Dragon Road Season 1

‘It is the journey, not the destination.’ Everypony knows that saying. Kai was taking it to the maximum, darting off to the very farthest Dragon Ball on the radar. He could tell this would be a trip longer than his supplies would last. Luckily, there was a stop in town before he continued, as Canterlot intersected his path.

After getting more supplies, Kai checked the Dragon Radar once again. It seemed the farthest Dragon Ball coincided with the train. He wasn't sure how far it went, but he knew he could at least reduce his work by a bit just letting the train do the work.

So, that's exactly what Kai did. He hopped on the train, and was moving fast towards his goal. As he rode the train, Kai couldn't help but take these last two weeks into consideration. Never had he guessed this adventure would be taking this long to get one Dragon Ball. The round trip was what really messed up his time, but he could deal.

Musing of his journey thus far, coupled with finally getting a proper moment of rest added up to Kai falling asleep on the train.

Chapter 4

Eternal Silence

“…final stop. Repeat, this is the final stop.” That warning from the conductor woke Kai from his slumber, and he quickly shot up out of his seat. Wiping away a trail of saliva from his chin, the saiyan took out his Dragon Radar, and gave it a glance. He was much closer. Honestly, he thought he had over slept and passed it, but apparantly not…

Kai rushed off of the train, his supplies in hand. He was shocked to see that where he was, was completely in the middle of nowhere. Had he gone outside of Equestria?

The train chugged off, alerting Kai to the fact that this truly was the last stop of the train. As a child, Kai had always wondered how far the train went. Never had he thought he actually would find out, and that it would be this barren.

“Let's… woah.” The saiyan was about to check the radar again, but a sight stopped him. What looked to be a nobable sized settlement of a sort was in the distance, but more than anything, Kai saw a strange… structure, that continued up farther than his eyes could see. “Is that where the Dragon Ball is?”

“Well, I'll be!” Kai turned immediately, poising for action. Instead, he saw an old stallion with a familiar uniform. It was the pony who took the tickets for the train. “Even if it's a weird creature like yourself, it's rare to see anypony taking the train to… the end of the line.” The ticket pony stated ominously.

It seemed like he was going to continue speaking, but Kai spoke first.

“Isn't there anything out here that makes ponies visit?” Kai was a bit surprised that noone came here at all.

The pony shook his head in negative.

“Nope. Nothing but uncharted terrain and wild beasts out that way.” He pointed to the area Kai had looked to.

The saiyan looked to his radar, and then back to the ‘uncharted terrain’.

“Welp, I guess my target is there. See ya, ticket guy!”

As Kai walked away, the ticket pony walked to his stand, scratching his head.

“Reminds me of that one fella…”

Kai saw the obstacles ahead of him; rocky structures, mud, gaps… He decided not to try to traverse that path as it was, and instead chose to launch himself through with a jump. However, before he could, he felt a tug on his right pant leg.

“Huh?” Turning and looking down, he saw a family of squirrels. “Ah, um… Hello.” Little known fact about Kai. For no good reason, Kai was terrible with animals. Most just did NOT like him. To this day, he didn't know why, but if squirrels were trying to communicate with him, maybe his luck was looking up.

The brown squirrel that had tugged at his clothes tugged again, pointing to its right. It made sounds, as if Kai would be able to understand it. He at least understood gestures, so a glance in that direction was enough to give him the story. Some type of bluish white flower was settled where the squirrel pointed. Then, he noticed a small opening to the right of the flowers.

“Um… Let's see… You want those flowers to keep that opening closed?” Kai smiled when the squirrel nodded quickly. “Here, I'll help.” The saiyan walked to the small patch of flowers, and knelt down to pick them. “I've never seen this kind of flower before… Then again, I don't really know about flowers!” Truthfully, Kai didn't mind talking to animals. In his younger, solitary years, he recalled never being able to converse with anypony. He was feared for being different, and animals didn't like him, either. Luckily, there was very little need to talk to oneself when training, so he never went down that road…

Anyway, Kai picked the flowers, and moved them over to help block off the opening, and the squirrels were doing their part, too. Being larger, it wasn't strenuous nor time-consuming for Kai, so the job was done in a few seconds.

“There you go. Good luck to you and your family!” Before he could leave, the squirrels stopped him with a wave. He raised an eyebrow, to which the squirrels all gestured to a particularly large rock behind a bush. “A rock? What about it?” The leading squirrel ran over to the rock, beckoning Kai to follow. The saiyan did so, stepping over a few bushes before getting to the bush in front of the rock.

Kai looked closely, and the squirrel made sure he was. Then, it ran into a small gap between the rock and the wall. Kai's eyebrows rose, thinking the little squirrel could get stuck. He pushed the rock to the side, but displayed his shock when he saw there was a crevice in the wall, just behind the rock. Moving it completely, he looked down at the squirrel with raised eyebrows. The squirrel looked triumphant.

“Sneaky little things, aren't you?” Kai bowed, smiling gratefully. “Thank you! I'll remember to come back to give you some fruits and nuts!” The squirrel let out an equally grateful chirp, then scampered off to its family. The squirrel family waved, and Kai waved back.

Now with a path to presumably the settlement, Kai squeezed through the crevice, crouching to fit properly, and crawled through the long opening.

