"ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight...ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine..." Vegeta grunted with each push-up.
Suddenly, the ship's monitor flashed on."YOU LET TRUNK'S WATCH AN R-RATED MOVIE!?"
The scream broke Vegeta's concentration, making him plop to the floor, which was a very very hard fall, given the 500 gs."Dammit, woman! I was just short of one hundred million push-ups! You know how important my regiment is!
Bulma rolled her eyes."I know: one hundred million push-ups, one hundred million sit-ups, etc - where do you even go to do a 10 million kilometer run?"
"I run around in the space ship really really fast." Vegeta explained.
"Good for you-Why the hell did you show Trunk's The Revenant!?"
"Is that the one with..."
"THE FREAKING BEAR, YES!" Bulma answered."You sat an 18 month old baby down to see a blood-stained man crawl through the woods, gut a dead horse, and hack Tom Hardy's fingers off!?"
"No, I sat him down to see an Oscar-worthy actor go out of his way to finally earn an Oscar," Vegeta explained."In all honesty, though, that bear should have won an Oscar as well..."
Bulma clawed her face."Oh my god, I can't believe this, I can't believe you actually have to be TOLD that a goddamn baby shouldn't watch violent movies..."
"Well what then, Breifs?" Vegeta inquired."Should I allow him to see an insipid cartoon about a brainless little girl who teaches that all our problems can be solved by constantly asking what to do next?"
"YES!" she shook her fists," That is VERY good advice for a baby to be taught!"
The prince huffed."For a human baby perhaps. On my world, babies were customarily deployed to indigenous planets so that they can conquer them before they even know their own name."
"THIS ISN'T YOUR WORLD!" Bulma fumed.
"But HE is MY baby," Vegeta reminded."When will it get into your skull, woman? Trunks isn't one of them, he could destroy this entire planet just by having a tantrum; he's stronger than I was at his age, you can't ignore his heritage forever!"
"Trunks isn't only Saiyan, your highness," Bulma hissed,"maybe YOU should stop ignoring his human heritage! Trunks IS one of us! He was born on Earth, raised on Earth - thanks for never spending time with him by the way - and only understands how Earth works, not Planet Vegeta! His Saiyan genes make him strong, but at least his human genes give him a heart! His future self saved the world! You think he would have cared about saving the world if he were a pure Saiyan!?"
Vegeta looked away snarkilly."Well, if Kakarot were any indication, I guess so; but then again, he had severe brain damage, so what's that say about being a good person? Even so, his human genes are irrelevant, and at best, hold him back!" he barked.
"From what, Vegeta!? From being a monster like you!?"
"Face the facts, Bulma! Our child IS a monster! He's the monster that grew up to kill Freiza! And that was WITHOUT my guidance!" Vegeta exclaimed,"And I assure you, woman, now that I survived the androids, I will see to it that our son will be the strongest being in the universe!"
"THE HELL YOU WILL!" Bulma thundered, immediately cutting off the screen.
The training room was now left with a deafening silence, during which Vegeta was left with no words and none to share them with.
He simply snorted."Whatever, I'll just skip to the sit-ups..."
"Today's the day!"Aang cried excitedly." Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending! And this place..." he scanned the rocky terrain," i-it's perfect! Don't you think, Sokka?"
The warrior teen responded with an annoyed moan.
The Avatar blinked."Oh, you're still sleeping, huh? sorry..." he whispered, making sure his friend could peacefully resume his rest.
"DAMN RIGHT YOU'RE SORRY!"
The area was shocked with a surge of ki that frightened every member of the team to their feet, including Toph, whom was annoyed she'd been beaten to getting a dramatic entrance.
The glowing Vegeta gritted his teeth."As in 'sorry' for thinking you were still going to be wasting your time learning how to move rocks with your mind!"
"But, Vegeta, Aang has to," Katara reminded,"he needs to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lor-"
"Have you just spontaneously forgotten the shit that went down the other day!?" The Saiyan growled."Cell is ALIVE, and for whatever reason wants to absorb you! Who gives a crap about your little weeaboo Darth Vader with the literal killing machine on your planet doing Kai know's what!?"
Mai blinked."I dunno who 'Dark Vader' is, but I still find it ironic for you compare him to Fire Lord Ozai..."
Tarble held his chin."My brother has a point: I highly doubt control over the elements alone will suffice against Cell, or the Princess for that matter."
"What kinda' stupid stuff is that?" Sokka demanded."That's all the more reason for Aang to master the elements. What more can we do?"
