All's Well That Ends Well!
Launch was flying through the mountains with what could conservatively be called "too many groceries". Not that she really minded, of course. Compared to that ridiculous milk training with Roshi, this was cake. No dinosaurs, sharks, or bees after all. Still, Launch thought to herself as she touched down, it would be nice to live somewhere with a road. She opened the door to the log cabin that she, Ten, and Chaozu had made for themselves and headed to the kitchen where she found Chaozu doing the crossword.
"Hey," Launch greeted him as she set down the groceries. Chaozu looked up and smiled and gave Launch a wave. "Where's Ten?" she asked as she started unpacking the groceries.
"Outside," Chaozu told her with a jerk of his thumb, "Training again." Launch rolled her eyes as she pulled out a case of beers. It'd been months since the Budoukai and Ten had only stopped training to help build their house and when she and Chaozu had dragged him along to the wedding. Launch gave a beer to Chaozu, who popped the cap off with his telekinesis. Launch could never tell how old Chaozu was. He never seemed to age, after all. Ten had known him since they were kids, though, so Launch assumed it was okay to give him alcohol.
"Can you put these away for me?" she asked, gesturing towards the groceries while she took another two beers. "I'm gonna go talk to him. Could be a while." Chaozu nodded and Launch tapped her beer against his in an appreciative salute before she headed out the back door. Chaozu sighed as he hopped down from his chair and muttered curses under his breath.
"Seriously" he grumbled as he sorted through the bags, "Who even needs this many kinds of jerky?"
As it turned out, "outside" had meant "two mountains over". Launch supposed that the nice thing about living in the mountains was that basically everything within your line of sight counted as your yard. She found Tenshinhan standing on the side of the mountain amongst a pile of rubble. As she got closer, however, Launch noticed that the "rubble" was all cut into perfect little cubes. She floated and watched Ten with her arms folded over her chest as he sliced a massive cube of rock out of the mountain and flung it high up into the air.
"Dodon Danmaku!" Bursts of ki flew from Ten's fingertips and sliced the rock into tiny pellets that rained down on Ten and bounced off his aura. Judging by the pile around his feet and the chunks missing out of the mountain, Launch guessed that he'd been at this for a couple hours. Tenshinhan began to cut another chunk when he noticed Launch floating down towards him.
"Doing some precision training, huh?" Launch asked as she handed him a beer. Ten nodded and jammed his thumb under the cap to pop it off in lieu of a bottle opener. Launch did the same and thought about the fact that super strength was pretty awesome. She sat down on the mountainside and motioned for Tenshinhan to do the same. He did so reluctantly and they sat in silence and drank for a moment. "So," Launch said, "What's this about?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You, what else? You're training like even more of a crazy person than usual. You don't sleep, you don't eat–"
"Did Chaozu send you up here?" Ten asked irritably. Launch frowned and punched him in the arm. "Ow!"
"No, you dummy!" Launch exclaimed, "I sent myself up here! Because I care about you! Now, what's going on?" Ten took a long drink and sighed.
"I'm the fourth strongest being on the planet," he said. "Fifth if you count Kami." He wasn't even going to bother getting into the strangeness of their casual relationship with more-or-less God. "For one moment, I was the strongest. It feels like no matter how hard I try, I keep falling behind and it's driving me insane."
"I mean," Launch pointed out, "I was never the strongest and you don't see me freaking out about it." She laughed but Ten just sighed and slumped forward. "Hey," Launch said softly as she put an arm around him, "I thought you figured out that there was more to life than being strong. Isn't that what you told Tao Pai Pai, basically?" Ten gave a halfhearted shrug.
"I know, I know," he admitted, "It's just… the desire to be the strongest and that strength was all that mattered was still the driving force behind almost my entire life. It's hard to simply cast that aside and not care about it anymore."
"Well," Launch reminded him, "When you fought Piccolo Daimaou, were you doing it to prove how strong you were?"
"Of course not," Ten said, sounding almost offended. "It–"
"Was the right thing to do," Launch finished with a smile. "And when I came to you for help, when I was going crazy, did you help me because it would make you stronger?" Ten shook his head. "No, you did because it was good. I came to you for help because I knew you were a good guy. So you may not be the strongest," Launch said with a dismissive shrug, "But you're the best in my book." Ten smiled and put an arm around Launch to hug her.
