Your stuff is always cool, you silly old man. :hahaha;
Feel better, k?
Yes, please, your health comes first. Do take care! I have all the patience in the world from spending much of my childhood in a doctor’s office.
Take care Martinez, you better not die on me.
And to all fo you who say Val’s too angsty, I cheekily flip you all the middle finger. I’ve spent years trying to give this avatar of mine some proper depth, because I want some actual advancement with her. You can;t grow stronger if you don;t grow, period.
Okay, but I still prefer the snuggling Rabites as representative of how you are.
I never thought you were angsty Val, just sometimes like GG’s character you tend to not look before you leap.
Hey, Gang!
Sorry about not posting yesterday. My local server was having problems. I didn’t have the chapter ready, anyway, I was sick all weekend. Good news is, I’m almost fully recovered now (all I have is the occasional cough) and I almost have the chapter ready, so I’ll be posting it tomorrow.
Thanks for expressing your concerns over me, I was really touched. 
Here’s a tidbit, while you’re waiting: the next arc involves some Dragonball Z lore (I’ve been researching its RPGs) so you can guess who that involves. But don’t worry, the fight sequences won’t last six episodes like on the TV show. 
Well very glad you are feeling better Wil.
And this next arc, sounds pretty interesting. And something tells me Galloway may show up in this one. I don’t know, just a hunch.
The Land of Karin, on the Parallel Earth known as “Dragon World”:
The day was clear and the countryside was free of buildings or houses as far as the eye could see. With one exception:
A tower of stone, that stretched up, and up, into the clouds, beyond where the eye could see.
A single figure stood before it: a young man, wearing silver armor and red clothes. His hair was red and spiky, and he carried a katana strapped to his back. Incongruosly, he also wore modern shades.
This was d Galloway, junior member of RPGC and guardian of their headquarters.
Today, however, Galloway was far from his appointed position. He was going on a more personal quest.
For years, Galloway had lived with incomplete memories. He couldn’t remember any events from before he was sixteen, only bits and pieces. He knew he was a member of the super-powerful race known as The Saiyans, and that he came from another universe than the one he currently resided in. He had vague memories of his family, and of this universe’s heroes and villains- and that he wasn’t wanted there anymore. But he didn’t know how he had come to Earth, or why. All he knew for certain was that the Righteous Protectors had welcomed him into their group when he had found himself stuck with no way home. He figured he might as well hang out with them, at least until he recovered his memory.
Like most Saiyans, Galloway was proud and stubborn. Given the position of guardian, he seized it with fanatical determination and made it his only purpose in life. Yet, though he would be hard pressed to admit it, Galloway had come to respect RPGC, and even make friends among its members.
He was relatively happy in his position. But one thing kept bothering him: his amnesia. It wasn’t just the things he didn’t remember, but WHY he didn’t remember that annoyed him. He tried to tell himself that it didn’t matter: he was who he was, and that’s all that mattered. However, he was fooling himself about that, a fact he had only recently come to realize.
Last year, he was almost killed in battle, and by Hunter, one of his old RPGC comrades, too. It turned out that it was part of a plan of Hunter’s to infiltrate the evil god Loki’s group of allies; d had been magically healed immediately and dumped into an interdimensional limbo known as the X-Zone, from which he escaped in time to join the final battle against Loki. He had no grudge against Hunter for what he did; in fact, he admired his sheer ruthlessness in maintaining his cover.
Still, he had come closer to death than ever before, and he had spent a lot of time while on his post thinking about what that meant to him.
Recently, he had a conversation with one of his closest friends, GG Crono, who, like him, suffered from amnesia, although in GG’s case, it was near total. Crono’s complete lack of worry about what his life had been before he had forgotten it baffled Galloway. Was GG so naïve as to assume it would never matter? Worse, was he making that same kind of mistake? What if the next time he was in battle, he DID get killed? Would he accept dying without knowing his full past?
No, he decided. It had taken him a while to make up his mind, because he was worried about leaving his post. But when he discussed the possibility of his taking a sabbatical with Weiila, she didn’t even blink, and said he could leave at any time.
