Ch. 154: The Grand Launch (2)

"Seriously? Guru wants you to stay on Earth and become the next Guardian!?" Gohan asked Dende as they worked together to drive their sensor into the ground. 

Dende had been staying on the Lookout with Nail and Guru for the last two months, learning about how to be a guardian beside Kami. Originally, the plan was to have Dende become the next guardian of the Namekians after Guru died, but now, unbeknownst to everyone, Guru's life had been extended. He had a Core Girl guarantee that he'd live another two hundred years. That was a long time to birth, choose, and train a new successor. Dende was a prodigy, but his talents would be going to waste if he stayed on Namek. He'd be older than any human alive by the time he was able to take over Guru's vacant spot. 

Meanwhile, Kami was already incredibly old, and he was no Guru. Fifty years max, and he'd be dead of old age. After that, Earth would be without a Guardian. Sure, Cargo and a half-dozen other Namekians had already decided that they were going to stay on Earth and help me out at Legacy, but Dende was the natural choice to succeed Kami. 

"Yes. Kami is getting old. Originally, Guru wanted to teach him how to make the Dragon Balls more useful while he was here, but as it turns out, Kami doesn't have enough energy to make the adjustments. On top of that, Guru says that he has a bad feeling about Earth's future, and Guru's never wrong." Dende explained in a soft tone.

"So you're saying that Guru thinks that something's gonna happen in the future, then?" Gohan asked the young Namekian. Dende answered with a solemn nod. 

"Grand Elder Guru's never wrong, either. According to him, places with strong fighters naturally draw turmoil. Guru wants me to stay on Earth and take over once Kami can't fulfill his duties anymore." Dende explained quietly.

"I see." Gohan said, "But what do you think of that? It's a big commitment, and you'll be leaving most of your people behind..." 

Dende didn't answer right away. He hadn't spent much time with us Earthlings, all in all. On Namek, he'd spent the entirety of the Frieza fight sobbing over Guru's body, rather than bonding with us, after all. Unlike in canon, he didn't really consider Gohan or Krillin close friends. 

But he'd been training with Kami, overseeing the entire planet from above. He found a certain beauty in the diverse people and places on Earth, something that didn't exist on Namek. He'd developed a certain fondness for the planet, and he liked Pigero, who helped him with his homework every once in a while, when he needed a break from the lookout. Honestly, his heart was split. He didn't really know what he wanted to do.

"Everyone here's so nice, and the planet's beauty... it's different from Namek's. I can't..." Dende trailed off.

"I get it." Gohan assured the young Namekian. "You know, that reminds me of something that happened shortly after Piccolo first picked me up to teach me how to fight."

"Really?" Dende asked.

"I'd fallen into this cave, and inside the cave was this robot. He was pretty grouchy, but he'd been stuck down there a long time. Apparently, the cave had collapsed around him a long time ago, but he was still working."

"That sounds so sad." Dende sympathized.

"Yeah. Eventually, the cave ended up collapsing. I tried to save him, but Mr. Robot told me to run, because I wasn't going to be able to dig him out in time, and he was right. But when I found the exit, it was just a big cliff, so I asked him 'What do I do?'" Gohan explained.

"Did he tell you to jump?" Dende asked.

"Yeah, exactly. And I did, because something deep in my heart knew that I had to. I knew that it was what my sister would have done. And guess what, Dende? Everything turned out okay. I survived, and Hanna pulled Mr. Robot right out of the ground and brought him to Bulma. Now, Mr. Robot is Bulma's research assistant, and he's alive and well."

"So, you followed your gut, and everything turned out okay?" Dende, being a sharp kid, immediately understood the point of Gohan's story. 

Gohan nodded, "Exactly. If I hadn't jumped, Hanna probably would have saved me, but Mr. Robot would have ended up dying, I'm sure of it. Dende, I know that whatever choice you make is the right one. Just follow your gut, alright? It'll tell you exactly what to do."

Pursing his lips, Dende nodded. "Thanks, Gohan. That's good advice. If I meditate, I'm sure that I'll figure out something." He said, "I've still got a full month to choose. I'm sure I'll figure something out in the meantime."

Gohan and Dende didn't talk about Dende's choice again, as they spent the rest of the day placing the other four sensors that they'd been assigned in remote, slightly dangerous corners of the planet. They'd been assigned the more dangerous sensors due to the fact that Gohan was a Saiyan, and Dende, after having his potential released by Guru, was one of the stronger Namekians out there. Naturally, Pigero, Rise, Piccolo, and Raditz had been assigned to the most dangerous places, while the rest of the Namekian warriors helped out in the places that were only slightly too dangerous for normal humans to be in.

Eventually, the sensors were all placed, and Dende's last month to decide had come to its close. The Namekians all gathered in the Legacy courtyard, in front of the Dragon Balls. 

"Dende, my child. Have you made your decision?" The Namekians were all divided into two groups, with Dende in the middle. On one side, Rise stood with Cargo and nine of the other Namekians, three of which were gardeners who simply couldn't bear to part with their garden, even though the other gardeners had taken crates and crates of seeds and young plants to plant on their new Namek, while the other six were warriors originally from the same village as Rise, who'd grown attached to Earth over time and wanted to continue working with Legacy. 

"Yes, Guru, I have." Dende had thought long and hard about whether he'd stay on Earth or not. "Goodbye, Guru."