"Alright… there."
The medic clicked his mandibles nervously as he fastened the last strip of bandage around Knox's chest.
"You should be fine. I think," he muttered, stepping back quickly as though Knox would attack him if he stood too close. "Just… try not to strain yourself. It seems like your wounds will reopen and worsen if you move around too much."
"Thanks doc!" Knox gave him a big, toothy grin… then he immediately rolled his shoulders, twisting his torso in a broad stretch.
His ribs popped audibly.
The medic's antenna shot up in alarm. "W-what the– What are you doing?! I just said not to-"
Knox flexed his arms and grinned. "Relaaax... my body is way sturdier than you think. Already feels good to move again."
And he wasn't even exaggerating. The biggest benefit of [Pain Suppression] was that rather than drowning in agony, he just got neat little 'mental alerts' telling him where and how bad the damage was. With it, he was able to assess that his recovery was far quicker than normal.
Not enough to say he had a healing factor, but more like the peak of a human's natural regeneration speed.
A side benefit of the system, maybe? Or perhaps a consequence of his Ki control?
He wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. After all, he planned to sleep in the medical pod once he took over the Frieza Force ship. That should remove any minor injuries that still lingered on his body.
The medic, however, was not amused. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Stars above, why me…" while shaking his head.
Knox just gave him a bandaged thumbs‑up. "Really, don't stress yourself out doc. If I get any more injuries it'll be my own fault."
The medic muttered another prayer to the stars and practically skittered out of the room.
"...Huh. I guess doctors hating their jobs is universal."
Shrugging, he flopped back onto the cot, staring down at his bandaged body.
Bored, he began to start flexing different muscles across his body, testing the stiffness under the wraps.
Which got him thinking.
One of the biggest factors that the strongest villains of DBZ shared was their ability to regenerate. It meant any opposition had to either overwhelm them or erase them completely.
Because if one couldn't regenerate yet the other side could, then a battle of attrition became completely one-sided.
While Knox had no idea how he could ever get that level of regeneration, there were still other things he could do, right? Like how in one of the DBS manga chapters, Goku had even healed himself in between fights, 'urging' his body to keep going despite his injuries.
Just with good ol' Ki.
And if he could do it, why couldn't Knox? It seemed like a useful ability for post-battle rest.
Knox's grin returned, boyish and eager. "...Well, no time like the present."
He closed his eyes and drew in a long breath. The calming and focusing effects of [Meditation] subtly activated, and his Ki flickered to life, black-red and restless.
Knox gathered this Ki, letting it pool in his chest until it thrummed through his veins. Then he pressed it inward, concentrating it on where Marzette's strike had nearly caved in his ribs.
The energy obeyed, accumulating throughout that part of his body and simply sitting there. Knox gritted his teeth, steadying his breathing. He pictured the fibers knitting, the cracks mending, the flesh pulling itself back together under his Ki's warmth.
But eventually, after no stimulation besides him stoking it into being, his Ki fizzled out.
The ache stayed exactly where it was, dull and unchanging.
Knox cracked one eye open, then sighed. "...Welp, that wasn't even close."
'Don't know what I expected. I can't even do the Solar Flare correctly yet.'
With nothing else to do though, he tried again, clenching his teeth as he pushed the Ki into the wound like a battering ram.
Nothing.
"Goku held his hand up to his injury. So maybe I have to do it this way?" he muttered, raising his palm against his bandaged side.
Black-red Ki gathered in the palm of his hand, glowing with malevolent light. He ignored that in favor of-
The door hissed open.
Knox froze.
The Queen stepped into the chamber, eyes locking onto him immediately. She slowly raised a clawed hand to her face.
"…What," she asked flatly, "are you doing now?"
Knox blinked at her, hand still pressed awkwardly to his chest. Then he gave her a sheepish grin.
"Uh… physical therapy?"
Vanella stared at Knox's glowing palm pressed against his ribs, her antennae twitching in what might've been exasperation.
"Put that away," she said flatly. "Before you ignite the medical wrappings."
Knox glanced down at his bandages. Sure enough, the edges were starting to smolder where his Ki licked at them. "Whoops." He extinguished the energy with a flick of his wrist, then grinned up at her. "So… I'm guessing you came to pick me up?"
She turned without answering, cloak flaring like silk, and strode out the door.
Knox blinked, rolled off the cot, and padded after her.
The outside revealed a winding tunnel carved into smooth, organic-looking stone.
The tunnel sloped downward, the air growing cooler and thicker with a damp, earthy scent. Knox's boots clicked against the polished stone as he trailed behind Vanella, his eyes darting over the strange architecture.
The walls didn't look like they'd been carved but grown. They were marked with fibrous veins that pulsated faintly every so often.
