from self pitying grief of her own constant failure.
"It will happen when it must, not when you wish it," Zard spoke assuredly, having seen the transformation firsthand from Vegeta all that time ago. "Your strength and skill has risen to an able point, surpassing what even your father was capable of the year past. But I see now that a unique circumstance relative only to you must happen. Without it, I fear your own mind will shackle you within the confines of this routine we've developed for you in these training sessions."
"What do I have to do?" She asked, no derision in her voice, just a yearning echoed by her loose hands resting at her sides and a rare softness in her desperate eyes. "Just tell me. I need to be strong, stronger than anyone and anything."
Zard quieted, raising his three fingered claws to rub his reptilian chin thoughtfully. He stepped away, pacing slowly in silence as he carefully considered what must be done.
"I'd give you advice, Aspara, but mastering Hirudegarn's power is much different than what you're trying to do," Aspara heard Tapion say, her exhausted visage turning to him, causing him to flinch at the sight.
Quickly, he raised a finger for emphasis. "If I learned anything it's that mental focus is as important as spiritual. Agmus showed me that in order to master another power, you must master yourself. I don't know what you've been through, Aspara, but if you want to break your limits you have to learn to either embrace your past…or let it go."
"Let it go…" Aspara echoed, numbly looking down at her palms, fingers shaking as she slowly balled them into fists. "I don't think I can ever do that."
Zard stopped his pacing, hearing a chime echo on his belt. Looking down, he retrieved it, pulling out a cylindrical device and held it in front of him.
Turning on with a whir, the holographic image of Tullece's cloaked image appeared in the air. Colored blue and waving with quantum entangled waves that gave a small impression of static due to the vast distance between them, the Emperor appeared seated upon his throne in his flagship, the Prominence.
Tapion knelt when he saw the image of his liege, while Aspara turned her back to the image, attempting to hide how pale her face grew at the sight of him in her current plight.
"Zard, how are you faring?" He asked conversationally.
"As well as can be expected," He answered truthfully, waving his other claw with emphasis. "Your daughter's strength rivals your own from the past year. Her growth as a warrior is quite remarkable. I've seen very few who have her talent as well as her perseverance."
"I'd expect nothing less of my own flesh and blood," He replied with a mirthful smirk.
"Yet, I fear I am at a loss of what to do with the inability to grant her the Legendary Super Saiyan form," Zard intoned, his scaly brow furrowing as he blinked at the image. "No matter the world she is in, no matter how fierce the exchange of blows, she has yet to find the spark to ignite that mythic flame."
"I see," Tullece said, his eyes turning to Aspara's back. "Child, do not fret. I called not to simply be polite. I have an assignment for you to fulfill."
Aspara turned, hardening her features and glaring hard at her father's projected hologram.
"I am sending a list of individuals I want you to recruit to our side. Afterwards you will command them as your personal unit," He briefed, gesturing to Tapion as he spoke. "Tapion will be your right hand."
"Understood, my lord," Tapion affirmed while keeping himself bowed to Tullece.
"After you recruit your squad, go to the Andromeda Galaxy," Tullece ordered, leaning forward at the projector so his face took up more space in the air towards his daughter. "Some of the Star systems under our control have rebelled after hearing Cold's line has been usurped. They are currently being dealt with in the Milky Way, but our business interests in neighboring galaxies is currently threatened by a group known as The Confederacy of Free Galaxies. My sources tell me a particular planet is building some kind of Super Soldiers that are designed to surpass us Saiyans. Once you gather your team, you are to go there and eliminate the Super Soldiers but keep their world intact," he enunciates hard, furrowing his brow. "I want their technology for our empire, and their world can be used for the Shinseiju."
"I understand," Aspara said.
"Good," Tullece nodded, leaning back into his seat. "I know you won't fail me."
The image fizzled out as Tullece cut the connection, leaving the three alone once more.
