"Status report." PaoPao began.
~"Ah, Lady PaoPao."~ Strazza Pretti's voice was heard loud and clear on the communicator. While PaoPao had a personal phone, these military issue devices had their own wavelength they operated under. ~"I'm am glad you heard my call, I apologize, I know today was the birthday of that boy."~
"Yes." PaoPao rolled her eyes. "Anyways, like I said, status report."
~"All clear in the Orange City Jail, the cybernetics were removed and replaced with standard function prosthesis. They have also all consumed the ki blockers, the last one had been given the final dosage two days ago."~
Strazza was referring to the Crane School Cyborgs that survived the fight with Mei Lin, luckily, over half survived, they were turned in to the government after steps had been taken to suppress their powers. It had been surprising to find many members of the elite, high-class rich folk, celebrities, sports stars, amongst the ranks of the Crane School, but given Master Shen's greed for money, it was believable. Interrogation of the Crane School disciples revealed more information about the Red Ribbon Army and revealed several traitors and sleeper agents in the world government, two very helpful facts that allowed PaoPao to "convince" the king to "request" to the council to raise the budget afforded to Tsukimi
"How's the progress on our fighters?" PaoPao asked.
~"It is going well, we have a few stand-out talents comparable to the showings of the Budokai Tenkaichi of two years ago, but the rest are moving along steadily. Codename: Witchling is progressing steadily along, Abigail and her disciples have mastered the jiang-shi technique to your specifications."~
"How are they… is there any backlash?" PaoPao asked.
~"We spent a month experimenting, due to the changes you put into the formula, the spell is a bit more magically taxing and not as powerful, but it does not draw on their soul as collateral… erm… my lady, how are you?"~
PaoPao smiled wryly, "I am alright." Her master in witchcraft had taught her many powerful and dangerous spells. She stressed that in order to cast them, she needed fuel, not just her own magical ability, but something more precious, true lifeforce. She believed she could supplement the cost by becoming more powerful, and to a point, it worked, but the battles became more and more draining, and she would have died if not for Jazz. "Those 'blood rubies' and their curse magic was more than enough for me."
~"I don't mean just your physical health, ma'am."~ Strazza began, ~"Abigail has said she sensed…"~
"Oh hush up, Abigail is a worry-wort, you know that." PaoPao laughed. "Ah, but before I forget." I need to know."
~"The android, right?"~ Strazza referred to Android 8, who PaoPao and Bulma conducted numerous tests on in order to find bugs, recording devices, changes in programming, anything. They found a few such devices and deactivated and destroyed them, but they were so obviously placed that it was suspicious. Nothing else was found, and according to Goku and the revived Jingle Village, which had been massacred by General White, Android 8 acted the same as normal. ~"We have sent some agents to the town periodically and two undercover agents have been in the village for half a year. Hacchan, which Android 8 and villagers refer to him as, has exhibited no violent or suspicious action or activity, though at times we have seen him wander off from the village a bit."~
"Where too?" PaoPao asked sharply.
~"A tree a few miles away...I believe he goes there to cry."~ Strazza said, embarrassed, ~"he has made it known many times that he feels guilty for what was done to the village, and even if it has been reconstructed and its people revived, he considers the pain they went through as his fault. Luckily, the villagers seem to accept him and hold no animosity to him."~
"I see." PaoPao scratched her head, a little uncomfortable, "I'm sorry for forcing you to continue to watch over him."
~"Ah, it is no problem, he is a kind person and pleasant company when I want to take a stroll, and unlike most humans, he doesn't seem to take notice of or care about my non-human features, but then again, he's not human either."~ She laughed.
"I meant more along the lines, sorry for separating you from Gnocchi. Anyways, thank you for the update!"
It was Strazza's turn to sputter, before the fox-woman could respond, PaoPao hung up the communicator and ignored the calls from the vixen.
…
"You're quite powerful!" Roshi nodded at Tien.
The tri-clops had on massive weights, yet he had insisted on sparring against the old man. The two had been fighting for about an hour and a half when Tien's stamina finally wore out.
"But…" Tien looked up at Roshi, the old man was using similar but distinctly lighter weights, but accounting for his age and the difference in their strength, he was using the same level of handicap, yet looked like he could continue going. "My stamina ran out before yours did, it would be my loss in the real world."
