Rip Van Who?
1. Training for Kicks
A sonic boom disrupted the tranquil silence over a string of small, unexplored, tropical islands, the only relief from the monotony of the blue sea. The wind picked up. Moments ago, the azure sky had been empty, clear, not a cloud in sight.
The wind died down again. Now, two girls hung in the air over the largest of the islands. The younger girl, younger by only half a year, looked around, brushing her shoulder-length dark hair from her warm dark eyes. She was about six years old, already stronger than most people on the planet. The girl was dressed in an orange gi, similar to the kind her grandpa used to wear.
The other girl, just turned seven years old, had her aquamarine hair up in a ponytail to keep it from her bright blue eyes. She resembled her mother very closely in looks, and sometimes resembled her father in temperament. She was dressed in a pair of white sweats and a red tee shirt that proudly proclaimed her name: Bra.
"Here should be okay, right?" Bra asked. She glanced around. There were no people anywhere nearby, so they didn't need to worry about being seen. There was land, water, and air: the perfect training ground.
"Looks good," Pan said cheerfully.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather play at my house?" Bra asked hopefully.
"Come on. You promised!" Pan whined, frowning slightly. "I watched your cartoons, so you have to train with me! Don't you want to get stronger?"
"Well, I would like to make papa proud of me," Bra considered for a moment. Then she nodded, a determined look on her young face. "Alright! Power up to full?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Pan nodded her head enthusiastically.
The girls dropped into the stance that had become so familiar to them both. Bra reached inside feeling for the energy that she knew she'd find there. It was just a matter of bringing that suppressed power out. She screamed, a look of fierce concentration on her young face. The wind picked up, and a blue-white flame burst into existence around the seven-year-old's body. Reaching her limit, Bra stopped screaming, relaxed her stance.
"Hey! You got stronger since the last time," said Pan enthusiastically. Bra grinned proudly. Pan flexed her arms almost experimentally, before turning her attention inward. She started to scream. The wind roared around the two girls, but they completely ignored it. A similar blue-white flame exploded into existence around Pan as she reached for her maximum.
"Alright!" Bra said cheerfully. "Ready? Go!"
Pan launched herself at Bra at the same time that Bra launched herself at Pan. The two girls collided mid-air, trading blows that would've flattened whole buildings. Pan attacked Bra with a flurry of punches. Bra managed to dodge a couple of them, block a couple more, but a lot of them hit. Bra flew back, gathering her energy to counter with a blast. Pan charged into it, and was thrown back by the resulting explosion.
Pan charged forward again. Bra was ready. The two girls traded blows again, fighting fiercely. Pan managed to get the upper hand, landing a devastating kick to Bra's gut. Bra doubled over, the air driven from her lungs. Pan drove her fists into Bra's back, sending the aquamarine-haired girl spinning down towards the largest of the islands.
About halfway down, Bra regained control of her own direction. She spun around in mid-air and laughed. "Good one! Hide and seek!" She yelled up at Pan. She fired a couple of half-hearted energy blasts up at Pan, before shooting down towards the island.
"Hey! Come back here!" Pan yelled, batting Bra's energy attacks out of the way. She quickly accelerated down to the island, slowing just in time to land. "Come on! We're supposed to be training," Pan complained loudly.
Suddenly, she was bombarded by a half dozen energy attacks. Pan was too preoccupied with defending herself against them to stop Bra's sudden onslaught. The seven-year-old appeared out of nowhere, shooting towards Pan. She landed a couple of punches, before sending Pan hurtling back with a powerful kick.
"Papa always says that anything can happen in a fight!" Bra chirped cheerfully. The girl dashed forward to press her advantage, but Pan was quick to recover. She rolled, changed her momentum, using Bra's, throwing her friend through the air.
Bra collided with the side of a nearby cliff. The rock shattered under the force of the impact and Bra fell to the ground. For a moment, she struggled to get up. She saw Pan coming in to win, and gathered her ki for another energy attack. Was it just her imagination, or were the surroundings getting foggy? She didn't have time to speculate.
Bra hurled her attack at Pan, but her friend wasn't one to be caught by the same trick twice; she quickly gathered her own energy to counter Bra's attack. The sky vanished, leaving both girls alone in complete darkness, surrounded by an increasingly thick fog. Was somebody calling the Eternal Dragon, Bra wondered.
Neither of the two girls took paid too much attention to the sudden change in their surroundings. They were consumed with winning the contest of wills. Both poured more and more of their energy into the attack, instinctively knowing that whoever won this would win the game.
"You… really… improved," Pan said through gritted teeth.
"Thanks…" Bra responded. "You… too…"
The two girls reached an unspoken agreement, and poured all of their remaining energy into the battle. The brilliant mass of energy exploded, throwing the two girls. Bra slammed into a wall invisible in the darkness, and dropped to the ground, exhausted. Pan did the same a moment later, but managed to stumble over to her friend before collapsing.
"I think we overdid it a little," said Bra, breathing heavily.
"Yeah," Pan said, a happy smile on her face. "Now, it's nap time." Bruised, battered, completely exhausted, the girls fell asleep in this strange place. Neither of them even noticed the lone figure, standing by a tall set of doors, holding a large key-shaped staff…
***