Chapter 23
Videl
Tien called Krillin to tell him about the hideout he and his students had captured, along with the hundreds of criminals they had captured in it. Almost all of them had a record with crimes ranging from petty larceny to murder and everything in between. Thankfully, all of them also had open warrants for their arrests in cities throughout the world, none of them would see outside of a cell for a long time. The Ki Corp were useful then, to ensure that the students of Shen wouldn't be able to break out, they, along with Tien's students, guarded the prisoners. Once the last prisoner was secured, Videl sighed, "Wish I could have been there. It sounds like Tien had one Hell of a night." "Sounds like he was lucky his students were there," Krillin countered.
"Still, it would have been nicer if that base was in our jurisdiction," the former monk then said. "Krillin, Videl, get over here!" the Chief yelled from his office. The two quickly got in the Chief's office, to see that three people were already there. It took them a moment, but as soon as they recognized the most important person there, they both immediately snapped to attention and saluted. "It is an honor to meet you in person, King Furry!" Krillin quickly said. "At ease," King Furry said. One of the people with King Furry handed him a manila folder. "I have heard a lot about what you two have been doing, keeping your city safe, Sergeant Krillin, Officer Satan," King Furry said as he opened the folder and took out a piece of paper. "These powerful criminals that you have been facing are a threat to all of Earth's citizens. As this is the case, I have decreed that you, and the Ki Corp, and all those who have been deputized, shall have jurisdiction over all criminal cases in which these ki abilities have been demonstrated, throughout Earth," King Furry declared.
He handed Krillin the paper and Krillin looked over it before handing it to Videl. "All that is needed, is for you two to sign this," King Furry informed them. They grabbed pens from the Chief's desk and quickly signed their names to the paper he had given. "We'll worry about announcing this to the public later," King Furry said as the paper was handed back to him, "Right now, I want you two to stop that Master Shen, and all his insane students. Such power cannot be abused, I will not let it be while I am King." Videl nodded, "We won't let you down, Your Majesty."
Videl and Krillin left the Chief's office and headed straight for the Training Room, where Yamcha was teaching the Ki Corp. Yamcha saw them arrive and stopped teaching to yell, "ATTENTION!" The officers all stopped practicing and stood at attention. "We have just received a decree from King Furry himself!" Videl announced, "The Ki Corp has been given jurisdiction throughout planet Earth, to arrest all ki wielding criminals! Last night, our ally, Sensei Tien Shinhan captured a base that was used by Master Shen, along with many of his students, as you know. He also captured a computer that we believe will tell us more about where Shen is hiding! Bulma Briefs is now helping him hack into the computer. Everyone; get ready for a fight! Any minute now, I'm sure that we'll know where that snake is hiding, and we'll arrest him, and everyone he's ever led down the path of evil!"
All the assembled officers cheered at the news, and Yamcha had them all stretch before heading to the showers and lockers. He turned to Videl and Krillin, "So, the final battle's already here. I just hope that we'll be able to keep everyone safe." Videl and Krillin grimly nodded. Krillin told him, "I'll get Eighteen to come too, just for insurance. We're not gonna lose any of our people, not if I have a say in it."
Yamcha
While his students got ready, Yamcha waited outside the Station for them. His stomach was tying in knots right now. He wasn't afraid for himself, Krillin, or Videl, and he definitely wasn't worried about Eighteen. But he was worried about the Ki Corp. They had progressed further than his wildest dreams, for sure, but against students of Shen's and Tao Pai Pai's who had been training for potentially years? They weren't ready. The scarred veteran martial artist looked back at his life and all the times he himself hadn't been ready, and what it had cost him. He knew that he didn't have as much as his friends.
Krillin and Goku were married with children, and a granddaughter in Goku's case. Tien had his dojo and students, he never cared much for romance, but it was clear that his students were his treasure and legacy. And Bulma…she was already an heiress, and had the most of all of them, financially speaking, plus Vegeta and their kids. He had been left behind.
He'd be lying if he said that being a master, someone that people honestly respected, wasn't the greatest time of his life. And now, those students who had trusted and looked up to him were now putting their lives on the line in a battle that they may not survive. Even knowing that the Dragon Balls could help bring any who were killed back to life, didn't lessen his distress. If he didn't give everything he had into the coming battle, if he didn't play the role of the master that those officers who he had trained believed him to be, he would lose their trust.
Puar floated over, "Are you alright, Yamcha-sama?" "Not really," he confessed, "I know that we're heading into a fight, and it's taking me back to the last time I faced something actually serious, back when Eighteen and Seventeen were evil. I'm just getting this feeling that something bad might happen. So far, things have been easy, but now, Shen is desperate. He might try anything, something we never predicted, like with Dr. Gero turning himself into an Android. Plus, Goku isn't here this time to bail us out. It's gonna be on us Earthlings this time to save the day. It feels intimidating."
"You won't be alone," a voice from above said.
Piccolo floated down with a smirk, "I think you're forgetting that I'm around." Yamcha chuckled at that, "Yeah, I guess I did. I take it that Videl called you?" "Yeah," Piccolo admitted, "I might be overkill for this situation, but we'll see what happens." Yamcha nodded, feeling a little better now. The odds are definitely on our side this time. After another five minutes, the Ki Corp all showed up in their police uniforms. All of them looked ready for a fight. "Alright people, let's head to the Mu Gu Gai Pan Desert!" Krillin announced as they all took flight. Yamcha and Piccolo joined them, Yamcha seeing Pinto smiling brightly as they all flew before he flew ahead to keep up with Krillin and Videl.
It was a pretty long flight for Yamcha, the Ki Corp may have known how to fly, but they were a lot slower than the more experienced warriors leading them. It was past noon by they time they reached the base that Tien and his students had taken. Tien led them inside, straight to the super computer that he had called about. Bulma was already sitting in front of it, typing away on a keyboard with speed only a genius inventor could attain.
"So Bulma, what's the word?" Yamcha asked once he saw her. "The word is 'give me a minute'," Bulma told him, "This stuff is a lot harder to crack than I thought. This computer is a damn museum piece, and it's slower than a turtle! Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear it was powered by bubblegum and string! And if I see ONE MORE DIRTY PICTURE ON HERE, I'M GONNA BLOW THIS PIECE OF CRAP INTO THE SUN!" Yamcha wisely backed off so she didn't try to bite his head off. Krillin remarked, "Well that just sucks… Guess it makes sense though. They've been hiding a while, no surprise that they're a little behind in technology. I see the stuff Marron does on her phone sometimes and think to myself, 'when did I get so damn old?'" "Well that sucks, what now?" Videl asked.
"I guess we meditate or something," Yamcha said, and walked out to give Bulma some space. As he walked, Pinto walked over next to him. "So, I guess we're not going yet?" she asked him. Yamcha shook his head, "Bulma's having trouble with some old tech. We just have to wait until she figures it out." Pinto nodded then said, "I'm a little nervous about this. I mean, I've been in a few raids, drug dealers and stuff. Usually when you go for the boss…" Yamcha nodded, "Yeah. But we're a lot stronger than most people. We'll get through this just fine." He assured her, silently praying he was right.