The Dragon's Ascension [Open/Claim to Kami]

The Tower Keeper was finally home after his long absence and it felt good. Of course he wouldn’t be staying for a long time nor all the time, at least not yet; he had things to do in order to become a better protector of the Earth. Still, to be on the place fate chose as his home was comfortable and felt right, giving him a warm fuzzy feeling inside his chest. He had the opportunity to talk with his guardians, the members of the Korin tribe and the news he heard were rather unsettling: Atsuko Inoue had vanished out of nowhere and no one knew where she was. Galen sighed when he heard the news, but then again he remembered about the Atsuko he encountered in the battle above the northern sea and that person was very different from the honorable guardian he met on the Lookout. ”I guess some things are meant to be… But I can’t help but to feel concerned about our situation. Without the guardian… Without Kami… We are vulnerable…” that thought made him feel a heartache, still there was nothing he could do about it other than train with Jie Shan and Cleo in order to become a better warrior.

Galen took his time, tended to the senzu trees, watered them and shared his ki energy with it in order to make it grow for the future: right now he had only four beans and that was a dangerously low stock if another invader attacked Earth; the defenders Earth had right now weren’t all that powerful and the healing power of the beans was all they had to defend themselves against those foul villains. Once he had finished his job, he wiped the sweat of his forehead and exhaled. ”Alright my friends! Now it’s up to you! I will take better care of you now… Hopefully I won’t be knocked out for so long again! Hehehe” he said to the trees in a kind tone.

Then he felt something, a strong power level. Not as strong as someone like Jie Shan or the beasts Nasu and Caesar, but enough to be considered way above the normal warrior’s level. The power level rivaled Galen’s own after Galen had the blessing of the Holy Water and intense training and it felt absolutely familiar. Galen closed his eyes for a second and then the lone swordsman realized: ”Master Arion!” the sudden realization came with an intense surge of happiness: Atsuko may be gone, but Arion was back from Planet Namek and, truth be told, Galen deeply respected the namekian, who also helped guiding him on his quest to become the Tower Keeper.

Without wasting any time, Galen flared his light blue ki aura around his body and took flight straight to the Timeless Lookout, with adrenaline rushing through his veins with the thought of seeing an old friend and teacher. In a matter of seconds he reached the place and, near the edge, he spotted the Namekian. ”Master Arion! You are back!” he shouted in excitement as he landed near the Assistant. Upon looking at him, Galen could already tell he had changed. He had this mysterious yet powerful aura around himself and that made the human arch both his brows. ”Wow… You look… Different, master!” he said, finding trouble to find more proper words.

Something that Arion would never forget was the planet’s sky; it was so lovely that even Namek’s was dull compared to it, even if the wind didn’t blow so much around here because of the enormous height. But, by the time Arion had started to take care of the Lookout, he had already gotten used to it. It was quite difficult to remember how everything turned out this way; from Arion’s first arrival on Earth to take on the role of Kami, to be Atsuko’s assistant and the one who would usually assist her in the matters of learning her duty. It was quite curious considering it was usually the other way around, or so he remembered at least, but he couldn’t quite deny the fact that she was a Saiyan. He didn’t exactly hold any grudge towards the warrior race; aside from Nasu, but he guessed that all of them possessed nearly the same blood.

On the other hand, the Namekians were a peaceful race aside from the Mazoku who were pretty much the opposite of the pure-hearted ones. One could compare such to the yin and yang; the positive and the negative. And he had met lots of the latter ones during his time on Earth, but he had also met lots of friendly people! That was worth it-- some of them were weak, others were incredibly powerful and had contributed to the Earth’s well-being in ways that he couldn’t have ever done in battle.

“I wonder where’s everyone… Quite a few people were hanging around here back then; Atsuko, Cambia, Bernael, Chris and now it’s empty.” - he muttered under his breath, a hint of sadness in his voice as he was about to turn around and walk inside before he picked up on a familiar signature.

It was surely stronger than the last time they met-- thanks to Korin-sama who had managed to portray somehow Arion, who at the time was on Namek, all the way from Earth. But he couldn’t surely forget about him.

