Thee and a Half Months Later…
The planet Venus was a harsh place.
The surface was a twisted area, with rocks that raced high into the sky only to suddenly curve downward and split into many different points and arches that raced back towards the ground below, like a tall candle that had been placed in the sun and allowed to droop and melt. What flat land there was cracked, with fissures letting loose blasts of acidic steam that could melt metal within moments of contact. The skies were also an acidic yellow and the air tasted of sulfur.
The creatures that made the surface their own had learned how to survive such dangers. They developed thick hides and shells that protected their bodies and were able to easily skitter and dart up sheer rock faces so that they might avoid the sudden geysers of acid and the shifting landscape that came with great quakes made the entire planet feel like it was going to crumble.
All of them stayed on the surface… for they knew that below ground far worse things liked to trek.
Deep in the bowels of Venus there were the spider snakes. Or, at least, that is what they would have been called had any who had ever encountered them lived to tell of their existence. Over 40 feet long their heads were like that of king cobras but rather than a snout like a snake there was just a large mouth dripping with venom. Just below the crown of the beasts were a series of blade-like limbs, able to easily dig through the hard stone of Venus' underground so they might move about with ease, stalking their prey. They were, in a word, the apex predator of the planet.
Or… they had been.
Until Raditz had encountered them.
"Pathetic!" Raditz declared as he took on a rather large and scarred spider snake. It was a pale blue color, nearly white but just a hint of pigment, and had numerous old wounds along its scales. Two of its teeth were broken but that had never stopped it before from capturing its prey. Even now, with parts of it blown away by Raditz' newly created Friday Cleaver, the old beast battled on, slamming its body against the tunnel as it tried to catch up with the Saiyan warrior.
But Raditz merely continued to fly in front of the beast, easily dodging its lunges and its swift strikes, arms folded over his chest.
"If you are the strongest thing this planet has then no wonder it is so scarcely populated! I would be ashamed to call this rock my home too if YOU were the mightiest of the mighty!"
The spider snake didn't understand what the creature was saying. All it knew was that it was hungry and wanted a snack. So it suddenly reared up and fired from its mouth a blast of white webbing that caught onto Raditz's chest, allowing it to stop and begin reeling him in towards its mouth. The Saiyan struggled for a moment, testing the strength of the webbing, but wasn't able to break it apart simply by flexing. So he merely narrowed his eyes as he was drawn into the creature's mouth, its circular maw of teeth like a tunnel of death.
With one final slurp the spider snake sucked Raditz in, clamping its jaw shut and giving a swallow, satisfied that its prey had finally been caught. It had been a longer fight than it was used to but now that the pesky little morsel was in its jaws it would-
The spider snake had just a moment to blink before two ki energy blades should out from its lower lip and through the back of its head, hovering there for just a moment before they whirled about, slicing off clean the creature's head and sending it toppling to the cave floor below. Standing in the maw, surrounded by broken teeth, Raditz let out a huff before he yanked off a few bits of webbing that clung stubbornly to his arm.
"Pathetic," he muttered to himself before floating out of the corpse, letting it fall to the ground with a thump. Rolling his shoulders he flew over to the tail and grabbed hold of it, dragging the entire creature back up to the surface. "You better at least taste good," he grumbled, annoyed that he hadn't gotten much a fight out of the beast as he would have wanted.
He knew he was getting stronger. When he had first landed on the planet the creatures on the surface had posed a decent enough challenge. But now he had to dive deeper and deeper into the planet core, seeking out the larger and more grotesque of the planet's inhabitants in order to even work up a sweat. And soon he knew even that would be gone, leaving him only training regiments to get by. He should have been excited about that. It was proof that he was rapidly increasing his power level. He hadn't scanned himself recently but he was willing to bet he was nearing double in power level!
