Chapter 9: Ch. 9 Calm Before a Mighty Storm
Raditz and Gochi are sparring on the Lookout when the sky goes dark.
The duo pause their fight and look up at the sky.
"Why is it so dark already? It was just morning? Did the sun get shy?" Gochi asks after he lands back on his feet.
Raditz looks around and lets his arms rest at his sides. "The fuck do you mean 'Did the sun get shy?'. Of course it didn't! Something is clearly happening that isn't natural!" Raditz reprimands his nephew.
Gochi looks down. "I know, but you don't gotta be so rude about it"
Raditz looks at Gochi and sighs. He then looks around the Lookout for Popo or Kami. He sees Popo watering the trees of the Lookout but he is looking up at the sky, almost like he can see something Raditz himself can't see.
Raditz and Gochi walk over to Popo. Raditz narrows his eyes at Mr. Popo. "What's going on" He demands.
Mr. Popo doesn't move an inch as he responds and looks into the distance. "It seems that the others have decided to summon Shenron"
Gochi puts his hand in the air. "Who's Shenron?" He curiously inquires.
"Shenron is a magical dragon that can be summoned when all 7 Dragon Balls are gathered. Once summoned he will then grant one wish. Afterwards he will then disappear and the Dragon Balls will turn to stone and scatter around the world and wait to be gathered again. Although the balls can be collected while they are stone, Shenron cannot be summoned until they revert back a year after the wish is granted" Popo explains.
Gochi's eyes go wide and sparkle.
Raditz facepalms. "That doesn't explain why the sky is black Popo"
"Oh, that" Popo smiles. "When Shenron is summoned the sky darkens and becomes cloudy. If you look over the edge you will only be able to see dark clouds"
Raditz's tail flicks behind him. "Does this mean that Kakarot is finally being revived?"
Popo continues to smile. "You are correct Raditz. Goku is being wished back to life by the others as we speak"
"Yay!" Gochi jumps in the air. "Daddy's coming home!"
"Wait!!" Gochi suddenly pauses and whips his head towards Raditz. "Does this mean I won't get to meet Shenron?!"
Popo turns to Gochi. "It seems that way"
Gochi falls to the ground on his butt. "Dang it" He sadly says.
Popo understands that Gochi is sad, but not for the right reason. Popo knows this is the last time Shenron will be summoned because even if Piccolo doesn't die to the Saiyans, Kami has grown weak in his old age and will soon pass away anyway. Before the year cooldown for the Dragon Balls. So Gochi really won't get to see Shenron.
"So when will Kakarot be here Popo" Raditz demands.
Popo doesn't respond for a minute. "It seems he was too into his training and didn't take into account the time it would take to get back. But he is on his way now"
Raditz stomps his right foot forward and clenches his hands into fists. "What does that mean! When will he arrive?! The Saiyans are arriving in less than two days at this point!!!!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.
The people at the bottom of Korin's Tower could hear a voice shouting, but they were busy looking at the darkened sky so some didn't even notice.
Popo faces Raditz. "Hopefully he will make it. Without him, I'm afraid Earth won't stand a chance"
"No shit!!!" Raditz points from himself to Gochi. "We can take care of Nappa easily at this point! But Vegeta is a damned monster! Me and Gochi won't be able to defeat him in two days! So you just want us to pray Kakarot arrives on time?! Bull shit!"
Yellow hair Launch comes storming out of a building. "Will you shut the fuck up already and quit your complaining????!!!!!"
Raditz turns towards Launch. "This doesn't involve you woman! Stay out of it!" He then turns back to Popo.
Gochi looks at Raditz and talks quietly. "You shouldn't yell at Launch…"
Raditz glares at Gochi but then looks at Mr. Popo.
"If you want me to stay out of it then you should shut the hell up and not shout so loud!!" Launch shouts and then stomps off back to the building she was in.
Popo looks at Raditz. "It indeed is a very dire situation" He calmly states.
"I'm aware!" Raditz shouts. "So what?! We just pray for Kakarot to get here in time?! There must be something!"
