A/N: Final Word Count: 13.4k Pre-A/N's.
You know the trickiest part about writing so much? Its when you're semi-autistic like me, because one of the annoying habits of being autistic is just that- habits. At least from the experiences I've had and heard about, autistic people are prone to repeating themselves in ways more often than the average person. So, as a writer, you can expect it to be VERY ANNOYING when you're writing and you keep repeating words like "he said" "he said" "he said" over and over again XP.
Lol, anyway! Sorry for the delay, works been killer lately (and got called in on a day off i had so there's that _). On a brighter side aside from being finally done, today we have a special treat of an intro! From Vergil-sama from Ao3, for today's intro he requested a flashback involving Caulifla's pregnancy, specifically the birth portion of the pregnancy. As one of my more optimistic commentors on ao3, I was more than happy to deliver, I just hope it meets his criteria ^^
As always, sorry for possible rush, blah blah blah, all that stuff. And most of all, enjoy ^^!
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...
...
"Awwww c'mooooon..." Caulifla moaned.
"No." Chichi tried to drown her out while reading a book on the couch.
"Just a little?"
"No!"
"Pleeeeeeeeease? I won't use my stomach in any way!"
"I don't know how that involves your training but the answer is still no!"
"That isn't faaaaaair! Why does Goku get to train if I can't?"
"Because Goku isn't Nine months pregnant, now is he?!" Chichi was about to snap if the clearly-pregnant Caulifla asked her that specific question for a 38th time.
This sucked. So much. So hard. For so long.
That was the best way Caulifla knew to describe it as she lounged around the couch, one leg dangling off the arm of the chair, as she flipped through channel after channel on the TV. Ever since the wondrous news that Caulifla was pregnant entered their lives, everything's been a joyous expectation on Chichi's end while being a downright cruel and torturous ordeal on Caulifla's end. Every month for the young woman was worst than the last, with some side effects having yet to go away, or being worse to deal with given her larger-than-average strength compared to the normal pregnant woman.
Months 1 to 3 were among the best of the bad 9 month period she had to deal with. After the initial onset of vomiting every morning for the first several weeks, Caulifla found her hunger being overloaded with desire. The craving for food above what she normally consumed, even for her, being near truckloads just to get through every week. And while most of these days usually resulted in a post vomit-induced morning, she got to experience quite a selection of delicious treats and delicacies at the expense of Chichi's poor wallet.
Following this, for the next several months, the girl had an avalanche of new changes here and there to her life besides preparing for a new baby in their house. She found herself putting on weight in her belly, suffering cramps here and there, and her mood swings were by far the worst for her to deal with, especially for everyone else. Almost every week during months 4 to 6, she found herself having an emotional breakdown for one reason or another, from wondering if she could've done more to save her dear aunt as a child, to her lifelong regret of losing to Krillin in the first Martial Arts Tournament she entered. Along with this, she came to having several traumatic breakdowns, most of which resulted in her feeling like a failure to everyone else.
But was it her fault? No! It couldn't be! It wasn't her fault that after everything she went through as a CHILD THAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS BEING SO ABSOLUTELY STUPID AND DUMB AND GOD DID SHE HATE THEM FOR MILLIONS OF REASONS SHE COULDN'T BRING HERSELF TO REPEAT FOR THE THOUSANDTH TIME BECAUSE OF HOW STUPID AND DUMB THEY WERE AND NOT HER!
...Or maybe that was the mood swings...?
Either way, because of these mood swings, being one of the worst things an overpowered woman could have, the Son Family found their household with multiple holes in their walls for the next several weeks to a month as she found a way to vent her frustrations out on the innocent walls. If they were lucky, it was with her fists. If not, she usually blasted the wall down. It almost became frequent to the point where the construction crew who helped repair the house started to question if they should just move in until the pregnancy was over... and promptly ran for their lives when one of Cauli's mood swings almost lead to her taking her frustrations out on them next.
Finally, the last several months to the present were perhaps the most peaceful for the young mother-to-be, except for the fact that Caulifla was now bored out of her mind. Every day she would find her stomach slightly bigger, and every day, she would be forbidden from doing any form of exercising or training by Chichi. Aka, the fun stuff in her life.
Was it fair? No! Caulifla couldn't see what the big deal was. To her, as long as her stomach wasn't hit, she could train just fine. So why couldn't she? Because. Chichi just had to be a little miss know it all and asSUME SHE KNEW WHAT WAS BEST FOR EVERYONE BECAUSE SHE ALWAYS DID AND HAD TO BE A LITTLE MISS PERFECT-!
Sorry. Mood swings again.
The point is, Caulifla had nothing to do other than relax on the couch or somewhere else and find another way to pass the time. Whether it was reading for five seconds before growing bored and tossing the book in the fireplace, or watching boring TV shows about families and their problems and child nonsense, nothing kept her attention for long. And whenever she did find something on TV that slightly caught her interest, Chichi forbade her from watching it out of fear it would give her ideas and too interested in fighting again to the point she would rush outside and immediately start training with Goku!... Sure, she was 100% right, but that was besides the point!
"Can't I at least lift weights or somethiiiing?"
"Cauli, what part of 'no stress on the baby' do you not understand?"
"THE PART WHERE I CAN'T DO ANYTHING FUN!"
*creeeeeak*
"Hey guys, I'm back." Goku greeted, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a white towel he had on hand.
"Welcome back, Goku."
"Goku, Chichi's being meeeeeeeean!" The mother-to-be moaned again as Chichi rolled her eyes.
"She's being mean?" That didn't sound like Chichi. Then again, having yet to fully understand the fundamentals of how pregnancy works, not to mention mood swings, he didn't know what to expect.
"I'm not being mean, she' just complaining because she can't train in her condition."
'But it's not faaaaaair!" The moaner rose from the couch as took a few slow steps away, rubbing her belly. "Everything about this whole pregnancy thing suuuuucks! She won't let me do anything fun! I can't go outside to train, I can't push myself too hard, I can't watch anything I like, and-"
*spssssssssssssss-*
The topic got cut short as a strange wetness suddenly appeared between the woman's legs. Looking over the couch herself, Chichi almost let out as gasp at what she saw, the small pool of water dripping from Caulifla's legs. Where Chichi was met with shock, Goku was growing more confused at the predicament as the grand mother herself was rising with more annoyance.
"...And now for some reason, I lost control of my blad- Gahhhhhhh!" She suddenly yelped as she hunched over, breathing heavily as she began wheezing for air. "What is that?!" She couldn't describe the feeling, it was unlike anything she ever felt before. A mix of swirls and pulls and pushes all emanating from the confines of her stomach simultaneously and without end.
"Cauli!" Goku yelled worriedly, rushing to her side. "What's wrong?"
"It's the baby!" Chichi announced, rushing to the phone. "It's time!"
"It's time?" Goku actually felt his heart pounding a little, mixed with fear for Caulifla and the excitement that he was going to be an official dad soon.
"Goku, take her to the bedroom. It's time!"
"I don't care what time it is, just get it out of me!"
...
"AGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Agony. Pure, unbridled, agony. That was the best way Caulifla could put it as she screamed her lungs out, holding onto the railings of the makeshift hospital for dear life.
"Come on, you have this. You're almost there." Chichi continued to support as she wiped the sweat from Caulifla's forehead with a damp cloth.
These last several hours were brutal. Compared to everything Caulifla had to experience within the last 9 months, and what the household had to put up with on a whole, what she was going through right now was pure agonizing pain. Her stomach was in knots, her forehead kept sweating, and if she squeezed her eyes any tighter she swore she as going to pull them clean off the top. She didn't know what to expect on the birthing process itself, but Caulifla never envisioned it could be anything as painful as this.
