One day, the world went dark. All around the Earth, night fell uniformly in an instant. Or, not quite night, as there weren’t even stars. This phenomenon lasted a few minutes. During that time, strange seismic activity was recorded, originating in the mountains of an isolated island state.
A few months passed. Torta, a teenage martial artist, was training in his yard, the light reflecting off the sweat streaming down his brown skin. As usual, Torta was trying to outdo his personal records, kept entirely in his head, all made in the same red and orange gi he wore. His family home these last few years was on the rocky coast of a beautiful and peaceful island, overlooking the ocean. Every day, he woke up early and put himself through the wringer, always wanting to get stronger and refine his technique even further.
A woman screamed. It was not a scream of terror, but rather of excitement, and it originated next door. Torta’s neighbor, Puttee, lived alone and operated the island’s scrapyard, so she could use the spare parts for scientific research. Torta ignored the sound, as it was not an uncommon occurrence. Puttee could be quite excitable. The pause did give him time to consider if he should find another boulder to add to his load, though; the house-sized pile of rocks he had gathered up for weight training was starting to feel too light, even at fifty reps per arm. He began looking for a suitable stone.
“Torta! Get over here! Now!” Puttee yelled across the adjoining yard.
Setting down his load, Torta went over to see what Puttee was excited about. The two had been friends since he first arrived five years prior. A young Torta found it incredibly admirable to find a girl only twelve years old who was on her own and so accomplished; ever since, Torta’s thought she was the coolest.
“Up here!” Puttee said, referring to the upstairs patio. Torta ran up the stairs. The patio was overrun with computers and equipment, with a view evenly divided between the forest and the scrap. There the young black genius sat, oil stains over her denim shorts and tank top, as usual. Recently, she had tried a new hairstyle, cutting the sides short and letting her kinky hair fall to the right; it was the most stylish hairstyle Torta had ever seen Puttee wear, not that he would ask about it.
“That dish is new,” Torta said about the satellite dish set up near the railing.
“I was tracking down a signal,” Puttee explained. “Remember when the sky went dark a few months ago, and there was that earthquake? When that happened, I was in the middle of scanning background radiation, and I found a weird EM signature. It went away after the sky lit back up. And guess what just came back?”
“That does sound interesting,” said Torta, feigning interest. “But that could be anything, right? It was a strange event, but it’s not like you know this signal caused it. Besides, the signal’s coming from Zoolia, way up north. We can’t just go there.”
Puttee looked up to Torta expectantly, a child-like smile on her face, a determined gleam in her eyes.
“No, no, no!” Torta said, recognizing a scheme. “I am not getting dragged into anything! I just want to stay here and train.”
“You stupid jock. Look, nothing else on Earth gives off a signal like that. I can feel it in my bones! I mean, what happened was some kind of magic, right? And I can go find it!”
“I mean, magic…putting that and our lack of transportation aside, you know why we can’t just go there. If we wanted to get to Zoolia from here in the Unaffiliated Islands, we’d have to pass through Knuckle. I’d be fine going back home, but your dad was a Silico government official. They’d string you up in no time! Any excuse to go to war with them. That’s why we both came here. Can it really be worth it?”
Puttee looked down, more serious. “I’ve been hiding here for six years now. I’m not going to be hiding for my whole life. I know something big is cooking up in Silico. I need to start stepping up. Know why? Because instead of listening to your military dojo masters, you care about being better than yourself instead of proving you’re better than others. I’m ready to do the same.”
Torta scratched his head and blushed. “You’re making it sound like a bigger deal than it is. I just love martial arts.”
“Same. I love adventure and discovery. That means we’re going! You can keep us safe.” Puttee gave Torta a sly look and a mischievous smile. “Unless you’re not up for it.”
“Ok, ok, I’ll come with you. I can keep you safe. Just let me tell my parents.”
“YAS! Meet me here in the morning!”
