A/N: Final Word Count: 11.4k Pre-A/N's.
What's up peeps! Monokub here with another fun-filled adventure ready for ya ^^! I gotta say, the further we progress, the better it gets (well least for me, hoping it is for you guys too XP) because the more that goes on, the more that changes, and the more it changes, the more surprises and fun twists I have in store get revealed ^^!
Not much this time around to mention, but one minor heads up- Goku will likely be absent for a few chapters or scenes, since he's mostly spending the rest of his time running to king kai's then training. Not a whole lot of action going on during said time, or at least to the extent that there's enough changes from the canon to explore. While that might mean something to someone's world, it does free up some space for me to write more, and as such, since i finished today's chapter about 8-9 minutes into the ep, it means it gives me more time to flush out the rest of the scenes like Kame house next chapter and whatnot since i'll be saving time and words without worrying about unchanged scenes.
Oh and quick shoutout to Luckybrad for his constant support (as well as making a cute pic to go with today's intro ^^) and Aarik Wrath who's been providing me with useful DBZ trivia and factoids, which will be useful further down the line to know ^^
So, with all that said, enjoy!
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...
*gurgle*
"Ughhhhh... I'm so hungryyyyyy..." Goku moaned as he lied on the roof of Master Roshi's small house.
This was beyond the realm of unfair. It was... Mega Unfair! He was looking forward to training with the legendary Master Roshi, preparing for the next tournament with Caulifla, and getting the chance to prove his mettle for the whole world to see. So why did he have to suffer like this just because of some dumb rock?!
Under the crescent moonlit night, the events came rushing back to him time and time again. Master Roshi was a strange man in his own right, but Goku was sure the old guy knew what he was doing. He tested everyone's speed, with Caulifla just beating Goku's by .1 second, their determination to find him a woman for some reason, which their new companion Krillin finished with ease thanks to the strange 'magazines' he gave Master Roshi, and their drive to prove themselves to the great master for his guidance and wisdom. And, at first, everything seemed to be going smoothly. They even moved the Kame house to a nearby island where the training would finally start.
And it was their first training exercise that proved everything here would be far from simple.
As a first test for the three young cadets, Roshi ordered them to find a simple rock he wrote his signature on and threw deeply into the woods. Their task was to be the first ones to find it and bring it home. Simple, right? What wasn't so simple was the punishment, for whoever didn't bring the rock back would have to go the entire night without supper! What kind of sense did THAT make?! And, what a shock, he came to realize Caulifla and Krillin were rather competitive to prove themselves.
From trying to forge a signature on another rock Krillin had found, to Caulifla cheekily trying to trick Goku into giving her the rock, saying there was another rule he had to follow, involving him having to run five laps around the entire forest before getting the rock. It was a lie that came back to bite her as, to her surprise, she found Goku chasing after her nearly five minutes later, already having caught up with the girl who was taking her time to gingerly stroll through the forest back to Roshi's house.
As if that wasn't enough Karma for the girl, in the eventual struggle where she and Goku were fighting for the rock, Krillin snuck by and swiftly ran away with it. Thus ensued a small game of "capture the baldy", as Caulifla put it, as the two chased after their recent companion, only to lose him after Krillin cut the rope to the bridge Goku was on, sending him hurdling down to the river's depths and forcing Caulifla to find another way across the hundred foot crevice.
Much like Caulifla, Krillin's seeming victory didn't last very long as not two minutes later, he found both growling monkey children chasing after him from behind, with Caulifla just a few yards behind Goku. It didn't take very long for them to catch up and begin a small scuffle, one which found Krillin pinned under both their shoes as Goku and Caulifla wrestled amongst each other for the stone above him. It was thanks to Krillin's quick thinking that he managed to toss away the fake stone he tried to get away with earlier, tricking the two kids into chasing after it as he returned to Kame's settlement at long last, thus earning a spot at the dinner table.
Now, here lied the young kid Goku, feeling himself starving to death with every passing, albeit exaggerated, moment as he stared up at the sky. In lieu of flowers, he just wished for everyone to bring a buffet's worth of meals to his funeral, just as soon as he figured out what one was.
"I can still smell it, too." He drooled, trying to ignore the pang of hunger in his stomach. "All that fish... all that food..." Against his better judgement, he still refused to give up and just leave. He wanted to be strong fighter like his friend, like his grandfather, and was willing to do anything to make it happen.
Even if that meant betraying the closest friend known as his Stomach, and forcing it to go without eati-
"Huh? There you are!" Caulifla's voice suddenly announced as her head poked up from behind the gutters to the house. "I was looking all over for you." She smiled, hopping atop the rooftop with a small black cloth bag she was carrying behind her.
"Cauli?" Goku blinked. Was she actually the angel of death come to rid him from this mortal plane? A part of him almost hoped she was. At least then, he wouldn't have to deal with the constant pain of hunger. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I'm doing here, knucklehead?" She gave a sly grin as she sat across the boy she had yet to defeat, placing the bag between them. Unraveling it, Goku's eyes sparkled at the treasure before him. An assortment of breads, condiments, and a few slices of potential meats, all perfectly arranged and ready for sandwich making. "Chow time!" She announced, eagerly grabbing a plastic knife as she began to smear some jelly on a sandwich.
"W-Wait! We can't do that!"
"Why not?" Cauli paused raising a brow.
"We can't! Rememeber? Master Roshi said we weren't allowed to have dinner!"
*gurgle*
*gurgle*
There was an awkward silence between the two as the young children found both their stomach's growling at the same time, a feat that caused a small blush over Cauli's face as she closed her eyes.
"Hmph. Do as you want if you're really up for it, but I'm not going to listen to my stomach growling all night when someone cheated me out of my dinner in the first place." She quietly declared, going back to slathering another helping of jelly on her slice. As she did so, her smearing came to a brief halt as she noticed Goku's vacant expression, his mouth still hanging open as drool ran down the side. After a few moments, the girl let out a small grumble as she finished making her sandwich and shoved it into Goku's hand. "Well? What are you waiting for? Dig in!"
Goku wanted to. He wanted to chow down on just about every single thing he saw at the moment, even if it was just the condiments on their own. He had never felt so tempted in his life. "Mmmh... But... But I-"
"Listen you!" Caulifla jerked a little, pointing the plastic knife at him. "There's a few things in this world you never ignore, and eating's one of them! You have to eat when you're hungry, otherwise you run out of energy, then you're too hungry to make yourself anything at all, then you're forced to eat be-!" The near-mention of what she just said sent a shiver down her spine, one that shot her tail up as a tinging sensation ran through her body.
