“Hmmm…” Hal flew at a medium speed toward the final dragonball’s location. Forests, mountains and a few scattered towns slipped past below, background noise as he wracked his brain. “What was it… hey, is that who I think it is?”
A squat, bald figure waddled his way down the road, sweat on his brow as he carried a heavy load of groceries. The ki signature from his body was far higher than an average human, and the six dots on his forehead confirmed his identity.
“Krillin! That’s perfect, I can round him up and get Yamcha and Puar…” Hal’s eyes widened as a lightbulb lit within his skull. He snapped his fingers as his flight arced toward the solitary monk. “...I forgot about Oolong, but he’s probably fine.”
Hal landed before a startled Krillin, who dropped his burden and readied a battle stance. His fierce demeanour, despite the increased pace of his little heart, brought a smile to Hal’s face. He gave the short boy a bow of his head and raised his hands.
“Hold up there, I’m not here to fight… your name is Krillin, right?” Hal extended a hand for the noseless monk to shake. “I’m here to extend an invitation… the opportunity to train under Master Roshi of the Turtle School, one of the world’s most skilled Martial Artists.”
“The Master Roshi?” Krillin’s eyes widened. He looked Hal up and down, a frown on his lips. “I don’t sense any ki from you at all… but you did fly in, so you might be telling the truth?”
Hal’s smile widened into a grin as he let his biofield slip past his skin. Yellow-white flames rose to cover his body, ethereal and transparent. With its appearance, his power was exposed to the world. It was still nothing in the grand universe, but it was enough to force young Krillin to the ground in terror.
“I’m telling the truth,” Hal restrained his aura and let the flames disappear. Hand extended, he helped the monk to his feet. “I’m collecting a group of promising warriors… if you can complete your training with Roshi, there are even greater heights to climb.”
“I’m honoured, but…” Krillin glanced at the tower of groceries, face drawn in a tense frown. “I belong to the Orin Temple, If I…”
“Those fools don’t deserve your loyalty,” Hal shook his head as he silenced Krillin with a wave. The Orin Monks were a bunch of talentless hacks, only the boy in front of him had any real potential within their whole Order. “They treat you poorly, even though you have the natural ability to go far beyond them.”
Krillin’s face flickered, no doubt a flash of his past within the temple. It flipped between emotions, a rapid fire display that hardened into a determined mask. He bowed low, then let out a sunny grin.
“Alright, Mister…” Krillin paused over Hal’s unknown name, but carried on. “I’m willing to go with you, as long as it will let me get stronger!”
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“So, a random dude broke into your house and kidnapped you?” Yamcha frowned at the tearful Oolong, while Puar floated indifferently at his side. “Why would someone want to steal a pig-man, did he mistake you for a real pig or something?”
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“How the hell should I know!” Oolong clutched the sides of his face as he wept, desperate to recruit these two to protect him. Whoever the man was, there was no way he wouldn’t be back. “He busted down the wall in the middle of the night and knocked me out cold, I woke up in that container…”
“Stop bad mouthing me you perverted pig,” a terrible, familiar voice echoed from the skies and Oolong shut his eyes, desperate to block out reality. Dan floated from above, Krillin held over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Puar knows you well enough… once she hears the truth about your ‘happy home,’ there’s no way she’ll let you off as easily as I will.”
“Who are you!” Yamcha bounced backwards and drew his sword, on guard against Hal’s sudden appearance. “What are you doing with that little kid?”
“My name is Hal, this is Krillin,” Hal shook his head at Yamcha’s choice of words and tossed the monk from his shoulder. He fished a capsule from his pouch and threw it into the air. “Now that there are so many of us, it’s better we take a different sort of transport.”
An explosion of smoke revealed a well proportioned hover plane, complete with Dr. Brief’s most advanced autopilot system. Hal turned to the confused group and waved them toward the boarding ramp.
“Everyone get onboard, unless you’d like to fight about it?” Hal let his ki loose from his body, just enough to drain the blood from Yamcha’s face. The cowardly bandit grabbed hold of Puar and scuttled onto the plane after Krillin, while Oolong collapsed in despair. “Come on, pig, you’ll be rid of me soon enough.”
Hal scooped Oolong over his shoulder and walked into the hover plane, a smile on his face as the system signalled the addition of another Time Point. Now only a few of the main cast were still on their set paths.
Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu still served the Crane School, idols of the assassin Mercenary Tao. Piccolo Jr had yet to be born, and Yajirobe was wandering the land as a ronin. The future androids were both young children, but Hal had no idea where they lived.
“Time to drop these fellows off with Roshi and get the final dragonball from Pilaf,” Hal closed the ramp behind him and floated to the pilot’s seat. A few simple commands later and the plane rose from the ground, pointed toward Kame House. “I need to make my wish and then speak with Kami about taking a trip to otherworld…”
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“Finally!” Goku walked from the time chamber, side by side with Mr Popo. arms stretched into the air, he cracked his back with a satisfied sigh. “I don’t think I could stand another day with that terrible food…”
“You have made great progress, but you still lag behind your brother,” Popo ignored the Saiyan’s complaint and led the way towards the exit of the Lookout. “Still, you have already surpassed Kami in strength… given more time, I believe you could match Hal as you desire.”
“Hmmm…” Goku frowned as his hands flexed into fists. His older brother had always been a step ahead, a goal that he’d spent his life training to reach. “I think if we spend another year inside, I should be able to fight him to a draw… but we need to bring a capsule of seafood in with us next time!”
“The limited food is a part of the training,” Popo shook his head, a refusal of Goku’s request. “We can eat well today as a reward, then return to the time chamber and begin again.”
“Fine… but I’m going to eat enough food to last the whole year!” Goku ducked past his teacher and bounded up the stairs. He could already taste it, roasted fish and fried squid… a seafood medley seasoned with just the right spice… “Look out!”
Goku launched himself into an overhead flip, just above the blue-haired girl that appeared from around the corner. She had emerged from the Pendulum Room with Kami, face clouded and sad.
“What where you’re going, Goku!” Mr Popo darted up the stairs and reached out a hand to settle the girl, before she could topple backward into the depths of the Lookout. “Greetings, Kami… who is our new guest?”
“This is Launch, she’s going to receive some training during her stay with us,” Kami smiled at the blue-haired girl and waved to the Genie and the Saiyan. “This is Goku and Mr Popo, your teacher and fellow student here at the lookout.”
“Nice to meet you!” Goku reached out and took hold of Launch’s hand in a firm shake. Another training partner would only help him reach his goal of defeating his brother. “Do you like seafood?”
***Power Levels and other notes***
Hal: 2276 (7324 after the biofield/ki fusion)
Goku: 264
Krillin: 8
Yamcha: 15
Puar: 10
Oolong: 10
Launch: 10 (30 after her blond transformation)