Fist met fist in the open air, a thunderclap of power rippling outwards as the two fought. Their strength was close, yet the way the two of them fought couldn't have been more different. One fought in constant mobility, with precision attacks as they darted in and out of range, whilst the other was a mix of reflex and aggression, pressing relentlessly with powerful strikes before attempting to turn any counterattack into a new opening to exploit. When the two of them broke apart to assess the other, neither of them had come away unscathed.
"You've trained her well." Goku complimented, as he watched Mikasa flex her muscles and study her opponent. Gohan smiled at the compliment, but he knew he couldn't take all the credit.
"A lot of her training is her own, I only gave her the knowledge of how to use Ki. Mikasa is a lot like you in some ways dad, every time you look away she's doing some kind of training to improve herself." He turned his gaze from her towards her opponent instead. "Videl takes a lot more after you though, that stance is pure turtle school."
The woman in question may have had her own share of bruises, but she showed no true signs of being truly tired. Her breathing was steady, her form solid, and her eyes were wary as she focused on Mikasa. In the days that had followed since Gohan's arrival back home, there had been a great deal of time spent catching up with people and finding out all that he had missed. Of course, such discussions had led to the fact that Mikasa, and many other Eldians, had been personally trained by Gohan to teach them how to use Ki. With his father likewise having taken on a student, there had been the question of which student was stronger.
A quick power up had handily given the title to Videl, which wasn't surprising. A nearly full seven years of training under his father, with access to as much training equipment as she wanted, including the gravity machine so long as Vegeta wasn't using it. It was hard to gauge where Videl was relative to their own strength, given not only how much time had passed, but also just how much their own power had exponentially increased. If he had to guess, he would have said she would have fared reasonably well on Namek. Not able to fight against Frieza, but from the lowest of his minions up to the Ginyu force, she would have shown herself well.
Mikasa, for all her hard work and natural affinity, simply couldn't compete, and so the real challenge had then become about skill. In these areas, the two were much closer. Whilst Videl had been given more martial specific training, her much higher power had actually worked against her in some regards. Greater power could and often did work as a crutch against the finer details of martial arts. There was not as much need to ensure that your form was perfect when you increased power or speed masked your deficiency. It wasn't intentional, and required a masterful eye to catch, as it mostly presented itself when one trained by themselves.
From what he knew, Videl split a lot of her training between her own exercises, her father's tutelage, and "training" with Goten, which for him was more accurately just play time. This was not to say Videl was unskilled, far from it, even if he wasn't in his best mental state for the last seven years, his father was a phenomenal fighter and teacher, and had adjusted her heavily whenever she slipped, but some bad habits had still set in.
Mikasa however, had been given the benefit of being weak. Cadet training had been a mix of many things, all of which Mikasa had excelled at, but ODM training did still require one to push their body to extremes not only to become proficient at its use, but if one wanted to excel then they had to push even further beyond. Mikasa had pushed her body beyond its limits time and time again, and while her striking power was less trained than Videl, her dexterity was second to none. With ODM gear, a user needed to be flexible in all axis of movement, adjusting through the air constantly and needing to be able to strike with strength even without a grounding for your form.
All of these aspects had shown themselves in their fight. Videl may have capped her power level to make the fight more even, but she still hit much harder than Mikasa, and her technique was superior in almost all aspects. Whenever the two of them engaged to the point of grappling or countering, Videl would swiftly begin to dominate and aggressively push her advantage. The issue was being able to create those opportunities, as Mikasa was slippery to the point that Videl could barely touch her. Jerking and twirling her body in a constant fluid motion around Videl's attacks and slipping away whenever Videl did manage to get the advantage. Of course, that also meant that Mikasa was much more limited in what she could do to Videl that the girl couldn't handle.
"Any thoughts on who will win?"
His father was still studying the two of them carefully, so instead it was up to the others to answer as the rest of the Z fighters likewise watched the match.
"Mikasa," Yamcha asked confidently, "she's too agile, Videl can't touch her."
"Can't do anything to Videl either." Tien said in disagreement. "Videl will win hands down."
"I gotta agree." Krillin said, though shooting Gohan an apologetic look as he spoke. "Videl just has too much of a strength advantage, and Mikasa doesn't have the skill advantage to overcome it."
Gohan nodded, it was sound reasoning but he knew the fight wasn't over yet, and he had enough faith in his student to know she could still surprise them. When the two of them re-engaged, it was at first very similar to before. Mikasa able to avoid a lot of attacks, but her strikes on Videl being insufficient. Since both of them had extensive training in other Ki techniques such as the solar flare or after image, their employment of them changed little, though Videl's technique was of course a bit more refined and experienced than Mikasa's.
