“Sister, you do not know them so you cannot disparage their characters!” Koriand’r protested, earning a sharp look from her sister, Komand'r. Koriand’r disliked the look, though her sister looked that way at her often. Quite often. As if she were some pitiful creature that knew nothing.
“They’re Saiyans,” Komand’r replied, her tone low and sarcastic. “Renowned across the galaxy for their bloodthirst and brutality. They send their newborn infants to planets with the goal of conquering them and committing genocide, and only acknowledge their existence if they succeed.” She knew that much, Koriand’r admitted, looking off into the distance. In the academy of Okaara, there was much to learn about the great warrior races of the galaxy.
The Kryptonians absorbed sunlight, much like her own species did. The Frost Demons, who utilized telekinesis and energy blasts. The Khunds were much like the Okaarans in that they were immensely powerful and ritualized their combat. The Saiyans, too, were known to her -- they were powerful, prideful, and were said to be utterly without mercy.
“Yesss… but they seem friendly!” Koriand’r protested, gesturing to the group of Saiyans that were studying under the tutelage of the great Master Ulf. Three of them were currently facing him in battle, and Koriand’r was in awe of their might -- if she stood close enough, she would be able to feel the shockwave of their blows. And despite what would surely be an overwhelming power for the rest of them, Master Ulf was undaunted!
“He smiled at you. Once. Then he has proceeded to ignore everyone like he’s better than us,” Komand’r remarked, her tone bitter as she, too, looked to the proclaimed leader of the Saiyans. Tarble. He was quite small, as were all the Saiyans, but unlike the others, he was not fighting. Instead, he sat on a tall, thin spike that emerged from the ground and tapered off into a needlepoint. A seat of stone was precariously balanced upon that needlepoint, with Tarble himself perfectly still, yet it was only the tip of his tail that touched the seat, while Tarble sat above it with his legs crossed and his hands clasped in his lap.
“He may be shy,” Koriand’r replied, casting a less-than-subtle glance at her sister. Komand’r caught the glance and made a show of rolling her eyes with a scowl. “But I think we should not judge them without first knowing them!”
With that, Koriand’r began her approach. Despite her protests, Komand'r followed behind her, but ignored her smile and instead crossed her arms. The closer they got, the fiercer the battle between the Saiyans and Master Ulf became. It was a wonderful display of martial excellence, with all three of the Saiyans trying their best to fell one of the greatest masters Okaara had ever produced.
They stopped at the fringe of the battle, watching as the Saiyans flew around Master Ulf while attempting to strike him with colorful blasts. They waited for the bout to be over before interrupting, and Master Ulf seemed to sense that as the bout ended in a flash soon after, making it clear that it only went as long as it did because he allowed it.
One by one, each Saiyan was defeated decisively through exploiting whatever flaw Master Ulf had found within them. It was the same for how the rest of the class was taught -- Komand’r lacked confidence, while Koriand’r was told she had too much. The defeated Saiyans groaned as they laid in the dirt and it was only then that Master Ulf addressed them. “Yes, children?”
“Greetings, Master Ulf! We wish to befriend and train with the Saiyans!” Koriand’r stated, offering an earnest smile, and Master Ulf smiled back.
The Saiyans, however, were more dismissive. “Why do we need to train with someone who can't even fly?” The only girl saiyan muttered, lifting her face from where it had been implanted into the dirt. Next to her, Komand’r bristled, taking the dismissal as an insult.
However, Master Ulf was quick to interject. “Hm? You seem to forget that I cannot fly either,” he remarked lightly, making the girl, Caulifla, pale.
“T-That’s different! You’re strong!” She protested, and Master Ulf raised an eyebrow.
“I see that you require another reminder that strength comes in many shapes and sizes, student Caulifla. Physical strength is the lesser among them. Something you shall learn once more at the library,” he said, and now the girl was bloodless. Next to her, the other boys groaned. Why a visit to the library was treated with such dread, Koriand’r didn’t know, but Master Ulf looked to her once more. “I thank you for your kind heart, Koriand’r and Komand’r. However, there is another Saiyan that requires your aid far more than these three.”
Koriand’r perked up, “The Saiyan Tarble? How can we aid him?” The other three Saiyans were… rough. Not cruel, but certainly dismissive.