"In the real world, you would use techniques like the don don ray, tri-beam, solar flare, and my Max Power technique." Roshi laughed, "and you are building up your stamina, when you first started training with us, you were unable to effectively move with the weights, and your breathing was off." Roshi smiled, "you will certainly do well in the tournament."
"But… will I be able to defeat Goku?" Tien asked. "I saw him fight against the jiang-shi of my masters and of the former head of the Dango, beings that I had trouble with while using the incredible power of Jasper's technique. And unlike Goku, the power I could use to catch up to him is on a timer, I had believed that I was the greatest there was, and no one could stand up to me, but I was shown how foolish I was time and time again."
"Fear and doubt are the death of a warrior." Roshi said sagely, "perhaps I should tell you of when I first met Goku and that boy, Jazz." Tien nodded as he sat to rest. Roshi smiled and continued, "they were having a sparring match, that had grown more and more savage as time went on, Jazz had three broken ribs and several deep bruises, I believe a few of his organs were close to rupturing."
Tien raised an eyebrow, "this was just from sparring Goku?"
"Neither of them had received training from me yet. And their duels are colored by this, Goku often pulling ahead, and Jazz barely keeping up until Goku overwhelms him nearly instantly. Jazz's weakness is such attacks, after all."
Tien nodded in understanding, remembering two years ago.
"But I'm not worried, Jazz gets up with a smile, and the fire continues to burn in his eyes, no matter the situation. And that's why he's always surprised me whenever I saw him. What the others told me surprised me even more, to think he'd weaken himself to train even more." Roshi laughed.
Tien nodded, "I understand," he got up and stretched, "I will do some light training then retire to rest."
Roshi smiled, "yes, good rest is an important part of training."
Jazz 3 flew past the duo in the form of a peregrine falcon as he raced back to the house. As fast as he flew, his mind moved even quicker. The appearance and mannerisms of his original were alien, disturbing even. Jazz did what was required to survive, and focused everything else on his odd training. The scary part was being able to tell that the original, despite being in such a decrepit state, was still stronger than he had been before, and would likely be even stronger if capable of eating more and actually resting. He had to tell the others, as he was aware that Jazz 2 hadn't actually entered the cave for half a year, and Jazz 4 was off in space. But… he couldn't... he didn't want to reconnect his mind.
Jazz 3 de-transformed and rolled into the house, spooking PaoPao and causing her to drop the plate of rice she was carrying to the lunch table. Before it hit the ground and shattered, Jazz caught it with a telekinetic wave of his hand.
"Jazz! Don't scare me like that!" PaoPao said, picking up the floating bowl. "Jeez, you're running like you're possessed or something."
Jazz 3 dry swallowed then spoke. "PaoPao, go out with me."
PaoPao dropped the bowl again.
…
"This is a fun date! Isn't it?" Miguel gripped Hercule's hand in her own.
Hercule's face reddened and he turned away to hide his embarrassment from the girl. He had asked her out earlier in the morning and had flown her out to Orange City, since he knew the place like the back of his hand he felt like it was the best place to go. The city fair had been going on, so he had been able to flex for Miguel. No matter how awful the trick, how sneaky the carnie, Hercule proved time and time again with his quick wit, incredible showmanship, and superhuman strength that Mr. Satan would never lose again. At the moment, a mountain of toys, prizes, and numerous shopping bags were held in the young man's left arm, while his right hand lightly gripped Miguel's hand.
As they walked forward, he prayed that Miguel didn't feel, or notice, the sweat in his palms.
"I hope you've been enjoying yourself!" Hercule said somewhat forcefully.
"It's been lovely!" Miguel said, gushing, "I always wanted to go to a fair like this!" She laughed as she took a bite of cotton candy. "The games were fun, the people are all so nice!"
"I'm surprised you haven't been able to go to something like this," Hercule said.
"Well, my pa wasn't rich enough and he didn't have the free time neither." She sighed, "and while I love singing, I don't get much free time too."
Hercule nodded, "I get that, when I boxed a lot, I had to follow strict dietary restrictions cause of weight class and stuff, and I couldn't go out to parties with friends of mine."
