"You skipped a training day again- Oh, hey, Bulma." As I walked into Zeck's lab to berate him for missing training… again, I was greeted with an image of Bulma's face on the monitor.
"Hey, Tarble. Zeck, can we go over the diameter of the nano-capacitors one more time? I want to run the numbers again." The blue-haired 14-year-old girl on the screen said.
"Umm… sure, Bulls-"
"Sorry, Bulma. I've gotta talk to Zeck. Can you call him back later? Thanks." I shut the monitor off without waiting for an answer. "Zeck…"
"I know, I skipped training again. You don't have to come here and remind me every time it happens, Tarble." Zeck told me, not lifting his head from the calculations he was working on at his desk.
"Zeck, these… pieces of metal," I kicked a piece of scrap that Zeck had left on the ground. "Aren't a replacement for real training. You're the one who originally wanted to learn how to protect your family, man. If you're not going to commit-"
"I train! I skip one day, and suddenly it's the end of the world with you, huh?!" Zeck defended, turning to face me, annoyed.
"You skipped three days this week, talking to Bulma. Ever since you beat Tommy last month, it's like you don't even want to be a fighter at all anymore."
"I'M NOT A FIGHTER!" Zeck shouted back at me. For a moment, we were both silent, then his shoulders relaxed and he continued, leaning against his desk as he explained. "That's what Tater said, and he's not wrong. I may have more energy than any Celatian alive, but even after over seven years of constant training, I can barely throw a punch, Tarble. I beat Tommy, but only by running away. Having more raw power. Not letting him get close, not exchanging a single punch, I'm not a fighter, Tarble."
"You beat one of the strongest Saiyans alive with your own power, Zeck. Your own techniques. Even if you suck at close-range, there's nothing to be ashamed of." I reminded him.
"I beat a guy who hasn't done a single bit of dedicated training in five years… barely. After two years of creating my own personal style, creating techniques, my power level's ten times what it was, more, and I still almost lost. I'm weaker than Tater's baby, Tarble. I shouldn't be joining you guys in training."
I snorted, shaking my head. He just didn't get it. The world needed strong, non-Saiyan fighters. I wanted to know the limits of what a Celatian could achieve, strength-wise, and I genuinely believed that, if Zeck tried, he could touch those limits. Surpass them, even. "Zeck. Tommy may not consider himself much of a fighter, but he's still twice, three times as strong as my father, the strongest Saiyan of his generation, was. And Cynder? He was born strong enough to destroy this entire planet without even trying that hard. You're a Celatian. Don't compare yourself to us Saiyans."
"Exactly. I am a Celatian. And we're not like you Saiyans. No matter how many times you punch me in the face, it doesn't make me stronger. A lot of the training you guys do is worthless for me. I'm better used in the lab. Protecting this place my own way." Zeck explained.
I rolled my eyes. Sure, Zeck's research wasn't worthless. It had a lot of value, I could readily admit that. He'd managed to increase the limits on scouter technology by dividing the sensing component into 'stages'. He'd created the ki-to-electricity generator that powered this entire village, and still aided me with the Cell project in the free time that he wasn't utilizing to try to finish Gero's research into a reversed version of his ki-to-electricity generator, which I suspected was the generator that Gero had later developed for use in androids 16,17,and 18 in the original timeline, effectively infinite, so long as you had the electricity to power it, which wasn't a particularly difficult thing to generate.
But… "What about your technique? You're just going to give up on fighting personally, Zeck? Use your ki to power a thousand different robots and let them blow themselves up for you? You still won't have enough power if you give up on control." I explained.
I headed to the door. Whatever Zeck chose, that was his decision, and I'd respect it.
I left him with one thing, though. "Zeck, I don't know what you're capable of, but whatever limit you have, I think you can break it, if you try. I want to see what Celatians are capable of, when they really hit the limits of power in this universe. If you don't, though, then that's your choice. I'll support whatever you choose." I explained, closing the door behind me, leaving a stunned Zeck in the lab behind me.
"...What do you think, Bulma?"
"Oh? You realized that I was listening?" Her face flashed back onto the monitor.
"You always hack my monitor when you get shut off." He reminded her.
She giggled. "You know me so well."
"Stop that. You're still too young for me." Zeck cut her off before she started flirting again.
"Hey, I'm older than him!" She defended.
"One month… And you're not as right, are you?"
"...No. I'm not." She admitted. "You have to admit, it's a pretty great experiment, though."
Zeck huffed. "Yeah. It is." He replied.
After that day, Zeck still skipped training every once in a while, but not as often as he had before.
Unlike Tarble, Zeck would never prioritize training over his research, but neither man would be able to bring themselves to completely abandon either path from that day on.