From the moment her water broke, the whole house was on red alert as Chichi called the doctors. Knowing there were an unknown number of factors at play if they tried to bring her to a hospital herself, Chichi had requested the services of a professional doctor right from the comfort of their own home. It took about a simple forty minutes to an hour to show up, but to the young screaming mother, it felt like centuries had gone by before he finally showed up.
And it felt even longer as she waited for everything to be over!
Goku tried to help with whatever he could but, having about as much understanding about childbirth as Caulifla did, aka, none, there was little he could do. The most he could assist with was helping to boil some water and clear their bedroom for the doctor's eventual arrival and those of his nurses. Following this, he found himself being forced to wait outside the bedroom on a stool, feeling a lot like being in an actual hospital for the first time, and forced to wait along with the Ox King who later showed up as he tried to ignore the constant screaming.
"WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?!" He could hear Caulifla screaming.
"Man, it sounds awful in there." Goku commented as he leaned his back into the wall. "Was it like this when Chichi was born?" He asked, turning to the oversized father who had an array of gifts, flowers, and balloons all designed around the arrival of the newborn.
"Heh heh, sort of. Chichi's mother actually took some medicine to deal with the pain before the birth." Ox eagerly replied. He couldn't wait for the grand moment when he officially became a godfather. "Chichi made the same offer to your wife before she went into labor but she refused. And now, by the sounds of it, she's starting to regret it."
"What? Come on, it can't be that painful can it?"
"GOKUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" The man nearly jumped as the house shook from the screaming. Wasting no time, partly out of fear that she heard that, the young husband quickly rushed inside towards his wife side, all the while Chichi was reoccupied with preparing another rag.
"Y-Yeah?" He wondered what all the obvious screaming was about as Caulifla continued to squeeze her eyes tighter.
"Hand... Give me your hand..." She struggled to speak, her mouth tightening by the second as she bit down harder.
With a curious look, noticing her free right hand off to the side, he gave a simple smile as he decided to support her. "Oh, sure thing, Cauli!" Boy what a good husband he was! He couldn't understand why Chichi said this was going to be dangerous in any sort of way before the doctor showed up.
Hearing the commotion, Chichi immediately began to panic as she waved her hands. "Wait! Goku! Don't grab her-!"
*CRAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCK*
"YEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!" He took it back, he took it back! Now he understood the pain of childbirth! Or at least the pain of the world's strongest woman suddenly squeezing her husband's hand! He could physically feel his bones touching each other it was so painful!
"-hands..." Chichi sighed. She almost learned the hard way herself about grabbing Caulifla's hands earlier, something she barely avoided in time when she saw the potential fate that awaited her from the railings she had grabbed earlier. She would've given Goku the same warning if he didn't rush in so soon, not that it probably would've done much good anyway if he felt that his wife was in danger.
"We're almost there. Now, push! Push!" The doctor instructed at the other end of the bed.
"I'M TRYING, SHE WON'T LET GO!" The poor warrior did everything peaceful he could think of to pry the tremendous grip from his hands, even using his foot at one point against the hand, to no avail. Every passing moment he felt his bones crushing against one another tighter and tighter.
"I was referring to your wife..." The doctor restated.
This was it.
The moment of truth.
"AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH NNNNNNNnnnnngggggghhhhh..." At long last, the woman's endless struggle came to an end as she fell back to the bed, releasing poor Goku's hand. As the woman's constant screaming came to an end, a new kind of screaming, besides Goku's whimpering, had finally entered.
"Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" A tiny shrill voice cried out from the other end, bringing relief, joy, and exhaustion to the others.
"Ah! It's here!" Chichi squealed with delight. Finally, she was a proud godmother, like she always wished to be since the tournament! As Caulifla finally breathed heavily with relief, finally releasing the now-crushed fingers that was that Goku's hand. Chichi made her way over to the doctor's side as the nurses gathered around to assist with the post-op, aweing at the sight of the beautiful new bundle of joy. "It's a girl!"
"Waaaaaahhhhhhh!" The bundle in the pink blanket continued to cry out as one of the nurses finally handed it to Chichi.
Chichi was immediately overwhelmed with pride for the two parents as she gazed at the crying infant. She might not be a mother herself like she always dreamed of, but it didn't make the miracle of life any less magical or astounding to her. "Awwww, she's so adorable~" She wiggled her pinkie in front of the young one's face as she gently rocked it. "Hey there sweetie... Ooooooh, I'm so proud of you two! You're finally parents!"
"Yaaaaaay..." Goku painfully smiled, eye twitching a little as one of the nurses continued to wrap up his crunched fingers. Don't get him wrong, he was more than happy to finally be a dad, especially if it meant Caulifla would go back to normal with the mood swings, cravings, and so forth. He just wished the process didn't involve several of his fingers merging together into one thin line.
It was at that moment that the door to the bedroom finally opened again with an expectant and anxious Ox King slowly opening the door. "Is it okay to come in now?" He asked.
"Daddy! Come look at your new goddaughter." Chichi introduced, showing him the crying bundle.
"Oooooh, hey there little girl." He cooed, wagging one of his own fingers in front of the small bundle of joy. "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask your dear old Oxy!"
"Oh, daddy..." Chichi chuckled. Already he was attached to the young girl and he barely knew her for five seconds, not that she couldn't understand. It truly was a small precious bundle of crying joy, an infant for the first time in the Son Household. Now that it was here, the proud parents would finally get to experience a whole new form of adventure, one involving the miracle of life and wonder through a child's eyes-
"Where... is... it...?" A raspy, exhausted, and sightly irritated voice demanded to know. Looking back, the two godparents shook slightly as Caulifla finally opened her eyes again, revealing a small fire within the retinas of her eyes.
Nine months. Nine solid, agonizing, months. From day one, the little "bundle of joy" that was growing inside of her showed no shortage of ruining Caulifla's life as it grew and grew, limiting the number of things she could do with each passing day. First it was the constant vomiting, then the constant hunger, and finally the constant hunger with the constant vomiting for the following several weeks. Kick that up a notch when the mood swings started to set in and everything in Caulifla's life started to tumble. Worse of all, was the training. She could not train no matter how much she whined or begged. And finally, the birthing process itself.
Dear god, she didn't know how frame it, but the birthing itself was perhaps the worst part about this entire ordeal. Despite consisting of a handful of hours, these were perhaps the most brutal hours of Caulifla's entire life, feeling as if the thing could burst out of her bellybutton at any given moment as it made her wallow in pain.
And now, it was finally over.
And she must have vengeance!
"C-Cauli, calm down, okay? Remember, it's just a baby." Chichi nervously reminded as she slowly walked over.
"I know, I know." Caulifla gruffed, already squeezing one of her fists to maintain her anger. "I just want to see what all the fuss is about now..." She also may or may not have had a desire to establish her dominance in front of the newborn, but there was no need for them to know that part of it. The baby put her through the most stressful nine months of her life, and she was going to make sure whatever this thing was that it wasn't going to make the rest of her life stressful!
With a heavy heart, and a nervous gulp, Chichi gently handed the bundle of pink into Caulifla's arms, the newly-made mother restraining herself to degrees the likes of which no one ever knew. Already, the small newborn was stressing the girl out with it's wailing, seeming to have little to no care about who was in charge around here or how much work it was going to cut out of it's mother's life. Still glaring at the newborn a little, the mother did her best to wait for the obsessive crying to stop, or at least enough for it to start listening to whatever Caulifla had to say to it, before it opened it's eyes.
