KnightofTempest
The Man who would be King
- Location
- Chicago
Immortality locks you into staying at the Power Level you were when you wished for it per Super.
Goku wishing for immortality would mean he wouldn't have the strength to beat later threats
The Z Gamer
- Thread starter ZeroRewind
- Start date
- Fantasy
Immortality locks you into staying at the Power Level you were when you wished for it per Super.
Goku wishing for immortality would mean he wouldn't have the strength to beat later threats
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
Do you have a citation for that? I honestly don't recall that coming up at all in the Zamasu Arc.
KnightofTempest
The Man who would be King
- Location
- Chicago
Its from later than that I believe
Lone Courier 6
Devilish Fool
- Location
- United States of Quests
Who brought it up?
KnightofTempest
The Man who would be King
- Location
- Chicago
I don't recall. I watched the episode months ago
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
The only place I can think immortality would come up in Super post Zamasu is Frieza talking about how he didn't want it anymore due to his experience in hell and the reason he didn't wish for something like "impervious to harm" is he didn't want life to get boring. No mention of a drawback like that.
Lone Courier 6
Devilish Fool
- Location
- United States of Quests
Because Goku Black was immortal but kept getting stronger.
Goku blask wasn't immortal
And the power staying the same if your immortal is a misconception as the reason he didn't want to become immortal in super Broly is cause he feels being immortal and being hell will be the same thing in the end
Chapter 24
- Location
- Canada
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"Please, no more…" I held my father tightly as he begged while in a state between wakefulness and sleep. "No more. I've told you everything. No more…"
Baba was right, and I wished she hadn't been.
"It's okay, dad." I said soothingly. "I'm here. I'm here."
But my words fell on deaf ears. I felt his grip on my forearms tighten as he struggled to get free.
"Please, dad." I shifted slightly and began to soothingly rub his back. "You're free. It's over, dad."
There was a long moment of silence. I watched a glint of consciousness slowly return to his pain-filled eyes. He saw me and instantly buried his face into my shoulder, clinging to me as if this was the last time he'd see me.
"I did my best, Ten." Ren babbled uncontrollably. "I tried to stay strong for you. I tried. You don't know what they can do. I tried…"
"I know." I said soothingly, feeling his tears against my shoulder. I blinked away my own tears and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "It's okay. It's okay, dad."
Please don't cry, dad. I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out anymore. I held him until he calmed down and slowly— oh-so-slowly— fell back to sleep.
"This is all I can do." I mouthed, feeling my heart break at my own powerlessness. I set him back down and made sure he was well covered.
With one last stare, I turned and exited the room, jumping down to the base of the palace.
Baba was already there, looking older than I'd ever seen her. We exchanged a look, both knowing what the other was thinking in that moment.
There was no need for words.
With a gesture, she led me out of the palace, into the fighting ring. The sound of the water rushing along the ring's border drowned out my inner thoughts for a short while.
"I know you like being here." Baba floated by the water. I followed her and sat over the edge.
"He's had nightmares every night." I said quietly. "It's just as you said. I'm totally useless. I can't do a single thing to help."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." The old crone countered. "You are there for him."
"What good's that?" I snarled, before pausing to take a deep breath. "Sorry."
"Apology accepted."
"I just don't know how to help him." I felt a tremor run through me.
"It is a tragic thing." She said quietly, eyeing me with pity. "Watching your own father break down in tears."
I looked away, my face hot with shame and anger. I didn't want her pity!
I stared at my hand, feeling the power roiling underneath, waiting to be accessed and unleashed. "Even with all of my strength, I can't solve this problem."
"Maybe it doesn't need to be solved by you." Baba offered quietly. "That is the truth of life."
I absorbed her words as she continued to share her wisdom. "Sometimes, you can't fix everything."
She's right. I realized.
I took a deep breath and got to my feet, my mind full with purpose.
"I may not be able to fix everything." I said, raising my open palm and generating a [Ki Ball] on instinct.
I turned to look at the old crone. "I'm not really sure. If 300 of my Ki can do 1050 damage, then..."
I ran the numbers through my head.
"Around 130,000 damage full power… If I boost that by my 25% all damage passives, then around 160,000 damage.."
"Does that mean anything to me?" Baba said wryly, still slightly tense while near so much power. "I haven't felt anything of this magnitude since King Piccolo."
I reabsorbed the energy, interested in what she had to say.
"A form the old fart uses rarely, as it greatly strains his body." She said. "But the Demon King Piccolo is stronger than even that."
Considering Genus' battle power had been 312, I had no doubt that Demon King Piccolo would have been in that same range, were he still among the living.
"Still, you have exceeded all expectations, child." Baba shared with me. "At your age, Roshi did not reach even a fraction of your ability, and you haven't even had the chance to simply train for an extended period of time."
"Is that what I should do, then? Train?" I felt so lost.
"Perhaps not now. It is time to rest, after all." Baba argued.
"I don't need to sleep." I countered with.
"That may well be the case, but consider the long term mental effects of lack of sleep and constant obsession." Baba glared. "I'm assuming you've read my assigned books on the matter."
I stopped whatever reply came to mind. "I have."
A moment later, I stared down at the water shimmering under the moonlight.
"Even if your body shows no ill effects from lack of sleep, that sort of obsession will lead to burnout." She lectured.
"But, the universe—"
"—can wait a few weeks." Baba interrupted. "You've done more than most have in centuries, already. Don't lose yourself in your training, Ten. You'll forget why you're doing it in the first place."
And, with that, she floated back inside, leaving me alone with my slowly calming thoughts.
oooo
Age 749, Tuesday, August 13, Baba's Palace
"One pinch of powdered root of nightleaf…" Baba handed a small bag to Ren, who received it gratefully. "Just a pinch, you understand?"
She turned to me before he could reply. "Don't let him take any more. If I know my old pupil, he'll try to take liberties with his medicines."
I snorted as Ren grumbled good naturedly. Dyran stood by us silently.
