Project Cloud
Chapter 18 - Only time Will Tell
Nightmares continued to plague him as his body healed in his sleep. The painful cries of his sister yelling his name made Lapis' eyes shoot wide open. The young male was in such a cold sweat that his eyes felt as if they were submerged under an ocean. Wiping his face as he huffed and puffed, confusion crept into his pulsating head due to not being able to recognize his current whereabouts.
The room he's in would be pitch black if not for the dimly lit candles scattered around all over the area. Wincing as he pulled his upper body up, he couldn't help but think about the last moments he had with his sister. It's all his fault. If not for him, her being taken away never would have happened.
Grunting just to get himself out of bad, by the time Lapis finally manages to set his foot on the ground, his mouth goes agape and he lets out a faint yell as he begins to fall over. The thought of him busting his face on the floor quckly came across his mind and he almost went into a panic, yet much to his surprise, it never happened. Being grabbed by a stranger, he was softly set back onto the bed.
"Are you okay?" Upa asked him.
Things really got trippy for Lapis when all of these strangers entered this very room - some of them being people he recognized from the tournament. Was he dead? Did he enter the afterlife where people met the same misfortune as him? Or was this real? He didn't know at this point.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "What' going on!?"
And as they were asked of him, they explained everything. Hearing the story about how Goku, who was once a great person, was virtually unbelievable to him. Given what he witnessed at the tournament and with his murderous nature prior to the kidnapping of his sister, he just couldn't see how Goku would fight to protect and save the lives of others. It didn't seem anything like him.
But for Lapis, the confusion didn't last long. Though his shoulder was being touched by his peers around him in the form of comfort, Lapis was boiling with rage. He didn't care anything about Goku's past. The only thing he was concerned with, as far as he knew, was his death. Revenge was the only thing on his mind. But to achieve it? Unlikely. That piercing reality made it hurt all the more.
Part of where it all began. For anyone to head up to Jingle Village without much clothing on was asking for hypothermia to ruin them. Goku, as he walked up to a familiar house, didn't care. He wore his same old gi with the red ribbon army insignia on it. The village was back to normal. If not for the horrible cold, people would be outside socializing, but instead, they remained at home to spend time with family and sip on hot chocolate.
By the door, Goku came. It was early morning so he knew for a fact that they were either up or beginning to be up. He didn't concern himself with the two mortals, though. There was one individual on his mind and he was no ordinary person. Not having the courtesy to knock on the door, Goku twist the locked door handle with so much force that it snaps and the door immediately opens.
Everyone in the kitchen turns around to look at this arrival. A little girl and her mother both were startled initially, but the recognition of Son Goku's face made their eyes lit up. As they yelled his name, they approached the boy to hug him.
Eighter stood in the back, smiling. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon, Goku!"
Once Suno and her mother let go, the former of the two asked, "How have you been? Still on your adventure?"
The light and cheery mood wasn't forever, though. Suno was grabbed by the throat and tossed mercilessly across the room as her screaming mother cries were cut short as a blazing ball of energy had been shot right through her stomach.
Eighter looked on at Goku, eyes wide. Two people he called family had just been slaughtered by another person he believed to be family as well. "G-Goku…!?" Observing the boy's face, he could tell that he wasn't as happy and go lucky as he used to be. Once the child started walking toward him, Eighter's eyes fell down to his chest. Once he saw the two R's, Eighter let out a sad sigh. "No...not you…"
"You're coming with me."
Bulma was in a total rush upon heading back to Headquarters. There were people waiting to greet her as soon as she touched down back on the Galactic Patrol base, but she didn't pay them any mind as she walked fast enough to where it appeared as if she was jogging. By no means did she mean to be disrespectful, but there was too much going on in her head for her to be able to process in front of other people. Even the Galactic King himself wished he had a chance to talk to Bulma one on one about the current situation with the Saiyans and what this meant for them, but she brushed him off as well and headed straight for her quarters.
