In the northwestern continent, a stately mansion is nestled in a remote mountain range. With the house's remote location and the difficulty usually involved with traveling through such terrain, it's extremely rare that the current occupant has to worry about dealing with visitors...which suited him just fine.
The occupant in question was an old man in relatively decent shape. He stood five feet, ten inches tall. He would be taller still but age had taken its toll and left him hunched over. With his cutting gaze and stone-faced features, he was still quite an imposing figure. With his slicked back silver hair and charcoal business suit, he personified the word dignity. To complete the strong, dignified look, he walked with a cane, though he really didn't need it.
What was most apparent about his features was a small item he wore on his collar. It was a pin in the shape of a red ribbon.
He stood in his office pacing back and forth in front of his desk. On the top of his desk was a plaque commemorating years of outstanding service for one retired General Magenta. At the bottom left corner of the plaque was an inscription of his likeness.
This General Magenta was the last member of the Red Ribbon army to retire from service before Son Goku destroyed the rest of the organization. When news of the defeat of the main army reached the retirees, they all sore vengeance against Son Goku, no matter what it took. The first to take a crack at him was Dr. Gero. Of course, that turned out to be a total failure.
Many more have tried to put plans into action; unfortunately, the other retirees didn't live long enough to have their plans enacted. Magenta, the last of the retirees decided it was his turn. Gathering what was left of the younger fringe operatives that were newly recruited, he created Neo and set him off against Goku. Unfortunately, that plan, also, ended in failure.
So now, he had to conjure a new plan to defeat Goku. But first, he had to find Neo and have him dismantled as punishment for his failure. However, Neo had gone into hiding and was proving to be very bothersome to locate.
"Idiots, every last one of them," he said about the people still associate with the Red Ribbon Army. "If I were still in active service, no one would've been able to have stood up against us...especially not a child. The army would've been flourishing today...we would've had the dragonballs in our possession and we would be ruling the world."
He sat down at his desk and began to rub his temples. "Now look at us. Not even a shadow of what we once were. We can't even take revenge for the downfall of our once great organization. We can't even locate that damned failure, Neo. This is all too much to bear. Once Neo is found and dealt with, it's over. I will finally concede defeat to Son Goku, and disband the last of our operatives. The Red Ribbon Army will be no more."
"Giving up, old man? Tisk tisk." A tall, burly man with black, spiky hair walked into Magenta's office, with an evil grin on his face.
"How did you get into my office? Who are you?" demanded Magenta.
"Why, I'm that damned failure you're looking for."
His eyes widened in fear. "Neo?"
"That's right." He spun himself around, as if he were in a fashion show. "Tell me, how do you like the new look?"
"But...how?"
"It's amazing what you can do with a little genetic engineering. Dr. Gero had a pretty good idea when he created Cell. I just happened to find some cellular samples that blew everything he had collected out of the water. And instead of creating another super warrior to send after Goku, I decided to make myself the super warrior."
Magenta scowled, "It can't be..."
"That's right," gloated Neo. "I'm ten times stronger and faster now than I was in that mishmash of a body you created for me. And that's when I'm not even powered up." He paused for a moment and then added, "Oh yeah...it doesn't have that other feature you added either..."
"No..."
"Yes. I found that little bit of code you hardwired into my body that kept me from attacking you. I found it quite useful as I also hardwired it into those nanobots I infused those four humans with. Of course, now that it's no longer active in me, I can get to do something I've wanted to do for a long time..." He raised his hand and created a sphere of energy in his palm.
"NO!" Magenta activated his intercom. "SECURITY!"
"I've already taken care of them." Neo savored the horrified look on Magenta's face for a few seconds more, then fired, reducing the old man to ash. "As you said...the Red Ribbon Army is no more."
Dreamweaver Studios Presents
Dragonball Z
Third Eye
Part Seven
What could be said about these Humans? For the longest time, G'nola and all of his kind looked down upon the Humans as weaker beings, not really worth their time except for the occasional sport.
The group of Humans alive in this generation has done so many things with the materials they had at their disposal, even he had to admit, it was wondrous. All of the tall buildings, the machines they use to perform their tasks, and the other creations made to make their lives easier were more than anything even the citizens of the demon realm could fathom.
It was almost a shame that he had to blow them all to hell. But there again, it was all for sport. He had to be careful, though, not to kill anyone...for right now. Besides, it was rather enjoyable to see the little weaklings scurrying around, running and crying for their lives while all the technological marvels they created are blown away by the wave of a hand.