His sister, Aira, was leaning on the crutches kindly provided to her by Baba.
Beside her stood Akkuman, looking bored out of his mind.
"I'll make sure he takes the correct dosage before he sleeps." I nodded as Dyran began to fiddle with his shirt, muttering about the strangeness of mortal clothing.
"Thank you, Baba." Ren gave the old woman a deep bow. "For helping us recover, for teaching Ten the mystic arts. For everything, really."
She scoffed, turning away to hide a sniff. "Just go, already. I want to get back to making money and not wasting time on you. Ten, you've earned yourself a break, so I'd better not see you in a while, either."
I smiled. "A few months sound good?"
"No. You may as well train with my little brother as you initially planned. I'll inform him of the change." She dismissed, slowly floating back into her palace. "Ren can teach you the rest of the basics as well as I could. Come visit when you're done."
"I will!" I called out to her as she disappeared from view.
Akkuman merely gave us a nod, before also leaving.
"I owe you an ass kicking, runt." Aira grinned, looking intimidating despite the crutches. "So I had better not hear anything about you dying prematurely."
"I'll try not to disappoint." I replied dryly. She eyed me for a moment before grinning savagely and making her way back inside.
"Your sister is frightening." I admitted quietly after the three of us were alone.
"Small, yet frightening!" Dyran looked proud.
Ren snorted, tugging at the backpack over his shoulder. "How about we get this show on the road?"
"Yes." I agreed, turning towards the road in question and pulling up a certain quest. "Let's go home."
Age 749, Wednesday, August 28, (7:00 PM) South City Port.
With Ren's help, we'd made some amazing time on the way back.
His extensive knowledge of the sea currents and sailing in general was a boon in this case.
So was the fact that Dyran and I amused ourselves with rowing to give the boat even more speed.
Dyran, I could tell, was having the time of his life on Earth. When he'd first laid his eyes on the ocean, I knew he'd fallen in love.
"I'm still surprised we made it back this quickly." I noted as I pocketed the ship's capsule. My dad had refused to hold it, stating that it was mine now. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I wasn't going to push the matter.
The nights were mercifully better than those first few, at least. Either the nightleaf powder was doing the trick, or the knowledge that he was about to see his wife lifted his spirits.
Perhaps even the sight of the old boat helped him somewhat.
"Such intriguing structures." Dyran directed his gaze at the city, bathed in the oranges and reds of the sunset.
"Yes." Ren agreed, closing his eyes and taking in the smell. "It reminds me of the first time I set out to sea with a companion of mine."
"Old Peelo, you mean?" I smiled at the older man's surprise.
"How do you know.." he trailed off for a moment, before nodding to himself. "That's right; he built the old boat, didn't he?"
"Yeah." I nodded as we made our way into town. I would have called a taxi, but Dyran was too tall for that sort of thing.
I checked my [Sailing] skill's progress as we walked for a bit, ignoring the gawking passersby.
"Shall we?" I heard my father's nervous voice call out. Dismissing the window, I smiled toward the man.
"She's probably already home." I led the way, the two following close by. "Her Wednesdays are usually the grueling ones, so she'll be exhausted, I think."
"Maybe…" Ren said unsurely. "Do you think she'll want me back?"
I slowed so that we were walking side by side, Dyran trailing behind us, perpetually distracted by the people, cars, smells and various shops in town.
"I don't doubt that at all, dad." I said fiercely, remembering the long nights trying to comfort her after the 'accident'. "Now, let's go. It'll take a bit over 20 minutes to get out of the city proper—"
"—And another 20 to get to our home." Ren finished, before blinking. "Assuming you weren't forced to move..?"
"Nope, still the same house." I said.
And so, the buildings gradually turned smaller and smaller as we reached the edge of the city and entered the suburbs.
"How fascinating!" Dyran stated as he stopped by one of the houses and poked at the grassy lawn. "You have your stone cities, but you still allow the green to grow from within, despite the fact that your wilds are already quite rich with green?"
I blinked, a little thrown off. "Yes. We try to keep nature alive as much as we can." I then pointed to a nearby tree sapling. "That tree, for example: it was planted very recently. It will grow to be the size of the bigger ones, with time."
"Very interesting." Dyran stood back up, dusting himself off and fiddling with his clothes again. "Must I wear this?"
I snorted. "There's a time and place for full battle regalia, Dyran. Now is not it."
"Battle can come at any time." Dyran said automatically.
"We've been out in the wilderness for the past few weeks." I grinned. "The worst 'battle' we've seen was when those Allosauruses thought they could have us for lunch."
At this, Dyran grinned toothily and laughed, scaring a nearby neighbor's pooch as we resumed our previous course. "Mighty creatures, they were. They fought well, and that ended up improving the taste!"
I rolled my eyes at that. The tall demon was turning out to be quite the gourmet.
More time passed, and we found ourselves in sight of my home.
"So, how do you want to do this?" I asked my dad as we stood around the corner.
"I was hoping you could ease her into it, son." Ren said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.
"Ease her into it?" I repeated incredulously. "Hey, mom. It turns out that dad was in another dimension for years!"
Ren winced and snorted at the same time. I blinked; what a strange reaction.
I moved ahead with a sigh. "I'll, ah... 'Ease her into it', then."
"Thank you, Ten." Ren seemed even more nervous now.
"I'm hungry." Was the last thing I heard— from Dyran— before I passed by a familiar looking car, finally getting to the door.
Where have I seen that car before? I thought before shaking my mind of such questions. There were more important things.
"This is it." I muttered and gave it a knock.
No answer.
I gave it another.
Still, nothing. I was about to call it quits and unlock it myself when the sound of wood creaking hit my ears. Jean was coming down the stairs.
The door opened, revealing another person instead.
"Ten!" I was instantly bowled over by a tackle hug. We both fell into the grass, tumbling until I was on top of her.
"Hey, Chichi." I felt myself smile as I got to my feet, pulling her up with me.
"Ah, your mother invited us over for the week!" Chichi smiled nervously. "How could we say no?"
