"Please… let me go! I don't want to die! I'm not harming anyone! I won't ask for freedom! I won't grant anyone's desires… I just don't want to be hurt anymore… please…"
Jazz blinked in surprise. "Uh…" This wasn't what he was expecting, then again, he didn't fully know what to expect. He didn't have a strong grasp on the personality of the spirit that inhabited the crystal, but he had thought he had exorcised her the first time over.
"Please! Just leave me be!" The crystal radiated a powerful pulse of ki, strong enough to break Jazz's grip over it.
"Hey!" he shouted and charged the crystal, catching it again.
"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT? YOU'VE KILLED MY OLD MASTER, REJECTED ME! THEN REMOVED ME FROM MY NEW PERSON, WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!" The voice almost sounded like it was crying.
"First of all, your first boss wanted to destroy the sun. And your 'power' stole the free will of Launch!"
"IT DIDN'T!" The voice shouted angrily, "ALL I DID WAS GRANT HER THEIR WISH!"
"What?!" Jazz shouted, surprised.
"That poor girl has to have her life split in 2 every time she sneezes! Her innermost desire was to balance both sides and not forget anything! I gave her that, and then when you wouldn't leave, she desired me to protect her new transformation! When you took my powers! You took that from her!"
"If that was her desire, why didn't she leave the island after it had been fulfilled?"
"Someone had to control those stupid oni, and so many of them had grabbed the shards of me that YOU DESTROYED, you think she told the oni to pillage villages? Did she actually answer the question you asked her?! And on forgetting her, did you not remember her holding you at gunpoint to demand my person?!" The crystal screamed with annoyance.
This time, Jazz couldn't find words to argue back against her. "Then… my friend Goku, PaoPao said she could sense your energy in him, aren't you responsible for that?!"
"That boy, I remember from Launch that he was trying to overcome his insanity under the moon, correct?! If he has one of my shards then perhaps it was attempting to help him fulfill his desire by changing his body."
"What?!"
"Yes! Changing the person to fit the desire, that is how my power works! If someone simply desires greater strength, I'll give them energy, but if they desire something power doesn't simply grant, I help them change their own physical, mental, or spiritual makeup to fulfill that desire."
"Wait… any desire?" Jazz asked suddenly.
"It requires a certain amount of energy on my part, but something like making sure Launch keeps her memories in between sneezes is simple enough." The voice sounded prideful this time.
"So… what could have been done to Goku?"
"From… the bit I can gather from my scattered consciousnesses… it looks like his body transforms into a giant creature and a huge well of power fills his vessel." She began, "I probably determined that the best way was to keep his body from growing, so that his power increase was not in tandem with his body growing in size and him losing his sanity, but it sounds like since it's only a tiny sliver of me, I lack the power to do it fully, and it looks like he was still able to transform after eventually expelling the combined energy. Though… I'm surprised my tiny sliver was even able to come up with the energy to try and change his biology in the first place, I'd need to see it first hand."
"Like I'd let you near my friends." Jazz muttered, but inside, his mind raced. If she was telling the truth, then Goku's appearance might have made sense. Sort of like the Kaioken, Goku's ki and power rose rapidly, beyond what his body could normally keep up with, if he hadn't released the energy, he would have blown up. 'Perhaps… the Oozaru helped balance out the increase in energy with the raised mass. But, if that were the case, what about the Super Saiyan? It is an increase in power, exponentially greater, yet the body does not face that same issue, unless, it does and they were just strong enough to train the strain away, if not for the crystal, Goku wouldn't be struggling now…' Jazz gripped the crystal a bit tighter, causing the lights to flash violently. "Is there a way to reverse what's happened to Goku?"
"No… all I can do right now is further modify it to the most viable of forms… dammit! If I wasn't in pieces, changing this would have been a piece of cake."
"What do you need now to help him?" Jazz demanded angrily.
"Stop being so mean! I didn't want to do this, my tiny slivers have no will! They can't choose a master, all they do is obey the desire, regardless of intention! Perhaps ask Goku what happened to cause this change, and we can go from there! Just… leave me alone! I don't want to die! I don't! I don't! I d-"
Jazz interrupted her, "No one's going to kill you… yet." He sighed, "Is there a way to… suppress your energy?"
