SZ: *pokes head out of bunker* Shh...hey. Trying to be quiet so z0 doesn't find us…*puts head back into bunker before closing it*
GT: *putting up Waluigi posters* I'm getting ready for Waluigi's Armageddon. Hope you folks are doing good.
Z0: *rips entire roof off the bunker and flings it into the upper atmosphere* Hi~
SZ: *jumps up into the ceiling out of surprise and fright*
Z0: We begin! *claps hand and pulls them apart to form a giant mass of energy*
SZ: We own nothing aside from original content!
GT: Right! *tosses a sign at Z0, reading 'I think you're a loser, Waluigi'*
?: *in the distance* WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!-!-!
GT: *Grabs SZ and vanishes just as Waluigi rams Z0 into a dustcloud brawl*
"...And that's basically what's been happening," Eggman finished explaining to Lien-Da and her returned echidna forces about what had been going on since they left.
"The planet has shattered into seven parts. Creatures seemingly made from dark energies are coming from the ground. Gohan has grown a tail and transformed into a giant ape with a monkey's tail due to seeing a Full Moon while having that tail," Metal informed, "EggCarrier MKIII has been destroyed by him along with the engine we stole from Capsule Corp and we are now in the deepest of the bunkers to wait until sunrise which will occur in...fifteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds."
"So...now they're WereApes…" she chuckled, "Sure...why not...It's not like they're already the single deadliest life forms in the cosmos apparently...and you ticked one off…"
"I did nothing! This is his own anger issue!" Eggman argued.
"Oh ho...really now? Because I just came back not too long ago...and the first thing I hear is that the PLANET IS SHATTERED TO PIECES!" Lien-Da snapped
"It could be worse…" Eggman tried to argue.
"How?!"
"Goku could be here...Sonic could be here...both of them could be here. And worst of all...Widows peak...oh...now him I worry about." Eggman listed, "Imagine him...turned into that."
"Oh...Oh I really am right now...and let me guess, you're planning on finding a way to control these dark creatures and whatever ancient god or whatever they spawned from."
"..."
"You realize you're stupid…" Lien-Da sighed.
"He's too stupid to realize it…"
"Hey! I'm already making many plans!" Eggman snapped before grinning, "Lucky for me, though? I remembered something I did in the past of this fused world...I have me a little spy~"
"A spy….You got a spy?" Lien-Da raised a brow.
"Yes...and I did this while you weren't paying attention," Eggman said as his grin grew, "And oh ho he is twisted...he agreed to help me get rid of some team mates of his...in exchange for amnesty against my empire."
"And let me guess...you failed because of S…"
"Nope. I succeeded thanks to my Shadow Androids," Eggman stated before frowning, "However...there's one left, so my little spy won't get his end of the deal until he kills them, so now he works for me."
"Oh how ironic…" Lien-Da replied, "So what's your plan here?"
"There's a man known as Professor Pickle, and he's known for his study into the ancient world," Eggman explained, "I'll just have my spy go disguise as him, sneak into his office, transfer the data on what these dark creatures are, and then I can start setting things up so I can control this dark god!"
"And when Sonic and the Saiyans blast it back to where it came from and Goku comes after you to punish you for being evil, we'll let him do as he pleases," Lien-Da sighed.
"Grr...just go prep up your Legionnaires to be ready just in case," Eggman frowned as he walked off, the area rumbling a bit as Gohan's roars were heard, "I HEAR YOU, YA DAMN APE!"
"Is...Is it getting closer?" Lien-Da pointed out, making Eggman blink.
"...GAH! PANIC!" Eggman screamed.
"We're doomed...and just after the strongest one...threatened us not to try stuff…" Lien-Da sighed.
Outside, Gohan pounded and blasted at the ground as he tried to dig his way in. His Ki sense was telling him his target was indeed here. He growled as he reached the reinforced walls used to keep him out, denting and melting most of it but still had a way to go. He reared his arm to strike again, only to flinch as something exploded against the back of his head. He growled and turned around to see where the attack came from, pausing to see Piccolo floating there.
"Gohan!" he called out, "Don't make me remind you of our early days of training. Get control of yourself now...or else." his response was a blast of his beam breath, making the Namekian dodge, "Okay, guess we're going with 'or else.'"
