Kakara sat with her legs crossed in an isolated area of the Training Hall. She had been sitting here for a long time, long enough that her legs had fallen asleep and people had already begun to finish training and leave.
But her body was the last of her concern. Her mind couldn't be further from her Self. Instead, it was focused all around her. Her eyes were closed, her ears were covered but her ki sense was spread across the hall in an attempt to sense a specific source of energy.
The last of the people training were slowly powering down, so that they could easily blend into the crowd. With humans learning about ki, there was a certain level of paranoia among the saiyins and their control over ki was at least for now, even stricter than usual. These people however were only on the edge of Kakara's perception and she didn't really notice how they all glanced her way every time she sent pings of ki through the training room.
Instead, her focus was on the seemingly empty space in front of her. Space that should have been filled with an array of devices that she wanted to be able to sense. Instead, the space was just empty and she couldn't sense a thing.
The one time she did it was under an extreme situation.
It shouldn't have been possible, and even now it was fading back into that impossibility.
PING
She knew it should be impossible.
No one had ever done it before. For all she knew this was a wild goose chase, and it was just some side effect of her Sight.
Even now she was justifying it to herself.
Luck.
Fluke.
Delusions.
PING
She knew it would be hard.
Even if she was on the right track, it would take years to master it.
Years that she didn't have.
Years that could be used to help her people in so many better ways.
PING
She knew that she might never achieve it again.
Even if it was possible, even if it was hard, she might just get unlucky.
PING
She was Scion.
She had better things to do.
Maybe it was better to just write it down somewhere and let someone else figure it out.
You spread your feet apart. You lean in, to brace a force that isn't there yet.
You cup your hands.
You could do this for years. It was one of the first techniques you learned. After all, you were Clan Goku. Of course you learned how to do this. Even without using the technique, all the steps were instinctively in your mind.
You breathe in.
And release.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Ki would first gather into your hands, following your will as easy as breathing.
It would flow in, quickly and hungrily. Like there was so much space for the ki.
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
Your hands would be pushed apart, as the amount of ki increased. The space was running out. But you would know you could keep going. Push so much more. But that wasn't what this technique was.
You would push back.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
The ki would move sluggishly this time. It was harder, like you were trying to fill space already occupied.
It didn't matter though. You were trained to do that too.
But that's not what this technique was about either.
"Meeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
I was about focus.
Lots of techniques were about concentration of force.
Los of techniques were about raw power.
But that's not what this technique was about.
With skill born of long practise, you would have twisted. It would draw into itself, and the ki would become more.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
And you pushed your arms forward, in a motion born of long practice. You imagined the beam of energy should have appeared, much more powerful than it should be.
That's what the Kamehameha was, you thought to yourself as you sat down.
You've never really thought about that so much. You've always known, but it really never hit you. Everyone uses the Kamehameha technique. It's probably the most common technique you have.
But you remember hearing that it took Master Roshi over fifty years to make the technique. Even when they fought Freeza and the other aliens, no one really had quite a technique like that.
Really, Kakara said they still didn't!
But you never really understood that until now.
It had taken you longer than you'd liked to copy the ki signature that Kakara had shown you, but even after you did that, you still couldn't figure out more.
You remembered the feeling of the Kamehameha, and you tried to focus your aura like that.
But it was haaaard.
You knew it wouldn't be easy.
But even now, after so long.
All you got what something that looked like Jaffur's aura.
And it wasn't fair!
You hadn't even looked at Jaffur's aura.
You had never even felt it.
You were trying to figure out something from absolutely nothing!
But Kakara had seen it happen. She knew how it would work. She would figure this out before you too.
Why couldn't Jaffur have fought you? Why couldn't you have seen his technique?
If only…
You punched the wall with your enhanced aura. The wall shook a little. Some book books fell down. Nothing really happened.
Like you knew nothing would. You weren't using that much ki anyway, and it's not like the technique would ever work.
You went to pick up the books, and slowly put them back. What were you doing wrong?
"Mato," you heard from behind you. "What were you doing?"
You froze.
And you slowly turned around to see who it was.
Your dad stood at the door, staring at you with an unreadable expression on his face.
Doubt that last part would be canon, but our dad has actually fought Jaffur so it makes sense that he'd be surprised if he sensed Mato practicing something similar, and provided that dad doesn't shut him down, he might be able to give pointers to Mato. This would help accelerate his training, help motivate him and also let him have something with Dad that we don't have.
I also think that Jaffur style might be related in someway to Endivan's trick. If it is, dad might be able to give us even more tips.
"Styles, what are they really?" Your mom says, beginning today's lesson. "They certainly aren't what our Ancestor's practised, despite being named in their honour. The Styles use the same techniques, but our Ancestors obviously used them differently. The Styles we use aren't even what we think they used, but instead they are their different approaches to battle. Tell me Kakara, based on the techniques you've learned, which styles would they fall into?"
"Honestly," You muse, "My techniques are based more around Goku Style, rather than Tien Style. People even said that my fighting is kind of like Goku's."
Your mom smiles approvingly. "And that's how it should be. Using those techniques in battle, people generally gravitate towards the same tricks and solutions. You would do things that a Goku Stylists might do, and even though you just started learning, now you might do things that a Tien Stylist might do. Styles are formal studies into these tricks and solutions, so that rather than having to figure out everything by yourself, you can benefit from the experiences that the people before you have had. Not only is this much faster, it's also lowers the chances you get into bad habits. "
"So what you're basically saying is that, people started using techniques that our Ancestors were famous for just because they used them, and then created the Styles trying to make them work?"