"Only if my master desires it… otherwise, I'm simply a floating rock that gains energy from the moonlight. By the way… I hate doing that, it hurts, but it was Master Lucifer's desire, he was so stupid, I could easily gain the energy from the sun, but since I've been shattered by a certain ignoramus, there's nothing that can be done."
Jazz chose to ignore that little tidbit. "Alright… how does someone become your master?"
"Wait! You mean I can finally leave this island?!" The voice sounded shocked, then suspicious. "Wait…this is a trick, you'll use me to save your friend, then you'll destroy me, you'll use that witch-girl to exorcise me then you'll-"
Jazz interrupted her again. "Shut up, please, no, yes I'll use you to help fix Goku, then I'll use you to help me, but what I need to be done will take literal decades, if not more, to complete. You say you can change the body to fulfill someone's desire, right? What if their desire is to get rid of all the magical and ki energy in their body, and to be restored to the person they used to be?"
"Do you mean someone who was granted outside energy to cultivate their growth? Yes, it's simple enough to remove all of the magical residue and ki from outside sources."
Jazz smiled, "alright then…"
…
Yamcha bowed before Master Roshi.
"THE FIRST FIGHT OF THE SEMI-FINALS WILL COMMENCE! WILL THE FEROCIOUS YAMCHA WIN OUT AGAINST THE EXPERIENCED JACKIE CHUN? OR WILL AGE OUTWEIGH TENACITY? FIGHT!"
Yamcha charged forward, angling his body low to the ground. Jackie Chun looked away as if he was distracted.
"Old man!" Some people in the crowd shouted, but their cries were for naught, before anyone could notice, the old fighter launched a powerful kick into Yamcha's sternum, launching him off the arena. Using a combination of his flying and strength, Yamcha dug his hand into the tiled floor, creating furrows on the hard substance and catching himself before he fell.
"AMAZING! WHAT A TURN OF EVENTS! YAMCHA WAS STRUCK BY AN UNSEEN KICK, YET WAS ABLE TO KEEP HIMSELF FROM FALLING!"
Yamcha grinned, even as his chest throbbed. "You really are the world's best…" He dashed forward again.
"I see, trying the same thing again are we?" Roshi shook his head ruefully, "unless…" Before anyone could react again, Roshi raised his left arm, smacking Yamcha back. "That was a decent feint, but your intent could be read quite easily you know…"
"Dully noted…" Yamcha flipped back and observed his opponent.
"Come on Yamcha!" Bulma shouted, "beat that old fogey!"
Yamcha gave Bulma a thumbs up. "Sorry sir, even if I was to lose, I've got to try my best in front of my girl."
Yamcha calmed himself down, his breathing slowing and his heartbeat steadying itself.
Roshi watched Yamcha with interest. "Well now, let's see what you can do."
Yamcha's eyes burst open and a feral ferocity seemed to take hold. "TIGER HUNT!" He took on a low stance, one hand crossed over the other and fingers splayed out as if he brandished claws, then he charged forward.
"YAMCHA UTILIZES A BRAND NEW TECHNIQUE?! FIRST THE WOLF, NOW THE TIGER?!"
Roshi readied himself, "changing the animal you emulate won't change the result." He struck out with 7 karate chops and 4 kicks faster than a human could blink normally but widened his eyes in surprise when Yamcha endured those attacks and swiped his hands down on the master.
For the first time in the tournament, Roshi found himself having to really move to avoid an attack. As Yamcha's attack struck the ground, a slight furrow appeared on the solid concrete. Gripping the broken ground with his hands, Yamcha used the leverage to charge towards Roshi with a flurry of vicious arm swipes, leg sweeps, and rushes.
'I see…' Roshi thought, 'much like a tiger, who does not let up until his prey is slaughtered, this young man keeps close, and chooses to endure the pain… admirable, BUT NAIVE!' He extended his fist out rapidly, catching Yamcha in the face.
"Viper palm!"
