Project Cloud
Chapter 10 — Law 22
"You fools are all in over your heads," Cymbal hisses. "His reign starts today!"
Upa, Krillin, and Yamcha all stood on the tournament ring as Cymbal remains on the grass, looking over all three of them. He knew that his father would want all three of them to be disposed of due to the fact that they were Martial Artists meant that they needed to be killed off. As far as Cymbal was concerned, no human was ever capable of taking down any of Piccolo's children - no matter how many tried to fight at once.
"Over our dead bodies!" Yamcha blurts out as he rushes in for Cymbal.
But if only Cymbal realized just how much time changed since then.
"Mhm, let's make it so."
After Yamcha misses a direct swipe aimed for the face subsequent to leaping toward the demon spawn, Cymbal begins to retaliate by going for a direct punch, yet Krillin jumps in right in time to grab a hold of his fist as Upa comes in from the side to render the oversized demon a solid kick to the face.
Cymbal flips over, gets back onto his two feet, and hops into the sky.
Yamcha and Krillin both charge for him yet again. Cymbal, channelling his energy, forms a ball of ki in the palm of his hand and sends it flying for them. Krillin, who was moving too fast to begin with, takes a deep inhale and immediately slows down his own momentum, enough to the point where Cymbal's blast merely grazes him and takes a piece of his pant leg off. Yamcha was one step ahead though as he utilized the afterimage.
"Behind ya!" Yamcha comes down with a knee aimed for the neck, but it's blocked by Cymbal's forearms. Upa capitalizes on the new opening and renders him a heavy blow to the gut mid-air prior to coming back down on his feet softly.
Cymbal controls his aerial balance to where he doesn't spiral out of control. As he regains his steadiness, he growls at the three young Martial Artists.
Yamcha, Upa, and Krillin are all down looking back up at the green monster. Sure, Cymbal was much stronger than them all individually, but together, this was a fight that they were sure to win.
They just had to be smart about their strategy.
On the other end, Goku could be as smart as he wanted - it didn't mean that he'd be capable of penetrating Bulma's armor.
Katchin armor is said to be the most resilient and impregnable metal all throughout the Universe. Bulma had always been well aware that her smarts far surpassed her own physical capabilities. So if push came to shove and if she ever had to face Son Goku or someone synonymous to his caliber of strength, then she'd be in for a hard time.
That's why calling in Jaco for a favor as far as protection came to mind. He told her of it and she immediately jumped on the idea of making an armor suit made of that metal. Jaco said it's extremely hard to come by, which is partially true, but there are all types of small-time merchants across the Universe that he's happened to come by selling the metal without knowledge of just how extraordinary they truly are.
Jaco stuck his neck out for Bulma and did her the favor of giving it to her, which she took the time studying to where she could make more copies herself once she made her own blueprint regarding its design.
She used her smarts to embarrass even the strongest persons.
After being rammed through yet another wall of the Tenkaichi Budokai gymnasium, Goku flipped over on his feet, using his fingernails to stop his unwanted momentum.
Bulma uses her rockets once more and comes rushing in for Goku, rendering him a mighty blow with two fists directly to the gut, sending him off his feet yet again. Bulma maneuvered herself upward, so far into the skies that splitting the clouds became little to no problem.
Subsequent to stopping in mid-air and remaining in pilot mode, Bulma watches as Goku continues into the heavens.
"Activate lock-on."
Through the helmet, Bulma has a clear vision. When she activates the lock-on, a the mid-section of her helmet opens and a dark visor appears, showing a red color. Her target locks onto Goku, who's now plummeting.
Right from the arms of her armor, a rocket with the power of a nuke appears and shoots over to the boy.
Given that he's dozens of thousands of feet in the air, the impact of explosion doesn't effect the ground area at all, but the shocking boom is more than enough to send vibrations throughout a portion of the planet.
Cymbal, Krillin, and Yamcha all stop fighting to look up above.
"What in the!?"
Upa, who's focus has solely been on Cymbal, attacks with a grand opening and upper-cuts him into the sky. He crouches down and begins chanting the Kamehameha.
"I'm going to need your help, guys!"
"Oh, right!"
