Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Cataylst
Act VI
Chapter 86: The Wheels on the Bus
Android 20:
Android 16 was never meant to be activated, not at this point. Really, he was never meant to be completed. After the death of Dr. Rossa… Dr. Gero found it difficult to work on the replica of what had been there son. Even the original plan, of the face of his son being the face of the man who Son Goku saw before he died, had become hollow. The truth was his son fought for a brighter world, and had always informed him that he abhorred violence and death. He only accepted it into his life because of his greater goal.
Android 16 was a weapon of revenge. His own revenge was something he could never let go, but his son… his son would not have been so consumed by it. He knew in his heart that his boy would have forgiven Son Goku. That was yet another thing, he could never do. But what he could do was allow Android 16 to remain forever in his pod, never to be activated. He couldn't bring himself to destroy the last remnants of his son, even if it was only in appearance. Even now as they flew through the air, he couldn't bring himself to look at Android 16.
The shame of having failed to keep his promise to never activate the Android, was a burden he'd not expected to carry. Worse yet, he knew his time was limited. Android 17 would turn on him sooner or later, he either wanted something from him, or was dragging him along for his own amusement. Once he could no longer offer whatever 17 wanted, he was certain he would kill him, or Android 18 would kill him. This likely was the case for Android 21 as well. He needed to escape, and get to one of his secondary facilities to restore his body, and conceal himself from Android 17. The others were a problem as well.
General Blue had never liked him. Colonel Violet was a sociopath. The aberrant was the only reliable one here in his entirety, and as long as those two followed him, there was a reasonable chance they wouldn't turn on him. The only problem was 24 did not see him as Dr. Gero. It was of course, an irony not lost on him given his wish to distance himself from that personality.
When 17 took them to a street, he landed near the sparse mountain road, looking at the others before casting his optics towards Android 21, the only one here he was certain might not kill him immediately.
"It's certainly quant out here," Twenty-Three remarked, clearly showing his disdain for it. "Why exactly are we out here?"
"I want to go for a drive," Seventeen responded. "We're going to go for a joy ride. I… used to…" the Android seemed to trail off for a moment, experiencing the errors that were resulting in his processor not working as intended. "I want to drive, is that a problem?"
A bored looking Android 22 walked to the side of the road, her eyes scanning it with annoyance before turning back towards them.
"Why are we wasting our time on this?" she demanded. "If we're going to kill Son Goku, then we should just do it. There is no reason to waste our time on this."
"Because I want to," Seventeen repeated, his tone dangerous. "Do you have a problem with that, 22?"
There very obviously was a problem, and 20 was certainly fine with it. If they began fighting amongst themselves, soon enough he would have an opportunity to break free. Then he could get back to his lab and craft a controller to once again take over all of these wayward machines. He could still get everything under control, and most importantly he could put 16 back to sleep, and wipe his hard driven entirely.
The gigantic machine stood near him a moment later, looking down at him almost in the way his son had before he'd left to join the army. Beside him, Dr. Rossa's hands clasped together as she looked around nervously, knowing to go to 16 for protection. When he looked up, saw the kind eyes he'd given 16, so much like his son's, staring back at him.
In this current state, Gero was no more than just a skeleton, he had no muscles to move his face to respond, but if he did, he would have frowned, reminded yet more as to what he'd lost at the hands of Son Goku.
A few smaller vehicles passed before 24 spoke up bluntly.
"You'd need a bus to fit everyone on it," he informed 17. "Maybe we should just fly. It's not practical to wait this out."
Now his stubborn streak showing through, 20 already knew based off 17's original, now interfering personality, that this was going to turn over very rapidly to him digging his heels in. A monumental waste of time and effort would be wasted on waiting for an adequately sized vehicle to…
A few heavy honks came from a small bus, clearly filled with traveling tourists. The red colours adoring it were at least a welcome colour, though 17 stepped into the middle of the road, putting up his hand.
"Stop," he shouted. The vehicle at first seemed to try and not move away, though it finally did come to a halt as the driver stood up, rapidly stepping out and storming towards him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid!? Are you nuts? Standing in the middle of the God damn Freeway? I could have killed you!"
"Hello," Seventeen greeted. "I'm glad you're already out of the bus. Now, take out the passengers, my friends and I want it."