The need to stick to business came abruptly to G'nola, as he could feel an incredible power closing swiftly upon him. It was the same one he had felt before. He remembered back to when he and that girl had that little confrontation. He had defeated her easily enough, and Xeon ordered him to kill her. He was going to do just that when he felt a great power appear out of nowhere and started in their direction. That was when he gave Xeon the line about having a hostage and convinced him to keep her alive.
It was a gamble. He was hoping that whoever it was that was coming would be on friendly terms with the girl and would want to kill Xeon for harming her. He was about to find out if his gamble had paid off.
A bright ball of energy appeared in front of him and quickly dissipated, revealing a person inside. This person wore the same orange gi with the dark blue shirt underneath that the other person with the scars on his face sported.
"Where's Videl?" he asked.
G'nola was genuinely confused by the question. "Who?"
"She defends this city. You couldn't be doing this without having to deal with her first. What did you do with her?"
He must've been talking about that girl from the mansion. Yes, looks like his gamble was, indeed, about to pay off. He had to make this look good, though. If he just lead him back to the girl, he may get suspicious and complicate everything. "Oh...her." He put on his best smirk and continued, "She's a guest of my master. And if you want to get to them, you'll have to go through me first." He charged the newcomer, launching a barrage of kicks and punches at him.
Gohan dodged the faux attack with ease and caught him in the mid section with a hard right hand that doubled him over. Gohan followed up with an elbow to the back of his head that propelled him down and through the asphalt of the city street below.
As he pulled himself out of the large crater he made, G'nola marveled at the incredible power the man possessed...he was clearly much stronger than the girl, or that other man he faced earlier. Even still, he appeared to be holding a great deal of his power back. If this was what he had to face, it was no wonder Dabura met his end here.
Slowly, Gohan descended to street level. Glaring at the demon, he threatened, "Last chance."
"F-fine," G'nola answered, not needing to act intimidated. "I'll take you to the girl..."
** **
"Hmm...that's interesting...Hey O'ro! Take a look at this..."
Taking a respite from causing panic below, O'ro turned his attention to his cohort. "What is it Grahm?"
"Isn't that G'nola?"
"Yeah."
"Who's that with him?"
"Hmm..." O'ro strained to see the second person flying behind the strongest of their group. "It appears to be a mortal."
"Geez...I wonder how many of these incredibly strong mortals there are around here?"
"No idea." O'ro paused for a moment. "Say...you don't think this is part of G'nola's plan, do you?"
Grahm thought about it for a moment. "That's a good question. Let's follow them and see."
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"Here we are," said Yamucha. "Remember...this is our last chance to save Tenshinhan. We can't blow it this time."
"I know," went Kassex. "This time, I'll do it right."
"Good. We're counting on you."
"Whoa..." went Kuririn. "The power for this Xeon guy is impressive. I can understand why you had so much trouble with him." There was a short pause, then he said, "Hey...isn't that Gohan?"
"What?" Yamucha didn't have to extend his senses much to feel the awesome power of the Human/Saiyan hybrid. He was clearly agitated over something. Yamucha could also tell that he was moving in Xeon's direction. "I can't believe this! Brace yourself, Kassex. We're going to kick it up another notch. Kuririn!"
"Right" Again, the Human warriors increased their energy output, increasing their velocity.
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What was wrong?
Videl opened her eyes weakly, trying to assess her situation. For some reason, she couldn't move. For all her power, her own arms and legs were too heavy for her to budge.
What was wrong?
Everything.
Why was this still happening? Videl thought that once she acquired power to rival that of the Saiyans, this sort of thing wouldn't happen anymore. Granted she didn't have experience using those powers, but it wasn't as if she were new to the realm of fighting. So why was it she was in the situation she was currently in?
More importantly, how could she get out of the situation she was currently in?
Suddenly, as much as she could with her heavy eyelids, her eyes lit up. She still didn't have the ability to sense power levels like Gohan or the others, but she didn't need that ability to sense the enormous amount of energy that was quickly racing their way. Nor did she need that ability to know who that energy belonged to.
Slowly, G'nola and Gohan touched down on the front lawn of the Satan estate. Immediately, he felt Videl's ki. That was a good thing since, from what he understood, Videl and the others kidnapped by Neo had to make a conscious effort to have their ki read.
After taking a few steps towards the mansion, he actually saw Videl. She was lying on the front porch with a strange, glowing collar around her neck. A chain attached the collar to a deck chair. And sitting in the deck chair was...
Gohan's jaw hit the ground.