'And Nappa would still being a thousand over me in terms of power,' he thought bitterly as he reached the fissure that led to the surface. He rocketed up, the spider snake bashing off the walls but the Saiyan didn't care, too lost in his thoughts. 'I need to get stronger… and quicker. Vegeta is so beyond me right now that even if I were able to take out Nappa he'd only see that as me becoming his new second in command… but I have no need for that. Not anymore. Now I want him to suffer… to be at MY beck and call. And the only way to do that is to drive his smug face into the dirt until he has no choice but to surrender or die!'
He burst back up to the surface and threw the spider snake's body to the ground, several of the hairy winged creatures that lived in the rocky outcroppings taking flight after the startling noise. Raditz went over to his pod and took out a large carving knife and a butcher's blade, running them along each other before setting to work hacking into the spider snake in hopes of getting some good soft meat.
'The only way for me to match him will be the element of surprise. If my brother and I am able to take him quickly, before he has a chance to realize what is going on, then I can pin him before he has a chance to power up. It's risky but I doubt I'll have much time to do anything else.'
The better solution would have been to train with his brother. Even as weak as he was a Saiyan would provide a far better fight than any other alien creature that Raditz might encounter in the solar system and that would allow him to increase his power level by leaps and bounds. His battle against Kakarot and the Namekian alone had seen him gain several hundred points to his power level! A year with his brother and they would be able to match the Prince... especially if Vegeta continued his arrogant and rather lazy ways. He had been refusing to fight more and more, letting Nappa do the true battles while he came in and stole the kills and the glory. As such Vegeta's power level had slowed its growth; where once the Prince, thanks to his dedication to training, had one of the largest increases in Power Levels in the entire Frieza Force he now coasted by.
'But that won't last,' Raditz thought to himself. 'He knows that we'll be facing Frieza soon and he'll seek the train. Challenge himself against greater foes and push his body to the limit. And when he does his rapid level increase will return. I can't let him begin doing that before I've forced him to submit to me or there will be no chance of actually defeating him!'
Thus… surprise. It was a coward's way, he knew that, but it was also his only way to break the Prince. To get him to submit.
'And when he does… finally will I be ready to face Frieza and make him pay for what he did to our entire race!'
~MC~MC~MC~
"Who said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself?"
Swing! Whoosh!
"Franklin Roosevelt!"
Swing! Whiiiis! Thunk!
"First man to land on the Moon?"
Thunk! Thwig! Swish!
"Neil Armstrong!"
"And what did he-"
"Hey guys!" Chiaotzu called out, flying over to where Gohan, Chichi, and Goku were training. "What are you doing?"
"Hey Chiaotzu! Hey Tien!" Goku waved at the two, Tien just a few feet behind Chiaotzu as the two landed. "We're training!"
Tien frowned at that. "I… see that."
It wasn't any training he or Chiaotzu had ever seen before.
Chichi had two large shields, each one strapped to her forearms, that she lifted up to protect most of her body. Gohan, meanwhile, had the Power Pole and the Shield of Countless Defense… or, as Goku had rechristened it, The Dragon Shield. He kept alternating between the two of them, swinging the pole at his mother who would easily deflect his attacks, then raise up his shield as Goku threw small Ki blasts at his son. The shield would absorb the attacks and send the right back at Goku, forcing him to quickly move so he avoided the blowback.
"And what did he say when he landed?" Chichi called out.
Gohan swung the Power Pole. "This is one small step for man… uh… one… large leap for mankind?"
"Sorry, Gohan," Chichi said. "one giant leap for mankind."
"Awwww, but I was so close."
"You know the rules, son!" Goku called out.
Gohan pouted but that didn't last and he quickly swung his shield onto his back and slipped the power pole between himself as the shield before he dropped to the ground, doing a series of pushups.
"So what exactly is going on?" Chiaotzu asked.
Chichi smiled as Goku helped her take off one of the shields she was wearing; when he set it onto the ground it clanged so loudly that no one was going to doubt that it weighed a lot. Arm free she went over to a cooler with the Capsule Corps logo and got a bottle of water, taking a long drink from it. "We're teaching Gohan how to focus on more than one thing during a battle. He has to keep hitting me with the Power Pole, dodge Goku's hits, and answer study questions from last night."
