SZ: *puts on spacesuit* Gentlemen..it is time..to return to Namek!
Z0: We've been there four times this month...last time was to sate GT's hobbies…
SZ: Oh...right…
GT: Wait, what? So we went up there so I could try Zero-G Gunpla assembly. *holds up an RX-78-2 Gundam Gunpla* It was fun.
SZ:...Fair. But in terms of story, we are returning to Namek...well mainly Goku and a few, but still.
GT: Eeyup. No worries about the planet blowing up and having to make a planet called New New Namek.
Z0: We hope...it is Goku after all. But enough about that! To Namek! *in dramatic pose, I step on the launch button sending us back into space* SON OF A-!
It had been a while since the battle with the Phantom Majin Hirudegarn, about two weeks had passed now. Enough time for the gang to heal, and a new batch of Senzu beans to be grown to fix Goku and Sonic's extensive internal damage.
"Ah...much better!" Goku cheered as he walked out of his room fully healed and dressed in his iconic orange gi, "Nothing like a senzu bean to fix what ails ya! Chi-Chi was really into that nurse thing though…"
"I don't want to know," Gohan mumbled.
"Huh? I don't get it. Why don't you want to know about mom helping dad in that outfit Auntie gave her?" Goten asked.
"..." Gohan sighed, "I shouldn't have to be the adult in the family…Wait, Aunty?"
"Yeah. Aunty."
"...Mrs. Sakurai?" Gohan guessed, earning a nod, "Why are you calling her that?"
"When Mom told me what an Aunt was, Aunty sounded like one. She seemed really happy when I first called her it," he explained, "Plus she's always coming over, she's mom's friend, and she's really nice and cares about us...so...Aunty."
"I mean...it's not inaccurate," Gohan muttered.
"I just don't think about it. Dad taught me how to do that," Goten smiled.
"It makes life easy!" Goku laughed, "I wonder how Sonic is doing?"
Meanwhile right next door...
"So...the moment he got the bean...he literally burst out the wall?" Chi-Chi asked, looking at a perfect outline of Sonic now in the wall.
"Hai," Roll nodded.
"And I thought Goku was fidgety…" Chi-Chi muttered, "I might be better off…"
"And I need to go after him before he goes too far," Roll noted before running off.
"Huh...Looks just like the last time Roll was bedridden for two weeks due to a bad flu," Akai noted when she poked her head through the Sonic-shaped hole.
"Must be a Hedgehog thing…" Chi-Chi shrugged, "I'll have to get Goku to fix this later."
"Wait, wha?" Goku asked, appearing next to Akai, "Wow...and I thought I hated bed rest…" he finally noticed the shape of the hole.
"I blame the Speed Gene making them hate being in bed for long periods of time," the fox shook her head as she dug into her clothes before pulling out some bricks and cement mix, "Even Skye can't last a single day without managing to make his bed float and move around based on his thoughts with an invention...and then get in trouble with Aph for doing science while sick."
"Speaking of science," Chi-Chi blinked, "Bulma called...something about needing you to go to Namek and make sure no one dies."
"Ah...but space ships are so slow…" Goku sighed, "But there will be space food on it…" he muttered, changing tune suddenly, "Hmm...it's so complicated."
"Just go on the trip, Goku…" Chi-Chi sighed, "And no...the kids aren't allowed to go." she cut him off as soon as he opened his mouth.
"I wasn't gonna say that…" Goku replied in panic.
"Yes you were."
"...Be careful. I think she can read minds now…" Goku whispered to Akai.
"Goku…"
"Oh look at the time! Gotta go help Bulma! Love ya! Bye!" Goku called out as he teleported away.
Chi-Chi and Akai shared looks before rolling their eyes.
"I'd be amazed if not for the fact I dread the idea of going out into space…" Vegeta sighed, looking at the ship Tails had built with Capsule Corp's help, "Being accosted by the Frieza Force and Galactic patrol just for being me doesn't sound like a great trip."
The ship in question was rather massive. It was primarily white and blue with a few hints of yellow at places. The front of it sported a hangar with a runway that had actual palm trees lining it. All in all, it was a stunning vessel, but with one glaring flaw.
"Tails, while this is impressive...how are you going to get it out of here?" Sally asked, "There's no hatch or opening for it to get out of here."
"That would be due to me," Skye chuckled as he walked over.
"Skye, I know that for the last two weeks, I've been asking this and you've managed to avoid the answer, but are you going to ask my husband to blow up a hole in the wall?" Bulma questioned.
"Not at all," Skye replied, "But a quick question: what is the largest object that can be stored in a capsule made by Capsule Corp?"
"Well we can fit a moderate house into a regular sized one." Bulma muttered, "Dad!" she called out as her father poked his head out of their little break room they built into the lab/complex, "Biggest thing you can fit in a Capsule?"
"Hmm...I was able to fit an entire backup of our home into one once, but I had to make the capsule just a bit bigger to accommodate the mass."
"You may want to sit down then," Skye chuckled as he raised a hand and snapped his fingers...before the ship exploded in a puff of yellow smoke before a tiny white and blue capsule fell out and landed in the palm of his hand.
"?!" Bulma and Dr. Briefs' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
"How 'bout that…" Vegeta mused, not as blown away, but mildly impressed.
"This is smaller than our normal capsules," Dr. Briefs noted in shock, "H-How did you…?"
"I got into this show from your part of our fused world called Doctor Who. Basically, it works like a TARDIS in how it's smaller on the outside," Skye chuckled, "Took a lot of convincing on my part for Tails to let me do this."
"Quick question?" Vegeta spoke up, "You made sure to check no one was on it first, right?" he asked, making Skye's eyes widen just a bit.
He opened the window and clicked the capsule before chucking it out. The ship reformed and Tails stumbled out of the hangar a few moments later before falling on his face, his eyes replaced with swirls. Skye gave a sheepish chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with a sweatdrop.
"Why is it I'm the dumbest person in this place and I am the only one who thought of this?" Vegeta asked.
"Because we scientists tend to forget small details," Dr. Briefs replied.
"Right, well in that case I call 'not it' on telling his mother." Vegeta walked off, making both male scientists sweat a bit.
"Well...you still did something amazing," Bulma cut them off, "With this, we could store who knows how many things into capsules. But let's be careful not to trap kids in them next time."
"What happened?!" Tails asked as he regained his senses before falling over again, "Blarg...I think my breakfast chili-dog is hating me right now…"
"Yeah, I'll take the fall since I did forget he was in there," Skye noted.
"Least we settled that. My backup idea was to see if Goku could just teleport it out into orbit," Bulma admitted.
"Teleport what?" Goku asked while directly behind her, making Bulma jump in surprise.
"I am still not used to that trick…" Dr. Briefs admitted as he was a little spooked too.
"I tried your house first, but no one was there. Also, it was still half way done being fixed…" Goku chuckled before looking outside, "Oh wow! That is one big ship!"
"Tails calls it the Blue Typhoon," Skye informed, "It's a multi-purpose, fully mobile, flying fortress."
"It's pretty big. You sure it'll fly?" Goku asked in his concern born of knowing nothing of science.
"Of course we're sure," Bulma replied, hands on her hips with an annoyed look.
"It runs off thirty Chaos Drives, but it could also run on all seven Chaos Emeralds or just one Master Emerald," Skye noted, "It also has a gravity chamber for training, an artificial atmosphere to let one go out onto the runway while out in space without requiring a suit, a Sonic Power Cannon invented by Tails, and a pantry filled with capsules containing several crates of food in each one."
"He's gone…" Dr. Briefs said.
"Blast off!" Goku shouted, now wearing a space suit as he stood on the Blue Typhoon.
"We don't have everyone here," Tails replied, managing to get up once more.
"You alright?" Goku asked.
"I think I know why you don't stay in something while it becomes a capsule," Tails replied.
"Yeah...it feels weird." Goku sighed in a knowing tone, "So who do we need to be ready to leave!?" he asked excitedly.
"You're kidding...they all ended up on Namek?" Piccolo asked as Sonic and Roll appeared at the Look Out to tell him and Knuckles of their trip.
"Yep. Roll used a wish to find 'em," Sonic replied, "She would've said something sooner, but, well...I was stuck on bedrest for the last two weeks after dealing with that giant beetle."
"Well it has been a while since I checked on my kind…" Piccolo muttered, "Last time was kind of strange…"
"What family drama…?" Sonic asked.