Torta left Puttee’s home and went to see his parents in the back yard of his home. He placed his hands together and knelt by their graves, telling them of his plans. A couple years after they arrived, his parents contracted a virus they couldn’t treat on the island and died. At first, Torta wished they had all stayed home, where they could have been treated or never gotten the tropical disease in the first place, but he respected their reasons. He couldn’t hold a grudge against parents who wanted a peaceful life for him.
Through the night, Torta heard a lot of heavy machinery and digging through the scrap piles. The other neighbors would be pissed. Torta laughed, musing that the neighborhood probably would want her to stay out once she left the UI tomorrow.
The next morning, in the adjoining yard, he saw the fruits of Puttee’s noisy labor: A sizable, jet-propelled vehicle, like a cross between a plane and a van. She stood next to it, grease streaming across her face and arms with a smile.
“Morning!” Puttee said. “This’ll get us where we need to go fast!”
“What about money for food and fuel?” Torta asked.
“I’ve got some. We’ll figure it out. Now come on!” Puttee pulled Torta into the vehicle and started up the engines. They took off immediately.
By the end of the day, they had exhausted their fuel and found themselves in the southern part of Knuckle. Puttee pulled up to a fueling station. Torta held out his hand for the money. “I’ll fill the tank,” Torta said. “I doubt you’ll be recognized right away, but it’s better safe than sorry.”
“Sure, sure,” Puttee said, handing him her wallet. “I’ll stay cooped up in here. Oh, liquid planium, if you would.”
Torta put the nozzle up to the tank and listened to the fuel beginning to flow. In the distance, he heard a voice. “Hey!” It was faintly familiar. He turned and saw a childhood friend, Svenex, now wearing the ninja-like uniform of Knuckle’s intelligence agency. her fair skin was tanned more than he last remembered, and her red hair was longer, kept in a neat braid. Svenex looked as perplexed as Torta was, rushing over to see him. “Hey, Torta! It is you!” Svenex said with a smile and furrowed brow. “I—it’s great to see you, but I thought you…left for the Unaffiliated Islands.”
“Svenex!” Torta said, genuinely happy, though surprised by her apparent profession. “Yeah, no, I’m still outside Knuckle, I’m just on a, uh, little vacation.”
“Well, I, uh, was just about to go on a mission, and then I heard there was a strange craft moving through the area.” Torta hoped he didn’t visibly flinch, especially as she turned to look at the jet-propelled wagon he was fueling. “Funny running into you here, then.”
“Oh, uh, yeah!” he stammered. When Torta lived in Knuckle, he and Svenex were friends and rivals in the dojo. While Torta only wanted to improve his own performance, Svenex believed in the cause of stopping Silico’s warlike behavior and bringing about peace. Even still, Torta was surprised to see Svenex as a spy. “So, enjoying the job?”
“Why are you passing through here? You know it’s not safe for people who left the dojo.”
“Nothing major, I guess. Just, um, just wanted to take a trip down memory lane before heading up to the mountains. Uh, you know, the sunny tropical weather is, um, boring, so I thought I’d go see the cold!”
Torta could not have looked more uncomfortable lying. That said, Svenex trusted him, and knew he was probably just on some family business or something else that he wanted to keep private. But then her eyes passed by the face peeking up out from the window, with those familiar eyes. Gasping in shock, Svenex rushed over and started banging on the door of the vehicle. “Who’s in there?!” she demanded to know. “Get out here, now!”
“Hey, stop!” Torta asked.
Svenex kept banging on the door. “Do you have any idea who that is in your car?!” She turned back to the vehicle. “Come out, Puttee! You’re on the watch list, and you know it! Get out! Now!”
“No, no, that’s not—”
Puttee rolled down the window. “Hey, can you just let it slide?” she asked.
Svenex was furious. “What are you up to here?!” she demanded of Torta, poking his chest. “Puttee would not step one foot in Knuckle, with parents like hers! I knew you were lying about vacation already, you…worm!”
