Traveling in space

The air around me shimmered as the portal I'd punched into existence closed behind me, sealing off the link between the Toriko universe and the Dragon Ball universe. My feet hit the familiar tiled surface of Kami's Lookout, the expansive platform stretching out beneath the open sky. The cool air of the upper atmosphere greeted me.

As soon as I landed, I saw Kami waiting for me at the entrance of the tower, his arms crossed, his expression as solemn as ever. Mr. Popo stood silently by his side, his usual unreadable expression locked in place.

Kami's voice came out calm, but there was a thin edge to it. "You've returned."

I rolled my eyes at his tone. "No shit," I muttered, striding across the polished tiles towards him. "Like you didn't know I'd be back."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "I know your stronger, but strength is not everything, Celera. you need to learn to be more like G—"

"Save your speeches," I interrupted, my patience already fraying with his bullshit. "You think you know everything because you're a Guardian but let me tell you something: the world isn't as black and white as you make it out to be."

My ki flared as the anger in my voice grew, and I felt the energy pulse through me, the ground beneath me trembling as my aura surged. The sudden release of power caused many of the tiles on the Lookout to crack.

Kami stepped back slightly, his calm exterior faltering. "You must control yourself," he warned, his voice strained.

"Control myself?" I growled, my fists clenching. "You're the one who judges everything like you have all the answers. You sit up here in your lookout, thinking you know who's good and who's bad. Newsflash, Kami, not everyone who's 'good' is a good, and not everyone who's 'bad' is bad."

Kami's face darkened, but he said nothing in response. The silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable.

I scoffed, the heat of my anger still simmering. "I was going to ask you to point me in the direction of Planet Namik, but honestly, I don't trust you to give me an honest answer."

Without waiting for a response, I turned my back on him, lifting into the air. My frustration still lingered, but I forced myself to rein in my ki. Blowing up Kami's Lookout wasn't going to help anyone, well beyond me.

As I flew off, I heard Kami voice in my head. "You tread a dangerous path, Celera. Beware of the darkness within yourself."

I didn't look back. "Yeah, yeah, shut your mouth."

With that, I soared off toward West City. Capsule Corp was my next stop, and I wasn't in the mood for any more lectures. 

West City came into view, the towering buildings of Capsule Corp standing out against the skyline. As I descended, the anger from my encounter with Kami fading. 

I landed softly in the courtyard of Capsule Corp, and as the doors slid open, Dr. Brief stepped out, a cigarette already in hand. He gave me his usual calm smile, but I could see his eyes flicker with curiosity as I approached. 

"Back already?" he asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "I didn't expect you so soon." he stood there for a bit and looked me over. "I take it you've had a run-in with Kami?"

I let out a small grunt, waving off his comment. "Let's not get into that right now."

He chuckled softly, but there was a knowing glint in his eye. "Fair enough. So, what brings you here?"

I crossed my arms, my expression more relaxed now that the weight of the Lookout had lifted. "I need to catch up with Raditz, Tato, and Hanasia. They took off with your permission, right?"

Dr. Briefs nodded. "Yeah, they left yesterday. Took the ship I built. Fastest one I've ever put together. Should get them to Namek in no time."

"Good," I said, my tone calm but focused. "So do you have a way for me to track them? A scouter, or something similar? Also how far behind should we be behind Kakarot and the others"

He took a drag from his cigarette, thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, I do. I've been keeping tabs on the ship with a tracker. Shouldn't be too hard to give you the coordinates. And if anything you should arrive within a hour or two behind them." He paused, then raised an eyebrow at me. "But how do you plan on following them without a ship? You're fast, but space travel isn't exactly the same as flying across the planet."

I gave him a small smirk, shaking my head. "I'm different from most people, Dr. Briefs."

He nodded slowly, clearly mulling that over, but he didn't press for details. "Well, as long as you've got a plan." He pulled a small scouter from his coat pocket and handed it to me. "This will track their ship's signal. It's already synced up, so you'll have no problem following their trail."

I took the scouter and fitted it over my ear. The screen blinked to life, showing the exact coordinates of the ship.

Dr. Briefs watched me for a moment, his eyes still curious. "You know," he said, taking another drag from his cigarette, "I don't know if I've ever met anyone quite like you, Celera. Most folks need ships for this sort of thing."

I shrugged, adjusting the scouter. "People back home think the same thing."

He smiled at that, the corner of his mouth quirking up in amusement. "Well, good luck out there. And tell Raditz I said hello."

"Will do," I replied, giving him a nod before turning to face the sky.

With the scouter's tracker locked onto the ship's signal, I took a deep breath and launched into the air, the wind whipping past me as I soared higher and higher. As I reached the edge of the atmosphere, I felt the familiar rush of energy as I broke through the planet's gravitational pull, the vastness of space stretching out before me.

As I burst forward into the endless void of space, I no longer needed to hold back my speed. There was nothing to stop me now. The tracker on the scouter beeped steadily, guiding me towards Raditz, Tato, and Hanasia's ship. They were far, but with my speed, I'd catch up to them easily.

The silence of space wrapped around me, broken only by the faint hum of energy as I pushed myself faster and faster. My ki flared around me, cutting through the darkness, and I allowed myself a small grin. 

Hours passed in what felt like seconds as I hurtled through the cosmos, the distance between me and the ship shrinking rapidly. I kept my eyes locked on the signal. There they were, on the edge of my scouter's radar now.

Within moments, the familiar shape of the ship came into view, floating in the void. It was the same ship Goku had taken to Namek, but this time, it wasn't him on board. so that meant they took Kami's old ship.