"Pretty much. It's not like there was any way we could see how our Ancestor's actually used them, so we had to make up our own styles. The names really only acted as a quick identifier and made want to learnt them more, since they add some prestige value."
You stick out your tongue at that cheekily. "Well, you can't. Nothing stops me from learning by watching Tien directly."
That actually caused mom to pause and actually think about it. "I didn't think of that. Sight and Magic changes a lot of things, doesn't it?"
You just grin at her.
"Ha ha, but don't think that would actually help you, young lady. Didn't I just say that our Styles are completely different from what the Ancestor's used? Just watching might give you some insights into fighting in general, but these Styles are products of centuries of innovation, and have a lot of literature dedicated to them not to mention actual teachers. "
"Well I could, never said I would, mom." You reply sheepishly, and shelve your plans of using the Sight to learn faster. Topic change! "So what are we planning to do today?"
Your mom smiles knowingly at you, but then gets serious. "As I was getting to, we'll be doing some sparring practise today. I know you learn better from direct teaching and don't like fighting as much, but this is something we have to do if you want to make the Style your own. You have the basics down, but you need learn how to use them in a real fight. Are you ready for that, Kakara?"
"I…" You fidget a bit as you think of how to say this. You don't think you've really vocalised this yet, have you?
Your mother tilts her head, clearly wondering what you would say. But she waits patiently, as you think this through. She knew what you were doing.
"I've thinking about this a lot, recently," you begin slowly. "Ever since the scouts, you know? And I think I'll be fine now. I know what I want, and I want to protect everyone. I need to know how to fight."
You looked your mother in the eye as you said it, and some emotion you didn't recognise flickered through her at that. Then she sighed and pulled you into a hug. "You always grow up really fast, you know that?" She pulls you away and smiles. "I'm proud of you. Now, we're still in the middle of a lesson, so let's hit the mat."
You smile back. "Thanks mom. Now I hope I don't beat you too bad."
Your mother's smile turns very saiyin as she hears your reply. "Did I mention power levels are restricted?"
[X][SCENE] Misfits and Maya training.
[X][NEWS] Accept the interview.
Standard Practice
You and Maya stop talking and glance over as the door to the training gym opens. You told the Misfits to meet you here today when you all last parted.
After all, they did ask to learn about ki.
"You can leave those," you say, gesturing at their gym bags. "The owner will watch them for us."
"Sure, don't mind me," says the Masqued saiyan, lounging in a corner. "I'll play caddy."
You give him a foul look. He backs off.
You turn back to your friends. "We're going somewhere else today."
"Where?" asks Jaron, dropping his bag immediately.
"Dodonpa," you say, pointing off to the side. Before the photographer in the bushes can produce a replacement camera, you and Maya link hands and gesture for your friends to join you. Once they do, you snap your fingers to your forehead faster than anybody except Maya can see-
vip
"What the heck was that?!" says Jenny, tripping over herself as you transmit. "Did we just teleport?!"
"Yup!" you say, grinning. "Welcome to the wonderful world of ki!"
Gemma pulls out a notebook from...well, somewhere, clearly, although you're at a loss as to where specifically...and starts scribbling. "You can fly, you can teleport, you can shoot lasers-"
"You know what you're doing, right Karen?" asks Sophie, nervous.
"Course I do!" you say, smiling. "My people have been doing this for hundreds of years! This isn't new to us."
She still looks nervous, but she doesn't leave.
Which is a good thing, seeing as you're hundreds of miles from the nearest person.
You clap your hands together. "Right! So, remember, just because you can use ki doesn't mean it's safe to fight aliens or anything. It takes a lot of practice to get as strong as the aliens that attacked the school. Let the people who do fight aliens be the ones to tell you when you get to that level, because I don't want anybody getting hurt."
Jennifer looks curious. "So... no fighting aliens. What about giant monsters? Do you ever get to fight giant monsters?"
You picture the bluenette challenging a raging oozaru. Or, Ancestors forbid, the dragon you saw in your visions. With a power level of, say, fifty. Or for that matter fifty thousand. You blanch. "DEFINITELY no giant monsters. Anyway, you all have to promise not to do anything stupid with this. Got that?"
Gemma and Sophie nod, followed a split second later by Jenny.
"First, before you can learn to channel your energy, we have to teach you how to breathe and stand up right."
Jennifer giggles at that, but you've dragged the group to enough martial arts lessons that nobody seems very surprised. Sure, the native martial arts traditions don't make any meaningful use of ki, but there are some common principles. You know some of your ancestors were surprised that the Garenhulders never invented anything like Turtle or Crane school for themselves.
You continue. "Now, these lessons work best if it's one on one, with someone who can see your energy. Maya, you can switch off with me after a while, but who would you like to work with first?"
Maya chews at her cheek for a moment. "Gemma? Would that be okay?" Maya looks a bit hesitant, but Gemma nods.
"Okay!" They step aside slightly, still watching the rest of you.
Jennifer frowns. "So that leaves one of you and three of us. How is that one on one?"
Sophie puts her hands on her hips. "You're a little outnumbered for that, huh?"
Jaron flexed his jaw. "I mean, if you're expecting me to teach anybody-" Sophie brightens at that- "I... don't... knowhowididit." He looks sheepish, flushing a bit. Sophie looks away, slightly disappointed, though you probably wouldn't be able to tell if not for the trickle of ki sharpening your senses.
You smile, an I've got a secret! smile. Then you close your eyes and adopt a long practiced stance. This is the first time you've done this in front of anyone but your mom. Your ki sense and hearing swim, for a moment, in the familiar way.
Then you say to Jaron, "It's okay, I bet you'll get the hang of it really fast." You say to Jennifer, "Hi! I'm your new ki teacher!" You say to Sophie, "Still got me outnumbered?"