*sniffle*
*sniffle*
"... Huh?" Caulifla's hatred over it's torturer for the last nine months suddenly began to lower from a steady boil to a small simmer, and eventually a strange evaporation started to take place. The moment the infant opened its eyes, the ongoing wailing seemed to absolve as much as Cauli's anger did, and started to be replaced with a small giggling.
"Geh... Geheheh!" It giggled, making a small trace of a blush appear over Cauifla's face as her eyes widened a little. The torturer went from an endless crying to a sudden fit of giggles in just a few minutes after being born, almost as if it took joy out of simply seeing Caulifla's face for some reason.
"Dawwww, she's already smiling!" Chichi fawned over the little newborn, poking it's cheeks gently as Goku finally recovered enough to peer over. "Usually it takes weeks to months before a baby smiles for the first time."
"Is that right?" Goku questioned as he wagged a small finger in front of the little thing. He nearly jumped, mostly from excitement, as the newborn suddenly grasped at the waving finger with a free hand. "Hey, she's got my finger!" There were a round of laughter and chuckles going off around the room as everyone fawned over the small infant, something Caulifla was still trying to come to terms with as her eyes shifted a little.
She couldn't explain it. Nothing about it made sense. Were infants magical in some nature? Did they have some bizarre ability that left parents feeling powerless like this? The moment she saw the infant smile at her, for some mysterious reason beyond her, all the anger she had towards it just suddenly... faded. It was small at first, but gradually grew until the pot of rage boiling inside of her was all but empty. And for some reason... she was completely fine with it.
Still trying to maintain her presence and dignity over the matter, the young mother let out a small cough into her hand as she cleared her throat. "W-Well, of course she's already smiling. She takes after me, after all." Caulifla maintained, incapable of resisting the small smile that crossed her lips as she looked upon the small infant. "It wouldn't make sense if she was weak."
"Uh huh. Sure, Cauli." Chichi shook her head at the humorous notion as she smiled at the young mother, watching as she kept her eyes upon the newborn with the small grin.
Despite all Caulifla had whined and complained about for the last couple months, there were moments of true motherhood shown throughout the young mother as Chichi watched over her pregnancy. She never said anything actually bad about the infant itself as it grew inside her, she never let Goku come anywhere near herself if he seemed to be coming at her too fast for whatever reason, and from time to time, even with her incomparable love of food, she always asked Chichi if it was safe to eat this or not, claiming it was just for her personal interest, even when Chichi knew the truth.
Throughout all of it, Caulifla cared deeply for the child, and by the looks of everything she was going to continue loving the child unconditionally, like any good mother should. Suffice to say, she was proud of the young mother.
... At least until she asked one question that made Chichi go red in the face.
"Why does she keep reaching for my breasts?"
...
...
"O-Okay... e-easy now..." Gohna gulped as she tried to steady her nerves. She wanted to be a hero just like her parents, so how hard could something like this be? All she had to do was climb down the long plateau that was about several hundred feet in the air that she somehow managed to get atop several minutes ago after being chased by a T-rex-like creature that was planning to make her its next meal. With the hard part out of the way, surely climbing down this incredibly tall mountain-like structure she could barely grasp would be the easiest part.
Right?
"O-One step... two..." She tried to keep her mind focused as she spoke to herself. She was doing everything in her power to ignore the potential hundred foot drop that would definitely result in a rough landing by keeping her mind on something else. "J-Just get down, find a c-cave or somethin', and find some food while avoiding the killer monsters... Sounds simple enou-"
*swooooooooooosh!*
"Mmmmhmhmmmh!" The girl squealed internally as she felt the sudden gust of wind blow past her. "Nope. New plan. Stay atop of this forever and hope that this mountain-thing shrinks by mowning!" Of course! That was the obvious plan! After all, why should she try to get herself down the side anytime soon when she knew it was close to bedtime anyway? The moon would be out in a matter of minutes, she would be too tired to continue down the rest of the way, and so on. There were too many reasons she couldn't climb down the rock formation right now and not a single one of them was because of the fact she was utterly terrified of her current situation!
Even though her head had yet to cross the threshold of the rock's side, she still trembled with fear as she steadily pulled herself back up to the surface of the rock's peak. She was panting heavily as she climbed over the edge again and planted her back firmly against the flat peak of the rock's surface, grasping her fingers against the thin layer of grass that nestled on its surface. "I-In the mowning... just mowning..." That was the plan. The surefire plan, the safe plan. The plan she didn't decide upon simply out of fear. That absolutely played no part in all of this!
*bam*
*bam*
Hearing the strangely familiar stomping and feeling a slight tremble beneath herself, Gohna looked over the ledge despairingly, seeing a familiar face that as still on the prowl. "Oh, come on! Go away!" She shouted begrudgingly. As she had anticipated, and feared, far below her she saw the familiar Rex that put her in this situation to begin with, it's mouth still watering as it sniffed around the spot it last saw its prey. I'm not going anywhere with that thing here. She moaned as she curled her knees up, hugging herself with her tail wrapped around the legs as she contemplated her dilemma.
She wasn't strong enough to fight that thing, or at least didn't have the power Piccolo claimed she did at the ready. Without that power at hand, there was no way she was going to get passed that thing anytime soon. And on the same subject, she still couldn't figure out how she was going to get down from here to begin with. The crevices along the rock's formation were too slim to get any sort of grip on them, and even if she could, what were the chances she could even reach the bottom before getting exhausted? If someone said so much as zero, they would definitely be lying to her.
Looking up at the setting sky, she let out a small moan as she tried to ignore the slight chill of the peak's air. "I hope mommy's okay."
...
...
"What? You didn't tell her?" Roshi was beside himself at the news as he continued to board up another plank against his damaged house. Honestly, he didn't know what to expect of Krillin, but at the very least he should've been capable of doing something as simple as this! Seriously, how hard could it be to go to a friend's house and tell them their love interest was dead while their literal giant of a father was in the same household?
"I'm sorry. I just couldn't." Krillin apologized regretfully, handing another plank to his old sensei. "I was gonna, but, you know... it's just..." He struggled to find the right words to say for his blunder. Then again, Roshi was the one who ditched him out of nowhere right when they landed on Chichi's doorstep.
"Did you tell her any of it? Like, the part where we lost Gohna and Cauli was in critical condition?" The hermit questioned as he nailed up another board.
"I tried to, but... it's just not that easy."
"Oh, nonsense! I could've done it with both hands tied behind my back!"
"Oh, yeah? Then why did you fly off a the first chance you got?" The bald-headed warrior reminded accusingly.
"Oh, w-well, you know..." He chuckled nervously rubbing the back of his head. "It's just... you know, I had the whole house to take care of and whatnot! Heheheh!" There was an awkward silence between the two as Roshi attempted to move passed the accusing part of the conversation as the old man continued hammering another nail into the board. "I couldn't let the old house just fall apart after all! And you know how lonely Turtle gets when I'm away."
"If I wasn't used to it by now, I'd be the world's saddest turtle." The turtle in subject muttered, refusing to let Master Roshi pass off his excuse on him as he watched.
"Besides, if it really is that much trouble, why don't we just write a letter to her instead?" The old hermit came up with, using his "sage old wisdom" to devise an alternative.
Fortunately, the idea was rather grand from Krillin's point of view as he smiled at the thought. "That's a great idea! Then we can tell her about everything!" It may have been cowardly in some sense, but it felt like the lesser of two evils if the alternative was to never tell Chichi what happened until it was too late.
It was at that point that a familiar shuttle finally approached the island from the sky, the two covering their eyes from the sunlight as they saw another familiar friend finally landing back on the island. "Hey guys, I'm back!" Bulma greeted as she finally landed.
