His Own Story. (Solo/Very Hard)

"Enough Al!" Came the now familiar voice of Captain Harley.

It was a routine training session in The Virtual Command Chamber. Even though Al knew he was training against virtual constructs, he still had to hold back considerably against them. Despite that, he was developing a somewhat ruthless edge when it came to the enemy. This time, the enemy were rogue agents from a syndicate operation rivaling Capsule Corp's military division. Al held the informant in his powerful grip. The man was raised a few inches off the ground and Al held him by the throat. Furthermore, he was squeezing the defeated informant for everything he was worth. The psychic connection was already set up, and everybody knew that when Al was angry, he always got his way. Al held the man aloft and once Harley gave the order, he growled. He tossed the useless sod to the side and the man cowered in fear after what Al had been doing to him. Al was a psychic, and one of the best of his class from Kanassa. He'd trained under the might of his Father, Michael Cormyr, to become one of the finest warriors that Kanassa had ever produced.

Al was quite proud of that fact. He was a warrior first, and a resident of Earth second. Al looked down at the body of the man he had just interrogated and carefully studied him. He hungered to let loose, but Harley would not allow him to do so. He calmed down after a few moments and turned to look at Harley.

"They are in Sector Six. A hospital." Al said carefully. "Captain, they have many hostages including the sickly and elderly. We cannot trust the local police to handle this job without casualties..."

"You're not on the job. Abort training." Harley suddenly said.

Reality flickered like a dying candle and he was back in the hologram chamber, empty and metallic.

Al had rarely been face with such a reprimand, even from his own Father...

Al removed the training goggles that were part of the neural link connecting him to the virtual session.

"What happened!?" Al asked.

"Al. Get up and come with me for a moment. There is something that has to be discussed." Harley said and got up, gathered herself and walked out of the chamber.

Al soon followed.

A few moments later, Al had a scowl on his face as he studied Harley's own face.

She was lecturing him!

Al had to face punishment for his ruthless edge before, but at the same note, Al was being a realist. In a live-fire operation there was going to be casualties, the "innocent" got hurt all the time. Al knew that to support the ideals of "the greater good" there had to be sacrifices made. Even his own life. As a Hero, Al knew that and was prepared to die for his ideals. She's grown soft. And lost her edge. Too much time in the office building and not enough time on the field...in the shit... Al kept his eyes locked on Harley as she spoke, but his mind was elsewhere. His mind was on the fact that he'd been grounded for nearly five months after the success of his last few missions. Something was going on with the higher ups, Al knew it. They were scared to unleash the caged beast in Al's soul.

She was speaking to him, and he heard her quite clearly.

He heard every word, feeling the weight of the reprimand on his shoulder.

The sad truth was...his methods worked.

He was not a perfect agent, but he was a loyal one and a skilled one.

"You have to adhere to the administrative policies of Capsules. We cannot have rogue agents in our midst, it's not that we are angry with you Al. It's that you have repeatedly shown blatant disregard for Capsule rules and policies regarding international warfare. There have been numerous law suits raised against Capsule for the first time in our history...all because of you." Harley stopped for a moment. "Al. They are pulling your rank."

"Is that all?" Al asked, he felt anger in his heart. "Are we done?"

"No, there is more. Along with your rank they are docking you pay." Harley said in a very serious tone. "Let this be..."

Suddenly Al could hear no more. "Are we warriors or not?"

"Come again?" Harley asked.

"You heard me." Al said. "Are we warriors or not?" Al repeated. "We have a code, we live by the sword and we die by the sword. So what I get aggressive, my methods work. We get the answers we need, and everybody goes home happy. I came to this world with nothing. Expecting nothing. Only a chance to write my own story. And now you're feeding me this diplomatic garbage. Rank? Pay? Do you think I care about this nonsense? I had nothing from when I first joined!" Al's eye twitched as he spoke harshly. "I only joined Capsule to fight." Al said very clearly. "Now that things are getting a little out of hand you are trying to cut me off? The Hell with this. I can work on my own." Al strangely recalled his meeting with Kami. He turned and began to leave the office.

"Wait." Harley said. "There is one more thing I have to say, Al."

Al stopped and listened to hear, his chest was rising up and down with the anger he felt.

"You are dismissed from active duty, Al as of this very moment. I am personally revoking your permits and your license to act as an agent." Harley sounded very cold.