"Oh." I nodded in understanding, before her words registered. "Wait, us?"
Before Chichi could answer, her father, the Mighty Ox-King himself, stepped out of the door.
"If it isn't Ten!" The older man gave me his usual bone crushing hug, though it seemed much weaker than I was expecting.
"Ho..?" He seemed a mix of intrigued and confused at my lack of pain. "You've gotten much stronger if you can withstand my patented Ox Crusher Hug!"
Did he just make that up? I stifled an eye roll. The old man enjoyed his strength contests, all right.
"Yes. I'm nothing like I used to be." I confirmed, staring down at my hands for a second.
"I can tell." Chichi was staring at me with an unreadable look. "You've changed."
I felt a little odd about the way she said it, like I wasn't sure if she thought the change was good or not.
"Things happened." I nodded, segueing back into the topic. "Is my mother here? There is something important I need to show her."
"What's so important that you come back without a word?" My mom's voice came faintly from the inside as the sound of wood creaking hit my ears; she was coming down the stairs.
"Mom." I nodded seriously at her as she came out of the front door, looking a little tired but otherwise all right.
"Mom." I said as she brushed her hand through my hair, cutting off whatever I was about to say.
"Come on, whatever you need to say, you can say it inside!" She tried to usher me in, but I didn't budge.
"No, mom." I said and tried to get the conversation back on track before she could derail it. "There's someone here to see you."
That gave her pause.
"Who?" She finally asked, looking nervous.
"Just.. try not to freak out, okay mom?" I asked, knowing that she was going to freak out, no matter what.
Not the time, game! I felt like ripping my hair out.
"Who is it?" She raised her voice, her annoyance overpowering her nervousness for a moment.
"It's—" I started but was interrupted by my dad, who was approaching, Dyran at his side.
"—Me." Ren said, reaching us and giving his wife a hesitant look. I saw his hands shake for a few moments before he visibly steeled himself for the confrontation.
"I… Ten…" Mom turned to me, a look of astonishment on her face. "What is this?"
"It's really me, Jean." Ren took a step forward and mom took a step back, eyes wide in a mix of surprise and fear.
This isn't going well.
"You can't be here. You just can't!" Jean cried out, trembling as she lost her balance and fell to her knees.
Dad and I were by her side in an instant, but she crawled away from Ren as if touching him would burn her!
"They told me you were dead!" Jean started to babble as I sat by her. She gripped my arm, her nails doing their best to dig through my skin to no avail. "Where were you?"
He didn't answer. Her face contorted painfully at the silence.
"Were you just gallivanting around the world with your friends this whole time?" She started to get angry, directing a glare at Dyran, who was too busy staring at our home to care about the unfolding drama.
"No, mom." I said quickly before she got the wrong idea. "That's not it at all."
She looked at me for a long moment, and then at my father, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Is-is it really you? How?" Jean dared to ask.
Ren only nodded in response. A second later, I felt myself being dragged with her as part of a group hug.
I felt the tears fall, just as they had the day we escaped from the Demon realm.
Dad had not believed it then, but maybe he believed it now, with both mom and I here.
"This is real." I heard him mutter.
"Yes." I confirmed, swallowing thickly. "Welcome home, dad."
He tried to say something to that, but Jean pressed her lips onto his, muffling whatever response he had.
I wisely backed away from the two, joining the others.
"We should, ah..." Ox-King grinned at the two kissing like it was their first time. "Give them some space, don't you think?"
I swallowed again, feeling the lump in my throat lessen with the hilarity of the situation. Chichi was blushing at the sight— probably not hard to figure out why.
"There's a nice restaurant nearby, BBQ style." I suggested loudly, seeing my parents nod, absent-minded as they both entered the house, slamming the door on us.
"That went better than expected." Dyran grinned at me.
I didn't reply, instead turning to Chichi and extending my hand with a hesitant smile. She stared at it for a second before taking it with a smile.
"Dad!" Chichi huffed in annoyance.
"It was a perfect shot!" He said. "You two are so cute. Maybe you should go on a date to the BBQ place, just the two of you. We will go elsewhere."
"I would like to taste this BBQ." Dyran protested, not catching on.
It seemed, however, that Ox-King was having none of it.
"Don't you worry, son." Ox-King said, patting the tall demon hard on the back as he ushered him forward. "I'll take you to a nearby place I know— an all you can eat buffet, how about that?"
"All you can eat..?" Was the last thing I heard before they turned a corner. "My name's Dyran."
Chichi tugged at my hand. "Ready?"
I nodded, trying to keep up with the chaos my life had become in the last ten minutes.
oooo
Later that evening…
Chichi managed to last half an hour before she exploded with questions.
And so, I told her everything.
My trip to the Demon realm, my magic studies, my Gamer powers, my quest to stop the destruction of the universe, the Dragonball in my pocket— I left nothing out.
"Wow." Chichi leaned back in her chair as she took a break from the food, her eyes both understanding and calculating. "That explains a few things, like why you never seemed to bleed, or get bothered by anything, really."
I nodded.
"You can tell how strong I am just by looking at me?" She seemed curious.
Again, I nodded.
"Go ahead, then."
"You sure?"
"Oh, yes." Chichi seemed confident. "I've been training very hard, you know."
Without replying, I invoked [Insight], linking my energy with hers.
She was now more powerful than her own father— and in such a short time!
If my stats had been un-enhanced by my passive skill boosts, we'd be around in equal in battle power!
It was humbling to see, in a way.
"Wow, Chichi, you've improved a lot!" I exclaimed.
"I plan on getting training from the Muten Roshi, too!" Chichi added.
"You'll catch up in no time, then." I smiled at her. It would be great to have a training partner.
For the rest, well...
This chapter ends at Age 749, Wednesday, August 28.
Son Goku first meets Bulma at Age 749, September 1.
I'm sure you can guess as to what's going to happen soon, but also take note! I said I would be derailing from canon. There are more players on the board attempting to get the fabled Dragonballs.
