Author's Note: HA! That's two! The last day still counts!
Hello everyone! 'Tis I, HTlastsecond912 hope you all are doing well.
Not much to say other than we are inching our way towards the next section of this arc. I looking to wrap up all the loose ends in the next chapter before we get back into the action.
In the meantime, this chapter is more about shifting characters around and getting them ready for the enemies to come. Looking forward to your thoughts on this one.
Alrighty back to work for me, take care for now, and as always, please enjoy.
"So," Piccolo said, looking to the rest of the group before landing on the two Krillins with a deep scowl on his face. "It is clear we have a problem."
The group had remained on the lookout as the young Krillin held the single dragonball, clutching it close to his chest while the older Krillin remained focused on his counterpart.
"That's putting it mildly," said Tien, before looking over to Kami. "Do you know anything about this? Did Shenron's dragonballs ever move like that?"
"No," The Guardian said, shaking his head. "Creating Shenron and the dragonballs was a difficult task, but at no point did the dragonballs move of their own violation. What say you, Nail? Did the dragonballs behave in this fashion on Namek?"
"As far as I know, they have not. The Grand Elder had created Namek's dragon before my time, so I can't be certain. Yet he never mentioned anything like what we just saw."
"We have more pressing matters at the moment than just the fact dragonballs can move on their own."
The group looked over at the older Krillin, who had gotten back to his feet and stared down at his younger counterpart.
"Do you still hear it?" The old monk said, his voice heavy. "Do you still hear the heartbeat?"
"Yes," The young Krillin nodded. "… I heard a voice too."
"A voice? What did it say?"
"It said it would protect me."
"… then a decision was made and our goal was just made much more difficult."
"Care to clue us in?" Yamcha said, his confusion clear.
"I suspect both the voice and the one who moved the dragonball to defend my younger self is the dragon we hold inside of us. Given to us by the Grand Elder."
"Hold up, the dragon is inside you?" Yajirobi said with an eyebrow raised. "Thought you couldn't get any weirder."
"Its existence within us was the reason we could form the dragonballs at all. It was something we shared, yet now it seems to live only in my younger half."
"What does that mean? Can you not make the dragonballs anymore, Mr. Krillin?" Gohan asked nervously.
"… I do not know."
"Well, we have a backup, Krillin, right?" Yajirobi added, looking at the younger half. "Then you make the balls."
"I'm not sure I can," the young Krillin said slowly. "It takes a lot of energy and power to form the dragonballs and I… I'm not strong enough."
"Is rejoining completely off the table?" Tien asked. "Can you not try again?"
"I am uncertain it is up to us anymore," the older monk said, eyeing the dragonball still in his younger side's hands. "If the dragon itself has enough power to reject our union, then angering it further may be a mistake."
"Then if the dragonballs are inaccessible right now, what's our next step?" Tien asked. "Can your older half train in the time chamber as you did? Perhaps to gain strength to create the dragonballs on his own?"
"… that is not the right move," the older Krillin said. "Mostly, as I am uncertain how secure the lookout is at the moment."
"You think we're in danger here?" Yamcha asked with concern.
"It would be foolish to believe we aren't. If my hunch about Gero's abilities to spy on us is correct, then he no doubt knows of the lookout's existence, if not its location. We must assume even this place could become a battleground," the older Krillin said, his voice still steady. "If we had rejoined, we may have been strong enough to defend ourselves, but as things stand now, my younger half is vulnerable. If he dies or worse, if they destroyed the time chamber while he is still in there. Then the dragon would be lost to us forever."
"I can fight," the younger Krillin said with a glare.
"Not well enough," the old monk shot back. "What's more is that it is clear you have no control over the dragon. It has saved you, but in denying our joining it has shown that its priority is not Earth's safety. From what I can tell, its focus is on you and only you. So, it falls onto you to learn how to control it, somewhere that isn't here."
"You want to send me away? Right when we could be attacked at any moment?"
"I do because one of us needs to be thinking about this planet's well-being and our self-preservation."
The young monk seemed to slink down into himself for a moment. A moment that caught Piccolo's eye.
"If he needs to train, that's fine. The question is where," Tien said, thinking deeply. "Is there a place more secure than the lookout?"
"What about King Kai's planet?"
All eyes turned to Goku, who looked as if he was only stating the obvious.