...all at the same time.
Everyone is looking at you now. All three of you. All at once. Jaws drop. Maya is pinging really obvious ki pulses at you, the pings almost as furious as her blush. Jaron squints.
So, like we planned, Two trains Sophie and Three trains Jennifer, while I work with Jaron and see if I can get a few double-meanings through to Jaffur without freaking him out, right?
Uh yeah, we were thinking about that. She'll teach Sophie and I'll handle Jennifer.
Wait, which of us is talking?
Figure it out for yourself, One! Two and Three turn as one to stick their tongues out at One.
Jenny overcomes the shock first. "So... which two of you are the fakes?" She would say it that way. But you've been waiting for this moment for a long time, even if you never really expected it to happen until the day the aliens attacked the school.
One points at Two and Three. Two at Three and One. And Three completes the triangle, while all three of you clones shout "They're the fakes! I'm the real one! You have to believe me!" Then you all start laughing.
Three recovers first, and you all smile. "No, seriously, we're all Karen. We're all real, and when we stop using the technique we'll all come back together into one Karen. I'll remember everything, so saying it to one of us is the same as saying it to all of us."
Gemma looks at Maya. "Can you do that? Can I learn to do that? Can- Wait a minute! Karen you cheat is this how you always have all your homework done by seven o'clock?"
You hold up your hands, grinning. "Hey, I do my homework with all of you! You know I do it on my own. This is how I get my homework done by seven while also learning new ki techniques."
Gemma's face turns red and she swells with fury and jealousy.
Jaron is still looking with his usual quiet intensity. You can swear you see a hint of Jaffur for a moment, sizing you up.
Maya, by contrast, looks well and truly sandbagged. "I- I- I-" She buries her face in her hands, and you hear a high-pitched whine before she shakes her head to clear it.
Two frowns slightly. Okay, everybody? Let's NOT show off more power level next time we spar with her. She looks a little TOO impressed.
One spreads her hands. "This is a special technique called 'Multiform.' It lets you control and split your energy to make copies of yourself, then re-combine them later. I've been practicing it for years, but I was saving it for a surprise." Maya seems to shrink a little, but if it were possible you'd swear she blushes harder as she thinks that over.
One continues. "Maya? I could teach it to you, but I'm pretty sure it won't work quite as well for you as it does for me right now. I haven't figured out how to fix that yet, so I don't think it'd be very good for you to use against the aliens. I think we'd be better off just concentrating on the kind of stuff we've already been working on; that worked great against the big one at the school. Some day I promise I'll get the bugs worked out of Multiform, though." Two and Three nod; you're unanimous on this, as in everything.
Seriously, some day you'll get Perfect Multiform worked out, and then you won't have to cheat to get multiple "full-power" copies of your Masqued self. Or for that matter your real self.
Sophie looks a little suspicious. "So if you've taught Maya all these superpower tricks, where did you learn them from?"
"Some of it's from my dad. A few things, like THIS, I worked on by myself. Aaaaand. Um. Well. Um. Mom doesn't just teach Language Arts."
Sophie looks aghast. "Wait what your mom is secretly Super-Teacher?"
Jenny shoots a glance at her. "That's just a movie character!"
"Not anymore, it sounds like!"
Eventually you get everyone calmed down to work on their breathing lessons.
Eventually.
* * *
The next time you all come together, you set breathing aside entirely. Honestly, from their prior lessons they had most of what you needed to teach them down.
And, more pragmatically, you don't want to lose them to boredom. You are mature enough to recognize that you all are young teenagers, and they came for lasers.
You clap your hands together. "Alright! Let's get started. Maya? Care to demonstrate?"
Your friend sticks her hand obligingly out.
SKREE-BANG
The blast, while well below her max power, still obliterates a stand of trees completely. The rest of your friends gape, staring.
"That's ki," you say, unfazed. "One of the obvious ways you can use it. And by the time we're done, you all are going to be able to do that-"
His hand is still smoking from the blast. His eyes are wider than yours as he watches the blast streak off into the distance before putting a new hole in...those are actually the Senzus' mountains. Huh.
bang
"I didn't mean to!" he says, putting his hands behind his back.
You cock your head. "...huh. You're working with-"
split split
"-me today," says Two, stepping forward. One turns to Sophie and says, "I'll be teaching you," while Three steps over to Gemma and tells Maya, "You take Jenny today?"
Maya nods, looking faintly disappointed.
Two smiles at Jaron. "Right! So, your case is a little weird, but it makes this easier, actually. You already have power -- a lot of it, actually."
"How much?" he asks, eyes locked on yours.
You hesitate.
His eyes narrow -- although, you note, you still have yet to ever have seen him blink. "How much?"
"...very," you say, looking away. Not a lot compared to me, though, right Jaffur? "Accidentally breaking a mountain is the least of what you could do."
He rears back slightly. Then he shakes his head and frowns. "...I'm not asking because I want to be competitive. I know you're stronger. I know Maya is way stronger. I want to know how careful I need to be." You shoot him a disbelieving look. He shrugs. "...I don't want to hurt anybody."
You blink. "...don't punch the ground too hard. Beyond that, it's not going to be a problem today."
He looks very disturbed by that, after a brief pause to sort out the implications, but you've already moved on.
"Today we're going to honor a long tradition in introducing powerful newcomers to ki," you say, lifting off the ground by a few inches with a wistful smile. Watching, Jii-chan? "I'm going to show you how to fly."
* * *
That evening, after the others have all gone home, Jaron and you are the last to split away from each other, as usual -- your houses are pretty close together. You're walking together, at the moment.
Well.
