Way of the Saiya-jin

Chapter 3: Hayun Bridge – Goku and Pack's First Test

The crackle of a bright fire pierced through the night air. Goku and Pack sat together tearing cooked rabbit meat off of a stick. Now that the last of Pan's meals had floated down the river, the boys were forced to fend for themselves. Goku fell backward off of the rock he was sitting on and rubbed his stomach. A look of contentment fell upon his face and he closed his eyes. Pack finished his rabbit and tossed the stick into the long grass that surrounded them. The group had finally escaped the large forest on the outskirts of Satan City and now found themselves surrounded by desert/grasslands.

From out of the dark, a princess in tattered clothes stormed into their camp. "You're running out of toilet paper!" she shouted, waving the depleted cardboard roll at the boys. She threw it in Pack's direction. "It's not even good toilet paper!"

Pack stood up. "You're lucky you have that! Just imagine what I'd be like if we hadn't run after you!"

"I would have been fine by myself! You're not doing me any favors!" Aoi yelled.

Goku was still lying on his back and rolled his eyes. He had been listening to this for the past day and a half. He rolled over on his side and stood up. Ignoring his arguing traveling partners, he made his way over to the tent he had pitched for the night.

"And where do you think you're going?" Aoi asked.

Goku turned toward the princess who was bent toward him with her hands on her hips. "I'm going to sleep,"

"Not in there you're not," she walked past him and into the tent. There was a rustling sound before she emerged with a few blankets which she promptly threw at Goku's feet. "You two are sleeping by the fire. I'm staying in the tent,"

The boys stared in disbelief as she zipped up the tent. Goku turned to Pack with his mouth wide open. He tried to talk but words failed to form and nothing came from his mouth. He picked up the blankets and brought them over to Pack. He took two of them and placed one down next to the fire and wrapped the other around his shoulders. He leaned up against the large rock he previously sat on and stared up into the starry sky. With no light pollution for miles, Goku witnessed some of the first shooting stars he had seen in his life.

"Wow, it really is beautiful out here Pack,"

Pack was curled in a ball across the fire from him with his back toward Goku. "Can you believe her?! Taking our tent like that,"

Always the one to avoid conflicts, Goku decided to lie down on his side to try and fall asleep. The sound of crickets chirping and the fire crackling soothed the city grown Saiya-jin who was used to cars honking, trains whistling and people yelling. It was soon after he had closed his eyes that he fell fast asleep in the glow of the fire.

-

Goku, Pack and Princess Aoi continued their quest to reach the Flower Country the next day. The sun was at its high peak in the sky and the bright rays were beating down on the group. Aoi was holding a blanket over her head as she walked to give herself a little shade from the hot sun. Pack trudged slowly behind Aoi and Goku with his shoulders slumped forward and his tongue hanging from his mouth. As they walked, the light wind blew up some dirt from the hard, dry ground. The wind was a bit of a relief for the group, but even that came with its own downside with the dirt blowing around.

Goku stopped walking and untied the red bandana that was wrapped around his head. He slowly wiped the sweat from his face, as well as some of the dirt that had stained his cheeks and forehead. "It's so hot out here," he panted.

"You said it Goku," Pack sighed, setting his backpack down onto the ground. Aoi had stopped as well and was currently crouching down, still holding her blanket over her head to stay out of the sun. Goku shaded his eyes and squinted to get a better view of his surroundings. The air around him rippled with heat as he searched for any landmarks to pinpoint their location. At first he thought it was a mirage but sure enough, in the distance he saw a bridge.

"You guys!" Goku shouted. "I see a bridge!"

Aoi turned around and looked toward the horizon. "A bridge? That must by Hayun Bridge. That means we're getting closer to home!"

Goku ran up to the princess and grabbed her arm. He began to drag her as he took off toward the bridge. "Well let's go!" he said with a smile on his face. "C'mon Pack!"

Pack struggled to stand and threw his backpack onto his back as quick as he could. "Wait up Goku!"

-

The group stood before a magnificent stone bridge. Water calmly lapped up against the arched aqueduct-like base and Goku shuffled his way down to the river bank. He stuck his entire head under water to cool off and get a drink. He emerged to see through the wet hair that covered his face that Pack and Aoi had followed suit. Goku shook his head like a dog and sprayed the other two with water. On any other occasion, they would've been angry with the Saiya-jin boy but on a day so ungodly hot, they didn't seem to mind. He turned his head toward the bridge and was awestruck by its beauty. The sides were lined with a red stone walls and small bushes with red flowers growing from them. As he was studying the bridge, Pack and Aoi had climbed back up the bank and shouted for him to join him.

"Let's get a move on Goku! I'd like to reach the village across the bridge by nightfall!" Aoi yelled.

