Baba's laughter filled the air as Bandages carried the unconscious Hercule over to his team.
"Pft… well he was useless."
"Bulma!" Yamcha chastised, "he did great!"
"He fought an injured guy."
"Those bandages are due to the fact he is a MUMMY! A literal monster! Hercule fought as hard as he could, we can't mock him for that!"
Bulma turned away, "if you say so."
Before they could escalate the argument, Chi-Chi leapt onto the stage. "Bring out your next fighter!" She shouted fiercely. With Hercule's loss, momentum was turned against them, there was no way she would let this trend continue.
Baba raised an eyebrow, "alright then, if you say so." She giggled, "come on out, SPIKE!"
Coming out from the cave, a tall humanoid clad head to toe in what appeared to be the skin of a blue devil walked out. He flexed his wings and gave Chi-Chi a cruel smirk. "We've had some tough competition this time around, but none can get past me, or my ultimate technique." He charged forward.
Chi-Chi immediately noted that Spike was faster than she was, but luckily not faster than most of her friends. She dived down immediately, dodging his overhead sweep. She flinched as she saw him glare at her, then rolled out of the way of his piercing punch.
"You're going to fall off!" Hercule shouted, awake.
The narrow nature of the arena gave him the most trouble in the fight, and while he was disappointed with his loss, he was ready and willing to improve. "That guy's wings probably aren't for show! He's going to press that aerial advantage on you!"
"Well, if he isn't a clever guy." Spike smirked, "too bad he's weak." A beam of ki struck his chest, pushing him back as if he was struck by a sledgehammer. Chi-Chi growled. "He's not weak." She charged forward and threw forth a flurry of punches and kicks.
Spike dodged and blocked with simple movements, making it obvious that he was playing around. Chi-Chi moved to punch his jaw and he caught her first, then she moved to strike his stomach with an open palm. Holding it, he grinned, only to shout as a blast of ki hammered into his side. "OUCH!" He slammed Chi-Chi into the ground, causing her vision to flicker. Chi-Chi however hardened her grip on his arm and continually shot blasts of ki into him. "LET GO! YOU LITTLE-" He slammed the girl onto the ground hard enough to make the stone tongue crack. Chi-Chi's grip finally lessened. He threw her against the stone cave and flew back. "You insignificant little! Fine then! I'll show you my best!" He held his fingers to his temple.
"Wait!" Baba yelled, "don't do it, Spike!"
"Don't do what?!" Bulma yelled in concern.
"The Devilmite Beam…" PaoPao began, worry growing on her face. "It seeks whatever evil lives in your heart, and increases its size, killing you instantly. No matter how good you are on the outside, the tiniest hint of evil will be enough."
Chi-Chi at this point got up slowly and cupped her hands to launch a Kamehameha.
"Chi-Chi! Surrender!" Yamcha shouted, "we can't beat something like that!"
"I think she can win," Goku said confidently.
"What?! Why do you say that?" Krillin asked. Goku simply responded with a smile as he called out.
"Hey! Chi-Chi!"
The badly injured girl turned to Goku. Blood dripped from a cut lip, he had a black eye, and her left leg trembled slightly as she tried to hide its torn tendon and her fractured ankle. Hiding her pain, she gave Goku a confident smile. "I've got this!"
Goku nodded, "okay!"
"Pft!" The devil man laughed, "Sure you do kid. DEVILMITE BEAM!"
"Kamehameha!" The two attacks clashed, then overlapped. Chi-Chi was struck by the devilmite beam, while Spike was smashed into the wall above the cave.
"That's right…" Spike shouted, "let your evil explode out and kill you!"
Chi-Chi fell to her knees, exhausted and in pain, but she remained alive. She looked up at the devil man, glaring at him. That's when Spike realized that she had not given him a look of malice, hatred, or derision the entire time, she was mad at points, upset at others, but the key feature to her emotions had always been some form of determination. He turned to look at the young boy with spiky hair that Chi-Chi had looked at a little earlier. His eyes showed a similar innocence. At that point, Spike became very tired.
"Damn… what are you two, a couple of animals? Or freaking newborns…" He collapsed.
"Devilman is unable to continue!" Baba smiled, "goodness gracious little girl, you gave me quite a scare, but…" She flinched when Chi-Chi collapsed.
"Chi-Chi!" The others rushed to her. The first to her was PaoPao, who flipped her over to hear her breathing.
"She's alright." PaoPao began, "just injured and unconscious." She sighed.
"Oh, is she your friend, PaoPao?" Fortune Teller Baba asked.
