#ask your doctor if luffa the legendary super saiyan is right for you | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

duhragonball · 3 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (156/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[1 December Age 893, Earth.]

Throughout the night, Trunks had been exploring the simulated universe in the popular arcade game Super Dragon Ball Heroes. To the Earthlings of the 9th Century, it was just a video game about famous warriors and battles from history, but it was in fact a secret project backed by the Time Patrol. The game world in SDBH was a scale model of the actual universe, based upon the Scroll of Eternity itself. This provided a unique gaming experience for the unsuspecting civilians, but it also allowed Time Patrollers like Trunks to conduct research and interact with historical events without altering history. His main objective to was to learn more about his new partner, Luffa. So far, he had spoken to several Saiyans across time and space, and each answer he found seemed to raise a new question.

At the Hero Lab, where the SDBH game was programmed and maintained, Trunks pondered these questions over takeout food. Dr. Leggings had cleared off her desk for the plates and napkins. Her assistant, a girl named Anne, was fussing over the bags of food, determined to make sure everyone’s order was accounted for and properly distributed. No one asked her to do this, but she was the type who couldn’t relax otherwise. She still complained about it, but Trunks knew she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nearby, Beat and Note had rolled their own chairs to face one another, and they each propped their feet up on the edge of the other's seat. He had recruited them for help on a case when they were younger, and it was strange to see them as teenagers. He wondered if there was something more than friendship developing between them, or if they themselves were aware of it, but it seemed undignified to ask, so he let it go. There were more important things to consider anyway.

"The main job's been accomplished, at least," Trunks said after he swallowed a bite of eggroll. "I know where Camelia's key planets are located, and our historians can probably fill in a more complete map of the galaxy from that era. Then we can work with Luffa to figure out the correct date and location she came from."

"You don't sound very satisfied with that, Master," Note said as she fished out a piece of shrimp from her takeout box and fed it to Beat.

"I'm not," Trunks said. "We thought Luffa might be from a distant civilization, but one in the present day. Now, it's starting to look like she's from our galaxy, but eleven centuries in the past. Maybe twelve. The Rehval that I spoke with was the third Saiyan King with that name. The one Luffa mentioned may have been his father or grandfather."

"Why is that bad, Trunks?" Beat asked. He found a piece of pork in his box and passed it from his chopsticks to Note's chopsticks. "I mean, so what if she’s from twelve centuries in the past? You guys are the Time Patrol, after all. If anyone can send her home, you can."

"It's not that we can't send her back," Beat, " Trunks said. "The problem is that I'm not so sure we should. From the start, I just assumed Luffa was from the present time, or close to it. Without realizing it, I've shown Luffa things that will happen in her distant future. To us, it's the past, but if we send her back with that knowledge, she could change the course of history."

"Would she?" Note asked. "I mean, I'm sure she's an honorable person, or Shenron wouldn't have chosen her as your ally, Master. And now that she's seen the dangers involved with time anomalies, I'm sure she'd never tell anyone what she learned about our era."

"It's not that simple, I'm afraid," said Dr. Leggings. She was chewing on a bone from her order of spare ribs, and Trunks couldn't help but appreciate a very faint resemblance she had to his father. Leggings looked a lot more like his mother, particularly with the way she wore her green hair in a ponytail. She was no warrior, but there were definite hints of Saiyan to her. He liked this. In his own timeline, Trunks was an only child, and the last of his father's people. It was comforting to spend time in places like Hero Town and Toki Toki City, where he had an extended family of sorts, no matter how distant.

"What do you mean, doctor?" Note asked.

"We've seen how even minor changes in the past can cause major changes in the present," Leggings said. "The game world makes it easy to see, because we can jump from one time period to another very quickly, and we can reset those changes as easily as refreshing a computer. It's not just a matter of winning a battle you were supposed to lose, or telling secrets that you aren't supposed to know about. Luffa might change history without even realizing she's done it."

"She's right," Trunks said. "When I first went back to the past, I tried to be careful not to make any unwanted changes. I only wanted to warn Goku about the Cyborgs and give him the medicine for the heart virus. But somehow he got sick about six months later than I expected. I still have no idea why that happened. My guess is that he was training for the Cyborgs, so he must have been in a different place than he was in my timeline, so he wasn't infected under the same circumstances."

"You think Luffa might do something differently, now that she knows what's going to happen to the Saiyans?" Beat asked.

"She might," Trunks said. "Luffa hates King Rehval, and now that I've met the guy, I can't say I blame her. If I understand correctly, there's a direct throughline connecting Rehval's policies with the class system used by my grandfather on Planet Vegeta. So she might blame Rehval for the downfall of the Saiyan race, and try to take revenge. For that matter, she knows about the Dragon Balls on Namek. She might be tempted to use them in the past, to try to make wishes to prevent some of the terrible things she's seen in the future."

"That'd be good, wouldn't it?" Beat asked.

"Not for you, it wouldn't," Note said in a scolding tone. "Son Goku is your ancestor, isn't he? If the history of the Saiyans changes too much, then they might never send Goku to Earth, and you would never be born."

"Oh, right," Beat said. "Maybe Luffa should stay in Toki Toki City, then."

"And that could have consequences too," Trunks said. "Luffa might still play a role in history, however small. Shenron may have only brought her to us because he knew the Time Patrol would eventually put her back. But there's also the matter of her power level..."

"Power?" Anne asked. She had already finished her meal and was busily cleaning up the discarded cartons and wrappers. "Don't tell me that's a problem on top of everything else!"

"Yup, I'm afraid so, Anne," Trunks said. "Luffa's done well on her missions, but she's nowhere near as powerful as what I had expected. Now that I know what time period she's from, that makes more sense. King Rehval told me he was the strongest Saiyan of his era, and he's a lot stronger than Luffa, but he wouldn't stand a chance against the kinds of enemies I've had to fight. Luffa defeated the Ginyu Force, and Rehval might have handled them more easily but that's about all I could expect from either of them."

"That's nothing you can't fix, Master!" Note said. "I'm sure you can train Luffa just as well as you trained us!"

"I appreciate your confidence, Note," Trunks said, "but Luffa's not exactly what I'd call 'teachable'. Besides, she seems to have improved dramatically on her own. Even she doesn't understand how she's doing it, but she may catch up before too long. But if she returns to her own time with all that extra strength, then that could mess up history too. And if she has to remain with us, then I'm not sure she'll be any good on future missions."

"Why not?" Beat asked. "She's sure to get stronger."

"I thought so too, but maybe I've been taking that for granted," Trunks said. "I'm used to dealing with Saiyans descended from Son Goku, or from my own family. Goku and Vegeta were extraordinary fighters, even among Saiyans, but Luffa could be... Well, there's no gentle way to put this. She might not have the same potential."

"You're not going to just fire her, are you?" Note asked.

"Of course not," Trunks said. "If we can't send her home, I'm sure we can find a place for her in the Time Patrol. But we can't risk sending her on certain missions. Towa and Mira are dangerous, and if I'm right, their raids on history's warriors are only going to get bolder. Luffa could find herself in deep waters with no one to help her. Shenron may have granted my wish, and maybe she is the best person for the job, but that doesn't mean I can gamble with her life. I need more information before she goes back into the field."

"I'm sure whatever happens, it'll all work out, Trunks," Beat said.

"You always say stuff like that," Note groaned.

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?" Beat shrugged. "Well, most of the time, anyway."

"This has been fun, but I should probably get moving," Trunks said. "I need to report my findings to the Time Patrol, and maybe the Supreme Kai of Time has a fresh lead on Towa."

"You have to leave already?" Beat asked. "But it feels like you just got here!"

"Yeah, it was beginning to feel like the old days," Note said.

"I've missed you guys too," Trunks said. He stood up and brushed loose grains of rice from his pants. "You've grown up a lot while I've been away. You too, Anne."

"I guess it's kind of childish how I keep calling you, 'Master'," Note said. "Force of habit, I suppose."

"You're welcome to call me 'Trunks' if you want, Note. But to be honest, it reminds me of when I was a kid. I used to call Gohan 'Master', back when he trained me to fight the Cyborgs. He meant a lot to me. Hearing you say it... It's a good feeling."

"I'll keep the Hero Switches ready in case you come back," Leggings said. "You'll probably need to do some follow-up work to pin down an exact time for Luffa."

"Good call," Trunks said as he slung his sword over his shoulder. "I'll probably have to bring her with me. I'll see if I can get her to make some more of that lasagna she made for us the other day."

"Lasagna?" Beat asked. But Trunks vanished before he could get an answer.

*******

[4 March, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

Luffa felt ridiculous doing this, but she had no other ideas for how to handle the situation. She knew the way from her apartment to the Time Nest, and the Time Vault was unlocked and unguarded, but she had no idea what to do on her own. Trunks had always contacted her whenever she was needed, and he always had the Scroll ready to send her on her next mission. Without him, it seemed that the Time Vault was a useless building with a tree sticking out of the roof. And so, her only way forward was the Supreme Kai of Time, who lived in a modest capsule house in the Time Nest, next door to the Time Vault. Luffa felt awkward simply entering the house, and so she went back to her apartment and baked a cake. That wouldn't make things less awkward for her, but at least there would be something to eat during her visit.

"Luffa, Hi!" Chronoa said as she answered the knock on her door. "Ooh, what's that? It smells good."

"Uh, I got in a mood, so I made some cake," Luffa said, in a failed attempt to sound nonchalant. "And I thought I should check and see if you and Trunks had any update on the search."

"Afraid not," Chronoa said. "But perfect timing on the cake. I just put on a pot of tea. Come on in!"

The interior of Chronoa's house was littered with technological gizmos. There were entire jet engines laying around the Time Nest, and it seemed that this was because those larger objects were the only ones that wouldn't fit inside. Chronoa tossed several of them off one of the couch cushions and gestured for Luffa to take a seat.

"I'm glad you finally came over," Chronoa said. "I was worried that you might be having trouble fitting in with the Time Patrol."

"It's uh... it's not so bad," Luffa said. "My roommate is kind of weird, but we get along well enough. I've met a few people here."

"They're all a very special bunch of people," Chronoa said. "I haven't been able to get to know them all as well as I'd like to, but they've helped me out a lot. That goes for you too, Luffa."

"Listen, uh... I think I owe you an apology," Luffa said. "I was in a pretty bad place right before I ended up here, and... well, I might have taken out some of my frustrations on you and your staff."

"You've had to adjust to a lot of changes very quickly, Luffa," Chronoa said. "And we didn't exactly give you a choice about coming here. You're entitled to get frustrated with us."

"Thanks, but... I'm a mercenary," Luffa said. "Well, I used to be. My parents always taught me how important it was to maintain a professional discipline around the clients. I don't think I've lived up to my own standards."

"I don't think of the other Time Patrollers as mercenaries, Luffa," Chronoa said. "We're a team, and we're friends. At least, I'd like to think of you as a friend."

"Yeah, I guess so," Luffa said. "I... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"You're a god, aren't you? A god of time."

"That's right."

"Don't you already know how all of this turns out?"

Chronoa chuckled as she sipped her tea.

"Did I say something wrong?" Luffa asked.

"No, I get that a lot, actually," Chronoa said. "The short answer is: no, I don't know the future. Not in the way you're thinking of. I watch over time, and maintain the flow of time. When it's necessary, I correct problems in that flow. But I don't make time, or control it."

"It's just... I'm kind of anxious to get back on the trail of those demons," Luffa said. "And we've been waiting for them to make their next move, and it occurred to me that it doesn't make much sense that we have to wait. You could jump ahead to the moment when they've already made their play."

"Well, now that's something I could do," Chronoa said. I can travel to the future and find out when the next mission happens. I could even take you with me so you wouldn't have to wait."

"You can?" Luffa said.

"Oh yeah!" Chronoa said. "I can do a lot of things. But I shouldn't do it, so I won't."

"Oh."

"It's not an arbitrary rule, either," Chronoa said. "Most Supreme Kais are only permitted to travel forward through time, and only to observe future events. They can't interfere, so they have to limit their use of that power. With me, the problem is that if I skip around too much, I run the risk of upsetting the balance of my own timeline. Things have to proceed in order. That's what time is all about."

"I guess that makes sense," Luffa said. "Honestly, I had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, or you would have already done it. But I had to ask."

"You’re right, it’s not that easy. In fact, it's part of the reason I established the Time Patrol," Chronoa said. "For millions of years, keeping watch over the flow of time was pretty simple. I just had to keep Tokitoki fed and watered, give him plenty of enrichment. But as the universe grows older, it becomes more complex. Once, there was no Supreme Kai of Time. We didn't even need one. But then we did, and now we've reached a point where I need a whole staff to help maintain things. If I could just jump back and forth in time any way I wanted, maybe I could do the whole thing alone. But it’s more satisfying this way, with all of you.”

"Why mortals? Why not get other Kais to do this work?" Luffa asked.

"Because there aren't enough of us, for one thing," Chronoa said. "We come from a place called the 'World Core'. There aren't many Core People, and few of us ever achieve the rank of Kai. Fewer still ascend to the status of Grand Kai, and even fewer make it to Supreme Kai. There used to be seven Supreme Kais in this universe, including me. These days, there's only three."

"Is three enough?" Luffa asked.

"For now, it'll have to be," Chronoa said. "Besides, I've found that mortals are very dedicated and resourceful. To say nothing of all the technology they produce..."

She reached for an end table and picked up a machine that looked vaguely like a can opener combined with an alarm clock. Luffa expected her to use the device, but instead Chronoa simply admired its surfaces.

"So what's all this stuff for, anyway?" Luffa asked, gesturing to the assortment of similar gadgets that lay in every direction.

"Nothing in particular," Chronoa said. "I just find their designs fascinating. The electronics, the cogwheels, the little blinking lights. It's helpful for contemplating the nature of time."

"If you say so," Luffa said.

"Without time, everything would happen all at once," Chronoa explained. "Birth, death, creation, destruction, none of that would mean anything without the passage of time to separate those moments. The oven you used to bake this cake. Without time, there would be no need for it. Cooking would be meaningless. You can't preheat an oven or leave a cake inside for seven hours, not when there's no hours."

"S-seven hours?" Luffa asked, but Chronoa paid no mind.

"Mixing the ingredients would be pointless, too. Even the pan you put it in, it would be unnecessary, because there could be no cause or effect. There could be no hunger, because there would be no time for you to become hungry."

"That's why you like these tools, then?" Luffa asked. "Their functions remind you of the flow of time?"

"Yes, that's one way of looking at it," Chronoa said. She picked up another object that had a handle connected to a transparent dome on wheels. Inside the dome were several colorful plastic balls, which bounced around inside as Chronoa pushed it along the floor.

"What does that thing do?" Luffa asked.

"Oh, this is just a child's toy," Chronoa said. "Same idea though."

"Okay..." Luffa decided this was as good a time as any to serve the cake. It was yellow with chocolate frosting, a recipe which suited her aesthetics, though she had no idea what flavor “yellow” was supposed to be. She wondered if “yellow” was a kind of fruit, like the oranges used to make the juice she had discovered while shopping.

"Very impressive," Chronoa said as she took a bite. "You must have turned the oven up to full power for this."

"Uh, not exactly," Luffa said nervously. She was beginning to get the impression that Chronoa had no idea how cooking worked. "Jayncho found a recipe, and they had everything I needed in the Industrial District. I've been using my downtime to get a handle on Earth cuisine."

"That's great! You know... when we figure out how to get you home, Luffa, you wouldn't have to stay there. You could come back for missions."

"Huh?"

"We have a lot of Patrollers who still live on Earth, in their own native eras. Mostly ranging from Age 850 to 1050, but there are a few exceptions, like Trunks."

"Well, that's nice and all," Luffa said, "but I don't know that it would work for me..."

"Do you have any family?"

Luffa hesitated before answering. "No," she said. "It's just me." To explain further would require her to reveal that she knew she was from the distant past, and she wasn't ready to divulge that just yet. She wasn't sure she ever would be. But somehow, sitting in Chronoa's home, sharing snacks with her while they watched the view outside her window, Luffa felt like she could trust her.

She just wouldn't trust her today. Not yet. Like Chronoa had said, these things had to happen in the proper order.

"Have you heard of ‘Providence,’ Chronoa?" Luffa asked.

"I know the term, if that's what you mean." she said with her mouth full.

"My... a friend of mine, she believed in a divine plan. I just wondered if you, or one of the other Kais, had any connection to that."

"Are you religious yourself, Luffa?"

"Not really. But I've known people who were. You wouldn't know a god with nine eyes, by any chance, would you?"

"No, I can't say that I do," Chronoa said.

"What about Beerus?"

"Oh, well that's different," Chronoa said. "You see-- Wait, what was that?"

She put her plate on the coffee table and stood up, as though looking for something beyond the walls of her house.

"What is it?" Luffa asked. Her own senses picked up nothing out of the ordinary.

"Something's wrong," Chronoa said. "We need to go to the Time Vault."

"Is it Towa and Mira?" Luffa asked.

"I'm not sure," Chronoa said, “but I think it could be."

Luffa punched her right hand with her left as she stood up from the sofa. At last, it seemed like her waiting was over.

*******

[24 December, Age 762. Planet Namek.]

The Namekian Dragon Balls were ordinary stones. Two wishes had been granted, but they petrified upon the death of their creator, Guru. When Frieza arrived to discover this predicament, he was furious. So furious, that he wasted no time in destroying the objects of his wrath. Within minutes, Krillin, Vegeta, and the Namekian child, Dende, were all dead. Piccolo, newly resurrected by the Dragon Balls, joined the battle, but far too later to do any good. Gohan was next, and then the only one left was Goku.

"Who... are you?" Frieza asked, as Goku cradled his dead son in his arms. "Never mind. I don't need to know."

Goku followed the others soon after.

*******

[4 March, Age 850. Toki Toki City.]

"It has to be Towa," Chronoa said. She had the Scroll of Eternity unfurled on the great octagonal table in the Time Vault. Luffa watched over her shoulder, while Tokitoki flapped his wings and hooted overhead.

"This looks like the same day as the Ginyu Force battle I was just in," Luffa said.

"It is," Chronoa said. "This new temporal change takes place thirty-seven minutes after you left. Towa must have decided it was the last place we would expect her to strike. I didn't think she was prepared to try her energy stealing techniques on someone as powerful as Frieza."

Luffa had never actually seen Frieza before. Until now, she had only heard about him. During her previous mission, the Ginyu Force and Vegeta had spoken of him as being present on Namek, but occupied elsewhere. Before that, she had heard about Frieza's conquest and destruction of the Saiyan homeworld from the Toki Toki City historian, Dewar. Dewar had said that Frieza was a clansman of his own species, and now that Luffa could see Frieza in the mystical images generated by the Scroll, she could see the resemblance. Mostly, Frieza had purple colorations wherever Dewar had blue, and Frieza didn't bother wearing clothes. He was a white-skinned, muscular humanoid with no hair and three-toed feet. A long, thick tail waved behind him. The purple aura from Towa's magic seemed to suit his cruel, indifferent expression.

"Looks like it's the same story as before," Luffa said. "Frieza got a power boost and he overwhelmed these guys too quickly, so I'll have to step in and balance the scales."

"It's not that simple," Chronoa warned. "Frieza is far more powerful than anyone you've faced so far."

"He can't swap bodies like Captain Ginyu, can he?" Luffa asked.

"No, but--"

"Well then, this should be a lot more straightforward," Luffa said, She held up her hands and began cracking her knuckles.

"Wait," Chronoa said. "Luffa, I really think we should hold off on this until Trunks gets back."

"What for?" Luffa asked. "I'm the one who has to go on these missions, and I'm ready right now. With any luck, those miserable demons will still be there, and I can pick up where I left off."

"You don't know what you're dealing with, Luffa," Chronoa warned. "Every time you've come back from these missions, you've been badly hurt. Fighting Frieza is one thing. If he hurts you, you can be automatically recalled to the Time Nest before you die. But if Towa decides to step in, that might not work. She's already threatened you, and there's a lot we don't know about her temporal manipulation abilities."

"Then it's time we found out," Luffa insisted. "I don't know what kind of Saiyans you have working for you in the Time Patrol, but I'm the kind that doesn't back down from a challenge. I think your pet Dragon noticed that, and maybe that's why he brought me here to help you out."

"There's more at stake here than whatever chip you have on your shoulder, Luffa," Chronoa said. "I can tell you're out to prove something. I don't know what, but I won't risk your life like this."

"And what happens if they try to alter history somewhere else while we're waiting around?" Luffa asked. "We need to address this sooner rather than later. And no matter what we do, it's going to be me who ends up going. You know I'm right, Supreme Kai of Time. I wouldn't be here if I weren't."

Chronoa regarded her for a moment, then looked back at the Scroll. "All right, we'll try it your way," she said. "But I'll be watching, and at the first sign of trouble, I'm pulling you out of there."

"Thanks," Luffa said. "I was thinking about making a grab for the Scroll, but I didn’t want to upset you. I've never fought a god before, and I didn't want to make things awkward between us.”

"Uh... sure. Well, promise me that you’ll keep that in mind if I have to bring you back from the mission early," Chronoa said. "If you can't handle Frieza, then you definitely don't need to be picking fights with me."

Luffa smiled as she picked up the Scroll, and then she was gone.

NEXT: 「F」

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #luffa #trunks #chronoa #note #beat #anne #dr leggings #toki toki city #earth #namek

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duhragonball · 4 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (128/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[6 August 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space]

Immediately after the battle on Zenj I, Luffa underwent another round of mycotherapy treatment. It was a radical application of synthetic fungal DNA, which Dr. Topsas had devised as a way to heal all of Luffa's injuries as quickly as possible. Luffa's very first session lasted three days, but he had managed to refine the process since then, and this time Luffa only had to stay immersed in the stasis fluid for two.

Zatte counted down the hours and minutes until she could see her wife again. In recent days, she had comforted Luffa while she rested after a battle. It had been a very spiritual experience for her, and even if Luffa didn't share in that aspect of it, the lovemaking was great too. This time there would be a delay, but Zatte didn't see why anything else needed to change. And yet, when Zatte went to find her on the third day, Luffa had already left the sickbay, and had gone to the ship's gymnasium.

The entire star-yacht belonged to Luffa, a "gift" from a wealthy deathmatch promoter who desperately wanted her to go away. But Luffa usually slept in the gym, rather than any of the ship's luxurious cabins. She would spend time in Zatte's quarters, especially after they were married, but the gym was where she went to be alone, and Luffa generally preferred to sleep alone.

As Zatte entered the gym, she ignored the toppled exercise machines and torn mats. The place had been a mess for years, as Luffa used this space to let off steam. Now, she was lying on the pile of mats and towels she used for her bed, staring pensively at the ceiling.

"There you are," Zatte said. "I thought you'd head straight for my room, but I guess you wanted me to find you..."

She knelt down on the deck beside Luffa, who slowly rose to a sitting position.

"Hey," Luffa said, kissing Zatte on the cheek.

"What's wrong?" Zatte asked. What she really wanted to ask was: "Is that all? We're apart for three days and all I get is a lousy kiss on the cheek?"

"Nothing, I'm just... I'm tired, and I needed to think."

"I thought you'd want to... discuss what I did on Planet Zenj," Zatte said.

Luffa took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, you saved that kid," she said. "Hell of a job. I'm proud of you."

"It was nothing," Zatte said. "I... I meant what I said back there. I can't die without you. I'm sure of it. And when I'm around you, I feel like I can do anything."

Zatte was sure that Luffa would jump up and push her against the wall. Not too rough, but not too gently either. And Luffa would have some stern words for her about being more careful, and Zatte would fire back with some stern words about picking up the pace, and this would go on until they were too busy kissing to talk. Instead, Luffa just made a weary smile and squeezed Zatte's hand.

"Sorry, I'm just not in the mood, right now, Zattie," Luffa said.

"Oh. No problem. I figured you'd want to spar later on, but we can skip straight to that if you want."

"I can't spar with you for a while," Luffa said. "That mycotherapy junk worked pretty well, but Doc wants me to heal up from the last beating I took."

"Well, I won't tell him if you don't," Zatte offered with a smile.

"Sorry," Luffa said. "I'm playing it his way this time. It's been working out pretty well so far. I'm starting to think these medical types had the right idea all along."

"Okay, but you only use a tiny fraction of your strength when you spar with me," Zatte said. "What's the harm?"

"Probably none, but he told me to rest and that's what I'm doing. Dotz thinks the next attack will be a few days from now, and I need to be ready."

"Come on," Zatte said. She gestured toward her legs, which were clad in form-fitting black fabric adorned with neon purple highlights. "I wore your favorite training gear."

"Hey, if you want to train on your own for a while, that's fine by me," Luffa said. She rose to her feet and walked slowly to the door. "But I think I'm gonna soak in the hot tub for a while, so drop by if you need me."

She walked around Zatte to proceed on her way, but Zatte grabbed her by the arm to stop her. Luffa was somewhat surprised by how forcefully she pulled.

"I do need you," Zatte said. "For sparring."

"Zattie, I can't right now--"

"Don't give me that 'doctor's orders' bull. You'd do it if you wanted to."

Luffa raised an eyebrow. "What is this?" she asked. "I thought you only put up with the sparring sessions before. Now you're demanding it?"

"I'm part of this war too," Zatte said. "I'm here to support you, and I can't do that properly if I'm not at my best--"

"And the only way you can improve is by sparring with me personally?" Luffa asked. "That's crap, and you know it. There's other ways to train."

"Physically, but not spiritually," Zatte insisted.

"Spiritually?!" Luffa asked.

"The work you make me do," Zatte said. "Sensing your ki up close. It's a purifying experience that helps me--"

"You mean on top of the incense in the bedroom? And the litanies you recite before and after we... well... you know."

"When we have sex," Zatte finished for her. "Just say it. We have sex. Honestly, you can be such a child sometimes."

"Me? You're the one who keeps turning our whole marriage into a shrine! What's the matter? You don't trust Providence to make sure I'm doing their work right?"

"It's me I'm trying to improve!" Zatte said. "I have to consecrate myself as much as I can for the next time we go into action. I thought you understood that."

"I thought I did too, but lately you've been taking it to a whole other level. Frankly it's gotten pretty ridiculous. Are you going to follow me into the head and sing hymns every time I flush?"

"Very funny," Zatte said. "I'm just a joke to you now."

"What do you expect from someone as childish as I am?" Luffa snorted.

"Are you going to spar with me or not?" Zatte asked.

"No," Luffa said, "I'm not." And then she walked out the door.

Left alone in the gym, surrounded by broken machines, Zatte considered taking out some frustrations of her own.

*******

[7 August, 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Guwar was finally happy. He had everything he ever wanted, and more. Once, he had been a below-average warrior, but thanks to the wonders of Jindan, he had become one of the strongest Saiyans alive.

He wasn't the strongest, by any means. The Legendary Super Saiyan still held that rank, though Luffa was an enemy to the cult, and its leaders preached that she was a heretic and an impostor. Guwar wasn't entirely sure how Luffa could be both of those things at one, or why exactly she was evil incarnate, but Luffa was a threat to everything he had achieved in the cult, and that was enough for him.

After Luffa, there was Trismegistus, the founder and leader of the cult, and the inventor of the Jindan technique. One of the advanced rituals for cult members was the Trial of Revelation, where Trismegistus would meet with initiates and reveal that he was actually the Rehval III, the Saiyan monarch who evacuated his throneworld and vanished without a trace. Perhaps for some of the cultists, this was a bitter pill to swallow, but Guwar had found the whole thing anticlimactic. He had always tried to steer clear of the Saiyan Kingdom in the past, but that was mostly because he didn't think they had anything to offer him. If he had known the king was an alchemist with the power to make Guwar stronger, he would have thrown in with Rehval a long time ago.

After Luffa and Rehval, there were other mighty Saiyans, all of them enhanced by Rehval's magic potions. Many of the Jindan Priesthood were immensely strong, though not all of them.

Then there were the Executants, a group of elite Jindan warriors charged with special missions for Trismegistus. Guwar had been promoted to this level. He wasn't the strongest of the Executants, but he wasn't the weakest either, and simply holding the position was enough to satisfy him. Before the cult, Guwar had been a nobody. Now, he was one of their heroes. He was their champion.

Having returned from a recent assignment, Guwar strode confidently through the underground halls of the Jindan Sanctuary, their sacred base of operations. His brothers and sisters in the alchemical faith nodded reverently to him as he passed. He took his meals in the Holy Refectory, along with the others who had earned the privilege, and he was permitted to eat meat and drink wine, a special dispensation for those who demonstrated exceptional loyalty.

Then there were the women. Trismegistus forbade monogamous pairings within the cult. Instead, he had devised communal breeding pits, and arranged for certain groups of participants to make use of them. Guwar didn't understand most of it. Rehval claimed that he had the means to determine which Saiyans would produce the most powerful offspring, but he never shared his methods with Guwar. All Guwar knew was that he had been sorted into Eugenic Group Red, and he was authorized to procreate with anyone else in Groups Red, Purple, and White. The other colors were off-limits to him, but this only meant that he couldn't sire children with them. As an Executant, Guwar had special permission to help himself to any lower-ranking cultists he found pleasing. It had bothered him at first. Saiyans were a notoriously prudish species, and even the mere mention of intimacy was enough to make them uneasy, but somehow Rehval had made it all seem quite normal. You had your assigned breeding duties, you went where you were sent, and you did what was asked of you, for the good of the cult. Guwar rather enjoyed it this way. It took a lot of the awkwardness out of sex.

There were, of course, some things denied to him. Guwar had never thought of himself as greedy, but somehow his thoughts always drifted to what he couldn't have. It was as though having more only inspired him to want more. As he entered the corridor leading to the Executants' quarters, he passed his own cabin and knocked on the door of another, the irony of his desires seemed especially poignant.

"You're back already?" asked the woman who answered the door.

"It was an easy assignment," Guwar said. "The man I was supposed to kill had lousy security. I'd have finished even sooner, but Trismegistus wanted me to keep a low profile."

"Mm-hmm," she said as she put her hands on his arms. "And now I suppose you've come to collect your reward for a job well done, is that it?"

"You're not my first choice," Guwar said, but you're a fine woman, Zhidarr. "And you seemed to enjoy it well enough the last few times..."

"Well, you're not my first choice either," she said, but you smell nicer than most of the ones I end up with, so that's something at least." She led him inside and began removing parts of her uniform. "Let's make it quick, though. I have my own missions, you know. I'm leaving for Dubois III in a few hours."

"Dubois?" Guwar sat on the side of her bed and started pulling off his boots. "What the hell's in the Dubois system?"

"Beats me," Zhidarr said. "I haven't been briefed yet. Hopefully it's full of Federation soldiers. I'm itching to get into the war."

"No one's come back from Federation territory since the fighting started," Guwar said. "I wouldn't be so eager to volunteer."

"And that's why you're sharing a cot with me instead of Endive," Zhidarr scolded him. "Come on, don't deny it. You'd be knocking on her door right now if you could. But she outranks you, which means you have no right to request her for procreation privileges."

"So what?" Guwar asked. "For her I should go to the front and get killed by Luffa?"

"You should go to the front and get promoted," Zhidarr said. "Think about it: the first one to fight in Federation space and return alive. You'd be hailed as a miracle. Let's face it, it's the only way you'll ever outshine Endive. She's so far above the rest of us it's ridiculous."

"Well, thanks for the advice," Guwar said, "but I can't have sex with her if I'm dead."

Zhidarr tossed her body armor to the floor and approached the bed. "Well, you won't be spending so much time with me once I get sent to the Federation," she said. "I've decided. As soon as I'm promoted ahead of you, I'm cutting you off. No offense, but I've got better things to do with my time than keep you warm."

"Too bad," Guwar said with a smirk. "Of course, if you die on the front, Trismegistus will have to promote someone else to replace you. Maybe she'll enjoy my company a little more."

"The others died because they were weak," Zhidarr insisted as she climbed onto the bed and mounted him. "Their bodies were too flawed to make full use of the Jindan power. That's why the master sends them to their deaths, you know."

"'The Federation is a crucible,'" Guwar said, repeating the sermon he had heard from the priests when the first reports from the war came in. "'Many are sent, but only the worthy will return.'"

"You say that as if you don't believe it," Zhidarr said.

"I believe Trismegistus knows what he's doing," Guwar said. "Our power comes from him, so it's his right to use us as he sees fit. If he wants to purge the rolls, so be it. I just don't understand it from a strategic sense. How do we win a war if all our soldiers die?"

"You talk like an outsider sometimes, Guwar," Zhidarr said. She kissed him and patted him on the cheek. "Trismegistus has a plan for us all. None can understand his ways, not even his loyal servants. If it made perfect sense to me, then I'd be scared. If I could figure it out, so could our enemies. All we can do is trust, and place our faith in his wisdom."

Guwar couldn't argue with this. Rehval's military plans were bewildering to him, but so far he had done right by Guwar. Others may have been killed, perhaps needlessly, but Guwar was still alive, still powerful, still successful and admired among his peers. As long as Guwar prospered, it didn't really matter to him how Trismegistus prosecuted the war.

Or did it?

*******

"Ah, Guwar, there you are."

Guwar had only visited Trismegistus' inner sanctum a few times. Most of his orders had come down through official channels, or Trismegistus had come to him. The first time he had visited this room was when the Thrice-Blessed chose to reveal his true identity to him. Guwar shrugged and wondered why it mattered. Of course King Rehval would want to hide from Luffa. It only made sense for him to create a new identity, a new secret base, and a process to carefully vet his followers. The only real surprise was that their shadowy leader was a Saiyan himself, since Saiyans weren't known to dabble in alchemy, but Guwar was a mathematician himself, and never so he never paid much heed to stereotypes.

"Reporting as ordered, Master," Guwar said as he lowered himself to one knee.

"I have something new for you," Rehval said. "And I thought I should brief you on this personally."

"A new mission?" Guwar asked. This is it, he thought to himself, he's sending me to the front.

"Relax, Guwar, I'm not sending you back into the field already," Rehval said with a chuckle. "You just returned from Thoall, after all. I take it you've already helped yourself to your rewards?"

"Um, yes sir," Guwar said, awkwardly thinking back to Zhidar's cabin.

"Good man," Rehval said. "Zhidar or Potei?"

"Uh, Zhidar, sir."

"I thought so. Always one or the other. You should really broaden your horizons, Guwar." Rehval rose from his dais and gestured for Guwar to stand. As he did, Rehval approached him and clapped his hand on Guwar's back. "There are some excellent women in the technician section that I think you'd enjoy."

It had been easier for Guwar to discuss this sort of thing when he hadn't known that Trismegistus was a fellow Saiyan. Abasing himself was one thing, and talking openly about sex was another, but what was truly disturbing how easily it came to King Rehval. Guwar had often heard talk of the king wanting to force the Saiyan culture to be more like the rest of the galaxy, and now he was finally beginning to see just how cosmopolitan he really was.

"I, uh, well... once I've found something that works, I like to stick with it, sir," Guwar said. "Less disappointment that way. Uh, you mentioned an assignment?"

"Right," Rehval said with a grin. "You pull this one off for me, Guwar, and you can have anyone you want, whenever you want. I know you've had your eye on Endive since before you joined us. She's always been out of your league, right? Well, not for much longer, I think. Here."

He picked up a portable data drive and handed it to Guwar. "I've ordered one of the ships to be prepared for your personal use," he explained. "Not that you'll be going anywhere for this job, but I think you'll need its computer core. And I've assigned some acolytes to assist you while you work."

"I don't understand," Guwar said. He held the drive in his hand and stared at it closely, as though expecting its plastic surface to offer some clue about its contents.

"Of course not," Rehval said. "The war doesn't make any sense, Guwar, not to anyone but myself. I send my followers into Federation space, and they all die, one by one. The only reason Luffa hasn't gone on the offensive is because she doesn't know where to find me, and she can't conduct a search without leaving her territory undefended." He walked idly across the room, pausing to wipe the dust off of a shelf full of old scrolls. It was strange to see him without the heavy crimson robes he normally wore. His simple red shirt and linen shorts seemed unworthy of his stature. Guwar supposed that this was a sign of how much Rehval trusted him.

"The answers," Rehval continued, "are contained in that drive you're holding. This isn't a war for territory, or something that can be measured in casualties or starships. This is a holy war, Guwar. You do understand that much, don't you?"

"Of course, Master," Guwar said.

"You used galactic ley lines to find this planet," Rehval said. "That's why I hid my world from the universe. Not out of cowardice, but to challenge my followers to find me. Only the resourceful could discover my truth. For instance, you used your mathematics background to devise an algorithm for interpreting geomantic signals. That's why I needed you for this work, Guwar. You're the only one I can count on to check my calculations."

"Calculations?"

"You'll find it all in that drive," Rehval said. "Our goal is not just to empower ourselves with Jindan, Guwar. We aren't just trying to win the war, either. You are all the essence of the divine reagent, which I will use to transmute the entire universe. That is why my body remains here, on Nagaoka, while my earthen avatars fight Luffa in my place. The true victory lies here. This is where the blessed reaction will begin. If Luffa were to destroy this planet, it would upset my plans. That's the other reason I've worked so hard to keep its location secret."

