Project Cloud


Born to a world of warriors, destined for evil, yet given a chance to be good...only to fall into the hands of the bad. His down to Earth and joyous attitude has helped him get out of many things. Is this story just another temporary obstacle or something that will leave a permanent dent in the supposedly impregnable Earth-raised Child?


Chapter 1 — The Perfect Soldier

You have your good, your bad, and your neutral.

Two heartless villains coming face to face over some 12-year old chubby monkey kid who doesn't know the difference between a bucket of water and sprite was the lowest that the Red Ribbon Army had ever come to.

General Blue, a top-tier soldier in the organized crime syndicate of Commander Red's proudest establishment, stood mere yards away from the most deadliest man to ever dawn a braided ponytail with a chinese long coat and make it look badass.

Blue's exact orders were to gather the Dragon Balls and bring them back to HQ.

Instead, he came back with a Dragon Ball radar.

Now here he was, in an empty covered area just near Red Ribbon's elegant patio where plants basked in the sunlight, face to face with a monster.

Many leaders would have been reasonable with this end-result, since such an advanced technological device such as a Dragon Ball locator would aid in them succeeding in their goals at an accelerated rate, but Red felt that Blue had to have an example made of.

He didn't give a damn the obstacles and risks involved in the task - just so as long as he did his job. On many occasions Blue should have wound up dead, but his own tenacity in at least doing something right was what had been holding him above water this entire time.

He knew of Tao and his notoriety amongst villains as the most efficient hitman to ever live - yes, Commander Red had to resort to relying on one simple person to take care of a prepubescent child rather than getting his own army to handle the job.

It was bad.

Red, seated on a little chair to fit his little man size, puffed on a pipe and watched.

Blue, despite having knowledge of Tao and what he stood for, shows that he doesn't care with that smug grin plastered over his face. What he showed outside and what he really felt inside were just as different as water and oil.

"So you would be the one they call the world's greatest killer, huh?" Blue asks, feigning ignorance.

Tao stands with his hands behind his back, level-headed and all business. "You want my autograph?" he asks dryly.

Blue at this point, decided to show just how oblivious he was to Tao's legacy. He got a good laugh out of Tao's arid humor before responding, "If you're the world's greatest killer, then I'm the universe's man of the hour!"

Tao looks over to Commander Red, who's just smiling like a fat diabetic child at the candy store. He then tells the red-headed midget, "I'd like to receive a small kill fee for him as well. Is that ok?"

It was more of a subtle demand than a direct request.

"How about this…"

An excluded voice joined in on the conversation. Red and everyone else, with their backs turned, eyes now on this old, rancid man who just comes around the corner. He popped up as if he were listening in on the conversation from the very start and just tried to find the perfect moment to jump in.

Which he did.

"I give you an even higher fee if you just defeat this Goku within an inch of his life and bring him back alive."

Red and Black were both very quick to recognize this elder, as he too, was a member of the Red Ribbon Army. Blue and Tao knew not of him, though.

"Gero!?" Red howls as he jumps out his chair. "What are you doing here?"

This was least expected, if anything. Gero, being in the scientific field regarding his position of the Red Ribbon Army, merely specialized in the creation of androids, weaponry, and other experiments. The last place anyone thought he'd step foot in was the main building of Head Quarters.

"I've been keeping track of current events thanks to my spy bots," Gero explains himself. "Way I see it, there are way better ways we can go about when it comes to removing this child as a roadblock and getting to the Dragon Balls."

Gero had a personal conflict as to whether or not he should make a surprise show. He didn't want to come off as doubting the very leader of the business that he works for, but at the same token, he saw how everything was going downhill so quickly and thought of an idea to nip this problem in the bud and also use it for their own personal gain. He just had to sell his idea and all the pieces would align for them from here on out.

"I get paid to kill, not kidnap," Tao says with a hint of sass.

Everyone noted by the look on Tao's face that he was beginning to feel as if time was being wasted.

"I offer you one hundred times the amount that you've just bargained for, which we both know is ten times as much to your original price."

The amount of money that Tao initially offered had even given Commander Red a few face sweats. Sure enough, it'd put a dent in his pocket, but nothing severe to slow him down forever. But it would appear that Gero was literally selling Tao a dream.

Though for the assassin, whenever money was in the equation, he used his ears twice as much as he did his mouth.

"How will you even get 5 billion zeni!?" Officer Black nearly shrieks.

Gero's lips curl into a devious grin. "I have my own personal resources. No man is truly well-put together without a side hustle or two."

The confidence that radiated from Gero as he spoke was more than enough to convince Tao to go through with this slight altercation in task.

"Fine," Tao says as he looks back over to Blue. "As long as I still get to kill this one."

"Why, yes of course," Red assures him. "After all, the deal is that if he wins, he gets to keep his life."

This elicits a slight chuckle from Tao. "Unfortunately, that's just not going to happen."

With the tensions slowly rising, Blue already knew what time it was. The man got into a casual boxing stance to fight, all the while, Tao remained all professional like with his hands behind his back. The lack of worry from Tao secretly stabbed Blue in his ego, but he didn't seem to appear shaken by Tao's nonchalant attitude.

That stupid smile.

Tao was just dying to put an end to it.

Black raises his fist and yells, "Begin!"

No sooner than the permission to start was given, Blue comes off his back foot, lunging his right directly at Tao with his right foot. All Tao did was lean back a bit, his long braid flowing around with fluidity like water in a riverbank.

Perhaps the most childish thing a professional martial artist could do to put his effectiveness on display would be to stick his tongue out and come forth with so much force that it pierces the temple of his opponent.

