Z-STUDIO
Presents:
SAIYUKI SENTINEL GEAR ANGEL
By: Allena
(Disclamer: Again, I do not own Saiyuki nor I'm not related to Minekura-sensei.)
Episode One:
EARTH
The Angels Completed
It's so dark...
So cold...
...I can't see anything...
...I can't...move my body...
...I can't...can't hear anythin'...either...
...Hey...help me...
Seomebody...anybody...
...No one heas me...
...What am I doin' here?
...Why am I here?
...Why...?
...Somebody...please...help me outta here...
...Somebody...
"...Goku..."
Huh?
"...Goku..."
That voice...
"Wake up, Goku..."
Hey! 'S that you...?
"Wake up..."
You...You are...
"Wake up...!"
...Sanzo...?
"I said WAKE UP Y' STUPID MONKEY!"
"AAAACK!"
He suddenly jumped up in his bed due to the man's loud voice. Now fully awake, he finally realized that the alarm clock the man brought for him to use has just broke with a reason still he cannot get. He looked around his messy room: dirty clothes scattered and being mixed up with clean ones, television still open since last night, an open box with just a piece of expired pizza, curtains totally full of dust, one pillow already on a milk-spilled floor. In front of the brown-haired awaken teen is a blond-haired man, wearing glasses, with an unusual yet sexy sleeveless undergarment and a long light orange tunic covering his lower limbs, holding a big paper fan and a lighted cigarette on his mouth matching mis early grumpy face.
"Y'have eyes, don't cha?" the young man said grumpily, "See what time it is..."
The little teenager, though a little nervous, looked at his broken alarm clock, "It's...six o'clock..."
"It's already seven-thirty, monkey, SEVEN THIRTY AN' YOU'RE AN HOUR AN' A HALF LATE, damn it!"
"AACK!" shrieked with the terror the man brought so early, "I'm sorry, Sanzo, I overslept..."
"Overslept, huh?" and he took out the lighted cigarette from his mouth for a while to disperse off the smoke, Dunno when it'll be the last time t' wake y'up by myself... What's the use of yer alarm clock if y'don't know how to use it? A throwthin'? Y'almost owe me a thousand bucks!"
"I'm really sorry!", he persisted.
"Tch..." putting his cigarette back into his mouth and puffed a little, "Just get up an' clean up yer mess..." and was about to go out, Additional one an' a half hour for yer lessons, monkey man. An' NO breakfast!"
Stunned, "NO BREAKFAST?"
Raised his eyebrow, "Any problems?"
The boy just gave a wide, fake grin. "No...nothin'...Nothin' at all..."
"So move! You're wastin' my time!"
"Yes, Boss!"
"An' DON'T CALL ME BOSS!"
"ACK! Sorry, Sanzo..."
"Tch."
As the blond man named Sanzo went out, the little teen was about to clean up his messy room when...
...Grumble-grumble-grumble...
"No...breakfast..." almost teary-eyed, "But I'M SO HUNGRY!" but he has no choice but to clean up his room as his first punishment before changing his sleeping clothes to working ones. And he has to hurry up, otherwise, goodbye lunch, hello one hour extension in lessons, courtesy of his gangsta-looking 'caretaker' named Sanzo.
Speaking of Sanzo, he went out of his room in his... ceremonial clothing: a light-orange priest robe, underneath in it is his undergarment, wearing a chestplate made of bamboo splits and bearing an unusual scripture hanging on his shoulders. He didn't wear his glasses and just took out his cigarette a while ago to do his priestly duty.
Right. HE IS A BUDDHIST PRIEST.
Three monks approached him, all wearing bright orange robes and with shaved heads and paid their respects by bowing their heads with great veneration. "Master" one of the monks spoke up, "Is Son Goku already up? Or..."
"Why don't cha see it for yerself?" in a grumpy reply.
"Ulk! I'm sorry, Master..."
"He just wast'd my precious one hour an' thirty minutes, that's all..."
"I see..."
"By the way, I'm warnin' ya not to give that boy breakfast as punishment..."
"But, Your Reverence..."
"Got complains?"
"...Uh...well..."
"Do that or get grill'd, just choose."
"Forgive me, Master!"
"Yi Lien!" Sanzo called his chubby assistant, "Supervise Goku's trainin' while I'm away..."
"Y-yes, yes, Your Reverence..." though unsure of his reply, "But pardon me, where are you going?"
"None of yer business..."
"Forgive me, Sir..."
"I'll look after Goku for a while. Then take care of the rest..."
"Certainly, Sir."
"If someone's lookin' for me, tell 'em that I'm out somewhere, or just tell 'em I'm dead! Just think of any excuses if y' don't wanna get flunked, got that?"
"Sir!"
And they all went straight to the prayer hall where the second service will start, and Sanzo, of course, will lead the whole ceremony, since he's just the master of Chang An Buddhist Temple... right in the very heart of Hong Kong, a very busy city under the Chinese flag (it was a British colony years ago) where tradition, modernity, and different cultures emerge...
The little brown-haired teenager, who Sanzo called Goku, just finished cleaning his room. But his stomach began to grumble again... louder.
"This isn't fair!" he whined, "Why he didin't just fed me first before cleanin' my room? Not even a single biscuit..."
"Aah..." the fat monk named Yi Lien opened the door, "So you're awake, Son Goku..."
"Brother Chubby!" and he immediately turned to him with puppy eyes, "Got any pork bun there? I'm really STARVIN'!"
"I'm so sorry, child" he shook his head, "I wanted to help, but it's an order from His Reverence, himself..."
"Aw, whatta meanie..." he grumbled.
"Don't say that!"
"This is the first time he didn't feed me..."
"Well, it's your fault in the first place..."
"Hey! To which side are y' really on, anyway?"
"Are you questioning my loyalty to His Reverence?"
"Hey, Brother Chubby..." trying to change the subject, "This might be a hard question for ya, but... whaddy' think 'bout Sanzo?"
"I knew it! You're really questioning my loyalty!"
"Loyalty's out of the issue, 'kay? I mean... you, what can y' say 'bout 'im?"
"Hmm...and how about you?"
"Well...About Sanzo...he smokes, he drinks alcohol, he likes cards an' mahjong, an' curses a lot!"
"You terrible child! Why are you saying such things against him? What if he hears you?"
"But that's the TRUTH! You're his subordinate, can't y'see 'im like that? Just admit it!"
The poor monk knows that Goku is absolutely telling the TRUTH that his Master Sanzo is a totally ruthless monk. "Well...um...oh, dear...But you know us, his subordinates, that we have no right to complain nor contradict any of his actions or decisions, you know that. He is a High Priest, a Sanzo! Summoned by the Three Aspects because of his unbelievable dharmic powers and the scarlet chakra on his forehead and the Evil Sutra on his shoulders prove that!"
"You're tellin' me that a hundred times since my first time here..."
"That is why despite of his ill behavior, he's still our master. I know that he has his own way of bringing the words of Buddha to his people."
"Yeah..." and his whining face changed into a sure grin, "That's why I like him!" 'Coz he sav'd me there three years ago! Although..."
"...I see..." Yi Lien agreed with a plain smile.
"Am... Brother Chubby...?"
"What now?" a little irritated.
"Why y'here anyway?"
Yi Lien suddenly sulked, "Oh, heavens, I forgot!"
"Forgot what?"
"His Reverence is calling you to his office so I came here to fetch you!"
"WHAT?Why didn't y'tell me earlier?"
"I-I'm really sorry..."
He hurriedly dressed up in his golden yellow sweatshirt and tied up his army monochrome bandanna on his brown head and ran away to Sanzo's office—leaving his suppose-to-be 'escort' alone.
"You're fifteen minutes late...as usual..." the corrupt priest grunted while puffing his cigarette and fixing some papers.
"I'm really sorry...!" panting, with a protest, "It's Brother Chubby's fault..."
"An' didn't I tell ya NOT to call 'em such names? Unless he an' y'are close..."
"But we ARE close"
"Not that close!"
"How 'bout us?"
"Tryin' to change the subject?"
Goku turned silent.
"...Sorry, Sanzo... But...but..."
"Don't worry..." and he pressed down his last cigarette butt, "I don't intend to do that, anyway..."
His golden eyes beamed with joy, "Really?"
The priest became irritated, "Y'want me to change my mind?"
"N-n-n-no, please! Not another fifteen minutes!"
"So shut up."
"Sorry..." and he gave a heavy yet contenting sigh.
Sanzo was about to get another stick when he noticed his cigarette pack already empty. Grumbled, he just crumpled it and threw it in a trash can like a professional basketball player just a meter away from his seat. He thought of buying another pack later on. "Serv's y'right for not gettin' up early..." he said while piling up the papers.
"Yeah, you're right..." Goku grinned a little, "But at least I have a good excuse..."
"What? Stayin'up late watchin' TV?"
"Nah..."
"Finishin' yer homework?"
"Not that, either!"
"Spit it out, monkey!"
"Eeew, you're gross!"
"I mean go straight to the point!"
"O-okay, okay, just don't yell at me..." and his face turned serious, "That... that dream again..."
"Huh?"
"The same dream I had for three years... yet still I don't understand what it is... and why..."
"Still remember it?"
