Disclaimer: I don't own the Bouncer or DBZ. They belong to their rightful owners. This chapter is going to be intense and it contains a lot of spoilers, you've been forewarned.
Chapter 3: A Deadly Enemy
The aircraft flew over an enormous woods and a dome approximately 50 feet towered above it. The pilot circled around and the bouncers saw an unconcious Dominique, but she wasn't wearing her usual attire. Instead she was wearing a pale blue tanktop, shorts and arm coverings.
"Dominique!" Sion was surprised to see her alive.
"Yo, driver, drop us off over there." Kou said but he didn't.
He jumped off the air-carrier and opened the parachute. "He got away."
"Volt, you scared him."
He rushed to the controls and attempted to land it. He passed the tower on his first time.
"Hey, you passed it."
"Dammit!"
The aircraft crash landed near the woods as the bouncers jumped and rolled off.
As they walked away from the busted aircraft Kou looked perplexed.
"I could have nine lives for this mission, and it still wouldn't be enough."
"Just be grateful you're alive." Volt said.
"Yeah, yeah..."
They walked to the blue dome.
"That dome. I'm sure I saw Dominique in there." Sion said optimistically.
"Let's go check it out."
"Easier said than done."
They walked on but they didn't notice Siou land her Nimbus upon the trees. The thick canopy was perfect for her camouflage outfit. The tree limbs weren't very far so she was able to reach from one tree to the other, and for the far ones she could use her Powerpole. As they continued trekking, they saw a few dobermans roaming the premises. They hid in a nearby bush.
"Fancy pets, eh...?" Sion observed.
"I'm sure they're more than that." Volt added.
"Like I said, easier said than done." Kou whined.
"Shut up. We don't want them to find us."
From the looks in their eyes, Siou noticed that the dogs were only androids.
Just like the Red Ribbon Army. A lot of androids... she thought.
Overhead the bush shook and the dogs started growling. That gave a cue for the ninjas to appear as they leapt from tree to tree.
"Special forces!" Volt warned.
"Look at all of this security. This has gotta be the place!" Kou said amazed.
"Yeah, Dominique must be in there." Sion added. "Get out of my way!"
"Be careful, this is their turf." Volt whispered.
"I hope we're not too late." Kou worried.
The ninjas were easy but the dogs were ferocious. Luckily they were easy for trips and low kicks. Eventually, they've been swept away, but there were more ninjas along the way and the leader of the pack showed up as he leapt from a nearby tree.
"I knew I'd find you here." Volt said.
The ninja spoke "How does it feel to have your woman taken away from you?" He licked his lips.
"I'll save her after I bust you up!" Sion countered.
"Unfortunately, that's not how this story goes. Here we have the advantage." He lowered his goggles. "You don't stand a chance. You will NEVER get the girl back!"
"I've got what it takes to save her!" Sion said.
"No one can beat the great Mugetsu!" he retailiated.
His moves were twice as fast as the other colleagues. But when they gained up on him, he didn't stand a chance. Sion punched him back and Kou twisted his arm.
"You're going doooown!" Volt yelled as he slammed him to the ground.
"OOWWWWW!" he squealed as he got the wind knocked out of him.
"I'm not gonna lose anyone else...ever again..." Sion contemplated.
"What kind of crazy operation did he have? It messed up his mind!" Volt said.
"Whoo! Tell me about it!" Siou commented.
At that moment the bouncers noticed someone was here.
"Who was that!" Kou asked.
"Another of his special forces!" Volt wondered.
"She must've followed us!" Sion added.
The branch she was sitting on snapped! She fell with a thud and she was out cold. They walked toward her and wondered. "Who is she?" "Is she from Mikado?" "Let's find out."
Sion in the middle knelt and shook her arm. Her eyes slowly opened. "Unnnhhh..."
When she came around she startled with her hands up. "Agghh! Please don't harm me! I'm not who you think! I-I'm not from Mikado!"
"How do you know about Mikado?" Sion asked.