"Oh!" Miguel nodded, "I know exactly how you feel, when I went to school, I always had to come back home early to help with the farm, my pa didn't make me, but I knew he couldn't do it by himself."
Hercule grinned, "you're a really kind girl, but are you sure you've never played hooky?"
Miguel gasped at his accusation, then turned away, "maybe once or twice." The two of them laughed as they continued on.
They made their way out of the fair, and into a simple but well-designed car with tinted windows.
"I'm still surprised your Aunt let you go on this date with me," Mark said as he opened the passenger door for Miguel. "I'd think she'd say no."
"Well, she doesn't hate you," Miguel giggled, "and you're a famous boxer, so I'm in good hands."
Hercule nodded as he let Miguel into the passenger side.
"Oi!" An audible click filled the air.
Hercule rolled his eyes as he turned around. Facing him were 25 thuggish-looking gangsters, each of them wielding machine guns.
"I'm sure you know the deal, hand over your wallet, your keys, and whatever other valuables are on your person, and I might just let you leave with your underwear intact and socks on your feet." The leader of the group of bandits was a massive anthropomorphic bear wearing bandit gear. Some of the bandits wolf-whistled at Miguel when they saw her unfurl the window.
"Mark, will you be okay?" She asked, ignoring the lewd stares and gestures aimed her way. Hercule nodded, his fist tightly clenched. "Don't hurt yourself, and don't hurt them… too much."
The men laughed, only to scream in shock as individual bullet-sized balls of ki smashed into their guns, destroying their weapons. Hercule had his index fingers pointed out and were in a gunslinger pose. He sprinted forward and struck the bear in the jaw with a knee strike. Before the other men could react, he grabbed the bear on the shoulder and used the forward momentum to toss him into a group of 5 would-be robbers.
"Bastard!" One of them hissed as they all charged at him at the same time, knives drawn out. Hercule leaped over them and fired a ki blast on the spot he used to be in. The shockwave from the explosion knocked the bandits to the floor. He then rushed them while they were still disoriented. A few well-timed punches and kicks later and they were all on the floor, unconscious or too bruised and wounded to get up.
Hercule sighed and took out his phone. "Hello? 911? Mark Satan, 18666 30th street. Yeah, there were 25 guys this time, no, I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone the last time either! Yes, we're outside the fairgrounds on 21st and Orange Main… okay, okay." Hercule put his phone away and sighed. He turned to Miguel, "sorry."
She giggled, "I'm just happy there's such a big, strong guy protecting me."
He blushed at that compliment.
…
"Alright… are you guys ready?" Krillin asked.
"Yes, commander!" Lapis, Lazuli, and Chiaotzu shouted strictly.
Krillin chuckled, "prepare the weapons!" The kids turned to set up catapults, placing the precious payload on top. Chiaotzu's hands gleamed slightly as he looked around.
"I sense winds coming from the north! 27 degrees North by North-West! At 15 miles an hour, rising to 20 at an altitude of 50 feet or above!" The doll-like former Crane School Fighter said.
"Thank you, Lieutenant!" Krillin nodded, "Major Lapis, Corporal Lazuli, you know what to do!"
The twins nodded, "Yes sir!" They began adjusting the catapults, fine-tuning the dials and switches, and rotated them ever so slightly. The contraptions were heavy, at nearly 200 or pounds or 90.7 kilograms apiece, but due to the year of training under Jazz 3, PaoPao, and Master Roshi's watchful gaze, the children had blossomed into incredible talents. While nowhere near as strong as any of the fighters were now, they were almost as strong as Krillin was after his training with Jazz and PaoPao before he met up with Master Roshi. Roshi refrained from having the children use weights to train, but they could boost their physical ability with ki, allowing them to perform feats of superhuman strength like what they did now to carry and turn the miniature catapults.
Krillin looked through binoculars, then raised his hand. The tiny bit of chatter between his three subordinates stopped. "I see the targets." Through the binoculars, he spied 7 kids and teens, ranging from 11 to 17, walking and talking to each other. "Fire!"
The twins pressed a button, and the catapults launched forward, firing off their payloads towards the kids. The oldest kid saw them coming, but before he could warn his friends, the sacks popped and the kids were splattered with warm mashed potatoes and gravy. At almost the same time, some birds began to fly in the air and dived down towards the kids. They screamed in terror and ran back inside the store. Krillin burst out laughing. "We really got them!" He turned to the others, who cheered. "Now let's collect our weapons and high-tail it out of there before they get their parents!"