"Yes, teacher, she is." PaoPao gave Baba a light bow.
"Well, let me get you some first aid while we prepare for the next fight."
Hercule looked at Chi-Chi's prone form, his face complicated.
"Are you okay Hercule?" Yamcha patted his shoulder.
"Even Chi-Chi did her all, and she was injured to this point, but she still won, I… am I even worth the effort of training?"
"Hey, Hercule," Goku called out to his taller friend. The young teen turned, then looked down towards Goku.
"Yeah? What?" Goku flicked Hercule on the forehead. "Oww!"
Goku spoke, "I nearly lost to a guy who was weaker than me, because I didn't know how to fight well, I did a lot of training to catch up and get better. Don't feel bad that you aren't at the level you want to be yet. You just have to keep trying." He smiled, "besides, Jazz was the first one to train with you, and he's pretty tough himself, right?"
Hercule nodded, "y-yeah… I guess I see your point."
Yamcha patted the younger man's shoulder. "I sometimes feel the same way Hercule, when compared to those kids, I'm 'weaker' but that doesn't mean I can't continue the fight. I've trained for too long to just give up from one or two losses. And…" He winked at the man, "like you, I've got someone I need to protect."
Hercule nodded, "I… yes… I get it!" He clenched his fist fiercely.
Baba turned to her next fighter, a short person wearing a kabuki mask. "Well, are you up for the next fight?"
"Well, yes, but I'd like to move it back to the standard arena, it's a little uncomfortable here."
"Ohohoho!" The woman laughed, "I understand!"
The two walked past the group of fighters, immediately catching Goku's attention. "That guy… he's kinda weird," Goku said.
"What?" Krillin asked, "what do you mean?"
"I don't know…" Goku said, but he suddenly smiled, "but it's a happy smell."
"Once the first aid is completed on your friend, you guys can come back to my arena!" Baba called out to them.
"Yes!" They shouted in unison.
…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!"
Tien dodged the wild swipes from the massive demonic-looking beast. Fire dripped from its body like liquid napalm, and it fired off beam after beam of ki as if it were endless. He dodged attack after attack, laughing at the thrill of it all. This was the challenge he was looking for. All of a sudden, a tail came out of nowhere, stabbing into his chest. The beast's roar changed into a pained squeal as the tail ripped off. Tien laughed, revealing an unblemished chest. "My ki is greater than yours, so I can brace against such an attack easily. He pointed his finger at the monster's shoulder. "Don Don Ray!" His blast pierced the monster's shoulder and the loose limb limply fell off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGH!" The beast held its decapitated shoulder, it thrashed about even wilder, its flames arcing to greater heights. Tien watched with interest as its arm rapidly regenerated, then watched with even greater interest as its eyes began to gleam blue and the decapitated arm lifted into the air and charged towards the man like a missile. He dodged out of the way, then was flung forward as the discarded limb exploded. He was flung into the wide, many-toothed maw of the beast, but instead of feeling fear, he cocked back his fist and swung. An audible crack filled the air, and the beast dissipated, revealing Jazz, who slumped against his bindings, unconscious.
Tien got himself in the ready, mediating. His breathing had quickened by now, and the effects of fatigue had finally begun to take their toll on him. The boy's transformations were versatile and varied. This, coupled with his naturally high power, insane regeneration, and magical techniques, and Tien danced on the cusp of death's door whenever he faced the drugged-up warrior. This was Shen's ultimate punishment. Tien needed a training partner he could go out against without fear of murdering, and Shen's day was filled with the teen's pained screams. Tien watched Jazz intently. The boy recovered his stamina insanely quickly, he reckoned that an average of 20-30 minutes was enough for him to get up and strike as if he had never been injured in the first place, but the lack of food to fuel him took a toll, however slight. Not that he cared too much, ultimately, Jazz's place was as a punching bag. Tien gritted his teeth, he admired Mercenary Tao, and to think that he was beaten by some nobody from the Turtle School, made him feel like Jazz had been making fun of his master, and making fun of his school by coming her. It was dishonorable and unforgivable.
Jazz's breathing quickened.
"Is it 20 minutes already?" Tien got up. "Hahahaha…" He prepared himself for the next attack.
Thousands of gallons of water appeared out of the sky. This caused Tien to flinch, he'd never seen this attack before. He leapt out of the way as the water filled the room. Jazz's eyes began to glow blue as he willed the water to chase after the Crane Schoo's top disciple. Tien flew around, doing evasive maneuvers, but he couldn't dodge the entire deluge, soon enough, he was engulfed in it. He watched in shock as Jazz took the form of a white dragon with several wings, and screamed as a massive electric shock coursed through him.
