36

2,963Chapter 36: Touch of Mystery

"Your half is bigger," Elery pointed out, pointing at my third of a creature that smelled like it was going to taste delicious. I looked over at her third to see that it was the exact same size as mine. Just as both of ours were the same exact size as Kakarot, who was already chowing down on his, so they were the same size. I knew that because I was forced to carefully cut the beast up into equal thirds under Elery's watchful eye, else she would accuse me of taking the biggest piece for myself.

Swallowing a sigh that could have been a mouthful of meat cooked over a fire made from a couple of trees, I rolled my eyes upward to the black sky that was illuminated by millions of pricks of light. "Would you want to trade then?" I asked, choosing not to argue as I held the slab out to her. Elery thought about it for a moment before she answered by taking mine out from my hands and giving me hers.

Only to second guess the decision a moment later before she switched them again, apparently judging them by the weight. I waited a few seconds, wondering if she was going to stick with the decision and confirmed that she was when she started biting into the slab of meat, coating her face with grease. I took a much more subdued bite from my own, finding that it was as good as smelled.

We sat in front of a massive fire not too far away from Gine's house that cooked an equally massive beast. I got the impression that Fasha wanted to catch up with Gine, so I volunteered to leave with Kakarot and Elery to let them. Beyond the flames was the city, and beyond that was the royal palace. I wonder if I should have gone with Mom and Vegeta? The last time we were all in the same room together was when I just got out of the tank.

"Whew! That was so much tastier than I thought they'd be!" Kakarot explained, excitedly gnawing on a bone to get whatever flavor out that he could. "I've been trying to kill one since I got back, but that lizard thing kept almost killing me," he informed, the sounds of a crackling fire and crunching bone filled the silence. The animal itself was rather sizable, large enough that a dozen of us could be swallowed whole without any difficulty, so that didn't surprise me.

"Got back?" Elery echoed, looking over at Kakarot. "Did you go somewhere?"

Kakarot nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his forearm, patting his distended stomach happily. "I came back here a couple of years ago. I was an infiltration baby," he explained, making Elery cock her head to the side in confusion. Since she wasn't raised in a tank, there were a lot of gaps in her knowledge about the saiyan race. It was left to me to teach her what I knew.

Though, I didn't have any luck passing on my love for history with her. Yet. She was far more interested in the practical side of learning - how to fight, techniques, and so on.

"He was weak so he was sent off to a planet to conquer to prove his worth," I explained, making Kakarot scowl. "I was almost the same way, but I don't think I would have come back. Successful infiltration babies are really rare."

Elery gasped as she looked at Kakarot, "you've taken over an entire planet all by yourself?!" She gushed and I could practically see it in her eyes that she was picturing herself performing the same feat. Kakarot nodded, thinking nothing of it.

"Yeah, but I don't really remember it," he admitted. "There were these bug aliens or something, and I looked up at the moon and everything went black. When I woke up, they were gone." I decided to not say anything about that. I learned from Lord Frieza that Bardock specifically chose a weak planet for him to conquer.

I spared him a glance - I didn't have my scouter so I couldn't tell how strong exactly he was, but he felt weaker than Elery. And those kids that Elery was protecting him from. Which really raised the question of-

"Why were you fighting with those jerks?" Elery asked before I could mull the question over in my head to figure it out on my own. She took another large bite from her meal while Kakarot's face scrunched up.

"Because I want to get stronger," he admitted, "and they're some of the strongest. Dad says I should be careful about who I challenge, but...how can I ever get as strong as him if I'm being careful?" He grumbled more to himself than to us. I let out a small huff of laughter, disguising it as taking another bite of my meal. Kakarot glanced at me, his mouth open to speak, but he second-guessed himself.

I recognized it since I used to do the same. "If you want to ask something, then ask," I said, taking another bite. Kakarot looked surprised for a moment before he looked away, turning his attention to the beast we had slain.

"What's my dad like?" He asked in a quiet voice that was nearly lost in the crackling of the flames. "Mom just says that he's really strong and nice, but…" But Gine hadn't seen Bardock in six years.