"Hey, Bulma! How's Cauli doing?" Krillin paused as he glanced around the shuttle, noticing a few additional vacant seats. "And where's Launch?"
"She decided to stay with Cauli to help her recover." She revealed. "Personally, I think it's for the best. That way we can keep in touch with the Lookout while coming up with a plan of action at the same time."
"Speaking of Cauli, what's her status?" The old hermit asked stepping over, worried for his former student.
"She's fine, too. Kami said she was stable now, but it was going to be several weeks before she fully recovered."
"Hmm... I guess that's for the best, all things considered." He stroked his beard as he pondered the present situation. "If she's going to prepare for the arrival of the other Saiyans, she might as well wait at the Lookout while we find the Dragon Balls."
"And on that note, how did things go on your end?" She inquired. Seeing how simple it was on her end, the others must've had a just-as-easy time delivering the news to Chichi.
"Oh, Bulma, I'm afraid it's hopeless." His voice was filled with regret. "In spite of his insistence to do it himself, Krillin just couldn't bring himself to tell Chichi the hard news."
"WHAT!?" For the second time within the last two days, Krillin found himself betrayed by the person he once respected as his master. "That's not at all what hap-"
"Oh, Krillin, don't bother with the excuses, it's too late now." Roshi mournfully patted the monk's head. "Just go easy on him, Bulma. We've all had a hard day.,"
There was already a scornful look on Bulma's face as she threw her hands to her hip. "But that's not at all what happened, I swear!"
"Oh, really? Then does that mean you actually apologize AND got the Dragon Balls while you were there?" If she was going to give him any benefit of the doubt then the least he could do was prove it.
Unfortunately, the intensity of the situation combined with the sudden realization threw all possible doubt out the window as Krillin's pupils shrank. "... I knew I forgot something..." Mentally sighing to himself, Roshi looked over the young man as he apologized in his mind. He didn't want to throw the boy under the bus like he did, but with Launch living with them on a daily basis, it was hard to keep her trigger finger off her guns when Caulifla wasn't around. Outside of that, moments like these were more of a force of habit.
Still unsure of who was actually telling the truth, Bulma shook her head to the two baldies occupying the island with a look of unrest on her face. It was going to be a long year at the rate this was going. "You two are totally hopeless."
...
...
"Mmmmh... I'm hungry..." Gohna sniffed as she shivered on the ground. "It's fweezing up here..." The day refused to cut her the slightest break thus far.
She was no closer to the ground than she was a few hours ago, she was still hiding atop the rocky mountain from the dreaded T-Rex that was stalking her below, and on top of her previous issues, she was now starving and freezing. She wished she remembered to bring her hanfu top before trekking out into the woods. At least then she could cross off the freezing cold wind off her list of complaints. Even with the comfort of sight around her in the night sky being illuminated by the bright shining stars above, nothing could remove the impending doubt and fear that was starting to cloud her mind.
*I can't get down... I can't fight that thing... Am I gonna die out here?* She sniffled back the tears on her face as she tried to ignore such thoughts. Memories of her parents various stories about when they were kids did little to comfort the young child. They might've been kids too when they set off on their adventures, but they at least were old enough to know how the world worked, or at least should've been. To top it off, they had friends and loved ones with one another who taught and supported each other. None of them had to endure the hardships of the wilderness alone, at least not without a roof over their heads.
*swoooooooosh*
"Mmmmmh"! She was hating the stupid wind that was nipping at her exposed skin. It was like the wind itself was purposely trying to freeze her on every exposed part of her body, going as far as to dive into her very clothing just to intensify the chill. Looking around again, she continued to shake as she looked for any source of warm she could find. Maybe she could start a fire? Find some bundle of leaves? Anything to get over the nipping cold- "Hmm?" Her gaze froze on a miraculous sight before her. "Are those...?"
Apples. Bright, red, and juicy red apples were laid a few feet before her. All that fear and tension in her body quickly flew away at the sight of the beloved products as her eyes sparkled, dashing quickly over to the red juicy goodness with all her might and scooping up the sacred treasure into her small arms. "Food!" She happily opened her mouth to partake in the delicacy before another thought crossed her mind. "Wait a minute..." She looked around again. "How did it get here?"
There wasn't a bush, there wasn't a tree, there wasn't so much as a simple root across the surface of the mountain top. So how did it get all the way up here? Did the wind blow it up somehow? She had a hundred questions rising in the back of her mind but chose to ignore it. Right now, there was the closest thing to the buffet in front of her, and she was going to enjoy it!
*Crunch!*
"...BLECK!" All that optimism and personal support quickly diminished after she took her first bite. "Pitooey!" She wiped her tongue clean with her arm. "It tastes so sour!" She started to sniff again as her body trembled. As disgusting as it was, it was likely the only food she was going to get for miles around here, unless she wanted to take a chance with that giant lizard sleeping far below her. Moaning internally, she forced herself to take another bite of the sour apples, preferring to die of a bitter taste than that of starvation. "I miss other mommy's cooking."
Unknown to the young girl, high above in the sky, a lone green demon was grumbling to himself as he watched the child devour the offering he left for her. "You should be happy to get anything to eat, you little brat." The green demon known as Piccolo muttered. "Consider it the first and last time you're going to get any help from me." There wasn't a thanks, there wasn't a prayer, there wasn't any sense of gratitude from the young girl who whined with every bite. He didn't have to give the kid any sort of food tonight, but if she was going to learn how to survive on her own, then her first lesson was going to be how to appreciate what little she could live by!
Maybe I was wrong about this kid. His mind crossed the thought. If she can't survive on her own after this, then she's just a whiny little brat wanting to play "superhero". Beyond this point, you're on your own, kid. It was a harsh but necessary lesson the kid needed to overcome. She was the one who insisted on speedier training, the one who wanted to be like her parents. If she truly wanted the training that bad, it meant she had spirit, but it would do her little good if she didn't have the strength to live by it. He needed to be sure, no matter the cost, that this kid had the strength of will to survive.
Only then, would she be ready for her real training to begin.
...
...
"Heeeeeeey! Hey!" A voice yelled from outside the Kame House.
The following day proved to be mostly uneventful for the gang waiting at Kame House. As Bulma finally fixed the scouter, they went over several scenarios in their head as they considered what to do about the imminent Saiyan arrival. There was the possibility of having the Dragon Balls solve their problem for them, but if they did that, they would lose their chance to bring back Goku. On the other hand, if they wished Goku back, there was the chance they could miss out on the chance to deal with the Saiyan threat for good. There wasn't an easy answer no matter how they looked at it.
"Hey yourself there, pal." It was in the midst of the general discussion that a familiar voice called out from outside the old house, drawing Krillin's attention as he was the first one at the door. "You know, there's this great trick called "knocking", you should try it sometime."
"Shut up." The samurai's tone was flat as he stood at near-height level as the young monk who greeted him.
"Huh? Hey, I remember you!" He swore he recognized the portly-looking samurai from somewhere in the past. He just couldn't place the name. "You were, uh... er... What was your name again?"
"It's Yajirobe! You know that!" He shouted, feeling insulted that they should forget such a memorable character such as himself. "Now quit asking stupid questions!" He waited for the other two occupants of the household to appear before he continued. "Listen. Korin told me to tell you to come to the tower for special training or whatever."
"Wait- as in The Korin!?" Krillin didn't know what to say, it felt like such a tremendous honor! He called the numerous tales Caulifla and Goku told him about when they trained at the cat's tower, how they overcame a dreaded mercenary named Tao after climbing the dreaded tower and drinking from the sacred tower that presided at the top. Knowing the situation at hand, this Korin fella wasn't just asking him to come to his own personal tower. Maybe he wanted him to appear before Kami himself and train at the Lookout!
