"Why are you here?! Leave before I kill you!"
"Pfft, yeah right, you think you can kill us?" Lazuli laughed, "we've been through some crazy training, we ain't gonna die from someone like you."
"You tell him, sis!" The boy, Lapis, laughed, his blue eyes flashing fiercely as he turned towards the person before them.
"Both of you, shush." Jazz sighed, smacking both kids on the back of the head.
"Oww!" They screamed in unison.
"Anyways, no need to be so hostile, Piccolo Jr…" Jazz turned to the figure, he was hidden in a cloak, dark and billowing that wrapped around his body, hiding his features from anyone who didn't get too close.
The figure removed the hood, revealing green skin, long, elf-like ears, and a pair of antennae that twitched slightly. Piccolo Jr, at only 2 years old, was about the height of a teenage human, standing between 4 and 5 feet, his body was also relatively sleek and lanky, with muscles beginning to build up. Despite his youthful appearance, Jazz could feel the power radiating from the child, much like in the original, this Piccolo Jr was surpassing his father in power, though in this iteration, the power in question was 44,000. At the moment, the young namekian had his energy suppressed severely, but he was still, inwardly, more powerful than his father had been. "You know of me, just as I know of you, so there's no need for formalities, die!" He charged forward.
The twins scattered and Jazz smirked, a shield materialized from his hand, it was an almost perfectly circular shield with an iron cross-like symbol emblazoned in its center. "Svallin…" Jazz muttered, blocking the powerful strike. The ground cracked from the force of their impact.
"I didn't see that at all…" Lazuli muttered.
"Slowpoke." Lapis chuckled, "I saw it all."
A spectacular light show appeared beneath them as Piccolo Jr launched hundreds of ki blasts at Jazz, who continued to block and deflect the attacks with his shield. The forest around them was torn apart from the onslaught, the ground burned and the nearby earth rattled as if it would break from its foundations like a rickety chair.
When the onslaught ended, Jazz allowed the shield to disappear, a silver whirlwind wrapped around his body, causing Piccolo Jr to narrow his eyes and step back.
"Oh?" Jazz grinned, "you feel my power now, don't you?" He chuckled.
"You're weaker than when you had the ability to face my father." Piccolo scowled. He revved up his ki and prepared to charge forward.
"Well duh, that's cause I'm only at half capacity." Jazz said blankly, leaning back as an equally powerful doppelganger charged forward, striking towards the Namekian youth.
The demon clan heir was not to be caught by surprise as he blocked the overhead chop and replied with a ki-empowered laser blast from the eyes. Ice quickly covered the clone's body, deflecting the blast and giving the doppelganger enough time to dodge, as he rapidly flew back, the original charged forward, the two bumped fists before the doppelganger transformed into a bo-staff. The silver whirlwind around Jazz's body increased in size and intensity, whipping at Piccolo's cape even from their sizeable distance.
Piccolo gritted his teeth, "are you taking this fight seriously?"
Jazz nodded, "of course I am, aren't you?" Piccolo appeared behind the young man, unleashing his high-speed movement. Jazz blocked the attack with a twirl of his staff, then spun it around to attack, Piccolo ducked under and moved to stab into Jazz with rapid speed, before he could, part of the staff transformed, revealing an arm which barely blocked Piccolo's thrust, the tip of the staff began to glow with ki, as a full-powered don-don ray was shot towards Piccolo's face. The Namekian barely dodged the attack, then shouted in pain as a second staff appeared in Jazz's other hand and struck him in the gut. "Long Ruyi Jingu Bang! Expand!" The staff grew to the size of a large plumbing pipe, then to a massive pillar for something like the roman coliseum, then into a staggeringly large structure that could be seen from even half a mile away with relative ease.
Piccolo was launched backward by the surprise attack, then watched as the staff disappeared and Jazz's first staff transformed back into a doppelganger. The attacks didn't hurt very much, but they were beginning to annoy him. He gritted his teeth. "You, you mock me?!"
Jazz watched as Piccolo's power level skyrocketed. "I guess the pump-up technique is just another Super Saiyan." He sighed, by this point, all his friends knew the technique, though to be honest, the one who should have been actually annoyed was Master Roshi. "Oh well…" He turned to look at his doppelganger.
"Well, I don't think we have much choice." The clone said, "I didn't think he'd be able to do that, it looks like you have to take him seriously, boss."
"I mean, I was taking him seriously, I just wasn't at full power." Jazz grinned as his doppelganger re-entered his body. At the same time, Jazz's power level shot up as he utilized his transformations. First was his noble werewolf transformation, as opposed to just the silvery aura, fur sprouted from his arms, legs, and chest, as his hair increased in length and changed into a silvery-white mane. His hands and feet grew wickedly sharp claws as his body became noticeably toned compared to before.