As soon as she made it to her room, Bulma stripped herself of all her clothes save for her underwear. Once all the weight was taken off, she sat on the edge of her bed and let out an exasperated sigh while she rubbed the temple of her head with her hand. Flashes of the previous battles and near-death experience she had not long ago went through her head and forced her to breathe heavy. If Goku truly was anything built like these men, then how could she ever grow strong enough to go back home and protect the people she love? It was a helpless feeling that she hated. She didn't mean to abandon her friends and make them feel even more down in the worst of moments just to come back empty handed. No, she needed to figure something out. But the pressure was high...and she just knew that they were going to head to Earth. Maybe not today, not tomorrow, but eventually. If one of their own was over there, just what exactly would be stopping them from going?
Coming in without showing courtesy to knock, Merus rears his face into the picture. The moment he saw her chest without a shirt on, he apologized and started to retract himself from the premises.
"I don't care if my breasts are out and about," Bulma told him in a tired voice. "Come in."
"I just came to tell you that I'm sorry for putting you in that situation," Merus started. "You held your own out there and that in itself is commendable, but I'm starting to believe that I was extremely out of place for even suggesting the idea to the King to go through all this and put us all in jeopardy. I didn't expect things to escalate that bad."
"You don't need to apologize." Bringing her back against the soft sheets of her bed, Bulma yawned. "Things like this is to be expected in your line of work. I do appreciate you guys for sticking your necks out, though."
"It's really us who should be thanking you, Bulma. Your brain has been a big help to the patrol."
"Apparently not enough." Leaning back up, Bulma put her head down. "Not enough to subdue rampaging beasts over fifty feet tall apparently."
"Don't let that get you down, though. The way you've been helping us advance has inspired the few scientists here to undergo experiments in order to find variants to your creations as a way to further strengthen them."
"But it's still not enough," Bulma sighed.
"Maybe so," Merus admitted. "This is why I've been contemplating on training you in the utilization of ki." Bulma's head jerked up with eyes on alert. She was well aware of what ki was given that she had seen more than enough back on Earth. But for her, a brainly girl, to train her body and mind to using ki? Why? Out of what usefulness would come of that? Before she could even bring her thoughts out in the form of a question, Merus had the answer for her already. "I didn't think on training you on ki in the hopes that you'll master it because from my way of thought, it'll only be a waste of time for what I have planned for you and this entire faction."
"Which is?"
"It is to combine the basic knowledge of ki I will be sharing with you to combine with your inherent genius of technology and machinery, as well as biology. Combining those two ought to theoretically revolutionize how we use weaponry and advance us to much greater levels than even the Freeza Force could imagine." Though both were well aware that there were already tools that were able to shoot blasts that looked like ki, Merus knew that Bulma could do much more than that. For not only would it help the patrol, but her with her personal endeavors as well.
"Is that even possible?" Bulma asked, rather skeptical. She didn't doubt herself, but the timeframe that she hoped to complete this in would be pretty much impossible considering the predicament her loved ones back home would soon be facing.
Merus gave her a reassuring smile. "All you have to do is use that big brain of yours. You know as well as I that when you use all your brain power and the little parts that make it what you are, that you can do anything."
Bulma falls silent. Merus' soft smile fades away as Bulma's silence becomes unsettling. Though he thinks that yet again more self doubt is beginning to creep up on her, it's something entirely different.
Merus' usage of brain had triggered a past memory. As her mind was racing, her heart started to as well. The solution for back home had been there the whole time but she never bothered to get on with it. The quickness at which Bulma got up on her bed caused Merus to subtly flinch. The woman turned around, got under the bed, and grabbed out a case. Out of the case, she grabbed a new set of clothes, which were accompanied by some clothes she had from back home.
"Hey, what's the rush?" Merus asked.
She laughed like a crazy woman while she was getting dressed. She couldn't believe it. As smart as she was, she felt like an idiot. "Merus," she said in fits of hysterical laughter. "You won't believe this!" Once she got her pants on, Bulma turned around. "I've had the key to beating Goku the whole time!"
"Really? What's that?"
"The Dragon Balls."
"Good on bringing Eight back to me, number nine."
The once empty laboratory was starting to appear as if it was flourishing. One android in the back was off for a later time as Gero had Piccolo, a nice, young female, and one of his failed subjects who turned out to be a goody two shoes. Not only that, but there was an extra experiment he planned on working on from scratch as the perfect assistant. Everything appeared to be looking up for the mad scientist as he continued to expand what he considered to be the new Red Ribbon Army.
