TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
Monterry class system? What does that mean?
Rhyme & Reason (Dragon Ball AU)
- Thread starter TC9078
- Start date
- Sci-Fi Action
Oops sorry meant a monetary class system, misspelled it, but one based on wealth.
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
It's only partially based on wealth. It's also based on someone's power level.
Fair enough, I assumed power played some role, but given references to spending X on things and how second class come to rank it seems involved as well.
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
Oh, it does, they both play a big role.
Cool. I plan on having one in between each update, though that may not always be possible. At the very least, I'll try to avoid only talking about the Saiyans, since that will get boring very quickly.
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
Huh. Interesting. I mean, yeah, I could do that.
Ch. 6- Confessions of a Lost Soul
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
I was just informed that I will not be able to be on my computer much at all for the next few days, so I will be posting the next chapter today. As always, thanks to @Ranma-sensei for editing the story. Next update will be next Saturday.
Kakarot quickly lost track of time, and became lost in his thoughts. The particular one bugging him was his mission. It had always been at the forefront of his mind, he was always acting to try and get it done. Then, when he'd left with Bulma, he'd gotten so much more wrapped up in this. He was almost forgetting his mission at times, enjoying his journey with Bulma, much as he hated to admit it. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter. He'd use the Dragon Balls to wish for Gohan to come back to life, then they'd settle the score. Gohan was the strongest on the planet, even that bandit has heard of him! If I can kill him, then I'll know I'm strong enough to finish my mission. Then... then what? At that point, I'd have to activate my pod's beacon, but... would Frieza send forces to pick me up, or kill me? Even if I can beat Gohan, I have no chance of going toe-to-toe with Frieza's forces. Damn this stupid planet and its weak gravity!
"Kakarot!" he heard a call in the back of his mind. After a bit of confusion, he figured that it was Bulma calling for him. Resigning himself, Kakarot opened his eyes. Sure enough, Bulma was indeed calling him.
He looked at her neutrally. "Yeah, Bulma?" Bulma took off her jacket and tucked it away in her backpack.
"We need to keep moving," she said. "We need to get to the other side of the desert as fast as we can."
"Glad to see you're finally seeing reason, we are on a journey, after all." Kakarot replied, approvingly. Bulma nodded and put on her cap. The two continued walking onward through the desert, with only a brief stop to get some water and prickly pears from a cactus.
Kakarot was extremely surprised that Yamcha never tried to attack them. He thought he had seen him on a ridge a few times, but he was always gone before he could get a good look. Finally, as the sun went down, the two took cover in a cave. Bulma sat down against one of the walls and put on her jacket.
"If someone had told me before this whole journey I would be walking through the desert with a little kid as my company, I would have tried to have them committed," Bulma stated.
From atop a nearby mesa, Yamcha observed the cave entrance. While he'd wanted to steal the damned Power Pole, the fact that this kid had a girl with him made him unable to do so. Yamcha liked girls just fine, but he got far too flustered when around a girl his age, it made him unable to fight very well, which would be a death sentence against the likes of that kid, who nearly destroyed Yamcha's hideout when he fell unconscious. I don't even want to think of what kind of damage that might have done had he been fully conscious for that entire thing. Forget my hideout, I would probably be a burnt out husk of meat if I took something like one of those beams head on. Resolving himself, he climbed down from the mesa and snuck close to the cave, only as close as he needed to be to listen to their conversation.
"So, Kakarot," Bulma asked, "Is there anything you enjoy doing?" Even after travelling together for a week, she knew next to nothing about him, besides that he was the last member of whatever race he was, Earthling or otherwise. Ever since his fight with Oolong, she had accepted that the boy was probably an alien refugee of some kind. She'd probably have to ask Tights to look at her Encyclopedia Galactica books if she wanted to find out what race he belonged to, since him telling her was probably not going to happen. Besides, him being from one of the cool races was incredibly unlikely, one of the outcast races was possible... and him being from a PTO planet was just something that wouldn't happen, those guys never left any survivors unless they were useful.
"I enjoy poetry," he replied. "My grandfather was an aspiring poet, he'd gather poetry from anywhere he could find. His personal study was almost like a small library, filled from ceiling to floor with different poems in more languages than I could imagine." Kakarot sounded almost happy when he talked about it. She wanted to keep him talking like this, him being happy would mean he would answer her questions more easily. Maybe I could catch him off guard... ah hah!
"Did he translate them into Galactic Common, or did he have people do that for him?" she asked.
"Depends on the poem, some of them he translated himself, some he had others translate, others he simply left in their original form because some things get lost in translation," Kakarot replied simply. Then he blinked and looked at Bulma, almost shocked. "Wait, did you just say Galactic Common?"
"Yes," Bulma replied in 'Galactic Common'. "I do speak it, it's one of two languages spoken here on Earth, it's mostly spoken in the North and East." Kakarot went as white as a sheet. He probably realizes what he did. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid. "Are there any from here on Earth that he had?" He didn't answer at first, but after closing his eyes for a second, he opened them again.
"No," he said. "Chikyū, as we called it, wasn't on our radar until very recently." He curled up into a ball, wrapping his tail around his legs. "It's beyond the range of where we typically explored." This planet is well within the territory of the Galactic Federation, how would it- oh.
"You're from one of the planets in the Planet Trade Organisation, aren't you?" she replied, with a sad tinge. Kakarot looked up at her, and with his face one of sadness, he nodded. "That's why you said you're there were more of you... the PTO wiped your race out." She crawled over to the boy, tears had started forming in his eyes. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him, careful to avoid hurting herself, and he didn't stop her. He simply shook and looked to be trying so hard to not cry.
"Are there any that you like from here on Earth?" she asked with a gentle voice, trying to soothe him. He wrapped his tail around her left arm snugly before replying.
"I like T.S. Elliot's The Hollow Men." he said quietly. Bulma knew that poem, she had been forced to write an essay on it only a few months ago.
"What do you like about it?"
"It just speaks to me. It's definitely the type of thing my grandfather would have kept in a prominent place on his shelves. The way it describes people coming back from war, just mindless husks that look like people. The final line is something I love, for that's how it really is. This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but a whimper," Kakarot's voice was starting to cheer up again. "There's also Do not go Gentle into that Good Night. I love it, but it saddens me at the same time, because it reminds me of my father, who led our race's last stand."
Bulma understood, even if she couldn't fathom the emotions. His father had likely led a final defense at all cost of their race when the PTO had come for it, for resources or something, like they always do. He probably fought valiantly, then went out in a blaze of glory as he was overwhelmed. "Kakarot..." Bulma thought about what she was going to say for several moments, but in the end, she came to a decision. "When we gather the Dragon Balls, we can wish to bring your race back!"
The boy's head jerked up to look at him, a look of shock completely replacing the melancholy. "Wh-Why?!"
"Letting you have your race back is a far more important idea than a lifetime supply of strawberries." Bulma replied. Kakarot frowned.
"It won't work. We'd need more than one wish," he explained. "It's not just my race that was wiped out. They destroyed my entire planet. All that's there now is a huge asteroid field. We could bring the planet back, but then we'd need to gather them again and wish my race back." Bulma's heart sank. This poor kid had lost his race and his planet. No wonder he was so down, he had no home to return to, at all, except that little shrine in the mountains.
"There have to be some survivors, at least!" Bulma said turning to him. "Once we use the Dragon Balls, we can go to space and look for survivors of your race! I'm pretty sure I saw a woman with a tail at a space station once, so there's at least one." Kakarot gave her a questioning look. "My sister is friends with a member of the Galactic Patrol, she sometimes helps him and she's dragged me along more than once."
"It's fine, Bulma, really," he said. "I've long since accepted their deaths." Kakarot said nothing more and laid down. Before Bulma could really register anything, the boy was asleep. Bulma decided that it was the best idea to follow suit and laid down on her backpack, soon losing herself to the bliss of sleep.