"Eat what?" Goku wondered, tilting a head with a curious look at the girl who shriveled.
Shaking her head, Caulifla turned her eyes away as her gaze lowered, a look of remorse crossing her face as she sat back down. "Never mind..." She huffed. "Just... trust me when I say you never want to go starving in your life. Okay?" The girl kept her eyes back on the new sandwich in her hand that she was preparing.
Goku was a bit puzzled by the girl's strange behavior. At times, she seemed to know more about the world than he did, even when she really didn't. At other times, she seemed intent on doing something for multiple reasons and never explained why. When her mind was made up, unless Goku convinced her of a better or more understandable solution, she always saw her ways through. Whether it was at the expense of others or herself, there was no talking her out of it.
"Well... thanks then!" Goku appreciated as he started digging into the sandwich.
It was enough to earn a small smile from the girl as she went back to making her own sandwiches, a process that went on for the next twenty minutes between the two children. By the time they were done, they lied a few feet apart from each other as they looked up at the night sky, with Goku resting his hands behind his head and Caulifla's on her full belly.
"Ah, that was really good. Thanks again." He admitted, he felt guilty over disobeying his master. And a part of him probably was too tired right now to really consider the teachings and lesson he was supposed to learn by not eating. But with how happy his stomach felt right now, he couldn't complain.
"No problem." Caulifla replied, keeping her eyes on the stars. "I told you you'd feel better. 'You should never fret over an empty belly'. That's what my au-" Caulifla stopped again as she caught herself midsentence.
The young boy craned his head in her direction, noticing her pausing again. "Your what?"
"...Nothing." She turned her ahead away.
"..." Goku was at a loss for what to say. Clearly, she was hiding something, but he didn't want to come out as rude and keep pushing for it. He just looked back at the night sky as he tried to think of some more questions to ask her before the two could fall asleep. "Hey, Cauli?"
"Yeah?"
"You grew up in a city, right? What was it like?"
Caulifla considered answering him. She didn't want to get too deep into her history or anything like that, but she had traveled with Goku for a couple weeks now, if not nearly a month. Perhaps he had earned the chance to know a thing or two about her? "Well..." Then again, she didn't really know where to start. "... I guess a lot like this place, in a way." She replied, sitting back up as she smiled at the small town ahead of them.
Goku smiled as he sat up too, listening expectantly with excitement to the new friend he knew next to nothing about. "There were a lot of buildings and stuff all over the place, but it was a lot more packed."
"Packed how?"
"Well, you know. Kind of... like the sandwiches." She threw a thumb back to the used sandwich bags and now-empty condiments that lined the rooftop.
"You had houses made of sandwiches?!" Just thinking about it made Goku's mouth water.
"Haha, no silly!" Caulifla laughed. She kept forgetting how little Goku knew about the world, but always found an amusement to it at the same time. "I mean they were really close to each other. So close that if you looked out a window, you could see a couple playing doctor with each other."
"How do you play 'doctor' with someone?"
"Beats me." Caulifla poked her chin as she wondered for herself. "I never really bothered to ask."
"Did they play with a bunch of tools or outfits or something?"
"No. Come to think of it, they didn't really seem to be playing with any tools, or outfits for that matter."
"Huh... that is weird." And people thought he was the weird one. If one is going to play a game of Doctor they should at least have everything they need to play first! "What else was there?"
"Mmmh... not much." The girl sighed. "To be honest, it wasn't a good place to live. You could barely go outside for some reason without getting sick, and there was barely any good food around there. You'd be lucky to come across a whole loaf of bread."
"That sounds awful." The young boy was blunt with his remark. "What about your parents? What were they like?" There was a sudden stillness in Caulifla's posture at this. He leaned himself up from the roof's surface as he sat cross-legged. "Cauli?" He noticed the girl suddenly wrapping her own tail around her waist, and seemed to be squeezing it against herself. "Cauli? Are you okay?"
"...Can we talk about something else?" She asked, almost demandingly.
"Why? What about your parents?" It was a simple question, wasn't it?
"I don't want to talk about her- THEM!" She quickly restated.
"Why not?"
"BECAUSE I SAID-" She covered her mouth, realizing she almost shouted her response loud enough to wake the whole household. Her eyes shifted to the side for a little bit as she tried listening through the roof. Thankfully, as far as she was aware, she couldn't hear any other moment, figuring everyone must still be asleep. Taking a deep breath to herself, the young girl lied back down, turning away from Goku. "Just forget it. I don't want to talk about it." She muttered, glaring ahead of her as she let her tail hang out.
To say Goku was a little confused at this moment would be far from the truth. He had no idea what was going on with her or what she was trying to hide. Why would such a thing be a big deal, anyway? Ask about someone's parents, they respond, onto the next question. Right? So why did it bother Caulifla so much that she absolutely refused to say anything about it? What made her so ? Did she not like her parents? Did she not have any? Either of those two scenarios sounded simple to answer, at least to him.
Looking over her, he noticed her tail seemed to be a bit tense, almost shaking a little along with the rest of her body. He couldn't tell if she was cold or something, just that something was unsettling to her. Maybe it was his fault? Was it his turn to tell his side of life to her? There were so many customs he had yet to get used to that he couldn't tell how to respond, only that he should somehow.
...Come to think of it, who cared for customs. If he was going to respond to her, it was going to be in the way he knew how, even if it was the wrong way.
*tug*
Caulifla's eyes widened at the sensation as she looked back, ready to pounce on him. She had one certified rule that she engrained into everyone's memories on her travels: DO. NOT. TOUCH. HER. TAIL! It was sensitive to her, and precious for a reason she had yet to explain. Above all, it was also a grand weakness of hers she'd rather not letting out. It was annoying enough that someone like Chichi knew, and she knew she was gonna use that against her to steal Goku away as her training partner!
But before she could enact in her usual biting manner, she blinked. He wasn't grabbing her tail with his hand, his feet, or mouth for whatever reason he would. He was tugging it with his own tail, as he smiled up at the sky. And the tug on it was in such a way that it wasn't causing pain or disorientation. Through whatever practice he may have had, he was pulling it with just enough strength that her nerves felt... a little relaxed.