Jazz, who had regained lucidity halfway through his last battle with Tien, bid his time for this move. He then opened his maw and concentrated a ki blast. Before he could continue, a tri-beam vaporized the water, turning it into mist, and a subsequent beam chopped off his tail. He screamed out in pain, watching as Tien pulled an alarm, and several needles stabbed into him again. "N-no!" He screamed out, feeling the drugs take their effect and dull his mind once again.
Tien observed the thrashing, irrational beast before him, and felt a chill crawl up his spine. Even while insane, the boy had hidden a card up his sleeve. He was bleeding from every orifice now, and clearly in pain as he thrashed for his freedom, but he had hidden his power, that deluge of water was unseen. This caused the assassin-in-training to smirk faintly. He stepped out of the room slowly and made his way to Lord Shen.
"Master." Tien stood outside his teacher's doorway.
"You may enter."
Tien walked inside to see a simple funeral, on it, a picture of Tao, framed in a small photograph. Several incense sticks burned, filling the room with the smell of vanilla and peach. "My little brother and I never saw eye to eye." Shen began simply, his eyes hidden behind his thick sunglasses. "But that never meant I didn't stop caring for him." He sighed, standing up straight. "There is much to be done, and so many to take vengeance on." He turned to Tien, "what do you need to tell me? Have you already broken your toy?"
Tien shook his head. "Master, I've made a discovery, that boy, Ja-" Tien ducked out of the way as a teapot flew by, shattering against the wall.
"Don't you dare refer to it with a name!" Shen hissed, "it attempted to trick me, to trick us, it laughed as it sent that bastard monkey child to kill my brother. It deserves no mercy, no kindness, and no respect!"
Tien stood straight, face lacking any emotion. "I am sorry, master, I should begin with what I meant to say." He held up his arms, "please increase the drug production and dosage frequency by 30%."
"...Why?" Master Shen asked, "these things cost money."
"I have reason to believe he pretended to be under the drug's effects earlier, the dosage you gave lasted only 6 hours as opposed to the prescribed 10."
"I see," Shen sighed, "well, whatever keeps it in the most pain. I don't care."
"Thank you, master." Tien remained low as he bowed.
"Well…"
"Master?"
"Out with it, you aren't going to simply be silent now, are you?"
"I wanted to know, what are your plans? Did the Red Ribbon Army ask anything of you?"
Shen laughed, "that was it? You're eager to go out there, aren't you? Well, calm down a bit, you will get your chance." He looked at Tien, "do not slack in your training."
"Of course not, master." Tien bowed low. "I will get back to it."
He turned to leave. Outside the door, he saw Chiaoutzu.
"Tien!" The little boy shouted excitedly.
"Chiaotzu, what did you want?" Tien asked.
"It's boring when you're not around, you've been busy fighting that guy for almost the whole day, shouldn't you get some rest?"
"Well, after this last session." Tien did admit that it was the first time he'd ever had to exert himself to exhaustion, it was in many ways entertaining, but he removed that thought from his mind. Jasper was an enemy, and facing his due punishment, the benefit he provided to Tien was not the priority. "Yes, I cannot waiver, I will be a cold, unfeeling assassin."
…
Goku faced the old man, eying him curiously. "Hey! Old guy! Have we fought before?"
"Fufufu… well, we'll find out now, won't we?" The old man cupped his hands and bowed. "Don't forget, bow to your opponent as a sign of respect."
Goku blinked in surprise, then nodded, mirroring the man's movements. "Oh yeah!" He smiled.
Baba smirked, "Well, let's start the final match, since it's the end, I'm changing up the rules."
"What?! But that isn't fair!" Yamcha shouted.
"Hey, it's my tournament, my rules." Baba giggled, "Whoever wins this match, wins for keeps, all you gotta do is say 'Uncle', and that means you surrender."
"But we won all those matches!" Yamcha shouted indignantly.
"I can do whatever I want!" Baba retorted, "you guys are coming to me for the favor, not the other way around." PaoPao sighed at her master's eccentricity.
"Anyways…" Baba raised her hand. "BEGIN THE MATCH!"
Goku got into his stance, widened his hips, and tensed his knees, then place one open palm before him and a clenched fist behind him. The man in the mask lowered his center of gravity and raised his hands in a mantis pose.