"This has something to do with the galactic ley lines," Guwar said. "I never understood what they were or how they worked, but I got the impression that they were like a network of pipes running through every star and planet, and there was some sort of power coursing through them."

"That's not too far off," Rehval said. "Except the lines don't exactly channel power in the conventional sense. More like... possibility. Things are possible on Nagaoka that can't be done anywhere else. The lines that converge here give this planet immense alchemical potential, and if we can direct more lines towards Nagaoka, there may be no limit to what we can accomplish."

Guwar liked the sound of that. If Rehval could become even more powerful than he already was, then there would be nothing that could stand in their way. Not even the Super Saiyan would be a threat. And as Rehval's power increased, how much more generously would he reward his servants...

"My work is based on an algorithm designed by the original Trismegistus," Rehval said. "I named myself after that ancient master to honor him, and to claim his legacy. He had found ways to manipulate ley lines, but he lacked the raw power to attempt anything on a large scale. That is why I need you to go over his work, and build a more robust mathematical model."

"I'll get started right away," Guwar said.

"I knew I could count on you, Guwar," Rehval said. "As much as I prize Endive's service, this task will be more important than anything she's ever done for me. Consider this your path to becoming the First Executant."

Guwar liked the sound of that even more. He could have Endive whenever he wanted. Not to mention a few other high-ranking Executants he wouldn't mind socializing with. They would all adore him for his great service to the cause. And all he would have to do is ply his trade for a few hours. A day at most. He had drawn up mathematical models in his spare time for fun. How hard could this be?

*******

[7 August, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

Zatte stewed in her frustrations for a full day, and when she was ready to face Luffa again, she found her in the star-yacht's hot tub. Dr. Topsas had restricted Luffa from so many activities, it was just about the only thing left for her to do. Luffa didn't look up at her, and she didn't know how to begin, so she just started talking.

"I wanted to apologize for yesterday," Zatte said.

Luffa glanced up at her. "I shouldn't have mocked your faith," she said. "It defines you as a warrior."

"No, you were right," Zatte said. "I have been going overboard lately. Receiving training from you is... well, it's important to me. It makes me feel like I'm actively doing something to prove my support."

"Sometimes, you have to do nothing," Luffa said. "I'm not soaking in this thing because it's fun, you know. I wanted worthy opponents to fight, and now I've got more than I can handle. I have to play this carefully or I'll let them win."

"You're right," Zatte said.

"Doc doesn't even want me cooking for a few days," Luffa said. "I hate that."

"We've got enough leftovers to last a while," Zatte said. "And there's always the backup rations."

"You guys deserve better than rations," Luffa said. "But I have to play this smart. I learned that from you."

You learned it from Keda, Zatte thought to herself. The Dorlun child was much more sensible than either of them, but the pain of her death was still sorely felt, and so the two of them had a tendency to avoid speaking of her.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Zatte asked. "Anything at all?"

Luffa shrugged. "I don't think so," she said. "You're welcome to stick around, but I think what you really want is a place to channel all that pent up energy. I don't think I can help you there. Not for a while, anyway."

"Sounds like we both have the same problem," Zatte said. "We might as well be miserable together."

She sat down at the edge of the tub and took off her boots, then dipped her ankles into the bubbling water. "Is this what it's like to be you?" Zatte asked after a few minutes. "I mean, being so riled up and not being able to cut loose?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," Luffa said. "For the first time in years, I'm having to conserve my strength and wait for the right moment. And there's no clear path to victory. Best I can hope for is to go from one battle to the next."

"Huh. I guess we've got a lot more in common than I thought," Zatte said.

*******

[15 August, 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Blusser didn't know what Guwar's assignment was, but she was deeply honored to assist him while he carried it out. All she really knew was that he had boarded a scientific research vessel which the Jindan Cult had captured several months ago. At first, she assumed they would be flying the craft to some distant star system, but instead the ship went nowhere, and Blusser and her fellow acolytes were tasked with standing guard on the tarmac to make sure he wasn't disturbed. On occasion, they went inside to serve him meals. She had done this herself yesterday afternoon, and she was impressed with his charming disposition. Executants like Guwar represented the finest warriors the cult had to offer, and everyone spoke so highly of Guwar. On top of that, he was a scholar too. Blusser never had much interest in math, but somehow he was able to explain complex ideas in a way that made them easy to follow, even if she didn't remember most of it. He was a fascinating man.

Her relief arrived at the shipyard, carrying a crate containing his dinner. Blusser took the crate and went inside the ship to deliver the meal before leaving. She had to perform some rituals with the priests, and then she would turn in and report to the shipyard the next morning to do it all over again. But the priests weren't expecting her for another hour, so she hoped to spend some more time enjoying Guwar's company.

The ship was designed for a crew of three, but it had a rather spacious common area. There, Blusser found a large triangular table with papers scattered across the surface. Three computer terminals were located at each corner of the table, although one of them had been torn off of its mounting and was now embedded in the wall. Guwar was nowhere to be found. Blusser guessed that he was in the head, or perhaps taking a nap in one of the cabins on the deck above. She laid the crate down on the deck and started arranging the dishes on the table for him. When she finished, and he still didn't show himself, she began to worry, and so she searching the rest of the ship.

At last, she found him in the engine room, seated at its single workstation, his face buried in his folded arms. There were papers here as well, some of them crumpled up into little balls.

"Uh, Executant Guwar?" she said, unsure how to proceed. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I wanted to let you know that your dinner is ready."

He looked up at her, his expression weary and frustrated. He seemed to be a completely different man than the one she had spoke with yesterday.

"What?" he asked. Then: "Oh, yes. Fine. Whatever."

"Is everything all right, sir?" Blusser asked.

"Everything's fine," he said, not even trying to hide his insincerity. "You can go now."

She put her hands together and looked away from him awkwardly. "Well, I was just thinking, if you had the time, I'd like to hear more about that theorem you were telling me about yesterday. I--"

"I said you can go now," Guwar snarled. "Can't you see that I'm busy?!"

He grabbed a tool from the desk and threw it at her. Blusser dodged it easily enough, but decided to leave before he could try again.

As she hurried out of the ship, she passed by her relief, standing guard outside.

"Better give him plenty of space," she warned her. "That job he's working on must be a lot tougher than we thought!"

NEXT: Proof by contradiction.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #lssjluffafic #zatte #guwar #trismegistus #nagaoka

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duhragonball · 4 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (125/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[7 July, 233 Before Age. Fytpall IV.]

They told stories on Fytpall IV, of a creature that slept at the bottom of the wine-dark sea. Immeasurably old, it had lain dormant for undreaming eons, and one day it would awaken and resume whatever unfathomable business it had upon the surface. It was said that the creature was indescribable, and all who saw it were driven mad by its appearance. Even the fish knew to avoid that part of the sea, and so it was utterly devoid of life.

The legend was mostly true, although the Fytpallians had overestimated the creature somewhat. Gorath'th the Defiler of Souls was eminently describable. It had a body somewhat like a carnivorous dinosaur, only its skin was smooth and slimy like a frog's, and at the end of its long neck was a jawless mouth ringed with pointed teeth. Tentacles would snake out of its throat when it ate, and it had a eerily humanoid eye on the center of its chest. Instead of fingers or toes, its limbs ended with thousands of hair-like cilia.

Also, contrary to the Fytpallian tradition, Gorath'th would never reawaken, as it had been accidentally killed during a battle between Luffa and the Jindan Saiyans who had invaded Fytpall a week earlier. The invaders had tried to lure Luffa underwater, hoping that they would find an advantage there, but instead she unleashed a massive ki attack, as she believed there were no innocent life forms in the area to get caught in the blast. And this was true enough, for the Defiler of Souls was by no means "innocent." Gorath'th was vaporized in its sleep, never knowing what had destroyed it. Would such an ancient and unknowable horror have felt humiliation over such an ignoble death? Probably. Gorath'th was a lot more insecure about these things than anyone knew.

The irony was that the enormous explosion that had destroyed Gorath'th hadn't even been meant to kill anything. Luffa had only used it as a diversion. While her two enemies moved off to escape the range of the attack, Luffa propelled herself through it, just so she could catch one of them off guard and drive her fist into his face. A normal Saiyan would have been killed on impact, but the Jindan power had made this one strong enough to survive. That was fine. She was quite satisfied to simply break his jaw. That would be enough to keep him from saving his comrade.

The Jindan Saiyans were stronger than ordinary Saiyans, but they were still no match for Luffa in a one-on-one scenario. Accordingly, they worked in squads of at least six. Luffa countered this strategy by splitting them up and picking them off one at a time. Now, she closed in on her true prey, a Saiyan woman with scars running down both sides of her face. She had looked very confident in herself when she had been flanked by seven teammates, but now she was alone. Luffa struck her hard enough to knock her out of the water like a missile. She flew after Scarface and battered her with her fists every time she was close enough to strike. By the time Broken Jaw recovered--if he ever recovered--Scarface would be too badly hurt to help him.

The key, Luffa had found, was to resist the urge to finish her enemies off. That was what they expected her to do, after all, and she had found it was best to keep switching targets as quickly as possible. She sensed Bald Guy pulling himself together from the beating she had given him a thousand miles away, while Kidney Punch seemed to be alive, but he had lost the will to fight. The other four--Shorty, Screamer, Kinda Cute, and Head Wound-- were already dead. She would kill them all eventually, but it was important to keep them from regrouping or formulating any kind of plan. Her right knee and left shoulder were still bothering her, and while she was certain that she could kill four Jindan Saiyans at once, she couldn't take that chance. She had been fighting battles like this on a dozen planets already, and each one had taken a toll on her body. If she allowed herself to take too much damage on any one battle, then she would risk losing the war.

Luffa refused to let that happen. Dying in any one battle would rob her of the battles yet to come. That was what she told herself. It was easier than facing the real reasons.

[4 July, 233 Before Age. Buulprind III.]

The city was utterly ruined. The Jindan Saiyans who destroyed it were all dead, and Luffa was overdue to join another battle on Fytpall. But her own ship was hours away, and the transport she had planned to use had been destroyed in the battle. There were other ships, but the spaceports and shipyards were in disarray.

And she needed medical attention. Under different circumstances, Luffa might have simply taken the first spaceworthy vessel available, and headed for her next mission without bothering to bandage her wounds. But she had been too slow this time, and she knew she couldn't afford to lose any more strength. And so, she found a hospital in what remained of the city and waited for someone to treat her.

Unable to sit still for any length of time, she roamed the halls, occasionally helping herself to rolls of bandages. On the sixth floor, she found a woman sobbing over an unoccupied bed. There were a lot of people crying in this place. Some didn't cry. They just stared blankly, as though still registering what had happened to them.

"I couldn't get them all in time," Luffa said from the doorway. She hadn't meant to speak these words aloud. It wasn't until the civilian looked up and noticed her that Luffa realized she had said anything. The woman took one look at her and rose to her feet.

"I'm sorry," Luffa said. "Didn't mean to disturb you."

"Are you all right?"

The woman began to fuss over Luffa's bandages. She had applied them rather sloppily, and several of them were soaked with blood. Before Luffa could object, the woman was close enough to notice her tail.

"You're the Federatrix," she said. "Luffa."

"Yeah," Luffa said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, even as she still wiped the tears from her eyes. "These bandages are a mess. Who put these on?"

"Uh, I did," Luffa said.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you did a better job that I could have done before yesterday," she said. "One of the nurses downstairs finally showed me how."

Luffa watched, but not very carefully. Mostly, it was just an excuse to look away, and to avoid saying anything.

"They won't come back, will they? The Saiyans, I mean."

"No," Luffa said. "I mean, not these Saiyans. I killed them. But there might be others. Sometimes they hide and try to ambush me, or wait for me to leave the planet."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough to stop them. I didn't think they would blow up the city like they did, not while they were fighting with me."

"Well, you're hurt," the woman said. "I'm sure you did the best you could."

"How'd you end up here?" Luffa asked. She had been trying to steer clear of this topic, but something about the word "best" made her desperate to talk about anything else.

"I brought... It's stupid, really. He was... there was nothing they could do for him. After the blast, I went looking for help. I told him I'd come back for him. But it took me hours to find help, and they couldn't go back right away. There just wasn't enough... He was unconscious when they finally found him, and he'd lost so much blood... They took him into surgery an hour ago, and they'll do what they can, but..."

Her voice started to crack and she set her jaw as she continued to work on Luffa's bandages. "Well, it's not important now. You've seen how it is here. There's plenty of other people who can be helped. I can't just hide in here forever."

She seemed to gather strength as she spoke, and when she was done with Luffa's bandages, she clasped one of her hands into her own.

"Thanks," she said. "I needed a kick in the pants to get me motivated again."

"What?" Luffa asked. "I didn't mean to--"

But the woman wasn't listening. "You've been protecting us all, fighting with everything you have, in spite of your injuries. I don't know how you Saiyans can do it, but it's inspiring to have someone like you on our side. Someone who never gives up."

Luffa's eyes widened and she pulled away. "I... I have to go."

"Oh, of course. I didn't meant to take up your time. You should really have a doctor take a look at you..."

But Luffa had already run out into the hallway, and through the nearest window to escape into the sky...

*******

[7 July, 233 Before Age. Fytpall IV.]

It wasn't the joy of battle, or even the guilt she felt over innocent lives she had been unable to save. Both of those emotions were there, of course. As she kicked a Saiyan hard enough to shatter his pelvis, she couldn't help but enjoy it, and worry that it might not be enough.

But besides these feelings, what coursed through her heart was a very particular dread. She was doing the "best she could". She was the Super Saiyan, which meant that, by definition, her best was the best that any Saiyan could do, anywhere, ever.

Failure was one thing. Luffa had failed before. Her mother had taught her at an early age to get back up and try again. As much as she grieved for the civilian casualties in this conflict, she accepted it as part of the nature of war. The problem for Luffa was that when she wasn't good enough, it meant that the entire Saiyan race wasn't good enough.

Broken Jaw tried to take Luffa's head off with a blade of concentrated ki energy. She dodged it with inches to spare and responded with an energy blast from her mouth. A glancing blow, but good enough for the moment.

For a time, she had believed that a protracted battle with other Saiyans would be satisfying. Now, she wasn't so sure. In the end, they always seemed to fight just like all the other aliens and monsters she had encountered. They were just more familiar to her, in a way. Was that all the Saiyan species really was? King Rehval had boasted about shaping the destiny of the Saiyan people, and Luffa herself had always believed that the Saiyans were capable of an inherent greatness. But time after time, the Saiyans always seemed to fall short of her expectations. She was the best one, and if she was disappointed with herself, what hope was there for the rest of them?

There was no hope at all for Kidney Punch. Luffa finished him off with a Vengeance Canon through the heart. He died a warrior's death, but Luffa knew that was an empty statement. He was no courageous warrior, just a flunky in Trismegistus' mad cult. He had come to this planet to die in a useless battle, and perhaps to kill as many people as he could before death finally caught up to him. If by some miracle he had survived, he would have returned to his master's side, and lived out his days as a pathetic joke of what a Saiyan was supposed to be.

She couldn't get the woman from the hospital out of her mind. She had seen that kind of grief before. Luffa had experienced it firsthand, when she failed to save the Dorluns all those years ago. When she lost her son to the treachery of Kandai and the Tikosi. And yet, these civilians that she had failed, who were too weak to defend themselves, they seemed to bear their suffering far better than any Saiyan. To be so overcome with pain, and then to carry on helping others like that.

And that woman had said Luffa had inspired her. It shamed her to even think about it. These people of the Federation had been mostly an afterthought to Luffa. She cared about them, to a point, but they had never really been high on her list of priorities. She had defended them mostly in the abstract. Other than Extraliga, she had never spent much time among their people, or their soldiers. Now, Luffa was beginning to take some pride in them.

She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Luffa had hoped that fighting these last few cultists on Fytpall might distract her from that heavy feeling in her chest. As she tracked down Scarface, she decided that it wasn't distracting her at all. Scarface was too badly hurt to do much more than beg for her life. Perhaps it just as well that the people of the Federation gave Luffa something to be proud about. The Saiyan people didn't seem to have much to offer.

*******

[8 July, 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Treekul's hair had grown to nearly three-quarters of an inch in length, for she had been without her hair trimmer for some time. Despite her confinement on this planet, surrounded by Saiyan cultists, hair growth was the most frustrating burden for her. Treekul took a private comfort in repeatedly trimming her scalp, but Rehval had forbidden this during her "apprenticeship". He said this was to discipline her mind, but she suspected that he just did these things for his own amusement.

She was late for today's "lesson", but Rehval never seemed too concerned with her punctuality. If one of his cultists stepped out of line, he would have them severely punished, but she was different. The only non-Saiyan on the planet, Treekul was never indoctrinated into their belief system. Instead, he made her a priestess and gave her a free hand to wander around his underground compound. This was all balanced by the fact that she was powerless to escape, and had no real way to resist him.

"Your distillate was very well done, Treekul," he said as she entered the chamber leading into his private laboratory. "You have some real talent."

"Look, I don't want to sound ungrateful," she said, "but why are you bothering training me at all? The war with the Federation, your vendetta against Luffa, running this cult of yours. Not to mention brewing up the Jindan potion you use to give them all that extra power you promise them. And I guess you're still the Saiyan King, even if everyone around here only knows you as Trismegistus. You've got enough on your plate already, don't you?"

"You've answered your own question," he said. "A king is only exceptional among his subjects. Surround him with other kings, and his crown becomes commonplace. So too does a teacher lose standing outside of a classroom. An alchemist loses grandeur when compared to other alchemists. A Saiyan becomes insignificant in a crowd of Saiyans. But a man who can be a king and an alchemist! A teacher and a deity. A Saiyan and a diplomat."

There were bottles and equipment arranged on her lab bench, but he was focused on a large pot of water that was suspended over a flame. Every few seconds, he sprinkled leaves and red powder into the pot, then stared intently at the surface of the liquid.

"Are you a fortune teller, too?" Treekul asked.

"You recognize the technique," Rehval said. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not an alchemist, I just study their history," Treekul replied. "I wouldn't be much good at that if I didn't know a scrying pool from a retort."

"Luffa is on Fytpall," he said. "By morning, my followers there will be dead."

"You don't sound too concerned about that," Treekul said.

"They give their lives for a higher purpose," he said.

"Level with me," Treekul said. "I'm not exactly in a position to expose your plans, and no one here would believe me if I told your secrets. What's this war of yours really for, anyway? Is it just a diversion for some other plan? Or are you really trying to kill off your own people?"

"Not at all," he said with a chuckle. "If one of them manages to kill Luffa, I would reward him beyond his wildest imaginations. Or her, but to be honest, I don't think any of the women in my fold would ever stand a chance. But for the men at least, it's not impossible, just very unlikely."

"Then why bother sending them?" Treekul asked.

"To wear her down," Rehval explained. "Before, I made the mistake of luring her to my home. I thought it would give me the advantage, but she escaped, and destroyed a lot of things I considered precious. I see now that that the only way to defeat her is by force. Not a single, decisive strike, but through attrition. My followers will chip away at her, little by little, across dozens of worlds. She seems to be healing between battles, but she still has to travel from planet to planet to block my offensives."

"What if she just quits?" Treekul suggested. At last, Rehval looked up at her, and his glare made her regret the question.

"You don't understand anything," Rehval said. "She's not just some general, like the ones you probably studied in your history books. She is a force of nature. As I rise up to claim supremacy over the Saiyan race-- and through them, the entire universe-- she rises up to oppose me. Force, counterforce. She would never back down from this challenge, and even if she did, it would only prove that she is not the threat I took her for."

"Oh," Treekul said, not understanding any of this. "Why didn't you just say so before?"

"You would understand if you had met her like I did," Rehval muttered. "If you had seen the wild look in her eyes, felt the raw intensity of her ki. No. No, she's the one. Nature resists alchemy, my dear. Each reaction, every shortcut, every convenience we make, there is a price that nature demands in return. A shrewd practitioner knows how to reach a fair bargain. This scrying pool only demands a few drops of blood, and the caloric from the fire. A glimpse into the future doesn't cost much, if that's all you seek. But my goal is to change the universe itself, and so the price I must pay is nothing less than the head of my nemesis. I was a fool to think she could ever be convinced to join me, but I had to try. Yes... I had to try. She's far too magnificent a woman... far too magnificent indeed..."

The one good thing about this rambling, Treekul thought, was that he was obsessing over some other woman, instead of herself. It wasn't much comfort to her, though. "You wanted to show me something, Boss?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yes, of course," he said. "Your performance on your last few exercises proves that you're ready to take a more hands-on approach with the cult."

"Huh?" Treekul asked.

"I want you to administer the Jindan potion, Treekul," Rehval said. "One day, I may have you manufacture it yourself, but for now, I just want you to oversee the ritual with the next class of recruits. It will help you understand how it works."

"I... I thought they just..." Treekul mimicked the act of drinking from an imaginary cup, and gulped for emphasis.

"Oh, that's definitely part of it," Rehval said. "But the rituals before that are important for preparing the subject. Heh. If you just drank the principal elixir by itself... well, I'd show you what happened to some unruly followers when they tried it, but... there isn't really anything left of them to see."

"Oh," Treekul said. Without realizing it, she took a step backward. He had been so calm and composed around her before. Almost friendly. But each time she met him, the gentle self-assured confidence seemed to slip a little more. It frightened her more than she wanted to admit. And while she knew there was no point in trying to run from him, her instincts sometimes got the better of her.

Suddenly she found herself leaning back in his arms. He had crossed the distance between them with a burst of speed she could hardly comprehend. Treekul knew about the immense power of the Saiyans, but this was her first personal demonstration.

"Ley lines," Rehval said as he looked deeply into her eyes. Her back rested against his left hand, while his right was steadying her at the hip. If he noticed her trembling, or the fear in her eyes, he didn't show it.

"I built these caverns to align with different ley lines across the planet," he said. "Can you feel it? We're standing on a node right now."

"Is that right?" Treekul said.

"The Jindan elixir is a medium between the living energy of the body and the geological energy of the planet. The Jindan transmutation allows a Saiyan to supplement his own ki with planetary power, which is usually much greater. I estimate that a planet with a high population and good biodiversity contains enough ki energy to rival any living foe, including Luffa. The trouble is that there's been no way to direct this sort of power, or to put it all at the command of an individual."

"Until you found a way," Treekul said.

"I found a better way," Rehval said with a smile. "Instead of drawing upon the life energy on Nagaoka's surface, I can tap into the energy of the planet underfoot. The hard part is converting that energy into a form that living beings can use. But I'll show you. I'll show you everything..."

"Could you, uh, let go of me?" she asked, fighting the urge to panic. She wasn't sure how he would react if she struggled, but she was reluctant to find out.

"Is that what you want?" Rehval asked. "I have so much power, Treekul. Far more than any Super Saiyan. I'm offering to share that power with you. You can feel it, can't you? Through my hands, the caverns, my followers? I very much want you to understand that power. It means a great deal to me."

"Hey, I can tell you're powerful," Treekul said, choosing her words very carefully. "But I won't fully appreciate it all until you teach me what you know, and you can't exactly do that while your hands are full, can you?"

He began to laugh, gently, the way someone would during a conversation over a meal. She was beginning to think he saw her as a friend.

"You're right, of course," he said as he finally released her. "Let's get back to the matter at hand. Alchemy is a path to power, Treekul. The Jindan ritual will show you how I can manipulate incredible energies."

"Okay, but that's not really sharing power with me," Treekul said. "Even if I learn how to do this thing, I can only make Saiyans stronger and bind them to your cult, right? That's just me doing your work for you, and you've already got me under your thumb."

"You know, that's an interesting point," Rehval said. "I hadn't thought of it that way. You see, this is exactly why teaching is so rewarding. It gives the teacher a fresh perspective." He stepped away from Treekul and began to pace around the lab, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the floor as he mulled it over.

"All right," he finally said, turning to look at Treekul again. "We'll do it like this. Tell me what you want. What do you desire most? Then let me show you how you can use alchemy to achieve it."

"How about a haircut?" Treekul said. This was a lie. What she wanted most was to leave Nagaoka and never return, but she doubted the wisdom of saying so out loud.

Rehval looked disappointed. "A haircut. You know, I'm starting to think you lack imagination."

"You didn't ask me to think big, you asked me what I wanted," Treekul said. "And right now, that's my answer."

"It would me much more interesting to show you how to make hair grow," Rehval replied. "Abiogenesis is a fascinating topic."

"Maybe so, but that would be the opposite of what I want, so it would be a waste of time," Treekul said. "You talk about power like all that matters is having more of it. What good is owning a mansion if the shower doesn't work?"

"Fine, you've made your point," Rehval said. "I'll need to prepare your materials for the lesson. Why don't you rest for now, and I'll send for you when I'm ready. Hm, yes, this might be interesting after all...."

With that, he began to busy himself with the reagents and glassware on the benches, and muttering to himself as he rummaged through the cabinets. Treekul hesitated for a moment, half-worried that he might grab her again if she moved, but eventually she decided that he had dismissed her, and that this might be her best chance to get away from him for a while.

She felt a strange elation as she wandered the halls of the compound. As shocked and afraid as she had been when he suddenly grabbed her like that, now that it was over, she felt like she had come away with a bit more leverage. He seemed almost desperate in some way, like he needed her approval, or something else from her that he couldn't simply take by force. As long as that was true, then she still had a chance.

And he was going to teach her something she could actually use, which was an unexpected bonus. Trimming her hair was a low priority in this situation, but he had been the one to confiscate her electric trimmer in the first place, so the fact that he might let her cut her own hair again seemed like a step in the right direction. If she couldn't escape the planet herself, and if she couldn't trick the cultists into helping her, then maybe Rehval himself might provide her with a way out.

The only problem with that, she reasoned, was that she would have to spend even more time with him for her lessons. And yet, this session had turned out to be almost exciting. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

NEXT: Morale

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #lssjluffafic #treekul #trismegistus #nagaoka #buulprind #fytpall

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duhragonball · 4 years

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (122/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[29 May, 233 Before Age. Yetitan.]

Wampaaan'riix was tired. He had spent much of the day on the windswept pastures of his ancestral farm, clearing brush and counting livestock. For a man of his extraordinary strength, this was physically simple, but the tedium of it had a way of wearing him out. He had gone straight to bed upon returning home, barely making time to say good night to his wives and children.

When the communications terminal alerted him to a priority subspace call, he expected the worst. When he saw it was from Luffa's star-yacht, only for Dr. Topsas to appear on the viewer instead, he was even more concerned. He knew Luffa's Federation alliance was at war, with Saiyans battling on both sides.

"She is recovering in a stasis tank," Topsas explained. "I expect she will be completely healed in two months' time."

Wampaaan'riix stroked the long white hair that hung from his chin. There was long white hair covering the rest of his body as well, but the chin was the part he always reached for when he contemplated grim tidings. "In warfare, two months is an eternity, doctor" he said. "I'm surprised you were able to talk her into it."

"I suspect her injuries were more persuasive than anything I might have said," Topsas replied. "Individually, these enemy Saiyans are no match for her, but she has had to fight groups of them, on planet after planet, with little respite. I think she understood that if she didn't take this opportunity to heal, there might not be another chance later on."

"Is there something I can do to help?" Wampaaan'riix asked. "I've all but retired from fighting, but I owe her my life, after all."

"No, nothing like that," Topsas said. "I simply needed some... advice."

"Advice." he repeated.

"I spoke with one of my sons a few days ago. He wasn't very happy about my presence in Federation space during wartime," Topsas said. "He practically begged for me to come home. He arranged a transport ship to arrive at Woshad in four days."

"Then I think you should take it," Wampaaan'riix said. He first met Luffa and Topsas in a Deathmatch tournament on Plutark VII. He had been so certain of his fighting skills, and she had defeated him with ease, then she toyed with him to test her abilities. Then she accidentally read his mind, and after seeing his regret for walking out on his family, she decided to spare him. "I'm positive that she would understand if you left the war to go back to your loved ones."

"I don't know that I can do that," Topsas said.

"Doctor, you just told me that Luffa will be in a stasis chamber for the next several weeks," Wampaaan'riix said. "I've seen how those things work during my time in the Yetitan military. They're very low-maintenance. Now that you've set it up, you could probably show Zatte how to handle the day-to-day operations. And there's no shortage of doctors in the Federation who could take over for you."

"I'm not so sure..." Topsas said. "The statis chamber is one thing, of course. Plenty of others could handle it."

"Well, what else is there?" Wampaaan'riix asked. It was difficult for him to keep his patience. Bad enough that he had been woken from his sleep, that he was sitting at his desk instead of the warm rugs of his den. But Topsas was never very forthcoming about his feelings. Always masking everything with dry humor and sarcasm. He had never known the arachnoid to ask for help like this, and now he was beginning to understand why. It wasn't stubborn pride so much as the doctor just couldn't quite spit out what the problem was.

And when Topsas finally answered, he only said: "Mycotherapy."

Which told Wampaaan'riix absolutely nothing. "What?" he asked.

"There is a particular species of fungus," Topsas explained. "In the wild, it has the ability to alter its DNA to mimic plant or animal tissue. This allows it to graft itself onto a host while avoiding any immune response. Three years ago, a team of researchers found a way to modify the fungus for medical applications. Genetic engineering, you know. A few fungal cells are applied to the site of the injury, and cultivated to replicate. If managed properly, they'll form a structure to fill in the wounded tissue. Then the fungal mass can be made to transform itself into part of the patient's own body."

"That sounds unbelievable."

"It's a rather new form of medicine," Topsas said. "I only learned of it myself very recently, while I was researching possible treatments for Luffa. I... began casting about for more... radical ideas."

"Radical," Wampaaan'riix said. "As in 'dangerous'?

"The graft has to be carefully monitored. Left unchecked, it could grow out of control, and consume the patient. And it hasn't been tested on many species. Until... recently, there's been no testing on any mammalian species at all."

"If you don't know what it could do to Saiyan biology, then why risk it?"

"Because I do know how it will interact with Saiyan biology. I... performed my own tests, using tissue samples from Luffa herself. I only did it to set my mind at ease-- to prove that it would never work, so that I could stop second-guessing myself. But, the results turned out to be more promising than I expected. There's a very strong chance that I could heal her wounds in a fraction of the time it would take for conventional stasis chamber therapy to work."

"Why haven't you told her about this?"

"I only obtained the results a few days ago, right before she went into the chamber. Before that, it was only an experiment. Besides, there would still be an immense risk. I would need to apply multiple grafts to her body and monitor them all simultaneously. No one has ever attempted this before, on any species. No one would."

"Then why consider it at all?"

"Because when I look at the work that would be involved, I cannot help but think I might be able to carry it off. It's not a certainty, but I've carried out delicate operations that humanoid physicians wouldn't dare attempt. The researchers who devised mycotherapy techniques were all vertebrate doctors. Greater minds than I, but even so, I believe I have abilities they did not. And while I lack experience in this specific therapy, I dare say I know Saiyan physiology better than anyone. If it can be done at all, then I believe it must be I."

Wampaaan'riix stroked his chin again. "And if you try this, you definitely won't make the transport your son sent you. But that's not what's bothering you. Otherwise you would just take the transport and let Luffa heal for two months under someone else's care. That would be the best thing for everyone, right? So why are you even considering this fungus of yours?"

He didn't answer right away, and Wampaaan'riix wasn't terribly surprised. He hadn't called from so far away for idle chit-chat.

"I became a doctor because I wanted to help people," Topsas finally said. "In my religion, it is said that my people were blessed with eight eyes so we may always see when others are in need, and eight limbs so that we may always have one ready to lend aid. I was fascinated with vertebrate anatomy, and I thought becoming a doctor would enable me to see more, to help more. Do you remember when we met?"

"On Plutark. You were patching up the competitors in the Deathmatch tournaments. I never did understand how you ended up there."

The tournament organizers paid handsomely for my assistance," Topsas said. "And my practice needed the funding. Besides, I felt that if I could at least tend to your injuries, then I could know that the competitors received as much genuine care as possible before most of them met their end. Another doctor might not bother, since he would expect most of you to die by the end of the day anyway. But I could hold myself accountable at least."

"But Luffa changed all of that."

"She spared you, and in the process, she defied the tournament organizers, and ended up shutting down their entire operation, thereby saving the lives of the other fighters who still had matches that evening. To say nothing of the fighters who might have participated in future matches that will no longer occur. Before, I had written you and Luffa off as little more than brutes. Yet you returned to your homeworld, to your family. You've raised your son into a fine man, from what I can tell. I trust the rest of your offspring have been just as fortunate."

Wampaaan'riix was honored by the compliment, but he was also wearied by the late hour. "What are you getting at, doctor?" he asked with a loud yawn.

"For a time, I saw my work in those dreadful tournaments as an unpleasant chore. I was less a doctor and more of a priest, administering last rites for the condemned. Oh, one fortunate soul would live to see the next day, but I always knew that survivor would die in some other battle, thinking his victory made him invincible. But Luffa was special, and in discovering that, I realized that I had been remiss in my duties, both medical and spiritual. That was why I came to her aid on the Tikosi Hiveworld. It was the right thing to do, of course, but I wonder if any other doctor would have felt such an obligation. You owed her your life, Wampaaan'riix, but I owed her my soul.

"And now, it seems that she blames me for her overzealous crusade to defend the Federation. I comforted her in her hour of need, you see. I held her hand and calmed her down after the battle with the Tikosi, after she killed her own father. She reminded me so much of my daughter. Nwitt died of a terminal illness. In the final stages, it affected her brain, made her a danger to herself and others. In the end, she was so terrified, and all I could do was euthanize her. I couldn't hold my own daughter's hand in her final moments. She had to be restrained, you see. When Luffa first transformed, it seem as though she might explode at any moment. I thought that if this were to be the end, then comforting her in her final moments would be a fitting way to die. Instead, she lived, and she apparently has taken my gesture as an example of courage.

"I never considered the things my patients might do after they leave my care," he said. "Their lives are their own business, of course. I was content to help them with what I had. But there is a ripple effect to it, isn't there? The person I mend one day may help someone else another day. And another. Perhaps someone down the chain actually manages to save someone's life. It's a frightening thing to consider. And Luffa is no mere pebble tossed into a pond. With her power, she's more like a meteor crashing into the ocean. I cannot bring myself to think of hers as a single life. There are so many other lives that she has influenced and may still influence in the future. A week or two months might mean the difference between life and death for countless people. And I can choose. A week or two months. I can play it safe, or I can dare to perform a challenging procedure that might kill or cripple my patient."

"Cripple?"

"One of the potential side effects of mycotherapy," he explained. "Even if the fungal growth is kept under control, the drugs used to maintain that control can affect the patient's senses. Her sight or sense of smell might be permanently damaged."

Wampaaan'riix leaned back in his chair. "High stakes," he said. "Knowing Luffa, she would probably just as soon fight blind, and she might even win, powerful as she is. But her enemies would just injure her again, and worse than before."

"I trust you see my dilemma," Topsas said. "I asked Ms. Dotz for advice. The woman is a fortuneteller, but she has a psychic blindspot where Luffa's fate is concerned, and she seems to have no idea how many people will live or die as a result of my actions. It serves me right for trying to peek ahead a few pages in my own life. She told me that I would certainly do the right thing, but it isn't that simple. I... I don't know what the right thing is."

"And that's why you contacted me," Wampaaan'riix surmised.

"There was no one else to ask. I wanted an objective opinion from someone who knows her," Topsas said.

Wampaaan'riix sighed and considered the matter carefully. "Doctor," he finally asked, "what do you think Luffa would say to all of this?"

"I haven't discussed it with her yet," Topsas replied. "Knowing her, she would probably insist on taking this gamble. Which is precisely why I am so reluctant to suggest it. For me it's an ethical problem, but for her! As far as she's concerned, even a disabled Super Saiyan would be better than an injured one. All she cares about now is time. The young always worry about running out of something they have in abundance."

"No, that's not what I'm asking," Wampaaan'riix said. "Suppose Luffa were in your position. How do you think she would approach this dilemma?"

"I don't understand... you mean, if she were a doctor treating a patient?" he asked.

"Yes. What would she do?"

His fuzzy pedipalps twitched as he wrestled with this scenario. Wampaaan'riix never quite learned to read Topsas's alien body language, so he watched uncertainly as the doctor thought it over. He was mildly concerned that he might drift off to sleep while he waited for Topsas to respond.

"I suspect," Topsas finally said, "that she would find a way to push herself to her limits. The difficulty of the procedure would only be a challenge for her. She would rise to meet it, unless she were absolutely certain that it was beyond her ability."

"Very good," Wampaan'riix said. "Spoken like a true warrior. I think that is the way you should decide. If you truly believed this plan of yours is unsound, then you would have abandoned it a long time ago. Instead, you've slowly talked yourself into it, until now, you stand at the threshold, but you aren't sure you're ready to commit. You're asking the rest of us for permission to try, but this is your battlefield, doctor, and yours alone."

