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duhragonball · 2 years ago

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[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (208/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation. This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: This story This story takes place about 1000 years before 66 years after 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

[2 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Luffa was not the Legendary Super Saiyan, but she still remembered another time, another life, when she was the Legendary Super Saiyan. That life, that time was over.

In that other lifetime, at the age of nineteen, Luffa achieved the mythical status after enduring a horrific ordeal at the hands of the Tikosi. After dispatching her father, Orij, who betrayed her to the Tikosi, she began her Super Saiyan career by hunting down her husband, Kandai, who had sold their unborn child to the Saiyan King, Rehval III, for study. Luffa found a measure of solace with her second marriage to Zatte, the former captain of the Dorlun militia, and their friends: the young Dorlun Keda, the arachnoid physician, Dr. Topsas, the Yetitan Wampaaan'riix, and later on, the fortuneteller, Dotz.

That all came to an end when Luffa became embroiled in a conflict with the Saiyan Kingdom, which culminated in a final showdown on Planet Nagaoka. Luffa used the light of the full moon to combine her Super Saiyan form with the Oozaru form, and ended up destroying the entire planet. She had expected to die along with her enemies, but then she was rescued by the Time Patrol, a band of warriors from the distant future. They recruited her to help them defend time itself, only to fall before the ancient Demon sorcerer, Demigra.

Demigra had triumphed by destroying the Time Nest, and along with it, the Scroll of Eternity, which contained the entirety of history. But he had saved a small piece of it, and offered it as a cession to Luffa, the only other survivor of the old universe. Luffa, it seemed, was the one foe he could not take for granted. For the Time Patrol had used the Dragon Balls to wish for an ally, and Demigra feared that the wish, granted literally, could mean that Luffa was somehow destined to thwart Demigra's plans. Unwilling to put that to the test, he offered her a truce. If she agreed not to oppose him in his plans to create a new history, then he would allow her to live peacefully in the last remnant of the old history, a world where she never became the Super Saiyan.

And so, Luffa was nineteen again, a mere Saiyan housewife in a family of mercenaries, stationed on Dorlu Prime. The Tikosi had not yet carried out their massacre of the colony, and this time-- thanks to Demigra's intervention-- they never would. Thanks to his magic, the Tikosi had all turned upon one another and they were all dead. Orij's betrayal would never take place, and Luffa could live her life over again, without the trauma that had changed everything.

*******

[3 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Technically, Luffa was still thinking it over. There was a Scroll of Eternity lying in a cabinet in her living quarters on Dorlu Prime. According to Demigra, if she opened the scroll, it would bring her to the Crack of Time, where Demigra was busy preparing his new history. Once there, Luffa could renew hostilities, and Demigra would accept the risk of a final showdown.

*******

[6 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Technically, Luffa was still thinking it over. She could use the scroll at any time, so there was no need to rush. She had missed Dorlu Prime, and its dull, dreary scenery was a perfect place to recuperate and plan. If she chose to fight Demigra again, she could do it on her own terms. Here, she could consider strategy, or even train for the fight. And the longer she waited, the more surprised Demigra would be when she finally rejected his offer.

*******

[14 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Technically, Luffa was still thinking it over. After the second week, she decided to return Kandai's affections. In the former timeline, Kandai had gone along with her father's betrayal, but in this world, the Tikosi were all dead, and so Orij's scheme was undone before it could ever truly begin. Luffa had been uneasy around Kandai, but she also discovered how much she had missed him. And it was hard to hold a grudge against him for something he hadn't done yet. Luffa told herself it was to keep up appearances, so no one would notice that anything unusual about her behavior. That she happened to enjoy the way he would plant his hands on her sides was immaterial.

*******

[19 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Technically, Luffa was still thinking it over. She had kept a professional distance from Zatte during this time, hoping not to complicate things after that impulsive kiss they had shared. They had been married in the former timeline, but that was still years away. It would take time to transition away from Kandai and towards her true love, but Luffa had tipped her hand. For her part, Zatte seemed to respect Luffa's embarrassment over the incident, but it still changed their friendship. Things would be awkward for a while, but in the end, it wouldn't matter.