"It's remote and you can train there as much as you want to. Plus, you said you made the dragonballs through Earth's strength, right? King Kai taught me the spirit bomb, so if anyone knows how to harness a planet's power, it would be him."
"It is a sound idea," Kami said, nodding in approval. "Yet King Yemma has already voiced his displeasure about Shenron's existence. Traveling to King Kai's planet would have us passing through his realm, where he would no doubt attempt to stop us."
"Not if I use instant transmission," Goku said with a clean smirk. "I could bring right to King Kai's doorstep with no one noticing.
"You can do that, dad?" Gohan asked with wide eyes.
"Pretty sure."
"It is the best plan we have at the moment," the older monk said slowly. "Is this agreeable to you?"
All eyes again turned toward the young monk, who could only look sheepishly back. "I don't like it."
"That doesn't matter. We must keep you safe, and you cannot do that as you are now. How long you remain apart from us will be entirely up to you and how quickly you can control the dragon. Once you can, we shall try again to rejoin."
"It didn't work before; you think some time apart is going to make a difference?"
"It must."
To that, the young Krillin sighed and nodded. "Alright."
"Good, you'll leave now."
"Let me talk to the King's agent first at least. I imagine he'll be confused enough as it is. I can at least try to explain things."
"Can I trust you to not over-share?"
"If you can't do even that, then we have already lost."
"… very well. Go."
"I'll be ready to leave when you get back!" Goku nodded.
The young monk offered a small smile back before turning away, the dragonball still in his grasp.
"Don't you think you're being too hard on him? Or yourself, I should say," Tien said, eyeing the younger Krillin walk back to the lookout's entrance.
"We do not have time to coddle anyone's feelings, even my own. Especially since they seem to be the reason we have suffered a setback. Despite all our preparations, we still lost someone today. I will not let that happen again." Krillin said firmly before his gaze glided over to the others. "Training begins now."
Launch scratched the back of her head as she stifled a yawn, her blond hair bouncing slightly as she did. Having sneezed during the ride back from the King changed her hair from blue to blond and took her a second to gain her bearings. Especially as she was the one behind the wheel.
With the car parked and now riding the elevator up to the hidden Capsule Corp lab gave the former blond bandit a chance to catch up on the conversation with the King.
"Geez, the boss really didn't hold back," Launch said to herself as she looked at her watch that had recorded the conversation. "Though I guess it is for the best we try to keep up the secret."
The elevator arrived at the floor, and the door to the lab slid open. Launch quickly found her boss hunched over her desk with her personal computer almost pressed against her face.
"Come on, come ooon."
The blue-haired scientist spoke to herself as she leaned in toward one of her many laptops. Furiously tapping away at the buttons as lines and lines of code streamed through her screen. Eyes read, tracked, and understood every line given to her in seconds. Yet even she couldn't bring back what was already destroyed. Eventually, the code stopped running and she could do no more.
"… tch," Bulma clicked her tongue as she pushed herself away from the desk, her chair's wheels carrying her backward. "Useless."
"Something wrong, boss?"
Bulma looked over at her bodyguard as she walked toward her. "Yes, we have a problem."
Picking up the object that had been laying next to her laptop with one hand, Bulma gave it over to Launch, who looked it over. With a raised eyebrow, the bodyguard carefully inspected to object. It looked very similar to a beetle, yet it was clear it was far more technologically advanced.
"What the heck am I looking at?"
"That is what I assume to be what Gero has been using to monitor us," Bulma said while crossing her arms. "The little creep."
"Wait, this thing was spying on us?"
"I can only assume," Bulma said with a sigh. "What Krillin said on the lookout was bothering me, so I scanned the building for any tech that wasn't mine or the company's. Got a ping from that thing in the corner of this room. I sealed off the room so it could leave, but before I could get to it, it wiped itself and burned away anything I could use. I can't break into it, so there is no telling how much this thing saw or where else it's been."
"Can you use it to find the guy?"
"Tried that too," Bulma said, reaching out with a hand for the beetle, which Launch returned. "Looks like it was designed with a fail-safe to destroy itself if it was ever discovered. It's completely dead."
"I guess that's smart. Does that mean we aren't safe here?"
"It's not as safe here as the lookout, but we're fine for now. If Gero had something else to attack us with, he already would have. He won't be able to sneak something like that in here anymore, at least," Bulma said, placing the small drone back onto her desk with more force than needed. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't start preparing for next time he tries to get close."