Krillin and Yamcha both begin charging as much power as they can as well. Just moments after Cymbal was hit by Upa's, the attacks of Krillin and Yamcha were more than enough to do away with the slimeball for sure.
"Uh…!"
The infamous Piccolo Daimao himself grabs his head and lets out pained grunts as he crouches over while sitting on his throne. He could feel the pain of loss - as if a piece of him was being torn away from the world.
Yes, he could feel the loss of his children.
One of his own had been killed off.
Piano, the first born of all Piccolo's children since his reappearance, tends to his father with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright? What's going on?"
Piccolo shows himself to be upset. No, it's not because one of his own had been killed, but because of the fact that he wasted some of his own power and life force just to birth a failure. Piano knew to be apprehensive, so he remained as cool as possible.
"Cymbal's dead."
"WHAT!? D-did I just hear that right?"
Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu are all tossed on the floor of Pilaf's ship before Tambourine makes his entrance. He doesn't appear to be very happy due to the news he's gotten of one of his brother's death.
"Cymbal is no more," Piccolo confirms. He then looks over to Pilaf. "And this is exactly why I suggested killing all Martial Artists first instead of focusing on gathering the Dragon Balls. Had Tambourine been there for Cymbal instead of bringing those Dragon Balls to me, those pests would be dead and I'd still have muscle."
Piccolo's growing tone of aggravation made Pilaf and his subordinates feel as if their feet were clayed to the floor of the ship. They couldn't just disregard Piccolo's statement because what he said was technically true.
Luckily, Pilaf had a way with words. At least some kind of way.
"But that's just the thing...these guys - they're crazy strong! It's not saying you wouldn't take them or anything, but they don't play fair and that's probably why they took him out! Besides, it wouldn't be a problem to have the Dragon Balls wish him back to life after we get our wish?"
"Our wish?" Piccolo's antenna twitches. "What is this our? You mean MY wish, right?"
Pilaf begins sweating. "W-Well...as long as your wish is to wish for world domination, ya know? Hehehe...that was kinda the plan after all."
Piccolo cools off and leans back in his chair, chuckling.
"But if ya just let us take some territory, ya know…" Pilaf begins twiddling his fingers. Seeing Piccolo being unresponsive and just staring at him shook his fiber to the bone. "W-Well, what about just five percent of Earth? Huh? Hehehehe…"
"No need to wish for world conquest when I can just wish for Eternal Youth and take the world back with my own power!"
And he did indeed have a point. Last time he checked, nobody on Earth was more powerful than him - which made reason as to why the greatest Martial Artists over a few hundred years ago had to resort to a life-sacrificing technique in order to just seal him away.
When back at his prime, the world is his for the taking.
"We've made it to the safe spot, my lord."
Feeling the sudden loss of speed in the ship, Piccolo slowly stands off his throne and makes his way to the exit. "With all seven, this world from this point forward will be mine!"
The location of choice was a greenland area with surrounding mountains; fairly empty and wouldn't draw much attention at all. Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu were all quick to set all the Dragon Balls down.
Little were they aware that they were being followed.
Roshi had been let down by Tights, who was busy trying to convince Roshi to change his mind the entire time, albeit it was fruitless from the start. Even though she barely knew the man, she respected him for what he was and stood for. Granted, she was yet to see the pervert side of him, though she was warned many times by her sister. Besides all that, Tights was well aware as to what deep waters was bringing himself into. She just hoped that he'd find his way back to shore dealing with literal demons. Tights, Oolong, and Puar all looked down at him from below as they proceeded to leave.
Roshi realizes by the concerned look on their faces that they have a bad feeling about this. He did as well, but he was a brave man. Only the brave could feel true fear and still fight their way through it.
Besides, this wasn't his first rodeo with King Piccolo.
Back then, he was young, ignorant, and weak.
But now?
Seasoned, wise, and stout.
Pilaf backed up from the Dragon Balls to prepare to summon the Dragon. He didn't have a chance to say the first word since Piccolo had tossed him over to the side with a light elbow to the cheek.
Piccolo raises his hands. "DRAGON!"
He proceeds to open his mouth to complete the summoning.
"Stop right there!"