"My grandpa's dead, you know." He blatantly revealed, surprising the young girl. "We grew up in the forest far away from any city or town or anything of the sort. Whatever we had, we got from the woods surrounding us, aside from a few things he traveled for. We didn't have that electricity Bulma has, we didn't own whatever plumbing stuff these towns have. To be honest, compared to people I've met traveling, it didn't look like we had a lot at all. It's probably what a lot of people call 'boring'."
Listening to this, Caulifla lowered herself back to the surface, wanting to hear where the young boy was going with this as she turned away again. "But when it came to my grandpa, all we needed was each other. He took care of me for as long as I can remember. Every day we would play and he would teach me whatever he knew, including how to fight. Every day was fun with him, right up until the night he died."
"But... don't you hate your past now? Doesn't it make you angry knowing you're never going to see him again?"
"Why would I be angry?" His tail swung a little side to side with Cauli's, not that she seemed to care. "Sure, I wish my Grandpa was still alive, and it would be interesting to see what my life was like if I grew up in the city. But if it wasn't for those experiences, I never would've gotten to where I am now. I got to meet Bulma, Master Roshi, you, and a whole bunch of other people. I've had more fun in these last few months compared to the last few years since he died." Even though she was looking away, he turned his head in her direction. "And I wouldn't trade it for the world!"
Caulifla was... at a loss for words.
Not once since she met Goku had she heard him speak so eloquently or sophisticated-like. To her, he had a simple and easy answer for a majority of his past problems, a reason that drove him to push on ahead without resenting the past. Compared to hers, he embraced all the hardships he had to grow up with with a smile on his face, even after the death of his grandpa. And it left her with a strange sensation that made her feel... somehow sad... yet happy. She didn't have a clue if he meant to inspire her with her words or if he was just Goku being Goku, but... she felt a little more relaxed than usual.
"... My aunt is still alive." She revealed. "She's just-"
*snoooooooooooooooore*
She stopped as she turned around again, a vein popping from her forehead as she growled. 'What kind of jerk cheers you up then immediately falls asleep!?' Her mind was screaming. For the first time, she was about to reveal something deeply about her past to someone since she left the island, and now when that opportunity presented itself, THE MORON WHO MOTIVATED HER FELL RIGHT TO SLEEP AFTER BUGGING HER ABOUT IT A THOUSAND TIMES!
Still... her expression softened as she thought back to the things she said. She hated her past, her history, and the things that made her life a nightmare for the average child to grow up in. But... ever since she left, coming across Goku, her life has changed more than she could possibly think of.
Now, she wasn't just isolated on a small remote island in the middle of nowhere, with an air so polluted you couldn't stay outside for very long without a mask. She was on an adventure, she was discovering new things! And she... actually made a friend for once. A friend that could keep up with her with all the nonsensical stuff that happened to her in her day-to-day life. As happy as her aunt made her, something about Goku made her happier. And she felt thankful for it.
...When he wasn't being a knucklehead, anyway.
"Idiot." She scoffed, mumbling to herself as she decided to get some sleep on the roof to. She turned away again, trying to ignore Goku's obnoxious snoring, or the stupid look on his face like he didn't have a care in the world. And looking back on it, she didn't care. He was still an idiot to her at times, and he definitely annoyed her with his various questions. And right now, she didn't care about his nonsense, either.
Nor did she care, if she was aware of it, as her tail wrapped a little tighter around his.
...
...
Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, there's so much to be found
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go
Free your soul
Mysteries abound, made of a deep energy (Energy)
Foes all around, but I will go fearless and free
I'll give you strength, you give me love
That's how we live (That's how we live)
Our courage won't fade if you're with me
My enemies will never win
We will fight for love and glory
We will live to tell the story
There is nothing we can't live through, nothing ever dies
We will rise again
Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, keep your spirit proud
And ride upon the wind, all we have to do is go
Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, there's so much to be found
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go
Free your soul
~Dragon Soul~
...
...
Last time on Dragon Ball Z!
The course has been set for Earth's three lasts hopes from the alien threat as Goku, Caulifla, and Gohna were placed upon their respective paths. As Caulifla recovers at the Lookout, Gohna prepares herself to be put through the training of a lifetime with the dreaded Piccolo, while Goku makes his Million Mile Journey through Snake Way to the legendary King Kai, the one being in the universe who can provide him with the training he needs to combat the Saiyans. Will any of them be ready for the long road ahead? Stay Tuned!
"Mmmmh..." Gohna moaned quietly to herself as she removed her orange hanfu top, tossing it aside. Being left with her simple pink undershirt, blue pants, and green sandals, the child felt a small chill in the air that left a shiver. She knew whatever training she was about to go through was for the future of mankind, and perhaps her first step towards being a hero like her parents. She just wished she could've gotten the training from either of them compared to the mysterious green demon who once terrorized the world. "Okay, now what? Are we gonna practice moves or something?"
Piccolo grinned at the shivering girl, ready to see how far she could push herself. "For now... you don't have to do anything. Just survive."
"Huh?" That was far from the response Gohna expected from the demon. "What do you mean survive? Survive what?"
"Everything." Piccolo turned his head to the scenery around him. "After six months, if you've managed to stay alive, I'll teach you how to fight-"
"NO!" The girl's reaction caught him off guard as she squeezed her tiny fists. "I wanna twain now! I wanna be a great fighter like mommy and daddy!" Piccolo was actually surprised a small bit. Despite being somewhat of a bookworm, mostly due to Chichi's homeschooling, the girl took a great interest in anything that could potentially make her stronger like her parents. If it wasn't for that, she'd have no interest in exploring the forest around her home in the first place. "Teach me how to fight!"
"To fight?" Piccolo was rather perplexed by the girl's eagerness.. "Kid, there's more to fighting than just pure strength. If you don't understand what it means to survive, you won't be ready to fight the Saiyans no matter how much I train you."
"I don't care! I wanna get stronger now!" To her, it made perfect sense. A strong person was someone who could defend themselves, right? So what was the point of "learning how to survive" if the very idea of martial arts was to learn how to defend one's self in the first place? "Let's train sooner."
That must be part of her Saiyan blood talking. Piccolo reminded himself. If it was any other snot-nosed brat, chances are they would be bawling their eyes out at this very moment. Here, he was dealing with a child who's genetics were bent solely on strengthening, improving, and bettering themselves in all manner of power. Even if the child herself terrified of her situation, her blood kept her mind focused on the possibility of growing stronger.
