44 Years Earlier
The white cafeteria stretched endlessly, filled with women in the ceremonial white tunics that marked them as Overseers. Through crystalline windows, the void of space between worlds swirled in patterns, galaxies being born and dying in the span of heartbeats.
Three beautiful women sat at one of the countless tables. The most striking among them possessed legs that seemed to go on forever, toned and elegant. Her hips were beautifully framed by the revealing sides of her tunic, while her full breasts pressed against the ethereal fabric, the thin material doing little to conceal their perfect shape. Platinum blonde hair cascaded down her back like liquid moonlight. Her piercing blue eyes, framed by long pale lashes, stared at nothing, bored, distant, almost lifeless.
"Aionia!"
She twitched slightly, as if remembering she existed. A gracious, elegant smile traced across her lips, perfect in its execution, empty in its sincerity.
"Yes?"
"Ahh! You weren't listening!" her companion pouted.
"I apologize. What were you saying?" Aionia's voice was silk over steel.
"I said, you're in charge of a newly reincarnated soul? Why the change? Your last one was only... what, five years into their life?"
"Oh, yes." Aionia examined her perfect nails. "I've already started the cleansing. I prefer to rotate souls every five years or so. It prevents... attachment."
"You're so professional! I truly admire you, Aionia!" The girl leaned in. "I get attached to my souls sometimes. I even... I even appear in their dreams occasionally."
The third girl gasped. "What?! That's forbidden! To feel for a soul, let alone interfere with it! Are you insane?!"
"It was just once!"
"If you'll excuse me," Aionia rose fluidly, "the cleansing should be nearly complete. Time for reincarnation."
She walked away with measured confidence, each step making her body move in ways that drew envious stares. Once out of earshot, her perfect smile twisted into disgust.
"Imbeciles. How could anyone get attached to those mere lower beings?"
*If I change souls regularly, it's because these pathetic creatures are boring. To avoid going insane from the tedium, I trade them out... like accessories.*
Aionia had successfully monitored hundreds of thousands of souls over millennia. She was considered elite among her peers, respected, admired. But after eons of watching the same struggles, the same dreams, the same deaths, she'd grown to despise them all.
Regular humans struggling with their mundane lives. Ninjas fighting over villages. Pirates searching for treasure. Wizards battling dark lords. Superheroes saving cities. Pilots in giant robots. Demon slayers with their breathing techniques. Studnt cursed energy, or spiritual pressure, or stands, or nen, or chakra, or ki...
*All the same. All boring. All beneath me.*
And now she'd been assigned another human on Planet Earth, the most tedious of all worlds. No magic. No powers. Just ordinary, pathetic mortality.
She passed hundreds of doors, each one containing a monitoring station for a soul somewhere in the infinite multiverse. The corridor seemed to stretch into eternity, billions upon billions of rooms for billions upon billions of lives.
Finally, she reached her new assignment. Her name materialized on the door in gleaming letters, with the soul's designation beneath: *3UNX1X1*.
The room inside was pristine white like everything else. A white desk dominated one wall with a monitor currently dark. To the right stood the Cleansing Engine, an intricate construction of glass tubes and rotating mechanisms that looked like a fusion between a washing machine and a particle accelerator. At its heart, suspended in a containment field, floated a soul. It pulsed with soft blue light, shaped like an inverted teardrop, rotating slowly.
Aionia approached, her beautiful but bored face reflecting the soul's glow. "Your new life starts here," she murmured. "Make me feel something..."
She scoffed at herself. "What am I saying? Thousands of years, Aionia, and you're talking to souls now?"
Her fingers danced across a floating holographic keyboard, inputting final parameters. Birth location: Earth. Time period: 20th century. Socioeconomic status: Lower class. Family situation: Dysfunctional.
Her hand rested on the release lever. "This heart of mine died centuries ago."
She pulled it.
The soul shot through the tubes with a sound like singing crystal, disappearing into the quantum pathways that connected all realities. Aionia settled into her chair, crossing those long legs, arms folded under her breasts as she lifted a tablet to review the biographical data.
"Let's see... Biological father: Absent, whereabouts unknown. Mother: Undiagnosed tumor, death expected within three years. Stepfather: Alcoholic with violent tendencies. Neighborhood: High crime rate. Educational opportunities: Minimal."
She tossed the tablet aside carelessly. "Another tragic beginning. How original."