Gohan roared out as he swung his fist in an attempt to hit Piccolo, only for the Namekian to quickly dodge. Piccolo spun around and thrust his hand out, unleashing a barrage of blasts which branched and curved to strike Gohan. Each time, the Saiyan turned Oozaru roared, trying to block with his massive arms. He blinked as the blasts stopped...only to be pulled by his tail and forced to fall forward snout first into the ground. He then growled as the force kept tugging on his tail and pulled him up into the air.
Piccolo grunted as he pulled with all he had, in an attempt to see if he could just yank the tail off. But it seemed the Oozaru form was stronger than that. He then yelled out as the tail flicked him right off into the ground, resulting in a small crater as the giant berserk ape rose its foot up to stomp on him.
Piccolo grunted as he flew out of the way in time, he flew under Gohan before aiming and blasting at the base of his tail. Unleashing a much larger beam took Gohan by surprise and pushed him forward. Fur began smoking as the Namekian warrior flew up, and growled upon seeing that his blast hadn't destroyed his tail. Gohan growled as he pushed himself up, his ki flaring to life as the ground began to tremble like a terrible earthquake. He opened his jaw and spewed red energy almost like flames.
Piccolo grunted as he flew out of the path once Gohan turned and aimed his breath beam at him. Piccolo flew up as he dodged the beam that began to follow him from Gohan turning his head to follow his path. He suddenly flew down, cutting off his range of effect by making the Oozaru look down as the Namekian once again flew under. Gohan stopped shooting and turned his body around, only to growl as a larger blast of Ki struck his face, causing a huge explosion. He growled and put both hands up to his face as he stumbled about.
Gohan lowered his arms to glare only for them to widen as a large sphere of blue energy impacted him and knocked him over. He looked up as Vegeta floated down, his hair flashing into Super Saiyan. Piccolo floated up next to him as the two looked down and silently began planning together. Gohan however had no desire to wait and rushed forward, he swung only to miss as the two outmaneuvered the large lumbering form of the Oozaru. Piccolo spun around as he aimed and fired another beam to Gohan's back knocking him off balance. Vegeta flew low as he swung his arm out, forming a thin spinning disk of energy. He loaded it with more ki as it began growing wider, he reared his arm back and swung sending it flying with all he had, the disk flew, and was close to hitting the tail only for Gohan to suddenly twist his hips and make it just nick the base.
Vegeta grunted in annoyance before raising his arms to take a punch from the Oozaru. But it seemed the damage to his tail was weakening his rage. Gohan grunted as he was blasted by Piccolo. The Namekian then extended his arms and wrapped them around Gohan's jaw. He pulled and swung the ape around before tossing him down to the ground. Gohan tried to push himself up again only to flinch as he was impacted by Vegeta, pushing him face first back into the ground. Vegeta growled and began pushing harder keeping him pinned, as Piccolo flew over and towards his tail. The Namekian held his arm out as he flattened his hand and focused his ki into his hand as it formed out and condensed into a blade of yellow energy. He roared and swung, slicing through the tail and sending it flying off into the distance. Gohan grunted as dawn began to arrive. The giant ape collapsed to his side before his body began to condense. The fur began to fall off and seemingly turn to ash as he kept shrinking down until he was back to his original self, just knocked out...and naked.
"We need to ask around for elastic material for our clothing if we keep regrowing our tails while this goes on," Vegeta noted while Piccolo fired a beam at Gohan that turned into a copy of Goku's outfit for the nude teen.
"Let's just hope we don't have to…" Piccolo sighed, "It could be far worse. What if he somehow went Super Saiyan while like this?"
"Food for thought, but best get the boy home." Vegeta spoke, "Or base...shit's crazy," he turned to what Gohan was attacking, "I'm gonna go visit someone." he flew off.
"Should I care? ...Nope, I don't," Piccolo shook his head as he picked up Gohan, "Come on...I'll say sorry for all that blasting later," he told the unconscious half-Saiyan, while flying off with him.
"I think...it's over…" Eggman spoke as it seemed to quiet down...That is 'till a large single focused beam melted all the way through...allowing Vegeta to float down.
"Hello round man…" Vegeta smirked.
"GYAH! Not the Widow's Peak!" Eggman panicked, "Bring back the giant monkey!"
"You planning anything?" Vegeta asked.
"Just how to flee to Mars, or Planet Eggman as he wants to declare it as," Metal replied.
"Oh that's good, 'cause I can't have you thwarting my wife's plans," Vegeta smiled.