"Well…um…a li'l. What I remember's that I'm in a very dark place callin' for help. Can't see nor hear anythin'. What I don't get till now's that why I'm there an' callin' somebody to help me…"
Time suddenly froze for the priest. He cannot help himself but to reminisce something that happened to him three years ago. He was on his pilgrimage back then when he heard someone crying for help.
Help me…But it seems that only Sanzo can hear the mysterious call, until an unusual image of a sleeping boy wrapping himself, naked inside the strange crystal rock surprised him. It was then when he saved the boy from the mysterious spell using the Holy Sutra he once had. The boy woke up without remembering anything about himself nor his past.
"Well, Sanzo?" Goku suddenly interrupted his reminiscing, "D'y'know what that means?"
"Whaddy'think of me, a fortune-teller?" he spilled out.
"Well…y'see…y'might know somethin', so…"
"An' whaddy'expect of someone like me who's no time to remember ev'n his own birthday?"
Goku giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"H-hah? N-nothin'! Nothin'!" but still cannot help giggling.
"Tch…" and he stood up after being tired of piling the papers.
"Umm…by the way, Sanzo…"
"Now what?"
"…Why didcha call me, anyway?"
Upon hearing the question, veins started to appear on the vulgar priest's head as he is starting to lose his patience again. "Now y'owe me ten more minutes because of that darn dream!"
"Well you're the one who chang'd the subject in the first place!" the monkey protested.
"Y'accusin' me…?"
"That's not it! It's just that…"
Tired of the little teenager's blabbering, Sanzo decided to go straight to his point. He sat down and, "I'll be goin' out two hours from now. So I'll just be with cha for an hour for yer lessons. After that Yi Lien'll supervise ya for the rest of the day. Might just be able to come back tomorrow mornin'…"
"Where y'goin'?" Goku asked, "To the…"
But before he could finish, the priest immediately aimed his silver gun at him! "Spit it!" he threatened, "Some'll hear it an'you'll end up in REAL heav'n…"
The poor monkey gulped. "Ulk! S-s-s-s-so-sor-ry…sorry…"
He disarmed himself later on and put his gun inside his robe, "You're lucky, only you knows the secret organization. So watch yer mouth…"
"I-I, Capt'n! Count me in!" he saluted. But later, "But why?"
"None of yer business…"
"Oh, c'mon!"
"Meetin's over. Dismiss'd…" he snapped in as he about to arrange another set of papers.
"But…"
"Dismiss'd!"
"But I thought…"
"Go ahead, I'll follow later! Just don't disturb me if y' don't wanna say goodbye to yer lunch!"
"No! Not my lunch!"
"So move now!"
"Yes, Boss…"
"An' for the last time DON'T CALL ME BOSS!"
"Sorry, Sanzo…"
Finally the annoying little monkey went out and the priest just gave a heavy sigh, massaging his forehead to lessen his eye strain. Just minutes later something played a very odd tune that resembles of a cellular phone. His face went back to his pissed mode.
"I really hate that sound..." he mumbled, "So annoyin'...!"
He opened the first drawer on the upper right hand corner of his desk and found a strange purple compact with a strange symbol on it. It is as big as a girl's face powder compact but a little bigger and denser because of its weight. It bears a strange insignia which was written in strange-lloking font: H.E.A.V.E.N. On top of a lotus design is a Chinese character which means 'faith'.
It was the strange compact that was making noise. The crystal where the character of 'faith' was written is blinking, telling that someone is calling him. Though annoyed, he has no choice but to answer the call by opening the compact on the table and reply:
"Wuzzup?"
Inside the compact is a series of buttons that are much resemblance to those of a cellphone. Its 'mirror' serves as a monitor to see who is calling or what is the problem. In that call a bandit-looking young man with a black cadet cap trimmed in red, bearing the symbol of their organization, with unusual red hair and eyes, and two scars on his left cheek appeared on the monitor. And it made Sanzo more annoyed.
Me again, Capt'n! it greeted with a confident grin.
"This is yer nth time, roachman!" the priest mumbled (in fact it is the thirt time that man called since five o'clock in the morning, the usual time he wakes up), "Why d'y'hafta remind me of that..."
Change of plans, actually...
Sanzo just raised his eyebrow.
The Lady wants us pronto. 'Specially YOU, Capt'n Sanzo...
"An' the reason why she's in a hurry?"
Why askin' me? Ask the Lady, herself!
"Tch..."
An' hey, how's the monkey doin'?
But before he could answer, someone suddenly exploded his voice and appeared on the door.
"Hey, 's that Gojyo?"
Since it's so sudden, Sanzo almost accidentally dropped his communicator but luckilly he saved it. It just worsen his day again when he saw his little subordinate on the door. "An' just how long you've been there, monkey?" in his pissed tone.
"Ummm, sorry, I was about to ask somethin' but I don't wanna bother y'for a while, so..."
Well, well, well... the man in the line named Gojyo suddenly interrupted, Seems that the monkey himself answer'd my question...
"Shut up, water imp!" Sanzo shouted at his own compact, "I'm not talkin' t'ya!"
"Howdy, Gojyo!" Goku waved his hand on the monitor, "How's ev'rybody there?"
How should I know? Gojyo asked, I've just been here a couple of minutes ago!
"I told y'to go straight to yer trainin'!" Sanzo yelled at Goku, "Didn't I warn'd y'bout..."
Easy, Yer Rev'rence... Y'don't hafta be so harsh on the kid...
"Don't teach me what to do! An' I'm not talkin' t'ya! Didn't..."
Then why are y'talkin' to me?
He wa about to lose his mind because of the two hard-headed creatured thus he grabbed his communicator and yelled near the monitor, "WAIT FOR ME THERE, SHA GOJYO, AN' I'LL KICK YER BUTT A.S.A.P!" and banged its lid.
His morning is ruined.
When he saw Goku still standing numb on the door, he wanted to take out his gun and shoot him but instead, "An whaddy'standin' there for? Move it!"
"But..."
"I've chang'd my mind!"
"NO LUNCH?"
"That's not it! I'm not comin' with y'today!"
He sighed with relief.
"Yi Lien'll just look after ya. An' feed ya. An' whatever! That's it! End of discussion!"
"...But..."
Upon hearing the monkey's another 'but', the priest just glared at him sharply, making Goku a little frightened that might change his mind again, and this time he will take his lunch away.
"S-Sorry, Sanzo!" and he left.
Finally.
A quiet room again.
The rogue priest thought that the monkey will call him 'Boss' again. Well at least it has lessen his morning migraine. After all, for him, the term 'Boss' doesn't suit him very much.
"...I really hate ma' job..." he uttered as he tries to relax on his chair.
But what could that meeting be?
"His Reverence is not on his very best mood today..." one priest whispered to another on the hallway while walking.
"It's because of his apprentice again?"
"Heh. Nothing gets worse with that boy..."
"It happens every morning...no! Everytime!"
"Indeed! And it seems that everytime His Reverence has a headache..."
"MORE than a headache, my brother..."
"And it all started when he took that mischievous boy in this temple..."
"Nothing is as horrible as that boy's brain and stomach..."
"We don't even have an idea where in the world His Reverence got that boy!"
"What is he up to?"
"Oh... May Buddha forgive the soul of His Eminence for he doesn't know what he is doing..."
"And may Buddha forgive your souls, too, my dear brothers, for that malicious tongues of yours..." the two chatting monks were surprised when one of their brothers joined in just to contradict their compliments about their master's actions.
"B-Bro...Brother Yi Lien!" they chorused.
"Ho-how long have you been there?" one of them asked.
"Long enough to hear everything that you are mumbling about..." Yi Lien's casual reply.
"But, my brother!" one tries to protest, "Is it right for a servant of Buddha to listen to somebody's conversation without any knowledge of two conversing people? Isn't that an act of disturbing one's privacy?"
"But isn't it also disturbing one's privacy by talking about him rudely unknown to him?" Yi Lien asked again in a matter-of-fact tone.
"But we are just stating the truth!" another joined in, "We are just talking about what really is happening, so there is nothing wrong being concerned with His Reverence!"
"Are you really THAT concerned about him?"
"What do you mean? Don't tell us that you're not concerned, yourself!"
"I am truly concerned for His Reverence by not joining in your senseless conversations. I do not wish to be like you who speaks idle of his own master."
"But we don't actually talk about him!" another reasoned out.
"What? About Son Goku?"
The two just turned silent.
For this, Yi Lien showed his great disappointment over his fellow monks. "I may don't have a right to say this to you, but... that mischievous boy you are talking about has a name, remember that. And for now you must understand why he acts that way. Goku doesn't remember anything about himself nor his past when His Reverence, himself, rescued the child on that mountain three years ago. Not even the best doctors in Hong Kong and in the mainland could be able to restore his memory. Whatever the reason Master Genjo Sanzo has, we don't have a right to know it anyway. I am just warning you. We don't have a right to question his actions or it will be a damnation on our part, as if we are trying to test his patience and capacity. It's a grave sin, haven't you realized that?"
One of the monks just covered his face in shame, but the other seems that he doesn't understand fully what Yi Lien just said to open their eyes. "...If only the great Ko..."
But Yi Lien immediately covered the skinny monk's big mouth. "Didn't I warn you not to mention about that anymore? What if he hears you, what will you do?"