The taller Saiyan glared at Sokka with an unbearably sarcastic expression."Oh, I don't know, great warrior, if only there were some other kind of power we could use to destroy Cell, maybe something along the lines of-" he interrupted himself by shooting a ki blast in the air without looking; after the noise of the explosion, a smoking bird corpse plopped to the dirt behind him.
All non-Saiyan heads stared at Vegeta in surprise.
"OOoookay, hold on!" Toph raised her hands toward Vegeta as if to signal to halt."You want Aang to just forget about his balance-restoring destiny, and try to learn how to use chi like you guys do!?"
"I guess you really are great at listening to things, aren't you?" Vegeta confirmed.
"But that's never gonna work!" Sokka yelled."Aang's just s regular human being who has chi and not whatever 'ki' is! He can't fly without a glider and shoot light from his body!"
"So I take it those two Fire Nation war-lollies aren't human either?" Vegeta reminded."Anyone can harness their ki into energy attacks regardless of species; just some can do it better than others is all."
"Well, alright then, Prince of Racism." Mai responded.
Vegeta's bitter eyes locked onto Mai's."My people have literally been referred to as ' filthy monkeys' for eons; compared to me, you don't get a pass, space-Jap."
Tarble meekly stared down at his monkey tail."...I mean...they're not entirely wrong..."
"Off-topic!" Sokka interjected."Listen, I have no idea how Princess Azula figured it out, but we haven't, okay? Again, we didn't even know it was possible until we met you guys!"
Vegeta crossed his arms,"Well I think the 'how' is painfully obvious: It must have been Cell that taught them; as you said, neither you or they haven't seen anything like what we can do before I arrived, so the only logical conclusion is that it's Cell's doing. If they can do it, so can he!" he pointed to the airbender.
Sokka pointed at the same child."You can't just expect Aang to just forget everything he's been taught his whole life and replace it with you crazy space-laser stuff!"
"That's along the line of what I thought before I became a Super Saiyan." he replied, earning a WTF stare from his brother."At first it seemed impossible; but then I was lying there thinking to myself how I really really wanted to be a Super Saiyan, and then boom, Super Saiyan."
"Like I said, we're not Saiyans," Sokka reminded,"Aang has learned to bend three out of the four elements already, it's too late to teach him anything else other than that, or at least before he learns all four elements."
"Well, good luck trying to find a firebendeing teacher; 'cause last time I checked, they all want his head." Vegeta also reminded
Aang raised a finger."Actually, there was this guy name Jeong Jeong..."
"And when was the last time you've heard of 'Jeong Jeong'?"
Aang's finger dropped."Point made."
"It doesn't matter!" Sokka dismissed." The point is Aang is the Avatar, and it's his destiny to master all four elements; and if Chin Village's crazy history holds any validity, that's all Avatar Kyoshi needed to defeat your dad."
"Because his power was weakened, same as ours are at the moment," Vegeta replied."If it were any other planet in the universe, she wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Says you!" Sokka flung his finger in Vegeta's face."Give us one good reason why ki in and of itself is a better option than a fully realized Avatar!"
At this, Vegeta's face couldn't have been more dull."To start, I can give you four reason's..." with that, Vegeta raised his hand again, but this time it was as a fist. He flicked up his index finger."Water..." not a moment later, a glob of aqua from the nearby pond shot over to behind Vegeta, morphing into a liquid sphere. He flicked his middle finger open."Earth..." a circular crack formed in the plateau to his right, and out flew a large stone next to the water."Fire..." a sudden plume of flame burst out of the tip of his ring finger, curling back into a ball. He silently summoned a swirling orb of wind with his pinky, and stood before the bewildered teens with his other hand on his hip just to drive even further how hilariously easy it was for him to do so."You truly do have a way with ironic punchlines, boy."
The Avatar's eyes were on the verge of exploding, and likely his brain along with them."h...he...hu...hhhghhh...HOW!?"
"With my KI, you numskull!" Vegeta barked, waving the elements away."Bending the elements to one's will is nothing unique to the universe; ki can be used for just about everything, from healing, telekinesis, mind reading, transformation, to making clothes! It would take a people just as primitive as yours to not be using it!"
The stunned, borderline traumatized Katara stared at Vegeta."Are you saying that...there's nothing special about Aang? Anyone can master all four elements? For the past century, millions of innocent people have fought, killed, and died due to sheer ignorance!?" She looked down at her once precious waterbending hands."I've been living a lie..." she breathed.