The all too familiar sound of the ceiling opening paused the conversation and before long, another door to the lab slid open, revealing Vegeta followed by Trunks.
"Ah, good, you're here," Bulma said, nodding to the two. "Put the capsules on the desk over there and I'll get to them soon."
Vegeta didn't move from his spot even after Bulma finished talking. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked at her from head to toe.
"Didn't hear me, prince?" Bulma said, raising a single eyebrow. "Put the capsules on the desk."
Vegeta simply smirked but did as he was told and walked over to the desk and put down the capsule he had in his pocket. Once he had, he went right back to staring at her.
Ignoring the saiyan's stare, Bulma looked over to Trunks, who had also placed his capsule. "Did you get all the pieces?"
"Y-yeah," Trunks glanced over to Vegeta for a second. "We did. Do you think you'll be able to fix it soon?"
"Not sure yet. I'll look at it when I can, but I have a laundry list of things to get through. Is there anything you can tell me about it?"
"Uh," Trunks said, hesitating a bit. "Sorry I know how to operate it, but I don't really know how it works."
"Great," Bulma said with a sigh. "Looks like it'll be another sleepless night."
"Don't be a fool, woman," Vegeta said, his eyebrow twitching. "You're no good to us, exhausted."
"Excuse me? No good?"
"You heard me," the prince said, crossing his arms. "You already looked awful before Cooler. You're better off resting while you can no sense in doing more damage to yourself."
"I look awful?" Bulma said with daggers in her eyes. "Says the man who was living in a cave for the last year."
"Any warrior worth anything knows you're prone to make mistakes when you're forcing yourself to stay awake," Vegeta snorted. "Cave or not, at least I know that much."
"You trying to pick a fight, saiyan?" Launch said with a bit of bite.
"With you? No, you aren't worth my time. A bodyguard that cannot protect their charge from themselves is worthless," Vegeta said with just a side glance at Launch before looking back at Bulma with a grin. "Perhaps you need someone more experienced."
"You have a lot of nerve," Launch started reaching for her gun.
"H-hey maybe we should just cool it," Trunks said, stepping in between the human and saiyan. "I mean, it is a Time Machine, so I can use it right? You should focus on what else you need to do."
"… fine," Bulma said, eyeing Vegeta carefully. "While you're here, though, you can inform the others about this."
Picking up the beetle again, she tossed it from her chair over to Trunks, who caught it with one hand before inspecting it.
"This is-"
"A drone," Bulma said, smoothly interrupting. "No question it's Gero's either. It's designed to spy and record, but it destroyed itself before I could gain any more information on it, though."
"I see," Trunks said intensely, looking over the tiny machine. "This must be how he was able to design the androids to be so much more powerful than everyone else in my time."
"It's probably how he could track Chichi and Goku's home too. I stopped him here, but there is no telling how much information he has on us or if he has any more of these things flying around. Depending on how much he has gathered, we could be in more trouble than we thought."
"Is that doubt I'm hearing in your voice, woman?" Vegeta said with a laugh. "Don't tell me you're starting to believe this Gero character has outmaneuvered you already."
"Hardly," Bulma said sharply. "No one is smarter than me."
"Good," Vegeta answered with a wild smile. "That is how you should be."
The blue-haired scientist looked at the prince with utter bewilderment at his comment, causing Vegeta's smile to only grow.
"Boy, we're leaving," Vegeta said, keeping his eyes on Bulma.
"Oh okay," Trunks said, putting the beetle in his pocket. "We'll show this to the others on the lookout."
"Good," Bulma nodded. "You can tell them I'll be in contact, too. Have a few things I can build that will help against the androids."
"Will do."
Bulma smiled at the young teen before once again looking over at Vegeta, whose grin had yet to fade.
"You have something else to say, prince?"
"Get some rest and you'll be unstoppable. When I return, we can discuss where my living quarters will be."
Before she could respond, Vegeta turned and walked out through the lab door.
"Ah, um, sorry," Trunks said, almost bowing before dashing after the prince. Before long, the two warriors took off into the sky, leaving the two women with a sense of deep confusion.
"What a tool," Launch scoffed. "Thought he couldn't get any more insufferable."
"Ignore it. We don't have time for him," Bulma said, turning back to her computer and clicking open the folder labeled Tubby's Sword.
"We have work to do."
He was careful with his wording. Or at least he tried to be.