The skinny monk tried to struggle to release his mouth until he was able to do so and tries to catch his breath.
"You don't want to be damned forever, do you?" Yi Lien finally asked.
"Of course, I don't want to!" the fellow monk was quite nervous.
The dabate is about to come to an end when the main subject passed by.
And it seems that it will turn worse.
For he heard EVERYTHING.
"Are you going to your class now?" Yi Lien tried to talk to the little teen, "Where is His Reverence? Will he not supervise you this hour?"
"No..." Goku in a sullen reply, "Sanzo must go early so he order'd y'to watch over me..."
"That early?"
"...Yeah..." he went on walking.
The chubby old priest noticed his sudden weakness. He thought maybe because of hunger. Or maybe because of Sanzo's mood today. Or worse... when he noticed the two priests, he came up with a thought that Goku might heard everything. So he finally sent the two away to ease the monkey's suspicion, at least. And...
"Are you alright, child?"
"Yeah...just that I hava lil' stummickache..."
"Don't worry, you will have a sumptuous lunch after your morning exercises, is that fine with you?"
"Fine with me..." he still went on.
This made Yi Lien concluded that Goku really heard everything since he doesn't react about lunch. A conversation he just heard that made him swich off his hyper monkey mode. The old monk cannt help himself but to get pity on the boy.
And he is right.
Do they think that I'm really a nuisance to Sanzo? If so... why does still he bother to save me? Besides... I don't remember ANYTHIN' 'bout my past anyway... If only I'm as useful as 'em... But what's my use here, anyway?
Unknowingly, someone from the roof of the temple was watching someone ever since minutes ago. His pinkish eyes stares only at one person...
...Son Goku.
"Finally... I have found you..."
With a cruel grin.
"He's on his demon mode again, I guess..." a soft-spoken man, wearing a monocle and in the same uniform as Gojyo's (trimmed in green) said while doing something on his laptop.
"Betcha..." said Gojyo while tossing his red communicator compact (the same as Sanzo's) with a grin, "...That monkey again..."
"I see... He didn't change since our last assignment, I've never seen those two for quite a long time, except..."
"The Great High Priest Genjo Sanzo's still the weirdest holy man around..."
The red-haired man was about to light a cigarette, but...
"Cut it out, Gojyo..." the man with a monocle warned him.
"Now what?"
"Can't you read the sign?"
He looked for the said sign, which was found on the light blue aluminum wall. It was written in big, bold, red letters:
NO SMOKING
"Crap..." and he crumpled the stick with annoyance.
"We've been here for three years and yet still you don't memorize the rules..."
"What's with the rules, anyway?" landed on the sofa, "An' if y' askin' that holy freak, it'll be nothin' for 'im..."
"I should say that you two don't know much the house rules YET..." and he chucked.
"I'm not like that corrupt monk!" Gojyo protested.
"I know that..."
"Good!"
"Only that you're more stupid..." chuckled again.
Veins appeared on Gojyo's fists and grinded his teeth. Later, a cute little white dragon sleeping on top of the dark brown-haired man's left shoulder suddenly woke up and made cute 'kyu!' sounds.
"Right, I know..." as if Gojyo understood what the dragon was trying to say, "Y'don't hafta remind me that you're agree with yer weird master..."
It seems that the little dragon got irritated on what Gojyo just said so it went near him and...
"KYUU!"
It blew fire right onto his face!
"AAAACK!"
Suddenly the electronic door slid open and a very young woman in her white elegant pigtails entered in. She is wearing the same uniform as the two men: black turtleneck military blazer with colored trimmings and a strange symbol on the left side chest of the uniform; on the right inscribed the name of the cadet in Chinese and in its respective color. All of them wears black cadet caps bearing the group's symbol. In her case she has blue trimmings, wearing a black semi-fit miniskirt with light blue tights. She came a little exhausted as if she was in a hurry.
"Sorry I'm late!"
But it seems that no one hears her. What she saw is Gojyo with a burnt face chasing the poor little white dragon that utters nothing but "Kyu! Kyu!" And its master remained busy as usual.
The girl has no choice but to come in. Suddenly something moved in her blouse and out popped a silvery gray ferret with peculiarly blue eyes and it ran with the little dragon.
"Beijing!" she called her pet, "Come back here!"
The man with a monocle finally noticed her. "Oh, hi, Minchin! Long-time-no-see!"
When the girl named Minchin heard him, her face suddenly turned red as she turned around and saw the guy who greeted her with the sweetest smile she could ever imagine:
"H-hel-hello...Hakkai...!"
"So the snowgal's here..." Gojyo finally stopped running after he had noticed that she has finally arrived. Beijing and the dragon also got tired a little as they returned to their respective masters.
When Minchin saw his face, "AAAAAAAAACK! A MONSTER!" as she slapped the red-haired rogue so hard that he almost flew away!
"WHAT DIDCHA DO THAT FOR?" he yelled.
But instead of answering, Minchin just looked around, "Hey, did I miss something?"
"Just only Gojyo and Hakuryu playing..." said the one with a monocle named Hakkai with a giggle, that made Gojyo whine much.
"We're not playin', buddy!" while standing up, "Yer drag'n wants t'kill me!"
His glaring red eyes made the dragon Hakuryu scare a bit as he approached his master's shoulder immediately. "You shouldn't scare him like that" he told him while patting his pet's snow-white hair, "He just wants to play..."
"Playin' fire with fire? That's unfair, man!"
"Hey..." Minchin interrupted, "I thought you're a water demon..."
"...Who happened t'have an ability t'set ev'rythin' on fire, that's me!"
"...Right..."
"...Includin' you, baby..."
"...Pervert!"
And Hakkai kept on giggling.
"By the way...Is Captain not yet here?"
"That monk? Hah! Never expect 'im t'be here ahead of us! He has his own clock, anyway..."
"Am I talking to you, roachhead?"
"Actually..." Hakkai joined in, "Gojyo already called him minutes ago..."
"But you just said that the Commander wants all of us NOW, I mean at this very moment we have been talking about something important!"
"Well..." and he finally stood up to stretch himself, "It's been a long time since we've been together. For almost half a year we had a somewhat long vacation... I resumed my teaching in another orphanage. Gojyo got his part-time job as a bounty hunter..."
"And I had a good time working on a marine theme park in Kowloon..."
'And Sanzo?... Nothing's new about him recently..."
"Right..." Gojyo snapped in, went back to his seat, "'Specially callin' 'im an' scoldin' y'back, that's old-school long-distance slapstick. Nothin's really new!"
"No sign of demons or any demonic energy has been reported for a long time..."
"Their leader might be scar'd of us nowadays!"
He made an agreeable smile in reply.
"...And how's Goku now?" Minchin suddenly asked.
"Still the Great Sanzo's poor li'l slave!" Gojyo was about to laugh, but...
"That's not a good way to think about him, Gojyo..." Hakkai told him sternly.
"...Haven't he recovered his memory yet?" Minchin asked again.
"...Not yet, I'm afraid..."
"Poor him... I wonder how he'd endured that for three years now..."
"Three years, yes... I can still remember clearly what Sanzo told us about Goku, about how he saved him from a crystal on a mountain while on his pilgrimage..."
"He might be stayed there for so long, for that his memories were all wiped out! Poor Goku... I wonder who and what he really is..."
"he has never chang'd..." Gojyo commented, "Still a bottomless stupid monkey..."
"GOJYO?" the two chorused. Well their patience is near dead.
"Fine..." hanged his head, "My lips are seal'd. Go ahead, pretend that I'm not here, blah-blah..."
"Well..." Hakkai continued, "At least Goku's got educated and well-trained for that past three years..."
"All thanks to Captain Sanzo..." Minchin concluded.
Later the electronic door suddenly opened and an old man in blue military uniform and with an odd-looking hairstyle came in. The three stopped the conversation as soon as they saw the senior, they immediately saluted him.
"Assistant Commander Jirou Shin!" the three chorused.
Assistant Commander Jirou Shin saluted back, "Assistant Captain Cho Hakkai and Ensigns Sha Gojyo and Fan Minchin, welcome back!" and they quickly put down their hands, "Commander Kanzeon Bosatsu wants to see you immediately as for some very important matters concerned."
"Demons attacking again?" Hakkai wants to assure.
"The Commander will just tell you..." but whan the old assistant noticed that there is someone missing. "Is Captain Genjo Sazo not yet here?"
"He will be here for not too long. Only that he has to settle something in the temple first."
"He has never changed... The Commander wants to execute the meeting immediately and she wants to see you complete!"
"Is the Lady in a hurry?" Gojyo asked casually.
But the assistant didn't answer him directly. "I think we have no choice but to go on without him. This is an urgent meeting so we have to respect time. Let's go..."
"SIR!" and they headed off to the conference room where the overall commander of the organization is waiting.
"Geez..." Gojyo muttered, "She's really in a hurry..."
And where is Sanzo now?
Riding his purple-and-black motorcycle, he is now on his cool civilian mode with his cream-colored blazer and slacks and still his undergarment inside it, about on his way to the so-called 'secret organization'. His helmet of the same color as his bike doesn't suit his civilian self at all! Yet his image today doesn't attract people much for not wearing his usual temple clothes.
But not far away, in the outskirts of the city, a group of weird-looking people are chasing some civilians, three of them are children aged five to ten!