"Try an evil alien cyborg attempting to leech the planet's resources, while fighting Goku and Vegeta to drain them of their energy...only for those two to have more energy than a planet...and overload him until he exploded. Also he was Freiza's evil older brother that we were sure Goku blasted into the sun…"
"...Okay…" Sonic noted with wide eyes as he looked over at Knuckles, who had frozen up on learning the news.
"..." Piccolo followed Sonic's eyes...and slapped Knuckles upside the head, bringing him back.
"OW!" Knuckles snapped...before he began to shake Sonic, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME WHERE THE ECHIDNAS WERE AFTER YOU MADE THAT WISH?!"
"Things were crazy! Evil space demon kaiju bugs were trying to eat us!" Sonic argued.
"Also if he told you then...you'd go bother Bulma and make the process to make a ship big enough for your people come to an annoying halt." Piccolo added logically as Roll nodded.
"That and I couldn't leave Sonikku's side at a far enough distance to come here by myself," Roll noted.
"...Dang it. You're right…" Knuckles muttered as he let Sonic go, "This is why Julie-Su tends to point out the obvious at times when I get...mad…"
"She's probably worried about you too," Piccolo added, "I can hear Bulma and Tails are done with the ship, so let's call some friends of yours to help Dende take care of the Master Emerald, space trips take a few days at best."
"This...is why he is the smart one," Sonic smirked.
"Oi!" Knuckles snapped before thinking, "Well, I think we can get the Chaotix back here. At least Mighty and Ray. They're still searching for that damn Thrash and the sooner we find him, the safer my people will be from him."
"If they can keep Eggman away, that's something." Piccolo added, "Since the kids won't be coming with us, we can have them come up to help now and again too."
"Good idea," Knuckles nodded
"So...space road trip!" Sonic smirked at Knuckles.
"Your second one if I remember right," Knuckles noted.
"Yeah. Let's just hope that a year doesn't pass here before we get back and Uncle Chuck makes that army of Metal Sonics again," Sonic noted.
"The trip only takes 6 days…" Piccolo explained, "But I am betting they made the engine stronger...so maybe less."
"Sweet!" Sonic beamed before running off with Roll, giving a quick wave as she followed, "Catch you guys later!"
"We should prepare." Piccolo spoke, "I get the feeling we'll need more Senzu beans. Thankfully, Korin and I had the idea to grow a few batches in the Time chamber."
"That place still creeps me out," Knuckles admitted, "Echidnas can live a long time, but it still feels weird that a single day out here is a year in there."
"It has its uses." Piccolo spoke, "It's also highly recommended to never go in there alone."
"But you go in there alone…" Knuckles pointed out.
"I'm one person...three souls and minds." Piccolo smirked, "Nail still makes fun of you, by the way."
"...great. Now I got someone in someone's head mocking me…" Knuckles groaned before looking at the sky while running off to the Angel Island part of the Look Out, 'Hang on just a bit longer...I'm coming.'
"Okay, so I'll be going since I'm the pilot," Tails noted, looking at a clipboard, "Skye is going as 'parental supervision' and because he's smart enough to operate the ship in an emergency. Goku and Vegeta are going due to being the most familiar with the planet outside of a Namekian and in the case of a fight breaking out that needs them. Knuckles because the Echidnas are his race. Piccolo because he is a Namekian and knows it more than Vegeta and Goku. Sonic because he wants to see another planet and we have friends that are Echidnas there. Roll because she has to stay near Sonic and is interested in learning about the cuisine..." he looked at Bulma and Sally, "Should we get anyone else?"
"I would suggest a more mature leader type," Bulma spoke up, "But...not me. I had my fill of space from last time."
"I'd volunteer, but I need to help my brother and Bulma in the reconstruction of the city," Sally added, "However, your mother did suggest someone to come along to help."
"Really?" Tails blinked before a nearby door opened, letting a familiar nine-tailed vixen walk in, "Miyuki?"
"Mother wanted you and I to spend some time together, kyu," Miyuki explained, "We haven't seen each other since the tournament, and...well, mother did mention you could use someone for your crew, kyu. I managed to save up enough time off from work with Honey-chan for a month and I cashed it all in."
"Uh well…" Tails began.
"She's coming." Piccolo's voice spoke up as he walked in, "Her abilities will come in handy out in space with a ship this big. Furthermore, we could use some more hands to crew the thing. Unlike the pod we used before, this thing might require maintenance. That is unless you have a sound argument against my logic, Tails?"
"Mmm...Um…" Tails slumped, "No."
"Wonderful! A good bonding time between siblings!" Skye beamed.
"...Okay, before anything else happens...What is that?" Bulma questioned, pointing at the fez on Skye's head.
"It's a fez. Fezzes are cool," Skye replied.
"...I like it…" Piccolo admitted as everyone turned to stare at him and then at his turban.
"I know, right? Some folks just seem to have no idea how good a fez is," Skye huffed.
"No," Vegeta sighed, walking by as he stole the fez and burned it up in his hand.
"..." Skye pulled out a capsule, clicked it, and tossed it onto his head, letting it poof and reveal another fez, "I shall not be denied this time."
"I take it this is something that happens often?" Sally asked.
"Hai," Roll replied as Skye yelped when a bo shuriken took his fez and Vegeta shot it with a bullet of ki from his finger tip, "Kaa-chan doesn't like him wearing a fez."
"I'm just gonna get more people to help run the ship then," Piccolo sighed, deciding not to get involved, "You coming, Tails?"
"Hold the door," Tails spoke, dashing after Piccolo.
"This is gonna be a long trip…" Vegeta sighed, "Shadow got lucky. He was able to get out of this one…"
"I refuse to spend more than a single day in a metal prison...with Sonic," Shadow spoke up from the kitchen.
"Aw come on, Shad," Sonic noted...before smirking, "Guess that means you're not that tough, huh?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, I can last days around you, yet you can't last more than a single day with me?" Sonic asked, "If I knew you were chicken, I'd probably not try to race ya as often as I do."
"You're not going to trick me into going."
"Mmm…" Sonic pouted.
"Besides...at least one person who can fight should stay behind," Shadow argues, "And Goku and Vegeta are already leaving," he smirked.
"Oi, oi…" Sonic frowned a bit before both started to shiver, "Uh...d-did the room get c-colder to you?"
"No fighting you two," Miyuki stated as snow began to fall on the two hedgehogs.
"And this is why Kakarot and I will be in the gravity chamber 'till we are needed," Vegeta added.
Eggman grumbled as he looked over his final version for his new machine made from the work of Dr. Gero. It was a large single person pod that could fit any size Mobian, from short to tall, skinny to fat, and so on and etcetera. However… he was scratching his head as, despite being complete, it didn't seem to start up. He grumbled to himself before kicking the side, making it come online.
"Done!" he laughed triumphantly, "The pod is complete!"
"So how does it work?" Lien-Da asked as she stood nearby with Metal Sonic...who was playing Cat's Cradle with some spare wire.
"Well...If I were to explain it in a non-painful way...This will, more or less, alter you to the cellular level, putting in technology that will make you stronger, more durable, able to generate limitless energy and stamina and then project it just like ki blasts like Goku can do," he went on, "Now, keep in mind that the exact level of power might vary from person to person, but trust me...According to Gero's notes, just two of these perfect Cyborgs...er...androids...even though they aren't technically androids…" Metal snapped his fingers, "Right! His notes claim just two of these perfected versions could have dominated the globe!" he laughed, "That is...uh...until...Super Saiyan 2, if I am correct…" he coughed, "But it's no different from my old machine of evil science you know well. Just now instead of making you into a robot...it makes you into an...uh...Android."
"Cyborg."
"No, he called them 'Androids.' ...Maybe Eggborgs would be better."
"..." Metal pulled out a mask and put it on, revealing it to be a copy of Goku's head, "BOO!"
"EEK!" Eggman screamed, jumping up and hiding behind the machine, "Gah! Metal, stop doing that!"
"Androids it is then…" Lien-Da sighed, "Better than...that name…"
"Agreed," Metal stated.
"How long will it take?" Lien-Da asked.
"I dunno...I haven't tested on anything that's not a roach yet…" Eggman replied.
"Which we have no short supply of…" Metal sighed, "We're in an airship...over the ice continent…"
"But...if I had to guess...a few hours." Eggman continued, "Though it'll hurt a lot. So you probably are gonna wanna be knocked out on something so you don't die of shock."
"Right…" Lien-Da nodded, "Start it up, then."