"I will... consider what you have said," Topsas said after a long pause. "Though, to be honest, this was not quite the advice I was hoping for."

"We have a saying on Yetitan," Wampaaan'riix said. "'Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn't.' I don't know Dotz, but she sounds like a wise woman. So I agree that you will do the right thing, whatever you ultimately decide. Good luck to you, doctor."

They exchanged a few pleasantries before terminating the connection, leaving Wampaan'riix sitting alone in the darkened room. He thought about returning to his den, but somehow he doubted he would get much sleep, knowing what he knew of Luffa's condition.

*******

[30 May, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

Topsas did not decide right away. He resolved instead to wait another twenty-four hours and see how Luffa was responding to conventional treatment. The results he obtained from the sensor scans was less than encouraging.

"This isn't working," he said as he read the results. Luffa could not hear him. She floated in a suspension of medicated statis fluid, kept in an induced state of unconsciousness. Nor was there anyone else in the sickbay of the Emerald Eye to hear him. He continued speaking anyway.

"Your injuries are responding to the treatment, but not nearly at the rate I had hoped for. My own fault for being overly optimistic. I expected you to produce another miracle. Somehow your Saiyan biology would repair itself even more quickly, and you would break out of this tank in a mere ten days.

"But no. The inflammation in your feet has barely changed. Your cracked ribs have only just begun to knit. What is wrong with you, Little mammal? Are you so determined to keep fighting that you defy medical attention, even when you're unconscious?"

He had originally projected her full recovery would take at least two months. Based on the data he now had, that estimate would have to be revised upward. Three months, maybe even four. The bio-regenerative gel was working. He had used it on her in the past, after all. But it wasn't fast enough. Something about her condition was slowing down the whole process.

"My apologies. It is a poor physician who blames his patient. And yet, I cannot fathom what is going on in those cells of yours. Is your body focusing itself on increasing your power? The 'zenkai' as your people call it. Am I seeing a physical manifestation of that right now? Ninth Eye, are you so starved for combat that your body would fight itself? Half of you is trying to use this treatment to repair itself, and the other half is working on making you stronger."

He had prided himself on his expertise in Saiyan biology, but that honor was mostly by default. He was the only doctor who had spent this much time on a Saiyan patient, but there was still much that he didn't understand about how their bodies worked. The light of the full moon could make Luffa grow into a gargantuan ape-creature... unless her tail happened to be injured or amputated. It sounded like pure fantasy, but it was well-documented fact. They were so unlike other vertebrates, and Luffa was unique, even among her own kind. She never spoke of it, at least not to him, but he often imagined that being the Super Saiyan made her very lonely.

"I pray that I am wrong," he said. "Perhaps your body simply doesn't have the necessary compatibility with the medication. It can't be that your power is resisting the healing effects. It would be dreadful to be so devoid of peace. I think you crave peace as much as the rest of us do. Perhaps you only want it as a respite between battles, a good night's sleep, a quiet evening with your wife. I wish I could give these to you. As it is, I cannot even give you a swift recovery."

He stooped down in front of the chamber and looked at her through the transparent surface.

"I am not as oblivious as you might think," he said. "I know how important it is that you return to the front lines. Even now, I feel like your expression is daring me to do better. I don't know that I can. Is it worth the risk? Is it worth your life?"

He had gone over the mycotherapy procedure several times after speaking with Wampaaan'riix. He thought he could do it. What troubled him was that it had never been done quite the way he had in mind. As he regarded Luffa's face, he thought of his son, Turner, begging him to take the transport he had arranged to get him out of the warzone. He thought of his daughter, Nwitt, desperate for help, when the only thing he could offer was a painless death.

Then he put his hand on the control panel of the chamber, and activated the program to revive the occupant.

"I'll need to interrupt your sleep," he said. "I have something to discuss with you, and you may want to talk it over with your spouse."

*******

[31 May, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

They said yes. Of course they did. Topsas never doubted it. Luffa was a warrior anxious to return to her war, and Zatte was... well, she was something of a fanatic where Luffa was concerned. She insisted on performing some Dorlun ritual to honor Topsas before he began his work. It involved some sort of liturgy, and burning bits of her own hair in candle flames. Zatte could be very strange at times. But Luffa was the one that made him the most nervous. When he had explained the risks and difficulties of his proposed mycotherapy treatment, she simply grinned at him with that savage smile of hers, and shook his hand.

"I can tell how fired up you are about this, Doc," she had said before being sedated. "This should be fun."

It was as if she couldn't tell excitement from apprehension. But something about the conviction in her voice made him wonder if maybe she knew his feelings better than he did. Perhaps he was the one who had been mistaking enthusiasm for fear. Luffa had a peculiar talent of making him question himself.

And so far, it was working. Dr. Topsas wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. An early failure at this stage would at least put the matter to rest. He could say he tried, and move on. But it was working, at least for now, which mean that he had to keep going, and brave the potential failures that might still lie ahead.

He had never used seven hands at once. Not for surgery, not for anything, until today. Now, he rested his cephalothoarx on a barstool he had borrowed from a lounge on the ship, and used only one of his limbs to steady himself on that perch. The other seven limbs loomed over the stasis chamber, operating controls, dispensing drugs, and occasionally probing surgical incisions. His eight eyes observed all of this: his own movements, computer monitors, vital sign readouts, and more.

His two greatest points of concern were a hole in Luffa's left foot, and a damaged section of her right kidney. The foot had the largest injury, which required the largest fungal graft. If any of the grafts were to grow out of control, that was the most likely to do so. The kidney, on the other hand, was the most vital organ he had grafted. The graft was small, but if anything went wrong there, it could lead to more serious complications.

There were fifteen other sites to consider as well. Tendon damage in the right tricep. Puncture wound in the right foot. Left ring finger fracture. Three cracked ribs. Anterior cruciate ligament tear on right knee. Six lacerations in the abdomen, all damaging the large intestine. Large contusion on left thigh. Tendon damage on right shoulder. But he was certain that if the left foot and kidney could be made to recover, the others could be made to recover as well.

The first seventy-two hours were the most intensive. Normally, a team of doctors would carefully monitor the patient's progress and make adjustments as needed. He would need to do this alone, continuously. And he would probably have to be more nimble, since there would probably be unforeseen complications. He could slow down and take a little more time, but this carried a risk. If Luffa's organs rejected the fungal grafts, or vice-versa, he would need to take quick action, or risk undoing his progress. Better to exhaust himself across three days than to pace himself across four or five.

An alert from one of the monitors warned him of an acceleration in growth on one of Luffa's ribs. He applied a dilute solution of R-gel to slow it down. Beside Luffa was a tray of solutions he had prepared at various concentrations before beginning the procedure. Normally, a doctor administering mycotherapy would simply use one of the stronger concentrations. At worst, the entire graft might die, and he would have to apply a new one. Topsas didn't want to wait that long, and so he added his own variation to the procedure. He had to slow any runaway fungal growth, but he would try to use dilute R-gel first, so as not to risk destroying his progress on that front.

It was all experimental and unprecedented. The technique was sound, and he was sure of his abilities, but it had never been done quite like this, with so many simultaneous grafts. He didn't care for blazing new trails. Being the first was a scary proposition. But the situation had forced his hand. How could he turn away from this? He had too many hands, and too many eyes not to try.

Luffa's metabolic readouts were fluctuating, and so he had to divide his attention to modifying her nutrient intake. This, in turn, shifted the delicate balance of the grafts. He was losing one of them, the one on her arm.

No. He refused to surrender. It would be all too easy to sacrifice a few of the mycotheraputic sites and start over on a second session. Easier, safer, and more time-consuming. How many people could Luffa help during that lost time? Was he willing to doom them just to make things easier for himself?

He looked down at Luffa's face. Even unconscious, there was something aggressive in her expression, like she was aware of the struggle he was going through.

He had never completely understood his late daughter. Even before her illness, Nwitt's manic passions seemed alien to him, and to everyone he knew. He had seen some of Nwitt in Luffa, and pitied her for it. But over time, he came to see the Saiyan heart as something more than an engine of war. Luffa had shown him a fiery passion that could do more than kill. She could laugh, cry, love, and draw strength from those intense emotions. And as Topsas came to admire Luffa, he began to appreciate Nwitt all the more. For the first time in decades, Topsas saw his daughter as something other than a tragedy to be mourned. Her short life, and the wild emotions that fueled it, were something to be celebrated and cherished. Even the fear that came at the end, well that had its own meaning, in its own way.

He prayed for some of that energy now. If his skill and steady hands should falter, there was still his pride as a healer to drive him. There was still the thrill of the challenge, the fear of failure. His daughter was dead, but if he could save this little mammal in her honor, then maybe it would give some purpose to her loss.

"I won't lose," he said aloud. Whether he was speaking to himself or to his patient, or to Nwitt's spirit, he did not know. As he worked, he soon forgot all thoughts of the risks of this task. He ignored the fatigue that began to weather his stamina. He simply ignored all other courses, save the one he was on.

Zatte--bless her soul--believed Luffa to be an instrument of God's will. While Topsas respected this viewpoint, he disagreed. He had seen Luffa on the day she had first transformed. He had seen how violent and terrified she was. He had held her hand to calm her down. He still remembered the feel of Tikosi blood on her fingers, the whimpers she made as she fought to regain control of her own body. Perhaps this was the way divine instruments were chosen, but Topsas had trouble believing it. There was nothing glorious or honorable about it. She was compelled to follow an unknown path that was fraught with danger. And Luffa had faced that fate with courage on that day.

He swore to do no less on this day.

*******

[1 June, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

And the next day.

*******

[2 June, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

And the next...

*******

[3 June, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

He didn't sleep in the way that vertebrates did. When he was tired, Topsas simply ceased moving, and remained still for a time, though he remained fully aware of his surroundings. He was long overdue for this type of rest, but he couldn't stop for long. Having completed his work on Luffa, he was anxious to drain the chamber and revive her, so that he could conduct a more thorough examination, and make sure there were no lasting side-effects. The entire process took forty-five minutes. While mechanical pumps removed the medicated fluid, a tube attached to a face mask removed the fluid from her lungs, gradually reacquainting her respiratory system with air. The mask also delivered a sedative, and when he was ready, he reduced the dosage, opened the lid of the chamber and waited.

She regained consciousness almost immediately, barely giving him time to prepare the med scanner. "Where...? Oh. Right, the stasis chamber," she said, as she came to her senses. "How did it go?"

"Better... better than expected," Topsas said, surprised by the hoarseness of his voice. "I... yes, better than expected. I'll leave it at that."

"Where's Zatte?"

"Oh, I... er, neglected to call her. I imagine she would be on the bridge. I've lost track of the time."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days." Tired as he was, he could not easily forget this, as he hadn't rested in all of that time.

"Three? You said it would take a week."

"Ah, yes, I did. It seems that your body was much more agreeable to the mycotherapy than I anticipated. I still want you to rest, but I don't know that we'll need the chamber for that. How are you feeling?"

Luffa paused for a moment, as though searching herself for an answer. "Sore," she said. Holding her hands in front of her face. "Not as bad as before, but... my vision's all... blurry."

Relief washed over him. Blurry vision, he could deal with. He had worried that she wouldn't be able to see at all, or something worse. He passed the med-scanner over her face anyway, to verify what she had said, but now he could feel more confident about it.

"A side effect of the fungal grafts," Topsas explained. "Your eyesight will return to normal eventually, though I shall have to monitor it carefully before we repeat the process."

"Repeat it?" Luffa asked.

"I think... yes, I think I've learned enough from this first attempt to feel confident about trying again," Topsas said. "The benefits seem to outweigh the risks at this point."

Luffa tried to sit up, and Topsas reached out to hold her back and guide her upright.

"Hold on," she said. "You're telling me that you managed to heal me up from all of that, in three days' time? And you can do it again? Whenever you want?"

"Not 'whenever'," he said with a sigh. "As I just said, I need to monitor your vision first. If we proceed too quickly, use the fungal graft too often, we run the risk of permanently damaging your senses."

"Yeah, but still..." She held up her left hand and looked at it. "It's not too blurry. Not sure why I see this blue tint on my skin..."

"That is the stasis fluid, little mammal," he said. One of his hands was already reaching up with a towel to wipe it off.

"Doc, are you okay?"

"Why would I not be?"

"You just sound tired somehow. It's hard to tell with you."

"I... may have overexerted a little," he admitted.

"You should rest," Luffa said. She planted her hands on the side of the chamber and began to pull herself out. "I can the service droid to bring us some dinner--"

He grabbed her by the shoulder to stop her from going any further.

"You are going to stay put until I am satisfied that your condition is stable," he said, noticing a faltering in his voice. "I just put you back together, and I want at least a little time to savor the victory before you rush off to undo all of my hard work."

"Sure, Doc, whatever you say," Luffa assured him. He turned to fetch something from one of the benchtops, and then he noticed her smiling at him.

"Does something amuse you?" he asked.

"You turned a corner, didn't you?" Luffa asked. "I'm a little out of it, but I can tell that much."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"You weren't too thrilled about trying something like this, but now that it's over, you're practically champing at the bit to do it again."

"Oh yes, because I always look forward to seeing you return to this ship, bloodied and battered. Truly the highlight of my day."

"You remind me of when I was a kid, after I did my first Gallick Gun," Luffa said.

He said nothing, and pretended to be preoccupied with his scans.

"It might be a while before you get to do it again," she said. "Now that I'm healed up, it'll take a lot more to wear me down again. Those Jindan-using bastards won't have it so easy next time. Don't get too eager. You might get bored waiting for me to get hurt."

"I shall believe that when I see it," Topsas said.

She kept on gloating, as Saiyans so often do, about how she would destroy her enemies and reign supreme on the battlefield. Topsas simply carried on with his work, and when he was satisfied that there was nothing left for him to do for the time being, he called Zatte, then went to Luffa's bedside, and held her hand.

NEXT: To the future...

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #lssjluffafic #luffa #dr topsas #wampaaan'riix #yetitan

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duhragonball · 4 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (121/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[22 May, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

"Personal log, Dr. Topsas recording. Now then, where to begin...? I am still aboard the Emerald Eye in Federation territory. Luffa is long overdue to return for medical attention. What began as a supposedly 'quick' excursion to the Fedender System mutated into a tour across multiple planets that put my patient on the other end of Federation space. Luffa being Luffa, she has taken it upon herself to fight every battle on every planet along her way back to us. I have received some reports from hospitals in the field, and I am bracing myself for the worst.

"During Luffa's absence, I have stocked her star-yacht with medical-stasis fluid, and a healthy supply of regenerative medications. In the worst-case scenario, I will only have to keep her in stasis for two weeks, but I am constantly reminded of the old saying: "If you wish to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." No doubt, His Nine Eyes watch with great amusement as I prepare for Luffa's arrival, as I boldly tell myself that I have everything I need. Though, at the moment, I suspect there are a great many generals and warriors with haughty plans of their own, each producing their own fair share of divine laughter.

"Now that is a dark thought, that a benevolent God should find war to be humorous. I should really find something happier to dwell on in times likes these. Then again, it is my personal log, and I suppose I shouldn't run from a chance to express these kinds of feelings. Very well then. Let us talk about the war.

"I am hardly a military strategist, but it is my opinion that it goes poorly for the Federation. I would not consider any war to go well, but moral objections aside, this conflict seems specially designed to erode the morale of both sides.

"I know little of the so-called 'Jindan cult.' I have been told that Luffa's arch-nemesis, the Saiyan King Rehval III, founded the cult as a way to strengthen his hold over the Saiyan people. Using his arcane skills as an alchemist, along with the pseudonym "Trismegistus", he created a secret method to make Saiyans even stronger than they already are. This worked wonders for his cause, as Saiyans who would never serve a king were all too eager to trade their freedom for power. Now, he sends his followers into Federation space, launching senseless attacks on otherwise peaceful planets. His motives are unclear, though it certainly seems to be a continuation of his grudge against Luffa. As a Super Saiyan, she poses the greatest threat to his dominion over their species.

"What I have heard of these cultists is truly horrifying. Many are cynical warriors who only serve the cult for their own ends. Even so, they fear their master as though he holds their lives in his hands. I suppose that he truly does hold their lives in his hands, for Rehval has the power to withdraw the added strength he gives to his followers. At the slightest sign of defiance, he can drain their power, leaving then weaker than they were to begin with. In some cases, this process can be fatal, as Luffa discovered when Jolok was 'excommunicated' on Planet Quadzityz. Jolok perished, and a sizable piece of the planet very nearly shared his fate.

"The cultists who remain in Rehval's favor do so in a state of constant terror. Some have learned to mask their despair with religious zeal, while others rely on denial. All of them are experienced enough in the ways of war to know their true role in this conflict. They are not holy crusaders serving a higher purpose, as many of them claim. They are merely cannon fodder, a light brigade being sent to die as a mere diversion. Theirs is a simple choice: Die in service to their master, or die in defiance of him.

"I call them a light brigade because every battle fought in this war has resulted in a complete annihilation of Jindan forces. A one hundred percent casualty rate is unthinkable. Even the maddest of tyrants would blanche at such a statistic. It clearly is not sustainable, and yet Rehval continues to send his warriors, confident that he is safe from counterattack in his secret base.

"On the Federation side, a string of impressive victories carries little hope, for each battle leaves considerable death and destruction in its wake. Luffa and the Federation's other defenders have managed to halt the invaders at every turn, but they still manage to kill thousands, destroy important cities and military outposts, and cause ecological damage with their attacks. I think what frustrates the Federation in this hour is that they have no way to take the initiative in this war. They must simply wait for Rehval's forces to reveal themselves, and then absorb whatever losses they must until they can deploy their forces to fight off the invaders. Luffa's health is simply one facet of the bigger picture.

"Perhaps things will change if Luffa can find Rehval himself, but I have little confidence in this. She has already been searching in vain since-- eh?"

"Doctor! Come quickly!"

"What is it? I-- Ninth Eye!"

"Everything happened so fast that we didn't have a chance to fill you in."

"I should imagine. The rendezvous with the transport wasn't supposed to be for another twenty minutes."

"They got a distress call. Luffa convinced them to put her in an escape pod and drop her off so they could answer it. When I got the message, I pushed the engines as hard as they could go."

"Hey, I'm fine... really."

"Shut up, Luffa, and get on the bed."

"Okay, okay. Pushy lady. I guess that's why I married you. Hey, Doc. Sorry I keep... keep missing appointments."

"Please lie still. Would you hold that for me, Ms. Zatte? Please do calm down."

"I just... there's so much blood..."

"Yes, reopening old wounds, no doubt. I thought you were going to stay out of trouble, little mammal."

"So did I, Doc, but there was... was... an attack on Zerkus III and my transport was the only ship in the area."

"Zerkus III? Luffa, I'm so sorry, I, well, I had no idea--!"

"Relax, Dotz. They weren't Jindan cultists, so you probably... ow!... probably couldn't have predicted this. You were looking for Saiyan invasions, and this was a band of Zoons, trying to take advantage of the chaos. Thought they could pick on a planet further away from the fighting, but I made them regret it. Hah! You should have seen the looks on their stupid faces. Doc won't be putting them back together, that's for sure."

"I... I should have been able to predict that... even if they were Zoons, I should have..."

"Doctor, please, is she going to be all right?"

"That is precisely what I want to find out. I will get her stabilized and begin a complete examination. I think it would be prudent to take the ship somewhere safe, before any other enemies happen along."

"I can't just leave her like this--"

"Ms. Zatte, if there were someone else aboard who could handle it, I would not be asking you. With respect to Ms. Dotz's proficiency with the ship's helm controls, I do not believe she has the tactical knowledge to keep the ship out of danger in case of an attack."

"We don't need to run. I don't care how banged up I am. I'm still the Super Saiyan. No one would dare come after... ah... huh... and even if they did, I'd.... I'd...."

"Come on. You can't help her right now. The best thing we can do for her is to get back to the bridge."

"Dotz...? Okay. I know. You're right."

"Hey.... hey, where are they going...?"

"Not far, I assure you. Now, please. Lie still."

"Hey, Doc?"

"Yes?"

"I've gotta... gotta get back out there.... soon..."

"Yes well... I will see what I can do."

*******

[23 May, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

There was a small desk in the back of the star-yacht's sickbay, and Topsas positioned himself behind it while he spoke to them. As he lacked the necessary anatomy for it, he gave Zatte the chair, and she sat next to the nearest bed, with Luffa in it. Despite Luffa's objections, Zatte held her hand while he gave them an update on Luffa's condition.

He had repaired the most serious injuries, and she was in no immediate danger. One of her lungs had been punctured, and there had been a hairline fracture on her skull, and a few other life-threatening issues. That still left a lot of smaller ones that could worsen if they weren't treated properly. The young women looked at him eagerly, hoping for some quick answer that would allow them to get on with their lives. Being an arachnoid life form, he wasn't completely familiar with humanoid body language, but he had seen their faces on thousands of patients over the years, all silently pleading for him to tell them how long it would take to return their lives to normal. At times, he felt like a judge sentencing a convicted criminal.

"Two months of stasis," he began. "That is my first and most robust recommendation. You will be sedated and kept in a bio-regenerative chamber to promote proper healing. I would take you out of the chamber for an examination, and if all goes as expected, we could begin localized therapies on the damaged tendons."

"Two months?" Luffa gasped.

"In stasis?" Zatte said.

"Let me be clear,that would be a total of sixty days of unconsciousness," Topsas said. "That time need not be consecutive. Many patients do this for a few days at a time, coming out of the chamber to attend to personal affairs, be with their families, and so forth. But since your personal affairs always seem to involve extreme violence, I believe it would be best to keep you under until the treatment is complete. Better sixty days in a row than a hundred or more in and out of the chamber."

"Doc, the whole war could change in sixty days," Luffa said. "If you take me out of circulation that long, it could--"

"Ah-ah! Let me finish that sentence for you. If I were to take you out of 'circulation' for that long, it could prevent your enemies from taking you out of the war permanently. Where would your Federation be then?"

"He's right, Luffa," Zatte said. "If you keep throwing yourself into these battles, you're just going to get worse. You'd be playing right into their hands. You knew it from the beginning."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know," Luffa said. "Look, I'm sorry. To both of you. I said I'd try to pace myself, and I really did try. But these attacks keep on coming, and every time I try to let someone else handle it, people get killed. I can't just stand back and watch... I mean, I know I have to, but..."

She screwed her eyes tightly, as though fighting back tears. When she opened them again, it was clear that she had failed. "I can still do more," she said. "I feel like crap, but I still have so much power that I can tap into. More than enough to make a difference out there. How can I stand by while people out there need that kind of help?"

"Luffa, some would say you have done more than enough already," Topsas said. "No one is asking you to resign from the war altogether. You mustn't feel obligated to risk your own health and safety like this. Not for persons you don't even know."

"Why not? It's what you would do," Luffa said.

"I?" Topsas thought she was joking. "You must have me mistaken with some eight-legged war hero. Perhaps a fantasy creature from one of the tales of your ancestors."

"Your modesty is sickening sometimes, you know that?" she said with a frown. "You remember the Tikosi planet, don't you? Because I sure as hell can't forget it."

"I don't see what that unpleasantness has to do with--"

"You rescued me... you barely knew anything about me, but Keda went to you for help and..."

"Merely keeping tabs on a patient," Topsas said. "I had used a considerable amount of webbing to stitch you back together, and I could hardly let that go to waste--"

As he said this, the gentle tone that represented Luffa's pulse began to speed up. Other readouts of her vital signs began to fluctuate. She began to breathe harder. Zatte tried to calm her down, and Luffa pulled her hand away from hers. And just when Topsas was about to move to check on her, she spoke again.

"I know... we don't talk about that day very much around here," Luffa finally said. "And that's mostly because of me. I was weak, and I have to live with the consequences of that weakness. But when it was all over, I turned into that thing for the first time, and I didn't know if I could turn it off, and you reached out to me, offering to help. I think that might be the bravest thing I've ever seen, and I refuse to listen to you brush it off like it doesn't matter. It matters to me. It matters a lot."

He didn't know how to answer that, and it was clear that she had nothing else to say. At last, it was Zatte who spoke. "Luffa, you've got to listen to Dr. Topsas. You can't go on like this. And if he had a better way, don't you think he would tell us?"

She looked at Zatte, then back at Topsas, and then turned her head away. "How soon can we start?" she grumbled.

"Today, if you wish," Topsas said. "I had the necessary equipment loaded on the ship while you were away."

"Hold on," Zatte said. "If we're doing this, we need to figure out where to take the ship while Luffa's under. We'll be vulnerable in the meantime, and if we set down on an inhabited world, we'll risk getting caught in an invasion."

This was not unexpected from her. Zatte came from a survivalist culture, and her she saw nearly everything as an arrangement of threats and safeguards. She was somewhat extreme in her thinking, but in this case her beliefs all converged on the most sensible course of action. She was certain that Luffa was destine to do good for the universe, which meant that Luffa had to be protected until she was healthy enough to resume that work. "Very well. I suggest you and Ms. Dotz devise up with an itinerary," he said. "I can sedate Luffa as soon as you feel it's safe."

"There's an asteroid field in the Pillimede System," Zatte said to Luffa. "We'll start there, and if Dotz doesn't foresee anyone following us, we can do a silent running for a few weeks." She stood up to leave. "I'll come see you before you go under, okay?"

"All right," Luffa said. "Just... all right. Let's get this over with." As soon as Zatte left sickbay, Luffa leaned back in her bed and let out a despondent sigh.

"I know this is difficult for you," Topsas said.

"It doesn't matter," Luffa said. "It's the only way, right? Sorry I blew up at you. If you don't want to brag about what you've done for me, that's none of my business. I just wish you saw yourself the way I see you."

"Ah, and that is my burden, little mammal," he said. Ambling over the desk, he crossed over to her bedside and began tucking her in. "With eight eyes, I have more than enough to see my flaws, as well as my strengths."

"Huh. Maybe you can see better than me, but the rest of my senses are pretty sharp. Maybe it's a matter of smell."

Eventually she drifted off to sleep, leaving Topsas to consider everything they had discussed. Later, he checked an experiment he was running on some tissue samples, and spent the rest of the afternoon monitoring Luffa's vital signs, while he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

********

[26 May, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

Zatte was true to her word, and when she was satisfied that the ship would be safely removed from combat, she returned to Luffa's side as Dr. Topsas placed her in the eight-foot-long chamber which would be used for the procedure. The equipment was somewhat bulky, but since there were only four of them on board, Topsas wasn't concerned about the space it took up in sickbay. He simply moved the beds away from one wall and placed the chamber on the deck. Once Luffa was inside, he filled with with a blue liquid commonly referred to as "stasis fluid". This was designed to not only surround the patient with the regenerative drugs he planned to use, but it would also sustain Luffa's metabolism while she lay in the chamber. Once she was sedated, the fluid was allowed to fill her lungs, as it contained oxygen-saturated perfluorocarbons. Topsas then went to the desk, where he began reviewing biofeedback data relayed from the chamber's sensors. Zatte knelt down beside the chamber for the next hour or so, before she finally stood up to leave.

"Sixty days of this," she said aloud.

"I do not wish to give you false hope," Topsas said, "but it is possible that she may fully recover sooner than expected. I will keep you informed, of course."

Zatte looked down at the chamber. "It shouldn't be like this," she said. "She should be out there, fulfilling her destiny. And I should be helping her, not just sitting around waiting for her to come out of this box."

"You are helping her," Topsas said. "It may not be glamorous, or even satisfying, but it is absolutely necessary."

"I'm sorry," Zatte said. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, it's just that... it's not enough. It's not fair."

"I thought your species was averse to risk," he said. "Keda always spoke so highly of being careful."

"I'm not like other Dorluns, Doctor," Zatte said. "And Keda wasn't being careful when she died. She saved my life."

"Of course."

"She never really saw Luffa the way I do, as a xan-nil'Dor, but I like to think that maybe Keda realized it at the very end. Either way, I think Luffa inspired her more than she wanted to admit. Well, Luffa can't do much inspiring from here, I guess."

She excused herself to check on the ship's systems, and Topsas thought he would welcome the silence. He did not. The gentle chirps of the biofeedback readouts only reminded him of the responsibility he now shouldered. And sooner or later, she would return, and the dilemma would follow. He had no consolation he could offer. Part of him wanted to tell her about the test results, but what good would that do? There were far too many unknowns to consider. He thought that Zatte of all people would appreciate that, but no. It seemed Luffa's wife would welcome a bit of risk if it meant getting her back on her feet.

Later, he checked his messages, and found that one of his children had attempted to contact him a few days ago. The terminal on his desk allowed him access to the subspace radio, and Zatte's encryption codes allowed him to send a message with little chance of it being intercepted or traced. Within minutes, he was looking at one of his own kind, though younger, and with a browner coloration.

"Dad," he said.

"Turner. This is something of a surprise," Topsas said. How are you, son?"

"I'll feel a lot better once you're out of Federation Space," Turner said. "There's a war on, or hadn't you noticed?"

"Now that you mention it, I had begun to suspect as much."

"I'm sending a ship to Woshad. I had to pull some strings to get it across the border, but I know some people, and the captain owes me a favor. They'll arrive next week. That should give you time to get to Woshad and get on board."

"Whatever for, son?"

Turner regarded him through the viewscreen and tensed his pedipalps in exasperation. "I'm trying to get you out of there, dad. Please, just get on the ship. Or if you've got some other travel arrangements, we can set up a rendezvous somewhere else. Just tell me when and where and we'll work it out."

"I'm afraid I can't leave at this time," he said. "I have a patient who needs me."

"Luffa," he groaned.

"You know I'm not at liberty to discuss--"

"Oh, come on, dad," Turner said. "It's the Federation, the one she founded, and you haven't stopped talking about that mammal since you gave up your practice on Plutark VII. And you know, for a while I was grateful to her for pulling you away from the Deathmatches, but now you've followed her into something a thousand times worse."

"It is hardly like that at all--"

"Then tell me what it is," Turner insisted. "Tell me why the almighty Federation needs Dr. Topsas to play medic in their warzone."

"She is badly hurt," Topsas explained. "The fighting has been very fierce, and if I do not mend her injuries from time to time, it could jeopardize countless lives."

"And they need you for that? You're telling me that you're the only qualified doctor in the entire Federation who can work on her?"

"I am the best qualified," Topsas countered. "Honestly, very few doctors are familiar at all with Saiyan medicine. And Luffa is a unique specimen among a unique species."

"And that justifies you running around in the middle of a war? Where are you right now?"

"I'd prefer not to answer that at this time," Topsas said. "It's not that I don't trust you, son, but if the enemy were to intercept and decode this message, they might find out--"

"Wonderful. Wonderful," Turner groaned. "So it's a matter of national security, is it? Should I contact the Federation Embassy, then?"

"I doubt they even know of my involvement," Topsas replied. "My presence here is somewhat unofficial. I've been told that my modesty is rather 'sickening'. Perhaps I should have requested a field promotion..."

"Enough! Dad, I've had all I can stand! Listen to me, you're not even a Federation citizen. This isn't your war!"

"She is my patient," Topsas argued.

"So what, then? You'll follow her until she dies?! Until you die?! Do you even care what that means?"

"Turner, please calm down," Topsas pleaded. "I appreciate that you are upset, but--"

"I'm upset because you care more about that Saiyan than your own family! Chelik and Lister called me, you know. They never call, but they heard about this war and no one had heard from you in weeks, and sure enough the last letter you sent was from Federation coordinates, just like before!"

"I assure you, son, I am quite safe here. If you like, I can contact Chelik, Lister, and the others to make certain they understand."

"Oh, they understand just fine, dad," Turner said. "That's why they called me. Because that's how this family works. Someone does something reckless or stupid, and then it's time to call in Turner to fix it. And why not? I've got Turner Polymer Industries, and all the resources that go with it. I can just hire a ship to go into a war zone and fetch you, no trouble at all. It's not like I have any problems of my own to worry about!"

"Son, if you need my help..."

"What I need is my father to stop running off on these ridiculous adventures!" Turner thundered. "I need you to listen to me, just once. Just once, and do the sensible thing." He held up one finger on one of his forelimbs as he said this. Topsas could see the desperation in his eyes very clearly.

"I promise you that I won't take any undue risks, Turner," he said. "I have friends here who are very careful about this sort of thing. But I must ask you to understand. I cannot leave just yet. There is simply too much at stake."

"This is about Nwitt, isn't it?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Turner drew a short breath before continuing. "I know it was hard for you. It was hard for all of us. Ninth Eye, she was my sister! I miss her every day. We all do. But ever since she died, you've been getting mixed up with these lost causes, trying to save people that just aren't worth it! And maybe I should admire that. I've tried to, believe me. But I can't. If it's selfish of me, then I'm selfish, but I just want my father to come home and stay alive."

The words bothered him more than he liked to admit. "Son, I cannot just abandon others in their time of need. I swore an oath, and besides, we have a higher duty to people like Luffa. We have too many eyes to look away, and too many hands not to--"

"I know all that!" Turner said, very nearly shouting. "I read the Scriptures too, you know! I know Nwitt's in the heavenly web, and that one day we'll all be there to join her, and that we have to help where we can, but not this, dammit! If she were here, do you really think she'd want you to throw your life away like this?"

"I'll be all right, son," Topsas said. This was the most he had spoken with him in some time. Turner was normally so reserved, so quiet, ever the picture of the successful entrepreneur. And Turner had been angry with him before, but never quite like this. He regretted that he had caused his son such anguish, though he didn't fully understand how. He wished he knew some way to convince him.

"Yeah. Yeah, you'll be fine, probably," Turner muttered. "But what about next time, and the next? One of these days you'll go somewhere that even I can't get you out of. All for some 'Super Saiyan' I've never even met. And when the law of averages finally catches up to you? Well, I guess I'm just supposed to suck it up and pretend it doesn't bother me."

"I'm sorry," was all Topsas knew to say. It didn't seem to be enough. Turner had been an adult for a very long time. All of his children had grown up ages ago. Suddenly, Turner looked very much to him the way he did as a child, inconsolable over something that most would call trivial, but Topsas always knew meant the world to him.

"I don't want you to be sorry," Turner said, his voice now low and weary. "I just want you to get on that transport next week. Just come home, dad. Please. I don't want Luffa to suffer, or anyone else but... please. Just get on the transport."

"Turner, I--"

Turner looked somewhat embarrassed now, either by his outburst, or his pleas, or the emotions that had motivated them. "I have to go," he said. "I... Well, I've already said what I have to say. Just... I have to go."

And with that, he closed the transmission, leaving Dr. Topsas looking at his own reflection in the viewscreen.

*******

[28 May, 233 Before Age. Pillimede Asteroid Belt.]

"Am I doing the right thing?" Dr. Topsas asked. It was a loaded question, kept purposely vague, but he asked it over breakfast, as casually as one might ask for another glass of juice.

Dotz looked at him, and her eyes widened with anxiety. "Er, um... yes? I don't... well..."

She was a humanoid, middle-aged, with brown hair that was well on its way to grey. She claimed to have an ancestor of the Kanassan species, though Topsas had found no physiological evidence to support this, aside from her clairvoyant abilities, which could have been entirely coincidental. Taller and heavier than Luffa and Zatte, Dotz was far meeker, and it seemed that she was always pulling her arms close to herself and stooping her head, as though she was worried about taking up too much space. Her loose muave garments seemed designed to conceal herself further, and she was always adjusting her shawl like it was showing too much of the sides of her face.

"I'm speaking of the treatment I prescribed for Luffa," he explained. "I can't help but wonder if this is the right course of action."

"Well, I'm no doctor," Dotz said. "I'm sure whatever you've decided is the best. I know you've taken very good care of me since I got here."

"No, that's not..." Topsas paused and collected himself before continuing. "You've made some very accurate predictions, from what I understand. About the war."

"Oh, well... I didn't catch those Zoons attacking Zerkus III," Dotz said regretfully. "Luffa said it was okay, but I can't help but feel responsible for what she's going through right now."

"Yes, but the battles you have forseen have all come to pass," Topsas reminded her. "Luffa has spoken very highly of your talents, though I am at a loss to explain them. What I'm wondering is whether you've seen any major combat in the next two months. Something that only Luffa would be able to handle."

"Well, uh, you should really talk to Zatte about that," Dotz said. "There are battles going on all over the Federation border. She's been keeping track of them all, so we'll know where Luffa will be needed when she's ready."

"Yes but--!" Topsas steadied himself. It wasn't Dotz' fault that she wasn't understanding what he needed. She was only trying to be helpful in her own, unassuming way. "I don't wish to trouble Ms. Zatte," he explained. "I have just been having... second thoughts. I was hoping that you might be able to predict whether my decisions will turn out for good or ill."

"Oh, you want a reading," Dotz said. "I'll need to look at your palm for that."

"Fortunately, I am well-supplied in that regard," Topsas said as he extended one of his forward limbs across the table for Dotz to examine. It was supposed to be a joke to lighten the mood. He thought humanoids were easily amused by the notion that he had so many hands and eyes, but Dotz didn't seem to notice what he had said. She simply took his hand and cradled it in her own, staring at it like a jeweler inspecting a diamond. While he waited, Topsas resumed eating with his other hands.

