Happy Super-Finally-Came-Out-In-English Day!
That was yesterday. And @Aranfan already announced that.
Shut up and be happy. (Thanks, Aranfan!)
Off To a Roaring Start
You and Maya, the weekend after you set up the meeting between your Grandma, her conspirators, and the Senzus, head out away from town for your first bit of training. Ordinarily this would be difficult for two ten-year-olds to do without being stopped.
So you decide to make it a race, and the two of you zip off into the distance faster than you can be seen. You only come to a halt a long ways out from the town -- well out of sight of the houses at the edge, on the plains outside the town. Just like the forest on the other side of town, there's not much transition between the two; the town stops and the grassland immediately starts like somebody cut the edges off of civilization with a knife. About the only indication that you're about to leave the city is that there are fewer shops at the edges.
And for you and Maya, a three-minute run is all it takes to leave even those behind. You come to a halt in the middle of the grasslands, surrounded by miles of absolute nothingness.
"So what are we going to do?" asks Maya, shifting on her feet.
"Well, first things first," you say. "We need a good place to practice. And this way I can get some practice with my own abilities!"
Maya looks at you, excited at the prospect of seeing what you can do but confused as to what you're talking about.
You close your eyes.
Dad?
There's a startled moment, and then you hear,
Kakara? You learned telepathy?
You grin to yourself.
Yup! It sounded interesting.
After a pause, you hear a chuckle.
Oh, Kakara.
What?
Nothing, nothing. What are you calling about?
You pout, suspecting that you're being made fun of.
I wanted to do some training away from the Hall. Max power of a thousand, but I wanted to test out my ki manipulation somewhere I could really
cut loose on the terrain.
How do you mean?
If I start burning a hole through the planet in the Training Hall, I need to stop before I hit the apartments.
Kakara, no coring out Garenhuld because you're bored.
I won't! I'll only go down a quarter mile, I promise! Please, Dad?
"Karen, what are you doing?" asks Maya, nudging you.
"Talkin' to Dad," you say, smiling.
"...but you're just standing there-
ooooooooooooooh!"
Yup! you say with a giggle, directing it to her exclusively.
Meanwhile, Dad says,
Well, that's fine. No mushroom clouds, though, and no mass destruction. I don't want to have to explain those.
No problem! Thank you, Daddy!
No problem. Have fun, sweetie.
You grin, and close your connection to him in favor of Maya.
Right! So, Dad knows that I'm practicing, so when he feels this he won't come checking. We're good to go!
Silence. You open your eyes to see Maya with her eyes closed and a strained look on her face.
"Sorry, Maya, I'll need to teach you that one," you say.
She jumps in surprise, her eyes flying open. "Really?"
"Yep."
She groans in annoyance. Then she pauses. "Wait, 'when he feels this?'"
You grin and turn your gaze to the ground. You thrust out a hand. "Hah!"
WHUMP
With a constant, basso thrum, a golden beam of ki jets out of your hands and bores down into the earth, creating a passage through the rock. Lighting up your aura to protect your clothes, you step into the still-glowing hole, keeping up the blast. "Follow me, Maya, but make sure to light up first!"
You walk down the molten sides of your tunnel into the depths of Garenhuld, blasting your way through. After a stunned moment, Maya follows, her own aura flaring.
You burn your way down until you get close to the quarter-mile depth your Dad specified, and then stop, letting the beam cut off.
"THAT WAS
AWESOME!" shrieks Maya, slamming into you from behind. "HowdidyoudothatteachmepleaseKarenplease?"
You laugh, turning around in your friend's grip. "Don't worry, I'm going to teach you. Just, uh...back up a little bit first, okay?"
"Why?" she asks.
"I'm going to make a training room," you say, grinning.
Her eyes widen, and she immediately turns and sprints away.
You chuckle and close your eyes, raising your power level to the 650 you used in your fight with Maya.
"Haaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
BOOM
The air fills with ki, and you blast out a cavern underneath the surface of Garenhuld.