Popo goes back to the tree and begins watering it. "There are a few ideas I can think of to help the two of you grow stronger. But I'm afraid there's only one option that doesn't have the risk of you dying"
Raditz swipes the air. "Then out with it!"
Popo stops watering the tree. He turns and looks flatly at Raditz.
"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber"
——————
Back at the Kami house
Master Roshi, Oolong, Puar, and Bulma are outside the house with all 7 Dragon Balls together on the ground.
The sky is dark and lightning can be seen shooting across the sky and thunder can be heard all around.
Oolong latches onto Bulma in fear.
"Ugh! Hands off pig!" Bulma shouts and tries to push Oolong off.
But the pig has a tight hold on her tank top. "Hey, Cmon Bulma. I'm scared here" He complains.
Suddenly the Dragon Balls shine so bright that the 4 have to cover their eyes.
A long yellow light stretches out from the Dragon Balls. It reaches high up into the sky.
*Roooooaaaaaarrrrr*
The light begins to take the shape of a dragon until the light fades away from its body and reveals the green dragon. Shenron.
Shenron towers over the 4 people beneath it.
"Why have you summoned me?" Shenron asks in a deep tone. "Tell me your wish. Now"
Oolong let's go if Bulma and takes a few steps back.
Their heads have to be looking nearly straight up to see Shenron's head. If they look at the Dragon Balls they would see that Shenron's tail is still seemingly connected to the Dragon Balls.
Oolong taps his index fingers together and smiles in slight fear. "Uh, yes. Uhm. Excuse me. Mr. Dragon. Could you possibly destroy the Saiyans that are on their way to Earth right about now?"
Bulma furiously looks down at the damned pig. "Hey! Oolong, that's not the wish! You little pig!"
Oolong then angrily looks at the young woman. "What?! We 'could' wish Goku back. But why not wish him back next time and have the dragon save the world now?!"
"Hmmmmm" Shenron looks at Oolong. "Your wish….. cannot be granted. Because the Guardian of Earth created me. I cannot grant a wish that exceeds his power"
Roshi holds his hands open. "Then I wish for Goku to be brought back to life"
Shenron looks at the old man. "So~ be it~. Your wish has been granted" Shenron's eyes light up a bright red color.
Lightning and thunder resume even fiercer than before as Shenron completes the wish.
——————
On King Kai's planet
The white halo above Goku's head slowly fades away, signifying that he is no longer dead and has his body back now.
An almost round blue guy with 2 antenna on the top of his head, and one whisker on either side of his mouth, looks at the disappearing halo. This is the person Goku has been learning from during the last few months. This is King Kai.
"Oh good! Your halo is gone! You're alive kid!" King Kai excitedly announces.
Goku raises both fists above his head and cheers. "Wooo-hooo!"
A monkey and a grasshopper stand next to King Kai.
"It's time Goku" King Kai gets serious.
Goku turns towards his new martial arts master. "Right"
"Listen" King Kai raises his fists into the air. "Don't expect those two Saiyans to give you a fair fight. You must be on your guard at all times"
"If things get rough, just kick them in the tail and run!" The small but large grasshopper, named Gregory, advises.
Goku looks at Gregory. "That's good advice" He then looks at the monkey, named Mr. Bubbles, and King Kai. "And hey, I really want to thank you guys for all your help. I promise I won't let you down"
Goku then turns around and looks over his shoulder. "Oh. And thanks for the new clothes King Kai. I love the new symbol" He gives a thumbs up. "I'll wear it with pride! Bye Bubbles. Gregory"
The monkey waves it's arms above its head.
"See yuh" Gregory waves with his left arm over his head.
"Haha! So long" Goku then takes off and runs to Snake Way and begins his long journey back to King Yemma's palace where he can return back to Earth.
Goku's new gi is still orange with blue boots, wrist bands, belt, and undershirt. It still has the Kami symbol on the front left. But on the back it has a large symbol that signifies that he trained with King Kai.
Goku runs around the small planet and nearly runs his new friends over. But they move out of his way just in time. Goku runs a little farther before leaping high into the air. "Bye!!" He shouts and then he lands on the tail and immediately takes off.