…
It all began a month ago. It was difficult for the twins, Tien, and Chiaotzu to warm up to everyone. When Goku left, Tien had wanted to leave immediately after, but the combined effort of Krillin, Yamcha, and PaoPao convinced him that learning from Roshi would be fruitful, and fruitful it was. He felt his strength grow like never before, and Jazz had stated the strength gained by having others to test yourself against was often greater than what could be achieved by yourself.
The twins began lightly training, and eventually, they warmed up to the Z team. Krillin had caught them one day preparing a prank against Master Roshi. They planned to leave a dirty magazine by fishing line. Roshi would chase after it and trip over a wire into a mud-pie. Krillin had taken one look at their prank, shook his head, and gave them pointers. From there, the two followed after Krillin like ducklings after their mother, taking his advice and lifestyle in stride.
…
"Nice one boss!" Lapis laughed as they arrived back at Roshi's home.
Krillin smirked, "you all did fantastic, men… and woman." Lazuli smirked triumphantly. "But don't let this victory go to your head, a prank of this level is simple, soon, I'll teach you some pranks so astounding your targets will be left questioning reality!" The kids cheered some more.
"Oh, the twins did that again?" PaoPao was dressed in an elegant red low-cut dress, her hair was wrapped tightly into a bun and she had quite a bit of jewelry on. Jazz came out a bit after her in a tailored pinstripe suit with a corsage in his pocket. PaoPao had been speaking on the phone when she turned to look at the motley crew of children. Krillin gulped and Lapis and Lazuli hid behind the clean-shaven teen. Chiaotzu hid behind them as PaoPao continued to speak to one of the mothers of the victims of their prank. "I see…I'll take care of it." She turned to the kids.
"Wait PaoPao…" Krillin began.
PaoPao smiled, "I'm glad you didn't break their bones this time, but you're still grounded." The kids shuffled inside. "As for you, Krillin, Chiaotzu, Roshi is planning on putting together some rather hardcore training, thanks so much for volunteering to be his test subjects." The two teens blanched.
Jazz 3 burst out laughing as he threw down a plane capsule, helping PaoPao on, the two of them took off as the pranksters shuffled back into the home.
"...So…" PaoPao said, after a few seconds, "do you have anything planned?" She began.
Jazz 3 smirked, "of course I do."
…
PaoPao didn't know what to expect when Jazz asked her out on a date, she had been thankful, terrified, angry, and a whole host of other emotions that left her feeling light-headed, but ultimately, she had felt rather giddy. She had first realized her feelings when she reacted so angrily to his confession of the truth of his existence and its relation to their world. When she returned back to her people, she questioned why she reacted so angrily. Even if what he said was rude or dismissive, the things said by her sister and father were crueler, and often directed at her to hurt her in the deepest ways possible. The pain was similar, but to a far lesser extent, only to fester into a deep irritation that she had required a lot of introspection to get out of. She realized eventually, that she liked Jazz, and his confession to his existence basically sounded like "I don't belong in this place, it's a story, so things don't matter to me, like you, and I want to leave as soon as possible."
It was a hard pill to swallow, but after her near-death experiences, she looked at things a bit differently. Hopefully, Jazz looked at things a bit differently now.
Their first stop was to be a high-class restaurant called "Le Pet de Fromage et Le trou Du Caca Brûlant." Jazz had burst out laughing when he read the title, and wouldn't explain what was so funny to PaoPao.
"It's quite nice." PaoPao began. She admired the golden ornaments and filigree all over the restaurant. She took a sip of her sparkling cider. "This is also quite good as well."
"Yeah." Jazz 3 smiled, "It's apple and cherry."
"It's apple and pomegranate." The waiter corrected, smiling. "Now, may I take your orders, what would you like for an entree?" He turned to PaoPao, smiling.
"I would like the spinach and fettuccine alfredo," PaoPao said.
"I'd like the steak, well done." Jazz 3 said.
"How blasphemous…" PaoPao giggled. "You eat your steak well done? I guess you want ketchup too, or do you want A1 sauce?"