"Wow. You are really reckless lately. ...I'm enjoying it," Eggman grinned as he pushed a button and the pod opened...before holding a hand up to stop her, "No clothing allowed in the machine. Otherwise, it will end up making them permanently attached to your body and become skin."
"Don't ask how we know…" Metal spoke up.
"...You better not look," Lien-Da frowned, "And if my clothes are missing when I wake up...there will be issues."
"Okay okay…" Eggman muttered, holding his hands up as he turned around, "...that includes you too, Metal."
"Why? I have no gender and could care less a…" Metal began before Eggman pushed a button and a metal hand came out of the wall and spun his head around, "..."
"Alright...I'm in the machine."
"This is why I put the main controls...behind the machine!" Eggman spoke as he side-stepped around and made his way to a computer screen.
'In a few hours...I'll either be dead...or I'll be able to get my people back,' Lien-Da thought, 'Hopefully, the distraction I deployed to delay their launch delays it enough for me to sneak onto that ship.'
"Alright...here goes...something!" Eggman spoke, typing away, "Thankfully...I sprang for the soundproof pod."
"Time he could have used to further perfect the process…" Metal sighed.
"This was better!" Eggman cheered while hitting enter as the pod sealed itself closed with a hiss, the sounds of inner mechanisms working, along with flashes of light indicating it was working.
"And you're having the ship go back into a capsule because…" Vegeta questioned as Skye caught the Blue Typhoon Capsule.
"The take off is better to perform outside of the city due to its size," Skye replied, casually tossing it before several red blurs shot by, "...Metal duplicates of Knuckles just flew by, didn't they?"
"Yep," Vegeta replied.
"Stole the capsule and spun around enough that we can't tell which has the capsule?"
"Yep."
"And they blasted off my latest fez?"
"They did," Piccolo noted.
"...If you bring me their heads, Vegeta, I'll convince my son-in-law Sonic to power the hamster wheel instead of plugging the power for the Deroboticizer Attempts into the house systems so you can run the gravity room at any time you want without the power going out."
"GET BACK HERE!" Vegeta roared as he chased after the Knuckles robots.
"If you bring me their heads before he can, I won't do a thing," Skye stated before a blue blur shot by, followed by a yellow one.
"...you did that on purpose…" Piccolo noted.
"I did...but at least we got silence for a bit."
"...Fair enough."
"Get back here, you tin canned porcupines!" Vegeta snapped as he flew after a trio of Metal Knuckles, "Oh fine, if this is how you want it. I'll just blow you to kingdom come and find the capsule off your scraps! BIg Bang…!" the three suddenly moved to the side, revealing another trio as they flew off in different directions, "Hey! Don't you fuckign interrupt me when I'm making a move!"
"Hey 'Getes! Bye 'Getes!" Sonic whooped as he and Roll ran past him, following one group of Metal Knuckles.
"What the? Why's…" Vegeta began before it dawned on him, "!?...oh Skye, you motherf-!"
"...ucker!"
"AHH!" Tangle yelped as she shot up..and fell off the lampost she was hanging off of, "Ow! Mmm...I was having a good nap too…" she muttered before blinking when a Metal Knuckles flew by, "...what the…"
"Hey Tangle-chan!" Roll greeted as she and Sonic rushed by.
"...wait. Are you guys fighting robots?!" Tangle asked as she shot up, an excited look on her face, "I'm in!"
"Sorry Tangle! We…!" Sonic began before Tangle's tail shot past them, wrapping around the Metal Knuckles before yanking it out of the sky, "Suddenly have some time…" he blinked a few times, "I forget you can do all sorts of cool stuff with your tail…"
"Yup!" Tangle laughed as her tail let go of the Metal Knuckles, letting it fly past her and crash into a cart.
"My cabbages!"
"Ooh...sorry, Bergy!" Tangle apologized as Sonic and Roll ran up next to her, "So what's up with chasing the robot echidna?"
"Weird thing. They stole a whole space ship shrunk down into a itty-bitty capsule." Sonic explained, "Right now trying to get it back first to beat Vegeta...oh crud…" he realized.
"Mine! Mine! Mine! MINE!" Vegeta roared as he crashed into the Metal Knuckles, "Ha! Take that! Victory for Vege-DAMN IT! It doesn't have it!"
"...Oh they're playing a decoy strategy," Roll realized.
"How was I the only one hit by that shockwave?" Sonic groaned laying upside down against a wall.
"Balance training/tail," Roll and Tangle answered in unison.
"When I find this robotic waste of space, I will melt it into my new beer mug!" Vegeta growled.
"Provided you can find it," Sonic quipped as he got up.
"Shut it, Needlemouse!" Vegeta snapped as he flew off, further destroying the cabbage cart wreckage.
"My cabbages! AGAIN!"
"This is gonna be all day…" Sonic sighed.
"Hey this one is pretty intact!" Tangle shouted as she and Roll looked at the bits left behind from one, "This looks important." she held up a piece of its internal processor that looked like a locator beacon for the rest of its brother units.
"..."
"...what?"
"The benefits of not rushing off like a boy." Roll replied.
"Yup...wait. Hey~" Sonic pouted.
"She's not wrong." Tangle smirked, "If I'm reading this right...I have it upside down." she flipped it around, "There we go. Wow...whoever made it legit left parts to find other units...inside its head. That's kinda stupid."
"It's Eggman. This is the kind of thing you'd expect from him at times," Sonic shrugged.
"Bet you could beat Veggie with this!" Tangle smirked, flipping the beacon up and catching it with her tail.
"What do you want?" Sonic sighed.
"You two smell of adventure...what ya doing?" Tangle smiled leaning in, "I remember you mentioned something about a spaceship?"
"...Ano...well…" Roll began as she and Sonic looked at each other for a moment.
"...Well, we were gonna use that new ship of Tails' that was stolen to travel to Namek, the place where Piccolo's species lives," Sonic explained.
"Wait….so you're going into space?!" Tangle asked excitedly with stars in her eyes.
"It's like a road trip." Sonic corrected, "A space road trip!"
"We also need to ask their Dragon to fix the mess from the monster attack a few weeks back." Roll added.
"Right...a road trip with a purpose!" Sonic added, "Also turns out for some reason all the Echidnas got flung there instead of ending up on our fusion of Earth and Mobius…"
"...so a rescue mission into space," Tangle noted, "...I WANT IN!"
"Piccolo-san did say we'd need more hands on the ship…" Roll spoke up.
"I mean…" Sonic muttered as the two girls just stared at him, "Okay okay! Just stop with the sparkly eyes...please…"
"SWEET!" Tangle beamed, "Then let's head off and get the ship back!"
"Preferably before Vegeta so I don't have to run on a hamster wheel." Sonic added.
"...I swear the hedgehog is talking about me," Vegeta frowned as he flew through a canyon. He saw a Metal Knuckle fly off down a different path, "Found you! Galick Gun...FIRE!"
"Welp...he's found one." Sonic noted seeing the explosion far in the distance.
"Yup...but it wasn't the one we are looking for I think," Tangle noted, riding on Sonic's back.
"How can you tell?"
"A hunch."
"That's...not helpful…" Sonic admitted.
"There. That way into the woods." Tangle pointed to the side suddenly.
"...okay. But No sure i-"
"MOTHERFU-!" Vegeta roared out.
"Running!" Sonic yelped as he and Roll ran off.
The trio made it into the woods. It was large and vast, the animals and dinosaurs that called it home jumped in shock from the boom of their speed as they ran through. They came to a stop as Tangle began looking around for the signal.
"Weird...it says it's around here…" she muttered, jumping off Sonic's back.
"What...they turn invisible now?" Sonic asked, leaning against a tree. He then tensed as the Metal Knuckle fell out of a tree, a small hole torn through its head.
"You know...this is a private nature preserve." a voice spoke behind Sonic making him flinch and jump back as he turned to see a man standing there. He was tall as Goku, he had chin length black hair, and blue eyes. He was dressed in a white and green shirt with MIR in black on the front, blue jeans, black boots and black gloves over his hands, "Mobian or not, entry here is prohibited."
"Woah woah! Easy buddy!" Sonic yelped as he held his hands up in defense, "We're just here to retrieve something that was stolen…" he explained before pointing to the Metal Knuckles on the ground, "And that thing may have had it."