"Thank you," he said before he started to stand, "But I need to get back to training."
"Oh no," Launch said with a smirk as she pulled him back down to the ground by the back of his shirt. "What you need is to rest."
"...This isn't restful."
OoOoOoO
Muten Roshi returned from one of his trips to Baba's to find Krillin still on the couch. Not that he minded Krillin staying over, of course- he'd told Krillin that he was welcome to stay, after all, and he liked the company- it was just that Krillin had been on the couch when he left four hours ago. The boy was in a funk. No two ways about it.
"That's it," Roshi muttered as he jabbed Krillin with the end of his staff to get his attention, "We're goin' out." Krillin jumped to attentiveness and looked at Roshi curiously. He hadn't even been watching TV or reading a book, just staring out into space.
"Out?" Krillin asked as he got up from the couch. "Out where?"
"I dunno," Roshi admitted, "But somewhere where you're not just sittin' around!"
"I'm not just sitting around!" Krillin shot back defensively. Then he looked back down at the butt-shaped dent in the couch cushions. God, how long had he just been sitting there? He couldn't help it. Ever since the tournament he'd felt so… despondent. He'd fallen hard for Son Goku. Attending the wedding had just turned it into a full-blown wretchedness. Part of Krillin thought that he really shouldn't have gone, but how could he not? Goku had asked him to be her Best Man (a position he was surprised to know that she knew existed)! Even though it had been obvious that he didn't have a chance from the minute Goku and Suno had left, there had been something so painfully final about actually seeing them together.
"You've been in the bushes for months," Roshi told Krillin as he unfurled his magic carpet. "You don't even train these days! Let's get a move on!" It was true, Krillin thought as Roshi shuffled him out the door and onto the carpet. Krillin wasn't training or seeking out underground fighting tournaments or anything like he'd been before. He just couldn't see the point. His whole motivation for the last three years was to become strong enough to face Goku at the Budoukai and confess his feelings. That hadn't even come close to working out so what was the point? "Bald Tiger". Big whoop.
Roshi wound up taking them to the nightlife section of South City and to a casino called "Dragon's Gold Casino" where apparently Roshi was something of a regular.
"Not that I expect this to solve your problems or anything," Roshi was explaining to Krillin as he gave his young protege a few thousand zeni in chips, "But you desperately need to have some fun. Live a little!" He led Krillin to a poker table and waited for a game to finish. "Now I know they'll be shufflin' real slow to us," Roshi said as they waited, "But try not to count cards. If they catch ya, they'll break your legs."
"Uhh…" Krillin muttered as the color drained from his face. He was supposed to have fun now?
"Well they'll try," Roshi added as they sat down, as if remembering Krillin's experiences with his legs, "But they probably won't be able to. Then they'll just get mad and they'll throw ya out. Then they'll throw me out for bringing you here and I like this place, okay?" Krillin nodded nervously and swallowed as the dealer dealt cards.
'Good thing Roshi taught me how to play,' Krillin thought to himself. Although that had been a couple years ago. God, he was going to go broke, wasn't he?
"Royal Flush!" Krillin declared triumphantly as he slapped the cards down onto the table. He was six games in now and as he raked in the mountain of chips in front of him he knew he was on fire! "I think I've just about cleaned you gentlemen out," Krillin said as he peered at the small pile of watches, wallets, and cash beside his chips. "What about you, big guy?" he asked, peering over his chips to look at the rotund, orange-clad ronin across the table from him. The shaggy-haired man glowered and tossed his katana onto the table which made Krillin's eyes light up.
"Well," Roshi said as they say at the casino bar a short time later, "You seem to be feeling better." Krillin grinned and adjusted the katana on his back while the pair sipped mojitos.
"I am," Krillin assured him. "Thank you, Master Roshi. I needed this." They clinked glasses and Krillin returned to his drink before catching something out of the corner of his eye. He spun around and saw a woman standing by one of the slot machines. For half a second, Krillin thought she was Bulma but her hair was a few shades bluer, not to mention she was more… developed. She saw Krillin looking at her and gave a sly smile before pointing down. He noticed a slip of paper under his coaster. It was too small to be a bill although Krillin discovered that there was a number on it, as well as a message.
