Tao Pai-Pai believed above all things that fighting prowess could be taught, but the ability to survive was inborn.
His skill as a martial artist was nothing to sneeze at, to be sure. But his cunning and keen instinct for survival had kept him alive where perhaps his skill had not. Still, he had remained unchallenged for almost two decades now, and there was no reason to believe that would change. He had prevailed through the terror of King Piccolo, and he would live once the monster Cell took over the world. Tao laughed to himself as his destination appeared alongside the road ahead. Yes...a real pity.
The building bristled with security cameras and turrets, but Tao approached the building calmly and waited.
The steel doors slid open after a pause, and he walked down the hallway then turned left. Another pair of pair of doors slid open to his left, and he entered without preamble.
The room was plain and largely empty, except for a desk and a high-backed chair. Television screens covered the rear wall, each showing a different view of the building and the road outside.
Two men stood on either side of the desk, their faces blank and suits immaculate. Another sat in the chair. As Tao entered he slowly swivelled around to face him.
"Mercenary Tao," he said, his accent thick and pronounced. "I hope you've brought the goods you promised me."
Tao smiled. "But of course."
He reached into his pocket, took out his carefully guarded prize, and placed it on the table.
The man in the chair leaned forward, almost biting on his cigar in anticipation. "So these are the famous Dragon Balls that make any wish come true?"
"Valuable artifacts at any price," Tao replied, "and a bargain at 200,000 zeni each."
In truth the price was high, but for the legendary Dragon Balls, one could hardly expect to pay a pittance. The man who owned this building (Tao neither knew nor cared about his name and thought of him simply as the 'boss') was willing to pay.
"And if that monster destroys everything on Earth, I can still survive with these," the boss said. His greedy little eyes lit up as he watched the light flash off the Dragon Balls. "I can sit in my fortress and wait for him to go away."
"I accept gold only."
"And then, when Cell has done his dirty work, I will step up from the rubble and build an empire." The boss chewed on his cigar thoughtfully, and stroked his moustache. "Think of it. No rival gangs, no meddling police." He looked at Tao. "How long will it take for you to find the rest?"
"Don't worry about that," Tao said. "Notice how quickly I found these two."
The boss seemed to consider him for a moment, puffing slowly on his cigar. Then he nodded. "I trust ya, Tao."
WHOOOOP! WHOOOOP!
Tao didn't react as the security alarm began to wail. The boss pressed a button on his desk, looking bemused. "I wasn't expectin' no-one…"
The screen showed the road outside. There were two people standing in front of the main doors. One was a man, broad with blonde hair that stuck up in all directions. The other was a child with wild black hair. They were conversing, their mouths moving silently.
Tao shot a glance at the two Dragon Balls on the table. Was it his imagination, or did they look a little brighter than usual?
No, he was right. The balls were glowing with a soft golden light. And as they watched on the screens, the man reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a round object glowing brightly.
"What, a Dragon Ball?" Tao exclaimed.
"What...?"
The man on the screen looked up at the security camera, then at the doors. It could have been Tao's imagination again, but there was something familiar about him, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Well," he said, with a smirk. "It seems the chicken has brought his own frying pan."
"Eh? Chicken?"
Tao paid no attention to the boss. His own mind was already beginning to calculate the possibilities and outcomes of this situation. The man had one Dragon Ball - could he have more? Could he be searching for them like they were?
Well, he thought with a satisfied smile, this could only make my job easier.
"We should take care of him at once," he said.
"Er...sure, let's get him."
The boss pressed another button on his desk, and they heard the distant sound of the doors grating as they opened. The security cameras changed to a different view; one of the hallway just inside. The man and the boy walked past the camera, glancing around.
"Alright," the boss said, grinning. "It's time to cook your chicken."
Tao heard one of the bodyguards make a sound like he was going to say something, but he stopped suddenly. No doubt he was protesting about the kid, who would inevitably be caught in the crossfire. Tao had seen children killed before, and as a mercenary he had contributed to it. Such was life. Death could come to any person at any moment, and if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time…it was a shame, but he knew better than to underestimate any young child.
Spears shot from the walls of the hallway. For a moment the security camera's view was entirely eclipsed by flying weapons and dust. The boss and his lackeys cheered noisily.
The dust began to clear. Spears were littered all over the floor, stuck in the walls opposite. But instead of two bodies, the man and the child were standing in the midst of the mess. The child went over to the wall and pulled the spear out effortlessly, as if it weren't stuck in concrete. He - or she - inspected the spearhead and said something to the man.
"Er..." the boss said. He had paused while pumping his fist in the air in celebration. Slowly he lowered his fist until it dropped on the desk. "What just happened? Could someone explain...?"
Tao began to have a very bad feeling about this. Still, he said dryly, "It looks like your weapons haven't been inspected."
"You idiots!" the boss exploded, turning on his two bodyguards. "How many times have I told you to inspect the weapons!"
"You never said that," one of the bodyguards protested, scratching his head.
The boss swivelled in his chair to face the security screens. "Well," he said. "We'll just have to wait until he comes in."
Sure enough the two intruders appeared in the hall moments later, looking like they'd just happened to walk in on their morning stroll. The boss pressed the button on his desk, and the doors slid open.
The man and the child paused in the doorway. Up close Tao could see the muscles bunching under the man's shirt and the strange blonde hair. Again he was struck by that sense of familiarity, but he just couldn't place where he'd seen the man before. Maybe he was a famous athlete or a movie star, or something.
The child tugged on the man's sleeve. "Papa, they have two Dragon Balls!"