"HELP! DEMONS!"
The weird people, which the civilians called them demons, doesn't seem to care as they mercilessly ran after them, carrying sticks, knives, icepicks, metal bats, chains, and other weapons of choice.
"So y'wanna play tag, eh?"
"That's no fun! When'll y'let us catch ya?"
And the place is filled with demon laughter.
But the civilians managed to get out of the narrow alley that allowed them to move easier. But what awaits them outside are...
"Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!"
"More demons?"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
"Go back! BACK!"
They are about to go back to thei original route but too late that they are surrounded by bloodthirsty demons!
"Sorry, people..." one demon smirked, "I think it's a dead end an' you'll end up dead meat!"
"We've done nothing to you!" one man protested, ""Why are you doing this?"
"Who really are you?" the shaking woman asked hysterically.
"Who are we?..." the demon replied, "Why, we're just ordinary demons powerful enough t'play with yer lives!"
Laughter again filled the alley.
Some civilians were on a great stampede when they found out about demons starting to attack the city...Again. Meanwhile other demons were about to appear in groups.
And through his helmet, Sanzo saw it all.
"...Crap..."
Roaring his bike, he took his silver handgun from his blazer, fully loaded, and started shooting the demons!
Alarmed at the sound of the gun, the demons started to look for the origin of the approaching bullets, whom they didn't recognized because of his looks and his helmet. But the rogue monk unconsciensciously shooting them and the moment he ran out of bullets, he easily opened the barrel and loaded more bullets from his pocket and starts to shoot again. The people are in deep panic and starts to hide somewhere convenient and comfortable while some demons had escaped to hunt civilians without any reason at all.
"Be careful!" one demon warned his comrades, "He's not usin' an ordinary gun! It's bullets can dissolve us in a sec!'
"Who's that guy, anyway?" asked another.
"...I know one person who can use that kind of gun..."
"That doesn't matter, 'kay? Let's get 'im!"
The demons started to attack him in unison. But unknowingly to them Sanzo was starting to make an unusual chant which nobody can hear it—except him. Eventually, he took a strange green scroll from inside his blazer and tossed it up in the air. The demons are all shocked when they immediately recognized the said scroll that made thaem all dumb with fear.
"That scroll..."
"...No way..."
"Let's get outta here!"
"That guy..."
But too late.
"Purify the Evil...NOW!"
The scroll instantly opened up by sorcery and scattered all over the place, following the scent of the demon. Just one touch of this sacred scripture and the demon will perish both body and soul.
"It's the Evil Sutra!"
"That means...that guy..."
Being pissed off, Sanzo was forced to take off his helmet to show off his cold face.
"...So annoyin'..."
"GENJO SANZO!"
...Too late.
All the demons are starting to be dissolved one by one, everyone is shrieking with pain and fear. Meanwhile the people are stunned to hear what the demons said about him. As the demons went gone and the sutra went back to normal, the city is filled with buzzing whispers.
"...What did the demon just said?"
"Genjo Sanzo?"
"A Sanzo?"
"No way!"
"Maybe it just happen'd that it's his name..."
"No way, man! No one can have that name except Buddhist monks!"
"How come that he's a Sanzo? There's no way he can be like that, just look at him!"
"besides he doesn't look like a monk to me, he looks more like a member of a Chinese Mafia!"
"A Bulletproof Monk? COOL!"
"He's not a monk, stupid!"
"Then how can y'explain those flyin' scriptures minutes ago?"
"That's just special effects!"
"Moron!"
But for the Mafia-looking holy man who is the center of attention, he doesn't seem to care as he left the buzzing crowd with his bike. He stopped at the back of one old building and lighted up a cigarette he just bought an hour ago or so and puffed a little that made some from the Victoria crowd who just passed by after the incident whispered more of their malicious compliments. Later a beep on his communicator was heard and pissed off, he has no choice but to answer. He grabbed his purple compact communicator and...
"What?"
Captain! Minchin here...
"About that crap meetin'..." he snapped out ahead for he knows why she called him, "Forget that I'm comin'! Just go on without me!"
Why not? The Commander needs you at this very moment!
"Then let her wait for me for nothin'! Just tell her I'm dead!"
But...
More and more demons sprouted from nowhere as the civilians began to run for their lives again. Veins also sprouted from Sanzo's head signifying that he had seen and done enough demon-busting business. He clenched his communicator as hard as he could while seeing demons in their joyful escapade in the city.
And even one group is about to seize him!
Captain! Minchin called again, What's with the noise?
"None of yer business, 'kay?" Sanzo snorted, "Just scram! An' tell her I'm not comin'! No time! Over an' out!"
But Cap...
But before Minchin could finish, Sanzo just closed his compact one-handed and went off with his bike.
"For Buddha's sake, this REALLY happens ev'ryday...!"
Standing in front of the control room door.
"Toldcha so..." Gojyo smirked when he learned that their 'beloved' captain just 'dumped' Minchin's call.
"Jus shut yer mouth will ya?" Minchin glared at him. Then glaring on her own blue compact communicator, "Darn him! I can't believe he's neglecting his duty!"
"An' just when did he ACTUALLY do his duty?"
"Grrrr...!" her face turned into a plump tomato.
But something came into he mind about the commotion she just heard on another line while talking to Sanzo. "But I wonder what's happening there and why he can't come today..."
"Something's wrong?" asked Hakkai.
"He's acting weird in the line. Something's wrong in his location right now! But... if there is, how come that that it didn't gave us an alarm?"
"And if really there's trouble... why didn't he contact us for help?"
"Gosh, it's been three years an' yet still can't get use t'his attitude?" Gojyo exclamed, "He's a man who doesn't wanna help nor need help! So overconfident, yeah..."
"Yeah... like the one there who's too confident to judge one's overconfidence..." and he chuckled.
"Y'talkin' t'me?"
"C'mon guys!" Minchin, in the middle, stopped the two towers, "We're in front of the control room and the Commander's just on the other side of this door!"
"I'm sorry..." Hakkai apologized, still wearing a smile.
But Gojyo crossed his arms and said nothing.
Later Assistant Commander Jirou shin just came out of the conference room. "The Commander is expecting you. You may now enter."
"SIR!"
The three followed the assistant to the organization's control room: a well-lighted room with some controllers doing the duty on every side. In the middle sat a not-too-old yet very beautiful woman at around thirties, with long black curly hair and opened white military uniform and skirt which slits on both sides were high enough to see her flawless legs. She wears a wise smirk on her face.
The three stepped in as they give respect to their Commander who looks more rebellous than Sanzo:
"Assistant Captain Cho Hakkai, reporting for duty, Ma'am!"
"Ensign Sha Gojyo for another rock n' roll, Ma'am!"
"Ensign Fan Minchin, ready for your orders, Ma'am!"
The Lady Commander Kanzeon Bosatsu just saluted without standing at all. "It's been a while...
Gear Angels...
"He who withdraws himself from actions, but ponders on the pleasures in his heart, he is under a delusion and is a false follower of the Path.
But great is the man who, free from attachments, and with a mind ruling its powers is harmony, works on the path of Karma Yoga, the path of consecrated action.
Action is greater than inaction: perform therefore thy task in life. Even in the life of the body could not be if there were no action..."
The monk Yi Lien was reading some passages from the Bhagavad-Gita to Goku as part of his education. But despite of his efforts to teach him, the teenage monkey, it seems that he was nit listening at all. He is only playing with his pen, spinning it around as if he is waiting for lunchtime to come.
But no sooner he closed the book and sighed, "I think that will be all for today...'
But the boy showed no excitement for lunch at all.
"You can have your lunch now" he said, "I've just prepared your favorite..."
"...Yeah..." his only reply.
Yi Lien almost figured out that Goku is still worrying about what he had just heard. "What's wrong, child? Have you lost your appetite already? I thought you said earlier that you're hungry..."
"...Brother Chubby..." he spoke, "Am I really a nuisance to Sanzo?"
"Now why are you saying that?"
"Well... well... what I mean is... Do I really always got 'im into trouble?"
"Why are you asking such questions like that?"
"Just answer me, kay? I just wanna clear out somethin'!"
The old monk just showed an unsure face.
"That's because I don't remember anythin'! Ev'rythin'! Dunno why... Tell me... Am I really a pain in Sanzo's butt? Do I really put 'im into trouble?"
Yi Lien just gave a faint smile. "You're just talking nonesense, my child..."
"But..."
"If you really are a burden to him, he will not bother saving you three years ago..."
"That's not it! It's not the fact that he sav'd me thanks to 'im I'm still alive, but... what I feel's that he sav'd me for nothin'..."
"What do you mean?"
"...What's my purpose here, anyway? Who am I to Sanzo?"
The monk turned silent in surprise.
"The fact that I can't do anythin' for 'im, that I'm useless, that's me..."
"That's not true, Goku! What are you saying? That you want to return the favor he gave to you?"
"That's what I want! But I dunno what to do! What am I suppose to do? Just t' please 'im... Y'see... seems like he's not pleas'd at all..."
"You are wrong, child..." the monk tried to comfort him as he sat down next to him, "Everyone might see him as a ruthless-looking or you could say, hot-tempered, vulgar young man, but you see, he has his own way to uplift his beliefs. He also has his own way to rear you as the way he wanted. The only problem is that no one understands him that well. I admit that there are the times that I don't understand him either. Yet maybe on a rare occassion I will just eventually understand what he was trying to say or do, and as his right hand I was able to interpret his words and actions to our brothers."
