Rebellious Youth! The Nameless Namekian Returns!
As Yamcha got to his feet as quickly as he could manage, he realized that there was no possible way he could taker both twins on his own, or hell, even one of them. So he decided to reach out with his mind to the others.
'Hey guys,' Yamcha thought as Lapis and Lazuli walked out of the hole that had once been Yamcha's front door. 'Lapis and Lazuli are still going through their anti-authority phase. Could use a hand here!'
'On it,' Launch thought reassuringly. 'We're on our way!'
'Be right there,' Krillin thought. 'Just hold on!'
'Coming down from the Lookout,' Suno added. She had brought Goku and Gohan a big bag of apples while they waited for Vegeta and Trunks to come out. Piccolo, unsurprisingly, didn't answer. Still, it would take them a few minutes or so to get to him which meant that Yamcha had to hold the line for as long as he could.
"You really oughta stay down, Mr. Yamcha," Lapis told Yamcha while cracking his knuckles. "We don't want to hurt you. We just wanna fight this Cell thing. It's the bad guy here." Before Yamcha could say anything to convince them, Chi-Chi came flying out of the house with her giant axe held overhead. She let out a warcry and swung down at Lazuli with all her might only for Lazuli to easily pivot to one side to avoid the attack and drive her palm into Chi-Chi's chest to send her flying back into the house.
"Yeah," Yamcha growled as he got into his guard, "Not gonna happen! Kaiouken!" His aura burned red around him and he charged toward Lapis with a flying kick. Lapis bent backward to avoid it and Yamcha sailed right over him and toward Lazuli, who grabbed Yamcha by the leg and swung him up into the air. Yamcha spun around in the air to bring himself to a stop and flew back down toward them with both fists. He drew his fists back and prepared an attack as he came right on top of them before giving a cry of "Taiyoken!" He flung his hands up and blinded them with the burst before kicking Lazuli away and bombarding Lapis with punches and kicks. Just as Yamcha was thinking to himself that he had a small advantage with his skill and years of experience, Lapis expertly brought up his forearm to block a roundhouse punch and drove his other elbow into the side of Yamcha's head, sending him flying off to the left and right into Lazuli, who threw out a kick that hit Yamcha square in the back to send him back once more toward Lapis. Lapis thrust his fist out into Yamcha's chest… and brought Yamcha to a stop. The explosive shockwave rippled behind Yamcha but left him unharmed.
"Just so you know," Lapis explained, "If you wanna keep doing this, the old man made us watch all of you guys's fights over and over. Not only did we learn how you guys fight, he also uploaded our brains with something called 'Butcher Style'. Cool name, huh? It was mathematically designed to be the perfect answer to the Crane, Wolf, and Turtle styles." He pushed Yamcha away and the older warrior staggered back, looking at where Lapis' fist had been as if contemplating the damage that had nearly been done to him. "So, what's it gonna be?"
Yamcha looked ready to say something when his eye caught something just over Lazuli's shoulder. He gave a shrug and rubbed a thumb under his nose. "Nobody ever said I was the smartest guy in the room," he admitted before getting back into his guard and curling his fingers into claws. "Kaiouken times three!" he charged toward Lapis with that look in his eye and his mouth in a snarl that emphasized his canine teeth. "Wolf Fang Fist!" Lapis rolled his eyes and, even as Yamcha attacked, blocked and deflected every single strike. Yamcha threw out both hands in the double-palm strike but, for the first time ever, someone caught his hands. He looked down at his hands in Lapis' grip and the young man smirked before forcing Yamcha's hands apart and ramming his knee up under Yamcha's chin. The retired bandit's knees buckled and Lapis finished it by punching Yamcha headfirst down into the dirt, driving his head several inches into the dirt. Lapis had a moment of satisfaction before looking back and forth between his dirty knuckles and Yamcha's groaning, mostly-unconscious form with a conflicted expression.
"Hey bro," Lazuli called to snap Lapis out of his conflicting emotions. "We going or what?" Then Chaozu crashed into her from the side in a red blur, blindsiding her and actually taking her off her feet.