*******

[27 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

Technically, Luffa was still thinking it over.

Practically, she had been so busy making plans that she hadn't given much thought to Demigra, or the scroll, or the Time Patrol. With the Tikosi dead, life on the colony was different, and everyone was figuring out what to do next. Everyone except Luffa's father, who had been plotting with the Tikosi all along.

Ever since he learned of their extinction, Orij had been despondent. The Dorluns had agreed to extend their contract with the Saiyan mercenaries, long enough to verify that the Tikosi were truly dead, but this would only confirm what he already knew. And so, while everyone else prepared for the future, Orij was left to wonder how things had gone so wrong. No one knew that he had been secretly conspiring with the Tikosi, and so no one really understood what was bothering him.

No one but Luffa, and she had no sympathy for his loss.

She had more important people in her life to worry about.

*******

[1 March, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]

"What's on Plutark VII, Luffa?"

The Dorluns had a communications array for contacting other planets and starships in deep space. It rarely saw much use, since the Dorluns preferred to keep to themselves. Today, Luffa sat at the controls, while Keda watched her with great interest.

"Just some friends of mine," Luffa explained. "I think you'd like them too. If I can ever get ahold of them on this thing, I might invite them over. Introduce you."

"Your dad left today, didn't he?" Keda asked, still eyeing the controls. She reached for one of the translucent plastic buttons that was glowing green.

Luffa brushed Keda's fingers away before she could touch it. "Hey, I told you to be careful with this stuff," she said. "Governor Coyto will put us both in jail if you break it."

"Nuh-uh," Keda said. "You'd just bust out."

"Yeah, well what makes you think I'd take you with me when I escaped?" Luffa asked. "Nah, never mind. I guess I owe you, kid."

"Owe me for what?" Keda asked.

Keda had infiltrated the Tikosi Hiveworld and eventually rescued Luffa from their clutches. Luffa had felt indebted to her ever since. She couldn't explain that to the child, since those events had not happened yet, and never would.

"Never mind," Luffa finally said. "Just don't touch any of these controls. I can't get through to Plutark today, but I might have better luck tomorrow... so I can't have you messing around with this stuff and breaking it, all right?"

"Okay," Keda said.

It felt surreal to tell Keda not to touch any of the equipment, since Luffa had seen an older, more capable Keda operate most of a starship by herself. Luffa had shown her much of the basics, and Keda had learned from a few others, but she was mostly self-taught. She even had a knack for figuring out the controls on other ships with unfamiliar configurations. It would probably only take a few days for her to figure out how to operate the Dorluns' communication array, but there were more experienced technicians in the colony, and the need for Keda to learn such things never came up.

It was better this way, Luffa told herself. Here, Keda could just concentrate on being a kid. She could live her life the way she was meant to, without being a sidekick for the Legendary Super Saiyan.

"What about your dad?" Keda asked.

"What about him?" Luffa said, still looking over the readouts on the monitors.

"He left," Keda said. "This morning. Kandai took him up in your ship, and then he came back without him. He said he dropped him off someplace."

"Yeah, they salvaged a Tikosi ship during their last run," Luffa said. "Father's going off to do his own thing, but we still need our ship, so he'll be operating out of the Tikoshi ship from now on."

"Forever?" Keda asked.

Luffa shrugged. "Who knows? He might trade it in for something better. That's his problem now."

"No, I mean, he's not coming back?" Keda asked.

"I told him I was thinking about going solo," Luffa said. "Turns out Kandai wants to tag along. That leaves Father on his own, so he decided to move on."

"Didn't you want to say goodbye?" Keda asked.

"Not really," Luffa said coldly. "I said everything I needed to say to him already."

That was true enough, though Luffa didn't want to explain the details to Keda. Luffa alone knew the truth about her father's scheme, though she couldn't confront him, since she lacked the power to defeat him if he chose to fight. It was better this way. He secretly feared Luffa's potential, and without the Tikosi to help him exploit it, he was eager to get as far from his daughter as he could. And that suited Luffa as well. If they ever did meet again, she planned to be ready for him.