With that in mind, he was interested in seeing how far a kid like her was willing to go. And, if they truly did start sooner, he could virtually double the training results than he had originally expected. "Hmph, all right. You wanna start your training sooner?" The girl nodded positively. "Then we'll cut the survival training down to four months."
"Two months!" She argued.
"Three months or you can forget your training altogether!" He couldn't believe he was actually arguing with a brat about how soon they were going to train. "I already told you. If you don't understand what it means to survive, then you'll never be prepared to face the Saiyans. Got that?"
"Mmmh..." The girl's cheeks puffed up a little as she pouted, turning her head away. "Fine. But you bettew keep your promise about training!" The girl's stomach let out a slight rumble as she looked down, then scanned the area like Piccolo did earlier. "So... what are we going to eat?"
"Whatever you can find." The statement snapped the girl's attention back to him hastily.
"Huh?" There was a small speck of fear in her eyes at the announcement, to Piccolo's delight.
"What? You didn't think we came all the way out here for some picnic, did you? When I said this was survival training, I meant your survival, not mine."
"What?! By myself?!" Immediately, worry crossed the girl's face. Out of everything she had expected, this was the one detail she wasn't exactly prepared for. Until now, she thought the survival training would involve just the two of them, not solely on her. If she had known any better, she might've been a little more apprehensive about the idea of this 'survival training' idea.
"Hmhmhmhm." The demon's chuckling sent larger shivers down her spine than the cold wind around her. "You won't be by yourself. No, you'll have plenty of hungry wild animals to keep you company."
Gohna gulped. "Y-You mean like... Rabbits or something. Wight?" The tall tale grin on Piccolo's face already answered her question.
"No, I mean much hungrier animals. The kind that eat the ones that eat children."
"W-What kind of animal is that?!"
And, much like he expected from a brat, the girl's eyes started to water with fear. She was like the worst mix of Caulifla's eagerness to get stronger with Goku's innocence and naivety. "Quit your whining! Your training begins now!" He growled. "You're the one who asked for this. I'm not gonna stand here and listen to some whiny brat crying after getting a treat. You said you wanted to be a warrior. Act like one!"
"But..." If this was secretly some test of courage he was putting on her he could confess now because she was terrified. "What am I supposed to do?" She had no plan of action, no idea of where she was going to begin, and no way of knowing how she was going to hunt for food in a place like this.
"Whatever it takes to survive for three months. If you can do that, then at the end, you'll be a stronger fighter. Both, in mind and body." Part of him started to wonder if a girl like this was even capable of this sort of survival training if her personality kept switching on the flip of a dime. "Remember this: There is a great power inside of you, just waiting to be unlocked, but it's up to you to bring it out. Use it! If you wanna survive, you'll need to learn how to summon your powers whenever you need them!"
"B-But what if I can't?" If she could do whatever she did to that rock formation a few minutes ago, or to her uncle when her mom was in danger, she wouldn't be this scared! She had a hidden untapped power inside of her she couldn't control, nor a means to figure out how to use it in the first place! "I don't even have a house or a tent or anything! What am I supposed to do about that?"
"Tough luck." He coldly stated, turning his back to her. "I never said this was going to be easy. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the type of training you begged me for, now would it?" At this, the green demon started levitating into the air as he prepared to take off. "This is the path that fate has chosen for you. Within the next three months you better make up your damn mind. Either be the kind of person who wants to get stronger and protect the world, or be the annoying brat that everybody has to save. It's all on you now." Without another word, Gohna watched as he suddenly sped through the air, worrying the girl as she chased after him.
"Wait! Pwease!" She begged.
"And work on that stupid lisp of yours! It's annoying!" Those were the final words she heard from him before he took off in a burst of speed, disappearing from her view in a short three seconds flat. Realizing the futility of her efforts, the girl's eyes watered a little as she frowned.
He was serious about all of this. She realized that now. She wasn't out here for some "fun and adventure" kind of scenario. She was out here preparing to risk her life and limb for her own survival. Looking across the landscape, she saw barren green fields and numerous plateaus, stretching for miles on end. From this point forward, it was up to her to determine whether or not she wanted to survive, to live long enough to receive the training she begged for herself.
A part of her feared for the eventful future while another part of her was a little curious. Was this the sort of life her parents went through when they were kids? Surviving out in the wilderness on their own as they traveled the world, embarking on random adventures, and meeting new people? She knew they had explored a great deal of it, but she also knew they at least had each other to keep company most of the time. And when they didn't, they were at least more aware of the world at their young pre-teen age than she currently was as a four year old.
As scary as things were, she wiped her tears away as she was determined to prove herself. No matter the cost, she was willing to do anything if it meant becoming a great hero like her mommy and daddy. She didn't know what she was going to do, but she was determined to survive, to see the three months to the end of their ordeal, and accept whatever form of training the world had to offer her! ...There was just one thing on her mind at that pressing moment.
"What's a wisp?"
...
...
*squish*
"There we go~" The blue Launch happily said as she placed a damp cold cloth over Caulifla's head.
"Heh, thanks." The slightly cooler girl muttered, closing her eyes again in an attempt to rest. It was the most the girl could do being as weakened as she still was. She could still feel the aches and pains in her stomach going on at a mile a minute, and she was just lying down on the makeshift bed. Top that off with the severe lack of painkillers around Kami's Lookout, and stillness was the best pain reliever she had available to her. "You know... you didn't have to stay here."
"Nonsense! You couldn't expect me to just leave you behind up here by yourself for the next month, could you?" Launch giggled to herself, pulling up a nearby chair to the bed. She wished there were better amenities to the room like some more light than the windows could provide, or at least some better bedsheets to make her injured friend more comfortable. "Do you need anything else? A glass of water? Or how about a snack?"
"Heh, I don't think I'll be eating anything hard for a few days." As brave as a face she was letting on, she was screaming on the inside. To go several days without a full course 10 pound meal for a snack was basically the same as torture to her! "You don't have to wait here, you know. You can go and look around or whatever while I rest-"
"Absolutely not!" Launch squeezed her fists firmly. "You can't expect me to leave you in your condition! What if you start coughing blood? Or worse?!"
"... Uhhh..." Caulifla flashed her eyes at the response, seeming like the furthest thing she would expect from the caring side of Launch.
