The Z-Team
To our wonderful but concerned reviewers: It's just so much fun to call Vegeta by the name V.A., referring to his B.A. Barracus persona. The others have just been using their Z names, sort of by default. Though come to think of it, it might be fun to refer to H.M. "Howling Mad" Goku.
___________ ____________
Chapter Two
H.M. Goku un-capsules the helicopter while Yamcha encapsules the van. Piccolo picks up V.A. and arranges him in one of the chairs. Yamcha silently consigns his life to Dende and sits down in the seat next to him. Marron gets in beside him.
"All right!" Goku says, looking over the controls. "Hey, I recognize some of these from the book!"
Piccolo grins. "Take us up, Goku."
Goku claps his hands, grins inanely, and pulls back on some stick. The helicopter rises into the air abruptly.
They climb higher and rather jerkily into the sky. They pass through a cloud. They come out of the cloud.
"Goku!" Yamcha screams. "The ground's that way! The sky's that way! You're mixing them up!"
"We're upside down," Piccolo says calmly.
"Oops!" Goku tries to fix the problem.
"We're flying sideways."
"The island's in the other direction," Marron says, then screams, then faints.
"Ooh, that was a bird!"
"Emphasis on was."
"Oops."
"Think about that bird next time you try to do a spirit bomb."
At this point V.A. wakes up. "Where am I?" he asks groggily, looking around. "What? Oh no! You hijacked me! I'm in the air! With that baka flying! You are dead! Do you hear me? All of you!"
Yamcha tries to hide under his seat.
"Now V.A. calm down," Piccolo orders. "You don't want to kill us."
"I do! But that wasn't what I meant. That crazy baka is going to crash and we're all going to die!"
"Don't worry, V.A.!" Goku calls over his shoulder. "I'd never do anything to harm you guys. Especially you, V.A. You're my best friend!"
"No I'm not! Shut up!"
They narrowly miss colliding with a mountain. "Goku, perhaps you should turn around and watch where you're going," Piccolo suggests.
"Oops."
"That does it!" V.A. bolts out of his seat and lunges at Goku, trying to strangle him.
"He can't fly with you choking him, V.A." Piccolo manages to pry V.A. off of their pilot.
"We're all going to die anyway! I want to kill him before we do!"
"Maybe you should land, Goku." Even Piccolo's calm is starting to waver. He thinks he'll need to meditate really hard to recover from this.
"Um, I haven't got to that chapter yet."
Everyone sweatdrops.
"You are crazy!" Yamcha screams from under his seat.
V.A. falls over into Piccolo's lap. He is a completely immobile, catatonic state. Piccolo waves his hand in front of V.A.'s face. "He's lost it. The stress was too much for him." He shoves him back into his proper seat.
Goku grins. "Don't worry, guys, I know what to do." He opens the chopper door, jumps out, and floats along beside it. Then he grabs the copter by its bottom skids and carries it, flying, to Master Roshi's island. He has some trouble landing, as the helicopter keeps wanting to go up, and he has to dodge the whirling blades and push it down. But they all climb out safely. Goku lets go then and the copter flies away by itself, promptly crashing into the sea about 100 yards out. The blast from the crash brings V.A. back to his senses.
V.A. throws himself at Goku and starts beating him. "I hate you! I hate you!"
Marron throws herself, sobbing, into Krillin's arms. Yamcha lays on the ground, twitching. Piccolo ignores them all and introduces himself to Roshi and Krillin. "We're the Z-Team."
Roshi scratches his head. "Have you ever considered having some lovely young ladies on your team?"
"Well. . . there's Bulma. She helps us out sometimes."
Roshi's eyes light up. "Do you think you could fix us up?"
V.A. stops pummeling Goku. "Don't even think about it, you lecher. Bulma's my mate! Nobody touches her!"
Puar and Oolong, who have come out of the house to see what all the commotion is about, bolt back inside, where they cower in fear.
"Why don't you tell us about these androids?" Piccolo steps in between V.A. and Roshi.
V.A. hits Goku one more time, then everyone settles down and gathers in a circle. Roshi begins his story. "It all started a few weeks ago. These four androids came to the island and said they were representatives of Dr. Gero. He wants to buy Kame-House and turn it into a resort-spa."
Yamcha looks around. "Who'd want to come here?"
"I refused to sell. But Dr. Gero wouldn't take no for an answer! He keeps sending the androids around. They threaten us and break windows. The leader said next time they come, if we don't sell, he's going to throw us off the island."
"I see. It looks like we'll need to meet this Dr. Gero," Piccolo says, smiling.
"Hannibal's on the jazz," Yamcha whispers to Goku and V.A.
"We don't know who Dr. Gero is or where he lives," Krillin says.
"Next time the androids come, we'll beat them up and follow them back to Gero." Piccolo takes a cigar out from his cape and stares at it. "Where did this come from? I don't smoke."
Roshi takes it.
Goku begins bouncing up and down. "I know! Maybe we could make our own android!"
V.A. rolls his eyes, crosses his arms, and scowls. "Shut up! You can't make an android."
"Sure I can!" Goku runs around the island. He grabs some vines, a giant seashell, and some pieces of driftwood. He comes back to the circle and, with the vines, ties the wood onto the shell like arms and legs. "Now I just need something for the head. I'll call her Shelly!"
V.A. growls and incinerates the whole thing with a ki blast.
Goku looks shocked and horrified. "V.A.! What did you do that for?"
"Stop it before I throw you in the ocean!" V.A. yells at him.
Krillin, Marron, and Roshi just stare at them.
"Uh oh." Yamcha jumps to his feet, attracting everyone's attention. "I think the androids are coming."
They all look to the sky.