"Walking."
Jaron hovers a foot above the ground, staring at the gap between his feet and the sidewalk pavers with a gigantic grin on his face. "Heh."
You've honestly never seen him smile this much, so even though you roll your eyes, you can't help but smile, too. "Having fun?"
"Yes." He snickers to himself for a moment. Then he winces, rubbing at his cheeks.
You frown. "You don't smile very much, do you?"
"You noticed." And that is accompanied by a much more typical smirk.
"Why not?"
And the smirk is gone. "You know all those friends I brought with me when Sophie dragged me into the group?"
"...no?"
"Yeah, me neither."
Now it's your turn to wince. "...I at least didn't think you were miserable." Damn it, bitch, can't you do one thing right for your son?!
You don't swear often.
You spend enough time around Fennella that you know all the words, though.
He stiffens and changes the subject. "I wanted to ask you something."
You blink. "What?"
"There are more of those aliens coming."
You tilt your head. "That's...not...a-"
He gives you an unimpressed look. "Thanks." He sighs sharply. "Am I going to be able to help with that?"
You rear back, eyes wide. "I- you want to?!"
He scowls. "I remember how that one was talking. I don't- I don't-" He cuts off, struggling with his words. "...am I going to be able to help with that?"
"...depends on your Mom, I guess," you say. It's not as much of a dodge as it seems. You genuinely don't know what sorts of compulsions Lady Dandeer may or may not have laid on him.
A topic Jaron inadvertently steps on when he says, "It's not like she could stop me. I mean..." He looks unsure all of a sudden. "...I don't want to disappoint her. And I know she's not happy about me fighting. But I feel like I'd disappoint her more if I didn't do something..."
"If she didn't like it, why do you think she'd be disappointed if you didn't do it again?" you ask.
He struggles for a long moment. "...it's hard. The kind of person she says is a good person would help. But...she was so mad when I got home after..." He looks away. "I want to be a good son."
And that is such an alien sentiment out of somebody wearing Jaffur's face that you have no idea how to respond.
He continues, not noticing your shock. "Even if I don't help...I want to be able to." He turns his gaze on you and it sharpens back to its usual quality. "You fly. Everything you learn in martial arts is about how you use the ground. Fighting in the air is different, it has to be. Will you teach me how?"
[ ] Fuck. Dandeer. You've tiptoed around her for long enough. Her son has ki, and he's on-camera as somebody who helped take Murk down. You have all the justification you need to teach him how to fight with ki. Teach Jaron, and damn Dandeer's expressed feelings on the matter.
[ ] Setting aside your own desire to make some real progress, teaching Dandeer's son ki would be very near to a declaration of war. You hate her, she knows you hate her...but given the lack of Sealing attempts, you're pretty sure she doesn't know you're plotting against her. Would this be a step too far? Don't risk it. Refuse to teach Jaron how to fight without his mother's permission.
[ ] As always, write-ins allowed and encouraged.
THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.
Actually, y'know what? Piling everything I originally planned to get into this update into a single update would make it a muddled mess. Everything requires a vote and follow-up -- detailed follow-up. Since the other bits are already written, I'll just post this and we'll go to a faster update cycle over the next couple of days.
A significant part of this update was written by the inestimable@Simon_Jester, and apparently over a moderately trying span of time to boot. I've edited it to be more in line with my narrative voice, but I like the omake he submitted enough to hop right over the canon/compliant/non-canon schtick and simply steal it whole cloth (with permission, naturally)! Thanks a lot, mate!
Have fun, everybody!
ONE-HOUR MORATORIUM TO DISCUSS BEFORE THE VOTE OPENS
You look down at the ground. "Can I just not keep secrets or something?"
"Sure you can," says Dad. "I'm sure you have a couple things I don't know about. But seriously, when I'm talking to Mato and he tells me that he had a conversation with you at a time when I know you were studying with me, it's not hard to put it together. If it's any consolation, I don't think you'd make that mistake today."
Dad pointed at a picture of Karaka with her cheeks bulging and crumbs on her face, "And this is where you tried to hide that you had eaten all the cookies."
"But you never said anything!" I protested.
Dad smiled, "Honestly, I would not have put them out if there were not meant to be eaten. Young Saiyans need their sugar."
* * *
Dad points at a map with circles on it, "And these are all the hiding spots you used when you wanted to be alone. I think that back then you didn't understand that other people have ki sense as well."
"I thought I was controlling my power level!"
"Back then it would spike sometimes when you got nervous don't worry you seem to have fixed that habit."
* * *
"And that is the time you swept through the whole neighborhood in order to find loose change to replace the mug you broke. I was amazed when you managed to get an exact duplicate." Dad seemed both impressed and amused.
"I tried to make fire one up from clay, but I couldn't get it to look quite right." I made a fire in my hand.
"You might be able to manage it now although you would likely still have get the right glaze."
* * *
Dad points at the a familiar paper, "Here remember when you accidently the Goku clan census papers and you thought it was the only copy so you went out recollected the information and rewrote them? Not bad work for a 7 year old."
"Who told! They all promised to keep it a secert!" I was going to find out who! What if that person is in the conspiracy!
* * *
Dad turned to a picture of a giant ape, "You were such a curious kid, still are. But I was really surprised when you instant transmission to the north pole because you wanted to see how the full moon looked."
"I was careful! I made sure there wasn't any life around for miles!"
"Hence, me not grounding you forever. And the amount of control you had for a first time impressed me."
* * *
"Or when you washed all your sheets to hide the fact that you had wet the bed."
Your delusion goes deeper than I thought. Not only do you believe in going completely against what we know from our own experiences and the very word of the GM herself, the only other possible path that you believe exists is also completely made up.