Xeon stood up from the deck chair and demanded, "G'NOLA! I was enjoying the little show you were providing me. What is the meaning of this?" Xeon stopped dead in his tracks...It was Yamucha again... 'Wait...' Xeon thought to himself. 'That isn't him. It's someone else dressed similarly. But what of his power?' Xeon focused his senses, trying to tap into his ability to sense other people's ki.
Xeon's jaw hit the ground.
"I had no choice," went G'nola. He was kneeling in front of Xeon with his head bowed low...so Xeon couldn't see the large smirk on his face. "He demanded that I bring him here. He was too powerful for me to challenge..."
It was true...he was very powerful...more powerful than even his nemesis, Yamucha. How in the world would he be able to defeat this one? His mind raced, trying to come up with an idea to win over this newcomer. That was when he noticed that his new opponent's face mirrored his own in shock.
"Tenshinhan..." went Gohan. "It can't be..."
Oh...so the boy knew of the body's previous owner too, huh? And this one seems reluctant to battle. Good. This may go well for him anyway. But...first thing's first. The jewel in the middle of his chest began to glow and the unbearable flow of agony ripped through G'nola once again.
"That's for being such a coward. And you fancy yourself as the new king of demons? Hah!" He turned his attention to Gohan, "And now, for you..."
'This is strange,' thought Gohan. 'He looks just like Tenshinhan...but his energy signature is so different...Plus the way he lords over that demon...he CAN'T be Tenshinhan…' With that last thought in mind, Gohan launched himself at Xeon.
The move caught Xeon off his guard and Gohan tagged him with a hard punch to his stomach and another to the nose.
Great...once again, it's not going to go as easily as Xeon expected. Again, Gohan charged, but this time, Xeon was ready, countering every attack sent at him. 'This kid is good,' Xeon thought. 'And with all the power he has behind his attacks, it still feels as though he's holding a great deal back. It's no wonder G'nola gave in...if I am to have any chance at winning, I can't hold anything back!'
Upping his power considerably, Xeon managed to slip through Gohan's onslaught and landed a straight kick to his mid section. The attack sent Gohan flying back, but he managed to regain his footing and stay upright. Xeon raced through his mind to find a good attack to strike him with. Doing so, he brought his hands together in the form of a triangle.
"KIKOHOU!!!"
His immense attack totally enveloped Gohan and completely incinerated half of the front yard and countless city blocks unfortunate to be in its path.
When the attack dissipated, much to Xeon's dismay, Gohan was still standing, with his arms covering his face. Slowly, Gohan lowered his arms exposing his face. Xeon could tell...Gohan was hurt.
'The force behind that attack was incredible...' thought Gohan. 'More than anything he SHOULD be able to generate...but...but that WAS Tenshinhan's attack...' Gohan took in every nuance of his opponent's features. 'Could...could he REALLY be Tenshinhan?'
"You managed to withstand that attack pretty well," Xeon commented. "I wonder how well you'd manage to take another one?" The energy of his stolen body began to cackle, reading himself for his next assault.
Before he was able to fire, Xeon's other demonic cohorts, O'ro and Grahm fell to the Earth in front of him with an unceremonious thud, causing his concentration to falter.
A split second later, Kuririn landed between them and Gohan, with Yamucha and Kassex not far behind. "Heh...those two goons were easy. Both on me at once and I didn't even break a sweat," Kuririn bragged.
Gohan's eyes lit up, "Kuririn!"
"Hey Gohan. Decided to join our little party, did ya?"
Gohan eyed the girl that was with Yamucha. "Hey...who's that?"
"Kassex," Yamucha went, never taking his eyes off of Xeon. "She's the only one who has the power to save Tenshinhan."
"So that really is Tenshinhan?" asked Gohan.
"It's a long story," said Yamucha. "Best saved for later."
Xeon looked at his comrades with disgust. "Dammit, I'm surrounded by useless idiots!" Xeon raced back to the front porch and grabbed the chain that held Videl. "I'm guessing that you guys know this girl here. Even if you don't, I'm pretty sure you are the heroic types who wouldn't want to see any innocents get harmed. You will back off now, or else..."
The glow around the chain and collar intensified. Videl's eyes nearly popped out of her skull and she began feebly clawing at the collar. She was being choked to death.
Gohan's aura exploded as he watched Videl being tortured. Tenshinhan or no, he would be damned before he let anyone harm her. Kuririn tried his best to restrain his friend's son. "Easy Gohan!"