The voice was too high pitched to be male. So it was a girl with her hair cut so short that it stuck up in every direction like her companion's...was it her father? Who knew. All Tao cared about was the Dragon Balls they had.
"Well, stranger, why don't you come inside?"
The man stopped, glanced around, then spotted the Dragon Balls on the desk. He approached the desk with the girl trailing behind him.
"Alright," he said enthusiastically, "we've got them!"
"I was about to say the same thing," the boss said. The doors slid shut behind the intruders.
"Now just give up the Dragon Balls, nice and slow," Tao said. "Then leave - or this will get ugly."
"Huh?" The man glanced over at him, and his eyes widened. "Mercenary Tao, is that you?"
Shit.
Tao froze, though he was unable to hide the slight twitch of his mouth.
"Remember me?" the man said, smiling. "It's Son Goku. I know we've had our differences, but it's good to see you."
Why me? Tao thought, grimacing. Why is it always me?
The bodyguards moved slowly towards Son Goku and the girl.
"First, tell me where you've hidden your chicken," the boss said, jumping out from behind his desk. "I know you have one!"
"Chicken?" Goku replied, looking confused. "Where?"
Tao would have rolled his eyes, but he was too busy twitching in barely controlled fear.
"Don't play dumb!" the boss shouted. "The one with the frying pan!"
The small girl began to giggle.
"Is this chicken like a pet of yours?" Goku asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Stop confusing him!" the bodyguard closest to him shouted. "Just give us your Dragon Balls!"
He lunged forward. One hand shoved into Goku's jacket pocket to grab the Dragon Balls, the other seized his shoulder to knock him over.
"Hey - "
Tao wasn't sure what happened next. One moment the bodyguard was making a grab for the Dragon Balls - the next he was sitting on the floor about ten feet away, groaning. The wall above his head was cracked, like he'd been thrown into it with some force.
Goku looked at his hand in surprise. "I should learn not to use that much power."
Shaking, the other bodyguard pulled the gun from his belt and fired at him.
This time it was the girl who moved. She charged straight at the bodyguard, her hand moving blindingly fast - was she catching the bullets, Tao thought incredulously - and knocked the man's feet out from under him.
"Stop it!" she scolded, and wrenched the gun out of the lackey's hands. "Don't you know these things are dangerous?"
The gun looked ridiculous in her hands, but Tao only had a split second for the thought before she broke it in half, the metal crumpling like paper. She tied it in a neat bow and handed it back to him, then hopped off his chest and pulled him upright.
Why me? Tao thought again.
"Th-they're some kinda monsters," the bodyguard cried. He climbed to his feet, clutching his wrist, and backed away. "B-boss, what do we do n-now?!"
"Are you okay?" Goku asked the other bodyguard. "I'm sorry about that."
The man could only chatter through his teeth.
"Nobody panic!" the boss shouted. "I have a defence mechanism for bad situations." He ran to his desk, climbed up on the chair, and pressed another button. "Get inside!"
Tao made his way over to the desk with a sinking heart. A dome made of black glass began to rise from the floor. The other bodyguard scrambled up and staggered towards the desk, crying, "Wait for me!"
"Whatcha gonna do now, strong guys?" the boss said, smirking. "This wall is solid. Just try to get in. I double dare ya - try it!"
"Can I?" the girl said eagerly.
"Sure," Goku said with a shrug.
The kid reached up and pressed a finger to the dome. Her finger seemed to push against the glass, then through it. Cracks began to spread across its tinted surface. There was a pause, then the entire dome splintered.
"Tao!" the boss said frantically, tugging on the mercenary's sleeve. "Please make him go away!"
"I feel bad," Goku said, and looked at the terrified men clustered around the desk. "You guys spent all that time finding Dragon Balls and I don't have anything to give you in exchange for them. I wish I could make it a fair trade."
Tao stared hard at Goku. From what he remembered (although it was over twenty years ago), he had been an incredibly strong fighter but not all that bright. Not exactly stupid, but trusting and naive. Could he still be the same? He'd only been a kid back then, but it was worth a shot.
"How about this," he said. "Let's play a game." He took one wrist and began to unscrew it. The hand popped off and he twitched back his sleeve, then shook the arm. Three puzzle rings fell from the hollow compartment and landed on the table with a clatter. "If you can untangle all three by tomorrow at dawn, then our Dragon Balls will be yours. If you can't, then you will surrender the ones you've collected. Fair?"
"Yeah, I guess it is."
"Ooh, puzzle rings," the boss said. "Good idea."
"Yes. So, Goku, do we have ourselves a deal?"
"You bet," Goku replied cheerfully. "I've never tried it, but I'm sure it can't be too bad."
If you do figure it out, we won't be around to see it, Tao thought, though he hid his triumphant thoughts behind a pleasant smile. He saw the young girl looking at him almost suspiciously and wondered for a moment if he should take the girl as a hostage. Then again, after he remembered how she'd crushed that gun, maybe not.
"What say we get our good friend a comfortable chair?" he continued, and screwed his hand back on. "I'll take your jacket and hang it up."
"Sure."
Tao removed Goku's jacket and tried not to flinch as he saw the massive biceps flex.
"Now we hate to disturb you," he said. "So we'll withdraw. We'll leave this man with you if you need anything - " he gestured to the man Goku had thrown into the wall, then pressed a button on the desk. "And I'll just switch this off."
"Uh-huh," Goku mumbled, and sat down at the table. He began to worry at the puzzle rings.
Yes, Tao thought triumphantly, as they made their way from the building. There is more than one way to defeat Son Goku.