"HOOhoho, your people haven't even scratched the surface of that asteroid, girl..." Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"So why the hell haven't WE figured it out yet!?" demanded Toph."As far as our history can tell us, none of our people have ever actually flown without airbending or shot chi or ki or whatever out of their hands, not even in myth! Let alone bend any more than one element!"
"Once again..." in a flash, Vegeta's hair turned gold"...Super Saiyan..." he point his thumb to his hair.
"I'VE BEEN LIVING A LIE!" Tarble shrieked, clutching his head.
Mai tapped her chin."So from I'm gathering from this, is that you guys're in no way spiritually justified in stopping the Fire Nation from ruling the world?"
"What can I say?" Vegeta shrugged,"Sometimes the truth hurts, sometimes the truth helps, almost always both."
"HEY! We are NOT going to spend all day trying to rationalize that!" Sokka put his foot down," It doesn't matter who knows what, the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom are still at war with the Fire Nation, and it's up to us to put an end to it! So seeing as how none of us can even begin to understand how to master the elements or master chi-bending, I vote we go with the cup that's already three quarters full: help Aang master all four elements!" he announced while raising Aang's hand like boxing champion.
"Hooray for being relatively special!" Aang agreed.
"Except that defeating the Fire Nation now involves your savor having to take on two Fire Nation girls that are objectively more special the he is." Vegeta reminded.
Aang's hand dropped from Sokka's grip.
"...And not to mention Perfect-goddamn-Cell, whom it took the destruction of a literal mountain just to neutralize, want's to drink you alive?"
The airbender was frozen. He blinked...then instantly zipped towards Vegeta, bowing before the Saiyan's feet."Please accept me as your pupil, Sifu Vegeta."
"WHAT!?" Toph gaped."What happened to Sifu Toph!?"
"Forget Sifu Toph," Katara added,"What happened to Master Katara!? We might not be like you, but we're still masters of our arts, Aang! How could you turn on us like this!?"
Aang, still bowing..."Look, guys, I'm not doubting you, it's such that things got a lot different after Vegeta beat Toph."
"YOU SAID WE WOULD NEVER MENTION THAT AGAIN!" Toph cried, as if stabbed through the heart.
"I'm sorry! But if what Vegeta says about chi is true, then all I need to master all four elements is to master chi itself! Do you see any other masters of chi!?"
Tarble scoffed."And what exactly am I?"
"A lower class disappoint that can't even take on a single human," Answered Vegeta.
"Oh, so that's it then!?" Katara fumed."We by default aren't masters anymore? You just expect me and Toph to revoke the titles we rightfully earned through years of training, trials, and mortal combat, and bend a knee to someone else!?"
"My apologies," Vegeta apologized but not really,"If you two honestly feel this strongly about your respective titles, I suppose neither of you would mind dueling to defend them..." with that, he powered back up to Super Saiyan."Who's first?"
The sweat raining water and earth benders stared at eachother...
"Please accept us your pupils!" they both zipped to and bow before his feet.
"Zuko, Zuko! Wake up!" Iroh yelled as he desperately shook his nephew's motionless body. The boy was still breathing, but he seemed caught in a heavy sleep, evidently from exhaustion. No matter how loudly Iroh yelled, the would-be Fire Lord found it to be futile. Iroh sighed - there was only one thing to remedy this."LOOK, ZUKO! IT'S THE AVATAR!"
"WHERE!?" Zuko's upper half sprung off the ground like a catapult, rapidly scanning the dry surroundings like a starving vulture. Moments later, the confused Zuko sighed."How long was I out?"
"A full day or so, it seems," the uncle said,"apparently, you had passed out after running for a very long distance; I thank the spirits I found you."
"Me too, Uncle," Zuko replied,"That village almost killed me..."
"So, you stumbled into an Earth Kingdom village I take it?" Iroh deduced.
"Yeah, I spent a night there in this family's barn; they let me sleep there after I protected their child from a bunch of soldiers that were taking advantage of them. The next morning, the same soldiers kidnapped the boy to lure me into a fight."
"...At which point you inevitably defended yourself with firebending..." Iroh inferred.
Zuko could only rub his cranium."That's the crazy part: I didn't firebend at all; I took them on with nothing but my two swords..."
"...Which you stole."
"...which I stole..." Zuko sighed,"but then I was knocked out for a moment, and when I awoke, the person I was fighting was beaten to death, and the whole town blamed me for it."
