[OP: My First Story – King and Ashley]
An Xmas to Remember! Dina, Meet D.I.A.N.A!
Beep!
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"Mrrrh…"
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"Mrrrrh…"
Beep!
BEEP!
BEEP!
BE-
"PISS O… D'oooow!"
The force at which she'd brought her hand down violently shook her already-sore body.
She sighed as she crawled out of bed. Once more, she documented how many days had passed since she wound up in this bizarre city; her time was more important than this world's, after all.
"Let's see… 1, 2, 3…"
The halfbreed suddenly paused.
"Woke up here on the 15th… about… 10 days now…"
Dina flared.
[BGM: Green Day – Xmas Time of the Year 0:00 – 0:40]
"IIIIIIT'S XMAAAAAAAAAAS!"
Any iota of soreness or fatigue vanished into nothing. She ecstatically burst through her door, ramming through multiple other groggy patrollers on her way down the criminally-plain hallways on her way outside the apartment.
When she was a few feet smaller, Dina would spend entire giddy nights just waiting to dig into the bottom of that tree downstairs by the corner of the room, the golden morning sun reflecting through the window from off the snow providing her home with a warm, heavenly glow amidst the frigid winds of winter. Soon after, she and her father would bundle up all comfy-like, go to the park, and build snowmen; her friends would pop up sooner or later, and they'd have (admittedly unfair) snowball wars. By the end of the day, they'd have a cup of hot cocoa and wrap up the day in blankets, sometimes with a holiday special over the television.
That perfect mental image in mind, she shoved open the complex's main 2 doors and bared witness to…
Not a flake of snow.
A few passersby gave Dina the same look one would give a hopeless drunk in the back of an alley.
Her smile had seemingly stuck to her face. Her eyes, however, sank along with her brows.
"What did I even… expect…"
Now it was her head that sank.
"…"
"…"
"… No."
Dina balled her fists, a new look of resolve forging itself.
"It's XMAS, for crying out," she declared as she rose upward. "THEREFORE, if there's no snow, I'll DEMAND snow."
"Hey, I've got places to go, can you hurry it up or something?" asked a small, purple, catfish-whiskered fellow. Dina turned to him with a borderline insane look, grabbing his shoulders.
"DOES THIS LOOK NORMAL TO YOU? AN XMAS WITHOUT NOT A TRACE OF SNOW? DOES IT? ANSWER ME!"
"Uh…"
"…"
"… what's snow?"
Silence.
Dina didn't know she could run this fast.
Trunks looked at his stupid piece of fruitcake.
As a child, it was tradition for he, his mother, and his master to dig into one around this time of year. They usually made him want to vomit, but anything edible was a godsend when he was a boy; and around December, fruitcakes were peculiarly plentiful in his timeline. Now that he was older, however… no, they still made him want to vomit, but the commander of the Time Patrol valued nostalgia. He was sentimental like that.
Before he could dig in to the memorial dessert, a wild animal bashed against the door of his office, startling the fruitcake onto the floor.
"IT'S IMPORTANT!"
Trunks tensed. Towa? Another rift? Damn it, why today?
He undid the lock with a flick of the index, straightened himself out, and sat upright.
"Come in!"
The door slang open, revealing a panting Dina.
"What's wrong?"
"IT'S XMAS!"
"… Yup. It's the 25th of December." Trunks began to cool off, concern replaced with confusion.
"EXACTLY!"
"You said this was important." Trunks began to get annoyed.
"IT'S DIRE! THERE'S NO SNOW! HOW CAN THERE BE AN XMAS WITHOUT SNOW?"
"Ma'am, do you know what constitutes as 'important?' "
Dina suddenly snapped.
"XMAS IS IMPORTANT!" she roared, covering her mouth immediately after.
"I-I'm sorry, It's just… I'm new to a place like this. Just… panicked a bit at the realization there wouldn't be snow. Sorry for your time."
Self-defeatism was relatively new for Dina. Recent events had humbled her a tad, is all. As she got out of the office…
"This date. What does it mean to you? Really?"
She stopped in her tracks.
"Well, presents, for one," she smiled. Trunks didn't approve at all.
"And…"
Her fists gradually unballed. Remembering the warmth that the cold brought on…
"Bonds, I guess you could say. And memories."
Trunks maintained his stoic visage.
"Can't say I ever had many fond ones of fruitcake, but…" Trunks carefully scooted the fallen piece under his desk.