The next morning, Bulma was the first one up. Kakarot was still asleep, and the sun was peaking from just over the horizon. She walked to the entrance of the cave and looked down... to see a capsule with a note tied around it. She withdrew the note and read it:
The note was probably from the bandit that had tried to beat up Kakarot... Oh no, did he hear us talking last night? That wouldn't be good... but what's in the capsule? Bulma ran back into the cave and woke up Kakarot. Thankfully, the boy woke up quickly. She explained the note and the capsule to him, and he seemed to understand, if embarrassed that someone had overheard him. Bulma turned and threw the capsule through the air and with a pop, a red car appeared. She quickly climbed in to find that the keys were already in it. After managing to drag Kakarot into it, Bulma turned the ignition to start the car, and drove off in the direction of the next Dragon Ball, unable to believe her good luck.
Yamcha sat in his own car, watching the the duo drive off. He smiled as he activated the tracker on their car. Once they were safely out of sight, he began following them, making sure to keep out of viewing distance. He would follow them until they got their wish, then he would steal it right out from under them. There was absolutely no way this could possibly go wrong, right?
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It was after dark when Kakarot came to. His head felt terrible, and he was cold. The moon was a shiny halfmoon, illuminating the desert. A few feet to his left, Bulma was sleeping on the ground, using her backpack as a pillow. Kakarot looked around, and saw nothing. No signs of struggle, no charred ground, no roasted husk of Yamcha. He realized that Bulma must have carried him all this way, and since she could only use her left arm... Kakarot suddenly felt himself having more sympathy for the girl than he did even before. With those thoughts in mind, Kakarot sat down crosslegged and put his hands together, closing his eyes to meditate, just as Gohan had taught him.Kakarot quickly lost track of time, and became lost in his thoughts. The particular one bugging him was his mission. It had always been at the forefront of his mind, he was always acting to try and get it done. Then, when he'd left with Bulma, he'd gotten so much more wrapped up in this. He was almost forgetting his mission at times, enjoying his journey with Bulma, much as he hated to admit it. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter. He'd use the Dragon Balls to wish for Gohan to come back to life, then they'd settle the score. Gohan was the strongest on the planet, even that bandit has heard of him! If I can kill him, then I'll know I'm strong enough to finish my mission. Then... then what? At that point, I'd have to activate my pod's beacon, but... would Frieza send forces to pick me up, or kill me? Even if I can beat Gohan, I have no chance of going toe-to-toe with Frieza's forces. Damn this stupid planet and its weak gravity!
"Kakarot!" he heard a call in the back of his mind. After a bit of confusion, he figured that it was Bulma calling for him. Resigning himself, Kakarot opened his eyes. Sure enough, Bulma was indeed calling him.
He looked at her neutrally. "Yeah, Bulma?" Bulma took off her jacket and tucked it away in her backpack.
"We need to keep moving," she said. "We need to get to the other side of the desert as fast as we can."
"Glad to see you're finally seeing reason, we are on a journey, after all." Kakarot replied, approvingly. Bulma nodded and put on her cap. The two continued walking onward through the desert, with only a brief stop to get some water and prickly pears from a cactus.
Kakarot was extremely surprised that Yamcha never tried to attack them. He thought he had seen him on a ridge a few times, but he was always gone before he could get a good look. Finally, as the sun went down, the two took cover in a cave. Bulma sat down against one of the walls and put on her jacket.
"If someone had told me before this whole journey I would be walking through the desert with a little kid as my company, I would have tried to have them committed," Bulma stated.
--R&R--
From atop a nearby mesa, Yamcha observed the cave entrance. While he'd wanted to steal the damned Power Pole, the fact that this kid had a girl with him made him unable to do so. Yamcha liked girls just fine, but he got far too flustered when around a girl his age, it made him unable to fight very well, which would be a death sentence against the likes of that kid, who nearly destroyed Yamcha's hideout when he fell unconscious. I don't even want to think of what kind of damage that might have done had he been fully conscious for that entire thing. Forget my hideout, I would probably be a burnt out husk of meat if I took something like one of those beams head on. Resolving himself, he climbed down from the mesa and snuck close to the cave, only as close as he needed to be to listen to their conversation.
--R&R--
"So, Kakarot," Bulma asked, "Is there anything you enjoy doing?" Even after travelling together for a week, she knew next to nothing about him, besides that he was the last member of whatever race he was, Earthling or otherwise. Ever since his fight with Oolong, she had accepted that the boy was probably an alien refugee of some kind. She'd probably have to ask Tights to look at her Encyclopedia Galactica books if she wanted to find out what race he belonged to, since him telling her was probably not going to happen. Besides, him being from one of the cool races was incredibly unlikely, one of the outcast races was possible... and him being from a PTO planet was just something that wouldn't happen, those guys never left any survivors unless they were useful.
"I enjoy poetry," he replied. "My grandfather was an aspiring poet, he'd gather poetry from anywhere he could find. His personal study was almost like a small library, filled from ceiling to floor with different poems in more languages than I could imagine." Kakarot sounded almost happy when he talked about it. She wanted to keep him talking like this, him being happy would mean he would answer her questions more easily. Maybe I could catch him off guard... ah hah!
"Did he translate them into Galactic Common, or did he have people do that for him?" she asked.
"Depends on the poem, some of them he translated himself, some he had others translate, others he simply left in their original form because some things get lost in translation," Kakarot replied simply. Then he blinked and looked at Bulma, almost shocked. "Wait, did you just say Galactic Common?"
"Yes," Bulma replied in 'Galactic Common'. "I do speak it, it's one of two languages spoken here on Earth, it's mostly spoken in the North and East." Kakarot went as white as a sheet. He probably realizes what he did. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid. "Are there any from here on Earth that he had?" He didn't answer at first, but after closing his eyes for a second, he opened them again.
"No," he said. "Chikyū, as we called it, wasn't on our radar until very recently." He curled up into a ball, wrapping his tail around his legs. "It's beyond the range of where we typically explored." This planet is well within the territory of the Galactic Federation, how would it- oh.
"You're from one of the planets in the Planet Trade Organisation, aren't you?" she replied, with a sad tinge. Kakarot looked up at her, and with his face one of sadness, he nodded. "That's why you said you're there were more of you... the PTO wiped your race out." She crawled over to the boy, tears had started forming in his eyes. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around him, careful to avoid hurting herself, and he didn't stop her. He simply shook and looked to be trying so hard to not cry.
"Are there any that you like from here on Earth?" she asked with a gentle voice, trying to soothe him. He wrapped his tail around her left arm snugly before replying.
"I like T.S. Elliot's The Hollow Men." he said quietly. Bulma knew that poem, she had been forced to write an essay on it only a few months ago.
"What do you like about it?"
"It just speaks to me. It's definitely the type of thing my grandfather would have kept in a prominent place on his shelves. The way it describes people coming back from war, just mindless husks that look like people. The final line is something I love, for that's how it really is. This is the way the world ends, Not with a bang but a whimper," Kakarot's voice was starting to cheer up again. "There's also Do not go Gentle into that Good Night. I love it, but it saddens me at the same time, because it reminds me of my father, who led our race's last stand."
Bulma understood, even if she couldn't fathom the emotions. His father had likely led a final defense at all cost of their race when the PTO had come for it, for resources or something, like they always do. He probably fought valiantly, then went out in a blaze of glory as he was overwhelmed. "Kakarot..." Bulma thought about what she was going to say for several moments, but in the end, she came to a decision. "When we gather the Dragon Balls, we can wish to bring your race back!"
The boy's head jerked up to look at him, a look of shock completely replacing the melancholy. "Wh-Why?!"
"Letting you have your race back is a far more important idea than a lifetime supply of strawberries." Bulma replied. Kakarot frowned.
"It won't work. We'd need more than one wish," he explained. "It's not just my race that was wiped out. They destroyed my entire planet. All that's there now is a huge asteroid field. We could bring the planet back, but then we'd need to gather them again and wish my race back." Bulma's heart sank. This poor kid had lost his race and his planet. No wonder he was so down, he had no home to return to, at all, except that little shrine in the mountains.