Weiila had changed… she wasn’t how he remembered her anymore. Had that been part of the reason for his decision? No, he told himself. Forget about her. Focus on the objective now: finding the truth about his past.
Galloway had known how to get into the Kai Universe for a while now. He just hadn’t decided if it would do him any good, since the people there seemed to be mad at him, for some reason. But now he realized that if he wanted answers, he would have to look for them there.
Intentionally avoiding this world’s heroes –despite the fact that they might’ve been helpful- Galloway had gone asking around, and found out about a place where his questions might be asked. He then traveled to the Land of Karin, and found the tower that reached into the sky.
Galloway could see handholds on the side of the tower, but he scoffed at the idea of trying to climb the huge structure. Instead, he focused his body’s energy -Chi- and suddenly took off like a bullet, flying upwards.
Even flying, it took him a while before he reached the top of the tower. But that wasn’t his goal; it actually lied even higher above it. He gritted his teeth, and pushed himself up even faster.
Suddenly, the clouds ahead parted, and he saw a curious sight: a bowl-shaped structure, about the size of a small island. A white, Arabian-style palace could be seen on its top. This was his target: The home of Kami-Sama, Guardian of the World. Galloway figured that, if anyone here would know his story, it would be him.
Inside the palace, a green-skinned man, hairless but with two antennae, who wore a white robe, sat placidly at a table drinking tea, when suddenly, a blur moved into the room and stopped next to him.
It was a pudgy black man, with pointy ears, wearing a turban and Arabian-style clothing. “Master Dende, we have visitors” he said.
-“Hmm? Who is it?” Dende said, somewhat surprised.
-“I do not recognize him. But I think he’s one of those Saiyan fellows.”
-“What? What does he look like, Popo??”
-“He has spiky red hair, and wears dark glasses.”
-“Ah- Galloway” Kai nodded. “We shouldn’t have any problem with him. Still, go find Goku. Just in case.”
Mr. Popo nodded, and suddenly disappeared.
Dende put down his teacup, stood up, made sure his robes were unruffled, then stood in front of his throne, smiling, trying to look as dignified as possible.
D entered the room moments later.
-“Greetings, d Galloway” the young alien said.
Galloway was surprised that the being knew his name, and also by his appearance. He not only looked like a Martian to him, but sounded kind of young for his position.
-“Are you Kami-Sama, Earth’s Guardian?” d asked.
-“Indeed. My name is Dende”.
Galloway decided to believe him. “I come seeking your wisdom.”
-“Do you come in peace?”
-“I do.”
-“In that case, I will help you, if you mean harm to no one” Dende stated. “Tell me what you want to know.”
-“I… don’t remember my past” the hero admitted.
-“Eh?” the alien said, raising a hairless eyebrow. “You have amnesia?”
-“In part. I… remember some things. But not others.”
-“I know you from the records left by my predecessor” Dende explained. “I myself have not been in this post very long. But I’ll try to help in any way I can."
-“Well, tell me anything you know” Galloway said.
Dende seemed to muse for a moment.
-“Tell me, you remember your homeworld? Planet Vegeta?”
-“…No. Not really.”
-“Maybe it’s for the better. It wasn’t a pretty place. At least, not after your people, The Saiyans, conquered it and enslaved their fellows, the Truffles” Dende explained. “Worse, the Saiyans themselves were enslaved by the alien tyrant, Freezer, who, in the end, destroyed the planet, almost wiping out your race.”
-“That I remember. Someone told me…”
-“However, you got lucky” Dende continued. “You and your family escaped long before the planet was destroyed.”
-“We did?” Galloway said, surprised.
-“Yes. It’s a very little known fact, but a few Saiyans had gotten off-planet before Freezer conquered your world. Not everyone in your race was naturally violent, you see. Some of the kinder Saiyans befriended the Truffle survivors, helping them hide from the more bloodthirsty ones. In gratitude, the Truffles taught them the secrets of space travel, which they used to escape the planet before Freezer arrived.”