“I shall allow him to make that decision,” Master Ulf said, offering a small nod to them, and Koriand’r was quick to move on. He was further away, isolated from his fellows. He didn’t seem to notice their approach as he sat perfectly still with his eyes closed.
At least, that was her impression until he spoke, “Can I help you?” He questioned, still keeping his eyes closed.
“Yes- wait, no! I mean, we are here to help you!” Koriand’r clarified, offering a broad smile that he couldn’t see. But, perhaps he could if he noticed their approach? Could Saiyans see through their eyelids like the Gunorfs of Tamaran? “Do you require assistance in your training?”
“And why are you sitting out here while the others are actually fighting?” Komand’r asked, her tone challenging. Koriand’r swallowed a sigh -- her sister was… she did not take it well when she perceived others as disrespecting her. And it was very easy for her to perceive that disrespect.
“Because I’m a lot stronger than them, and Master Ulf is worried that my presence is a crutch to them,” Tarble answered, opening his eyes and looking down at them. He was small. And from what Koriand’r understood of his people, he was also quite young. Yet, his gaze had a certain sharpness to it that made him seem older. “It was something I was already worried about, so I don’t mind.”
Then, with a hop, he jumped from his seated position to fall to the ground. “And I would appreciate some help with my training, if you wouldn’t mind.” He requested and Koriand’r brightened as he crumbled the stone seat in his hands effortlessly. “I need you to throw some rocks at me.”
“Very well!” Koriand’r accepted the task without reservation. Her sister, less so.
“Why?” She asked, looking at the pile of rocks. “And what do we get out of this?”
“Aiming practice, I guess,” Tarble replied, unbothered by her sister's tone. “I’m doing it because I need to hone my instincts. So, since I apparently did something to piss you off, take it as your chance to get even.” He said, offering a smirk to Komand’r before he pointedly closed his eyes and crossed his arms.
Despite herself, Komand’r returned the smirk as she grabbed hold of a rock. “In that case…!” She said, throwing it Tarble with all the strength that she could muster. Koriand’r tried not to think it, but the thought came unbidden.
Slow.
The rock sailed forth slowly at Tarble, who leaned his head out of the way from where it would have smacked him in the nose. Komand’r tsked under her breath, but Koriand’r was impressed. Grabbing a rock, she started to throw it with all of her strength, only for it to hitch as a thought struck her. Instead, she threw it… gently. Matching Komand’r’s throw.
Again, Tarble leaned his body out of the way while Komand’r hissed under her breath, looking at her sharply. Koriand’r pretended not to notice -- her sister would be angry that she was holding back, but it would pale in comparison to her wrath if she used all of her strength. “That is most amazing! How do you do it?” She said, carefully not looking in the direction of her sister as she grabbed another rock. “Oh- should we not speak? I do not wish to disturb your concentration.”
Tarble chuckled, “If my concentration can be disturbed so easily, then that’s why I need to keep training.” He replied, his tone at ease. Komand’r was quick to pick up another rock, throwing it harder this time, and when he dodged out of the way, she darted to the side and threw another. This one came closer, but he still dodged it. “Yeah, this is a lot better. So, what brings you two to Okaara?”
“Nothing that is your concern,” Komand’r answered for them both, cutting off her own answer. Koriand’r glanced her way sharply, her lips thinning, and she nodded her head in acceptance as she swallowed what she had been about to say. “I think a better question is why you are here, Saiyan. I’ve never heard of one of your kind going to a planet without the intention to conquer it.”
“Hm. Well, now you have,” Tarble replied, unbothered by Komand’r’s hostility and naked suspicion. As he spoke, Koriand’r threw another stone, the excitement getting to her a bit and she threw it a little too hard. It sped by Tarble, nearly hitting him, but he just barely managed to dodge out of the way. “Hey now, neither of you hold back on my account. Hit me from all angles -- above too.”
“We can’t,” Komand’r scowled, throwing another rock so hard that it threw her aim off. It nearly hit her instead. “Tamaraneans can’t fly.”
Tarble stilled, and because of it, a rock hit him in the back of his head. Koriand’r gasped, going to apologize, but he just gave her a thumbs up. She wasn’t sure what the gesture meant, but he wore a smile, so he couldn’t be too angry… “You can’t? Are you sure?”