The monitor flickered to life, showing a rundown hospital room. A woman screamed in labor. The soul arrived, invisible to mortal eyes, and merged with the newborn. The baby's cry filled the room.
"And so the show begins," Aionia said with sarcasm, having witnessed this same scene countless times. "Cry all you want, little soul. Your tears mean nothing to me."
She pulled up actuarial tables on her tablet. "Statistical probability of death before age five: 12%. Probability of addiction issues: 67%. Probability of criminal activity: 54%. Probability of dying before age thirty: 41%."
She sighed, already bored. "I'll give you five years to impress me, X1. Though I doubt you'll be any different from the hundreds of thousands before you."
___
Present Days
At kami's sanctuary.
High above the earth, beyond the thick walls of cloud surrounding Kami's Lookout, three figures stood in tense silence. Goku, whose very presence seemed to warp reality itself.
Kami's weathered green features were etched with concern as he broke the oppressive quiet. "Son Goku, I have many questions."
Goku relaxed his stance, hands settling on his jacket. "I have some too."
"Then let us trade answers. I'll begin." Kami's eyes narrowed. "What are you?"
Goku's brow furrowed at the directness. In this strange world where nothing was familiar, where allies and enemies are unknown, how much should he reveal? A knowing smile played across his lips. "Why? Something weird about me?"
Kami's eyes became slits of suspicion. "Many things are strange, your strength, your Ki. But most troubling..."
The Guardian of Earth raised his palm toward Goku's head, fingers trembling with concentration. Then, like lightning striking in reverse, an invisible force violently repelled Kami's arm backward with a *crack*. His shoulder dislocated with the impact.
"Gnnnh!" Kami's pained groan echoed across the lookout as he clutched his mangled limb.
Goku's remembered Korin try it three years ago. "What do you mean you can't enter my head?"
Mr. Popo immediately gave a Senzu Bean, which Kami accepted gratefully. As the healing took effect, the Guardian's voice carried an edge of fear. "When beings reach the highest levels of enlightenment, we gain the ability to read minds, to communicate through pure thought. The more intelligent a person, the more difficult it becomes to penetrate their mental barriers..."
A cold wind swept across the Lookout, making their clothes ripple ominously.
"But you," Kami's voice dropped to a whisper, "we cannot even make contact. It's as if you exist outside this reality entirely." His tone hardened. "So I ask again, Son Goku *what are you?*"
Goku's head lowered in thought. *He can't enter my mind... and they call him the highest authority here. That means the voice that spoke to me must be far beyond his power.*
A sudden realization struck him. "Hey Kami, if Piccolo were to die, what would happen to the Dragon Balls?"
Kami's frown deepened. "That was going to be my second question. How could you possibly know of this connection?" He paused, studying Goku's face. "Yes, I created the Dragon Balls, and they are tied to my life force. Piccolo and I are one being, when I became Guardian, I expelled my evil nature, which became Piccolo Daimao. If either of us dies, both perish."
Goku's fists clenched so tightly. The frustration of being so thoroughly known by an entity while remaining ignorant himself made his jaw clench. He forced himself to breathe, opening his hands and regaining composure.
"Listen—"
**RING!**
The cheerful ringtone of Bulma's phone cut through the tension like a blade. Goku raised an eyebrow. "How can a signal reach this high?"
He pulled out the pink device and answered. "Yeah? Who—"
"SON-KUN!?" Bulma's voice exploded from the speaker, forcing Goku to hold the phone away from his ear.
"It's me, Bulma! I'm still waiting for that date you promised!"
"It's only been a day! Plus I never promised anything," Goku replied, turning away from Kami to focus on the call.
But the Guardian's expression had transformed. Fear, raw and primal, flickered across his features. His hand moved with desperate purpose toward his sleeve, retrieving something that glinted in the sunlight.
Mr. Popo's eyes widened in horror. "Kami-sama! Are you certain!?" he whispered urgently.
Kami's face was a mask of determination painted with terror. "It must be done."
"—so you better hurry up! A princess doesn't wait—" Bulma's voice continued before becoming muffled as someone else grabbed the phone.
"Mister Goku!" Mai's voice came through clearly, followed by Lunch's laughter in the background.
Despite everything, Goku found himself smiling. "Yeah, maybe—"
"MAAA
FUUUU
BAAAA!!!"