Goku started with a rapid dash forward. He barely ducked under the mystery man's jab. The mystery man flinched and moved back, dodging and catching Goku's uppercut. They struggled for a moment before Goku's greater strength began to push the man off balance. Instead of continuing the losing clash, the man bent over, kicking Goku in the face, causing the two to separate.
"This is intense…" Goku began, "this guy's pretty good." The old man leapt over Goku, then dashed at him from behind. His back-handed fist smashed into Goku, sending him towards the arena's edge. Goku caught himself reflexively, and flipped on his feet, dashing forward and catching the man off guard. He stuck the man in the face, cracking the mask slightly.
"Oof!" The man fell to his knee, then slowly got up. Instead of pressing his advantage, Goku stayed back. "What? Not wanting to finish this too quickly?" The old man chuckled.
"No!" Goku smiled, "you're holding back on me, so I wanna see your best!" The two stared each other down for a minute.
"Who is this guy?" Yamcha muttered, "he's so skilled."
"Yeah, but Goku, he's unreal…" Krillin sighed, "it's only been a week, but he's already faster than he was in the 21st Budokai."
"It's kinda crazy." Yamcha chuckled. "But it also excites me."
Hercule clenched his fist, promising to burn the memory of this fight into his mind. "I won't miss a single thing!"
The mystery man charged forward once again, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at Goku, who dodged and blocked each one expertly. He threw a powerful kick, further cracking the mask and revealing an eye behind the mask.
"Huh?" Goku began, "...you?" But before he could continue his thought, the old man grabbed his leg and slammed him repeatedly into the ground, then launched him in the air.
"He threw him up?!" Krillin shouted, "but why?!"
PaoPao looked back at the old fighter, widening her eyes as he tensed his body and squatted, springing upwards rapidly and catching up to his throw.
Goku shouted and hollered as the rose in the air, but before he could right himself, the old man was above him and struck him with a flipping butterfly kick, slamming him into the ground with enough force to destroy part of the arena tiles.
"Goku?!" Krillin shouted, looking at the dusty pile of bricks. "Goku!"
As if his shout was a call, the young tailed boy leaped from the ground and soared towards the old man who fell from the sky.
"What the?!" The old man could barely scream. He crossed his arms and legs, only to be slammed into Baba's Pagoda, flipping himself over, he landed on his feet and leaped forward, preparing a flying kick. Instead of dodging the attack, Goku flexed his body. For the briefest instant, his eyes flashed gold, he blocked the man's kick with a single hand. A massive cracking sound filled the arena as the two clashed.
The old man backed away in slight disbelief. "Hoo boy, you're more troublesome than I expected."
"Hehehe! You're really strong! I'm super excited." Goku grinned.
The man laughed, "That's like you. Always ready for a new challenge."
Goku dropped his guard as he raised an eyebrow. "Who are you? That sounds really…" Before he could finish he thought, the man fired off a beam of light.
"Kamehameha!"
"No way!" Goku shouted, his body flickered in and out of place, before disappearing outright as the beam passed through him.
"What?!" The old man shouted in surprise, "The Afterimage technique?!"
"Yoo Hoo!" Goku called out.
"Oh… oh my god…" PaoPao sat down, surprised, as she watched Goku charge down from the air towards the old man.
"That just opens you up for my Kamehameha once more!" The masked man cupped his hands, then flinched when Goku mirrored his movements. "Wait… don't tell me, you can use the Kamehameha as well?!" Due to his surprise, he barely moved out of the way from the boy's massive blast.
Goku landed and charged towards the stunned man and began a flurry of unforgiving punches and kicks. But to his surprise, despite his shock, injuries, and fatigue, the old man was able to dodge and anticipate a lot of Goku's movements, eventually, Goku was hit again by a sense of familiarity. "W-wait!" He shouted, stopping the fight.
"What?" The old man laughed, "aren't you about to win?"
"But… you, you seem really familiar, it's like I know you!" Goku said.
The old man laughed, "maybe you do, or perhaps another hint will help." He grabbed at Goku's tail, causing the boy to fall over.
"AAAH!" Goku fell.
"Oh no!" Yamcha shouted, "Goku's tail!"
"His weakness?!" PaoPao asked, "I thought he trained it?!"
"He only trained his oozaru." Krillin shook his head, "he's a little more resistant, but if he's tired, that can still knock him out!"
The old man began to slam Goku up and down of the ground, batting him up and down with impunity.
"How pathetic." The man sighed, "well, this is it then."
"Hahaha! The shoe's on the other foot now, kiddo! It looks like you've toughened everything up except for that tail of yours!"
"That guy's an insane master, my goodness…" Yamcha sighed, "to think he'd spot such a weakness."