"You mean this?" he held up a capsule, "It dropped it after I did that." he looked down at the damaged robot, "If this is all you're after, then here." he tossed it to Sonic who caught it, "Try not to spook the animals here. The Deer here are endangered, and I was just able to herd them away from predator territory. Don't scare them back that way."
"Uh...thanks, dude…" Sonic blinked as he handed the Capsule to Roll who would be more careful with it.
"Why can't we sense him?" Tangle asked Roll, who shrugged while putting the Capsule in her tail.
"Uh yeah...good point…" Sonic muttered.
"It's 'cause I'm not human," he replied in a deadpan tone, "Can't sense a cyborg."
"Cyborg?" Sonic repeated.
"Yep. Like the Terminator." he added, "So don't scare my animals...or I'll be back." he smiled.
"...Just so you know, I am against purposely harming nature," Sonic stated, "Now Eggman...oh you'd outright hate him."
"I've heard of him," he spoke, "I am against needless violence now...but I wouldn't mind hurting that one." he added, "That and I just don't like scientists…"
"Eh. You just haven't met any good ones yet," Sonic shrugged, "And by good...I mean a legit good person, and really good at what they do."
"Whatever," he replied, "The path out is that way," he pointed, "You should hurry...I hear something angry and short with spiky hair flying nearby…"
"Yeah, we know him," Sonic noted before Tangle hopped onto Roll's back and they shot off.
"Hm...Zero to sixty in 0.000001 seconds. ...Weird kids." the man spoke before looking at the robot, "...I should burn this…" he held his hand out, forming a barrier around it...before it exploded while inside the barrier, muffling the sound and preventing any fire from forming.
"Huh...pretty chill guy," Sonic noted once they were out of the forest.
"It's nice to know people are helping take care of places like that," Roll noted.
"Man, he looked so cool!" Tangle squeed, stars in her eyes.
"Well, let's get back to your dad, Roll, so I don't end up in a hamster wheel the next time they try to help Dad get Deroboticized."
"Oh, this is gonna be so exciting~!" Tangle cheered, "Hey...you think the folks there wouldn't care if I dug some gems out of the ground, do ya? Space gems would be perfect for Jewel's museum!"
"Don't know…" Sonic admitted, "Piccolo would though, so let's ask him."
"Hedgehog!" Vegeta's voice could be heard in the distance.
"...Yeah, you better hold on tight, Tangle," Sonic warned, "And don't worry about your ears; you won't hear the boom since we'll be long gone before then."
"Boom? What bo-WHOA!" Tangle yelped as the two sped up into a sonic boom.
"Sonic's back!" Goku smiled as two blurs suddenly stopped in front of them.
"I wish they'd stop doing that…" Piccolo sighed, covering his ears.
"Gomen, Piccolo-san," Roll apologized.
"WHOO! Let's go again!" Tangle cheered, her fur swept back with stars in her eyes.
"I like this girl," Sonic chuckled, "You have a fun friend, Roll."
"Ah good...you got help," Piccolo spoke while looking at Tangle.
"Found a tracker in the bot they were chasing in Spiral Hill," Tangle said as she held up said tracker, "Ran into this cool ranger dude, too."
"Any chance you know a guy with black hair that's a cyborg?" Sonic asked.
"..." Goku took a long second.
"Hair's long like a girl's...blue eyes, has a super young looking face like a punk kid?" Piccolo asked, getting a nod from Sonic, "Hah...17…"
"You know seventeen guys like him?" Sonic asked.
"Ano...I think '17' is his name, Sonikku," Roll noted.
"His name is a number?" Sonic asked.
"He's an Android," Piccolo sighed, "Which is the umbrella term we use for all cybernetically made or enhanced life forms we come across. Those idiots who follow Eggman would probably fall under the same classification."
"Oh…" Sonic noted, "Well, I like the guy. He's protecting a nature reserve."
"Ah, welcome back, you two," Skye greeted, "I see you brought a friend."
"Here to go to space!" Tangle beamed, earning a nod from Skye.
"Did you happen to bring back what got swiped?" Skye asked.
"Sure did!" Sonic replied as Roll pulled out the Capsule, "So...no hamster wheel, right?"
"While I'm glad you brought the Capsule back, I said 'bring me their heads,'" Skye noted before moving to the side to let a decapitated head of a Metal Knuckles land where he had been, "Which Vegeta seems to have done."
"WHAT?!" Sonic freaked.
"Yes! Victory for Vegeta!" Vegeta laughed.
"I'd just like to add 17 once tried to kill us all…" Piccolo muttered.
"That's okay...so did you, Piccolo," Goku smiled, "...And Vegeta...and 17 and 18...and Vegeta again when he was under Babidi's control...and Buu when Babidi was controlling him…"
"We get it!" Vegeta snapped.
"This makes me wonder something…" Sonic spoke up, "All of you used to be the bad guy...but Goku won...what would happen if Goku was ever the bad guy?" he asked, making Piccolo and Vegeta freeze in place.
"...Okay, can we change it from him running for you three, he runs for the gravity chamber for making me think that?"
"Oh come on. That's just silly...why would I ever become evil?" Goku asked, "What would I even want? I mean all I love doing is fighting. And by being a good guy, people keep coming to fight me...so it's a win-win!"
"Are you joking or being serious?" Piccolo asked.
"Does it change my point?" Goku argued.
"...I can't tell if it's either, and that scares me," Piccolo muttered.
"This idiot will be the death of us if Sonic isn't…" Vegeta sighed.
"Yea-Hey!" Sonic snapped.
"Let's just get ready for the trip," Piccolo sighed, "Half a week in a ship with all of them...I wish human medicine worked for me…"
*RIIIIIIIIING~!*
"Did you really have to set a timer?" Metal asked.
"What? It helps," Eggman argued, "Regardless, it should be a success! ...But just to be safe and make sure she doesn't try and kill me…" he whistled loudly as a few EggPawns and SWATbots ran in, "Knew keeping a few old SWATbots would come in handy...now to let Lien-Da out."
The Robots complied as they moved over and pushed the release button, letting the pod swing open. Eggman, on instinct, ducked behind his control station. After a second, a sudden gust came as the machine finished. The robots leaned in only to suddenly be blasted by a red beam.
"Synthetic Ki blasts work…" Metal noted.
"Well I can hear that…" Eggman muttered, "And this is why we have replaceable goons!"
"Be thankful it even worked…" Lien-Da's voice stated from the slow mist creeping from the machine as her hand shot out, grabbing her clothes from nearby as she pulled them in and began to change back into them.
"...H...how are you feeling, Lien-Da? Anything...odd?" Eggman cautiously asked as the female Echidna walked out of the pod.
"...I don't feel...different." she noted, looking at her hands, "But it also feels like I'm perfectly organic again."
"Well...you can shoot lasers now...in theory you can fly, have enhanced strength, speed, durability and infinite stamina." Eggman listed, "That last one seems unfair...for a number of reasons…"
"You also have no metal dreadlock," Metal added.
"I guess any augmentations from before are now...mashed into your cells as extra powers…" Eggman shrugged.
"...Huh...guess so," Lien-Da whispered as she looked herself over, "At least we know it works…"
"Excellent! So now I can begin upgrading my other Egg Bosses!" Eggman beamed.
"The machine needs an hour to cool down," Metal spoke, making Eggman fall over, "You designed it…"
"Darn it…"
"...If we're done here, I'll take my leave," Lien-Da stated as she began to walk off.
"Huh? Where are you…?"
"A personal leave for now," Lien-Da answered.
"...who said I gave you permission?" Eggman asked with an unsettling smile as he stood up.
"You did," Metal replied.
"Excuse you?" Eggman asked as Metal held up a contract.
"You made a contract to deal with paperwork for adding members of your Egg Army so you could make a digital database on them all on the off-chance someone tried to put a spy into your forces," Metal stated, "That included an annual two weeks of personal leave that can be used at any time."
"DRAT!" Eggman snapped, "...New policy! I…" he tensed when an electric laser shot past him, "!?"
"Do not even try it…" Lien-Da scowled, turning around to glare at him, "I may work for you, but you won't deny me this…"
"...I could still activate the b-"
"You try and I will kill you on the spot," Lien-Da threatened, "In fact...I want to make a sug-no...a demand. Your stupid name for my Dark L-"
"Egg Army."
"Dark. Legion...change it back to that, and change Egg Bosses back to Grand Masters…" Lien-Da ordered.
"Hmm...It seems the upgrades cause boosted aggression," Metal noted, "Activating timer to test time limit of boosted aggression."