Ki Manipulation developed: Over half progress towards next skill level made; one-quarter total remaining.
* * *
It collapsed, of course. Obvious in hindsight. With a judicious application of telekinesis and ki blasts to raise, form, and fuse the ceiling and some pillars, though, you manage well enough. Once the chamber is stable, you call Maya in. "Okay!" you say, grinning at your friend. "Room's ready!"
"That was
so cool," says Maya, looking around in awe. The air still shimmers with heat, but within your auras the two of you are fine. And more importantly, you're shielded. There's a reason beyond showing off for you to build this space. Like any other kind of energy, ki has a tough time getting through stone. At your current power levels, a quarter mile of rock is as good as the Hall's warding scheme. You'll need to dig deeper as Maya gets stronger, but that's no problem at all.
"And
you can do that too," you say, grinning at her.
She lets out an excited, high-pitched squeal, beyond words.
After letting her be excited for a moment, you say, "So...I told you before that Dad would feel us."
She calms down and nods, frowning. "Yeah. What do you mean, Karen?"
"One of the things we can do is sense each other," you say, tapping your head. "It's...a little like hearing, a lot like feeling. A little bit of smell? Anyway, I'm really good at it, and my Dad can do it too." You give her a serious expression. "That's why we're all the way down here. The rock will keep him from feeling us. For a little while, anyway."
Maya shakes her head. "There's
so much. But why only for a little bit?"
You give her a bright smile. "Maya, you're going to get a
lot stronger doing this. So I'm going to have to dig deeper sooner or later. But that won't work forever. Some day you're going to be strong enough that Dad's going to sense you, no matter how deep we are. So..." you shrug. "I could get in trouble for teaching you without telling him. If you really don't want him to know, then we have to stop when we get that far."
Maya fidgets, looking around uncertainly. "We- well, I do-" She swallows. "I- I don't wa- wanna get you i- in trouble, Karen." She ducks her head. "So...I..." she looks very conflicted.
"You don't have to choose yet," you say. "You don't have to until we're a lot stronger. I'll tell you when. Just...think about it, okay?"
She nods, glad to get off the subject.
You give her a smile. "Okay! So, I guess the first thing is to tell you what our powers are." You call a sphere of light into your hand with ease, lighting the cavern up. "This is ki."
* * *
"It's more like a river, really."
"Why a river?"
"Because you can change where a river goes."
"What? No you can't. They're too big!"
"Not for us."
* * *
"It feels like a light."
"Warm?"
"Bright."
"People don't
feel bright, they see it."
"
I feel it."
"Heh. Then you're looking at the right thing."
* * *
"Now you grab it, and
push."
"Like this?"
SREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
"Yes."
"...eep."
* * *
"Like last time, but you push
down."
"Won't I blow up the ground?"
"
Gentle push."
"And you think that'll work?"
"Probably!"
"...um."
* * *
"How did you get your head stuck in the ceiling?"
"Mmmphhmmmhhhphmph."
"You tried to fly again, didn't you?"
"Mmph."
"You look silly."
"Kmmhmm!"
* * *
"Karen! Karen, I did it! Look! Look at me! I'm
flying!"
"That's amazing, Maya!"
* * *
It's midsummer. You've had to dig out your training room deeper into the crust six times to accommodate Maya's burgeoning power level. She's getting stronger so quickly you hardly know how to deal with it.
What you don't tell her is that you're using her training sessions as practice of your own.
Number One, this is number Two! you think.
Hamstergirl just finished making the next training room all by herself!
Hamstergirl? asks your other self, sounding bemused.
I'm running out of cute code names.
Fair enough. So, Maya made a chamber alone?
Yeah! It was messy, and I had to finish it off myself, but she really did it!
This is number Three. I say that Two is lying.
Nuh uh! You're just jealous because we made you spend time with Mato today!
He's so annoying!