Al suddenly took off his Capsule trench coat, and let it drop on the ground. "You are making a huge mistake." Al said and continued his journey to leave Capsule. It had been a good run, but now, it was all over. The further he traveled on his own, the more he found himself realizing that he would never escape his Father's shadow. No matter how far he traveled away from his Father, or how hard he trained. He was still the son of Michael Cormyr. He gritted his teeth as he stepped outside of the air conditioned Capsule building. He turned to look at the now familiar logo of Capsule and a single thought burned in his angry mind. Humes are cowards. They are not warriors. There is one more thing left to do now... Al thought to himself as he looked for the pin point location of The Lookout in the sky.

Once he found it, he activated a powered flight, and flew towards the lookout in order to seek out Mr. Popo and Kami.

You win, you old bastard. Al thought to himself as he flew the whole way towards The Lookout.

His heart and soul were heavy as lead.

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What does this mean? Al found himself thinking as he saw Lookout Point just ahead. He flew at an angle towards the floating island, a world onto itself. As he arrived, he saw Mr. Popo waiting for him. He was always in the same garden, carefully tending to it. That was one thing that Al had to admire. The Lookout had it's share of secrets, and he was certain that the ol' garden was part of it. A puzzle waiting to be solved. The memories of his first trip to The Lookout were still fresh on his mind and he instinctively mentally guarded himself from psychic assault. Kami was a devious old bastard, and he was living away from the general population of Humes. Al used his Ki Sense ability to detect Kami's where about. As usual, Kami lurked in the large temple where he was stationed. Al was certain that the temple was probably Namek in origin and that it was built as a reminder of home. Mr. Popo waved happily towards Al's general direction. Kanassans respect the strong. Al reminded himself of The Kanassan precepts that had practically been drilled into his mind.

Al took a steep downward inclination and landed on The Lookout.

Mr. Popo walked over to the young Kanassan Warrior and greeted him.

Al instinctively kept his distance.

"Still sore are we?" Mr. Popo said with that eternally obnoxious grin of his. "Come now, we both know that little incident last time was your fault."

Al growled. "Look. I'm not here to discuss semantics. I am sort of without an employer at the moment and I thought it would be right to attempt to patch things up." Al said. "I'd rather not discuss what happened last time as those events were quite unfortunate."

"It's part of our trial after, Mr. Cormyr." Mr. Popo said. "You passed in a twisted way and Master Kami was left with quite the impressed feeling which doesn't really happen too often."

"You wouldn't let me leave..." Al said, recalling the events.

"You don't seem to understand what is at stake here. You leaving meant less time for training, we need warriors, Al." Mr. Popo said. "Either way you have come back to begin what you have started. "Have you met our associate, Master Roshi yet?"

"Roshi? That exiled hermit?" Al recalled reading about Roshi in his training files. The Capsule reports on Roshi were not pleasant at all. "Tch. Why would I want to meet an eccentric old man who has turned his back on the people he swore to protect?"

"Harsh words." Mr. Popo said. "Walk with me, if you would, Al. There is something I was tasked with showing you before you could meet with my Master." Mr. Popo said.

For a moment, Al considered simply walking to the temple and avoiding Mr. Popo all together. I have to make up for last time. I need to have a situation before I can establish my own goals...damn it. Fine. I'll walk with you. Al cursed in silence. "Tch. All right but we gotta make this quick there is a world that needs saving."

"You have no idea how true that is." Mr. Popo said gravely. "But come. There is a thing you must see."

Al decided following Mr. Popo would be a worth while pursuit this time.

He wanted to learn the secrets of that place.

"Why were you fired, Al?" Mr. Popo suddenly asked with a sad voice.

"From Capsule you mean?" Al responded.

"Aye." Mr. Popo stopped walked and turned towards Al. "I don't see you with their emblem on."

"It's a long story." Al looked away for a brief moment. "But basically speaking, they didn't like my methods." Al said.

"But in your defense, they worked did they not?" Mr. Popo said in response.

Al suddenly felt his jaw drop in shock. What game are they playing here?! Al thought to himself and tapped his chin. "They worked. My methods were not pretty, but by all Hell, they worked."

"Al. We all have the same goals." Mr. Popo said. "We need trained warriors capable of defeating what is coming. You could herald a new age of Earth's Defenders capable of protecting against the threat that even now grows."

"You mentioned that before. Get to the point." Al said.