The ancient technique's name exploded across the Lookout like thunder. Goku spun to see Kami with arms extended, robes billowing as an emerald vortex erupted from his palms. The very air screamed as reality bent around the containment wave, creating a spiraling maelstrom of impossible geometry.
Time seemed to crawl as Goku processed what was happening. The swirling green energy reached for him like grasping fingers, and in Kami's eyes he saw not hatred, but desperate terror, the look of someone making the hardest choice of their existence.
The vortex seized Goku's body, pulling him inexorably forward. He managed to free one arm, reaching out toward Kami with clawed fingers, not in anger, but in a gesture that seemed to ask *why?*
Then the world collapsed into a point of light, and Goku vanished into the containment jar.
"Mr. Popo! Now!" Kami gasped, collapsing to his knees as the servant rushed to seal the vessel.
As the lid clicked shut, Kami's breathing was ragged. "It was... necessary, Mr. Popo. That being is beyond our understanding, and his refusal to reveal his nature makes him more dangerous than Piccolo Jr. could ever be."
Mr. Popo's loyal eyes were pained but trusting. "I understand, Kami-sama. But now we face another problem, who will stop Piccolo Jr.?"
Kami's gaze turned toward the horizon. "Fear not. Soon, we shall encounter someone who can rise to that challenge."
Meanwhile, the abandoned phone continued to emit worried voices: "Son-kun? Stop ignoring me! Mister Goku? Goku!"
---
Darkness. Complete, absolute darkness that existed beyond the mere absence of light, this was the negation of existence itself. No sound penetrated this space, no sensation registered. Goku tried to speak, but even his own voice was swallowed by the nothingness.
Then, a thin line of pure white light traced the outline of a door in the void.
"Enter," commanded a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.
Goku approached and pushed against the door. Blinding radiance flooded his senses as it swung open, and he stepped through. The portal sealed behind him with finality.
"I've been waiting for this moment for so very long."
The voice was feminine, beautiful yet commanding, with undertones that spoke of vast power barely restrained. The rhythmic click of heels on marble announced her approach.
Goku found himself in a vast white chamber that stretched beyond comprehension. The architecture was simultaneously familiar and alien, triggering memories of a dream from the day he'd killed Piccolo Daimao.
She was breathtaking in a way that transcended mere physical beauty. Platinum blonde hair cascaded past her shoulders, and her confident stride made her body move with grace. As she drew near, Goku realized her height, his forehead barely reached her ribs.
The woman knelt before him, bringing her face level with his. Where Goku's expression remained cold and analytical, hers radiated pure joy mixed with an intensity that bordered on madness. Her eyes held tenderness and desire in equal measure, her cheeks flushed, breathing irregular with excitement.
Without a word, she leaned forward, lips approaching his for a kiss that felt like destiny fulfilled.
At the last moment, Goku turned his head aside.
Shock flickered across her features, quickly replaced by a tender smile tinged with something unhinged. "Of course! You don't know me yet. How selfish of me..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I've watched you since your previous birth, my beloved, but you've never seen me. You don't yet understand that we were made for each other."
*She has all the hallmarks of a stalker,* Goku thought grimly. Aloud, he asked, "Where am I?"
Her hands moved restlessly, as if she wanted desperately to touch him but was holding herself back through sheer force of will. Rising gracefully, she began to float backward toward a materializing throne.
"The void where you were imprisoned was a jail created by those from your world. They feared you, couldn't understand you..." Her voice became intimate. "But I do."
Goku surveyed the pristine chamber. "And this room?"
That same gentle smile with its hint of madness returned. "This..." She gestured without quite touching his cheek, her hand trembling with restraint. "This is the time barrier I created to protect you. Here, time flows as it should."
"Who are you, exactly?"
"I am your soulmate, my love."
"My destinated one ?"
"Aionia," she supplied, settling onto her throne with feline grace.
"Right, Aionia. I need some answers. are you the one who spoke to me ?—"
She snapped her fingers, cutting him off as a door materialized before him. Immediately, thunderous impacts shook it from the other side.
"It was not me" she said coldly, hint of jealousy.
**CRASH!**
The door exploded inward, and through the debris charged something that defied natural order. The creature was massive, easily eight feet tall with grotesquely overdeveloped musculature. Its brain was exposed, dark and pulsing, while its eyes held no intelligence, only programmed violence. Its beak-like mouth opened in a soundless roar.