"You'll be going on a journey soon," Dotz said.

"That is rather self-evident," Topsas replied. "As I am on board a starship, and travel is inevitable."

"Mm-hmm. Family trouble. They're upset, but they aren't angry with you, just worried. And you'll be fine. One day they'll see that."

"Yes, well, that was hardly what I needed to--"

"In the end... oh, it looks like your wishes will come true. I wonder what that could mean. It sounds like a very happy way to die."

"Yes, but I have more immediate concerns," Topsas said. "The war. How long will it take for Luffa to recover? How many will die during that time? How many deaths could be prevented. You can see this, can't you?"

Dotz looked up at his face and shook her head. "I can't forsee Luffa's fate at all. I think that's why I missed the Zoon attack, because I was, uh, looking for visions of Saiyans in general. I should have been checking for Federation planets, but there's so many of them that it's hard to follow all of them."

"Are you saying that you can predict certain battles, but not whether Luffa will participate in them personally?"

"Uh, well, yes, that's right. And I can't always get the details right. Luffa's told me that sometimes there's more enemies on a planet than I predicted. Sometimes less. I can usually get the date right, but not always the exact hour. But she likes it that way. It makes things 'interesting', is the way she put it."

"Then you have no idea how long it will take her to recover," Topsas groaned. "Or whether I end up using some other treatment."

"Of course I know that, Doctor," Dotz said innocently. "You said it would take about sixty days, didn't you? And what other treatment could there be?"

"What indeed?" Topsas said. He began scraping sauce from the bottom of his bowl, determined not to look her in the eye.

"Something about meeting Luffa increased my psychic abilities," Dotz said, "but they still have, um, limitations. I learned a long time ago that there's a lot you can predict just by paying attention to the present. And I know you're a good doctor, and that you put your patients' welfare first. I don't need to look into the future to know that you'll do the right thing."

She stood up and started gathering their dishes. "Here, let me get those for you. You probably want to go back to sickbay to check on Luffa. Tell her I said hi. Not that... I mean, she probably wouldn't hear you, right? Unless she can hear people while she's asleep? I don't know all her powers."

Topsas handed off his bowl and steepled some of his fingers. He had just run out of people to talk to.

NEXT: Second Opinion

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #lssjluffafic #luffa #zatte #dr topsas #dotz

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duhragonball · 5 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (107/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous Chapters conveniently available here.

[21 Feruary 233 Before Age. Planet Lubegev.]

Lubegev was a peaceful world, mostly known for its tranquil oceans and a storied tradition of erotic poetry. Though not a Federation planet, it had friendly relations with Luffa's interstellar alliance, and some of its leaders had hinted at applying for membership. Posing as tourists, Luffa and Dotz made their way through one of the larger cities. Dotz was still recovering from her encounter with the Saiyan Jolok, so she rode on an antigrav chair which Luffa steered through the pedestrian walkways.

"Seriously, I'm feeling much better, Luffa," Dotz said, although the weakness in her voice suggested otherwise. "My visions aren't clearing up much, but I'm sure I could walk if--"

"Sorry," Luffa said. The poncho she wore rustled on her shoulders as she maneuvered Dotz around a street corner. "Even if I believed that, I don't want to risk letting you push yourself too hard. If Doc found out, he'd never let me hear the end of it."

"I'm fine, really," Dotz insisted. "I've just been having some intense dreams, but considering how many Saiyans I've run into lately, that isn't too surprising."

"You were in a coma," Luffa replied in a tone that reminded Dotz of her own mother. "You only think it was a quick thing because you don't remember any of it, but you were stuck in bed for a couple of months. Your muscles have atrophied, and you need time to recover. I'm just glad the doctors okayed your release so you could come with me. If your prediction comes true, and there really is going to be a Saiyan attack on this planet, well, you can maybe you can find more Saiyans for me..."

"I had to go with you," Dotz said. She adjusted the dark purple shawl that she wore around her head and shoulders and took a deep breath. "I saw it in the lines on your palm. I don't understand it yet, but the dreams I've been having... There's something important about you, Luffa. I couldn't just stay behind, even if you hadn't saved me. You're much too important to the future."

"You're beginning to sound like my wife," Luffa said. "Well, think whatever you want, but I'm just a plain old Saiyan who happens to change colors when I use my full power."

"From where I'm sitting, you couldn't be more wrong," Dotz said. "That other Saiyan, Jolok, nearly killed me, and you told me that was just to test his abilities. But you-- you came all the way to my bedside to save a total stranger."

"I've been on the receiving end of that Mindworm trick myself," Luffa said. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody, and I thought I could help." She shrugged. "Anybody else would've done the same."

"I don't know about that," Dotz said, "but most people probably wouldn't have been so thoughtful as to forward my hormone replacement regimen to your doctor friend."

Luffa harrumphed. "Just thinking ahead, that's all," she said. "It works in fighting, and it works in cooking, and I find it helps in other situations too. You'll want to get back on track with that as soon as you can, and this way Doc can get everything together now instead of figuring it out tomorrow. Besides, I know what it's like to have trouble controlling your own body."

"Of course," Dotz said. She decided to let the matter drop, as Luffa seemed to be embarrassed by her own compassion. Another piece of the puzzle, she thought to herself.

"So how much do you know about the future?" Luffa asked. "I thought you could only read minds, like I do, but if you're right about this Saiyan attack, then...?"

"One of my ancestors had Kanassan blood," Dotz explained. "The family stories said that his people could see what would happen, but they were powerless to change it. I didn't inherit much of their ability. If you want the truth, most of my readings are based on whatever I can pick up from the customer's mind, and any flashes of insight I might happen to get."

"So why didn't you get a 'flash of insight' warning you about Jolok?" Luffa asked.

"I did," Dotz said. "But it wasn't a warning, it was a promise. A Saiyan would hurt me in some way, but I would recover with a newfound clarity. Ever since you woke me up, I feel like my psychic abilities are... Well, not increasing. It's more like they're maturing somehow. I'm starting to think I got more from my ancestor than I knew."

"Well, if this Saiyan attack on Lubegev ever gets rolling, you'll have me convinced," Luffa said. "You said he'd be here today. Now that we're here, any idea what time he'll show up?"

"To be honest, I thought he should have been here by now," Dotz said. "Could your presence have somehow scared him off?"

Luffa laughed. "Not likely," she said. "Chances are, he's been here a while already, and he's just keeping his energy suppressed so ki sensitive warriors like me can't detect him until he's ready to make his move. I'm doing the same thing, so he won't be able to sense me until I've got him where I want him."

"Why are you so determined to catch him, Luffa?" Dotz asked. "I know Saiyans love a good fight, but you keep saying he'll be no match for you, so it can't be for sport."

"I have unfinished business with the Saiyan king, Rehval the Third," Luffa explained. As she spoke, Dotz could tell Luffa was gripping more tightly on the handles of her chair. "But that royal bastard went into hiding before I could settle things with him. Until I get a solid lead on him, my best bet is to make life miserable for as many Saiyans as I can. I'll interrogate any I find, and if they start any trouble on planets like this one, I'll make them regret it. I've also been shutting down as many wars as I can, just to make sure they can't have any fun behind my back. Sooner or later, they'll get sick of this standoff, and they'll have to help me find him."

"Couldn't that work against you?" Dotz asked. "If you aren't careful, the Saiyans might unite against you instead."

Luffa chuckled. "I guess so. Yeah, that sounds pretty fun, now that you mention it," she said. "Is that an official prediction?"

Before Dotz could answer, there was a loud booming sound coming from the downtown area of the city. Luffa positioned herself between Dotz and the source of the noise. A moment later, she grinned with anticipation.

"And there's our boy," she said.

"The Saiyan?" Dotz asked. Without thinking, she pulled her shawl tighter, as if it would offer some measure of protection.

"A little late to the party, but I don't mind," Luffa replied.

Dotz broke out in a nervous sweat. Her psychic abilities didn't allow her to sense ki the same way Luffa could, but she could still sense waves of panic and fear from that general direction. "It sounds like he's setting off explosives!" she said. "I had no idea Saiyans could be so powerful..."

"This one's stronger than usual, that's for sure," Luffa said. "But don't worry about that. He's still no match for me."

She parked Dotz's hoverchair near an archway where she would be reasonably safe, then handed her a small device from the pocket of her yellow pants.

"That's a communicator," Luffa told her. "Call me if anything goes wrong. Or you might be able to raise my wife. Her ship should be in communications range before too long. But I don't think you'll need it."

She tore the poncho off her shoulders and tossed it to the ground as she walked in the direction of the explosions. When she was gone, Dotz took out a deck of cards and attempted to perform a divination. There were more reliable ways to refine her inborn abilities, but this one was faster and more portable, and she hoped the cards would at least tell her the outcome of the battle. Minutes later, she had as much of an answer as she could get. The Saiyan invader would die. The planet would survive the day.

Luffa's fate was unclear.

*******

Seconds later, Luffa intercepted the Saiyan in the middle of a shopping district. The Saiyan was firing off large bursts of ki energy, but not actually hitting anything. Everything about his tactics indicated that he was trying to do one of two things. Either he was attempting to frighten the populace into surrendering without a fight, or that he was trying to lure any strong opponents into the open. Concerning the second, Luffa was happy to oblige.

"What--?" This was all the Saiyan managed to say before Luffa punched him in the face. He was a short, chubby man with a long beard that nearly ran down to his navel, and despite his immense power, he never saw her coming until it was too late. Before the force of Luffa's blow could knock him into a nearby building, she flew past him and caught him in midair.

"Where's King Rehval?" Luffa asked as she held him upside down by the ankle of his boot.

"Ask him yourself...in hell!" he shouted as he fired a ki blast from both hands into her face. It didn't harm her at all.

"Wait, are you saying he's dead?" Luffa asked. "Or were you trying to be witty and got confused?"

He reared back and tried to punch her, but she simply tossed him away before his fist could connect. Adding insult to injury, she peppered him with small ki blasts as he tumbled through the air.

"Come on," Luffa said. "You're wearing a uniform from the Saiyan Royal Military. It's a little scuffed up, but I could smell the royalist stink on you from across the city. You had to be on Planet Saiya when your master ran away like a scalded dog. You must know something you'd like to share with me."

"M-my master is no coward, woman!" he replied, trying to muster as much defiance as he could. "The Rehval Dynasty is the past. I serve the future! Hail Trismegistus!"

"Then you've betrayed Rehval to become someone else's lapdog, is that it?" Luffa asked. "Typical royalist trash. Well that's just fine. Then you won't mind telling me everything you know about where Rehval is."

"Never!" the man cried. "I'll never talk!"

"Good, good. I like a man with spirit," Luffa said. She approached him with such a blinding speed that she seemed to vanish and then reappear behind him. Then she gripped his shoulder and began to squeeze. As he cried out in pain, she added with a laugh: "You've got a lot of courage defying me, but 'never' can be a very long time, Saiyan."

Then, just as she felt she had the situation under control, she sensed another Saiyan, closing in on her from above. At the same time, the one she was tormenting suddenly increased his power level dramatically, and she realized that he would now be strong enough to break free of her grasp. In the split second before the incoming Saiyan could connect, she released the first one, and arched her back to avoid a heavy kick. She was about to fire a ki blast to counterattack, but then she sensed a third power, and before she could react, she was hit with a ki blast to the small of her back.

"Nicely done, Aramanth!" called the one who had tried to kick Luffa. "Your aim more than makes up for your lousy looks!"

"Shut up, Kakabajo!" Aramanth shouted from the street below. "At least I held up my end! What were you even aiming at?"

"Why didn't she try to read my mind?" whined the fat, bearded one as he nursed the shoulder Luffa had squeezed. "If I had known she was gonna play so rough, I wouldn't have held back for so long."

"The real question," Aramanth replied as she flew up to meet the other two, "is what she's doing here at all. Lubegev isn't a Federation planet. Luffa's never even been here before. It should have taken days for her to find out about our invasion and to arrive here by starship. Instead, she's on us before Kres even had a chance to get started!

"No, the real question," Luffa said as she suddenly appeared from the residual energy of Aramanth's attack, "is how you three could give me so much trouble."

"She's still alive!" Kres wailed.

"Of course she is, Kres," Aramanth growled. "This fight's only just begun. She hasn't even transformed yet!"

Luffa snapped her fingers and ran her hand through her short, black hair. "That's right, I knew I forgot something. Hang on."

"Stop her!" Kakabajo warned the others. "If we allow her to change, then--!"

Before he could even finish the sentence, Luffa threw back her head and made a loud grunt. Her hair had shifted from black to glowing gold, and her dark eyes had ignited into a brilliant green.

"You were saying, Kakabajo?" Aramanth grumbled.

"Didn't know I could do it that fast, did you?" Luffa asked, her voice rising over the pulsating noise of her furious aura. "Everyone thinks it takes me a while. Sometimes I drag it out for effect, or just because I'm in the mood. But sometimes it's more dramatic to make it quick."

"That... that power!" Kres gasped.

"You're using the same kind of energy as Jolok," Luffa observed. "So I guess that means you three are part of the same organization that he was in. He said something about defying orders when he tried to fight me, but you three were counting on me to show up, so I suppose that means your boss authorized this. What'd you call him? 'Triss Mejistus?'"

Without warning, she rushed towards Kakabako and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. His partners tried to attack, but Luffa was too fast for them to get a lock on her.

"So if that's true," Luffa continued, then your boss is a fool. You three are strong, sure. Amazingly strong compared to normal Saiyans, but you're still no match for me.

"On the contrary, Luffa!" another voice called out. "Our master did not expect three of us to defeat you."

As she turned to find a fourth Saiyan standing on a rooftop, she noticed two more Saiyan powers appearing on the street. She kept her focus on the man on the roof, since he appeared to be the strongest, though not by a wide margin.

"Logas is my name," he said as he waved his arm with dramatic flourish. "You've already met Kakabajo, Kres, and the, er, lovely Aramanth. Below me are Voraj and Purzlein."

"Six of you..." Luffa said. "Well then..."

"I'll give you a moment to consider your situation, 'Super Saiyan'," Logas said. "And then you might reconsider our master's thrice-blessed wisdom."

Luffa paused for a moment, glancing at each of them. At last she turned her head and spit. Below her, Kres scrambled to move out of the way of her phlegm.

"Not bad at all," Luffa said. "Your leader must be pretty strong if he can keep six people like you in line. And if he can afford to sacrifice you all just to test me, then he might be even stronger still. Yeah... Did you bring him with you? No offense, but I'd rather fight him first, if it's all the same to you."

"Why, you arrogant--!" Aramanth said with a scowl.

"Your time is over, Luffa!" Logas boasted. "Trismegistus commands your death!"

Aramanth and Kres flew after Luffa and tried to flank her, while a Purzlein leaped into the air and charged a ki blast, waiting to see which way she would dodge before firing it. Instead, Luffa stood her ground, punching the Aramanth on her left while contorting her body to avoid the attack from Kres on the right. Then she launched herself directly at Purzlein, practically begging him to fire at her pointblank. He did so, and his energy burst splashed across Luffa like rushing water, but it had no effect. She flew through his attack and reared back her left arm to strike him in the jaw.

Except that she never actually got close enough to hit her target. To her surprise, she saw Aramanth had followed her into the air, and was now grasping her boots, halting her movement. Just as she turned her attention to her, Kres joined in, firing a ki blast of his own at Luffa's back. And so it went. Each time she tried to shift her focus on any one of them, the other two took advantage. Just as Luffa began to appreciate how formidable her opponents were, the others joined in, and she found herself facing something resembling a true challenge.

Realizing that she couldn't whittle down their numbers by attacking a particular member of their team, Luffa shifted tactics and began using techniques to attack multiple opponents from all sides. When they gathered too close, she used an explosive wave of ki to drive them back. When two or more of them tried to attack her at the same time, she would maneuver herself near one of their partners, so that their coordinated attacks would risk hurting their own.

Mostly though, she took a lot of hits. The six Saiyans fought like a well-oiled machine, and though none of them were individually strong enough to beat her, any one of them could hurt her once the other five managed to create an opening. Working together this way, each of them took turns landing body blows, headshots, and various ki attacks. At all times, at least one of them maintained a barrage of small ki shots at her throughout the battle, which seemed to be intended to harass her more than to soften her up. It was when a kick to the face caused her to taste her own blood that Luffa began to realize she was actually being pressured. For the first time since she fought the Shockmaster, she had a real fight on her hands, and if she didn't do something quickly, she was in danger of getting killed.

Her lips curled into a smile as she realized the danger she was in.

Joint locks weren't an option in this situation. The same was true for ki techniques. In the time it took to utilize such moves, she would be wide open to a counterattack. It would be child's play to pick them off one by one, but she could tell from their attacks that these Saiyans were too well-trained in team attacks to risk splitting up. So far, she had managed to survive by fighting defensively, but she couldn't assume that they would run out of stamina before she did. They had clearly been preparing for this fight. So what weren't they prepared for?

Without warning, she rocketed straight up, nearly colliding with one of her foes. She fired a volley of ki blasts down at the rest, but this was just to make them think she was trying to fight back. Instead, she made a sharp turn and sped away from them, heading due north.

"Where the hell is she going?" Aramanth asked.

"Coward!" shouted Kakabajo.

"We've won!" cried Kres. "All we have to do now is follow her and finish her off!"

"Don't get careless!" Logas snapped. "She's up to something. After her, but keep your distance! Keep a tight formation!"

Hundreds of miles away, Luffa could sense them giving chase. There was a chance that they would refuse to take the bait, and resume pillaging the planet until she returned to face them, but that would have worked to her advantage as well. As it was, their reaction proved that their main goal was to defeat her, and they were very confident that they could pull it off. A weaker squad would have been more cautious. A stronger or more reckless group would have pursued her at their maximum speed. These six were somewhere in between. They were confident enough to pursue her, but at the same time they were willing to give up the initiative to see what she had up her sleeve. Now she had their measure.

Playing into their expectations, she came to a stop and began charging a Gallick Gun in midair. There was a strong wind blowing from the ocean to the east. She caught the scent of one of them from upwind. Before the Saiyans came into view, they had already spread out to surround her. There was no chance of hitting any of them with her attack now. The moment she aimed at one of them the other five would strike, throwing off her aim enough for the sixth to dodge. Luffa smiled as she quickly shifted the ki into an explosive wave. This had no chance of working either, since the six were too far out of her effective range, but that wasn't the point. The point was to cover her trail.

"Where did she go?" one of them asked when the light from her explosive wave subsided. They had expected her to use it as cover, to maneuver around one of them for an attack, but the attack never came. Luffa was simply... gone.

"I can't sense her!" Logas replied. "Can anyone else lock on to her ki?"

"Negative!" reported Voraj.

"Me either," said Purzlein. He began to look around anxiously. "What if she... did something to us just now? Messed up our senses, somehow."

"I can sense the rest of you," Logas said. "She must be suppressing her power. There's a forest down there. She must be hiding."

"That's crazy!" Kres exclaimed. "What good would that do her? We could just blow up the whole area and she wouldn't even be able to protect herself!" He pointed his open palm down at the trees and it began to glow red as he readied just such an attack.

"Sure we could," Aramanth said as she grabbed his hand and pulled it away from the forest. "But then we'd never know for sure if we got her or not. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to report back to our Lord and say we think we killed the Super Saiyan. If she turns up alive later on, we'll be banished for sure."

"M-maybe it's not a trick at all," Voraj said. "We don't know how that glowy yellow power of hers works. Maybe she can't sustain it for very long, and we finally wore her out. She ran away because she knew she was almost out of stamina."

"All right, we've got to assume she's still alive down there," Logas said. "We'll have to start clearing the foliage carefully and check for Saiyan remains as we go."

"This could backfire on us, boss," Purzlein said. "If she's only feigning weakness, she could ambush us really easily down there."

"Two can play at that game," Logas replied. "Some of us will suppress our ki and we'll cover each other's backs."

*******

In the city, Dotz had stayed put, until a kind local noticed her sitting alone and escorted her to the relative safety of a cafe. Emergency vehicles had deployed throughout the area to deal with the destruction, but Dotz already knew the immediate danger had passed. She had spent the last several minutes reading tea leaves, and between that and her cards, she had determined that the Saiyans had left the city to do battle in a forest.

The number of Luffa's enemies had increased. Instead of one invader, Dotz now believed there were at least three. This troubled her. It was one thing when her predictions turned out to be mistaken, but when they contradicted themselves, it meant that she couldn't trust her own ability. Which forecast was true, if either? And why couldn't she determine anything about Luffa? It should have been easier than this to forsee whether she would survive this battle.

But the answers would not be found, no matter how long she started into her tea. When the waiter came over, she sighed and ordered another cup to try again.

*******

Luffa waited in the forest for twenty minutes before making her move. She found the first pair of Saiyans standing in a clearing. Voraj was keeping watch while Kakabajo began blasting trees.

"Wait, I think I found something!" Voraj cried. He raised his power level almost immediately as Kakabajo turned to follow him. In the distance, Luffa could sense the others approaching.

Voraj tore through the bushes and grabbed something yellow that he had spotted among some branches. It was Luffa's pants.

Luffa herself was not with them.

"What the hell--?" Voraj gasped as he realized too late that this was a trap. Suddenly he sensed a powerful ki blast, and he instinctively rolled away to avoid it, the pants still flapping in his hand as he moved. When the crimson light faded, he checked on his comrade, only to find him on the ground, with a hole through his chest the size of a small coin. Kakabajo was dead.

Then Voraj heard laughter.

"How did she--?!" he asked. He never sensed her presence. He still couldn't. He could sense his four partners, but not Luffa. And then, as he looked around, he suddenly saw her running towards him, far faster than any Saiyan could while suppressing their ki energy. As he struggled to make sense of it, he briefly imagined that this was some sort of illusion. Then Luffa drove both of her fists into his chest, and scurried away before he could even finish falling to the forest floor. His broken ribs, he knew, were no illusion.

"What happened?!" Logas called out as they arrived only seconds later. They had thought that there would be plenty of time for them to gather together when one of them found something. In their practice drills, it had seemed almost instantaneous. But now, as he still struggled to grasp Luffa's true speed, those moments seemed like an eternity.

"Luffa," Voraj groaned as he struggled to sit up. "She took out... ugh..."

"How?!" Aramanth asked. "We never sensed her energy! It was like that ki blast came out of nowhere--"

"We need to get out of here!" Kres insisted. "We can't risk engaging her with only five--"

"And do you think Luffa will just let us leave the planet peacefully?" Logas snapped. "Even if we could escape, we'd still have to face Trismegistus' wrath. Oh, he'll know to send seven or eight Saiyan after Luffa next time, but that team won't include any of us! Not after we've failed. We have to stand and fight! There's no other way!"

Once more the forest echoed with a woman's cruel laughter. "I'll make this easier for you," Luffa said in a mocking tone. "The first one who tells me about Trismegistus gets to leave the planet unharmed. The rest of you won't have to worry about his wrath, because you'll be too busy suffering mine."

Logas remained defiant. "You think we're afraid of you, you craven freak?" he shouted as the others looked around for any sign of Luffa's person. "Hiding like this only proves that you lack the power to defeat us!"

"Is that so?" Luffa asked. "Ask your buddy Voraj what he thinks of my power. Well, unless his ribs hurt too much for him to talk."

"She... she's right, boss," Voraj said as he clutched his chest. "It's like she can use some of her ki and hide it at the same time. She wasn't glowing bright yellow when she tagged me. I don't think she hit me with her full strength, but..."

"Enough," Logas hissed. "That sort of talk will only make things worse."

"How much worse can it get!?" Kres cried. "We're stuck on this planet, one dead, one wounded, and she's going to kill us all! We won't even see her coming until it's too late!"

"Pull yourself together!" the leader growled. "We're Saiyans, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we're all Saiyans," Luffa called out. "You guys should be enjoying this fight. I know I am..."

"I'll tell you!" Kres shouted. "I'll tell you everything! Trismegistus gave us our powers! It's called Jindan! It enhances our ki! He's building an army of Saiyans, all so he can--"

Logas fired a ki blast at Kres's head before he could say anymore. His team looked on in horror as Kres's corpse collapsed to the forest floor. There was nothing left of his head but a skull covered with a thin film of blackened flesh.

"Logas you... you...!" Purzlein gasped.

"You know what happens to traitors," Logas said.

"Well, that brings you down to four," Luffa said with a cackle. "Three and a half, really. Voraj doesn't look like he's in much shape to fight."

"You monster!" Aramanth shouted. "If you're so sure you have us beaten, then why don't you come out and finish us?!"

"Good question," Luffa said. "I guess the best answer is that I don't just want to beat you chumps. I've been putting up with Saiyan cowardice and treachery for a while now. You people are the first Saiyans in a while that I've managed to corner, so I guess I'm taking out my frustrations on you."

Without warning, she suddenly rushed out of the forest, and struck Logas in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. As he sank to his knees, the others moved to help him, and Luffa stopped and stood before them, bearing a sick smile on her face.

"You idiots tried to hurt a lot of people today," she said. "You didn't need to hurt them, but you tried anyway. For fun, or maybe to get a rise out of me, or maybe your boss Trismegistus told you to do it. I don't really care why. All I know is you were pretty high on yourselves earlier, back when you thought you were the strongest guys on the planet. Back when you thought I'd be easy pickings."

She transformed, and the other Saiyans took a step back as her golden aura kicked up a powerful wind. Her hair glowed bright yellow, and her eyes shone a furious green.

"I can tell from fighting you all, none of you were ever particularly weak, even before you got this Jindan treatment, whatever it is. That was probably the idea. Your master wanted to send some of his best warriors to face me. You're all used to having things your own way. Anyone tries to stop you, you just shove them aside, because you know they can't fight back." She pointed at her eyes. "I can see it in your fighting styles."

The Saiyans tried to attack her, but their coordination was completely ruined now. Two of their number were dead, one barely able to stand, and Logas still unsteady after taking a body blow. They were still trying to overwhelm Luffa with their superior numbers and teamwork, only it wasn't quite as superior as it had once been. Luffa grabbed Voraj, the one with the broken ribs, and slammed him into his partners like a club.

"Me, I was actually a weakling once, believe it or not. I know what it's like to get pushed around, and how to fight when my back's against the wall." Luffa tossed Voraj into the air and watched him fall to the ground. "Guys like you aren't used to being the underdogs. You've never had to fight with broken ribs, have you? Not when a quick ki blast would finish things instead. Maybe that's why I'm where I am now. Doesn't really matter."

Logas grew desperate, and charged at Luffa, putting all the power he could muster into a single blow. Luffa dodged this easily, though doing so left her vulnerable to flanking attacks from Purzlein and Aramanth. She leapfrogged one of them, which caused their attacks to very nearly hit each other. Then Logas caught up to her and managed to drive his fist into her face.

"Now! While she's down!" Logas screamed. "Finish her off!"

As one, the four Saiyans fired on Luffa with all the energy they could. Even Voraj had managed to pull himself upright so he could join the assault. Dazed, Luffa was barely able to bring up her arms to shield herself before she was engulfed in a stream of multi-colored light. Behind her, the foliage and rocky soil were annihilated by the blast, carving out a trail of ash for several hundred yards.

"I... I can't keep it up..." Voraj groaned.

"Don't stop!" Logas shouted. "She's weakening! I can feel it!"

"It's another one of her tricks!" Aramanth protested. "We have to surrender!"

"Don't be a fool!" Logas shouted. "If we stop now, we're all dead!"

Suddenly, Voraj collapsed, unable to stand the strain any longer. Logas turned to him and gasped in shock.

"It's not enough! We need more power!"

And then suddenly, Aramanth ceased fire. While Logas was distracted by this, Aramanth turned and shot Purzlein instead.

"What are you doing?" Logas cried in terror. Now he was the only one left fighting against Luffa, and in a one-on-one contest of power, he didn't have a prayer. Luffa forced his attack back, pushing against it, step by step, until at last the energy had nowhere else to go but back upon the man who had unleashed it. In a matter of seconds, he was torn to shreds, and the shreds were pulverized into dust.

Luffa was the victor. Her bare arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises, and her left eye had swollen shut. Her black shirt and compression shorts were soaked with blood, and she moved gingerly, painfully across the ruined patch of forest, but she still moved. The first thing she did was to grab her pants from Voraj. In all the confusion, he had never thought to let go of them. He was still breathing, though barely.

As she checked on Purzlein's body, Aramanth aimed at Voraj, and killed him with an energy beam through the skull.

"Why?" Luffa asked between ragged breaths.

Aramanth held out her hands in a gesture of capitulation. "You were winning," she said. "And you said you'd spare the first one to tell you about Trismegistus. I couldn't do that until I was sure the others wouldn't be able to kill me for my betrayal."

"What do you mean?" Luffa asked.

She knelt down and bowed her head to Luffa. "I've failed Trismegistus," Aramanth said. "I can't go back to him, so my only chance is to pledge my allegiance to you, Super Saiyan. I'll tell you anything you want to know, and do anything you ask."

"Get up," Luffa commanded.

She obeyed, and as soon as she did, Luffa grabbed her by the collar of her uniform.

"You idiot!" Luffa yelled. "You could have won!"

"Wh-what?" Aramanth asked.

Luffa shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. "I've never fought such a small number of Saiyans and had that much trouble before," she said. "If the four of you had kept it up just a little longer, I'm not sure I would have been able to keep going! And then suddenly your offensive went slack and--"

"You mean we really could have killed you?!" Aramanth asked. She looked over at her fallen comrades, suddenly realizing the gravity of what she had done. The glorious opportunity that she had allowed to slip through her fingers. The reward that Trismegistus might have given her for slaying the almighty Super Saiyan.

Luffa shoved her to the ground and turned away from her. "Maybe!" she said. "I don't really know my own limits, so maybe I would have managed to keep fighting, or maybe I would have had to retreat into the forest and hide for a while. But maybe your combined power might have killed me. Now, we'll never know."

Neither of them moved for a moment. A cold breeze blew through the trees. Aramanth rose to her feet, unsure what to do next.

"As far as letting you leave this planet," Luffa said bitterly, "well, it depends on how good your information is. I can't exactly trust someone who'd turn against her own--"

She suddenly turned and fired a ki blast at Aramanth, who had been about to attack Luffa from behind. Whether Aramanth seriously expected to prevail, or whether she had simply been driven mad with regret, no one could say.

Luffa looked down at the Saiyan woman's corpse, then spit on it in disgust.

*******

When Luffa returned to her ship with Dotz, Zatte noticed her wounds immediately.

"What happened?" she asked as she scooped up Luffa and began to carry her to the sickbay.

"Ran into more of those jacked up Saiyans," Luffa said. "Like the one on Quadzityz, only this crew never got around to self-destructing."

"Ordinary Saiyans did this to you?" Zatte asked.

"Yeah, well you should see what I did to them," Luffa replied. She tried to laugh, but it hurt too much.

"I'll get Dr. Topsas," Zatte said as she set her down on on of the beds in sickbay.

"Don't trouble him," Luffa said, "it's not that bad--"

Zatte raised her hands, showing Luffa the red blood that had smeared onto her blue-skinned palms from carrying her. "This. Is not. A debate," she said.

"Okay, okay, but he promised to check out Dotz first, so--"

"To hell with that," Zatte growled, then she spun around on her heel to fetch the doctor. She made it one step before she found Dotz scooting towards her in her anti-grav chair.

"Oh, hello," Zatte said. "Uh, excuse me." She sidestepped Dotz and continued towards the door.

"Luffa, was that your wife?" Dotz asked after Zatte had gone.

"Hell yeah," Luffa said with a proud grimace. "She's really something, huh?"

"I'm so sorry," Dotz said, maneuvering her chair to Luffa's bedside. "I only saw one Saiyan in my vision. I never imagined there would be six of them!"

"You did great, Dotz," Luffa said. "There's nothing to apologize for. If I had known there would be six, I still would have played it the same way."

"But... but I was wrong..."

"Accuracy's a relative thing," Luffa said with a shrug. "A Saiyan's a Saiyan, whether he's got backup or not. You got the timing down, and the location. That was all I needed. Now if there had been zero Saiyans, then I'd be a little annoyed, but this worked out better than I hoped."

"But... but..."

Luffa's expression shifted to one of concern. "Hey, you should climb into one of the beds, all right? You still need to recover your strength. I'll try to get Doc to look you over first, but he's pretty stubborn once he makes up his mind."

Dotz decided there was no point in arguing, and so she removed herself from her chair and lay down in the nearest bed. As she pulled the covers over herself, she kept glancing over to Luffa, who seemed as cheerful as could be, despite her injuries.

NEXT: The Initiation

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #dotz #logas #kres #aramanth #purzlein #voraj #kakabajo #lubegev #zatte

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duhragonball · 5 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (109/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[21 February, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

"Six Saiyans all at once? You must be slowing down in your old age, little mammal. I remember a time when you defeated fifty without breaking a sweat."

In the sickbay of Luffa's star-yacht, Dr. Topsas applied bandages made of his own webbing to Luffa's wounds. On occasion, he would hold out a section of his silk with two hands and smear a medicated gel onto one side with a third hand. Four other limbs supported the weight of his massive arachnoid body. He used the eighth to hold one of Luffa's hands as he worked.

"They were tougher than usual, that's all," Luffa said. "And I knew you'd be along to patch me up, so I didn't bother blocking their hits."

"Yes, of course," Topsas said as he wrapped up Luffa's right shoulder. "You meant to shred your forearm like this. Forgive me. It can be difficult for my untrained eyes to tell the difference. What seems to be a careless mistake is actually a masterful forgery."

"Ow!" Luffa said. While she had been watching him tend to her arm, one of his other limbs had stuck something into her thigh.

"A regenerative serum," Topsas explained, "to help repair that tendon in your leg. Most Saiyan patients might have caught me before I managed to inject them with it, but you acted as if you were completely unaware. It pleases me to see how much you trust me, Luffa."

"Look, I know you two missed each other," said Zatte, who had taken a seat on one of the other examination tables in the sickbay. "But could you cut the banter for a few minutes and tell me what's going on?"

"Some clown named Trismegistus is powering up Saiyans and sending them after me," Luffa said. "If Dotz hadn't foreseen their attack on Planet Lubegev, they would have wrecked the place and waited for me to hear about it and walk into their trap."

The revelation startled Zatte enough to make her forget her earlier impatience. "You mean they wanted to fight you?" Zatte asked. "That's crazy."

"I think you just defined the Saiyan species, Ms. Zatte," Topsas remarked.

"They weren't that crazy," Luffa said. "Their combined power gave me some trouble. Plus, they were very well-trained for fighting as a group. Pretty sure some of them used to serve in the Royal military. These guys would have been pretty talented, even before Trismegistus got ahold of them. With his Jindan treatments, they were pretty impressive. If they hadn't lost their nerve in the end, I might have been in some real danger."

"Define 'danger'," Zatte said.

Luffa looked at her and smiled. "They might have killed me."

"Yes, but let us remember that they did not kill you," Topsas said as he waved a diagnostic scanner across Luffa's back. "You prevailed over difficult odds, as we have all grown accustomed to seeing. Then you returned to the ship, where you will make a full recovery, much to the relief of your long-suffering wife."

"Thank you, doctor," Zatte said.

"Hey, I told you I was okay when I came on board," Luffa said.

Zatte pointed at Topsas. "I just like to hear it from him, all right?" she said. She looked at Dotz, who was lying in one of the beds, with an intravenous drip in her left arm. "I'm sorry, I should be thanking you. If Luffa hadn't known about this in advance, it could have turned out much worse."

"Oh, uh... well, I'm afraid I wasn't much help, ma'am," Dotz said. "I only forecast one Saiyan, not six, and I had no idea they'd be so powerful. If anything, I should be apologizing..."

"Oh, come on!" Luffa shouted. "You guys are acting like I lost back there. I had my back against the wall and I still kicked their asses! It was amazing, at least until the end when one of them turned coward. Isn't anyone happy for me?"

"In a word, no," Topsas said.

"Hell no," Zatte said.

"I still feel guilty about it," Dotz added.

"Well, too bad," Luffa harrumphed, "because this won't be the end of it. I may not have precognition powers like Dotz, but I've fought enough battles to know this Trismegistus isn't finished yet."

"What are you saying?" Zatte asked.

Luffa hobbled over to a chair and took a seat. With most patients, Topsas might have questioned the point of getting up from an exam table to sit in a chair only a few paces away, but he had learned to pick his battles carefully where Luffa was concerned.

"Those guys who jumped me on Lubegev had the same upgrade as Jolok, the Saiyan who put Dotz in a coma and tried to take me out on Quadzityz," she explained. "When Jolok and I fought, he told me he was defying orders by running off to fight me, but he did it anyway because he thought he could catch me off guard and take all the glory for himself."

"...And?" Topsas asked.

Luffa rolled her eyes and groaned. "Think about it!" she said. "If there were only seven of these jacked-up Saiyans, why wait to deploy them? Why draw it out, long enough for one of them to lose patience and run off to go into business for himself? The reason is that there's a lot more than seven. Trismegistus is trying to build an army of Saiyans with these powers. These six were supposed to be the first wave. A test, to see how well I'd do against them. But it would take a while to move that many pieces into place. Jolok couldn't wait that long, which is why he tried to start things early."