"Snow just helps add to what makes it special, I guess? I'm quite selfish, pardon me."
Dina gulped, once more facing the exit.
"May I leave now?" her voice audibly cracked. "I have to go train."
"You're free to go."
The memories of what she once had welled inside her heart. Knowing she'd never experience anything like them again, and that the family and friends she'd loved so much were gone, wounded her in particular.
So, in a desperate bid to stop herself from wailing on the ground like a small child again, she focused on the one thing from THIS world that stole her attention from the past and gave her a goal to strive for.
Kora.
And how far behind her she likely was.
She wiped the tears that escaped and set out to find Ayeva.
Both Kaset and Stroga huffed heavily.
The brown-skinned, buzz-cut human's arm dangled uselessly off his side. The teal-skinned, small-crested namekian clutched his midsection.
"Damn… After all this time, you're… still as slippery as ever, if not more…"
"And your punches… carry even more speed and weight behind them than before… It's always a pleasure, brother…"
The two approached each other, available fists clenched. They raised them in order to finish what they started.
"Ill shit."
"Yes, terminally ill in fact, my dude."
"With your lame ass…"
They chuckled as they bumped fists.
"How was that, Ayeva?" Stroga implored, Ayeva flashing a deadpan "ok" gesture from behind the transparent, glass-like panel.
"A perfect 50.0% output from each of you, though Kaset began to fluctuate half-way into the spar." She gave a stern glare at the bashful man. "Overall, a successful session… Thanks for the data, you two. Really."
"Ay, it's no problem. Besides, I'm feelin' jolly today."
"Is the automaton for your purposes?" asked Stroga. "Contemplating a return to the front lines, perhaps?"
"I doubt it. She's workin' with a rookie, too. Prolly a gift," Kaset hypothesized. "She's got a widdle soft spot for her, givin' her Xmas presents and shi-"
A spherical drone suddenly barreled from the side of the gravity room, knocking Kaset upside the head.
"Shut up."
"Meanie butt!" Kaset whined. "I'm finna go train MY student! The one who's cooler than yours!"
"I'm going to chase you."
"Pppppppbt!" Kaset tossed out his gate and huffily stomped into it.
"I don't think I'd ever accept it if you two changed." Stroga chuckled to himself. "In any case, your respective pupils should prepare themselves once classes resume. Speaking of, I'll be off now. Best of luck, and… happy holidays." He tossed forth his gate and strolled out, waving all the way.
Ayeva sighed. "I wish those two wouldn't go so far sometimes." She took out a gate of her own. This time, she'd be the one to seek out Dina.
It didn't take long, considering the latter immediately crashed into her once she reached Conton City.
"That was… convenient, to say the least," Dina joked as master and student flew through space, the student grabbing onto the master's jacket.
"I didn't cause anything major, did I?" Ayeva asked.
"Oh, no, not at all."
"Good, good."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Miss Ayeva?"
"…?"
"D'ya know what Xmas is?"
"A prevalent Earth holiday taking place on the 25th of December, known by a multitude of names, revolves around the giving and taking of materialistic items, coupled with the widespread folktale that a bearded man in red and white circles the globe at hypersonic speeds on a sleigh pulled by mythical flying reindeer, distributing presents and/or energy-rich minerals based on a self-composed moral compass."
"Well when you put it like that, of course it sounds stupid…"
"Did I make an error?'
"It's not that, It's just… it's more than that. To me."
"Is there a reason you asked me about Xmas?"
"… no. No good one, just curious."
"That's a good reason. It is the 25th, after all."
"uh-huh…"
"This is your first Xmas outside of your time, isn't it?"
Dina maintained silence.
"That's why you look so distressed."
"… I think I'm ready to go past 10x gravity now. Whaddo you think?" Dina smiled.
"We'll… see, won't we?"
"(Brilliant move. That was too far!)"
After what felt like an eternity – about 10 seconds, in real time – they reached the pocket gravity room.
"All right, coach! Start this baby up, whenever!"
"Before we begin, there's something I want you to see. It's a… present."
Dina's eyes gleamed. "Really?"
[BGM: Bootsy Collins With Buckethead – Shackler]
A portion of the room sank, then slowly resurfaced, revealing a fridge-sized, cylindrical capsule. One side of it slid over, then another. A figure emerged as smoke poured forth.
"Talk about flashy…" the halfbreed quipped before her eyes widened in shock.
Before her stood what could only be described as a doll.
"This is the Dynamically-Imitative and Adaptive Neo-Automaton."
