Chapter twelve - A Mechanical Snag
Chaotzu and Roshi were standing outside the air ship examining the Dragon Radar trying to pin point the next Dragonball. The reading was unusual and Bulma figured something in the area was causing interference but wasn't sure what it could be. "Hurry up guys." Bulma said from behind them as she looked uncertainly at the dense woods around them.
"We're going as fast we can Bulma." Roshi said pushing a branch out of the way. The three of them stopped dead at what lay before them, hidden from above by the dense roof of branches and leaves. It was a large metal and brick structure with a set of very imposing and massive metal doors. It wasn't just the sight of the structure itself that froze the small group but what was engraved in the metal doors nearly hidden by the vines growing up it. Still the emblem was unmistakable. This had been a Red Ribbon base.
"Um..." Chaotzu began as he looked up at the towering doors. "What are the chances the Dragonball could have landed inside there?"
"I'd say pretty good." Bulma replied somewhat nervously. "It could explain the interference, the place is probably shielded."
"Well, let's find out." Roshi said rolling up his sleeves. "You two should stand back." The martial arts master clenched his fists and his two companions saw his muscles bulge up stretching out his clothes. Then he shifted his feet, pulled his arms back, and cupped his hands. "Kameeeeee.... Hameeeeee.... Haaaaaaa!" Thrusting his arms forward Roshi fired the stream of blue energy at the door and began to push against it. Slowly it began creak and give. A moment later the Kamehameha Wave had torn an opening through the door large enough for them to pass through.
As Roshi relaxed and the three began to move closer Bulma suddenly froze. "What was that!?" she cried staring into the opening. Just inside, hidden by the darkness, something scraped across the metal and stone floor. As they continued to stare and watch Roshi and Chaotzu prepared for possible trouble. They weren't disappointed.
From the darkness of the derelict base emerged a silvery metallic form. It's feet were simple half circles with large metal toes for balance. It's legs and arms were relatively thin, just smaller than Bulma's. The body was large and fanned out from the waist up like a triangle. Resting atop this body was a small hump about the size of a basketball in which rested a single red eye just smaller than it's 'head'. "I am Sentinel Unit 14, you are trespassing on Red Ribbon territory. Leave now or be destroyed." it said in a monotone voice.
"Guys..." Bulma whispered pulling on Roshi's sleeve. The martial arts master shook his arm releasing the woman's grip and tightened his stance, Chaotzu did the same.
"I can't sense anything." Chaotzu said, eyes looked on the machine.
Roshi nodded. "It's not a living thing, I don't think it's possible." He reached up with one hand and removed his sun glasses handing them back to Bulma. "Be careful Chaotzu, this thing may be fairly strong." The little man nodded solemnly. This wouldn't be as easy as they'd hoped it seemed.
The monotone voice spoke again as an arm raised and pointed at them. "You have five seconds to leave." At the end of the arm was a simple two fingered hand with a thumb below the fingers. In it's center was a small red circle that began to glow.
Roshi's eyes widened a bit. "Look out Chaotzu!" he cried dodging to the side. Chaotzu hesitated a moment then did the same just as a red energy beam cut through the air. It hit the tree that had been behind them and cut clean through. "This thing's a little stronger than I am." Roshi said brushing off his shirt. "I felt that blast just before it attacked, be very careful. If this thing hits you it could kill you."
Chaotzu gulped as he watched the machine look back and forth between the three people. Bulma lay on the ground whimpering and crying. "May... maybe we... sh... should get the o... others first." She stammered.
"Not yet." Roshi said quietly. "Chaotzu and I should be able to handle this, it's attacks are strong but it's only made of metal. We should be able to break it. Come on Chaotzu, let's give it a try!" The short man nodded and the two charged in. The machine fired another blast, Roshi dodged to the side and Chaotzu went up over it. Roshi came in close and slammed his right fist into the metal body which dented slightly and cracked while Chaotzu hit it in it's red eye shattering it.
The machine took a few steps backward, then froze. "Did... did you get it?" Bulma asked peeking around the tree she was hiding behind.
She got her answer a second later as it jerked a few times and spoke again. "Intruder's underestimated. Require reinforcements. All Sentinel Units to main doors."
"That can't be good...." Bulma said wide eyed.
As the machine fell over onto its back five red glows came from the opening. A moment later five more Sentinels emerged from the opening. As Roshi and Chaotzu prepared for battle again six other machines floated down from above and landed with the other five. Roshi blinked and took a step back. "Maybe we should get the others... we need that Dragonball and this may be good training."
Bulma nodded and the three backed away from the gathering of machines. The Sentinels made no move to follow or attack. /Must be programmed only to defended from intrusion.../
***************
Hotaru pushed with all her strength against the force of the incoming attacks. They'd trained in pairs for a while first but Vadora had quickly changed that strategy. She now had Hotaru fighting Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin at once and at the moment she was fighting against a triple Kamehameha Wave from the three who were also using enhancers. Vadora had also said that she wasn't allowed to use her Kinryoku so she was struggling to hold off the attack.