"You'd do well to restrain him," went Xeon. "Anyone take one step towards me, and I'll kill her instantly." He lifted the chain for emphasis, wrenching her head upwards.
Then, inexplicably, the chain and collar came apart, causing Videl to fall to the Earth. "WHAT???" boomed Xeon. He lifted the chain to eye level where the break was. "This was a special metal crafted in the demon realm! No mortal should be able to break it...no matter how powerful they are..."
"You're right...it wasn't broken by a mortal"
Xeon's face contorted to display his barely contained rage, "G'NOLA!!!"
Seeing Xeon distracted, Gohan made his move, going to the porch, grabbing Videl and moving back to his group all within a blink of an eye. Now that Videl was safe, Xeon had no more cards to play.
"You seem to be in a tough situation now, Lord," G'nola said, mockingly.
"Damn you!!!"
"So...what are you going to do now? Punish me? Or defend yourself from your enemies? You can't do both, so you'll have to choose wisely." G'nola turned to his fellow demons. "Now then, let's go...unless you want to continue taking orders from a mortal..." With that, G'nola ascended to the skies above. Faced with a choice of freedom to do as they pleased, or servitude to a being that demons felt were beneath them, O'ro and Grahm decided the former was best, so they picked themselves up off of the ground and flew off following G'nola.
"I'LL GET YOU! ALL OF YOU WILL PAY FOR BETRAYING ME!!!" ranted Xeon.
"I don't think so," Kassex said, her magical energies coming to life around her. "We're going to beat you here and now and return that body to its rightful owner!"
There was no denying it...this was it...just like before. No allies left and enemies surrounding him at every turn. The desperation was clear on Xeon's stolen face.
Yamucha recognized his expression and stepped in front. Being a desert bandit for so long, he dealt with various wild animals. He knew when a wild animal was in a desperate situation and flight wasn't possible, there was only one thing left to do.
As he expected, Xeon attacked ferociously, with fists and feet flying at a breakneck pace. Yamucha easily blocked every one and landed a kick to his chest that propelled him back to the mansion. In mid flight, Xeon fired a ki blast at their general direction. Yamucha swatted it away and shot himself between Xeon and the mansion, landing another kick that planted him face first into the ground.
After painfully adjusting himself face up, Xeon received a knee to the stomach. Now that the would-be tyrant was pinned to the ground, Yamucha latched onto the gem in the middle of his forehead. Again, a powerful jolt of energy engulfed Yamucha, washing him over with untold pain. But as he bore the deep, seething pain of Bulma's betrayal for seven long years, he bore this as well and held on to the jewel for his...and Tenshinhan's life. "KASSEX! DO IT NOW!"
'I can do this...' Kassex chanted to herself, eyes closed. 'I can do this...' She opened her eyes and brought her hands together in front of her, "OH SPIRIT OF THE EARTH, UNDO EVIL'S BIND! MAKE THIS MONSTER'S THIRD EYE BLIND!"
Once again, the wind whipped up violently, and Yamucha and Xeon were enveloped in the bright magical light. After the spell's work was completed, both the light and the wind died down. Once it was safe to uncover their eyes, everyone looked up to the magic's handy work.
Yamucha, who was in the middle of the magic's focus, checked himself out to make sure he still had his clothes on, or wasn't turned into a frog or anything like that. Once he found that he was, more or less, okay, he looked down at his adversary. He was unconscious...and was minus the gem in the middle of his forehead. Yamucha looked into his clenched hand, opened it up and smiled upon finding the gem inside.
He stood up and walked back to his band of comrades. "Did you get it?" asked Kuririn.
"Yeah, I got it," Yamucha said, relief evident in his voice. "You did it, Kassex. Way to go." Kassex sighed and gave a laugh of relief. Yamucha looked back at the prone form, "Will he be okay?"
"Since we got the jewel with Xeon's essence off of him before the binding was complete, he should be just fine and himself when he wakes up," she answered. Yamucha nodded in understanding. Kassex looked down at the jewel in Yamucha's hand, "Now...what to do with that little trouble maker right there?"
"Tenshinhan wasn't the first to fall victim to Xeon," said Yamucha. "Chances are, he won't be the last either. And there's no telling in the future if someone will be there powerful enough to stand against him if anything like this ever happened again. There's only one thing to do." Yamucha closed his hand around the gem again and there was a distinct crack heard. He, then, opened his hand and the shattered pieces of the gem that held Xeon's essence fell to the ground. With nothing left to contain his essence, Xeon faded into oblivion.
"Now...once and for all...it's over."
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