"… Diana…"
It hunched over before locking on to the girl and taking a position perfectly mocking hers.
Over its sleek shell, a holographic body began to take form; red eyes with brown shoulder-length hair jutting over her shoulder, a red t-shirt with blue highlights, blue jeans, and a pair of stupid-looking sneakers.
"Oh… oh my…"
Dina remembered sending Santa constant pleas for a life-sized robot for Xmas, pleas which turned into negotiations, which turned into threats of physical harm, which turned into harassing her father nonstop once she hit teenage years.
Had she ever seen something like this back then, she would've asked for an EMP-emitting teddy bear instead.
"(Not… creepy at all…)" She began circling the machine, and D.I.A.N.A. circled back.
"Right now, Diana is imitating the first thing it detects. However, should you ask, I'll set it to its default; its own unique fighting style based on the two best martial artists I know."
Dina continued to circle D.I.A.N.A, taking note for how detailed the robot's movements were, and how precisely they mirrored her own.
"How bizarre…"
She stopped in place, as did it.
"So, how do you like it?" Ayeva asked.
Dina didn't answer.
She instead proceeded to burst into erratic poses.
And, as she'd hoped, D.I.A.N.A. followed.
Her absurd gestures ranged from childish, to threatening, to suggestive, to menacing, to MENACING, and everything in between.
Ayeva looked on with a blank expression.
"I take that you like it."
Dina and D.I.A.N.A. slowly turned to Ayeva, one of them with a wide-eyed, wide-mouthed smile.
"Best. Present. EVAH." She squeaked.
Her coach gave a tiny smile.
"It's regardless, but construction, wiring, and programming combined took 3 days."
"… 3 days?"
"In the sparse amounts of free time I had, yes."
"Oh, wow, you're dangerous."
"In any case, Diana is not a toy. I made it to further aid in your training, to ensure you're doing more than increasing your power. For example, every minute, it'll analyze the data collected over the previous seconds of combat, identifying the flaws in how you fight and determining ways to overcome them on its own, simultaneously maneuvering around your shortcomings and forcing you to adapt."
"I don't need to worry about breaking it, right?" Dina inquired as she came closer to D.I.A.N.A.
"No. It's nowhere near maximum output at the moment."
" 'zat a fact…"
Dina looked her double straight in the eyes.
She shrugged, turning around with a nonchalant grin on her face.
"Hah! From where I'm standing, it just looks like some cheap market toy! Sure it looks pretty, but at the end of the day, I'm sure all it amounts to is-"
[BGM: Megalo Box OST – Battlefield]
Dina heelturned with a haymaker.
Instantly, D.I.A.N.A responded with a haymaker of its own, their fists colliding.
"Woah…"
She lunged back, as did the android.
"x10!"
Ayeva applied an instant x10Gs to the room. Dina'd progressively gotten better under x10 gravity, and it showed in her notably burdened yet controlled footwork. She jabbed away at her mechanical adversary, who met her blows with its own, before upping the speed of her punches. They exchanged an explosive flurry before Dina attempted a feint; only to meet D.I.A.N.A copying her maneuver. She jumped backward, as did her double, and both charged once more; Dina did another feint, initiating a punch with her right fist only to spin and throw a backhanded left. Once D.I.A.N.A read Dina's movement and copied, the latter threw herself upward using the outstretched, stiff robotic arm before her and kicked the doppelganger square in the face before a response could be made.
Dina landed on one foot, sloppily rebalanced herself, and raised her forearms again. The machine stumbled back for a moment before a green strip of light washed over it. Once it regained its footing, IT took initiative and, to her surprise, began to lay into Dina. The punches lacked any metallic force – where Ayeva found such a metal-like material, she wasn't sure – yet they still battered her a fair bit, even as she guarded against them. Now, every move Dina made had been deciphered by D.I.A.N.A; it was not only using her previous attacks and movements against her, it'd improved upon them, utilizing them with a machine's efficiency and precision while humiliating every move Dina made in comparison with quick, subtle dodges.
Still, the playing field had been evened; now, D.I.A.N.A was making its own moves without needing to read Dina's, meaning Dina could act without having her attack thrown back and wind up in a perpetual stalemate. One thing the automaton hadn't learned yet was blocking; therefore, she could rely on the certainty of a dodge to trip it up and leave it vulnerable. She guarded against D.I.A.N.A's oncoming onslaught and tried to throw her weight and energy into a headbutt upon an inevitable gap in between blows. She hadn't considered one important factor, however: Dina lacked both the control and skill to successfully land such an attack. As such, upon her attempt, she threw herself into a very hard and very fast punch. In regards to mass and acceleration, the math wasn't on her side.