“It’s not a big deal, really!” said Torta, getting defensive. “It’s just a quick trip up north! I didn’t want her getting into trouble, is all!”
“Bull!” Svenex drove Torta into the fuel pump with her next finger jab. “Puttee’s no idiot; you’re trying to screw up my mission, aren’t you?!” She grabbed Torta by the lapel of his gi and slammed him against the pump. “Stay away from that signal, or I’ll personally arrest you for interfering with official government business!”
The fuel pump indicated it had topped off the tank. Svenex let Torta go, and he quickly rushed back into the vehicle. Puttee started it up and flew off. Svenex stayed behind to make sure they left the way they came.
Puttee smiled slyly. “So…who’s your pretty friend?” she asked.
Torta was confused a moment, and then blushed. “Oh! Uh, yeah, I guess she did grow up to be real pretty, huh? That’s just Svenex, my old friend from the dojo. We kinda competed a lot.”
“You dog! That was a real power move she just pulled there! A beautiful woman, propping you up against a wall, looking deep into your eyes, and saying she’ll have you all to herself! Ah, if only that were me!”
“No, no, no! It’s not like that!” Torta blushed harder while he tried to wave away this fantasy. While he did, the vehicle started to turn. Before he knew it, Puttee was headed back north, towards the signal.
“Hey, no!” Torta protested. “We just had this conversation, remember? This is the exact sort of trouble we were trying to avoid!”
“Relax! If we take the long way, I have a trick that will let us go undetected.”
At that exact moment, their craft was intercepted by government cruisers. Torta groaned as Puttee brought them to a stop. “Just play it cool, please?” Torta asked.
“When am I not cool?” Puttee asked, gesturing as if dropping sunglasses she was not wearing down her nose. Torta had a growing suspicion that he was going to end up in jail.
Torta and Puttee exited their vehicle, with Torta stepping in front. There were two cruisers, with two occupants each. The agents got out, Svenex included, and approached them.
“Why are the two of you ignoring a lawful order by a government official?” asked the senior officer with Svenex, an older man with a beard. His hat displayed captain’s bars.
Torta wanted to be conciliatory. “We were just—”
“It’s not a lawful order,” Puttee said. “You’re spies, not cops. Besides, you don’t have any proof of us breaking the law. We’re just passing through.”
The agents laughed. “How long has it been since you were last here?” asked the senior officer. “Maybe you should both get a refresher of what we’re all about here in the Land of Fists. It would be a good lesson for the Silico geek, here.”
Torta glared at Puttee, who stuck her tongue out. Torta took his stance. “Is this official or for fun?”
The senior officer started to answer, but Svenex interrupted him. “Official, you and me.” She turned to her superiors. “We knew each other as kids, this is a good chance to catch up.”
Torta smiled. “Yeah, it would be.”
“Ok, get started whenever you want,” said the senior officer. He glared at Torta. “You lose, you leave, deserter.”
Svenex took the same stance Torta remembered her preferring, and it felt like old times. He rushed in, and as expected, found Svenex opening with an afterimage strike. He turned to guard his rear, but even before he saw the second afterimage behind him, he could tell something was different. Svenex appeared at his right side, sweeping him and dropping axe kicks on his chest. Torta rolled away with a smile. Even after all this time, all his training, her kick had all the punch he remembered. He dodged back quickly to avoid a series of chi blasts she fired from her finger, her hand in a gun shape.
“Yes!” Torta exclaimed, much to Svenex’s chagrin. “I’ve always wanted to see the Knuckle Army’s famous Trigger Finger! We barely started talking about chi blasts when my family left! But check this out!” Torta placed his hands together at his right shoulder, charging energy into them. He then thrust his right hand forward, yelling “BLT!” launching an energy wave at Svenex. She didn’t expect an energy wave that wide to move so fast, and barely dodged. The wave continued and hit a large hill, flattening it instantly. Svenex shot daggers with her eyes.