He explained to Z what the lookout was and where he was currently. He added that besides Goku, Chichi, and Trunks, his other allies were also gathered on the lookout. He added that not all of them were human, but they were all committed to stopping the threat the androids posed. After he had finished, he handed off his dragonball to the agent, who looked over it with a critical eye. Once he had, Z continued with the hardest question. Precisely what are the dragonballs and what is their connection to the miracle.
"The miracle was a wish that we, I made, using the dragonball," Krillin said, sitting on the bed that was directly opposite Z's.
"Son Goku said dragonballs, plural. You aren't getting that by me," the agent said through narrowed eyes hidden behind dark glasses. "So, you just wished East City's residents back to life with these dragonballs? They are that powerful?"
"Yes," Krillin answered. "You can see why this isn't something we'd like known to the public."
"Understandable," Z said. "There would be a mad scramble for that kind of power. Is it limited to just restoring the dead?"
"I will not tell you that," Krillin said, trying to keep his face still.
"How about how many are there?" The agent said after studying the monk's face for a moment.
"There are four total," Krillin said, repeating the lie he had once told Vegeta.
"Is that the truth?"
"That's up to you to decide. Can't say I trust you completely given how you spied on Chichi. Besides, it doesn't matter. This is the only one available right now and without the others, they are useless."
"Useless? Then why did Son Goku talk about them as if they were an option to bringing back Chichi's father?"
"He didn't know what happened to the rest of them. He was away."
"On Namek," Z said, surprising Krillin. "He mentioned that, too."
"Of course he did," Krillin said, unable to stop a chuckle.
"Then what happens now? Do I just go back to the surface like nothing happened?"
"Truthfully, that may not be up to me anymore."
"Explain."
"To prepare for the androids, I'll have to leave the lookout for a while."
"How long?"
"I don't know. Which means you'll be talking with the others here and one of them is me."
"… again, please explain."
"There is a martial arts technique that can copy yourself so that there are two of you instead of one. I did that and trained in a fashion where part of me aged rapidly. He is the one who is calling the shots."
"There are two of you?"
"It's a bit more complicated than that and to be honest, we don't have the time for me to get into it."
"Even if you did, I have my doubts you would tell me," Z said with a firm stare. "Your other allies. Is the demon king among them?"
"How did you?" Krillin said, failing to suppress his shock in time.
"I have my ways and your reaction is all I need as an answer," Z said, tossing the dragonball back to Krillin, who caught it with one hand. "If you won't tell me more about the dragonballs, at least answer me this. Why ally yourself with that monster?"
"Well, if you're looking for the most important reason first, it's because he's my friend."
"… I'm hoping your other reasons make more sense."
"If you need details, he isn't the demon king you know, at least not really. The demon king who attacked the King's castle all those years ago was his father or the closest thing he has to a parent."
"What about the World Martial Arts Tournament? Was that his father, too?"
"You know about that too? You've done your research, I guess. No, that was him, but other than the property damage, no one was injured too bad," Krillin said, remembering the hole in Goku's chest towards the end of that fight.
"Then you're telling me he is someone you trust? The demon king?"
"I trust him completely," Krillin said with a smile. "Without him, I'd have died a long time ago."
"… forgive me if I don't share your sentiment," Z said with almost a snarl. "Yet I suppose I'll get to judge him for myself soon enough. I am a prisoner here, after all."
"I suppose you are," Krillin said, standing up with his dragonball. "I'm not sure what is going to happen to you here, but I can tell you that you are not in danger, and you won't be harmed."
"Good to know. I hope your other half agrees. I will report all of this to the King if I get the chance, but your need for secrecy is making sense to me," Z said with a nod. "If there is nothing else, then I wish you good luck with whatever you have to do."
"Thank you."
With that, Krillin and his dragonball left the room, leaving Z alone with his thoughts. He didn't have to go far before he found Piccolo leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed.
"Waiting for me?" Krillin asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Eavesdropping," the namekian said, pointing to his ears. "These are sensitive enough to hear through walls."
"Do you think I over shared?"
"No more than Goku already has. He's been back less than a day and already unraveled everything. Though truthfully, it was only a matter of time before our secrets leaked. This agent Z is tenacious," Piccolo said, opening his eyes. "Must be another human trait."
"Heh, you'd be right," Krillin replied, leaning against the wall himself. "It's not always a good thing, though."
"You've shown me that many times."