"Its great!" Goku chirped. "One of the hardest things to do in a battle is to figure out how to deal with an opponent while planning ahead for your next move. This way Gohan learns how to think faster on his feet and go with the flow of the battle."
"And the push ups?" Tien asked.
"If he fails he has to do a few reps," Chichi said. "He doesn't like them but understands how important they are so it's a good way to keep him active while also encouraging him to push to not make a mistake." She suddenly stopped, looking right at her son. "Gohan, come here! I want you to rehydrate."
Gohan, clearly thrilled to have a break, quickly scrambled to his feet and ran over to his mother, who handed him a water bottle. She had to gently remind him to slow down, lest her make himself sick guzzling the water so quickly, and began to look him over to make sure that he didn't have any injuries.
"Chichi certainly has gotten into training, hasn't she?" Tien commented as he watched the two. Ever since they had arrived on the island the Z Warriors had noticed a slow but steady change in the woman. Chichi had always been rather fierce and determined but from what few letters they had gotten from the Son family before their reunion it had seemed that she'd put all of that aside in the name of being a wife and mother. But surrounded by fighters, with even the likes of Kayos putting in the effort to train (even if he didn't do what they did the man did do some strength training and cardio ever morning),Bulma herself beginning to ask questions about getting in a regiment, and of course Goku opening talking about how he excited he was for Chichi to back into fighting form and, well, Chichi had thrown herself in fully to training.
As a result the woman who was currently removing her other shield as she checked over Gohan was completely different from the woman he'd met when they'd gathered the Dragon Balls. She'd cut her hair a bit shorter and taken to wearing it in a small bun when she was fighting. She now wore a blue version of Goku's own gi, having decided that her old fighting clothes didn't allow her the freedom of movement she needed. Of course she'd also needed new clothing due to her physical changes; there was no hiding that she'd gained a couple inches in her arms and Tien was willing to bet the same was true of her legs. She wasn't as built as himself or Goku but everyone could see that the woman was a fighter and honestly Tien was rather interested to see how she'd stack up against some of the opponents they'd faced in the last World Martial Arts Tournament.
"She sure has!" Goku said with a large grin. "I'm going to need to change our morning workout… its getting to easy for her!"
"Which you don't mind in the slightest?" Tien said with a sly little smile.
"Of course not! Its great to having a training partner!"
"oh, I was thinking about… other things."
That caused Goku to begin blushing. "Heheh, c-come on Tien! Its just about getting better and stronger…"
"I'm sure, Goku, I'm sure," he said, not believing the orange wearing man in the slightest.
"I mean it!" Goku whined, utterly embarrassed. "I just-"
"Goku, could you come here?" Chichi called out. "I want to show Gohan that throw we talked about."
"Oh, coming!"
Tien and Chiaotzu watched as Goku happily ran over to help Chichi, the two sharing a look.
Oh yes… Goku might have loved his wife before but now? He was utterly ENTHRALLED.
~MC~MC~MC~
Yamcha came to a skidding halt, staring in shock at what he was seeing.
"It… it can't be," he whispered. After months of running, of seeing nothing but the same cloud filled sky and slithering, slinking path that stretched from horizon to horizon… it stopped.
Snake Way… ended.
And there, waiting at the very end, was a small little orb. A planet, smaller than a shopping mall, with a little house and a small road that went around it and a tree and even a car.
Yamcha rubbed his eyes with his fists before looking around.
'Nope… still there,' he thought to himself as he stared at the planet. 'I've lost my mind.' He plopped down on the end of snake way, legs swinging back and forth. "Wonder where I'm actually sitting," he murmured to himself. "Maybe I'm just sitting on the edge of Snake Way and if I turned right or left I'd keep going." He swallowed. "Or maybe I fell and I'm dropping down into hell and this is all my brain trying to rationalize what is happening to me! Or maybe I'm actually in hell right now, stuck in some sort of loop of failure with that planet being the final step and if I leap towards it I suddenly find myself landing in front of that jerk who tried to kill Krillin and everything starts all over again! Or-"
"Or maybe you should come over here so I can actually train you!" a voice called out.
