The mining colony Torta and Dragon landed on was deserted. The people living there had excavated all the planet had of the rare mineral they were assigned to excavate, and after years of economic collapse and environmental fallout, they were forced to leave. The land was starting to recover after a decade without industrial activity, with patches of greener grass peeking through the dead clumps, and a few fresh trees in the forests. Old heavy machinery sat rusting in the breeze.
“The Saiyans have no interest in this world,” Dragon said when they landed. “That’s why they sent me here when I was a child. By the time I arrived, the mining operations were long dead, and the economy was well into decline. But I don’t remember it as a world in collapse. The people here were warm and friendly. They had regrets about how they left things here, what they didn’t provide to their children, but they also took responsibility for it. They tried finding other ways of living here. In the end, it didn’t work out. Lucky for them, crossing the stars wasn’t a pipe dream.”
“They sound like good people,” Torta said.
“Yeah, they were. I want to remember that feeling while we train, what it means to keep climbing no matter how far down you dig yourself.”
Torta smiled. “Then let’s get to it!”
The two spent the next two months of their lives after the defeat of Jimaca and Ube training tirelessly with the Devil’s Tincture. They scouted the area, and found that life had rebounded enough for them to find food. The river had clean water flowing through it. Rejuvenation was visible everywhere, making for a great backdrop for their efforts. Every day, the warriors used two drops of the potion, pushing themselves as hard as they could.
One night, as they ate dinner, Torta leaned back and sighed. “Every time I hear about your life, I feel a little…sillier? Less serious? I mean, after everything you’ve been through, you still look for something positive in your Saiyan identity, something to reinvent, and you chase after your own dreams.”
“I mean, yeah, that’s life,” said Dragon. “You take what you got and try to make something you want out of it, and get rid of the bad stuff.”
“See, I get that. In my head. But I never had anything that…impactful happen to me, I don’t think. When my parents moved us out of Knuckle, they just said we were moving; I didn’t understand the political stuff until later, not that we were particular targets or victims. My parents dying when I was so young was really hard, but I don’t train like this because of a virus. I just…I’ve always loved martial arts and wanted to be the best. My friends keep looking to me as a leader or something, I guess because I always manage to be the strongest, and I don’t get it. What they see in me, or why I would be the best. Regal has her mission from birth; Gaita’s a sweetheart put in charge of one of the most powerful weapons ever built; Scallop wants to be free of her mom; you have your whole rebellion thing. And all of you love martial arts as much as me! I just…I kinda feel bad sometimes, being in the position I’m in.”
“Hey, now! Don’t get caught up in your head. I’m happy to have you fighting beside me, and I can’t have you slacking off. Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you think makes sense. Just because I have a big, dramatic story doesn’t mean anything when you work just as hard as me. You can’t compare problems or experiences like that; we all feel whatever we feel, and do whatever we do in response. Whatever you feel, whatever you’ve been through, you want to be the best. And that’s enough. I bet I’d be the same way, if life were kinder to me. And if you’re still caught up on all that, think of it this way: If boring, normal you is doing so well compared to me, then I need to step up my game, because clearly this much is less than what you think I’m capable of. Which means you’ll work even harder to keep up.”
Torta paused a moment, and then chuckled softly. “You really are better than me at being a leader, at least. That’s some speech.”
Dragon shrugged knowingly. The two laughed.
After a long day of training, Torta set down his bulldozer piled high with the heaviest metal on the planet, falling to his side and feeling the warm burn of his muscles. Dragon set his load down as well and sat, whistling at the sweet feeling of his muscles getting stronger. A few minutes passed, and Torta felt good enough to move again. He got up and went to the ship to get some food and water for him and Dragon. As he walked, he considered how fortunate they were to have faced so little opposition in this time. A group of Demon Clan fighters came to steal their ball once, but they didn’t have a powerful officer backing them. The Saiyans didn’t bother them at all.
Torta returned with the provisions, handing Dragon his share. “How do you feel about challenging Daikon right now?” he asked.