"...No…" A quiet voice called out. They turned to see Chi-Chi, who slowly got up.
"He couldn't have spotted it, he had to have known all along…" She held her head in pain. Krillin and Upa helped her up as she continued. "That orange uniform, that voice, I remember it, it's familiar…"
The man continued to slam Goku into the ground, front and back continuously. "You should surrender, or you'll die y'know…" The old man continued to slam Goku into the ground.
"N-no!" Goku's aura exploded out, buffeting the arena in wind.
"Wh-what the!" Goku was on his knees, but he slowly turned to glare at the man, who flinched when he saw Goku's golden eyes. "What's come over you boy?"
Goku, despite his anger at almost losing, calmed himself, allowing his eyes to turn black again. "I...I trained really hard a while ago because when I look up at the moon, I turn into a monster. I hurt someone I really care about when I turned into that monster."
The man's single visible eye narrowed.
"I trained hard to overcome the monster, and now I can control it. Sometimes, I get angry, and I get this feeling of strength, but I don't understand it." He sighed, then looked determined, "but even if I don't fully understand it, I'll still train, and I'll overcome this too, I beat the monster, so I'll beat this thing that happened to me too!"
"Fufufuhahahahah!" The old man laughed. "I see, you haven't fully taken heed of my instruction to train your tail. But you've worked hard to overcome that other weakness, I'm proud of you. You've done some fine training, Goku…"
"That… that laugh!" Goku began to tear up a bit. "It can't be!"
"You finally recognize me? To think you had to be given all those clues…" He removed his mask, revealing a thick white mustache, small, kind eyes, and a black, skin-tight cap that covered his bald head. "That's right Goku… it's me." Son Gohan, Goku's grandfather, smiled at his grandson and disciple.
"Grandpa!" Goku ran forward, tears streaming from his face as he tackled his grandfather and father figure. They collide in a tight embrace.
"H-hey! Careful now! You'll knock me over!" Grandpa Gohan stumbled from the force of Goku's tackle.
"Grandpa, Grandpa! Grandpa Grandpaaaa!" Goku just continued to shout that to his grandfather again and again, then his excited face twisted in pain and hurt as he began to sob. "Oooooh…. Grandpa…. Uaaaahh…"
"Hey, that's silly now!" Gohan patted his grandson, "you don't need to cry!" He hugged his grandson.
"Oh wow." Bulma felt a bit teary-eyed. "I've never seen Goku cry."
"Well…" Yamcha sighed, crossing his arms and smiling, "of course. No matter how strong Goku is, he's still a kid, and you remember, don't you?"
Bulma nodded. "Yeah." She smiled sadly, "the monster that killed his grandpa…"
Krillin and Upa were caught up in the emotions of their friend and bawling their eyes out. PaoPao also found herself getting emotional as she watched the familial love between the two, something she never got for herself. She turned to look at Chi-Chi, who was trembling.
"I… I can't cry…" Chi-Chi began, "it's, I'm happy for Goku, so crying would make me look ba…" She began bawling, happy for Son-Kun and overwhelmed with emotions.
Hercule for his part had already coated the ground with showers of hot tears. "This… this is so beautiful! Truly a man's man…" He took out a handkerchief and blew into it, emulating the trumpet of an elephant.
"Sorry for being rough with you at the end…" Gohan smiled. "It looked like you hadn't been training the tail like I warned, so I thought we had to do something about it, but it looks like I shouldn't have been worried, you did something beyond my wildest expectations, and I'm so proud of you."
He looked around, then observed Goku's uniform. "I don't see him, but is Muten Roshi-sama the one who's been teaching you?"
Goku wiped the tears and snot from his face. "Yep!" he grinned widely.
Gohan smiled, "Be sure to thank him for me."
"Grampa!" Goku shouted, suddenly excited, "when did you come back to life?"
"Oh? No, it's not that I'm alive again." He pointed to his halo. "Muten Roshi-Sama's honorable elder sister is capable of moving between this world and the afterlife freely. So sometimes, she scouts deceased martial arts masters from the afterlife, paying them to come and fight matches for her."
"In that case, can you come back and live with me again?!" Goku smiled.
"No, unfortunately, I can only come back to the world of the living for 1 day."
"Oh…" Goku looked disappointed.
"Wait?" Bulma piped up. "Then does that mean you coming here was a coincidence?"
PaoPao answered that question. "Master Baba has the ability to tell the future through divination, she would have been able to see that Goku was coming here today."