Not being pony-sized had its disadvantages, that was for sure. Kai finally scurried out of the crevice, happy to see light. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes gently, Kai stood from the shortcut, and observed his new surroundings. This time, a simple ‘Woah…’ didn't cut it. This was a full-blown village, with a bussling population, if the water fountains and food stalls were any indication. It was so very peaceful, and it made Kai feel at ease.

As soon as he took a few steps, Kai suddenly sensed several presences around him, surely around the bushes and out of sight. Kai took a stance, one he was working on for mass-battles. Legs poised, knees bent, and arms raised only slightly to react to attacks from any angle.

Then, his ‘ambushers’ showed themselves. Slowly but surely, the bushes rustled and yielded those who were hidden. They were quite unlike any pony he had ever seen. On top of their different manes, their horns were more like tree-branches, and their tails were only furred at the tip. They themselves were more heavily furred than a pony, leading Kai to believe he was no longer dealing with ponies.

Kai dropped his guard and stood normally, assuming them to be the inhabitants of this village. One of them looked similar to Celestia in height and royal stature, so he assumed she was the leader.

“Hello.” Kai greeted, glancing around at the unknown creatures. They didn't say anything back. Probably on guard, just as he was. “I mean you no harm, so, uh… My name is Kai.” Again, no reaction. Kai took a slow step towards the leader, but found it odd when she didn't even step back or tense up. Perhaps they weren't actually on guard. “What's your name?” There was finally a reaction, just not what he was hoping for. Everyone there tilted their heads, but the blank looks on their faces remained. “Um… Oh! Maybe you're wonderin' what I am. I'm a saiyan.” No reaction. “…What are you?” Nothing.

Kai groaned, hunching slightly in defeat. Then, he brainstormed.

“I've totally been in that silent bubble… I know exactly how to deal with it.” Kai crossed his arms, and stared at the leader with blank eyes, just as she did. “…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…” Kai turned his head and growled to himself. “I forgot someone else actually needs to be around to start up a conversation…” He turned back, glad to note the leading creature was patient enough to deal with his stupidity. Which gave him a thought. “…Say… Maybe it's a stretch, but… Can you actually talk?” The most enlightening answer yet: A head shake. That made Kai feel terrible. “Ah! And I've been a jerk, makin' you all feel bad about it!” Kai bowed. “Sorry!”

If there was one thing Kai was not used to, it was one-way conversations, with him as the speaker.

The saiyan rose from his bow, and looked to the leading creature.

“Is it okay if I just ask ‘Yes-or-no’ questions?” The leader nodded, much to Kai's relief. “Great!” A loud rumbling interrupted any further questioning. Kai's eyebrows shot up, and he rubbed his abdomen with his hand. “Actually, think I can take a rest here and eat first?” A nod and a gesture towards the village was the answer to his question. “Ehehe! Thanks!”

Treating the saiyan may just have been the worst mistake this peaceful race had made. Despite seeming emotionless, a look similar to surprise was on the leader's face through the entire course—FIVE courses—of Kai's meal. As he ate inside of the leader's home, the leader herself had been a bit busy with a blank piece of paper and a quill.

By the time Kai finished eating, the leader was finished writing, and so they got back down to business. Kai thanked her for the meal, and proceeded to speak on this village.

“So—” The leader slid the piece of paper to Kai, interrupting him. He glanced down at the paper, focussing on the words. “‘My name… is… Rain Shine.’” He read aloud, looking back up to the leader. “Nice to meet you!” He looked back to the paper, and read the next line. “‘We are… Krillin…?’ No, ‘kirin’!” Kai could read just fine, but the way Rain Shine wrote was different to what he was used to reading. It took him a moment to decipher her writing. “I've never heard of kirin, but it's nice to meet you, anyway!”

Kai stood, and thought about how to ask Rain Shine what he needed to know in a ‘Yes-or-no’ form.

“Let's see… Is this whole ‘silence’ thing a curse?” The kirin leader shook her head. “Were you born like this?” Again, a head shake. “…Did you… choose to be silent?” Now, a nod shocked Kai. “But why!? I know sometime talking is hard, but…!” He calmed himself. “…Guess even if I did ask, you couldn't tell me.” Kai let out a short sigh, giving the kirin a serious look. “I don't suppose any of you can talk?” Now, call him crazy, but Kai could swear there was a bit of hesitation in the kirin's answer, being a nod. Why that would be, he did not know. However, it was clear that there actually was a kirin that could speak somewhere, quite contrary to what Kai had assumed the answer would be. “Really? Um… could you point where?”

Rain Shine stood and walked to the exit. Obviously she wanted Kai to follow, so he did. Outside and getting a few looks from the passing kirin, Kai waved and smiled, getting no reaction. At least they weren't shunning him.

In no time, Rain Shine had led Kai to the start of a path leading into a forest. The kirin gestured to said forest, giving Kai a look.

“The speaking kirin is through the forest?” Rain Shine's nod answered his question. “Thank you, Rain Shine. I'll be back after I find that kirin!” Kai declared, walking off to the forest.

Kai walked along the path through the forest, ignoring most of the russling he heard in the bushes and shrubs. Truthfully, this whole ‘silent kirins’ thing was making him curious. All he knew right now was that these kirins willingly silenced themselves. He knew conversations were difficult, but this was ridiculous.

Abruptly, a sudden sight stopped Kai in his tracks. Through all of the trees, he hadn't noticed it until he was closer to it. In plain sight in a part of the forest that seemed free of trees, was the same structure he had seen from afar. Cutting through the bushes and dodging the nearby trees, Kai made his way to the structure.