“Maybe I could take him on as a Super Saiyan,” Dragon said. “Not so sure about what happens when he goes beyond that.”
“Yeah, him being able to go…Super Super Saiyan? Is a problem.”
“How about Super Saiyan 2?”
“I defer to the ranking Saiyan. I guess we can find out if Daikon calls it anything when we fight him.”
Dragon chuckled. “What about you? You think you can handle our combined power in a Dagwood?”
“I don’t want to rely on that anymore. It leaves my friends vulnerable, and anyways, it’s supposed to be a desperation tactic. I’ve been using it every fight, and it hasn’t worked since the first time I used it.”
A light streaked across the sky, and soon the familiar sensation within it drew the attention of Torta and Dragon. They traded glances, immediately recognizing the chi of the occupant of that Attack Ball. Their big test had just arrived, crashing into the soil a couple hundred feet from them. From out of this Attack Ball emerged Daikon, the Super Saiyan Emperor, once more in his strangely calm Super Saiyan form. He had a rather annoyed expression on his face. He turned to Torta and Dragon. “Look, you worms,” he sneered, “things are not going well for me these days. The Demon Clan controls five balls, and I have intel saying Malacol is personally retrieving a sixth. I really need that ball you’re holding onto, and honestly, I’m not happy to see you pathetic fools again.”
Dragon charged in right away, attacking hard from the start. Daikon blocked the strike, surprised with the power of it. He smiled. “Well, maybe one good thing happened today!” the emperor remarked. “You two may have improved more than I expected. Killing you now would really lift my spirits!”
Torta moved to join Dragon in battle. “Stay back!” Dragon ordered. “This is my fight! I’m the only one who gets to fight it!”
Torta protested. “But come on—!”
“Silence, human!” Daikon ordered. “Saiyan pride is the most powerful force in the universe! A real friend would respect that.”
Dragon and Daikon traded blows for a while, the impact of their bodies ringing across the planet. Though Daikon was not happy to see anyone rise to this level of strength, he was happy to have such a fierce battle. Dragon continued to pressure the emperor with his power, pleased with his performance at this stage. Holding out his hand, Dragon charged up a powerful energy bomb, shining with its smooth surface. “Power Pearl!” he called out, firing it at Daikon, who blocked it.
Once the smoke cleared, Daikon smiled. “I haven’t felt that kind of power for a long time. Maybe that robot girl’s attack?”
“Then it’s time for me to get serious,” said Dragon with a smirk of his own. Revving up his power even higher, he charged in at Daikon and began to pummel him within an inch of his life. Daikon was shocked to see Dragon display such raw power over him, and soon his smile disappeared.
After bursting an explosive wave to gain distance, Daikon scowled and transformed into his transcended state. “Yeah, you definitely prove that tail removal and banishment are worthless measures. I should have killed you when you were born!” He charged in and overpowered Dragon with his newfound strength. “But I guess my mistake lets me test my limits!” Daikon’s full power in this transcended state was even more impressive than Dragon remembered it. Having to contend with the barrage of attacks himself felt so much more intense than feeling the chi wash off of Daikon when he fought Spats. He was overwhelmed by the force he had to somehow repel.
With a grunt, Dragon refocused himself and punched Daikon across the face. He charged a pair of Dragon’s Fangs over his fists and slashed at the emperor with these sharp claws. Daikon chuckled. “You’re an interesting opponent, that’s for sure!” Daikon remarked, noting that Dragon was burning through his strength fast; he could practically see the chi roll off his body.
Once Dragon had charged enough chi, he kicked away from Daikon and raised a hand to the sky. Looking up, Daikon saw a cloud of chi hanging above them. “Rain God!” Dragon yelled out, dropping a massive and steady flow of chi blasts down over Daikon’s head. The density of this rain meant Daikon would be hit no matter how he tried to dodge it.