Tambourine, Piano, Piccolo, and the other three all turn around to spot an old man standing alone.
"I-It's Roshi!" Pilaf exclaims.
"He must have followed us," Shuu concludes.
"You three," Roshi growls. "After all I've done for you - after the hospitality that I've shown...this is how you repay me?"
Roshi had lived for a very long time - most than most Earthlings as a matter of fact. Through his lifetime, he's come to learn that it's best to watch those close to you, yet the only case in which that's ever happened to him was with Tsuru-sennin. They were once friends, partners, and rivals, yet they went totally different paths. He became corrupted. Most people Roshi knew had honor, and for that reason, he let his guard down when it came to Pilaf, despite the fact that he once tried to kill Yamcha, Bulma, Goku, Oolong, and Puar.
Hell, if he heard correctly, Yamcha once tried to kill Goku, yet now he changed a new leaf. He'd be willing to die for any one of them.
Oh well. Everyone misjudges people at some point in their lives.
Piccolo pushes all the others aside as he moves toward Roshi, stopping just a few yards shy of Muten Roshi. "What you've done for them no longer matters, pest. I see that you must be lost...or a fool to come here and actively seek death."
"I didn't come to be killed, Piccolo…I've come to kill you."
The entire tournament arena was busted. Bulma had been pummelling Goku for a good while now. It didn't stop until the kid was lying down deep in the gaping hole which used to be the fighting ring.
Goku couldn't move a muscle. He was practically paralyzed.
Bulma, hovering in mid-air, continues to question herself whether or not she should riddle Goku's body with bullet holes. The thought of seeing him murdering her parents made her heart beat against her chest like a claustrophobic man trapped in a small box. Yet at the same time, as she aims her closed fist over to the hole, her mind flickers to first meeting him. She remembers the time he's saved her life. All of the adventures they've had up until now.
But that wasn't him anymore.
"Bulma, that's enough! He's down! He's down!"
Krillin, Upa, and Yamcha all weren't able to do anything but watch. Realizing that Bulma was dominating Goku as if it was no problem helped them see that she could actually take his life!
Yes, Goku is different now, but that's still someone Krillin and Yamcha appreciate and have love for. They couldn't just let him go out like this if they knew that they could help in other ways.
Bulma holds her arm up for a split second longer. It's obvious to the others that she's still contemplating whether or not to finish the job but her ultimate decision is to draw back her weaponry and slowly descend back down onto land, in the hole of which Goku lied.
Krillin and the other two came sliding down just seconds after Bulma landed.
On her knees, Bulma looks over Goku.
The kid's eyes are closed as most of his body is covered in dirt. The gi that he also wore earlier was torn to absolute shreds, making him damn near butt naked.
Upa crouches down to check for a pulse. "He's still alive."
"Barely," Bulma says. "One more strike and he'd be dead."
Yamcha just gives her a disappointing look. That single comment made him realize that she truly was willing to kill him. She knew how much life was left within the boy and with this knowledge, taking his life was still a choice she badly wanted to take.
But could he blame her really?
"So what do we do now?" Upa asks. "Do we just leave him here?"
"No," Krillin and Yamcha both tell him simultaneously.
Krillin looks at Bulma. "Do you remember when that scientist guy was like oh I did this and that - yadda yadda yada."
"You mean doing operations on Goku?" Yamcha inquires.
"Bingo!" Krillin snaps his finger. "He messed with his brain - and I don't mean figuratively."
"He spoke of taking out his amygdala," Bulma reminds them. "But once it's gone, there's no bringing it back…"
"Unless we use the Dragon Balls," Krillin virtually shrieks. "We can pretty much wish Goku back to normal! He'll be okay again, right?"
Seeing the unsure faces of Bulma and Yamcha brings a pout on Krillin's face. The confidence he once had with Goku being back to normal was non-existent at this point.
"I mean, I don't know, Krillin," Yamcha says. "He's already done so much. Thinking about all of that and knowing how he really is...Goku would be crushed. I don't think he'd ever be able to forgive himself."
"Yeah, I guess you have a point…" Krillin rubs his bald head. "So what do we do now?"
"All of you go help Roshi," Bulma tells them. "I'll take Goku to Tights' island."