"Metal, do something!" Eggman hissed.
"Negative...as it stands, I am not able to stop her." he replied, "You gave her infinite energy and stamina, my power source is currently limited. We should have thought this through better Dr. Eggman. Well Live and learn as the saying goes."
"...Know what? I will change it," Eggman stated after a moment, "But you need to bring in an echidna to be made into an Android."
"I'll have one when I get back from my personal leave," Lien-Da stated as she quickly walked out.
"...Wait, what?" Eggman blinked at that.
"She played us…" Metal spoke, "You need to stop letting that happen, Doctor."
"Excuse you?!"
"Oh look, Goku senses something strong," Metal pointed to a window as Eggman yelped and ducked under his computer console, "That works too well…"
"Final checks," Piccolo spoke as he and Tails walked around the ship.
"Right," Tails agreed as he pulled out his Miles Electric and tapped on it, "Running system diagnosis now. I'm not good at sensing exact locations yet, but I do sense everyone that's going on the trip is here."
"As can I," Piccolo stated, "That means at least our crew is here. Still, I would like to get on our way as soon as possible. My people aren't violent, but they have had bad experiences with visitors from other worlds. And from what I can tell...Echidnas can be...complicated..."
"Yeah, I get that from them the few times I've interacted with Echidnas that weren't Knuckles and Julie-Su aside from a few occasions," Tails noted.
"Also the faster we go, the faster we can get back...and make sure the world isn't about to end again…" Piccolo sighed.
"COME ON! LET'S HURRY AND GO!" Knuckles shouted from within the ship.
"Also the faster Knuckles calms down...that or he just misses his girlfriend that bad…" Piccolo muttered.
"Uh-huh," Tails muttered, nodding in agreement.
"Blast off!" Goku cheered, "Ooh kitchen!"
"No eating until it is time for dinner, kyu," Miyuki stated.
"Ah man!"
"Hahahaha!" Vegeta laughed.
"That includes you too, Mr. Protein Shake, kyu."
"DAMN IT!"
"Not surprised by those two," both deadpanned.
"Let's launch!" Sonic spoke up, "I wanna see space without having to worry about all sorts of stuff like last time!"
"WHOO! SPACE TRIP!" Tangle beamed.
"Tails, go start this thing up. I'll try and keep them from blowing up…" Piccolo sighed.
"Got it," Tails sighed as he walked off.
Bulma smiled as she and the others watched the Blue Typhoon begin lifting up into the air. It was amazing the new things she was able to make since the Mobians arrived, but it was still amazing how far they pushed the bounds of what was normal before. Not only in her labs, but with all the new friends they made. She just hoped this time a trip to Namek didn't turn into another misadventure. She flinched as the Blue Typhoon suddenly took off and broke the atmosphere in only seconds just like all the times before. Only now it was more like they sent an entire cruise ship into space.
"Hmm...ideas for next birthday party," Bulma smiled, "You two better take care of everyone, Goku, Vegeta."
"Amazing...it's been only a day and we've already covered more distance then our old ship," Piccolo spoke, looking at the map projection, "Almost halfway there."
"Those engines Dr. Briefs made from Goku and Vegeta's space pods are amazing!" Tails spoke up, "I didn't think space travel this fast was even possible! I can't believe that Saiyans made 'em…"
"Believe it or not, not all of our kind were decent warriors," Vegeta spoke, "The few who didn't have the talent worked mundane jobs, like mechanics, technicians, doctors etcetera… And the model I used was made by Frieza's scientists."
"I rode one once...it's a bit snug," Goku added in the middle of eating his tenth plate of food, "But real easy to control."
"...And you didn't crash it?" Piccolo cautiously asked.
"Nope."
"...Did it have an autopilot?" Tails whispered to Vegeta.
"Most did," Vegeta shrugged.
"That explains it…" Tails nodded.
"Even still, with this speed we should reach Namek in another day, maybe less," Piccolo spoke, "The Namekians should be able to recognize me and Goku based on our Ki, so they won't be worried when they feel all of us arriving," he cupped his chin, "We'll send one group with Knuckles to find his people. Meanwhile I'll take another to gather the Dragon Balls. Tails, you and Skye can stay up here in orbit."
"Sure thing," Skye noted, "Just bring back soil and water samples for me to study later."
"I don't mind," Tails smiled, "Honestly when you told me Namekians live a kind of humble life, I kinda figured it wouldn't be much fun for me." he chuckled.
"Also, you'll be needed up here to prep for our new passengers." Piccolo added, "Also I figure you could use a little break from your sister. She's...I believe the term is...smothering you…"
"I am not, kyu," Miyuki argued, currently wearing a cooking apron in the kitchen.
"You're baking him a extra large cake."
"...I want to try and make up for all the birthdays I've missed, kyu."
Roll sniffed the air, "I smell mint."
"I did tell her my favorite candy is mint candy," Tails noted.
"I'm pretty sure there is a term for this, too…" Piccolo muttered.
"Oh that smells so good…" Tangle whispered as she and Goku drooled a bit.
"Cake…" Goku whispered.
"..." Vegeta turned away at that.
"You want some too, don't you?" Piccolo sighed.
"Shut up…" Vegeta grumbled.
Knuckles crossed his arms as he looked out the main observation window. He hadn't left the spot much since the trip began, only to the kitchen for food, his room for rest, and the bathroom for obvious reasons. Finding out his entire race was off on an alien world intact and all those who had died from Eggman's Egg Grapes was the best news he heard since this whole fusion of worlds event happened. He was just happy to know the trip was even faster...and not the several month journey that Gohan, Krillin and Bulma first took years ago. Nor was it the year-long trip Sonic had to do after the Xorda and their black hole generator exploding from him managing to reverse it from his speed alone. Regardless...he was gonna be happy to see his fellow Echidna again...to see her again.
"Knuckles-san?" he glanced over his shoulder to see Roll walk over with a fruit salad, "You didn't show up for lunch, so I brought you something to eat if you want it."
"...Thanks," Knuckles nodded as he turned back to look out at space, "So where's Sonic? Aren't you two supposed to be joined at the hip?"
"The ship is big enough for us to be on other sides of it without worry," Roll replied with a shrug.
"Please tell me he went into that gravity room the same time as Goku and Vegeta again…" Knuckles smirked, "That look on his face when the times 300 gravity hit...hehe...priceless."
"True…" Roll giggled, her tail wagging a bit at the memory of his expression, "Sometimes, he needs a lesson in humility." her wagging slowed as a small moment of silence fell, "...How are you feeling right now?"
"Honestly? Too many things to just pick one," Knuckles sighed, "What have the others told you about me and my race?"
"That Echidnas were once a really advanced society until recent times," Roll replied, "And that you're apparently called an Avatar or something…"
"Don't call me that!" Knuckles barked, making her flinch at the glare he gave, "That damn name has been nothing but a nightmare for me and my people!" he sighed as he looked away from her, "...It's a long story going back to around 10,000 years back. The echidnas were able to become an advanced society early on to the point the cities and inventions of the modern day were our normal cities and inventions. We even used technology to have twelve Chaos Emeralds float our greatest city-Echidnaopolis-out of the way of a meteor and was located on what we call Angel Island today. Around a few centuries later, my ancestor and his brother Dmitri decided to make a siphon to depower the emeralds to safely lower the island back to the surface." he cringed, "That...backfired...epically. Dmitiri ended up becoming a being known as Enerjak and was defeated by my ancestor and a colony of fire ants that descended from the ones that helped Angel Island get off the ground."
"Eh?" Roll blinked a few times in surprise.
"Time passed and my ancestor convinced the council to ban technology, seeing it as the cause of all our problems. But many didn't like that, including Dmitri's son who founded a group known as the Dark Legion, who would replace parts of their bodies with machinery. My ancestor was killed by them and his son took up the role he had made known as Guardian. A brotherhood was made from his descendants to protect the island and our people both from the Dark Legion and from the threats on the surface and the dingoes that got onto the island."
"Dingoes?"
"They've been staying in the desert area of the island after meeting Piccolo," Knuckles noted, "Still...one of my ancestors used the forbidden technology once in order to save our city from the dingoes using nuclear weapons that ended up making the island uninhabitable for a few generations...but at the cost of the city being stuck in a pocket dimension until a few years ago when Robotnik fired the Ultimate Annihilator when I was the latest Guardian. At the time, I thought I was the last Echidna since I never saw another Echidna since my father jumped into a fake fire that I thought was a real one."