So Daikon didn’t dodge it. After taking a few blasts, he growled and fired a stream of blasts from his hands, clashing with and neutralizing the cloud. Once he did that, not a single blast from Dragon’s Rain God made it to the ground below. “Nice technique,” Daikon said with a snarl. Dragon was crestfallen, though not completely surprised. With renewed anger, Daikon flew into Dragon and went all-out, drilling all of his power into Dragon’s body. Dragon recoiled in pain and horror, starting to feel that there was no hope of victory at this moment. The battle for his people and pride came all too soon.
This being the case, Dragon concentrated all his power and life energy into an energy bomb. Maybe he couldn’t figure out how Torta used Dagwood, but he could use the principles of Regal’s Seraphim. He was not about to let Daikon leave his home planet alive. Dragon held out his hand, leveling the bomb at Daikon, and yelled out “Divine Fury!” But before he could even fire it, Daikon had moved behind him and stabbed Dragon through his side with his bare hand. The energy dissipated from Dragon’s attack, and he coughed up blood.
“I’m not taking another hit like that, after the first time,” Daikon said. He then pummeled Dragon, kicked him into the ground, and rained chi blasts into the crater.
Torta stared with anticipation at the crater, but he could not feel chi from Dragon. It had taken all of his will to stay out of the battle, and now he felt like that much more a fool for confusing respect for his friend’s wishes with doing what was best for him. Exploding with anger, Torta flew at Daikon and attacked with all his might. Daikon was surprised to see Torta fight with such strength. He frowned. “Earth is supposed to be a planet of backwater weaklings,” the emperor remarked. “If that race can produce you, then I’ll have to go exterminate humanity after I get my wish!”
The threat goaded Torta even more, and he pressed his offensive more aggressively. His mind went through all the reasons he had to win this fight. There were so many dead from the attacks by the Silico armies, Conch’s invasion, and the Genmajin that needed to be revived. Spats sacrificed herself just to give them one more chance at this mission. Dragon laid in a grave below his feet. And Daikon just reminded him that this war between space tyrants was bound to find his home one day. All of this purpose flowed through his fists as Torta did everything he could to drive Daikon back. The emperor did not look at all worried with the battle, despite being annoyed he had this much of one. With a grunt, Torta fired off a powerful Club directly into Daikon’s chest.
Daikon grabbed Torta by the throat and laughed at him. “No matter what you do,” Daikon said, “you could never be stronger than a Saiyan! We’re naturally obsessed with battle and power, we rebound more powerfully from death, and we hide many great and terrible transformations! We are the ultimate warrior race! You’re just a lowly human; clever wit has gotten you quite far, but it will never be enough!”
Torta kicked Daikon between the legs, earning him a release from the choke. Torta shook his head. “None of that makes you any better than a common crook,” Torta said. He focused his mind and took a stance. “You’re going to pay for everything you’ve done to your countless victims, and to my friends.”
Clashing once more, Torta did everything he could to keep Daikon on the defensive. He fired off a Double Stack, and then distracted Daikon from their return trip with a Steak Bomb. He tried shooting point blank Sliders through Daikon’s chest and torso, unable to penetrate deeper than the skin. He pushed his speed as much as he could, whipping around Daikon to keep him off balance and defending from all sides. Growling with anger, Daikon slammed Torta in the stomach, stopping him in his tracks. He then began to beat Torta nearly to death. “You’re always going to be inferior to me! Everyone and everything is inferior to me! After I kill you, I’ll go kill Malacol, and then there won’t be anyone above me! Then I’ll go around the universe and make sure everyone knows where they stand!”
A final hammer strike knocked Torta on top of Dragon. He struggled to move as Daikon charged up a powerful energy bomb and dropped it over the crater. Like the one used at the end of their previous battle, this bomb descended slowly. In that time, Daikon flew through Torta and Dragon’s ship, retrieved the Dragon Ball, and took it back to his ship, which flew off the planet.
The massive burst of energy enveloped Torta, and the waves of heat and power washed over the land for miles around. All the newly regrown plants burned away, along with the animals in them. A shockwave rushed around the planet multiple times. Above Torta’s limp body, everything was destruction.
All original story, all original characters! Check out Dragon Ball ‘Redux’!
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Life in the Gutters 