To our wonderful but concerned reviewers: It's just so much fun to call Vegeta by the name V.A., referring to his B.A. Barracus persona. The others have just been using their Z names, sort of by default. Though come to think of it, it might be fun to refer to H.M. "Howling Mad" Goku.
___________ ____________
Chapter Two
H.M. Goku un-capsules the helicopter while Yamcha encapsules the van. Piccolo picks up V.A. and arranges him in one of the chairs. Yamcha silently consigns his life to Dende and sits down in the seat next to him. Marron gets in beside him.
"All right!" Goku says, looking over the controls. "Hey, I recognize some of these from the book!"
Piccolo grins. "Take us up, Goku."
Goku claps his hands, grins inanely, and pulls back on some stick. The helicopter rises into the air abruptly.
They climb higher and rather jerkily into the sky. They pass through a cloud. They come out of the cloud.
"Goku!" Yamcha screams. "The ground's that way! The sky's that way! You're mixing them up!"
"We're upside down," Piccolo says calmly.
"Oops!" Goku tries to fix the problem.
"We're flying sideways."
"The island's in the other direction," Marron says, then screams, then faints.
"Ooh, that was a bird!"
"Emphasis on was."
"Oops."
"Think about that bird next time you try to do a spirit bomb."
At this point V.A. wakes up. "Where am I?" he asks groggily, looking around. "What? Oh no! You hijacked me! I'm in the air! With that baka flying! You are dead! Do you hear me? All of you!"
Yamcha tries to hide under his seat.
"Now V.A. calm down," Piccolo orders. "You don't want to kill us."
"I do! But that wasn't what I meant. That crazy baka is going to crash and we're all going to die!"
"Don't worry, V.A.!" Goku calls over his shoulder. "I'd never do anything to harm you guys. Especially you, V.A. You're my best friend!"
"No I'm not! Shut up!"
They narrowly miss colliding with a mountain. "Goku, perhaps you should turn around and watch where you're going," Piccolo suggests.
"Oops."
"That does it!" V.A. bolts out of his seat and lunges at Goku, trying to strangle him.
"He can't fly with you choking him, V.A." Piccolo manages to pry V.A. off of their pilot.
"We're all going to die anyway! I want to kill him before we do!"
"Maybe you should land, Goku." Even Piccolo's calm is starting to waver. He thinks he'll need to meditate really hard to recover from this.
"Um, I haven't got to that chapter yet."
Everyone sweatdrops.
"You are crazy!" Yamcha screams from under his seat.
V.A. falls over into Piccolo's lap. He is a completely immobile, catatonic state. Piccolo waves his hand in front of V.A.'s face. "He's lost it. The stress was too much for him." He shoves him back into his proper seat.
Goku grins. "Don't worry, guys, I know what to do." He opens the chopper door, jumps out, and floats along beside it. Then he grabs the copter by its bottom skids and carries it, flying, to Master Roshi's island. He has some trouble landing, as the helicopter keeps wanting to go up, and he has to dodge the whirling blades and push it down. But they all climb out safely. Goku lets go then and the copter flies away by itself, promptly crashing into the sea about 100 yards out. The blast from the crash brings V.A. back to his senses.
V.A. throws himself at Goku and starts beating him. "I hate you! I hate you!"
Marron throws herself, sobbing, into Krillin's arms. Yamcha lays on the ground, twitching. Piccolo ignores them all and introduces himself to Roshi and Krillin. "We're the Z-Team."
Roshi scratches his head. "Have you ever considered having some lovely young ladies on your team?"
"Well. . . there's Bulma. She helps us out sometimes."
Roshi's eyes light up. "Do you think you could fix us up?"
V.A. stops pummeling Goku. "Don't even think about it, you lecher. Bulma's my mate! Nobody touches her!"
Puar and Oolong, who have come out of the house to see what all the commotion is about, bolt back inside, where they cower in fear.
"Why don't you tell us about these androids?" Piccolo steps in between V.A. and Roshi.
V.A. hits Goku one more time, then everyone settles down and gathers in a circle. Roshi begins his story. "It all started a few weeks ago. These four androids came to the island and said they were representatives of Dr. Gero. He wants to buy Kame-House and turn it into a resort-spa."
Yamcha looks around. "Who'd want to come here?"
"I refused to sell. But Dr. Gero wouldn't take no for an answer! He keeps sending the androids around. They threaten us and break windows. The leader said next time they come, if we don't sell, he's going to throw us off the island."
"I see. It looks like we'll need to meet this Dr. Gero," Piccolo says, smiling.
"Hannibal's on the jazz," Yamcha whispers to Goku and V.A.
"We don't know who Dr. Gero is or where he lives," Krillin says.
"Next time the androids come, we'll beat them up and follow them back to Gero." Piccolo takes a cigar out from his cape and stares at it. "Where did this come from? I don't smoke."
Roshi takes it.
Goku begins bouncing up and down. "I know! Maybe we could make our own android!"
V.A. rolls his eyes, crosses his arms, and scowls. "Shut up! You can't make an android."
"Sure I can!" Goku runs around the island. He grabs some vines, a giant seashell, and some pieces of driftwood. He comes back to the circle and, with the vines, ties the wood onto the shell like arms and legs. "Now I just need something for the head. I'll call her Shelly!"
V.A. growls and incinerates the whole thing with a ki blast.
Goku looks shocked and horrified. "V.A.! What did you do that for?"
"Stop it before I throw you in the ocean!" V.A. yells at him.
Krillin, Marron, and Roshi just stare at them.
"Uh oh." Yamcha jumps to his feet, attracting everyone's attention. "I think the androids are coming."
They all look to the sky.