"Ahhh...I followed you guys here and I heard that the girl, Dominique, has been captured and taken here. I eavesdropped while you were at the bar. But that's not why I'm here. The point is she has something valuable of mine. I look for these sacred things called Dragonballs and I saw one on her left earring. Look!" She took out the four-star ball.
"I've never seen anything like it." Volt admired.
"My friends have been looking for these." She put it back in the mini sack.
"Are you from the military?" Kou asked.
"No, I'm not. Please, let me explain. It started out as an errand but it turned catastrophic when I saw her get snatched away and brought here. I know I can't do this alone, but I'm sure I can trust you."
"It seems your heading the same direction as we are. I don't want another person getting hurt." Sion warned.
"I have a weapon and some fighting skills thanks to my friends. How's this. If I can help you rescue Dominique, then we can both benefit on getting her and the Dragonball back."
"Deal. Will you help us?" Volt asked
"Of course, I'll do my best." She shook his hand with a firm, warm grip.
"Hey, just don't get in our way." Kou smirked.
She rolled her eyes and regained her composure. "I'm Siou, by the way."
"I'm Sion, this is Volt and Kou." he said pointing to them.
Siou said "It's nice to meet you all, but no time for introductions. C'mon, let's go rescue Dominique! ...And get the Dragonball."
She ran after them while Kou was standing. "Just for curiousity, what are they used for, anyway?"
No one answered, he realized he was talking to thin air. He embarassingly scratched his neck and followed the trio.
They walked beside the dome and Kou was astonished of how it looked. "This thing's pretty big up close."
Volt stepped on to the wall which led to a pit that was 50 feet down. "I don't know how we're gonna get past this..."
Sion looked around and Siou followed his gaze as he found a 15 foot bare tree. "We're not giving up yet!"
He ran to it and, like a puppy, Siou followed. He jumped up from one tree branch to another until he reached the top. Then he heard a sorrowful melody come from the big piano on the floor of the massive room. "That song..."
Then he had a flashback.
Two years ago, his childhood friend was working for the Mikado group but there was a tragic event. It was about a girl that he once knew.
"What do you mean an accident!" Sion asked.
The father of the girl explained "There was a...an accident in Mikado and-"
"And what hospital is she in!"
"She didn't make it...?"
The mother started sobbing hard as tears flowed from her red eyes. "There was a massive explosion..."
"You're lying...!"
"S-Sion!"
Then he began to scream "THAT'S A LIE!"
He closed his eyes to hold back the tears.
Since she couldn't climb, Siou extended her Powerpole to reach the limbs to the branch under where Sion was standing.
"Erragh!" she groaned and took a deep breath as she admired the view, then as if she sensed his feelings she asked what was wrong. She watched the woman stop playing the piano, stood up and turn into a panther. It was the same one she saw back at the central square.
At the lower level they saw an old man who looked to be in his eighties, very fit, and had a long white beard and braid. The other was a dark guy in a heavy cloak as dark as his soul. From the sight of him, Siou started to shiver as if the temperature dropped to 30 degrees; she sensed that something was wrong. The two men looked at Dominique resting on a stone bench.
The dark man spoke "Wong, transfer Dominique to the Galeos. We will proceed according to plan."
The old man tried to reason with him, "But the satellite control center has not been repaired since yesterday's explosion."
Impatiently the man said "What do you mean, Wong? Dominique has returned. It is now possible."
"But..."
Then he turned furious. "As chief executive officer, I order you, Wong!"
"I beg to differ...my allegiance belongs to your predecessor. You're only using the Mikado group to fulfill your own selfish agenda. What would Master Mikado think of your abuse." Then he implored "Please? For your sister's sake...?"
The man in the dark cloak faced him with anger flashing in his eyes. "Then do you intend to stop me by force, Master Wong?"
Suddenly they stepped in a circle waiting for their first move. Meanwhile on top of the dome thanks to Siou's Powerpole, she asked who the man was.
"That's Dauragon!" Volt explained.
"Why is that old geezer fighting him?" Kou asked.
As if he realized the person Sion stuttered "M-Master!"