"Try 'or what'!" he told Lazuli firmly as he pulled back a fist. Meanwhile, already-in-Kaiouken Tenshinhan and Launch came at Lapis with a lightning-fast barrage of punches.
"Look," Launch told Lapis as calmly as she could manage with Lapis blocking all of their attacks, "We don't wanna do this, you don't wanna do this, so why don't we just go back to our place and jam or something?" Then Chaozu sailed over their head and bounced off of Yamcha's roof before crashing down painfully onto one of the neighbors' rock gardens.
"You know what?" Tenshinhan muttered with a glower of all three eyes. "I didn't really like the music before but now I feel like doing some percussion of my own." He slipped under a right hook by Lapis and charged at Lazuli, growing two extra sets of arms as he came towards her.
"Oh that's gross," Lapis and Lazuli muttered in unison. This distracted Lapis long enough for Launch to kick him in the shin and yank him into a headbutt.
"Kaiouken times three!" Ten roared as he exploded into a sprint at Lazuli. He unloaded with a series of punches so voluminous and at such a speed that the shockwaves made it sound like he was firing a gatling gun at her. Ten's attack lifted Lazuli into the air and he flew up after her as she blocked and evaded every attack.
"I'm gonna be honest," Lazuli shot while deflecting Ten's onslaught, "I don't get why my brother thinks you're so cool. I mean, yeah, you won one Budoukai. Other than that, you've just been kinda there, y'know? At least Goku does shit." Then she batted away Ten's hands and blasted him in the chest with a pink energy blast to knock him out of the air. "Wait, seriously?" Lazuli muttered irritably as she looked at her palms while Tenshinhan spiraled through the air with a trail of smoke behind him. "My lasers are pink? Are you shitting me?"
"Ten!" Launch cried as she watched him fall out of the sky. She looked back down just in time to barely avoid a jab from Lapis and threw out her knee, aiming for Lapis' stomach. He caught her knee in his hand and shoved it back down. Launch doggedly pressed through with all of her explosive strikes but Lapis had an answer for each one, stopping them and shoving the momentum backwards to send her off-balance. After shoving a punch back, Lapis smacked Launch across the face with a crescent kick. She staggered back and wiped the blood from her nose before throwing an elbow at Lapis. He pivoted to the side to avoid it and palmed her elbow before forcing her arm straight and flipping her end over end to spike her into the ground, where she stayed with a groan. He watched Tenshinhan right himself and could see all thirty fingers light up with yellow ki. Lapis immediately rocketed up into the sky to put himself between Tenshinhan and his sister.
"Dodon Danmaku!" Ten cried out as hundreds of bolts of ki exploded from his fingertips and immediately collided with a green energy bubble Lapis put around himself.
"Oh, come on," Lazuli remarked irritably. "I don't need your help! I can handle this guy myself! It's not like he can actually hurt me!" Ten glared and started bringing his six hands together into diamonds.
"Look," Lapis groused as he turned his head to look at his sister, "If we're gonna take on this Cell dude together then I think you should be a little more appreciative of me watching your b–" Then Krillin dropped out of the sky with a flying kick into Lapis' shield that sent him into Lazuli and the both of them crashing into the ground. "Aaaaack!"
"Get your butt off of me!" Lazuli protested after Lapis dropped the field and fell on top of her. "Thanks for having my back, by the way," she added sarcastically. The twins quickly got to their feet as Ten came flying down at them like a red comet.
"Hey, Ten," Krillin greeted with a quick wave as he flew beside the triclops. "Need a hand?" Ten said nothing and glowered down at the twins before balling his fists, which were back to their usual amount of two.
"Kaiouken times four!" he bellowed before launching himself down toward them. Krillin kept up speed and the pair of them moved in a double-helix toward Lapis and Lazuli, trying to keep the twins off-balance when they struck with a pincer movement. Ten swung both fists in a hammerblow aimed to knock Lapis' head clean off his shoulders while Krillin came at Lazuli with a spinning headbutt, turning his whole body into a drill. Lazuli caught Krillin's head in both hands and made his spins come to an abrupt halt before kicking him up into the air like a football and following up after him.
