Dragon Ball: Space Adventures
Chapter 3
The rule of trees IThere was a mesmerizing aspect of that Uub thought he would never forget, something that would stay with him until the very last seconds of his existence, so when he finally closed his eyes, he would still see it like the moon in the sky one last time. He opened his eyes, and looked outside to see the view: Endless in magnitude and unstoppable in repetition, never ending moving forward and always there, existing in an ocean of pure darkness. The obscure vacuum of the infinity whose color was so strangely dark that it really didn't seem like a color—it was death, an affirmation of what he had first believed upon gazing it's eyes on it, the final sight of a person and everything that exists, death, always consuming and unstoppable no different than a devouring tiger. The boy would never admit it out loud, but the sheer magnitude of its existence scared him to a level that reached a primordial horror, as if billions of years of evolution had all led to being scared of what he had in front– because it all existed there, the that stars so brightly shined so far away distance became nothing to anyone alike, yellow like the sun in earth or red or blue or any strange color they might choose, the ever burning ball of fire that like a mother had given birth to everything in the world, all the galaxies that rotated around like ballerinas, with all it's strange forms–it all existed there, everywhere, anywhere, endlessly forever.
But now that ended, because he knew they were approaching the second planet not only because the trip had taken another consuming week, but because he could see the galaxy approach quickly towards them, or rather, them to her. There she was, like a ballerina in a stage, shining brightly and turning like a log on a river, where a profoundly shiny light claimed its position as the center, where on the edges of the log, small ripples of gas and stars turned with it, carrying a soft color of blue, blood and grape in a multicolored whirlpool that moved ever so softly across the infinity of the universe, carelessly, with only one thing in it's very mind, turning until the last day of life.
For a moment as they sat, they stood quietly as the galaxy grew larger than anything else, first like a dot you'd miss with ease then slowly growing like a car approaching, then larger like truck, then a building, and in moments it occupied the whole window with the easy of a leaf moving through the air, so immensely bigger than anything he could've ever seen, larger than any cloud he had flown into to feel, larger than any mountain looking above him. Uub always knew he was small—but now, he felt lower than anything, lower than a rat, lower than the smallest of bugs, if there was anything smaller than them, then he was smaller than even that, at that moment, he felt he was just Uub.
Quietly, they entered, watching the dance moving right through them and becoming a part of it, passing through immense clouds of a purple color imitating a car going through a highway at full speed without care of anything that might approach, anything that might be the end of them. He looked at Bulla worriedly, because they were going at speeds he felt too fast to land, but she had a large grin on her face and so did Pan, neither seemed worried, so even if death approached he wouldn't say a word–and there, through all the clouds and through all the lights and god knew what else, of all the planets and burning mothers providers of light and million objects that rotated across the universe, something quickly turned in the dark like a fast ball going straight towards the batters face, with half its face in darkness, and the other half painted blue like the skies. For a moment, it blinked at them. as if dirt had flown into your eyes, as if the air had split besides, as if that marvelous blue spot hidden in the walls of dust and obscurity had life of its own, and had now passed them a welcoming gift for their new planet in sight. What horrors would he face? what senseless fights and disturbances would the young Uub had to go through? he had no clue, he just hoped it'd be fast for the sake of their planet.
The ship flipped, fast, so fast like a rally car turning a dangerous curve, but they didn't feel a thing, it was smooth and precise, practiced a million times by a million tests no one but them ever seen, and immediately, it began burning. A ferocious fire emboldened the outside of the ship, covering everything in a red mattress. Soft and quivering, friendly almost.