We are not going to walk up to Dandeer, turn Super Saiyan, and start telling her we're going to train her son whether she likes it or not. What the other option actually is is simply to ignore her, to not ask her for permission to train Jaron, and then simply train him. I have no idea what thought process led you to believe this would be anything else. I'll grow worried if that is what you think would "hit all her trauma points, remind her of her abuser, and trigger her PTSD", but I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming that this is not what you think.
infractions are a delusion of the mindPlease refrain from using 'delusional' as a pejorative; this doesn't merit infraction but it does merit a warning for marginal behaviour. Please refrain from this in the future, as it can quickly become a serious breach of Rule 3.
She was tense as she approached Dandeer's door, but she held that thought firmly in mind. Jaron had smiled, and she saw the distant echoes of Jaffur's joy at first unlocking his transformation in that expression.
"Set aside thoughts of the conspiracy for now. Right now, I'm doing this for Jaron." She thought, steeling herself as she knocked. She double-checked her own power levels nervously, tamping them down. She would have no need for them now, and it would only serve to make Lady Vegeta nervous.
Naturally, she hadn't called ahead. In negotiations, her father had taught her well -- best to keep the opposition off guard.
Dandeer looked like she had swallowed a frog upon opening the door. "To what do I owe the distinct... pleasure of your company, Karen?"
Two can play at that game. "Oh, I was just in the neighborhood, Ms. Somerlad -- Jaron's on his way home from school right now, and I thought I'd drop in." Put her on a time limit.
She looked like she wanted to do anything but let Kakara in, but after an uncomfortable moment, stepped aside. On closing the door, she made incomprehensible motions toward it, speaking nonsensical arcane syllables, before turning abruptly to face Kakara. "There. Now no one will overhear -- now what are you here for? Be quick about it."
The moment of truth. "I recently began teaching my group of human friends about Ki, as you may be aware." Dandeer started to speak, but Kakara was quick to continue. She knew that if she let Lady Vegeta get a word in, she would likely set her off, and Kakara had to stay calm for this. "Jaron joined us, and said, at the time, that he had your permission. I thought nothing of it at the time, but... that is not actually the case, is it?"
Her lips tightened. "He did not, and you needn't expect him with your group of little humans again." Steady, Kakara, steady.
"I beg your forgiveness in my lack of thoroughness in checking, Lady Vegeta," Remind her of her role and set her expectations for how the conversation will go. "It was not my place to train him in anything without your permission."
She looked to be about to speak, so Kakara continued once more. Overturn the expectations, and drive your argument home. "However... Jaron is stoic. He's not the most expressive, and doesn't have many friends at school, and I can count on my hands the times I've seen him smile. But today, when I taught him to fly, he was grinning so hard it hurt. He looked so happy. I understand if you need to punish him for not coming to you, but he was filled with such joy, and..." Here Kakara's voice got quiet. She let her facade of Kakara Goku, Scion of the Goku Clan fall to reveal the scared, lonely child underneath, just for a moment. "He's my friend, too."
Dandeer tried for looking dispassionate, but flickers of confusion flashed across her face. The door knob turning to meet he lock, followed by a knock, interrupted her thoughts.
Kakara wiped at her face a little and stepped back. "That'll be Jaron -- just, please: Think about it, won't you?" She turned around and stepped for the door. She gave Jaron a half-smile and a soft, "I tried," nodding at him on the way out.
You sit, carefully adding to a long list of ideas for how to talk to that woman and convince her to let her son have the training he needs in order to stay safe with the aliens coming.
There are always people around in the Hall. But in this large chamber, deeper down than most of the rest, there aren't very many. It's reserved for high-energy training. The walls are heavily reinforced, on top of the wards, with sorcery and the strongest materials your people know how to make. People don't even enter this chamber unless they've powered up into the hundreds of thousands- for safety. And that's a minimum.
You, naturally, have used this chamber a lot. And you've noticed that nobody ever bothers anyone else down here. Because if you see someone sitting quietly down here, preparing something, and you poke them or break their concentration... you never know what kind of kaboom might happen next.
Quite a few people are scattered around, in ones and twos. Practicing hand-to-hand, aiming ki blasts on the fly, things like that. But they don't bother each other.
At the far end of the cavern, two figures are providing ample light- bright, flickering, purple light. The pair of Vegetans are having a Galick Gun-wrestling match. You've mostly stopped paying attention to them. You can hear their faint "HAAAs" and "YAAAs" all the way over here. If they weren't both silly, they'd probably have called it a tie by now. They've just been clenching their neck muscles and growling for like twenty minutes. In that time, you've added six new ideas to your list.
Once in a while, you look up to watch them, or someone else. The distractions are helpful, and everyone's ki looks just a little different when they're actually exerting themselves. The fine differences are kind of interesting to watch.
You even planned for watching the distractions. Dandeer makes you so angry, parts of your brain just GRRR and even the rest of it can't bear to think about her for more than a few minutes at a time. But this way, that's not a problem! Every time you can't stand thinking about Dandeer anymore, you just take a couple of minutes to watch something blow up. Then you go back to thinking about Dandeer.
These chambers have more, and bigger, explosions per day than any other place on Garenhuld. And you're here to think. And it's working.
Well, people call you an oddball. You've stopped arguing with them.
Wait I technically owe Dandeer an apology wait APOLOGIZE TO THAT- AAAAAGH!
You force yourself to finish writing "APOLOGY" on your list, then carefully fold it up so you don't accidentally crumple it or something.
You need to think about something else besides apologizing to Dandeer. You really need to. You look around for the highest power levels in the chamber. Getting this burst of angry out of your system is going to take a really, really big explosion.