Lapis ducked under the swing and hit Ten in the ribs with a hooking body blow, making Ten bend to the side and driving the wind out of him and sweeping his feet out from under him before hitting him with a green ki blast. Tenshinhan was knocked away and bounced off the ground before landing on his feet and charging with his hands poised for spear strikes.
'Oh man,' Lapis thought excitedly, 'The 64-point strike! This is gonna be so sick!' It was almost sad that, being so much faster than Tenshinhan and having a knowledge of his fighting style burned into his brain, that he didn't even have a chance to appreciate how cool it was when he blocked every strike.
Krillin wasn't faring much better. He wasn't even going to try risking the Kienzan -his best move- and was trying to fall back on his Orin Temple training, which was more than a little difficult to manage without a solid power base on firm ground. Even if he'd been on the ground, however, Krillin was sure he'd have a hard time. Each time he diverted Lazuli's attacks and redirected her momentum, she just kept moving and attacked him anyway! He guided her arm to try and spin her around so he could kick her with the back but instead she spun around with the movement of his arm and kicked him in the back! Lazuli threw out a kick and Krillin redirected it overhead so he could hit her with a punch to the stomach from below but she just hit him with a somersault kick to the head to bring him back to the ground. How did she know how to counter the Orin Temple style so perfectly? He landed in a wide stance and managed to skid back as Lazuli's fist came crashing into the earth where he'd been a few seconds before, causing the ground to explode and send chunks of earth everywhere. Krillin charged forward in an all-out offensive but now Lapis was the one redirecting all of his attacks and smirking while she did it.
"Y'know," she teased, "You're kinda hot when you look all serious like that." Krillin, being an idiot, came to a screeching red-faced stop when she said that, leaving him open for a palm thrust to the face that sent him tumbling across the ground. At the same time, Tenshinhan had nothing left, having maintained Kaiouken for as long as he could. His arms dropped for a split-second, which was long enough for Lapis to drive a fist into his gut. Ten staggered away, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. His knees buckled for a moment but he stopped himself from falling.
"Seriously," Lapis groaned, "Cell's the bad guy here! I really don't wanna hurt you, Ten, you're super cool and all, but you're in my way." Then he dropped Tenshinhan with a left cross, sending him sprawling into the grass. With everyone out for the count, Lapis finally made his way over to the car. He hopped into the front seat and prepared to hotwire it but it turned out he didn't have to. As soon as he thought about the car starting, it just did!
"Hey sis," he called over to Lazuli, "Check it out! Looks like the doc made it so we can control tech with our brains!" He thought about turning on the windshield wipers and they went on, then off because he thought about turning them off. Lazuli rolled her eyes and made her way toward the car but stopped when she noticed Krillin starting to get up.
"Jeez," she muttered with a mixture of annoyance and admiration, "You don't give up, huh?" Krillin staggered to his feet and did his best to put up his dukes. Lazuli smiled and walked toward him. She gently cupped his cheek in her right hand before giving him a peck on the cheek. "You're sweet," she told him gently as his cheeks reddened. "Really, it's nice that you all care so much. But these are our lives and it's our choice. We're not going to let anyone else fight for us." Then she bonked him on the head and chuckled when he crumpled to the ground again.
"The hell was that about?" Lapis asked as Lazuli hopped into the seat beside him.
"What," she retorted, "You dated a fox in high school." Lapis rolled his eyes and started to drive before she bonked him on the head. "Seatbelt."
"Sure thing, mom," Lapis muttered, thinking of the seatbelt and watching with a smirk as it slid down across his chest. The car had barely gotten out of the driveway when a certain redhead who hadn't been there a moment before with her foot on the hood of the car. "Oh come on," Lapis groaned, "Just let us do this! Are you gonna fight, too?"
"No," Suno told them calmly. "I saw your handiwork. I'm stronger than the rest of them but Krillin isn't that much weaker than me. There's nothing I could try that they didn't already do. I just wanna talk. Just a couple minutes, I promise. If you still want to go fight Cell after this, I'll get out of your way."