"There have to be some survivors, at least!" Bulma said turning to him. "Once we use the Dragon Balls, we can go to space and look for survivors of your race! I'm pretty sure I saw a woman with a tail at a space station once, so there's at least one." Kakarot gave her a questioning look. "My sister is friends with a member of the Galactic Patrol, she sometimes helps him and she's dragged me along more than once."
"It's fine, Bulma, really," he said. "I've long since accepted their deaths." Kakarot said nothing more and laid down. Before Bulma could really register anything, the boy was asleep. Bulma decided that it was the best idea to follow suit and laid down on her backpack, soon losing herself to the bliss of sleep.
The next morning, Bulma was the first one up. Kakarot was still asleep, and the sun was peaking from just over the horizon. She walked to the entrance of the cave and looked down... to see a capsule with a note tied around it. She withdrew the note and read it:
For you, with apologies to the boy.
The note was probably from the bandit that had tried to beat up Kakarot... Oh no, did he hear us talking last night? That wouldn't be good... but what's in the capsule? Bulma ran back into the cave and woke up Kakarot. Thankfully, the boy woke up quickly. She explained the note and the capsule to him, and he seemed to understand, if embarrassed that someone had overheard him. Bulma turned and threw the capsule through the air and with a pop, a red car appeared. She quickly climbed in to find that the keys were already in it. After managing to drag Kakarot into it, Bulma turned the ignition to start the car, and drove off in the direction of the next Dragon Ball, unable to believe her good luck.
--R&R--
Yamcha sat in his own car, watching the the duo drive off. He smiled as he activated the tracker on their car. Once they were safely out of sight, he began following them, making sure to keep out of viewing distance. He would follow them until they got their wish, then he would steal it right out from under them. There was absolutely no way this could possibly go wrong, right?
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
It's Yamcha, I think that's a given.
Last edited:
Interesting chapter, a little surprised and confused Bulma isn't more concerned about the whole PTO thing to be honest. The poetry idea is a nice bit of character building and I like how smart Bulma and Yamcha are being about things, how she tricked info out of him and Yamcha's tracking trick.
Why?
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
She thinks he's some kind of refugee that fled the death of his race. Not an infiltrator sent to bring the planet into the PTO fold.
Doru
Digital Disaster
- Location
- Canada, the internet
Wish stealing combined with a line similar to what could possibly go wrong.
I liked it, sorry I just couldn't think of much to say that I couldn't summarize quickly, which is not a bad thing.
Oooh tempting fate, fair enough then XD
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
Haven't much to offer too, sorry.
It's just that there is not much to say about the chapter that hasn't already been said, and there's nothing really bad.
It's just that there is not much to say about the chapter that hasn't already been said, and there's nothing really bad.
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
It's nothing bad, it's just that finals are coming up and I have to finish up my other projects ahead of it. It's not affecting the updates, I just don't have any time for supplementary materials this week. I might have one next week if I can manage it.
I see and I hope your finals go well, please don't stress about the story and good luck!
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
Stressing about my updates is what I do
Ch. 7- Secret of Frypan Mountain
TC9078
The Super Saiyan
- Location
- PA-01
Thanks to @Ranma-sensei for editing!
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The desert finally started to clear away. There were no more major rock formations, more trees began to appear, and as they drove on, the ground shifted from sand to dry grass. It had been nearly 5 days since they got the car, and only now was the gas starting to run low. Soon after reaching the dried grass, Bulma found a dirt road that led in the direction they were trying to go. This is probably the Desert Road that was constructed… the Paozu region has been in anarchy for a decade, since the Ox Kingdom withdrew their troops from the region to deal with civil conflict at home. Hopefully here, we won't encounter any bandits. The sky was a pleasant orange, and the sun was coming up on the right. Bulma tapped Kakarot's shoulder to wake him up, as had become common practice for the pair. She'd be up early and drive for a time, then wake the boy up once they were moving at a decent enough speed. The boy's eyes opened groggily and he yawned and stretched in his seat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You found the road?" he asked. Bulma nodded in response. She handed him the map of the region from her guidebook.
"So, we're going to Frypan Mountain?" Kakarot asked.
"Yep. It's guarded by the Ox King, though, so we need to be careful. We are still in his Kingdom, after all," Bulma cautioned.
"What's your grand plan if we get caught, then?"
"Simple. I stall for time, you grab the ball, and then you blow everything up and we run for it."
Kakarot glared at her. "By 'blow everything up,' do you mean 'try to form a blast and use so much energy that you fall unconscious and it scatters in all directions'?"
"If that's what you did against Yamcha, then yes." Bulma replied. Kakarot seemed to be about to reply, but this was interupted when they reached the top of a hill, and saw a huge mountain on fire.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Kakarot said, in awe.
-R&R-
At the same time, Yamcha's tracker suddenly stopped moving. I see. They're really serious about going to Frypan Mountain. "The Sixth Dragon Ball seems to be in the Ox King's Castle," he said.
"But Yamcha, they'll never be able to get it. Between the fire and the Ox King, we might as well just turn around and go home," Puar insisted.
"Hmm... actually, the Kakarot boy might be able to convince the Ox King to hand it over to him. Both the Ox King and Son Gohan were students of the Turtle Hermit, and Kakarot has Son Gohan's Power Pole, proof of their training together. It may be prudent to head up that way, it shouldn't take us all that l-" he began, but was interrupted by a shrill scream.
Yamcha turned to see a young girl in a turquoise gi and a pink obi, gloves, and boots, running away from a dinosaur. Well, this is still the boonies. That girl probably does that all the time. Suddenly, the girl tripped on a rock and faceplanted. The dinosaur caught up and bit into the ground at the girls location, swallowing whole.
Yamcha was stunned into silence. Did he really just watch a little kid get eaten by a dinosaur and do nothing? He was a bandit, and really shouldn't care, but this seemed just... a bridge too far for him. Suddenly, the dinosaur started to whimper. A bright white beam shot out of its head, expanding in size steadily, until the dinosaur fell over, dead. Out of the cauterized wound, the little girl stumbled. She looked around, before running again... right to him. Upon seeing him, she stopped.
"Err-um... hi there," Yamcha said, stuttering. The girl screamed and threw her right hand forward. From her palm a blue beam shot out at Yamcha. He jumped over it, using his momentum to jump the girl and whack her over the head. She immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Well, that was weird," he commented. "Come on, Puar. We should probably head to Frypan Mountain."
"So, Yamcha," Puar said, "Why didn't you get all flustered around her?"
"Really, Puar? I'm not a lolicon, I'd think you'd have more faith in me than that!" Yamcha admonished, starting their car. They drove off up the road towards Frypan.
-R&R-
Crossing her arms, Gine looked pointedly at Seripa as they sat in a tall tree together. "Okay, since I haven't gotten a chance to ask you this yet, how did you survive?!" she demanded.
Seripa leaned against the tree trunk and closed her eyes. "I hopped in a pod and flew off once I got Surai from Chief Genmai."
"But... Bardock told me you died on Planet Meat. But here I find you with a little girl on Earth, one that is most assuredly not Surai. Is she-"
"The father is an Earthling. And I was never on Planet Meat. I went with Bardock to Kanassa, then he followed the rest of the squad to Meat, I stayed on Vegeta."
"But... why?"
"I was in the healing chamber. A Kanassan got the drop on Bardock and me during the attack. Honestly, you couldn't have helped even if you had been there. The creature hit Bardock in the neck, then spun through the air and hit me too when I tried to help Bardock. Toma got the creature, but the damage was done," Seripa sighed. "Bardock said something about being able to see the future after that, I never got that. The closest to it is that my daughter claimed she had a dream where I was killed by a tank."
"That would be outright disgraceful. A member of Bardock's Elite Squadron, felled by a simple gunpowder explosive? You'd be laughed out of Hell," Gine giggled.
-R&R-
She hated when this happened. The dreams always started at the worst times. First the numbness, then the visions. Sure, it had decreased in frequency over the last few years, but it still sucked.