Still, she could tell from Keda's expression that the youth was not satisfied with this, and so Luffa reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"It's fine," Luffa said. "I can always contact him if I need to talk to him. But right now I've got more important things to worry about."

"Like what?" Keda asked. Luffa couldn't help but smile. She had learned long ago that there was no way to stop Keda from asking questions, but one could distract her with new questions.

"Like confirming that you and your people are truly safe," Luffa said. "And if the Tikosi really are gone, then we can start to plan for the future..."

*******

[6 March, 238 Before Age. Tikosi Hiveworld.]

The planet was just like Luffa remembered it. From orbit, the Tikosi Hiveworld looked like a large ball of mud. There was some sparse vegetation, but no farms or roads or any other sign of civilization. The Tikosi kept these hidden beneath earthen fortifications. Like ants and termites on many other planets, the Tikosi dwelled in underground tunnels, but their advanced technology allowed them to remain hidden indefinitely. They grew food in hydroponic vats, drew energy from geothermal taps, and maintained their fleet of spaceships in vast hangars constructed under hollow mounds of dirt. An unsuspecting visitor would easily mistake it for an uninhabited world, and by the time that visitor got close enough to the surface to realize the truth, it would be far too late to escape.

"Hard to believe it was so close to us," Zatte said as they walked across the barren surface. "I mean, thirty light-years isn't close, but still..."

"Surprised the hell out of me too," Kandai said from a few steps behind her. "We passed through this system a few times, and I thought it might make a decent base, but the scans showed nothing unusual. Well, nothing unusual then. But now...well, you can tell this placed used to be inhabited."

As he said this, he stepped over the half-burned corpse of a Tikosi adult. Its broken exoskeleton shattered under the weight of his bootheel. All around them, thousands of bodies just like it lay scattered around the city. The earthworks that had once covered the area were now partially collapsed. The western edge of the city was still shaded by a partial dome of dried mud, while chunks of dirt lay in the streets in the center. On the eastern side, the dome had collapsed completely, burying countless Tikosi underneath.

Not far from their position, a column of smoke wafted out of a wrecked machine. This odor, combined with that of the Tikosi casualties, was what stirred Luffa's memories the most. As she surveyed the ruined world, she could only compare the devastation to the carnage she had wrought when she first transformed in the Legendary Super Saiyan. She had managed to restrain herself from slaughtering all of the Tikosi in that reality, but she had destroyed most of their warriors and infrastructure that day. Seeing them all dead wasn't all that different.

She hung behind Kandai and Zatte, glaring at the scenery without really seeing anything. She already knew what had happened here. All that really mattered was letting the Dorluns confirm it for themselves.

"Over here," Kandai said. He gestured to a pair of Tikosi bodies lying in the doorway of a partially collapsed building. Each Tikosi had four arms, and all eight of their hands were still locked around each other in a death struggle.

Zatte drew closer, and knelt down to examine the bodies. "Interesting," she said. She pointed at a hole that passed through the thorax of one corpse and continued on into the head of the other.

"We found a lot of them like this," Kandai said. "They died at each other's throats. Literally. Looks like a third bug must have snuck up on them while they were fighting, and took them both out with a plasma rifle."

Zatte had reached the same conclusion, and was already looking around to find the shooter. "There," she said, pointing to another structure nearby.

Luffa was staring off into the horizon when she heard Zatte snapping her fingers.

"Hey. Hey, dummy," she said. "Wake up, will you?"

"Huh?" Luffa asked.

"Clear away that debris, will you?" Zatte asked with a grin. "I want to check for something."

"Debris? Oh."

Zatte was pointing at a collapsed building behind Luffa. It only took a moment for her to hold out her hands and produce a burst of force that scattered the clumps of dirt in all directions. Much of it was knocked away in large pieces, while the rest was pulverized into dust, which hung in the air like an ominous orange cloud. What remained was a much shallower pile of dirt, and the remains of several Tikosi corpses that had lain underneath.