Mockingly, Yajirobe mimicked Korin's cat-like mannerisms as he began rubbing against his cheeks like a paw. "Hey, look at me. I'm know-it-all Korin. I might be amazing but I'm too lazy to leave my dumb tower and would rather make someone like Yajirobe do it instead." He mocked. "That's the guy. And he wants you to bring that Yammy-person, some "Ten-fold" guy, and some weird munchkin guy named "Chowder-something"."
While the actual translation was lost on the swordsman, it was not to the pupil who was familiar with the names. "Oh... you mean Tien and Chiaotzu, right?"
"Not me...?" The bald Master Roshi felt a little disappointed at the notion, getting the correct feeling this was going to be one battle he would have to remain out of.
"Did I say you?" Yajirobe rudely remarked. "Just get over to the tower and stuff. He says the faster you do, the faster you can get to training and stuff. I'll be training with you, too."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. Crazy, right? I told him there's no way I'm going to fight some stupid aliens, and he went through the roof! I thought he was going to kill me. I thought he was gonna kill me." Personally, Yajirobe would've been just fine if he had been kept out of whatever shenanigans were currently going on with the world. Yet, in Korin's own words, it was "either you train with the others or you can find a new place to loiter around, ya bum". Given it was one of the few places he knew of in the world with free food and a roof over his head, it was a heavily weighed option.
"Wow! That, uh... sounds pretty serious." Krillin nearly gulped as he tried to maintain his composure. "I guess we don't have a choice?"
"You don't... or at least I don't." He replied walking away. "But I don't care. Do whatever you want." He paused mid-step as he neared the hovercraft he flew in to the island. "Oh, wait, that reminds me. I also had a message for you guys."
"For us?" Bulma found herself perplexed by the assortment of details the group was being slammed with within the last minute.
"Yeah. There was two." The swordsman rubbed his chin as he recalled. "The first one was "don't wish Goku back to life with the Dragon Balls until the Saiyans arrive one year from now"."
"What!? B-But why?!" Bulma's heart sunk for everyone around, especially when Cauli would find out about this little detail.
"Beats me. Something about special training in the Other World, or something like that." Unaware of the full extent of Goku's recent passing, not much of it made sense to the swordsman. At the time, he was just the messenger boy, and that's all he wanted to be if it meant getting back to lounging around at Korin's. He nearly forgot himself as he took a step inside his vehicle, preparing to take off.
"Wait! What about the other message?" The hermit asked, stopping Yajirobe in his tracks.
"Oh, right. The other thing. What was it now...?" He poked his chin in remembrance. Compared to the first message, it wasn't as high on his priority list to remember. "Oh yeah! When you guys bring back Goku, he wants you to bring someone else back to life, too."
"Eh? Someone else?" The master gave a confused look to Bulma and Krillin who had just as confused looks in their eyes as he did. "Like who?"
"I don't know, I didn't really pay attention to the name. I think he said it was like "Ditzy" or "Radish" or something?"
"Radish?" Krillin repeated. "What kind of name is... Ahhhhhh!" Krillin suddenly screamed in realization. "Wait! Do you mean Raditz?!"
"Oh yeah, that was it! That Raditz guy."
"WHAT?!" Both, Roshi and Bulma shouted together in disbelief.
"This is a joke, right? Like, Goku is just trying to prove he has a sense of humor or something. Isn't that it?" Of course that was it. It had to be it! Hahaha, good one, Goku! For a second there, the scientist really thought he wanted them to resurrect the guy who PUT HIM IN THE AFTERLIFE TO BEGIN WITH!
"Did he suffer a stroke or something when he gave you the message?!" Roshi's own disbelief was understandable as well, given the circumstances that lead to his death. While he didn't technically kill Goku himself, he was just as responsible for the role in it as much as Piccolo was. "Raditz is the entire reason Goku died to begin with!"
"Look, I'm just the messenger, not the message itself, alright?" Yajirobe defended himself as he started up his aircraft. "Some lady named Baba-something is supposed to come by and tell you the rest later. So just ask her." Without giving them another chance to respond, the samurai took off into the air as he zoomed across the ocean as fast as the ship could fly him. "Later losers!"
"Wait! My sister? She's coming?!" There were more questions than answers being given to them as they watched the samurai disappear off into the horizon.
All of them stood there in shock for a solid minute as they processed the details in their minds. First, Krillin was instructed to come to Korin's tower to receive special training to prepare for the oncoming year. That made sense. Next, they were told not to resurrect Goku until a year had passed so he could obtain some sort of special training to help against their fight with the Saiyans within a year's time. That also made sense.
What didn't make sense was the last bit about RESURRECTING THE PERSON WHO PUT HIM SIX FEET UNDER AT THE START OF ALL THIS! This wasn't just some manner of rivalry or giving someone a second chance like Goku previously did with Piccolo at the last tournament. This is the guy who's nearly 100% responsible for his death in the first place! It was like getting killed by an assassin who later got hit by a truck, then wishing for the assassin to come back to life with him, it just didn't make sense!
"You guys... heard the same thing I did... right?" Krillin hoped he misheard every last bit of that conversation.
"G-Goku... isn't serious about this... is he?" Bulma glanced back and forth between the two. "I mean, this is his brother we're talking about! He's the reason this is all happening to begin with!" She noticed the deep stare Roshi was giving as he pulled at his beard, something he only did whenever something weighed heavily on his mind. "You don't think he's being serious... do you?"
"Mmmh..." The old hermit ran every scenario through his mind, culminating to an ultimate dilemma he ran through his head aloud. "If Goku plans on bringing back his brother along with himself, then he must think he can help in some sort of way."
"Yeah, help kill the rest of us!" Krillin spat. "We barely beat him to begin with, and Goku had to sacrifice his own life just to do it!"
"Yes, but if something happened between the two, perhaps he thinks Raditz could be of some use to us." It was a little painful to admit as he shook his head to the side. "The way I see it, if Raditz really can give us an edge against this threat, then there's more than enough reason to bring him back. On the other hand, if he tries to betray us, I don't think that'll be an issue either."
"What makes you say that?"
"It's simple. Don't forget, everyone will be training for the next year, and we already know these Saiyans are going to be leagues above what Raditz's strength was. If he does try something, It'll be more than easy to deal with it."
"You... have a point, but..." Bulma hugged herself as the situation caused her to shiver. "I still don't trust him."
"I didn't say anything about trusting that Raditz guy. He can stay dead for all I care!" Roshi yelled stomping his cane. "Goku's the one I'm trusting in this plan, not the one who acts like his evil twin!"
"Mmmh... I guess you're not entirely wrong..." Krillin frowned. He was still getting over the fact that one of his best friends died in his arms just the other day, and now they were expected to bring back his friend and the man who killed him? They might as well just wish the Saiyans here immediately with the Dragon Balls and get it over with!
"Oh, quit your pouting, you two. We have an entire year to prepare for this, anyway." He reminded. "No one said we needed to decide this right now. Let's gather the Dragon Balls first, get to the tower, then we can think of what to do after!" Finally, there was some wisdom to the old man's words that brought a small smile back to Bulma's and Krillin's faces.
As he said, the fact is, none of them had to decide on anything right away. They could take their time to decide what to do with the other potential Saiyan threat after the year was up. Until then, they had a lot of preparation to get through. The long year was about to begin for Krillin and the other warriors, and they only had so much time on their side. As bad as things were, currently, there was nothing to fret about!
Except one.
"Hey, is he coming back?" Bulma wondered as she looked off into the view. Looking for themselves, Krillin and Master Roshi gazed into the large view, noticing the familiar vehicle speeding towards their way again.
