Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball Z Lives On: The Shizen Saga ❯ Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Three drops of blood

To call forth from the earth

A new life with a fiery spirit.

It didn't take long for the group of fighters to get there at the speed they flew. And Kyloa had been right; they reached the place before she did. It was a nice place. There was a wide-open meadow good for sparring. A river nearby for drinking and bathing. A short distance away, a forest began, probably good for hunting. Standing at the edge of the forest was what looked to be an abandoned cottage, probably where they would sleep. Goku seemed pretty familiar with the area, as he went scouting around to see if anything had changed since he'd been there.

Without warning they heard a series of squawks and shrieks and looked up to see that Embyr had followed them. The little red dragon appeared to panic 'til she saw Goku. Letting out a series of chirps and trills, she took up a perch on his shoulder. She then hissed sharply at Goku, daring him to make an objection, which he didn't. Goku wasn't that dense.

Tension began to fill the area as they waited for Kyloa to arrive. They still didn't entirely trust her, although Goku seemed to. Krillin tried to start a conversation to fill the silence. "So, Goku, what was it like being a student of the Earth?"

Goku scratched his head in thought. "Well, the lessons were pretty strange at first. But once I received the power, it made sense. The coolest thing was being able to talk to the Earth."

Piccolo gave him a look of skepticism. "You were able to talk to the Earth?"

Goku frowned. "Well, not really. I could only hear her and that was just when she wanted me to understand her."

"How strange," commented Dende.

Strange indeed thought Piccolo. Suddenly he felt a strange collection of energy off to the side and turned to look. Gohan, noticing, asked, "What is it, Piccolo?"

Before Piccolo could reply, a large spout of water came spurting out of the river. It quickly morphed to take on the form of a human girl and then became flesh. It was Kyloa.

"Man! What an entrance!" exclaimed Krillin in awe.

"So, you can travel by turning into air or water. Anything else you can change into?" asked Gohan, curious.

Stepping onto the bank of the river, Kyloa gave her tunic a twitch, shaking out a few remaining water droplets. Embyr gave an experimental chirp and surprising them all, Kyloa gave a chirp back. Trilling, Embyr flew to her shoulder as Kyloa turned to face Gohan. "I can only become elements of the Earth. Air, water, fire, and of course, earth. That also includes plants and trees."

Eighteen gave a sigh of impatience. "So when do we begin our lessons?"

"First, I have a surprise for Goku," replied Kyloa, turning towards the forest. She let out a loud whistle and they all heard a series of chirps and trills in reply coming from the forest. All of a sudden, another mini-dragon appeared out of the trees. This one had scales a much darker red than Embyr's and was noticeably larger than her. And unlike Embyr, this dragon had sharp ivory horns instead of a thick mane of hair.

Goku let out a gasp of surprise upon seeing him. "Oh, my gosh! It's Skorch!" The little dragon, upon hearing Goku's voice, let out a high pitch shriek and dove straight for him. He landed quickly upon his shoulder and began licking him excitedly, as Goku petted him, trying to calm him down. "Alright, Skorch! I missed you too!"

"Uh, Goku, since when do you have a pet dragon?" asked Krillin, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Skorch's not a pet. He was my training partner during Kyloa's lessons."

"Will we have to train with a dragon as well?" asked Gohan.

"Yes. A Chi warrior must have a dragon partner. While you're training, you'll all have dragons. But once the two Chi are chosen, only they will keep their dragon partners, while the others who weren't chosen won't," explained Kyloa.

"Goku's dragon seems very different from yours, Kyloa," commented Dende.

"That's because Skorch is a yuudragon, a warrior dragon. Embyr is a sendragon. It's sort of like a Shizen's familiar."

"What's the difference?" asked Eighteen.

"Well, their looks obviously and the fact that yuudragons can breath fire and if on good rapport with their partner, can morph to a third of the size of Shenlong."

"So can we begin these lessons already?" exclaimed Vegeta, exasperated.

"Actually, you've already learned part of lesson one. It's time for the next part," and with that, Kyloa began walking towards the center of the meadow.

"Are we supposed to follow her?" asked Krillin.

"Yep. Don't worry. The first lesson is kind of fun," answered Goku. He hurried to catch up with Kyloa.