"The point is this." Mr. Popo waved his hand over a serene and quite seeming pool. The pool was kept in an ornate structure. There was a statue in the middle of the pool that spat out water constantly. Al guessed at what he was looking. This is a scrying device. Kanassans use similar structures... Al knew where to look, he looked at the surface of the water as the ripples swelled out. An image suddenly burst forward.

"Roshi!" Al immediately recognized the old man. But he was not alone, his dojo was completely shattered and he was fighting...something. It was a green monstrosity that was capable of giving the old man a Hell of a battle. Roshi went toe to toe with the vicious beast. Then, a short time into the horrendous battle, individuals began to show up. And Al recognized one of them. "It's Yamcha!" Al curse. Damn. I must've missed a Hell of a party. The moment that the interlopers arrived Roshi's defeat seemed imminent. Al folded his arms across his chest as he watched what occurred. In typical, moronic fashion, Yamcha fired off a large ki attack AFTER Roshi had used a similar move against the green monster and failed. Why are they all attempting to save him?! Don't they understand siege warfare... And then Al saw something he thought he'd never see. Someone he never saw before jumped in front of a blast that the monster shot from his tail and took a hit for Roshi. Then died. Suddenly, Roshi had a heart attack and was taken out of the battle abruptly. Al cursed. Al suddenly understood that the green entity was his enemy. What happened next both fascinated and terrified Al at the same time. The green monster SWALLOWED Roshi whole! What the fuck is that!? Al suddenly thought to himself as he recalled something he read in the past.

"It's Biological Absorption..." Al said, and the image stopped, freezing in time and place so Al could see that bastard old man getting consumed. "What The Hell was Yamcha doing there?"

"Good question, Al. You should ask him next time you two meet." Mr. Popo said. "Now you understand our dilemma and why we did what we had to do with you. We knew that you wouldn't join us under normal circumstances..."

"You shit-heads used me?" Al said. I would have done the same thing... He had to respect Mr. Popo and that old Namek. "All right." Al began. "Tell me what must be done."

Suddenly, Kami appeared in front of the small temple and walked towards Al. "My boy. So good that you have returned to us. But I am afraid the hour grows late. That creature's name is Cell." Kami revealed. "I learned it during deep observation of Roshi's last memories and thoughts. We are running out of time, Al. The forces of Darkness have already begun to move..."

"Spare me semantics, old man. I'm just here to fight. You give me my war. We got a deal. I will train whoever needs to be trained to fight against that thing named Cell."

"Very well Mr. Cormyr." Kami said. "You have your war...now we need to prepare."

Al found himself suddenly kneeling before Kami. "I pledge myself to your teachings...Master Kami."

"Then it is done. I shall teach you all of my secrets." Kami said.

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"Again." Master Kami said.

Within The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the normal constraints of time did not matter. One day in the outside world was equivalent to a year's worth of training. Al had become a pupil of Master Kami, carefully undergoing the teachings of the old Namek. Al wore a uniform of one of Kami's students, but he had also insisted on keeping his mask on. The mask was a simple part of Al's persona now. It hid his emotions and features so that an opponent could not read his expressions. It also allowed the warrior to keep the fury in his eyes from frightening the truly innocent. All around Al, and within The Hyperbolic Time Chamber was a set of robots that were out to get Al. Al was punching the crap out of the nearest of the robots, and had torn it to shreds. Al's strength had grown considerably since his meeting with Oroki the first time. Now, the tides of Darkness moved. Earth needed Heroes. Every time that Al punched the crap out of one of the robots before him, Kami instructed him to do it again. Al responded in kind by continuing. As a Kanassan, he was a Warrior. And Kanassan Warriors underwent fierce training.

"When your Father, Michael Cormyr trained here. He was also angry. He had a lot of rage, but he never sought short cuts. He did the training as we specified, and came back for more. We expect the same from you, Kanassan." Kami said. Al smashed up another metallic monstrosity and stole a glance at Kami and Mr. Popo watching into The Chamber as Al trained. Al only listened to the words Kami spoke. He was focused entirely, mind, body, soul. "Your Father spent a long time with us but there was something that always troubled him. He did not complete the training like you will." Kami continued. "I know you have a lot of anger towards your Father, I peered into your mind and soul."

Al did not let that bother him. He was his Father's son, but he was not his Father. He would do what must be done.

"Your Father loves you, Alberdyne Cormyr." Kami said. "I study the events going on around the universe, Past, Present and Future. I know the regret that lays in your heart, but you were never without love. Your Father simply did not know how to express it in kind as he should have." Kami paused for a moment and continued. "Again."