"I've been meaning to ask," Knox poked one. It squished slightly under his finger. "What is this stuff? Like... bug concrete? Wait, is the word 'bug' that racist?"
Vanella didn't slow. "It is a living polymer. It hardens in response to physical trauma, repairs itself when damaged, and filters toxins in the air."
She blatantly ignored his second question.
"Damn," Knox wiped his fingers on his pants. "That's super cool but uh, where are we going? And you didn't answer if that was racist or not."
"First, to retrieve Marzette," She replied. "Then, we'll fulfill your request. And speaking of that, I believe I've deduced the reason you need them."
She was still ignoring that question.
"Oh?" Knox perked up, shelving the thought for later. "What do you think it is now?"
Although it had been a while since he requested to be given access to their death-row prisoners, he still hadn't explained why he wanted them in the first place. It quickly began a game in which he wouldn't give hints and would only confirm or deny her conclusions.
"The answer lies in your adaptability," she answered, clearly pleased with her deduction. "You intend to fight with our prisoners and grow your strength through combat. You specifically requested those who are already going to die in case your attacks become too lethal."
'That's actually pretty close. But…'
"Nope," He denied flatly. "Even if I did want to fight prisoners, they wouldn't be able to teach me anything. I'm, like, a hundred times stronger than all of them."
Knox stretched his arms behind his head as they walked. "I mean, come on. Your strongest warrior could barely fight back after I'd only been fighting for five minutes. What're some backwater criminals gonna teach me?"
Vanella paused for a mere half-step, but Knox caught it as her footfalls came down slightly sharper when faced with being wrong.
"It wouldn't teach you anything," came another voice agreed from ahead. The black-armored warrior stepped into view from a side tunnel, the scars of their previous bout not yet faded. "But that is only true because you are still thinking with your fists instead of your brain."
Marzette had unceremoniously arrived.
Knox grinned, waving at her as she walked up to them. "Hey, punching bag! How's the jaw feeling? My ribs still kind of hurt."
Marzette ignored him, holding up a pair of oversized bracers. "You can borrow my weighted gear to hamper your strength and get plenty out of this than you would normally. Suddenly these 'backwater criminals' would then pose a threat, no?"
Knox slightly sulked at them both ignoring his goading, then shook his head and went back to smiling.
"Not a bad idea, Mari, but I've got something way better in mind."
"...Mari?" Marzette echoed back, but was promptly ignored.
Vanella holding back a sigh brought joy to his impish heart. "And I assume you expect us to indulge in this mystery?"
"Yep!" he replied cheerfully, refusing any chance to explain further.
The three continued down the organic tunnel in silence for a stretch. Knox had his hands lazily behind his head, Vanella walked ever so slightly ahead with measured steps, and Marzette trailed behind.
Eventually, Vanella's voice broke the long pause, tinged with curiosity. "Knox. What, precisely, were you attempting to do in the medical bay before I entered?"
Knox cocked his head as if he hadn't heard. "Hmm?"
"You had your energy pressed against yourself as if in self harm. If you are attempting to adapt to your own power, you should wait until you're fully healed. But I'm not quite sure that was your intent."
"Oh, right!" Knox snapped his fingers as the memory returned. "I was trying to see if I could make a healing technique with my ki. It would be super useful after every fight if I figured it out."
Marzette's scoffed before Vanella could reply. "You truly have much to learn," she declared, her tone academic. "Inner energy is the ignition of life. It can only empower, not repair. Expecting it to restore what's already depleted is like ordering a furnace to fuel itself with its own flame."
Knox let out a short, dismissive laugh. "I'm sure you believe that, but your understanding of Ki is primitive at best. No offense, of course"
Rather than take offense, Marzette seemed genuinely intrigued. "Is this confidence of yours a result of your adaptability. That after a single day you believe you know more about one's energy than our entire planet?"
"Eh..." Knox gave a so-so shake of his hand. "It's more that I know what's possible than I do how to do it. I've seen the stuff Ki can do and lemme tell you, this shit gets wild."
Before Marzette could press him for details, the Queen raised her hand.
"I'm afraid you will have to cut this riveting discussion short," She was clearly weary of boring fighter talk. "As we have arrived."
Knox stepped forward, blinking as the narrow tunnel suddenly yawned into a cavernous opening.
The chamber was a vast cylindrical shaft, so wide his voice could echo in it, and so deep he couldn't see the bottom at first glance. Cell after cell lined the gloomy stone walls, forming perfect rings. Each compartment closed with shimmering energy fields.
Faint voices drifted up from the lower levels, distant and a bit ominous.
A spiral walkway hugged the edge, winding down and down, past row after row of murderous, watching eyes.
"Welcome," Queen Vanella declared. "to the Pits of Penance."