After realizing how she reacted, the older woman let out a small chuckle, blushing a little as she scratched her head. "Eh heh... sorry about that. I guess the both of us were just a little worried about you after all that's happened." She apologized, referring to both her personalities as a whole.
"Y-Yeah... I get it..." It was something Caulifla still couldn't fully grasp about Launch, this whole "split personality" disorder she had. She got what it meant, and she understood when she sneezed, it swapped their personas back and forth. She just wished she could figure out a better way to understand how to respond to a person in this scenario. "But you really don't have to. You don't owe me that much."
"Are you kidding? Of course we owe you." The girl smiled perkily at the subject. "You made our life so much easier since the day we met..."
...
...
*Flashback 12 Years Ago...*
"... Um..."
"Mmmmmh..." An irritated Blonde Launch's brow twitched as she sat on the bed, crossing her arms and legs as she glared at the young girl. Both girls were currently in their undergarments of a white tank top and underwear as the older woman tapped her finger impatiently at the younger one.
"... So, um... Hi." It was the only thing the young Caulifla could think of saying as she stared at the older woman. Having been accepted as a student to the "Greatest Martial Arts Master in History", as that bald-headed Krillin kid put it, today was going to be the first day living under the roof of her new sensei. That meant living like he does, training like he does, and doing whatever else the old geezer had up his sleeves for the next several months.
It also meant having to share living arrangements with the woman whose personality switched from benevolent angel to homicidal criminal that was ready to shoot up the place as soon as she appeared. Originally, she was supposed to be the lovely young lady Roshi wanted to ask out for a pleasant evening, something the two children with hair had yet to grasp at, as they were assigned to find any random woman in the world who was willing to live with him. As luck would have it, they came across her as she was being pursued by, what they assumed at the time, to be a murderous gang of criminals that were chasing the poor woman.
Only after, upon meeting Master Roshi, did they come to understand the truth when she sneezed for the first time- she was the murderous criminal, and the ones chasing her were just policemen. Specifically, the blonde version of Launch was. And after she sneezed a few hours later, a few minutes before this, was she informed about her current living situation. As much as she resented just about every single one of the people here, hiding out in this old dump was a lot more preferable than living it up in some jail cell somewhere.
It just didn't make her any happier, especially when she realized she was going to have to share the room with some bratty kid for the night, much less a strange monkey-tailed one at that.
"So, uh..." Caulifla tried to find the right words to say. She still wasn't used to being courteous or anything, but if Goku wanted to go out of his way to train at a place like this, there was no way she was going to let him get stronger without her. "I guess, uh... this is our room for awhile, huh?"
"Can the small talk, pipsqueak!" The blonde version grunted.
"Boy you're real pleasant..." Caulifla mumbled rolling her eyes.
"What was that!?"
"Nothing!" And strangely frightening, even to the bulletproof girl.
"Let's get one thing straight," she announced, poking a finger to the girl's head, "I'm the one in charge of this room. Got it? That means you don't touch me weird, look at me weird, or think of me weird."
"Why would I touch you weird?" Personally, the better question she was wondering was how someone would touch someone weird.
"I don't know, but if that old geezer tells you to do something with me, you don't do it without telling me first. Are we clear?" Just so they had a clearer picture of who was in charge, she pulled out her trusty SMG from underneath one of the pillows, twirling it around singlehandedly and cocking it to prove her point.
A point that never reached the confused girl. "Um... sure." She shrugged, casually hopping atop the bed to prepare for a good night's-
*whap!*
*THUD*
"Ow!" From a rough slap to the back of the head, the girl found herself falling face first onto the hard wooden floor, rubbing her forehead as she growled back at the blonde woman. "What was that for?"
"Rule #2." The woman smirked. "Only grown women get the bed."
"Then where am I supposed to sleep?"
"I don't care!" The smallest bit of decency she offered the girl was a full white pillow she threw at her head. "Sleep downstairs or somethin'."
"But Master Roshi said we had to sleep in this room!"
"Then sleep on the floor then, I don't care!" The woman purposely emphasized the comfort as she tucked herself into the warm silk sheets. "This bed's only big enough for one of us."
"It is not, we can both fit on top of it!"
"Oh, then let me rephrase that- only one of us get to sleep on top of it."
"Mmmmh..." Caulifla was at a loss as she fluffed out her pillow. She could easily just overpower the woman and show her who the boss was around here, but the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize her chances of getting any sort of special training from Master Roshi. "I like your other self a lot better."
"And quit talking like that!" That was the one thing that annoyed her the most since she started living here. "All this talk about some "imaginary other me" is really starting to piss me off!"
"Well it's true!" The younger girl growled back, shoving her face into Blonde's.
"It is not! Just because I blackout sometimes doesn't mean I'm sharing bodies with some idiot I've never met!"
"Then how do you explain the blackouts in the first place?"
"How the hell should I know?! I have one too many drinks in the morning? Stress? Whatever it is, it doesn't mean I'm some lunatic with a split personality!"
"Well what if-" Caulifla stopped in her line of reasoning as she gave Launch a casual look. "Wait a minute... Do you really not know about your other personality?"
"No, I just like making up random crap for no reason. Of course I don't, because I don't have one!"
Caulifla was rather caught off guard as she took a step back from the older woman. 'She... really doesn't know?' She thought to herself for a minute. The look of frustration or loss, the lapses in memory, the fact she never seemed aware of it to begin with. Everything Launch was dealing with was reminiscent. It almost reminded her of... "I'll be right back!" Caulifla smiled, hastily running out of the room and leaving the door wide open.
The blonde version was confused at the girl's mysterious switch in behavior, like the one she claimed Launch was having. She heard the sounds of drawers opening, shuffling, and closing for the next few seconds, the kid clearly looking for something but having no idea on where to look. "Come on... there's gotta be one around here... maybe.. no..." She heard the girl talking to herself as she searched. Launch was almost tempted to get out of bed to figure out what the girl was doing all of a sudden before she heard her voice again. "Ah ha!" She cheered, rushing back to the bedroom as her tail closed the door behind her. "Here!" She presented, almost shoving the items into the woman's arms.
"What the..." Ok, if the kid was trying to bribe her in some way to get her to be friendlier, Launch couldn't tell. She could've given her something she actually wanted like money or jewels or something, that definitely would've gotten on Launch's good side. Instead, she just gave the confused woman a small flimsy notebook and a pencil. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"One sec." This part Caulifla grinned at, feeling cheeky at the little mischief that was about to ensue as she untwisted something. "Think fast!"