"Fine," Lapis sighed irritably as he and Lazuli got out of the car, "Just make it quick, okay? Every minute we sit around with our hands in our pants is another minute this Cell thing is attacking people."
"Thank you. So, you know about Cell. You know that Trunks is from the future and what Cell's going to do. You know what will happen if Cell gets its hands on you and you are literally running headfirst toward it. I just want to know why. Are you doing this for us?"
"I already told Krillin," Lazuli pointed out in an annoyed tone.
"I know," Suno replied in a calm and measured voice, "But I want to hear it again. I want to make sure I understand."
"You've gotta be–" Lapis groaned and pressed his palm against his forehead while he leaned against the car before looking up at Suno again. "Look, we lost everything when our parents died in a house fire. We spent five years on the streets running from gangs and the cops and just trying to stay alive. We were weak and helpless and no one was gonna do anything for us. But things are different now. Now we're stronger than anyone! We don't have to run or hide ever again and we can actually do something about our lives!"
"So this is about you?" Suno asked.
"Not even close!" Lazuli said suddenly and vehemently. Suno's eyebrows raised slightly but she managed to keep her reaction otherwise carefully masked. "Like Lapis said, no one wanted to help us. When it looked like someone did, he just used us. He drugged us, cut us up, locked us up, and tried to turn us into monsters! Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Ten, Launch– you guys all helped us. You gave us a home again. You gave us a family again! You gave us food and a place to sleep, you let us jam and watch shows and have fun! It's only been a week but, oh my God, this has been the best week we've had in a long, long fucking time!"
"And you didn't even have to," Lapis added. "You could have just left once we killed Gero so you could deal with Cell. You just helped us because you're good people. We haven't really met any good people in a long time. Our parents raised us right. They told us that when someone does something good for you, you pay it back. If you guys are gonna be fighting some monster that eats people, how in the fuck do you expect us to live with ourselves if we just sit around and hang out on the beach while you were risking your lives for us?"
"We're stronger than you," Lazuli said. "We don't get tired. We don't have ki to sense, so Cell won't know we're coming. He's hunting us? Fine. We're gonna hunt him. We have the best chance out of anyone of killing Cell right here and now."
"You gave us our lives," Lapis reminded Suno, "So shouldn't we have the right to decide what we're going to do with them? Shouldn't we have the right to make sure that no one else has to lose theirs?" Suno closed her eyes and thought about what Lapis said for a few long and tense moments while Lapis and Lazuli waited in silence. When she finally reopened her eyes, there was nothing but compassion and understanding.
"Alright," she said as she stepped out of the way of the car. "I honestly, sincerely wish that you'd let us hide you until Goku and the others finish training but I can't stop you and I won't try. I just want you to know that you don't owe us anything. You guys made us happy just by being around and that was more than enough."
"Not for us it's not," Lapis told her. It was clear that he was trying to soften his words, being grateful that she didn't want to fight, and he even winced when he realized that it came out more tersely than he'd intended.
Suno nodded, "I know. I'll just say one more thing: Be careful and come back safely."
"Hey," Lapis said with a smirk as the pair of them hopped back into the car in perfect sync, "What's the worst that could happen?" Their seatbelts slid down and Suno watched in silence as they drove off. Memories of the nightmares she'd had about the possible future Trunks had described in detail to her flashing through her mind.
"More than you'd think," she whispered before moving to help her friends.
OoOoOoO
"Hey," Lapis said to Lazuli as they left North City behind, "You think they'd be proud of us? I mean, we're the good guys… aren't we?" They drove in silence for a few seconds as if genuinely contemplating that question. "Screw it," Lapis said with a sigh before thinking the radio on.
"We are not listening to hi–" Lazuli started to protest before Lapis already found a station. "Oh my God I hate you," she groaned while Lapis laughed and sang along to the radio. Lazuli groused for a little while before breaking into a smile when the song changed and Lapis motioned for her to sing with him. "You sure this isn't weird?" she asked her brother. Lapis just grinned and shrugged. She laughed and and started singing with him.