"The first wave?" Zatte asked. "Luffa, you make it sound like this is the start of a full-scale offensive!"

"Hah! You always say the sweetest things," Luffa said. "To be honest, I have no idea how many Saiyans are in league with Trismegistus. Once those six fail to report in, he'll know they weren't enough to beat me. So next time he'll send eight, or ten! If I beat them, he'll send more, assuming he has more to send. But I think he's thought that far ahead. One thing's for sure. There's plenty of Saiyans out there who'd love a chance to take me down, even if they have to gang up on me to pull it off."

"And how, little mammal, do you expect to defeat these enemies when you're still recuperating from the last battle?" Topsas asked.

"By doing the one thing those bastards would never expect," Luffa said as she rose out of her chair. For a moment, she seemed to strike a heroic pose, like a wounded warrior preparing for an epic last stand. Then, she shuffled over to the bed next to Dotz and lay down in it, pulling the covers over herself.

"I'm sorry, but what would that be?" Zatte asked.

"Following my doctor's orders!" Luffa exclaimed. "My body will get stronger with every battle I fight. As long as I stay one step ahead of my injuries, I ought to be able to keep up with Trismegistus' attacks. He thinks I'll run myself ragged trying to stop his goons, but I'll tackle them on my terms, not his. And then, when he's finally out of options, he'll have to give me what I want."

"What's that?" Dotz asked.

"King Rehval," Luffa said with a satisfied smirk. "If that bastard's not already mixed up with Trismegistus, then it's only a matter of time before he will be. They need each other. Trismegistus has a way to increase a Saiyan's power, so if he really wants the most out of it, he'll have to use it on the strongest Saiyan he can find, and that's still Rehval."

"What if you're wrong?" Zatte asked.

"Then I'll deal with it," Luffa said. "For now, all I can do is fight these guys with everything I've got."

"But what if that isn't enough?!" Zatte shouted. "What if they're too much for you?"

"Take it easy, would you?" Luffa said. "We can always ask for a second opinion."

Dr. Topsas cleared his throat before speaking. "I have little experience with such matters," he said, "but if you sincerely wish to hear my advice, then I would recommend--"

"Not you, Doc," Luffa said. "Dotz here is a fortune teller. She may have gotten the details wrong, but she knew when and where the Saiyan attack would happen. I bet she could predict the next one if we give her a chance."

"I'm not worried about where the Saiyans will strike next," Zatte said. "What I want to know is whether you'll still be alive when it's over!"

"Well that's easy enough," Luffa said. "Dotz can read my fortune, can't you, Dotz?"

Dotz was taking a drink of water when Luffa said this, and nearly spit it out. "I, uh... I'm not sure if I should get involved in this..." she said. "I wouldn't want to cause any hard feelings between the two of you."

"Don't swear it, Dotz," Luffa said. She reached across the space between their beds and offered her hand. "Zatte and I have been through tougher situations than this. And I'm a lot stronger now than I've ever been before."

"That isn't the point," Zatte said, putting her hands on her hips. "Dammit, you always get this way when you smell a worthy adversary."

"It's great, isn't it?" Luffa replied as Dotz began examining her open palm. "I feel like a kid again, hunting dinosaurs in the wild. I'd probably have trouble keeping still, but Doc wants me to rest, so it's sound tactical advice."

"I should really get to the bridge," Zatte said.

"What's wrong?" Luffa asked. "You don't want to know my future?"

"Oh, I'm sure you live to be a hundred, and you conquer the whole galaxy or something," Zatte grumbled.

"I'm sorry," Dotz said, "but I'm having some trouble."

"What is it?" Topsas asked. With a speed that belied his bulk, he moved to Dotz's bedside and checked the readings on medical sensors.

"No, I'm fine, doctor," she said. "What I meant was that I can't seem to read Luffa's palm."

"What is it?" Luffa asked. "Bad news?"

"No, it's..." Dotz swallowed hard as she tried to find the right words. "Well, it just... stops. Unless I'm doing something very wrong, Luffa, you have no future."

"How very melodramatic," Topsas said.

"Cool," Luffa said with an impressed smile.

"Wh-what?!" Zatte asked.

Dotz looked at Luffa's hand very carefully as she ran her fingers across her palm. "I've never seen anything like this before," she said apologetically. "I've been telling fortunes for thirty years, and I've never..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Luffa said. "You're not fully recovered from your run-in with Jolok, so maybe that's got something to do with it. Besides, my species makes its own destiny. It'd be kind of boring to know how the movie ends, right, Zatte?"

But Zatte didn't answer. When Luffa looked up, she saw her running out of the sickbay, sobbing.

*******

[21 February, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

Cardune's entire life had been leading up to this moment. He had been so blind in his youth, wasting his talents on pointless battles, siezing just enough plunder to break even. Marriage, family, success, they had all been hollow pursuits, but he did not regret those years, for even these had been part of the plan that had been laid out for his life.

He loved Trismegistus, more dearly than he had loved anything before. The Thrice-Blessed One had transformed Cardune, perfecting him into his true self. In his former ignorance, Cardune had come to him seeking strength of the body, but Trismegistus had given him so much more than that. It made so much sense now. What good was physical might without harmony of the spirit? Only by balancing the mercurial and sulfurous essences in his soul could Cardune achieve his true potential. This was Jindan, the power that turned an ordinary Saiyan into the Universal Reagent. Through Cardune and others like him, Trismegistus would transform the entire universe.

There were difficulties, to be sure. No path worth following would be easy, least of all the Sacred Way. Cardune had sacrificed much in exchange for his newfound power. Trismegistus had taught him that this was the way of alchemy. It was best to forget what he had given up, so as to fully embrace what he had received. This was easier said than done. Often, Cardune caught himself thinking about his partner, and their daughter and son. Mostly, he wondered what had become of them after he was admitted into the cult. Once, he thought he had seen his daughter serving as an attendant to one of the high priests. It was hard not to be relieved, even proud, but this wouldn't do. Cardune had given up his family, so it was no longer his place to worry for their safety, or to take comfort in their prosperity.

This was why his joints ached from time to time. His emotional indiscretions interfered with his spiritual balance, which diminished the effectiveness of the Jindan formula in his body. Meditation helped. While it never seemed to improve his condition, it at least distracted himself from the pain, and kept him from dwelling on things he couldn't control. Like the clock on the wall of his quarters.

Trismegistus was an alchemist, possessed of the secrets of creation itself. For the Thrice-Blessed, remaking the universe was no different from a child mixing vinegar and baking soda. He never called himself a god, though somehow this seemed to make him seem even more noble, as if he were laying silent claim to something even higher than divinity. The Saiyans who belonged to his flock would become his Holy Reagent, the means by which he would effect his great work, but the kinetics of this act were a complete mystery. Mere acolytes like Cardune could not hope to understand. He was a glob of clay wondering when the potter would begin.

Cardune could only act on what he knew, which were the orders he was issued. He was given command of a starship, and he and his crew traveled to a particular location and held their position until the time was right. Their supplies were limited, as Cardune was expected to lead his crew in ritual fasting at certain intervals. Cardune found the hunger useful for diverting his attention from his own problems, but the other officers relied on their assigned consorts to distract themselves from their empty stomachs.

Sex was held in high regard within the Jindan cult. Trismegistus taught his followers that it was a means of balancing bodily humors. Through repeated physical intimacy, they could rid themselves of those essences they did not need, and replenish essences which they lacked. Ever a prudish species, the Saiyans found this polyamorous philosophy deeply disturbing, but this was part of the price for the Jindan power they all shared. Trismegistus had arranged a complex system to determine who was to sleep with whom. Higher ranking members were given greater freedom of choice in this, while the lower members had none. As the commander of his ship, Cardune could have anyone else on board whenever he wished, but he preferred to decline this privilege. Whenever he took a consort for the night, it only reminded him of the husband he gave up to join the cult, and so the entire exercise was self-defeating. He only partook as often as he did in order to set a good example for his crew.

Mostly, he spent his off-duty hours waiting in his quarters, letting his hunger and restlessness argue with his faith. His orders were to hold his position in deep space, maintaining radio silence and a cloaking field to avoid any possible detection. For three weeks, he and his crew had been cut off from the rest of the universe, waiting for a sign to move out. If it pleased Trismegistus, they would die here, waiting for his sign, and the ship would serve as their cosmic tomb. At times, Cardune wondered if their master had forgotten them. He forced himself to repeat the mantras he used during meditation, in an effort to refocus his devotion.

And then, at last, the sign came. Cardune hadn't known what to expect. There was no subspace radio transmission, no voice speaking to him in his mind. Just a feeling in the pit of his stomach, and a sudden urge to find his spear. All of Trismegistus' followers were issued spears. Along with the Jindan power and the Mindworm, which guarded them from telepathic assault, the spears were said to be the third of three blessings Trismegistus bestowed upon his flock. Cardune was never told what the spear was for, just that it was important. Now, as he found it leaned against the wall of his quarters, he began to appreciate its importance.

The head of the spear was shaped like the barbed point of a harpoon, and now it glowed a dull red color, though Cardune could feel no heat when he touched it. Instead, he felt an almost instinctive understanding that this was the moment he and his crew had been waiting for. Trismegistus had cast them into the darkness, and now he was summoning them back. And suddenly, the mental anguish Cardune had endured these past three weeks seemed to melt away. Gazing at the spear, he felt there was nothing he could not do, and he knew that his entire crew now shared the same feeling.

With a newfound sense of purpose, he stepped out of his quarters and headed for his post to order his ship into action.

*******

[21 February, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

On the bridge of Luffa's star-yacht, Zatte had finished crying, and somewhat awkwardly tried to get on with the work of checking the ship's systems. She could sense Luffa approaching the entrance to the bridge. For those who could sense ki, it was hard not to notice Luffa's presence on board. While she had the chance, Zatte turned away from the door and wiped her eyes one last time, in an effort to look a little less pathetic.

"Hey," Luffa said as she stepped through the doorway. "I would have been here sooner, but Doc thought I should give you some space."

"It's okay," Zatte said. "I'm fine, really."

"I'm sorry," Luffa said. "Whatever it is I've done, I'm sorry."

"No, you're not," Zatte said, finally turning to face her. "You can't be sorry for what you are. I'm sorry. I lost it back there. I let you down."

"What are you talking about?" Luffa asked.

Zatte turned and took her hands into her own. "You want to fight," she said. "It reminds me of the day the colony fell. You were covered in Tikosi blood, and we both expected to die there. You always told me how much you enjoyed that battle, and how impressed you were with me."

"I guess it is a lot like that," Luffa said. "I probably got a little too excited about this Trismegistus thing."

"I know you love this sort of thing," Zatte said. "But it scares me. It always has. Fighting is one thing, but against the kind of odds we faced on Dorlu Prime? I know that's a dream come true for you. Most days I can handle that. Today, I slipped. She said you had 'no future’ and I just couldn't..."

She pulled Luffa close and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "I want you to have a future!" she said. "I want to be there with you, and fight for your cause, and I'll burn for you if I have to, but I want to grow old with you too! I want one of us to die in the arms of the other, and if it's me, then I want you to leave my corpse behind wherever it happens to fall."

"Hey, I already promised you that at our wedding," Luffa said. "Dorlun funeral, all the way. I won't let your death get in the way of the living."

"And if you die first, then... then..."

"Of course," Luffa said, returning her embrace. "If we make it that long, that's what we'll do. But there's no guarantees. We won't make it there unless we fight for it. Every step of the way."

"You're right," Zatte said. "It's just... it's hard sometimes."

"It's okay," Luffa said. "It really is. You're allowed to be weak sometimes. Weakness is part of getting stronger. Look at me. I took a real beating on Lubegev, and now I've got to stay in bed and heal up."

"Can you really beat them?" Zatte asked.

"I think so," Luffa said. "But I won't know until I try. That's why I have no future, Zattie. The only future a Saiyan can have is the one she takes. It's whatever I make for myself."

They held each other for a time, and then an alert sounded from one of the bridge consoles. Luffa pulled away from Zatte to check it out. "It's a recorded message from the Federation Council," she said as she read the display. "What the hell do they want?"

She tapped the console to begin playing the message, and the main viewscreen displayed the image of a bald man with brown skin and a red military dress uniform. He smiled somewhat insincerely as he spoke into whatever recording device he was using. "Madam Federatrix," he said.

"Ryba Booth," Luffa said aloud, though she knew he couldn't hear her. There was a somewhat one-sided rivalry between them. Booth commanded a military dictatorship before Luffa forced him to co-found the Federation along with three of his adversaries. He longed for greater power over the Federation, to extend his personal rule to other worlds beyond his home planet of Despye, but Luffa's influence over the Federation made this impossible. She was too popular to outpolitick, and too powerful to overthrow. His only chance was to wait for her to fail on the battlefield, and then he could use his command over the Federation starfleet to usurp her position. The smile on his face suggested that he felt closer to that outcome than he had been in some time.

"If you are receiving this message, it is because I am unable to reach you directly. The Federation is under attack by an enemy fleet. I have deployed our own fleet to intercept the invaders, but intelligence indicates that many of them are Saiyans. Should any of them manage to land on an inhabited world, my ships may be incapable of dislodging them."

Luffa and Zatte exchanged concerned looks. "If these are anything like the Saiyans you fought on Lubegev--" Zatte began.

"I know," Luffa said. "Booth may have no idea what he's dealing with..."

"I'm including tactical charts with information on the planets most likely to be invaded. I believe the Saiyans will attempt to concentrate their forces on Gudgid III, so I've--" there was a disruption in the message, as the audio briefly devolved into static-- "hold the line for now. The Ninth Wing may be vulnerable, but--" Static again. "--ommend you join the battle at coordinates J58 by 126."

There was an interruption in the playback of the message. The image of Booth became distorted, and though he appeared to be speaking, the audio was gone. Luffa looked over to the navigator station, but Zatte had already there, plotting a course. "It'll take us four hours to get there," she said.

"Then we'd better hope Booth can last until then," Luffa said.

"Luffa, you're hurt," Zatte said.

"I know," she said. "I'll have to get creative when we get there. Let's take a look at his charts..."

"Luffa, you said you would rest," Zatte reminded her.

"I just want to take a look," Luffa said, "and then I'll go back to-- This... this can't be right!"

"What's wrong?" Zatte asked.

Luffa tapped a few keys on the console and put the charts on the main veiwer. "Look at this," she said. "Booth's showing Saiyan activity in at least two dozen star systems."

"Two dozen? But what about Gudgid III?" Zatte asked.

"I mean, they could converge on Gudgid," Luffa said. "Normally, that would make sense. Harass the border, keep the defenders spread out while they try to chase you down, and then concentrate your forces on a planet worth sacking. Booth's analysis is sound, or it would be if these were garden variety Saiyans. But if we're talking about Saiyans as strong as the ones I just fought... If these are more of those Saiyans jumped up with this magic power, and if they're all working for Trismegistus, then they could do more than just sack one planet and run for it. They could hold an entire sector or two if they play their cards right. It might take weeks to clear them all out!"

As Zatte looked at her wife's face, she saw her expression grow increasingly concerned. There could be no doubt now. In four hours, Luffa would fight again. And again. Perhaps she would prevail, but at what cost? This was the question Zatte wanted to ask, but she didn't want to break down into tears again, and so she asked another question instead.

"Even if we do clear them out, what'll be left of the Federation when it's over?"

NEXT: Fight Fire With Fire.

#dragon ball #fanficton #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #zatte #dr topsas #dotz #cardune #ryba booth

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duhragonball · 5 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (106/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[17 February, 233 Before Age. Hubler IV.]

Ryloth Windraker's office was as inviting and friendly as the man himself. Whenever a client entered, Ryloth greeted him with a warm smile, a firm handshake, and a hearty pat on the back as he led them to a comfortable-but-professional-looking chair in front of his expensive-but-practical-looking desk. After several interminable minutes of small talk about the client's family and various vacation plans, he would finally ask how he could send the client home with a smile on his face.

"I should like to hire a mercenary," Dr. Topsas said frankly. His arachnoid frame was too large and ill-suited for a chair designed for humanoids, so he simply stood next to it while he spoke. "As my mouth is anatomically incapable of smiling, I fear that does not truly answer your question, but it does state my business plainly enough."

"Yes, of course, Doctor Saspot," Ryloth said. "It's easy to forget just how diverse the galaxy is. Putting a smile on your face is just an expression I use for making the customer happy. I'd change it to something else... but then I'd have to order new stationary!"

He laughed at his own joke, which Topsas found profoundly irritating. "You do arrange contracts for this sort of thing, yes?" he asked.

"Yes! Oh, yes we do," Ryloth said with a chuckle. "Well, officially speaking I have other people arrange that for me. Keeps certain parties from asking too many questions. Let me just take a look at my records.... Now you'll have to bear with me, our computer system is acting kind of slow today..."

"By all means, take your time, Mr. Windraker," Topsas said.

"What sort of military solution did you need, Doctor?" Ryloth asked.

"It's something of a real estate matter," Topsas said. "And there is a bit of a personal grudge, so I'm reluctant to wait for the courts to settle it."

"Keeping your options open, is that it?" Ryloth suggested.

"Something like that," Topsas said.

"Something like that?" Ryloth repeated. Topsas genuinely had no idea how to respond to this, so he waited quietly for Ryloth's computer to catch up.

"So what I have here is probably a good fit for your needs," Ryloth began. "He comes highly rated by past contractors, and he should be available starting..."

He stared at the screen for what seemed like an eternity. Topsas began to wonder if the poor man had suffered a stroke. Why wouldn't he finish his sentence? Why had he started speaking when he didn't know the information he was trying to communicate? He hadn't even asked Topsas when he would need the man, so why was he keeping him in suspense on his schedule? What especially galled Topsas about Windraker was that conventional wisdom would hold this man up as an example of a "great communicator." Except most of what he said and did was pointless showmanship and had nothing whatsoever to do with conveying information the other party wanted.

"Do you have any warrior species in your files?" Topsas finally asked. There was no point in waiting to broach the subject.

"You prefer them, Doctor?" Ryloth asked.

"I find them to be very sympathetic to matters of honor, Mr. Windraker," Topsas replied. "There may be more professional soldiers in your ranks, and many others with greater technical expertise, but I like to establish an emotional connection with the people I hire. It helps to make it about more than just money."

"I understand," Ryloth said firmly, though Topsas strongly doubted that. As he pulled up more records, he launched into a lengthy anecdote which had more to do with his family's history with appliance repair than anything remotely connected to the matter at hand. "Now, I do have the Thundertoads open for next month. They're very formidable. Have you heard of them?"

Topsas had dissected a Thundertoad cadaver in pre-med, but he saw no point in volunteering that information. "I was thinking of something... stronger, Mr. Windraker. Perhaps a Saiyan or two."

"A... Saiyan?" Ryloth asked.

"A friend of mine once told me that you had arranged contracts with Saiyan mercenaries in the past. I was told to ask for a Mr. Jolok, if he was still in the business."

"Jolok?" Ryloth repeated. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. You have to understand, Dr. Saspot, that the market hasn't been good for Saiyans lately."

"And why is that?" Topsas asked innocently. "It was my impression that violence was a key component of their culture."

"That's true," Ryloth said, "but there's been a lot of scrutiny surrounding Saiyans ever since an internal dispute broke out. You've heard of the Legendary Super Saiyan, haven't you? Well, she's been aggressively pursuing any Saiyan she can find, hoping to track down their missing king."

"I don't have much interest in alien politics, Mr. Windraker," Topsas said.

"Yes, well the bottom line is that Sayians are radioactive right now," Ryloth explained. "You might as well be asking me to sell you two hundred pounds of weapons-grade actinium. At least that way you wouldn't have the Super Saiyan looking over your shoulder."

"What business is it of hers?" Topsas asked.

"It's not a matter of jurisdiction, Doctor," Ryloth tried to explain. "You see it's..." There was another long pause, which Topsas found doubly-annoying, since he already understood what the man was struggling to say. "Okay, so... If you had a Saiyan mercenary, and word got out about him, sooner or later she'd come after him, and if he managed to give her the slip, then she'd probably start following the money, shaking down whoever paid the guy. Now I don't want that kind of attention, and I don't think you want that kind of attention."

"Quite so," Topsas said, "which is why you have others to make those kinds of arrangements for you. That is what you said, is it not?"

"Well, er, yes, I see what you're driving at," Ryloth replied. "But I don't think--"

"Mr. Windraker, I have a great deal of money to spend on this venture, and I believe that the wisest investment would be on a Saiyan warrior," Topsas said. "If they prefer to work discreetly, so much the better. Now if you are unable or unwilling to put me in contact with a suitable candidate, then I respect your decision. Perhaps it might be best if your intermediaries were to contact me directly. There would be no risk to your own business, though you would also receive none of the reward."

Ryloth seemed duly impressed by this, and held out his hands to concede the point. "All right, all right, Doctor, I see where you're going with this. If you're willing to accept the potential consequences, then I might be able to help you out. A lot of Saiyans have gone into hiding though. The one you were asking about, Jolok, was killed in the Quadzityz War. Even so, I know some people who know some people, and they could put you in contact with some Saiyans, but it won't be cheap to get them involved."

"As I said, Mr. Windraker," Topsas answered, "I am prepared to pay handsomely, though I should like to see some proof to support your claims."

Ryloth nodded and turned back to his computer. "You'll have it," he said. "I'm putting together a file of all the Saiyans that my people can reach, and how to get ahold of them. Of course, you'd still need me to make those arrangements. They won't just agree to meet with an unsolicited client. It's too dangerous."

"Naturally," Topsas said. "I appreciate your cooperation on these matters."

Ryloth finished creating his file and handed a portable data unit to Topsas. "Now you don't need to make a decision right away," he said. "Look it over and decide which ones you'd like, and I'll see about setting up payments."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Topsas said. "You see, I've already decided which ones to contact."

Ryloth was about to ask whom Topsas had chosen, when suddenly a blue humanoid with red hair appeared beside him, aiming a firearm at Ryloth's head.

"We'll want to speak with all of them, Mr. Windraker," Zatte said. "There won't be much of a finder's fee in it for you, but if you cooperate, we can make sure the Saiyans don't find out it was you who led us to them."

Ryloth looked at them both, then slowly raised his hands in surrender.

*******

[18 February, 233 Before Age. Toblerone Prime.]

Guwar was a mathematician by trade, but he was also a Saiyan warrior, and like most Saiyans, he was frustrated by the lack of good battles to fight ever since the Super Saiyan Luffa began cracking down on Saiyan activity. Eager to change his fortunes, he had joined forces with two other Saiyans, Lesseri and Endive, to pursue a rumored power that would make them all stronger. The technique, known only as "Jindan", was thought to have some ties to alchemy, so most of their progress had been achieved with the help of Treekul, an alien historian specializing in alchemical artifacts and ancient texts. Guwar had been pleased to find that his skills in differential equations had been helpful to the geomantic calculations she used to locate items and sites relevant to their quest. As the weakest Saiyan on the team, he liked having some way to make himself indispensable, just in case his partners decided to start trimming dead wood.

Together, Guwar and Treekul had managed to trace the secret of Jindan to a pair of ancient artifacts: a scroll of formulae written by a legendary alchemist, and a copper retort inscribed with sigils and runes. Both contained elements of the alchemical theory upon which Jindan was based. Guwar wasn't entirely sure how this could be, but he trusted Treekul's geomantic ability to trace modern mysticism to the ancient teachings that inspired it. While recovering these artifacts, Lesseri had made another discovery. Another Saiyan, a man named Salziff, had tried to obtain them for himself. Was he after the Jindan secret too? What had he found out?

Guwar was more concerned with how they would find Salziff, and how they would convince him to tell them anything. Lesseri was confident that they would have no trouble with either. Since Salziff wanted the scroll and retort rather badly, she reasoned that Salziff would be eager to arrange a meeting. As for getting Salziff to talk, Lesseri was even more confident of her answer to that one.

"There's three of us, and one of him," she had told Guwar after slamming her left fist into her right palm. "You and Treekul will take the goods with you to meet with him, while Endive and I scout the area for any tricks. If he tries anything funny, we'll gang up on him, and beat him until he begs to tell us what we want to know."

Guwar found her plan somewhat glib. Of the four of them, he alone had met Salziff, and he knew the man to be devious. No matter how desperate Salziff was for the retort and scroll, Guwar was certain that Salziff would find some way to take what he wanted while giving as little as possible in exchange. As they rode and elevator to Salziff's apartment, Treekul listened patiently while Guwar tried to warn her about Salziff's guile.

"You have to give Lesseri some credit," Treekul said. "We put that ad on the subspace network, and he responded to it immediately. 'As soon as possible,' the message said. The guy really wants what we've got."

"Maybe so," Guwar said, "but if I know Salziff, he picked this meeting location very carefully. He's got something up his sleeve. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure he's mapped out three or four escape routes to use once he gets ahold of the scroll and retort."

"Why would he try to escape?" Treekul asked. "As far as he knows, it's just you and me coming to meet him, and you said he was stronger than you. He's probably planning to beat you up and take what he wants."

"Maybe," Guwar said, "but he'd be a fool to assume that we're coming alone just because we told him we would. He may not be expecting us to have backup, but he'll still be prepared for it. Just follow my lead." Guwar handed her a handheld communicator. "If we run into trouble, signal the others with this."

Treekul shrugged and clipped the device to her belt, then she removed the backpack she was carrying to take out the scroll and retort that were stored inside. "If we're so worried about this guy," she said, "maybe it wasn't such a great idea to bring these things with us."

"And leave them on the ship with no one to guard them?" Guwar asked. "No, that'd be playing right into Salziff's hands. This way, we look vulnerable, so if he tries to take advantage of us, Lesseri and Endive can swoop in and stop him."

"I thought you said he'd be expecting us to have backup," Treekul said. "Is being a Saiyan always this complicated?"

The elevator door opened and Guwar let out an annoyed groan as they stepped out into the hall.

"Right, sorry. Follow your lead," Treekul said. "Got it."

They arrived at the door number Salziff had specified, and Guwar knocked four times, as Salziff had instructed. There was no answer.

"Where is he?" Guwar wondered aloud.

"Maybe he went out and lost track of time," Treekul suggested. "No, wait, he might be putting the finishing touches on some deathtrap."

She leaned in and put her ear against the door to try to hear what was going on inisde, and then she looked up at Guwar with a puzzled expression.

"What?" he asked. "What is it?"

"It sounds like snoring," she said.

Guwar put his own ear to the door to hear for himself. It did indeed sound like snoring. He pounded on the door again, and this time, he didn't bother keeping count.

"Salziff!" he shouted. "Wake up or I'll break down the door!"

Treekul listened again. "He's not snoring at least," she said.

"Then why isn't he coming to get the door?" Guwar asked. They hadn't even started yet, and he was already fed up with Salziff's games.

"Wait, I can hear... it sounds like he's coming this way," Treekul said. "Not really footsteps. More like he's shuffling across the floor very slowly."

"Shuffling?" Guwar asked, but before Treekul could explain further, they heard the door being unlocked from the inside. A moment later, the door opened, but only by enough to let the occupant see Treekul and Guwar outside.

"Is that you, Guwar?" he asked. Guwar could recognize Salziff's voice, but it sounded weak and hoarse.

"That's right," Guwar replied.

"Who's she?" Salziff asked.

"She's with me," Guwar answered curtly as he took Treekul's backpack and opened it.

"You have the retort?"

"Yeah."

"And the scroll?"

Guwar held them up for Salziff to see. "Look can we come in?" he asked. It's been a long trip, and my lady friend is tired.

The door slowly opened, allowing the light from the hall to reveal the Saiyan, or what was left of him. He looked pale and sickly. His hair had turned white, and some of it had fallen out. A thin layer of stubble lined his jaw and upper lip, perfectly framing his hollow cheeks and sunken eyes.

"Come on in," Salziff muttered. He turned and led them inside, shuffling across the floor in a pair of slippers. The only other clothes he wore was a pair of linen shorts. It disturbed Guwar to be able to see the outline of Salziff's ribs under the skin of his back.

"Hey, Guwar," Treekul whispered as she elbowed his arm to get his attention. "What's up with this guy? I thought you told me Saiyans don't age for most of their lives. So how old does that make him?"

"He didn't look like this the last time I met him," Guwar murmured back to her. "As far as I know, he's two years younger than me."

"Yikes," Treekul said through gritted teeth. When Salziff turned to face them so that he could collapse into his recliner, she tried to make her grimace look like a friendly smile, though Guwar doubted that it was worth the effort. Salziff seemed to be too weary to care what anyone thought of his appearance.

"Well, you're here," Salziff said as he stared down at his feet. "You've got what I want, and you knew that I wanted them, so that means I must have something you want in exchange. Name your price. I'm in no position to haggle."

Guwar's first instinct was to suspect a trap. This was all too easy, and too suspicious by half. He didn't know how or why Salziff looked the way he did, but Guwar had learned a long time ago never to take things at face value. It was much easier to believe that Salziff was only feigning weakness for some reason.

Then Salziff began to cough, and he kept on coughing. He reached for a box of tissues and continued coughing, until at last he expelled something from his mouth. Guwar couldn't tell what it was, but he noticed a trickle of blood on Salziff's dry, cracked lips after he threw the tissue away.

It was then that Guwar realized that he rather hoped this was some kind of trick. He never liked Salziff, but the idea of him really wasting away like this was horrifying to contemplate.

"All I want is information," Guwar said.

"Good for you," Salziff said. "That's about... about all I have these days. T-tell you everything I know."

He began to cough again, and Guwar was grateful that it didn't last nearly as long as the last time.

"First, I want to know why you want these trinkets," Guwar said, gesturing at the retort in his hand and the scroll in Treekul's.

"I'm dying," Salziff said bluntly. "I think they can save my life."

"How?" Treekul asked.

"I don't know," Salziff said. "The man who owned them, he could tell you."

"He's dead," Guwar said. He wondered if telling Salziff that was a good idea, but the severity of Salziff's condition was throwing off his negotiation skills.

"Then so am I," Salziff said after a long pause. "Guess you didn't need to bring those things with you after all."

Guwar pointed at Treekul. "The woman knows a thing or two about this stuff. Maybe she can do something for you."

"I doubt that very much," Salziff said. He didn't bother looking at Treekul. "No offense, babe. If we'd met a few months ago, I would have been happy to make your acquaintance. These days... well, I just don't have the stamina."

Treekul ignored his comment. "You're right, I probably don't know enough to help you," she said. "I'm an alchemical historian, not an alchemist. But I have some contacts. Maybe I can put you in touch with someone else who can figure out how to use these."

"I don't have time for 'someone else'," Salziff said. He stopped to catch his breath. "I didn't have time when I went to Quadzityz to beg Dorf Portendav for his help, but he was the only one I could find who had any experience in prolonging life and restoring vitality. He is... was... a hundred years older than he looked, you know. There's other people who claim to do what he's done, but he's definitely done it. But he wouldn't lift a finger for me. Too bad... maybe if he'd cooperated with me, he wouldn't have run into you guys and gotten himself killed."

He started coughing again, and he reached for another tissue. When he was finished with it, he tried to put some force behind it as he tossed it into the trash, though it was hard to tell the difference. "Serves him right, that stingy bastard," Salziff said. "Wanted to be immortal, well look how far you got. Couldn't even outlive me. Me, I just wanted to live long enough to see another worthy battlefield. Guess that won't be happening now."

"What did this to you, Salziff?" Guwar asked.

"Performance enhancing drugs, to start with," Salziff said with a weak sniffle. "I wanted to get stronger, but I didn't want to train, and I couldn't find enough action out in space. Things were peaceful enough before the Super Saiyan started this crackdown, you know?"

"I've never heard of any PED's that could do this much damage to a body," Guwar said.

"Then you haven't looked as hard as I have," Salziff said with a laugh. "Too busy sticking your nose in those math books, Guwar. Maybe you're better off, now that I think about it. Pharmaceuticals weren't getting the job done, so I started looking into the black market. A lot of it's snake oil, but some of it really works... for a while, anyway. Before I knew what I'd done, I'd managed to screw myself over pretty badly. I had to use most of my ki just to keep myself alive."

Guwar and Treekul exchanged a look. Lesseri had been floating outside the apartment window for several minutes now, charging a ki blast aimed at Salziff's chair. If he noticed her presence at all, he never acknowledged it. Either his ki senses had faltered along with the rest of his body, or he simply didn't care whether Lesseri killed him or not. Guwar nodded at Treekul, who pressed a button on a communicator hanging from her belt. A few minutes later, Lesseri and Endive answered her signal, and stepped inside the room.

"He's dying," Guwar explained to them. "I don't think he knows anything, but even if he did, we can't really force it out of him."

"Oh..." Salziff said when he finally saw the other two women. "I had you figured all wrong, Guwar. You're pretty popular with the ladies, after all."

"Never mind that," Lesseri said as she stepped towards his chair. "What do you know about Jindan, old man?"

"Jindan?" Salziff said with a gasp. "Don't tell me that's what you all wanted from me."

"We simply wish to get stronger, Salziff," Endive said in a crisp, even tone. "Just as you did."

"If that's what you three want," Salziff said with a weak cough, "then you'll take my advice and forget you ever heard of Jindan."

"You're saying it doesn't work?" Lesseri asked.

"What I'm saying," he said before another coughing spell came over him. "What I'm saying is that it isn't worth it. Look at me, woman. I'm younger than Guwar, but look at me now. Is this how you want to end up?"

"Then you have used it," Lesseri said. "And everyone who does ends up like you?"

Salziff looked away from Lesseri, and shook his head. She grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him out of his chair.

A trickle of excrement spilled from his shorts. Guwar winced at the smell.

"Tell me!" Lesseri demanded. "You're not so close to death that I can't make you suffer before you go!"

Endive stepped in to stop her. "Lesseri, this is pointless," she said. "We still have the scroll. Treekul can find another lead to Jindan with that."

"Back off, Endive," Lesseri growled. "This guy's seen what we're after. He's been there, and he can tell us everything we need right now. But he won't talk, and that makes me upset..."

Suddenly, Salziff made a strange noise. At first, Guwar wasn't sure what it was. He had never spent much time around the sick, and so for a moment he wondered if it was a special noise people made before they died. Then he saw a thin smile on Salziff's face, and he realized that it was laughter, or the closest thing to laughter that Salziff could muster.

"Oh what the hell?" Salziff said. "You four won't take no for an answer, so what do I care if you ruin your lives? I'll talk. I won't bore you with the whole story, but I'll get you where you need to go."

Lesseri set him back in his chair and crossed her arms impatiently. Salziff took a moment to compose himself, and finally said the word: "Mundokuul."

"What is that?" Endive asked.

"It's where I went to contact the Jindan cult," he said. "They have their own planet, but I don't know where it is, or what it's called. No one does. You go to Mundokuul, and they take you the rest of the way. If you're worthy, that is."

"Go on," Lesseri said.

"Well there's not much more to say, is there?" Salziff said. "There's a ritual, but you'll see that for yourselves. You'll rue the day you heard my name, but when it's over, you'll receive the power of Jindan. And you'll be stronger.... Yes, you'll be so much stronger than you've ever been. Oh, it's glorious..."

"Then what went wrong?" Guwar asked. "What's the catch?"

Salziff turned and stared at the window, as though trying to look at the stars in the sky. The curtains were drawn, and so if this was his intention, he had to satisfy himself with the gesture instead of the view.

"The cult is the catch," he finally said. "They don't give that kind of power away for free. You accept it from them, and they own you, body and soul. Step out of line, and they take it back, only you're not quite the same when that happens. The Jindan power merges with your own, and after a while, it's no so easy to separate them. So if you make them mad, and they decide to take back what they gave you, they end up tearing away a piece of what you started with. That's why I'm dying. My health was shot before I went to Mundokuul, and Jindan made me strong enough to recuperate, but I couldn't follow their rules, and when they took Jindan away from me, they took with it some of my own strength, leaving me too weak to keep my body from falling apart."

Guwar looked at Lesseri and Endive, who looked back at him, and then each other. There was a grim silence in the room as the Saiyans considered what they had just heard. Then Salziff started to cough again. By the time he stopped, there were tears running down his face.

"I grew up with my great grandfather," Salziff said. "He told me all sorts of crap. Used to knock me around when I wouldn't listen. I just thought he was a foolish old man. Now I look older than him, and I finally see where he was coming from. I thought he just liked bossing me around, but he was trying to warn me. He just wanted to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes he used to make. He told me how nothing in life is free. If it doesn't cost money, then it takes hard work, and if it's not either of those things, then it must be something else they want, like your freedom, or your health, or your soul. I wish I had listened to him now. He wasn't such a bad... such a bad guy. Wish he was here... so I could tell him I'm sorry... Sorry that I didn't listen, pop. But maybe you three will listen. It's not worth it. Please, it's just not worth it..."