“You really trying to send me home?” Torta asked. Svenex snorted, even angrier. Before she could recover her composure, Torta rushed Svenex again, assaulting her with a barrage of powerful blows. Svenex was able to keep up, but could tell Torta had been as serious about his training as ever, probably more so. He was always more interested in overcoming his limits than she was.
Svenex took back the offensive and switched to jiujitsu, hoping to tie Torta up for a quick ending. In a few moves, she had him in a choke and trapped one of his arms. Torta looked up at Svenex and then around to her superiors. Only two years older than him, Torta knew she couldn’t have been on the job that long, and he didn’t want to show her up. She always wanted to end fights more than beat opponents.
“Ok, ok, I give!” Torta relented. The agents were pleased. “I’ll get Puttee to give up and go home.”
“Good,” said the bearded agent. “Svenex, let him go. As long as you two stay away from our mission, then I’ll respect Svenex’s wishes and let you go home.”
Svenex released Torta, who gave her a smile as he got up. She scoffed and walked back to her superior. Puttee made kissy faces at Torta as he headed towards the craft, and Torta rolled his eyes. The two got in and headed back towards home.
“I’m sorry about that,” said Torta. “I know you wanted to go on this big adventure, but it’s better this way, staying out of trouble. I feel like I could have beaten Svenex, but she just started this job.”
“Yeah,” Puttee said. “Chicks hate it when you show them up in front of their bosses. You two would never get together.”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that! It’s…we’re just friends! She’s really good, and she’s gotten really strong, I just thought I felt an edge there, and…we’re friends!”
While Torta went on like this, Puttee pulled the vehicle over into a secluded glen, stopping there. “Why are we stopped?” Torta asked.
“So I can install a couple signal jammers I’m about to make from spare parts to keep us off their radar, literally,” Puttee said. “While you were fighting, I got a peek at their cruisers, and the tracking system is about what I expected.” She stepped out of the craft and turned to Torta with a smile. “See, taking the long way was worth it, huh?”
“I mean…it was fun fighting Svenex.”
“See? Good boy. I’ve trained you almost too well!”
By the next day, around lunch, they had made it across the border to Zoolia, the Animal Nation. They were very close. Puttee overlayed a map with her radar for tracking the signal.
“Ok, looks like it’s about three mountains away in a valley,” Puttee said. “Looks like it’s a few feet above the ground right now.”
“How can you know that?” Torta asked.
“I’m that good!” Puttee said, a smug grin on her face.
Once they got to the ridge overlooking the valley, they parked. They got out of the craft and walked to the edge. Puttee took out some binoculars for a closer inspection and saw two hooded figures sitting on a rock below. The valley was relatively green, with grass, a few trees, and a stream.
“Doesn’t look like your gal pal or her friends are here,” Puttee remarked.
Torta could tell the figures below were not ordinary. “What exactly are you going to do when you find this…whatever it is, anyway?” he asked.
“Nothing specific, really,” Puttee said. “Just want to know what it is, how it works. Anyway, since we’re just here to learn, I suggest we walk down there, all open and friendly-like, and just talk it out.”
“Sounds good,” Torta said. The two began to descend the slope.
The pair nearly reached the bottom. “HEY!” Puttee called out to the figures below. At that moment, she was interrupted by a barrage of Trigger Fingers. Torta guarded Puttee and moved the two of them out of the way, crashing and rolling onto the valley floor. The intelligence agents appeared around them, all yelling over each other for the intruders remain still.
Sounding over the rabble, an angry Svenex glared at Torta and said, “I can’t believe you! I told you to stay away! I even got you that sweet deal not to have Puttee locked in an interrogation chamber! You could have left! And now you’re ruining my mission!”
“Sorry…” Torta said weakly. Svenex scoffed. She and her bearded senior moved closer to secure Torta and Puttee, while the other two agents moved in closer to the mysterious figures. “You’re making a mistake there,” Torta warned them.