My thanks again to those who supported my book! <3
I'll see you on the next update!
If you haven't read it, then what are you waiting for?
You can find it on Amazon.
For those of you who have already read my book and had conversations with me on the topic (you know who you are), thank you so much! I love this community, and I hope the love shows through my own creative work.
To the rest of you Dragonball fans: welcome back for another installment of The Z Gamer!
oooo
Chapter 24
oooo
Age 749, Saturday, August 10 (1:43 AM), Baba's PalaceChapter 24
oooo
"Please, no more…" I held my father tightly as he begged while in a state between wakefulness and sleep. "No more. I've told you everything. No more…"
Baba was right, and I wished she hadn't been.
"It's okay, dad." I said soothingly. "I'm here. I'm here."
But my words fell on deaf ears. I felt his grip on my forearms tighten as he struggled to get free.
"Please, dad." I shifted slightly and began to soothingly rub his back. "You're free. It's over, dad."
There was a long moment of silence. I watched a glint of consciousness slowly return to his pain-filled eyes. He saw me and instantly buried his face into my shoulder, clinging to me as if this was the last time he'd see me.
"I did my best, Ten." Ren babbled uncontrollably. "I tried to stay strong for you. I tried. You don't know what they can do. I tried…"
"I know." I said soothingly, feeling his tears against my shoulder. I blinked away my own tears and tried to swallow the lump in my throat. "It's okay. It's okay, dad."
Please don't cry, dad. I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out anymore. I held him until he calmed down and slowly— oh-so-slowly— fell back to sleep.
"This is all I can do." I mouthed, feeling my heart break at my own powerlessness. I set him back down and made sure he was well covered.
With one last stare, I turned and exited the room, jumping down to the base of the palace.
Baba was already there, looking older than I'd ever seen her. We exchanged a look, both knowing what the other was thinking in that moment.
There was no need for words.
With a gesture, she led me out of the palace, into the fighting ring. The sound of the water rushing along the ring's border drowned out my inner thoughts for a short while.
"I know you like being here." Baba floated by the water. I followed her and sat over the edge.
"He's had nightmares every night." I said quietly. "It's just as you said. I'm totally useless. I can't do a single thing to help."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." The old crone countered. "You are there for him."
"What good's that?" I snarled, before pausing to take a deep breath. "Sorry."
"Apology accepted."
"I just don't know how to help him." I felt a tremor run through me.
"It is a tragic thing." She said quietly, eyeing me with pity. "Watching your own father break down in tears."
I looked away, my face hot with shame and anger. I didn't want her pity!
I stared at my hand, feeling the power roiling underneath, waiting to be accessed and unleashed. "Even with all of my strength, I can't solve this problem."
"Maybe it doesn't need to be solved by you." Baba offered quietly. "That is the truth of life."
I absorbed her words as she continued to share her wisdom. "Sometimes, you can't fix everything."
She's right. I realized.
I took a deep breath and got to my feet, my mind full with purpose.
"I may not be able to fix everything." I said, raising my open palm and generating a [Ki Ball] on instinct.
-300 Ki!
The ball filled my surroundings with light. I frowned as I injected all of my power into it, making it grow to about the size of a house.
-36,550 Ki!
"Ten…" Baba said unsurely. "What are you doing?"
I turned to look at the old crone. "I'm not really sure. If 300 of my Ki can do 1050 damage, then..."
I ran the numbers through my head.
"Around 130,000 damage full power… If I boost that by my 25% all damage passives, then around 160,000 damage.."
"Does that mean anything to me?" Baba said wryly, still slightly tense while near so much power. "I haven't felt anything of this magnitude since King Piccolo."
I reabsorbed the energy, interested in what she had to say.
+36,850 Ki!
"I've only read about him." I replied. "How strong is he? I know I'm only slightly weaker than Master Roshi at his maximum."
"A form the old fart uses rarely, as it greatly strains his body." She said. "But the Demon King Piccolo is stronger than even that."
Considering Genus' battle power had been 312, I had no doubt that Demon King Piccolo would have been in that same range, were he still among the living.
"Still, you have exceeded all expectations, child." Baba shared with me. "At your age, Roshi did not reach even a fraction of your ability, and you haven't even had the chance to simply train for an extended period of time."
"Is that what I should do, then? Train?" I felt so lost.
"Perhaps not now. It is time to rest, after all." Baba argued.
"I don't need to sleep." I countered with.
"That may well be the case, but consider the long term mental effects of lack of sleep and constant obsession." Baba glared. "I'm assuming you've read my assigned books on the matter."
I stopped whatever reply came to mind. "I have."
A moment later, I stared down at the water shimmering under the moonlight.
"Even if your body shows no ill effects from lack of sleep, that sort of obsession will lead to burnout." She lectured.
"But, the universe—"
"—can wait a few weeks." Baba interrupted. "You've done more than most have in centuries, already. Don't lose yourself in your training, Ten. You'll forget why you're doing it in the first place."
And, with that, she floated back inside, leaving me alone with my slowly calming thoughts.
oooo
Age 749, Tuesday, August 13, Baba's Palace
"One pinch of powdered root of nightleaf…" Baba handed a small bag to Ren, who received it gratefully. "Just a pinch, you understand?"
She turned to me before he could reply. "Don't let him take any more. If I know my old pupil, he'll try to take liberties with his medicines."
I snorted as Ren grumbled good naturedly. Dyran stood by us silently.
His sister, Aira, was leaning on the crutches kindly provided to her by Baba.
Beside her stood Akkuman, looking bored out of his mind.
"I'll make sure he takes the correct dosage before he sleeps." I nodded as Dyran began to fiddle with his shirt, muttering about the strangeness of mortal clothing.
"Thank you, Baba." Ren gave the old woman a deep bow. "For helping us recover, for teaching Ten the mystic arts. For everything, really."
She scoffed, turning away to hide a sniff. "Just go, already. I want to get back to making money and not wasting time on you. Ten, you've earned yourself a break, so I'd better not see you in a while, either."