Each wave of the robots came out much tougher than the last. They were tall and were classified as Destroyers. Al knew that the old man was using a replica of Kanassan technology against him to test him. It was all part of their game. I am a man of my word. Al thought to himself as he smashed up the face-plate of another of the robots. It went down, sparks of electricity flowing everywhere and several sparks even burnt Al slightly. Al was flying as he attacked the waves of the robots, his movements were controlled, without fear. No hesitation. Only a complete movement of thought into desire. Another big robot fell down, defeated. And Al saw that yet another wave was coming at him. He grinned under neat the mask. Kami was observing everything he could about the young Kanassan Hero. Mr. Popo had left his garden to watch the young psionic train as well. "Good night!" Al yelled as he punched the head off of another robot. Then, he flew towards yet another and pushed his fists into it's face, reaching in for the central processing core. He pulled and the robot was silenced.

"There will be times when your Ki will be put out of commission. It is those times when other tactics, strategy must be used to survive." Master Kami tapped the side of his skull. "You must train all aspects of your power to better become the weapon for justice that you are meant to be." Master Kami continued. "Focus, Al. Your Strength has improved considerably since the last time we met. You are capable of much more than this."

"I am learning as quickly as I can." Al said. As he focused, he continued fighting. He felt himself growing stronger as the thoughts passed through his mind. Many thoughts of home, of his Father. Long ago, Al had wanted to beat his Father, but now that was no longer the case. Al had developed a strong respect for what his Father had accomplished. He knew he could never surpass his Father, but he knew he could write his own story. His blood was the ink, the pages of history were his tome. Al punched several more of the robots in rapid succession. "Master Kami." Al said as he fought. "How do I become physically stronger? I am aware of how to become mentally stronger, but I am not aware of Earth's technique to become physically stronger. This, I must learn if I am to beat Cell." Al said to his Master as he smashed another robot. Though it was a repetitive form of training, Al understood the way of it. They were making his fists stronger so he could dish out more damage. Then, when the robots actually hit him his body would grow more powerful in exchange. Al destroyed the last of the robots and turned to look at Master Kami.

"We begin Phase Two." Master Kami said. "The training of strength of the body. Resolve. Fortitude, physical prowess. Whatever it is that you want to call it. A strong core is as necessary as a strong fist. You have learned to make metal afraid of your fists." Master Kami tapped his chin. "Now your core must make the rest of your body strong. You must transform into the weapon."

"So what is the next phase?" Al asked.

"You will be hit. You cannot fight back. You must be hit thousands of times, repeatedly, by one of our training robots. You will learn to take damage and take it well as much as you can dish it out." Master Kami smiled at Al. "Al. This training will commence for a week's worth of Hyperbolic Time."

Al nodded casually. "I will do what must be done." Reality shifted around Al as he suddenly found himself tied up against a tall, wooden cross. Al sighed. He knew the image was somehow fitting to Humes, but he didn't know their religion. Their religion was not his own. The training robot opened when a door manifested in the chamber. It walked casually towards Al.

"I am going to make you suffer. For a week, you are mine." The training robot snapped it's knuckles in a mocking expression of The Hume gesture. "I hope you are ready, Son of Michael Cormyr."

"I really wish your kind would stop being so personal with me." Al grinned. He was no longer wearing his mask for that part of the training. "You might regret not treating as your enemy." Al said.

"There are no regrets. There is only the mission." The robot swung the first blow, it hurt. "The mission is to make you suffer."

"I'm Kanassan, pansy." Al coughed, it had hurt but he was still in a comfort zone. Enough to talk mess to the robot before him. "Your kind are all alike. Soul-less and pathetic. I am here for a week, don't waste my time." Al was struck several more times, repeatedly and without falter. Each strike released a residual sonic boom from the impact point. At that point, Al started laughing. "Really? That's your best? Don't make me laugh. I'm only letting you do this as per Master Kami's orders. I can't wait to tear that face plate off your neck and shove it up your ass." Al laughed as the robot struck him repeatedly. He had grown stronger. He felt the impacts only in a very diluted sort of way. Al never flinched or closed his eyes. He simply enjoyed the feeling of getting hurt. Kroniths were mighty Warriors and trained in the art of warfare from an early age. As soon as he was able, he had learned to wield a weapon. Siege skirmishing was in his blood. Military tactics were ingrained into his D.N.A. The Kronith were amongst the mightiest warriors in the universe, capable of withstanding even the mighty Saiyan race.