What shifted things was when Mikasa suddenly seemed to pick up speed. The red glow in her eyes was a surprise to the others but brought a smile to Gohan's face. Her speed massively increased, but so did her strength as she pushed harder against Videl. Goku's student was certainly no slouch however, and despite momentary surprise she adjusted well, and the two fought evenly before a final burst of speed had Mikasa appearing behind Videl, hands raised to strike together in a manner similar to, but altered, her method of striking with swords.
When the attack struck, it hit only Videl's raised forearm in defence, but the two women froze in response as the ripple of energy rocked outwards from them both. Mikasa remained hovering in the air, staring down at Videl who shut her eyes and cursed under her breath.
"You win." She admitted, lowering her arm as Mikasa descended slowly from the air, tired but satisfied.
To the pair of them, the moment had been so fast they almost hadn't caught it, but the much more powerful Z fighters had. In order to block her final strike, Videl had reflexively increased her power level and essentially disqualified herself. She may have been annoyed with herself at having slipped up, but Mikasa seemed almost grateful as she quickly slumped down onto the ground.
"You really had me – for a while – there…" Mikasa panted out, pausing to stretch her tired muscles. "I haven't been pushed that hard in – a long time. If you hadn't made that mistake, you would have won."
"Maybe." Videl sat with her, good sportsmanship overriding any annoyance with herself she may have had. "But don't put yourself down. You're really hard to catch."
Mikasa smiled at the compliment, and the two shared casual conversation about their fight as the Z fighters did the same, studying the different strengths the women had compared to where they had once been. Gohan turned away from the conversation however as two familiar energies approached.
"Who won?"
Petra gave him a quick peck after nodding to the two women, still happily chatting away in spite of their dirty clothes.
"Mikasa did, though on a technicality. I think she's still happy with it."
"She should be. I've seen Videl fight a few times, she's good." Bulma handed over a folder filled with documents for Gohan to peruse, which he did so with gusto. "Medical came back clean, though Petra's probably gonna feel a bit icky for the next few days now that she's up to date on her vaccinations. I checked as you asked though, Eldian cells which seem to correspond to the Titan genome are dormant."
"They're changing too?" Gohan asked as he flicked between a small handful of pictures, printouts of the cellular level scans that Bulma had taken from each of the Eldians, along with Gohan.
"Yep. Whether it's your leaving of that world to ours, or Ymir's otherworldly departure, any cells that could trigger a transformation are morphing, mimicking the surrounding cells and changing match."
Gohan nodded in understanding. When the others had remembered to go and collect King Kai he had, after some serious complaining, told them all of the Supreme Kai of Time's actions in collecting Ymir and closing the realm she had lived in. "No more Titan transformations, no more healing either. Looks like their using the last of their energy to transform themselves out of existence."
"Something to do with their similarity to stem cells." Bulma confirmed, having previously identified their similarities as a likely origin of their regenerative potential. "If I had more time, it would be nice to learn more about them, but they just won't exist long enough for me to study."
"A mystery you won't be able to solve." Gohan sympathised, understanding the curiosity of their shared scientific mind. "Will you be okay with that?"
"Of course, I still have another set to study, yours. Unlike the Eldians, your gene's are still changing, it's like they're bridging a gap between your human and Saiyan halves."
"I've felt it." Gohan admitted. "I actually started feeling it when I absorbed the spirit bomb energy, my new form. Without the Titan healing, I don't know if I could survive the form again, but in time maybe."
"A question for another day." Bulma changed the subject as she pointed towards another set of readouts. "But look at these enzymes, they're different."
A shadow across her face woke up Ymir, the figure blotting out the sun and disrupting her peaceful lounging. Seeing her wife however, Ymir was happy to let go of the pleasant dream she'd been having.
"You look comfortable." Historia smirked down at her wife, who smiled back unabashedly.
"I've never had the chance to lounge around in a pool before, I figured I'd take the opportunity since you had your meeting." Historia knelt down, slipping off her shoes and dipped her own feet in the water as Ymir shuffled her floating bed towards her, giving a small playful splash as she came near. "This is the life I could get used to. No royal meetings or people constantly surrounding us, just some actual peace and quiet for once. You, me, and the water."
Historia reached out next to her and shook one of the empty shapely glasses which held only trace remnants of fruity alcohol and their straws. "Some of these too I'm guessing?"
"Absolutely, I could get addicted. Maybe some of these 'bikini's' too, would be nice to see you in one, none available here sadly."
"Where did you get that one?" Historia pointed to the mis-matched set that Ymir was wearing, only for the woman to blush in embarrassment.
"One of Bulma's from when she was a teenager. All the rest she has don't fit; the cups are too big…"
Historia laughed at her wife's grumbling, giving her a small splash with her foot. "Don't be jealous Ymir, I'm more than happy."
"Better be." She grumbled before swiftly moving on. "So your meeting with the King, how did it go? Is he really a dog?"
