EPIC Side Story: Dragon Ball

Chapter 33: Internal and External Conflict

Though Chi-Chi struggled quite a bit near the beginning, things got progressively easier as her Power Level rose from a meager 6 to a commendable 35 in a mere two weeks. While this might not sound like a lot, it meant she had gone from being slightly stronger than an average adult to nearly six times stronger in just fourteen days.

With her original counterpart possessing a power level of 130 near the start of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, an event nearly seven years in the future, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that Chi-Chi was well on her way to surpassing herself. Her schooling would slow things down a bit, but, unless she quit cold turkey, Vahn estimated that Chi-Chi should easily exceed more than a hundred thousand battle power before the arrival of Raditz. As for Sarina…

Though her progress couldn't be compared to Chi-Chi's six times increase in power, Sarina's power level had increased from a fair 492 to a 'world's strongest' rating of 1173. This placed her near three times the power of Kami, and, more notably, a mere 27 points beneath Raditz in his base state. By the time of the latter's arrival, she would be so far beyond the errant Saiyan that Vegeta and Nappa may very well decide against coming to Earth.

The most impressive thing about Sarina's increase in power was that it was almost purely derived from her physical development. Her grasp of Ki was still extremely shallow. Instead, she focused on pushing her body to the limits, as, even if she destroyed herself in the progress, she was confident that Vahn could even bring her back to life if necessary…

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In the midst of receiving one of her twice-daily massages, Sarina managed to summon up enough presence of mind to ask, "What's going on between you and Bulma? It's a little odd that she hasn't even stopped by to say hello…"

With the tips of his index and middle fingers glowing with a peculiar rainbow hue, Vahn left a faint yet visible trail along Sarina's spine as he answered, "I haven't pried directly but I'm pretty sure she's convinced herself that I need to fight to keep her. At the very least, she intends to hold out until the start of the new semester…"

Though he could understand Bulma's attachment to her home in West City, Vahn still felt she was unnecessarily complicating things just to make it appear as though he was the one pursuing her. In reality, she was the one who had asked him to become her boyfriend before later proposing to him. He didn't mind fighting for her, but, when the fight was something Bulma had fabricated within her own mind, Vahn couldn't help getting Helen flashbacks…

"Mmnnnnnn…"

Unable to restrain her voice, an elongated moan emanated from Sarina's throat despite the fact she was feeling a tinge of regret. The decision may have been Vahn's to make but she was the one who suggested 'recruiting' Bulma. She felt that Bulma was one of the most underused characters in the series she was familiar with, so, with the goal of making her ideal version of Dragon Ball, Sarina had paired the surprisingly annoying blunette with Vahn even before the latter invited her to train in an Actualized World…

Though she hadn't taken it to heart prior to their descent, Sarina now understood why Vahn had informed her that the people inside the Actualized Worlds were not the characters she was familiar with. Even the subtlest changes they made to the timeline had a drastic impact on the direction and progression of the story she was familiar with. Now, because of her selfish desires, the original plot had been derailed, Yamcha was still wandering around in a desert, and Chi-Chi, one of the few girls she hadn't actively paired with Vahn, was dead set on being with him…

Noticing the changes in Sarina's aura, Vahn surprised her with a light smack to her pert and perky bottom as he said, "There's no reason to be upset. You just need to start treating this like the real world rather than some fictional universe where you have complete control and absolute impunity thanks to your knowledge of canon events. That isn't living, Sarina. It's regarding the world and the people within it as if they're puppets predestined to act in accordance with your expectations…"

While the contents of his statement may have sounded a little severe, Vahn's tone remained calm and comforting throughout. After all, he had also gone through what Sarina was going presently experiencing. Not in the 'real' world, persay, but in the deepest recesses of his mind. He had even experienced a number of existential crises that caused him to consider whether or not he, not just the people around him, were merely characters within the pages of a book.

In the end, Vahn came to the same conclusion that many within his position had reached. If there was no way to perceive what lay beyond the axes of his own perspective of reality, it may as well not exist. He certainly couldn't allow something so unknowable to dictate his life, so, even if he did find out he was a character in someone else's story, it didn't change the fact he was the one making decisions about his present. They may have been guided by someone else's hand, sure, but, so long as he could perceive himself, develop the world around him through his actions, and protect the people he cared about, nothing else mattered…

With this in mind, Vahn left a heart-shaped trail on Sarina's right, a distant look and a slight smile on his face as he watched the light gradually disperse until the entire muscle group was illuminated with a faint, rainbow hue…

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Staring at the calendar hanging on the wall with a listless, slightly concerned expression on her face, Bulma weakly muttered, "Six days till the start of the new semester…" before placing her head down on her workbench. This earned her a worried look from her father, who, despite being ignored each and every time he asked, still adopted a fatherly tone as he inquired, "Do you want to talk about it, pumpkin…?"