"Thwarting her plans?"
"Yes."
"If I were to say...yes...what…"
"I'd have to kill you," Vegeta cut him off, "I'd gut you like a fish, roast you in an inferno burned from your so called empire, then put it out by blasting it...and then...I will dance on the remains and ashes. So...are you...thwarting my wife's plans?"
"No, no. We're making plans for getting off-planet," Eggman quickly replied as he held up blueprints, "See? See? Spaceship big enough for my forces."
"Hmm…" Vegeta flipped the page over to see a different set of blueprints, "Android creation blueprints." he noted, "I'll be taking that." he took the blueprint and rolled it up, "Good. This ends our transaction, Round man, and if I ever see you on this planet again, I'll kill you nice and slowly...in private...in a place where no one will hear. So...this is goodbye forever, right?"
"Errr...Yes, yes. Very much so," Eggman replied, nodding quickly.
"Good," Vegeta flew up, "Oh and by the way...I'm blowing this place up once I reach the top." he smiled, flashing to Super Saiyan for emphasis as he began charging energy in his free hand.
"GET US OUT OF HERE!" Eggman panicked.
Vegeta floated to the top and whistled a tune as he condensed the energy enough, and just dropped it. A few moments later, it hit, causing a huge explosion as smoke and heat lifted up and out of the once safe bunker.
"Not even sure if that did get him...but...worth it," he sighed contentedly as he powered down and flew off with the stolen work...now double stolen work from Eggman.
"Looks like they hate sunlight," Krillin noted in relief as they saw the monsters all shrieking and dissolving away in the sunlight with many going back into the ground to get away from it.
"Looks like we're done until sunset," Jem frowned as Pari was between her and Yamcha, wearing a tiny nurse's hat as she rubbed some disinfectant on their wounds and bandaged them up on some parts.
"Yeah…" Yamcha nodded.
"But the fight's not over yet for you three," Krillin noted.
"Eh?" the duo asked as Pari slowly paled as she was the first to realize.
"You gotta deal with explaining you're engaged to two girls to the others, Yamcha," Krillin noted in amusement.
"...Can it go back to being night?" Yamcha asked.
"Huh? But you know our family," Jem noted, "What's wrong with 'em?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Yamcha assured quickly, "It's not them I'm worried about."
Pari tapped Jem's shoulder and signed when she looked at her, 'He means Bulma.'
"...Yeah, can we go back to nighttime?" Jem quickly pleaded, sweating just as much as Yamcha now.
"Huh? Seriously, why are you…" Krillin began before it dawned on him, "...It's Bulma you're afraid of, isn't it?"
"Aphy sends us to her for punishment when we get into big trouble," Jem replied, shuddering.
'Jem's gotten the most trips,' Pari added.
"Bulma is scary...the two strongest beings in the cosmos fear her...rightfully so," Krillin added, "Everyone likes to joke that Goku keeps Vegeta in check...nope...it's Bulma."
"Yeah, Bulma can be crazy scary!" Goku added, appearing next to Krillin in a blur of Instant Transmission, "Then again so can most ladies…"
"Oh that is tr-GOKU?!" Krillin exclaimed in surprise once he noticed him, "You're back!"
"Yeah, Bulma called," Goku smiled, "I've been doing major damage control all over the planet. Did you know there are even larger ones?!" he excitedly declared, "I actually had to try with those ones!"
"Yeah...you're back!" Krillin smiled happily.
"So I collected Chi-Chi and Aphrodite and everyone and took them to a safe place, then I went and checked on all the places I felt way too much of this evil dark stuff. Cleaned that out a bit, now I'm just doing a headcount of family and friends." he then happily tapped everyone on the head for emphasis, "And that's everyone, minus Gohan whom Piccolo just grabbed and took back to give a senzu to. So...what's new with you guys? Yamcha?" he smiled as he was still sensing Ki at the moment, "Any good news to share?"
"Uh…" Yamcha blinked a few times, "...Say, Goku...I'll treat you to a buffet if you can do something for me, Jem, and Pari."
"Buffet!?" Goku beamed.
"It wasn't worth it…" Goku groaned, flat on his stomach as Bulma's heel was on his back as she glowered at the terrified trio.
"Let me get this straight...You saved Pari…" Bulma recapped.
"Uh-huh," Yamcha nodded.