As soon as the man revealed himself, a smile crossed the Namekian’s features out of happiness; it had been a while since he had seen Galen the last time. He had sure not changed that much in matters of appearance but his mere presence below at Korin’s Tower was enough for him to tell that he had not been slacking. “Galen! What a pleasure to see you after so long.” - he replied, focusing his gaze upon the human as he landed near the green man.

Arion rose a brow to the swordsman’s comment; was it so really evident? He knew that the Dragon Clan’s training would have rendered his aura sharper but at the same time as tranquil as a river, but he would have never expected that anyone would have noticed that quickly. However, he was glad of such. That meant Galen had a good grasp of his senses and what surrounded them.

“I’ve been through a lot of stuff on Namek, but I must say it’s been a quite enlightening experience for me. Helix should be here soon himself, but as of now, I’ve hurried up here to check out if what I’ve feared all the way from Namek was true-- and it seems I was right. I can’t see or sense Atsuko anywhere around here. Is she still gone or has she been slacking off? The Earth already suffered years of being lost without a Guardian; we can’t let that happen again.”

Shortly after he felt another signature about to reach the two, he couldn’t tell who it was supposed to be this one time, though. He didn’t have much of an idea aside from the fact that it didn’t seem like whoever possessed such ki was half bad, but it must be no coincidence that someone else was flying up the lookout; they had probably sensed both the Namekian and Galen all the way from below.

The Namekian tilted his head slightly as he saw the black woman, he seriously had no idea of who she was. But he’d imagine that she had some connection to this place if she had sensed the two up there. Not to mention that what she said left Arion even more perplexed-- and somewhat concerned. What did she mean? What did Atsuko do?

“...The devil? Err. Apologies but what brought you to affirming such a thing?” - he asked with a hint of curiosity in his words.

But that was only the first of a few.

Not too long after Cleopatra showed up, another suddenly came out of the temple-- and that enough was suspect enough for the Namekian; why was she there? Not to mention that he was pretty sure that there have never been kids up the Lookout, what did he miss during his time on Namek?

To her terrible but noted attempt of intimidation, Arion replied to with a soft tone of voice. She was still a kid; he didn’t certainly want to scare her. “I’d like to ask you the same question. What are you doing here?”

But then again, someone else showed up! What was going on? Sure, the lookout was known for being visited every now and then by some fantastic people, but this was severely getting out of hand, especially considering that this one time the person’s signature was unbelievable! Arion couldn’t help but stare at the persona blankly for a brief moment in awe; he looked pretty much like any earthling if it weren’t for the man's tail.

It was another Saiyan. He had never met this one. However, he had to say, that he seemed to be a quite enjoyable one. More than Nasu for sure. On the other hand, he couldn’t tell what the hell meant when he addressed Galen about his pants, but Arion decided to let that slide-- at times it’s better not knowing certain things. Although, it seemed that he had apparently a connection to the woman who had shown up earlier; by what he said, the Namekian guessed that they were training partners or something like that.

Arion nodded, offering a faint smile to the newcomer. “It’s fine. I guess everyone has to look after something-- or someone.” - he replied, before clearing his throat.

“Aheh, well. I guess it’d be proper for me to introduce myself to those who are not aware yet; I am Arion; Master of the Dragon Clan and formerly known as Kami’s Assistant. For reasons I’m not aware of, the latest Kami’s gone missing… and I’ve taken the decision to watch over this planet myself from now on.”

Among all of those people, the most familiar face was Galen’s, whose respect and happiness that the green man appreciated a lot. It made him feel at home, and it was probably one of the most human feelings he had ever felt in a while after departing from the blue marble for Namek. However, what he had not expected were the news that the human was about to deliver him that day-- on Atsuko and pretty much what happened while he was gone, which Arion implied to be a lot considering how confused he was at the moment.