"There it is," Zatte said. She headed for the site of the former building, patting Luffa on the shoulder as she passed her.

"Something bugging you, Luffa?" Kandai asked.

"No," she said. "I was just distracted, that's all."

"She misses her grill, that's all," Zatte said as she sifted through the dirt.

"Yeah, I should have known," Kandai said. "Not that I mind the company, but it kind of sucks that you won't have dinner ready for us when we get back."

"Got it!" Zatte said, raising a dusty weapon from the debris. A Tikosi hand was still clinging to the handle, and she had to wrestle it free before standing up. She wiped off the metal surface of her prize, then inspected it.

"Now how did she know where to find that?" Kandai asked.

"She's more formidable than you might think," Luffa said. The truth was that each Dorlun had a special ability, which the colonists had kept secret from the Saiyan mercenaries. Luffa had only learned of this later on, when Keda had used her own ability to help save her from the Tikosi in the old reality. Zatte's power was revealed to Luffa months later. She could manipulate different forms of energy, and this gave her certain perception that Saiyan senses couldn't match. A plasma rifle had no ki signature, but Zatte could locate the power cell inside the rifle quite easily, if she was tuned to its particular energy patterns.

"This one shot the other two," Zatte concluded. They were rolling around that spot over there, and this one stood right about here, and..."

She leveled the weapon, and fired it at the pair of corpses, then walked over to inspect the new hole she had put in them.

"Burn pattern's consistent," she said. "I might have suspected an enemy of stealing their weapons to cover their tracks, but seeing all of this... it's pretty clear they turned on each other."

"That's what I said from the start," Kandai told her. "Hmmph. 'Formidable'."

"Oh, she's pretty handy with a rifle like that," Luffa said. "I bet she could take you out without too much trouble."

"Yeah?" Kandai said. "How about it, Captain? You think so?"

Zatte aimed the rifle at his chest as she considered it. "I'd need a few hundred yards for safety," she said. "And a better scope. But yeah, if you weren't on your guard, Kandai, I think I could put you down."

Luffa couldn't help but chuckle at this. In the old reality, Zatte had shot Kandai while he was busy trying to kill Luffa. It was surreal to see the two of them getting along so well. It had been like this before. Zatte and Kandai were never close, but they got along reasonably well. Luffa just hadn't appreciated the rapport between them until now.

Kandai laughed as well. "I can see why you two are so close," he said to Luffa. "While I've been out with your dad, you two were back on Dorlu Prime plotting against me."

"It's nothing personal, Kandai," Zatte said. "I have to be prepared for anything."

She checked the Tikosi rifle and removed its power cell, then tossed them both to the ground.

"I'm satisfied," Zatte finally said. "Governor Coyto still wants me to take aerial recordings of the planet's surface, maybe find one of their computers, but at this point I think that's just a formality. Everything you told us checks out, Kandai. I can't imagine why the Tikosi turned against each other like this, but they're definitely all dead. If Coyto wants to know more, that's his call, but it's a job for a forensics team, not mercenaries like you two."

"Good," Kandai said. "Nice to see there's at least one of you blue people that listens to me once in a while."

"It never hurts to verify these things," Zatte said. "Our species didn't last this long by being reckless. But we can talk about that on the ride home. Right now, I just want to get away from this stench. You mind if I borrow your wife for a little while?"

"Fine, take your pictures for Coyto," Kandai said. "I'll meet you back at the ship, ladies."

Luffa watched him take off, and kept staring into the distance after he vanished from sight. At last, Zatte took her by the hand to get her attention.

"You're really out of it today, you know that?" Zatte said.

"Huh?" Luffa asked.

"I need you to fly me over the planet's surface," Zatte said. "Were you not paying attention? Maybe I should have had Kandai do it, but it's more fun when you're the one carrying me."

"Right, sure," Luffa said. She shook her head, and scooped Zatte up in her arms, one hand gripping her knees, the other tucked under Zatte's shoulder.