"Right. So that means Pari's Ai Gene went off and her Ki is now connected to you," Bulma continued before pointing at Jem, who was hiding behind Pari and failing, "But you also have your Ki mixed with Jem." she looked over at Aphrodite, "You mind explaining this better?"
"Well, it's extremely rare since twins are almost as rare as a male being born," Aphrodite explained, "But when Twins are born and one has their Ai Gene go off, it somehow sends a signal to the twin that triggers theirs. It even works for Sakurai who have an adopted sibling that was born the same day and year as them if they made a pact with their adopted 'twin' to Bond with the same mate." she giggled, "And I'm glad that they found a strong guy like Yam-chan."
"Did I really need to be a meatshield for this…?" Goku asked from the ground.
"Shut it," Bulma replied.
"Yes Bulma…"
"So...okay...I get it you guys are wired like this, but this is just…" Bulma groaned.
"If it's any help...I'm still like mentally processing everything." Yamcha spoke, "My brain is probably only like...half power…"
"Me too!" Goku laughed.
'I thought his brain is always at a hundredth outside of fighting and food,' Pari noted.
"That was when he was a kid and before he met everyone he knows now," Bulma replied.
"It took me a while to grasp gender...I lived alone in the mountains…" Goku explained.
"Goku…" Bulma began.
"Shutting up."
"Right...So any cases of triplets?" Bulma asked.
"Never in the entirety of our history," Aphrodite shrugged, "But if it happens and one of them is saved…"
"Right, right," Bulma waved her off, her cheeks turning pink.
"I mean...I'm already making peace this random turn of events is now my life," Yamcha spoke, "It's...not exactly how I pictured my settling down, but it's not like I dislike or am opposed to it. It's just...different,"
"That sums our odd little family unit as a whole..." Bulma sighed.
"Can you imagine if this was the Yamcha who used to be afraid of girls?" Goku laughed.
"...He was afraid of girls?" Aphrodite asked.
"He could barely say a thing around me," Bulma noted.
"It's how I beat him when I was 12…" Goku added.
"...Now I'm worried about the chances of me being an auntie to more than just Tails-chan and Miyuki-chan," Aphrodite muttered.
"Cousin Aphy!" Jem exclaimed as steam popped off the top of a red-faced Pari's head.
"Okay, moving on!" Bulma exclaimed, "And don't you have a son that's going to be doing something risky in my dad's lab?" everyone blinked and Aphrodite's spot was vacant.
"...Did she learn Instant Transmission?" Goku asked, "I didn't feel her Ki going off…but she's still gone..."
"Alright, I'm back and what the hell are you doing to Kakarot?" Vegeta asked as he walked in.
"He delivered some very annoying news involving these three," Bulma replied.
"What…" Vegeta paused as he took a moment to sense their Ki, "...Bwahahahaha!" he laughed hysterically, realizing what happened, "H-How did that happen!?"
"Sakurai Twins seem to go off at the same time even if you save just one from certain death," Bulma sighed, making Vegeta laugh harder.
"Oh! Oh this is hysterical!" he went on, "Ah...I needed something funny. I can only imagine the fear they felt when you learned. Heh…" he calmed down, he then pulled out the blueprints he stole, "Eggman found Gero's shit...here's his work." he handed them to Bulma, "I figure you can reverse this into something for Nicole and the Hedgehog's father." he frowned when he saw her flinch, "...What happened?"
"We...honestly don't know. One moment, things were fine and going well. The next and Nicole suddenly shut down and locked herself up in her handheld and won't respond to anything," Bulma explained, "And what's extra infuriating is that I could've gotten these already if Eggman's defense system hadn't upgraded to block me out." Goku whimpered as the pressure increased on his back, "Lousy rotten egg…"
"How could he have possibly done that?" Vegeta asked, "Between you and the girl whom you clearly care about, he's a bumbling idiot...almost as dumb as Kakarot." he sighed and picked up his wife before kicking Goku away and putting Bulma back down, "It can't have been him."
"I know...and that worries me," Bulma admitted.
"Well then I hope he died in the explosion I made in his bunker," Vegeta spoke, "Or not...maybe I can make him suffer a little more for upsetting you so much."
"And that's why they are married…" Goku spoke up.
"Shut your hole, Kakarot."
"Um...are we done here?" Yamcha asked.
"Yeah, we're done here for now," Bulma replied, waving him off.
"Oh good," Yamcha nodded before he collapsed, steaming coming off the top of his now-red face as he twitched.