The larger figure bowed, leaning on her walking stick. “Please, we’re just travelers,” The figure started to say.
“You don’t have to say anything,” the other figure said. “These intruders are clearly threatening us, and there’s only one reason why. They have to be punished for bringing violence to you, Grand Elder.” This figure removed her cloak. She was a rather strange person, with green skin, pointed ears, and antennae on her bald head. She wore a black and grey gi under her cloak. She took an aggressive stance and wasted no time charging at the intelligence agents.
Puttee sparkled. “ALIENS!” she excitedly squealed.
The larger figure removed her hood, revealing herself to be much older than her compatriot. Her skin was a lighter shade of green, accentuated by deep wrinkles across her towering, heavyset body. She wore a red shawl over her white robes. “Regal, please stop resorting to violence at the first opportunity!” she said.
The two agents Regal faced off against were cocky despite their shock. Based on Torta’s memory, he was sure they would be considered elites in the Knuckle military. Despite that, they looked slow to him, and Regal toyed with them easily. Their defeat took an instant.
Svenex and her superior were shocked. “Leave, and never come back,” Regal warned them.
The bearded agent looked at his injured subordinates and scowled. “Hey, Greyearl,” said Svenex, worried what her boss would do. “We’re spies, not soldiers. We should get more info and regroup. Put the mission first.”
“No,” said Greyearl. “I think not.” He charged in at Regal. The two fought, and Regal looked surprised and impressed with Greyearl. He was a cut above the two before him.
Torta and Puttee had relocated a little higher up for more comfortable viewing. “Your boss is pretty good!” Torta told Svenex.
Svenex looked back at him, flustered a moment. “How dare you get out of position,” she said. “You’re still under arrest.” Puttee stuck her tongue out.
“Does Greyearl there…look slow to you?” Torta asked.
Svenex was surprised. “…Yeah, he does,” she agreed.
Regal soon had Greyearl pinned on the ground. “Hmph, you’re the best I’ve seen on Earth so far,” she said. She looked up at Svenex, Torta, and Puttee. “Any of you next?”
Svenex hesitated a moment. “I’m not here to fight,” she said. “This was supposed to be a simple investigation. Do you know what caused the artificial night four months ago, and any connection that might have with the earthquake in the east?”
“Svenex,” Greyearl said as he lifted his head. “Engage with this alien weirdo and secure the target.”
Torta and Puttee looked up at Svenex expectantly. Svenex simply stared, saying nothing.
“You were recruited for this mission for this exact reason!” Greyearl snapped. “Your phenomenal strength allows us to overcome any unexpected obstacles!”
“I’m not going to tell you anything anyway,” Regal added.
“They have magic wishing orbs!” said a voice from across the valley. Everyone looked up to see an old woman in a shawl looking down at them. Her white hair contrasted strongly with her brown skin, making her a sight even at a distance. Svenex could tell by the shock on the aliens’ faces that what she said was true.
“Who are you?! How do you know such things?!” Regal demanded.
“I’m Joma,” the old woman introduced herself. “I’m a seer, here to see things directly.” She began approaching the group below.
While everyone was distracted by Joma’s descent into the valley, Greyearl saw one of his men recover. He gestured an order, pointing at a large bag sitting at the far end of the valley, which had the shape of a bag filled with orbs. The man nodded and approached the bag.
Puttee saw the man making his approach. “He’s going for the bag! Oh no oh my!” Puttee said, monotone.
The agent panicked and fired a Trigger Finger at the bag and burned it away, revealing seven orbs. They were orange, the size of basketballs, and had red stars in them, from one to seven.
Regal quickly knocked out the offending agent and turned to Greyearl.
“HEY!” Svenex shouted. “Don’t attack the injured!”
Regal attacked Greyearl anyway, since he had enough left in him to block some strikes. Svenex charged in angrily, attacking Regal. The two traded blows for a moment, and they looked evenly matched.