Or at least, he thought he did, Roshi widened his eyes as Yamcha ducked pre-emptively and twisted his right arm towards Roshi's throat, hand curled like a vice grip towards his neck.
"Astounding battle sense!" Roshi laughed. Bending back, he dodged Yamcha's attack and kicked the young man away, the force sending Yamcha into the air. Before the young man could regain his bearings, Roshi leaped up kicked the young fighter to the ground.
Yamcha screamed in pain and shock as he impacted the ground, though Roshi watched in interest as the young man slowly got up, his stance wide and strong.
"Interesting, inviting me to take you head-on?" Roshi decided to play along with this young man who wasn't his disciple and charged forward.
"BEAR RUSH!" Yamcha shouted, his arms started low, as he swung them together in an overhead sweep as if he was grabbing an axe from behind him and swinging down on a log in front of him in one solid motion, Roshi noted in interest that on the height of his swing, he raised his toes and extended his legs, attempting to gain as much height and weight into the swing as possible. Roshi extended his arms behind him, then brought them forward in a massive open-palmed push to meet Yamcha's attack.
The victor of the clash was evident the second they met, yet Roshi was still surprised by the power in Yamcha's swing, and even more surprised when Yamcha, instead of simply being blown back, used the momentum to move into a spinning side-flip-kick.
"WOLF FANG FIST!" As soon as his foot connected, Yamcha began striking with a flurry of savage and quick open-palmed strikes, he aimed low, struck low, and attempted to catch Roshi on his flanks. As Roshi fought, it gave off the impression of a coordinated attack from several accomplished hunters.
"Show me what you can do boy!" He announced, kicking Yamcha back with enough force to knock him out of the arena once more.
"AMAZING! DESPITE YAMCHA'S HEATED EFFORTS, IT LOOKS LIKE JACKIE CHUN CAN HANDLE ANYTHING!"
Yamcha caught himself with the Air Dance once more, breathing hard.
"The wolf, that was the inspiration from my training, powerful in a pack, fierce, enduring, and viscous, yet at the same time, when alone, still carrying the dignity of a warrior, that is what I wanted to emulate when I fought." Yamcha shook his head, "the wolf is still the basis of my technique, but I also see the ferocity of a tiger, the strength of a bear, and the agility of a viper, when I fought those hundreds of oni over the months, they slowly grew used to my fighting style, and I had to adapt and learn." While still in the air, Yamcha brought his hands low and tensed his body, he angled himself so that his back was to a wall. "This attack takes some set up, if you'd be so kind, venerable elder, look at it, and tell me what I'm missing." He placed his feet to the wall, then extended his legs, kicking off the wall and towards Roshi. "Hinode Ōkami no Ken!" As he rushed Roshi, he used the air dance to rotate in the air, pulled back his arms, and relaxed his body. Just before he reached Roshi, he extended his arms in tandem with his rotation and tensed his body to the fullest.
"Haaa!" Roshi struck back with extreme force.
In a flash of light, Yamcha was knocked out of the arena.
"Yamcha… was it?" Roshi grinned, "your technique was astounding, you combined the overbearing power of a bear, ferocious strength of tiger, relentless endurance of a wolf, and quick strike of a viper, all while keeping to the spirit of your roots." He shook his head, "but you lack foundation."
Yamcha nodded, that last attack taking everything out of him. With his tension release, he fell unconscious. "I take… your advice… sensei."
"Stinky brat, who said I was your teacher? I already have so many…" Roshi sighed, knowing his burden was about to increase. He turned to his two students, Goku and Krillin, 'well then, my pupils, I hope I can impart my lesson on, to both of you.'
…
Jazz arrived back at the venue for the 21st Budokai.
"Oh my goodness, so many people! I'm so happy! The sun, the air, the ocean gleaming so bright, it's been years!"
"How many?" Jazz asked wryly, the Sleeping Princess had been, in his opinion at least, uncharacteristically cutesy as she surveyed the world through his eyes. The way the contract worked was interesting, once a master-servant relationship was established with the spirit of the crystal, which referred to herself as Z, she would be able to see the world through the senses of the person who controlled her. Normally, this established relationship only worked when the master was touching the diamond.
