📖 CHAPTER 14 – When the Sand Settled
The desert could no longer contain the force of our movements.
Sand spiraled upward in violent funnels as Goku launched himself at me again, faster than before. The air cracked with pressure as our fists collided midair. A shockwave tore across the dunes, flattening ridges and sending pebbles skittering like bullets.
Below us, Pilaf's ruined fortress trembled.
Goku flipped backward, landing lightly on a broken stone pillar. He grinned, breathing heavier now, chest rising and falling. There was dirt on his cheek. His gi was torn at the sleeve.
"This is the best fight I've ever had!" he shouted.
I hovered briefly before descending, wings cutting through the wind before folding behind me. My exoskeleton bore scratches now—thin lines carved by glancing blows. None deep. None fatal. But proof.
He bent his knees.
Then vanished.
The ground beneath his feet exploded as he shot forward in a straight line—no spin, no trick, no flourish. Just raw speed and commitment.
I stepped into him.
We collided.
The impact cratered the desert floor. Sand blasted outward in a perfect ring. For a brief second, everything went silent under the pressure of force meeting force.
His fist pressed against my guard.
My claw locked around his forearm.
We pushed.
The ground beneath us cracked.
Goku's teeth clenched—not in anger, not in rage—but in effort. Honest effort.
"You're really strong," he said through breath.
"So are you."
He twisted suddenly, slipping free with fluid control, flipping over my shoulder and driving a heel toward my back. I spun, wings flaring wide, catching the strike across armored plating. The force sent me skidding across the sand, carving a trench fifty feet long before I stopped.
He didn't chase immediately.
He was watching.
Testing.
I rose slowly. Sand slid from my shoulders.
The wind howled between us.
Then, without a word, we both launched again.
This time the fight changed.
Less testing.
More commitment.
He struck faster—shorter movements, tighter angles. A punch to the ribs. A kick to the thigh. A sweeping strike aimed low. I responded in equal measure, redirecting, countering, stepping inside his guard. We moved too quickly for the eye to follow—two blurs tearing across the battlefield.
Midair clash.
Ground impact.
Rebound.
Each exchange stronger than the last.
Then—
Goku pulled back mid-rush and thrust his palms forward.
A pulse of concentrated energy erupted from his hands—not massive, not world-breaking—but sharp and focused.
It struck my chest and detonated in light.
From Below – Bulma's POV
Bulma shielded her face as sand blasted against her goggles.
"What was that?!" she yelled.
"That's Goku's energy!" Yamcha answered, eyes wide. "He's actually serious now…"
She lowered her arm just in time to see the explosion fade.
The armored figure still stood.
Smoke curled off black plating. Cracks webbed across the chest piece.
But he was upright.
Unmoved.
Bulma's voice dropped to a whisper.
"That thing… isn't human."
From Yamcha's POV
Yamcha's fists clenched.
He had fought bandits. Desert raiders. Mercenaries.
This was different.
They weren't fighting with anger. They weren't trying to kill.
They were climbing.
Testing ceilings.
And neither had hit one yet.
"If that armored guy wanted to…" Yamcha muttered, "... He can kill us"
From Oolong's POV
Oolong trembled behind a slab of broken stone.
"Why are we still here?! Why are we watching this?! They're monsters!"
Puar floated beside him, silent for once.
From Goku's POV
The smoke cleared.
He stared.
"You're okay!" Goku said, eyes lighting up.
Across from him, I exhaled slowly. A thin fracture ran down my chest plating. With a subtle flex, the exoskeleton shifted, tightening, stabilizing.
I looked at him.
"That was strong."
Goku beamed.
"I know!"
He bent his knees again—
Then paused.
Because I didn't charge.
Instead, I straightened fully.
The wind slowed.
The sand settled slightly.
"This fight," I said evenly, "has reached its purpose."
Goku blinked.
"Huh?"
"You wished upon the dragon. You gained what you sought. I came to understand this world's warriors."
He tilted his head.
"And?"
"I understand enough."
He scratched his cheek.
"…You're stopping?"
"Yes."
For a moment, silence lingered between us.
Then—
Goku burst into laughter.
"Man! You're weird!" He walked closer, totally relaxed now. "But you're awesome!"
I did not step back.
He stopped just a few feet away, looking up at my armored form without fear.
"You're not bad at all," he said. "Next time, we go even harder."
A faint curve touched my mouth.
"Next time."
He extended a hand.
No hostility.
No tension.
Just invitation.
I looked at it.
Then clasped it carefully with armored fingers.
The ground beneath us stopped shaking.
From Bulma's POV
Bulma exhaled the breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"…They're shaking hands."
Yamcha blinked.
"That's it?"
Oolong peeked over the rock.
"No explosion? No death beam? That's it?!"
From My POV
The fight had not ended because one of us fell.
It ended because it no longer needed to continue.
He had tested me.
I had tested him.
We both walked away stronger.
The desert bore the scars of our clash—craters, trenches, shattered stone—but it still stood.
And so did we.
Goku stepped back, grinning widely.
"You're not from around here, are you?"
"No."
"Cool! Then stick around! There's tons of strong people out there!"
I turned slightly, wings folding fully behind me.
"I intend to."
High above, the sky stretched endless and blue.
Shenron had called me an anomaly.
Perhaps.
But in this world of warriors, monsters, and impossible strength…
I had found something else.
Rivals.
The sand finally settled.
And Chapter 14 closed not with destruction—
But with promise.
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