"Yam-chan!" Jem yelped as Pari and her panicked.
"Bwahahaha!" Vegeta laughed, "It's funny...cause it's him." he chuckled walking off to catch up to Bulma.
"Yep, he's out." Goku spoke, poking Yamcha, "Should I go get a Senzu?"
"He's already eaten one today," Jem replied as the twins picked him up, putting his arms over their shoulders, "Plus, we spent the entire night brawling with monsters coming out of the ground. We'd go take him back to his, technically ours now due to the Bond, apartment, but uh…"
'It got blown up by Trunks in his wild shooting,' Pari signed.
"WHAT!?" Bulma exclaimed before sighing, "There's guest bedrooms down the hall."
"Thanks!" Jem beamed, "Because the moment we're on a bed, I'm following Yam-chan's lead and pass out."
"Huh? M...my lead?" Yamcha repeated, waking up for a moment as the twins began to carry him off.
"Aw...I'ma be an Uncle." Goku smiled.
"Goku…"
"What...only Krillin lets me call myself that," Goku argued, "And Vegeta gets angry whenever I try and joke about it."
'He's going to be an Uncle?' Pari signed, blinking twice...before her face went bright red and steam came out of the top of it, her sole hand going nuts with barely anything making a letter let alone a word.
"Whoa now! Wait until we're in the guest bedroom before fainting!" Jem yelped.
"I swear if I didn't know you I'd think you did this on purpose," Bulma groaned as the trio left.
"Probably…" Goku replied honestly.
"Bulma, you're still shocked he has kids...two of them even," Krillin reminded.
"Speaking of Goku's kids…" Bulma noted, "How's Gohan?"
"Hmm…" Goku sighed, "He lost his tail again."
"Oh thank Dende," Bulma sighed in relief.
"But…"
"No making him grow it back," Vegeta ordered, "Or trying to get your other brat to grow one!"
"But Goten was born without a tail…" Goku argued, "...Wait. Could he grow a tail because of what's going on?"
"Vegeta…" Bulma glowered.
"I'll go to the corner of the building…" Vegeta grumbled.
"So what's the next move?" Krillin asked.
"Right now, Professor Pickle and Relic are working on finding the locations of these Gaia Temples that should help restore the planet," Bulma explained, "Shadow's out gathering the other Chaos Emeralds. All we can do is be ready for those things showing up again and keeping any more tails from growing."
"What?! But why? I was stronger when I had my tail," Goku complained, "And I miss my tail. I used to fish with it."
"You what?" Vegeta blinked.
"It's a trick I learned!" Goku smiled, "I caught a lot of Paozu Tuna with it."
"You used a big weakness in Saiyans...for fishing…" Vegeta deadpanned, "...No tail for you."
"What?! But I miss it!" Goku complained in a child-like manner, "Oh I get it...you wanna keep your tail all to yourself, don't you, Vegeta!"
"What?! No! Besides, they are no good anymore!"
"AAH!" Goku gasped, "You take that back! Tails are part of us Saiyans! You yourself said they were our pride!"
"Ah shit, I did say that!" Vegeta groaned.
"Boys…" Bulma sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, just need to hook these up and you'll be good to go," Chuck noted as he and Dr. Briefs were connecting a few cables to a metal chair of sorts that Haseo was sitting in.
"Are you sure you want to test this?" Dr. Briefs asked.
"Hai. I...I really wanna try and help Nicole-san," Haseo nodded, looking over at her handheld which was being connected to it.
"I just wanna go on record and say...this seems stupid...and I've never been more proud of you," Goten spoke up.
"Ano...Th-Thanks?" Haseo blinked twice.
"Okay...It's all hooked up," Chuck noted, "Last chance, kiddo."
"I'm not backing down...I will do this," Haseo answered.
"Don't worry. We got Dragon Balls." Goten reminded with a thumbs up, "But...if something goes wrong...they did it." he pointed to the adults.
"Technically, Skye was leading this project," Chuck noted, "So we'll tell Aphrodite it was his idea."
"I'll be sure to remember that he gets extra punishment," Aphordite stated between the two, making them jump in fright, before she looked at Haseo, "You're not backing down?"
"Mm-mm," Haseo shook his head.
"You're a good little boy," Aphrodite giggled before pecking his cheek, "Good luck with getting her out, Haseo-chan."