"Call me sometime, 'Tiger'." Krillin looked up from the paper with a bright red face and she winked before disappearing into the crowd. Krillin looked back at Roshi who started laughing his head off.
"Did… did that just happen?" Krillin asked in disbelief, which only made Roshi laugh harder. They left the casino a couple hours later and Krillin was left alone outside while Roshi sauntered off to find where the valet had parked the magic carpet. After a while, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me," said a young voice, "Are you the Bald Tiger?" Krillin turned and saw a dark-skinned young girl in a black gi with yellow belt and boots. She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen and was, frustratingly, already as tall as Krillin.
"Uh, yeah." Krillin said awkwardly. People usually didn't come up to him on the street anymore. Then again, he rarely left the island anymore.
"You're my favorite fighter in the whole world!" the kid declared with a grin.
"That so?" Krillin asked with a smile of his own. He was someone's favorite?
"Yeah," the kid told him as she pointed at her own shaved head. "I wanna be just like you!" she held out her hands, with a yellow headband in one hand a marker in the other. "Could you sign my headband?" Krillin grinned and took them both.
"Sure thing," he said as he scrawled, "What's your name?"
"Jean."
"That's a nice name."
"Not as cool as Bald Tiger." Krillin had to laugh at that as he handed Jean her headband back.
"My friends call me Krillin," he told her and watched her tie it firmly around her head.
"Thank you so much!" she said ecstatically before she took out her phone. "Can I take a picture with you?" Krillin grinned and shrugged. Why not?
After a few pictures, Jean ran off and Krillin sighed happily as he tucked his hands into his pockets. He'd get back to training tomorrow. There was life after Goku, after all.
OoOoOoO
Mai ran a hand over the smooth finish of her brand-new desk with a grin. She'd saved up for a year to be able to afford her own office and start up her business. Let Shu and Pilaf keep their fast food chain. She was going to be a detective like she'd always wanted when she was a kid. She sat behind the desk and kicked up her feet, lighting a cigarette as she looked at the golden lettering on her glass door: "Private Mai, Detective for Hire". She'd added that last part because, without it, she sounded like a callgirl. A few weeks passed with relatively steady work. People were always convinced that someone was trying to murder them or steal from them or cheat on them or sometimes all three. It was exactly what Mai had expected out of this gig. She'd even gotten into a few shootouts! It was a thrill.
Then. She showed up.
It was a rainy evening in Epicenter City and Mai was sitting in her office in a powder-blue suit. Smoke clung to the room like draperies as rain pattered softly against the windows. Mai was about ready to call it in for the night when her door swung open and a gust of wind swept the smoke right out of the room. Mai sat up quickly and stared at the dame in her doorway. She looked like the kind of trouble that led to a funeral. She wore a dark green dress that she looked like she'd been poured into, with matching lipstick, and her purple hair cascaded down around her shoulders. She was wearing an enormous golden necklace that jangled like a change purse with every step. She slid into the office with legs that went on for hours and bent forward with her hands on the table to expose the decidedly un-miserly deep cut of her dress.
"And just who are you?" Mai asked as she tried to keep her composure. Even so, she was sweating like a sheet of ice in July. The woman smirked a devilish smile that did nothing to hide eys a viper would've called untrustworthy.
"Bellerose," the woman said as she plucked the cigarette from Mai's lips and sat on the edge of the desk, "Iris Bellerose." She took a drag and grinned again, exhaling the smoke through her nostrils. "And I'm here for a job." She stamped the cigarette down into the ashtray where it stood as straight as a flagpole while her other hand played with Mai's salmon tie. Mai swallowed and her face went flush.
"Wh-when can you start?"
OoOoOoO
Piccolo looked down into his reflection in the desert oasis that he got all his water from. He frowned in deep thought as he contemplated a very serious decision.
"Wider?" he asked himself aloud as a light wind blew through his cape. He held out his hands and the shoulderpads of his cape stretched out to meet them. Piccolo inspected himself before holding his hands up again. "Shorter?" This time the pads grew shorter than they had been before. "Wider," he decided as he moved his hands out again. "Wider is good."
God, he was lonely.