Dina felt her nose break and some suffered some badass whiplash as she soared across the room, everything suddenly going dark as her figurative Xmas tree lights were knocked out.
She woke up in a bed.
The persistent migraine which she now felt triggered a groan from the recovering half-Saiyan. Not a second later, Mama Robobear rushed into the room. Her deadpan expression did wonders to betray her frantic reaction to such a simple noise.
"I'm sorry, Dina," Ayeva glumly stated once she was positive her spotee was conscious, as if she'd been waiting to apologize for…
"How long was I out?"
"6 hours."
6 hours.
"…Heh."
"It was reckless of me to design such a machine," Ayeva continued, nearing the bedside. "I'll reboot it as soon as I possibly can to make it more suitable for-"
[BGM: Air Gear OST – Chain (Acoustic) 0:00-1:56]
"What? No!" Dina suddenly objected, to Ayeva's shock and terror.
"Yes! You aren't ready for such a machine, you've hardly been in any serious conflict at this point, please just let me-"
Dina desperately grabbed Ayeva's arm, her eyes doing as much pleading as the patroller's were.
"It's hopelessly rude to take away a girl's Xmas present…"
She smiled.
"No pain, no gain, as they say. Let me make this decision."
"… Oh…"
Ayeva sighed. No, it was more of a heave, really.
"SWEAR you won't make me regret this."
That brimming, determined flame Ayeva once saw in Dina's ruby eyes blazed once more.
"I. Swear."
Nod. "Alright. Diana stays. But, in any regard, you've had enough training for one day."
"Here, here. But there's one more thing I want to do with you."
"? What would that be?"
"I've never made this beverage before, so pardon me if it's not to your-"
"Oh, stop! It already smells heavenly…"
Ayeva's wrist gauntlet projected a black screen upon the wall opposite of the bed Dina rested on. Before long, a peculiar little bell jingle played, as opening credits rolled.
The two proceeded to watch a movie involving a child and his grandmother defending their home against a mustache-twirling conductor and his army of hot chocolate-wielding minions, using elite means of guerilla warfare including marbles, strategically-placed tarantulas, and the most dangerous weapon known to man, clips of 650s-Age vignette flicks. By the end of it, the pair stopped Santa from being convicted of implied manslaughter and sued for the North Pole's entire inventory, by hitching a train heading there with the help of 3 fellow kids who also assisted in the thwarting of the evil conductor.
It was nonsensical, it was hammy, and in all honesty, it was an abysmal movie from an objective standpoint.
And the two girls had the time of their lives. Each sipping a cup of hot cocoa, ripping into the movie, and amusing themselves with their own unique brands of wit.
Dina was far from home, still very much out of her element. Yet that day, she was reminded of what made Xmas magical for her.
She'd further bonded with the one person who'd, for no reason other than reluctant kindness, cared for her. As an indirect result, the two created a memory they could look back upon and cherish forever.
The ending credits rolled, and Ayeva stood from her position on the end of the bed.
"I'm going to rendezvous with my coworkers in the Calculations Division. They're arguing over the approximate multiplier of the Super Saiyan state. Again. You're positive about sleeping here tonight?"
"Mh-hmm."
"Got it. Then I'll be back."
Dina suddenly shot up before Ayeva could leave the space, trapping her in a hug.
"Thank you. Thank you for this." Tears streamed down her face.
"It's nothing, really." Ayeva patted Dina's head. "Now get some sleep, tiger."
"Yeah. Sure."
With that sentiment, Ayeva opened her gate and left the domicile.
…
For about a minute.
"Dina?" Ayeva called, having just returned.
"Uh, yeah?" the halfbreed was halfway into a slumber.
"You'll want to see this."
"Eh?"
[BGM: Sengoku BASARA OST – Fist ~From the WORTHY Tiger With Love~ 0:00 – 0:49]
"THE PEOPLE DEMAND SNOW THIS XMAS!" Trunks loudly proclaimed to the dark hall.
"… Okay, so?" a small feminine voice replied.
"So? SO? WE CAN MAKE IT SNOW!"
"No, I can make it snow. Besides, are you even considering the patrollers sensitive to abnormal temperatures?"