Piccolo clicked his tongue in irritation, "If that's the best you can do, you've made a grave mistake, I'll kill you, then I'll kill Kami's pitiful little disciple." Jazz grinned in response, his body's size did not change whatsoever, but the aura around him exploded out in power as he utilized the Pump Up technique. Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "Good effort, but still below my power."
Jazz tutted in disappointment, his aura dropping as he stopped the Pump Up technique.
Piccolo was about to say something snarky when glowing runic marking covered Jazz's body, the most striking of them was on his forehead, with the kanji for "power", emblazoned right in its center, at the same time, Jazz unleashed the power of his Pump Up technique to its limits once more.
"Am I still weaker?" Jazz asked, "actually, don't answer that, I already know the answer." He charged forward.
Piccolo barely dodged the swipe, the after images of the attack were so sharp that the tips of his cloak were torn. Before he could react, Jazz kicked off the air, helping him change course as he flew. He shoulder-checked Piccolo, and before the latter could recover, the young man grabbed the namekian by the ankle and flew rapidly towards the ground, dragging the son of the demon king with him. He let go of Piccolo before they hit the ground, slamming the young namekian into the earth. The Namekian screamed in pain, bouncing from the force of the impact. Jazz then split in two, each half charged a Kamehameha that smashed into the young namekian, shaking the earth.
"Jeez, Teacher's gone all out," Lazuli muttered.
"Well, that's what makes him Teacher!" Lapis grinned with excitement, "I wanna be that powerful one day."
"In your dreams, try to win more sparring sessions against me first." Lazuli grinned.
"Hey! Not fair, you get extra training with Krillin." Lapis muttered, turning when his twin sister stuck her tongue out at him.
Jazz rejoined with his doppelganger as he looked at the young namekian beneath him. He had split himself into two in order to avoid killing Piccolo, though the attacks were still very painful. "Here." He tossed something towards Piccolo.
The green-skinned alien narrowed his eyes at the bean in his hand. "A senzu…" He knew of the beans from his father's memories, "why?"
Jazz grinned, "I mean, if you don't want it…"
Piccolo quickly consumed the bean. The namekian glared at Jazz, contemplating something. He looked ready to fight again, but upon feeling Jazz's energy, which, while reduced, was greater than his own, Piccolo decided to hold off. "Why did you spare me?" He growled.
"Well, the most obvious answer is, without you, Kami dies, and the dragon balls are no more." Jazz began, "and the second is I need a training partner, and the kids need a second instructor."
"What?!" All three youths shouted in exclamation.
"Big Bro! You can't be serious?!" Lapis yelled, "that asshole would kill us in our sleep!"
"Jazz, Lapis is right, Piccolo is dangerous, I thought you came here to take care of him!" Lazuli yelled.
"Are you insulting me?!" Piccolo roared in fury. "I am the son of the great Demon King! I bow to no one! And my power is my own!" He charged forward. Almost instantaneously, Jazz transformed once again, split in two, then fused once. Piccolo was flat on the ground, with only one of Jazz's fingers on his back. The level of power radiating from Jazz seemed unreal, causing Piccolo to freeze instinctually.
"The next Budokai Tenkaichi is in 1 year from now, I know you plan on taking revenge against Kami and me. Unfortunately, as you can see, I'm stronger than you, and if you continue doing things the way you're doing them now, you won't be strong enough to defeat me."
"What… do you want…" Piccolo muttered angrily.
"Your training allowed you to reach such a frightful level of power all by yourself, I know part of it has to do with your genetic predisposition, but I believe there's some merit in your training, I want to learn from it, and the kids to get some enlightenment over it since they're still young, the foundations might make them quite powerful in the future. In exchange, you learn how I fight, my strengths and weaknesses, and a powerful training partner to test the limits of your ability." Jazz grinned, "also, you seemed kinda lonely, so I thought you'd need a friend."
"You killed my father…" Piccolo growled.
"No I didn't, and you know that too, I incapacitated your father, he simply had too much arrogance to face capture and imprisonment." Jazz shrugged, "why are you so angry anyway? I mean, I understand, it is painful to have lost a family member, but you're able to converse with me relatively calmly, I'd normally believe someone would be unable to stand looking at the person they think responsible for a family member's death."
"I inherited my father's memories…" Piccolo growled, "I inherited his goal to spread tyranny into the world, yet, as soon as I was born, I realized my father birthed me with the predisposition of a warrior, I cannot bear eggs and create an army. So I needed to train, train and surpass my father so that I would have no need for an army. To control my body, I must control my spirit and my mind, even if that means suppressing my distaste for you." Piccolo growled out, but fine, I'll follow your little game, I'll even do my best to train the two milk-faced brats you have tagging along, but you have to promise me something."