“We’re not Kryptonians,” Komand’r growled, throwing another stone and her scowl intensified when Tarble dodged it. “We absorb ultraviolet light, but we don’t fly like they do.”
“Huh. What about starbolts?” Tarble asked, and Komand’r’s irritation grew.
Koriand’r answered the question before she could snap, “Do you mean the light blasts that the others can use?” When Tarble nodded, she continued. “We cannot use starblolts, as you call them, either.”
“... that’s weird,” Tarble summarized his thoughts, a small frown tugging at his lips. He seemed to be thinking about something quite heavily, but even still, his concentration didn’t lapse. Even as Koriand’r threw the stones faster and harder. He stopped being able to simply lean out of the way for most of them, forced to dip and move around. “What if you absorbed like… a bunch of ultra-violet light at once?”
Koriand’r glanced at her sister to find that Komand’r was wearing a snarl. The anger that always lurked in her eyes was dragged to the surface, and Koriand’r felt… ashamed. And sad.
“Not all of us can even do that!” Komand’r snapped, throwing another stone. This one, Tarble caught with a hand before opening his eyes to look down at it. Koriand’r shifted where she stood -- her sister’s disability was a… difficulty that she didn’t understand how to bridge. Komand’r was born unable to absorb the same amount of ultraviolet light as other Tamaraneans could. It was why her hair was black and her eyes violet.
Because of it, she was weak. Frail. Perhaps not in comparison to most other species, but to other Tamaraneans… It bothered Komand’r, she knew. And it made her resentful for those that did not carry the burden that she did. Koriand’r did what she could, supporting her sister in any way that she could think of, but…
Komand’r was not someone who desired help. She wanted her accomplishments to be her own, to achieve all the same things that other Tamaraneans can do.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Tarble said, dropping the stone and looking to Komand’r. “Come here for a sec. Both of you,” he ordered with the familiarity of someone used to being obeyed. Komand’r’s eyes narrowed into a glare, refusing to even consider obedience. So Koriand’r moved first.
She was quite uncertain why Tarble reached up to place a hand on her head, even as he had to fly up a foot to do it. However, her questions were forgotten when she felt something inside of her. Her breath hitched, uncertain what it was, and even more unsure when she became aware of how it filled her. “Oh-” she uttered before that sensation seemed to be pulled out of the confines of her body.
“W-What did you just do to my sister?!” Komand’r howled, and it was only then that Koriand’r realized she had closed her eyes. And that she was glowing. Tarble moved back to avoid a rock to the face, but Koriand’r’s focus went to her hands. That feeling was in them, and it pooled in her palms. A deep green light enveloped her hands instead.
“I tried to bring out her ki, but it looks like Tamaraneans express ki through UV light,” Tarble noted, sounding unsurprised by the development. “Not sure if that’s a species thing or if I screwed it up. Want to give it a shot?” Tarble asked her sister, who stalled her attack on Tarble.
Komand’r looked to Koriand’r, and she smiled widely, “It is a wonderful feeling, sister- ah!” She gasped, suddenly lifting off of the ground. She spun in the air, laughing loudly, which only made her rise higher in the air. Komand’r watched her, and her expression was one of yearning. Which made her feel sad and that lowered Koriand’r back to the ground.
“I-... yes. I would like to give it a shot,” Komand’r said, trying not to appear desperate, but it still leaked into her tone. She approached Tarble quickly, all but grabbing his hand and placing it on top of her head. A second later, Koriand’r heard a small gasp from her sister as she became aware of the power within her as well. Koriand’r watched with baited breath, hoping that this would be the moment that her sister became what she always hoped she would become.
A faint purple light emerged from Komand’r’s hands that steadily grew in strength. Tarble removed his hand, and a small disbelieving laugh escaped her before she, too, began to lift into the air. Which made Koriand’r lift into the air as well.
“Sister! I am so happy for you!” Koriand’r exclaimed, wanting to give her sister a hug and that made her move in her direction, half colliding and half hugging Komand’r and sending both of them spinning.
Neither of them cared.
…
We were all making progress, and the results of it were steadily showing over the past six months we had been on Okaara. And that strength didn’t come from abusing Zenkai Boosts, though I’m sure it did play its part in our steadily growing strength. Master Ulf was always careful to push us to our very limits, but never too far beyond them, and he noted that our limits were always a bit further than they were yesterday.