There was something familiar about the strange vehicle approaching the island at Mach speed as a pair of figures started to manifest within their eyes. From the blurry images they started with, a couple of familiar faces, ones they haven't seen for several years, started to take shape as it finally dawned on the trio who the mysterious pair were.
And immediately, panic began to set in.
"Hello there! Master Roshi!" The once proud Ox King greeted from the back of the vehicle. His massive frame took up a majority of the backseat of the vehicle as he lounged around, actually keeping one of his legs out of the seats to make room for himself. The happy giant eagerly waved to his former master, being the first time he's seen any of the gang in almost five years. "It's good to see you! Hello everybody!"
And, despite his massive frame, he wasn't the one that sent terror through the minds of our three heroes.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Master Roshi screeched as his jaw dropped. "IT'S OX KING! AND HE'S WITH CHICHI!"
"WHAAAAAAT?!" Krillin stammered. Under the cover of night, he had escaped the confines of the Son Family Household and made his way back to the Kame House thanks to the blanketing darkness. Looking back on it now, however, he probably should've considered a better hiding space than the one of two locations the gang frequents daily.
Because, as was to be expected, even from over half a mile away, Krillin could see an actual fire of anger rising from Chichi's pupils. Her Godmother-ly senses were rapidly tingling all over her body since this morning when Krillin disappeared, and knew something was up as she drove like a mad dog. "KRILLIIIIIIN!" She could be heard shouting. "WHERE'S MY GODCHILD?!"
There was no escape for the trio as they awaited their fates. If they ran off, there would be untold destruction between them and anyone in Chichi's way. Their only hope was for a swift and merciful death that would be upon them the moment Chichi stepped out of her vehicle.
Sweating profusely, Krillin shakily turned his head over to his former master, trembling with every breath. "W-What do we do n-now?"
Thinking over every single detail up to this moment, there was only a single thought that came to Roshi's mind as he gulped nervously. "Well... O-On the bright side... It looks like we don't need to worry about that letter anymore..."
Heavens help the three that were about to incur a godmother's wrath.
...
...
"So he's... not coming back?" Caulifla lowered her sullen head.
It was day two for the young woman as she sat atop one of the guest beds of Kami's Lookout. After the initial healing she received upon arrival, Kami had been attending to her injuries to the best of his abilities, however lacking they may be. If he was a true healer, he could've fixed Caulifla's internal damage within a day's time, possibly within minutes! Sadly, Kami's power had their limits like many mortals that lived below the clouds, and there was little he could do to speed up the process.
From the first healing, he had made his rounds to the woman's chambers about once every 6-to-8 hours, healing her at a slow, steady, pace, so it wouldn't cause her body to go into some form of shock or further injury by forcing it to heal itself too quickly. On a higher note, the healing appeared to be taking effect quite well as the young woman who was almost completely bedridden the day before was now able to lean up a little from the bed's surface. It was a start, however insignificant it may be.
At least she had the comfort of Launch's presence with her, the older woman attending to her needs whenever Caulifla wasn't resting, doing her best to make the woman comfortable. On her off time, she took to exploring the Lookout as much as she was allowed to, and helping Mr. Popo attend to the various gardens along the decor. It was a quiet and simple routine the woman started finding herself performing regularly, and one she hoped to maintain by not telling one of her close friends the truth about Gohna's current abduction.
"I'm afraid not." Kami shook his head in response. "Not anytime soon, anyway." He couldn't afford to tell her the previous day given the condition she was in. She had already and unknowingly lost a daughter to another abduction, the last she needed was more stress about Goku's current arrival plans. "Make no mistake, I give you my word he will return to us. It will just be at a later date than anticipated."
"... Tch..." A small grin curved over her lips as she shook her head. "Yeah, sounds about right." She tightened her fists a little.
This wasn't anything out of the ordinary for her, minus the whole afterlife aspect of it. Whenever it came to training with one another, they always employed the whackiest gimmicks and tricks to get the most out of their workout. From forcing each other to carry large boulders while going on hundred mile runs to sparring with each other without using their hands, there was a whole repertoire of unusual tactics the two employed, often leading hand in hand to disaster and success.
The only setback currently plaguing her was the fact she was on her own in all this. For the first time in forever, since meeting Goku, she felt alone. She couldn't recall a single time they were ever apart from each other for very long, much less a year at that. Sometimes they ended up their separate ways for a bit, but that usually involved having the same mission in some shape or form, like when they hunted for the Dragon Balls. Here, she felt like she was on her own, just like she was when she finally left her home as a child.
"He always did have a habit of running off ahead if something caught his interest." She took a small breath as her shoulders slumped. "He just better make sure he doesn't learn anything without me."
The old Guardian of Earth almost chuckled at that, recounting the numerous times Caulifla never truly opened up about herself just to save her image. "I promise you, Cauli, that the time will flow quickly around here, especially when your training starts."
"That's absolutely right!" Launch perked up with encouragement. "After you heal up, you'll have lots of fun with your training, and before you know it Goku will be right here!"
"Yeah, I guess." She rolled her shoulders a bit as she lied back down to the bed. "Any chance we could get some food around here? I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday."
"I believe you should be healed enough to start eating again." The guardian nodded before turning to his assistant. "Mr. Popo, could you assist Miss Launch by showing her to the kitchen? I recommend something light and easy on the stomach."
"Of course, Kami." Mr. Popo replied with the always-enthusiastic smile. "Right this way, if you please." The blue-haired girl let out a small giggle at the politeness before accompanying the mysterious man out the door.
"And make sure it's tasty!" Caulifla yelled out the door as her allies left her to rest. Watching as they strolled out the doorway, the once proud look upon the Saiyan's face began to falter as she stared up at the grey ceiling. "A whole year, huh?"
...
...
"Stupid dinosaur thing..."
The day had not progressed any better for the young Gohna as she stared down at the plains below her. From the very morning, she hadn't had an ounce of liquid save for whatever bits of apple were left that she forced herself to nibble on, and hadn't eaten a single thing since the previous night. The situation with her standing proved to be more tiresome as the day wore on and her attempts to descend the mighty pillar were left with failure.
To be fair, she did a little better than she had the previous night. She actually managed to get a good grip on the sides of the mountainous rock and actually got herself down a few yards passed its peak. By her estimate, she must've gone a whole ten feet closer to the ground compared to the previous night's attempts. It actually looked like she was going to manage it for a change all on her own, and she was going to prove herself a strong capable hero that wasn't afraid of anything!
Sadly, all that bravado was swept under the rug as the call to nature came to her as she felt a sudden need to use the bathroom, thankfully just to pee. There was no way she was going to attempt to go from where she was, given that her close were still on and she was on the side of a plateau. On the off chance she did go, one of two things were going to happen: First, she was going to wet herself and be stuck like that for the foreseeable future since she didn't have any means to clean herself after. Two, in all disgusting likelihood, she was going relieve herself on the side of the slope and cause it to slide all the way down to the base of the large pillar.
If the smell didn't bother her in any way, the fact the disgustingly slippery face of the rock would leave her incapable of grasping anything would prove detrimental, and a challenge in its own right.
With nothing else to do, she relented as she climbed her way back to the top of the pillar, finding a nice spot on the other side of the peak to do her business. Perhaps it was fate's way of lending her a hand as no sooner did she finish, she felt the telltale rumble of the T-Rex's footsteps far below her, groaning at the sight of her hated enemy still trying to find her. Somehow, she was thankful and annoyed that her bathroom need kept her from running into the giant creature once again.
As if to add insult to injury, the twisted creature decided to call it a day at the base of the structure, forcing her to remain atop the spire for yet another restless night.
*gurgle*
And a hunger filled one at that.