"Oh," Zatte said.

"What?" Luffa asked.

"I just wasn't expecting this," Zatte said. "I mean, it's fine. Uh... really fine, but uh...."

Luffa grumbled under her breath and leaped into the sky.

*******

[10 March, 238 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

"That's right. 'Topsas'. He runs a clinic in the city. Yes that's the number I have, but there was no response on the line. All right. Okay. Well, thanks for checking it out for me. Luffa out."

Luffa pulled off the headset and tossed it onto the deck. The communications array on Dorlu Prime was more powerful than the one on the Saiyans' ship, but their position relative to Plutark VII was apparently more favorable for interstellar transmissions. None of that mattered, though, when Dr. Topsas never answered his subspace radio.

She stormed out of the pilothouse and made her way aft to the habitat section. There, she found Zatte and Kandai sharing a kettle of nutrient tea.

"You should have seen his face!" Kandai said. "I didn't know their eyestalks could stick out that far!"

Luffa only caught the end of his anecdote, but judging from Zatte's laughter, it must have been very funny. She still wasn't used to how well the two of them had been getting along, but after four days alone together, it was starting to feel more normal.

"Any luck with that doctor you told us about?" Zatte asked as Luffa approached.

"No," Luffa said. "He's probably busy with a patient or something. I may have to go there in person."

"You really think he can score us a better ship than this one?" Kandai asked.

"Trust me," Luffa said. She hadn't bothered to explain the details to them, since they wouldn't understand. As far as they knew, Luffa had a contact that could provide them with better transportation. The truth was that Luffa planned to steal the same star-yacht she had been "awarded" in the former version of reality. And she planned to reach out to Topsas and Wampaaan'riix while she was there, since she knew they would all be in the same place. It would be awkward befriending them when they didn't know her yet, but she would figure that out when the time came.

As she passed the small booth where they were sitting, Kandai reached out and took hold of her tail. "Hey, hold up a second," Kandai said. "We wanted to talk about some stuff."

Luffa gasped, more from surprise than discomfort, then stepped backward, letting Kandai reel her in until he was sitting beside him.

"I can't believe you two do that," Zatte said.

Luffa had forgotten about it herself until they set out for the Tikosi Hiveworld. It had been easy to keep her distance before, when she had first arrived in this new reality. Dorlu Prime offered plenty of ways to be alone, and if she acted strangely on that first day, it wouldn't be so conspicuous. But now that grace period was over, and she faced greater scrutiny aboard a small ship with two people who knew her so well. Fortunately, she found it was getting easier to fall back into the old routines.

"He's just making sure I haven't gone soft," Luffa said with a smirk. "So what's the big deal? If this is about dinner, I already told you..."

"I want to come with you guys," Zatte said.

Luffa's jaw dropped. That had been her plan all along, but she hadn't expected Zatte to just blurt it out in front of Kandai. She looked over to him, and he smiled.

"We were talking earlier," he said, "and we both realized we had the same idea."

"But it's your show, Luffa," Zatte said. "I mean, we kind of discussed it the other day, but... well... I didn't want to push for anything."

"Well, I'll push for it," Kandai said. "I think you should let her join us. So how about it?"

"Hold on," Luffa said. She looked at Kandai with one eyebrow raised. "You're asking me to bring her along?"

"Well sure," Kandai said. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer. "You're the one who wanted to split off from Orij, Luffa. This is your caper. You decide who's on the team, or if there even is a team."

"I just thought... You and Father were so much stronger than me," she said. "I mean, yeah, it's my plan, but I didn't think you'd be this comfortable letting me call the shots."

"Kandai's a chain-of-command kind of guy," Zatte said. "So am I. I'll admit I had my concerns, but hanging out with you two on this mission, I can tell we all work together well. And Kandai feels the same way."

"She's not much of a warrior by our standards," Kandai said, "but she can handle herself better than most aliens I've met. And she brings a lot of other skills to the table. And she's not as squeamish as I thought she'd be. The other Dorluns, I don't think they'd be too eager to dig around a dead planet full of Tikosi corpses." He glanced back at Zatte and added: "Uh, no offense."