"'S that so..."
"You. Have you tried undestanding him?"
"...Yeah..."
"...And understanding what he is trying to say?"
"...Sometimes, yes... Sometimes, no..."
"Try to open your heart, my child. If you always open your heart to everyone, especially for the one whom you cared for so much, you will eventually realize your use on this world. It might take time but that's alright. That time will soon come to you if you will just learn how to wait. But I can see that you are a purehearted young man. You will easily learn to wait and sooner that time will come only to you where you will learn your reason for your existence..."
"...Learnin' how to wait... My reason... for my existence..."
"Well..." and Yi Lien suddenly stood up, "it's time for me to work. Go and have your lunch now."
"But can't y'eat with me?"
"I'll just eat with my brothers a little later. You go ahead."
"'Kay! After I'm done with these!" referring to his notebooks.
"Be sure not to let yourself hungry!"
"I won't!"
Wearing a sure smile on his face, Yi Lien is happy to see Goku in his energetic mode again after their little talk, though Goku almost missed lunch.
After the old priest had finally gone, Goku is in the middle of fixing his things until...
"...Son Goku..."
"Huh?"
"...Son Goku..."
"Brother Chubby?"
"...Son Goku..."
"Brother Chubby, 's that you?"
"...Come here, Son Goku..."
"...Where?"
"...Here..."
But before he could follow the mysterious voice, he then found out that the voice was not Yi Lien's, but to his surprise that...
"...Hey...that's...that's my voice! But..."
"...Here, Goku..."
"Okay, doppleganger, whoever y'are, show yerself! How dare y'usin' my voice!"
"You have to find me first..."
"Where the hell are ya?"
"Here..."
"Where?"
"Follow the light..."
"How?"
Later a sullen golden light shone just from the garden. Curious, Goku went out to find out.
He is already in the temple garden. Still he is following the golden light that the mysterious voice told him to follow, though wondering why in all people, it has to be him. But he has no choice, when he remembered that he had lost his memory, he thought that it can be possible if that voice knew about his lost past, thus he followed the said light.
Until the light stopped somewhere so the little monkey boy stopped, too, for a while, to catch a breath. "Now...tell me...where're ya?"
"...Right here..."
"Huh?" at first he looked around, and by his surprise, when he looked below at his feet...
"W...whatta..."
"It's been a year, Angels..." Lady Commander Kanzeon Bosatsu started, "How's yer vacation?"
"Fine..." Gojyo tries to agree, "Very fine..."
"Pardon me, Commander" Hakkai interrupted, "But why did you call us immediately?"
"Okay..." as she tries to explain the situation, "For starters, still concerns with demons..."
"Again?" Gojyo cannot believe what he had heard.
I knew it... Minchin secretly uttered as she remembered the incident while talking to their Captain.
"But this time...' she stood up and her face turned a little serious, "Prepere for the worst. Unlike in the previous years demons seldomly appear only to hunt for their prey an' durin' nighttime. But the negative energy creat'd by the Revival Operation on Gyumao slowly turnin' visible ev'n on a Sanzo's naked eye."
So that's why...
"That means... the Revival Operation's now taken on the second level. So expect more berserk'd demons that can now also hunt in the mornin'. The increasin' power of the negative wave caus'd more demons t'go crazy an' lose control, ev'n demon children."
"The Revival Operation" Hakkai is about to give a little information about the matter, "Has been into process for almost ten tears. The people who were behind this operation were yet unknown, yet it was believed that it started by Gyumao's last descendants. They may be doing this for a reason of vengeance..."
"'Scuse me..." Gojyo tries to interrupt, "We've been fightin' demons for years now but... who the heck's Gyumao, anyway?"
"The leader of the demons. Five thousand years ago he'd devastated the whole land of Tenjiku and no one was left alive. That's what I only learned..."
"Five thousand years? That old? But why do they still hafta waste time bringin' a dead demon back to life?"
"That's why it's called a 'Revival Opeartion', silly..." Minchin replied.
"Anyway..." the commander changed the subject, "Where's yer capt'n?"
"We've just called Captain Sanzo a while ago, but he said that he can't come since he's busy for something..."
"'S he REALLY our capt'n?" Gojyo whined.
"...Something that concerns with demons..."
Everyone turned quiet.
Kanzeon smiled wryly, "He'll never change..." and sat down, "An' those demons'll keep us busy startin' today. I toldcha, 'coz of the negative wave they can attack the city anytime they want."
"That means..." Gojyo cracked his knuckles, "The Angels'll be busy again!"
"So will be the headquarters!" Hakkai added.
"And more wrinkles will be added to Captain's forehead!" Minchin also added.
The three laughed.
The commander just gave a little smile, "Yeah..." but later, "But the next topic'll be no laughin' matter..."
The three stopped laughing.
"The commander shifted her sitting position. "An Angelic Energy's been detect'd minutes ago. An' I'm sure it's the last one."
"You mean..." Minchin assured.
"Yep. That means on this day a new Angel'll soon be discover'd. An' that also means...
Gear Angels'll be finally complete..."
Goku is surprised to see a sunflower shining on his feet. It is his first sunflower he had planted three years ago, days after he was saved by Sanzo.
"I've finally found you..." the sunflower spoke.
"No way...y'can TALK?"
"I only have this ability to be able to tell you about your destiny, using your voice."
"...My destiny?"
"And it will start right now."
"So that means y'know ev'rythin' 'bout my past?"
A short pause.
"Forgive me, but neither I do not know about that" the sunflower's sad reply.
"Ow..." the monkey's face saddened.
"But I can be of any help!"
"An' how? Y'don't ev'n know 'bout my past!"
"Maybe... but the destiny you will face starting today might lead you to discover who you really are."
"What destiny?"
"...As soon as you will follow my instructions, you will soon learn your true purpose to the ones you cared for..."
"What shall I do?"
"...You must take me from this soil..."
"What?"
"Take me out of this soil..."
"Y'kiddin' me! It took me three years to take care of y'now you'll waste all my efforts on ya?"
"If you do that, you will find something..."
"What? Food? To tell ya, na-ah! I'll not letcha die!"
"Listen, Goku. If you want to know your purpose on this earth, sometimes you have to sacrifice something to discover something you want to see or do. You don't want to stuck yourself looking for answers, do you?"
"Hey... 's there any other way?"
"There's no other way."
"But..."
"Have courage. Trust me."
"But of all people, why me?"
"Because I was created only for you. I've waited for you for so long. Your cheerfulness and especially your courage made me alive and able to speak to you. You are the only one who can discover my true nature. Don't fear if you will cut me. You can still plant me for the person you've cared for. But for now, you must cut me. There is no more time left..."
"Whaddy' mean?"
"I'll expalin to you later. But for now, please do it."
Despite worrying about the sunflower, Goku has no other choice but to cut the plant. So he grabbed its stems and pulled the plant from the soil and later he succeeded as he took the sunflower from its native soil.
But upon doing that, the hole created from the sunflower suddenly shone with golden yellow light that made the monkey's golden irises looked more golden. And by his surprised eyes a ball-shaped yellow jewel in the size of a jackstone ball appeared before him. The said jewel bears a strnge symbol inscribed in it: a ram's horn with a shaded dot. It went near the dumb-stricken boy.
"...It is time...Son Goku..."
"Another Gear Angel?" asked Hakkai.
"So another addition to the team!" assured Minchin.
"An' another addition to Sanzo's headache!" added Gojyo.
"KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT, WILL YA?" the two in unison.
The Lady Commander just smiled. "All of y'are correct. An' that Gear Angel, whoever he or she is, 'll make the force finally complete. An' if I'm not mistak'n, that'll represent the element of earth."
A little pause.
"I've toldcha three years ago 'bout the nature of the Gear Angels. They're entrust'd to take care of these special jewels call'd Gear Stones. These stones have chos'n y' to be their master for yer entire life, the reason why this organization was form'd an' recruit'd ya. The Heaven's Elite Alliance Via Eonic Nature or H.E.A.V.E.N., has its authority to find the possible bearers of the stones to stop Gyumao's invasion in case that he'll be reviv'd...
"Y'still remember how y'have discover'd yer powers, right? Gojyo, despite bein' a half water demon, has an ability to control fire only by lookin' at someone or somethin' an' such high extra sensory perception, thus he's entrust'd to use the Fire Gear Stone to be Hou, the Gear Angel of the Flame. Hakkai uses speed an' intelligence, plus his ability to defy gravity by flyin' that caus'd him to use the Air Gear Stone as Fuu, the Gear Angel of the Skies. An' Minchin, usin' her acrobatic an' underwater skills without any oxygen tank an' her coordination to any forms of life, became Shui, the Gear Angel of the Seas after the Water Gear Stone appear'd before her."
The three cannot help themselves but to look at their own compact communicators, each has its so-called Gear Stone inside it.
"An' yer Capt'n Sanzo...bein' the first to be discover'd by the organization, already possess'd a very strong dharmic power before the Light Gear Stone came to 'im, since he's the chosen guardian on the Five Sutras. He's the first monk who can actually fight since the First Sanzo five thousand years ago, hence he's the Gear Angel of the Celestial Heavens, Feng."