You reflexively turn your head to look as you sense a new presence in the room. She flew in with her power level well into seven digits, and you're pretty sure she can go higher. Maybe all the way to fifteen million, maybe not quite.
Then your eyes focus. Instead of the traditional orange Gokun gi or the various training clothes of the Vegetans, the new arrival wears a ceremonial cloak and reinforced shoulderpads. An expert user of Demon Style, then, come to practice the special techniques of her art.
After a moment to remember dad's lessons about the noted warriors among the Gokun houses, you recognize her. It's Mitsuba- a frequent tournament fighter, enough so that when you think about it, even you can sort of remember her, despite never having been big on watching tournaments. Didn't she make the semi-finals one time last year? No, it was the year before that, and the quarter-finals.
Your mom doesn't like Demon Style, but even though you're definitely liking Tien Style yourself, you don't think it's quite as dumb as she says. You probably wouldn't have wound up studying it yourself, even if you didn't love being in three places at once. But it's still... interesting. Demon Style fighters have to be careful about battlefield control, and that's important in Tien Style too. Especially if you don't want anyone to get killed accidentally.
You flex your jaw. You're going to have to do a certain amount of fighting in your life. You don't like it, but it's true. Even so, you know you don't want anyone to get killed.
Someone you don't recognize is helping Mitsuba stack up a loose pile of boulders, nothing too exceptional for a saiyan who wants a fair-sized target to practice on. Not as big as a house. Well, okay, maybe a small house.
The helper hastily and crudely melts a hole in a large slab of rock, and Mitsuba helps push a metal plate into the improvised holding frame. You recognize it as a training plate, made and specially reinforced using a cheaper version the same techniques as saiyan armor or Fennela's sword. They're good practice tools for testing out powerful attacks at full energy. Ordinary rocks and steel are squishy; practicing on them can be like practicing on a punching bag filled with cotton candy.
Suddenly, your saiyan blood sings in your veins.
Mmm... cotton candy!
Your brain has to exercise its veto. Ultima ratio regina, the only thing powerful enough to make you truly ignore your stomach.
Snacks later! Finish list now! SCHEDULE!
Paying attention to distractions is part of the plan, though. You wonder what she's setting up to practice.
As you watch Mitsuba gather her energy, you realize what she's doing. This isn't one of the usual techniques, this is original research! She's trying to reinvent a lost technique! You remember reading about this in your studies a few years.
"This lost attack is attested by Rakkyo, grandson of Mato the Foremost, who heard of it from the Ancestor Gohan, who heard of it from Piccolo. However, the authenticity of the technique is disputed by savants of the Demon Style. Many argue that it is incompatible with Piccolo's signature combat techniques for close-range fighting. Furthermore, Rakkyo admitted that Mato could not remember personally witnessing the technique in use, nor could he recall asking Ancestor Gohan whether he had witnessed it either."
Looking at the patterns of ki spiraling around Mitsuba's fist, you're pretty sure the critics are right. The way she's shaping her energy looks something like the Makankosappo. It looks something like the traditional two-fisted blasts favored by Piccolo stylists at short to medium range, the ones whose authenticity is uniformly accepted. But it doesn't look enough like either.
On the other hand, the master in front of you seems determined to invent the attack, as it was described in the attestation of Rakkyo- whether it ever existed before or not. Her energy forms into a spike, crackling around her forearm like a spearhead. She jabs her fist forward in a sudden, sharp punch, screaming the name of this controversial, possibly-ancient technique.
As she releases her energy, Mitsuba screams.
"NAIL GUN!"
Mitsuba is among the top five percent of the Exiles in power level. She's a widely respected master of Demon Style. Even by that standard, the attack travels fast. Even at fifteen million, the spike's motion would be a blur. Hard to dodge, especially at the short range the attack was meant for.
But you're in a position to cheat. As Mitsuba gathers her ki, you quickly boost your power level to several times the maximum of an ordinary saiyan. Easy enough for you, even without touching the transformation. Time stretches out like molasses. You can watch the javelin of energy move in slow motion. Your eyes narrow a bit. The spike wavers with instability as it hisses downrange. You don't expect it to matter against the target plates- they're tough, but not that tough.
And yet. and yet...
With barely a shower of sparks scattering to the sides, the bolt slams through the plate, leaving a neat circular hole, then passes. Wavering and shimmering more obviously now, the attack detonates inside the heap of boulders like an armor-piercing shell. The mass of stone scatters far and wide, adding a few hundred tons' more gravel to the masses littering the floor of the chamber. The custodians will probably be coming down to re-vitrify it soon; it's getting messy in here.
Hm.
Now that you see it in action, you see the logic of the attack. Formed up into a spike, Mitsuba's ki gains the 'piercing' effect of high-density rays and beams, but then expends all its remaining energy on the target rather than simply burning through it.
Efficient at short range, packing a punch but wasting no energy on overpenetration. Powerful, hard to dodge, with relatively little collateral damage outside the immediate vicinity of the target. And ideally suited for gathering all one's remaining energy against a superior opponent to cause the maximum possible damage. Precisely as Rakkyo's tale claimed that Piccolo was said to have intended, on the one occasion when he actually attempted the attack in battle.
A very clever attack style, entirely typical of Demon Style's tricky, precise maneuvers...
...Aaaand unlikely to actually work.
Not with that instability you saw in the shaping of the spike. The attack would just pop, like a water balloon hitting a wall, if it ever hit anything strong enough to stop it. Against an enemy powerful enough to need such a tricky technique, Mitsuba's new attack would fail. Against something fragile enough for the spike to punch through, a normal ki blast would work better anyway.