"…"

Though he was unsurprised by his daughter's silence, Dr. Brief exhaled a soft sigh before pulling out the metal container that held his cigarettes. Feeling that it was pretty light, he gave it a shake to confirm it was empty. The expression on his face immediately soured, but, understanding that there was a fair chance Bulma would explode if he dared to complain while she was feeling depressed, he gave the sulking blunette a supportive pat on the back before hastily making his way towards the exit.

In his haste to get his fix and avoid triggering one of Bulma's tantrums. Dr. Brief wasn't paying full attention as he opened the door and attempted to depart the lab. As a result, he ended up crashing into the person standing on the opposite side of the door, a fashionable young woman with blonde hair extending past the small of her back and obsidian blue eyes. The impact caused her to fall onto her butt, and, as a result of her dangerously short, denim mini skirt, Dr. Brief was presented with the misfortune of seeing something most would pay a hefty sum to see…

Closing her legs as quickly as possible, the young blonde stared up at Dr. Brief with a remarkable blush on her face as she asked, "Did you see…?" in an audibly threatening tone.

With a convincingly confused look on his face, Dr. Brief asked, "Did I see what, sweetheart?" before extending his hand to help the young woman up.

Instead of accepting the offer for assistance, the fashionable blonde squinted her eyes and stared into Dr. Brief's face for several seconds. A cold sweat broke out across the latter's body, but, having become accustomed to dealing with politicians and ruthless warmongers, the pale-haired scientist was able to appear progressively more confused as he inquired, "Is something the matter…?"

Though her intuition told her she was being fooled, the young blonde decided she would much rather accept a version of events that didn't result in her father finding out she wore space-print panties, complete with stars and planets, at the age of twenty-nine. Everyone she knew regarded her as a fashion icon so she would have to beat her father until his photographic memory no longer functioned if he ended up catching a glipse beneath her skirt…

Accepting her father's outstretched hand, the blonde woman, better known as Tights, maintained a skeptical look as she questioned, "Why are you in such a rush? You didn't show up to greet me even though I told you weeks ago I was coming by to visit."

Recalling that Tights had, in fact, sent him seventeen messages informing him she would stop by near the end of Bulma's Summer Break, an embarrassed yet helpless expression developed across Dr. Brief's face. After all, while his daughter had informed him she was going to stop by, she never once mentioned a date. In fact, every time he askered her clarification, she would answer something along the lines of, 'after my book is finished', or, 'once my Editor has finished looking over my new manuscript'.

Understanding the futility of referencing such things, Dr. Brief adopted an apologetic expression as he scratched the back of his head and replied, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It must have slipped my mind while I was helping your sister with her research. Tell you what, why don't I buy you a new laptop as an apology? I know you don't like accepting financial support and free handouts but it would make me feel like less of a terrible father if you accepted…"

Adopting a slightly embarrassed expression of her own, Tights combed back the fringe on the left side of her head as she answered, "Thanks, dad…" in an uncharacteristically compliant tone before looking past him and into the lab. When she saw the Model Tiamat standing proudly in the central hangar, every other thought in her mind ceased to exist, illusory stars erupting from her eyes as she shouted, "Holy crap! That's so-"

"Will you two quiet the hell down!? Can't a girl brood in silence…!?"

Though she had initially done her best to ignore the conversation between her father and elder sister, Bulma's anger burst forth when Tights shouted at the top of her lungs.

Unfortunately, the one person who had never feared Bulma's anger was Tights, so, instead of being cowed like the vast majority of people, a visible tick mark appeared near the blonde's left temple as she retorted, "Is that any way to greet the sister you haven't seen in over a year!? I traveled twenty-three-thousand-kilometers to come and check on you! Now, stop sulking like an ill-tempered brat and come give your big sister a hug…!"

Crossing her arms to create an x, Bulma immediately shouted, "Don't wanna!" in a defiant tone. This caused an additional tick mark to appear on Tights's head, her right hand forming into a fist as she threatened, "Looks like someone's in need of some tough love…"

With a shiver running through her body, Bulma left Tights with an incredulous expression on her face as she bolted for the Model Tiamat.

"You…! Absolutely shameless…!"

Undaunted by the fact her little sister was climbing into a mech, Tights ran forward with the intent of climbing in after her. As for Dr. Brief, he used the opportunity to slip away like a highly trained spy. He couldn't keep up with his daughters even when they were still wearing diapers. There was no way in hell he was going to stick around without a cigarette to help calm his nerves…

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I wonder how much of Sarina's gains comes from nightly activities?','Don't worry Vahn. This is your story. I just have the privilege of writing it for all these EPIC and amazing people to read~','I wonder where Pluto is located…?')