OoOoOoO
"So how's Gohan doing?" Bulma asked as she sat in her capsule house. "Are you remembering what I said about keeping his window closed on–"
"Yes, I am," Suno said over the phone, "And he's doing well. My mother's visiting so he's getting spoiled by grandma."
"I am doing no such thing!" Bulma heard Yuki call.
"Mother," Suno said while turning away from the phone, "You've already given him how many sweets in the last hour?" Bulma laughed and shook her head. She'd met Yuki at the wedding and she honestly wasn't surprised. She seemed like a sweet lady.
"Sounds like you're having fun."
"Yeah," Suno agreed. "So, what're you doing out by Mount Paozu, anyway?" Bulma grinned.
"Believe me," Bulma assured her, "When I find it, you two will be the first to know."
"Ms. Bulma!" Someone called from outside the house. "We think we've found something!"
"I gotta go," Bulma said, "I'll talk to ya later."
"Same here," Suno replied. "Someone is getting hungry."
"Your son or your wife?" Bulma asked with a chuckle.
"Goodbye, Bulma." Suno said with amused annoyance before she hung up. Bulma sat up from the edge of her bed with a stretch and tucked her phone away. It had been good to get out of the house for a few months although she was a little suspicious of what Daddy might do while she was away. He'd locked her out of his lab and she was beginning to think he'd finally figured out that she was trying to remove him from power in the company. Not that she should have been surprised, she knew. How many "surprise" trips could she send him and mom on that coincided with important meetings where she'd sit in as his "representative" and vote and make decisions "on his behalf", anyway? Dr. Brief was no dope. He wasn't as smart as her, of course, but he was no dope.
Bulma walked out of her capsule house and into a bustle of activity surrounding a crane near a massive crater. There were dozens of Capsule Corp workers, many holding pickaxes or shovels or other digging equipment. She'd needed a big, new discovery that would knock the Board's socks off, especially since she had no idea how to replicate the device. The blueprints were completely useless, written in a language that didn't exist at any point in Earth's history and in a handwriting that didn't even look like hers! That was why Bulma had been spending the last four months turning the area for several miles around Goku's childhood home upside-down. A suspicion she'd been nursing for almost nine years now, practically since the day she'd met Son Goku. Her sister Tights had offered to come along but Bulma balked at the idea. This was going to be science fact, not science fiction. She didn't want this to wind up in one of her silly books like that Jaco guy that Tights and their grandfather had always sworn was real.
"Be careful!" Bulma warned into a megaphone as the crane slowly lifted something up out of the crater. "If this is what I think it is, it is literally worth more than all of your lives!" After several agonizing minutes for the impatient young woman, the crane operator set the cargo down on solid ground and Bulma shoved her way through the crowd to get a look at it. It was a sphere about the size of a small car that had once been white, although it was covered in dirt and scratches and… were those reentry burns? Bulma giggled to herself giddily as she inspected the craft, peering through the open hatch at the interior filled with buttons and displays in a language she'd never seen before. Resting on the seat, with two tubes connected to it, was a small, clear bubble that was just about the right size for a human infant. "Well, well, well," Bulma muttered to herself as she rubbed her hands eagerly. "Looks like you're finally about to start making sense, Son Goku."
OoOoOoO
Suno put the phone back on its hook before she turned around and walked back to the living room, scooping a giggling Gohan out of her mother's arms as Yuki was giving him raspberries on his stomach.
"That's enough, you two," Suno said as she sat down in an armchair next to the couch where Yuki was sitting. She pulled down one of her sleeves and held Gohan against her chest so he could nurse. Goku, in typical Goku fashion, was hanging from the ceiling and doing upside-down crunches.
"So how's work, dear?" Yuki asked while trying not to be distracted by Goku.
"Work's going good," Suno said. "I've been back at the job for about a year now and I don't think it'll be that long before I can drop the 'assistant' part from my title." She smiled as she looked down at Gohan, "And this little guy is pretty popular. Half the first grade girls want to be his girlfriends when he grows up." She and Yuki laughed while Goku continued her crunches. "How's Jingle Village? Anything new happening?"
"Well," Yuki began, "Frost has taken on a few new students."
"Has he really?"
"Oh, yes," Yuki said with a smile, "A couple of polar bears. It seems a certain someone gave him the teaching bug."
"I think she means you, Suno," Goku put in helpfully.