"You know me so well my disciple." She turned to Goku, "Gohan asked me to tell him if any kid with a tail ever happened to stop by, though I'd have never known he was talking about his grandson."
"I was worried about Goku's development, but I'm happy to see that he was trained by Roshi, looking at you all, I assume you are also his students? I'm surprised he's taken on so many disciples." The group smiled and bowed to their senior.
Goku recovered from his disappointment quickly. "Oh! Grandpa! I've got something great to show you!" He ran towards his pack and pulled out 4 dragon balls, then showed his grandpa the 4-star ball."
"Oh! I picked that thing up years ago."
"Hehehe! I did my best to hang on to it!"
"Woah?! There's a bunch just like it?!"
Bulma smirked, "you're in a for a long story."
"Eh?"
Both the elder martial artists and Baba widened their eyes in shock as the group took turns regaling their travels over the years and their journeys into this moment.
"Wow… I'd have had no idea, these balls are really that special?" He ruffled Goku's hair, "I'm so proud of you, you'd use this wish to help someone else."
"Great!" Krillin turned to Upa, "this means your old man will definitely come back to life!"
Upa frowned, "but… Goku's grandfather is also dead; if my dad alone were to be brought back to life…"
"It's no problem!" Gohan smiled, "I'm quite fond of the afterlife!" He chuckled, "plenty of hot babes are over there, and they love martial artists."
"Like master… like disciple huh…" Yamcha sighed.
"What do you mean?" Bulma asked.
"He, like my dad, was trained by Roshi." Chi-Chi began.
"Eh… your dad?" Gohan looked over at Chi-Chi. "Oh! You're the Ox-King's daughter! I remember you, you were so small the last time we met! You're becoming a lovely young lady!"
"H-hello Gohan-sama…" Chi-Chi bowed deeply.
"Oh please! We're practically family, there's no need for formalities!" He laughed.
Upa barely held in his tears as he thanked the old man, "I… I don't know how to thank you!"
"Don't thank him yet, we still have to find those missing dragon balls." Bulma sighed.
Baba hopped off her crystal ball, "of course, I'll go ahead and get that started, I keep my promises."
"You mean after you changed the rules?" Krillin muttered.
"Hehehe… I didn't promise that those were the rules perfectly. Did I?"
"Well… in this case." Gohan sighed, "it's time for me to head back."
"Wait! Grandpa, are you heading back already?!"
"Unfortunately." he smiled, "I'm just glad I was able to see how big and strong you've become." He turned to the others, "keep an eye on this little guy, alright? He'll get into trouble without folks with straight heads guiding his steps." He bowed to Fortune-Teller Baba. "Baba-Sama, thank you for everything."
"Certainly, and thank you for one of the most entertaining fights I've ever seen in my life. Keep well." She waived Gohan off.
He turned to Goku, "and Goku, I'm looking forward to seeing you, even more, grown-up, alright? Don't be in a hurry to come over now!" He chuckled.
"Yup!" Goku nodded, wiping away the last of his tears.
"Well, to the rest of you! See you sooner or later! In the afterlife!" he burst out laughing as he waved at them, eventually, he faded into a group of lights, like fireflies, that began to flow faster and faster upward, before disappearing 30 feet above the ground.
"Farewell…" Bulma spoke quietly, then she bowed in his direction. The others followed suit.
"Alright, pay attention now, I'm going to perform a divination. You wanted to find those 3 missing dragon balls, right?" The others gathered around the squat old woman, who began chanting into the ball. "Hoi Hoi Hoi No Hoi SaSaaaah" The orb began to glow. "Alright, let's see here."
"What… what is it?" Bulma leaned forward.
"Oh? It looks like the balls are all together, and moving."
"Moving?" Bulma asked, surprised.
"Yes, those balls are inside this car." Baba pointed to a car.
"But… that's weird." Bulma frowned, "that shouldn't stop the radar,"
Baba smiled, "well, it looks like the balls are inside a device of some sort."
"Where is that car? And where's it heading?" Goku asked.
"It's coming our way, 200 km from that direction." Baba pointed due East.
Goku grinned, "it's close!"
He zoomed off towards the direction.
"Should we stop him?" Yamcha began.
"It's already an obvious outcome, is it not?" PaoPao added, "he's at this point likely the most powerful martial artist on the planet, I doubt anyone could hurt him. But we can watch, just in case." They piled around fortune-teller Baba, just in case. But as PaoPao predicted, Goku completed his hunt for the last three dragon balls with ease.