Maybe the attack will do what it's supposed to someday. Eventually. But it needs work. A lot of work.
Mitsuba sags, looking dismayed; she seems to share your opinion.
Then, without warning, the entire chamber is wrapped in a blinding flash of purple light, Taiyoken-bright. A thunderous detonation washes over you. Your power level is still somewhere around seventy million, so you ride out the blast wave gracefully and look towards the source of the disturbance.
The Galick Gun duel is over. From the way that both the combatants are sprawled on their butts, gasping, with curls of smoke rising from their hair, it looks like they both lost. You can't help but think, in the habits of generation after generation of Gokun before you:
Stupid crazy Vegetans!
Hey, that gives you an idea! You take out your list again.
"TALK TO VALENTINE?"
You underline that and circle it a few times. It may be a good idea, or a really bad one, but either way you're going to need some extra thinking time to figure out which...
official staff communicationThis kind of snippy posting is not really on. You're supposed to be adults, right? Act like it.
I don't like popping up like this, so I'd remind everyone in the thread that the best way to avoid getting interrupted is to be chill. Both generally and with each other. Bristling at another user's post? Getting worked up about the votes being made? Step away from the computer for a little bit. With respect to PoptartProdigy, this is still just a Dragon Ball fanfic, not the actual direction of survivors of a colossal apocalypse. There's no need to get up in someone's face over it. Yeah?
[X] Actually, Lord Vegeta has the authority to say whether his son can fight or not, even sealed. And with the secret of Ki out, we can simply talk directly to him. Ask Valentine Somerlad for permission to train his son in how to fight.
A Plate Drops
You want to stick it to Dandeer.
You really want to stick it to Dandeer. You want it so bad. But...
...you blink, just on the verge of asking Jaron to let you talk to his Mom. You don't want to do this without clearance -- the fallout would be legendary.
But...Dandeer's authority to deny Jaron combat training stems purely from her position as Lady Vegeta. Well, also from her position as his parent, but at this point, with everything else you're doing, it'd be farcical to pay that the slightest amount of credence. But in terms of politics, her place as Regent is all that gives her a voice.
And from where exactly does her authority come?
* * *
The door opens, and you grin, arms behind your back. "Hello, Mister Somerlad!"
The man blinks, looking down. "Oh, hi! Karen, right?"
"She's been over before, Dad," says Jaron, trying to sidle past his father.
"Yeah, but you and your friends are always down in the basement," he replies, snagging his son for a hug. "C'mon, some day soon you won't let me have any of these."
Jaron turns beet read and stands there, stiff. "Yeah, well..." he says, trying not to look at anybody.
After a moment, his father releases him with a chuckle. "Yeah, I remember when I was your age. Come in, come in!" He steps aside, and the two of you enter his home. "You two hungry? Doreen's off with her friends, but I'm pretty sure we have some snack food in here."
"We already ate," mutters Jaron, shuffling into the room.
You fight to keep the bright smile plastered to your face. You...haven't interacted with Valentine Somerlad much. At all.
The last you remember seeing of him was him in his Masque, blank-faced by his wife's side. Before that? Him blasting Jaffur nearly to death.
So seeing him like this definitely throws you for a loop. He's...he's just...
...he's just so cheerful.
You feel your smile starting to slip. You can't keep this up. You let it fall and step forward. "We actually wanted to talk to you about something," you say.
He goes still for a moment before turning, a rueful smile on his face. "I figured this'd be coming. Come on, let's go into the family room." He leads the two of you to a large room filled with couches, chairs, a table, and a TV. "Have a seat," he says, sitting down in an armchair. "I'm guessing that this is about what happened at your school."
"It is," you say, tucking your hair behind your ear. "It's about what happens now, actually."
Valentine's eyes flicker between you and his son. "...Jaron's mother and I have talked with him about what happened on his end," he says. "He told us that you said he needed to learn how to control all of this...this."
"I did," you say. You can't quite hide an expression of relief. It wasn't pleasant, realizing that Jaron may not have been honest with you about what permission he did and didn't have.
He notices. He scowls, folding his arms. "I don't lie."
"I know!" you say, flushing at being so easily caught out. "I just- it's just good to..." you wilt slightly at the continued glare, rubbing at the back of your head. "...yeah, never mind."
Valentine snorts. "No, he asked. About the only time I've seen him argue with us. Doreen was...very against it." He glances at his son. Jaron looks away.
"It's the only safe thing," you say.
"You don't have to convince me," says Valentine. "You don't have to convince her. Jaron already did."
You blink. "I. Right. Um." This is a weird feeling. "Anyway, we're here to talk about something else." You straighten. "Jaron told you what happened?"
Valentine nods, clearing his throat. "I'm been trying to get in touch with Brandon for weeks to talk about what happened, but he's been busy. I guess talking to the leaders of the whole world isn't a quick thing to set up."
You chuckle. "It's...not. He's really busy lately." You sigh. "Jaron and I fought the aliens' leader together. And...he had a camera on him. It was transmitting back to his fleet."
"Jaron told us all of this," says Valentine, leaning forward. "It's why I want to talk with your father. I need to know my son will be safe, when the rest of them come."
You force yourself to meet his gaze. It's Valentine, not Vegeta. It's Valentine, not Vegeta. "I'm actually here because I think I can help with that," you say.
Less than a mile away, you feel Lady Dandeer's ki pulse once into the double digits, shock and anger lancing through her presence.
You think she heard you. She's coming closer.
You start talking faster. "My people are going to be fighting to keep the aliens away, but we can't promise that none will get through. The leader -- his name is Tamar -- will be coming after Jaron and me. I'll do what I can to keep him safe, but-"
"I don't want you to have to keep me safe," he growls, crossing his arms.