Now directly in front of it, he could see everything about it. It was more like a pole, or a tower, decorated with white and red stone, of some sort. Even from this close, looking up yielded nothing in regards to how high it was. Truly, it was farther than any eye could see.

“Woah…! I-it's huge!” Kai was awed, as usual. He took a step towards the pole, and reached his right hand out to touch it. Slowly, his fingers made contact with the cold material of the pole, causing Kai to recoil for a moment. Touching it again, he flattened his hand against the decorated pole, and simply breathed. “…It feels like… there's more to this than it seems, huh?” Kai asked to himself, stepping back and glancing to his left. The kirin there didn't react, so Kai simply turned back to the… Wait, kirin? “Waah!!”

Somehow in his lapse of attention, a kirin had made her way right next to Kai, and was staring blankly at him. The saiyan calmed himself quickly, and addressed the kirin.

“Uh, hey there!” Kai greeted awkwardly. The kirin was blank. “So, random question, probably, but do you know a kirin that can talk?” Unfortunately, the kirin shook her head. Kai sighed disappointedly. “Guess I'm not surprised. Maybe, by chance, you know where I can look for them?” The girl tilted her head, her blank look remaining. That irritated Kai. “C'mon! That was totally a ‘Yes-or-no’ question!” With a groan, Kai turned back to the pole. “Well, nopony ever said it'd be easy…”

A sudden giggle caught Kai's attention, which had him confused. The kirin he just spoke to was silent and emotionless. Who could have giggled—and so cutely, too?

“Gotcha!” Kai glanced left again, only to see the formerly silent kirin laughing and grinning. She looked to Kai with a humored yet apologetic look. “Sorry, sorry, but that was too good. Oh, you don't know how much I missed jokes. Hi-larity! Am I pronouncing that right? Some words I haven't said in a will. While! While.” Kai watched the kirin speak, seeing that for one, it did seem unfamiliar to the girl, and two, she seemed happy.

“So, you're the talking kirin.” Kai noted aloud. “I'm Kai, a saiyan.” Kai extended his hand, only for it to be immediately grabbed by the kirin.

“I'm Autumn Blaze!” She pulled him down to a kneel as she shook his hand vigorously. “You've just arrived, and perhaps you're tired or hungry or reflective and want to sleep and eat and journal? Which you should do, of course! But first—” She hugged him tight. “Oh! Oh, what joy to talk with another creature! It's been so long! You must tell me everything about you! There's so much to say, so much to do!” Every point was being emphasised and enthused by a physical gesture of closeness. Kai enjoyed the contact. Autumn Blaze seemed to realise something though. “Oh, look at me. I'm going on, and you haven't seen—I mean, have you seen?” It was Kai's turn to tilt his head. “W-What am I saying? Of course you haven't. So just—I—yeah—I will j—Follow me!”

The talkative kirin proceeded to pull Kai along for a few steps, before trusting that he would follow without her guiding hoof. Follow, he did, eyeing her with an appreciative look. That was the first time anyone at all had been so ‘touchy-feely’ with him, so friendly, and so inviting, all at the same time. She wasn't even shocked at seeing a creature completely different from her—she didn't even mention it.

Although curious about everything regarding the kirin, Kai simply wanted to enjoy being with Autumn Blaze for now.

What Autumn Blaze had wanted to show Kai was something he never could have imagined. The two stood on a cliff, overlooking a beautiful view of a rainbow, right above the sun. It arced over the perfect sight of a river, flowing as far as the eye could see, in the middle of grassy forests in the distance. The sky collected just the right amount of clouds, adding a perfect backrground for this incredible view.

Genuinely, Kai had never been so awed. Sure, he was awed frequently, but this… this went beyond simple awe. Mouth agape, Kai stared on, barely able to form words.

“This is… so beautiful…!”

“Oh, you think so, too!?” Autumn Blaze smiled a soft, thoughtful smile as she looked between the beautiful sight and Kai. “The way the light shimmers off everything, like… like it all suddenly woke up the moment you saw it. And you realize maybe the water and the mountains and the forest and the... yes, the rainbow and the stars and the sky are all looking back at you thinking the same thing? That we are a part of the everything. That maybe there's just one thing and we are all it.”

Kai looked to Autumn Blaze, eyes wide. That was quite the speech to hear, and it had Kai thinking—truly thinking. The saiyan looked to his hand, and then back to the sky. Reaching out his hand, he responded.

“Yeah… Kinda like… everything's connected.”

“Exactly!” Autumn Blaze was about to continue, but she saw something concerning from Kai. “Kai? Are you…?”

Kai wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“Thank you for this, Autumn Blaze. It means… more than you could ever imagine.” Although very talkative, it seemed that Autumn Blaze did know when to pull back. The kirin put a hoof to Kai's leg, prompting him to sit down. From there, Autumn Blaze adjusted her hoof over Kai's shoulder and simply sat with him, staring at the sight before them.

Neither saiyan nor kirin knew how long they had been there, but by the time they had finally decided to get up, the sun was already setting. They truly must have been there for hours, simply in one another's presence.

“I've never felt so moved by this before.” Autumn Blaze noted, as she beckoned Kai to her while walking away. “I mean, I knew it was beautiful… but being with someone else to see it is just… undescribable. Which is saying alot, with how much I love to talk.” Neither knew ‘undescribable’ was incorrect, but neither would have cared.