I smiled. "A few months sound good?"
"No. You may as well train with my little brother as you initially planned. I'll inform him of the change." She dismissed, slowly floating back into her palace. "Ren can teach you the rest of the basics as well as I could. Come visit when you're done."
"I will!" I called out to her as she disappeared from view.
Akkuman merely gave us a nod, before also leaving.
"I owe you an ass kicking, runt." Aira grinned, looking intimidating despite the crutches. "So I had better not hear anything about you dying prematurely."
"I'll try not to disappoint." I replied dryly. She eyed me for a moment before grinning savagely and making her way back inside.
"Your sister is frightening." I admitted quietly after the three of us were alone.
"Small, yet frightening!" Dyran looked proud.
Ren snorted, tugging at the backpack over his shoulder. "How about we get this show on the road?"
"Yes." I agreed, turning towards the road in question and pulling up a certain quest. "Let's go home."
Age 749, Wednesday, August 28, (7:00 PM) South City Port.
With Ren's help, we'd made some amazing time on the way back.
His extensive knowledge of the sea currents and sailing in general was a boon in this case.
So was the fact that Dyran and I amused ourselves with rowing to give the boat even more speed.
Dyran, I could tell, was having the time of his life on Earth. When he'd first laid his eyes on the ocean, I knew he'd fallen in love.
"I'm still surprised we made it back this quickly." I noted as I pocketed the ship's capsule. My dad had refused to hold it, stating that it was mine now. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I wasn't going to push the matter.
The nights were mercifully better than those first few, at least. Either the nightleaf powder was doing the trick, or the knowledge that he was about to see his wife lifted his spirits.
Perhaps even the sight of the old boat helped him somewhat.
"Such intriguing structures." Dyran directed his gaze at the city, bathed in the oranges and reds of the sunset.
"Yes." Ren agreed, closing his eyes and taking in the smell. "It reminds me of the first time I set out to sea with a companion of mine."
"Old Peelo, you mean?" I smiled at the older man's surprise.
"How do you know.." he trailed off for a moment, before nodding to himself. "That's right; he built the old boat, didn't he?"
"Yeah." I nodded as we made our way into town. I would have called a taxi, but Dyran was too tall for that sort of thing.
I checked my [Sailing] skill's progress as we walked for a bit, ignoring the gawking passersby.
"Shall we?" I heard my father's nervous voice call out. Dismissing the window, I smiled toward the man.
"She's probably already home." I led the way, the two following close by. "Her Wednesdays are usually the grueling ones, so she'll be exhausted, I think."
"Maybe…" Ren said unsurely. "Do you think she'll want me back?"
I slowed so that we were walking side by side, Dyran trailing behind us, perpetually distracted by the people, cars, smells and various shops in town.
"I don't doubt that at all, dad." I said fiercely, remembering the long nights trying to comfort her after the 'accident'. "Now, let's go. It'll take a bit over 20 minutes to get out of the city proper—"
"—And another 20 to get to our home." Ren finished, before blinking. "Assuming you weren't forced to move..?"
"Nope, still the same house." I said.
And so, the buildings gradually turned smaller and smaller as we reached the edge of the city and entered the suburbs.
"How fascinating!" Dyran stated as he stopped by one of the houses and poked at the grassy lawn. "You have your stone cities, but you still allow the green to grow from within, despite the fact that your wilds are already quite rich with green?"
I blinked, a little thrown off. "Yes. We try to keep nature alive as much as we can." I then pointed to a nearby tree sapling. "That tree, for example: it was planted very recently. It will grow to be the size of the bigger ones, with time."
"Very interesting." Dyran stood back up, dusting himself off and fiddling with his clothes again. "Must I wear this?"
I snorted. "There's a time and place for full battle regalia, Dyran. Now is not it."
"Battle can come at any time." Dyran said automatically.
"We've been out in the wilderness for the past few weeks." I grinned. "The worst 'battle' we've seen was when those Allosauruses thought they could have us for lunch."
At this, Dyran grinned toothily and laughed, scaring a nearby neighbor's pooch as we resumed our previous course. "Mighty creatures, they were. They fought well, and that ended up improving the taste!"
I rolled my eyes at that. The tall demon was turning out to be quite the gourmet.
More time passed, and we found ourselves in sight of my home.
"So, how do you want to do this?" I asked my dad as we stood around the corner.
"I was hoping you could ease her into it, son." Ren said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.
"Ease her into it?" I repeated incredulously. "Hey, mom. It turns out that dad was in another dimension for years!"
Ren winced and snorted at the same time. I blinked; what a strange reaction.
I moved ahead with a sigh. "I'll, ah... 'Ease her into it', then."
"Thank you, Ten." Ren seemed even more nervous now.
"I'm hungry." Was the last thing I heard— from Dyran— before I passed by a familiar looking car, finally getting to the door.
Where have I seen that car before? I thought before shaking my mind of such questions. There were more important things.
"This is it." I muttered and gave it a knock.
No answer.
I gave it another.
Still, nothing. I was about to call it quits and unlock it myself when the sound of wood creaking hit my ears. Jean was coming down the stairs.
The door opened, revealing another person instead.
"Ten!" I was instantly bowled over by a tackle hug. We both fell into the grass, tumbling until I was on top of her.
"Hey, Chichi." I felt myself smile as I got to my feet, pulling her up with me.
Princess of Fry Pan Mountain
Chichi - Lv 24
"What are you doing here?" I asked in confusion, blinking at her increase in level. It looked like she'd been training pretty hard since I left the mountain.Chichi - Lv 24
"Ah, your mother invited us over for the week!" Chichi smiled nervously. "How could we say no?"
"Oh." I nodded in understanding, before her words registered. "Wait, us?"
Before Chichi could answer, her father, the Mighty Ox-King himself, stepped out of the door.
"If it isn't Ten!" The older man gave me his usual bone crushing hug, though it seemed much weaker than I was expecting.