"I take two steps forward! I take two steps back! We come together, 'cause opposites attract! And you know, it ain't fiction, just a natural fact! We come together, 'cause opposites attract!"
OoOoOoO
Yamcha was the first person to regain consciousness and Suno helped pull his head out of the ground and bring him to his feet. "Well," he muttered while scratching dirt out of his beard, "That could've gone better." Then he remembered Chi-Chi getting involved in the fight and left Suno to deal with the others as he sprinted into the house. Chi-Chi was sprawled out on the floor with her axe embedded in the ceiling and she had gone right through the couch, literally cutting it in half. Yamcha was by her side in a second and helped her gently to her feet, letting his taller wife lean on him for support.
"Did they get away?" Chi-Chi asked woozily. Yamcha nodded and she frowned while holding a hand to her left temple. It was only then that he noticed his missing car and his face dropped.
"Aw, c'mon!" Yamcha moaned in despair. "I just made the last payment on that! Why would they even steal it? They can fly!" Chi-Chi shrugged and pulled her axe out of the ceiling.
"Can't you find them?" she asked. Yamcha sighed and shook his head.
"Nah," he admitted. "They don't have ki we can sense. All their power comes from whatever Gero did to them."
"Well," Launch muttered, "That could have gone worse." She gingerly touched a bruise on the back of her head and winced with a hiss.
"It's a good thing they're on our side," Suno pointed out while helping Launch to her feet.
"I'm sorry," Chaozu protested while picking bits of gravel off of his alabaster dome, "You want to explain that to me?"
"Suno's right," Krillin agreed while Launch rotated her arm and made sure nothing was broken. "If those guys had really wanted to, they could have killed us. I don't think anyone even broke anything." Then he added, "I mean, besides Yamcha's house." Yamcha rolled his eyes and gave a reluctant shrug.
"They're not bad people," Suno reminded them, "They're trying to do what they think is the right thing. They just don't understand what they're up against." Tenshinhan still hadn't said anything since he'd regained consciousness and was still sitting and staring at the ground.
"So what's the plan?" Launch asked as she helped her three-eyed husband to his feet.
"I'll check in on Bulma," Krillin said. "Knowing her, she's probably scienced up some way for us to keep track of Lapis and Lazuli by now so we can go hunt them down." He paused for a moment and reflected on the phrasing of that sentence. "Cripes, that sounded sinister…"
"I've got to get back to the house," Suno admitted with an almost embarrassed chuckle while scratching at the back of her head. "I've got a lot of papers and stuff to grade. World doesn't stop just because it might end, y'know?"
"Well," Yamcha put in, "I'm gonna go down to the furniture store and pick up a new couch. Then I gotta call a guy about replacing the door." He turned to go back into the house and get his keys before remembering that his car had been stolen. "Right… guess I'm walking." Then he shrugged and started heading down the road.
"Ten and I'll go up to the Lookout," Launch offered. "Ki sensing is usually easier up there so we might have a better chance of noticing when Cell flares up. Besides, maybe we can poke Piccolo with a stick and get him to help out." She chuckled. Tenshinhan did not. Launch gave him a sidelong glance and shrugged before the two of them flew off. Suno and Krillin left for her home and West City, respectively, shortly after, leaving Chaozu and Chi-Chi alone.
"Would you like to help me make pancakes?" Chi-Chi asked.
Chaozu shrugged. "Sure."
OoOoOoO
High atop the Lookout, Kami and Piccolo were still sitting in the same spot where they had started meditating when Goku had brought everyone the previous day. Dutiful Popo had stood at his post beside Kami as soon as Vegeta and his Future-Son had entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and only left when the tea went cold, returning with a fresh pot.
Moori had explained to Kami in one of their conversations while the Namekians had been stranded on Earth that among the Elder Namekians, disagreements were so rare that whenever a divisive issue came up, the Elders simply meditated upon the subject until all parties were of an equal mind. Knowing how difficult of a topic he was planning to broach with Piccolo, he had been willing to attempt the ancient method. It had been several hours and the look Piccolo was giving him certainly did not speak to being of an equal mind.