-“So… my family left their homeworld? Yes… I seem to recall now…”
-“But do you remember where they settled?” Dende asked.
Galloway closed his eyes. “…Earth.” Well, that explains my non-Saiyan name, at the least
-“Correct! Are you getting your memories back?”
-“No, no… I still need to remember more…”
-“Do you remember… Prince Vegeta?”
-“Vegeta… yes…”
-“You were one of his followers” Dende stated seriously.
-“Eh? …Why?”
-“You grew up on Earth, and had a relatively happy life. But, you weren’t pleased. I don’t know if it was your in genes, or feeling different from Earth people, or what, but at some point, you felt you needed to prove yourself, to find your legacy as a Saiyan. And when the Saiyans carried out their super-battles to Earth, you found out, and decided to go meet them.”
Dende walked about the room a little, then continued. “You decided to side with Vegeta. I suppose you can’t be blamed. He was, after all, the Prince of your people. However, it wasn’t long before you realized you were on the wrong side. And not just because of the power of Earth’s defenders, but by witnessing the cruelties your fellow Saiyans were capable of.”
Dende walked to his throne, and sat down. “In the end, you decided to turn against Vegeta, and helped Earth’s heroes defeat the other Saiyans.”
-“I…helped save Earth?”
-“Yes. But nobody was happy about it” Dende explained. “Vegeta saw you as a traitor, while the heroes wondered if you had just done it to save your own tail. Only Goku openly thanked you. But then, that’s Goku, always forgiving” Dende said, smiling.
Galloway remained serious. “What happened then?”
-“You left Earth” Dende answered. “Apparently not feeling at home there anymore. Wandered across space for a while, you did. I know this because my superior, King Kai, Lord of the North Side of the Galaxy, had observed you, trying to figure out what path you would follow: a hero’s, or a villain’s.”
Galloway was silent, his face unreadable.
-“Then one day, you encountered… something in space. Apparently, even King Kai doesn’t know what it was. Something prevented him from scanning it properly. Afterwards, you vanished without a trace.”
-“…is that all you know?” d asked.
-“Yes” Dende admitted. “The rest you’ll have to find out elsewhere, I’m afraid.”
Galloway thought silently. He figured that whatever he encountered must’ve damaged his memories and thrown him out of his native universe. But he had no idea who or what it was. He had found out much about himself, but there was still more to learn, he realized.
-“…Thank you, Kami-Sama” Galloway said, bowing respectfully. He then turned around, and walked out of the palace.
Dende smiled proudly to himself. He hoped he had helped the young Saiyan find himself in a positive way. He then got off the throne and headed back to the table, planning to drink some more tea.
But before he could, the black blur reappeared:
-“Master, I couldn’t find Goku. He seems to be out on another adventure.”
-“That’s Okay, Mr. Popo. We won’t need him after all.”
-“Oh” the genie-like being said. “Well then, I guess I’d better take his substitute home.”
-“Substitute?” Dende asked, raising an eyebrow.
-“Yes. Goku wasn’t home, but one of his allies was, and he asked me to bring him instead.”
Dende’s face suddenly paled. “Popo, who did you-”
K-KRAASH!!!
The doors of the palace suddenly smashed open, and Galloway flew backwards into the room, striking a pillar, smashing it to pieces, and then fell to the floor.
A figure followed him in seconds later.
-“At LAST I find you, you traitorous worm! NOW you’ll pay for having dared to rebel against me, your Lord Vegeta!!!”
NEXT: The Berserkers
XD
Okay, that ending was awesome.
I didn’t follow the final season or so of DBZ, but didn’t Vegeta side with the earthlings?
To clear things up: This takes place around the time of the Majin Buu saga, the final “official” DBZ serial. (DB GT was made up for TV and many people don’t feel it is canon.) The old Kami-Sama was absorbed into Piccolo, and replaced by Dende (the kid from Namek.) And yes, Vegeta is a good guy by this point- technically. He 's still an ornery cuss who carries grudges, and he still feels Galloway’s betrayal was an insult to his pride. Plus that’s how (most) Saiyans deal with issues- with violence.