The two stood there in silence for a moment. With Krillin unsure of what to say next and Piccolo giving him the space to speak his mind.
"I pulled away. When I was rejoining with myself at the last second, I pulled away and tried to run."
"I know."
"You saw?"
"No, but it's clear you were conflicted about it."
"… do you think that was wrong?
"Objectively speaking, yes," Piccolo said without hesitation. "Both us and the world would be safer had you rejoined and taken over as Guardian. Undoubtedly, your strength would grow, which is needed against these androids, and creating the dragonballs would be easier. From the outside, it seems this is a decision so easy it does not even need to be questioned, but I understand why you have."
"You do?"
"We are the same in this sense. I'm certain had you taken the title of Guardian Kami would have moved to me, eager to rejoin. He would have insisted that our combined strength will be needed and that it would be time to put the past behind us," Piccolo said before he adopted a cruel sneer. "I wonder what kind of face he would have made when I refused him."
"You would have refused? Even now?"
"Of course. Like you, I do not wish to lose myself."
"…. it was terrifying," Krillin said, laying his chin on the dragonball. "It felt like I was just getting washed away or erased. It's strange realizing that I hold so much power yet still feel like it's not mine at all.
"We are opposites. From what Nail told us on Namek, the more powerful namekian will absorb the weaker one, so should Kami and I rejoin, he would be the one merge into my body. I suspect your older half would be the one in control, should the two of you be successful."
Krillin grew quiet before replying. "It just, that amount of power doesn't feel like something I should have."
"You think you are unworthy of it?"
"It's not that. I just don't feel ready for it."
"Do you believe you will be?"
"My other half says I must be so I'm halfway there, but what really got me was that he said that the day we got our dragon, we stopped being human. I suppose I'm not done being human just yet."
"… I'm not here to tell you what you should do. You clearly aren't listening anyway, so instead I'll say this: whatever you end up doing, decide quickly. In the meantime, I'll be here intending to become strong enough that we won't need Kami anymore. No need to debase myself if I can take out all these androids myself."
"I see. Then you're just going to do what you want?
"Of course, I am the 'demon king,' after all. I care for no one save myself."
Krillin laughed before responding. "Have to be honest. I'm surprised to see you here at all. Didn't you tell me you'd rather die than return to the lookout?"
Piccolo flinched at the question and remained quiet.
"Thanks, Piccolo."
"Save that for when we are done human."
"Here we are!"
It took Krillin a moment to catch his breath as Goku loudly exclaimed their arrival of King Kai's planet. Going from saying his farewells to his friends to suddenly catching his footing on the green grass of the tiny world at the end of snake way caught him off guard.
The first thing that came into focus was the thin road made of concrete wrapping all the way around the small sphere. The trees, house, garage, and the sporty-looking car hadn't changed a bit. Even the planet's gravity was the same as it slammed down onto his shoulders, causing him to stumble, but not fall.
"King Kai should be here somewhere," Goku said, looking around as he started walking across the planet's surface. "You with me?"
"Yeah, I'm right behind you," Krillin said, holding his dragonball tight in his arms.
With Goku leading, the two hermit students walked to the other side of the small sphere before they came across the Kai of the North, amid a fierce battle.
"Stop stalling and pick a card, Bubbles!"
King Kai was facing off against the brown monkey he once used as a training tool with two cards held in his hands. Even from afar, he was pushing one closer to his simian opponent. Bubbles looked over his card choices with a critical eye while scratching his behind with his own cards. Reaching out, the brown monkey pulled the card King Kai was trying to hide, leaving the Kai of the North with the old maid and a heavy loss.
"How are you so good at this?!" King Kai shouted, tossing the old maid onto the ground as Bubbles howled with laughter.
"This a bad time, King Kai?" Goku asked, walking up to his despairing former mentor.
"Goku? How did you get here?"
"I used instant transmission. It's a technique I learned on Yardrat."
"… ah, of course, is that where you were?"
"Yep, just got back, but we have a problem. A big one."
"Hmmm, does it have anything to do with Krillin over there holding a dragonball?" King Kai said, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the monk. "Don't let King Yemma catch you with that now."
"We're trying to avoid that as best we can," Krillin answered. "It's a long story, but the reason where here is to ask for your help."
"It's training, isn't it?" King Kai sighed. "None of you ever just want to say hello."
"Sorry, is that alright?"