*swiff*
"Wha- Ah!" The woman coughed as she suddenly found a cloud of pepper thrown in her face. "What the hell are you trying to-!? Trying to... Eh... Ah... AHHHHCHOO!"
...
"Achoo!" The woman sneezed again, rubbing her nose against the unfamiliar tissue in her hand. She grumbled angrily at the girl she saw still smiling at her, staring at her sickeningly innocent as if she hadn't done anything. "What's the big idea?!" She shouted, grabbing the girl by her white top and pulling her up to her face. "This idea of a prank or something you little s-!"
'Look!" The young girl pointed to her other hand.
"Huh?" The confusion didn't end as she woman glanced at the now-opened journal. "What about it-"
"Just read it." The child said, almost requested, as she continued to smile. The blonde woman was still annoyed to death with the girl, and, not knowing how effective it would be, planned to riddle her with bullets anyway, but figured the journal must've had something if the twerp went through all the trouble to give it to her at the start of all this.
The contents of the journal began to surprise her.
"What am I looking at?"
She read:
Dear Launch- I mean me! I. ... I don't really know how to address you or us... this is really confusing Let me start over.
Hi, me! Nope, this is still confusing, isn't it? Haha!" There was a doodle of a laughing face next to the word. "If this works, then it's really exciting to meet you. I'm you! Or the other you. The nice one! I mean I'm sure you're nice too! I think. i hope you're not evil. I'm getting off topic again. Sorry!
"What... What is...?" The blonde Launch didn't know how to react to what she was reading.
"Keep going!" Caulifla insisted.
So, I guess this is hard to explain, but what Caulifla says is true. We both share the same body. Crazy, right? I've been wondering how to communicate with you for a long time, but nothing seemed to work. Whenever I did find something, I assume you wandered off and never found what I left for you to communicate with."
That part did ring a bell to the tense woman. On a few occasions, during her blackouts, she always found herself in a house, and at least one or two times she found a video camera right in front of her. But with the sort of 'lifestyle' she lived, she assumed some unpleasant things about why she blacked out and didn't want to check out said camera for various disturbing reasons.
Look, I know it might be crazy, but it's true. We both share the same body. Now I'm not going to tell you how to live your life (mostly because I can't), but you should at least be nicer to people and stop threatening them with your gun all the time! Oh, and keep this journal on hand! i Would LUV to get the chance to speak with you! So I hope you sneeze real soon! Or wait that sounds really weird to ask for doesn't it? Teeheehee!
P.S. Please be nice to Cauli. I know she may seem different but she's a sweet little girl. After all, if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be talking right now, would we? I just recommend doing it without pepper- we actually switched back and forth several times trying to get the pepper out of our nose, it got really disorienting.
-Love Always, You/Me
"T... This is a trick, isn't it? You wrote this stuff while I blacked out again, didn't you!"
"Nope!" She casually declined. "I don't know how to read. Even if I did, we don't have the same handwriting. See?" Just to prove her point, she looked over one of the words and picked one at random to write down lower in the journal. Sure enough, as Launch compared the two words, if she could even call whatever Caulifla wrote down as such, they were vastly different. And there was no way the kid could've purposely altered her handwriting style in such a way to confuse her.
This was really her. She had another personality.
"I... I don't..." She looked at the kid who was still smiling to her, sitting on the floor. "What is this?"
"It's a memory journal!" Caulifla happily replied. "When my aunt got older, she started having trouble remembering things too, so I thought you could use it to help your own memory. Or memories, however you want to put it."
It was definitely among the more commendable and kinder things Caulifla has done with her life. She couldn't help it. The moment the young woman reminded her of her aunt in some way, she felt obligated to help her. She could recall the struggle her aunt had when her memory slipped from time to time as the years went on, how she couldn't recall being in one location out of nowhere. She always felt sorry for her old aunt, and the woman almost resembled her in the same memory-induced way. She just couldn't let the old woman live her life like this, no matter how bossy or crooked she might've been.
"I, uh..." Launch was still at a loss as she finally gave the girl her attention, one without anger in it for a change. "Thanks... kid." She really didn't know what to say. The girl had the simplest solution to what had been an ongoing problem for her, and in less than ten minutes of knowing the girl, she just solved one of the biggest dilemmas to her life.
"Hmhmhm, no problem." Rubbing her eyes, the young girl finally let out a yawn. "Anyway, we should probably get to bed." She flipped the switch near the door, turning off the ceiling light as the lamp upon the bed's side remained illuminated. "Goodnight." She said, deciding to turn in for the night as she rested her head against the one pillow she was given on the hardwood floor.
"..." Launch didn't know how to react to all this as she looked back at the journal. She was still processing the fact she had some other split personality all along, someone else living half of her life for her. She knew things disappeared, things weren't where they were supposed to be, places she'd randomly wind up in with no memory of how she got there. To others, she always passed it off as some sort of blackout, some drunken or drug-induced hallucination that accounted for her loss in memory. But deep down, she thinks she knew.
She knew there was something wrong with her, something that explained all this nonsense. A part of her assumed it could've been something along the lines of another personality, she just didn't want to admit it and come off as a weirdo, mostly to herself. But now there was no denying it, no matter how much she wanted to.
And glancing back at the girl who was shaking a bit from the cold, she knew she owed her one. She still had her principles after all.
"...Huff. Get in." She ordered.
Caulifla opened her eyes curiously as she leaned up, looking back questionably. "Huh?"
"I said get in!" She yelled, pulling open a portion of the blankets. She scooted herself over a little closer to the wall-side of the bed as she cleared some space for her. "Do you want to sleep in the bed or are you just going to lie there freezing all night?" The young girl's eyes lit up at the offer as she immediately dove in from the other end, scurrying through the blankets until her head popped up at the other end near launch. The very moment her head touched the pillow she was immediately out of it as her eyes shutdown completely, letting out a small snore as she slept.
Blonde stared at the girl a bit before giving a small grin, turning off the lamp near her and pulling the covers up to the girl's small shoulders. She leaned against the bed's frame as she started writing in the journal herself. There was no telling how useful this journal was going to be for her, but now that she had it, she was curious at the notion of talking to another of her selves. To top it off, she just met a kid who solved a lifetime-problem in just a few short minutes. And who knows?
With that sort of resourcefulness, there was no telling what sort of massive heist they could pull off together!
...