But the four visitors had already left. He rambled on anyway, oblivious to his solitude, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

*******

[18 February, 233 Before Age. Interstellar space.]

Aboard Luffa's star-yacht, Luffa herself appeared on the main video display at the fore of the bridge. At first, when she had answered their subspace communication in a bad mood, mostly due to the passenger accommodations on the transport ship she was currently aboard. Apparently whoever had designed the seats had not considered humanoids with tails, but as she listened to Zatte's account of Dr. Topsas' performance, her expression brightened considerably.

"You should have seen him," Zatte said. "For a while there I thought he really was looking to hire a Saiyan mercenary. I was beginning to think he might storm out of Ryloth's office in a huff if he didn't give him one."

"I took an acting course at university," Topsas said. "It helps when the role isn't terribly challenging. To play a pushy, entitled customer, I only need to think back on so many of the patients I have encountered in my career as a doctor. Demanding a Saiyan is not so different from demanding prescription painkillers."

"He's just being modest," Zatte said. "He was amazing. You would have been proud."

"I was already proud of Doc," Luffa said. "I only sent you along in case he got too rough with Ryloth."

"For your information, I am only 'rough' on persons who fail to keep their appointments," Topsas said. "There is one I could mention, whose wife has told me of all manner of old injuries which really ought to be examined by a physician." He raised one of his eight limbs, and revealed a small data drive held in his fingers. "I was hoping that I might use Mr. Windraker’s Saiyan contact list to lure her back to my care."

"So that's it, huh?" Luffa said. "You two are ganging up on me now?"

"Hey, he just asked me how you've been," Zatte said. "It's not my fault that you keep getting into fights and picking up strange diseases."

"All right, Doc, I'll turn myself in," Luffa said, "but I want you to look at someone else first."

"You mean that fortuneteller you told me about?" Zatte asked. "You're bringing her back with you?"

Luffa nodded. "Zatte probably already told you, Doc, but Jolok had a defense against telepathic attacks. He called it the Mindworm, and it did a number on me, but he said that he tested it out first by tricking a fortuneteller into trying to read his mind. Her name's Dotz, by the way. I managed to bring her out of her coma, but she's still having trouble shaking off the effects. I thought maybe you could do something for her."

"Brought her out of her coma?" Topsas repeated. "I wasn't aware punching and screaming had any therapeutic value."

"Oh, they do wonders for me," Luffa said, "but for Dotz, I used my telepathy to go inside her head and fight off the Mindworm for her."

He stroked his pedipalps thoughtfully with his forward left hand. "Impressive," he said. "I didn't realize your powers could be used to heal."

"You should see what she can do for birds," Zatte said.

"Very well," Topsas said. "I've waited this long to give you a checkup, little mammal. I suppose I can take the time to see too your friend first."

"Good," Luffa said. "We're on a transport ship bound for the Lubegev System. You can meet us there. I don't know anything about the local cuisine, but we'll figure something out for dinner."

"That's fine, Luffa," Zatte said as she and Topsas exchanged puzzled looks. "But why there? What's in the Lubegev System?"

"Nothing... yet," Luffa said. "But after I got Dotz out of her coma, she had a vision." Her lips curled into an excited grin. "It wasn't much, but if she's right, there's going to be a Saiyan attack on Lubegev in three days. I thought I'd drop by, and if any Saiyans do show up, I could give them a proper welcome..."

NEXT: The Pause at the Threshold.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #luffa #zatte #dr topsas #ryloth windraker #guwar #endive #lesseri #treekul #salziff #toblerone prime #hubler iv

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duhragonball · 6 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (74/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[2 March 234 Before Age. Tingi V]

There was a conference room on the second floor of the resort, which the building's architects had included more out of habit than necessity. On the off-chance that a high-powered executive wanted to hold an important meeting in a noisy and hedonistic pleasure palace, there was a place ready and waiting for just such a purpose, with room for at least a dozen humanoids.

Zatte was walking around the table, admiring the tantalum-plating on the trimmed edges, when Luffa entered the room. She was two minutes early.

"Dr. Yokan, welcome to Tingis V," Zatte said with a professional nod. She crossed the table to shake Luffa's hand. Both women were dressed in whatever business attire they had been able to find the night before The coat of Luffa's pantsuit was a little big on her shoulders, but it wasn't like she planned to wear it often.

"A pleasure, Ms. Dracham," Luffa said in an even tone.

"I must admit, it is strange to see you like this," Zatte began. "You seem to be adjusting well to your... transplant."

Luffa snorted. "Compared to my original body, anything would be an improvement," she said. "I've always found Saiyans to be very useful. This one makes a most effective vessel."

"And quite attractive, if I may say so," Zatte added. "If you need money to fund your experiments, Doctor, you could always give up mercenary work to pursue exotic dancing."

"I'd prefer to get to business," Luffa said coldly.

"Of course," Zatte said as she sat on the edge of the table. "I've been reviewing the profiles you sent me for your team. I'd like to discuss them before we begin negotiations."

Their roles were fictional, but the 'business' was real enough. In reality, Luffa and Zatte had spent the last month training a band of Saiyans who had been trying to follow in Luffa's footsteps. Until recently, none of them had ever met Luffa, and their leader, Zaperc, had based most of his teachings off of a self-help book that had been marketed as an unauthorized biography of Luffa. The book was wildly inaccurate, and Luffa had been so disgusted with their practices that she resolved to straighten them out herself. Zatte was happy to help, since she considered herself to be a disciple of Luffa's in a manner of speaking, and she was hopeful that she and Zaperc's group could connect over this.

The trip to Tingis V seemed like a good opportunity to review the Saiyans' progress, and so they had planned to discuss it over dinner, until Luffa suggested this scenario instead. "Dr. Yokan" was a compromise. Luffa was uneasy playing non-Saiyan roles, so Zatte suggested an alien whose brain inhabited a Saiyan's body.

"Let me be clear," Luffa said. "I won't be joining these Saiyans in the field. Zaperc will be in command of the mission."

"He's certainly experienced enough," Zatte said as she shuffled a stack of papers. "And I admire his idealism. It's good for employees to have their own motivation."

Luffa sat in one of the chairs and crossed her arms. "He's fixated on the Super Saiyan legend," she said. "He knows how to inspire the others and keep them working together, but he relies to much on what he's read in books. And he favors his son over the others, which could be a problem."

"Then let's talk about the son," Zatte said. "Brockle's the strongest, yes? And very resourceful. He's shown a lot of improvement over the past month. Your pet Dorlun speaks very highly of him in her reports."

"She's too charitable," Luffa muttered. "Brockle's strong, but unprincipled. He doesn't care about anything but himself, which means he doesn't care if he wins or loses."

"There's nothing wrong with a healthy sense of self-preservation, is there?" Zatte asked.

"Not at all," Luffa said, "but too much self-interest can lead to problems in the mercenary business. Brockle has to be willing to take other people's problems as his own. He wants your money, Ms. Dracham, but he doesn't want to be responsible for your interests. I'm trying to break him of that."

"I see," Zatte said. "Let's move on to Bodi then."

"He has promise," Luffa admitted. "His constant flirting is a problem, but only if you happen to be in the same room with him. I didn't know a Saiyan could be so shameless until I met him."

"Agreed," Zatte said. "He's conscientious in a quiet sort of way, but not exceptional. He keeps their base clean, and gets along well with the others. I wouldn't put him in charge, but he seems to have become a good team player. Which is more than I can say for Hijik..."

Luffa looked up at the ceiling in frustration. "Hijik," she groaned.

"His attitude has improved over the past month," Zatte offered.

"I'll be blunt, Ms. Dracham," Luffa said, "Hijik's contempt for women is typical for the Saiyan race. What's really astonishing is the way he tries to turn his insecurities into some sort of hare-brained political manifesto."

"Some would say that a soldier's opinions don't matter," Zatte suggested. "As long as he gets the job done, he can hold whatever toxic worldview he pleases."

"A sick mind infects the entire body, sooner or later," Luffa replied. "He blames women for all his problems, because it's easier than confronting his own weaknesses. If he was actually stronger than all women, he'd just find some other thing to blame. As it is, he can't beat me, so he makes excuses. The only thing he ever respected was the Super Saiyan, but only when he believed the Super Saiyan was a man who would have been just like him. He refuses to learn anything that contradicts what he already thinks. Prove him wrong, and he just gets resentful about it."

"But he has shown you greater respect recently," Zatte observed. "He even defers to the Dorlun now."

"Only out of fear," Luffa grumbled. "A dog can learn that much. You want soldiers defending your holdings. I'm not sure Hijik qualifies as one."

"You think he'd fold at the first sign of adversity?"

Luffa nodded. "He's the worst kind of loser, the type who embraces defeat and tries to justify it with a lot of philosophical rambling. In a pinch, he'd abandon your cause, Ms. Dracham. Then he'd claim that you had set him up to fail, and that he was right to lose the battle because you were trying to emasculate him somehow."

"All right," Zatte said. "Let's move on to the women. Lesseri seems to be the most professional of the team. She reminds me of another Saiyan mercenary I knew once."

Luffa raised an eyebrow at this. "I'm not sure your friend would take that as a compliment," she said with a harrumph. "Lesseri's disciplined enough. She knows her way around military hardware. Not as strong as Brockle, but she makes up for it in common sense."

"You're right," Zatte said with a smirk. "Those are terrible qualities. I should apologize to my friend the next time I see her."

"My point is that she lacks the passion to drive those qualities to their fullest potential," Luffa went on. "Brockle's immature, but at least he wants to get stronger, even if it's just to please his father. Lesseri wants to be successful, but she doesn't want to put in the work. All she's interested in is stuffing her bank account with credits and racking up victories any way she can. Self-improvement for its own sake doesn't mean anything to her."

Zatte stroked the tip of her chin with her thumb. "Another loser who justifies their failures, is that what you're telling me?"

Luffa nodded. "She's not as delusional as Hijik, but it amounts to the same problem. A potentially great warrior who's content to remain average. I blame it on her upbringing. A brat needs parents to teach them these things."

"What about Vigurd?" Zatte said. "I'd say she's taken your lessons to heart. As much as Hijik hates the idea of taking instruction from a woman, Vigurd seems to relish it."

"She's too ruthless," Luffa muttered. "She uses it as a crutch. Thinks raising children is a waste of time, as if there's nothing to be gained from reviewing the basics with a kid. And is she really any stronger for all the shortcuts she's taken?"

Zatte waited for her to continue, and when the pause was long enough, she decided to move on. "Well, that just leaves-"

"Honestly, I think they're all looking for a shortcut," Luffa suddenly said. "Zaperc discovered that book and thought it would help him or his son get stronger, and the others threw in with him for the same reason. They'll follow orders, and they'll train, but they'll never get it. They want a set of instructions to follow. A secret formula that skips all the hard parts."

Zatte screwed up her face as she regarded Luffa. It wasn't surprising that Luffa should be so hard on her students, but it sort of conflicted with the characters they were playing. "Dr. Yokan" was supposed to be selling this team's services, but so far she seemed to be talking herself out of a contract.

"Does that analysis cover Jikama as well?" Zatte asked in an effort to keep Luffa on track. "I've found him to be... er, your Dorlun aide tells me he's handled the training very well."

"Of course he has," Luffa said. "He's only half-Saiyan."

She had stopped looking at Zatte, and had put her elbows on the table so she could lean forward and rest her head on her hands as she stared pensively at the surface. Zatte waited for Luffa to explain, but she never did.

"I... know he's half-Saiyan," Zatte said. "His mother is Chezzi. That's how Zaperc chose Nat-Chezz for their base of operations. What about it?"

Luffa sighed. "It means that what works for him may not work for the others," she said. Mixed-bloods are tricky to measure. They're often less powerful than full-blooded Saiyans, or they lack the Saiyan fighting spirit, or both. Jikama seems motivated and attentive, but that might only be because he's protecting his planet and his mother's people. That won't carry over to the others, and whatever will work for them might not be effective for him."

"You make it sound like you've already given up on him," Zatte said.

"I already have," Luffa said. "He's welcome to learn whatever he can from me, but I'm keeping my expectations low."

"He's one of your own people," Zatte objected. Now she was the one breaking character, but that no longer mattered in light of what she was hearing. "Are you really writing him off because he's half-alien?"

"There's going to be things he can't do as well, Zattie," Luffa said. "I don't hold it against him. He's got the makings of a fine warrior. But among Saiyans, he'll always be second-class. He knows that as well as I do. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"No, I suppose I don't," Zatte said. "All right, fine. So we've been working with this bunch for a month. They've tightened up their teamwork and they've got a better handle on how to fight a defensive war, but that's about it. Their attitudes still stink, and they'll probably never live up to your expectations. Where do we go from here, xan'nil-Dor?"

Luffa groaned as she leaned back in her chair. "I don't know," she said. "I like Planet Nat-Chezz's prospects, at least in the long term. They could always hire a more professional squad to defend their planet and use what they've learned from working with us. And Jikama's descendants could end up becoming a nice little warrior tribe in a century or two. Hell, Bodi might settle down and start a family himself. It's the Saiyans I'm worried about. I don't mean these seven. I mean all Saiyans, everywhere."

Zatte sat down beside her and took her hand. "You've been saying things like that since we first met Zaperc's gang," she said. "I keep thinking you're just in one of your moods, but this is different. What's eating you, Luffa?"

"You remember that fight we had a while back?" Luffa asked.

Zatte laughed. "Only the last thousand or so. You'll have to narrow it down for me, buster."

"Eight months ago, I think. I read your mind and picked up something about how you thought I'd changed so much since we first met. And I didn't take it very well..."

"Oh that one," Zatte said. "I thought you were going to put me off the ship, you were so angry."

"I was upset because I didn't want it to be true," Luffa said. "I've become so different from other Saiyans already, and everyone keeps trying to make it out like I turned into something else, like a mutant or a goddess or whatever. I'm stronger and... glowier... but I'm still a Saiyan. I'm still me."

"I know," Zatte said.

"But I have changed," Luffa said. "I was just afraid to admit it, because it felt like I was giving up my identity. Like that green haired guy you were flirting with last night."

"You're still worried over him?" Zatte asked. "Look, all I did was talk to him--"

Luffa shook her head "I know. What I mean is, I felt bad for the guy because we were doing this silly character thing and he wasn't in on the gag. He probably doesn't even care, but somehow it still bugs me."

"Well, when you put it that way," Zatte said, "I suppose it was a little unfair to lead him on, even if it was just for a few minutes. I only did it to get a rise out of you, and I guess it worked, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind."

"What I'm saying is, I don't even know the guy," Luffa said. "A few years ago, I would have just as soon killed him if he got in my way. Now I'm worried that we might have hurt his feelings."

She stood up and pulled her hand away from Zatte's. "At first I thought it was this telepathy thing, that I was contaminating my mind with other people's thoughts, but it's more than that. I had to be extremely careful when I first turned into a Super Saiyan. I've gotten used to being this strong, but I still think before I act a lot more than I used to. It's given me a perspective that most Saiyans wouldn't have. Meeting Zaperc and the others, it's hard to ignore that."

"That doesn't mean you're not a Saiyan anymore, Luffa," Zatte assured her. "You've grown as a person, that's all."

"No, there's more to it than just that," Luffa said. "I've always been different. Kandai knew it, and I think my father did too. I love fighting. Every Saiyan does, but they were never as excited about it as I was. I used to think they were just being mellow, or that I was trying to compensate for how weak I used to be, but now..."

"I have to admit," Zatte said, "You always made Saiyans sound more noble than the ones I've met. It's like you're following a different set of rules than the rest of them."

"Yeah," Luffa said. "My mother taught me everything I know about the Saiyan race. Who we are, where we came from. Sometimes I don't think even she took it all seriously, but I did. I thought everyone else did too. When my father betrayed me, I thought he was the exception, but then Kandai was in on it, and..."

"You were hoping Zaperc and his followers would be different," Zatte said. "They already sort of admired you, so you thought they might be more like the kind of Saiyans you could get along with."

Luffa crossed her arms and turned to face her. "I mean, it's stupid, really. I'm whining to you about all this, when you're the one who's really alone. We haven't come across another Dorlun in over a year."

"Part of me is grateful for that, to be honest," Zatte said. "I decided you were a xan'nil-Dor, someone sacred. The rules say I'm not supposed to do that on my own, but I don't have a choice right now. If we ever do find a Dorlun settlement, the first thing I'll need to do is submit you to a council of community elders and let them make the final decision. I always worry what might happen if they reject my claim."

"Why?" Luffa asked. "It's not like you need to be right about this."

"But I am right," Zatte said. "I know I am. And if they don't agree with me, I'll have to turn my back on them, and then I'll be just as alone as I am right now. As alone as you probably feel in a room full of Saiyans, I suppose."

Luffa considered this for a minute, then tugged at the collar of her blouse. "That's why we're really wearing these disguises, isn't it?" she said with an amused sniff. "It's not so we can escape. It's so we can blend in, and pretend we're not alone for a while."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Zatte said.

Luffa took Zatte by the hands and pulled her gently out of the chair. "Let's go back to Nat-Chezz," she said.

"Right now?" Zatte asked. "We've got two more nights reserved."

"We'll get dinner first, at least," Luffa said. "But I think we ought to get back to work. Maybe we can figure out how to get through to these Saiyans."

"You seem confident all of a sudden."

"Well, it's been about sixteen hours since our last argument," Luffa said. "If we can communicate with each other that well, then anything's possible."

*******

[2 March 234 Before Age. Awlnee III.]

Things hadn't gone well for Yarrow since his partner had died. At the time, he had written off Okartish as weak. Any Saiyan who could be slain so easily deserved his fate. Okartish's assassin had tried to take out Yarrow as well, and Yarrow had killed her almost effortlessly. Clearly, Okartish was dead weight. Their partnership had been fruitful, but this was a sign that it was time for Yarrow to strike out on his own, or so he had believed.

As things turned out, Yarrow gained a new appreciation for Okartish's contributions to their team. As a solo operator, Yarrow had no one to watch his back in battle. Once, while looting a planet in the Narl Cluster, a thief broke into his ship and stole key engine components. In the time it took Yarrow to recover the parts and repair his ship, the planet's defenders had summoned reinforcements. In his haste to escape, he had been forced to leave most of his plunder behind. Yarrow had dealt with other hassles, too, but the worst of these was the long trips through space. Okartish always had a joke or a story to tell, and he knew his way around alien women, which came in handy at spaceports. He used to enjoy the downtime between missions, but now he dreaded the long days of solitude.

But it couldn't be helped. Okartish was still dead whether Yarrow appreciated him or not, and Yarrow was still greedy enough that he wasn't in any hurry to share his spoils with a new partner. Instead, he saved his money and purchased a state-of-the-art entertainment system for his ship. Now, instead of staring at the stars on the main viewscreen, he could watch movies, sporting events, cockfighting tournaments, and anything else he could pick up on the ship's subspace antenna. It even included a library of interactive games, though he had no idea how to play them. It hardly mattered, since he would have plenty of time to practice. His next target was a rich and isolated world in the Coldin Sector, and it would take nearly two months for him to reach it.

For the first time in what felt like ages, he was actually looking forward to a long trip. When he had finished his meal, he barked for the waiter to bring his bill, and rushed out the door to get back to his ship. He couldn't decide what to watch first, but there was no hurry. It would be fun just to navigate through the multitude of options for a while. Once the hatch of his ship was finally opened, he hurried inside and headed straight for the cockpit.

He was halfway down the corridor when he heard voices... and music.

Yarrow reached out with his senses, but the only life energy he could detect aboard the ship was his own. He moved cautiously down the rest of the corridor and found the cockpit dark and empty, except for the movie playing on the viewscreen. He turned on the lights and found an assortment of empty bottles and food containers on the floor, and the seat of his chair was covered in crumbs.

His first assessment was that someone had broken into his ship again, but it didn't make sense for a thief to lounge around and watch a movie. He pulled up a diagnostic report on the ship's computer to see if any parts were missing, but everything was all accounted for. The intruder might have tampered with the diagnostic sensors, but why bother? If he was long gone, it didn't matter if Yarrow knew what he stole. And from the mess in the cockpit, he certainly wasn't trying to cover his tracks.

This suggested that the intruder had broken in just to watch some movies and eat Yarrow's snacks. But that was ridiculous. There were dozens of larger vessels with better accomodations, and none of those involved risking the wrath of an angry Saiyan.

Then he heard someone say the word "Saiyan" on the viewscreen, and he finally noticed which movie was playing. It was that ridiculous Luffa movie. He had never watched it himself, but he had seen enough advertisements to recognize the lead actress playing the title character. She was an attractive girl, but too young and thin and delicate to look like a credible warrior, and her tail was all wrong.

A lot of Saiyans considered Luffa to be a myth, or an alien posing as a Saiyan. No one could ever agree on the details, and even Luffa's gender was hotly disputed in some circles. Yarrow had no opinion on the matter, except that the movie he was now seeing was a lousy depiction of how Saiyans actually lived.

He wondered if the intruder was an obsessed fan of the film. Perhaps they had picked his ship because it belonged to a Saiyan, out of some delusional hope that it would bring them one step closer to the imaginary world of the movie. But how did they get in? For that matter, how did they get out again? After the trouble in the Narl Cluster, he'd rigged the ship to require a security code to open the hatches from the inside.

And just as he started to wonder if the intruder was still on board, he felt a pinprick on the back of his neck. Instinctively, he swung his arm around to strike back at whatever had hit him, but there was nothing there. He looked around the cockpit desperate, rubbing his neck with frustration, and then he started to become woozy. He stumbled towards the ship's computer terminal, though he wasn't sure what he planned to do once he got there. When he finally made it, all he managed was to drop to his knees and slump over the controls.

"The poison will finish you in a few minutes," announced a familiar voice. "It'll be less painful if you lie still, but it's entirely up to you."

He felt a burning sensation in his muscles. In spite of her warning, he forced himself to look up to find the source of the voice. And there she was, perched on the seatback of his chair, looking as if she'd been there the entire time.

"In case you're interested," she said, "Okartish preferred to lie still."

"Y-You!" he gasped. It even hurt to speak, and he was having trouble breathing, but he was too horrified to stop. "I killed you...!"

"The joke's on you, Saiyan," she said as she picked up a bag of snacks on the armrest and began to eat. "I was already dead."

He wanted to know what that meant. He wanted to know how she had found him and why she was doing this, but the burning sensation in his body finally became too intense, and he fell to the deck. A few feet away, his murderer sat in his chair and watched the rest of the movie while she waited for him to die.

"Aw, this is my favorite part," she said as she rustled the bag in her hands. She continued to comment aloud on the movie as she watched, but Yarrow would never hear it.

NEXT: Trial by Fire

#dragon ball #lssjluffafic #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #zatte #yarrow #pozet #tingi v #awlnee iii #and that'll do it #uh... so how's school going?#mm-hmm #got any big plans for this weekend?#not much huh?#yeah #i'll just hit the post button now

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (67/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[24 November 236 Before Age. Extraliga.]

Zatte was not dead, though she wasn't sure how much longer that would last.

She was alone in a cavern near one of Extraliga's oldest cities. The whole planet was currently being invaded by a mercenary fleet assembled by the planet Wist. Zatte's wife, the Super Saiyan Luffa, was leading the defense against this invasion. Zatte herself was a Dorlun, one of a reclusive species of survivalists. The Dorluns had no interests on Extraliga, but Zatte had come to this planet anyway. She believed that Luffa was more than a powerful warrior, but a watershed in the history of the universe. It was more of a matter of faith than reason, but Zatte believed that Luffa's agenda was worth supporting at any cost, up to and including Zatte's own life.

She rolled onto her side and raised her hands to the light from a lamp she had set up earlier. There were blisters on her palms, and the normally blue skin had become an unsettling shade of magenta, but she took comfort in knowing that the burns were only second degree. The pain was intense, but at least it didn't look as bad as it felt.

"Well, you always wanted to burn for her," Zatte muttered to herself as she tried to get back to her feet. Her movements seemed slow and sluggish, and this bothered her, but she refused to panic. She would get the diagnostic tool out of the medkit and wait for it to tell her just how badly she was hurt.

Of course, the real challenge was going to be getting the diagnostic tool out of the bag with minimal use of her hands. She was reasonably sure she could handle it with her toes, but that would mean removing the boots she was wearing, and the socks was wearing under those. Zatte thought she could do it, but she wasn't sure how much time she had left.

The Shockmaster had come to Extraliga in search of the Recollector, a device which could retrieve objects lost in the distant past. His aim was to bring back a magical artifact of such immense power that its very presence on Extraliga's surface would eradicate most of the life on the planet. Luffa and Zatte had devised a two-pronged defense against this. While Luffa intercepted the Shockmaster and his invasion force, Zatte would locate the Recollector first and sabotage it. But the Shockmaster had managed an end-run. During his fight with Luffa, he had been able to access the Recollector with his mind, and somehow input his instructions remotely.

Now, there were only minutes left before the Ur-Ember was drawn into the present day, where it would emerge in the cavern and kill everyone with its mystic emanations. Zatte had tried to stop it, but nothing had worked. Her last attempt to interrupt the power flow inside the device had done nothing but burn her hands and interrupt her psychic connection to her allies on Planet Wist. They had been helping her make sense of the Recollector's ancient technology, but now she could no longer sense their presence in her mind. The alchemical potion she had consumed to reach them must have worn off, or the Recollector's feedback had severed the connection, or...

As she struggled to remove her boots, she made the mistake of using two of her fingers, and cried out from the pain. Tears streamed from her one good eye as she fought to stay calm. When the Ur-Ember arrived, Zatte would be the first to die. Dorluns viewed survival as a moral imperative, but while most of them chose to avoid danger, Zatte reveled in it. The thrill of mortal peril was a challenge that she normally enjoyed. Until now.

Now, all hope seemed lost. The Recollector couldn't be stopped. She could try again, but there was so little time. Escape was impossible. She'd have to reach a shipyard and get into space to reach a safe distance from the Ur-Ember. Not even Luffa could save her. Zatte could sense her wife's enormous ki as she battled the Shockmaster. They were too evenly matched. Luffa could prevail, but not quickly enough to help Zatte with the Recollector. Indeed, that had been the whole point of their plan. Going in, Luffa had no idea how long it would take to beat the Shockmaster. Zatte had come to this cavern to ensure that Luffa could take her time on that angle. Their plan had collapsed.

Zatte continued to work on her boots, and as she did, a very lonely feeling came over her. She had been alone in the cavern this whole time, but she had never truly felt alone. She had been able to sense Luffa's ki, and she had her telepathic conference for company. Even without those, the mission of stopping the Recollector had given her a sort of companionship with the effort to save Extraliga.

Without that mission to drive her, the self-recriminations began. She felt like a fool for coming here all by herself. She hadn't wanted to bring along Extraligan soldiers for fear that they might attract attention from the invaders. She didn't think they could be of much help, and she wanted to minimize any risks to their safety. Besides, she was Dorlun enough to want to keep a low profile. Luffa was a celebrity throughout the galaxy, but that didn't mean Zatte wanted to be one too. These had all seemed like perfectly sensible reasons at the time, but now she would have liked to have someone else here, even if all they could do was treat her burns and talk to her while the world came to an end.

The truth was that she had insisted on tackling this mission by herself for purely selfish reasons. She admired Luffa, and saw her defense of Extraliga and other worlds as a holy crusade. The fact that Luffa herself didn't agree with this view only made it even more sacred to Zatte. She would never be strong enough to truly fight alongside Luffa, but if she could make some important contribution, then maybe--

But none of that mattered now. Zatte had failed Extraliga, just as she had failed her own people on Dorlu Prime. She hadn't completely given up. As she reflected on her failure, she had managed to remove both boots and one of her socks. She had every intention of getting back to the Recollector and making one last try to stop it. But this was more out of stubbornness than anything else. She fully expected to die in this place. All she could do now was struggle to the last.

With more effort than she expected, she rose to her knees and turned to find the carryall. Nearby, the Recollector hummed and made several other strange noises as it made the final preparations to bring doom to this world. The sounds of its operation had been echoing through the cavern this whole time, to the point where Zatte had almost tuned it out.

And so, she hadn’t heard the other person in the cavern with her. It wasn’t until Zatte turned around that she realized she hadn't been alone after all.

*******

"This'll help with the pain, but I can't do much else for you. You'll need a doctor."

"How did you get here, Keda?" was all Zatte could ask.

The Dorlun child shrugged as she put away the medicated gel and reached for a spool of bandages. "Same way you did," she said. "I was hiding in your carryall the whole time."

"Disguised as what?" Zatte asked. Every Dorlun had a unique ability. Zatte's was to manipulate energy. Keda was a shapeshifter. Apparently Zatte had underestimated her level of skill.

Keda held up the case that contained the medical kit. "This," she said. "I figured if you had seen two medkits in your bag, you wouldn't complain."

"That's impossible," Zatte said. "I triple-checked the bag before I left."

"No, you double-checked it," Keda said. "I guess you got distracted by your glorious mission. Anyway, I'm here, and that's all that matters."

"You told me you didn't want any part of this," Zatte said. "You said it was too dangerous."

Keda began wrapping Zatte's hands and shook her head. "You and I are the only survivors of the colony on Dorlu Prime," she said. I mean, there's probably other Dorluns out there, and I've been trying to find them with the subspace radio on the ship, but right now it's just you and me. Well, Luffa too, I guess. She married in, after all."

"Y-yeah," Zatte said. The medication was taking effect, dulling the pain in her arms, but there was still a tear in her eye nonetheless.

"It didn't feel right letting you two come here without me. I don't think Luffa's a xan-nil'Dor like you do, and even if she is, I don't think it's worth all our necks, but... well, we ought to stick together, right?"

"You could have just asked to tag along," Zatte said. "I've been on this planet for weeks. You're telling me you've been hiding in my luggage the whole time?"

"I snuck out to do some scouting," she said. "Kept tabs on you while you were looking for this place, checking for anything you might have missed. I thought about giving you a hand with the Recollector, but you seemed to be doing well on that. So when you came down here I stayed in the bag and waited to see if you needed any help. Then I heard you scream."

Zatte glanced toward the Recollector. "It's going to bring the Ur-Ember here," she said. "I thought I could redirect its energy, cut off it's power source, but..." She held up her now-bandaged hands to complete the thought.

"But you managed to turn it on, right?" Keda asked. “You have control over it.”

"Yes, but we can't cancel this program while it's in operation," Zatte said. She tried to stand, but couldn't find the strength.

"Don't move," Keda said. "That thing did a real number on you, Zatte."

"We're out of time!" Zatte said. "Our only chance is to try what I did before."

"It didn't work before," Keda said.

"I know, but I was trying to be subtle about how I rerouted its power. If I do something more drastic, it might--"

"It might kill you this time," Keda said.

Zatte swallowed hard and shut her eye. "We'll all die if I don't do something."

Keda looked at the Recollector, then back at Zatte. "I'll take a look at it. I'm pretty good with computers. If I can't come up with anything, we'll try it your way."

*******

Far away, Luffa and the Shockmaster were still fighting. Luffa's face was covered in blood, and part of her face was swollen and bruised. The Shockmaster’s transformation had seemingly healed the injuries he had sustained earlier, but since then, Luffa had managed to deal him several new ones. He was favoring his left arm, and gasping for air. They stared at each other for a moment, then rushed in and attacked at the same time, their arms and legs moving in a blur.

She was winning. She was sure of it. With each engagement, she was getting a little bit more of an advantage. She had trained for endurance, figuring that the key was to be able to go the distance against the Shockmaster, and so far that analysis had been correct. His transformation had brought all his power to bear, but at the cost of that seemingly limitless stamina he had relied upon before. It was almost the reverse outcome of their first fight. The only difference was that their power was much more evenly matched in the end, meaning that Luffa couldn't put him away quickly. All she could do was whittle him down until he succumbed to exhaustion.

Yesterday, that outcome would have satisfied her completely, but not now. Now, she couldn't stop wondering if Zatte was able to shut down the Recollector.

It shouldn't have mattered! If they died, then it would only be because they had been too weak to prevent it. If Luffa were stronger, she could have beaten the Shockmaster and gone to help by now. If the Extraligans were stronger, they could have taken a more direct approach to defending their planet. And maybe they all were strong enough after all. It wasn't over yet. But it shouldn't have mattered to Luffa. There was no dishonor in losing. There was no reason to worry about it, especially when the fight was still up for grabs.

Even so, it still gnawed at the back of Luffa’s mind. Not only Zatte, but the Extraligans she had met. Places she had visited on the planet. That stupid hockey arena she and Zatte had gone to. Luffa caught herself wondering if the arena might have been damaged in the invasion. Was she actually worried about the building?

For a brief moment, she thought she could finally understand the Shockmaster's goals. He was absurdly old. In this day and age, he was a relic that deserved to be forgotten, except he was too powerful to be ignored. He wanted to bring back a world he had lost, because he couldn't bear to accept that it was gone.

She pitied him. He had outlived everything that had given his life meaning, but he was too powerful to die. Luffa often wondered if she was in store for a similar fate. To live out a long life as an unbeatable warrior, with no one to fight, and nothing to prove.

Maybe that was why she was so worried about losing a damned hockey arena. Deep down inside, she expected to go back there some day and pretend that it still held any significance to her. The thought of an old Saiyan woman hobbling through a derelict sports venue sickened her. She had half a mind to blow up the place today if they managed to win this war.

All this woolgathering allowed the Shockmaster to land a blow on Luffa's right ear. She paid him back for it, but the sharp pain and momentary loss of hearing reminded her of the way her mother used to discipline her as a little girl. Her mother had warned her about letting sentiment dull her combat instincts, but somehow Luffa couldn't bring herself to focus on that lesson. All she could think about was how her mother had been dead for years, and Luffa was probably the only one left in the universe who remembered her. When Luffa died, it would be as if her mother had never existed.

The Shockmaster nearly got her left ear, and Luffa swore under her breath as she counterattacked. What made her furious wasn't her mother, or the hockey arena, or any of the other distractions.

It was that the distractions actually seemed to help her fight somehow. The anxiety, the worry, the frustration, it all seemed like fuel being heaped onto a fire. Her thoughts drifted back to something she had said to her mother in a dream: "Why am I burning?"

And in the dream, her mother's answer: "Because you do."

It made no sense at the time. It still didn't. It was only a dream. But it stuck with her anyway. And somehow, as she pushed the Shockmaster closer and closer to his defeat, it seemed true to Luffa, even if she couldn't explain how. She didn’t question it. She simply allowed herself to feel, and to burn, and to fight on.

*******

Only a few minutes had passed, but Keda felt like she had been working for hours. This was probably due to the effects of the vial of potion she had taken from Zatte's supplies. One dose was enough to allow Zatte to enter a psychic communion with their allies on Planet Wist, but-- like a good Dorlun-- Zatte had packed extra, just in case something went wrong. It had been brewed specifically for Zatte's biochemistry, but fortunately Keda was close enough for it to work on her too.

As a result, she found herself in curiously existing in two realities. While she was standing in front of the Recollector in the cavern on Extraliga, she was simultaneously existing in a roadside bar in someone else's imagination. Time seemed to flow differently in this state, which had given her a chance to update the others and get a basic introduction to the Recollector's operation.

"This reminds me of the diagnostic programs on the star yacht," she said as she examined the Recollector's interface display. Most of the time, you can pause the sequence and have the computer rearrange the order of instructions to follow. But some stuff can't be canceled, like an engine shutdown. Once you're committed, it's not safe to stop halfway. You have to let it finish before you can move on to do something else."

"Are you saying this is a safety feature, Keda?" asked M'ranga. Keda had only heard of her. It had been Keda's understanding that she was a revolutionary guerilla who wore a gawdy costume, but Keda thought it looked pretty cool, although it wasn't nearly as colorful as she had been told. She also seemed a lot less chipper than Keda would have expected, although that was probably because of the situation they were in.

"It might be," Keda said. "I'm just thinking out loud. I mean, the Ur-Ember's dangerous, but even if the Recollector was just bringing a pottery shard back from the past, that would still take a lot of energy, I bet. At least as much as a starship engine. Cutting the process short might have been just as dangerous as letting it finish."

"Ruddy brilliant. Real glad you dropped in to tell us that, kid," said Scotch Woodcock. He looked like an unmade bed, if people slept with black leather sheets. She disliked him almost immediately because of the cigar in his mouth. Dorluns took a dim view of smoking, but there was a concerned look in his three eyes when she explained what had happened to Zatte, and this softened her first impression of the man. Also, it occurred to her that he had lived much longer than she had, and if she didn't find a way to deal with the Recollector, he was going to outlive her no matter what damage he did to his lungs.

"I'm just saying we need to quit thinking about how to undo this," Keda explained. "It's already happened. All we can do now is figure out where to put all that energy once it gets here. Redirect it someplace safe. Like venting drive plasma during an overload."

"What you're describing sounds like the power Zatte possesses," said Tobiko. Keda had heard he looked like some kind of swamp monster, but that description didn't seem to fit at all. She wondered if people in this roadhouse could assume whatever appearance they wished. The idea amused her enough to want to try altering her own appearance, but then she remembered that she already had that ability in the real world.