"None taken," Zatte said. "That's why I wanted to come along. Now that the colony is secure, I'm not sure there's much more for me to contribute. But if I could serve on this ship, I could do some scouting, and maybe identify some potential threats to Dorlu Prime before things got out of hand."

"Of course, that'd mean sticking close to this sector," Kandai said. "But we've been using her planet as a base for years anyway. We just wouldn't be getting paid to stand guard over it."

"I think I can talk Governor Coyto into letting me join your group," Zatte said. "I'd still have to clear it with the Elders, but I have some ideas to convince them. So, what do you think, Luffa?"

"You're seriously okay with this?" Luffa asked Kandai.

"Oh, come on, Luffa," Kandai said. "You girls are best friends, right? I'd feel bad if I split you two up."

"Riiiight," Luffa said. She had impulsively kissed Zatte a month ago, and had regretted it ever since. In this era, Zatte had unrequited feelings for Luffa, which weren't supposed to be requited until much later, after Kandai's betrayal. But without the Tikosi and Luffa's father, Kandai's betrayal could never happen. This left her in a very awkward position, one made even more awkward by how well the three of them seemed to be getting along.

"The best," Zatte said with a knowing grin. She winked at her with her right eye, the one Luffa still hadn't gotten used to seeing again, since Zatte originally lost it during the Tikosi attack that was no longer destined to happen.

"Well, let's see how the Dorluns feel about it," Luffa said. "But if they're okay with it, I mean... sure. I'd love to have you aboard, Zattie."

"Zattie?" Zatte asked.

"Well she we can't keep calling you 'captain'," Kandai said. "On a starship, that kind of thing gets confusing."

"Ha-ha... right," Luffa said anxiously. "Anyway, if you can clear it with your people, then you're welcome here with me... us. Both of us. Yeah."

"Great!" Zatte said. She jumped up from the booth and went to the other side, where she gave Luffa a hug.

"I'm really looking forward to this," she said as she finally released Luffa and reached over to shake Kandai's hand. "And I won't let you down, I promise."

"She'll hold you to that," Kandai warned Zatte as he pointed at Luffa. "My wife can get pretty demanding."

"Oh, I know all about that," Zatte said. "And this time I don't have fifty Dorluns to back me up like I did in those training drills. Listen, I should get started on my report for the Elders. Luffa, when you have some time, you mind if I pick your brain about some things?"

"Sure," Luffa said. "After dinner, maybe."

Luffa waited until she heard the hatch close on Zatte's cabin, then looked up at Kandai. "You're really okay with this?" she asked.

"You keep asking me that," Kandai said. "It was my idea. Well, I guess we all thought of it separately, but that just means we're all in agreement, doesn't it?"

"I just thought you'd object to having an alien on the crew," Luffa said. "Or you'd have a problem with me splitting off from Father. Or... having a woman on the ship with us."

"Oh, so that's what this is about," Kandai said. "Thought I'd get jealous, is that it?"

"Well... are you?" Luffa asked.

"Luffa, you're the one who wanted us to get married," Kandai said. "You wanted the happy homemaker bit, the litter of brats, and all the rest. I, uh, enjoy your company well enough... uh... well, you know what I mean."

"I hear you," Luffa said. This was as close to a love declaration as he had ever made. Sparing him from finishing it was the most honorable way for a Saiyan mate to receive it.

"Right, well... if it ends, it ends. Personally, I don't think you're the type to run off with some alien chick." He glanced back in the direction of Zatte's cabin before continuing. "I mean... I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her sometimes. I get it. Some of those blue women aren't bad at all. I'm not into their weird colorations, but that why they invented light switches. It's the lack of tails that I can't get around--"

"Let's try to stay focused here," Luffa chided.