Torta was agape, elated and shocked to see a fight on this level. So he didn’t notice when Puttee had wandered off, joining Joma by the Grand Elder. “So, like, are they really wishing balls?” Puttee asked.
The Grand Elder sighed. “Yes, they are. The Dragon Balls can grant any wish.”
Svenex was putting everything she had into the fight, and it was another level compared to her and Torta’s lighthearted reunion bout. Though angry, Svenex didn’t let it control her this time, channeling the rage into her strikes. Regal was very impressed with her performance.
Torta could tell something was off. He wanted to warn Svenex, but it was too late. In a massive burst of power, Regal unleashed an explosive wave of chi, knocking Svenex back into the rocks. She then rushed Svenex, beating her down with overwhelming force. Though it was a struggle, Regal soon had Svenex down for the count.
Everyone was silent. Regal looked to Torta once more. “Are you going to leave peacefully, or do I have another fight?” she asked.
“I mean…they all alive?” Torta asked.
“Yes. I don’t want any of your lives, just the Grand Elder’s safety.”
Torta saw Puttee chatting with the elder alien and the seer, likely about the Dragon Balls, and figured their objective was met. “Looks like my mission is just about done here. Wanna fight anyway? For fun?” Torta was incredibly eager to challenge Regal.
“I’m not interested in such a frivolous fight.”
“Well, then sounds like I’m going to steal those wishing orbs.”
“And what do you plan to wish for?”
“Um…any ideas, Puttee?”
Puttee thought a moment, her eyes brightening. “Maybe I have an idea.”
“There you have it,” said Torta. “Those orbs are as good as mine!”
“You silly little man—” Regal started saying as Torta suddenly rushed her, appearing in an instant. He was far sharper and stronger than she had predicted, and with his initiative had her on the defensive.
After a moment, Regal managed to get some distance. “You’re pretty good,” she said. “Even better than the redhead there. You know, at my level, some empires would send warriors like me to conquer planets like this in a few days.”
“And look at me, equaling you,” said Torta, smiling. Regal glared.
“I’d never send her to conquer a planet, or do anything evil,” the Grand Elder reassured Puttee and Joma. Puttee gave her a thumbs up.
Torta and Regal continued to trade blows, with the battle looking much more even than the fight with Svenex. Torta could feel himself getting pushed to the brink of his physical ability, and he loved it. Regal was an incredible fighter with power Torta never dreamed was possible, and he was equally surprised to find himself keeping up with that power.
After a heavy kick, Regal went flying into the air, and then hovered in place. Torta, Puttee, and the recovering Greyearl and Svenex were shocked at the sight. Regal was confused. “Have you never seen anyone fly before?” she asked. “You have chi blasts; this is a basic skill.” Regal rolled her eyes. “Earth really is a backwater world.”
Joma laughed. “I like it when they stop to talk in the middle of the fight like this.”
Torta refocused himself. Disappearing in a blur, he began bouncing off the sides of the valley to attack Regal in the air. Regal was surprised with his agility and tactical foresight, considering she was his first flying enemy. Ultimately, though he was much harder to hit out of the sky than she expected, Regal downed Torta quickly enough.
On the ground, Torta charged up and fired a massive BLT, meant to end the fight before Regal’s air superiority did. Regal blocked with an energy sphere, and had trouble keeping it at bay. They were both quite tired from the battle, and she was shocked he had this much power left. Not content being defeated this way, Regal dipped out of the path of the blast while she let her sphere break apart, the BLT blowing past her former location. The parts of her chi sphere arced and raced down to hit Torta as a series of energy blasts, most of which caught him.
Regal landed nearby. “How do you like my Raphael?” she asked.
Torta laughed. “It’s amazing!” he said as he sat up. “Oh, man: Aliens, wishing orbs, flight, and, like, just knowing there are so many people stronger than me out in the universe! Clearly I have a lot left to learn!”