"You're right, but she'd never be able to handle energy on the order of magnitude we're talking about. Luffa might have the capacity, but she's busy, and I doubt she'd know how to do it. It'd be nice if we could just send it all away to someplace until we had time to deal with it. Wait..."

She stared at the Recollector and put a finger over her upper lip as she considered it. The others stared at her expectantly.

"What are you thinking, Keda?" M'ranga asked, unable to bear the suspense.

"Well, this is basically a time machine," Keda said. "It only works one way, past-to-present, but we can still use that. We've been worrying about stopping the Ur-Ember before it gets here and kills everybody, but 'before' and 'after' can be whatever we want them to be."

She placed her hands on the Recollector's surface and began entering commands. "Yeah... I think this can work. Let's just hope the Shockmaster doesn't show up again to try to stop us. I’m sure Luffa can keep him busy while I set this up."

"The hell are you talkin' about, lass?" Woodcock asked.

"I'm setting the Recollector to run another retrieval," Keda explained. "But before that, I'm adding in another step to wait for a really long time. Let's say, a billion years."

"What good will that do?" Tobiko asked.

"At the end of the billion years," Keda went on, "the Recollector will follow my next instruction, which is to retrieve the Ur-Ember. From this cavern. From this date in time, about a few minutes from now."

Woodcock was even more confused than before. "Bloody... hang on a minute," he pleaded.

"I think I understand," Tobiko said. "The Ur-Ember will arrive in that cavern very soon, but as it emerges into our era, it will immediately be plucked back into the timestream by the Recollector in the future."

"But it'll still arrive on Extraliga eventually," M'ranga objected. "Now, or a billion years from now, it'll still be dangerous to anyone living on the planet's surface! That's not a solution! We're just kicking the can down the road!"

"It's the best we can do," Keda said. "Besides, in a billion years, Extraliga's sun will be hotter than it is now, and Extraliga will be too hot to support life. It'll be a barren wasteland by then. There won't be anything left for the Ur-Ember to kill."

"Oh," M'ranga said sheepishly. "That's different."

"But what about the Extraliga of the present?" Tobiko asked. "For this plan to work, the Ur-Ember must arrive in this time, if only for a moment."

"I was hoping you could tell me," Keda said with a shrug. "I only know the Ur-Ember's radiation is dangerous. I'm guessing a short burst is safer than a long one, right?"

He nodded. "I can only make educated guesses, but I believe most of the population would survive a brief exposure, especially from a distance. However, you and Zatte would be right there when it happens. At such close range--!"

"We'll have to r-- we'll have to risk it," she said with a sigh. "I won't have time to get Zatte to safety. From the sound of it, timing is everything. I'll have to stay with the Recollector and set the schedule manually. That way I can be sure the Ur-Ember leaves as soon as it shows up. With any luck, we'll make it."

She finished making her preparations, and dragged Zatte to the base of the Recollector, figuring that its alien composition might make provide some protection. When there was only a minute remaining, she asked: "How do I disconnect from your telepathic link?"

"We've been over that with Zatte, kiddo," Woodcock grumbled. "We're with ya to the end, whatever happens."

She glared at him with a severe look that belied the difference in their ages. "My people are survivors," she said sternly. "Don't disrespect what Zatte and I are doing here by getting killed. If we’re dying here, then the least you can do is live. If not for yourselves, then do it for us, okay?"

Woodcock swallowed hard. "Awright, awright, don't get yer knickers in a twist. You wanna go it alone, fine. Anything else?"

Keda considered this for a moment. "If you see Luffa, tell her what happened. Tell her this was the best we could manage. She'll understand."

A few moments later, the roadhouse was gone from Keda’s mind, leaving her to her task. Zatte lay at her feet, half-asleep from the medication Keda had given her. Either it was stronger stuff than Keda thought, or Zatte's condition was worse than she realized. It was probably better this way. There wasn't much Zatte could do from here on.

In the last seconds remaining, Keda keyed in her best guess of the exact moment of the Ur-Ember's arrival, and said a prayer. Then she placed her hands on the Recollector's surface... and watched.

NEXT: The Surrender

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #lssjluffafic #zatte #scotch woodcock #m'ranga: ensign liberty #tobiko #keda #the shockmaster #extraliga #i get a little self-conscious tagging this as dragon ball nowadays #at first it didn't seem like a problem #but now i'm pretty far afield from any dragon ball related material #aside from the super saiyan protagonist of course #on the other hand there's usually a lot of crap on the tag so i shouldn't feel too guilty

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (55/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous Chapters conveniently available here

[8 July 236 Before Age. Hobstot III.]

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ①)

Certain parts of the galaxy would consider Hobstot III a backwater world, but in the sparsely populated region surrounding the galactic core, it was a major economic center. The otherwise insignificant planet boasted the only major spaceport hubs for several hundred light years in any direction. Large sections of the planet remained uninhabited, but the cities were big enough and busy enough that it was possible for a traveler to think he was visiting a much more important planet than it actually was.

This was a great relief to Dr. Topsas. He normally found busy streets to be somewhat of a nuisance, but after weeks of isolation on a deserted planet like Luffasworld, he found the crowds of aliens to be almost refreshing.

"'Scuse me," said a robot as he inched past Topsas to slip around a group of people. Topsas managed to move one of his eight limbs out of the robot's way, but he was too slow to move the second, and the machine brushed up against it as he moved.

"'Scuse me," the robot said again. It looked to see who it was addressing, noticed Topsas, and remarked. "Oh, you're the same guy. Never mind."

The group the robot was trying to avoid was having a rather heated conversation about travel arrangements, and Topsas decided he should move away from them just in case it became violent. He found Zatte a few meters away, eating a local confectionery and tapping her foot in time with a nearby street musician.

"You haven't finished already, have you?" Topsas asked as he approached her.

"No, I'm just taking a break," the Dorlun woman said. She pointed to the musician and grinned. "This guy likes deep thulium stuff even more than I do, and I couldn't pass that up."

She was a humanoid, 66 inches tall, with blue skin that fluoresced slightly when exposed to certain types of artificial lighting. Her left eye had been lost in a terrible battle, and she wore a black eyepatch to conceal it. Her remaining eye featured a brilliant green iris surrounded by a sclera of almost the same color. She reached into the pocket of her grey jacket and tossed a few coins into the musician's hat.

"Deep thulium?" Topsas asked.

"It spun out of the heavy lanthanoid scene about forty years ago," Zatte explained. At least, Topsas assumed that was what she was trying to do. "Little more twang, not as much pep. You ever listen to Fabian Fitzroy?"

"I, er, don't know the gentleman, I'm afraid." Topsas said.

"Well, he's a sellout, but that's the guy everyone associates with the genre, is why I ask. Take it from me, the really good lanth music is heavy, and the best heavy lanth is deep thule." She began nodding her head to the rhythm and the short, straight hair of her bob swung back and forth. Finally, she thanked the musician for the song, and led Topsas down the street.

"Thanks for coming along, doctor," Zatte said. She took the little red fruit off the top of her snack and put it in her mouth. "I get distracted easily in places like these. If you hadn't shown up when you did I probably would have listened to that guy play all afternoon."

"Yes, well I am a little surprised to see you enjoying yourself in a place like this, Ms. Zatte," Topsas remarked. "I had thought the Dorluns to be a reclusive culture. Perhaps my acquaintance with Keda has colored my impression of your species."

"No, she's fairly typical," Zatte said. "Find a nice, quiet place in the middle of nowhere and she's content to stay put. Most Dorluns would be. I'm the weird one. The Makyans wouldn't let me hole up somewhere and stay out of harm's way, so I picked up a few interests. Besides, there's something to be said for hiding in plain sight." She waved her hand at the throngs of aliens surrounding them. "Even if an enemy knew to look for us here, how would they find us in a crowd like this?"

"Indeed," Topsas said as he and another pedestrian moved to avoid one another. "Forgive me for saying so, but your species seems ill-suited for hiding, Ms. Zatte. You and Keda have the ability to camouflage yourselves, but other Dorluns do not, correct?"

She nodded. "You're right. I've always felt my culture puts too much emphasis on avoiding adversity, rather than overcoming it. I used to wonder if the Black Water Mist had intensified that attitude, but I've been cured for months now, and I still feel the same way. I guess it just forced me to face things I didn't want to express out loud. Maybe that's why Keda and I have such a hard time getting along these days."

"She has proven quite adaptable in the past," Topsas said. "I am confident the two of you will adjust in time. What I don't understand is how your ancient ancestors managed to avoid natural predators."

"Aposematism," Zatte said.

"I'm afraid I haven't heard of that style of music either," Topsas said.

"No, I'm talking about natural warning signals," Zatte said. She pointed at her bright red hair and then gestured at her cerulean face. "Most carnivores in the galaxy would think twice before eating something this colorful."

"You're poisonous?" Topsas asked.

Zatte laughed. "Definitely maybe. The leading theory is that there was another species on the planet we originated on, and they must have been poisonous, and we evolved similar coloration to imitate them. That, or my ancestors used to be poisonous, but gradually lost that ability over time, until all we have left are the warning colors. Or I really do have some toxin in my system, but it only works on an animal that may have died out a long time ago."

"Remarkable," Topsas said.

"I would have thought you'd already guessed all that for yourself, though," Zatte said. "You being a doctor and everything. I figured you had seen it all by now."

"On the contrary," Topsas said. "I've never encountered a sapient mammal species with such a feature. This is precisely why I specialized in vertebrate medicine. Truly fascinating..."

He began to talk at length about an amphibian patient he had treated years ago, and a bureaucratic mix-up that had led him to think the fellow was poisonous when he actually was not. Neither of them noticed the robot he had bumped into earlier. It kept its distance, but it had been watching them carefully...

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ②)

"This is hopeless," Zatte said. "We've been shopping all day and I haven't found anything."

"That's not quite true. You found that scarf made of beetle's wings," Topsas pointed out. "I still think that would make an excellent accessory."

"No, that won't do at all..." Zatte muttered.

They had been to three other bookstores already, in spite of the fact that Luffa had little to no interest in literature. Even if that wasn't the case, it was doubtful that the fourth store would offer a notably different selection than the others. It seemed to Dr. Topsas that Zatte was going around in circles. She reminded him of some of his children when they were younger, as they became tangled in their own weavings. It struck him that mammals like Luffa and Zatte were far too hasty for their own good, constantly preferring useless action over thoughtful inaction. But he understood little about humanoid courtship, and supposed that such useless hassle could actually be the whole point.

"Why are you so determined to give Luffa a gift in the first place?" Topsas asked. "The two of you will be married soon. What higher token of esteem is there?"

Zatte turned away from the shelf and sighed. "I let Keda get in my head, that's the problem," she admitted. "Luffa got me that suit I almost never wear, and Keda convinced me it was this big romantic overture by Saiyan standards."

"That does sound like a bit of a stretch," Topsas agreed.

"But what if it's not, though?" Zatte went on. "Her people are so repressed with this sort of thing. Maybe Keda's right, and if she is, then it would have been a very difficult gesture coming from her, and here I am not really appreciating it. I don't want to leave her hanging, right? I need to reciprocate. I have to show her that she can open up to me."

"I would submit you have already done that by accepting her proposal," Topsas said.

"It's not that simple," Zatte said. "Well, maybe it is for Saiyans, but where I come from, family is all about looking out for one another. Any idiot can say 'yes', but in a real partnership you have to understand the other person's needs and vulnerabilities, so you can support them where they need it the most."

Topsas considered this for a moment. "Then this is a test of your devotion," he finally surmised.

"I guess you could put it that way, sure," Zatte said. "But what do you get for someone who doesn't need anything? She cooks her own meals, she fights her own battles, and she has her own planet. We had to borrow her spaceship just to get here."

"What about those dolls she collects?" Topsas suggested.

Zatte rolled her eye. "Oh those," she said. "Keda already suggested that idea to me, but it's a non-starter."

"Why is that?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly a shot rang out, and a large alien standing next to them collapsed.

"Get down!" Zatte shouted, as she shoved Topsas behind a nearby display.

"What was that?" Topsas asked. By now, the rest of the customers in the bookstore had begun to panic. Several more shots rang out, and they started to run for the exits.

"Someone brought a weapon into the shop," Zatte said. "Sounds like something propellant-based, but it seems to be coming from multiple directions."

"That fellow over there is hurt," Topsas said. "I should--"

"We need to help ourselves first," Zatte said. She took hold of one of his hands and concentrated. From Topsas' perspective, it seemed as though the entire room had gone dark.

"What happened to the lights?" he asked.

"That was me," Zatte said quietly. "I used my powers to warp the visible light around ourselves, making us practically invisible. The lights are still on, but most of it is being deflected before it can reach our eyes, so we can't see."

"What good can that possibly do us?" he asked.

"Keep your voice down," Zatte whispered. "I can manipulate light and other forms of energy, but not sounds. If the shooter is nearby he might find us by our voices. Anyway, my powers let me see a wider range of light, like infrared and ultraviolet, so I can let those wavelengths through, and see well enough to lead us around."

"Excellent. Then you can lead me back to that injured man and camoflauge him the same way, correct?"

"Doctor, we have to--"

"Ms. Zatte, I must insist. If you wish to withdraw, you must do so without me."

After a tense silence, he finally heard Zatte's reply in the darkness: "All right, we'll do it your way. Maybe this will show us what we're up against."

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ③)

There were six restrooms in the shop, each outfitted to accommodate a variety of life forms and their various excretion methods. As Dr. Topsas tended to his patient, Zatte kept glancing at the nearest one, and thinking that it would be the perfect place to take cover. Even if their assailant knew they were inside, he would still only have one possible avenue of attack, and that would give Zatte the advantage.

The shooter seemed to be hanging around the upper mezzanine of the store, using the shelves and guardrails for cover. However, he was also firing from multiple locations, sometimes leaping down to the lower level, only to hop back up to the high ground. By now, Zatte was reasonably certain that everyone else had fled the building, but the shooter was still leaping around and firing anyway. Her best guess was that the shooter couldn't find them, but hoped to flush them out.

And that was the trouble with using the restroom for cover. They would be safe once they were inside, but there was no way to be sure they could get inside without being spotted as they opened the door to enter. Zatte could make herself and Topsas invisible, but if she did anything to the door, the shooter might see it and know to shoot in that direction.

"I believe our friend will survive," Topsas whispered. "He's a Gnurlian, and his thick hide seems to have protected him from serious injury. I believe he is only unconscious because of some sedative in the dart that hit him."

"Dart?" Zatte asked.

"Yes," Topsas said. He held up the projectile with one hand as he used three more to wrap silken bandages around the Gnurlian's wound. "The Tikosi used similar weapons against us when we rescued Luffa from their laboratory. The chemical agent is different, but the effect is undoubtedly the same."

"How can you tell all that?" Zatte asked. "You can't even see anything."

"By touch," Topsas said. "And by smell. My species is especially sensitive to vibrations. Of course, I had gotten a brief look at this fellow beforehand, and I have enough knowledge of Gnurlian physiology to tell that his pulse and breathing seem normal. The odor of this object, however, is quite unusual. It smells of osmium and gunpowder, and while I cannot be specific, there's a coating of something which resembles sedatives I have encountered in the past."

"That thing looks like the nib off a fountain pen," Zatte said as she looked at the dart.

"Ironic," Topsas whispered. "That your one eye should see more clearly than my eight. The stuff of allegory, really."

"I don't get it," Zatte said, carefully taking the dart from Topsas's hand. "This thing might be sharp enough to break the skin, but it's a completely nonsensical design for ammunition. No wonder the shooter missed."

"You believe he was aiming for us?" Topsas asked.

"He had to be," Zatte replied, glancing back at the restroom door. "Everyone else ran outside, and he's still here. The local authorities will show up soon, so he must be hoping to finish us off before then."

"But why us?" Topsas asked. "Could it be one of Luffa's enemies?"

"I don't think so," Zatte said. "The Saiyans would have leveled this whole city by now, and the Shockmaster doesn't see Luffa as a threat. You and I would be beneath his notice. She's made a lot of enemies, but none of them would be dumb enough to cause a ruckus like this with such a crappy weapon."

"What should we do?" Topsas asked.

"If I had one of my own weapons, I could return fire," Zatte said. "End this in a hurry. But there's no use in... wait, I thought you said he was unconscious."

Topsas looked back at the Gnurlian--a useless gesture, since he couldn't see him no matter where he looked. Instead he heard him, moaning softly between heavy, labored breaths.

"Snails..." he murmured. "S-snails..."

"What's 'snails'?" Zatte asked.

"He's coming around," Topsas said. He felt the man's upper body to check his vital signs again. "Sir? Can you hear me? I'm a doctor--"

"Snails! Why is everything snails!?"

Suddenly he seemed to be wide awake. Before Topsas could react, the Gnurlian scrambled to his feet and began swinging his arms. "Snails! Snails! It's all snails!"

"Hey, shut up!" Zatte hissed. "That guy will find us for sure if you keep screaming--"

"Ms. Zatte, I fear you may have to use force..." Topsas suggested.

"No," Zatte shouted. "Come on!"

The reply startled Topsas, and he felt himself being dragged by one of his limbs away from the Gnurlian's insane howls.

"I thought you said it would be too dangerous for us to move around the store," Topsas protested.

"That guy already got shot," Zatte explained. "One minute he's out cold, and the next he's screaming bloody murder. Almost like our shooter planned it that way, like he was hoping that Gnurlian would help him flush us out somehow."

"What are you saying?" Topsas asked.

"I don't know," Zatte admitted. "I haven't figured it out yet, but I'm sure if I take the time to put that Gnurlian out of commission, the shooter will get a bead on us. We need to keep moving, stay invisible, and keep away from both of them."

Topsas heard a crash. "What was that?" he asked.

"Damn!" Zatte muttered. "The Gnurlian's completely lost it. He's wrecking the whole store."

"Snaaaaaaiiiiiillllls!" the Gnurlian screamed.

"Looks like I was right," Zatte said. "The shooter's just letting that guy wander around. I don't know if he planned this or if he's controlling him somehow, but we don't want to get too close to him."

"We cannot run forever," Topsas observed.

"I know," Zatte said. "With any luck we can make a break for the exits. I just need to come up with a good diversion. Our bogey has to be up in the mezzanine. I can't spot him, but it's the perfect vantage for a sniper. But if we get directly under his position, he won't be able to see us, and that would give us a chance to take cover in one of the restrooms."

"Why is everything snails?!" the Gnurlian howled. Topsas was fairly certain he could hear him smashing a glass display case. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"I was right," Zatte muttered. "Our bogey's stopped shooting. If he wanted to hit Snail-guy, he would have done it three times already. Instead, he's letting him rampage around while he waits for us to panic. Well I--"

Suddenly an alarm went off in the building.

"I smell smoke," Topsas said. "What if the enemy--"

Before he could complete the thought, a spray of water rained down on them, like an indoor thunderstorm.

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ④)

The fire suppression system in the building was an antique design that simply sprayed water from the ceiling all over the store. This system was automatically triggered by a simple americium-based ionization detector. It was child's play to find this and burn a book directly underneath the detector, fooling it into thinking the entire room was engulfed in flames. And once the water came down on his quarry, their camouflage became useless. Whatever cloaking device they were using could only warp radiation around them. Drops of water were a different matter, and now he could see their figures outlined by the hundreds of drops colliding with their bodies. It wasn't an ideal target, but they made things easier by staying together. He watched carefully and found that he could just make out their voices over the noise of the water.

"Well, so much for that. Head for that restroom, doctor!"

"But we shall be spotted--"

"He can see us anyway! We've got no choice!"

The shooter leaped around the mezzanine once more, took aim, and fired. The arachnoid was first, as it was the prime target and the larger of the two. He stumbled and collapsed a few seconds later, and he took some satisfaction in what must have been a direct hit. The woman left him where he lay and kept moving. Was she abandoning her companion, or drawing fire away from him? It didn't matter. He leaped around to take up a new position, aimed to fire again--

And this turned out to be a mistake. In the time it had taken to change positions, the woman had leapt onto the top of a shelf and flung herself toward the shooter. He panicked and fired, but this didn't stop her, and her nearly invisible body collided with the his, knocking him off the mezzanine railing.

She began muttering something in some language he couldn't recognize, and when he tried to get up off of the floor she grabbed he and started punching it in the face. She was stronger and faster than she looked, and as the shooter absorbed her punishing blows, he realized that she had only appeared weaker and slower because she had been sticking close to the arachnoid. The shooter's body was covered in a sort of metallic armor, but it dented and crumpled against her fists.

Then, just as things seemed to be looking bad for the shooter, she suddenly became visible again, and her movements became sluggish. There was a dazed look in her eye, and then she fell forward, collapsing on top of him. Apparently the wild shot had hit her after all.

He shoved the woman aside and rose to its feet. He reached down and grabbed a handful of her soggy hair and lifted her up until she was in a kneeling position. For a brief moment, he feared she might have been feigning helplessness, but then he spotted one of his nib-shaped darts was sticking out of the sleeve of her jacket.

"Mission accomplished," the shooter declared.

NEXT: #Reference

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #zatte #dr topsas #hobstot iii #🍒

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (50/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous Chapters conveniently available here

[17 May, 236 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

On the bridge of Luffa's star-yacht, the Emerald Eye, Keda reflected on the situation on Planet Wist and was reluctantly forced to admit that Zatte had been right all along. The mission to retrieve Luffa had not only been successful, but easy. More importantly, it had been justified.

Luffa had gone to Wist to punish the distant world for its failed invasion of the Federation. No one had expected her to run into any sort of difficulty on that trip, thinking that Luffa was the strongest fighter in the known universe. But the ruler of Wist had turned out to be even stronger, and he had beaten her decisively. Keda still couldn't quite believe it, but she had only gotten bits and pieces of the story.

Zatte had insisted on following Luffa through the wormhole that led to Wist, certain that the Saiyan would need help. Keda had dismissed this as an unwarranted risk. The young Dorlun had been Luffa's employee and sole companion for some time, and she had learned to trust Luffa's strength and follow her orders, which in this instance were to stay put. It occurred to Keda that if she had gotten her way, Luffa might have been killed on Planet Wist, and that troubled her a great deal.

Instead, Zatte had hijacked the Emerald Eye and took it through the wormhole against Keda's wishes. Like Keda, Zatte was also a Dorlun, from a culture that prized self-preservation, but Zatte and Luffa were romantically involved, and Zatte had come to the rather specious conclusion that Luffa's power and influence were of divine significance. To say that Zatte's judgement was compromised was putting it mildly, and the word "zealot" kept springing to mind whenever Keda thought about it. Zatte seemed willing to brave any danger on the grounds that it served a higher purpose, and such a mindset could be used to rationalize just about anything.

Still, Zatte had been right. Luffa really did need their help. Moreover, helping her hadn't even been all that dangerous. Before losing to the Shockmaster, Luffa had demolished the whole planet's military and annihilated all of its spaceports, leaving it in no position to repel the Emerald Eye or any other inbound starship. From orbit, they found Luffa's position, and brought the ship down just far enough away to avoid attracting enemy attention. Zatte reconnoitered on foot, but her powers gave her the ability to refract light around her body, making herself virtually invisible. By the time she found Luffa, the Shockmaster had already left. If he had any idea about the rescue operation, he made no move to stop it. They reached orbit without incident and left the Wistian system with no sign of pursuit.

The whole business left a lot of unresolved issues. For starters, Keda had no idea where to take the ship from here. Wist was on the other side of the galaxy from the part she knew. Federation space was six weeks away by starship, though Keda estimated it would probably take seven, since the ship would need to stop for supplies at least once, which would mean altering course to find an inhabited world with a decent spaceport. Ideally, they could just use the wormhole that had brought them to Wist, but that wasn't an option, since the wormhole was inhabited by innocent life forms to whom Luffa's Saiyan energy was toxic. They had agreed to seal the Wist terminus to prevent any future incursions, and in light of this, a six or seven-week transgalactic voyage wasn't so bad.

Personally, Keda preferred long trips like these. The star-yacht was safe, comfortable, and inconspicuous enough that no one was likely to bother it. But she still needed to set a proper course. As it was, she had been taking the ship in the general direction of the center of the galaxy, just to put some distance between them and Wist.

In the meantime, she mulled over some options, just in case anyone wanted her opinion.

*******

"There's a good hospital facility on Towrine VI," Dr. Topsas said. "We can contact them and--"

"We can't," Zatte said. "We have to maintain radio silence, and they'll be expecting us to take her to a populated world for medical treatment."

Topsas had spent the last two hours bandaging Luffa's wounds and administering sedatives and painkillers to help the Saiyan sleep. In one of his eight limbs he held a portable device with a real-time readout of his patient's vital signs, and he kept at least three of his eight eyes on it at all times. Once he was satisfied that Luffa was no longer in any immediate danger, he had gone to the galley to discuss the situation with Zatte.

"Yes, well I can see why that would be a concern," he said dryly. "’They’ most certainly would be expecting that. ‘They’ are quite cunning, after all. Ms. Zatte, would you care to remind me who 'they' are?"

"Luffa has enemies, doctor," Zatte said. "Not just the Wistians. The Saiyans have tried to kill her before, and if they find out she's vulnerable, they'll--"

"Ah, of course," Topsas said. "I was planning to send a message to the Saiyan homeworld, requesting that they please come and destroy us at their earliest convenience, but you raise a fair point, so I shall reconsider."

"Doctor, this is serious," Zatte said.

"Indeed it is serious, for I find myself trapped aboard a ship full of little mammals who indulge in hysterics," Topsas said. "When I agreed to come along on this mission, Ms. Zatte, it was because we agreed Ms. Luffa might require medical aid, yes? And this assumption has been borne out, has it not? Then perhaps you might try listening to the doctor instead of jumping at shadows."

"Does she really need to go to a hospital?" Zatte asked. "You can't treat her with the equipment on board?"

"In principle, I most certainly can," Topsas said. "But you were absent the last time I had to minister to Luffa after a great battle, Ms. Zatte. She had just discovered her transformation, and had considerable difficulty controlling it. For all we know, her powers have malfunctioned again, and this was the reason she was so badly defeated. I would know for certain, and I would prefer to investigate the problem on Towrine VI. Bigreen would be better still, but alas it is too far to consider. Towrine will suffice. At least there, we needn't worry about her rupturing the hull accidentally."

Zatte looked at him with horror. "You think that's how she lost?" she asked. "Her Super Saiyan form just... quit on her?"

"We know virtually nothing about it," Topsas said. "It is only because of Luffa's interest in her people's history that we know of other Super Saiyans at all, and none of them left detailed medical records for comparison. For all we know, the power was only temporary from the beginning, and Luffa had only so many great battles upon which to apply it. Or this may simply be a result of extreme exhaustion, or a sign of an entirely new transformation to come."

"No," Zatte said. "I won't get bogged down in what-if's. We need to go back to Federation space."

"You have taken control of the ship, so I suppose I am in no position to stop you," Topsas said. "However, it will take several weeks to make the journey, by which time Luffa will be up and around. Do you believe she will agree with your decision?"

"What's the difference?" Zatte asked. She threw up her arms and started pacing around the room. "She already hates me."

"I was under a somewhat different impression," Topsas said.

"Her husband was on that planet," Zatte said. "I shot him."

"Given Luffa's murderous intentions toward the man," Topsas said, "I fail to see why she would take issue with this. Indeed, I would think she would be most appreciative."

Zatte rubbed the bridge of her nose. "He betrayed her, and she swore she would kill him," she explained. "Not for revenge, but for justice. She told you what he did to her, right?"

The pedipalps on Topsas' face drooped solemnly. "She told me," was all he said in response.

"When I got to her, the Shockmaster had already beaten her and left. Then Kandai showed up to finish her off. I tried to stay out of it. That was my plan all along. I was going to let her take care of things on her own, but it got to the point where I couldn't tell if she could handle him or not, and she seemed so weak..."

"I think I understand," Topsas said. "You fear that by intervening, you've wounded her pride."

"She's told me about how you and the others helped her on the Tikosi planet," Zatte said. "She's still ashamed about it. I mean, she's grateful, don't get me wrong, but after all this time, the thought of accepting help from anyone still bothers her."

"And yet she doesn't seem to loathe me," Topsas said. "Though I did worry she might try to bite whilst I was examining her teeth earlier. Perhaps I should be more careful..."

"It's not the same," Zatte insisted. "You helped her because you had an ethical obligation. Keda helped her because she needed Luffa's help in return. Wampaaan'riix owed her his life. But I only shot Kandai because..."

There was a pregnant pause, during which Topsas sipped from his cup of tea and waited. Eventually he grew tired of waiting and offered his own suggestions. "Because you love her," he said.

"Not that," Zatte said bitterly.

"Then because you resented her husband," he offered. "Despite her commitment to you and her estrangement from him, you feared that she still held some attachment to him."

"No."

"Did you shoot him to see if your plasma rifle was working correctly?" Topsas said with no small measure of exasperation.

"I did it because I couldn't trust her," Zatte finally admitted.

"Am I now to guess as to the meaning of that?" Topsas asked.

"I believe that Luffa has a divine purpose in this world, doctor," Zatte explained. "I won't bother trying to convince you. Keda already thinks I'm crazy."

"Then you followed her to Planet Wist because you wanted to ensure that she would survive to carry out that purpose," Topsas surmised.

Zatte nodded. "She knew Kandai was working for the Shockmaster, and she planned to tackle them both. That had me worried. I thought she might get her priorities mixed up, and she's been so consumed with finding Kandai as it is. If he escaped somehow, she might have chased after him and the Federation might have lost the whole war. I just wanted to be there, to be sure, and when I finally found her..."

She sat down on the galley floor and put her head in her hands. "Maybe she could have finished Kandai on her own, but she had already lost to the Shockmaster, and I just couldn't take the chance. I've never seen her so badly beaten, doctor. She was supposed to be invincible, and maybe she had everything under control all along, but she looked so desperate. All I could think about was all the good she had done for the galaxy, and how much she needed my help. So I took aim and fired."

"To save her from Kandai," Topsas said.

"No, to save her from herself," Zatte said. "She's let that man distract her all this time. She'll never realize her true potential as long as she's got this vendetta on her mind. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. I want to help her do the things she needs to do, but maybe I'm just not willing to back off and let her do them. Maybe I really am crazy."

Suddenly, the door to the galley slid open, and Keda marched into the room. "The Camelian Empire!" she said.

"What?" Topsas asked.

"That's where we need to go," Keda said. It'll take longer, especially if we go around Federation space instead of passing through it, but we'll be better off in the long run."

"Why would we go around the Federation?" Zatte asked. And why would we go beyond it? What's in the Camelian Empire?"

"Asylum, for openers," Keda said. "That Lord Argon guy Luffa killed, he did something a while back to really piss off the Camelians. Kandai too. I was just going over the old bounty hunter files we had from Luffa's mercenary days. The Camelian government put bounty on Kandai and Argon, and for a lot of money. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but the Camelians would be indebted to us now. They'd give us some breathing room, if nothing else."

"And the Federation wouldn't?" Zatte asked. "Luffa founded it, you know."

"Yeah, I was there," Keda said. "Well, here, actually. It happened on this ship. The only reason those fatcats went along with it was because Luffa threatened to turn on them if they didn't cooperate. How do you think they'll react when they find out she lost a fight? And against a known enemy of the Federation?"

"She has a point, Ms. Zatte," Topsas said. "From what I understand, Marshall Booth was quite excited to relieve her of her office when she was trapped in the wormhole. Still, I don't know that we need to go as far as Camelia to--"

"We're not going to Towrine VI, doctor," Zatte said.

"I needn't call ahead, if that's what worries you," Topsas offered. "I know the hospital administrator. He can pull some strings and have her admitted discreetly once we arrive--"

"The point is that Camelia is a major power in the quadrant," Keda insisted. "We can hide anywhere, but if we hide there, we'll be safer. Not even the Saiyans like to mess with those guys, so--"

"We're not looking for a place to hide, Keda," Zatte said.

"Why not?" Keda demanded. "If you want another adventure, we can turn around and go back to Wist. I'm sure the Shockmaster could arrange something unpleasant for us--"

"Ladies, please," Topsas said, raising two of his hands. "I think if we all calm down, we can surely come to a decision we can all agree upon--"

"This isn't a debate!" Zatte said.

"Of course not!" Keda shot back. "You hijacked the ship! We can't go anywhere without you overriding the helm controls!"

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Zatte shouted.

“That doesn’t mean you’re in charge!” Keda said. “You don’t get to boss us around like we’re a couple of henchmen--”

“I never said--!”

They began to bicker, and Topsas found it more and more difficult to follow what they were saying. At last he realized they were speaking in their native tongue. He sighed, and took another sip of his tea.

"It must say, it is a pretty language you Dorluns have," he said quietly.

They went on like this for a while, and then they felt a slight movement in the deckplate beneath their feet. Keda looked up and frowned. "We've altered course," she said.

"Ah, I can understand you again," Topsas said gratefully.

"That's impossible," Zatte said. "I locked out the controls."

"I'm sure of it," Keda insisted. "Something must be wrong with the engines, or the navigational sensors are out of whack. We'd better get up to the bridge and--"

The door to the galley slid open again. They all turned and saw Luffa in the threshold. She was covered in bandages made from Topsas' silk, and wearing nothing else but one of the oversized T-shirts she slept in. They were merchandise sent to her by the studio behind the unauthorized movie of her life. Emblazoned on the front were the words "THE SUPER SAIYAN" in bright yellow.

"Ninth Eye," Topsas gasped. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Luffa ignored them all and stormed to the refrigerator. She opened it and withdrew a large bottle of batter.

"I thought you gave her sedatives," Zatte whispered to him.

"I did," Topsas whispered back. "Not enough, evidently."

Luffa put the bottle to her lips and began drinking the batter, tilting her head back until the bottle was empty. She slammed it down on the countertop, then wiped her mouth with her forearm. She planted her hands on the countertop and leaned over it, her back turned to the others. She took several deep breaths and shook her head.

"Little drowsy," she said. "You guys're on your own f'r dinner, okay? Okay. Okay."

"Luffa, I--" Zatte began to say, but Luffa raised her hand, gesturing for her to be quiet.

"Oh. Oh. Almost forgot. I set a new course. Ship's taking us to my place," Luffa said. "Take about...uhhhhhh... few weeks. Anybody tries to hack the computer again, I'll breach the hull. We all die in space. Got it?"

None of them knew what to say. When there was no answer, Luffa turned to glare at Zatte. Her eyes were glassy, but her stern expression left no room for interpretation.

"Got it?" Luffa repeated.

"Y-yeah," Zatte said.

"Okayyyyyy. We'll talk later," she said. "I gotta ask y'something."

"Sure," Zatte said nervously. "Later."

"Right now I need to lie down. Thanks ever’body. Thanks f'r... stuff."

With that, Luffa shambled out of the galley and down the corridor.

"I really ought to check on her," Dr. Topsas said. He set down his cup and scurried after her.

"I should get to the bridge," Keda said. "See if I can find out where she's taking us."

"'Her place?'" Zatte asked.

Keda shrugged. "Beats me. Luffa was born on a spaceship. I don't think she's even been to the Saiyan homeworld before. The closest thing she has to a permanent address is the Emerald Eye, and we're already here."

She ran out of the galley, leaving Zatte alone to look at the empty batter bottle.

NEXT: Unseen Forces

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #zatte #keda #dr topsas

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (46/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous Chapters conveniently available here

[17 May 236 Before Age. Extraliga]

"You want to go after her? Are you insane!?"

"You're way out of line, kid!"

On the bridge of Luffa's star-yacht, her companions were having an argument. They were Dorluns, of a culture that valued survival above all, and they had been separated from the rest of their kind. This and their ties to Luffa had made them very close, almost like sisters, but that didn't mean they always agreed.

The younger of the two, Keda, had assumed a role as Luffa's business assistant. She managed the Saiyan's finances, kept the ship running smoothly, and did whatever odd jobs needed doing. Most of this could be accomplished from the yacht's spacious bridge, and so Keda had converted it into her own private quarters. Off to one side of the deck she had a sleeping bag and a footlocker, and various personal effects laying around them. Ironically, there were far more comfortable cabins on the ship--it had originally been a luxury pleasure craft after all--but Keda wasn't interested in comfort. For her, the bridge was the best place to be on the ship, since she could respond to almost any situation from that location.

Her only real regret about working for Luffa was that it made for a somewhat lonely existence. Luffa was a good friend, but a strange one, and not always sociable. The Saiyan would get into one of her moods and keep to herself, sometimes for days. Keda tried to keep a respectful distance, but she had long wished for more relateable company. When Zatte showed up, it seemed like a dream come true.

It had been a miracle of sorts. Zatte was supposed to have been killed while defending the Dorlun colony from an alien invasion. But Dorluns were hard to kill, and after two years, she turned up alive and well, though she had lost her right eye in the battle. Best of all, she had agreed to live with them on the ship, but it had all been a trick. Zatte had actually been enchanted by a race of demonic creatures the whole time. Luffa had managed to free Zatte from their power, but Keda found it difficult to believe everything was back to normal.