“Yeah. I come from somewhere that doesn't accept me because I'm different, so being here with you today showed me… I don't know, a brand new way to look at life.” Kai agreed, following close behind the kirin.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Autumn Blaze offered with a smile. “It's awfully late, and I've got more than enough room in my home.”

Kai considered this. He never really spoke of his life to anyone—not even Rarity. He disliked worrying her, so he avoided confiding in her. Now, though, a new friend was offering her ear. How could he refuse?

“Okay.” The kirin smiled brightly at his answer.

A modest hut was Autumn Blaze's abode, and Kai enjoyed it greatly. It was nice just to be somewhere warm and well-lit. Kai walked to where Autumn Blaze gestured, and took a seat at a table, the kirin sitting across from him. The saiyan reached for his bag, but recalled it was not with him. He left it at the kirin's village.

“I like your home. It's really… comfy.” Kai complimented.

“Right!?” Agreed Autumn Blaze. She shook her head and gave Kai her attention. She gave him the most caring look she could muster. “Take your time with your story. I'd love to hear everything about you.”

Kai crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

“Where to start… I guess I can start with being younger.” The saiyan took in a breath to begin. “As a kid, my first real memory was being told what I was: A saiyan—an alien. Not even meant to be in this world. I didn't know too much about my dad, but he's who I got my saiyan half from. Mom was an earth pony.”

“An alien? Like, from outer space? Really?” Autumn Blaze had to be sure, because this was too cool.

“Yeah. S'not as cool as you'd think. See, where I'm from—Ponyville—nopony likes what they don't know. Since I was new for the whole world, they avoided me like some disease.” A humorless chuckle left Kai's mouth as he hunched over. “Maybe I WAS a disease. My mom caught somethin' worse than a cold. I don't know what it was, but she just kept getting worse and worse…” His eyes slowly closed. “I'll never forget this… The day before she died, she coughed up blood, and told me… she was glad to be dying. Taking care of me was too much for her. I knew she was upset that my dad left, but I didn't think she hated me.”

The saiyan sighed, looking to back Autumn Blaze.

“I left not long after that. Life on the streets… Not something I want to repeat, really. Just know, I had to do what I had to do.” Kai put vaguely. Knowing what little she already did, Autumn Blaze was glad he didn't go into depth there. “A year or two go by, and I meet some ponies who didn't look scared of me. At that time, I was half-dead from hunger, so I couldn't fight back when they picked me up and dragged me somewhere. Glad I didn't. They took me in, took care of me. I learned things schools wouldn't teach me. I met my first friend, who became a sister, and soon, I had a family. I finally knew what it felt like to be accepted.”

“I don't uddersta—underra… I don't get it.” Autumn Blaze corrected and changed, giving Kai a look of confusion. “I don't get why anyone would treat another being so badly, just because they're different. Kirin were taught to be accepting of anyone, no matter who they were. It's like, part of our culture.”

“Ponies don't have that mindset, sadly.” The saiyan explained. “They just think I'm some monster. I know, one day, they'll come around. But for right now, I'm sure not even you peaceful kirin would be accepted.”

The kirin stared for a moment, shocked at what she was learning. It made no sense, something she immediately started to argue.

“Who's place is it to hate someone because of something they can't help!? It's… It's not fair!!” Autumn Blaze gritted her teeth in frustration. “That just makes me so angry! How could anyone just…!?” Abruptly, she was surrounded by blue and red flames, Kai shielding his face in surprise. The flames lessened to reveal a solid black, white eyed, flame-covered being, before it seemed to show surprise. A flash of light obscured their form, and that faded to show Autumn Blaze, looking upset and shameful. “…Sorry.”

Kai stared, lowering his arms.

“What the heck was that? Some kind of transformation?” Although her power hadn't been too much, transforming had increased it several fold.

Autumn Blaze looked away, shrinking in her seat.

“It's the reason why the kirin took a vow of silence…” She felt far to ashamed of transforming right before her newest friend's eyes, she didn't even feel up to explaining everything through song. Sighing, Autumn Blaze began to tell Kai the story of the kirins. “You see, when kirin get angry, they turn into… THAT. Niriks. You saw the trafo… the change.” She didn't bother trying to pronounce ‘transformation’. Kai nodded. “It can burn. A LOT. The village leader made us all become silent through the Stream of Silence, so we wouldn't burn our home.”

“Wait, why would being silent do anything for you?” Kai wondered.

“Well, everything started with an arguement. If we didn't talk, we couldn't upset each other, and we could live in peace. At least, that's what our leader must have thought.” Autumn Blaze explained solemnly.

“That's no life to live! Staying quiet so you won't get angry? It isn't right!” Kai's fists clenched, his teeth grit.

“That's what I told them—well, after I could speak.” That comment made Kai realise something.

“That reminds me. How DID you start talking again?” Autumn Blaze was happy to note that Kai wasn't upset with her for losing her cool, and even happier to recall how she could speak again.

“I found this flower out in the forest. ‘Foal's-breath’. After I brewed it into a tea, I drank it and suddenly, I could talk again!” She frowned. “That's why I had to come here. I could either keep quiet and live with my village, or leave and be free. It was hard, but I couldn't be silent anymore.”

Kai thought for a moment. He had come here to find the next Dragon Ball. However, there was an entire village that thought being silent was better than working through problems. In a way, they were being cowards. Then again, he could see it from their perspective. Fire was dangerous, and with all of this grass, an angered transformation in the wrong spot could destroy everything they know and love.