Goku turned his head around and snapped out of his daydream. He climbed the banks and caught up to Pack and Aoi who had started to cross the enormous bridge. Across the bridge was a huge arch that marked the entrance to the village.

"I've heard stories from the Flower Country that there is a monster that lives on this bridge," Aoi said, a bit frightened.

Pack looked at her as he walked and laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. There's no such thing as monsters,"

"Says you!" Aoi shot back. "You're from the city!"

"What's that supposed to mean!" Pack screamed, shaking putting a fist up to her chin.

Goku turned around and put his hand on Pack's shoulder. "Calm down Pack,"

Pack pushed Goku's chest, knocking him backward and over a raised stone that caused him to fall on his back. "Stay out of this Goku!"

Goku gave Pack an angry look and rubbed the back of his head. Over the sound of Pack and Aoi's fighting, a loud crash boomed from behind them. Goku, still sitting, looked up and saw two piercing red eyes staring back at him. Goku gave a frightened shout and scrambled back to Pack and Aoi who had ended their fight and were now clinging to each other for dear life. Goku's teeth chattered as the monster stood in front of them. The monster's face had bright red eyes surrounded by blackness and a silver mechanical jaw. The top of his head was a large black cone that the sun reflected off of. The solid black body looked like the Saiya-jin armor of old and had a rope tied around it with what seemed like a large pole on its back. The arms and legs were thin silver poles with large black armor starting at the wrist and large grey hands.

"Waaaa! What is that?!" Pack said shakily.

"It's the m-monster," Aoi replied.

"I think it's a robot guys," Goku said, just as afraid as the other two.

"How does that make this any better Goku?!" Aoi yelled.

The robot removed the pole from its back and with the quickness of a cheetah, slammed it on top of Goku's head. "Owww!" he cried, grabbing the top of his head. With tears in his eyes, he addressed the robot. "Whoa!!! What the hell are you?"

The robot turned sideways, bent down and raised his free hand above his head. His hand looked like a claw, waiting to strike and his other hand securely held the pole.

"So you're the monster!" Goku said, clearly irritated. "I'm pissed!"

Goku fell into a fighting stance, but the tense mood was lightened quickly as Aoi cried out "I pissed my pants!" from behind them. Pack instantly jumped back from her and began to wipe himself down as if he was making sure he didn't have any piss on him. Ignoring all of this, the robot shot the pole into Goku's stomach, knocking him to his knees,"

"That hurt you bastard!"

The robot tried to hit Goku again, but he quickly jumped out of the way. He rolled on the ground and flipped back up to his feet. He ran at his opponent, jumped and back flipped over him. He threw a punch at him but it was blocked by the robot's heavy armor. The robot returned with a punch of his own which caused Goku to flatten himself out on the ground to avoid it.

"Why won't you let us pass?!" Goku asked as he dodged punches and strikes from the robot's pole. He barely dodged a hit from the pole and knocked himself off balance. The robot took this opportunity to strike. He kicked Goku hard in the ribs, and sent him flying off of the bridge and into the water below.

"Goku!" Pack and Aoi cried out in unison.

As the water calmed down from Goku's splash, he was nowhere to be seen. Aoi's hands were covering her mouth. "I think I pissed myself again…" Pack rolled his eyes and focused his attention on the mechanical beast. The robot slowly turned toward Pack and Aoi and pointed his pole at them. Pack jumped in front of Aoi and raised his fist. "Come and get me!"

From the side of the bridge, a scream rang out from the water. Water swirled and shot up in the air. To everyone's surprise, Goku was standing on the river bed with a white aura of energy surrounding him. He bent down and shot up toward the bridge. He landed on the red stone wall and stared angrily at the robot.

"I'm telling you to stop for your own good!"

The robot disregarded Goku's warning and slammed his fists down at Goku. He skillfully shot away from the blow and the robot shattered the wall with his attack. Goku landed behind him and immediately shot back toward him with such speed that Pack could barely see him. Goku landed a mighty kick into the robot's back and it sent his enemy sailing into the sky and over the horizon. Immediately after, Goku fell on his back and passed out. Pack and Aoi dashed over to him and tried to wake him up.

"Oh Goku!" Aoi sobbed with tears forming in her eyes.

Pack placed his hands under Goku's armpits and began to drag him toward the village. "Grab his legs Aoi! We have to get him to the village!" Aoi obliged his request without an argument and grabbed his feet. The two carried Goku the length of the bridge and set him down under the arch at the end of the bridge. Four men carrying spears and dressed in green and white traditional Chinese outfits met Pack and Aoi at the arch.

"Intruders!" they shouted.

Pack and Aoi cowered in fear and again clung tightly to each other as the four men closed in. Two of the men grabbed Pack and Aoi while a third slung an unconscious Goku over his shoulder. Pack and Aoi, no matter how much they thrashed about, were drug screaming into the village.