"Are you crazy kid? I'm not doing-"
A single, fine purple beam entered the side of his neck before coming out the side of his head. The driver's hat slid down the side of his face before his body went limp where he stood, before collapsing in a heap, dead on the ground. Android 20 watched with some surprise as Android 22 stepped forward, walking over the body and peering into the front of the bus, her eyes deadly serious.
"I wasn't done speaking with him, 22," Seventeen said, his voice clearly irritated.
The horrified onlookers looked out from inside the bus, their eyes disbelieving what they'd just seen as the purple haired Android stared through all of them, showing not a hint of pity. A few screams were already rising within as others started to ask what just happened.
"Get. Out."
The screams reach their crescendo as the bus jerked from side to side in a panic before Android 22 looked back at 17.
"You wanted to drive. I don't want to waste time."
The blunt, simple way she handled the bus-goers was effective, that was certain as they panicked and fled the vehicle, a single figure landed on the road behind them.
Vegeta.
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Vegeta:
"A bus, 17, really?" The blonde female asked, looking over it with disdain. "You know you could have picked something more fun. Let the others walk or fly. We're already wasting time driving like this."
"I liked… I want to try experiencing, driving, I've already said this."
"I'm not riding in that," the other blonde, a male said, looking almost insulted at the idea. "Think of all the disgusting people who've been on there."
"I went through the trouble of getting the bus, we're taking the bus," the black-haired boy with the scarf said with a dispassionate tone, that one was the leader, very obviously.
They were ignoring him. It was like he wasn't even there. An irritated noise escaped Vegeta after a few seconds of his standing there, the taller blonde male looked over to him as Vegeta scowled, though he didn't bother saying anything to him, the machine turned his back on him.
"Sixteen, you want to get in first?" the black-haired boy asked. "You're the biggest, you should find somewhere to sit first."
The big one seemed to be absent minded, not even really paying attention to the other Androids, instead just looking over the peaks and valleys around them. It wasn't something Vegeta particularly cared about, but it was something of note. The other machines all seemed to have personalities, as far as he could tell, even if their tone wasn't particularly emotive.
"Did you say Goku?" the big one asked, looking down at the others.
"No, we did not say Goku," the smaller blonde male commented. "Have you been listening at all? You stupid lug. We said… hey... are you ignoring me?"
That was it. He was tired of being ignored, and certainly tired of these human machines squabbling with one another. He was Prince Vegeta.
"Scared, Androids?" Vegeta offered.
"No," the second largest one said bluntly, and continued to ignore him afterwards.
Vegeta flinched before the leader turned and looked at him, along with most of the others. The skeleton of the old man turned to look at him as well.
"Vegeta's power was exceptionally high, much higher than I anticipated before," he warned. "I would proceed with engaging him with caution."
"I don't need your advice, now do I, old man?" Seventeen asked before giving a half smile with a dash of cold arrogance. "This one seems to be glowing. Is that supposed to be impressive?"
"The only thing that's impressive is that hairline, look at it. He started balding at the age of four with a scalp like that," the blonde in a cap remarked. "You can see that primitive fury in his eyes however. It's like dealing with a gorilla, or a monkey."
The last word caused Vegeta to sneer looking over all of them, an all too familiar term he'd heard more than once.
"Did you really come here all alone?" the blonde girl in denim asked. "That's quite brave, don't you think? There are quite a few of us here, and only one of you."
Now it was his turn to smile. They had no idea what they were dealing with. They weren't just fighting some Saiyan, they were fighting a Super Saiyan, and the Prince of all Saiyans at that. They would come to know fear, just as their fat cohort had before. The old man had barely killed Raditz of all people, and he was a fraction of his own power.
"I came prepared, girl. I am the most powerful being alive," he said, raising his fist in front of himself, his Super Saiyan aura flaring in front of him as he did. "I am the one who will destroy all of you. You're nothing. All of you are just toys made by a crazy old fool, who could never understand the depths of power he was challenging. Even Kakarot would make short work of all of you."
"Kakarot?" The blond girl asked, before looking at 17 and starting to laugh.
Then almost all of them, save the skeleton, the red-haired girl, and the giant, started to give a low laugh in their chests, not even openly
His own smirk had appeared, but the laughter did catch his ego. They were mocking him. They would be the last ones to doubt his power, and the last fools he would have to suffer who didn't know the consequences of their actions.