You're guessing that Dandeer is trying to extricate herself from her friends, because she isn't already at the door. Still, you feel another bolt of panic from her.
"Jaron, you're only thirteen," says Valentine.
"And Karen's only twelve!" snaps Jaron.
"I'm stronger than you by a lot," you say, scowling at your friend.
"Well, yeah, but I- I don't-" He closes his eyes and takes a breath. "...people are coming who are going to be stronger than either of us. You're going to have enough to deal with taking care of yourself. I don't want you to have to take care of me too." He looks at his father. "I want Karen to teach me how to fight with ki. I don't want to be dead weight when the rest of them come. I don't want anybody to have to get hurt because I could have been able to fight, and I didn't try. I want to be able to make a difference."
Valentine looks at his son with a look you don't quite recognize. "Your mother is going to be so proud of you," he says -- whispers, nearly.
You feel a bolt of fury and despair from Dandeer.
Valentine breaks eye contact and clears his throat again. "I can't promise anything myself," he says. "Jaron, your mother and I are a team. I can't just make promises like this for the both of us. But...I agree with you. I don't want to see you getting into things -- never that -- but if it's just a matter of knowing how to stay safe...well, I'll do whatever I can to convince your mother."
Dandeer must manage to get clear of her friends, because that is when she arrives. Quietly -- so quietly you're sure only you can hear it -- she slumps against the door.
Maybe if she were just any other human housewife, she could get away with fighting her husband tooth and nail on this.
But she is the Lady Vegeta.
And the Scion of Goku just heard Lord Vegeta proclaim that he would like his son to be trained.
She can't dare refuse you now.
The door opens. Valentine looks past the two of you, and he smiles. "Doreen! Welcome home."
"Hello," she says, a smile plastered onto her face. Her gaze tracks over to you, and you fight the urge to flinch. "Oh, Karen," she says, smiling. "Good to see you here. I was hoping to talk with you. I hope you boys don't mind if I steal her from you?" she asks, stepping into the room. She tousles Jaron's hair as she passes by. He jerks his head away with an irritated grunt, but she follows him until she's done.
"Of course not," says Valentine, standing and giving her a kiss. "What's it about?"
"Girl stuff," she says with a chuckle. "Secret stuff. Very embarrassing. You wouldn't get it. Excuse us." She steps past you. You hesitate for a moment, searching for any reason not to follow her, but you come up empty. You smile at them and leave, following her around the corner as she leads you down into the basement.
The instant you reach the bottom of the stairs, she whirls, seizing you by the throat and pinning you against the wall, a saiyan in an instant. She leans into your face, hissing, "How dare you?!"
You blink in shock before snarling quietly back and squeezing her wrist until the bones creak. "I'm making sure that he's safe!"
"This is my family, not yours," she says, struggling to keep her grip under the pressure of your own. "You don't have the right-!"
"You know what, no, I don't," you whisper back, squeezing a little harder until her hand opens. You decline to hit the ground, instead floating a little bit closer into her face. "You know who does? Your husband. And guess what?"
She seethes through the pain, "Don't. You. Dare-"
"He just gave his permission," you say. "I saw it. I can pull it out for anybody who knows Mind Delve. Lord Vegeta made a ruling. If I imply that he did, I'll have Vegetans lining up around the block to have a peek." You open your hand and she stumbles back, angry tears running down her face.
"Damn you," she hisses, choking back sobs. "Yemma damn you to Hell, you little bitch. It's not enough that you sit and watch while my own faith casts me out, it's not enough that you have my own people hating me, you have to take my son away from me, too!"
"This isn't about you," you say, disgusted. "This is about keeping Jaron safe. The only reason I went around you is because I knew you didn't want that to happen."
She goes still, looking at you with undisguised hatred. She levels her palm at you. "Blind-"
You don't wait to hear the rest of that incantation.
tsew
You seize her by the throat, silencing her. "Give me a reason," you snarl. "Give me one reason, and I swear I'll go up there, take him away, and tell him everything."
Her eyes widen in fear.
You lean in. "Everything."
She closes her eyes in defeat and breaks down, sobbing.
You drop her and turn away, leaving her at the bottom of the stairs.
You plaster a neutral look onto your face as you reach the top and poke your head around the corner. "Hey, so if that's all we needed to talk about, I know my Mom wanted me at home," say. "Sorry, but..."
Valentine looks up, blinking in surprise. "What? Oh, yeah, sure. You can go ahead. Doreen and you have a good talk?"
You start stepping away towards the door so he can't see your face. "Pretty good! Alright, bye Jaron!"
"Bye," he says, giving you an odd look.
You step out of the house and Transmit away.
Valentine Somerlad has approved Jaron's training, leaving Dandeer helpless to protest. Which was not without consequence.
Relationship Developed: There has been an open breach between you and Dandeer Vegeta. While you always hated one another, it was always a covert thing. You sniped at each other, and you personally plotted in secret, but it was kept away from the public eye, and it never escalated to open conflict. That is no longer the case. She has taken your decision to trap her with her husband's judgment as a declaration of war. When the two of you meet in public, it is with open hostility, disdain, and contempt.
People have already taken note.
Relationship Developed: Jaron Somerlad (Acquaintance [Friendly?]-->Ally [Dependable]). You went to bat for Jaron with his parents, and agreed to help him gain the training he wants. You can call him as true a friend as any of the other Misfits now.
It would have detracted from the impact to have more after this. The next update, voting options included, will be up tomorrow. For now, feel free to discuss. Be nice. Be civil. Step away from the computer if you can do neither.