In the end, it was rather easy to answer. "Back when Bardock was the team leader, he always felt like he had the answer to every problem. Me and the others, whenever things went wrong or we were over our heads, we would just turn to him instinctively for a solution. And we always expected him to have one, no matter how bad things got because he always did." I said, setting my slab of meat to the side, where it was promptly stolen by Elery.

"Really?" Kakarot asked eagerly, hanging on every word.

"Really. We believed in him completely because he never let us down. That's how much he inspired us," I explained. "He could be a real hardass at times - especially during our spars, but you knew that he was doing everything that he could to make sure that you improved just as much as him, even when he was kicking your teeth in." I glanced at Kakarot to see him grinning like a loon, trying to picture his father.

"On missions, he was serious, but between them, he was pretty laid back. He and Tora used to have drinking competitions or trying to out-eat Borgos. He never managed it, never even came close, but he didn't let that stop him from trying." Looking back at it, I regretted how few of those memories that I had. How I slept through them because I didn't know how to handle...people.

"Bardock...out of everyone I've met - Lord Frieza, or my Dad, I think he's the one that I respect the most," I told Kakarot. "And he gave me a saying that I try to follow - The mission, the team, then pride."

"Huh?" Kakarot asked, tilting his head in confusion, looked puzzled enough that there might as well be a giant question mark hanging over his head. "What does that mean?"

I let out a small huff of laughter, "you'll figure it out soon enough." I told him, which made him that much more confused. He opened his mouth to pester me, only to be cut off by Elery.

And in that moment, Elery put an end to his window to speak by kicking him in the face. Kakarot flew to the side, bouncing off the ground once before he righted himself. "What was that for?!" He shouted, his hands curling into fists as Elery settled in a stance.

"I wanna get stronger too!" She explained as if that was all she had to say. And, I guess it was because the anger melted from Kakarot's gaze, replaced with excitement. I took another bite of my meal as the two clashed in front of a roaring fire, the light from it made the shadows look that much darker at the edge of a forest we camped at.

I could feel animals lurking in the darkness, waiting for a chance to scoop one of them up to eat in a single bite. Worse, some of them were strong enough to manage it.

Kakarot had talent. Already he was adapting to Elery's hyper-aggressive fighting style, and while he hadn't managed to land a hit yet, that was more because of the gap in speed and strength than skill. Kakarot, likely by virtue of constantly fighting stronger opponents, already favored a defensive style. They were a good match in that regard - Elery would hopefully learn to not fight so aggressively or to attack in a way that it didn't matter. Likewise, Kakarot would learn how to strengthen his defense and when to attack.

Watching them carefully to ensure no predators would seize the chance to grab a bite-sized snack, I let my imagination wander. After we left Planet Vegeta...they were going to be soldiers. They were going to fight in war...and a shield world was on our shortlist of targets. As if right now, if either of them fought a scarab, then they were dead.

They needed the Wrath State, but it was currently useless to teach it to them. They needed other techniques to make up for their lack of strength. They…

A loud roar interrupted my thoughts and their fight. My gaze snapped up to the dark sky, searching for the source. It was outside of my range, but I could see a dark speck in the distance. "That roar," I muttered to myself, frowning at the spec. That roar sounded familiar.

"It's the Sky King!" Kakarot shouted with some nervousness that intermingled with excitement. I glanced at him as the dragon unleashed a roar that seemed to shake the planet itself.

"Sky King?" I echoed, following the spec that slowly grew larger in size. It was impossible to tell, but I felt it in my gut. I knew that roar. It was the same roar that I heard back when I first stepped foot outside of the Nursery. The dragon that attacked me and Leek. The dragon that forced me to fly, and nearly killed me if it wasn't for Vegeta. It had survived its wounds?

"It's a really big monster that's been attacking us for a while!" Kakarot explained, looking up at the dragon with a fierce expression. The dark sky was suddenly illuminated in a flash of light as the dragon shot a ki beam down at the ground before dive-bombing. "People are saying that it's the strongest monster on the planet, even the spaceships aren't a match for it! So, we've been trying to beat it ourselves...but everyone that's challenged it has died."

I mulled that over for a moment as the dragon picked up its dinner in its claws before flying off. From the shape of it, I'm guessing it was the same species that we just ate. That really put it in perspective just how huge it had gotten in the past six years.