"It went well. There's going to be a few waves of delivery due to the size of what we need, even with capsules shrinking everything down."
"Must be a lot of capsules."
"It is." Historia leaned back and laid on the ground, idly kicking her feet. "So much talking, so much we need to cover. This is all the easy part, when we get back it's only going to be worse. I think you're right, we need to have a getaway at some point. Just you and I."
"We've got a while before we go back, you should make your vacation start now."
Historia smiled at the thought. "I think I'd like it. A couple days like yours, just sleeping in then resting in a pool. Drink what I want, eat what I want, don't have to worry about fitting into my dresses for a while."
"Sounds good to me." Ymir laughed, before becoming a bit nervous as she reached out to dig through some of the belongings on the poolside. "I didn't just laze around in the pool though; I actually spoke to some people. Phones are weird but Mrs Briefs helped me."
"Who'd you call?" In answer, Ymir pushed a pamphlet into her hands. There were pictures of different people, medical related if Historia had to guess. Which incidentally, she did. "I can't read this language remember?"
"I know. It's… it's a fertility clinic." Historia was quiet before she sat up straight to look Ymir in the eye questioningly. Ymir was too embarrassed or nervous to look at her directly, and her words came out as a rushed mumble. "I was talking to Mrs Briefs earlier about some of the issues of being queen, specifically when it's me who's married to you, and she told me there are ways in this world that can help. This clinic, it can get you pregnant without needing to have sex with someone. They just take a needle of some kind and then…"
She awkward made a motion with her fingers, one that could have been crude if it weren't so amateurish. Once again, Historia was silent as she looked at the pamphlet and then her wife. Ymir began to panic, speaking louder but even quicker.
"I just thought that since there's all these issues about you not having children, and who'll be queen after you that you could do this. If you want I mean. I'd be fine if you did, and-and you can look into who you want the father to be, there's all these records and stuff, and it's apparently super safe and-and-…"
Historia's hand came to rest on her shoulder, quieting her wife as she considered the pamphlet. "I'm not… I'm not saying yes, but… are you sure? Would you be okay with something like this?"
Ymir shrugged nonchalantly, a terrible attempt at hiding her previous anxiety. "I don't see why not? You're not actually doing anything with someone."
"Not that, I mean… would you be okay with being a mother?" Historia's words had Ymir hesitating slightly, before she nodded in certainty.
"I would like it. I mean, I've never been a mom, or known what it was like to have one, not really. But… I think I'd like it. I know you could never with me, but would you want to be a mother?"
Historia smiled at Ymir. "Don't hate me if I say I do, right? My mom… well, I never really had a mother either. But Frieda, she was the closest I ever had, and I want to be the mother I always wanted to have."
"So… you want to do it?" Ymir held Historia's hands in hers, looking into her eyes hopefully.
"I do."
They sealed their promise to each other with a kiss.
Carla sat in the chair enjoying the massage she was receiving from the physiotherapist. It was a requirement for the recovery of her legs, but she saw no reason she couldn't take the opportunity to enjoy it as well. The man giving her the massage was supposedly one of the best medical professionals available in the world, and his magic fingers seemed to show it. He gave her advice on various exercises, and showcasing what her predicted progress should be, but she would be lying if she said she could fully pay attention to what he was saying.
Oh well, there would be some pamphlets he would give her that Bulma had already handily prepared a translation machine for her. That woman's genius was almost frightening… Not that she was complaining, the help she was giving and the expenses she could afford were mind boggling, and she would not say no to a way to help her home.
When the physiotherapists work sadly came to an end, Hannes was there to help her take her first steps into her wheelchair and be wheeled away for her next appointment. Improving as she may have been, it would take quite some time before she could walk longer distances without help. It would be the wheelchair for a bit longer, then crutches, then by herself.
Her next appointment however had her mind almost entirely forgetting about her legs, even as Hannes helped her out of the wheelchair and into a new chair to lean back in.
"Okay Mrs Jaeger, are you ready to see your baby?"
Carla could only nod anxiously as she held Hanne's hand in hers. Though the doctor told her step by step everything that would happen, Carla was still so nervous as they squirted the cold lubricant onto her belly. The very concept of an ultrasound was a pipe dream for her, a woman used to a technology level that meant that giving birth was still very often a fatal practice. Yet here, in this world, with this technology, it all seemed so simple.
"Okay, we're just going to press down a little bit further, and then… there we go." The big tv screen in front of them displayed what the ultrasound was showing, a small foetus growing inside her happy and healthy. Carla gasped, tears running down her cheeks as she for the first time saw what would be her second biological child. Hannes, for all that he was meant to be her emotional support, was just as tearful as her, futilely trying to stifle his tears as he watched the screen.