"That sounds very odd," Iroh stroked his beard."It sounds as if you killed the man in blind rage, but then how could you forget such a thing?"
"I dunno," Zuko said,"Was I really that out of it?"
"You may have a bad temper, Zuko, but certainly not that bad...did this fight take place in a bar by any chance?"
"I don't drink, Uncle," Zuko glared.
"I was just speaking from experience..." the old man held up his hands innocently.
Zuko blinked."Wait, you mean you once beat a man to death in a bar-"
"Moving on..." Iroh hastily changed the subject,"I'm just happy that we're together again, Nephew. And given our current circumstances, I believe it's time to resume your training. It's only a matter of time before Azula finds us, so you and I must be fully prepared."
"But she's my sister," Zuko reminded meekly,"Shouldn't we be trying to get along?"
"Are you crazy?" Iroh retorted,"That little bitch needs to go down."
Only the deadest stare could Zuko give his uncle."...Just how recently did this bar fight take place?"
The land rocked as Vegeta powered up to the highest limit his base form currently allowed, blazing with a huge blue aura; and, naturally, he was screaming at the top of his Saiyan lungs. He abruptly ceased doing both of these things, the ground no longer shaking and the land ringing with echoes."And that's basically how you do it." He finished calmly.
The Gaang, finally unfazed by Vegeta's energized frenzies, just looked at him with placid expressions.
"...wow..." Toph not-marveled,"So you pretty much showed us...nothing we haven't already seen."
"Wouldn't that be 'felt' in your case?" Aang queried.
"My case?" Toph repeated,"both."
"The hell are you talking about!?" Vegeta gawked."I just illustrated to you brats step by step how to charge your ki; do I seriously have to do it again?"
"Please, Agni, not again..." Mai dreaded.
"This isn't that simple, Vegeta," Tarble explained,"You and I were raised in a civilization where ki control has been the norm for who knows how long; you can't expect them to understand just by seeing it."
"Which reels us back to my earlier question..." Vegeta began as he slowly swerved his annoyed head in Tarble's direction,"How the hell did the princess figure it out!?"
"Because Cell powered them up." Mai answered.
Everyone turned to look at the goth.
"Azula and Tai Lee were able to do that because Cell gave them some of his ki; they told us themselves, remember?"
Vegeta blinked."Oh right, now I remember..."
(As did the writer just now...)
"I see..." Tarble rubbed his chin,"The reason they were able to control it so well was because, for the first time in their lives, they actually felt ki, and thus giving them a natural sense of what how it works."
The older Saiyan flicked his arms up."Well, shit, if it's that simple..." Vegeta put his gloved hands together and rubbed them like defibrillator pads."Step right up, kids."
The airbender's forehead started to gain moisture."Ummm, is that really a good idea?"
"Look, boy, you're clearly the strongest human on this planet; if Princess Hellfire can handle some juice from Cell, you've got nothing to worry about. Now which one of you wants some new powers? I'm sure Sokka'd love to...Sokka?" Vegeta just then realized said teen was missing from the group."Where the hell's Sokka!?"
"He got sick of your living explosion thing and went hunting," Toph explained,"I'm sure he'll be back soon..." of course, thanks to her seismic sense, she was fully aware Sokka was currently stuck in a hole somewhere all alone out in the wilderness well outside of the range of screaming for help, but she held back her smirk.
"Whatever," Vegeta snorted,"Just get over here, Avatar."
The kids looked among one another; given the information, the airbender had little to object to, and so he walked over to Vegeta.
Tarble eyed his brother carefully."Vegeta, are you sure want to do this? You do remember the last time you infused your ki into something else?"
"You know I don't have nearly enough energy to do that again..." Vegeta snapped as Aang stopped in front of him.
The Avatar closed his eyes and took a deep breath."Okay, so what exactly do I have to-"
Vegeta immediately clasped his fingers around the boy's skull."By the blessing of my royal ancestry I bestow upon you the power of SUPER VEGETAAAAAAAA!..." as his Bruce Faulconer Super Saiyan theme kicked in, he instantly powered up to Super Saiyan with a thunderous scream. His Saiyan ki surged through Aang's body, causing himself to be engulfed in the same golden aura as he screamed just as loud and indefinitely as Vegeta. The rest of the group watched in awe as the two lit the area with the massive wave of energy.