Yamcha broke out of his growing panic to stare at the planet, where he spotted a small, squat figure dressed in a black garment staring at him. The figure had blue skin with long thin antenna jutting out of his black… cap?... and wore a pair of very dark sunglasses over his eyes. He was as tall as he was wide and had a round puffy face with two 'whiskers' coming off either side of his mouth. Yamcha could only stare at the strange little man, who looked up at him with bemusement.
"Well? You came all this way, didn't you? I doubt you came to look at my car… though I wouldn't blame you because it truly is a beauty!" he walked over to said car and patted it's hood. "Mint condition. And I make sure to wax it every few days so it really shines!"
"Are… are you King Kai?" Yamcha asked.
"What was that?" the blue man said, holding a hand up to his pointed ear. "I didn't get that."
Yamcha took a breath and called out in a loud clear voice, "Are you-"
"WATCH IT!" the blue man exclaimed, cupping his hands over his ears. "You're gonna blow out an eardrum if you keep screaming like that!"
"Oh… uh… sorry?"
"You should be sorry," the man said. "Now get on down here already!"
Yamcha slowly stood up, swinging his arms. "Well… no time like the present. It looks strange but maybe for the afterlife it is completely normal for great fighting masters to have little planets. I mean, Master Roshi has his island and that is pretty strange and this is the Afterlife so I suppose-"
"HURRY UP!"
"Right!" he exclaimed before bracing himself. He bent down-
"Hey, before you do that-" the blue man said, Yamcha falling onto his butt he was so startled by the sudden comment, "-I should warn you that the distance is greater than you think… and my planet is pretty bouncy so you'll want to be careful when you leap across. Give it your all and embrace the ground."
"Right… embrace the ground," Yamcha muttered before taking a few steps back. He took in a breath before racing forward, flinging himself with all his might towards the planet…
…and slamming into it face first.
"Hahahaha!" the blue man cackled, Yamcha slowly turning his head to see him slapping his knee. "I love it when people do that! Admittedly you are only the second person to arrive and the first person to fall for that but I love it all the same."
Yamcha struggled to raise his head, spitting out a mouthful of grass. "Glad I could entertain," he muttered. "So, you're King Kai?"
"Yes, I am King Kai," the blue man stated with a smile. "Greatest instructor of fighting in all of the North Area. And you must be the pizza guy." His mouth twitched several times before he began laughing again. "Sorry about that, but I've always wanted to do that. Like I said, I don't get many guests. Normally its just me and Bubbles and Gregory. And Bubbles just likes to monkey around… get it? Because he's a monkey?"
"He is?" Yamcha asked.
"Uh, King Kai?" a squeaky voice said and Yamcha turned to see a large cricket standing there. Well, large for crickets, not large overall. "You haven't introduced us yet which is kind of a problem because how is he supposed to know who we are if-."
"Oh, right… sorry about that." He gestured at the cricket. "This is Gregory. Don't mind him, once he begins talking he doesn't shut up. And that's Bubbles. Say hello Bubbles." He waved over to his house, where a monkey (who looked more like a chimp) stood, letting out a series of calls. "Now then, you have come to my planet to train with me, hmmm?"
"That's… that's right," Yamchas said, finally managing to get to his feet.
"Heh, having some trouble there, aren't you?" King Kai said smugly. "Not surprised. My planet is great to train on due to its gravity being far greater than Snake Way or Earth's. The effort you have to put in will make you all the stronger." He waved a finger back and forth. "But… I can't have you just begin without proving yourself!"
"What do I need to do?" Yamcha said with determination. This is what he had been running for. Why he had refused to be returned. The chance to train with one of the greatest Martial Artists in the galaxy! It didn't matter what King Kai requested, he would do it! Go beyond it too! He would-
"Make me laugh."
"…what?" Yamcha asked, his thoughts derailed.
"Not that hard. You need to make me laugh." King Kai smirked at that. "But I must warn you… I have heard every joke out there! It won't be easy to surprise me and surprise is what makes jokes so great! So come on… give it your best shot!"