"As long as you avoid King Yemma's ire, it should be fine. However, you still need to pass the test before you can stay here."
"There's a test?"
"Humph, surprised you haven't heard it alright. Even Piccolo had trouble with this one," King Kai smirked. "You'll have to make me laugh!"
"Oh right, now I remember. I think Yamcha told me about this once."
"Well, just for the record, whatever you try has to be good. I am a master of humor and don't laugh that easil-"
"What's red and bad for your teeth?"
Krillin's setup came faster than King Kai expected, and it took him a moment to respond. "I-I don't know what is red and bad for your teeth?"
"A brick."
A moment passed and then another as Krillin's nonsensical joke and deadpan delivery started to take effect. King Kai's cheeks swept and a deep blush pained his face.
"Didn't you hear me, King Kai?" Krillin asked, seeing an opening and pushing his advantage. "What's red and bad for your teeth?"
Holding both hands over his mouth, the Kai of the North doubled over and a heavy snort blew through his nose.
"A brick."
The dam broke, and a laugh erupted out of King Kai even louder than Bubble's howl from earlier. "A brick, he says! A brick ahahahahah!"
"I don't get it. Why would a brick be bad for your tee-" Goku said before realization hit him like a punch. "Ooooh, that's pretty funny."
"I guess," Krillin shrugged. "Master Roshi told it to me once and thought it was the funniest thing in the world for almost a week."
"Aaaahahaaa." King Kai slowly exhaled, catching his breath. "Well done, Krillin. You have bested me, the master of humor."
"Thanks King Kai, I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but at the moment, I just need a quiet place to get some stuff in order."
"Suit yourself, will be nice to get some company that isn't a monkey who cheats at cards." A particularly loud screech emanated from the other side of the planet. "Yeah, I'm talking about you, Bubbles!"
"Looks like things haven't changed much here," Goku said, watching the Kai of the North march off to confront the simian.
When the saiyan didn't get a response, he turned back to look at his human friend, who seemed to hug his dragonball tighter to his chest.
"You okay Krillin?"
"No, not really, to be honest."
"Oh," Goku said in surprise and unsure of what to say next. "Don't worry, Krillin, you won't get hungry here at least. King Kai isn't the best cook, but he certainly has a lot."
"I'm not worried about being hungry, Goku. I'm worried about you guys and what's going to happen while I'm gone."
"I mean, you won't really be gone, right? The old you is on the lookout."
"That's not the same."
"Right, I guess that makes sense," Goku said, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I mean, you're here to train? So, do your best and just see where things go."
"Heh," Krillin said with more of an exhale than a laugh. "Just fight and see, right?"
"Yeah, that's it!" Goku grinned, happy he could cheer up his friend. "Okay, I should get back to the others. Good luck Krillin!"
"Hold on Goku," Krillin said, stopping the saiyan before he could put two fingers to his forehead. "We haven't really been able to talk since you got back."
"Talk? Sure, we can. What do you want to talk about?"
"Chichi told me you and she made me Gohan's godfather," Krillin said, almost struggling to get the words out. "I wanted to thank you for that. You do not know how much that really means to me."
"Oh, is that all?" The saiyan said with a smile. "Of course, Krillin. I knew I could trust you!"
"Thanks, Goku," the monk said, returning the smile.
"Now get to training. I'll be waiting for you to catch up!"
"Wa-" Krillin started still having more, he wanted to say, but was too late to stop Goku from vanishing from sight. Now left alone and with only the angry argument of King Kai and Bubbles, to listen to the young monk let his gaze drop back onto his dragonball.
With a heavy sigh, Krillin sat down and placed the orange orb in front of him. "Okay," he said, staring deep into the single red star. "It's just you and me now."
"Wow." Yajirobi stared as he stared out into the white void of the time chamber. "I think I hate it here."
He, Yamcha, and Tien all stood out at the entrance of the chamber, having been brought here by the older Krillin.
"I can say with confidence that will learn to despise this place," Krillin said, walking in front of the three humans yet with his back facing them. "Yet there is no better place on Earth to train."
"Shouldn't we wait for the others before starting?" asked Yamcha.
"We will use both the time chamber and the pendulum room for training. Kami and Mr. Popo will show Gohan, Goku, Nail and Piccolo how it functions, but the more time in here the better. We shall rejoin them soon enough."
"It's been a while since we tried our hand at training here," Tien said with his arms crossed. "We're more prepared this time."