Jazz raised an eyebrow, "what?"
"Teach me the secrets of that merging technique of yours." Piccolo glowered, "that's the only reason you're more powerful than I am, with it, nothing will stop me from conquering the world."
Jazz nodded, much to the protestations of his two trainees. "So, with that settled." Jazz waved his hands over a patch of destroyed earth, a simple but elegant-looking stone house materialized. The windows were made of ice, the door out of carved wood, and the insides furnished with items generated from his magic materialization technique. "Let's head to bed kids." He turned to the children, who grumbled.
"It's not even that late," Lapis grumbled.
"The moon is out and the sun isn't, also, it is 8:30 at night, thus it is past your bedtime."
"That's bs…" Lazuli grumbled.
"Turtle School Motto." Jazz replied, smiling.
The kids groaned but repeated the motto. "Work hard, study well, eat and sleep plenty, that's the turtle school way…"
"Good, now, I hope you kids sleep well." He smiled, then turned to Piccolo, who was already beginning to fly away. "And where are you going, young man?"
"You think to comm-" Piccolo was interrupted by a karate chop to the head, "you're only 2 years old, even if you age faster mentally and physically, and have your father's memories, you are only a child."
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, but eventually, the Namekian entered the home. He was surprised by the decor, unlike most human domiciles, this one felt… comfortable. It was simply furnished and had a strong smell of nature, water, and clean air. A simple mat and a clean-smelling blanket were his furnishings for a bed. He grunted, attempting to ignore the kindness, but Jazz caught the surprise on his face and the comfort and relaxation he exuded when he lay down.
Jazz grinned, the namekians back on Namek used mats like that to sleep, due to their extremely flexible body structure and skeletal system, a softer mattress could cause their bodies to contort slightly, which was uncomfortable when waking up. Piccolo likely appreciated a bed he could comfortably sleep in due to its extreme firmness and rigidity. He watched as the physically fine but mentally fatigued namekian youth fell asleep.
"Poor kid…" Jazz said after 30 minutes. He retired to bed, not noticing Piccolo's ears twitch slightly.
…
An incredibly painful sensation filled him, exposing all his senses as if they were an exposed wound, previously covered by a scab. He felt himself literally tearing apart, and screamed out as the ordeal finished.
"Is it done?"
"Yes… yes, sir, it is done." A weary voice filled the air.
He opened his eyes, focusing on a human, no, a being who looked human, with a beard as white as snow, covered in a cloak of white.
"...God…" He said, normally, he would look at this being before him, the being that raised him, that would make him the next to rule, with gratitude and love, like a child looking at a parent, but all he felt was disgust and irritation, those feelings confused him, making him even angrier.
"Hehehe… God, he says, I wouldn't call him that, not after what he's done…" A venomous voice called out.
He turned his head, eyes snapping to the voice, he narrowed his eyes as he stared at the blue-skinned being with ears and a facial structure dangerously close to his own. "Garlick Jr…" He hissed, he remembered now, he and God fought against Garlick Jr. Garlick had been visited by his kinsmen, servants of his late father, and learned the truth, that his father, Garlick Sr. had come to Earth to take it over, and that God had stopped him. Garlick held on to his hatred, but only in order to prepare an ambush while… while he… he did something for God.
"I… you were not stopped?"
Again, that voice, it was so familiar, shaking eyes turned to the source, and widened when he saw his spitting image. He was looking at himself, he was looking at… Kami.
…
Piccolo Jr. woke up, gasping for air. It was not the first time he had this nightmare, it was the first real memory of the Demon King Piccolo, the cast-off remains of the supposedly 'great' Kami.
He held back his emotions as the memories of yesterday filled his mind, it would not do to anger the man capable of killing him with but a few movements, at least, not until he learned the secrets of the merging technique. He sat up, and in order to control his temper, began to meditate. Hours went by, and eventually, Jazz came downstairs.
"Ah, you're awake?" The human asked.
Piccolo responded by grunting.
"Here."
Piccolo caught a water bottle, then turned to look at Jazz quizzically.
"You don't need food, you just drink water most of the time, I know you can eat food and can digest it well enough, but I assume you probably don't want any of my cooking. Unless you secretly like flapjacks. Oatmeal, and orange juice."
Piccolo rolled his eyes. "Just tell me when the brats are ready, I want to see how they train."
"We heard that!" The two turned to see the twins coming down the stairs single-file.
Lapis was first to the kitchen table.
"I just want you to know, just cause you're kinda tough, that doesn't mean you're any good, Teacher is way stronger than you, after all." Lazuli glared at Piccolo, daring him to say something back.
Piccolo merely scoffed.
Jazz nodded, "alright. After breakfast, we'll do some light warm-ups then get into the heavy stuff for 4 hours, then we see Piccolo's evaluation and determine what needs to get done to improve, alright?" He smiled when the two kids nodded.