"What do you want us to do?" Hakkai waiting for orders.
"Find the possible Gear Angel, of course!" Gojyo snapped out.
"But it'll not be possible if Captain's not here!" Minchin contradicted.
"Minchin's right..." and Kanzeon went on, "Only Sanzo has the ability to detect a possible Gear Angel with his dharmc power."
"The only snag..." Gojyo bluttered, "He sometimes doesn't wanna do that..."
Suddenly an alarm was heard and one of the controllers detected something. "Commander! Demons starting to attack Applefield Avenue Section Seven!"
Kanzeon smirked. "We'll deal 'bout the new Angel later. Right now there's some things I want y'to disperse..."
"...It's showtime..." Gojyo smirked as he stretched his fingers.
"...Oh, dear..." Hakkai sighed with a smile.
"...Time to fly!" Minchin gave a grin.
"Angels!" Kanzeon ordered, "Fly high! Hakkai, be on charge! Let's get this party start'd again!"
"ROGER!"
The three left immediately, bringing their respective pets. And with sure faces, they showed off their compact communicators, now that they are ready to...
Sanzo went on running with his bike just to avoid the demons who are after him. He noticed that more and more demons appear to add the people's burden. As some group of demons nearly approaching him, he has his gun ready to eliminate all of them.
But he knows that this will never end, as long as he stays alive in the eyes of these chaos-loving creatures. For this he decided to find a place to settle down and stop for a while. So he unloaded his gun and went away as the demons became more persistent on capturing him.
"Runnin' away, eh?"
"You can run BUT you can't hide!"
He finally has a chance to hide in a stinky alley, yet reliable as a temporary shelter. He was pissed off by the smell of the place as he doesn't want to smoke today. But the demons are so persistent that they will be able to find him.
"Come out, come out, wherever y'are!"
"There's nothin' y'can do, Genjo Sanzo..."
"Better give us the sutra if y'wanna stay ALIVE...!"
The unstoppable laughter made the rogue monk longed more not to show up, but "Why the heck am I hidin', anyway?" he asked himself. But then, noticing his communicator in his pocket, he thought that he has no choice..."
Darn, why do I hafta do this...?
He took out his helmet, grabbed his compact, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and as the demons were fast approaching, the compact created a purple aura and as Sanzo opened his eyes...
"Eternal Aurora... GEAR...ACCEL!"
His whole body suddenly shone with visible dharmic power. When the demons noticed the strange light from afar, they hurriedly ran to it.
Silence followed soon after...
The teenage monkey's eyes fixed on the mysterious jewel floating in front of him. "It is time...Son Goku..." it said.
But, "D-d-don't-don't...don't come near me!" he moved away, "What'll do to me? Turn me into a demon? No way!"
"I will not hurt you..."
"Whaddy'really want?"
"It's time for you to face your destiny..."
"What destiny?"
"...To be with your comrades...your fellow Gear Angels..."
"...Fellow...Gear Angels...? Are y'kiddin'? I'm not like Sanzo! I'm not a Gear Angel!"
"But you are!"
"How come?"
"You are destined to be so..."
Still Goku is a little confused on what the jewel wants to tell to him. But then as his eyes fixed on the jewel, he soon realized that the jewel is intended only for him. Alone.
"Y'mean..." he wants to be sure, "...You're..."
"Yes, I am. I am your Gear Stone."
"Stunned by what the jewel revealed to him, Goku finally realized that the said jewel is actually testing his heart to be its master. Thinking about Sanzo and the rest, finally... he now has a Gear Stone of his own. Not only that, a certified gear Angel like his older friends. Now that he has found his purpose—to fight alongside the ones whom he cared for, he doesn't need to be left out, now that he can be with his friends anytime.
...And this, maybe, can be the key to his unknown past.
"...What shall I do t'ya?" he asked.
"You will find out soon enough. You see, for a long time evil has always been devastating mankind, and for years the gear Angels always do their sacred duty as they are destined to do so. But this time they might not be able to stop it by themselves. For this they need a new ally to fulfill this mission—and that's you."
"...But...what if..."
"You have been undergone training for the past three years. I believe that's already enough to use the power destined for you. That is also enough to help them. All you need is courage and belief in your own power. It is yours from now on. No one will ever take that from you—except your fear and anxiety."
"...My fear...and anxiety..."
"Please remember: Don't use your powers if you are not sure of yourself. The more you don't believe in yourself, the more power will be wasted because of that. Though at first it will be difficult for you to manipulate but eventually you will overcome it..."
The monkey boy grinned with excitement. "Now that's AWESOME! I'm now a Gear Angel—for real!"
"Because you are destined to be, Son Goku: a Gear Angel holding the most powerful element of all: Earth."
"Cool...!"
"Forgive me if this is the only time I have show up because I'm still waiting for you to develop your potential. But you must also know that you are also destined like the others just before I come for you today. You are destined to be with them, as a team that will change the future of this world..."
Until suddenly there is a loud commotion from inside the temple and all the monks are in deep panic. He was shocked to see demons scattered all over the vicinity looking for something more important than the monks' lives!
"What's happ'nin' there?" Goku was worried.
"It has begun..." the jewel replied sadly, "They are here for your master and the sutra. The rise of chaos has begun to fulfill its mission."
"But Sanzo's not here yet!"
"yes, he is not. And for that they will just kill the monks in exchange for him and the sutra..."
"Darn it!" he growled.
"You have no more time left! Take that and save the monks!"
"B-but..."
"They're here! Hurry up before it's too late!"
Later he heard Yi Lien's voice calling him.
"Goku! Goku! Where are you?"
"Brother Chubby?" he looked around.
"Goku! Answer me!"
"I'm right here! I'm comin'!"
Looking at the jewel, he didn't hesitate as he immediately took the jewel and put it in his pocket. Then he went to the storeroom where he can find a steel rod that can be used as a weapon and headed off to save Yi Lien and the others.
"Brother Chubby...Hold on, I'm comin'!"
"Why didcha let 'im get the stone?" the tall man in strange black light armor wondered to his short companion in maroon armor that matches his unusual scarlet hair.
"I dont want to interfere" he replied, "Besides, I've been waiting for this chance to pass."
"Y'mean..."
"For years I've been waiting for this moment to come. I really wanted to see how he will use his power in this situation right now. And it's his destiny to use the stone, so there's no reason for us to stop him."
"I don't get it. What's yer plan, anyway?"
The short companion glared at the tall man. "You still don't know anything, so don't ask."
"Hey, there's nothin' wrong with ma' question! Just wanna know yer plan!"
"He smirked, "Just wait and see, my friend. Wait and see..."
Using all that he learned from his training, Goku was able to defeat already half of the group of demons in just a whack of his rod! He still couldn't believe his newly-found strength that he became more confident to face more demons.
'S this because of my Gear Stone? WOW! Now that's cool! I don't ev'n hafta worry 'bout my stummick! I'm really destin'd to be a Gear Angel!
He went on beating more demons that made him save most of the monks after he asked them to hide somewhere else where demons would not see them. Now he has to find Yi Lien until one demon showed up—holding Yi Lien by neck as a hostage!
"Drop yer weapon, kid!" the demon warned, "If y'still want 'im alive!" and laughed.
"Do as he told, Goku!" Yi Lien spoke up, "You can't win against them!"
"Shut up, y'piggy monk!" and it held him tighter.
Goku clenched his weapon tightly, "Don't hurt 'im, you..."
"Wanna save 'im?" the demon asked slyly, "Then tell me: where's Genjo Sanzo?"
"If I know, I'm not tellin' ya! Besides, he's really not here so why wouldcha bother?"
"Foolish kid!" using the demon's special ability, it stretched its arms and pushed Goku so hard that he flew and bumped onto the wall, caused him to drop his weapon accidentally.
"No, please!" the hostage monk begged, "Don't hurt him! He's still a child!"
"I said Shut Up!" and held his neck more tightly that he almost choke off.
"Brother...Chubby..." Goku tries to stand up reaching for his weapon, "I toldcha... Don't... hurt 'im!"
"You're just killin' yerself, kid!" the demon smirked, "This'll not happen if you're not a hardhead enough to underestimate me. Just tell me where Genjo Sanzo is an' that's it, you're free!"
"I dunno!"
"So stubborn, eh?" and it choked Yi Lien tighter.
"Brother Chubby!"
"Goku!" Yi Lien called him in his choked voice, "Run! Save yourself! Don't worry about me..."
"No, I won't! Or Sanzo'll be mad at me!"
"Wow, such obedient li'l monkey..." the demon laughed hard, "It makes me laugh!"
"SHUT UP!" and he immediately charged at the demon.
"So brave, ain't cha?"
"Goku, DON'T!"
"YAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The demon, still smirking, prepared himself by stretching its arms again. Meanwhile Yi Lien cannot take all the tension as he closed his eyes for he doesn't want to see the teen monkey in pieces if that happens. But Goku, full of courage and spirit bestowed on his own Angelic Power, doesn't think about his own safety anymore, now that he is confident that he can save his monk friend from the clutches of the sadistic demon.
But as the two are about to attack each other, three gun shots were heard and a pause was followed.