Yamcha's mind went blank. Everything shut down. All except one terrible joke he'd heard one time and when he'd snickered at it Bulma had hit him over the head and said that it was terrible. There was no way-
"A baby seal walked into a club."
-he'd tell it.
King Kai froze in place.
'Oh I'm going to die again,' he thought as the fighting master began to shake.
"He… he… he walked… into… a club?" King Kai stammered before he pressed his hands to his mouth and began to laugh. "He walked into a club! Because it could be a club like you get drinks from or a club for clubbing baby seals!" He held his hands tight to his face, like he was trying to force his laughter back into his body, but he eventually gave up, reduced to peals of laughter. "A club! Hahahahaha! A club!"
"Uh… right," Yamcha said as King Kai slapped his knee. "So… does that mean you'll train me?"
King Kai struggled to get a hold of himself but, finally, was able to get out, "Yes… yes I will train you!"
"Great!" Yamcha said, pumped. "With you, I know I will become an even stronger fighter!"
"Fighter?" King Kai asked, looking up at him. "I thought you came to become a better comedian."
Yamcha's shoulders dropped.
"N-no King Kai," he said weakly, "I came to learn to be a greater fighter. To grow stronger. You… can do that, right?"
"Of course I can!" King Kai said dismissively, turning his back to Yamcha. "Anyone can be a fighter though… a comedian is where you truly have to work hard! You sure you don't want to go that route?"
"There is a dangerous alien warrior who will be returning to earth… he nearly killed my friend Goku along with Piccolo. If I'm not stronger I won't be able to help them defeat him."
"Did you try telling him that joke about the baby seal?" King Kai began to snicker again. "Because… because that was a really good one!" When Yamcha didn't say a word King Kai let out a sigh. "Well, I guess if you are determined to be a boring fighter instead of the greatest comedian ever I have no choice in the matter. Yes, I will train you to become stronger."
Yamcha bowed, even if King Kai couldn't see him doing so. "Thank you. I promise I won't let you down."
"Yeah yeah," King Kai said. "Now then, your first test is to catch Bubbles."
"…you're kidding."
King Kai suddenly spun around, hands on his hips. "I thought you said no more jokes! You want to be a better fighter then you go catch Bubbles!"
Yamcha swallowed. "O-okay, King Kai! I will!" He got into a runner's stance. "How hard can it be?" He pushed off…
…and fell flat on his face when the gravity ripped him right back down into the ground.
"Heh, you sure about not becoming a comedian?"
~MC~MC~MC~
"So I have… like… 20 concerns," I said as I looked at the gang. They, in turn, seemed a bit too eager to see me suffer a long and painful death.
"Aw, come on Kayos!" Goku said from where he sat. "This will be great for you both!"
"In terms of Piccolo getting to laugh as he watched my body twitch on the ground before I end up meeting King Yemma?" I asked nervously, watching as the green fighter cracked his neck. I tugged on my jeans and made sure my shirt was tucked in; unlike the others I liked wearing casual clothes even in a fight and as such the only thing that could be considered fancy were the hiking boots I'd put on.
Baba floated over to me and smacked me across the head. "You aren't going to win with that attitude!"
"I'm not going to win at all!" I exclaimed. "He is one of the greatest fighters on Earth! He's had years of training! And I've spent the last few months learning parlor tricks!"
"Even parlor tricks can take out mighty fighters," Baba said, jabbing me with one of her bony fingers. "Now are you a man or a chicken?"
"…bwak," I said dryly.
"Oh don't be such a wimp," Piccolo said firmly, rolling his shoulders. "I'm not going to be going all out. This is all about control for me."
"Yes, as in 'can I control not killing him' and if you make a mistake it means I get to see Snake Way personally!"
"Now now, this will be good for both of ya!" Master Roshi proclaimed. "You need ta actually face some opponents and Piccolo needs to take on someone different from Goku and Tien. Now then the rules are simple: Piccolo, you need to knock Kayos down without hurting him and Kayos needs to find ways to attack you and get through your defenses."