The biggest source of progress was the philosophy that he mostly beat into us. Saiyans didn’t use weapons, but we still learned how to use them. Saiyans didn’t use tactics and grand strategy in war, but we still learned how. And we learned fast. I didn't feel any smarter in this body compared to my last one, but I found myself just demolishing my course work at speeds that I think shocked even Master Ulf. The only reason the others lagged behind was a lack of interest on their part, but they still adopted the philosophy taught to us.
Total mastery of ourselves.
It shone in everything they did, and now it shone in everything that we did. And I was bearing witness to the results as I floated above a mock battlefield.
“Gotcha!” Caulifla yelled at Starfire, or Kori as everyone had taken to calling her, as she fired up ki blasts to deflect the starbolts that rained from Kori’s hands. They collided mid-air, but Caulifla had the advantage there. I had taught all of my team ki-sensing, to great effect.
Through the dust, Caulifla sent a ki blast that struck Kori and knocked her from the air. She fell a few short feet, but before she had even hit the ground, her sister, Komand’r as she insisted everyone use her full name, swept in to continue the fight. Nearby, Cabba and Raditz were fighting it out, both with far more confidence than they initially had on arrival.
They had the same core issue, even if it manifested for different reasons-- neither took risks in a fight. Neither were willing to commit to a course of action unless they were confident that it would work. And they each found answers for that problem in different ways.
A soft blue ki staff was in Cabba's hands that he used to keep Raditz at bay. It was alive almost, shrinking and shifting in accordance to his will so it was nearly impossible to be sure you really dodged an attack. Raditz, however, found that he preferred to fight at long range and he had developed a couple techniques to help him maintain that range even as Cabba was trying to close it.
When the ki staff deflected a ki blast, it split into two smaller ones instead of detonating before both honed in on Cabba. His eyes widened, but he reacted quickly, dodging to the side while he batted another away from him, and this time the ki blast exploded.
I was proud of them. Caulifla was still a hot head, but she fought with far more tactical acumen even when in a two on one fight. Even Kori and Komand’r… I had no idea why they couldn't throw around starbolts in this continuity, but after unlocking the ability for them they had taken to it like a fish to water. They were thankful for it, but I just brought what was beneath the surface and gave it a way to express itself.
It made me want to join in on the fun. While the gap between us was still there, I had proved that power levels didn't mean everything. But as much as I would like to join them, I knew that I shouldn't. Not when I had my own battles to fight.
Honing my instincts had shown significant progress. I was a much better fighter than when I first arrived. I had far greater control over my ki. However, there was one thing that still eluded me.
The Kaioken.
Power multipliers were the bread and butter of the Saiyan race. The Oozaru transformation and all the Super Saiyan forms. The former was something I was keeping on the back burner. The latter… I don't think I was ready to achieve it, yet. Diama showed us that the physical transformation of the Super Saiyan was too much for child-like bodies to withstand without preparation and acclimation. To say nothing of the fact that fighting full of rage would prove contrary to my current progress to achieving Ultra Instinct.
The Kaioken was the perfect answer to my needs.
I just need to figure the technique out first.
“Your companions have all done wonderfully, Tarble. You lift those around you as you rise yourself,” Master Ulf observed from nearby. “A gentle touch that nudged them in the right direction. You have a mentor's heart.”
I shrugged, “A nudge was all it took. They did the actual work.” A word here or planting an idea in their heads there… they had taken the confrontation of their shortcomings as weaknesses that needed to be eradicated. That wasn't the case. Not really. They just needed to turn those weaknesses into strengths. “But, if I'm not careful, then they could end up surpassing me.”
Master Ulf chuckled, “That would hardly do.” I turned to look at him and he gave me a measured glance. “Are you prepared? By your own request, I shall not hold back. As you are now… the chances of your death are not inconsiderable.”
I lowered myself to the ground as I took in a slow breath, banishing any stray thought from my mind. “That's the point. As I am now, I don't stand a chance. So, I can't stay as I am now.”
I had racked my head for answers for the better part of six months on how the Kaioken actually worked. ‘Multiply your ki’ was easy to say, but it was very difficult to actually do. I had a couple of potential paths forward, but it felt like I was missing that final piece of the puzzle to just… make it all click together. And when I finally got tired of searching for that missing piece, I figured I'd use some brute force to make it all click in place instead.