"No, you are not," Krillin answered sharply. "Yet neither was I, and we are out of other options now."
"We know what we are doing here, Krillin," Yamcha said as he stood up straight. "Plus, we have you to help us out, right?"
"You do," the old monk said, turning towards them. "However, let me warn you that this place will strip you of everything you are. It will break to you down till there is nearly nothing left, and it shall be up to you to build yourself back up. You leave this place faster, stronger, and even more in tune with your own energy, but there is one thing you will never get back."
"What?" Yamcha asked hesitantly.
"Your time."
"Well, yeah, that's the whole point, right?" Yajirobi huffed. "A year in here is a day outside, right?"
"A year is not an easy thing to lose. Tien and Yamcha have more experience than you in here, but even they only spent a few weeks. Only a day will pass for the others out here, but every minute here will feel like an hour, an hour will feel like a day, a day a month, and a year like a decade. You can get stronger than you could ever imagine, but the toll it takes is high."
Slowly Krillin turned again, facing forward, and strode off the time chamber's entrance. With long practiced strides, he walked into the void and felt the pressure of the chamber envelope him.
"This is the line," he said, turning back to Tien, Yamcha, and Yajirobi. "If you cross it, then you are committing to this fight with everything you have. For the sake of strength, you will sacrifice your most precious resource. Think carefully."
Tien moved forward first. Almost eager in his steps to cross the threshold and join Krillin on the other side, he moved with determination and focus. Yet just before his foot could step off the entrance, a voice in his head sounded out.
Um, I just remembered! Launch said in his mind, her blue hair bobbing as a deep red blush marked her face. Forgot to check with Julie today. Seems like I was mean to her the other day, so I need to say hi and be nice and okay. Bye.
Again? Tien said to himself as he could see her run away from him in the memory. I'm thinking about her again?
"Tien, you coming?"
"Yes, apologies," the three-eyed human said, looking over to Yamcha who had already walked past him.
"Good, what about you, Yajirobi? Scared?"
"Hardly," the wide warrior said, having yet to move. "Got to say I'm not too happy about getting back to training on the same day we were supposed to be done with it."
"That's just how it is, big guy," Yamcha shrugged.
"Is it though? Goku's back, Nail's here, and hell, there's a guy from the future helping us out. We did our part, right? How much help are we gonna be?"
"Do you plan on stopping here, then?" Tien asked, fully facing Yajirobi.
"I'm not saying that. Just pointing out the obvious is all."
"If you have doubts that is understandable, but if it is obvious, you wish to hear, then listen now," Krillin said, watching them carefully. "Being human does not make you weak. It simply means you will have to give up more to keep up."
"Ya sure, but how much is more?"
"That. That is a good question. I cannot force you to do this, but I have said my piece on the matter. The rest is up to you."
"I'm not stopping here," Yamcha said firmly. "No way am I going to be left behind for this fight. We've got people counting on us."
"… yes, we do," Tien said, joining him.
"Ugh, you guys are the worst," Yajirobi said, following behind.
Stepping onto the white floor brought the chamber's gravity down hard onto the three human's shoulders. With a grunt of pain, each of them shifted their weight to compensate for the massive increase in pressure. Yet, none of them fell.
"Very well. You have made your choice," the old monk said with a measured nod. "Our training will focus on increasing your strength by alternating your time both in the chamber and in the pendulum room. We will start with just a month in here."
"What? We will not stay here like you did?"
"Not for the same amount of time. As the next in line for the position of guardian, I may remain here longer than other guests of the lookout. Here, we will pay close attention to your individual strengths and in the pendulum return to cooperate as a team, yet you will do so without me."
"You will not be training with us, either?"
"No, since I cannot join you on Earth's surface, you must create your own way of fighting without my leadership. Make your own plans, come up with new techniques, and be creative. If Gero has been watching us as I suspect, then the time we can use to reinvent ourselves will be critical. I shall look more into how becoming guardian can help shape you into these champions Nail mentioned before. Discussions with him may provide insight into how that can aid us. Now, to begin our training, we shall first start with a walk."
"A walk?" Yajirobi asked as his body stressed against the gravity of the time chamber. "I knew I was going to hate it here."
"It will be hard, but I know you are all up to the task." "If you ever feel you are reaching your limit here, then know this. You will grow stronger because you still can. None of you have finished growing. If anything," Krillin said with a smile. "I believe you have just begun."