"Are you going to get out of my head?" Piccolo asked irritably. Kami rolled his eyes and rested his hands upon his staff which was laid upon his lap.
"I am not attempting to invade your mind," Kami assured Piccolo wearily.
"Not literally," Piccolo snapped, "But I know what you're trying to do! You want us to merge so we can become a single Namekian again and fight Cell!"
"Are you opposed to the idea of greater power?" Kami scoffed. "With all the time you spend training, I figure you'd jump at the chance to dramatically multiply your strength."
"There's more to consider here than just power," Piccolo pointed out. "What about the Dragon Balls? When we merge, they'll become inert! How are we supposed to wish back the people Cell absorbed?"
"If we do nothing," Kami reminded him sternly, "There will be nothing left to wish back! The world got along perfectly well for thousands of years with no Dragon Balls and still worked fine back before they were gathered every other year! The world will restore itself in time." There was a long and poignant pause as the wind blew through their capes. "This isn't about strength, is it?" Kami asked. "Or the Dragon Balls. Not really." Piccolo shook his head.
"From the moment I came into existence," Piccolo began, "Everything I knew was defined by something else. I had all of my father's memories, including his death and his dying words. I knew that my purpose in life was to kill Son Goku but then when I failed, I didn't know what I was doing. Even killing Goku didn't make me any more sure of myself because it didn't matter. I told myself I would kill her again in a proper fight but, well, the Saiyans happened. I spent a year caring for her son. I died for Gohan! Everything started to change. For the first time in my life, I began to know who I was as a person. Not merely an extension of Piccolo Daimaou or a reset, but myself, a living being." He sighed and lowered his eyes. "If we were to merge again, I fear I might lose that. Either because I would change or because we would become who we were before and I would cease to exist."
"You think that this fear is yours alone?" Kami asked. Piccolo looked up from the ground and looked into his older half's serious and resolute expression. "For centuries, I have been the guardian of this planet. I have watched over all those who live on it and have come to hold them in my heart as if they were my own children. Yet I have seen the threats growing far more powerful as I myself have grown old and weak. I can do nothing to protect those who I so dearly cherish. I know that our fusion is the only way to help this world and yet I, too, am afraid. I fear that this thing we become will not care for the suffering of mankind. That it might abandon humanity to its plight or, worse still, lash out at it. I fear that it will not be strong enough and that it will fall to Cell, leaving Earth with no Dragon Balls and no Guardian. Most of all, I fear the coming of oblivion. For I know that whatever the outcome of this fusion is, I will cease." They sat in silence for a moment before Kami spoke again. "But this is too important, Piccolo!" he insisted sternly. "We cannot let fear chain us. I have a responsibility to the people of this world to guard them and put their needs above my own. I can tell when I look into your eyes that you care for this world as well, Piccolo." With a father's proud smile, Kami added, "You're more like me than you want to admit." Piccolo sighed and slowly got to his feet. Then he held out his hand and helped Kami up.
"You're right," Piccolo admitted reluctantly. "About the fact that I care, not that we're alike. If this is the only way to fight Cell then it's what we're going to do. He pressed his palm flatly against Kami's chest and waited while the world's guardian turned his head to look at his faithful servant.
"Mr. Popo," he said kindly, "It has been a pleasure to spend these centuries with you. You are not a servant but a true friend." Then he turned his attention back to Piccolo and nodded. Without warning, Kami transformed into pure light and energy, the light quickly racing up Piccolo's arm and surrounding him like a flame. Piccolo's eyes went wide and he threw back his head in a silent scream as his body flooded with power.
OoOoOoO
He remembered… everything. He remembered his youth, when Namek was covered in Ajisa. He remembered playing with the other boys and he remembered his father Katas, a warrior of the Dragon Clan, a strong and noble man. He remembered the terrible storms that ravaged planet Namek, destroying the Ajisa and killing Namekians by the thousands. His father had put him in a ship and sent him out into the stars so that he might live. He could clearly remember now how he had been trapped in the Yunzabit heights and gotten separated from the ship. A nasty fall had robbed him of his memories of the ship and turned it into something foreign and yet still strangely hopeful. He would return to it often.