"If things go bad, we can yank him out, right?" Goten asked.
"We just need to push the big red button on the side," Chuck replied, pointing at a big red button on the side of the chair.
"I'm faster, so I'll do it," Goten offered.
"Good thinking," Dr. Briefs smiled, "Alright, Haseo, you just need to push the green button on your right and it should activate."
"Uhn," Haseo nodded, finding said button before pressing it.
"How do we know it worked?" Goten asked before a helmet came out of the machine and went over Haseo's head a few minutes before he slumped in it.
"There it goes. His body's currently without his mind since it's now digitized," Chuck noted before they looked at Nicole's handheld, "And all we can do now...is wait."
"Ah man...I hate waiting…" Goten huffed as he sat down on the floor.
"Go Fish?" Aphrodite offered, pulling a deck of cards out of her tail.
"But I don't have a fishing rod and there's no river near here for me to jump into," Goten replied.
"It's a card game, dear," Aphrodite giggled.
"So no fish?"
"If you win three games of it, we'll have fish for lunch, m'kay?"
"Okay!" Goten cheered, lifting his hands up over his head in glee.
"I swear it's like Goku when he was this age all over again," Dr. Briefs muttered as Aphrodite started to teach Goten how to play.
Haseo opened his eyes and looked around. At first, it looked like he was outside in a nice field. Yet, looking closer showed him that the area was made of grids...numerous grids. Even the sky above was made of them.
"...Sugei…" Haseo whispered in awe as he looked around, "Did...she set this up?" he looked around, "I don't see her here, though…" his ears twitched as he tried to listen for her for a few moments before running down the hill he was on to the right, "...That way." he whispered as he went down that direction, looking around for the digital lynx. He stopped for a moment before he noticed something...a large glass box with Nicole sitting inside...her back turned away from him, "..."
The way the lynx sat was troubling. Her knees were reaching up to cover her muzzle as she was wrapping her arms around them as if trying to fully hug herself. Despite how close she was holding herself, Haseo could see that she was shivering.
"...N...Nicole-san?" Haseo spoke, cautiously approaching the box.
"Go...away…" Nicole whispered...before blinking twice and looking up, "Wh-What? How the…? Ha...Haseo? How are you in here?"
"An invention of Tou-san and Chuck-ojii-san," Haseo explained, "I...I came here to try and help you."
"..." Nicole lowered her head, moving to keep her back to him, "I don't want help. I don't deserve help."
"...Nicole-san...What happened?" Haseo asked out of concern, gently placing his hand on the glass, "Why...why are you trying to shut people out…?"
"I...I can't go out there...I can't...J-Just please...leave me be," Nicole spoke.
"...Iie. I can't do that," Haseo shook his head as he sat down, "I'm not leaving until I help you heal, Nicole-san."
"...You've been hanging out with stubborn people," Nicole muttered, "How can you help heal me? Help me after what I did? What I've caused because of me having hope?"
"Eh?" Haseo blinked at that.
"Haseo...I didn't deserve to be around anyone...all I do is hurt the people I love…" Nicole whispered, shaking a bit as she gritted her teeth, "The Iron Kingdom...Naugus...and now this….all I do is hurt people…I'm a monster…."
"...Who hurt you?"
"Hmm?"
"I can tell someone hurt you deeply," Haseo frowned a bit.
"..." Nicole's body went still before she slumped further, "...I...I had a friend before the Genesis Wave hit and fused the two Zones together." Haseo jumped a little as an image of a Metal Sonic that was black with yellow designs appeared, his left arm a blaster and a jem of sorts on his chest yet Nicole didn't seem to notice, "His name was Shard. He was Dr. Ivo Robotnik's Metal Sonic, the first Metal Sonic." the metal hedgehog's look changed to be blue and silver and then to look exactly like Metal Sonic, but still sporting the gem, "He had a powerful gem in his chest called a Power Gem. It helped him become...more...than he was." Metal Sonic changed back to the blue version of Shard, "He fought against Sonic and Tails after he took on a new form, causing a volcano to start going off. It was Tails and Sonic's comradery that swayed Shard to save them from the lava, only to end up being melted in the magma. His Power Gem was found by the Royal Secret Service and, after some time, Director Who obtained the Power Gem and asked Charles to rebuild him in a new body." the image changed to the black and yellow version, "He took on a new name, Shard. And with it, a new purpose. He didn't fight for anyone but those innocent. When Eggman invaded in the Death Egg MKII, he fought in secret to protect the citizens. He did so much for the people, even playing a key role in saving them from being put under a powerful enslavement spell done by Naugus. But then one day…" the Metal Sonic Haseo knew appeared beside Shard but sported a crystal orb in its chest, "Eggman gave his own Metal Sonic a Power Gem and had him attack the Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital where Antoine, who had been in a coma before the Genesis Wave altered history to have him on a honeymoon with Bunnie, was. He and Shard went off after he stopped Metal from harming Antoine and then...nothing." Shard's image cracked, "He...He was...He stopped communications. No matter how much I tried to contact him, how others tried and...and we couldn't find him." Shard and the gem in Metal Sonic shattered, "And then the Genesis Wave happened and...and he was still gone. I...I kept the link that we made...a private link that only we had that would let the other know when it was accessed."