How does this tie-in to the rest of the story? You’ll see soon. 
On a side note, I had to rewrite the chapter TWICE because I kept getting my DBZ continuity facts wrong.
:thud:
Next chapter Friday.
Heh, yeah, I’d have problems like that, too …
Fight! Fight! Fight! waves big foam finger
I am glad that you have recovered from your bout of illness; I look forward to reading more of your story.
I am not very familiar with the Dragonball Z series (nor any anime, for that matter), since I do not care for anime (and truly, I am not incline towards any show that consumes more than five episodes for a single battle). Shall I imagine this Vegeta as a vengeful demigod or minor power, or something of the sort? Your information on him, Wil, however, was helpful.
Percival: Do not worry- Vegeta is not a terribly complicated character; you’ll learn everything you need to know about him by next episode.
In Dragonball Z’s defense, the original fight sequences in the Manga were NOT that long- they stretched them (to ridiculous levels) in the Anime because they were adapting the story as it was being published and had to give the artist time to catch up with the show. (I never understood the logic of that.)
Btw, Perci, have you played Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King? I mention that because I think you would enjoy enjoy it. It has a good story that is actually touching in spots. Not to mention, elements from that game will play a MAJOR part towards the last part of the Saga. Having played it will not be necessary to enjoy this story, I’m just recommending it.
Oh yeah, and did you know nearly ALL of the characters in that game have (various) British accents? Voice acted well, too. Blarney!
Very nice update Wil. This little battle between the Saiyans looks like ti could be quite interesting. Will have to wait and see how things develop.
I have not yet played Dragon Quest VIII, although I know a little about it, and I shall reconsider giving it a try following your recommendation; I must admit that what I have seen previously did not impress me that much. I must note also that aesthetics are extremely important to me with any videogame to which I take a liking—in addition to plot/narrative structure, gameplay, challenge and so forth—and I shall not deny that I am quite nitpicky. A moving plot certainly does incline me, though, so I shall certainly reconsider.
Regardless, I am looking forward to your story; perhaps my lack of knowledge of this game will work favourably, making your plot in store more of a surprise for me.
You see, that’s the thing- DQVIII looks cartoony, right down to having some of the silliest-looking monsters I’ve seen in ANY game. But if you get past that, you’ll be surprised as to how good it is- I certainly was! I haven’t finished playing the game yet, and I can tell you that it’s already been one of the best RPG experiences I’ve ever had. And I’ve found several things that immediatelly made me think, “I’ll bet Percival would enjoy that.” Examples include: the dialogue, the Cursed King (and his daughter, the Cursed Princess), the down-to-Earth, often touching stories involving the ‘normal’ people you encounter, The Knights Templar, and even a few moments of magical romanticism that seem lifted from The Fairy Queene or a similar novel. My personal favorite moment was the part where the Heroes must help a King who grieves for his dead wife. How do you fix that? Not your usual RPG quest, is it? The answer was both surprising and beautiful.
As I said, if you can put the fact that everyone looks like a DragonBall Z character (the art designs are by the same artist) aside, I think you can have a very rewarding experience with the game.
I can’t wait to get to that part of the story just to have someone say. “That’s the stupidest-looking creature I’ve ever seen. Are we supposed to be afraid of YAAAAAHHH!!!”
Something of the sort-ish, yes. In DBZ, everyone has an explicit numerically-defined “power level”; an ordinary Farmer Dave dude who appears in the first episode has a power level of 5. Vegeta’s technically an “ordinary” Saiyan, insofar as the very first Saiyan villain’s power level is 1200; I dunno what Vegeta’s would be at this point in the series, but I think that [STRIKE]IT’S OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAND![/STRIKE] given how characters’ power levels increase over the series, he’s probably in the millions or billions by this point …
I’ve yet to play DQ8 myself (though it’s on my List), but I seriously look forward to this. :hahaha;