"HAAAAGH!" Iroh shouted as he released a gigantic current of lightning from his fingers, the sky crackling like thunder. "And that's basically how you do it." He finished calmly.
Given their circumstances, Iroh felt it to be finally the time to see if Zuko were able to perform the art of lightingbending. Iroh doubted Zuko would successfully pull it off, and frankly, so did Zuko; but they were out of other options or allies. Whether or not the prince could execute the technique, what mattered was that he needed to.
"I'm ready to try it!" Zuko announced, getting into position.
"Remember," Iroh cautioned his nephew,"once you separate the energy, you do not command it. You are simply its humble guide. Breathe first."
Zuko breathed in and closed his eyes. He then began to mimic the motions that Iroh performed, except that he does not create traces of lightning. Iroh was holding himself in suspense as he watched Zuko prepare a move so dangerous that he might actually explode into a huge red stain on the ground (he was now in deep regret of leaving out that part...). The both of them bracing themselves, Zuko thrusts his right fingers forward, and through them comes not fire, not lightning, not an explosion, but a purple ray of pure energy that bolted out over the horizon."I did it!" he smiled victoriously.
Iroh, on the other hand, was stunned, as if Azula had struck him right in the chest (which never happened in this continuity)."Zuko...you...definitely did something..."
"I got it on the first try!" Zuko beamed."Let's see if I can do it again!"
"Zuko, WAIT-!"
The next instant, Zuko once again shot a purple ray from his fingers, even more seamless than before."I did it, Uncle! It's so easy, I don't even think I have to charge up for it!" He said as he quickly fire another beam from his finger without nearly as much effort as the first time.
Iroh stood there, watching in amazement as his nephew repeatedly performed the move over and over, each in different stances; at some point, he was doing trick shots, on one leg, in mid jump with his legs spread wide, with his eyes covered, between his legs, all while making childish "pyew!" noises.
"Zuko! ZUKO, STOP!" Iroh grabbed Zuko's shooting hand before he could fire one while looking at a mirror."Zuko, I do not know what that is, but it definitely is not lighting!"
"Who cares, Uncle!?" Zuko retorted positively,"Lightning or not, I'm even better at it than Azula! I can finally do something better than her! PISHEW!" He cried as he shot finger lasers out of both hands; this time, it hit the distant ground, producing an explosion bigger than either one of them expected."I'll show her! I SHOW THEM ALL!" Zuko's body emitted an invisible shockwave that blew Iroh on his back, causing the old man to whale in pain, causing the teen's exited demeanor to vanish."Uncle!" he cried, rushing to his aid.
"I'm fine, Zuko..." Iroh grunted himself to sit."Just an old injury..."
Zuko looked at his hands: he did that."Uncle...how am I doing this?"
"No idea," Iroh answered honestly,"It's as if you just harnessed your chi and released it; like firebending, but, well, without actually firebending at all."
"Could this be how I killed that earthbender?" Zuko wondered. The idea of having such uncontrollable power suddenly gripped his stomach with terror."I'm sorry, I'll never do that again."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Nephew," Iroh sighed,"Clearly you discovered some..." he coughed,"latent ability after having been so close to dying yourself..." he coughed some more,"Not all that impossible..."
"But I lost control the first time," Zuko dreaded,"Can I even be trusted around you?"
"We don't really have a choice, Zuko..." Iroh calmly replied, as Zuko helped him to his feet." However you're controlling your chi directly, you'll have to learn to master it for yourself; this isn't firebending; this is your pure lifeforce, the essence of your spirit, drawn like a weapon the likes of which no human being has ever seen," he stared into the clouds prudently..."Not gonna like, it's cool..."
"Yeah..." Zuko agreed."Cooler than lightning...so much...Cooler..." he muttered mindlessly.
Aang continued to scream uncontrollably as the also still screaming Vegeta continued to pump his energy into his head.
"How has he not been obliterated yet!?" Toph covered her ears.
"For a person who's never even used his ki before, his body seems very conditioned to handle it...!" Tarble noted.
As if struck by lighting, a sudden spark of energy blasted Aang out of Vegeta's grip, cutting the music off, the airbender blowing past his friends, and right into Appa's belly, the sleeping bison totally unfazed, sliding to the ground. The group gathered around him, his eyes facing different directions and foam gurgling out of his mouth.
Tarble sighed."Well, at least only one died this time..."
"Piss off, his fine!" Vegeta barked.
Aang lazily moaned, pushing himself up as he wiped the foam off his face.
"...Well? How do you feel?" Katara asked.