Who was he kidding? He didn't care if they could destroy things with their power—they were missing out on life! To be silent and emotionless to avoid a crisis was asking for a new crisis! Kai knew he couldn't just leave them be, no matter what. Even though it felt like an odd kind of… ‘zing’ in his stomach was telling him not to, as if fate itself was trying to warn him, Kai wouldn't listen. He'd overturn fate, and get the kirin to listen to reason!

“Okay. Autumn Blaze, we're getting you back home.” Kai stated with the upmost confidence.

Autumn Blaze looked to him in slight frustration.

“Weren't you listening? I'm not lost—I've been banished.” Kai only smiled.

“I'll make the kirin see that being silent isn't the way. They'll learn, then we can give them some of that foal's-breath to cure them! Simple!” Autumn Blaze shifted her eyes away.

“Yeah, ‘simple’… Except there's no more foal's-breath.” The saiyan's eyebrows rose, his head tilting in expectation of an explaination. “I used the last of it to make the cure. It hasn't bloomed since.”

“…Ugh.” Kai rested his chin on the table, pouting in irritation. “Guess I'll search the forest—”

“Um, sorry… I already searched the entire forest seventy-three and a half times.” Kai groaned again. As he did, Autumn Blaze put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Although I wonder if that second half could make a difference…?”

“What about that huge pole?” The kirin looked up to think again.

“Mm… That tower is like… some kind of relic for us kirin.” She tapped her head, trying hard to recollect anything she knew. “Uh… something about… ‘something something…Kirin of Old…’ Aww, I don't remember!” Autumn Blaze waved her hooves in resignation. “The only one who actually remembers everything about it is Rain Shine, but, well, ‘Vow of Silence’ and all.”

Kai pushed himself from the table, and crossed his arms.

“Then I guess we'll need to find some way to regrow the foal's-breath… But first, we have to convince the kirin.”

“Why don't we find out how to grow it or where to find it first?” Autumn Blaze asked, more as a suggestion. “I would feel so bad if I got their hopes up, only to find out there was no way to help.”

“'Cause that's dishonest.” Retorted the saiyan. “If we go and convince them, and then tell them we always had the cure, then we'd just seem like we were just going to force it onto them. If they really, really want this for themselves, I can't force them. But if we get them to see the reason we want them to, then we can find the cure, and give it to them.”

The kirin nodded, agreeing with that assessment. She supposed she would rather let her village down than lie to them and force them to speak. No matter how much she wanted to talk to her family and friends.

With the serious air leaving them, Autumn Blaze smiled at her friend.

“Well, that'll have to wait until morning. There's not much, but I'll make some food, then we can get some sleep.” Kai's stomach growled.

“Eheheh…! Sounds good!”

Up bright and early, Kai and Autumn Blaze took a short moment to observe the sun rising and giving the beautiful sight over what Kai had learned was called the Peaks of Peril. It was just as beautiful as yesterday.

Kai made sure his satchel was fastened tightly as usual, checking to ensure his Dragon Balls weren't lost. Ready for today, the saiyan and kirin began walking through the forest again.

As they walked, Autumn Blaze cast a curious look to Kai.

“Are you sure they'll say yes? 'Cause I don't wanna brag, but I'm pretty good at convincing, and I was still cast out.” It was natural to be skeptical. After all, it wasn't as if Autumn Blaze had been like this for a few days—years had passed.

“Trust me, Autumn. I've got this.” Kai assured, pointing a thumb to his chest.

“Okay, I trust you. But now, I can't wait to be able to talk to my family and friends again!” Autumn Blaze believed him immediately, and now was excited. “I think I'll sing a song when we can finally talk!”

“Sounds good! I'll sing along with you!” Two excited individuals made for a very good team when it came to convincing emotionless kirin to feel again. Though, Kai's mind went elsewhere as they passed a family landmark. “Ah. Autumn Blaze, let's make a quick stop here.” He pointed to the tower, and the kirin nodded her consent.

The two walked to the tower, and simply stood in front of it. Kai touched it once again, looking up as far as he could see. Truly, it was too far up to see if there even WAS a top. It was farther than the clouds allowed him to see, and even then, it was farther than that.

Autumn Blaze looked at it reminiscingly, smiling and looking to Kai.

“Somehow, it feels like forever since we've met each other. Even though it's barely been a day.” Kai looked to her, meeting the girl's eyes. “Are we great friends already?” Autumn Blaze's question was hopeful, and Kai couldn't help but feel happy.

“Yeah. The greatest friends.” Kai extended his fist to Autumn Blaze, and she bumped his fist with her hoof.

“The greatest friends.” She repeated. After a few moments of silence between the two, her eyebrows rose. She let out a short laugh. “We should go help the other kirin before we start remincing… Rememberencing?”

“…Reminiscing?”

“THAT'S the word!” Done with that bout of word solving, the pair turned from the tower, and walked back on the path through the forest.

It didn't take too long to reach their destination, but it didn't seem any different than either remembered. The village was quiet and peaceful, with kirin walking about emotionlessly. Autumn Blaze hesitated to continue into the village, something Kai could see obviously.

“Want to wait here?” The kirin shook her head, but couldn't will herself to move forward.

“I don't want to wait… but I can't face them again. They just… I just…” She looked down in guilt. “I just can't.”

“It's okay. I'll do it.” Without even waiting for a reply, Kai walked foward to speak to Rain Shine.

“…Good luck.”