The beast tilted forward before vanishing, only to reappear behind Goku with impossible speed. Its massive fist, easily the size of Goku's torso, whistled through the air toward the back of his skull.
Fast, but not fast enough. Goku spun using his hips and shoulders, his own fist meeting the creature's in a collision that shook the very foundations of the white realm. The impact created a shockwave that spider-webbed the floor before the chamber repaired itself like footage played in reverse.
Goku's arm tingled from the impact. The creature's strength was incredible, but more troubling was its complete lack of reaction, no pain, no acknowledgment of the tremendous force it had just absorbed.
The beast's second fist came immediately. Again, Goku intercepted it with his free hand. Same results, overwhelming force meeting immovable object.
"You're starting to piss me off with that stupid face," Goku growled.
He backstepped, and the creature followed with relentless determination. Its right fist came again, but this time Goku leaned aside, letting it graze past him. The beast's chest was now exposed.
Goku bent his legs, coiling like a spring. His fist clenched as he pushed off with explosive force, shattering the floor beneath him. His punch tore through the air with a sound like tearing fabric, impacting the creature's abdomen with the force of a meteor strike.
The sound was thunderous. The beast's flesh rippled like water from the impact.
Then... nothing.
The creature looked down at Goku almost curiously before its massive hand clamped around his arm. With casual violence, it began slamming him against the floor like a rag doll.
*I hit him with everything I had,* Goku thought as his small frame was repeatedly driven into the unyielding surface. *I felt the impact on my fist, but it did nothing.*
Blood began to spray across the pristine white chamber as the mindless beating continued.
"I'm sorry, my love!" Aionia called from her throne, her voice carrying genuine regret. "But this is necessary!"
"This is fucking annoying," Goku snarled through gritted teeth. As he was slammed down again, he planted his feet and used his free arm to grab the creature's wrist. His fingers dug deep into the flesh, finding purchase.
Then he began to spin.
Faster and faster they whirled, the wind building from breeze to gale to hurricane. From outside, the two figures seemed to stretch and blur until, with a final tremendous rotation, Goku released his grip.
The beast shot across the chamber like a missile, trailing sonic booms.
Goku brought his hands together at his wrists, cupping them at his side. "It's my first time using it! So don't be too harsh if it's not perfect!"
"KAAAA..." A small sphere of brilliant blue light appeared between his palms.
"MEEE..." The orb expanded, light streaming between his fingers like divine rays.
"HAAA..." Power built beyond measure, pushing his hair and jacket backward from the sheer energy.
"MEEE..." The chamber filled with azure radiance.
"**HAAAAAA!**"
The Kamehameha wave erupted from his hands, a pillar of pure energy. The beam pushed him backward as it carved through the air, the pressure cracking the floor beneath him despite its self-repairing nature.
The wave engulfed the still-flying beast, its silhouette visible within the energy as portions of its body were simply unmade. The beam continued past its target, striking the far wall and causing the entire chamber to shake and flash warning red.
Goku separated his hands with a flourish, trailing blue sparkles through the air. In the distance, the smoking remains of the creature fell to the floor with a thunderous impact.
He glanced at Aionia, noting she hadn't moved from her throne. Her legs remained crossed, her expression serene. The fight clearly wasn't over.
Walking toward the fallen beast, Goku found it missing an arm and everything below the waist. But even as he watched, the missing portions began to wobble and regenerate.
"Resourceful for a bird" he muttered, stepping onto the creature's torso and walking toward its head.
The beast began making distressed noises as Goku squatted beside its exposed brain. His eyes began to glow with crimson light as he forced the creature's beak open with his hands.
"Shh. It's nap time."
Twin beams of concentrated heat vision shot from Goku's eyes directly into the creature's mouth. At first, the Nomu's incredible durability seemed to hold. Then it began to thrash and scream as its body distended like a balloon. Sections of its hide began glowing red-hot before erupting in geysers of superheated blood.
When the creature finally died, Goku stood and turned toward Aionia, his eyes still glowing crimson, droplets of blood, both his and the creature's, decorating his face. As the glow faded, only his cold, analytical stare remained.
Aionia released a satisfied sigh, her face bright red with what could only be described as euphoria.
"Okay," Goku said, stepping down from the corpse. "Now let me out of here."