"You're laughing, this is not a joke, you weaklings," Vegeta shot back, dead serious in his tone.
"Tell me, is all of this bravado what you people always do?" the leader asked. "Is Son Goku like this as well? Or the look alike? I really must know for my own files. Or is this just you, trying to hide your incompetence? My files on your behaviour marks you as arrogant and incapable, so I really would appreciate some clarity."
Rage.
Vegeta felt a deep, and terrible rage brewing. First his eyes were cast towards the metal skeleton, before looking at the others with a seething disdain. His fist tightened in his had as his posture almost pulled back, ready to spring ahead in a fury.
"You will not speak to me with such disrespect! Now you've ensured I won't have any mercy for you, android! You're nothing but a bunch of sick experiments made by some crazy old fool! None of you are a match for me! Not a single one. The old man and his fat comrade proved that! You're nothing!"
The outburst, he thought, would yield him a result, but instead the machines just smiled at him, all of them amused, as if he was some pet. It reminded him of the way Frieza used to look at him. This of course, only further fueled his anger.
"He talks too much," the girl said, offering the remark in passing.
"What was that!?" Vegeta almost screamed.
"This fool isn't even worth our time," the black-haired leader remarked, casually waving his hand, as if to tell him to buzz off. "Sixteen, get on the bus. We're going for a road trip."
The only ones amongst them who didn't turn was the weak old fool, and one other, who'd not said a word. She was just staring at him, her expression entirely emotionless as she did. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't place his finger on it. Looking at the vehicle they'd hijacked, Vegeta pointed his hand forward, discharging ki in a wave of force. The front of the vehicle collapsed in, before the large frame crumbled in, and then exploded. The fiery blast washed upwards as the sound of metal clanging off the cliffs nearby echoed out across the valley.
The humans who'd exited the bus were all screaming as they ran down the road in the opposite direction.
As the last fragments of the vehicle rained down, a burning tire rolling past him as a few pieces of engine clanked against the ground in front of him, Vegeta saw all of the machines that had turned their backs on him stop. The black-haired boy who seemed to be leading them placed both hands on his hips as he stared into the flaming wreckage of what had been the vehicle they'd commandeered. A flaming wheel rolled past him, and the Android barely gave it a glance, before turning back to the burning hulk.
"At least we don't need to drive anymore."
"Now's not the right time for that, 23," the larger blonde android warned before he looked at Vegeta himself, shaking his head. "Dumb move, little man."
All Vegeta did was give a half smirk back, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
"Seventeen," the blonde girl said. "I think that the pest over there has a problem with us."
Turning around, the black-haired one looked openly annoyed, before looking sideways towards the others.
"So, Vegeta wants to fight us. Who wants to waste their time terminating this monkey?" he asked.
Vegeta snarled as the machines all looked at one another.
"I'll deal with…" before the blonde girl could say another word, the purple haired woman stepped forward, cracking her knuckles, before cracking her neck from side to side.
At least this one looked like a proper warrior; the soldier-woman's arms were laced with muscle. The wind blew past them for a moment, letting her mostly short human hair bristle in the wind, she still wasn't saying anything.
"Twenty-Two, you want this one?"
"Yes," she answered.
That voice.
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Vegeta: Age 762, November 3rd
This planet certainly was scenic. That was something Vegeta could give it. Vast mountains, and huge ocean, deserts, forests, it was no wonder it was so desired for resale. Even now as he hovered at its high altitudes, he could appreciate it, looking over this mountain so far from where the humans themselves had largely populated.
It was pathetic. That was what Vegeta knew. Raditz had been on this planet for a year, and things still weren't taken care of? When they'd first made planetfall this planet was still registering billions of lifeforms. What else could he have been doing? He was guessing the fool was at least getting the Dragon Balls, but conversation Vegeta was hearing was implying quite the contrary. Now he was very obviously dealing with one of the locals.
They looked almost Saiyan, in truth. Had this idiot started to go native on them? A familiar face on a pretty girl was enough to get him to forget how powerful he was. Worse, did he forget that Frieza had the contract on this planet? The ignorance of this ape was already infuriating. Nappa was smiling with a malicious grin, and Vegeta himself was starting to as well. Apparently, his comrade, his subordinate, rather, needed a lesson in what it was to serve the last Prince of the Saiyan Race.