"Eh?!" Roll gawked, "He abandoned you?!"
"Honestly, I thought he died. But he and the Brotherhood of Guardians were actually keeping watch of me and dealing with other threats that I wasn't ready for," Knuckles replied, "But moving on, it was that event that led me and my friends Vector, Charmy, Espio, Ray, and Mighty to encounter Archimedes, a fire ant that helped train me, and Enerjak. We beat him and...then we encountered the Dark Legion and…" a somber look formed on his face, "...and Julie-Su."
"And she is…?" Roll asked slowly, but still rather interested as to this part of the story.
"She was a descendent of Dmitri...and my soultouched."
"Soultouched?"
"You Sakurai have the Bond, but echidnas have what we call the Soultouch. It's a way to help us…find our love," Knuckles explained, "Julie-Su is my Soultouch and she went as far as betraying the Dark Legion for us to be together."
"Oh my…" Roll gasped, her eyes wide, "So when you see Sonikku and I…"
"I always think of myself and Julie-Su, yeah," Knuckles nodded, "It was at that time I finally met my mother, who had left my father because-as I later found out-experimented on himself and on me when I was still in my egg…" he held up a hand to stop her from interrupting, "...And I finally met the Brotherhood of Guardians. A lot of things went on after that with the Dark Legion now led by Enerjak, the return of the dingoes, and then me ending up turning into a living Chaos Emerald for a bit until I went and did the stupidest thing I ever decided to do: I sacrificed myself to overpower this guy named Mammoth Mogul's siphoning of my power."
"Nani?!" Roll gawked.
"Yeah. I died before the planets fused, meaning no Dragon Balls reviving me. I actually attended my own funeral and met one of the deities we follow: Aurora. I was given a chance to ascend into the Chaos Force, but I refused it because I wanted to come back to help with the Xorda and protect my friends who were more my family than anything," Knuckles went on, "But...coming back made me lose all my powers. I eventually got them back, but so much had gone on while I was dead. My people were enslaved by Dingoes that joined Eggman. The best comparison to what my people endured because I was gone are those history books talking about this World War II thing with Concentration Camps. While we got them free...it only led to more getting captured by Eggman and put into those Egg Grapes, resulting in even more deaths. Another echidna took advantage of the pain in my heart from all that guilt of not being there to stop it to turn me into the next Enerjak and took my own father sacrificing himself to change me back to normal." he took a shuddering breath, "While I was Enerjak, I took the remaining Echidnas to a new home-Albion-, but that same damn Echidna wrecked it with Eggman and then, when I was in Downunda, I met a Tasmanian Devil named Thrash. I thought he was a good man and I gave him one of the Warp Rings we had taken from Finitevus...and he used it to find more and charge them to up take every single remaining living Echinda he could into some other Zone that I didn't know of or knew where to go and fled from me just so I would be the last Echidna like he was the last Tasmanian Devil due to actions of several echidnas in the past."
"Oh kami above...I'm glad we have Dragon Balls now…" Roll muttered after all that.
"You and me both…" Knuckles sighed, "And there's even a stronger set here on Piccolo's home planet. But...I guess I am just glad the story of me and my roller coaster of a history with my people is coming close to a happy conclusion. But, it kinda helped making new friends who share how it feels to be one of the last of your kind."
"God damn it, Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted from down the hall, "I will kill you!"
"Ah! What did I do!?"
"That and they are kind of hilarious," Knuckles chuckled as Goku ran past them, followed by a livid Vegeta.
"Get back here and let me hit you!" Vegeta snapped.
"No! You never stop at one!" Goku complained.
"Be a man!"
"No! I'm good with being a Goku!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"You don't make sense!"
"Oh for-! FIGHT ME!"
"AHH!"
"Maybe it's a good thing they are the last Saiyans actually…" Knuckles realized.
"I heard that, Dreadlocks!" Vegeta snapped.
"..." Knuckles facepalmed, "That's...not really an insult. Nearly all echidnas have them."
"I mistook it for your name since it seems your family are all named after body parts!"
"We are no…"
"Kneecaps the Echidna!"
"SONIC!" Knuckles snapped, running off, "I KNEW YOU LAUGHED AT HIS NAME!"
"Get back here, Kakarot!" Vegeta snapped as Goku tried to escape.
"Will everyone stop shouting?!" Piccolo snapped.
"NO!-!" Vegeta and Knuckles shouted back.
"...I will disable the muffin button if this doesn't stop," Skye noted from the ship's lab to Tails.
"Agreed," Tails nodded.
"I knew there was a muffin button!" Goku spoke, teleporting into the lab suddenly.
"There won't be if that shouting doesn't stop. We're in the middle of an experiment that could go awry with the vibrations of all the shouting," Tails replied.
"I don't get it...how does shouting make stuff vibrate?" Goku asked with a confused look, he then tensed when the door was kicked down.
"There you are!"
"Vegeta no!" Goku, Tails, and Skye panicked.
"Vegeta yes!"
"This is our lives now…" Piccolo sighed, walking up next to Roll.
"Hai, hai," Roll sighed, rubbing the side of her head as Sonic ran by with Knuckles chasing.
"Ah! Knuckles, I swear I didn't laugh!"
"You laughed!"
"I didn't!"
"You did!"
Deep in the lower sections of the ship in storage, Lien-Da sighed. Her plan to sneak on worked without a hitch, and she was able to get by hiding in one of the lower sections they didn't come down to at all. However...she could still hear everything that was happening with them above.
"Several floors of reinforced metal...and I still have to listen to those god damn idiots fight with each other every couple minutes…" she groaned, "Ugh...If Kragok could see me now...He'd be laughing so hard he'd kill himself from lack of oxygen." she facepalmed, "Where the hell did it all go wrong? ...Oh wait I know...I decided to join that idiot Eggman after the Dark Legion lost their cybernetics thanks to Knuckles when he was Enerjak."
More crashing and yelling could be heard upstairs. But she could also pick out complaints about how much longer and how they were at least 12 hours from reaching Namek.
"...Just twelve more hours…" Lien-Da whispered to herself, "Just twelve more hours…"
Piccolo walked out to the main observation deck as he looked out. After a long few hours, it was finally there; Namek. The wonderful green planet his people called home. Granted this is New Namek, technically. But it was just like the original in every way that mattered. It has been so long since he met the rest of his kind, but he still felt at home with them. He turned as the others woke up from their sleep and awed at the planet. Goku and Vegeta smirked as the Mobians awed at the wonderful green world before them. It wasn't like Earth, or Mobius from space. Namek was a wonderful shade of green that made it look like pure Jade.
"Well...I guess this is your first time, so...welcome to Namek," Piccolo spoke proudly, "We're not big on technology...but I think we make the best of our world as is."
"Woah…." Tangle awed.
"So beautiful," Miyuki whispered as she looked on.
"Wow…" Sonic spoke, "It's like a giant round emerald…"
"If this takes a few days, it's all you're going to see," Piccolo stated as the ship began to lower to the surface.
"Got it, but this should take a sec," Sonic smirked as he ran out….only to run back in with wide eyes, "This planet is entirely surrounded by water, isn't it?"
"No…" Piccolo replied, "It has land in the form of multiple islands." he pointed, "You'll just have to be careful."
"...d...duly noted…" Sonic whispered.
"Oh and no one make any Bluegrass jokes...Krillin wore that bit to death…" Piccolo added.
"Got it," Tails nodded.
"Alright, let's go a-!" Goku began as he ran out the ship once it landed, only to stop once he was outside, "..."
"Goku-san?" Roll blinked as she and the others -minus Tails and Skye- followed him out.
"...Something feels...off," Goku spoke as he looked around.
"...he's right," Piccolo frowned, "I can feel less and less ki from the other Namekians. As if some of them have gone...missing."
"...I feel a lot of odd ki's to. Definitely Mobian, they kinda feel like a lot of Knuckles…" Goku muttered, "But...seems they are all on the move…"
"...Something is wrong…" Vegeta frowned.
"...Well. So much for this being easy," Sonic muttered.
"Perhaps we should split up a-" Miyuki began before a loud roar was heard, echoing out through the entire area, "?!"
"The hell was that?!" Vegeta snapped.
"..." Knuckles stood there for a moment, his eyes slowly widening in anger as he began to growl a bit. He knew that roar...the ki he sensed was familiar...he could tell...it was him. The one who took the Echidna's away...the one who took Julie-Su away from him.