Gohan shrugged. "Well, Dad seems to know what he's talking about. We better follow."

Once the whole gang was gathered in the center of the field, Goku had Gohan, Krillin, Eighteen, Vegeta, Sixteen, and Piccolo line up in a straight line while Kyloa sat down Indian-style in the grass and began meditating. Embyr left her shoulder to watch the proceedings from a large rock nearby. Slowly Kyloa rose to float about the same level as their heads. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Since Goku is already a Chi warrior, he and Skorch will assist in the teaching."

Before anyone could say anything, a low aura began glowing around Kyloa. "What's going on, Goku?" asked Krillin.

Goku put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. She needs total silence. She's talking with Kaachi."

Without warning, the ground under their feet began to tremble slightly. It lasted only a few seconds but during that time several eggs appeared out of the ground, one in front of each fighter. The eggs were large, nearly half the size of Krillin. Before the fighters could wonder much longer about them, Kyloa's eyes flew open, glowing with a strange light. Silently, she slipped a small unadorned knife out of her clothes and handed it to Goku. Goku then handed it over to Gohan.

"What am I supposed to do?" whispered Gohan, apprehensive.

"She'll tell you in a sec," Goku whispered back. And he was right. Kyloa began to speak, in an eerie voice unlike her own:

"Draw forth from thine own blood,

Let the Earth taste of it.

No more than three drops.

And watch as a new life begins."

Gohan glanced nervously from Kyloa to the knife to his father and back to the knife again. Goku gave him an encouraging smile, as if to say, "Go ahead. It's alright." A determined look appearing on his face, Gohan held out his hand and taking the knife, made a deep slash upon his palm. Handing the knife to Krillin, Gohan put pressure upon the wound, making sure to let only three drops of his blood fall onto the egg before him. There was a brief flash of light and suddenly the egg began to hatch.

Within a few seconds, a large piece of shell cracked off the egg, revealing a small wet dragon inside. It gave a loud high-pitch shriek as it tried to free itself from its egg prison. Embyr and Skorch trilled back, as if to reassure it. Worrying, Gohan reached down and helped it out the rest of the way. Holding the baby dragon in his hands, wonder filled his eyes as he studied it. "Wow," said Gohan.

"You've got yourself a good-looking dragon there, Gohan," commented Krillin. And it was. The newborn dragon had ivory horns just like Skorch but instead of red scales, his were a blue as dark as blueberries. His eyes opened to look at his new partner, revealing that they were a bright orange.

"I wonder what it's name is," Gohan pondered, as he dried off the little reptile with a kerchief his dad loaned him.

"The Earth has named him Niko. In time, you will be able to speak to your dragon without any assistance from her," announced an eerie voice. It was Kyloa. She was still in her weird trance. As if as a second thought, Kyloa added, "Your dragons' looks and personalities will be similar to your own. That is why your blood was needed to give them life."

Everyone nodded in understanding, except for Gohan, who's thoughts were on his new companion. "Huh. Niko. I like it," said Gohan as he smiled at his dragon. The little creature cheeped back, as if agreeing with him.

"Continue," commanded Kyloa. Krillin glanced at Goku as if to say, "My turn?" Goku nodded. Bracing himself, Krillin sliced his hand and in a few minutes he had his own little dragon with scales the color of tree bark and eyes that gleamed a bright yellow. Its name was Jib.

"Unusual name. Wonder what it means," commented Krillin as he studied the dragon in his arms.

"In the Shizen language it means humble," replied Kyloa.

"Perfect description," remarked Eighteen, her voice full of meaning. Krillin blushed. The command of "Continue" hurried things along.

Fearlessly, Eighteen cut her palm and was soon the recipient of a beautiful little dragon with scales that shone a golden yellow and eyes a deep black. Her name was appropriately Beauty.

Vegeta was next in line. His dragon had scales blacker than night and eyes a wicked red-orange. His name turned out to be Scorn. Sixteen went next. His dragon turned out to be a bright orange with emerald colored eyes. He was named Zek, which Kyloa said meant friendly in the Shizen language.