The journey back to Korin's forest was uneventful, and the summoning of Shenron was even quicker. With some quick thinking and clever wording from PaoPao, Goku's wish to Shenron not only revived Bora but also every person killed by the Red Ribbon Army and the Crane School within the past year.
They watched as fallen soldiers of the King's Army and Tsukimi ninja began to jump for joy, happy at the second chance at life, and the group began to take their leave. Bulma traveled back to the city, while the others went to Roshi.
"Goku, I've seen your development." Roshi shook his head, "there's nothing more I can teach you, it's best for you to journey around the world, learn new things, and become better. The Budokai Tenkaichi is in 3 years, I know you can do it."
Goku nodded, "definitely!"
"But… I won't see Goku for 3 years…" Chi-Chi began.
"Well, then you can just surprise him with how much you've grown when you meet again, right?"
Chi-Chi nodded. "Yeah…"
Hercule smiled, "yup! Next time, we'll show everyone what we're made of!" He laughed, "but wow… it's so weird, not hanging out with Jazz."
PaoPao nodded, "it's alright, he's resourceful, we'll see him again soon, I'm sure of it."
Goku nodded, "I wanna fight him again, and all of you guys too!" He put on some weights and ran towards the ocean.
"Wait…" Krillin began, "why's he running?"
Roshi smirked, "I told him to explore the world, he's going to be doing that on foot."
"What the?!" Yamcha sighed, "jeez, I wonder if that kid ever finds anything challenging."
"Well, are you just going to sit there and marvel? Or are you going to train too?" Roshi asked. "Get to your training! Put on your weights! GO GO GO!"
"Already ahead of yah! HAHAHAHA!" Hercule and Chi-Chi had already donned their weights and were in the middle of a mad sprint across the island's edge. The others quickly glanced at each other, then followed suit. It would be a long three years.
…
Jazz stared at the moon. It had been 3 months since his capture, and he had been able to determine a few things. They would drug him once in the morning, once in the evening, and once in the middle of the night. The drug would affect him for about 6 or so hours, but then it would weaken and taper off for about an hour and a half before his next dosage. 24 hours a day, he was subject to killing techniques being imprinted on his body from Tien, Chiaoutzu, Shen, and other strong members of the Crane School. The bindings forced on his body would restrict his movements and send a painful shock to him if he got too close to killing a disciple, crippling him momentarily. They gave him water once a week, and no food, likely intending for him to die 2 months ago. Unfortunately for them, Jazz had a secret trump card. Whenever he transformed due to the full moon, it revitalized his body, as if he was fully healed, rested, and fed, this sustained him from month to month, and he was able to survive day after day. His magic would allow him to sate himself with magically summoned water, and his flames could warm him and protect him from sickness like hypothermia. He was durable, too durable for Shen's liking, but as Tien showed rapid signs of improvement, the Cran Master hadn't yet chosen to dispose of Jazz.
Jazz heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and began to struggle against his bindings and roaring out in pain and fury.
"Hehehe…" A Crane disciple poked his head into the room, "it's time for your next dose, bastard."
Jazz paid him little heed, he struggled until his knuckles bled, then healed, then bled again.
"It looks like this animal knows when it's time for the master's belt." They laughed, then jabbed the needles into Jazz, causing his scream to increase in volume. As he thrashed and shouted and attempted to escape, they kicked and punched and beat him up until they were satisfied. One of the disciples then spat on his face. Laughing, they left the room.
Once out of earshot, Jazz's movements ceased completely. His breathing returned to normal, and he incinerated the spit.
"Are you alright?" Z asked.
Once the torture had begun, Jazz had used his telekinetic ability to bury Z into his body, keeping her from separating from him and being taken. Jazz smirked.
'I've been better.' A quiet chuckle escaped his lips, if there was one thing the Crane Hermit miscalculated, it was how quickly Jazz could heal, and how quickly he could grow immunity to the poisons injected into his system. As someone who could transform, it was simple for Jazz to eventually analyze the concoction and counteract it through trial and error. For the past 2 months, he had been aware of every slight, insult, threat, and strike done on his body, but he pretended to be the insane beast everyone thought the drugs had turned him into. Tien had been suspicious, but after a month, even his suspicions went away. Jazz had bid his time for two reasons. He had been getting stronger, and he had been witnessing the Crane School's techniques. Once he was certain he was completely alone, sensing for anyone nearby, he began to emulate the moves utilized against him. Under the light of the full moon, he became stronger and stronger, until he reached his full power, then went beyond that. The cables strained against him, causing Jazz to smile. The only reason he didn't break himself out yet was simple. "It'd be too easy…" Jazz allowed his excited heart rate to slow. "It'd be too easy to just break out now." He laughed, "without any powerups, without any skills, without any tricks. I'm going to break out of these things." Pure white fur began to cover his body. "And when I do break out like that." A misty breath escaped his lips and he smirked toothily. A deluge of water immediately surrounded him, bathing him in its presence. He drank his fill, then evaporated the rest away. Utilizing his psychic ability, he had it seep into the walls and floor, the misty dew collecting underneath the foundation of the building. Jazz relaxed immediately at that point and began to sleep. 'I'll ruin this school.'