"This is the last time I'll warn you, woman. Get out of here before my comrades arrive, and you just might live."
Worthless.
"Making deals with the locals are we, Raditz?"
His voice echoed over the empty space. There was silence that followed his voice, as he saw Raditz freeze in near terror, his body almost shake before the other Saiyan's eyes peered up, briefly looking like he was confirming that he'd actually heard his voice. Vegeta's smirk only grew the moment Raditz realized he wasn't dreaming. The Saiyan immediately turned, dropping to one knee.
In truth, Vegeta was spying what this local looked like. An aging, but beautiful woman was holding herself up on the side of a rock. Hair of purple and eyes of blue, it was out of a fantasy novel almost. Every Saiyan had black eyes and black, or brown hair, barring the Legendary Super Saiyan. Folk tales of a dead culture had taught of others, barring just the Super Saiyan, who held other traits. Was this what all the humans looked like? Most aliens that even looked like them, at least had radically different traits, but these were so subtle.
"Prince Vegeta," he breathed. "I-"
As soon as he spoke, Vegeta's curiosity died, and was replaced by his disdain for what he'd arrived to.
"Was wasting your time talking to this Earthling? Tell me Raditz, what have you accomplished in the last year?"
His tone was harsh, but exactly what any commander would ask someone given autonomy and a mission. Kakarot was clearly not joining them. The planet was filled with sentient organisms. Where were the seven Dragon Balls? What had been going on here, beyond him playing the fool!?
His power level seemed to have increased marginally over the last year, which was unexpected, but beyond that who cared?
"I was trying to gather the Dragon Balls, Prince Vegeta," Raditz stuttered.
"Oh? And how many have you gathered? Please, show them to me Raditz."
The other Saiyan shrank. Raditz was a large specimen, but not as gigantic as Nappa. Watching him shrink back told Vegeta everything before e even started to speak. He was so furious that he could have spat, but he did everything to remain composed.
"I. Well. Prince Vegeta, I had almost all seven of the Dragon Balls…"
"Had?" he asked, his voice slanting towards a dangerous tone, a tone Frieza had taught him well.
The excuses would follow, he could already tell.
"Well, yes… you see my prince, I lost them when I was ambushed by the defenders of the planet-"
Pathetic. They had power levels in the hundreds when Raditz first arrived.
"And how many of them did you kill for this indiscretion against our agenda, Radtz?"
The answer was one he already knew would only further fuel his disdain for the weakest of the remaining Saiyans. He could tell because the answer wasn't forthcoming, not right away.
"None… Prince Vegeta."
His own nostrils flared as he heard Nappa growl himself. This hadn't just disgraced Raditz, it had shamed them. Just how would the galaxy look at the mighty Saiyan race with this scale of incompetence? It was remarkably stupid that this had been allowed to happen!
"Well, if you have failed at these things, at least you have eradicated most of the humans then?" Vegeta pressed immediately, but he knew the answer all too well. At this point, watching this incompetent squirm was the best he could hope for.
A dark chuckle started to emerge from Nappa, but Vegeta gestured to him to not rush head long into this. He wanted to teach this fool a lesson, and was beginning to formulate how. There would be consequences for this kind of failure. Death was currently at the top of the list, though he was weighing his options.
"I've killed tens of thousands of them, Prince Vegeta."
"Oh? I was under the impression there were a few billon of them. Well, good job Raditz, those thousands will surely make a difference," Vegeta mocked.
Raditz hadn't even bothered to stand up, just remaining kneeling, his head now faced down again like a coward. He couldn't even bring himself to face him, as if he didn't know this was coming? He knew they'd come! He obviously knew because he claimed to be hunting for the Dragon Balls. The anger that was brewing finally started to boil over.
"So, let's begin to appraise your performance over the last year. You've been defeated, twice at least, by weaklings. You've failed to gather my Dragon Balls, and you've failed to eradicate the humans. I've caught you just now trying to save one of them. Tell me, Raditz, one thing you've done other than increase your pathetic power level?"