"Master Lucifer was a huge bastard, I only got to see the world for a few seconds every full moon-filled night when he moved me to the pedestal!"
"So… how many years?" Jazz muttered quietly.
"It's rude to ask a lady her age…" The voice was reproachful enough to cause Jazz to burst into laughter, catching the attention of the young boy before him.
"Jazz? What's so funny?" Goku asked as he got into a fighting stance.
Jazz shook his head, "nothing, I'm just excited for my match against you." An advantage of this situation was that the Sleeping Princess couldn't be heard by anyone unless he allowed her to speak through him, though she was content to peruse his mind and experiences.
"Though… while I did remove the sliver of my crystal from him, are you sure I should leave things unchanged? I got the impression that he may have a great new power within him within the next decade. I can awaken it now."
Jazz shook his head, "that would be premature, and probably dangerous. Also, it would put him to sleep, disqualifying the match, and I don't want that, that'd be unfair."
"Then why don't I make you stronger?"
Jazz stretched, 'be quiet now, and no, you already know my desire, and that it's going to take a while.'
"Fine… just don't take too long, I hate being blind…"
Jazz took off the jacket he was wearing, tightly wrapping it so that the gemstone was hidden from people's gaze, as per his desires, she was neither detectable to magic or ki sensing, and removed the sliver of crystal that Goku had accidentally taken into himself. The process was relatively easy, due to the fact that apparently 'the energy required to change the boy was massive, so the diamond was easily spent.'
After discarding his Jacket and the crystal within it to an attendant for safekeeping, Jazz cracked his knuckles. The crystal could have granted him power, at the moment, the power was piss-poor compared to its original power and the power it had given Launch, but the strength would be massive for someone on Jazz's current level. But, he didn't want the power, rather, he wanted to conserve her strength for something really important. Shenron's words had worried him, if he was too deep in ki and magic, he would never be able to leave, but the Sleeping Princess could grant his desire. She could take away his powers once he completed the long journey of living through the history of the Dragon World to its most current iteration. And so, he didn't need to worry about getting stronger or learning new powers anymore.
Goku grinned as he saw Jazz's enthusiasm. "I'm really happy I get to fight you again Jazz!"
Jazz nodded, "I'm glad I get to fight you too."
They got into their stances.
"BOTH THESE FIGHTERS HAVE SUCH MYSTERIOUS TRANSFORMATIONS GOING FOR THEM! WILL THE OLDER JASPER WIN OUT WITH HIS WILEY TRICKS AND TRANSFORMATIONS? OR WILL GOKU WIN OUT WITH HIS EXTREME POWER AND HIDDEN TRANSFORMATION?!"
…
...
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 15 (and 11 months), physical appearance: 15-16
Hair color: Red
Skin color: white
Race: Quarter Caucasian(White American of English-Irish descent), Quarter Asian (Korean), Quarter Black(African-American), Quarter Hispanic (Cuban)
Height: 5ft 9inches | 175 centimeters (69 inches, nice)
Weight: 155 lbs | 70 kilograms (the namekians granted him a pair of 10, 15, and 20 kilogram wrist and ankle weights. (3 sets of weighted clothing in total, 4 parts each, 22 pounds, 33 pounds, and 44 pounds respectively, currently using 15 kg (33 lbs) weights.
Skills: Decent Sports Talent for Age, Semi-Above Average Intellect for age, intermediate martial arts skills, average ki control, good pain tolerance, trap building, intermediate weapons mastery, basic boxing, basic MMA, street fighting skills
Powers: Magic Materialization (Fire) (Proficient Understanding), Magic Materialization (Water) (Basic Understanding)
General magic: Basic Understanding
Max Power/ Pump Up (1.5x (mastered), 2x (capable),
Shapeshifting, Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Noble Werewolf (On the Cusp of Awakening)
Powerlevel: 80, will raise to 120 temporarily when using Pump Up/Max Power 1.5, or 160 when using Pump Up/Max Power 2x
…
…
Afterword:
Welp, I hope this fight between Yamcha and Roshi didn't disappoint, I certainly had fun thinking it up. Welp… see you guys for the next two Chapters.