"Ho..?" He seemed a mix of intrigued and confused at my lack of pain. "You've gotten much stronger if you can withstand my patented Ox Crusher Hug!"
Did he just make that up? I stifled an eye roll. The old man enjoyed his strength contests, all right.
"Yes. I'm nothing like I used to be." I confirmed, staring down at my hands for a second.
"I can tell." Chichi was staring at me with an unreadable look. "You've changed."
I felt a little odd about the way she said it, like I wasn't sure if she thought the change was good or not.
"Things happened." I nodded, segueing back into the topic. "Is my mother here? There is something important I need to show her."
"What's so important that you come back without a word?" My mom's voice came faintly from the inside as the sound of wood creaking hit my ears; she was coming down the stairs.
"Mom." I nodded seriously at her as she came out of the front door, looking a little tired but otherwise all right.
Loving Mom
Jean - Lv 8
She gave me a hug for a few seconds, before looking me over. "What's wrong, Ten? You look… too serious."Jean - Lv 8
"Mom." I said as she brushed her hand through my hair, cutting off whatever I was about to say.
"Come on, whatever you need to say, you can say it inside!" She tried to usher me in, but I didn't budge.
"No, mom." I said and tried to get the conversation back on track before she could derail it. "There's someone here to see you."
That gave her pause.
"Who?" She finally asked, looking nervous.
"Just.. try not to freak out, okay mom?" I asked, knowing that she was going to freak out, no matter what.
Not the time, game! I felt like ripping my hair out.
"Who is it?" She raised her voice, her annoyance overpowering her nervousness for a moment.
"It's—" I started but was interrupted by my dad, who was approaching, Dyran at his side.
"—Me." Ren said, reaching us and giving his wife a hesitant look. I saw his hands shake for a few moments before he visibly steeled himself for the confrontation.
"I… Ten…" Mom turned to me, a look of astonishment on her face. "What is this?"
"It's really me, Jean." Ren took a step forward and mom took a step back, eyes wide in a mix of surprise and fear.
This isn't going well.
"You can't be here. You just can't!" Jean cried out, trembling as she lost her balance and fell to her knees.
Dad and I were by her side in an instant, but she crawled away from Ren as if touching him would burn her!
"They told me you were dead!" Jean started to babble as I sat by her. She gripped my arm, her nails doing their best to dig through my skin to no avail. "Where were you?"
He didn't answer. Her face contorted painfully at the silence.
"Were you just gallivanting around the world with your friends this whole time?" She started to get angry, directing a glare at Dyran, who was too busy staring at our home to care about the unfolding drama.
"No, mom." I said quickly before she got the wrong idea. "That's not it at all."
She looked at me for a long moment, and then at my father, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Is-is it really you? How?" Jean dared to ask.
Ren only nodded in response. A second later, I felt myself being dragged with her as part of a group hug.
I felt the tears fall, just as they had the day we escaped from the Demon realm.
Dad had not believed it then, but maybe he believed it now, with both mom and I here.
"This is real." I heard him mutter.
"Yes." I confirmed, swallowing thickly. "Welcome home, dad."
He tried to say something to that, but Jean pressed her lips onto his, muffling whatever response he had.
I wisely backed away from the two, joining the others.
"We should, ah..." Ox-King grinned at the two kissing like it was their first time. "Give them some space, don't you think?"
I swallowed again, feeling the lump in my throat lessen with the hilarity of the situation. Chichi was blushing at the sight— probably not hard to figure out why.
"There's a nice restaurant nearby, BBQ style." I suggested loudly, seeing my parents nod, absent-minded as they both entered the house, slamming the door on us.
"That went better than expected." Dyran grinned at me.
I didn't reply, instead turning to Chichi and extending my hand with a hesitant smile. She stared at it for a second before taking it with a smile.
Flash!
We turned to see Ox-King, holding one of those old cameras.
"Dad!" Chichi huffed in annoyance.
"It was a perfect shot!" He said. "You two are so cute. Maybe you should go on a date to the BBQ place, just the two of you. We will go elsewhere."
"I would like to taste this BBQ." Dyran protested, not catching on.
It seemed, however, that Ox-King was having none of it.
"Don't you worry, son." Ox-King said, patting the tall demon hard on the back as he ushered him forward. "I'll take you to a nearby place I know— an all you can eat buffet, how about that?"
"All you can eat..?" Was the last thing I heard before they turned a corner. "My name's Dyran."
Chichi tugged at my hand. "Ready?"
I nodded, trying to keep up with the chaos my life had become in the last ten minutes.
oooo
Later that evening…
Chichi managed to last half an hour before she exploded with questions.
And so, I told her everything.
My trip to the Demon realm, my magic studies, my Gamer powers, my quest to stop the destruction of the universe, the Dragonball in my pocket— I left nothing out.
"Wow." Chichi leaned back in her chair as she took a break from the food, her eyes both understanding and calculating. "That explains a few things, like why you never seemed to bleed, or get bothered by anything, really."
I nodded.
"You can tell how strong I am just by looking at me?" She seemed curious.
Again, I nodded.
"Go ahead, then."
"You sure?"
"Oh, yes." Chichi seemed confident. "I've been training very hard, you know."
Without replying, I invoked [Insight], linking my energy with hers.
She was now more powerful than her own father— and in such a short time!
If my stats had been un-enhanced by my passive skill boosts, we'd be around in equal in battle power!
It was humbling to see, in a way.
"Wow, Chichi, you've improved a lot!" I exclaimed.
"I plan on getting training from the Muten Roshi, too!" Chichi added.
"You'll catch up in no time, then." I smiled at her. It would be great to have a training partner.
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I'm sure that those of you who have picked up on the dates I've been writing know what is coming soon.oooo
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For the rest, well...
This chapter ends at Age 749, Wednesday, August 28.
Son Goku first meets Bulma at Age 749, September 1.
I'm sure you can guess as to what's going to happen soon, but also take note! I said I would be derailing from canon. There are more players on the board attempting to get the fabled Dragonballs.