As Goku runs he is doing flips and just generally enjoying the light feeling he has. He has been under the intense gravity of King Kai's planet during his training. And now he finally is back to his normal gravity. It feels great.
Suddenly Goku Burt's through the air and flies forward. "Oh man. Almost forgot. Every second counts"
Now remembering his time crunch, Gokus hastily flies his way to King Yemma's palace. Even when flying, it'll take him a long time to get back. When he ran to King Kai's planet, it took him 7 months. Hopefully he can make it in time.
——————
Back at Kami's Lookout
"You're telling me that one day out here is a year in the chamber?" Raditz asks rhetorically. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?! We could have been training so much longer by now?!"
Popo looks at the long haired Saiyan. "But there are rules Raditz. In the chamber there is a place that you can call a safe zone. That is where the door, beds, bath, and food are. But step out of the safe zone and that is where your training will begin. It is 10x Earths gravity with a quarter of Earths air thickness. And the temperature fluctuates between extremely hot and extremely cold. These factors increase the further you go into the nigh infinite whit void around the safe zone. But there is a time limit and the limit on the food inside. As well as a two time entrance restriction per lifetime. So you may only use it twice in your lifetime. And the effects of the chamber might drive a person mad. Young Goku used it in the past, however, he could only handle the harsh conditions and loneliness for more than a month. There are a few other rules but now isn't the time to explain the rest. They are trivial to those that actually use the chamber instead of maintaining it"
"Ok, great. Whatever. So how do we enter this Time Chamber? We must get started immediately" Raditz ignores the urge to punch the genie.
"Right this way" Popo sets down the watering can and begins leading the pair into the main Palace.
Gochi follows Raditz in silence. He's trying to wrap his head around how there is a place that has a time difference and has varying effects to assist in training. He also calculated the time difference. One minute of real time is approximately six hours, five minutes, and 15 seconds in the Chamber.
——————
Back at the Kami house
The dragon disappears back into the Dragon Balls that turn to stone and rise into the air. They pause at a certain height and then form a circle. Suddenly they shoot off in seemingly random directions and go to random locations around the planet. The sky begins to return to normal as the lighting and thunder stops.
Kami, Puar, Bulma, and Oolong all give a sigh as their bodies relax.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to that" Oolong says as he wipes some sweat from his forehead.
Puar, the floating cat, nods. "I know what you mean"
Bulma folds her arms over her chest. "I'm just glad that Goku is alive and back. We don't have much time before the Saiyans get here"
Kami strokes his beard. "Yes. And I hope that Gohan and Gochi are alright. It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since they were taken away"
Bulma looks down at the old man. "Yeah. At least we were able to hear from the others that Gochi is doing alright with that Raditz fella. We don't have any clue what Piccolo has done to Gohan though….." She started off relatively happy, but her tone got darker after remembering that poor Gohan was stuck with someone like Piccolo for a year.
Roshi brings his hands behind his slouched back. "Well. Us non-combatants can only wait for the good news for now"
——————
Somewhere random in a random mountain range
Gohan is on the ground catching his breath after being zapped by Piccolo's eye beams.
"You said you wouldn't use your eye beams" Gohan complains as he slowly sits up.
Piccolo glares down at the boy. "And I've told you many time Bedford not to take your opponents word for the truth! Now get up! We have less than a day left!" Piccolo shouts.
Piccolo and Gohan saw the black sky. Gohan didn't know what it meant, but Piccolo did. And that meant that the Saiayans are nearly here. And it's sooner than Piccolo had anticipated. So now he is trying to get some last minute training in for Gohan.
Over the past year Piccolo has trained Gohan. For the first months he just tossed the child into the wilderness and tasked Gohan with just surviving. Piccolo rarely looked after the child. But when he did during that time he provided only some apples, clothes, and a sword. And then after the months go by Piccolo finds Gohan after doing some training alone and then begins sparring with the child.
To Piccolo it doesn't feel like a year has come and gone. But to be fair. It's not like he has a watch or anything to keep track of time. He doesn't even have a home.
——————
Outside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber
"This is it?" Raditz looks at the double doors.