"I wanna go hoooome..." She was losing her drive to do all of this as she wiped her eyes. That momentary spark she once endured to be like her mommy and daddy faded over the course of the day. First there were wolves, then there were dinosaurs, and now she was stuck atop some spire she couldn't possibly get down from.
It was no festival for Piccolo either as the green man kept watch over his charge throughout the entire day. He was getting just as fed up as the child herself was to a greater extent. The only thing worse than being the one stuck in a situation is being the one forced to watch that someone being stuck in a situation! He couldn't afford to abandon the kid until she proved she was either ready for the challenge of survival, or that she couldn't handle it. Whichever the case was at this point would be determined within the next day or two.
Because if Gohna had yet to reach the bottom by that point, she was likely to die from dehydration.
"I want daddy back..." She teared up a little as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "He would always know what to do. Mommy said he always had a way out of things, with that pole of his and tha-" Suddenly, an idea crossed Gohna's mind that brought hope ot the young girl. "Wait! That's it!" It was so obvious to her now as she stood on her own two feet! Why didn't she think of it before? Piccolo noticed the change in demeanor as he watched the young girl, wondering where her newfound confidence was coming from. Taking a deep breath, she shouted the two words she knew for sure that were going to save the day! "Flying Nimbuuuuuth!"
The Nimbus. The ace in the hole and the certified solution to all her problems! She could recall the countless times she got to ride on the fluffy yellow cloud with her parents, the many trips they took together with it as they toured the world, to a small extent, away from their home. From the forest to the mountains to dank caves, as far as she was aware of, the Flying Nimbus could be called upon from anywhere in the world! And it was exactly what she needed to save herself from this precarious situation! At any moment, she would be back on safe ground, or possibly back in her mother's arms if she flew it all the way to wherever she was!
Yup! Any moment now she was going to be jumping with joy at the sight of the beloved cloud!
Hahaha! Here she went! Any moment now!
Any moment...
Eventually...
Right about...
... It wasn't showing up. "Nimbuth?" She looked in every direction for the beloved cloud that could bring her home. From East to West, North to South, there wasn't a single trace of the cloud anywhere. Not even a yellow pigment in the distance! "What's taking so wong?"
It didn't make any sense. She was sure she called out the right words! From the many times she watched her parents do it, all she needed to do was call out its name, and it would be here in no time! So why wasn't it for her? Was it some special cloud that only grownups and parents could call down? She never once tried to summon it herself before. Maybe she wasn't being loud enough? "FLYING NIMBUUUUUUUUTH!" She screamed again, running from every corner of the peak to carry her voice around.
It was something of an amusing display as Piccolo couldn't help but smirk. I told you to get over that lisp, kid. It almost made him chuckle at the thought. The pesky golden cloud he hadn't considered all this time, the pile of puff he may have needed to dispose of if it interfered with his plans, was never coming to the young girl's aid no matter how much she called out to it. Because, in a feat of cruel irony and discord, nothing would bring the cloud to the girl who couldn't pronounce the word "Nimbus" instead of "Nimbuth".
"Nimbuuuuuth! Where are you?" This was starting to get ridiculous and she was running out of breath from all the screaming. Maybe the Nimbus couldn't be summoned from so far away after all? Maybe it did have limitations? There had to be some reason she wasn't seeing it heading towards her. Maybe it was higher in the sky? Looking up, her eyes gazed upon a sight more majestic and beautiful than anything else she was expecting. "Oooooh... pwetty..."
The Moon. A full one at that. For the first time in the young girl's life, she managed to gaze upon the massive rock in the sky, the thing she read about in storybooks that her other mommy read to her before bed. It was more mesmerizing than anything else a storybook could show her, and it was surprisingly bright. She didn't think anything so beautiful could be out at a time like this. "It's so big... I wonder how it got all the way up there-"
*ka-thump*
"Eh-?!" Somethin was wrong.
*Ka-thump*
"W... What..." Her body trembled in ways she couldn't describe.
*KA-THUMP*
"Wha... What's hap..." Everything hurt, yet somehow she felt nothing at all. Her chest was beating heavily as her breath was as natural as could be. Something was going on with her body that she couldn't explain, something that made her tail shake violently as her gaze remained fixed upon the moon. All throughout the process, her eyes never turned from the majesty of the moon, unaware of how her eyes began to change in color to a solid pink pupils.
"Huh?" The mysterious behavior didn't go unnoticed as Piccolo felt a sudden spike in the child's power level out of nowhere. "What is this?" This wasn't like the other occurrences where it reacted to her extreme emotions. It was almost like the power level was growing up inside her as if it had a mind of it's own-! No, it was more than that. The power inside of her was forcing her emotions to start running rampant in an attempt to build her power within herself, in a cycle that would never end until the process was complete.
"Gh...Egh...NnnnngggHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" In a beastial roar, the transformation had begun.
From the sky, Piccolo watched what would be considered unthinkable. From the small childlike form she once portrayed, Gohna started to grow from all sides. Arms, legs, body and all, everything about her started to grow in a rampant streak of fury as her body started to take a new shape. Similar in nature yet large in difference, the young girl went from the petite young thing that was curious for adventure, to a monstrous giant ape whose size could tower over buildings. Her eyes went full in red as a snout grew along her jaw, and her size grew in bulk as the immense power flowing within her started to run berserk.
What was once a young girl who looked at the world through innocent eyes now stood a creature of immense power, one that was nearly as tall as the mountain itself, with a strength so immeasurable that it dwarfed Raditz's by comparison from what Piccolo could sense. The child had truly become a monster.
"Impossible!" He was still in shock by the child's transformation that it took the collapse of the very mountain to snap him out of it. The gargantuan primate's weight toppled the gigantic rock as if it was nothing, with the furry creature landing harshly on its feet like it was nothing. "What's happened to her?"
The beast thrived purely on instinct as it bellowed with rage, scanning the vicinity for anything to destroy. One of the first things it laid eyes upon was the massive lizard, or what used to be in size, that tormented it so.
"Gaaaaooooooooooo!" The very lizard was awoken by the beast's terrifying roar, and now it was the one shriveling in fear at the great ape that was nearly three times its size. Wasting no time to assert its power, perhaps some figment of her memory playing a factor towards its directed rage, the gargantuan ape lifted the lizard in both its hands before throwing it as far as the eyes could see. The dinosaur squealed in fear and pain as it was thrown several hundred feet away, landing squarely in the center of the small forest at the border of the plains. Somehow it survived the immense throw even if its right leg was worse for wear.
*Groooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwl!*
The ape's anger knew no bounds as it slammed its fists around, first to the towering pillar of rock that had confined it for over a day, then to the very ground the lizard once stood on. It was angry, furious. There was nothing but pure rage bottled within the creature, one just waiting to be let out to snuff the world from all life it inhabited. It wanted everything gone. Eradicated. To be driven to the point of extinction and then some. Nothing would stomp its rampage short of death. Every part of it was an indomitable weapon, including its mouth.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
In the same direction as where it threw the dinosaur, leaving Piccolo in a state of shock and awe, the behemoth of an ape suddenly let loose a fount of energy from its mouth that blasted straight ahead at immense strength. In a form of pure white energy, he watched as the gorilla blasted a clearing straight into the heart of the forest itself, eradicating over half the surrounding landscape as hundreds of innocent creature, and one terrified dinosaur, ran for their lives in every direction. The gorilla's path of destruction didn't end there as it continued to fire several more blasts from its mouth, aiming wildly and without purpose, at anything that could oppose it.