"...uh...you okay th-" Tangle began before Knuckles flew off, "WOAH MAN!"
"God damn it!" Piccolo groaned.
"I'm on it!" Goku shouted, flying off.
"Find the Dragon Balls," Vegeta sighed, "And don't screw it up Hedgehog!" he shouted as he flew off after them.
"Got it!" Sonic called out, 'That roar...where have I….uh oh. Knuckles gettign enraged, familiar roar...sudden burst of anger? It's gotta be him…'
"Gh...no...please stop…" a Namekian grunted as he tried to stand, his ears bleeding as he was covered in wounds and bite marks.
"Now see...why would I do that, demon?" a large Mobian Tasmanian Devil spoke as he walked up to him, his fur a dark purple with his muzzle a beige color, "One of your kind has caused so much pain to people to the world I came from...and much like the Echidnas…" he took out a small gold ring before tossing it behind him, letting it expand as a gate appeared within it, "The universe would be better off if you joined the ones I caught, both Echidna...and demon."
"But...I'm not...a d-" the Namekian began before the Tasmanian Devil grabbed him and tossed him into the ring, which soon shrank back down as he caught it.
"And another one down…" he whispered, "It'll take a while...but I'm almost there. S-"
"THRASH!-!-!-!-!-!"
"Hmm?" the Tasmanian Devil raised a brow before he turned and blocked Knuckles' incoming punch, resulting in a massive shockwave as the area shook a bit, "Oh...it's you. Hello...Knuckles."
"I knew it...it was you!" Knuckles grunted as his punch was blocked by the Tasmanian Devil's arm at the last second, "Why are you here on Namek!? Where are my people?!"
"You've gotten stronger...let me guess m, you learned some tricks from the folks from this universe?" Thrash smirked as he swung his arm and grabbed Knuckles by his wrist before spinning around and tossing him into a hill, "Before I found out what these things really were...they were kind enough to teach me a few tricks to."
"GH...grr!" Knuckles snarled as he pulled himself out and charged, "What are you talkign about?!"
"You see...the Echidnas are not the only evil race stuck here on this planet," Thrash stated as he blocked Knuckles' punch once more, "These Namekians...they are demons. Hiding their true intent by putting on a mask of 'kindness'. They're a threat to the universe...much like this Demon King Piccolo of theirs."
"Demon k...WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
"I did a bit of reading when I came back to Mobius," Thrash explained as he threw Knuckles to the side, letting him tumble along the ground, "The world Mobius fused with...it had a threat that would make Eggman seem like a spoiled brat in comparison. Demon King Piccolo...he terrorized that world for eons until he was defeated, and yet…" he paused as he grabbed Knuckles before he could punch him, raising him up and slammed him into the ground, "This entire planet is filled with demons like him!"
"Demons…" he coughed, "You mean the Namekians?!" he paused as it dawned on him, "What have you done to them?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna do to them what I did to the Echidnas before Mobius and the other world merged," Thrash grinned as he lifted up Knuckles by the neck, "Only this time...I'll do away with both species all together...that way you can spend eternity with your kind...as you and the demons will no longer threaten this universe…"
"You are insane, you know that…" Knuckles grunted before smirking, "You might be stronger then me still...but...I bet he's way more then you can handle."
"He?" he turned around to blink as Goku held his hand up to Thrash's face with one finger curled down.
"Hi!" Goku smiled, flicking his finger and the strike of his finger hit Thrash's nose and sent him flying away and letting Knuckles fall to the ground, "So...who's your buddy?" Goku asked in a concerned tone as Thrash skipped across the ground a few times before slamming into a large hillside.
"He's not...my buddy…"Knuckles grunted as he got up, "He's the one that took my people before Mobius fused with Earth...and he's intending to repeat it, but with the Namekians."
"Wait what? Why?"
"He thinks they're demons like Piccolo's father...the original one."
"What...but that's stupid." Goku spoke, "I killed King Piccolo, then he spit up and egg that turned into our Piccolo, but he's a good guy." he explained the story quickly, "Sides King Piccolo was made when Kami decided to purge all his evil. In a sense...if he's going off that logic, everyone has a little evil in them. So...he really should just do it to everyone...but then that be stupid and make him evil."
"EVIL?!" Thrash's voice roared as a large sonic soundwave slammed into the two, sending them flying back as they crashed into a hill, "I am not Evil...I am trying to save this world from it…"! He growled as he stomped back into the area, "To make sure no species has to go through what my people did...to make sure another Demon King Piccolo doesn't happen!"
"Wow...he's kinda crazy ain't he?" Goku muttered getting up.
"Yes…" Vegeta's voice spoke as everyone looked up, "Yes he is." he aimed his hand down, "And dangerous," he formed a ball of ki before he began unleashing a machine gun like barrage of ki bullets, effectively blitzing the land with explosions, "And now he's dead...less threats the b-" he tensed as the smoke settled...and not a trace of Thrash was seen, "...the fuck did he go?!"
"Right behind you, mate."
"Wh-" Vegeta began before grunting in pain, Thrash slamming his arms down onto his back as he rocketed down into the ground, resulting in a crater as he laid facedown.
"Did you think I'd stand around and just take that?" Thrash asked as he floated there, catching the gold ring from before as it fell into his opened palm, "No...I know better than to stand around like a chump."
"Ah damn it...he's using Warp Rings to move around," Knuckles frowned.
"Warp Rings?" Goku repeated.
"Think your Instant Transmission, only they can let you go to other Zones-alternate realities- if they're charged up enough," Knuckles explained before glaring at Thrash, "And he's planning on using them to trap my people and he Namekians into that same Zone he used before with the former...he is intending to starve them to death with no way out."
"Oh is that all…" Goku blinked as he began thinking, "I have an idea!"
"No…" Vegeta spoke slowly.
"I'm…"
"No no no…" Vegeta shook his head.
"Gonna get myself caught!" Goku cheered.
"God damn it Kakarot…"
"Excuse you?" Thrash raised a brow.
"Bet you can't trap me!" Goku taunted.
"...Bloke's crazier than a dingo…" Thrash muttered as he blinked a bit, "Look! Just stay out of my way...I don't want to have to hurt anyone!"
"That's kinda ironic ain't it…" Goku argued.
"It ain't. You've probably been poisoned by whatever words Knuckles told you about his species," Thrash argued, "And unless you interfere like Sonic the Hedgehog and his two friends did...well…" he frowned as a dark purple aura surrounded him, "I'll have no choice but to take you down with him."
"Well...yeah...that's what I'm telling ya to do…" Goku spoke up.
"Yes he is this stupid!" Vegeta snapped.
"...Ugh. Fine! Then come at me!" Thrash roared out.
"Kay!" Goku shouted as he shot up towards him, pulling his fist back as he prepared to punch him.
Thrash was about to give a loud roar...before smirking as he tossed out a Warp ring before him, letting it expand as Goku flew right through it, "Idiot…"
"That idiot!" Vegeta snapped.
"Damn it, Goku!" Knuckles snapped
"Hey. He offered…" Thrash countered as he caught the Warp Ring, "Now you blokes ready to join him or no?"
"I got a better solution, Taz...How's about you hand that over and I'll shove it down your throat so hard, you'll be a blabbering incoherent idiot?" Vegeta countered.
"...heh heh…" Thrash chuckled as he lowered himself to the ground..and began to inhale.
"?! M-" Knuckles began.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!" Thrash roared out, unleashing a massive sonic shockwave that slammed hard into both Knuckles and Vegeta.
"OH HOLY-!" Vegeta tensed.
"SHIT!-!-!-!"
"...That sounded like Vegeta…" Tails noted before he and Skye heard a loud crash near the ship, making the two tense up as they ran out..and saw Vegeta and Knuckles deep within a large crater.
"Ah my god damn ears…" Vegeta groaned, as he shoved Knuckles off him, "BOY! Senzu beans!" he shouted.
"Ahh! Yes sir!" Tails yelped as he ran off.
"Tch...Grr…" Knuckles grunted as he forced himself up, about to take off again before Skye stepped before him, "Out of my way…!"
"In your condition? No," Skye shook his head.
"MOVE!" Knuckles snapped, "I finally found that bastard...and I am not letting this opportunity pass!"
"He can't hear you!" Vegeta shouted, "Our eardrums are busted!" he then grabbed Knuckles by the leg, keeping him from flying off, "Eat the damn bean first!" he snapped, tossing Knuckles back inside the ship.