"Hmmpf, the latter is going to be impossible."
"I vote with Piccolo on the impossible!" I called out, waving my hand in the air.
"Now then, on the count of three!"
"Gohan, buddy, tag in?" I asked weakly.
"Three… two…"
"Aw crap," I muttered as I realized that there was no way out of this and I had no choice but to actually fight the reincarnation of the Demon King.
"…one!"
Piccolo fired off a ki blast.
I frowned as I saw that it looked… slow. Sluggish. Not like it was moving an inch per hour but not racing towards me in the blink of an eye. Like a softball lobbed underhanded by someone. I shifted by body out of the way and suddenly the world sped back up and the blast hit a tree.
"Heh!" Baba said with a laugh. "I knew you just needed a kick in the butt! Face a true opponent and your Mage Sight finally kicked in."
"What's Mage Sight?" Gohan asked.
"No different than Fighter Sense, just what we spellcasters use to slow down a fight and speed up our reactions. See how he twisted?"
"It was so quick!"
"It was," I said only to yelp when Piccolo fired another blast at me, this one actually rocketing towards me and causing me to duck.
"I am recording your humiliation sir so you can focus on the fight and view it later!" Isco called out.
I set my jaw. 'Right… as much as I might hate this it is better for me to face off against Piccolo rather than Raditz. At least he'll hopefully pull his punches.' Piccolo sent out another blast and once more the world slowed around me, allowing me to dodge it. 'Don't get cocky… he's not putting much effort into this… if he were even using Mage Sight I'd be a pancake.' I took a step back. 'So I guess its time to show off what I've learned.'
I waited til I was in the right position, dodging a few more ki blasts before I saw one I liked. Just as it neared me I focused and dropped my shoulder.
To everyone else it looked like the Ki blast hit me, causing me to tumble and fall. I heard gasps of shock and Bulma cry out my name as I was hit. That was just the right distraction I needed.
"White Flag!" I shouted as I felt my magic grab hold of the ki blast and send it shooting down my arm and right back at Piccolo, forcing him to cross his arms to protect himself.
"What was that?!" Tien exclaimed, shocked.
"Did Kayos just use ki!?" Goku said with wide eyes.
"It can't be!" Roshi shouted. "His power level is far too low to be able to unleash an attack like that!"
Baba cackled. "White Flag!" she called out. "It's a shielding spell… but rather than merely protect a person they can take the Ki blast and briefly redistribute it before firing it back at their opponent!"
"Hmmm," Piccolo said, uncrossing his arms. "Not bad… not bad at all. But still not enough to-"
"Black Parade!" I shouted, deciding to push my luck. From my body burst several shadowy duplicates of myself, which raced at Piccolo in a straight line like linesmen rushing a quarterback. Piccolo, having not expected that, jerking back as each magical construct hit him, sending him skidding back. I smirked at that, rather proud of that little move; I had only recently mastered it and-
Piccolo suddenly appeared in front of me, smacking me in the side of the head and sending me crashing to the ground.
"Don't get arrogant," he said coldly. "You are doing better but you still aren't anywhere near my level."
"Right, right," I said, working my jaw back and forth, hearing it click as I did so. "And considering you probably used a 10th of your strength there?"
"A 10th would have taken your head off," the Namekian stated.
"Yeah… direct attacks aren't going to work." I slowly got to my feet, rubbing my cheek. "So I have to be sneaky. Solar Flare!"
Just as I expected Piccolo shut his eyes. Which was fine… delightful even. Because I wanted his eyes shut.
Because instead of intense light… I sent out intense darkness.
"What!" Chiaotzu exclaimed. "What kind of Solar Flare is that?" he asked as I used my magic to send out a wave of shadows that blotted out the sun. I blinked my eyes, casting another spell to give me nightvision, and smirked when I saw that Piccolo, having finally opened his eyes, finding himself still in darkness.
"Just because I shout something doesn't meant that's the name of the attack," I pointed out and Piccolo twisted around… in the wrong direction. "Blackout. Instead of blinding light I unleash blinding darkness."