"You truly are magnificent, my beloved!" Her voice carried genuine adoration. "But you cannot leave yet. For both our sakes, for our future together."
She snapped her fingers.
Another beast emerged from a new doorway. Then another. Then another. Five more. Thirty more. Within moments, over a hundred of the grotesque creatures filled the chamber, their exposed brains pulsing with artificial life, their empty eyes fixed on Goku with predatory hunger.
"This is bad," Goku said with his characteristic understatement.
They came at him like a tide of violence. He dodged two devastating punches, but the third caught him square in the face, launching him backward. Another beast was waiting, its fist descending like a hammer to drive him into the floor.
What followed was less a fight than a systematic dismantling. Against one beast, Goku could focus and eventually find victory. Against a hundred, each with shock absorption and regeneration, he had no chance. Every move he made was countered by a dozen others. Every technique was absorbed and nullified.
The hundred beast moved like a pack of gorillas descending on prey. The first one grabbed Goku's leg and swung him overhead, slamming him into the ground with enough force to shake the entire white space. Before he could recover, another caught him mid-bounce and hurled him sideways into three more waiting fists. They fought with no coordination yet perfect efficiency, each one simply grabbing whatever part of him they could reach.
He was tossed between them like they were playing with a rag doll. A massive hand grabbed his entire torso and threw him upward, where another beast spiked him back down like a volleyball. The impact cratered the floor, but before it could repair itself, another beast grabbed him by the face and dragged him through the rubble, then flung him into a wall of waiting fists. They didn't need technique or strategy. They were simply too many, too strong, too relentless. Every time Goku destroyed one, vaporizing it completely with desperate ki blasts, five more would pound him into the ground while he ensured it stayed dead. His small frame disappeared entirely under the mass of grotesque bodies, only visible when one would pull him out to slam him somewhere else. After ten minutes of this systematic brutality, when they finally stepped back, Goku could barely recognize his own body through the blood, his clothing torn and stained. But his eyes, those cold, defiant eyes, never wavered as he stared at Aionia.
"I wasn't wrong!" she exclaimed, rising from her throne with genuine delight. "You do love me! Look at your determination to reach me! Here is my final gift!"
She snapped her fingers once more. The chamber's lighting shifted to deep crimson, and suddenly Goku was slammed face-first into the floor as if yanked by an invisible giant.
"What's... happening?" he gasped, planting his hands and straining against the impossible force pressing down on him. His teeth clenched, sweat and blood mixing as he fought to simply lift his head.
"I've increased the gravity, my love," Aionia explained, approaching with that same confident stride. She knelt beside him, delicately cupping his jaw to lift his face toward hers.
The contrast was striking, her features clear and radiant, his distorted with effort and painted with crimson. Her lips were inches from his as she whispered, "I need you. I sacrificed everything for you."
She brushed her lips against his in the gentlest of kisses before rising and moving toward another materializing door. As she stepped through, she looked back with that same tender yet unhinged expression.
"Soon, my beloved. Soon we'll be together forever."
The door vanished, and the beasts turned their empty gazes toward Goku, still struggling to rise under the crushing gravity. As one, they roared and began their thunderous advance, each step shaking the chamber as they prepared to tear him apart.
___
Meanwhile in South City the afternoon sun filtered through the café windows, casting warm light across the table where three women sat with colorful drinks. The peaceful atmosphere was shattered by Bulma's indignant voice.
"That jerk! He didn't even hang up!" She slammed her pink phone down on the table, making the ice cubes jump in their glasses.
Mai delicately adjusted her hat and offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Bulma. Mister Goku will be back soon... I think."
Blue-haired Lunch leaned back in her chair, a knowing smirk playing across her lips. "I can see you're in love with Goku too, Bulma."
"WHAT?! NO!" Bulma's face turned crimson, her voice cracking with embarrassment.
"Then why do you want a date with him?" Lunch asked with genuine curiosity, stirring her drink with an elegant finger.
Bulma crossed her arms defensively. "Well, because he said our dates with Yamcha were childish."
Mai tilted her head, genuinely puzzled. "What exactly are you supposed to do on a date?"
Both Lunch and Bulma stared at her in shock. "You've never been on a date?!" Bulma exclaimed.
"No," Mai replied matter-of-factly. "Mercenary work takes up all my time."
"Well," Bulma began, her tone taking on the air of a teacher, "you go somewhere together, hold hands, and tell each other how much you're in love..."