"Come on Hotaru!" Vadora cried from a few yards away as she watched the exchange. "Together the attack is stronger than you but separate they're weaker. Remember that you're fighting three attacks, not one!"
Hotaru slipped across the lookout floor as she pushed against the waves. "That's not helping me any!" she shouted. "We can't I use my Kinryoku? I could deflect this attack without two much trouble."
"That's why." Vadora replied. "That Kinryoku thing is nice but it gives you the upper hand. This is to be a balanced fight otherwise you wont get much out of this training." Hotaru scowled as she pushed more energy into her hands but she was quickly becoming spent, and hoped the others were too. "Alright!" Vadora yelled. "That's enough!"
Suddenly the Kamehameha waves faded away and Hotaru collapsed to the floor. "Those three have some power when they work together like that." she panted.
"That they do." Vadora smiled walking over toward them. Her power was still much lower than it had been and she'd found out that her right arm had fractured from Gohan's earlier blast. Still, she had enough power to handle any of these four in a power struggle, one at time only though. "I was hoping you'd have the power to hold them back. No matter, by the time we're done training you will, and without the Kinryoku. We have a lot of training to do yet but after that I can tell none of you have the energy left to continue, we'll pick up again tomorrow, let's get seem sleep."
As Vadora turned to enter the palace again where they would be sleeping the roar of an air boat reached her ears. She and the others turned and saw Bulma's air boat come in and land at the lookout's edge. A second later Roshi, Chaotzu, and Bulma all emerged.
"Have you got all the Dragonballs already?" Krillin asked.
Roshi shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. We ran into a problem after we got this one." he handed over the Dragonball they had collected to Yamcha. "It seems the next one is inside an old Red Ribbon base, unfortunately it's not empty."
"What do you mean?" Vadora asked remembering the story Goku had told her and the others a few days ago about the Red Ribbon army.
"Well..." Bulma began. "They've always had advanced technology beyond what even Capsule Corp can do sometimes. This base is full of robotic guards."
Roshi picked up there. "They're not very strong. I cracked one of them with a punch. But their energy blasts are enough to take me or Chaotzu out in one shot. We need that Dragonball or we can't bring Goku and Bardock back so we came for your help."
"It'll have to wait until tomorrow morning." Vadora said. "These four have been through some intense training in the last five hours and are totally spent, they'd be of no help. Once they've rested up we'll take care of those machines and get the Dragonball. It sounds like it may make for some good training."
Chaotzu and Roshi were standing outside the air ship examining the Dragon Radar trying to pin point the next Dragonball. The reading was unusual and Bulma figured something in the area was causing interference but wasn't sure what it could be. "Hurry up guys." Bulma said from behind them as she looked uncertainly at the dense woods around them.
"We're going as fast we can Bulma." Roshi said pushing a branch out of the way. The three of them stopped dead at what lay before them, hidden from above by the dense roof of branches and leaves. It was a large metal and brick structure with a set of very imposing and massive metal doors. It wasn't just the sight of the structure itself that froze the small group but what was engraved in the metal doors nearly hidden by the vines growing up it. Still the emblem was unmistakable. This had been a Red Ribbon base.
"Um..." Chaotzu began as he looked up at the towering doors. "What are the chances the Dragonball could have landed inside there?"
"I'd say pretty good." Bulma replied somewhat nervously. "It could explain the interference, the place is probably shielded."
"Well, let's find out." Roshi said rolling up his sleeves. "You two should stand back." The martial arts master clenched his fists and his two companions saw his muscles bulge up stretching out his clothes. Then he shifted his feet, pulled his arms back, and cupped his hands. "Kameeeeee.... Hameeeeee.... Haaaaaaa!" Thrusting his arms forward Roshi fired the stream of blue energy at the door and began to push against it. Slowly it began creak and give. A moment later the Kamehameha Wave had torn an opening through the door large enough for them to pass through.
As Roshi relaxed and the three began to move closer Bulma suddenly froze. "What was that!?" she cried staring into the opening. Just inside, hidden by the darkness, something scraped across the metal and stone floor. As they continued to stare and watch Roshi and Chaotzu prepared for possible trouble. They weren't disappointed.
From the darkness of the derelict base emerged a silvery metallic form. It's feet were simple half circles with large metal toes for balance. It's legs and arms were relatively thin, just smaller than Bulma's. The body was large and fanned out from the waist up like a triangle. Resting atop this body was a small hump about the size of a basketball in which rested a single red eye just smaller than it's 'head'. "I am Sentinel Unit 14, you are trespassing on Red Ribbon territory. Leave now or be destroyed." it said in a monotone voice.
"Guys..." Bulma whispered pulling on Roshi's sleeve. The martial arts master shook his arm releasing the woman's grip and tightened his stance, Chaotzu did the same.
"I can't sense anything." Chaotzu said, eyes looked on the machine.