"So you're going to turn him bad now?" Goku asked, looking at a deactivated eighter placed on the metal table. He was in the middle of Piccolo and Lazuli, both of whom were at different times of completion. Lazuli was rather close given that Goku was a good blueprint for him to go based off with more complications. Piccolo himself was an entirely different breed, but the end result of him would surely prove to be most worthwhile.
"Turn him bad?" Gero scoffed at the notion. "I'm going to FIX him. He was never meant to be good or bad. He was meant to follow orders and he failed. Sure enough, he was one of my starter prototypes and the fact that Red had me cranking androids out one after another, due to my lack of rest, I was bound to make some minor miscalculations. I expected a malfunction or two, but none to this degree. My biggest failure yet shall be my greatest recovery."
"Once I am done with him, which shouldn't take much time at all, you both will be going out to recruit for me as I work on the young woman. When she's complete, she will be joining you as well."
"Then what?"
"Once we make this army...we will expand."
Goku didn't quite understand what he meant by expand, despite knowing that Gero just wanted to continue to grow his army. Goku didn't see how Gero could possibly expand more after they've recruited all great potential subjects to work on and convert. But as for Gero, the knowledge of there being live extraterrestrial beings out there inspired him to grow more ambitious. Making an army out of the entire Earth was one thing, but what if he were to go to greater heights?
"The entire galaxy will know me as the greatest scientist to ever live by the time I'm done. Hehehehe."
Some time had passed since Lapis had come to his senses. Though everyone on the look-out wanted to give a helping hand and show moral support, most of them still had to train, so Mister Popo was left to accompany him. He at the very least tried to spark conversation with the young man, but he didn't respond with much to go off. Instead, Lapis decided to make a hasty decision, which gave Mister Popo no choice but to leave off and head back to Kami.
It appeared as if the wrinkles all over Kami's rancid body was starting to worsen, as if he was aging years with each hour. It was obvious that stress was heavy on him as of recent, but he still stayed true to his duties. As stoically as possible, he asked Mister Popo, "How is the boy doing?"
"He didn't really give me much to help him out with," Mister Popo told Kami. "I tried many exercises unknown to the average person in an effort to calm him down but the internal anger continued to build by the second. He just left off. Would you have any idea what he could be up to right now?"
Kami didn't need to take a shot in the dark in regards to Mister Popo's question. He understood the boy's feelings perfectly well. With all the anger at his inability to do anything to save his sister from being kidnapped - taken at force by some murderous child - wasn't something he would easily be able to process. Sure enough he felt guilt, but that guilt was a catalyst for his anger. And with anger, people tended to make hasty decisions. Quickly realizing that the people around him were fighters, Kami knew what it was that he intended to do.. "He's going to seek out help in his own way."
Making the decision to leave with such haste would most definitely alert some members of the Galactic Patrol. Merus may have had an idea of what she was up to, but she couldn't tell him everything. She had to get everything out of the way as quickly as possible. On the dashboard of her ship, Bulma's radio buzzed. Scoffing with a smile, she had expected a call from either Tyber or Merus. What she didn't expect was Tyber, Merus, and Jako all to be accompanied by the Galactic King.
"Bulma, I hear you've decided to head back home so soon. May I ask why?"
"A little chat with Merus helped spark the solution that I had overlooked this entire time," Bulma told the Galactic King. "He told me to use my brain and I've finally decided to do just that."
"But are you sure that you'll be able to handle this alone?" Tyber chipped in.
A brief silence came from Bulma's end. She knew well enough that going with Goku head on was not a good idea. Merus may not have known what Dragon Balls were, but she believed they all assumed that she was going to use what physical power she had to save her planet.
But in all reality, that was only part of the plan. Yes, Bulma had her doubts, but she wasn't going to back down. "I will do fine on my own. Having you guys as my mentors for even just a short time was more than enough for me to be able to handle my own. I appreciate you guys, really."
"Bulma," Jako started. "Please be safe out there; those Saiyans are no joke and if I ever find out that something's happened to you, then you know it'll be my fa-"
"Save it," Bulma told him. "I'll be fine."
"Good luck out there," Merus told her.