"Zatte, we're safe here!" Keda said. "If we follow Luffa to Planet Wist, who knows what we might run into!"

"What, so we just abandon her?" Zatte asked. She was about twice Keda's age, and normally that would have settled the dispute then and there. The Dorluns respected their elders, after all, since an elder was someone who had managed to stay alive longer. But Keda had never heard an adult Dorlun talk as recklessly as Zatte. Besides, living with a Super Saiyan had forced Keda to grow up in a hurry. She refused to back down from this.

"Luffa told us to stay behind!" Keda shouted. "She doesn't need our help, dammit!"

"Watch your mouth, Keda," Zatte said.

"Or what?" Keda shot back. "Are you gonna fight me? That seems to be your answer to everything else!"

"She's the xan'nil-Dor!" Zatte insisted. "We have an obligation as Dorluns to--"

"Don't play that card with me," Keda snapped. "You keep saying she's a xan'nil-Dor, but I don't buy it! You're just looking for an excuse to go charging into battle again."

"You of all people should understand what I'm trying to do!" Zatte said. "You've been providing support for Luffa's work for years now!"

Keda threw up her hands. "Because it's my job!" she shouted. "Luffa pays me for this. She lets me live on her ship for free and she lets me use the subspace radio to try to find other Dorluns. And if we run into any trouble at all, she takes care of it. She's the strongest person in the universe, and she pays me to live under her protection!"

Zatte turned up her nose. "Is that all she is to you?" she asked. "Just a resource to exploit?"

"Of course not," Keda said. "But I'm not trying to turn her into some kind of religious symbol to justify bad decisions like you are! You want to risk your neck, and you're using her as an excuse!"

"I said watch your mouth, kid!" Zatte yelled. Among the Dorluns, 'risk' was not a word to be used lightly.

"Oh, so it's bad for me to say it, but it's okay for you to do it?" Keda scoffed. "What did those Makyans do to you, Zatte?"

Her good eye narrowed as she looked down at Keda. "They showed me that there's a lot of evil in the universe," she said grimly. "And that we can't just hide under our beds and hope someone else will fix it for us."

They stared at each other wordlessly, and and then the door to the lift opened. Dr. Topsas stepped onto the deck. In three of his arachnoid limbs he held mugs.

"Ladies," he said pleasantly. "I couldn't get to sleep, so I went to the galley to make some tea. Would you care for some?"

"Not right now, doctor," Zatte said in a low voice.

"Thanks, but no," Keda said.

"Hmm, more for myself, I suppose," Topsas said. "Ms. Zatte, I should like to look at your arm once more in the morning."

"It's fine, doctor."

"Indeed, but I have little experience in treating Dorlun patients, and my old exophysiology professor always warned me to be thorough. You mammals have so few arms as it is. You'll forgive me for being overcautious."

"Of course," Zatte said. "First thing tomorrow."

He turned and left the way he came in, and the two of them continued staring at each other.

"You don't trust me because of what the Makyans did to me," Zatte said. "Is that it? You still think I'm under the influence of the Black Water Mist."

"Well, you stopped wearing that weird costume," Keda said, "but you haven't done anything about your hair."

The Dorluns all wore their red hair long, just in case they needed to use some of it for kindling to start a fire in an inhospitable situation. It was one of their oldest customs, dating back to the dawn of Dorlun civilization. Keda had hers tied up in a bun for convenience. Zatte had most of hers cut off at the whim of her former masters. She had been sporting an undercut bob ever since. Her bangs hung down just above her eyebrows, and the rest of her hair barely covered her ears. It was a stylish look, but not very Dorlun at all.

"I happen to like my hair this way," Zatte said. "It's a lot easier to wear my eyepatch, for starters."

"I hadn't thought of that," Keda said rubbing the tip of her chin.

"You know I infected Luffa with the Mist, right?" Zatte added. "You still trust her, don't you?"

"Yeah, but..."

"She cured herself," Zatte said. "I don't understand it all, but she managed to break free and then she did something in my mind, and the next thing I knew we were all back to normal."

"All?" Keda asked.

"They had a lot of agents out there, kid," Zatte said. She walked over to the main viewscreen and looked at the display of the night sky outside. "I know because one of the jobs they made me do was to keep tabs on them. There was this order of monks on this one planet. We had three of them infected with the Mist. No one in the monastery knew, but every night they went out and held these arcane rituals to summon evil spirits. Blood sacrifices, the works. Every so often they'd send me a progress report. There was another planet where we had one woman killing random strangers on a regular basis. Just, picked an innocent person and slashed their throat. She'd send me a list of names. Another guy was the prime minister of his planet."

"What did he do?" Keda asked.

Zatte shrugged. "I have no idea. His orders were to sit tight and wait for the 'right moment', whatever that was. At the time, I used to look forward to it. I used to look at a big map of the galaxy and look at all the red dots that represented our agents, and I'd imagine it was a plague spreading through all of creation. No one even knew about it, and even if they did, no one could stop it. And what I liked the most was that I was a part of it."

She clenched her fists as she looked at the star-field. "Luffa... she was as much a part of that plague as I was, but she took that power and tore it down in a matter of days! Days! She eradicated the Black Water Mist like it was nothing, and all it did was make her hungry! Later, she apologized for not doing it sooner!"

She turned and faced Keda. "That was when I realized she was xan'nil-Dor, Keda. The 'why we survive'. She's part of the higher cause all Dorluns live for. For the good of the universe, we have to help her."

"It's not your call to make," Keda said. "You can't just decide your alien girlfriend's a xan'nil-Dor for crying out loud. I'm only twelve and I know that much. You need--"

"I know!" Zatte said. "I should take it to a council of elders, present a formal argument, and let them decide whether my claim is legitimate. And it's not like we're talking about a planet, or a scientific mission. Whenever the xan'nil-Dor is a person they'd want an in-person interview, and that would go over so well with her."

"She hates that kind of talk," Keda said. "Lots of people already think she's some kind of angel or demigoddess, or a cosmic entity. It ticks her off."

"Keda, it doesn't matter whether she likes it or not. It doesn't matter that there are no other Dorluns I can take this to. I know what I saw." Zatte paced around aimlessly for a moment, then dropped into one of the chairs at the forward stations. "Do you think I want to wander into a battlefield on a planet I've never seen before? I have to do this. She's a xan'nil-Dor, and if I don't go help her then my life isn't worth much at all."

"Help her?!" Keda asked. "She's a Super Saiyan, Zatte. She's invincible!"

"That's their legend, kid," Zatte said. "You remember ours, don't you? The immortal Dorlun? And what happened to him?"

Keda rolled her eyes. "Come on..."

"What happened to him, Keda? You know the story."

She threw back her head and made a weary sigh. "Ugh. He fell down a well and he's still there to this day," she said.

"Safe and sound, for all the good it does him," Zatte said. "Maybe she really is invincible, but that doesn't mean she couldn't use a hand once in a while. You saved her once, from what I hear."

"That was..." Keda shook her head and started waving her hands. "That's not how it happened. I needed her help just as much--"

"She really looks up to you, you know," Zatte said.

"Oh, now you're just teasing me," Keda said.

"It's true," Zatte said with a smile. "She doesn't like to talk about it because she's embarrassed that she needed help from a little kid. But I think she wishes she could have been in your shoes, helping someone much, much stronger face impossible odds."

"Well, I'd rather be the invincible one on the team," Keda said. "So I guess we're even."

"Look, Keda, you don't have to come along. You can go with the doctor and see him back home like Luffa wanted. I understand why you'd want to honor her request," Zatte said. She swung the chair around to face the computer terminal and began typing in course commands. "But I need the ship. I'll take it through the wormhole to Wist, but I'll probably have to bring it back the long way. Luffa wouldn't want to expose the fairies who live in the wormhole to her energy."

"I won't let you do that, Zatte," Keda said firmly.

She paused and looked up at the girl. "Won't let me?" Zatte asked.

"You want to put yourself in harm's way, all on some vague hunch," Keda said. "Maybe it makes perfect sense to you, but you're the only other Dorlun I've found so far, and I need you. Luffa might enjoy having you join her in battle, but she told you to stay here, and she's the boss."

Zatte swung the chair around and listed to one side as she listened to Keda. "The boss, huh?"

"This is her ship," Keda said, "and when she's not around, I'm in charge."

"Swell," Zatte said. She turned back to the station and resumed her work.

Keda watched her angrily for a moment, then looked up at nothing in particular. "Computer," she called out. "Lock out all command functions, voice-authorization: Keda-115-Phi-763."

Zatte ignored this until the displays on her station stopped responding. Red text appeared on the screen, informing her that her access had been denied. She looked back to Keda impatiently.

"Kid," she said, "You're really starting to tick me off..."

"I'm serious, Zatte," Keda said. "You can beat me up if you want, but I won't release navigation to you. We're going to do what Luffa asked, and that's that."

"I don't want to fight you, Keda," Zatte said. "If I had access to another ship, I'd use it, but I need--"

Keda crossed her arms. "I said no."

Zatte put her elbow on the armrest of her chair and rested her head in her palm as she regarded the child. "I think I see why Luffa appreciates you so much," she said. "I'm sorry it has to come to this."

Before Keda could ask what she meant, Zatte put her hand on the computer panel and cleared her throat to speak. "Computer, execute program Zatte One."

The panel flickered as new displays appeared, and then a line of text appeared which read "Handprint authorization confirmed. Access granted."

"Wh-what?" Keda gasped. She ran over to the nearest terminal and tried to undo Zatte's last command, but the computer refused to accept her instructions. "What the hell did you do?" she asked.

"Language," Zatte muttered. "I figured your shape-shifting powers might help you imitate my voice, maybe enough to fool the computer, so I added a handprint authorization to go with it. You might be able to imitate my fingerprints, but not if I use my energy manipulating abilities to modify the image slightly. Of course, you're probably clever enough to find a way around that too, I guess, but I'm betting it'll take you a while."

Keda started checking every terminal on the bridge, and began pulling her hair out of the bun it was in. "How...? When did you do all of this?" she asked furiously.

"When I first came on board," Zatte said. "The Makyans sent me here to kidnap Luffa, remember? My plan worked perfectly, but I hacked the ship's computer just in case you got suspicious and tried to stop me. I probably would have removed the program eventually, but I never got around to it. Feels kind of embarrassing to use it now, but what can I do?"

Keda kicked one of the workstations in frustration.

"I meant what I said," Zatte told her. "I won't force any of you into this, and I'll go alone if I have to, but I will be going." She turned from the station and looked at her with an earnest expression. "I know it's crummy of me to ask, but I wish you'd come along. You're the only other Dorlun I have, and I need you."

Keda ran her hands over her face and took a few deep breaths. "I guess I should stay with the ship," she finally said. "You'd better be right about this, Zatte."

*******

[17 May 236 Before Age. Planet Wist.]

Normally, it would have been difficult for them to move so freely across the skies of Planet Wist, but with Luffa on the warpath, much of the Shockmaster’s military might was either demolished or otherwise engaged. Suddenly, the trio of Ensign Liberty, Scotch Woodcock, and Tobiko were very low on the priorities list. If anyone below even noticed their movements, they did nothing to react.

"Bloody hell," Woodcock grumbled as he looked over the site of a recent battle. "Bird’s only been here a few hours, right? Looks like a damn army of Saiyans came through here."

"She’s intense," M’ranga said. "When I met her before, she was holding back her power. Even then, all she wanted to do was fight, even if it was just sparring with me. Well, she’s not holding back anymore, and if we don’t put the Shockmaster down while we have the chance, there may not be a planet left to save!"

They flew in a V formation, with M’ranga in the lead, holding a small copper nugget in front of her like a compass.

"Arrrre you surrrre we’re going the rrrriiight waayyyy?" Tobiko asked.

"If this enchanted stone works like it’s supposed to," M’ranga said, "we should be on the right track. I’m just worried we won’t make it in time."

"What is this Shockmaster guy anyway?" Woodcock asked Tobiko. "Y’said you’re about as old as he is, right? Two o’ ya were mates back in the day?"

"It’s nooooot thaaaat simmmmple," Tobiko explained. "Youuuu seeeee--"

He paused for a moment, then raised his hands over his throat and chanted something quite unpronounceable. When he spoke again, he sounded like a completely different person.

"Ah, much better. Excuse me, friends," he said. "I’ve lived alone in the marshes for many long ages. I’m not used to speaking this much, and I know my normal voice can be... tiresome after a time."

Woodcock stared at him in disbelief, the he reached into the pocket of his leather pants and withdrew a hip flask. He took a swig and shook his head. "Wish you’da done that a long time ago..."

"The loquacion spell lasts for but a short time," Tobiko said, "yet it will suffice for me to tell the story."

He cleared his throat and began: "The Ancient Wist once dominated this region of the universe. Their powers and technology were formidable, and their culture was among the finest in the galaxy. Order was preserved not through mere soldiers or arms, but by a great council of wise elders. I was once a member of that august body, before I became the repugnant creature you see today."

"You’re a brave man trying to help his people, Tobiko," M’ranga said. "I find nothing repugnant about that."

"Erm, yes, well, be that as it may," Tobiko continued, "I did not always look like this. Before I was condemned to exile, I resembled the people of Wist as they are today. I was considered quite handsome in my youth, for what it’s worth--"

"You’re fighting for a noble cause," M’ranga insisted. "That’s the inner beauty that counts, mister."

"You think so...?" Tobiko asked. "The Elders banished me for speaking out against certain military expansions, and they cursed me to inhabit this amphibian form specifically because it was hideous and unseemly."

"I’ve been to many different planets in my time," M’ranga said. "And in my experience, there is no absolute standard of attractiveness, save for the quality of a person’s character--"

"Beerus Priest, will ya let him finish the fraggin’ story already?!" Woodcock groaned.

"Sorry," M’ranga said.

"Yes, er, as I was saying," Tobiko said, "the fact of the matter is that the Shockmaster was sealed away long before I was born. He was one of the great heroes of his age, a staunch defender of the principles my people once cherished. But like me, he fell out of favor with the Council. However, his distinguished career earned him clemency. Instead of being cursed to a long life of isolation, he was placed in a kind of stasis, so that he could be summoned once more if his heroism was ever needed in the future."

"He seems to have an odd definition of heroism," M’ranga said.

"A matter of perspective, I should imagine," Tobiko said. "I have wandered the marshes of my world for many thousands of years, and yet the Shockmaster’s era was ancient to me when I was a boy. Times have changed, and mayhap the world he seeks to preserve no longer exists. Perhaps it never existed at all. I wonder--"

"There!" M’ranga called out. She signaled to the others to come to a stop, and she pointed to the ground.

"Found him, eh?" Woodcock asked. They had traveled to the remote highlands of one of the planet’s northernmost islands. There was still green vegetation below them, but the harsh winds and rocky outcroppings would support little else beside grass and lichens.

"The faerie stone is enchanted to lead me in the direction of the Shockmaster," M’ranga said. "And right now it’s tugging me straight down."

Woodcock looked around and tipped the brim of his black hat, revealing his third eye. "Yeah, I see him now. There’s a buncha cairns down there. He’s standin’ in the middle of ’em. Still can’t sense his power. Like he dropped dead or something."

"It’s the Reverie," Tobiko said. "The ancients used an intense meditative state for profound contemplation. It is said that the greatest adepts could commune with spirits in the hereafter. But to attain such a state places the body in a sort of paralysis. He has no awareness of his surroundings, nor can he interact with the physical world."

"That’s why he came here," M’ranga said. "He knew he’d be vulnerable, so he picked a secluded place far away from anyone who might stumble across him. He wasn’t expecting us to be able to track him down."

They floated to the ground only a few feet away from the Shockmaster. As Woodcock had said, he seemed to be standing perfectly still, as though waiting for them to arrive. Cautiously, they circled around him, half-expecting him to come to life.

"Don’t feel right, kickin’ him when he’s down like this," Woodcock said.

"I'm not interested in a fair fight," M'ranga said. "This may be our only chance to defeat him and free this planet, and I'm taking it." With that, she drew a plasma pistol from her belt and opened fire. The beams of green energy struck the Shockmaster's massive chest...

...And passed through him, emerging from his back.

"Tobiko?" M'ranga called warily.

"Astounding," Tobiko said. "His mastery of the technique is far greater than I could have imagined. So deep is his meditation that his material form has left the physical plane altogether."

Woodcock walked up to the Shockmaster and reached out to touch him. His hand passed through the Shockmaster's body as if it were not even there. "Like a damn hologram," Woodcock muttered. He pointed at his third eye. "Only I can tell the difference, and this here looks like the real thing."

"Now what?" M'ranga asked. "We can't touch him until he snaps out of this trance, and by then it'll be too late!"

"Do not abandon hope," Tobiko said. He raised his hands and made strange gestures with his webbed fingers. "Perhaps a spell of containment may succeed where your weapons will not..."

They watched him for several minutes, though neither Woodcock nor M'ranga understood what he was doing or how he was doing it. It looked very much like the grotesque sorceror was weaving invisible threads on an imaginary loom. Just when it seemed he was finished, he circled around to perform a similar series of gestures from a different position.

"How long's this gonna take, anyhow?" Woodcock asked pointedly.

"My charms must be thorough to contain a being of his might," Tobiko replied.

"And if he snaps out of it before you're finished?" M'ranga asked.

"That would be... unfortunate," Tobiko said.

NEXT: Unfortunately...

#dragon ball #fanfiction #super saiyan #luffa #is not in this chapter #but she's sort of like poochie the rockin' dog #if she's not in a scene #all the other characters ask 'where's luffa?'#now where was i?#zatte #keda #tobiko #scotch woodcock #m'ranga: ensign liberty #extraliga #wist #tobiko's loquacion spell fixes it so instead of talking like mer-man from he-man #he talks like man-at-arms from he-man #lssjluffafic

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duhragonball · 7 years

Text

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (56/?)

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous Chapters conveniently available here

[9 June 236 Before Age. Hobstot III.]

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ⑤)

"It’s better this way. You gave a merry chase, arachnoid, but it will be I, Koda Shibike, who pens the final chapter of your career, bounty hunter."

"I... beg your pardon?"

Dr. Topsas had awoken to find all eight of his limbs chained to the floor of a room he had never seem before. The last thing he recalled was a bookstore on Hobstot III, where he and his friend Zatte had been ambushed by a very eccentric gunman. He had been shot, but the ammunition in question was a dart shaped like the nib of a fountain pen, and the tip was coated in some sort tranquilizer. It was a primitive, inefficient weapon with a limited range, but the shooter’s agility and precise movements had managed to compensate.

Topsas had grown somewhat accustomed to danger. He had been on Extraliga when the Wist invasion began, and then he had been captured and detained in a prison camp run by fairies. These and other adventures were precipitated by his association with the Super Saiyan Luffa. Naturally, he assumed his captor was connected to her in some way.

But apparently not. This man, Shikibe, seemed to have Dr. Topsas confused with someone else. Under different circumstances, Topsas might have found it amusing to be mistaken for a dangerous bounty hunter. Earlier, Zatte had explained to him that her species had evolved blue skin and bright red hair to serve as a warning to potential predators, but this was in fact a biological bluff. Dorluns like Zatte weren’t actually poisonous, but their coloration was meant to mimic some other life forms who were. Now, Topsas had found himself dealing with the flip side of that natural defense. Shikibe had misidentified the doctor as a threat, and instead of avoiding him, he had chosen to attack.

"It is my great pleasure to defy those in power," Shikibe rambled on. "Society frowns upon my penchant for hunting and killing your kind. They demand that I cease, and I, Koda Shikibe, refuse. My editors demand that I draw original work instead of recolors of existing characters, but I, Koda Shikibe, refuse."

"From where I stand, Mr. Shikibe, the one in power is you," Topsas replied gently. "Would you believe me if I told you that I am a physician, and not a bounty hunter?"

"A pointless, desperate ruse."

Topsas regarded the man carefully. He was humanoid, rather pale in complexion, though it was difficult to be certain of his natural coloration because of all the green cosmetics he was wearing. His hair looked like a pile of leaves clipped from a fake plant from a waiting room in one of Topsas' old offices. Around his forehead, Shikibe wore what might be generously called a 'headband', although it appeared to have been crafted from construction paper. His pants were loose and baggy, while his shirt was comically undersized, barely covering his upper abdomen.

It was far too little to make an accurate diagnosis, but Topsas was beginning to suspect that the man was suffering from some kind of mental illness. Perhaps some of his unusual behavior could be explained away as alien cultural pratices, but not all of it.

At best, Shikibe had constructed an elaborate paranoid fantasy in which he was a fugitive murder.

At worst, Shikibe really was a fugitive murderer.

As things stood, Topsas wasn’t sure there was much of a difference.

"Very well," Topsas said evenly. "Let us suppose that I am this bounty hunter, although I deny it. How did you capture me so easily?"

"Your cover was admittedly brilliant," Shikibe said. "But you failed to consider the power of my Thoughtform."

"Thoughtform?"

Koda laughed. "On my homeworld of Abaj, everyone has the ability to generate physical manifestations of their mental energy. Each has its own unique powers."

He paused, and then without warning he cried out: "Dr. Feelgood!"

Suddenly, a ghostly figure emerged from his body and stood beside him. Topsas recognized this as the sniper who had attacked him and Zatte in the bookstore. It vaguely resembled its master, although it looked more like a robot wearing a wide-brimmed hat and cradling an old-fashioned rifle.

"You rang?" it asked cordially.

"This was the creature that shot us," Topsas said.

"The gun and ammunition are all part of my thoughtform," Shikibe said proudly. It raised its hand, revealing a set of claws on its fingertips which resembled the nibs of fountain pens. Shikibe plucked one of them off and admired its appearance.

"I am an artist above all else," he boasted. "The appearance of Dr. Feelgood is an outward manifestation of the creative storm that constantly rages within me. Just as ink from my pen infuses my aesthetic onto the blank page, anyone struck by these darts will fall under my influence."

"That fellow you shot in the bookstore," Topsas said. "He went berserk. I thought the dart was drugged, but it seems to have had no such effect on myself."

"The darts were drugged, not with chemicals, but rather a psychic energy which I can control," Shikibe explained. "There are limits depending on the biology of the target, but it’s a simple matter to induce extreme drowsiness in almost any life form."

He glared at Topsas, then pointed at him, and all at once Topsas felt a profound weariness come upon him. He couldn’t remember having ever been so sleepy.

"There, you see?" Shikibe asked. "The effects of the dart will fade over time, but until they do, I can make you as sleepy as a college student cramming for final exams."

And just when Topsas thought he would finally nod off, the effect was lifted, and he was suddenly as awake and alert as he had been a moment ago. He then realized that this was how he had woken up in this place. It was an unsettling experience to say the least.

"So you rendered me unconscious and brought me here," Topsas said. "To what end? And what have you done with Zatte?"

"Whom?" Shikibe asked idly.

"The lady," replied Dr. Feelgood.

"Ah, the blue woman with the red hair," Shikibe said. His voice was practically dripping with resentment towards those colors, as if they had personally wronged him somehow.

"If you say so, chief," Dr. Feelgood said. "Everyone just looks kind of grey to me."

"Fortunately, I can correct that oversight when I capture her likeness in sketches," Shikibe said.

"Sketches?" Topsas asked incredulously. "You mean to tell me that you brought us here to draw pictures of us?"

"Don’t be absurd," Shikibe scoffed. "I brought her here to use as a reference for my sketches. I brought you here so that I can kill you and use your bodily fluids to blend green pigments for my work. But I find that my models are more cooperative when I take hostages."

Topsas was doing his best to remain calm, but he felt his pedipalps begin to quiver with unease. If Shikibe noticed, he didn’t show it. The Abajian simply turned and walked away.

"First, I must perform my daily finger stretches," he announced to no one in particular. "Then I must alphabetize my collection of Fabian Fitzroy paper sleeves. Discipline above all."

As he opened the door to leave, he flipped a switch on the wall, activating a second set of lights in the room. Topsas thought nothing of this at first, but then he heard a low mumble, and noticed Zatte sitting in a chair twenty feet away.

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ⑥)

"He sounds like an idiot," Zatte groaned after Topsas informed her of their situation. "I almost wish he was one of Luffa’s enemies. At least then there’d be a clear motive for all of this."

"Whatever his motive, we appear to be at his mercy," Topsas said. "Apparently the only reason I’m alive is so that you’ll sit still for his portraits."

"Sit still?" Zatte grumbled. "I can barely move in this chair. He’s got me trussed up with... wait, this stuff feels like fishing line."

Topsas lowered his head as he looked at the bonds holding Zatte’s ankles to the legs of the chair. "Yes, now that you mention it, I believe it is fishing line. But you should be able to break free of that easily."

Zatte struggled, but found she could do nothing. "It’s no good," she said, gasping with exhaustion from the effort. "He... must have... done something to me with... his powers."

"That is distressing to say the least," Topsas said.

"Pretty sure he only tied me to this chair to keep me from falling off of it," Zatte said after catching her breath. "At least he let me keep my clothes on."

"Is the chair bolted down?" Topsas asked. Perhaps if you could move closer we might--"

"Maybe he just wants to draw my face," Zatte mused. "It’s kind of flattering, really. If he would have just asked me, I might have paid him for a copy. Maybe given that to Luffa. Beats looking around all day for a gift."

"Ms. Zatte..."

"I don’t know, she probably wouldn’t get it," Zatte said. "'I see you all the time, Zattie, what do I need a drawing for?' She has a really stunted sense of imagination, you know?"

"Ms. Zatte, are you feeling all right?"

"Heh. I guess I could get somebody to draw me in the buff. 'Here, honey, something to keep you warm on those lonely nights on the training ground. Hee hee hee! She’d be mortified!"

"Zatte, can you hear me?"

"No, no no. I have to think of something else. It’s kind of weird giving someone a picture of yourself as a gift, right? Right? Yeah. Wow. Oh, right. I can hear you, doctor. What’s wrong?"

"I think our 'host' has done more to you than merely sapping your strength," Topsas said.

"Right, sorry," she said. "You’re right. I feel a little light-headed. Maybe it’s from trying to break free a minute ago. Remember that? That was weird. Heh. Don't worry, doctor. I’ve been in worse spots than this. We’ll get out of this."

"I fail to see how."

"We Dorluns are survivors, Doctor. The first step is to take stock of your resources. I've got you, and you've got me. This--heh!--power Shikibe has over me is canceling out my ki, making me so weak I can barely move. But I bet I can still make myself invisible."

She concentrated, in spite of the inebriating effects of Shikibe's power. Each Dorlun had a unique ability which manifested at a certain age. Zatte doubted that Shikibe could block this without knowing more about her species. She mentally added that to her inventory of potential resources. When she was reasonably sure she had warped the light all the way around herself, she asked the doctor: "Can you see me?"

"Not at all. Nor can I see what possible good that does us," Topsas said in a despondent voice.

"It's just a test," Zatte explained. "If my power still works, that means I should be able to manipulate other forms of energy as well. Like the heat from these light fixtures. If I could focus it all onto a piece of this fishing line I'm wrapped up in, then I might be able to melt it."

"And then what?" Topsas asked. "Weak as you are, you'd still be unable to act. You'd merely slide out of that chair, as you said before."

"One problem at a time, doctor," Zatte said.

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ⑦)

"All I'm saying is that maybe this doesn't make a lot of sense."

Koda Shikibe considered these words carefully as he flexed his fingers one by one, then shook his head. "Impossible. My scheme makes perfect sense."

His thoughtform, Dr. Feelgood, stood beside him as they spoke. "You keep killing all those arachnoids and taking their money," he said patiently. "Now they send this bounty hunter after us to get revenge, right? Only he says he's not a bounty hunter, which makes a lot of sense, seeing as he barely put up a fight when we caught him."

"He's a bounty hunter," Shikibe insisted. "His people hired him to take revenge. They see what I've done as mere crimes. Bah!"

He walked across the room to his desk, where he picked up a severed forelimb that had once belonged to an arachnoid. As he continued speaking, he caressed it lovingly. "I killed those creatures for the sake of ART, and nothing more! To be sure, I did help myself to their financial accounts, and the art I produced from their deaths was popular enough to afford me a few creature comforts, such as this limited edition collection of Magical Girl figurines." He took a hobby knife from his desk and waved it at a shelf containing his prized collection, then he pointed it at Feelgood.

"Look, I'm sorry--" the thoughtform said, beggaring off.

"The truth is that I do none of this for mere money, or any sort of sadistic pleasure. My one goal is to further the progression of my art, so that it may be consumed and appreciated across the entire universe. And there is only one way to do that, and that is to use the hemolymph of arthropodic life forms, and why is that?"

"Uh... I don't know," the robot said.

"For the COLOR, you uncultured boor," Shikibe said. He turned to his desk and stabbed the knife into a small spider that happened to be crawling upon its surface, then he turned back to the robot to show him the creature now impaled on the blade. "Hemolymph brings out the perfect shade of green for lips, hair, clothing, anything at all! Lesser artists may rely on cheap reds and blues, buying pedestrian art supplies made from common mineral pigments, or worse, hobbling along with digital media. But I refuse! No, I, Koda Shikibe will not be held back by abstractions like 'morality' or 'color theory' or 'common sense'. If a thousand thousand sentient beings must die for the sake of my art, then so be it!"

With that, Shikibe sat down at his desk and began to brood. He put his heels on the edge of his seat and placed his elbows on his knees, steepling his fingers in a contemplative pose that looked very profound, or very awkward, depending on one's point of view. It might have looked more dignified if he weren't staring at the severed forelimb on his desk.

"I'm just saying that while we deal with these two, we might be leaving ourselves open to an attack by a real bounty hunter," Feelgood said. "Either way, it's probably not safe to stay here. We should be packing up and looking for a new hideout, not sketching alien space babes."

"It's vital that I complete my sketches," Shikibe replied. "You're an extension of my own consciousness. You should understand this implicitly."

Feelgood shrugged.

"I require inspiration for my latest comic, Charmy Green Lad," Shikibe explained impatiently. "The character designs must be flawless--!"

"I thought you just traced over other people's characters and changed the colors around, though," Feelgood said.

"Once I have captured the woman's likeness, we can kill her and the bounty hunter, harvest the bounty hunter's hemolymph, and then we may prepare to relocate," Shikibe insisted. "I refuse to consider any other sequence of events."

"Okay, okay," the thoughtform said. "Let's just hurry up and get on with this."

"I refuse," Shikibe said stubbornly. He raised his hands and began flexing his fingers once again. "First I must finish my stretches."

*******

(Dr. Feelgood, Part ⑧)

An hour had passed. Zatte felt she was making progress, but at a very slow pace. The problem was that the lighting in the room was very efficient, and produced very little ambient heat for her to work with. Her next best choice was to use the heat from her own body, but this presented an entirely different challenge. By focusing too much heat into a specific part of her body at once, she risked burning herself. Conversely, channeling that much heat at once meant drawing it away from the rest of her body. She could draw additional heat from the air around her, but it was a tricky balancing act under the best of circumstances. As it was, the intoxicating effects of Dr. Feelgood made it nearly impossible.

Fortunately, she had a few things working in her favor. First, there was a doctor just a few yards away, so if she ended up with frostbitten toes and second degree burns on her fingers, at least she wouldn't have to go far for treatment.

Second, there was that thrill she always experienced whenever she was in danger. Her own culture frowned on enjoying these kinds of life-threatening situations, but she had a certain perverse appreciation for the way they honed her skills and focused her wits. Right now, she needed all the focus she could get.

Third, she had faith that Providence hadn't allowed her to live this long only to die here in the lair of some hipster serial killer. Months ago, Zatte had been blessed with an epiphany, and realized that her fiancée was an important part of the Divine Plan--a xan'nil-Dor. The Dorluns survived so that whenever they encountered these people and places of destiny, that they would be able to help them in some small way. Luffa herself was skeptical of this, but that wasn't without precedent. Privately, Zatte sometimes wondered if she might be wrong, but the epiphany had been too profound to reject. At any rate, it was an excellent motivator.

Fourth, she had convinced Dr. Topsas to keep her talking while she worked. Initially, this was just a ruse to keep the doctor's mind off his own fear. But Zatte had to admit that she probably would have gotten distracted several times by now if she had been in this situation alone.

They didn't know each other very well, at least aside from their mutual acquaintance through Luffa. Fortunately, the Saiyan made a good topic of conversation. For the last twenty minutes, they had been discussing the theological implications of a Super Saiyan xan'nil-Dor. Topsas was respectful about it, but Zatte could tell he was unconvinced. The important thing was that he kept her mind off the droplets of moisture condensing on her face as her body slowly dehumidified the room.

"So what was the problem with the dolls?" Topsas asked.

"Huh?"

"In the bookstore, before we were captured, I suggested you give Ms. Luffa one of those dolls as a gift, for her collection," Topsas explained. "You seemed to think this was a blind alley."

"Oh, right. I forgot all about that," Zatte said, somewhat unsettled by the weary sound of her own voice. "Ha. I'm a liiiitle flighty right now, doctor."

"Yes, which was why you asked me to keep talking to you. I have done my best, but I find myself running out of things to talk about."

"Okay, okay. Okay," Zatte said. "First of all, they're not 'dolls'. They're action figures. Luffa's very touchy about that. Second of all. Yeah. Uh... third of all, she already has the whole set. Pretty much."

"I see."

"I mean, there weren't that many toys in the line anyway. They made that stupid movie about her, what? Last year? She's had plenty of time to track 'em all down. I mean, there's 'collector variants', whatever that means. Basically I can get her the same Rax Cosmo toy she already has, only with a maroon vest instead of blue." She winced as she felt too much heat gather in her left wrist. It was relatively easy to disperse it throughout her arm, but it always took far too long. "Besides, the toys are all a joke to her anyway."

"A joke?"

"I mean, you played with toys, right? The whole entire main point is to play out fantasy scenarios. It prepares kids for the real world, y'know?"

"Now that you mention it, I had a doctor bag when I was small," Topsas said. "The equipment was all made of plastic, and I was a bit frustrated that none of it really worked, but the items fascinated me all the same."

"That's what I'm talking about. That's it. Exactly," Zatte slurred. "When I was little, my uncle carved some dolls out of wood for me. Dolls, doctor. I'm not ashamed to call them that."

"Of course, Ms. Zatte."

"Not like some people."

"I take your point."

"Some people named Luffa."

"What did you do with these dolls, Ms. Zatte?" Topsas pressed.

"I used to paint clothes on them," Zatte said. "Then I'd have them be soldiers. I used to make forts out of old buckets and pots, and then station them all around it. I'd pretend there was a xan'nil-Dor in the fort, and our company was in charge of protecting it at all costs."

"Interesting," Topsas observed.

"Anywayyyyy, Luffa never had toys growing up. Her mother would fight her and tell her stories, but that was about it. Kind of sad, really. So these toys they made about her, she just thinks they're funny because they're based on that movie, which is just a made-up version of her life that never really happened. There's nothing inspirational about 'em. Not to her."

"Ah, I think I understand the problem now," Topsas said. "You've been looking for a gift that Luffa will find inspirational, like the soldiers and castles of your youth."

"Well, yeah... That'd be great. Swelllll. But where in the hell am I supposed to find--?"

"He's coming back," Topsas said suddenly.

Zatte glanced at the door. She wasn't ready. If Shikibe figured out what she was doing, he might decide to kill them both without delay.

For a split second, she wondered if Topsas might have been imagining things, but then she heard a click from the vicinity of the door's handle, and a droplet of condensed moisture ran down the side of her face.

NEXT: Thus Spake Koda Shikibe

*******

[9 June 236 Before Age. Luffasworld.]

"Are you okay?" Keda asked.

Luffa sniffled a few times and held her hand over her nose. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine, kid," she said. "Just had a sneezing fit all of a sudden."

"Must be some kind of allergen in the air around here," Keda said. "Anyway, if you're done, I can get back to my song."

Luffa stood up and looked around the prairie for any sign of suspicious flowers, but decided there wasn't much point in worrying about it. She could always pick up her training on some other part of the planet. This region was pleasant enough, but she hardly needed a scenic view for pushups.

"What'd you call it again?" Luffa asked.

"The Egg Song," Keda said proudly. "Starts off like this... ahem..."

Luffa went to find a towel to wipe her face while Keda prepared to start.

"Deviled, deviled, devillllled... Pickled, pickled, pickllllled... Scrambled, scrambled, scrambllllled... Coddled, Coddled, Coddllllled..."

"Wait, hold on," Luffa interrupted. "Isn't this the same tune as 'The Liver and Onions Song'?"

"Yeah," Keda said. "I'm trying out different words. I figure eggs will have more mainstream appeal."

Luffa considered this for a moment, then nodded in approval. "Damn, kid, you're some kind of marketing genius. I don't know how you figure this stuff out, but I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Keda said.

Luffa sat down on the ground and gestured for her to continue.

[<=To Be Continued....]

#dragon ball #fanfiction #lssjluffafic #super saiyan #luffa #dr topsas #zatte #keda #koda shikibe #hobstot iii #luffasworld #ゴゴゴゴ

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