...
"We've been able to keep in touch with each other, keep track of what's been going on. And we've been thankful ever since." The blue Launch concluded as she finished her story. It was a fond memory that she never forgot about, nor would the blonde version allow her to. Ever since that day, life's been a lot easier to manage. Sure, there were times the nice version wished the bad version would listen to her suggestions occasionally, such as "stop robbing the back" or "put the money back where you found it", but it still made communication between the two a lot easier.
And it as no surprise to see that the blonde Launch had grown attached to the younger girl ever since. With a journal to keep track of their memories, it as easier to maintain a semi-stable relationship between both personalities, as well as keep their memories on hand. In fact, thanks to the simple wonder of a solution, in recent years, they've actually found it easier to maintain the memories the other one recalls. It was to a small extent, but it was still more valuable than anything the blonde version had yet to steal.
Emphasis on yet.
"Heh, that really how it happened?" Caulifla chuckled, resting her eyes. "I never really saw it as a big deal back then. To be honest, I was just trying to get on her good side a little more so she wouldn't shoot me in my sleep." She admitted.
"Well, regardless of reason, it managed to change our lives for the better." Taking a moment, the older woman switched out the washcloth with a slightly damper one, placing it over the younger girl's forehead. "Now try to get some sleep, okay? I'm going to see if I can find anything light around here that you can eat."
As Launch headed towards the doorway, Cauli cracked her eyes open a small bit as she had a reminder. "Uh, Launch? Remember to-"
"I know, I know." She smiled back. "I won't bring you any of that stuff."
With a sigh, the young mother could finally rest easy. "Alright... thanks."
...
...
"Phew~" The young girl sighed with relief as she exited the bushes. "First dilemma of survival- solved!" She proudly claimed to herself. Now that she finished taking a quick pitstop, hoping she could go a few hours before needing to find a replacement for toilet paper for her future bathroom needs, she sat atop a small boulder in the plains as she rubbed her chin in thought. "Now... how do I get stronger...?" This was the main dilemma she'd been dealing with besides her bathroom urgency for the last few hours.
She still didn't understand a great deal about the events that were unfolding. For now, she knew her mother was alive and that her father was going to come back to life. Both those things she could process at her young age as well as take to heart. She also knew that some strange alien people were coming from outer space and it was going to be her job to help beat them up. She still didn't know exactly "how" she was going to deal with that part, but she assumed that would come with whatever lessons that Piccolo guy was going to teach her after the next three months were up.
So, for the time being, she wanted to find out a way to get stronger on her own so she could be just like her mom and dad. She was eager to hear how proud they would be of her once they saw how strong she was gonna get. It was just a matter of figuring out how she would get stronger on her own. "Wet's see... " She looked around the area until she came across an average rock, one about the size of her hands. "They said they carried weights with them all the time, so that should be a good start!" She casually hopped from the boulder as she picked up the plain old rock, getting a good feel for it.
"... So now what?" She tossed the rock to herself a few times as she wondered. Do I just carry this with me or something? It was hard to tell what sort of training the two had entailed since most of what she knew was based on what her parents told her about. Any time she tried to watch them in the middle of training, other mommy would keep butting in and bring her back to her studies. And the few times she tried to train with them, Chichi had a strict "no putting your daughter into life-threatening situations" policy.
Spoilsport.
"Maybe I should find more?" She decided, fitting the stone into her pant's pocket as she searched around some nearby trees. There's got to be something around here. It didn't necessarily have to be a rock per se. She just needed to find something that weighed a few pounds and that she could carry around on her. Then she'd be one more step to training just like her parents used to do, and one more step towards being a hero! Which was starting to become easier said than done as the next five minutes of searching proved.
"Awww there's nothing here!" She grumbled crossing her arms. "How am I supposed to twain if I can't find anything to use?"
*shuffle*
"Huh?" Her ears picked up the strange sound coming from the bushes, seeing the rustling of the thick leaves on the nearby forest's edge. "Hello?" She tiptoed over slowly wondering who or what it could be. If she was lucky, maybe it would wind up being someone friendly that could bring her home! She was desperate to know how her mother was doing after the battle against Raditz. Then again, if the day went anywhere like it was currently going, chances were it was going to be a nasty surprise just waiting for her.
And fate appeared to have picked the latter as the answer soon revealed itself.
*growwwwwl!*
"Ahh!" She jumped, shaking a little as not just one, nor two, but several ravenous blue wolves leapt from the bush and the surrounding bushes, each of them growling and hissing at the young girl who they saw as their next easy meal. "N-Nice doggies..." She laughed nervously backing away. These things didn't look the least bit friendly like the ones she saw in her picture books. As opposed to the bright colorful charming puppies and doggies that always smiled and wanted to have fun, these looked like the sort of doggies that were going to smile after picking their teeth with her bones. "W-Want a treat?"
*Groowwwwwwwwwl!*
"Ahhhhhh!" Her answer came in the form of a ferocious bark that sent her scrambling away as she found herself being chased by the ravenous horde of hounds back into the plains. She ran as fast as her two short legs could carry her, her slightly increased strength being the main reason she managed to stay ahead of the back by just a couple feet. It got so close at one point that she nearly lost her tail as a dog tried to bite at it from behind, quickly pulling it back to her front with her bare hands which she nearly lost in the ensuing rescue.
I'm not scared... I'm not scared... I'm not scared... She kept repeating to herself as she looked back to the ravenous pack. Each one of them looked like they hadn't eaten in days, drool pooling from their mouths like a torrential rain as they chased after their potential prey. She didn't know what she was going to do to fend them off. Maybe she could fight them with her bare hands, or maybe she would lose said hands given how many of them there were. She's never actually fought someone before!
*THUMP*
"Oof-!" And by the looks of it, she was going to have to eventually. Having no time to react as she looked ahead again, she found herself slamming full-bodied into a thick brown surface of some sort of large boulder that knocked her onto her tush. Shaking the slight dizziness from her head, she looked back worriedly as she saw the half-dozen wolves several meters away, some of them pacing back and forth as if waiting to attack, with the presumed head of the back glaring her down as it growled.
"S-Stay back!" She gulped, looking around for something. It was then that she remembered her secret weapon, quickly rummaging through her pockets as she pulled out her special training rock at the ready. "I'm warning you!" She didn't know how strong she was. She was about to be forced to prove how strong she was. She didn't know how to fight, was currently encircled, and knew the moment she turned her back on them to climb the boulder they would attack. So, if she was going to be forced to fight anyway, she might as well do it with a weapon on hand. "Go away!"