The dark heavens outside slowly turned white and grew blue. In a second, they were there, staring directly in front of her. With its curves running alongside the blue pond that covered the world in a manner no different than a thousand-piece puzzle, with its different colors existing all across the continents–yellow, green, white, it seemed like a painting, but this was real, a planet that they had now entered. In the distance and beyond, Uub spotted a sea of green for a moment as clouds of white quickly covered the world, like snow, like cream, he thought, but his mind was distracted, for the boy could hear something growing–the engines roared with fury, with anger, shouting no different than an animal being slaughtered. The deafening sound of the engines soon filled even his thoughts, Uub could have screamed his damn throat out and nothing would've changed, it would all have been lost in the whirling sound of that strange machine which had become his home and then, with a small bump, they quieted off, until nothing more than the sound of the ship's computer working could be heard. No one said a word, they waited for a couple of seconds, perhaps it was to wash away the excitement or perhaps it was something else he didn't know, he just let a big sigh go. They had landed.
Just like last time, everyone rushed to their respective places. Pan went like a missile to her new room, Uub went to the lounge/bed and got his bags and Bulla disappeared inside the metal walls. From the bag, first he removed the safety chains that had so safely kept everything he owned intact and in place and then the boy grabbed a couple of things, his trusty canteen, the Compact Unitary Nurturing Treatment which the blue-haired girl had now set as his job, and once he made sure everything was in the right place he looked back to see a door open. He closed his eyes, and felt a certain energy fly into the distance. Hurriedly he turned around, only to stare in horror how the other girl had simply banished.
How had she opened the door without him realizing? How had he not noticed her? It didn't matter, this was something that for the good of his ego he was going to ignore. He simply sighed. There she was, running straight into the unknown, as if the word responsibility simply escaped her. He honestly hoped Mata Marah got hit by something on the way there. That would be fun. Even if she was a girl, Uub had zero intentions of feeling bad for someone so rude and brash and frankly distasteful. But, despite everything, she was still a girl, going alone into a dangerous world. He tried to fight it. Push it away. She had training, she'd be fine right? He just wondered what his master or village would say if he told them that Pan used to go alone like that. He already had the conversation in his head;
"Alone in the universe with nothing but two girls, surely it had to be stressful to take care of them."
"It was barely an inconvenience, one of the girls I just let go all on her own."
"... And where is she now?"
"I don't know, she went away and we never saw her again."
He could imagine the faces of horrors that they'd make, knowing that the old and reliable Uub was in fact a carefree idiot who cannot even take care of a girl by himself. He didn't even want to think of the indescribable agony of the parents of the girl knowing that there wouldn't even be a body to bury.
The last thing he wanted in the world was to play babysitter—especially to her, but it wasn't like he had any choice. He wasn't in chains anymore, and if she went around and got herself killed what was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to look at the eyes of Mr. Son or his teacher and tell them that her beloved granddaughter was dead? How was he supposed to look at the water from the river knowing full well that every ounce of suffering was all his fault? But that wasn't the worst part somehow, the worst part was that he didn't even know where to begin. The girl was gone, disappeared into the clouds like a plane never to be seen again, and for the milliseconds he had tracked her the boy could tell she was going as fast as one too. So how was he supposed to even find the girl? He understood well the complications of KI tracking. It's very simple; everything alive has a KI, and if you know someone for a while you can use their specific energy scent to ID them from a crowd. He'd used it for his master, family and Uub thought he was quite proficient at it. However, Pan was neither of those things, and as he tried to track her once again he quickly realized that he had no idea what KI was from who or where.
He sighed again, defeated by himself. Why did everything have to be as hard as plowing a field? Why couldn't it be like flying? It wasn't like Bulla had another Dragon Radar in the back of her tail or something along those lines… Or did she?
He turned around, and an imaginary lightbulb appeared on his head like ideas morphing. Slowly he walked towards Bulla's room and knocked twice. The door opened like a highway clearing a channel, and Bulla appeared wearing another set clothes; She was wearing a white shirt with a red ribbon in the neck, a large yellow hoodie that went all the way to below the thighs, where a flared checkered dark skirt went down to her knees, with her legs being covered by a pantyhose, and in her feet some cute short laced boots with white laces covered her foot from the world.
It wasn't what Uub would call "adventure clothing" and as a matter of fact he much preferred what Pan was wearing, but he made a choice of not commenting on her clothes, and instead focused on the matter at hand.