“Hm. I think I enjoy teaching Saiyans,” Master Ulf remarked, his lips twitching into a rare smile. But, with that, he exploded into action and crossed the distance between us in an instant. The staff in his hand was topped with a wicked looking blade -- a glaive, and he was a master with it.
My body bent back as I narrowly dodged the blade that nearly took my head off before flipping back to kick the blade up. There was fear in my heart. Exhilaration too. Even pride, as half a year ago that attack would have killed me before I even realized he had moved. But there was no time to dwell on the first move of many as Master Ulf spun his glaive with the momentum that I gave it to attack me from below.
Even before I completed the flip, I spun out of the way before I flicked a ki blast at him, which he batted away with the butt of his glaive. No wasted movement. No wasted energy. No letting emotion dictate my response as I darted up to Master Ulf, attempting to plant a knee into his diaphragm, only to be greeted with a fist the size of my body. I spun sharply, accepting that there was no dodging the blow, so I stole its momentum. Pain exploded in my side, but it was lessened. I focused my ki to that side, strengthening it, then I funneled the ki to my hands.
“Tri-Beam!” I shouted, forming a triangle with my hands. The attacks of Dragon Ball were the easiest to figure out. Almost all of them were basic ki manipulation - shaping the ki how I wished, maintaining its stability as I packed in the power, then unleashing it in the direction of the enemy.
A dark green blast of ki erupted from my hands, carving a line through the air and sky until it reached the clouds. But there was no impact as Master Ulf dove low in a split, spinning his glaive sharply and cutting my technique off as he hit me with the butt of it. I was sent flying, my ribs aching, but I righted myself fast enough to catch the blade that nearly bisected me when Master Ulf pursued. My feet slammed into the ground, the stone buckling under foot as Master Ulf slowly buried Mr.
I breathed in. Ki manipulation was easy. Techniques were harder. My three steps of imagination, understanding, and execution were hitting a road bump at understanding. How did one multiply their ki? I could increase my output by powering up, but only by so much. And only briefly.
A foot lashed out, kicking me to the side. I accepted the blow, flipping back while Master Ulf pursued. His blows were coming harder and faster, his glaive singing through the air. I flew up to give myself some space, but it was a temporary measure. Master Ulf couldn't fly, nor did he have ki.
I had tried to awaken it within him. He had so much of it that I figured it'd be easy, and then he could use that newfound enlightenment to train me. However, I couldn't. With Kori and Komand’r, their bodies had an outlet for their power. I just opened a door for it to express itself. Master Ulf, and thus all Okaarans, had no such door to begin with.
He didn't let his lack of flight slow him at all, simply kicking off the ground towards me and he blurred forward in a burst of speed. His blade caught the light just right and despite it blitzing towards my neck, things seemed to slow down just a tad. Enough to let me see the blade in perfect detail, but still move fast.
In the span of six months, I had dramatically increased my strength. Master Ulf had gone from nearly ten times stronger than me to about three times stronger. A power level of 9,000 was even stronger than Goku when he arrived to fight Vegeta during the Saiyan Saga. So I had the raw stats to endure the Kaioken. I just needed to do it.
I needed to stop thinking and do it already, or I was going to die here.
A breath escaped me as I became aware of my ki. From the tips of my toes, to the tips of my fingers, to the end of my hair and tail. I felt how it filled me, strengthening my body to its physical limit and beyond. And it wasn't enough. I needed more. I needed so much more than this. There was power in my Saiyan blood, and I needed to drag it out, kicking and screaming if I had to.
And it was then that I realized the piece I was missing. My understanding of ki was lacking.
Instinct.
Faster than my body should be capable of, I clapped my hands against the blade racing to take my head, stopping it cold. Master Ulf's eyes widened a fraction as a red aura began to rise in wisps around my body. “Kaioken times two!” I gasped, my muscles bulging until it felt like they were going to rip free of their flesh confines. My ki felt like it was on fire.
The pain was intense as every fiber of my body felt like it was being pushed too far, so much further beyond its limits than ever before. It suddenly made far more sense why King Kai was convinced Goku would kill himself if he pushed too hard with this technique. I could feel my body tearing itself apart to produce such awesome power. I couldn’t maintain it for long. Even a few seconds was likely too much for me.
But it was enough.