Al was bleeding by the third day.

Blood freely flowed down his chin but he still laughed.

"Stop that laughing!" The robot growled. Another set of strikes. Al was tender by that point, but he held strong. "You are fucking insane, do you know that?" The robot suddenly said. "I am going to enjoy..."

"Breaking me? is that what you were gonna say?" Al coughed out, he was grinning the whole time. "You're pathetic. You can't even assault me where it would really hurt. You're nothing but an imitation. You're not even self aware. Do your worst, you imitation. I'll take it and move on from here. You're stuck in this place being a second-rate copy of a far superior race." More blood was coughed out. He was hurting. I cannot show weakness. Al thought to himself. I must complete this training. I must get strong enough to protect what matters the most. Al thought as the blows kept coming. He had several snapped ribs, but he was somehow able to mend his wounds over time within the chamber.

As he got injured, his body healed itself on it's own. Still, Al knew he only had to hang on for a few more days. If he gets lucky he might end me here, or knock me out. I cannot allow that to happen. I have to hang on, no matter how hard this gets. I cannot allow this thing to defeat a Kronith. My Father would have toughed it out, I can only do something very similar if I am to pass this challenge. I must...endure. Al growled out loud at that last blow. Al was close, very close. He was very near to his breaking point but he would never openly admit it. He was far too stubborn. Far too proud. He would have made a fine Saiyan in another life. That last blow that the robot knocked off him emitted a sickening snapping sound. Al's laugh had grown significantly weaker. He had bruises all over, cuts, and other injuries. His face was swollen and hardly recognizable. Only one of his eyes was not swollen or bruised. Al was bleeding horribly. "It took you long enough to get some damage done." Al growled, coughing up his own blood. At that point, he spit at the robot's face.

The robot wiped the blood off. "You are brave. When I trained your Father, Michael Cormyr, he was also quite brave." The robot was not tired, it was analyzing. Surveying for portions of Al's body that still needed to get bruised. "I commend you for lasting this long. Unfortunately, I cannot kill you." The robot said with an almost saddened voice. "However. It is my job to break you."

"A fine job you've done so far." Al laughed again. Al almost passed out right there. But there was still the rest of the week to go through. If only I was stronger... Al thought to himself as he waited. The robot was done with the temporary analysis. "Found out something by peaking, huh?"

"You are brave, but you are not ready for this challenge yet." The robot suddenly signaled to Master Kami. "Record time so far. Three Days. 86 hours. 22 minutes and 15 seconds..."

"You're stopping?!" Al growled. "What the shit is this?" Al cursed as the room shimmered for a moment and he was no longer on the cross.

"Internal injuries detected. It was my fault, I went too hard on you." The robot stared at Al coldly. "Don't worry Al. You will get healed and we will begin again. If it is any consolation, you lasted 5 hours longer than your Father did on his first attempt."

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Al recalled having a dream.

Standing in front of an Altar, Al looked at Master Kami. Also, there were other people present. Al recognized the imposing form of Mr. Popo, and several of The Kai he had seen in Kami's thoughts during their first encounter. Al also recognized his Father, Michael Cormyr, and the boy, Yamcha. Al had no idea why he was dreaming of Yamcha, or what it could possibly mean. Before Al was a lustrous Omni Crystal. Al knew what it was but the other gathered students of The Omniverse did not. How could they? They were not as advanced as he was. Al had been studying Omni doctrine since he could walk. It was a culmination of destinies. Before him stood Earth's mightiest warriors and they had all come and gathered to that place. Al was one of The Chosen of Earth. At that point in his life, he had understood why Kami had attempted to out right steal the secrets of The Omniverse. Earth needed defenders. The defenders needed secret techniques to offset the balance in the universe. As the scales were tipping, slowly but surely, in the favour of The Dark.