All Piccolo could do was brace himself as he avoided the many hazardous rocks and debris that were thrown his way, every explosion shooting for miles to the four corners of the planet. "If she keeps this up, the Earth will be destroyed before the Saiyans even show up!" He had never faced a dilemma quite like the one in front of him. As if sensing the strange man within the sky, the beast turned its focus onto him as it fired another blast from its mouth. It nearly singed the tip of his cloak before Piccolo managed to get out of the way, avoiding the deadly blast by a hair's length. "How am I supposed to stop her?!"
He would die within an instant if he attempted to stop the beast himself, but he couldn't allow its rampage to continue unabated like this. He needed to find a way to deal with Gohna before she destroyed every living thing on this planet, but how? "Ahh!" He suddenly realized the solution to his problems as he turned around. It was staring down on him all this time. "The Moon!"
"Kakarot, you idiot!" Now Raditz was convinced these two were playing some elaborate prank on him. It's the only explanation for why he squeezed his fist so angrily. "You both lived on this planet your whole life! The full moon is key to unlocking a Saiyan's true potential!"
That's it! The memory flashed in Piccolo's at the forefront of his thoughts. The full moon... They need the moon! As confident as he was in the plan, he wasn't sure if it would truly work. For all he knew, she would still retain her form until the following morning, if ever. Yet, with time being of the essence and his options scarce, he was left with little choice. "This better work!"
He wasted no time as he gathered as he hastily gathered all the energy he could in his fingertips. Unlike the previous times, he spread the coursing energy all throughout his arm once it reached his fingertips, his muscles growing in power as he collected his strength. If this plan didn't work, he would be left with little option other than to eliminate the girl herself, less he risk the entire planet's safety for the life of one child.
With the required energy gathered, he directed his palm at the moon in full, grasping his wrist tightly to ensure it struck its target. "Haaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Roaring like the great ape below him, Piccolo fired a massive electrical blast of energy directly at the face of the moon, waiting until his energy surrounded the entirety of the moon on all sides before he relented. The massive rock in the sky shimmered as if trying to contain the immense amount of energy suddenly infused with it. From a few vivid flares to a flash of red that looked like the core of the planet, Piccolo covered his eyes as the moon became engulfed in a bright explosive light.
Then, to nothingness.
*BOOOOOOOM*
From across the world that met the moon's face, millions of eyes would bare witness to the spectacle as the planetoid shattered, eroding into dust. What was left of the moon was nothing more save for a few pieces of rock here and there, nearly invisible to the naked eye. Beyond that, the massive face had crumbled, leaving the planet without a moon for one of several times once again, and, more importantly, the gorilla without a power source.
"GAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo..." Almost as soon as the beast realized its source of power had been eradicated did the beast's power start to wane. Shrinking down at an excessive rate almost faster than that from which it grew from, the gargantuan beast that had threatened the very planet had returned to its original form, that of a young four year old child named Gohna, whose eyes became heavy upon landing on her knees, then blacked out as her transformation came to an end, leaving her naked, exposed, and helpless, but at least alive.
With the threat destroyed, Piccolo could finally relax his muscles as he descended down to the planet, joining the young girl as his feet touched the ground. The scenery looked like a warzone around the two as Piccolo surveyed the damage. Smoke and cinder, over half a forest wiped out, and an array of various craters scattered across the plains.
"So that's the secret of the Saiyans' power. It's that tail of theirs..." This girl accomplished all of this in less than a minute for the time she was transformed. How much destruction would she wrought if she had gone a full hour in this state? "Somehow it gives them the ability to transform at a full moon. If that's the case," he turned back towards the sky as he observed the remains of what was once called the moon, "it's probably for the best that I destroyed it."
He still couldn't get over how much the girl transformed the surrounding landscape in less than a minute. "I hate to think what the other two Saiyans would have done when they arrived..." Maybe it was a happy accident that this situation had unfolded. If not, Piccolo never would have remembered Raditz's words when he arrived on Earth and reunited with Goku. "But now, without the moon, they won't be able to transform. And we'll be on a more level playing field. In fact, we have an advantage now, because we know that their tail is their weak point."
"Still..." Another thought crossed his mind as the beneficial turnabout went sour.
All the while, Raditz just grinned, actually taking a step toward his recently-discovered sister-in-law. "It looks like one of you has some semblance of respect for our race. Face it, Caulifla. You know as well as I do that you belong to our people. The fact you kept your tail with you all this time is proof of that."
"My tail?" Caulifla looked down at the monkey-like prehensile wrapped around her waist.
"If Cauli still has her tail, why did she sound so surprised when Raditz mentioned it? Is she unaware of the transformation?" It would seem like the most agreeable reasoning if not for the incredible amount of uncertainty it left him with. How could someone go so long in their life without ever looking up at the full moon? Did she truly not know about the transformation or was she just hiding it? "Whatever reason she has, Cauli could be a liability in the future. I should deal with her when i have the time later. But for now..."
The brown appendage kept distracting Piccolo as it swayed with the wind. Without any hesitation, the seasoned fighter plucked the tail straight from the girl's backside, leaving a small black hole in its place just above the girl's posterior. "That's one less tail we'll have to worry about in the future"
Perhaps training this kid would come with more benefits down the line. Aside from having another fighter to combat the alien threat, he could potentially learn of more weaknesses about the Saiyan threat while training the child. If he was lucky, there may have been another weakpoint to their character down the line, or perhaps a sensitivity they could exploit to weaken them further.
Whatever the case would be, he knew that the future was shaping up to be a little more exciting than he anticipated. "There. Now you need some new clothes. I suppose I can provide you with that much." Pointing to the girl, another spark of energy beamed from the man's fingertips as he placed a new assortment of clothing upon the exhausted child. Similar to his, at an extent, he donned on her a purple gi much like the one he wore himself. "The clothes are like your mother's, just a bit darker. But the symbol on its back shows you're from my camp."
"And I suppose you'll need a weapon. A sword is usually well-balanced, but if you're anything like your mother, you'll probably rely more on your agility. In that case..." Deciding upon the most suitable weapon he could think of, he pointed to the ground next to the girl as he manifested a weapon for her- a large boomerang almost the length of both her arms, made out of the purest steel that he could manifest.
"You can fight with it at a distance or up close, I don't care. I've already done more for you than I intended. I don't have time to babysit you any longer. I have my own training to do." He meant his word this time. He was officially done with the handouts and the treats for the young girl that was supposed to be surviving on her own out here. If he did any more it would completely ruin the point of this excursion. "If you can survive out here for the next three months on your own then you'll see me again. And then we'll see what you're made of when your real training begins."
"And when you see what training I have in store for you," his eyes narrowed as his visage overcame with malice and cruelty, "you'll be begging me to send you to Hell instead!" And without another word, he flew off to parts unknown.
From this day forward, every moment would count.
The Earth's fighters are one step closer to the Saiyans' arrival as the pieces fall into place. With preparations under way, will Earth's mightiest fighters have the heart and courage to train for the looming Saiyan threat? Or will the board be cleared before the true battle even begins? Find out next time on DRAGON BALL Z!
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A/N: Annnnnnnnd another grandiose mios whatever-i-just-said chapter down ^^ Hope the length makes up for the lack of updates, if i wasn't working more often than not i'd probably get about 2-3 posted weekly. Things being as they are atm, it'll be awhile before I get that sort of energy back X/ But with that said, excited for the next episode because the more we go into the series, the deeper it changes, and the more it changes, the better (presumably) thins get ^^ Honestly not much else to say here, hope you guys are enjoying the series so far, and as always, I will never pay someone for artwork so all the bots out there can shut up (I am not kidding, i'm not talking about actual people, i get 2-3 bots per chapter, its annoying T_T...)
With that said, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed and hope to see you soon!