Bulma just smirked. "Won't need it." She cut the call, ending her line. As she approached the stratosphere of Planet Earth, her ship buzzed slightly prior to an alert coming through her radio.
"Warning: two pods belonging to the Freeza Force are within the stratosphere of Planet Earth. Warning: tw-"
As fast as her hands would move, she smashed the radio with her fist.
Shooting her ship into high gear, Bulma muttered to herself, shaking as her skin took a slight red color. "Might need that luck after all."
Bulma wasn't the only intellectual genius to get the notification of extra arrivals coming to her home-planet. Gero had miniature satellites as he also had spy robots spread across the entire planet. As soon as he got the signal for the first two to enter, he's been keeping his eyes on them ever since.
The sight of two pods just crashing into their designated area without any form of slowing down caused him to raise his brow. For such a material to come out of speed well over hundred of thousands of miles per hour and only cause a two enormous craters with no further collateral damage was rather interesting to him. But that thought was taken away very soon once the two individuals stepped out their form of intergalactic transportation.
Clicking on the keyboard attached to one of his many monitors as he stared through the multiple screens that came from the spy robots he had targeted on them, Gero started to examine them. They were unknown in virtually every way possible besides their species. They were a perfect match to number nine! And better yet, one of those two had a higher percentage of relation to his most successful converted tool yet. Seeing the countless opportunities, Gero's heart began to race with pure ecstasy. This was a sign for sure!
But in order to see if they were worth anything like Goku, he had to put them to a test.
Subsequent to their arrival in the rocky lands they collided on, the first thing Raditz and Vegeta did was very routine: scan the place with their scouters. Vegeta remained idle in one spot, moving his head around as Raditz walked within short proximity of his comrade, hoping to pick up something remotely interesting.
"I've got a few readings out in a far, far distance," Raditz said, looking back to Vegeta. "But none of them happens to be worthwhile. The data was right after all; this planet is a breeding pool for weaklings."
"If so, then Kakarot should have gotten the job done by now, shouldn't he?" Vegeta replied with a touch of sass as he clicked his scouter to stop reading.
"Don't doubt him, Vegeta. He is still a Saiyan after all." As he walked over to Vegeta, Raditz looked up above, spotting a figure flying towards them. Vegeta, curious, also looked to where Raditz's eyes were fixated on. They checked their scouters, but much to their surprise, there was nothing to read. It was if he wasn't even there. "Something must be wrong with this thing."
Already annoyed at the fact that they were wasting their time to replace Nappa with a child who was weaker than Raditz was at his age, Vegeta wanted this to be over with. "Doesn't matter. Get on with it and kill him. A weakling is a weakling after all."
"You two will be good subjects."
Raditz scoffed. Opening the palm of his hand with a toothy grin, he didn't expect much out of this random character at all. "Subjects, huh? Are we talking tests? Experiments?" Raditz's ball of energy grew bigger as he started to chuckle. "If you want to talk subjects...the only thing you're subject to in this little experiment of testing yourself against a true Saiyan warrior...is death!" Eighter hopped off his back foot and charged, but that didn't startle Raditz in the slightest. Coming forth with his right arm, Eighter was hit on impact and reduced to nothing but scrap metal two seconds later.
With the smoke fading away due to the strong wind, Vegeta walked over to the debris and crouched down. Picking up a piece of metal, he held it above his shoulder for Raditz to grab.
Observing it, Raditz came to a quick and rather close conclusion as to what this was. "A machine?" He turned the burnt, metal piece around and scrutinized it a bit more before tossing it aside. "This must be what they call their line of defense on Earth. Machines that look like people."
"It explains why our scouters weren't able to detect them." Vegeta got up. "They don't have natural energy. It's all artificial."
"That makes perfect sense."
"But Kakarot's no machine." Ascending to the sky, Vegeta motioned for Raditz to follow. "If he has been doing anything productive, he ought to be the highest battle power on this planet. Let's go."
Raditz took a soft leap into the sky and started to trail. "Right behind you."
Though Kakarot did have the highest battle power on the planet, he was artificial. As he looked down at Eighter in pieces hundreds of feet into the air, he grew rather intrigued. Maybe they would actually give him a good fight.
Only time would tell.