"I mean, I like my steak without blood."
"You mean you like your steak dry." PaoPao shook her head, "I understand."
They continued to bicker until their food was brought over. PaoPao took a bite, her face brightening at the mellow flavor. "Mmm…" She sighed, "this is good."
"I'm glad you like it." Jazz 3 said in between a bite of steak. "That's not all we're going to do."
Their next stop was at a movie theater. "Two tickets to Triassic Park 3." Jazz 3 announced. They got their popcorn and sat down to watch the movie. In many ways, it looked just like Jurassic Park, but with different actors, and a different main dinosaur. The scariest creature though wasn't even the dinosaur, it was the long-limbed postosuchus. PaoPao shivered whenever she saw the massive alligator-like creature rush forward with its long limbs, it moved with the swiftness of a horse yet could also swim well in the water, and its long legs and small stature compared to a larger dinosaur meant it took the place of the raptors in chasing the protagonist and his allies.
"Wow… this is kinda scary." She turned to Jazz 3 but blanched when she saw him writing in a notebook.
"Amazing, the long limbs work like… and the way they run… I wouldn't have even guessed…" He smirked, "this is really interesting."
"Don't tell me you chose this movie just so that you could get forms to transform into," she groaned.
"What? Don't be silly." Jazz 3 shook his head. "It wouldn't be just for that, I'd read books instead."
PaoPao looked at him skeptically, but soon returned her attention to the movie, gasping in fright as one of the children barely rolled out of the way of a bite from the monster.
They finished out their night on a Ferris Wheel. PaoPao smiled at the city bathed in light. She turned to Jazz.
"So…" Jazz 3 began, "as far as dates go, how was it?"
PaoPao smiled, "6.5/10."
He flinched, "ouch…"
"You made too much small talk to the staff, didn't pay attention to the movie, a-" PaoPao snorted, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She laughed at Jazz 3's sullen face. "I'm sorry, this was a wonderful date, I'm glad you took me."
"I'm glad you said yes." Jazz 3 said, smiling. Then he looked away and frowned.
PaoPao observed him for a moment, then spoke. "Jazz? You aren't telling me something."
Jazz 3 turned to her… "well," his voice caught, sounding weird. Clearing it, he began to try and speak, but it was hard to get the words out. "I…" He sighed. "Remember when Jazz 2 came last year?"
PaoPao nodded. "Yes… I do?"
Jazz 3 nodded, "he lied, about something." He looked at PaoPao, "I… I'm not the real Jazz." He began.
…
"Do you have your answer?" The original Jazz asked. "I can ask 4 to speak to Porunga right now."
Jazz 3 didn't answer, he looked up at his original, then, surprising him and the others, opened up his memories.
"I see." The original Jazz blinked. "Huh…"
"Jesus Christ man, you're a wreck, the others don't even notice it because of the exposure, they're used to it." Jazz 3 shook his head.
"Are you sure though?" Jazz asked his doppelganger, I can't for certain believe that the amalgamation of all of our experiences will hold the same feelings for her that you do."
"PaoPao already told me." Jazz 3 said, "I'm Jazz, just like you are, doppelganger or not, the emotions that led me to like her, were already inside of you before we split, right? If you hadn't split, this may have happened anyway, and besides, 38 years is a long time, right? Some couples aren't even together that long."
Jazz narrowed his eyes, "I don't want to be with someone while also holding over their head the fact that I will eventually leave them."
"Anything can happen Jazz, we could die, she could die, we could break up, mind control, cheating, falling in love with someone else, the relationship might just never work out either." Jazz 3 began, "She's not scared of those consequences, she likes us, she likes you, she likes Jazz." He bowed, "I'm sorry, I was scared that when I disappear, everything about me goes away too, but I'm not."
Jazz nodded, his eyes focused a little, "alright… okay… thank you."
"And also…" Jazz 3 began, beckoning something forward.
Jazz widened his eyes when a flying drone with a large TV flew in front of his face. It turned on, revealing the image of the Z team, sitting in Roshi's living room.
~"Dang, Jazz, have you been eating?"~ Krillin began
~"It's been, 2 years, or even more, I believe."~ Yamcha said.
~"This is the state you are in? I am sorry."~ Tien said.