As if by some miracle, the moment she shouted those words, the entire atmosphere in the air changed. The one proud and gluttonous pack of wolves that had the girl outnumbered 6 to 1 suddenly flipped their emotions from terrifying to fearful, letting out a few small whimpers here and there as their ears lowered before scampering away. Gohna just blinked at the situation as she lowered her arms again, surprised and confused by the sudden development.
"D... Did I win?" Like, that is what happened. Right? She threatened them, was prepared to defend herself, then they scampered on away. What once filled the girl with a sense of dread soon drowned in a rushing river of pride as a large smile spread across the girl's face as she looked on triumphant. "Hah! Take that!" She proudly yelled, throwing the rock in their direction. It was her first official victory after all! Why shouldn't she be proud of herself. "Yeah, you better run!" This was exciting! Her first official victory! Man, if only her mom and dad could see her now, they were going to be-!
*drip*
"Hmm?" Gohna blinked, seeing a single droplet of what appeared to be water in front of her. "Wain?" She held her hand out to check for herself as she felt a few slimy droplets land in the center of her palm.
That didn't make any sense. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky as far as she knew. In the mid-afternoon pink sky, there wasn't a single indication that it was supposed to be raining outside. Was she on the very edge of a raincloud she didn't see? If she lifted her head up, then maybe she was going to... going to... going... to... Suddenly realize what the wolves were so terrified of.
It wasn't her. Why would it be her? There was nothing terrifying about a small four year old girl with a rock in her hands.
What really terrified them was the same thing that was making the girl thankful she already used the bathroom, because the moment she looked up, her entire body went numb with fear.
Currently standing over her, looking down with a thick wad of drool from its jaws that was putting the wolves' own mucus to shame, was a dinosaur. A form of T-rex, specifically. One that was brown in color, at least fifty feet in height with several brown spike-like protrusions sprouting around the back of it's head, and a weight that clearly read tens of thousands of pounds. What the girl had believed to be a simple boulder she smacked into, was in actuality, a dreaded behemoth of the animal world that most would consider an Apex Predator.
And she had just awoken it from it's nap.
*ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR*
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" In a scream that was nearly doubled the previous, the little girl took off as fast as her feet could carry her as she was thrust into another game of chase between the small-sized her, and the mountain-sized T-rex that was currently stomping after her. It didn't matter how strong she was. How brave, how fearless, none of that mattered. She was nowhere near ready to take on the likes of a monster like this even if she was brave enough to fight it. If the size and scale of it weren't a dead giveaway on how a fight would turn out, the fact every step it took towards her shook the earth beneath her did more than enough to convince her.
"SOMEONE HELLLLLLP!" She screamed tearfully, unwilling to take any chance with the creature that was surprisingly nimble for it's massive size. If she didn't know any better she swore it was keeping up with her better than the wolves ever could! MOMMY! DADDY! ANYONE! She screamed in her mind repeatedly, glancing to gauge how close the dreaded creature was to her, and resulting in her biggest mistake. "Wah-!"
*thud*
"Ow..." She moaned, rubbing her head from her recent trip. As soon as she became aware of it, she realized what had just happened. She was currently flat on the floor on her stomach, with no chance of getting up in time again as the creature's massive jaw lunged for her. "No... no... no..." She mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut as she was prepared to embrace the end. I DON'T WANNA DIE! She screamed in her head, once again triggering the miracle that had saved her earlier that day from Piccolo.
*shiiiiim*
With a flash of energy, and a sudden spark of anger, the girl's body disappeared in a bright beam of light, mere moments away as the creature's massive jaw finally snatched the very ground beneath the girl's feet, chewing hungrily at it's delicious-!... Hard... stony... texture... The T-Rex took a moment to feel around the mouthful it had gobbled up before coughing up the disastrous grab it had just obtained. There was no bone in there. No meat, no taste, no morsel. Looking around, figuring the prey had somehow ran away, it let out a bellowing roar as it walked on, keeping an eye out for it's delicious meal. And never realized it was closer than it thought.
"Don't eat me... Don't eat me... Don't eat me... Don't eat me..." Gohna kept muttering to herself as she continued to cover her head beneath her arms. She was dead. She knew she was dead. It was uplifting to know that she was going to see her father again but that was besides the point. She was dead, and there was likely no going back, maybe forever since nobody else knew she was currently dead! Just looking around, she could already tell she was in the afterlife, with it's pinkish sky, it's sparse clouds its setting sun, annnnnnnd she wasn't dead. "What?" She... wasn't dead? She looked around, trying to figure out where she suddenly was. "How...?" It didn't make any sense.
Seeing a ledge near her location, she gave it a quick peek as she peered over it. Letting out a silent breath to herself, she gasped as she saw the enormous creature far below her, still searching for it's quarry. Somehow, someway, she managed to get away from the foul creature and found herself placed upon one of the many plateaus along the plains, which scaled in sizes as tall as skyscrapers. "I'm... I'm alive!" Her heart somehow raced faster than it did in fear as she fell to her back, breathing heavily as she stared at the sky. "I'm... I'm still alive... huff... i'm... I'm not dead..."
It didn't make sense to her. None of this dead. What made less sense was the fact she didn't seem to care about it. She just survived one of the worst ordeals of her life and she didn't care how she did it. She was still alive, still breathing, and had the afternoon sky to greet her with a fresh pink hue as she wiped her forehead. She didn't know what her current journey was going to throw at her, a part of her feared for it. But for now, she could rest easy and deal with the rest later, knowing the worst of it was far behind her.
At least, until another thought suddenly struck her.
"How do I get back down?"
...
...
...
A/N: Yup, the changes can begin ^^ Had a bit of fun with Gohna's scene during the last segment, managed to throw in some changes here and there as previously stated would happen. Sooooooooo not much else to talk about again. As a reminder, I will be slightly slower for the next couple weeks since work hours are picking up, so depending on exhaustion and all that stuff, might not really have the energy to write. Work schedule is usually tues - thurs so if I do happen to get any chapters posted during said time, i'll be amazed XP.
Anyway, with that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed. If you'd like to submit an idea for a flashback intro, be sure to let me know in the reviews (though i do take private messages too since that seems to be the way everyone's going so far XP), and hope to see you soon!