Aang looked at the ground thoughtfully. He raised his finger and inhaled through his mouth to answer, but then his eyes and tattoos flashed white. The group was pushed away by his swirling air dome.
"YOU TRIGGERED HIS AVATAR STATE!" Katara cried.
"Avatar-whatnow!?" Vegeta queried."What is this!? You never told me your people also has some kind of legendary super form! I'm starting to think there's nothing special about me either...!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, VEGETA? I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THIS WIND!" Aang boomed."WAIT, WHO SAID THAT? IS THAT MY VOICE?" He looked at his glowing tattoos."WOAH! GUYS, I THINK I'M IN THE AVATAR STATE!"
"NO SHIT!" Toph cried, her senses going haywire.
"COULD EVERYBODY STOP F*#&ING YELLING FOR TWO MINUTES!?" Mai fumed.
"I'M NOT YELLING." Aang's voice rocked their heads.
"Aang!" Katara called."Do you think you could queit yourself down!?"
"I DUNNO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, BUT I'LL TRY..." The mass collective of voices replied. Avatar Aang took a deep breath.
The loud winds whipped away, and the air dome vanished, but Aang remained illuminated."How about now?" He asked with his normal voice, but still retaining an ethereal after effect.
"That'll do for now..." Mai muttered.
"I don't know what the hell this is, but at least we're getting somewhere," Vegeta remarked."Tarble! What does the scouter say about his powerlevel!?" he leaned slightly with his fists clenched
Tarble raised a brow."What just happened with your inflection just now?"
"Just post-traumatic stress; just give us a reading," he dismissed.
Tarble nodded, and activated his scouter in the glowing boy's direction. After a few beeps, Tarble was shocked."It worked! His power level's also nine thousand!"
The older prince whipped his head."WHATNINETHOUSAN-!" he shook his head."Wait, what do you mean 'also' nine thousand...?" he asked, wondering if his brother had been spying on him during his initial arrival on the other Earth.
"That's the same powerlevels those girls from before had when I scanned them." Tarble explained.
"Ah, so that's why you screamed like a bitch..."
Tarble scowled.
"Anyway, let's see what you've got, boy," Vegeta commanded.
"Okay then..." the glowing Aang shrugged. He thrusted his hand in the sky, launching an enormous pillar of wind into the clouds, making a hole in them.
"Not bad, Twinkle-Toes..." Toph smirked, given that even she of all people could perceive that.
"No, bad," Vegeta disagreed,"very bad! You were supposed to fire a ki blast! Try again!"
And so Aang did, several times; but every time, it was still an enhanced blast of airbending.
"Oh come on!" Vegeta facepalmed,"Can you really not do anything else after all that power I just gave you!?"
"I mean, I could try firebending..."
"NOOOOOO thanks, I'm good!" Katara zipped behind Vegeta, given the last time he bent fire without any help.
The older prince slunked over with a growling huff."Well, it looks like I'm still going to actually have to teach you stupid children how to properly harness your own life energy..."
"Fan-damn-tastic," Mai complained,"Let the scream-fest resume..."
"HEEELP!"
They were all put off by the distance but familiar scream.
"Was that Sokka?" Katara wondered.
"IT'S ME! SOKKA!"
"I wonder what he's yelling so loud for," added Aang.
"I'VE BEEN STUCK IN A HOLE ALL DAY AND NOW I'M ABOUT TO BE KILLED BY A LARGE APEX PREDATOR!"
"Can he hear us?" Toph asked.
"I CAN! SCREW YOU, TOPH!"
The group made there way to the clearing where Sokka had been stuck this whole time apparently, with the aforementioned beast aggressively circling him.
"What in Kai's name is that thing?" Vegeta demanded with a disturbed expression.
"It's a sabertoothed-moose-lion!" Aang panicked.
"It's a cross between a prehistoric lion and a moose?" Vegeta slowly recited, simply unable to emphasize the word "moose" hard enough."What the hell do they eat!?"
"Morons from the Southern Water Tribes, it looks like," Mai surmised.
"Sooo, who's gonna save'em?" Toph crossed her arms.
"I think YOU know who...!" Sokka growled, but cowered as the moose-lion growled back.
"Whatever, do your thing, Aang," Toph waved her hand.
"But I'm so powered up; I could kill it," Aang worried.
"As opposed to who else!?" Sokka reminded, eyeing the drooling monster.
"Well I can't do it; I left my water pouch back at camp," Katara noted.