Trunks proceeded to dramatically rip from his coat pocket a gigantic list of names, votes, and suggestions for how to implement snow.
"RENZ! RENZ, GET IN HERE!"
A familiar elite cameraman entered. "Yeah, boss?"
"EXACTLY HOW MANY PATROLLERS OBJECTED TO THE IDEA OF SNOW?"
"Like, 20?"
"AND WHY IS THAT?"
"Snow's cold."
"AND HOW DO WE FIX THAT?"
"I mean, people suggested snow befitting a patroller's average temperature tolerance, it's kinda worded weirdly but-"
"THAT! THAT'S HOW WE COMPROMISE!"
"That's a lot of effort for something so menial," the divine voice boorishly retorted.
Trunks shrugged. "I mean, it WOULD be a grand display of what your capable of, thus inspiring respect, faith, and reverence into those who work under your name, but hey, what do I know?"
Silence.
"… what was that about reverence?"
[BGM: Samurai Champloo (Impressions) – Nujabes – Silver Morning]
Dina's eyes welled.
The sky was a shade of icy blue. And from it, fell…
Snow.
And she was knee-deep in it.
She scooped up a handful, shaping it into a ball.
It was a tad warmer than what she was used to – somehow, not disturbing the genuine snow's integrity in the slightest – but it didn't matter.
All across Conton City, patrollers of all ages, shapes, and sizes were experiencing it, too.
Many were experiencing it for the first time. Many were reuniting with it for the first time in ages.
Snowball skirmishes, snow creatures, snow forts and… castles… snow angels and snow devils.
It was one of those rare moments of mass joy.
"How is it?" Ayeva turned to her pupil, who smiled ear-to-ear.
"Wicked."
"THINK FAST!" Ayeva was suddenly smacked in the face with a snowball.
"Oooh, damn!" Kaset giggled. "I thought she'd at least try to dodge!"
"Oh, don't mind us, Ayeva!" Stroga added. "Just a misplaced shot at, uh… that snoozaru behind you!"
She fell for it and paid with another snowball.
Kaset howled, while Stroga smirked coyly.
"WHAT THE FUCK STROGA THAT WAS DIRTY! OOH NOO!"
"Come now, you should know better than to trust your enemy!"
Dina's brow raised. "Wait, That's my teach.."
Ayeva's glowing azure eyes bore a hole through the snow. In a millisecond, she'd amassed a few thousand snowballs. Both Kaset and Stroga's expressions morphed into abstract fear.
"YOU'VE CHOSEN THIS PATH."
"Awaiting orders, captain!" Dina saluted in a military outfit she pulled from… uh…
"FIRE AT WILL."
"ROGER THAT!"
And thus, that Xmas, a war began.
"Boss?"
"Yeah?"
"Why this year, specifically? Did you finally lose it or something?
Trunks caught some snow in his palm.
"No, actually. A rookie came to me this morning. Reminded me of that Xmas passion and… suddenly, the idea of no snow became unbearable."
"You're one bizarrely festive man, sir."
"What can I say? I'm a sucker for unity."
"No truer words. One more thing, this's been on my mind for a while."
"Go on."
"Xmas. How'd it start, anyway?"
Trunks turned with a dead-serious expression.
.
.
.
"Uhuh-uh."
[ED: Pay Money To My Pain – Weight of My Pride]
Yo! OP Here!
I don't really like how rushed this chapter felt.
Why?
Because I spent ALL DAY on it. There's a reason I don't do weekly chapters. dammit.
Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I also hope you had a sppplended day, whether or not you celebrate Christmas or not. Cus I don't. I call it Xmas here because trying to put Jesus in Dragon Ball is just dumb. Even I know that.
That's regardless, too, though. There's one aspect of spirit of the holiday that's stayed consistent for centuries across the globe, and that's the integrity of love and bonds. Yeah, bonds. I'm a regular Ieyasu. So stay true and keep loving those close to you.
So, uh, I really like Air Gear and I really hated the ACT. Sierra Mist is pretty good and so is Titanfall 2. Most importantly, I STILL love you all. Keep on pressing forward, everyone, and have a joyous new ENTIRE DECADE. Yeah, you (hopefully) survived to see the beginning of something new. I mean, I don't exactly know for sure if the next decade will be new in any way, it's just a hunch.
You can't expect me to see what's in store 6 days from now, y'know.
It's not like I have 2020 vision!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I have to wear glasses.
Yeah, That's about it. Happy holidays, and See ya!