She was standing on a planet that looked a lot like Earth, but the sky was a different shade of blue, and there were planets all over the horizon. Looking down at the ground below the plateau she stood upon, there were two figures. One was a small boy in an orange gi with a brown tail wrapped around his waist, his rigid white-blond hair spiked up, and his green eyes seemed filled with anger. His opponent was a pink creature with red eyes, with skin that reminded her of bubblegum, who had its arms raised like it was flexing a muscle.
The pink thing suddenly jumped into the air and dove back down to swing at the boy, creating a giant flash of light, and shaking the entire world. The plateau she was one was pushed upwards, turning it into more of a mountain than a plateau... then again, a plateau was still a plateau, no matter the height. When the light cleared, the two flew in opposite directions from having punched each other.
The creature raised his hands to the sky and a glowing pink ball formed between them and expanded in size. The gold boy charged the creature as it threw the ball. The ball of energy engulfed him, and she thought the fight was over. Suddenly, the boy jumped out of the ball, throwing it behind him and into the air. Ten seconds later, it came back down as a beam, crashing into the ground.
The sky began to redden from the energy... and suddenly, everything went dark. She knew the dream was over. Which was truly a shame, as she was enjoying it.
-R&R-
Appoaching the mountain, Bulma drove them into a desecrated ruin of a town. To Kakarot, it looked like it had been a prosperous town once, but everyone had either fled or died. Notes for later, attack the towns and cities last, keeps them in an area I can find them. "Kami," Bulma muttered, "it's so hot. Even hotter than the desert!"
Kakarot picked up a stick and tapped a skeleton's head in boredom. "So," he began, "how do you suggest we get the Dragon Ball?"
"Take your Power Pole and launch yourself over the flames into the castle," Bulma said.
"That sounds like a terrible idea that could very easily backfire."
"I mean, yeah, but do you have any better ideas?"
Kakarot thought about it. No, no he did not. "I better not regret this," he said in resignation. He pointed the pole behind him. "Power Pole, extend!" he called. He rode the pole into the air and over the flames.
He was only flying for a moment before he realized that this was an awful idea. The flames licked his clothing and set parts of it alight, while also burning him... and his tail. He quickly threw the pole in front of him... or at least he hoped he was. "Power Pole, extend!" he called desperately. He flew back through the air and over the nearby hills, landing in a lake. As he hit the water, everything went black.
-R&R-
"K-Kakarot..." Bulma muttered. She had seen the figure fly into the flame and a scream, but nothing more. She began to tremble. She might have just sent the poor boy, one of the last survivors of his race, to his death. Suddenly, an axe impaled itself next to her in the rubble. WHY THE FUCK IS IT ALWAYS AN AXE?! Bulma could at least get solace in the fact that he didn't almost lose a limb this time.
She slowly turned around, and standing before her was a giant of a man. Three metres high, thick, muscular arms like tree trunks, a red cape and a golden helmet. The Ox King had come for her.
"What do you think you're doin' here?!" he demanded.
"J-Just passing through!" Bulma stuttered.
"Are you sure? Because you look a lot like those people who come to steal the treasure from my castle! You're not here to steal them, right?!"
"N-No, we weren't- I mean, I wasn't!"
"Whose we?"
"No one, I swear!"
"You know, I have to put up with liars all day, part of being a King. I. Hate. Liars."
Bulma trembled in fear, wondering why she had sent her main source of defence away. She was really dumb sometimes.
-R&R-
Kakarot opened his eyes to find himself floating on the surface of a small lake. His gi was mostly burnt off on the right, and he had several superficial burns on his body... but surprisingly, nothing too bad. It would all heal quickly, so he was in good shape. Well, except for his singed tail, that would take a few days to heal.
"K-Kakarot!" a scream came from afar. Well, great. She got caught, what a surprise.
"Power Pole! Extend!" he snapped. The pole pushed him into the air, allowing him to vault back to the town. He dove through the air, landing on the ground right next to Bulma. He glared at the teenager. "Yes, use your Power Pole to launch yourself through the hellfire, I'm sure that'll go well!"
"Yeah... you're right. I'm so sorry, I almost got you killed," she said solemnly. Kakarot relaxed slightly; at least she apologized.
"Just... make sure to plan out your strategies better. Hopefully not getting me killed in the process," he said. Kakarot then turned his eyes to focus on the Ox King. "So... can I have your Dragon Ball?"
The Ox King just tilted his head to the side. "I won't be giving anything to treasure hunters!" He bared his axe and swung it down. Kakarot sighed and bounced backwards, out of the way of the swing. He dodged an onslaught of attacks by the Ox King, each one barely avoiding hitting him, some more than others.
Then, the Ox King swung straight down. With his axe in the ground, Kakarot jumped on his arm and ran up to his head, bringing the Power Pole down upon the big man's neck. It didn't even phase him. "Gah! What are you made of, pure metal?!" The Ox King simply grinned, releasing his axe... and grabbing Kakarot's tail. The pain caused Kakarot to drop the Power Pole and go completely limp. Well... errors have been made. The Ox King threw Kakarot as hard as he could into a ruined house.
The boy popped out of the newly created rubble and glared at the big man. "Oi! How did you know about my tail?!" The Ox King crossed his arms.
"If you honestly think that you're the only one of your kind to have come here," the Ox King replied, "think again." Kakarot's face changed from anger to one of deliberation.
"Wait, do you know Surai?" he asked the big guy.
The Ox King shook his head. "No. I've never met her, I have heard about her, though." He reached down and picked up the Power Pole. "This... this is the Power Pole, is it not?"
Kakarot nodded. "Yeah, my Master gave it to me."
"Was your Master named Son Gohan?"
"Yes, he was... why?"
-R&R-
A long winded explanation later, Kakarot sighed loudly. "So, let me get this straight. You and Master Gohan were students of the Turtle Hermit."
"Correct."
"He gave you each a Dragon Ball, and gave Master Gohan the Power Pole."
"Yeahuh."
"And you want me to go and find him so you can use a mystical relic of his to put out the fire around your castle."
"Yes."
"Wonderful. So, what do I get out of this?"
"You get my Dragon Ball."
Kakarot thought on this, before finally coming to a conclusion. "Fine. I'll help you out. Any clues as to how I get back across the desert quickly?"
The Ox King scratched his chin before replying, "Gohan used to use that stick to vault around quickly. Since Master Roshi had his flying cloud, that was the only way that we could find to keep up with him."
"So, you want me to Pole Vault halfway across the continent on a wild goose chase. And then after that I have to find my way back," Kakarot muttered. "Is there anything else you want from me?!"
"Um... I sent my daughter Chi-Chi out a few days ago, since my wife met up with an old friend a few days ago and decided to go and have some 'girl time'. If you find her, I would appreciate it if you brought her back safely," Ox King said.
Kakarot sighed again. "And what does she look like?" The Ox King reached into a pocket and produced a picture of a girl with pitch black hair that went halfway down her body, onyx eyes, and dressed in a dark green gi, with pink gloves and boots, and a pink obi to finish it off.
Bulma peeked her head over Kakarot's shoulder. "Oh wow," she said, "she's a cutie!" Kakarot, despite his confusion about the colours not matching, found himself unable to look away from the picture. There was just something... odd... about this girl, he couldn't quite figure out what it was. At least not from the picture. To prevent himself from sending the wrong picture, he quickly pointed the Power Pole at the ground and extended it, vaulting him into the air towards the East.
-R&R-
The moment Yamcha saw the picture of the girl, he had run back to his car as fast as he could and sped off. I am dead meat if that girl isn't okay! The Ox King would have me flayed alive above hot coals... not to mention what his wife would do, that woman has even more horror stories surrounding her! Thankfully, he arrived and found the girl unconscious, right where he'd left her. Yamcha quickly dismounted and picked her up into his arms and gently shook her.
"Hey... hey wake up," he said softly. Sure enough, she soon stirred, opening her eyes lightly. Well, at least I didn't kill her. That would have been a difficult one to get out of. Unfortunately for Yamcha, the moment she saw him, she kicked him in the face and backflipped about 10 feet away from him. "Hey! Don't shoot Chi-Chi! I'm not a bad guy!"