Luckily it was the middle of their summer vacation, so they had time to really focus on training for 4 months, unlike Goku, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and even himself, it was agreed upon that the two should have a normal school life in order to learn how to socialize with their peers. Jazz himself had gotten his GED and was halfway through community college, which had really pleased PaoPao, who, somehow, while also training her ass off, was in the middle of her Ph.D. in criminal justice. The kids enjoyed school, but they also enjoyed being able to train, and he felt that this would be good for both Piccolo and Goku, the guys, along with Chi-Chi and Launch, were all training with Kami, so they were likely going to end up being very tough, though none except Goku and maybe Tien stood a real chance against Piccolo, Jazz wasn't too worried about that. If worse came to worse, he was here. But that was another problem, he noticed it recently, his body, even after making the power his, didn't make a lot of gains, his transformations had developed swimmingly well, and he was much stronger than before that way, which was good, but his base ability's development was slow, he was constantly using weights, greater than that of most of his friends, but even then, his gains were slight, he believed that perhaps he was reaching the limits of his "Earth-based" human body, but he didn't know for certain, Piccolo's training would likely shed some light into his weaknesses. All in all, it was a win-win, he hoped.
…
…
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 21 and 1 months
Hair color: Red
Skin color: white
Race: "Human"
Height: 6 feet 0.5 inches | 184.15 centimeters
Weight: 195 lbs | 88.4505 kilograms,
Skills: Advanced Staff Technique, Advanced Kinjutsu (sword technique), Advanced Hand-to-Hand technique, Advanced Ki techniques, Mastered Magic Materialization
Capable of creating: Conventional Weapons, Food, various tools (limited by his knowledge of the materials, craftsmanship, and scientific knowledge)
Weapons that can be created: Long Ruyi Jingu Bang, Long Bansho Fan, Ryu Kusanagi, Wyvern's Wind-And-Fire Wheels, Dragon's Flame-Tipped Spear, Fafnir's Gungnir, Leviathan's Trident, Jorgumandur's Svalinn, Hydra's Ancilla
Powers: Elemental Magic Materialization, Capable of summoning and freely manipulating fire, water, wind, and earth, lightning, ice, smoke, and steam, capable of manipulating and stirring the growth of plant and animal life. Mastered Telekinesis.
Mastery of General Magic Concepts and abilities. mastered understanding of intermediate-level magical techniques, an advanced understanding of advanced magical techniques.
Shapeshifting: Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Transformation Power Techniques
Noble Werewolf: True Awakening: 5.3x power
Ultimate Full Power: A renamed form of Pump-Up/ Max Power, no longer lowers speed, instead it now grants strength and speed proportional to power gain, due to witnessing Launch's utilization of the technique, the power raised up to 5.4x
Talisman Magic: Body Enhancement: 5x Power, drains magical energy over time, lasts 10 minutes at full, before then draining ki,
1.5x level: can be used for 6 hours straight
2x level: can be used for 2 hours straight
3x: can be used for 1 hour
4x: Can be used for 30 minutes
Emissive Techniques: Kamehameha, Don Don Pa, Solar Flare, Tri-Beam, Thunder Shock Surprise, Barrage Ki attack, Magic Fire Kamehameha, Thunderfire Kamehameha. Ki-Flame Sword, Marshmallow Meteor,
Body Techniques: Four Witches Technique, 12 Eyes Technique, Fusion Dance, Wolf Fang Fist, Mafuba
Blessing from a "Friend": Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, senses, capable of surviving a 2 fold fusion without extreme backlash.
Powerlevel: 1149.5
Power of Just Werewolf: 5747.5
Power of Pump Up: 6207.3
Power of Werewolf and Pump Up: 31,036.5
Power of Werewolf, Pump Up, Magic Talisman Technique: 155,182.5
…
Afterword:
It's been a long time, hasn't it, it's also been a long time for Jazz, his weight and height are regulated to be around the same for now, he loses tiny bits of fat, gains tiny bits of muscle mass, then gains more tone and definition, as you can see, his power hadn't jumped all that much in the two years since he came back, this is due to his physiology, but he's still grinding, part of why is growth is so slow can be traced to his transformations, by focusing on them, he spends an appreciably lower amount of time attempting to hone his body, though even then, the amount of gain could be considered marginal at best, regardless, he is still a very powerful warrior.
Ah, also, Svalinn, that's based on Norse Mythology, it was the shield that blocked the sun from the earth, protecting mountains and trees from burning up, in their mythology. It is extremely heavy, in fact, it, like a few of Jazz's other tools, are made from Katchin Metal, a little something he picked up over his two years of training, making these tools literally the most effective weapons possible for the majority, if not all of Z.