"Well… if this is how you want to do it, I can't say I won't stop you…" Z spoke, venom tinging her voice as she whispered, "I await the day you make our captors squirm."
...
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 16 and 3 months
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 10inches | 177.8 centimeters
Weight: 150 lbs | 68 kilograms, bound by a Crane School Training/ Torture device
Skills: Skills are what you make of them, it doesn't matter what's known, just how to use it
Powers: Magic Materialization (Fire) (Mastered Understanding), Magic Materialization (Water) (Advanced Understanding), Telekinesis (Intermediate)
General magic: Basic Understanding
Max Power/ Pump Up (1.5x (mastered), 2x (capable),
Shapeshifting, Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Noble Werewolf. Juvenile Awakening, 1.5x, currently possible only under a full moon
Powerlevel: 100, will raise to 150 temporarily when using Pump Up/Max Power 1.5, or 200 when using Pump Up/Max Power 2x, if using Juvenile awakening, power will be 225 or 300 respectively
…
…
Afterword:
And like that, the power levels have finally jumped the shark. Things will be really crazy as the story continues, and I hope you enjoy yourselves and stay hitched to the ride. Jazz has recovered from the control, and now bides his time, like a spider laying a trap. The others are in the middle of training, and we may see a bit of what they're doing every once in a while.
Now, I don't know if I have to, but I feel I should justify the results of some of these battles. Namely, Bandages vs. Hercule, and Spike vs PaoPao. In the original, Bandages was stronger than Yamcha, who had trained in preparation for the Tenkaichi and was a finalist. Hercule also was a finalist, and while this current Hercule is probably a little stronger than original story Yamcha at this current time, it's not by a lot, if at all. Hercule also didn't begin real training the way everyone else did nearly as early. On the other hand, Spike is stronger than Chi-Chi, who is a little weaker than Goku was during the original's 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. However, Chi-Chi has a strong affinity for ki techniques. While Spike was said by Roshi to be able to beat Goku from the 21st budokai, he didn't say how close the fight would be, and Goku clearly dominated the devil man, so the power difference between Goku before Korin's training and Spike wouldn't likely be that great, at least, I don't imaging Spike to be stronger than Tao Pai Pai was.
Now, on to little easter eggs. Tao Pai Pai's name actually means "peach white white", hence the peach and vanilla incense. Shen hates, but also loves his brother, so his loss was truly devastating. This is made worse because someone partially responsible has been learning from him. This parallels with PaoPao learning his techniques then officially aligning with the Turtle School, which prompted the Crane School to align with the Red Ribbon Army. Hence why the fights escalated in scale. Jazz unfortunately underestimated the intelligence of his enemies, who through some "luck" put 2 and 2 together that Jazz was connected to Hercule, who was definitely connected to Goku, PaoPao, and the Turtle School in general. I don't particularly think the reasoning they gave Goku was stupid and/or unreasonable, so I thought it was rather clever of them. Of course, since the Red Ribbon Army is pretty much gone, they're tight on money. Black wants to use the balls, but they lack the funds and man power, so they sold them to the Pilaf Gang, who, well… Goku is so strong we don't even need a scene of the thrashing he gives them lol.
Hmm… I guess I should also answer an elephant in the room question. "How did Jazz get captured." For any who feel it was unfair.
Tien's power level was raised due to consuming the Super Powered Water, he has a power level of over 200 currently, somewhere like to 220-240. Goku's power level was around that level when they first clashed as well. Tien has been constantly training as well. Jazz had a power level of 87 when captured. Tien was around 3 times stronger. He could easily catch Jazz off guard if Jazz wasn't fully prepared to receive the blow. And the cables are designed to capture and restrain someone's movements. This, coupled with the drugs, was meant to subdue our resident red head. With Dr. Gero involved, there's a vested threat against our heroes that looms in the distance.
I hope you guys look forward to the next chapter!
Special thanks to Commenter marco enkel
If not for him I'd have accidentally continued to have Chi-Chi and PaoPao switched up in the early part of the chapter