"That's exactly what the last guy said, and all he wanted was my body, as a tool for taking the throne! I'm not falling for it this time!" her hands began to glow again. Yamcha panicked and tried to charge her again, hoping that, by a stroke of good fortune, he could just defeat her and get her to listen. Unfortunately, fortune just happened to fall from the sky in this instance.
-R&R-
Gine stretched her arms out to her sides. "So, how did you become seperated from Surai?" she asked.
Seripa looked down, embarrassed. "I chose a space pod that was a bit screwed up, and when he hit the atmosphere, it went all haywire, Surai fell out of the pod and I was thrown from the pod at full speed. I must have continued flying in the pod quite a while, since Orange Star, where Surai is, is on the other side of the Kingdom."
"So, because you picked a faulty space pod, your mission is screwed eight ways from sunday?"
"Pretty much. I woke up here badly injured, and a man took care of me until I recovered."
"I'm guessing he's the father of your daughter?"
"Your guess is not inaccurate."
"So is that why you're wearing Earthling clothes? It took me a moment to even realize you still had your tail, since you put it through those loops in the trousers."
"They're for belts. Since Earthlings don't have tales, they use leather strips to hold their pants up when then are too loose."
"Well, they obviously never figured out elastic."
"They did... they just started selling it a few years ago."
"Ouch. This place really is a backwater."
"It's not too bad."
"It's not, it's just that the people here have to play catchup. I mean, I've seen exactly one Earthling that can use his ki and none that can fly."
"Members of the Crane School of Martial Arts can fly."
"Is it efficient?"
"No, I've seen street children on Vegeta fly better on their first attempt."
"...that's just sad."
"I know." The two just stared at each other. Gine tried to change the subject.
"So... wanna spar?"
"Sure, just not too much or my mate's going to get a ton of complaints lobbed his way."
"Wait, what did you say your mate's job was, again?"
-R&R-
Kakarot was following his instructions, and pole vaulting his way east until he got back to the Mount Paozu area. As he moved along, he heard yelling in the distance, and looked down to see two figures. Huh, I wonder what they're arguing about. As Kakarot paid attention to the figures below, he stopped paying attention to where he was placing his pole... and it collapsed under a loose collection of rocks. Just as fast as he had been going, the boy plummetted toward the ground, and the two figures.
Just in time to pass right in front of Yamcha's Wolf Fang whatever, and a punch to the head sent him into the other figure and across the ground. Kakarot's head was swimming, but he managed to open his eyes... to find himself entangled with a person about his size in a dark green gi. His arm was stuck under their's, and their legs were tanged around his right leg. Kakarot looked up to see a blushing face looked at back at him. Onyx eyes, black hair, green gi. "Hi there," he said carefully. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come crashing into you. Some jackass bandit with a mean punch hit me." He carefully pulled himself off of her and helped her up. "You're Chi-Chi, right?"
"Yes," she replied, still blushing.
"Great. Your dad sent me looking for you, you're going to get the Banshee Fan, right? I was supposed to find the fan and grab you if I could."
"Banshō Fan... and since you know that... I guess you're the real deal, aren't you?"
"Indeed." Kakarot turned his head to face Yamcha. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business." He cracked his knuckles and looked at Yamcha. He got into his pose and waited. And waited. And waited. Yamcha still didn't move. Sighing, Kakarot instead charged him. Their fists met with a boom. Kakarot followed up with an uppercut, which Yamcha swiftly dodged. As Kakarot's face passed near Yamcha's, Kakarot simply smiled, and wrapped his tail around Yamcha's arm. As the bandit was trying to figure out what exactly his tail was, Kakarot pulled himself in and kicked Yamcha as hard as he could in the face, sending him flying backwards.
The bandit felt his mouth, and his cat turned into a mirror to show him something. Wait, his cat can change form? Yamcha's face turned to one of shock, and he screamed, "No! My tooth! You've ruined my perfect face!" He quickly hopped in his car. "This isn't over kid! I'll get you! Eventually!" And with that he sped off.
Kakarot turned around and walked back to where Chi-Chi had watched the brief fight.
"You have a tail," she said shocked.
"Oh gee, I hadn't noticed," Kakarot deadpanned.
"No... it's just that-" Chi-Chi began, but then stopped. She sighed, and loosened her obi slightly. Something curled out from around her waist. Kakarot's face blanched. It was a tail, just like his.
"S-S-" he began, but was interrupted.
"No, I'm not Surai!" she snapped quickly. "My name is Chi-Chi. I'm the Princess of the Ox Kingdom... and a Second-Class Saiyan half-breed."
The colour still hadn't returned to the boy's face. He was just staring, shocked at the girl. She-She-She-She... He focused, trying to come back to his senses. "I'm Daikyō Kakarot, the second son of Clan Chief Daikyō Bardock, Planet Earth's primary infiltration baby. I didn't realize anymore of our kind had come here."
"They didn't really. There's my mother and Surai. I don't care for that apparant part of me. I grew up as an Earthling, and that's what I am." She walked over and picked up the Power Pole from where it lay. "Can we go?" she asked, wrapping her tail back up and covering it with her obi. Kakarot limply nodded and grabbed the pole from her.
"Since I'm real nice, you can hold onto my back while I vault. Should make the gathering weight part easier, anyway." Chi-Chi nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held tightly. Kakarot took a deep breath. Just my luck. A random girl who I bump into happens to be a half-breed. The universe really must not like me... and she even fights well! Why, why must you do this to me! "Power Pole!" Kakarot called. "Extend." The pole shot the pair into the air, giving Kakarot plenty of momentum to fling himself again, and Chi-Chi's extra weight didn't hinder or help him, really. He supposed they balanced out. What bothered him the most was that he didn't really mind her pressed against him. He really should've been telling her to not hold on so tight, but he didn't want to. The fact that he didn't was the part bothering him.
-R&R-
Gine didn't know what to think about what Seripa had told her. "Your mate is King of most of the southern part of the continent? And you are his Queen under an alias?"
Seripa nodded. "Yep. My official name is Selypa Parsnips, the Queen of the Ox Kingdom. And of course, mother of the heir to the throne, Princess Chi-Chi."
Gine cut her hand through the air. "I still find it ridiculously convenient that you somehow landed in a place where a King would find you and you fell in love with him. And you gave him a half-breed heir."
Seripa frowned, "When you call her a half-breed, it sounds like you're insulting her."
"Sorry, I don't know what else to call her though," Gine sighed. "I am surprised that you two only have a daughter, though."
Seripa adopted a sullen face. "It's not by choice. If we could, we'd have a family that made Bardock's seem small." Now that was a bold statement. Bardock had four older brothers and five younger brothers. All but him and the youngest had died in the Seventh Saiyan-Tuffle War, however.
"But," Seripa continued, "giving birth to Chi-Chi took a lot out of me. I don't know why, but I haven't been able to have a child since." Her face actually looked sad now. "Maybe it was the fact that the Earthlings have shorter gestational periods, she was larger than a normal baby."
Gine's heart sank. "I'm sorry for-"
"No, it's fine." Seripa quickly interrupted. "It doesn't bother me as much as it used to. It's not like I can just bury the past like some people said."
Gine nodded in solidarity. "They're wrong, I've learned, in what they say about the past. About how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out." She shook her head. "I can barely even look at my son without being reminded of my mate. It's started to fade, but it's still there."
"Don't worry, Geen," she said, using her old nickname. "You'll be just fine."
"I hope so, Sera," she replied. "I hope so."
-R&R-
After several hours of continuous pole vaulting, Kakarot finally arrived at the sea and hung just above the waterline. "Well, isn't this just great." Kakarot complained. "We're here in the middle of the sea, and no sign of the Turtle Hermit."
"Can't we ask for directions, Kakarot?" Chi-Chi asked quietly.
"Who are we going to ask out here?" he asked in reply. Chi-Chi pointed down at the water where a dolphin was looking up at them. "Huh, good eye," he said to Chi-Chi. "Where's Master Roshi?" he asked the dolphin.
"Oh, Master Roshi? He's over there!" the dolphin said, pointing with his fin.