The tone and words slashed deep enough he thought he'd cause blood, his own words almost spitting by the end of it, before he managed to reign himself back in. Raditz seemed to understand the gravity of his situation as he took his time to response, before an unfamiliar voice chimed in.
"He's not thing but serve you the entire time," the woman said. "He wouldn't even use the Dragon Balls for his own gain until you arrived."
"Who is this woman to speak with me?" Vegeta demanded of Raditz.
Instead, she spoke out of line, again.
"I've been assisting Raditz gather the Dragon Balls, sir."
The look on the lesser Saiyan's face when she started to speak, one of near panic and warning, began to tell Vegeta another story of what was happening here. It told him a story of betrayal at worst, or at best he'd become wayward. He was concerned enough for this female that he was trying to warn her, meaning he wanted her to survive the destruction of this planet at the very least. This was how weak Raditz had become? Even if his power had increased… he'd become nothing more than some soft deserter.
"Oh? So, you are equally responsible for this failure then?" Vegeta questioned, crossing his arms as he did. "Or tell me Raditz, is this the human's fault?"
Raditz was a coward, he'd throw her under the bus, he had little doubt. Then he'd decide what to do with this…
"It's not her fault, Prince Vegeta," Raditz's response was quick, it wasn't calculated, and it wasn't said with any thought for himself.
That meant this fool might actually care about this pitiful thing? She had a power level of what? His scouter quickly locked on and gave him an update 122? A vital lesson was about to be learned for this kind of behaviour, especially since Raditz knew better. If this was the case, the most prudent thing to do before he figured out what to do with the Dragon Balls on this planet, was simple.
"I disagree, Raditz. Kill the woman."
There was a brief look of disbelief before a struggle appeared behind the other Saiyan's eyes, his fear and loyalty, fighting against whatever he felt for this pitiful thing. He noticed the female was wounded, which may have also explained why she'd not taken cover or fled, despite Raditz's urging. He could sense the conflict. There was a scared look in the human's eyes, but there was resignation. This one was one was a survivor, you found them on some worlds, those who'd do anything to get out of their situation, but she clearly wasn't so foolish as to think she was getting out of this.
"You always told me you'd get around to killing me eventually," she said, her voice trying to hide her panic.
The surprise to Vegeta was she didn't beg for her life, or cry, though the latter he suspected she was holding back.
She's trying to get him to do it.
When Raditz stood up, he regarded her for almost a minute before Vegeta growled with annoyance, loud enough for his comrade to hear. The other Saiyan reached out his hand, forming an energy bolt at the ender of his palm, it thrummed with energy. Every second it held in place, he could see a fight happening inside Raditz as the woman turned her head away, trying to avoid staring her death in the face. The blast hadn't fired yet, it just lingered as Raditz tried to force himself to go through with his orders.
"Nappa," Vegeta said, a smirk coming over his face.
"Yea Vegeta?" the elder Saiyan asked.
Nodding his head, he gave a gesture with a meaning behind it. Nappa understood what he meant. They were going to force this along. The brute just grinned before he started to chuckle, having as much compassion for Raditz, as Vegeta did.
"Well, Raditz?" Vegeta barked.
Get on with it, you idiot.
When Raditz lowered his arm, the energy bolt vanishing from his hands, Vegeta was left in disbelief at what he was seeing. RADITZ was defying his orders? He was defying the Saiyan Prince? Someone who was a hundred times his power, for all practical reasons? The woman even looked up, staring back at him in disbelief.
"I don't see the point in killing this one," Raditz voiced, before staring back up at him.
He saw the look of someone who had made a decision, and was comfortable in it. Any fear Raditz had was buried beneath whatever feelings he had for this… human.
"Are you disobeying my orders, Raditz?" Vegeta seethed.
What would it be next? No killing women and children? No destroying infrastructure? They were killers, each and every one of them were killers. They destroyed these weak societies and people, and replaced them with the highest bidder. They couldn't do that because you decided you wanted one of them. That wasn't how this worked. Raditz knew that wasn't how this worked, he was older than he was!
Nappa landed to the side of the pair, which caused Raditz to immediately turn his attention to the more immediate threat. He looked almost as if he was getting ready to fight to defend this creature.