"H-hello…" She whispered at the blob. It looked only vaguely formed, and yet she could see so much in it already, especially as it gave a small wiggle that she felt within her. "It's so small."
"Very small, at this stage they'll be just the size of a plum." She held out her fingers in demonstration, and Carla was quickly struck by the memory of how small Eren had been when he had been born. How the years had gone so fast… "If you would like, I can tell you the sex of the baby? Some parents prefer to leave it a surprise."
Carla looked to Hannes questioningly, but there was no doubt that the two of them wanted to know. "Please, if you could."
The doctor made a few more changes, searching around for markers that only she could understand. There was some humming and ahhing as she worked, all the while the parents to be watched their growing baby in awe.
"Congratulations, it looks like you two are going to be having a healthy baby girl."
A girl. Carla held herself back from openly weeping, leaning into Hannes as the two looked at the tv with bliss.
Mikasa munched on the senzu bean. Instant regeneration and replenishment of energy was how Gohan had described it, and he certainly hadn't undersold it. Instantly after she swallowed, she was flooded with a sense of complete relief and rest. A moment later, she was hit by a sudden churning in her stomach.
She clutched her stomach in alarm, groaning at the strange feeling. It wasn't quite familiar, she didn't feel like she was going to be sick or as if she was hurt, but something clearly wasn't right. She slumped against the wall as she tried to steady herself, closing her eyes as she focused until she was alerted by someone speaking to her.
"Are you okay my dear?"
It was Mr Briefs, Bulma's father. She'd not spoken to the man, but she knew he was nice enough. "Sorry, I'm not feeling very well at the moment. I just had a senzu but, I think it disagreed with me." She gave a half-hearted laugh to put him at ease, but the man looked at her seriously. He may not have thought she was dying, but he still seemed to have reason to be concerned.
"Your stomach is upsetting you? Come with me, let's see if I can find out what's wrong." He was already gently grabbing her arm to move her along before she could politely refuse, and so she relented. Truthfully, the idea of having a man who might be able to instantly solve her problem was a nice thought.
He led her to a room filled with all kinds of machines she didn't recognise, only that at least some of them seemed medical in nature. When Gohan had said that the Briefs were not only some of the smartest people in the world, but also the wealthiest and most powerful, she had expected more gaudiness and showing off than just endless rooms filled with technological gizmos.
Mr Briefs sat her down and quickly whirred a machine into life that dazzled her with lights. She winced under the brightness but remained still while he worked. It took only moments before he seemed to finish and hum in confusion.
"No sign of an infection. All your organs are functioning normally, no breaks or cracks in your bones, but by the looks of it all your pain is isolated towards this area." He turned the screen to face her and indicated. Mikasa, for all that she was a little weirded out being shown an instant picture of her insides, looked at where he was pointing.
Human biology wasn't something she was very familiar with, her education having been rather stunted when she'd entered into the military, but she could recognise enough the area he was generally pointing at. That recognition was enough to explain her pain instantly, and leaving her stunned at what she realised.
What he was indicating was her womb, a womb that had been pierced with a sword some two years ago. Yet, there was no sign of damage anymore. The change she had felt was the loss of a muted pain she had accepted and become used to, as the damage had been healed. Lifting her shirt slightly, she checked her stomach. The scar was still there, which made sense given she had seen several of the other Z warriors had scars on their body, but the damage was gone. The parts which had not healed, and had still been bothering her were now gone, which left her with one hopeful conclusion.
She could have children again.
Gohan took a deep breath as he prepared himself. Night had fallen, and he and Petra had taken the scenic route returning home. He had told his father that it was to show her the sights, but in truth there was an important conversation he needed to have with her. He'd come to something of a decision about what he was going to do next, but as Petra was his partner he'd needed to make sure she was in agreement with what he said.
Petra had been somewhat taken aback, and yet also somewhat unsurprised. The discussion had been long, but she had told him that she would support him whatever he decided. Sadly, now he would face the hardest part of all, telling his family.
The front door was unlocked when they arrived, locks were hardly needed when one lived in the wilderness and Goku was one of the strongest beings in existence. As such, they walked through the door without issue, and sadly without any obstacle Gohan might have wished for to further delay the inevitable.
His mother was finishing up some final dishes, of which his father and brother had already started devouring at the table.
"Welcome back you two." His mother said, a strained worry in her voice, second nature after so long without him having generated a fear that anytime he walked out the door, he might not return. "Dig in quick before your dad eats everything, I can't have Petra going hungry at our table."
He wanted to hesitate, to change his mind and do something else, but any procrastination would only make things worse. With a final painful gulp, he swallowed and began to speak.
"Mom. I've decided I'm going to return to the other world and become their guardian."
Silence, followed only by the crash of a plate that slipped from Chi-Chi's numb fingers. Then his mother fainted.