"When you fight it, do you challenge it individually or in groups?" I asked, a plan forming in my mind. Kakarot looked at me as if I was asking him to share his half of a meal, and that was my answer.

We didn't have much time on Planet Vegeta, so we would have to make the most of it. Then we could take them to a weaker world, get them bloodied, and they would be as prepared for a shield world as they could be. Because, right now, they needed to learn how to survive on the battlefield more than they needed to win.

In front of me stood a hundred children, three of which I knew the names to. Elery, Olaive, and Kakarot. There were others that I recognized, like the ones that Elery had been fighting with, but the vast majority of them were fresh faces.

"My name is Prince Tarble, and soon you will all be marching to war under my direct command," I started, keeping my voice even but speaking loudly so my voice carried through the hard rock field we stood in. The sun was blazing overhead, baking us below - Planet Vegeta was a planet of extremes, and even I was feeling the heat, though I couldn't afford to show it. "Now, can any of you guess why I've called you here today?"

The hundred or so children looked around at each other, then at me, or at those that stood behind me. Fasha, Gine and Matillo.

A few long seconds passed and no one spoke.

"That wasn't a rhetorical question," I informed, my gaze drifting over them. Some shifted in place, standing in rows, but I knew better than to expect them to stand in a certain pose. They didn't have the discipline for that, and that wasn't the kind I wanted to instill in them.

"Because we're the strongest?" Someone asked, making another scoff.

"No, can't be. Kakarot's here!" Another dismissed, making Kakarot scowl. Before he could do anything about it, I continued.

"You're here because you all have the potential to become leaders," I said. Dad was serious about our first step forward away from being a slave race like so many others. Those that showed the most potential in the tanks were given tailor-made educations to turn them into leaders. Olaive was an example of that - there was a reason why she had a group of twelve following her around, and it wasn't just because of her strength.

Dad believed that the greatest weapon a saiyan had was their mind. And I agreed.

"You will be in charge of teams. Now, I want you to tell me what a team is," I ordered. Again, the silence was deafening as they looked around at each other. Even Elery looked a bit confused. I waited. And waited. And kept waiting and eventually they got the hint that I expected an answer.

"It's like the 501st, right?" Elery spoke up, shifting from foot to foot, looking put out at having to stand still and answer me in a way she wasn't used to. She looked uncertain, and that was a rarity for her. "A bunch of aliens work together since they're too weak to do things by themselves." There were murmurs of agreement and nodding.

I paused, looking at her for a long moment, and that's all I had to do to show that I didn't approve of that answer. She wilted slightly, which made me feel a bit bad, but I would feel a lot worse if she died.

"Is that so? Are you all in agreement?" I asked, turning my attention to all of them. This time the agreement was louder, more consistent, and more certain. "Well then, let's put that theory to the test then?" I said, my lips tugging upwards into a smile. I think I finally understood the smile that Mom gave me back when I was fresh out of the tank - the one that could be mistaken for kind. Because, in the end, it would be a lie to say that I wasn't looking forward to this a little bit.

They were the strongest of this generation and they were about to find out just how big the ocean really was.

"You have five minutes on the clock. If one of you can land a single hit on me, then I'll teach all of you the Spiral Buster," I said, raising my hand up high before I began to form the attack. Once the technique was ready, I paid close attention to their curious and stunned looks. I watched them become awed when I launched it at an outcrop stone formation some distance away. The spiraling blue ki drill slammed into the rock formation - the spiral buster was all about piercing power, so a perfect circle was drilled through the mountain like the dense stone wasn't even there.

Most looked awed. Olaive and Kakarot looked wary. Good.

"And...start," I said and those seemed to be the magic words because with that, a hundred children launched themselves at me. I batted a hand away, delivering a fist to the gut as I moved on to jerk my head to the side, dodging a roundhouse kick before I grabbed the offending leg to use the kid as a hammer against another three.

I blasted past Olaive and Kakarot, ignoring Elery's shouts of challenge as she gave chase. They attacked me in a giant wave of feet and fists, but I had all the time in the world to dodge out of the way. Each failed attack was punished with a devastating counter as I worked my way through the middle of them. I dodged a fist, grabbing the wrist of my attacker to drag him into the path of a girl's knee. In that same moment, I lashed out with a foot to plant it into another gut, folding her like a piece of paper.