I darted forward with a speed that caught Master Ulf off guard, allowing me to bury an elbow into his diaphragm and send him plummeting back to the ground. He struck with enough force that the cliff that we fought on buckled underneath it, sending tons of rock plummeting down in a landslide. Even as he vanished underneath the rubble and dust, I could sense that he was just fine.
Me? Far less so as I lost my grip on the Kaioken, and I began to plummet down. My ki hurt. Everything hurt, but my ki hurt the most. It felt… sprained? The result of it was I found that I couldn't fly without a searing pain that radiated from everywhere.
However, before I could be swallowed by the landslide, I felt someone grab my arm. Looking up at Caulifla, I saw a crazed grin on her face as she carried me to safety. “You just did something really interesting, Tarble. What was that?”
“Figure it out yourself,” I replied with a strained smirk. No way was I going to give her a head start in stealing my technique. I'd never live it down if she mastered the Kaioken before me.
“Oh, I'm going to!” Caulifla declared, dropping me outside of the shifting stone where the mock battle was being carried out. I landed in a heap with a groan, just barely able to flip myself over to lay on my back. Behind me, there was another crash and I tilted my head back to see Master Ulf pushing up a massive boulder to emerge from the rubble. He was a bit dirty, but he seemed unbothered.
The others expressed relief that he was okay, but he waved off their concern as he approached my fallen form. “Did you get what you wanted from this spar?”
I grinned, “Absolutely.” It was rough. Beyond rough, even. But I proved that I could do it, so I just needed to replicate that success and fine tune it. Kaioken x3 or x4 were firmly out of the cards at the moment, but that wouldn't always be the case. I just needed some practice. And, once I mastered it, I knew I would have an extremely powerful tool in my belt.
It was anime only, but the Kaioken had a big return when it was combined with Super Saiyan Blue. The Kaioken was pretty incompatible with the Super Saiyan transformation… but it was perfectly compatible with Ultra Instinct. I just needed to use the Kaioken so much that it became instinctual for me to use it.
Which meant a lot of training in my near future.
“Then I am glad. I would like to see the completed version of this technique one day, but for now… be proud, Tarble. Be proud, and rest,” he instructed and I found myself being picked up by Caulifla and Kori. “I believe that is enough for today. The games can continue tomorrow.”
There were some complaints, and all of them came from my team, but all the same, all of us began to fly back to the city. The training field that we were in was some distance away, but we reached it fast enough.
The capital of Okaara was a city called Okara. And, unlike the capital of Planet Vegeta, it was a real city. Albeit one designed with twenty foot saiyanoids in mind. The buildings were tall, stretching up into the night sky as the city itself was nestled into a deep valley. The buildings were utilitarian, simple blocky structures, and heavily fortified. As was the defensive grid around the city with countless weapons pointed up in the air, ready for a fight that no one seemed to be picking.
“We must spread word of your victory over Master Ulf! It is a most impressive achievement!” Kori decided the moment her eyes landed on the academy. It looked like a military base, and it might as well be one -- only with a pretty expansive library and places dedicated to meditation.
“I'm not sure you could call that a victory,” I remarked while Komand’r snorted dismissively.
“Not that anyone would believe it in the first place, but especially not with him in this condition,” she added. I really thought the super strength would help her carry that chip on her shoulder, but evidently not. She was as sarcastic as ever, even if it wasn't as mean-spirited as I recalled of her from the show. Things seemed better between her and Kori now, at least.
“True. I'll wait to brag until I actually beat him for real,” I decided as I was carried to the academy. And, funnily enough, I was hardly an uncommon sight as we floated through the halls.
The academy was a combat school in function, so there was no shortage of fights going on. Even if most of them were well below our level. Master Ulf was an oddity amongst his people -- I hadn't sensed another Okaaran that was a third as strong as him yet. So, there were plenty of others limping down the stone hallways as the others brought me to my room. It was just as utilitarian as the rest of the place with a bed and a desk for whatever homework I might have.
“Thanks,” I sighed, feeling the tension bleed out of my body the moment my head hit the pillow. I'm pretty sure I heard the others chuckling as I fell asleep.
…
Everything still hurt when I woke up, but the sharp pain had transformed into a dull ache. It was manageable, though it was still enough to make sure that my sleep wasn't restful. I felt like I needed to sleep for another day, and I wasn't entirely sure what had woken me up.