~"Quit it, you guys! You're distracting!"~ Bulma snapped, ~"I need to calibrate the microphone so we can hear what Jazz says."~
"What?!" The original shouted in shock, "why are you all so nonchalant about this?!" He looked at each of them, his eyes resting on PaoPao.
~"I mean, we are surprised, but it's not the first time you've done something strange."~ PaoPao admitted, ~"but it took a lot of courage for Jazz 3 to come out and tell us his feelings though, so I expect you to be more forthright in the future."~
"What the hell…" Jazz muttered, "why are you so nonchalant about this… you're all acting crazy."
~"Crazier than the guy who willingly chose to be alone for 2 years?"~ Bulma asked, ~"jeez louise, you look terrible, when's the last time you've actually had a decent meal."~
The rest of the group continued to bicker and nag at the original Jazz's who's growing confusion only served to amuse the doppelgangers more and more.
Jazz 3 backed away from the camera and moved out of view.
"You made your decision, I see." Jazz 4 said. "I will tell Porunga he can leave, he was starting to get annoyed."
"Well, I needed to rejoin you guys to confirm." Jazz 3 replied. "He's in bad shape though, real bad, I can't believe either of you caught that when you were still mentally connected."
"Hey!" Jazz 2 exclaimed, "you were mentally connected as well for a year, if you didn't notice it then, can you blame us now?"
"Well, you got me there, dog breath…" Jazz 3 began.
"Shut up, fatass!" Jazz 2 retorted.
…
…
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 18 years (happy birthday)
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 11inches | 177.8 centimeters
Weight: 100 lbs | 45.3592 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) (Mastered Understanding), Magic Materialization (Ice) (advanced understanding), Magic Materialization (smoke) (intermediate understanding), Magic Materialization (steam) (advanced understanding), Magic Materialization (lightning) (mastered Understanding) Telekinesis (Mastered),
General magic: AdvancedUnderstanding
Shapeshifting, Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Noble Werewolf. Juvenile Awakening, 1.5x,
Emissive Techniques: Kamehameha, Don Don Pa, Solar Flare
Body Techniques: Max Power/ Pump Up (1.5x (mastered), 2x (capable), Four Witches Technique, 12 Eyes Technique
Fusion Dance
Powerlevel: 54, will raise to 81 temporarily when using Pump Up/Max Power 1.5, or 108 when using Pump Up/Max Power 2x, if using Juvenile awakening, power will be 121.5 or 162 respectively
Jazz 2 (Currently developing and training his werewolf and pump up ability)
Werewolf: Adolescent Awakening (2.475x), Pump Up/Max power: 2.34x, (no level of Pump Up slows him down, is able to utilize Pump Up/Max power to its fullest extent without any speed reduction, speed, strength, and power scale with the multiplier)
Powerlevel: 68, will raise up to 159.12 utilizing full Pump Up, raises to 168.3 utilizing juvenile awakening alone. If utilized with Pump Up, raises up to a maximum of 393.822
Jazz 3 (Currently training with Master Roshi)
Powerlevel: 117, Pump Up: 175.5 or 234 respectively, with Juvenile Awakening: 175.5, if utilized with Pump Up: 263.25 or 351 respectively. Learned PaoPao's talisman Jiang-shi magic, can self boost for 1.5x for a total boost of 526.5
Jazz 4 (Trained with Kami and the namekians for a year)
Powerlevel: 162
Staff Technique: Advanced
Hand to Hand Technique: Advanced
Ki techniques: Advanced
Magic materialization: Advanced
Capable of creating: Conventional Weapons, Food, various tools (limited by his knowledge of the materials, craftsmanship, and scientific knowledge, using the namekian book of legends had been extremely helpful)
Powerful Weapons: Long Ruyi Jingu Bang, Long Bansho Fan, Ryu Kusanagi, Wyvern's Wind-And-Fire Wheels, Dragons' Flame-Tipped Spear.
Werewolf Transformation Power: 243
Power using Pump Up: 364.5 or 486
…
…
Afterword:
The Z fighters were all always a little bit insane one way or the other, if you think about it, Jazz is just par for the course amongst the training maniacs.
Also… jeez this took multiple rewrites, and probably feels pretty awkward. The next Chapter is legitimately done. Just gotta… edit it.