"Where your personal lab is?"
Bulma nods. She picks up Son Goku and ignites her boots to ascend off the ground. While hovering, she warns them. "I've heard stories, guys. Piccolo isn't a joke. They all went up North. Tights should be here in a bit to pick you up and bring you over to the spot."
Yamcha knows exactly what she's talking about. Upa and Krillin lacked knowledge in Piccolo but heard of little tales while they were very young. It never occurred to them that this could be true.
Tights was always a big writer. And being a writer, she has to do tons of research on history and stories in general just to spark ideas. Reading a lot and hearing lots of stories, knowing about Piccolo Daimao's reign all those years ago was a given. Granted, she didn't think it to be true as well, but the fact that mystical wish-granting balls happened to exist meant that to assume the existence of a literal demon wasn't all that far fetched.
They just wished the evil side of mysticism wasn't a reality.
Though Roshi came to challenge Piccolo, the Demon King didn't see the point in wasting his time on the old timer. Instead, he called Tambourine to the front lines and battle the old Martial Artist.
It was a complete stalemate.
Roshi's elbow was against Tambourine's.
The latter of the two swiped at Roshi with his long, dirty, wicked nails. Roshi leaned back and trapped Tambourine's arm with his bicep. Using his other hand, he clocked Tambourine in the face, let go of his other arm, and rendered him a brutal blow to the kidney.
The force behind Roshi's punch was more than enough to cause Tambourine to slide back, albeit he kept his ground. Once he came to a total standstill, he aimed his hand for Roshi and fired a direct blast.
The old-timer saw this coming and utilized the after-image technique. By the time Tambourine realized his attack went through Roshi's fizzling fake, he was kneed in the backside and pushed onto his front. The strike was particularly aimed for the lower spine, which he connected with such precision that he made sure to temporarily paralyze him.
Piccolo, who was watching on the side, unfolds his arms and begins clapping. "Well, well, well...you truly are something - to be able to hold your ground with one of my own. You're no normal Earthling. Still, it doesn't mean you stand a chance against me - even in my old, frail body."
Roshi pulls out a capsule. "I already know there's no use in fighting you." He clicks the capsule. "That's why I'm going to bring you back to where you belong!"
Piano, listening in on this, begins to sweat. He instantly realizes what it is that Roshi is referring to, yet he's still unsure. Piccolo, however, remains confident.
But once the capsule poofs and turns into a rice cooker lying on the ground, Piccolo's eyes nearly pop out his sockets.
"YOU WOULDN'T!"
"I'll be the one to be sure that Mutaito's death doesn't end up in vain!" Roshi crouches down and stretches his hand out.
"MAFUBA!"
Piano, Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu, all ran away and dropped themselves to the ground. Piccolo didn't have a chance to react and merely stood there, paralyzed by absolute fear. If Roshi truly knew what he was doing, then his fate was to be sealed yet again.
"NOO!"
Just as Piccolo thought it was all over for him, Tambourine pushes himself back onto his feet and jumps in the way.
Roshi and everyone else is taken aback by the act of sacrifice - though especially the Turtle Hermit. His aim was Piccolo, not his son!
The immediate realization that he was going to sacrifice his own life and still have Piccolo living hit Roshi like a ton of bricks at once. He knew what he was getting into and he should have expected this.
Nonetheless, if he was going down, then he was going to take one of them with him.
Tambourine's soul was literally transferred into the rice cooker, which sealed shut the very moment that he was placed inside.
Roshi stands there, eyes black and energy completely depleted. With all the strength he has left, he speaks his final words and makes his last move.
"You will be conquered," Roshi wheezes. "Someday...today, tomorrow...next w-week...your reign won't last."
With every last single bit of concentration remaining from within, Roshi utilizes telekinesis to uplift the rice cooker and send it chucking far, far away. He forms a weak grin before finally falling.
After his body lands with a thud, Piccolo's worried look changes to that of utter satisfaction.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! YOU FOOL! YOU STILL LOSE!"