No one is sure who among those three were shot. But unexpectedly, the demon unknowingly released Yi Lien from its grasp and Goku wondered what really happened. Both were surprised when the demon suddenly collapsed and died! They were surprised to see three gunshots on its back. When Goku found out who did it, he was surprised to recognize the mysterious being in purple and white armor, with a headgear in a motif of rays of light and wearing a skintight black garment underneath. A crystal with a symbol of Om (a sacred syllable chanted by followers of both Buddhism and Hinduism that depicts tolerance and withstanding hardship) on its chest made him more recognizable for Goku...
...Especially his gun.
"S-San..." he was about to utter Sanzo's name but when he noticed the unconscious Yi Lien, he just changed his mind, "I mean, Angel Feng!"
Goku is right. Despite of the light purple visor on the warrior's helmet, he still recognized him as Sanzo, because of the symbol of his chest aside form his gun and his scary glare. Yes, he has already known his secret since he saved him three years ago. Genjo Sanzo's another identity is Gear Angel Feng, bearer of the Gear Stone of Light.
"Ev'rybody ok?" Feng asked.
"Yep!" Goku in his proud reply, "An'y'know what? I manag'd to save ev'ryone here! I've dump'd almost all the demons, y'see..."
"Yeah, right..." it seems that feng is not interestedto know what really happened. First he rushed to Yi Lien who just fell unconscious as soon as he arrived to rescue his fellow monks due to pain from being choked off, and it seems that luckily he is all right. When he looked at Goku, he suddenly felt a very powerful aura surrounding the little monkey. But then he tried not to be suspected by him. And so when he went to him, he whispered...
"Y'almost slipp'd yer tongue..." he mumbled.
"S-s-so...sorry..." he was terrified at his glare, when suddenly, "Sanzo, LOOK OUT!"
Feng immediately fired his gun to the approaching demons on his back. And Goku gave a heavy sigh out of relief. But Feng is quite upset!
"I've just warn'd ya!" he hissed.
"Ulk!" when Goku realized his mistake, he immediately covered his mouth. "Sorry..."
"Y'hafta be thankful, he just pass'd out..." referring to the unconscious monk.
"Y-yeah...sorry again..."
After seeing that everything in the temple is now okay, "Gotta go..."
"Hey, wait for me!"
"Just stay here an' look after the others!"
"Na-ah! Not today! Can't leave y'alone!"
When Feng noticed Goku's golden eyes, they were different: bursting with an unusual energy. He is then convinced that something wonderful happened to the monkey. He also knows that something wonderful will happen as well in just a moment. Thus...
"...Do whatcha want!" and went off.
Delighted, "Right on, Boss!"
"Stop callin' me 'Boss'!"
"Sorry, Sanzo..."
"I SAID..."
"Ups! Sorry, Feng..."
Not so far away, the city is once again in peace. Three mysterious figures of red, green, and blue stand still in the middle of the mass grave of demons, although no human could be traced there due to fear.
The one in red carries an unusual silver staff with a crescent-shaped blade. The one in green holds a light sword, and the one in blue has two sets of short daggers on both hands, presuming that the one in blue is a girl because of its curves. Surprisingly these three wear armors similar to those of Angel Feng, only with different colors and motif.
"That's IT?" the one in red armor with dragon motif complained, surprisingly with Gojyo's voice, "We're not ev'n tir'd yet!"
"Now THIS is boring..." huffed the woman in blue armor whose helmet has a mermaid motif and has Minchin's voice.
"Well, at least we've managed to warm up before the real fight..." smiled the other in green armor with eagle motif and with Hakkai's voice. "We didn't even exerted too much effort just for this!"
"Fuu's right. At least our energy's not wasted. We still need to find the last Angel."
"And that's what we'll do next!"
"The problem" the red armor joined in, "Where do we start findin' that last Angel?"
"Suddenly a loud beeping alarm was heard as they searched for the source. In unison they looked at their communicators which they received the same message. The one in green, referred to as Fuu, activated an electronic map at his communicator.
"Uh-oh..." the girl uttered.
"trouble, guys..." Fuu confirmed, "It's not far from here. Bad thing is it's from Chang An Temple..."
"Chang An? It's where Captain's working, right?"
"Hey..." the red armor joined again, "He's not in the temple now, right?"
"Yeah..." the other two chorused.
"Darn it! How could he neglect'd his own temple like that? Where's that corrupt monk, anyway?"
Suddenly, it might be a coincidence, but the three armored people remembered something or rather someone concerning the temple.
"That means..." Fuu tries to guess.
"No way!" the girl exclaimed, "He's also in trouble!"
"The monkey's in trouble!" the red armor voiced in.
"let's move!" and immediately Fuu called someone, "Hakuryu, TRANSFORM!"
"KYUU!"
Hakuryu, the liitle white dragon, flies high as his body suddenly glowed and by the time it landed, a green military-type jeep appeared. He has just transformed into a jeep! The three immediately jumps into the jeep as Fuu turned the steering wheel and they head off towards the direction of the temple.
There are more demons appearing in the temple area and Goku and Angel Feng are tryng their best to stop them, although the monks are safe now hiding somewhere else.
"When this'll stop?" the monkey complained, "My stummick's hurtin' now!"
"Don't tell me y'haven't eat'n yet!"Feng raised his voice again on him.
"I was about to, but..."
"AAAGH!"
"FENG!"
Goku was surprised by a big shadow that suddenly grabbed Angel Feng by neck. It turned out that the culprit is a big muscular horned demon looked like a minotaur, in the company of other demons.
"Give us the sutra!" the demon growled, "By the order of the Jade-faced Princess!"
"Go to hell with yer princess!" Feng hissed, that caused the big demon to tighten his grip on him.
"Let 'im go!" Goku ordered, but he is surrounded by other demons.
The big demon gave an evil laugh. "Not even the Gear Angels can do anything for their beloved leader! Where are they? Hiding in the clouds?" and laughed again.
"...Nor I don't ev'n need their help!" Feng spat out, "I can easily kick yer butt..."
"If you can!" and laughed again, "Hey, monkey!" referring to Goku, "Give me the sutra or else..."
But he just smirked, "The high priest in this temple's not here! So with the sutra!"
"Then point to me where's your leader!"
"How should I know? An' if I really do, why should I point 'im t'ya?" (In fact the leader of the temple is just in the demon's grasp, none other than Angel Feng, himself!)
"You humans are so stubborn..." as the demon is about to lay its claws on Feng, and Goku is perspiring with tension from the demons surrounding him, Feng is about to recite an incantation for the Evil Sutra when suddenly...
"NEEDLE...RAIN!"
A shower of silver daggers appeared from the temple ceiling (?) that hit the demons and fell dead. The big demon is hit, too, at his back, thus Feng is given an opportunity to smack him on his face, kicked him to be able for him to get out of its grasp.
Goku is, then, delighted to see who just saved them—that made Feng more annoyed. They are the three people in the same armor as him from a while ago, finally came to the rescue.
"Ain't that rude...? Startin' a fight without us? C'mon, we need exercise!"
"Sorry for the delay! You see, we still have to clean the city. Took us a while to do so!"
"Well at least we don't need to give extra effort on those bunch of persistent pests!"
The big demon, limping with the damage he had taken, turned furious upon seeing the three other...
"...Gear Angels...?"
And like Feng, Goku also knew and recognized the three armored warriors:
"Angel Hou!"
The man in red armor winked.
"Angel Fuu!"
The man in green armor smiled at him.
"Angel Shui!"
The girl in blue armor waved her hand. "Long-time-no-see, Goku!" she greeted.
But it seems that Angel Feng is not happy to see his own comrades. Just as I thought...
And the big demon, as usual, is more pissed off than Feng. "I was near my victory, then..."
"Oh, c'mon!" Hou puffed, "An' just when didcha guys succeed'd?"
"I'll deal with you first!" he is about to strike at the three but Goku suddenly interfered and blocked the demon at attacking them.
"Yer opponent's me, jumbo!" he scowled.
"So brave for a little monkey..." the demon smirked.
"Stupid monkey!" Hou yelled, "Just howd'y'gonna stop that bigshot if y'don't have any protection?"
"Goku, it's dangerous!" Fuu warned, "You don't have enough power to stop him!"
"Just leave it to us!" Shui added.
But the monkey just grinned. "Thanks for the concern, guys, but it's okay. Just do yer own thing an' I'll do mine!" and he winked.
"...He's not list'nin'..." Hou mumbled.
The demon just laughed when he found out that Goku will be his opponent. "Hey, you!" calling the attention of the Angels, "Wouldn't you stop this little monkey from killing himself? I can't just deal with such weaklings, anyway..."
"Who's a weaklin'?" Goku's face smoked red with frustration.
But Feng just smirked, "What if I wouldn't?"
"CAPTAIN?" the three chorused in disbelief.
"Oh, I forgot..." Hou was 'convinced', "Both of 'em have the same brain..."
When Feng heard what his teammate just said, he took his big trademark fan and whacked him! "Why don't y'just shut up?"
"WHAT DIDCHA DO THAT FOR? An' where in the world didcha get that fan of yours?"
"None of yer business!"
"But Captain!" Shui asked, "You wouldn't let Goku be killed, would you?"
"He want'd it, so be it. We'll not stop 'im from doin' what he wants to do..."
"But..."