Tao did this for mere shock value, as it after all, was everyone's first time here seeing him in action. To get rid of an opponent in such an effortless fashion had everyone's eyes on the verge of popping out their sockets.

Tao licks his bloodied lips with a scoff. "I crave a worthy opponent."

This truly gave off the impression that Tao was as deadly as he had always been spoken to be. No longer was Red or Black left with any doubt as to his capabilities as an assassin. Gero himself was even impressed.

"Now, enough formalities," Tao gets back to business. "Show me my real target."

As soon as a picture was shown of the kid in action, Tao was subtly taken aback that a boy of such stature could even remotely be capable of needing someone like him to take him down. However, as a Martial Artist, Tao learned over his long life-time that appearances were often deceiving and that many shouldn't be underestimated. Regardless, with his reputation and long line of successful killings, he pretty much forgot about that one lesson.

Piece of cake, he thought.

"As long as I receive my payment, I will kill whomever I desire."

"Very professional," Black remarks.

Red made sure to add one more order before Tao left off on his merry way. "That brat should have four balls on him. We'd appreciate if you could bring them back."

Raising his hand with a Dragon Ball, Black takes the initiative in making sure Tao knows what it is he's looking for. "They look like this."

"And if anyone gets in your way, feel free to kill them as well," Red adds.

"I understand. The location is a place called Korin, about 2,300 kilometers to the Northeast, correct?"

Black offered Tao to head out on a jet, but the assassin denied and took another form of transportation: a pillar that made up of the Headquarters infrastructure. He broke one off and tossed it into the air with immaculate trajectory toward his location prior to hopping off on it. He estimated that he should be back in an half hour and that was that.

Red does not hide his excitement as he yelled, "It's as if we already got those Dragon Balls right in our hands!"

"Ahem!" Gero clears his voice.

"Oh, right." Red puffs on his pipe before asking the big question. "What is it that you have in mind?"

"For the longest, I have been using my pure genius to making the most extraordinary weapons and other resources for this organization," Gero starts off. "If anything, we can all agree that I am the backbone of the Red Ribbon Army's scientific field - none other can compare."

"Right," Red and Black agree simultaneously.

"Most of my android creations have seemed to fail with the exception of those such as Major Metallitron amongst a handful of others. Recently, I've been trying something different - true human experimentation. Instead of starting from scratch, I use the human body as my foundation into ultimately forming them into the near perfect being." Gero, with his hands behind his back, begins to walk around the room, speaking all of his thoughts. "I have made a few artificial humans, altering their cellular structure and adding mechanisms to make them far stronger than you could imagine in more ways than one."

"I think I already understand where you're getting at," Black says with a grin. "You want that pipsqueak brought back here alive so you can change him into an artificial human!"

"Bingo, right on the head. However, things with him will be a tad bit differently."

"And how is that?" Red inquires.

"When it comes to experimenting on a person, the first procedure I partake in is the erasure of their memory, so that I am truly starting from scratch with my pre-set foundation. However, Son Goku's knowledge regarding many things is far too valuable for me to erase, though on the flip side I still need to ensure that he's willing to get his hands dirty for us so called 'bad guys' subsequent to his change."

Black and Red remained quiet so that Gero could continue.

The evil genius points at his head and expounds further on what he has in mind. "So instead of removing all of his memories, I can have a procedure done where I remove the amygdala. If you don't know already, allow me to inform you; the amygdala is a part of the brain in which controls a person's fight or flight response - it controls the fear. It is also a vital part in one's conscience. Without it, a person shows no fear and doesn't care for anything or anyone - not even themselves. They are far more neutral and easier to sway to the dark side. By removing the amygdala in addition to some slight altercations, I ca-"

"Change him into the perfect soldier!"

"The perfect artificial human," Gero corrects with the click of his tongue.

Black sees that Red is already loving this idea, though he still remains a bit skeptical about it. "This is a high-risk, high-reward type of deal. These are the most dangerous so maybe we should think about it…?"

"Good point," Red agrees. "What if the brat goes disobedient like #8?"

"With all due respect, did any of you not understand a single word I just said? Without the amygdala, that kid won't be anything like number eight. 8 was a failure because he was too good, so do you think someone with no conscience will actually concern themselves over people's lives and butterflies!?"

"That, too is a good point," Red says as he nods his head.

Black agreed on that notion as well.

"We can use someone like this on the frontlines," Gero elaborates. "The kid already is more powerful than all of my creations as of the current moment, so imagine me working on him and the type of indestructible machine we'll build. Earth's government already isn't capable of taking us on head on without the element of great surprise, so with a weapon like him on our side, there's nothing stopping us from obtaining world domination - even without the use of Dragon Balls."

And just like that, Gero's idea had been sold. Judging by the look on their faces, Red and Black didn't see any idea that could be better than this. They no longer needed the Dragon Balls for world domination if they could form the perfect weapon.

For Red, this meant he could get his own little wish without consequence. Though, still, it would be nice to have all seven Dragon Balls for personal insurance.

"And with the kid, we can lure his friends into giving us the last Dragon Ball since we we can't detect it with the stupid radar Blue gave us, even though we can see where the others are." Black, with the Dragon Ball locator in hand, clicks on it time after time, though to no avail. He has a location of all six but seven, which he finds to be very weird. Did the ball disappear off the face of the planet or something?

"Exactly, but all of this will take time."

"How long exactly?"

"Three years...at the most."

It was then the leader of the Red Ribbon Army and the second-in-command looked at one another. They needed not share words to understand exactly what it was the two of them were thinking.

Would this really be worth it?

Or would it come back to bite them in the ass?


Thanks to those who give this story a chance. The chapters will get longer as we go on, so I hope you enjoy the journey!