Piccolo was overcome by fear for the first time in a long time. At first, when fallen subject to the Mafuba, he had absolutely no idea what was in store for him until he felt his entire essence being controlled by someone other than himself. To feel that and go through it for a second time? Absolute hell. He didn't want to experience being trapped in something so empty ever again. He couldn't bear it!
So seeing Roshi fail as he did made Piccolo feel like a kid waking up on Christmas morning.
He looks back over to Pilaf. "Now summon the Dragon!"
It was time to make his wish.
"She's going to bring him back to normal?"
"We're going to have to figure it out," Yamcha tells Puar. "The only way to do that is with the Dragon Balls. If we get that, then we can bring Goku back to normal and everything will be okay!"
Tights nods her head and focuses on driving.
As she's driving, her eyes squint. The clouds seem to be leaving as the sky darkens. "Guys…I know I haven't checked the time in a while, but it's not supposed to be getting this dark this soon."
Krillin and Upa press their faces up against the glass windows. They appear to be just as lost as Tights.
"No!" Oolong says. "That only means one thing!"
Oolong looks to Puar, who looks back to Oolong who looks over to Yamcha.
All three of them had experienced this once before already.
The Dragon Balls were being used.
Bulma made it quickly over to Tights' island. She had faith that all her friends were capable of taking down Piccolo. Seeing by how they worked together to take down one of his sons with general ease, she didn't see the problem.
Besides, if they needed her, she was right back home and would be there in less than three minutes.
Nonetheless, she was out of her armor and in a lab-coat, looking down at the unconscious Son Goku. Seeing him sleeping peacefully reminded her of those car rides that they head. He always looked so innocent and was just as much in the walking world.
The fact that he could be changed enough to the point of killing his own friends and the very man that took him in was astonishing. The death of her parents deeply angered her but she knew that this wasn't really Goku.
Walking over to him spread out and strapped down on the table, Bulma rubs her hand through his thick, yet gentle hair.
"We'll bring you back, Son Kun. I promise."
Bulma still held great resentment for the kid, but at the end of the day, coming to her senses, he's still her friend. This isn't Goku. It's some evil character trapped in his body. If there was a chance of bringing him back to a state of where he has authentic morals and a conscience, then she would be willing to do that and fix all wrongs. After all, picturing herself in his shoes, she could only imagine that Goku would do his best to find every other possible alternative instead of just killing her.
This was what she had to think about in order to truly convince herself to not kill the kid while he was lying down.
RING RING
RING RING
Bulma goes over to the phone on the table and picks it up. "Hello?"
"Bulma, we've got bad news…"
She already knew before that they had told her.
"Master Roshi's gone…"
All she could do was hang up the phone. With both hands stretched out on the table, Bulma lowers her head with her eyes shut tight.
A brief flash of anger overcomes her as she slams her fist on the table, knocking over pieces of equipment and stacks of paper.
"DAMMIT!"
Before the whimpering turns to crying, she wipes away the tear that were forming in her eyes and shuts her shaky fists. She substitutes the feeling of sorrow with anger. She looks back at the suit, contemplating on if she should use it, but then shakes her head.
She knows there's no point in rushing into this emotionally right now. It was a better idea to think everything through and formulate a plan instead of going in head first, even with the knowledge that she could probably take Piccolo. She still didn't know exactly what he was capable of.
She grabbed a jet capsule and dashed right out the door, leaving Son Goku alone.
Perhaps the worst mistake that she could make.
Though unheard to the human ear, a buzzing sound was all over the place in Bulma's personal laboratory on her sister's island. It would require all lights and electronics to be shut off for it to even be remotely heard.
Gero was looking around the entire time through one of his spy bots. He saw not only where Goku resided, but all of Bulma's blueprints and other ideas she had in mind.
And most importantly, that body of armor.
"Law 22," Gero mumbles to himself humorously. "Surrender: Transform weakness into strength."
All of them may have thought of him as a coward to flee at seemingly the absolute worst moment, yet he used this tactic to go ahead and strategize.
He's already peeped out what's taken place between Roshi and the others and saw Piccolo disposing of the Dragon after getting his wish. He knows what they have planned regarding bringing Goku back to normal.
But knowing all of his enemy's plan in mind - none of them would be able to see it all through to fruition.
"Now's the time to strike back."