"Clever," Piccolo said, still going in the wrong direction. "But sight isn't everything!"
"That's true," I said as Piccolo reached out… and snagged nothing. "Good thing I combined Blackout with White Noise to throw my voice."
"Whoa, you can do that?" Goku exclaimed, waving his hand in front of his face, still marveling at being trapped in complete darkness. "Perform two attacks and combine them together?"
"And why not?" Roshi demanded. "Many attacks start off as smaller, more simple ones that get merged with others! Use your brain Goku, you know that!"
"Well… okay, I guess that makes sense," Goku admitted. "But its still surprising, you know?"
Piccolo grit his teeth. "Sneaky… but it won't help!" He began to thrust out his hands rapidly, firing off a barrage of ki blasts. They were small and wouldn't do much damage even to me but at that point he was looking to hit me… which was a good strategy as at the moment performing Blackout and White Noise together was draining my magical reserves.
Time for the big finish.
I crept towards Piccolo, doing my best to avoid his ki blasts. Which wasn't easy as he was really laying it on thick. Honestly it made me wonder if he would figure out Hellzone Grenade sooner rather than later. Whatever the case might be I continued until I was just a few feet away… and let White Noise and Blackout drop.
"There you are!" Piccolo declared, firing another ki blast at me.
Right as I performed White Flag.
But as Piccolo moved to block the reflected Ki Blast I instead channeled it into my hand, hollding it and forcing it to wrap around my fist.
"White Knuckle!" I roared as I leapt forward and swung a punch right at Piccolo's head.
He easily caught me by the throat.
"Good try," he said with a smirk before bringing his free hand to my stomach. "But if this where a real fight? You'd be dead."
"Point taken," I managed to get out and after a moment Piccolo dropped me to the ground.
"That was amazing, Kayos!" Bulma cheered once she sensed the fight was over. "You did so well!"
"He lost," Baba said with a dismissive sniff. "And Piccolo was holding back."
"He lost to one of the most powerful fighters in the world!" Roshi declared, smacking his staff into the ground.
"So what? He can wield magic!"
"And that was only with barely half a year of training!" Roshi continued to argue.
"I would have defeated Piccolo with only 3 months," Baba said and even I knew that was a lie.
"And no one to practice with other than you!"
That made Baba turn towards her brother and really get into his face. "What is that supposed to mean, you withered old goat?"
"I think you know what it means!"
I glanced at Isco as I got to my feet. "So, gonna join in on harping on me?"
"Oh no sir, I wouldn't do that," Isco replied rather cheerfully. "They are doing it so well. No… I believe I will wait for a while, let you recover from your battered ego, believe the wounds have healed… and then rip that scab right off!"
"…Isco, you are a wonderful human being," I muttered only to notice a shadow fall upon me. I turned and craned my neck up. It had been so odd to meet the Z Warriors. Goku cut such an impressive figure on the screen but meeting him and finding him forced to looking up at me, with only his hair making him look taller, had been so very odd. But Piccolo? He towered over me by nearly a foot and a half, making me feel rather small. A rare sensation. "Uh… hi?"
"You were a fool during that," Piccolo said firmly.
"Yeah, I got that when you caught me," I said. "And the bitch slap too." I rubbed my jaw.
"Knock that off, I know how to control myself. You were more startled than anything else." That much was true and I let my hand drop to my side. "And I mean it. You were a fool. Going in for that direct attack was a moronic move. Your strengths are in deception… you need to play to that."
I blinked, processing what he had said. "Okay…"
"You know what I mean," Piccolo grunted. "You are never going to be someone that charges in and lands a flurry of blows on someone. That isn't how you win. You outsmart your foes. That Solar Flare trick was good." He smiled at that, which was rather terrifying. "I'm going to steal it."
"Go right ahead," I said, figuring that was the safest way for me to respond.
"Blackout and White Noise worked well too. And White Flag is a good final gambit. Black Parade might work well if you learn how to power it up." He paused, pressing his lips together. "Can you move while using it? Because if you can you'd be smart to escape while performing it."