He remembered walking the world, seeing violence and cruelty and felt it harden his heart. He walked the earth for nearly a century before he finally made his way to the Guardian of Earth. That Guardian's Popo had been a wizened old thing who carried around a black-and-white doll it called Gunter. There was a rival he had, he seemed to recall. A blue-ish green pointy-eared little troll of a man named Garlic. Garlic had been cast into the Dead Zone when he had been chosen to succeed the Guardian. The process of splitting into his good and evil selves had been… unpleasant. Then the old Guardian passed and Popo disappeared into the ether, leaving only his turban behind. Then Kami's own Popo appeared from under the turban and carried on as if it was business as usual. Centuries spent watching over the Earth and guarding it, growing to love all those who lived on it, all leading up to this moment, this return. The rebirth.
OoOoOoO
"Yet I cannot remember my name," the Nameless Namekian mused with Piccolo's voice when he opened his eyes again. "It seems it has been lost to time." Then he shrugged. "I suppose I'll keep on being Piccolo, then." And he did look like Piccolo at a glance. A casual observer might not see the change, save for Kami's symbol blazed on the front of his shirt in white and Kami's blue cape that had replaced Piccolo's white cape with its enormous shoulder pads. But there was a wisdom and a compassion in his eyes now, eyes that had seen all the good and ill of the world and still found it in himself to love all humanity. There a nobility to his brow and a strength in his posture, as if he were a pillar that held up the sky. Piccolo turned his gaze toward the sky and immediately flew off in search of the children. He now also had Kami's knowledge of the battle and their disappearance.
"Hey," Goku remarked as she and Gohan sensed Piccolo fly away, "Did Piccolo get way stronger than me?"
"I think so," Gohan replied while munching on an apple.
"Neat!" Goku declared excitedly. Popo, meanwhile, picked up his master's cane and looked sadly at it in his hands. Then he clutched the staff tightly to his chest, hugging it.
OoOoOoO
The Hyperbolic Time Chamber was like no Hell Vegeta had ever experienced. Every breath was a struggle. At times his skin burned like his flesh was on fire and at times it felt like he was going to freeze to death. The endless void took constant mental focus and fortitude to keep from going mad.
It was perfect. It was the precise environment he needed to push himself to the limit. No, not to the limit. Beyond it. Every time he powered up, he could feel that next level pressing down on him. It was like pressing his hands against a ceiling or swimming up from the bottom of the ocean. He would break through. He would reach the next level. He would slaughter Cell by himself and they would all bow before him. They would recognize him as a God.
Trunks swung his sword faster and faster in the katas he had practiced, the silver flashing through the air in intricate patterns and the air shimmering with the force of his swings. He had to get better. He had to keep trying. He had to get strong enough to defeat Cell in this timeline and his home. He had to protect everyone. He had to save them.
OoOoOoO
Lapis had been in the middle of belting out yet another song when Lazuli suddenly changed the station.
"Hey!" Lapis whined. "What was that for?" Instead of responding, Lazuli kept changing the station with her mind while digging through Yamcha's glovebox. "Uh… the heck are you doing?" he asked.
"Trying to actually find Cell," Lazuli explained patronizingly as she pulled out a map and a pen. "Oh my God," she muttered, "I can't believe he actually has a paper map."
"-ities completely disappearing," a news anchor's voice was saying on the station Lazuli stopped at. "Without warning and without any as-yet identifiable cause, entire cities' populations have vanished, leaving only their close behind. Cities including Parsley City, Nicky Town…" Lazuli drew a circle around every city the anchor listed off, her eyes widening with terror as she noticed a pattern.
"Oh my God," she gasped. "Oh my God! Lapis," she exclaimed while jabbing a finger down onto the map, "He's headed for Purple City!" Lapis' eyes narrowed with determination and he hopped out of the car while pushing the button to put it back in its capsule.
"Like hell he is!" he declared emphatically as he shoved the capsule into his pocket. The pair of them rocketed off toward the west at top speed, crashing through the sound barrier with such force that the pavement underneath them exploded. No way was this monster going to eat their town!