Roshi nodded. "It's not a living thing, I don't think it's possible." He reached up with one hand and removed his sun glasses handing them back to Bulma. "Be careful Chaotzu, this thing may be fairly strong." The little man nodded solemnly. This wouldn't be as easy as they'd hoped it seemed.
The monotone voice spoke again as an arm raised and pointed at them. "You have five seconds to leave." At the end of the arm was a simple two fingered hand with a thumb below the fingers. In it's center was a small red circle that began to glow.
Roshi's eyes widened a bit. "Look out Chaotzu!" he cried dodging to the side. Chaotzu hesitated a moment then did the same just as a red energy beam cut through the air. It hit the tree that had been behind them and cut clean through. "This thing's a little stronger than I am." Roshi said brushing off his shirt. "I felt that blast just before it attacked, be very careful. If this thing hits you it could kill you."
Chaotzu gulped as he watched the machine look back and forth between the three people. Bulma lay on the ground whimpering and crying. "May... maybe we... sh... should get the o... others first." She stammered.
"Not yet." Roshi said quietly. "Chaotzu and I should be able to handle this, it's attacks are strong but it's only made of metal. We should be able to break it. Come on Chaotzu, let's give it a try!" The short man nodded and the two charged in. The machine fired another blast, Roshi dodged to the side and Chaotzu went up over it. Roshi came in close and slammed his right fist into the metal body which dented slightly and cracked while Chaotzu hit it in it's red eye shattering it.
The machine took a few steps backward, then froze. "Did... did you get it?" Bulma asked peeking around the tree she was hiding behind.
She got her answer a second later as it jerked a few times and spoke again. "Intruder's underestimated. Require reinforcements. All Sentinel Units to main doors."
"That can't be good...." Bulma said wide eyed.
As the machine fell over onto its back five red glows came from the opening. A moment later five more Sentinels emerged from the opening. As Roshi and Chaotzu prepared for battle again six other machines floated down from above and landed with the other five. Roshi blinked and took a step back. "Maybe we should get the others... we need that Dragonball and this may be good training."
Bulma nodded and the three backed away from the gathering of machines. The Sentinels made no move to follow or attack. /Must be programmed only to defended from intrusion.../
***************
Hotaru pushed with all her strength against the force of the incoming attacks. They'd trained in pairs for a while first but Vadora had quickly changed that strategy. She now had Hotaru fighting Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin at once and at the moment she was fighting against a triple Kamehameha Wave from the three who were also using enhancers. Vadora had also said that she wasn't allowed to use her Kinryoku so she was struggling to hold off the attack.
"Come on Hotaru!" Vadora cried from a few yards away as she watched the exchange. "Together the attack is stronger than you but separate they're weaker. Remember that you're fighting three attacks, not one!"
Hotaru slipped across the lookout floor as she pushed against the waves. "That's not helping me any!" she shouted. "We can't I use my Kinryoku? I could deflect this attack without two much trouble."
"That's why." Vadora replied. "That Kinryoku thing is nice but it gives you the upper hand. This is to be a balanced fight otherwise you wont get much out of this training." Hotaru scowled as she pushed more energy into her hands but she was quickly becoming spent, and hoped the others were too. "Alright!" Vadora yelled. "That's enough!"
Suddenly the Kamehameha waves faded away and Hotaru collapsed to the floor. "Those three have some power when they work together like that." she panted.
"That they do." Vadora smiled walking over toward them. Her power was still much lower than it had been and she'd found out that her right arm had fractured from Gohan's earlier blast. Still, she had enough power to handle any of these four in a power struggle, one at time only though. "I was hoping you'd have the power to hold them back. No matter, by the time we're done training you will, and without the Kinryoku. We have a lot of training to do yet but after that I can tell none of you have the energy left to continue, we'll pick up again tomorrow, let's get seem sleep."
As Vadora turned to enter the palace again where they would be sleeping the roar of an air boat reached her ears. She and the others turned and saw Bulma's air boat come in and land at the lookout's edge. A second later Roshi, Chaotzu, and Bulma all emerged.
"Have you got all the Dragonballs already?" Krillin asked.
Roshi shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. We ran into a problem after we got this one." he handed over the Dragonball they had collected to Yamcha. "It seems the next one is inside an old Red Ribbon base, unfortunately it's not empty."
"What do you mean?" Vadora asked remembering the story Goku had told her and the others a few days ago about the Red Ribbon army.
"Well..." Bulma began. "They've always had advanced technology beyond what even Capsule Corp can do sometimes. This base is full of robotic guards."
Roshi picked up there. "They're not very strong. I cracked one of them with a punch. But their energy blasts are enough to take me or Chaotzu out in one shot. We need that Dragonball or we can't bring Goku and Bardock back so we came for your help."
"It'll have to wait until tomorrow morning." Vadora said. "These four have been through some intense training in the last five hours and are totally spent, they'd be of no help. Once they've rested up we'll take care of those machines and get the Dragonball. It sounds like it may make for some good training."