"It seems that you might get the chance to prove yourself," Zard huffed out in a hiss, pocketing the Holo-Comm back on his belt. Casting a curious stare, he affirmed aloud. "I'll leave the recruitment to you, and perhaps you'll discover what it is that is holding you back from breaking your limits."
Aspara didn't say anything. She didn't even scowl. All she did was nod, and accept what he said is true.
"So," Tapion said, breaking the tense silence as Zard began to walk away from the pair. She cast him a curious look, and he cleared his throa as he straightened his posture. "Since we'll be working together, I just had a thought about what could help you get closer to your goal."
"Which is?"
"Meditation," He began, holding his hand up as soon as she began to open her mouth. "I think daily routine of clearing your mind will do you a lot of good. We tried to get somewhere by training traditionally. Let's try my method, and see if that helps at all."
Sighing, Aspara gave a nodding shrug.
"I'm willing to try anything to help me achieve my transformation," She said, giving him a pained smile. "Anything else?"
"No, but we should depart as quickly as possible," He advised. The low rumble of a starship dipped down towards them. Its shape resembled that of a sharp square, with jutting blaster cannons at the front and tubular engines behind its bulbed hull with a snub nosed plate where the cockpit lies.
The lower hatch of The Temerity opened, the pair soon entering, entering the central hold.
There stood Zard, punching coordinates into the galactic map. Holo displays flashed in smaller, sharp detail form smaller projections. Several figures rotated by, with full body shots and text descriptions next to them.
"The nearest recruit is in the Dahlia Galaxy," Zard spoke, looking over at Aspara as she and Tapion halted just before him and the holo-map. "But, since this is your mission, I'll defer to your judgement."
"Really?" Aspara snarked, her old derision returning due to the dubious nature of sudden handing of the reins to her; especially after a solid year of tireless training and instructions.
"Your father was quite clear that you accomplish this task yourself," Zard affirmed, placing both hands behind his broad back, eyes staring down at her intently. "I was given no instructions to fulfill this task myself. I will, however, lend aid and advice as necessary. Think of me as…training wheels, as you humans say."
Blinking with an exchange of looks with Tapion, the Konatsian shrugged before gesturing to the map.
"Well, for starters," She started, walking around the imposing stature of Zard to the map. "Let's see who my father has in mind to be on my team."
Scrolling through the list, her brows furrowed as she skimmed through the dossiers of each individual. They spanned over most of the Northern Galaxies, making it at least easy to get to.
However, the information troubled her. Most of the places they are holed up in are hotspots of hostility and conflict. Her Saiyan blood pumped at the prospect of engaging with new enemies, but her gut warned her not to act too recklessly.
Less she had what happened to her both on Earth and Namek.
I'm not counting on this mediation doing the trick, She thought as she looked over each figure critically. Perhaps one of these warriors will give me a clue as to what I need to unlock my true potential?
Punching in the coordinates, she silently prayed she will tap into that mythic power, and soon.
I'll have to do whatever I can, no matter how hard it is, She determined, her eyes fixing on a particular moon hovering a planet.
A world called Simià IV.
Demod20: Hello once more! We got another doozy of a Chapter here; one that focuses on our favorite mentally unstable Saiyan, Aspara! And with her struggles to obtain her transformation, it seems like her aim is going to cross paths with her wayward cousin; all the while he faces dangerous foes both in and soon outside of the Tournament. Looking forward to showing you where the story goes next! Cya all in the next update!
LastationLover5000: Hey, everyone! So I took more of a backseat this chapter, mostly because it was planned to be a longer chapter than what it is here, but it turned into a case of 'when it stops at the right place, it stops at the right place'. So my co-author was the sole writer of this dramatic, action packed piece, and I think it turned out amazing. He handles fights pretty well, and it's always fun to get to see a Gokū who is still isn't totally with a handle on Super Saiyan fighting in gripping battles. Even moreso, however, we continue to give screentime and development to Aspara and Tullece, two characters we're deeply fond of writing. I hope you all continue to enjoy this arc, as we use it to set-up for things to come. See you all soon!