Piccolo was the last one. Unscrupulously, he cut his hand and quickly squeezed out three drops of his strange purple blood before the wound could heal. His dragon did not need any help hatching out of his egg and within a few minutes it was dry and flying. But it refused to go to Piccolo and instead perched upon a massive rock, where it stared unwaveringly at him, as if studying him, trying to search out his secrets. Although he hid it, Piccolo was unnerved by his stare.

"Hey, he's acting just like Piccolo! Aloof and unfriendly. Even looks like him," exclaimed Krillin. Piccolo gave him a freezing glare. But Piccolo had to admit the little creature did resemble him. His scales were a shade of green that matched his own skin and had eyes a flashing ruby red.

"A yuudragon made from Namek blood. Most unusual. It seems he will grow much faster than the others will. He also has Piccolo's regenerative abilities. The Earth has decided his name shall be Byrn," announced Kyloa. She then turned to Piccolo. "You may have a difficult time getting close to him. That will make it harder for you to become a Chi warrior. But I have a feeling that no matter what the odds are, you always come out okay." With that, Kyloa shut her eyes as the glowing aura around her slowly disappeared.

Piccolo smirked. But he didn't smirk for long. Without warning, Kyloa suddenly stopped floating and dropped from her position in the air. But Goku had been expecting it. Within a split second, he was underneath her, preventing her from hitting the ground. Looks of surprise were given all around. Embyr flew all around Goku's head, chirping in concern.

"What happened?" asked Krillin, alarmed.

"Is she alright?" asked Gohan, concerned.

"Does she need healing?" asked Dende, stepping forward. He had been watching quietly from the sidelines throughout all the proceedings. Piccolo didn't want to admit it but he was concerned about her as well.

Though exhausted, Kyloa wrapped her arms around Goku's neck and lifted her head to face them. Her skin was extremely pale and her green eyes had become dull. "There is no need for any healing. I just overworked myself. All I need is rest. You can set me down, Goku. I'll be alright."

Goku looked at her worriedly as he set her upon her feet. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure -" She was cut off as a dizzy spell hit her and she lost her balance. This time Piccolo was the one to catch her. Hefting her into his arms, he glared at her sternly. "You are in no condition to do any amount of walking. Where do you usually sleep?"

Kyloa looked down shyly. "I usually sleep in the forest. That way." She pointed back in the direction of the cottage Piccolo spotted earlier. Stepping quickly in that direction, he reached the edge of the forest in seconds. "Now what?" he asked.

Still not looking into his eyes, Kyloa answered, "Just lean me up against that tree." By now the others and their dragons had followed, curious as to where she slept. Following her orders, although puzzled by them, Piccolo set her down against the tree. Slowly, exceedingly so, her flesh became bark and her whole being was absorbed into the tree.

Piccolo looked towards Goku, his eyebrow, or what he had for one, raised in question. "Does she usually sleep in a tree?"

Goku nodded hastily, upsetting Skorch, who was on his shoulder. "Yep. It's the only place where she feels safe. And besides, while in the Earth, she can be regenerated in several hours. We probably won't see her until morning."

Piccolo gave a quick nod in understanding. "I see."

"What do we do now Dad?" asked Gohan, holding Niko close to him. They were bonding rather quickly. If Kyloa had been there she would have explained why. With Gohan technically already a Chi warrior, the bond had to form quickly.

Goku scratched his head in thought. "Well, Kyloa would have you guys spend the rest of the day getting familiar with your dragons. I don't know about you though, Gohan, but I'm hungry."

"Is there any food around here for us to eat?" scowled Vegeta. Scorn flitted nearby, not really getting friendly at all with anyone, let alone Vegeta.

"Well, there's plenty of food in the forest. All we have to do is go foraging. But I wouldn't go hunting. Kyloa is a vegetarian and she would prefer that we not eat any meat during training. There's also the fact that several of the creatures in the forest are her friends."

"To hell with that!" growled Vegeta. Turning, he stormed off into the forest, apparently to go hunting. Piccolo rolled his eyes in disgust. At least he didn't need to eat. All he needed was water. With that, everyone split up, to bond with their dragons in their own way.

Goku shrugged his shoulders, causing Skorch to squawk in protest again. "Oh, well."