Saiyans fought as individuals. It was not a hundred against one. It was one fighting a hundred people at the same time.

I heard a beep from the timer Matillo started, "four minutes left. Did I give you too much time?" I asked, looking down at the group. More than half of their numbers were down, and of that half that still wanted to fight, half of them were sporting wounds. Superficial ones but that was another problem that I needed to fix.

These were the strongest of this generation. They weren't used to feeling outmatched. They weren't used to getting the crap kicked out of them. They weren't used to digging deep and wanting to win so badly that you found ways to win no matter the odds. But that was okay.

They would learn.

Olaive hung in the back. Kakarot as well, Elery, however, rushed directly at me. And...this was my own fault, I realized. A wide grin was on her face, excitement danced in her eyes, and she didn't think for a single moment that she would fail.

"I'm going to learn that-gurk!" Elery gasped, cut off as I buried a fist in her gut. I...I loved my little sister, but I was hurting her by holding back. If she carried this attitude into a fight with a scarab, then she was dead. Elery collapsed, falling from the sky and landing heavily, clasping her stomach in pain.

And...just like that, my enjoyment vanished like smoke in the wind.

I moved, going on the offensive. It was then that Olaive sprung her trap. Her group of followers ran interference, while she tried to circle around for a sneak attack. Not bad. Kakarot, on the other hand, was aware of the plan even if he wasn't allowed in on it, but that didn't stop him from trying to take advantage. Both of them attacked from behind.

Twisting around, I caught their fists, their eyes going wide with surprise. Holding on, I twisted again in the air, using Olaive as a weapon and slammed her into one of her followers while I threw Kakarot at another. They weren't so weak-willed that they were out of the fight, but there wasn't much of a fight after that. I saw what I needed to see to make my decision.

It was still early, but Olaive and Kakarot would be my captains of my saiyan based army. They would have to grow into the role, but they were the only ones that realized what I was trying to show.

"Do you know why you couldn't even last two minutes?" I asked, forming a Medicine Ball in my hands before I tossed it upward. I was completely surrounded by the defeated children which had been so certain of their victory mere moments before. They looked in wonderment as their scrapes and bruises began to fade as the hard stone field was bathed in purple light.

This time, I didn't have to wait for an answer.

"We didn't work like a team," Olaive said, holding her arm until she realized she didn't feel any more pain in it.

I nodded, "because you didn't work as a team. If all of you had coordinated instead of rushing at me, then you might have had a chance. Instead, you fought as individuals and...in war, you'll die as individuals. A single scout class scarab could wipe all of you out. You are not strong. You are not invincible. And you will die if you try to fight like that in battle." I repeated the last point, looking at them all.

"Each of you was assigned to a group. I want you to stand with that group. Now," I added, my voice hard. They rushed to obey, not freed of their injuries, and within a few seconds, I had twenty groups of five. "Good. The group you are standing with is your team," I informed, causing them to look at each other. Kakarot got dirty looks, Elery looked confused, and Olaive looked confident.

"Teamwork is the combined effort of several people towards a singular goal. In time, you'll be learning exactly what that word means in combat, but for now, understand this - you are stronger together and weak alone," I stated, earning some sharp looks but I didn't mind them.

"With that in mind, in one week, before we leave for the front, I expect all of you to work together, as a team, to kill the Sky King," I stated. With those words, I felt the tension in the air as my expectations settled on them. "I will give you the tools that you need to do it. However, it falls to you to use them."

Slowly, I pointed upwards to the Medicine Ball, "that is the Medicine Ball. That is one of the techniques you'll be learning during the next week." At that, some of them perked up while Olaive looked hungry.

"One of them?" She questioned while Kakarot looked at the ball, trying to figure out how to do it just by looking at it.

"You will be learning five techniques during the week, all of them I have created specifically for you all," I informed. There was some amusement in how easily their expressions changed when they heard they would be learning techniques. Even Elery perked up a bit, her sullen expression vanishing at the idea.