"Thank you. When I cleanse this planet, you will be spared," he replied.
"Wait, you'll destroy the planet?" Dolphin replied.
"Um, yeah I just said that. Is that a problem?"
"No, not really. Well, when you do so, could you give the humans a message for me?"
"Sure, what?"
The dolphin lifted its fin as if it were waving. "So long, and thanks for all the fish!" Kakarot nodded, before leaning back and continuing to vault along.
"I've never seen a fish like that before." Chi-Chi noted.
"By the way it was above the water, I think it was a mammal, actually." Kakarot corrected. The two continued on for another 15 minutes, before they spotted a small island. As they got closer, Kakarot spotted a small house and a few palm trees on its sand beaches, but the house took up the vast majority of the island's land area.
"Ah! That must be it, Kakarot!" Chi-Chi cheered, pointing at it.
"No, really? I couldn't tell. Whatever gave you that impression." Kakarot asked sardonically.
"Well, amazingly enough, it does say 'Kame House' in big red letters on the side," she snarked back. Wow, nice one. Maybe this one isn't completely hopeless.
Kakarot used one last fling and landed safely on the shore of the island. Chi-Chi let go and stumbled around for second before finding her footing. Why does she not use her tail to balance herself like any normal Saiyan? He turned his attention to the person who had just walked in front of him.
"Well, now. If it isn't the little boy I gave my Dragon Ball to. What brings you here?" Roshi asked.
"Wait... this is the great Master Roshi?" Chi-Chi asked.
"I know, right? I was surprised to find out that he was so great, too. He just looks like an old geezer," Kakarot said.
"You know kid, you might want to be a bit nicer," Roshi muttered. "I see you've done just fine without my flying cloud." Kakarot just stared at him. The silence was thick enough that a butcher's knife would shatter against it. "So, what happened to the girl there? Last I saw her she was taller, had nicer hair, and actually had breasts."
Kakarot just sighed. "That was Bulma. This is Chi-Chi. Now, I've had a very long day and I've been flinging myself around with the Power Pole for several hours, I'm not in the mood for any games."
In the background, Chi-Chi muttered, "I'll have them when I grow up, pervert."
"Listen, Chi-Chi here is the Ox King's daughter. He sent me here in the hopes that you could put out the fire on his mountain," Kakarot explained.
"The Ox King, eh? I haven't heard from him in a very long time. Unlike Gohan he never kept in much contact with me. I always tried to explain-"
-R&R-
As Roshi went off on his rant, Chi-Chi tapped Kakarot's tail with her index finger, knowing it would get his attention.
"What?" he asked.
Chi-Chi shushed him, then whispered, "Are you sure this is really Roshi?"
"Who else could it be? I doubt anyone else would just have a defective cloud floating around," Kakarot replied. I guess he has a point there. "Alright! Enough, we get it, The Ox King never writes. Now can we please explain why we're here?" I still don't believe it's him... I'll give him a little test. Chi-Chi reached into her gi and pulled out a kunai from a hidden pocket. If he can dodge this, then I'll believe it's Roshi. She threw the kunai as hard as she could. Roshi stood stock still before quickly bringing up his staff to block it. Unfortunately, being made of wood, the kunai passed right through it and embedded itself in the man's skull.
"Oh dear..." Turtle, who had been observing the whole thing, said. Kakarot's face was first one of shock, then he burst out laughing. He kept laughing until he fell over, and even then he was still laughing. Eventually, the laughter brought tears to his eyes, and he was forced to stop, but he still kept making giggling noises at the poor man's suffering.
Eventually, Roshi pulled himself back to his feet, but the boy was still cackling like the Mad Hatter. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up kid."
"I-I'm totally not sorry," Kakarot said, trying to catch his breath, "but how did an old geezer like you survive that?"
"You little runt! I'll have you know I'm one of the strongest people in the world!" Roshi yelled. He grabbed the kunai and yanked it out with ease. Okay, I guess he is Roshi. Suddenly, a very wicked smile came across Roshi's lips. "Hey, little girl. How would you like a gift in exchange for coming all this way to see your father's old teacher?" Chi-Chi perked up. I swear, if it's another one of those crappy courtship gifts, I'll throw the kunai again, this time for his throat. I'm sure Kakarot would enjoy watching his blood splat- wait, where did that come from? I don't want to kill him!
"What kind of gift?" she replied, holding her voice steady. The old man looked over at Kakarot and smiled even brighter.
"Oh, you'll see," the mirth was evident in Roshi's voice. He turned out to the water and pointed the remains of his staff outwards. "Come to me, Flying Nimbus!" There was a pregnant silence as the wind blew across the island.
"I see your theatrics skills haven't improved much, either," Kakarot remarked. In the distance a yellow cloud moved through the sky. "Just a friendly word of advice, you might want to try stretching 'Niiiiiiiiiiiiimbuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus'. Then, by the time you finish, the cloud might actually be moving."
The cloud circled the island and arrived in front of them. "This is the Flying Nimbus. If you sit on her, you can fly around anywhere," Roshi introduced. "If you can ride on her, she's all yours." Chi-Chi looked at it in askance. This looks more like a giant piece of cotton candy. Yum, Cotton Candy, I'd love some of that right now! She shook her head and bounced into the air, landing firmly on the cloud.
"Huh?" she asked out loud. Suddenly, she realized that she had done it. She bounced up in the air. "Yay! I got it! I got a free cloud!"
"Interesting, so I guess it does work," Kakarot muttered. Chi-Chi laughed and pointed to the sky.
"Soar!" she called. And the Flying Nimbus did just that, flying through the air and doing sommersaults.
-R&R-
"Alright, kid," Roshi said. "What are you actually here for?"
Kakarot shrugged nonchalantly. "I already told you, the Ox King sent us here hoping that you'd have a way to put out the fire on Frypan Mountain. He told us to ask you for the Banshee- sorry, Banshō- Fan."
Roshi sighed. "Well, the Banshō Fan would certainly do the job. I just worry it's too dangerous for you kids to use."
"Oh really? Why's that?"
"It's very powerful. One swing and it gets very windy. Two and it'll start a thunderstorm. Three will literally cause a typhoon to form around you. I've never tried four, but I imagine it wouldn't turn out very well."
That was fine with Kakarot, he didn't plan on swinging it more than twice. Swinging it alot could easily complete his mission... but where was the fun in that? He wanted to experience the thrill of the fight as he went about his mission.
Kakarot sighed. "That's fine, I was only going to swing it twice at most." He looked up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Chi-Chi!" he called. The yellow cloud did one more circle around the isle and came to a stop right next to them.
"This cloud is amazing!" she cheered. Kakarot shook his head and laughed a bit. This girl was incorrigible.
"I'm sure it is. Turtle guy said we could borrow the fan," Kakarot said. Chi-Chi pumped her arms in the air and flew the nimbus around in short circles.
"Hurray!" she cheered, "we can finally put out the fire and go home!" Kakarot smiled and looked at the hermit. Your move, old man. You can either agree with me and I get what I want, or you deny me and break the poor girl's heart. In the end, the old man sighed and shook his head, going inside.
-R&R-
After waiting for some time, Master Roshi had still not found the Banshō fan, even after ransacking his house.
"Turtle!" he called. "Where did I leave the Banshō Fan?"
"You were using it as a placemat, you stored the aloe vera plants on it." Turtle replied.
Roshi's head fell. "Oh dear," he said, "that was the Banshō Fan? I spilled some wine on it and threw it out."
Kakarot sighed. Chi-Chi felt herself wanting to cry. If the Banshō Fan was gone, that meant she could never go home. And Kakarot wouldn't get his artifact... no one would be happy with that result. "Are you absolutely sure you're the Turtle Hermit?" Kakarot piped up.
"Of course I am! Who do you take me for?!" Roshi yelled.
"It's just that Master Gohan was far less forgetful, and he was really old!" Kakarot explained.