I've been listening to him complain about not being Scion for THREE HOURS! Let me be the one to train Maya next time!
This is One. Three, you know we'll all just merge into one person tonight anyway. We clones just stop
then. There is
no "next time." There'll just be a new Number Three. Who will still
be the one we throw at Mato.
Why do we even give ourselves numbers?
Because we all sound exactly the same and we can't tell who's talking if we don't. This is One, by the way, not that I know who just said that.
It was Two.
Tattletale!
Oh, who cares? One, how are the lessons going?
Depends. Do you want to hear about House Crean's main industry? I can tell you all
about that.
No, I think I'm good, One.
Me too.
It's pudding. The whole family makes their living off of pudding.
What?!
HOW?
I DON'T KNOW!
Isolationists are so weird.
It makes no sense. But I'm looking at their ledgers right now, and the numbers work out. Pudding is 97% of their revenue somehow. Pudding.
This is Two. Do they sell to saiyans?
...right. Forgot about that, somehow.
Three here. Mato is starting to cry now. What do I do?
...cut the link and hug our brother, dummy!
IT'S WEIRD, OKAY?!
Three! Cut! Now!
Fine!
Three vanishes, leaving only you and One.
"Um, Karen?"
You open your eyes, turning from where you've been meditating. "Yes, Maya?"
One, I've gotta go. Maya has a question.
Yeah, fine, I'll just sit here and read some more about how weird Vegetans are.
Knew you could handle it!
You ignore her response.
"I was wondering something," says your friend, fiddling with her fingers. "I wa- was thinking about what you to- told me, about your Da- Da-" She swallows. "Dad. You said that he can se- sense ki?"
You cock your head and rise to your feet. "Yeah, that's why we need to do these underground. Why?"
She twines her fingers together. "Why haven't you been teaching me that? I mean, I thi- think being able to fe- feel where yo- you a- are would be usefu- useful." She ducks her head.
You let out a silent sigh. You knew this question was coming.
Not everything is always as it seems...but that doesn't mean it's bad.
So. It came up. What do?
[ ] Confess all. Tear aside the Masquerade, and give Maya whatever she wants to know.
-[ ] And then refuse to reach her.
-[ ] And then say you'll teach her.
[ ] Say you're saving it for later.
[ ] Fake a seizure.
[ ] Reveal
some of the truth.
-[ ] Write-in how much.
[ ] Refuse to answer.
-[ ] Bluntly.
-[ ] Mysteriously.
-[ ] Ask her to trust your judgment.
[ ] Any and all write-ins.
THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.
You can always tell when Poptart's in a joking mood.
Preposterous. I've never joked a day in my life.
Bullshi-
Character developments!
Victory Gained: Maya Webley's Apprenticeship.
Skill Developed: Multiform [Competent-->Talented]
Maya Webley's power level, as of midsummer, is 70,754. Her character sheet has been updated to match.
No, that's not normal. Not even with Exile-grade instruction.
Maya Webley's character sheet has received numerous updates such as developed or new skills and traits as a result of training under you. Please consult her character sheet for details.
The adventures of Numbers One and Two will be covered in the upcoming updates, as will any applicable rewards or skill increases from the same.
In addition! The
spoiler policy has been updated. Here is the new text, with changes in red:
Some people have not seen Dragon Ball: Super yet.
With the ongoing release of Super in English, that number is about to drop precipitously. Unless I specify otherwise either here or in a threadmarked update, with later threadmarks trumping earlier ones, all Super episodes with official English dubs are to be considered open for discussion, with yet-to-be-dubbed episodes remaining spoilers. As a general courtesy rule, please continue to use spoiler boxes for anything that is a spoiler according to the above rule. Anything else bearing the brand of Dragon Ball, however, is fair game and may be discussed freely, including anything about GT that you all wish to debate.
I hope that everybody enjoys this update! Let me know your thoughts, as usual!
NO VOTING UNTIL TWO HOURS AFTER THE UPDATE IS POSTED