Now, it was time to add the cherry on top. "And, should you prove successful, I will teach you the Wrath State." If they were excited before, then they were ecstatic now. "You'll learn one today, but if you fail to master it by tomorrow, then you'll keep practicing it while everyone else is learning the new one. However," I added, curbing their growing excitement, "you succeed and fail as a team in battle, and the same principle applies here. If one member of your group can't perform the technique, then none of that group will learn the technique."

Kakarot's group looked at him, making him curl his hands into fists. I heard Gine behind me let out a small breath. It seemed like I had to reiterate a point.

"Teamwork is the combined effort of several people towards a singular goal. For now, the goal is to learn this technique," I explained, looking at them all as I spoke to get the point across. The lesson was that they're supposed to help the members of their team that were struggling rather than kicking them while they're down.

And...if they couldn't learn that lesson, then I was just going to leave them here. I wasn't going to throw lives away - not just the ones that refused to learn teamwork, but the ones that they would inevitably get killed with them.

"This technique is called the Bubble Shield," I said, spreading my hands out. I based this one on the shield I saw Kaylark use. "You focus your ki like this; hmmm...then you spread it like this: hnnnn!" I explained, blue ki emerging from my hands that began to spread outwards while everyone watched in wonderment. "As you spread it, you shape it into a ball. So, think of the moon like this: Hm!" And with that, a round bubble shield of ki formed around me.

"That's the base of the technique," I continued. "But a shield is worthless if it breaks when something hits it. Gather your ki and reinforce, harden it like this: HNNNNN!" I didn't need to, but I showed the ki shield thickening to demonstrate what I meant. I held the technique for a few seconds before I dropped it and my hands.

"It's a defensive technique and when you use it, you won't be able to attack," I explained. To them, it sounded like a design flaw. However, if you were in a position that needed that technique then you weren't in a position to attack in the first place. Not to mention, it would promote teamwork among them - the ideal the team formation I was going for was three offense and two support with those roles changing on the fly.

"Tomorrow, I'll test your shields myself," I informed as I floated upwards as I felt a presence enter my range. I looked down at all of them - children that I had to turn into soldiers, just as I was. Already they started practicing, some finding more success than others. Matillo, Fasha, and Gine would serve as overseers and discourage conflict between teams.

I cracked a smile when I saw Kakarot and Elery have the most success before I turned my attention upwards. I turned to Dad, who watched the children with his arms crossed. When I requested information on them, he hadn't given his opinion on the idea, but looking at him, I thought he approved of it.

"That was well handled, my son," Dad said, his gaze drifting down to Mom for a moment before it settled at me. Mom had stayed at the castle last night, so I'm guessing that they- or, rather, Mom wasn't mad anymore. Though, it didn't seem that they were talking.

My smile grew at the praise - it was weird receiving it from him. With Mom, I just kinda got used to it and how overbearing it could be. Dad was different in that regard. They were simple, to the point, and you knew he meant them because otherwise, he wouldn't have said anything.

"Thank you. Olaive and Kakarot show the most promise, but we'll see how long that lasts. Others could step up to the plate," I responded, looking down. "But, if they learn, then I have a good feeling about all of them."

"It bears considering if your lessons should be included in the gestation tank," Dad remarked, earning a surprised look from me. "What you're suggesting is against our instincts, but you aren't wrong to do so. Rather having them unlearn habits, the next generation could have that inclination to teamwork to start with." I considered that for a moment, looking down at the kids below.

I've always known that there was some level of brainwashing going on with the tank. I noticed it most back when I was fresh out of the tank and it was a tug of war between my saiyan nature and human inclinations. Even now, there were a few holdovers from my previous life. That, however, caught me off guard.

"Is that possible?" I questioned, making Dad frown ever so slightly as he looked down at the children learning. It deepened further when Kakarot was the first to succeed, even if it was only for a moment. From what Matillo told me, we hadn't always been so individualistic, but...to brainwash a generation to be more cooperative…

"It is," Dad answered. "Children's minds are malleable. When they're exposed to concepts early, it can change their perception. It's too late for this lot, but if we expose the next generation to the concept of teamwork early, they won't struggle with it." Then he let out a small huff of laughter, "it's especially too late for old men like me."

I didn't like it. Just...changing the nature of our race for convenience...but wasn't that also a good thing? If the next generation learned early the value of teamwork, just as I had, wouldn't that save lives? Wouldn't the saiyan race be stronger for it?