I expanded my awareness across the school grounds, as I did every night to check in on everyone's progress. Caulifla, Cabba, and Raditz were all in their rooms slumbering away -- they had made solid gains today.
Respectively, their power levels were: 8,500, 8,300, and 8,000. Honestly, their growth was more explosive than mine, and that was with my metagaming. Though, it would seem that my progress with the Kaioken had produced results already, as I was sitting in the lead with a power level of 9,350.
“They're bridging the gap,” I muttered to myself. I felt proud. But, more than proud, I felt determined. Determined enough to roll out of bed despite my body protesting that it really would like to try and fail at sleeping for another few days. I couldn’t train physically -- there was such a thing as overdoing it, but that didn’t mean I had to be idle.
After a quick shower, I found myself floating over to a room that I was becoming particularly fond of. It wasn’t the library, though I did have a special fondness for it as well. As the doors slid open, I saw a bunch of comically sized booths with what looked like an egg lounge chair. Floating over to one of them, and closing the booth door behind me, I took a seat and logged in.
“I really hope this isn’t an Ender's Game situation,” I muttered under my breath as a hologram formed over the egg. But even if it was, I wasn’t sure if I could stop myself.
The hologram was a program meant to stimulate military campaigns against a wide variety of alien forces, both on the ground and in space. It simulated battles, logistics, and resource management on a sliding scale of difficulty. All of the data came from real combat data, with estimations of current and theoretical combat strength tossed in.
Meaning that the simulation was, in essence, the single greatest RTS game that I had ever played, and it was awesome.
However, I think I was scaring my contemporaries with my eagerness to simulate galactic domination. There was even a multiplayer mode where you could team up with others playing the same race as you, each taking a front and fighting to expand your nation's borders in real-time against other players across the galaxy. Even without the whole Saiyan thing, the RTS game called Warcraft alone made it worth the isekai experience.
And I was good. I am almost sure it had something to do with my Saiyan biology because while I had always been pretty decent at RTS games, there was something about them that just clicked with me. I could absorb the data that was being fed to me, do the math, and make decisions within a microsecond. The results spoke for themselves as I was steadily making my way up the leaderboards with the callsign: TLS_Saiyaman.
I had given myself the goal of deposing the top name of the local leaderboard, ‘Pren’, before my time on Okaara was finished.
Warcraft also taught me a few things as I started a space battle -- the Kryptonians were a bunch of cheaters. They might as well be playing with cheat codes. Oh, they have super advanced technology and biology that enables a list of high-end superpowers, and all of their tactics were assisted by a class 7 military AI called Brainiac, who controls their powerful machine soldiers?
If it was a game, I’d call it utterly broken game balance. But, despite how I was treating it, it wasn’t a game. The programs were training the players on how to fight, or more often than not survive, these utterly broken species that were out there in real life.
Like the Reach with their Scarabs, and how you might not even realize they were on one of your planets until they took it over. Or the Khunds and how they would declare war on you if you were doing too well on what they deemed to be a foe weaker than you. Or when your neighbor was the H’tros, who were extreme organic purifiers who wanted all non-synthetic life dead. Or how the Planet Trade Organization might feel like you’re muscling in on their profit margins, so they were going to pay off a bunch of mercenaries, pirates, and rogue nations to raid the stuffing out of you.
It was also a pretty eye opening experience to the fact that DC Comics space was almost exclusively filled with warmongers. Like, there were some good aliens out there, but they ended up getting conquered by jerks like my race. The Green Lanterns did what they could, but the fact of the matter was…
There were trillions of galaxies in the universe. And in each galaxy, there were trillions of planets. Even if something like .0001% of them had sapient life? That was still trillions of quadrillions of people that they had to police. And, with one Green Lantern per sector, and there only being 3600 sectors…? They could only respond to the big stuff, but even then, things just slipped through the cracks.
It made me question why there weren’t more Green Lanterns per sector, but I’m sure there was a lore reason that I’d never learned. The Guardians of the Universe had allegedly protected the universe since the birth of time, so I figured they’d know what they were doing. Probably. And, if nothing else, the Galactic Patrol helped fill those cracks as best as they could across the Milky Way. At least, as much as they could without stepping on enough toes to merit direct action from the heavy hitters in the galaxy.