It took Nappa only a moment to do what Raditz could not, Vegeta gestured to Nappa, who with a flick of his wrist, turned the side of the mountain to a burning avalanche. A gigantic blast rolled out as Raditz was sent flying, his body twisting before he slammed against a nearby bolder, rolling past it was the mountain came down around the two subjects of Vegeta's ire. Before the mountain consumed her, Vegeta saw the horror in the woman's eyes as she vanished beneath the rock.
When Raditz pulled himself up, he could see him staring where the female had been, his lip quivering as he tried to accept, or not accept, what had just happened. The look of a stunned man, barely able to move beyond taking several horrified steps towards the rubble was the only thing Vegeta noticed. It was pathetic.
Briefly, Vegeta considered killing him now, but he knew full well it was better to leave it like this. This would be something his subject wouldn't forget.
Never, ever, disrespect him, or his orders.
"Failure will not be tolerated, Raditz," Vegeta remarked, smirking once more. "Neither will weakness."
Whatever connection he'd made with this woman had been severed.
"Get yourself in order, and meet us to finish off the last of these humans and their defenders. Hopefully they don't give you so much trouble this time. If you do your duty well enough, I might even let you live through this, Raditz."
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Android 17:
It was utterly bizarre. As soon as 22 stepped forward, Vegeta in all of his pent-up fury, had some kind of strange breakdown. His eyes scanned towards the others as 17 tried to understand it. Even Dr. Gero and Dr. Rossa seemed confused. His own files had listed Vegeta's behaviour, and this wasn't on it. If anything, he'd been preparing for the violence to turn up dramatically after the first attack, and instead, he was laughing a them? He idly wondered if Vegeta was playing the same kind of games that they were.
Because right now, Vegeta was laughing. In fact, he was laughing with a kind of expression he thought was one of genuine humour. The loud, obnoxious noise caused 17 to stare at his sister after it drew out for more than a few seconds. Just what was this? More wasting of their time? Did this idiot finally realize the situation he'd put himself in? It was entirely possible, of course.
"Was it something we said?" Twenty-Three asked, his face turning to pure annoyance. "Or is this idiot finally realizing the situation he's in?"
Eyeing the other Android, he could see how much 23 himself wanted to step in and deal with this, but finally the laughter died.
Twenty-Two was standing in front of all of them, having not moved to attack yet when Vegeta stared directly at her, an amused grin smeared across his face. He was contemptuous of her, it seemed.
"I know exactly who you are, stupid girl," Vegeta chuckled. "Is this who you Androids are, a bunch of failures? You're that stupid woman that Raditz kept around. He missed you so much. I think your friend over there killed him by the way."
Vegeta pointed towards Dr. Gero.
This was all going above his own head, he didn't understand, though 22 didn't flinch or move a muscle, seemingly, she just stood there, now bracing herself to move forward.
"Oh? So, you think you can fight me now? I remember the last time we met. Do you? Or are you just something that looks like her? It doesn't matter. I'll enjoy killing you again."
Regardless of his personal issues, it caused 17 to probe his own files as he looked over those around him. Little information was given on his own origin, but he could feel events in the past, without realizing if they were his, or someone else's. He knew that 18 was his sister, or he felt that she was his sister. The only thing was, he was a machine, he wasn't born, not in any traditional sense, and neither was she. He wanted to drive again, but he'd never driven before. He had files on how to operate a vehicle, but he could sense, as if through shielded thoughts, that he knew how to do it, and had done so many times before.
Files on 18 were blank outside of her operational function. Files on Android 20 were blank… but he knew he was Dr. Gero, and the same was true for 21, and Dr. Rossa. It was only when he came to Android 23, that an extra bit of information was called up.
Former body of General Blue, Red Ribbon Army. Corpse discovered at headquarters, executed or killed for failure. Body has a high overall battle power. Corpse was placed in storage for further examination.
"Killing her again?" Eighteen asked.
"I think I have some questions for you, Dr. Gero," Seventeen said, turning towards the skeleton.
His thoughts were only broken when the two fighters in front of them prepared to clash.
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Author's Notes:
It was really fun to rewrite the old part of the early story, especially since it kind of gives some context to Vegeta, even if he was a dick lol. Beyond that it was great writing Vegeta thinking he could take on a half dozen baddies. To be fair, at peak fighting form, I think he could take on multiple Android 19's, and that's the metric he's really using here. He thinks he's the king of the world right now, and that's awesome.