"I- you know I can't... really argue with that one. You could still be nicer about it, though," Roshi said. Yeah... Master Roshi's right, he really could use some lessons in being nice. Oh well, he's still young. He has time to learn before he gets thrust into the spotlight. If he wasn't so rude he'd be dreamy. "Alrighty, then!" Roshi declared. "If the Banshō Fan is nowhere to be found, I'll just go and put out the fire myself!" Roshi then turned and went deeper into his house. How will he put out the fire on his own?
The Turtle Hermit was gone for around ten minutes, before stepping out, dressed in a fine orange shirt and dark pants.
"Was the change of clothes really necessary?" Kakarot asked.
"Of course! I gotta look sharp for such an occasion," Roshi replied. Kakarot sighed and looked up at Chi-Chi.
"Um... Chi-Chi." He looked almost nervous as he spoke. "Since I gave you a ride here... could I... could you... give me a ride back on the Flying Nimbus? My arms kinda hurt." Chi-Chi's heart skipped a beat for a second. Had this boy really just asked her for something... and so politely?
"Um... sure," she replied. She reached down and held open her hand. Kakarot hesitated, then took it and climbed onto the cloud. To Chi-Chi's surprise, as he held onto her, the cloud accepted him. Or at least, he didn't fall through it. Chi-Chi looked down at the Turtle Hermit. "Master Roshi! Would you like a ride?"
Roshi smiled back. "No thanks, kid. I've got my own." He pointed his new staff to the air. "Come to me, Baby Gamera!" Out of the sky, a large rock-like shell spun down and landed at Roshi's feet. Out of the shell, appeared a turtle-thing. Oh, so it is literally a baby Gamera. "I need you to spin me over to Frypan Mountain. You know where that is?"
"Of course I do," Baby Gamera replied.
"I'll meet you two there!" Roshi called. Baby Gamera began spinning rapidly and flying through the air. Chi-Chi willed the cloud forward and they sped off across the ocean.
-R&R-
Bulma dug through the rubble of the village by the Ox King's Castle, hoping to find a capsule, or at least something interesting. After some digging, all she managed to find was an old accoustic guitar, of the such that her 'friends' back at high school would play. If she could even call them friends. She was only going back to school for senior year out of boredom. If I'd known then that I would enjoy this trip so much, I might have just graduated, taken the diploma, and come out here. She didn't have any friends, she had people who tried to get close to her for her money. Being the child of the richest man in the world was both a blessing and a curse. Sure, she could get whatever she wanted, but no one liked for her being her. They liked her for her money. She could guarantee, if she ever lost that money, all her so-called 'friends' would vanish faster than antimatter in open air. After sifting through and finding nothing of note, she resigned herself, picked up the guitar, and walked back over to the Ox King.
"Anything you like?" she offered, unable to think of anything better to say. The Ox King looked down at the guitar and nodded.
"Het Geluid van Stilte. Know of it?" Ox King asked. Bulma nodded. She did know the song. Why he knew the name of it in a long dead language she could only guess. Bulma sighed and sat down on the rock behind her. Guess those music classes will give me something. Entertaining a King was definitely not where she saw herself in the future. She wasn't a princess, what kind of royalty would have any interest in her?
After tuning the strings, the began the classic strum. "English version, right?" The King nodded. She watched her fingers carefully and took a deep breath.
"Hello Darkness, my old friend.
I've come to talk with you again."
-R&R-
Yamcha had been nearly asleep when he heard the guitar. After nearly losing a tooth to the crazy monkey boy, he decided that maybe sneaking and spying wasn't so bad after all, and hid in the outskirts of the ruined village outside Frypan Mountain. The monkey boy would inevitably return here, so he could continue following them without risking an actual beating, rather than just a lost tooth and a tactical retreat.
Suddenly, he heard a guitar behind strummed. He peaked up over the rubble, and saw Bulma sitting on a rock, plucking a guitar with her fingers, and singing. She looked like an angel, singing with the fire behind her, her purple hair resting on her shoulders as she did so. Yamcha found himself unable to look away, nor wanting to. He'd seen the girl with the monkey boy often, but never up close like this, by herself. Well, not counting the massive King sitting in front of her.
"And the sign said 'The words of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
and tenement halls.'
and whispered in the sounds... of silence."
She finished the song on the guitar before taking a deep breath. As the song finished, Yamcha heard the sound of something rushing through the air. He quickly ducked back into cover as he saw a yellow cloud fly over his head and come to a stop in front of the Ox King.
-R&R-
"To answer your question, girl," Ox King said, "I have some old literature from when that language was spoken, so I used it for fun." Bulma reeled back. "I can tell, girl. Everyone gets that look when I say things like that."
"PAPA!" a voice called, as a yellow cloud flew past and stopped in front of the Ox King's face. "Look! Master Roshi gave me his Flying Nimbus!" Bulma stood and looked closer at the voice. It was a small girl with pitch black hair, dressed in a dark green gi with a pink obi, gloves, and boots. Kakarot was holding onto the girl with his eyes shut. Wait, how is he riding on the cloud? "Kakarot!" the girl called, "You can let go now!" Kakarot opened his eyes, looked around briefly nodded, and did so. The moment he did, he fell right through the cloud and landed on the ground, on his feet.
Bulma giggled. "Kakarot, I thought you were a monkey boy, not a cat." The boy's eyes twitched as she said that. The girl on the cloud looked down at her. Oh, that must be Chi-Chi, the Ox King's daughter.
"Don't say that, 'monkey' is a derogatory term for people of his race. I know you didn't mean anything by it, but just keep it in mind," she said. Wait, how come he told her that? He never told me that, even when he was talking before... and he couldn't have met this girl before today. What has she got that I haven't that he's willing to trust her just like that?! Wait... why do I care?
"What?! The Banshō Fan is ruined?!" The Ox King yelled, snapping Bulma out of her thoughts.
"Yep. But Master Roshi said he would come here himself to put out the fire," Chi-Chi replied. She turned her head around and pointed at a smudge in the sky. As it got closer, Bulma could see something spinning amazingly fast through the air, coming to a stop above them.
Immediately, the Turtle Hermit fell from the spinning thing and landed on the ground. After spinning around dizzily, he steadied himself on his staff. "That's the only problem with Baby Gamera," he said, "It makes you real dizzy."
The Ox King ran over and prostrated himself right in front of the old man. Unfortunately, the force of his body hitting the ground caused the old man to lose his balance and fall over. Roshi immediately picked himself back up. "I've heard the stories about you, you big Ox!" he chastised, "A demon who kills anyone who comes near his castle, who openly consorts with vampires and other such demons?!"
"To be fair, Master," Ox King replied, "those were all thieves I killed. The Vampire story is just one my wife spreads. Selypa is very proud of that one. They've done their jobs at keeping bandits away."
"Oh quit it, you won't need to spread those legends anymore after today, you can go back to just being King of this nice land," Roshi said.
"Yes Master, thank you Master!" Ox King replied. Bulma was shocked by this display. This huge man who looked as if he could tear dinosaurs in half with brute strength was supplicating to an old man, who seemed to have not eaten in weeks.
"Seriously, do you not recall any of our training? I thought I told both you and Gohan to practice! If you had listened, you could do this yourself!" The old man threw off his turtle shell, and it landed on the ground with a loud SLAM. He unbuttoned his shirt next and laid it atop the turtle shell, before climbing on top of a piece of rubble right in front of the mountain. He cracked his neck and flexed his arms. With a loud grunt of effort, his thin arms suddenly bulged into full muscular arms of a bodybuilder on a magazine. Taking a loud deep breath, the Turtle Hermit flexed his torso, and it followed suit, ripping right into shape.
"W-Well, that's not something you see everyday," Bulma stuttered. The man extended his right arm forward and took a deep breath, his body clearly shaking from the effort. As soon as his hand was extended, a blue glow travelled up his arm and enveloped the Hermit's entire body.
-R&R-
Yamcha watched the Turtle Hermit with a keen interest, as any martial arts fan rightfully would. The Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi, was a legend amongst the Martial Arts community, his Turtle School one of the most exclusive in the world, with a reputation for training some of the best Martial Artists ever, with only the Crane School being able to compete.