Mai's cheeks turned pink as she processed this information. "How... how obscene!" she stammered, though a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "But I wouldn't mind... with Mister Goku."
Lunch grinned and leaned forward encouragingly. "You should ask him out!"
Bulma huffed and pouted. "I don't understand why you're all so obsessed with him. He's short, rude, and never even attempts to ask me out!"
Mai's eyes lit up with understanding. "That's exactly why! It's because he's not falling for your usual tricks!"
Bulma's pout deepened as she crossed her arms tighter.
"Achoo!"
Lunch sneezed, her hair shifting to blonde as her personality changed. The sudden transformation caught Bulma mid-rant, and she slammed the table in frustration, making all their drinks jump. Mai quickly caught hers before it could spill.
"And you two!" Bulma continued, pointing accusingly at both Lunch and Mai. "You both love him, but in the end, only one of you can be with him or marry him!"
At the word "marry," Mai's face turned bright red. She began giggling uncontrollably, lost in fantasies of being a newlywed with Goku, making little squeaking sounds of delight.
Blonde Lunch looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?! WHAT DO I MEAN?!" Bulma's voice rose to near-shrieking levels. "It's self-explanatory! Only one of you can end up with him!"
Lunch continued to stare with that same blank expression while Mai kept giggling and fanning herself.
"Why only one?" Lunch asked.
Bulma was struck speechless for a moment, her mouth opening and closing.
Lunch turned to Mai with dawning understanding. "We could share?"
"We could share," Mai agreed readily, still giggling as both women gave each other a victorious fist bump while staring at Bulma.
"Y'ALL ARE CRAZY!" Bulma exploded. "HAVING THE SAME BOYFRIEND?! I COULD NEVER!!!"
---
In the rocky wasteland surrounding the crystal palace, an energetic voice echoed across the barren landscape.
"Grandma! Grandma!"
Fortuneteller Baba emerged from her ornate palace, floating gracefully on her crystal ball with an expression of fond exasperation. "Yes, yes, I'm coming! This girl will be the end of me..."
She found her granddaughter waiting with barely contained excitement, practically bouncing on her toes.
"Grandma! I'm ready to go now!" the girl announced with a brilliant smile that could light up the desert.
Baba's expression grew serious as she reached into her robes. "Listen carefully, child. Take this, you'll need it." She gave the legendary Nyoi-bo, its red surface gleaming in the afternoon light.
"I retrieved it from my brother's house. Goku left it there during his last visit."
The girl's eyes went wide as she accepted the staff. Her fists clenched with excitement. "GOKU?! Will I see him there?! I'm so excited! I want to fight him again and show him all my progress!" Her voice carried the pure enthusiasm of youth, untainted by doubt or fear.
Baba's weathered features clouded with knowledge of recent events. "I don't think you'll see him... not yet."
The girl's face fell like a deflated balloon.
"But don't worry!" Baba quickly added, forcing cheer into her voice. "You will meet again soon! Now go, I'll be watching over you."
The girl's smile returned full force as she began running toward the horizon, the Nyoi-bo secured across her back. She looked over her shoulder one last time, waving enthusiastically at her grandmother.
Baba waved back, her usual calculating demeanor replaced by something far more tender. This heartless old woman who normally cared only for fights and money now watched with genuine sadness as the little girl she had found and raised disappeared into the distance.
___
In a white Monitoring Room
Azmina sat at her monitoring desk, her voluptuous figure barely contained by the ceremonial tunic as she watched Goku face off with Kami.
"MAFUBA!"
The shout made her jump, her ample chest bouncing. She watched in horror as Goku was sucked into the jar.
Then—static.
"WHAT?!" She shot up, pacing frantically, her wide hips swaying with each panicked step. "Where did he go?!"
She dropped to her knees, then flat on the floor, rolling back and forth. "I've lost him! My first assignment! I'm a FAILURE!"
"AZMINA! Guess what I—"
Chronica burst in without knocking, her petite frame freezing at the sight of Azmina sprawled on the floor.
"Why are you on the floor?"
"I LOST HIM!" Azmina wailed. "He got sealed with the Mafuba and now my screen's dark!"
"The Mafuba?" Chronica's white pixie cut bobbed as she tilted her head. "Hold on."