Greyearl, who had moved his subordinates to the side for safety, got up. “Grand Elder, Regal, surrender yourselves to Knuckle so that your Dragon Balls don’t get used for any nefarious ends,” he demanded.
“Stand down!” Svenex told her boss. “We’re the aggressors! This whole fight is meaningless!”
“Agreed,” said Regal. “We don’t plan to use the Dragon Balls at all. Their use four months ago was a result of a theft.”
“I don’t care what you say!” said Greyearl. “We have a mission! Svenex, you—”
“No, you listen here!” said Svenex. “If you keep trying to arrest two peaceful aliens we can’t contain or guard any better than they can guard themselves, just to control the Dragon Balls, then I’m leaving your squad. What do you want more?”
Greyearl was taken aback. “We can leave,” he relented.
Svenex sighed with relief, pleased with this result. Torta and Puttee smiled at Svenex, which frazzled her.
“If it will help ease tensions here,” said the Grand Elder, “I can share some information with you about the Dragon Balls, so long as you promise to stay away from us. It’s better you know something than to let all this violence continue.”
“Agreed,” said Greyearl. “Go on.”
“Regal and I are from a planet called Namek, and are the two last survivors from a purge of that planet by the Demon Clan. They have killed everyone else and driven us off our home world. We came to Earth because it is out of the way, and hopefully out of our enemy’s mind. We just want to keep the Dragon Balls away from the ruler of the Demon Clan, Malacol, who would use them to empower herself and cement her rule of Namek.”
Greyearl studied the Namekians a moment. “That’s what I’ll put in my report, then,” he said. “Come on, men! Let’s move out!” The two remaining agents got to their feet and followed Greyearl as he made his way back up the valley ridge.
Svenex stopped by Torta. “Thanks for the assist,” she said. “You’re fight showed Greyearl how useless more fighting would be.” She hugged Torta and then followed Greyearl. She stopped again and turned. “You were as amazing as always.”
Torta blushed ear to ear as Svenex walked away. Puttee cooed at him.
Joma got up to leave as well. She had seen all she wanted to see, and was satisfied with where things stood. Regal stopped her. “Why did you reveal what the Dragon Balls were?” she asked. “You said you were just here to watch.”
“I saw what I needed to see this way,” Joma said. “Doing so put some pieces in the right place, for what’s coming to the Earth.”
“What does that mean?” Regal demanded to know as Joma left. She walked into the distance and then behind a rock, disappearing.
“Thanks again for the fight!” Torta said to Regal as he approached. “I’ll be back for a rematch!”
“Don’t waste my time ever again,” Regal said.
“I’ll be training harder than ever to beat you now. If I can beat you, then you can’t claim to protect the Grand Elder, right?”
Regal scowled before smiling. “You’re an odd human. I have my own reasons to improve, as well.”
Torta smiled. He motioned to Puttee, who got up and dashed to his side. They turned to leave. Puttee turned back. “I’ll return with more organized alien questions!” she promised.
The two got back in the craft and took off for home. “Look,” Torta defensively explained. “I was just flustered because me and Svenex were rivals, and she said I was a good fighter! That’s all it is!”
Puttee giggled quietly. “Yeah, yeah…” She was worried what Silico would do if they knew about the Dragon Balls.
Torta noticed her relative quiet. “Anything wrong?” he asked.
Puttee put on a smile. “Just thinking about how I want Svenex to hug me,” she said. “Next time, I’ll beat you to it!”
Torta shook his head dismissively. Then he remembered something. “Oh, yeah, what were you thinking of wishing for, anyway?”
Puttee relaxed some. “Just thinking of ways to see more of my family.” Torta was pleased to have such a pure-hearted friend. “And hey, I can make you training devices, if you want.”
“Yes! Score!”
All original story, all original characters! Check out Dragon Ball ‘Redux’!
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Life in the Gutters 