The First Step On the Path to Power (Complete)

Sairai stood out in the center of the plains that he had visited on his first day on Earth. His eyes were closed as he took in deep breaths and allowed the calm sense of awe feel his soul. He hadn’t been on Earth for the longest of times, but he had already decided that he felt more at home here than he had ever felt anywhere else in the entire galaxy. Admittedly, he hadn’t been anywhere recently, but he still felt the draw of the planets energies, tying into his own and making him very much a part of this giant, living organism that so many who lived upon it took for granted.

What would they do, he wondered, if they were attacked by the Planet Trade Organization tomorrow or even next year?

His eyes wandered to the sky, toward the deceptively peaceful looking light blue atmosphere, and the white, puffy clouds above. Sairai felt at peace, a unique feeling he had never felt on Frieza #79. It was an altogether unfamiliar, if pleasant feeling. His eyes wandered over the entire field before him as he rubbed the back of his head in awe.

Earth was such a wonderful planet. He felt more like himself here than he could ever feel back “home.” A smile crept across his face as he looked upon the green grass, and never once did it leave his face. Finally, he crossed his arms and said to himself, “I suppose now is the time. I’ve gained more than enough power to pull it off during the course of my training. If I can’t pull it off now, I never will.”

Sairai’s race was known throughout the universe for one very specific power, outside of their signature Death Beam, Death Ball, and Super Nova attacks. Indeed, their signature ability was the ability to transform, not just once, but multiple times. King Cold made sure that the universe feared them for that ability, and it worked. For as powerful as the Changelings were in their first forms, most could only imagine the terror they could bring in subsequent forms, such as their second, third, or most frightening to most, their fourth form.

Sairai had finally gained enough personal power to attempt his first transformation, and he would not stop until he achieved it and pushed himself even further beyond that first transformation. He would not stop until he reached the pinnacle of Changeling power.

Without a second thought, the young man immediately released his control over his ki, letting it flare out. The strength from the energy of his ki caused the grass to start swaying violently, shaking back and forth as the energy of Sairai’s spirit poured out of him in giant waves. He frowned and increased his ki to its maximum output, pushing himself further than he had gone against even his strongest opponent, Master Roshi.

He gritted his teeth and tensed all of his muscles. His eyes started to take on the appearance of popping out of his head as veins started to make themselves apparent underneath his skin. It was painful, one of the most painful experiences of his life, forcing his ki to a point where it was higher than even what he had once thought was his maximum output.

He felt his muscles started to contract and relax almost spasmodically, and could see them bulging out larger than they ever had before now. The pain began to rise up like the tides, causing an ear piercing scream to leave his lips. His torso immediately grew to more than twice its original size, and the Changeling continued screaming at the top of his lungs.

His aura flamed out around him, laying flat all the grass in the vicinity as his legs increased in size, followed shortly after by his arms and hands, then finally, as his neck strained and an insufferable pain entered his head, even his head nearly doubled in size, and finally he collapsed down to his knees, heaving.

“What… the hell was that?” he asked, just getting his voice back. It cracked and sounded alien to him, but he was still himself, he was sure. He stood up slowly and looked out at the world around him. It looked… different. The grass was smaller, even the trees lost some of their majesty while he was this big.

“I think I understand how both Frieza and King Cold can be so arrogant,” he said, flaring his ki up. He felt stronger than he ever had during his entire life. A cold smile played upon his lips for a moment as he contemplated a way to test this new form of his.

The sound of clapping interrupted his reverie. As Sairai turned to look at the noise, he already suspected he knew who it was, and indeed he was correct. The small, red headed human John was leaning on a tree, clapping with a beaming smile on his face.

“Bravo, bravo! Care to show me another trick?” he asked, sarcasm dripping like vinegar from his lips. He walked up and patted the younger man’s midsection.

“You know, John, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’ve become my personal stalker.”

The smaller man laughed and shook his head. “No, I just have the ability to sense powers, and you were giving off quite a bit of energy. It’s not exactly easy to ignore that kind of power when you’re so attuned to it.”

The Changeling merely rolled his eyes and sat down on the grass, to get about eye level with the now smaller being. John just stood there with that same goofy grin on his face, without saying a word for the longest time. Then he said, much to the Changeling’s surprise, “How bout we give this newer model a test drive, eh?”

Sairai cocked his head to the side curiously before he was smashed across the face by John’s right hand, sending him flying into the nearby tree.