She pulled out a thick manual labeled "Dragon Ball Universe - Technical Guide" and flipped through it rapidly.
"Here! 'The Evil Containment Wave seals beings in containers... blah blah... the sealed space exists in a pocket dimension...'" She looked up. "Azmina, it says here we should still be able to monitor pocket dimensions."
"Then why can't I see him?!" Azmina sat up, grabbing the manual.
They both read the passage again, confusion growing.
"This doesn't make sense," Chronica muttered. "Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless someone's blocking you."
They looked at each other with dawning realization.
"Aionia," they said in unison.
"Come on," Chronica pulled Azmina to her feet. "Let's get something to drink in the cafeteria. You need to calm down."
The cafeteria was mostly empty, its white tables reflecting the eternal light. Azmina slumped in her chair, still frazzled, while Chronica tried to cheer her up with gossip.
Then the atmosphere changed.
Every Overseer in the cafeteria subtly straightened as Aionia entered. Despite her fall from grace, despite what everyone knew she'd done, she commanded respect through sheer presence. Her platinum hair flowed like water, her tall frame moving with grace, each step making her mature figure sway hypnotically.
She walked directly to their table.
Azmina immediately sat up straighter, her face flushing with nervous respect. Chronica seemed to shrink even smaller.
"Hello, Azmina," Aionia's voice was silk and steel. "How is Bunshichi doing?"
"Bun—?" Azmina's eyes widened. "Ah, you mean Goku! He is—he's fine!"
Aionia smiled, a knowing expression that made Azmina's stomach flip. "He's quite the handful, don't you think, Azmina?"
"Y-yes, he's very stubborn," Azmina stammered.
"YES!" Aionia said with sudden excitement, her composure cracking for just a moment before she caught herself. She slowly, sensuously grazed her fingers across her lips, clearly thinking of something—or someone. "But that's...- anyway." She refocused on Azmina with those piercing blue eyes. "Good luck to you."
She turned and walked away, her hips swaying with each step in a way that seemed both natural and deliberately mesmerizing. Every eye in the cafeteria followed her movement.
Azmina and Chronica sat frozen until she was gone.
"She knows," Azmina whispered.
"She definitely knows," Chronica agreed.
"And she's doing something with him."
"Definitely doing something."
They looked at each other, then Azmina's head hit the table with a thunk.
"I'm so fired."
__
At Kami's Lookout - Days Later
Inside the sacred palace, Mr. Popo stood before a marble pedestal, his dark eyes fixed with deep concern on the object resting upon it. A gray jar, bound with crimson seals, seemed to pulse with contained energy. The memory of Kami's hasty decision and the uncertainty that had flickered across the Guardian's ancient features still haunted him.
"How terrifying must this young man be to put Kami-sama in such a state?" Mr. Popo muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty chamber.
"Mr. Popo!" Kami's voice rang out from outside, causing his loyal servant to jump.
Quickly, Mr. Popo placed a protective glass cover over the jar and hurried from the darkened room, sealing the door behind him. The light retreated with him, leaving the container in shadow.
Outside, Kami stood with one weathered hand gripping his staff, his robes billowing in the wind as he gazed toward the horizon. His expression was a battlefield of conflicting emotions before he finally shook his head, as if dismissing troubling thoughts.
"You called, Kami-sama?" Mr. Popo inquired with his characteristic calm.
"Mr. Popo, prepare yourself to test the person who is approaching," Kami said without turning.
"Is this the person you intend to train to fight Piccolo Jr.?"
Kami nodded slowly. "She's nearly at Korin. She possesses great potential. Before Korin sends her here, he will offer her the Sacred Water. If she survives... she will finally arrive."
Mr. Popo's eyes widened in alarm. "The Sacred Water? Only one person has ever survived it. Isn't that too risky?"
"Enough, Mr. Popo. Prepare yourself for her arrival," Kami commanded before turning and walking back toward the palace.
Mr. Popo watched his master with growing concern. This wasn't the composed Guardian he knew. As Kami passed the sealed room containing the jar, he paused for a long moment, staring at the door before continuing on his way.
Hours later, Mr. Popo waited patiently at the top of the ladder that descended from the Lookout. The ancient wooden rungs began to vibrate, followed by the rhythmic sounds of someone climbing.
*Ah! She survived the Sacred Water!* Mr. Popo thought with genuine relief.
