Exodus

Tao stared up at the figure silhouetted in moonlight. With a flick of his wrist, the assassin sent the dao flying right back at the unwanted guest. Impassively, he watched the long-haired intruder leap forward to catch the weapon by the handle and lightly land amidst the wreckage of the capsule house.

"The Red Ribbon Army isn't welcomed here!" the scarred young man growled, brandishing his blade before making another attempt at lopping off Tao's head.

The master assassin smirked, angling his neck and body to dodge the sword with contemptuous ease. "I see the rumors were true, if not grossly exaggerated." Leaping away to put distance between himself and his clearly unworthy opponent, Tao called out, "Tien, even unarmed you should be more than a match for the desert vigilante we've been hearing about."

His three-eyed student nodded and immediately lunged forward to deal with the intruder. Certain that Tien would make short work of the scarred fighter, Tao barked to "Chiaotzu, bind the little girl. I'm going to return to base with Ms. Briefs."

His smaller student gave the dark-haired girl an eerie grin. Whatever Chiaotzu lacked in physical strength he more than made up with his psychic talents. Tao would never have taken in such a weakling otherwise.

"Are you certain you won't study under me?" Tao offered one last time to the warrior girl now struggling to resist the paralyzing effects of Chiaotzu's abilities. "I won't always be under contract with the Red Ribbon Army, you know. I might even be hired to take out Commander Red himself once he's made the right enemies."

"Never!"

There's no accounting for taste, Tao snorted and slung the unconscious blue-haired girl over his shoulder. He could hear the hum of a blade slicing through empty air, the meaty thud of a fist striking flesh. Huh. Tien was still fighting? Either he'd overestimated his student's abilities or the desert vigilante had been holding back.

It didn't matter to Tao, not in the long run. His final instructions to his students before he headed back was "Return to the base once you've found the Dragon Ball and dealt with the vigilante."

"It's actually vigilantes. Plural," another voice corrected and Tao turned in time to see a short bald fighter strike Chiaotzu, effectively releasing the young girl from the psychic binding. The new-comer raised a fist in a victory pose, "As in more than one!"

Mercenary Tao knew he ought to leave while he had the opportunity but he was curious to see how Chiaotzu would fare against an opponent while Tien was occupied. He watched as the pale child got back on his feet, the eerie smile now a sinister glower.

"You'll pay for that, baldie!" Chiaotzu hissed, raising his arms forward and successfully capturing the short intruder in his psychic hold. But before he could do any damage, the dark-haired girl surprised him with a swift kick to the back of his head. There was a squeal of outrage and the pale child's expression turned murderous, his large, doll-like eyes glowing in the night. Chiaotzu propelled himself forward, a white bullet aimed for the female fighter who stumbled back in a panic, her arms flailing wildly. Rather than break through her thrashing, Tao's second student was repelled and sent twisting towards the bald fighter.

Without turning, Tao snapped, "Focus on your own opponent, Tien!" The assassin heard the reluctant grunt from the triclops then the buzz of gathering ki. Oh ho! He still has the energy for a second Dodon Ray? Tao thought with a pleased smirk.

There came the ringing of metal snapping and Tao stepped to the left. The tip of the now-broken dao buried itself in the sand where the assassin had just been standing. He really ought to leave with the Briefs girl since his students were proving they could handle themselves. But it was just a bit too amusing to watch these intruders get a beating.

It would have been more amusing if he'd been the one to deal with these gnats. Even if there was no challe-

Tao sharply ducked to avoid an incoming fist, discovering it to be a feint as a knee struck him in the small of his back with the sharp crack of bone against bone. The blow had him eating a mouthful of sand and dropping the unconscious blue-haired girl.

"W-who dares?" Tao snarled as he pushed himself back up. His beady eyes narrowed dangerously at the bearded old man dressed in black and white.

The sword had been a ruse, Tien realized. His scarred opponent fared better against him unarmed than when he was wielding the dao. Though the three-eyed assassin was larger and stronger, the long-haired fighter was much more accustomed to fighting on the loose, ever-shifting desert floor and managed to keep a step ahead. Tien ground his teeth in frustration. He shouldn't be having this much trouble against some lowly punk playing at being a vigilante!

He roared and let loose a pulse of ki, strong enough to fountain sand around him and knock his opponent off their feet, leaving them open to an attack. But as Tien was about to launch himself after his airborne foe, he sensed something approaching him. He didn't have enough time to look before his mentor collided against him and sent them both plowing into a dune some distance away.

With his head covered in sand and grit, Tien barely managed to hear his mentor's groan "R-retreat," then a gurgle of unconsciousness.

A muffled thud beside him had the triclops pulling himself free, arms moving to block. All three eyes widened at the sight of Chiaotzu buried up to his waist in the dune. Tien was digging his fellow student out when the sound of footsteps reached his ears. The pale child woozily clutched at his head as the pair looked up to find the three desert vigilantes.

The old man with the blue dye-job stepped forward, "Go on. Get outta here. We find out that any of you try anything with those two gals, you're in for a world of pain."

It wasn't against Tao's teachings to flee when you've lost a fight but it still left a bad taste in Tien's mouth as he hoisted Tao onto his shoulders with Chiaotzu hovered beside him. Anger and pride twisting in Tien's gut had him carefully angling his arms to hide that he was gathering energy in the palm of his hands. Chiaotzu's grin signaled to the triclops that his fellow student was poised to paralyze all three vigilantes. Because it also wasn't against Tao's teachings to leave your opponents something to remember you by.

The old man waved his hand then a wall of air and sand slammed into Tien and Chiaotzu, quickly dissuading both of them of their attempt. Without another word or a backward glance, they fled for their Red Ribbon Base.

A/N: With the exception of Tien's "Dodon Ray" the rest of the moves are your basic Kiais and Ki-blasts that don't call for characters yelling/declaring their move-name. Action scenes are hard to choreograph and pace, which proves this drabble-fic's muse hates me because it keeps making me write them to progress the story OTL Reviews are loved and appreciated!