"Okay," I agreed with a nod. I didn't like it, and I never would, but what I liked or wanted didn't matter.

"Good. I'll inform Thyme," Dad said before he turned to me, the edge of his lips curling upwards into a smile. "Before that, it is time that you learn your birthright. The Galick Gun," Dad informed, explaining his presence here. Only Vegeta's warning that he would teach me stopped my eyes from bugging out.

I returned the sharp grin, "I can't wait." I spared one last glance at the ones below before I blasted off with Dad.

It was only when we flew over a grand desert with large dunes as far as the eye could see that I realized that this was the first time in my life I would have a one on one time with my dad. The few times I saw him, it was either with the rest of the family, or when I was being debriefed with my team. Oh...and there was yesterday when he informed me of an ancient plot to usurp Frieza's place in the Trade Organization, but Vegeta was there with me.

"This is the spot," Dad said, angling down as we sailed by a sand dune the size of a mountain. On the other side of it, however, was an ancient temple that was half-buried beneath the ocean of sand. I perked up, narrowing my eyes as I took in the ancient stone towers, some broken laying in the sand, which led up to a temple-like building.

I said temple-like because it was made of hard stone but it had aged poorly over however long it had been here. Cracks, the ceiling had collapsed, more than a little of it was buried in sand, and it looked like it had been in the unforgiving sun for hundreds of years without rest. Dad touched down at the entrance, giving me a moment to take it all in.

"For you to understand the Galick Gun, you must learn what it means for the royal family," he said, catching my attention before she strode into the temple. I followed after him, my eyes adjusting to the low light easily enough. I almost expected there to be carving on the inside of the temple, to show some kind of history or explanation why this place was here, but there wasn't anything. Just smoothed walls and a lot of sand.

That was until Dad walked into the center of the room, stepping up three round platforms placed on top of each other to serve as steps. He knocked some sand away to grab a handle in the center of the smallest platform before he twisted and pulled. A pillar came up first before a loud hiss of hair blasted away grains of sand as the platforms began to rise.

"This place," Dad began, turning to me as a staircase was revealed, "is where our people first landed on Planet Vegeta. The building was placed here to mark its place," he explained before he began to walk down the steps. I eagerly followed, looking around at the carved brick. I felt a hum of excitement travel through me. Learning subjects like math and biology made me appreciate learning history that much more. Mostly because I actually liked learning history.

This place, these bricks...they not only were they the first examples of saiyan construction, but they were one of the only examples. Even now, we live in the hollowed husk of the Truffle cities, slowly filling them up but it would be dozens of generations before we manage to fill them all up.

The steps led us down into a cavern. For a moment, it was so dark that I was going to use a minor Solar Flare to see. Before I could, lights flickered to life, illuminating the cavern. Some of it was a natural formation, but most of it was man-made. Cut stone was supported by metal, blending natural formations with man-made supports until the cavern itself was roughly a couple of hundred yards long and about a hundred wide.

Dad didn't stop walking down the steps, but I did. Because in the center of the cavern was a ship. It took the shape of a ring, hovering over the ground silently. The outside was a metallic gray without any seams or light, almost as if it were made of a single piece of metal. If it wasn't for the dust that had gathered on it, I would have thought it was staying perfectly still, but it was steadily spinning in place.

"This is the ship that brought the saiyan race to this planet,' Dad informed, coming to a stop and it was only then that I realized he left me behind. I hurried down, nearly tripping over my feet as I took the ship in. I've never seen anything like it before. It was fairly large, just large enough to fit in a population of saiyans to prevent the entire species from dying off.

This wasn't made by us. That much was obvious. "Do we know anything about it?" I asked, coming to a stop next to Dad.

"Nothing," Dad admitted. "All we know is that the ship was found when Sadala was being destroyed by the Legendary Super Saiyan if you believe the legends," he said, sounding like he didn't. "In all likelihood, the Wrath State was the basis for that legend."

I shook my head, "it's not." I knew that it wasn't. "Based on what Matillo told me, it sounds like Sadala was destroyed in a fight. On accident, even. The Wrath State is only a ten times multiplier, so unless the saiyans on Sadala were much stronger than we are now, there's no way they could destroy a planet on accident with the Wrath State." I argued, making Dad frown in thought as he mulled that over.