"Yamcha?" Puar asked, "What is the Turtle Hermit doing?"
"If I were to guess," he replied, "he's using his signature move... to think I would ever get to see it with my own eyes, I can barely believe it."
-R&R-
As the blue glow subsided partially, the old man rotated his hands in a circle, before cupping them in front of him. "Ka... Me...." he said, moving his cupped hands to his side. "Ha... Me..." he continued. A blue ball began to form in his hands. "HA!" Roshi yelled, thrusting his cupped hands forward. A blue beam shot from his hands into the fire, creating a blinding flash and causing the ground to shake, knocking everyone over.
When the flash subsided, Kakarot stood up to look around. Indeed, the fire was gone... and so was the entire mountain. Roshi was sitting on the same piece of rubble as before, his muscles returned to normal.
"Wow..." Kakarot said, in awe of the display of power. "I-I don't... " he looked at the Hermit pensively. "I apologize for doubting you, you are clearly the strongest warrior on the planet," he said with a light bow. This is humiliating, I should be smarter than this.
Roshi nodded to him, before walking up to the Ox King and Chi-Chi. "Sorry for blowing up your castle."
Chi-Chi shook her head at him. "It's fine, we can always build another one, right Papa?"
"Right! You know Master, you should really come and stay with us, it's far safer over here," Ox King said.
Roshi shook his head at his former student. "I honestly prefer living alone, just restore order to the Paozu region and it'll be just as safe as here."
Meanwhile, Kakarot was eying the car and his own hands. The way he gathered his ki... if I focus it in my hands... Kakarot cupped his hands at his side. Now... the words... "Ka... Me... Ha... Me... Ha!" he yelled. Almost immediately, a blue ball formed in front of his hands and a beam shot from it into the car.
Kakarot felt his entire body shaking from the effort, but he managed to find his footing and smile. "I did it." He looked back to see Roshi, Chi-Chi, and the Ox King staring at him, dumbfounded.
"H-How did you-" Roshi stuttered, "i-it took me fifty years to create that technique! How could you use it so easily?"
"He's Gohan's student, Master," Ox King interjected. Roshi seemed to relax a bit.
"I know that, Ox King. Gohan wrote to me, telling me of a small child with a tail that he took in, along with a woman with a tail who came by. Gohan thought she was his mother, but she always flew away, like one of Shen's students." Roshi remarked.
"Chi-Chi!" Kakarot called. "It's not too hard! Just focus your ki into your hands while cupped, and say it as you force it forward." It wasn't that he was ignoring Roshi, it was just that he didn't have an answer for him. The girl looked at him, then cupped her hands at her side. "Kamehameha!" she yelled, thrusting her arms forward. As Kakarot had done before, a small blue beam shot from her hands and sent the car flying across the rubble and out of sight. The girl stumbled and fell backwards from the force, but otherwise seemed fine.
Roshi was absolutely speechless. He took a deep breath and looked at the two kids. "You know, while the boy may have some attitude problems, you two both have incredible potential. Why don't you two come by my island? I haven't taken on any new students recently, I could train you two personally."
Kakarot smiled lightly. "Once I'm done with my quest, I might just take you up on that." Chi-Chi ran up to him.
"Quest? Of what kind? You didn't explain this to me before, Kakarot!" she said, sounding... excited?
"Oh, um..." Kakarot grabbed the bag off his obi and withdrew the Four-Star Ball. "Bulma and I are seeking out the seven Dragon Balls. When they're all gathered together, they call forth the Eternal Dragon, who will grant you a single wish. That's why we came by here, since the sixth one is here. I have two, Bulma has three. I guess that'll be four once she finds the one in the ruins." He looked over to the ruins where Bulma probably was digging for the Dragon Ball. Chi-Chi nodded and ran back to her father, climbing up on his shoulder and whispering something in his ear.
Suddenly, Bulma walked up next to him, holding the next Dragon Ball, looking at the nearby wreckage of their car. "WHO THE HELL WRECKED OUR CAR?!" she screamed. Kakarot limply raised his hand, as did Chi-Chi in the distance. She glared at both of them, before turning to Kakarot specifically. "Great. Now how are we going to continue. I don't want to walk anymore!"
The Ox King stepped forward. "If you two need a car, I can provide you with one. It's the least I can do."
Kakarot smiled up at the big man. "You would? Thanks. I don't know what I would do if I had to listen to her complain about it walking all over again." The Ox King smiled and pulled a capsule out of his pocket. He tossed it into the air, and when it opened, it revealed a green, open topped hovercar. Now that's more like it. After a few more whispers into the Ox King's ear, Chi-Chi hopped down onto the ground. Kakarot climbed into the car with Bulma.
"Kakarot! Hold on a second." Chi-Chi called. He looked back at her as she ran up to the car.
"What is it, Chi-Chi?" he asked. She simply got a sly smile on her face, before quickly swiping the Dragon Ball from Bulma.
"What the hell!?" Bulma screamed. Chi-Chi tucked the Dragon Ball into a pocket in her gi.
"The Dragon Ball is rightfully mine. If you want the wish," she looked at them pointedly, "you'll have to let me come along, too." Kakarot sighed.
"You know you could have just asked, right? Just get in the car." The girl suddenly got a beaming smile on her face and bounced into the back seat beside Kakarot.
"Alright! Off on the adventure we go!" Chi-Chi called. Bulma sighed and hit the gas before anything else could go wrong. Kakarot and Chi-Chi both waved behind them at the two figures as they got smaller in the distance.
"I don't see why you wanted to come, we only have one more Dragon Ball to find, and that's the One-Star Ball. There's not much to see in that regard." Bulma said to Chi-Chi.
-R&R-
After changing vehicles to a quieter one, Yamcha followed along the group closer than before, since his tracker was now fried, but he was easily keeping pace. There was only one left now, from what the girl had said. It wouldn't be long now, he would get his wish from the Dragon Balls, and there was nothing that could stand in his way now.
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Let me know what you thought of the twist in the comments.
Let me know what you thought of the twist in the comments.
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Kakarot when you come up with a better plan then you can talk smack XD
Anyway, an impressively detailed and lengthy chapter! You're certainly throwing more things off the canon rails, though poor Yamcha's teeth!
Sorta eh on Seripa's marriage and child situation and how she survived it all feels a bit forced to me, sorry. Also why does Chichi know or care about the Sayian view on her given they're pretty much all dead and she never met them?
Bringing Chichi a long is a fun take and it was neat to see Bulma bounce off the Ox King and visa versa, not sure why the Crane method would be bad, it looked good/better to me, very elegant.
I liked the Nimbus gift and Chich having fun with it, also her vaporizing the dinosaur was hilarious. Heh, good insights on the Bansho Fan so OP if it keeps escalating like that XD Also very cool world building with Ox King actually ruling a domain and him pulling his protection back allowing people like Yamcha and Pilaf and the Rabbit Gang to openly claim so much territory.
Anyway, an impressively detailed and lengthy chapter! You're certainly throwing more things off the canon rails, though poor Yamcha's teeth!
Sorta eh on Seripa's marriage and child situation and how she survived it all feels a bit forced to me, sorry. Also why does Chichi know or care about the Sayian view on her given they're pretty much all dead and she never met them?
Bringing Chichi a long is a fun take and it was neat to see Bulma bounce off the Ox King and visa versa, not sure why the Crane method would be bad, it looked good/better to me, very elegant.
I liked the Nimbus gift and Chich having fun with it, also her vaporizing the dinosaur was hilarious. Heh, good insights on the Bansho Fan so OP if it keeps escalating like that XD Also very cool world building with Ox King actually ruling a domain and him pulling his protection back allowing people like Yamcha and Pilaf and the Rabbit Gang to openly claim so much territory.
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
I like it - especially how Son Gokū Kakarot feels himself drawn to the half-breed - the lowest of the low for a Saiyajin.
Also, I find it heartening that Gine does not buy into such prejudices.
Also, I find it heartening that Gine does not buy into such prejudices.
I got the impression that quite a few of them were off-world when Freezer attacked the planet.
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