"All I'm saying is I'm not your dad, Luffa. I worked for him because it was easy money, and his daughter practically threw herself at me. I know he was real particular about how his ship was run, and he didn't mind using his higher power level to get his way. Me, I'm more of a follower. If you and 'Zattie' wanna run the whole show and use me as muscle, I can live with that. If you want a divorce, I can handle that too. As long as I'm well paid and well fed, I think I can handle just about anything."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always thought of him as more principled, at least somewhat like herself. That was what made his betrayal hurt so much in the old reality. But now, it was clear that she had only ever seen in him what she had wanted to see. She had been, after all, an idealistic, lovestruck teenager, convinced that she had a duty to marry a proper Saiyan mate and raise a family. Like her parents had done... or so she had believed at the time.

And she always assumed Kandai was driven by the same duty. Instead, he was ambivalent enough that he could take or leave their marriage as long as his basic needs were met.

It seemed so obvious now, and yet she had never suspected it before.

"The truth is," Luffa finally said, "that I'm not really sure what I want out of this. I guess with all the changes we've seen, it's too fluid for me to make up my mind. Maybe that's why I thought you'd put your foot down on something like this. In a way, I almost want someone to decide for me."

"Now I don't buy that for a minute," Kandai said, squeezing her tightly in his arm. "You're just like your old man... well, not just like him, thankfully... but you're too bossy to be indecisive. But I know you want Zatte on this crew, and she seems up for it, so we might as well play it out and see what happens."

And in that moment, with the quiet thrum of the ship's engines, and his scent filling the air, Luffa found herself remembering just what she had found so attractive about him in the first place. She had misunderstood him in so many ways, but he was also very pliable and receptive to her ideas. He would listen to her ramble on in the small hours, and none of her aspirations were too radical for him. And so, overcome with that affection, she said the most loving thing a Saiyan could say to their mate:

"I'm gonna get dinner started."

*******

[12 March, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime]

"Who is this?"

"I already told you. My name is Luffa. I'm a Saiyan. I wanted to talk to you about the Deathmatch Tournament they're holding on Plutark VII."

After returning to Dorlu Prime, Luffa continued her efforts to raise Plutark VII on the communications array. At long last, she had finally gotten a response, but her triumph seemed less than satisfying.

"Then you ought to contact the tournament organizers. Though if you want my advice so badly, then I would counsel you to steer clear of such a competition."

Luffa rolled her eyes and groaned. The alien on the viewscreen was her old friend, Dr. Topsas. He looked the same as the last time she had seen him, five years in the future, in another reality. But Topsas did not recognize her at all, and she had forgotten how blunt and dismissive he could be towards strangers.

"Doc, I'm not looking to enter the tournament. I wanted to get in touch with one of the participants. And I happen to know that you provide medical services to the competitors between rounds."

"And how could a little mammal like you possibly know about such things?" Topsas asked. "Not that I am admitting to anything of the sort, mind you."

The truth was that Luffa had entered the tournament on Plutark VII, and met Topsas backstage. She had gone to Plutark seeking to test her skills, and the competition had proven very beneficial. By the time she faced her last opponent, a Yetitan named Wampaaan'riix, she had become so powerful that he was no match for her. Then she discovered that her Saiyan telepathy had been greatly enhanced, and she decided to test that ability on him. She had hoped to learn his fighting strategy and nothing more, but instead Luffa ended up learning almost everything about the man: His name, his homeworld, his family and personal history, and his deep regret that he would meet his death at the hands of Luffa. And so, Luffa was overcome with empathy, and spared the Yetitan's life.

This had greatly upset the tournament organizers, as mercy was against the rules in a Deathmatch Tournament, but their security forces were no match for her, and Luffa convinced them to let the matter drop, in exchange for a star-yacht owned by one of the principal owners of the event. In time, Luffa's actions on Plutark VII won her the gratitude of not only Wampaaan'riix, for sparing his life, but of Dr. Topsas as well.

"You never approved of the Deathmatches," Luffa said, "but you still felt an obligation to treat the competitors, even knowing they would probably die the same day. The medical boards all boycotted the events, and threatened to revoke the license of anyone who cooperated with the tournament organizers. But you worked out a deal to practice there in secret, Doc. Your pride as a physician would allow for nothing less."