Eventually the circle stopped and in what seemed like a millisecond, Dauragon lunged toward Wong and punched him in the gut. Like a tower of bricks he collapsed in a heap.
As he struggled to get up, Dauragon said "In eastern cultures, they say there's only way to repay one's master, by surpassing him." He sneered "This is my payback to you, Master!"
He jumped and broke and snapped Wong's back like a twig. He moaned in agony. When Dauragon stepped off, the quartet ran in.
"No!" Sion was the first and he kneeled toward his fallen mentor.
"Forgive me, Sion...Mikado must be stopped."
"Master!" he yelled, begging he could stay with him.
With his last breath, he spoke "You must do it...Sion..." He closed his eyes and remained lifeless.
"Master..." he grieved.
"Oh, no. Who would do this...?" Siou asked in fright.
"I see that you've studied under Wong. That would explain why you've been so difficult to deal with." Dauragon greeted.
Sion slowly stood up and vowed "I'm avenging my master...and I'm taking back Dominique!"
"She's my sister. I'm the one who will take her back!"
"What!"
"I should thank you for protecting her. Is there anyway I can repay you?"
"Do you take me for a fool!"
Dauragon challenged "I guess I have no choice but to fight you, then. So be it, I'll show you how it feels to be utterly powerless. I will take on all three of you at once. I shall add another handicap, as well."
He stretched his chains, Siou gulped and ran out of the room and hid. "No way I can fight this guy! What was I thinking! If they lose..." she whispered to herself.
The black panther hissed as her fur stuck up.
"You're out of your mind! You don't stand a chance!" Sion retorted.
Dauragon's uppercuts, punches, and kicks were powerful and agile. The panther just kept pacing around until she found a fighter open for her to strike. The bouncers switched from the panther to Dauragon, his melee attacks were impressive. The cat was easily won compared to him, even their team attacks were all for naught.
"How could they have missed...!" Siou whispered.
Whenever they took a critical hit, she muttered. "Oh, boy..! Aw, no! Yikes! Damn, that was painful!"
Staggering on their feet they eventually knocked him out, only for a couple seconds. As he rose, Sion noticed something; Dauragon was using only his right hand while the left was behind his back! "Next time, try using BOTH hands!"
"Wong has taught you well." he amused. "Hmph...Apparently I have underestimated you. But how about this."
As fast as lightning, Dauragon used the same technique on Sion and he flew back across the room. Volt and Kou rushed to his aid.
He said as he walked toward her unconscious prisoner "It was fun while it lasted, but I have other more pressing matters...as does Dominique..."
He snapped his finger and the floor collapsed right under them. Amazingly the floor reappeared after it dropped. The panther walked toward his side as he sneered. "It is almost time, Dominique."
Next to the tree Siou watched the fight unfold.
They lost! Are they actually dead? she thought and then shook her head.
"No! They can't be! I-I can still feel their power levels, but they're really faint. We can still save Dominique, but...not like this."
She rubbed her chin and her eyes lit up as she got an idea. "No way I can fight Dauragon by myself. I...got an idea."
She rushed to a bush where her Nimbus was parked. She jumped on it and it took off in a flash; fortunately Dauragon was so occupied with Dominique, he barely even noticed.
The sun was rising in an orange sky by the time she returned to Goku's home. She parked the Nimbus next to a window where he and the others were having breakfast. As usual, Goku was the fast eater and Gohan, Goten, Bulma, and Trunks were sitting discussing about what they'll do during the day.
She knocked and she heard Gohan's permission to come in. She did and said hello to everyone.
"Well, how did you do?" Bulma said with glee.
"Not good. I didn't get the Dragonball yet. There seems to be a huge problem that I can't solve by myself." Siou almost burst into tears.
"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" Gohan asked.
"Where do I even start?"
"How about from the beginning, take your time and fill us in." Goku said.