My thanks again to those who supported my book! <3
I'll see you on the next update!
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
Someone needs to hug Baba. Preferably someone she won't hit for doing so.
I'm really glad that the reunion went that well. I was expecting her to be in another relationship when they got back with Ten's old instructor. So, I'm happy that didn't happen.
As for Chi-Chi and Ten's growing relationship, I approve! Especially with Ten just being so open about everything and talking with her. Since he's taking her training seriously, and it looks like they'll both train under Roshi, I expect them to become a great battle couple, which is something that Dragonball sorely lacks.
- Location
- The deathworld-in-miniature that is Australia
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Which is especially annoying, since there were at least two prime chances at it, and that's if you discount Launch and Tien as a possibility. Chichi and Goku, obviously, and (much later) 18 and Krillin. Counting Launch and Tien, and you've got three very good chances Toriyama had at creating a battle couple, where instead he either wrote the woman out or transformed their entire personality into a housewife. With 18 he kinda did both even, where she's written out 80% of the time, a mentioned or on-screen housewife 18%, and the remaining 2% she fights and has a personality more plausibly descended from what we saw in the Android and Cell sagas, but only enough to deal with incredibly minor enemies, less so than even the average for non-Saiyan-blooded fighters.
He just... doesn't know how to write women as capable members of the team, and doesn't even try to do so.
so bulma is nothing or a housewife
- Location
- The deathworld-in-miniature that is Australia
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Not so long after sorting things out with Vegeta, she's largely written out. Before sorting things out, but post-baby!Trunks, she's still largely the Bulma we've known through all of Z (as distinct from the Bulma we knew through DB, but many characters changed or had their parts in the story reduced going into Z - although considering some of them had completed their story arcs and didn't really have anything else to do, that makes sense, even if some of those characters wouldn't have taken too much work to give new plot hooks to, but Z was fundamentally a different kind of story to DB), but after the timeskip to Buu-saga (which is when she sorts things out with Mr. Prince of Two and Three-Halves People), she largely disappears, popping in now and again to provide a MacGuffin or to yell at Vegeta or something. She's present, but not really that much of a character in a lot of scenes she's in, more of either a plot device or a piece of background that occasionally talks. Keep in mind I haven't seen Super, so this may have changed.
Toriyama doesn't have problems with writing women who are outside of a relationship, or at least nothing significantly greater than many men have (and taking into account that he's a gag manga creator at heart), but as soon as they're in a semi-stable relationship, that's when the problems occur.
- Location
- Canada
I'm not quite sure what y'all mean by "battle couple"— like, Ten and Chichi making attack combos? Or just for Chichi to be strong?
I already plan on making her a relevant fighter, as well as the others. They were all done dirty by Toriyama and his team— weekly deadlines as well as fan expectations forces writers to adhere to those or not make money.
That's why I self published on Amazon, you know. I wanted to retain all creative rights to my story— not push someone else's narrative.
Of course, that sort of thing leads you to promoting your book wherever you can manage. Speaking of which...
If you have Kindle Unlimited you could get my story's ebook version for free. The title is: The Dreg of Bellmead.
Did you like my segue?
I already plan on making her a relevant fighter, as well as the others. They were all done dirty by Toriyama and his team— weekly deadlines as well as fan expectations forces writers to adhere to those or not make money.
That's why I self published on Amazon, you know. I wanted to retain all creative rights to my story— not push someone else's narrative.
Of course, that sort of thing leads you to promoting your book wherever you can manage. Speaking of which...
If you have Kindle Unlimited you could get my story's ebook version for free. The title is: The Dreg of Bellmead.
Did you like my segue?
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
This is what we mean by battle couple.
Love them or hate them, tropes help with communicating complex ideas in as few words as possible when relating to fictional ideas.
KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
I mean, the meta-answer is that Toriyama could have just given non-Saiyans a boost, or curbed the ridonkulous power curve on the Saiyans and Villains?
- Location
- Canada
Theoretically speaking, humans can eventually match the saiyan base form with enough training.
With Ten's growth rate, however, he already far outstrips Chichi. Not only is he roughly twice as strong, but he also has access to magic.
Now, I'm all for Chichi fighting, but I don't see how she can keep up in a back-to-back scenario.
I will say that late DB, most of Z and Super did the humans dirty. Super, especially, since it had the concept of God Ki that only two people were ever allowed to channel— and it happened to be, surprise, the two strongest.
What about Piccolo? His Kami half (third, since Nail?) was the Guardian of the planet and had access to Otherworld. Does that not mean access to God Ki? His name literally meant God.
What about the Ultra Divine Water? I rather thought it was intended for human beings, not Saiyans, which is why Goku got a Zenkai from it instead of God Ki.
My headcanon upsets me because of all these unexplored avenues.
With Ten's growth rate, however, he already far outstrips Chichi. Not only is he roughly twice as strong, but he also has access to magic.
Now, I'm all for Chichi fighting, but I don't see how she can keep up in a back-to-back scenario.
I will say that late DB, most of Z and Super did the humans dirty. Super, especially, since it had the concept of God Ki that only two people were ever allowed to channel— and it happened to be, surprise, the two strongest.
What about Piccolo? His Kami half (third, since Nail?) was the Guardian of the planet and had access to Otherworld. Does that not mean access to God Ki? His name literally meant God.
What about the Ultra Divine Water? I rather thought it was intended for human beings, not Saiyans, which is why Goku got a Zenkai from it instead of God Ki.
My headcanon upsets me because of all these unexplored avenues.
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
Well, Super did make Roshi and Krillin somewhat relevant during the Tournament of Power. If that's the case, as long as she trains and keeps trying to get stronger, I don't see why Chi-Chi can't keep up during the earlier arcs.
Even without the Party feature from the Gamer manwha, Ten could always learn skills that would help him help Chi-Chi. There could be a teaching skill, a blank ID that acts as a poor man's Hyperbolic Time Chamber, buffs that can let Chi-Chi fight other opponents in an asymmetric way, etc.