With a burst of speed, I shot forward, slowing down just as I approached the ship, careful not to overshoot. I circled the ship once before tapping lightly on the glass of the cockpit with my tail as a smirk was on my face. Inside, I saw Raditz, Tato, and Hanasia, their eyes widening in disbelief.

Raditz scrambled to the window, his mouth agape, and even Tato, usually chill personality, stared at me like he'd seen a ghost. Hanasia stood frozen, eyes wide, her tail flicking behind her in shock.

I hovered outside the ship for a moment, watching their reactions. The scouter beeped quietly in my ear, that i tapped to turn off.

Finally, I motioned for them to open the hatch. After a few more seconds of staring, Raditz snapped out of it and scrambled to press a few buttons. The hatch opened with a soft hiss, and I floated in, landing lightly on the floor inside the ship. as the door closed and air filled the room before another door opened allowing me inside.

"How the hell...?" Raditz started, still trying to wrap his head around what he'd just seen.

Tato shook his head in disbelief. "You're in space... without a suit or anything. How are you even breathing?"

Hanasia crossed her arms, her shock giving way to curiosity. "That's... not norma. What did you just do out there?"

I shrugged casually, leaning against the wall. " You all needed the ship. I didn't."

Raditz, who had been standing closest to the control panel, let out a low whistle. "I've seen some crazy things in my time, but that... That's a first."

Tato gave me a long look, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he was trying to figure out just what exactly I was made of. "You really are something else, Celera."

Hanasia just shook her head, though there was a slight smile on her face. "We should've known better by now. You're always full of surprises."

I laughed, brushing off their reactions. "Yeah, well, I needed to catch up, didn't I? Now, since we're stuck in here for a few days, we'd better get comfortable. No training though, I don't think this ship can handle our kind of power."

Raditz leaned back in his chair, still eyeing me like I was some kind of anomaly. "So Namek, huh? I'm guessing it might be pretty banged up by the time we arrive."

I crossed my arms, glancing out at the stars streaking by outside the ship. "Definitely. Freeza's involved."

The next two days passed slowly. It wasn't that the trip itself was difficult, but being cooped up in the ship with no real outlet for our energy was... frustrating.

Raditz, Tato, and Hanasia were clearly restless, pacing the narrow corridors, occasionally sparring mentally. After a while, I got an idea. "Let's turn the gravity up," I said, heading toward the control panel. "This thing can go up to 100 times Earth's gravity, right?"

Raditz, lounging in his chair with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but that's the max. It won't be much of a challenge for us, though."

Tato nodded in agreement. 

Hanasia smirked, leaning back against the wall. "Still, it's something to do."

I punched a few buttons, and the ship's systems whirred to life as the gravity controls shifted. Slowly, the weight of the air increased around us, pressing down just a little harder. But like we all figured, 100x gravity wasn't much. We barely felt it. Still, it kept our muscles engaged.

Raditz stretched lazily. "Feels like a light jog, but it'll do."

I cracked my neck and wandered toward the airlock, my fingers brushing against the control panel. "Well, if you three want to sit around in here, I think I'll take a break outside."

Hanasia gave me a quizzical look. "Outside? You just going to chill in space?"

"Why not?" I shrugged. "Beats sitting in here staring at the walls. Besides, there's something satisfying about blowing up asteroids."

Before they could respond, I stepped into the airlock and hit the release. The heavy doors sealed behind me, and I could feel the ship's gravity let go as the outer hatch opened, revealing the endless black of space. I floated out, letting myself hover just above the ship's surface for a moment, feeling the cool void pressing against me.

With a simple flick of ki, I landed lightly on the ship's roof, crossing my legs as I sat down. The stars stretched out in every direction, the vast expanse of space endless and silent. The ship hummed quietly beneath me, its engines steady as it cut through the black.

For a while, I just sat there, letting the silence of space settle around me. It was peaceful, in its own way. No noise, no distractions, just me and the stars.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a massive asteroid, easily the size of Texas, drifting lazily through space. A grin spread across my face. Why the hell not?

I stood up, balancing easily on the moving ship as I cracked my knuckles. With a quick burst of energy, I launched myself off the ship and toward the asteroid. The closer I got, the more I could appreciate the sheer size of it. Most people would've seen this thing and freaked out.

I pulled my fist back and, with a flick of my wrist, sent a burst of ki straight into the heart of the asteroid. The impact was instantaneous, chunks of rock and debris exploded outward, shattering in every direction as the asteroid disintegrated into a cloud of dust. The shockwave rippled through space.

"Well, that was fun," I muttered to myself as I hovered in the aftermath of the destruction, watching the debris float away.

With a quick burst of speed, I zipped back to the ship, landing lightly on the roof once more. I could still feel the slight pull of the 100x gravity from inside the ship, but out here, I was free from it. Leaning back, I rested my hands behind my head and gazed up at the stars.

Eventually, I decided to head back inside. The others were still there, sitting around, but there was a noticeable tension in the air. Tato was pacing, his tail flicking behind him, and Raditz was staring at the controls like he was thinking too hard about something.

"You guys alright?" I asked, brushing some dust from my hands as I re-entered the cabin.

Hanasia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we're fine. Just bored out of our minds. You blowing up rocks out there?"

I grinned. "Big one."

Raditz shook his head, but there was a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Only you would find that exciting."

"Well, sitting around here doing nothing isn't going to cut it," I replied.

Tato looked out the window, his face serious. "one more day. Just one more day until we are there."

[death battle can fucking suck it]