"After hearing me scream for help!?" Sokka inquired, the animal sniffing him.
"Okay, seriously, a lion...with...a MOOSE!?" Vegeta reiterated, flinging each hands forward respective to each animal."They don't even live in the same environment!"
"How bizarre..." Tarble agreed."Wouldn't its moose antlers hinder its lion canines from fully wrapping around the jugular of its prey? Or weigh it down while chasing its prey in the first place?"
"Yes, we get it, this is a weird looking animal...!" Sokka dismissed, the animal nibbling his hair.
"But does it even hunt!? It's part moose!" Vegeta scratched his head."Does it graze or scavenge, or both!? Neither!? This creature makes no sense!"
"Perhaps the canines are for eating wood?" Tarble proposed.
"Then why isn't it a beaver-moose!?" Vegeta reminded.
"Good point..."
"Speaking of points...!" Sokka gritted his teeth, watching the animal pull back its lips to reveal its huge fangs.
"You gonna save him or not?" Mai asked Toph.
"Not!" she pressed her thumb against her chest."I got up this morning to teach the Avatar how to earthbend; instead, I get told I ran away from home for nothing, and wind up spending all day listening to 'The Mighty Oozaru' scream his guts out like he's been doing since before we even met! If anyone's gonna achieve something relevant today, it's Twinkle-Toes!"
"But Toph, I've never even been conscious during the Avatar state before; I could end up hurting Sokka!"
"You know what, guys? This is fine, just lemme die; life is overrated, am I right, Foo Foo Cuddilypoops?..." Sokka referred to the baby as the adult creature scratched his cranium.
"Maybe it sustains itself on some kind of large, chewy fungus?" Tarble speculated."That would account for the need for long teeth as well as its herbivorous traits..."
"Then why is it about to bite Sokka's head off?" Katara asked, but then remembered."OHMYGODITSABOUTBITESOKKASHEADOFF!"
The massive (confirmed) carnivore pounced onto Sokka and-
*BOOM*
The group shielded their eyes from the sudden blast, which shattered the ground, splintered the trees, and crackled the area like a thunder bolt. The dust was blown away to reveal Sokka screaming at the tops of his lungs, not while being mauled to death by the moose-lion, but with a brilliant white aura surrounding him, quaking the earth.
"greeaaat, more screaming..." Mai drolled.
Vegeta was shocked beyond saying complete sentences."Wha!? How did!? I didn't even!? TARBLE, SCOUTER!"
"AGAIN, OVER NINE THOUSAND!" the shorter prince shouted.
Sokka's aura shrunk, leaving him panting and leaning on his knees...in the center of the crater he just made."Thanks for taking your sweet time, Toph!"
"I'd accept that thank-you, but..." Toph's blind eyes blinked,"Either you're an earthbender...or another Saiyan."
"Well given the aura, it seems either Nappa or Raditz was a very busy man..." Vegeta inferred.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sokka glared at the Saiyan.
"It means you just freed yourself, genius," Vegeta replied."Look at your body."
The radiant Sokka did, and nearly pissed his pants (a second time)."Holy crap, I'm in the Avatar State!"
"Not quite," Vegeta dismissed."But it seems, through this moment of crisis, you've unlocked some hidden potential. I suppose, in Saiyan terms, that'd make you an elite among your people."
The teen was breathless."...wait...You're saying I'm doing this on my own!? I can fly and light-bend just like you!?"
"Congratulations, Sokka," Vegeta smirked," you're this planet's equivalent of me."
Toph's ear's threatened to pop off."You're kidding me..."
"THIS IS AMAZING!" Aang bellowed.
Sokka yelped, actually peeing again, just a little."Oh no! Aang's in the Avatar State for real!"
"Relax, Sokka!" Katara made a calming gesture,"Aang's fully in control of the Avatar State now."
Sokka broke from his cowardly stance."He is? Since when!?"
"Since my brother thought it a good idea to risk blowing him to bits by infusing an insane amount of pure destructive energy into a small child's brain on the off chance that it'd make him stronger..." Tarble answered in a tone not unlike Mai's.
"...the latter happening, which makes you're opinion worthless." Vegeta retorted.
"Well ain't this just a day of miracles..." Toph noted sarcastically," At this rate, I'll be able to see by dinner."
Vegeta blinked, and looked at his hands pensively.
"Don't even think about it!" Tarble shouted.
"I wasn't actually gonna...!" Vegeta barked immaturely.