—I'm terribly sorry for this, but I need to ask you a question.
—Bombs away, young Uub.
His tone was decided, his mind working on plans like the radar of an F-22 Raptor searching for boogies. This was his one shot.
—You wouldn't happen to have another Dragon Radar?
With a smile, Bulla grabbed from behind a radar that was exactly the same as the one Pan carried, and with a single button the machine began working and tracking the desired sphere. It was somewhere to their right, not too far by their standards.
—Surely, you must know that Pan has already decided to take it all on her own again.
—I know, I just think that maybe she shouldn't have all the fun by herself.
—Oh Uub!—She said with a malicious smile— I didn't believe you were that kind of man.
—I promise I'm not,—he said, lying as naturally as he breathed.—But I do believe exceptions have to be made.
—You're right on that, young man.
So he smiled and put an arm behind his head, and Bulla smiled too. Evilly, he thought, but that didn't matter, it wasn't like the girl was going to do anything. They were just gonna go after her. And the best part was, no one but him knew why.
And so, the pair made their way Walking together through the open door for the first time in this new world, where the temperature was of a nice 88f (31c). The air was as clear as a crystal and the sun shone much angrier than before, almost like a bonfire being powered by a nuclear reactor or a fire with a direct line to a gas station. The sheer weight of it immediately landed on them like a hammer planting a nail deep in wood.
—Miss Briefs, I don't wish to doubt your clothing decisions, but considering the climate I may suggest something lighter.
The girl shook her head, and stared decided into the distance, which was about where the jungle began.
—I have done worse in the name of fashion.
She said decided as small drops of sweat had already begun dropping on her face. Uub had no idea who this Fashion was and why he was worthy of so much sacrifice to what basically was the simple act of taking some clothes off, but if she wished to honor his memory that way then he was going to let her, he just hoped she wouldn't get heatstroke or something like that. It tends to happen to foreigners.
The area around them was actually something Uub felt very similar to his home, it was jungly, very jungly—too much jungly. Their landing spot was miraculously empty, but the rest? Trees, trees and trees wherever he could see, and not just some random trees as tall as houses, no. These were massive, enormous monsters both in size and length. He swore he had never seen a trunk as wide as the one in front; it was wider than a car, a small truck, or maybe a house—but it wasn't just him there, it was the other one behind and the other to the side and all the others that peeked out everywhere anywhere, like soldiers in an army reading for battle, covering the land softly with them leafs the size of him and her. The jungle was so thick that after a few feet the entire area up ahead seemed invisible. He had to close his eyes and focus on the energy to see what was ahead, as it was covered by large bushes and leaves the size of him, all of a million different colors; Red like an apple or a bright strawberry, yellow like a banana or a star in the night sky, purple like a vine or a dancing galaxy in the universe, all shone so bright and powerful, that when he closed his eyes and felt the KI of the world it turned on like a bright light in the middle of a dark road. It all shone, from all places to all sides, in straight lines, standing proudly like walls, waving like waves or moving tranquil like leaves in the air. Uub thought that he knew what an alive ecosystem looked like, but as he stared at the one in front, he realized in that same instant that he was wrong.
Bulla softly elbowed him, and the boy left his trance momentarily. Slowly, they elevated over the ground and the branches so large he could fit a village in their arms, that expanded and mixed with other trees like octopuses clashing with one and other— with a billion branches all extended like a million arms so thick that not even a Kamehameha could ever pass, and watched as it took them a while to reach the top, only to see like sailor that was sent to the water in a storm the waves of trees that varied in sizes like people with different heights, and the humongous mountains that colored the world, colored green by the trees akin to body hair going through the arm, seemingly uncaring about the sheer height they lived in, as if their homes were lovely hills across the land instead of the massive bulges that had grown all across the world because, and as he kept going upwards into the air, the boy realized it was all mountains as far the eye could see. Thankfully, they had directions and with a simple wimp both began to speed off towards the black-haired-girl.