Kai and Rain Shine were at an impass. Kai was dedicated to getting them to see reason and cure themselves. Rain Shine was pretty firm about shaking her head. It was annoying the saiyan to no end.

“Look! I know things can go wrong, but you can't be happy if you don't let yourself feel anything!” Rain Shine shook her head for what seemed to be the twentieth time, causing Kai to finally break. “GAAH!! Enough of this!” Kai sprang up from his seat, and snatched his traveling bag. “If you aren't gonna listen, I'll convince everyone else. You can't stop me if everyone else wants the cure!”

Kai stomped out, but Rain Shine was close behind, trying to catch up and get his attention. The saiyan's stride was too fast, however, so the kirin leader was unable to stop him. When she saw where he was headed, her emotionless expression seemed to deepen somehow. Her eyes met with a very familiar kirin's eyes.

“Autumn Blaze, c'mon. This one won't listen, so we're gonna convince everyone else!” It was clear Kai was angry, but Autumn Blaze didn't understand why exactly. He seemed patient enough just a few minutes ago.

“How?”

“I don't know!” Autumn Blaze flinched. “Sorry, I-I didn't mean to yell. I'm just angry.” Kai felt a tap on his leg, and looked over to see Rain Shine, her emotionless face having a bit of a different sight. More of a ‘See?’ kind of expression. “Oh, don't give me that look. You can't even feel happy about being right, so I don't wanna hear—er—see a thing from you.”

“Okay, Kai. Stop it.” Autumn Blaze sighed, getting his attention. “It isn't working. Nothing will. Let's just…” She teared up slightly, before turning away. “Let's just go!” Her exclamation gathered the other kirins' attention, and they watched on emotionlessly. “They just don't care! All of the laughs, the songs, the good times—they don't care!!”

Kai was a bit shocked to see the previously cheery and happy kirin look and act so defeated. But what really upset him was seeing Autumn Blaze start to cry, sobbing softly as tears ran down her cheeks.

“A…Autumn Blaze…” Kai hated this feeling of uselessness. The only cure to Autumn Blaze's tears was the kirins taking the cure to their silence, and that wasn't happening. The saiyan held his head with his right hand, holding his own sadness back. He never really had anything to begin with. Having family and friends only to lose the things that made them that way was something the saiyan couldn't begin to understand.

The kirins of the village seemed to gain some emotion to their features—sympathy. They looked to one another, and seemed to mutually feel a sense of longing, but still were unsure. However, a single kirin walked forward, moving in front of Autumn Blaze. They tapped her shoulder, making her look up.

“H…huh?” The kirin that got her attention gestured to themself, then to Autumn Blaze, but then looked away. “I don't know what you're trying to say. I'll NEVER know what you're trying to say.”

“Ah! Maybe…” Kai began. “Maybe they DO care, but they're still scared.” That kirin nodded to confirm what he speculated. “Seriously… Anger's like everything else. Take Autumn Blaze.” Kai looked to the other kirin, gesturing at his friend. “Her being happy to finally talk made you all banish her. Even happiness can be used wrongly, but it isn't the emotion you should blame. It's how you use it.”

Now, the kirin seemed contemplative yet again, looking to each other and being able to talk through gestures. Finally, it seemed they came to a decision, one that the kirin who stood by Autumn Blaze expressed. Or, tried to express.

“I still don't know what you're trying to say!” Autumn Blaze exclaimed as the other Kirin made gestures. For as much as the Kirin tried to comunicate, Autumn Blaze just didn't understand. She let out an angered groan. “This is so… frustrating! It's making me furious!”

Autumn Blaze's eyes began to glow white, her teeth grit, indicating an imminent nirik transformation. However, Kai put a hand to her head, getting her attention away from her anger momentarily.

“Cool off—it's alright. Take a breath.” He instructed, calming her down.

“Right. Sorry.” Autumn Blaze breathed in deep, her anger vanishing as she followed it with an exhale. “I'm good now.” If the other kirin weren't sold before, seeing another kirin calm themselves and resist turning into a nirik did the trick. Not just the one Kirin gestured, but every kirin. “Okay, are you hungry?” She tried interpretting the gesture they made to their opened mouths. They shook their heads. “Oh, no. Is some kirin trapped in a well?”

The kirin seemed more deadpan than usual, and turned to Kai, repeating their gestures.

“Hm?” Kai tilted his head, taking the task of reading signs and movement. “…Mouth…” They followed the gesture with a point to Autumn Blaze. “…Autumn Blaze's mouth?” Then, while still pointing to Autumn Blaze, the ponted to themselves. “I think they want to kiss you?” Quick head shakes proved that wrong, the lone speaking kirin going red in the face. “Not that.” They moved their lips, nothing coming out of course. Then, it hit Kai. “Ahh! You want to take the cure like Autumn Blaze did!?”

Finally, nods of affirmation. Kai pumped his fist into the air, Autumn Blaze grinning largely.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me!” Her lips fell into a frown, and she looked to Kai worriedly. “But now… we have to find more of the cure. You at least had an idea, right?”

Kai gave a confident grin, and put up his thumb.

“Nope!” So thrown off by the confident posture of the saiyan, Autumn Blaze smiled back and nodded.

…Then her eyes widened.

“Wait, what?”

“I have no idea where to find it, but I'm not worried at all! I'll find some more foal's-breath in no time!” Kai didn't even wait for a response, and simply ran off farther into the village. His idea was that maybe there was some left in the village, since the forest yielded none.