Coming up next is one of my favourites, Chapter 87: Ultra, which was probably one of my favourite chapters to write out of everything I've put down, outside of maybe Chapter 89. I named the chapter after the song that really hyped me up and excited me to write it, which is a song by KMFDM, similar to how I got into one of their songs for Turles's transformation, lol.
"When you peel back my eyes
I see the pain and feel alive
My hatred heaps upon this fire
That burns inside and you blow higher
But I don't need you anymore
You cannot hurt me anymore"
I also got to go back and read how Violet used to fight, and she's a blast because she's just such an in-close fighter who makes unorthodox moves. Well, she was, given she's dead now, it's the past tense, lol. It's a super fun fight to have written coming up. Not the longest, but it's got some twists and turns you won't expect.
But surprise, you guys are getting this chapter early! I've got a busy week lined up, and may not have time to post. There is a lot of things I'm trying to get done before things in my area get locked down extensively. I might be too busy over the weekend or later during the week to post it. If this chapter does really well in terms of reception, and my schedule clears up, I'll still see if I can post a chapter on Sunday, but only if I can make the time.
I've slowed down on writing the last few weeks, but I am trying to get things back in motion. I've been dabbling with TLR's next chapter, and trying to finish Chapter 95 for the Catalyst.
Reviewers:
KagariAsuha: I get the feeling some fans are going to be eager to read Chapter 87. Lol
Perfect Carnage: Android's 13, 14, and 15 have a big role to play. The Android Saga's going to be total madness, I promise, lol.
Masvan: Well, he's still Turles…
Transformer's G1's-Prime: Android 13, 14, and 15 are still out there too, and you're not counting Cell. Trust me, this Saga's hard to write because it's going to be chalk full of so many characters and so much total chaos, lol.
Luke: I've not really. But after writing almost a million words in TLR, and 500,000 in The Catalyst, you learn some things lol.
Guest1: Android 22 is Violet. Android 23 is General Blue. Android 24 is an amalgamation of multiple parts from dead warriors from the RR army. He's the least human.
Blades of Fury: Raditz had to learn to GIT GUD because he's not the strongest. That makes his fighting style the most interesting. I think him and Piccolo have the most to offer as tacticians, at this moment in time. Outside of maybe Goku, but that's because Goku's just kinda great at things, lol.
Super Mystic Gohan: Turles can empathize with Trunks, funnily enough, because he subconsciously can see the parallels with himself, I think.
Kacarrot: I 100% threw that in there because I thought it was funny. Especially since Dr. Gero was just slowly disarmed, and left to be this wreck. I originally was going to have him say something else, like "I'm in charge", but then I looked at it and smirked when I realized I could use that line. 17's keeping 20 alive for now, as a form of entertainment, and to show off, basically.
Thomas-The-TMC: I'm the captain now!
Jason9000: 16's programming wasn't finished by 21, it was finished by Gero. It doesn't have the original memories of Gero's son of course. It's really sad. :\
The Castle 101: Goku's dying of a heart virus and Raditz is currently unconscious under the shattered side of a mountain (ironically).
Zyr0TruthCanExist: Android 22 is Colonel Violet's body. Colonel Violet, much like the other Androids, is very much dead. It's a machine that owns the body.
FabDuwangisFab: Vegeta died before Gohan could see it. Gohan is weaker than one-armed Gohan, because he didn't suffer as badly or as long, and wasn't as near death as he was.
Anon: Vegeta was raised by Frieza in many respects. He has some of those features, he's a product of the Frieza force, unfortunately. It taught him how to behave, and unlearning that is hard.
DarkFalconZ: Chapter 87 is on the doorstep now. I think you'll enjoy it. Lol.
RedHunter87: He needs a pirate's hat, and to go "yarrrr" all the time. Vegeta hates failures, because it reminds him of himself. He projects on others a lot. It's really sad. Piccolo's also been using Demon-Ken this whole time. He's pretty weak. :\
TheItchyCocoon: Poor Raditz. Can't even stall someone right. Lol.
Instinct: I don't disagree. Though I'd say Goku beat Vegeta, barring the Great Ape transformation. And he beat Piccolo jr, not just Piccolo snr.