"He's not as spry as he used to be," Yuki went on, "But then, none of us are." She sighed and put her hands in her lap. "It's not all good, I'm afraid. The village chief passed away about a month ago."
"Oh no," Suno said softly. That was awful! She remembered the village chief well suddenly and how saving him from Muscle Tower had been her and Goku's first adventure.
"He was really nice," Goku added sadly. Yuki nodded before she looked up as if remembering something and smiled again.
"Of course, it's not all bad," she added. "That's why Eighter couldn't visit, after all."
"What?" Suno asked with a confused frown. What did Eighter have to do with the chief's passing?
"Eighter is the new chief now!" Yuki explained with delight. Suno was so shocked that she fell out of her chair and Goku threw her arms down to catch Gohan before he fell. The one year-old giggled obliviously like this was some fun new game.
OoOoOoO
Mercenary Tao shuffled miserably down the street as he looked at the crumpled bills in his hand. Five hundred thousand zeni. That was what he'd been reduced to lower his price to. After years of inactivity, his near death, and his humiliation at the hands of Tenshinhan in front of a worldwide audience; his reputation was in shambles.
"Damn Son Goku," he muttered. "Damn Tenshinhan. Damn them all!" He swung a wild fist in rage and knocked a lamp post over the horizon, scowling at those who stared at him before he realized that, without eyelids or eyebrows, it just looked like he was staring back. He groaned and continue on his way. With every step, however, he grew a little calmer. He'd get his price back up. He'd outlive them all. It would take time but that was no matter. He was ageless. He had forever. Spirits slightly lifted, he walked into a "Pilaf's" on the corner. He was starving.
OoOoOoO
Giran stepped forward onto the podium to give his acceptance speech. He was dressed in a fine gray suit with sleeves stitched into the back for his wings with a white shirt and a red tie. He adjusted his glasses and looked down at his typed remarks. This was a historic day: he was the first monster ever elected to the World Parliament.
"Today," Giran said as he stretched his wings, "Is a great day. A day for change. A day for hope. A day for the future!" The crowd cheered and Giran waited for it to die down before he continue. "A future not just for monsters but for all the races of the Earth. For I promise you that I shall use every ounce of my seat's power to make change and every decibel of my voice, the people's voice, to call for action! To bring about change that will not only benefit monsters but will benefit all!" The crowd roared again and Giran found himself again thanking the day he'd met Krillin. The "Bald Tiger's" endorsement had been instrumental in securing his votes, after all. He didn't know how he'd ever be able to repay him.
OoOoOoO
Pilaf sat behind his desk and smiled to himself as he tugged at his suspenders. The former Emperor, now CEO, looked thoughtfully back on his life. With smart investing, careful planning, and culinary experimentation; what had started as a hot dog cart had grown into a genuine empire of fast food restaurants across the globe. He was finally a success.
The name had been Shu's idea. "Pilaf's: Food Fit for a King!" Pilaf had groaned at the slogan at first but, over the years, it had grown on him. Shu was now a regional manager, in charge of all the "Pilaf's" between East and West City. Pilaf had offered him a higher-paying desk job several times- he was a founder, after all- but Shu always declined with a smile. He said he liked to be with the people that were doing the work. He'd joke that he loved the smell of deep fry in the morning. Or maybe it wasn't a joke.
Pilaf sighed wistfully as he looked at a photograph on his desk of himself, Mai, and Shu around the hot dog cart. He hadn't seen Mai in years now. She'd had to change the name of her business to "Tri Pri Eye" after she and that Bellerose woman added a young man named Upa to their company. Apparently, they were also involved in some sort of polyamory thing? Pilaf honestly couldn't remember. He should call Mai, it had been far too long.
Pilaf looked to the awards his restaurant had won that were plastered all over one wall. He was finally happy. And it hadn't taken a single Dragon Ball to do it.
OoOoOoO
Uranai Baba sat bolt upright in bed with wide, panic-filled eyes. She was drenched in a cold sweat as she stumbled out of bed and climbed onto her crystal ball. She could feel her old heart fluttering in her chest as she floated over to the window and yanked back the curtains to stare up at the orange-purple dawn sky and the few stars still visibly twinkling in the dark.
"It's here," she whispered, aghast. The terrible thing she had foreseen years ago. It was coming!