“What the hell was that for?!” he screamed at John, who merely shrugged.

“I’m going to teach you a little lesson. Don’t rest on your laurels. You must continue to strive to grow stronger, and I’m going to show you why!” the little man bellowed the last words as he came at Sairai, hands open, and a slightly wicked grin crossing his face.

WC: 1,046

“What?!” Sairai yelled, his arms flailing as he got hit with a double open palm strike to the chest that brought him to his knees. He got pushed back into the tree, the wood splintering underneath his weight and the force of the attack. He closed his eyes in pain and double over, clutching his chest as he tried to breathe. His eyes locked with those of the smaller human and a bleak grin crossed his lips as his eyes narrowed slightly.

“You want to convince me that I need more power than I already do?” he asked, almost spitting the words. “I already realize this. If I want to protect this planet, I have to be powerful enough to face any threat, and I won’t stop until I, myself, am unstoppable!” He rushed forward, hands at the ready and caught hands with the human’s. As they grappled one another, Sairai struck out with his tail and took John’s leg out from under him, taking him off balance just long enough to flip the man over his head and slam him into the ground with a loud thud.

John bounced off the ground and was instantly on his feet again. He allowed his own ki to flare out, a blue and black aura instantly surrounding the man. A wicked look in his eyes told Sairai all that he needed to know. John had no intention of holding back. He was more than willing to outright kill the Changeling if that was what it took to make him understand the importance of his lesson. A bleak looked crossed the young man’s face as he realized he would have to literally fight for his life.

He tried to duck underneath John’s overhead palm strike, but he was too tall and the attack caught him in the head. He fell flat on his back before spinning on the ground and using his tail to attempt to bring the human off balance again. John easily jumped over his tail this time, but the Changeling was prepared. He kicked out as he rose from the ground, catching John right in his chest. A loud choking sound was his reward as the small and durable human was sent flying backwards , allowing the larger man time to think.

“It appears I have no choice but to go all out myself,” he conceded. He pointed his finger at the human and unleashed a raging volley of Death Beams, a dozen or more of them following the human all at once as he continued to fly from the kick to his chest.

The Death Beams punctured his arms, legs, and shoulders, but thankfully for his life, they did not pierce through any vital areas. Sairai walked up to him to check on him, and kneeled down before the small man, a look of concern in his eyes.

“I don’t want to fight you. You’re the one who forced me into doing this.”

John chuckled. “I know you don’t wanna fight, Sairai. That’s why I pushed you into it”. A dark look crossed his face as he looked up at the Changeling warrior. “You’re going to end up fighting a lot of people who want to do something to harm this world, and there’s a chance that many of them will try to kill you. You have to be prepared to fight someone like that. If you fight with restraint like you’ve shown with me today, there’s a chance that you’ll not only die, but you’ll fail the entire Earth in the process. You have to be willing to make the ultimate decision.”

“Life or death is not for me to decide. I will merely cause those who wish the Earth harm to run away with their tails between their legs. I am not an executioner.”

The older man nodded. “It takes a strong resolve not to do it when the reasons for doing so are laid out right in front of him. You’re too nice for your own good, kid. Some will see that as a weakness, but I know you’ll find a way to turn it into strength.” He sat up, his wound already mostly healed.

Sairai helped him to his feet and watched with a combined sense of respect and confusion as the older man walked off. “Be careful! I’m sure you’ll eventually run into something you won’t think you can handle, but remember this. Everyone has a weakness. It’s up to you to find it and exploit it.”

Sairai nodded, his confusion a little deeper now. There was so much in this universe that he still didn’t understand, so much left to learn, and so much power left to bridge the gap between himself and whatever galactic threats would come up against his new home.

He allowed himself to power down, returning to his smaller form painlessly and looked up at the sky. One day, something evil would come for the planet he had claimed as his home, and he would not allow them to win.

With thoughts of protecting the Earth and of continuing his training, Sairai left the plains to head off to Kame House, where he would continue on with the last leg of his training. There was so much left to learn, so much power left to build, but he knew he would be ready when the time was right. When the time came to step forward in the defense of Earth against overwhelming odds, he would stand among the greatest of Earth’s defenders, and he would do anything, even die, to make sure that anyone who wished to harm the people of this planet wouldn’t be able to. That was his solemn vow to himself as he continued his flight.

WC: 960
TWC: 2,006