"Yes" Popo looks at the doors. "Inside there will be a clock that represents the time out here. Once the day is up you must exit immediately. You may exit sooner, but you must not stay longer or else you will be trapped inside forever"
"Gah!" Raditz recoils. "Why the hell is that a rule?! Who made this damned thing?!"
"The Guardian of Earth. Kami" Popo states. "He has grown weak and cannot change the time chamber so it is what it is" Mr. Popo smiles. "Now, I recommend you begin your training when you are ready"
Gochi nods and looks up at Raditz.
Raditz puts his hands on his hips. "Yeah, yeah. I know" He looks down at his nephew. "Let's g-"
"And where do you two think her goin!?" A woman shouts behind them.
Raditz turns around and sees yellow haired Launch standing there with her arms folded beneath her bust. "What is it woman? We're burning precious time"
Launch glares at Raditz. She then pulls a cart that was hiding around the corner of the hall and wheels it down. "I made this and you two are going to eat it! I didn't waste my time making it just for it to be left untouched!"
Gochi looks at the cart and sees a bunch of food. And it looks much better than when yellow Launch had started cooking. "Thanks Launch"
"Whatever, brat" Launch stops the cart in front of the door and messes with Gochi's hair.
"Whyyyyy~" Gochi tries to get free of Launch's hands that mess with his spiky hair. He doesn't actually care, but it does feel very weird and unnatural since his hair is spiky.
"Just deal with it!" Launch shouts and then gently shoved Gochi's head to the side.
Launch looks at Raditz. "Don't die to the Saiyans tomorrow. Or I'll kill you myself" She glares at Raditz.
"If I die to Nappa and Vegeta I'd kill myself. After we train in here me and Gochi will just end up toying with those weakilings" Raditz puts up a brave front. In truth, his own training has gotten slower and slower.
"Don't you dare" Launch pokes his chest. "Your job is to train and then kill those Saiyans and return safely. If you can easily kill them then just do that. Don't fuckin risk it because you think you can toy with them. And don't take it easy on them either. Goku had a hole blasted through his chest when he fought and spared Piccolo during the 23rd World Tournament. Goku let his guard down at one point and Piccolo blasted a hole through Gokus shoulder and nearly killed him. So don't let your guard down, you hear me"
Raditz grabs her hand that is poking him. "I hear you, even if I'd rather not be" He lets her hand go at her side and turns towards the door. "Guess you will have to tell me more about my brother and his adventures after the Saiyans are defeated" He looks at Gochi. "Grab the cart Gochi"
Raditz walks to the door and opens it. A bright light comes from the door and he walks in.
Gochi grabs the cart from the front and pulls it into the room. "Bye-bye Miss Launch! Thanks for the food! It's the second best!" Gochi pulls the cart in.
"Second?!" Launch balls her hands into fists. "If I shove it down your gullet will it be the best!?"
But the door shuts and leaves Launch shouting at the door.
Popo smiles at Launch. "I don't think force feeding him the food will help"
Launch glares at the genie. She doesn't say anything and stomps off back down the hall.
Mr. Popo watches her leave. And soon enough Kami appears down the opposite direction of the hall. Kami walks up next to Popo.
"How was that Kami?" Popo asks.
Kami holds and leans on the staff in his right hand. "If that is the end, it will be very sad. I hope that I am able to see the ending of their friendship and the beginning of their relationship. But I fear that even if they win tomorrow I won't be able to see. It is most unfortunate. Wouldn't you say so Mr. Popo?"
Mr. Popo's smile lessens but doesn't go away. "Most unfortunate, indeed"
——————
The Saiyans are arriving tomorrow. Will Goku make it in time? Will Raditz's and Gochi's last minute training be enough? Will Raditz and Launch get together? Why doesn't Mr. Popo ever frown? Will Piccolo and Gohan even be able to put up a fight against the Saiyans? Why is Raditz struggling to get stronger? Will the Saiyans actually be stopped? Or will everyone's training be in vein? Did anyone tell Chi-Chi that Goku is back to life?
Find out! In the next chapters!
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Quade_The_Unknown
Quade_The_Unknown 3,289 words
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