But none of that really mattered to me as I went about crushing an Almeracian garrison on an aquatic planet. As much as I complained about the Kryptonians being busted, the Saiyans were only marginally better as our race's steady growth was noted in the simulation, which was expressed as gaining experience rather than recovering from near-death experiences.
I was in the middle of an orbital bombardment with a small smile tugging at my lips before I felt it -- I felt Komand’r and Kori’s ki presence drop like a stone. I jerked where I sat, my attention on the simulated battle vanishing like smoke in the wind as I gave the two my absolute focus. They were still alive, I could still sense them, but something was done to them. People naturally weakened when they were asleep, but not like this. This was…
Abandoning the battle, I got out of my booth and started flying down the hall to their dorm. A bad feeling pooled in my gut as I sensed that they weren’t alone -- there were four other presences with them. Four that I didn’t recognize in the slightest.
However, as I swiftly flew and rounded one final corner, I saw that I did recognize them. Gordanians -- large lizard-like aliens that had golden bio-armor that covered their vitals. Their scales were a dark blue, their eyes a violent red, while they stalked through the halls silently. Kori and Komand’r were in the center of the formation, carried under one of their arms.
They were decently strong. Around 500pl. I was vastly stronger than them, even in this state, but… I could sense more. There were another four outside of the academy, covering their extraction, I imagine. And what they intended was obvious.
Even if I didn’t recognize them as the aliens that had attacked and imprisoned Kori in Teen Titans, I now knew that they were the biggest slavers in the Vega System. They polluted the galaxy, spreading out due to the influence of the Trade Organization, which had turned them loose on the galactic market. And this moment could be the one that Kori had fallen into their hands in the show.
Ki gathered in my hand without me even being aware of it, which cast back the shadows with its soft green light. The Gordanians reacted immediately, the one at the back pivoting and raising a spear gun at me. Lightning crackled at the end before a blast was shot out. I weaved out of the way, closing the distance and that had the panic set in for them.
“Saiyan!” One barked in a rough guttural voice a split second before I swiped at his weapon, severing the head of it with a hand before catching the severed spear tip to drive it into the alien’s chest. Purple blood splashed out but, even as he fell, he barked out an order. “Kill them! If we can’t take them, kill them-ugh!” He shouted, slamming through a wall as I spun sharply and drove my heel into the side of his head.
The remaining three Gordanians reacted. One moved up, placing himself between me and the others while they went to take out wicked-looking knives.
I reacted. Ki began to shape in the palm of my hands, flattening like a disk, before I flung them both. The Destructo Disks raced forth, swerving around the Gordanian trying to buy time for the others to murder Kori and Komand’r. The hallway became filled with cries of pain, that same purple blood splashing out across the walls and ceiling as the offending arms dropped to the floor. All the while, I followed in the wake of my Destructo Disks, dodging a blast before I kicked the unharmed Gordanian up, smashing through the ceiling.
Catching both Kori and Komand’r before they hit the floor, I slid between the screeching aliens, cutting off their retreat. Neither of the girls stirred -- they’d been given something that had knocked them right out, and weakened them so even if it didn’t leave them unconscious, they wouldn’t be able to fight back. I only realized how hard I was clenching my jaw when my teeth began to ache, and I forced myself to take a breath.
The hallway became filled with noise as an alarm sounded, and I could sense the academy was waking up from the ruckus. Setting Kori and Komand’r down, I turned my attention to the Gordanians. They were clutching at stumps of arms, looking at me with eyes full of fear. If they were already afraid of me, then this should be easy.
Ki gathered in my palm, and I aimed it in their direction, “Surrender. I won’t ask again.” I growled, watching the two exchange a quick glance. They looked at me and offered a small nod. That was good. The ki still flew from my hands, only it took the shape of a band that wrapped itself around them both -- I took a little inspiration from Vegeta in the Buu saga. Which left the other-
I flinched back as I turned my attention to the other two Gordanians. The one above was unconscious, but the first one I attacked…
His presence was gone.
I flew into the room that he smashed through, hoping that he had been teleported out or something, but lying in the rubble was a body. One completely still with blood-red eyes staring up unseeing at the ceiling. I didn’t really know anything about Gordanian biology, but there was no doubt in my mind as I looked down at him.
He was dead.
I killed him.
“...Whoops?”