"Hm. And we know that's not the case since our people have only grown stronger since landing on Planet Vegeta. So there might be some truth to the legends after all," Dad muttered to himself as he turned his attention back to the ship. "However, regardless of what happened to Sadala, it is lost to us. The only thing we know of the ship is two things - it was found as our people fled the destruction and the second is this."

King Vegeta raised a hand and a dark red ki blast formed in his palm before he launched it at the ship. The ki ball slammed into it and simply vanished. A shield of some kind?

"The second part is this - the origin of the Galick Gun is a lie," Dad informed. "Its exact origin has been forgotten, but we have no ancestor named Galick. Now, watch," Dad settled in a wide stance, his one palm facing outwards as the other cupped around the back of that hand. "First, you gather the energy in your palm like this: Hm!" He started as I watched with rapt attention as his red ki gathered.

"The nature of the attack is unstable, but you must control it like this: HN!" He continued, his expression tightening before the red ki in his outward-facing palm began to grow, arcs of red electricity cackling. "Feed more power into it until you feel as if you're going to lose control of the technique entirely, and when your control begins to slip you fire it like this: AHHHH!" King Vegeta shouted before he thrust his palms outwards, launching the ki attack at the ship, the cavern dyed red as arcs of electricity were drawn towards the metal in the room.

This time the ki didn't simply vanish. The surface of the ship rippled like water, taking in the attack and...something changed. The surface changed, almost as if it were taking a different shape, only to give up halfway. When Dad ended the attack, the ship returned to the ring shape, the only signs anything had changed was the lack of dust on some parts.

"The Galick Gun is a key created when our race lived on our home planet," Dad said, crossing his arms as he glared hard at the ship like it had insulted him personally. "But it's incomplete. Either the technique is, or there's another step to activating the ship that we have forgotten."

Dad turned to me, his expression grave. "Much was lost to us when the saiyan race fled Sadala. More than just our pride. This ship represents the only way we can possibly find the planet again," he informed, settling a hand down on my head, his dark eyes hard. "All of our family has attempted to activate the ship, but none have succeeded. And now, my son, it is your turn."

With that, Dad stepped back and let me make my attempt. I looked at the ship, trying to perceive its secrets by staring at the surface of it. Unfortunately, I had no such luck. So, slowly, I mimicked the pose that Dad made and began to channel my ki, all the while my mind raced about what I had just learned.

That ship was the way to find Sadala. Our home planet. And...I wanted to see it. I had to.

It was years, but I still remembered those few moments when a saiyan with an aura of shimmering red stood before me. At the time, I was distracted by the whole 'nearly bisected' thing, but now I had time to think about it, I realized something. The saiyan wasn't wearing Frieza-force armor. He was wearing bone and cloth.

I think he was a saiyan from Sadala. How he was able to contact me, I didn't know, but this ship was my way to learn.

As I channeled the ki, instantly I noticed how unstable the technique was. As I compressed the ki, it tried to blow up in my hands like a hand grenade, but my control was refined by my training with Matillo. I kept a tight grip over the technique, pouring more and more and more into it as blue lightning cackled in the palm of my hand. The bolts of lightning didn't vanish in a flash of light - they carved lines into the stone as they were dragged to pieces of metal.

I pushed more and more and more into it, and right when it felt like I was about to lose control of it, I launched it at the ship. The blast of ki slammed into its surface, stronger than Dad's. Lines began to form on the surface, the featureless ship gaining segmented parts as the metallic sheen began to glow. I pushed more and more and more into it...but...it wasn't enough.

As my attack tempered off, the changes faded. Within a second, the ship returned to its original shape. That...was a powerful attack to start with. I could have gone to my Wrath State, but I was afraid of destroying it...but…

"You are still young. You have another six years until your growth spurt. You may try again then. You'll be stronger," Dad said, nodding at me and smiling at my obvious disappointment. I nodded in reluctant acceptance before he led us out of the cavern.

As we left, I cast one last look at it, it's unchanged surface mocking me as I mulled over the problem and the technique.

There was a piece missing, and I vowed to find out what it was. And one day, I would find out who that saiyan was.