His pedipalps began to tremble in a particular way. Knowing him as well as she had, Luffa could interpret his body language to some extent. His arthropodic gestures were impenetrable to most humanoids, but Luffa could tell he was concerned... and curious.

"An interesting story," he said after a short pause. "But even if it were true, I fail to see why a Saiyan warrior would go to the trouble of blackmailing a doctor."

"I'm not trying to blackmail you, Doc," Luffa said. "I just wanted to get your attention. I'm looking for a Yetitan by the name of Wampaaan'riix. My... sources... tell me he entered this year's tournament. Chances are, you helped patch him up."

"And what of him?" Topsas asked.

"I have some business with him," Luffa said. "I'm... not at liberty to say more."

"Ah, of course. I might have expected something like this," Topsas said ruefully. "There's a bounty on his head, isn't there? Or you're looking to avenge some terrible deed he may have committed. Or perhaps he simply had unpaid debts."

"What?" Luffa asked. "No, that's not it at all. I just want to--"

But Topsas had heard enough. "Ms. Luffa, was it? I am quite busy today, and while this conversation has been very intriguing, I must say that I've had my fill of romance for one afternoon. The fact of the matter is that your Wampaaan'riix is no longer available for 'business', yours nor anyone else's. He was pronounced dead yesterday."

"Dead?!" Luffa gasped. "That... that can't be right!"

"You seemed quite familiar with the Deathmatch Tournament a moment ago," Topsas said. "Were you unaware of the rules? The competitors fight to the death, and the winners go on to face one another, until there is only one survivor. Your friend did enter the tournament, and he did not win. Therefore..."

"But that's impossible!" Luffa said. "He won every round until--!"

It suddenly hit her like a bolt of lightning. Wampaaan'riix had won every round before facing Luffa. She had simply assumed that he would have continued winning, if she hadn't been in the bracket.

But in the old reality, she had stopped the entire tournament. Dr. Topsas had been very grateful to her for this, but she had only done it because the tournament organizers had dared to oppose her, and she found fighting them to be more amusing than the scheduled opponents. In that version of history, the Tournament was canceled, and Luffa never found out who would have been her next opponent, or the one after that.

And while Wampaaan'riix would have made it that far in this new reality, there was no telling how he would have fared in the later rounds.

No. That wasn't true. There was telling. Dr. Topsas was telling her right now.

"He... he can't be dead..." Luffa said. "He had wives... and children..."

"So I had assumed," Topsas said. "I have, of course, contacted the Yetitan authorities to inform the next of kin--"

"This can't be right," Luffa said. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she was too upset to care. "It can't."

Topsas sighed. "I recognize that you soldier-for-hire types are notoriously stubborn about these matters," he said. "You are, of course, welcome to come to Plutark VII, where you can view his death certificate in person. A waste of time, I should think, but alas, it is your time to waste."

Her dear friend was dead, and Dr. Topsas, who had been like a second father to her, was talking to her like she was a bothersome nuisance. She didn't know what to say, or even what she was feeling. And so, she didn't bother trying to express herself to him. She simply terminated the call, and let the video monitor go blank. Dr. Topsas could resume his practice. The 'little mammal' would trouble him no further.

For a long while, Luffa sat alone in the Dorlun communication center. She did not move, and so the sensor in the room deactivated the lights. It was a device intended to conserve power, typical for the ever-cautious Dorluns. There was only the light from the consoles, and the long, murky shadows they cast from Luffa's figure in the chair.

"I spared him," she finally said. "I never imagined..."

As she wept, she stared down at her black fingerless gloves. Between the dim, multi-colored lights, and the tears in her eyes, her hands were little more than indistinct blurs.

They began to tremble.

NEXT: The Decision.

#dragon ball #fanfiction #luffa #lssjluffafic #zatte #kandai #keda #dr topsas #tikosi hiveworld #dorlu prime

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