A mass of dark hair appeared first, followed by a face so radiant and youthful it seemed to light up the sacred grounds. Mr. Popo's perpetually calm expression shifted to one of puzzlement, something about this girl struck him as familiar.
She leaped gracefully from the ladder, landing on her feet with practiced ease. Her white, sleeveless gi was pristine, secured with a belt that seemed to conceal something important. Her eyes darted left and right, taking in the vast expanse of the Lookout.
"WAAAAHHHHH!!! It's huge!" she exclaimed, her innocent smile bright enough to shame the sun.
Spotting Mr. Popo, she didn't pause to question his unique appearance. Instead, she ran toward him with boundless energy, stopping just short and throwing her hand up in greeting.
"HI!"
Mr. Popo, still lost in thought about what seemed familiar about her, twitched slightly before returning the greeting.
"Are you Kami-sama?!" she asked eagerly.
"No, I am Mr. Popo, his servant," he replied. His analytical mind couldn't let go of his curiosity. "How did you survive the Sacred Water? You're only human."
"Eh?! How did you know?!" She looked genuinely surprised. "It was incredibly painful, I almost passed out! But afterward, I felt energy coursing through my body like never before!" She flexed her small biceps proudly, standing almost as tall as Mr. Popo's chest.
"Grandma told me to find Kami-sama," she continued with determination.
"To see Kami-sama, you must pass a test," Mr. Popo explained. "You must fight me."
Her puzzled expression quickly transformed into one of pure excitement. "Okay! First one to give up loses!" She clenched her fists, and in the next instant, she vanished.
Mr. Popo's eyes widened as he instinctively threw a punch to his left, feeling the solid impact against her cheek. Her head snapped to the side, and her small body was launched across the Lookout.
*She's fast, but nowhere near Goku's level... Kami-sama, are you certain about this?* doubt crept into his thoughts.
The girl rubbed her reddened cheek, grinning despite the pain. "Wahh, you're fast! But now I'm getting serious!"
She dashed forward with renewed determination, fist clenched for a strike. But Mr. Popo's longer reach and superior speed allowed him to catch her with another punch straight to her face before she could connect.
Staggering backward, she shook her head to clear it. "Ouch! I can't be defeated this easily! Not if I want to face Goku again!"
At the mention of that name, Mr. Popo's expression remained unchanged, but his voice carried new interest. "You know Goku?"
When she heard his name, her entire face transformed, as if someone had lit a thousand candles behind her eyes. "Mr. Popo! You know Goku?! I know him too! He's the strongest person I've ever met! He completely defeated me! He was so fast and strong!" Her voice carried pure admiration. "But he's also one of the kindest person! He used his wishes to heal me, and then he took me for a ride on his flying cloud! I'm so excited to meet him again!"
Those words hit Mr. Popo like physical blows. Knowing what had happened to Goku, her innocent enthusiasm was almost painful to hear.
"You please me!"
Kami's voice echoed across the Lookout, signaling his acceptance of this new student. Mr. Popo helped the girl to her feet and guided her toward the palace, where the Guardian emerged from the shadows.
"Why have you come here?" Kami asked, studying her with ancient eyes.
Her fist clenched with determination. "I want to become strong! I love fighting strong people!"
Kami smiled, the first genuine expression of warmth he'd shown in days. He began to explain his history: how he had split himself to become Guardian, how his evil half had nearly dominated mankind, and how Goku had ultimately stopped Piccolo Daimao.
"WAAAAHHHHH!! Goku beat someone as strong as Mr. Popo?!" she exclaimed, stars in her eyes.
Mr. Popo allowed himself a small smile. "Yes, he is incredible..."
Her eyes sparkled with hero worship. "When do I get to see him again?"
The question hung in the air like a blade. Kami and Mr. Popo exchanged glances, both knowing the truth they couldn't yet share.
"I will train you," Kami said finally. "In exchange, in three years at the next Tenkaichi Budokai, you must defeat Piccolo."
She looked puzzled. "Didn't you say Goku already defeated him?"
"Yes, but Piccolo gave birth to a son before he died. This new Piccolo will be even stronger than his father."
The girl stood up, her small fists clenched with unwavering resolve. "Okay! Let's start training then!"
As she spoke, the wind picked up around the Lookout, and for a moment, both Kami and Mr. Popo could almost see the potential that lay dormant within this enthusiastic child.