The kirin looked to him as he finally left their sight, and then looked to Autumn Blaze.

“Well… he DID say he would convince every kirin, so…” The others nodded, and went about their day, all hoping the cure would be found.

“Even though I said that…” Kai walked by a tree, hands behind his head. He sighed. “I don't have a clue where I can find foal's-breath. Never even seen it.” Another sigh, realising he really did let an entire village down. Kai's attention was suddenly on a random chittering. His eyes locked onto a squirrel, and then he recognised it. “You're the squirrel from earlier!” The saiyan chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, I don't have the fruits and nuts I promised.”

The squirrel let out a small sound again, and stood straight up with a salute. It then pointed to itself.

“Eh? Want me to follow you again?” Kai translated, getting a nod. “Lead the way.” He told the squirrel without hesitation. The last time he followed the squirrel, it showed him a shortcut. This time, he could only imagine.

The squirrel ran to a familiar crevice, giving another motion for Kai to follow. Kai did so, giving his leader a curious stare. He followed when the squirrel went through the crevice, putting his bag down to crouch and crawl through the cramped space until it became manageable. Finally exitting, Kai cast another look to the squirrel, who scampered through the bushes and to where they first met.

Kai followed, and finally saw what the squirrel was leading him to. The squirrel family was all cozy, the hole from earlier still patched up with flowers. The squirrel pointed.

“Aww… You and your family are so cute! I'm glad you're doing so well.” Kai smiled, but it was an apologetic one. “But, um, I've gotta look for something called ‘foal's-breath’. Don't suppose you know where I can find some?” To that, the squirrel never stopped pointing, shaking strongly to emphasise the action. “Huh?” Kai followed the point with his eyes, and finally saw what was being pointed at. “Yeah, those are pretty, but I'm looking for—” His eyes widened. “Wait a sec'! THOSE are…!?”

The squirrel nodded, and grabbed one of the flowers, holding it out to the saiyan.

“Ah… But… but what about your home?” The squirrel simply shook its head, and kept holding out the flower. Kai's smile was genuine, as he bowed low. “Thank you, so much! You're helping so many kirins by doing this.” He accepted the flower, but quickly realised something. “Huh… Now that I think about it, there's no way every single kirin there can drink tea with these few flowers. There has to be a better…” The squirrel's chittering interrupted him. It raised its arms into the air, and spread them wide. Then, it made a diving motion. “Their water supply! You're a genius!”

Kai turned and started towards the shortcut to the Peaks of Peril. He waved to the squirrel and its family, and they waved back.

“It's showtime!”

Autumn Blaze sat calmly as she waited, glancing about at the village she used to call home. It was odd, seeing every kirin go about their lives in silence. Truthfully, she hadn't participated in this for too long—her breaking point was always close. So, seeing them now, living normally… it felt weird. They COULD live, but without emotion and communication, were they REALLY living? Not to her, no.

The speaking kirin looked up when she heard steps approaching fast, and smiled hopefully when she saw it was Kai. Autumn Blaze stood and ran to meet him halfway.

“Well? Did you find it?” Kai put his hands behind his back, and gave a solemn expression. It was clear what that meant to Autumn Blaze. “O…oh…”

A grin suddenly split his face.

“Gotcha!” Kai returned the prank from their first encounter, holding the foal's-breath out towards the shocked Autumn Blaze. “We can put this in the water, and everything'll be okay!”

Autumn Blaze was so stunned at what this all meant, she couldn't even respond for a moment. A moment later, she matched Kai's splitting grin.

“I'm so happy, Kai! Let's take care of this, once and for all!”

“Yeah!” The duo ran to the fountain-esque water source that the kirin drank from, and Kai gave the foal's-breath to Autumn Blaze. “You can do the honors.”

“Thanks.” Autumn Blaze carefully dropped the foal's-breath into the water supply, turning it from light blue—nearly clear—to a deep blue. They watched the kirin come to drink the water, and let out relieved sighs. The kirin were shocked to find themselves sighing at all, and tried speaking.

It worked! The kirin could speak again, and they rejoiced in that fact by singing and laughing.

Kai and Autumn Blaze bumped fist-to-hoof, a mission well-done. They glanced to the side, seeing Rain Shine approaching. Kai stepped back and allowed the two to speak.

Rain Shine smiled brightly.

“Autumn Blaze, you have given us a gift. The realization that anger is within us, but it is our choice how we let it out.” Autumn Blaze teared up a bit, tears of joy about to fall from her eyes. “We would very much like it if you came back to live with us. I can't say how much we've missed your beautiful voice.”

With a truly happy smile, Autumn Blaze decided to give her village what they missed. With a short glance to Kai, she winked, and he understood what she planned to do. He gave her a thumbs up, and smiled back.

“'Cause rainbows won't light up the sky/Unless you let it rain/And candles just won't glow until they're burned!” Autumn Blaze splashed the curing water with her fellow kirin, and they all laughed and joined. “No, you can't give up your laughter/'Cause you're scared of a little pain/It's a lesson that my village never learned/Oh, yes, 'cause rainbows won't light up the sky/Unless you let it...” She put her hoof down onto the water spraying fountain, making the waterflow imitate the rain. “Raaaaaaaain!!”

The sun shining on the water formed a dazzling rainbow, awing everyone present.

All was finally right in the village of the kirin.

But, it wasn't over yet. After all, Kai still had a reason for coming here. After spending time with the kirin, Kai had a few questions for Rain Shine. He opened up with his questions by holding up a Dragon Ball.