"Hold on a second..." Katara's gazed swooshed between her brother and her make belief lover."If Sokka naturally has these powers...doesn't...doesn't that mean he's been the more powerful sibling all this time!? I REALLY HAVE BEEN LIVING A LIE!" she shrieked.
Tarble patted the poor girl's back."Welcome to my non-remarkable world..."
"I AM SPECIAL!" Sokka cheered." A future full of struggle and anguish my ass, Aunt Wu!"
"Doesn't that also mean a lot of the bad stuff that's happened to you guys is the partial result of your own negligence?" Mai raised her finger."Not to mention the death of your mother?"
The area lost a noticeable degree of temperature upon this implication.
Sokka dropped to his knees."...she was right all along..." he breathed, enveloped by by an extreme Spider-Man complex along with his aura.
"We have no time for that philosophical crap!" Vegeta interjected, zipping to Sokka and pulling him back up."The point is there's actually someone on this stupid planet that actually has the same abilities as everyone else in the universe besides the rest of you for some stupid reason! Which in turn means between you, me, and Tarble, our odds against Cell and the lollies have nearly been evened!" he explained, gaining a confused stare from his weaker brother."And taking the powered up Avatar into account, the odds have been just about balanced out!"
At this monologue, Aang's lit eyes and mouth widened, an elongated gasp seeping from his throat."Then that means...I did, guys! I restored the balance! And I don't even have to fight the Fire Lord! I saved the world!"
"HOORAY!" Team Avatar pumped their fist to the sky.
THE END
"No you didn't," Mai denounced."You still have to help Vegeta defeat Cell and help him leave the planet; and after that, everything goes back to normal, and you still have to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Lord."
"SON OF A BITCH!" Team Avatar growled.
Sokka shrugged."Aw well, at least since I have powers now, so it shouldn't be as hard as we thought."
"Speaking of which," Vegeta began with a foreboding tone,"Since you're assistance in the destruction of Cell is suddenly a legitimate factor..." the Saiyan stared deeply into the confused Sokka's eyes,"you will not be going into battle half-baked: as stated before, the only master of ki on this world is currently yours truly, so for your sake, I hope you're ready to start addressing me as 'Vegeta-Sensei'."
Sokka gawked."You expect me to call you my 'master'!? Over my-!"
*flash*
"Choose your words carefully, child," Super Saiyan Vegeta quietly stated.
Sokka's lips were sealed; his eyes turned to his friends, whom quickly nodded. As his face cringed from a mixture of fear and frustration, he knelt before the Saiyan."Please accept me as your pupil, Vegeta-Sensei..." he groaned.
Little did they know, from a distance plateau crouched Azula, whom had seen and heard everything she needed to."My my...how convenient..." she hissed. She then took off at the horizon, feeling that Cell had some explaining to do...
As his uncle sat snug in his sleeping sac, snoring up a storm, Zuko lie ten feet away, nodding off himself...
When he opened them again, he was not where he was before. The prince sprung off the metal floor, his eyes swerving all around the large, dim metallic chamber he was now in. In a beat, the chamber wasn't so dark, as his eyes caught a fiery flash of light to his right, on the other end of a window from which he saw nothing but the stars. As he approached the window, he could see the source of the light: a gigantic orb as bright as the sun, gradually pressing against what appeared to be a pinkish red planet, forming glowing cracks all around it, eventually culminating in the entire world exploding into nothing. Just before he could put a hand on the glass...
"What a waste."
Zuko's hand curled back as his head swung up to the figure.
Cooler's stoic face was lit by the explosion."Such a powerful species, such potential...and he wipes them out for his own sake; he was the one who sealed his fate...our fate..."
"Who are you?" Zuko asked again.
As if to answer, Cooler pointed to something else out in the cosmos."You see that there?"
Zuko's eyes followed, seeing a small blue light flying away from the doom world."Is that...Sozin's Comet?"
"Not a comet, a pod," Cooler spoke,"And in that pod is just another Saiyan. I could have destroyed it, but I didn't, and that Saiyan grew into the one who killed me."
" What's a Saiyan?" Zuko had to ask.
"A Saiyan is what is currently inhabiting your world; he has been weakened, but it will not last. He will gain his full power back; and when he does, your world will end up just like this one."
As the teen turned back towards the fireball that was once a planet, his heart stopped for a moment."
Cooler's head turned to him, and peered his red pupils into the firebender's eyes."Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, we need your help."