That Atsuko had disappeared, he had already realized, but he ignored the identity of this Caesar fellow-- who was he even supposed to be? Either way, whoever he was, it seemed that he had been up to no good. And Atsuko had apparently turned evil? It was something that he couldn’t exactly muster up, but maybe it was related to that guy the Kaioshin’s assistant warned them about long ago. That was a possibility, but if such was true-- and he fully trusted Galen. He knew no one more honest than him other than Chris that lived on Earth.

Such news was truly saddening for the Namekian; he had done anything he could have for Atsuko in her time as Kami but had apparently failed to protect her from the wrong path. He guessed that he couldn’t have done otherwise considering the circumstances, but maybe if Arion had stayed a little more before departing, he could have done something about all of this.

“So… that's what happened huh.” - he muttered under his breath with a hint of sadness in his voice as he just ignored the discussion between Jie Shan and Cleo, and anyone else that would have tried to speak to him. He was distant with his mind, thinking about any possible scenario that could have led Atsuko to change like Galen had described, but his knowledge was limited to the events that had occurred on Earth during his training on Namek.

The moment he snapped out of his thoughts was when the little girl spoke up once more declaring that Atsuko was her mother. … Wait, what?! Arion couldn’t help widen his eyes, looking at the girl in awe as he couldn’t just believe what she had said-- not only Bernael and Atsuko had married but also went through parenthood?! For all the Kaioshins, he had even expressed his pleasure in joining them in such a happy day-- but something wasn’t right.

Arion hadn’t been away for years-- if Atsuko had given birth, by humanoid standards, the baby would likely not be old enough even to walk! “...Oh my, don’t tell me they’ve put her in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…” - he thought to himself, but dismissing the thought shortly after. He was more than sure that they wouldn’t have done such a reckless thing. He sighed as the kid exclaimed the fact that she hadn’t ever seen him before, which was a fair point, but before he could give out any explanations, Camba joined the group as well.

And naturally, she inquired upon the business that Arion had come back for, and in a way that didn’t exactly fit the painting but again, before he could go on any explanation, he was once more cut off short, this time by Jie Shan. However, he had to say that whoever this Saiyan was, Arion could say that he was impressed. He had never met a Saiyan that spoke so fluently and politely towards others; he could tell why he was seemingly friends with Galen; he felt like a genuinely enjoyable company.

Not to mention, that he had even bowed his head in respect to Arion; it was sure something off the charts for a race such as the Saiyans, but he had to admit that such brought a smile to his face, nodding in appreciation. Even if, he had to say, his name was long. He’d probably just call them Jie to make it short.

As Jie Shan was done talking, Arion guessed that it was finally time for him to speak.

“I must say that I don’t have much to say aside from what Jie has already stated. But, I can understand your concern and truly appreciate how much you care for Atsuko-- it’s a human thing, and first and foremost, she’s to be respected since she has done much for the Earth, and I taught her so much so that she could blend in her role. However, here we are not talking about a job or a title-- we’re indeed speaking of the well-being of the planet. That’s all I am interested in-- and whenever Atsuko will come back, I’ll be the first to welcome her, but as of now what matters is the present and the future.” - he stated before taking a few steps forward, holding his staff as its end tapped the ground.

“Being Kami isn’t a job-- it isn’t something you get rewarded for-- but a sacrifice, a duty you take upon your shoulders for the entire planet. A role that has been revealed itself to be essential in the past, as much as some of the Guardians were even weaker than me, had guided strong warriors on their path against evil. Atsuko’s sure sacrificed herself a lot for the planet, and for that, I’m grateful. I don't know whether she’s taken a vacation or not-- since the details of what happened are still not clear to me and this is not the place and time to discuss about it. Either way, the planet can’t be left like this. I’m sure both of us agree on this, for you have fought on our side before.” - he said, staying silent for a moment or two-- giving time for everyone to elaborate all the information.

“That is all, on my part. I can only hope that I’ll be able to provide guidance and any other kind of help to our new generation of fighters.”

Arion had given out his speech; now it’d have been up to Cambia whether to consider it or not. In the worst case, he couldn’t say that he hadn’t tried to reason with her-- for he is foremost a peaceful being; a Namekian.