With Ten knowing magic and you taking inspiration from Dragon Quest spells, there's quite a lot of room to explore in ways of making normal humans strong enough to compete with Saiyans, or at least simply strong enough for them to be relevant in later arcs.
Depending upon the nature of the story and where you want to see it go, you could even use the Dragonballs to be the macguffin here. Already, it's used to make death non-permanent. I don't see why using it to make Chi-Chi stronger in a way is bad narratively. Even if you want to make wishing for Gamer powers impossible, there's other ways to use them to help her out. A simple "I wish it was easier for Chi-Chi to get stronger, like Goku or Ten" could work and you could explore the mechanics of how that works in the story.
- Location
- Texas
There are so many random power ups throughout dragon ball that could be used to at least keep the humans relevant that already exist in dragon ball canon that aren't specific to saiyans it's just the humans fault that they don't use them, There just lazy content to keep there training at the same level like Goku was during the 5 year time skip from dragon ball to z. This is shown multiple times in z like when the humans refuse to use the time chamber or when yamcha put the gravity chamber to 300x gravity and when he actually survived which is actually impressive he didn't decided to just work up to it, none of them have even thought to ask elder kai to unlock there potential as I'm sure they could convince him and even though I'm sure the boost won't be as big as Gohans but I'm willing to bet it would still be fairly large as all the human z-fighters have fairly large potentials for humans. To be fair this means they are really skilled there power just suffers for it and stays at the same level.
- Location
- Ireland
Party mechanics are cancer to Gamer fics. Never seen one that hasn't ruined the story. Firstly it ruins the specialness of the protag, 2ndly it makes the author either want/have to start keeping track of their char sheets instead of letting it be narrative driver.
The Froggy Ninja
The Blade Will Never Die
Not to mention the very poor use of wishes. I remember in a really good but probably dead DB quest Schitz ran a while back, our first wish (the one that was to revive Bora in canon) was "I wish that Goku, Bulma, and myself would know and be capable of reviving those who had died with as little time, effort, or energy expended as possible and in a way that would not compromise our morals!" and our planned second wish we never got to was for an indestructible book with a search function that no one but us was capable of perceiving or theorizing about without our express permission that contained all knowledge of training and techniques in all the various power systems in the setting.
Shadow Archon
Protoss Preserver
- Location
- Louisiana
I know. That's why I specifically said "without party mechanics." In my own Gamer fic, I've decided it's not going to be a thing.
- Location
- The deathworld-in-miniature that is Australia
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Honestly I'm kinda willing to give the canon people a pass on that. While Dragonball!Earth's history is different to ours, there are still other wishgranters around, if none as powerful as the dragonballs, and our mythology is fucking full of warnings against people who try to get clever with wishes. I wouldn't imagine DB!Earth's history any less full of that message, considering they actually have wishgranters around, and we know some magical beings are total arseholes. Not only that, but our mythology is also full of warnings against trying to get clever with divine boons, or gaming the system with incredibly powerful magical beings or artefacts. And the Dragonballs are wishgranters, divine boon granters (Kami is a god, after all), incredibly powerful magical artefacts, and the creation of an incredibly powerful magic user. Beyond that, we know that you have to be careful with your wording with the things, and considering how difficult it is to create a completely unambiguous statement or request in natural language for anything even slightly complex (witness the entire profession of contract lawyers, and how many times there are still loopholes, even with people whose entire professional lives revolve around eliminating them), if you ever really pissed Shenron or Kami as his creator off by asking for something they deemed insulting, there is no way you could word a wish in a way you would not be completely fucked.
Of course, this is all from a rather European point of view. Western European, at that - even more to the point, post-holy-shit-it's-Christianity-get-in-the-car western European mythology, where a lot of stuff was either outright altered or just interpreted differently - and even in that there are exceptions, gods and other beings who would be impressed with your nerve in asking for things like that, and at the very least go 'let's see how this plays out', rather than get insulted and immediately decide to destroy you in the most ironic way possible. I used to read a lot of world mythology when I was younger, but in the last decade or two I've been much less involved in mythology in general, and what little I have been has almost entirely been with European stuff, so that's more present in my head. But while there are always exceptions, I at least would want to know if the creator of Shenron was more of a (to be completely Hellenic-centric about it) Zeus-type or Hades-type. Because one of them would be a whole lot more tolerant of people trying to get the most out of their divine boons to better their lives, and lemme tell you, it's not Zeus!
Also important would be how much leeway Shenron has in interpreting the wishes - and for that matter, how much free will does the dragon have? Is he locked away somewhere, only released when the balls are gathered, or does he have his own existence separate from when he is summoned, and regards it as at best an annoyance? A million other factors I would be scouring all the legends for, before seriously trying to gather the artefacts that summon him. Because they will all influence how the divine wish-granting being regards the supplicants asking for his boons. In some myths giving your wish to the wishgranter, or freeing them, or leaving it up to them what boon you get is considered a good thing, a sign of a good person. In others it is the worst fucking thing you can do, a sign of someone who has only survived as long as they have through some cosmic error, and soon the universe will correct that. When wishgranter legends vary that much, I would very much want to know which kind of being I am summoning before I tried to game my wish with someone with that much reality-altering power.
And we know a lot of the world's magical and mystical history was destroyed when King Piccolo was last around, in order to reduce possible weapons that could be used against him. So the DB protagonists likely had no idea what kind of wishgranter Shenron was, and tried to keep their wishes as simple and unambiguous as possible, so they couldn't be fucked over. By the time any of them met Kami and got some insight into the creator of the dragon, and more to the point by the time gathering the dragonballs was a couple weeks of effort, rather than an arduous task taking most of a year, they had both gotten used to those kinds of wishes and their wishes were largely being held in reserve to undo whatever casualties the next threat to the world caused. And since they never knew when a new threat would crop up, there was never a safe time to use the wishes to their fullest extent without the risk Shenron would not be available when they needed him.