Al was standing atop a grand representation of The Earth. All mortals and immortals alike were present as small statue-like figures. Al knew that Kami was a representative of Earth, but knew also, that Kami was not "God." They were not The Creators of the known universe. Al oft wondered why The Kanassan religions and Earth religions differed so greatly. Paganism existed on Earth, but it was not the founding doctrine. The founding doctrine on Earth insisted the universe was made by One Creator and that his befallen son was sent to Earth to save it. If only they knew the truth. Al understood that The Savior of Earth was once a Kronith man named Jeshua. Earth mortals at the time corrupted his name into the human title "El Christo. Or Jesus." Al thought that Humes were silly and dangerous, and not really worth saving. But by the time of the dream, he had vastly changed his opinions of them. Al listened to Michael Cormyr, and Kami speaking. The Kai watched The Son of Michael Cormyr very carefully. As if they knew something about matters they would not say. Al thought often about religion those days. He wondered if the path he was walking on was correct. He knew he was Kronith, and that was real.

He also knew that The Humes had accepted the young Kronith as one of their own. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Al thought. But he knew the truth would be. For The Kronith, so loved The World they gave their Only Children. So that Man would no salvation. There were similarities in Hume Doctrine with Kronith Doctrine. However, there were also gaping holes and vast differences. If the large populaces of The Humes only knew that Jeshua had been a Kronith, they would slap The Vatican in the face. Al looked at one particular figure in the depiction of the world. It had a growing Dark. Al looked at Master Kami, and Kami nodded.

"That is The One. The Avatar of The Dark you will all face." Master Kami said.

"What is His name?" Al asked.

"The creature is a Construct named Cell." Michael Cormyr suddenly said. "It single handedly defeated Roshi."

"They came out of no-where." Roshi stared at Yamcha for a moment with a hint of annoyance. "I had the situation under control. I knew what was at stake. It has the technique, Full Absorption." Roshi walked over towards Al. "Al, if you accept this mission it will become a vicious War. All will be involved."

"Armageddon." Al said quietly. He looked at his Father who nodded approvingly. Al had grown powerful. "The forces of Dark will take away everything that is pure and true in this world. They fight without knowing who is The Enemy."

"Fallen Angel Lucifer." Master Kami said. "The Agents of The Dark are fools, Al. But they are not stupid. Do not underestimate them."

"You will not be alone my Son." Michael Cormyr said. "You have those who would fight alongside you too."

"We must gather Heroes." Master Kami said. "That will become your task."

Al nodded. He understood what was being said, yet he hesitated. Something was bothering him as he looked at The Omni Crystal. Al looked down towards the statue representation of Cell. Then there was one of The Saiyan named Broly. They had joined forces. There is time being wasted. Al thought to himself as he looked back at The Crystal. His Crystal. It would change everything. We could be fighting right now... Al thought. But he understood that was his old self talking. He had changed, he was no longer rash and stubborn. Training in The Hyperbolic Time Chamber had seen to that. Al thought about grasping The Crystal and absorbing it. But then, he suddenly turned towards Master Kami, Roshi and his Father. Yamcha had faded from view.

"It is not time yet." Al suddenly said. "I understand what it is that you all are asking of me. And I accept it, full responsibility for it. But I cannot grasp that which I have not yet earned. We are rushing things. Trying to turn the pages ahead without being ready." He turned towards Master Kami. "I wish to complete the training that I have started before I grasp My Crystal." Al walked to his Father. "There is something I have to tell you, Father." Al suddenly said. And his eyes became dark.

Al saw his Father sigh.

"You don't have to do this..." Michael said. "I understand how you must feel..."

"No." Al suddenly said. "You don't know shit about how I feel." Al shot a glance to his Father. "All my life. I have had to live under your shadow. It has always been 'Michael Cormyr this, Michael Cormyr that.' No matter how far along I've come. I am not Kakarot." Al found himself saying. He knew of the rivalry between The Saiyan Prince, Vegeta, and Kakarot. "I will say what must be said before we go any further." Al's eyes narrowed. "Father. I don't love you. I never have. As a matter of fact, I hate you." Al said. He clenched his fists. "All my life I have tried to be you. That stops. Now. Michael. I am my own person. When the time has come, I will grasp what is meant to be mine. But that hour is not yet upon us." Al sighed. He looked at Master Kami. "Forgive me, Master Kami. I know there is a lot at stake, but there is work that needs doing. We have unfinished business." Al turned to The Omni Crystal. "You must forgive me." He said to The Omni. "I am not yet ready to receive you. There will be a time and a place. But I refuse to rush the sacred Art. Especially not for..."

And Al woke up in a bed.

"I hate you!" Al suddenly yelled. And he wept. In the dark of his room in The Lookout, the child of Michael Cormyr wept.

The End.

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Alberdyne TOTAL Word Count=5,763