She took a deep breath. "Alright. I met three new friends, they're bouncers from a town called Dog Street. They were trying to rescue a girl named Dominique, who has a Dragonball on her earring. We went to a place called Mikado where there were some android dogs and a lot of ninja warriors. We just faced a strong individual known as Dauragon who is the head of Mikado. He was the one responsible for kidnapping Dominique and the bouncers. He even killed an old man with a single punch. He was so powerful that I couldn't bare to face him alone. Will you help me out?" she begged.
"Of course we will. From what you saw, it's kinda like the Red Ribbon Army." Goku said.
"Hey, I know what could work. How about my little brother will join you." Gohan suggested.
"Yeah, and maybe Trunks can go with us. Those two will be perfect for this mission. Besides, their young. They can learn a lot from this experience." Siou beamed.
"Hmmm. That could work." Bulma said.
"You really don't mind?"
"Well, I am a bit concerned, but if that's what you want to do then...I guess I can accept it."
"Oh thanks, Mom." Trunks hugged her.
"We'll do great. You can bet on it. Besides, this could be fun!" Goten said.
"See, Goten's got the right attitude!" Goku said as his son did some funny battle poses.
"With the three of us working together, what could possibly go wrong?" Trunks asked.
"What were they called...'bouncers?'" Goten queried.
"Yes. But they don't bounce around. They're people who guard bars." Siou explained
"Oh...This could be int'resting." Trunks said.
"Well, I guess that's that. You're all ready to go?"
"Yes, ma'am." Goten and Trunks said together as they saluted.
"Good luck you two!" Goku said.
"Yeah, and be careful." Bulma added.
"Of course. We'll be fine." Trunks said and the trio walked to the Nimbus.
"What is this place, um...Mikato?" Gooten asked.
"Mikado. There's an ahh in it." Siou clarified. They were off back to Dauragon's turf in a matter of seconds.
Back at the Mikado tower, Dauragon was still looking over his 'sister' and the black panther was nudging his leg to get attention. He had a flashback when he was just a kid.
Somewhere in Dog Street there was a massive hospital and rain was pouring in sheets. The wind was howling as he desperately knocked on the enormous door.
"Plase open up! My sister! She's dying!"
The door opened with a squeak and a woman who looked to be in her thirties appeared. "Oh, dear. Where are your mother and father?"
"..."
"Um...O-one moment. Doctor! Doctor!"
A few minutes passed and the same woman appeared. "I'm sorry...The doctor's on a house call right now. You'll have to find another hospital..."
She slammed the door and the boy nearly cried. "Please! I don't have anywhere else to go! Please! Please save my sister!"
He burst into tears as he continued knocking several times. Eventually he tired out and he carried her to the curb. Suddenly there was a beep and a black car drove up.
Two men stood and one of them asked "Are you alright?"
The boy explained everything, about her sister's illness.
"Good heavens! To the hospital, quickly!" said one.
"At once, sir." said the other.
Soon Dauragon had another flashback. He was a teenager and Wong was sitting with him next to his dead sister in a bed.
"Master Mikado wishes to adopt you as his son...under one condition."
"Condition?"
"You must become worthy of inheriting the Mikado Group. Obviously you must excel scholastically, but you must also train your body and soul."
Dauragon nodded. "I understand...I would be more than happy to return this favor in any way possible."
"You will learn all disciplines...for your sake, and for your sister's, as well."
Then he had one more flashback standing in a cemetery where Master Mikado's grave was rested. Wong was still with him.
"You have done well in succeeding your father...You've endured harsh training, and you have matured into a young man in whom anyone will be proud. Your father will rest easy knowing that his legacy lies in good hands. From now on, you will lead the Mikado Group."
Back in the present, Dauragon picked up his sister and the panther morphed into the girl again. Together they walked, and he carried Dominque's unconscious body to a place where anybody can guess.
A/N: Goten and Trunks were some of my favorite characters in DBZ. I especially loved it when they were together, especially when they fused into Gotenks; a very clever mash-up of the two.
Is it just me or does Dauragon sort of remind you of Sephiroth? Please post your comments and tell me what you think.
Anyway, the next chapter will be up shortly. Will Siou find the bouncers and Dominique alive? Find out on the next chapter!