"No mo' buts! Let 'im fight. It's his own battle. Let's just say it's his punishment for wakin' up late..."
"Angel Feng..." it seems that only in Fuu's face he has finally guessed the reason why Feng doesn't want to interfere and even ordered his team to do so. And Feng is convinced that Fuu finally got the answer.
"Y'hit it right..."
He was surprised. "Then...Goku is..."
During the team's conversation, the fight between Son Goku and the big demon has just begun. Using all that he learned from his martial arts training plus his trademark strength and stamina, at first the big demon cannot do anything but to avoid his attack. But later on the demon got even as he slammed Goku with his massive tail, plus he used his big and scaly body as his advantage against his little opponent. Goku bumped into the wall and hurt himself.
"Goku!" Hou called.
"Captain, let's help him!" Shui suggested.
"No!" Feng insisted.
"But why not?"
"...Just do what he just said" Fuu supported Feng's decision.
"To which side 're y'in, anyway?" Hou almost lost his patience.
"Can't you believe in Goku's strength?"
Hou was speechless.
"Well...yeah..." Shui answered, "Of course..."
"Then just wait what'll happen..." Feng suggested.
"What for?" Hou cannot wait, "What're y'plannin', anyway?"
"...Just wait an'see, people, wait an' see..."
Goku, though hurt, is just giggling as he tried to stand up. The demon got annoyed, "What are you laughing at?"
He just went on chuckling.
"Oh, Lord...he's turnin' crazy..." Hou uttered to himself.
"What's so funny?" the demon's frustrated question.
"None of yer concern...!" Goku answered with a grin.
"Hah! Don't tell me you're getting crazy since your time's up!"
"You think I am, jumbo...But I wish I am..."
As Goku is getting the prized jewel in his pocket, he remembered clearly what it just said to him:
...Don't use your powers if you are not sure of yourself. The more you wouldn't believe in yourself, the more power will be wasted because of that. Though at first it will be difficult for you to manipulate but eventually you will overcome it...
But now I'm sure of myself! Who's scar'd, anyway? I'm not scar'd for such small matters as this, na-ah! 'Coz I am...
It is time, Son Goku...
I am...a GEAR ANGEL!
He instantly showed the jewel to the demon, and the demon was puzzled. So as the others, especially Shui, who knows the kind of jewel he has in his hand.
"A Gear Stone? But how come?"
"What didcha say?" Hou in shock, "So that means..."
Feng just smiled secretly.
Just as Goku has this so-called Gear Stone in his hand, he carefully concentrated on its power, took a deep breath, and even remembered the first day he saw Sanzo transformed into his Angel Mode using a special incantation. But in his case, it must be resulted from his conversation with his Gear Stone that he came up with an incantation of his own...
"Hand of Midas... GEAR...ACCEL!"
All were shocked (except for Feng, he had known it since) when he spelled out the phrase, the Gear Stone on his hand shone brightly that he almost vanished himself. When the light went out, it featured a different Goku: with a light armor and a black undergear like the rest, except that the color is golden yellow and a helmet in Minotaur motif. Wielding his OWN iron staff, he poses at the demon...
"Guardian of the Gear Stone of Earth: I am GEAR ANGEL TOU!"
Hou and Shui cannot speak in amazement and shock.
"That monkey..."
"He's the last Gear Angel Commander Kanzeon told us!"
Fuu smiled at the contented captain, "...So that's why..."
And Feng is contented at what he saw. Let's see what y'can do... Gear Angel Tou...
"So he finally shows up..." the tall man said, while watching from the roof of the temple, "I admit I'm surpris'd by that!"
"Don't tell me you've just knew it right away" the maroon-armored man smirked, "I was expecting this for a long time..."
"So..."
He grinned, "Let's see how he fights..."
Unlike a minute ago, Angel Tou's speed, stamina, and strength increased, now the demon cannot attack the way he did before. Due to too much frustration, he ordered other demons to attack the others, which made the rest got annoyed.
"I'm already tir'd" Feng grunted, "Feels like I wanna smoke.."
"Not in this situation, Mr. Monk!" Hou replied, "Besides we're not yet tir'd!"
"And in fact" Fuu added, "The fun has just started!"
"Shall we dance now?" Shui smirked.
"Dunno how to dance..." Feng grunted, as he armed his gun.
"Don't worry!" Hou replied, wielding his staff, "We'll dance together!"
"In case that you'll learn..." Fuu said with a smile as he wielded his sword.
"So let's get groovin'!" Shui replied in excitement, showing her daggers.
"Whatever..." Feng sighed.
And the demons started to attack within their positions, but the rest of the Angels showed no fear at all, as they also made themselves ready for the action where they also attaked suddenly.
Angel Shui jumped high and made acrobatic stunts as she does her trick, "Dance of the Waves...NEEDLE...RAIN!" her daggers gave a light blue aura as they seem to multiply into hundreds using her dharmic power as they shot the demons down dead. Her daggers create an illusion of deadly raindrops using her ability to control water like acid rainshower.
Angel Fuu's extraordinary speed and agility became a plus since no demon can catch him. Unknowingly he used his attack to them, "Wild Iron Wind...TORNADO...SLASH!" and afterwards he left the demons' corpses without any trace of blood. Using his incredible speed, he actually didn't use the swordblade, itself, to slash them, but the air pressure it it did the chore.
Angel Hou was just smirking in the middle of the attacking demons as his lance began to extend and... "Blazing Red Moon... FIRE...CHAIN!" the moon-shaped blade set ablaze as he burned out all the demons alive. He created heat from his hands and transferred it to his lance as he whirled up his weapon it created friction from air pressure, causing the blade to burn.
And Angel Feng is still annoyed at what he is doing, yet he is doing it! "Wrath of Heaven... SACRED...BULLET!" combining the power of the Evil Sutra he fired his gun to one demon but it ended up all of them wiped out. He used a different incantation where he combines the power of the Evil Sutra and his gun to make a 'virus efect' killing one demon ended up killing all.
Meanwhile Angel Tou is getting more excited at his very own battle as he saw how his teammates fight and use their deadly techniques. So he thought that he can finish the big demon with his own special attack. It took him seconds to think of an attack that will represent his element and at the same time can shake the demon's head in pain. "Okay, jumbo! Time to jumbo-bye-bye!"
"WHAT?"
"Shakin' Vertigo...GOLDEN...TOUCH!"
And he whacked the demon's thick head so hard that almost damaged its skull. But due to the impact of what he did and its power, it slowly disappeared. So with the defeated demons. This is the power he received from his element, concentrating his powers on his staff, it created a mild earthquake over the big demon became the epicenter of the earthquake he made, bringing the demons left into the Underworld and vanished.
The temple is quiet again—except that it is in total chaos. Feng snorted as he looked at the temple in a mess. "Uh-oh..." Hou hooted, "Looks like another headache for the great Genjo Sanzo..."
He clenched his gun as if he wanted to kill a cockroach right now. "I'll deal withcha later, roachman..."
Meanwhile the new Gear Angel cheered for himself, "Wow! Yahoo! Woohoo! I can't believe it! I did it! I did it by myself! I'm a Gear Angel! It's awesome! YEAH!"
Fuu and Shui are just watching him cheer, "Well..." Fuu started, "Looks like Gojyo's right: another addition to Sanzo's headache."
"At first it seem to be unbelievable. But I;m happy for him. Good thing Goku's now part of the team."
"The Gear Angels are finally complete after three years..."
Tou is still cheering, and this time together with Hakuryu and Beijing. "Yahoo! Y'see that? I'm a Gear Angel! A CERTIFIED Gear Angel!"
Feng got annoyed...again. "STOP THAT NOW, MONKEY!"
"Phew!" the black armor sighed, "That boy's quite strong..."
The maroon armor's face was serious. "Not yet strong..."
"Insecured, eh?"
Instead of answering him, he just turned around and, "Let's go back. We had seen enough."
"So soon?"
"Not to worry. We will see him once again someday..."
"An' just when?"
"...In a matter of time..." and suddenly jumped in.
The black armor has no choice but to follow him back to their secret lair, although he still doesn't get what his comrade is really planning to do in the future. But definitely he had knew Goku for quite a long time, a thing that is still a mystery to him.
Looking back at the temple from the highest post, "We'll meet soon...Son Goku..."
...It was a quite a long day for them, then, when the real journey begins...
-----END OF EPISODE-----
Sanzo: It's Goku's first day in H.E.A.V.E.N. as the fifth Gear Angel an' my new root of migraine. Darn it, of all people here, WHY IT HAS TO BE ME TO TRAIN THAT MONKEYHEAD? Heh... whaddy'know, he's back with vengeance, or should I say back to give me more migraine. Right, this time you're deadmeat for sure!
Next on Saiyuki Sentinel Gear Angel: PURPLE: Back With A Vengeance
Author's Note: SORRY FOR THE DELAY, PEOPLE! It took me almost a month to rewrite and type this on my darn PC, please bear with me if the next episode will be quite a while to post here...Gomen nasai, minna! Geez... To Sanzo's Guardian Angel, THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR IS HERE! Sorry if that took you time to wait... Anyway, enjoy the first chapter! And please, please keep on reading and reviewing this story, I'll appreciate it! Comments and suggestions are welcome! See ya next chapter! Avisala!