"DAMN IT!"
"Got 'em!" Tails shouted as he tossed a bean to Vegeta and Knuckles.
Vegeta popped his into his mouth and cringing as he swallowed, "Ahh...I hate the feeling of regrowing eardrums!" he complained.
"Tch…" Knuckles growled, eating hsi bean as he sat there, "Damn it...I had him...I HAD HIM!" he snapped as he slammed his fist on the floor.
"Focus…" Vegeta groaned, "Your damn fuzzy nemesis is here, and after your people and the Namekians...and Kakarot was a goddamn idiot and ran right into his portal thing...now he's god knows where, doing god knows what…" he sighed, "And to make matters worse, these Senzu Beans do nothing for the killer headache from that soundwave attack!"
"A headache I can deal with until I see that son of a bitch's face smashed up!" Knuckles growled.
"What are you guys even talking about?" Tails asked before flinching when Knuckles glared at him...making Tails' eye widened in revelation, "It's Thrash..isn't it?"
"Thrash?" Skye repeated.
"A Tasmanian devil that blames my people for what happened years ago," Knuckles explained with a front, "Due to an experiment on his people, they were degraded into mindless feral beasts...Devil Dogs he called them. He told me because of that...he's the only actual Mobian Tasmanian Devil alive...and he blames my kind, whether they be good or bad for what happened…and now he's doing what he did before the merger...he's trying to make the Echidna race extinct. Only this time..."
"He's adding the Namekians to the mix," Vegeta finished as he frowned, "And if he succeeds...we can say goodbye to the Dragon Balls."
"Wait why?" Tails asked.
"Oh right...we never told you that part did we?" Vegeta asked, "If the Namekian of the Dragon Clan...basically a mage, makes a pair of Dragon balls or imbues it with their magic, that is what gives life to the dragon they summon. If that Namekian dies...the Dragon balls also die. Ergo no Namekian Mage...no Dragon Balls, the same thing would also happen if Dende dies. So...if this Thrash has captured the Namekian elder who is bonded to the Dragon...then we better hope he's not dead." Tails and Knuckles had looks of shock and concern at this revelation.
"Right. Insane mutt that wants nothing but genocide due to those of the past," Skye summarised, "What about his powers? Personality? I need as much info as you can give."
"Why?" Knuckles asked.
"Because the more I have…the easier it will be for him to be dealt with," Skye replied, a sharp look in his eyes, "He has crossed a very fine line with me. He's including children in his vendetta. You don't involve children in vendettas when I'm around. Because right now, the only thing that's stopping me from giving him an eternal damnation so horrific and indescribable to someone like him is the information that you have and are not giving me yet!"
"...He seemed like a good person when I first met him...had a bit of honor to him," Knuckles explained as he stood up, "Back then I didn't realize his hatred for my kind...and it cost me my people before the worlds fused. He's an incredibly strong fighter, even more so after being trained under the Namekians before he found out about Piccolo's father, and has a supersonic scream that's power enough to break buildings...and to top it off, he has Warp Rings he can use to teleport wherever he wants."
"Speaking of which...where the hell is Kakarot!? Why hasn't he used his instant transmission yet?!" Vegeta snapped.
"He was sent to another Zone...most likely the same one Thrash put the Echidnas and Namekians in," Knuckles guessed before growling, "And Thrash has the only 'key' to unlock their prison."
"That might be...but Kakarot can literally poof into heaven and hell with that trick." Vegeta added, "If he can teleport out of the world of the living into the Other World and accost the Gods and Enma...he should be able to poof back here right?"
"Wait he does what to Enma?" Skye blinked quickly.
"...he's got a good point," Tails spoke as he held his chin in thought, "If that's the case...Goku should've been back by now...wait. What if...the Zone he was tossed into is affecting his Ki?"
"Cover the boy's ears…" Vegeta spoke as Skye rushed to cover Tails's ears, "MOTHERFU-!-!-!-"
"Ah...ah...ah…" Goku heavily panted, sweat pouring down his face as he stood within a large, empty void like area, "Okay...Gotta...try again…" he whispered before he tried charging up to Super Saiyan...only to grunt as he quickly lost his transformation, "No...I can't...this place...what...what is it?" he looked around, "It's like the Time Chamber…" he looked around, before closing his eyes, "I can sense some people somewhere here. It's a start." he put his fingers to his head and teleported.
The sudden flash of Goku's appearance spooked multiple people as he appeared before them. The people being an equal number of Namekians and Echidna, both old and young as they looked on at the Saiyan in confusion and worry.
"Oh...hey...found you…" Goku panted as he fell down to a knee, "Hoo..that took out more than I thought…"
"...you. You're Son Goku," one Namekian spoke up as he approached, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh that is a long story...see first my home world...which is a fusion of Earth and Mobius got attacked by a Space demon...then a lot of bad stuff happened, and then we came here to ask to borrow some wishes from Porunga, and find...well...uh…" he turned to the Echidna, "You guys! Hi! I'm Son Goku! I might look human, but I'm actually an alien! But don't worry, I'm a good guy."
"Yep...it's Goku." Some elder Namekians nodded.
"Yup!" Goku beamed before noticing a rather tall Namekian approach him, "Hmm?"
"So you are Goku...the man who saved my race from the monarchs Frieza and Cooler," the Namekian noted, his skin a deep forest green while his exposed muscles had a bit of a yellow-ish lime green color. He also wore a green gi held together by a yellow hakama whale his shoes and gloves were a deep crimson color with bits of black on his gloves. He also wore a pair of pauldrons and shoulder guards akin to samurai armor.
"That's me!" he smiled, "I mostly just punched stuff...Piccolo and the others are the ones who helped more. What's your name big stranger?"
"...Stratovari," he introduced himself, "And you came at the right time, Son Goku. My people..." he looked over his shoulder, seeing a few injured Namekians being treated by the Echidnas, "They are dying…"
"Dying?" Goku asked in concern, "Yeah...this place is weird. I can't even transform into a Super Saiyan here, it must be so dangerous it's taking all our energy to move around." he blinked before he began patting himself over before reaching into his gi and pulling out a case, "I knew it!" he flipped it open revealing six capsules, "I stole food!" he clicked one and tossed it as it poofed into three large crates full of food, "Good thing I was hungry, this should help some." he moved the crates around before he pulled out giant gallons of water, "You guys only need water, so maybe if you eat up you'll start feeling a bit better!"
"...yes. Thank you," Stratovari smiled as he reached down and picked up the gallons of water with ease, "This should help my people for a while…though this place..." he looked up at the empty black 'sky', "If we cannot find our way out soon...then we'll surely die of starvation and our injuries...and our healers can't even use their ki to heal the more inured ones."
"...what do you mean?"
"This place…I can tell one thing when I tried to find away out," Stratovari began with a frown, "It has a reverse effect on those who use Ki...every time Ki is used here, its host feels weaker and weaker."
"It took all I had just to find you guys…" Goku spoke, "Even if I could muster up more ki...I bet I could only make one more Instant Transmission...and I don't even know if I could focus long enough to find our home dimension...or if I could even carry many people out." he looked down at his hands, "If I did...I'd rather use it to get more supplies from my ship and bring them back to all of you." he gripped his hands, "I thought I could save all of you by coming in here…"
"It's fine...you did what you could," Stratovari assured, "I was able to hide the Elder and a few of my people...along with some of the echidna in a secret place before…" he gritted his teeth in frustration, "Before that beast jumped me…" he took a calming breath as he looked down at Goku, "For now, I suggest you rest up...until we can figure a way out...this might be our new home."
"I just hope the guys can handle things out there." Goku spoke.
SZ: Surprise! Cliffhanger time!
Z0: *currently fixing our ship* I'd be more fun...but we are currently stranded...on Vampa!
SZ: ..I swear this is Deadpool or Monokuma's fault somehow…. anyone check to see if we refuel the ship?
Z0: Don't worry…*pops open the engine to reveal it is a hamster wheel powered by a chubby hamster eating seeds right now* Hamburg is much more reliable.
SZ: Ahh...fair enough.
GT: Indeed. Good little hamster.
Z0: Well said, now...as I fix the navigation system and the bathroom...no one get eaten by giant land weasels or spider mutants…
SZ: And tune in next time folks...read and revi-wait. What was that about spider mutants?
Z0: *points at giant alien spiders crawling out of holes in a mountain* Oh...and that's the only food here…
SZ:0-0...oh….