“Rain Shine, do you happen to have one of these?” Rain Shine's eyebrows rose at the sight of the sphere.

“But of course. It was bestowed upon me by our guardian. The Dragon Balls are a sign of our—” Autumn Blaze snickered, getting a deadpanned stare from Rain Shine. “…Really?”

“Sorry, sorry. But, who names anything after…” Seeing she was only getting looks of annoyance, Autumn Blaze cleared her throat and remained silent. “I'll stop talking now.”

“Please, do.” Rain Shine directed her attention back to Kai. “Why do you seek the… Wishing Orbs?” She shifted an eye to Autumn Blaze, seeing the humor leave her face after changing how they were adressed.

“More for the adventure than the wish, but I'm still thinking about that wish.” Kai answered back, putting the ball back into his satchel. “I've got three, so I'm getting closer. Could I have yours?”

The kirin leader seemed to be uncomfortable with the request.

“Well… the ball means quite a bit to the village…” The kirin smiled. “But… after everything you have done for us, out of the kindness in your heart, I suppose we can part with it.” Rain Shine stood, and turned to walk to a pedestal with a pillow atop it, and grabbed something that was covered with a dark blue sheet. She returned to the table, and set the object down, uncovering it. “Here you are. The ‘One-star’.”

True to her words, Kai could see that this Dragon Ball only had one star. He let out a short cheer, and went to take the ball.

“Thanks a ton!” Putting the ball into his satchel, the saiyan gave Rain Shine a curious look. “Oh, one more thing. Autumn said you were the only kirin who knew about that tower. Could you tell me about it?”

Rain Shine looked to Autumn Blaze, her eyebrow raised.

“Every kirin knows the legend. Autumn Blaze simply does not listen.”

“Hey!”

“The story is as such…” Rain Shine closed her eyes. “Long, long ago, we kirins did not even know about our transformations into niriks. I was very young at the time of finding this out. Once, a very grumpy, bitter old kirin had had enough of us youths, and finally bursted. He alone burned everything we knew and loved to ash. The grass, our homes, everything. It was then that we discovered such a form existed, and that by being in that state for too long, we can actually burn ourselves out—in other words, die.”

A small smile fell over the kirin's face.

“Then, HE appeared. A very strange, tall and green individual. He looked upon our destroyed home with sympathy, and spoke to me. I explained what had occured, and he sighed. ‘So beautiful, yet so volatile.’ He said. With a wave of his… um…”

“Hand?” Kai supplied, holding up his own.

“Yes, ‘hand’. With a wave of his hand, our home was back. The forest, the trees, our houses… Then, he gave my head a pat, and flew up to the top of the tower.” She felt her head with a hoof, feeling the contact to this day. “Every kirin witnessed it, and knew that this being was our guardian. The story often is misconstrued, but we agree that this guardian represents the kirin in some way; whether he created us himself, or is here to keep us safe from harm. Thusly, we named that tower… Kirin Tower.”

Both Kai and Autumn Blaze were beyond awed by that story. Autumn Blaze could swear she actually WAS told the story, but maybe Rain Shine was right about her not listening… Meanwhile, Kai was thinking deep about this tower.

“How tall is it? And… what's at the top?” Kai asked.

“We do not know what exactly greets us at the top, however, we speculate that our guardian rests at the top. As for how tall… I know from experience, the height is unreal.”

“You climbed it?” Rain Shine grimaced.

“Attempted. You see, the legend of climbing Kirin Tower is odd. One must climb with nothing but their own body, so no flight or magic. If they do, then extreme power will be granted to whomever manages to succeed.” The leader sighed. “I wished to thank our guardian, but after four days of climbing, I reached my limit, and fell off. The last thing I recalled seeing was the tower, with no top in sight.”

Kai put a finger to his chin in thought.

“Hm… I think I'll give it a try sometime.” He decided firmly. “But for now, I should probably get going to the next Dragon Ball.”

“Wouldn't you like to spend the night?” Rain Shine offered, smiling gratefully. “You are more than welcomed to stay however long you wish.”

Much like the last offer he was given, Kai simply shook his head.

“Nah, sorry. I'm closer, but I've still got alot of work to do.” Before he could even stand up, Kai was under attack by a tight hug, courtesy of Autumn Blaze. “A-Autumn?”

“Thank you for everything, Kai. I'll never forget you.” Autumn Blaze squeezed tighter as she said that.

Kai froze for a moment, unused to hugs. He quickly returned the hug, chuckling softly.

“You'd BETTER not forget me. I'll visit when I can, so you won't have to worry.”

“Promise?” With a final squeeze between friends, Kai nodded.

“Promise.”

Kai looked out to the village, hoping it the best before he left. Promising to visit reminded him of another promise. Reaching in his bag, he pulled something out, holding it between his cupped hands. The saiyan glanced around.

Familiar chittering brought his attention to the squirrel family that had help him throughout this adventure. Kai knelt down, smiling at the family.

“I'll be leaving now. I'm gonna visit, so don't worry.” He said softly. The squirrel family seemed saddened, but they accepted it. “Here. Just like I promised.” Kai spread his hands, pooling a surplus of nuts and berries in front of the squirrel family. Never had he seen a shocked squirrel.

With a chuckle, Kai stood, and began walking off. He heard the squirrels make more noise, and he looked back to see them waving. Kai waved back, and continued walking off.