I hadn't thought of that, more focused on just learning how to project the magical constructions and get them to do what I wanted. But… Piccolo's idea was a good one.
"I'll look into it."
"Good," Piccolo said before smirking again. "Because our next fight? I won't be holding back."
"Uh, next fight?" I asked only for Piccolo to walk away. "Next fight?"
"Congratulations sir," Isco said, "you are going to die."
~Later That Evening~
Gohan giggled and laughed, throwing his arms up into the air as the fireworks went off, causing an explosion of yellows, oranges, and reds to fill up the night sky. He was sitting on Tien's shoulders, the triclops having offering Gohan 'the best seat in the house' and Chichi had merely chuckled and waved her boy off, trusting 'Uncle Tien' to keep him safe.
"That was a good one!" Roshi declared, moving over to Kayos waving him away from the grill. "I got it! You take a break!"
"You sure?" Kayos asked, flipping one of the burgers.
"More than sure! Ya go get somethin' ta eat!"
Kayos smiled, walking over to the platter of food and selecting a large spicy sausage, setting it into a bun and lathering it with mustard before moving on to the burgers.
"Let'em fly, Isco!" Bulma cheered, a bit tipsy after having broken into the beer a touch early. The drone fired off a small laser and another rocket went shrieking into the sky, exploding and illuminating the beach.
"I have to admit," Piccolo said, drinking from a tall glass, a burger in his hand (he had scoffed when Kayos had once said that he only survived on water, saying that while he COULD do that he much preferred a wider diet), "whatever you added to this does make it more… flavorful."
Chiaotzu nodded. "I find that those flavor pouches are too strong so I dilute mine. Only a quarter into a gallon."
Chichi wandered over to Roshi, looking him up and down. "You only get ONE joke," she said before selecting a sausage.
"Heh," Roshi said, rubbing his nose. "Year ago I'd have taken you up on that… don't feel right now ta do it."
"So Goku…"
Roshi's smile grew more gentle. "Told me I was as much a father to him as Grandpa Gohan? Yeah… big lug was all tongue tied but…"
Chichi smirked before sloooooowly slid the sausage, without a bun, into her mouth, causing the old man to gasp, blood bursting from his nose. That caused Chichi to laugh before she helped him up, the two discussing their favorite ways to prepare meat.
Kayos, for his part, settled down on a chair near the water, plate on his lap as he decided which of his two meals to start first. A radio was playing classic rock, though the fireworks were making it a touch hard to hear it at times.
"Hey!" Goku called out, carefully walking up to Kayos with a platter of burgers balanced on one hand, the other holding two cans of pop. "Mind if I join you?"
"Sure," Kayos said, taking one of the pops from Goku. "Thanks."
"Nice to eat with someone who doesn't drink. I never understood why people like that stuff." He stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"Preach, Brother Goku, preach!"
Goku chuckled at that before wolfing down a few burgers, watching the sky erupting in light and booms. Kayos was a bit slower than Goku but still ate his burger and sausage (alternating between the two) at a rather fast pace.
"…I am, you know."
"Hmmm?"
"You're brother," Goku said. "I know its only been a few months but… how you've helped me and my family? That makes you my brother, Kayos."
The blond stared at Goku for a long moment before holding out his fist. "Pound it." He held up his other hand. "Gently pound it."
Goku laughed and bumped his fist into Kayos'.
And then… the radio suddenly filled with static before a voice came over it, loud and clear… and familiar.
"If you are receiving this message it means that you have found yourself in a world that isn't your own. For you it may have only been moments… or centuries. But no matter the time… I know you are scared. So I send this message to you all across the Multiverse. One I wish I had received when I began this journey. I… am Edwin Chaos of Earth-1. And I ask you to remember this simple fact: While you face threats that you could never have imagined…you… are not alone."
"Hey, what was that?" Goku asked.
"I'm not sure," Kayos said, rising up. "But I think we better keep training, Goku."
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!
Chaos Effect x Chaos Theory Z
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Chaos Wars
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