"...Then...that means…" Haseo began in realization.
"Yes...Metal used the special link we had between us...to confront me," Nicole sighed in her response, "I...I thought it was him...and...and it was wrong...so very wrong…" tears welled in her eyes, "I...I tried to fight him off...I tried to get him out, but...but he knew. He knew about the ways I fight while in there…" she closed them and the tears fell, "He figured out what we were doing. How we let them get away with the engines so we could use them to get a signal out. He threatened to prevent us from contacting them unless...unless I…"
"Unless?"
"...Unless I gave him my firewall for him and the Eggman Empire's systems," Nicole replied.
"...So that's why Bulma-san couldn't access it…" Haseo whispered in realization.
"Yes...and now Eggman...or rather Metal has the chance to look up everything we do…and...and I can't," Nicole sniffled, "He made me delete what I knew of how to bypass it." her tears increased, "He had our link...He...He's Shard...Eggman turned him back into Metal Sonic…"
"...you…" Haseo paused, his ears drooping a bit, "You loved him...didn't you?"
"..." Nicole just nodded, "He...He made me feel...like a normal being…"
"...Th-That's because you are," Haseo whispered, blushing as he took a deep breath to stay calm.
"No...Metal made me realize…"
"He's wrong. You're just as normal as me...just as normal as everyone else," Haseo cut her off as he stood up, "You love...you care...you feel for everyone you care about. You fear for the safety of the people and your friends...you have such a strong heart, Nicole-san...you care for everyone deeply...just as much as they care for you."
"..."
"Nicole-san?" Haseo pondered before nearly falling over when the glass cage vanished and he was hugged by a sobbing lynx, "?!"
"Why….why…" Nicole sobbed out, tears rolling down her cheeks as she held the young fox close, "Why are you so invested in me...after everything I've done?"
"...Because…" Haseo began, his hands shly and nervously rising up as he returned the hug, "Because a tenshi...shouldn't have to go through this heartache…"
'...Tenshi...that means...angel…' Nicole thought, blinking a bit as she looked down at him, 'He...thinks I am an angel?'
"So please...don't cry...don't be in pain. It...It hurts me to see you so sad…" Haseo whispered, shivering a bit as he began to cry in turn, "I...I don't wanna see anyone as kind as you be this sad...this torn."
"..." Nicole said nothing as a soft smile began to grow on her face, the lynx wiping her tears away with one of her hands before gently hugging him, "Your family has done an amazing job raising such a caring young man like you…"
"Do you have any, um...two's?" Goten asked.
"Yep," Aphrodite replied, handing him her last three cards, "Congrats! Seems we're having fish for lunch."
"Yay!" Goten cheered before a beep came from Nicole's handheld, "Hm?"
"Nicole?" Chuck asked warily.
=I'm here= Nicole replied =Is there a way for Haseo to get back into his body?=
"Just need to push the red button on the chair," Chuck replied.
"Pushed," Goten blurred over and pushed the button before blurring over and catching his cards before they hit the ground.
"Mmm…" Haseo groaned as he began to wake up, fidgeting a bit as he tried to reach for the device on his head before it flipped up on its own, "Ah…" he put a hand above his eyes to block the ceiling lights as he squinted, "Mabushii…"
"Are you okay?" Aphrodite asked.
"H-Hai," Haseo nodded.
"Are you alright, Nicole?" Chuck asked.
=Yes. I...just needed some help from Haseo= Nicole replied =But next time? Please make sure he has something in here for him to use to leave if this happens again=
"Told ya," Goten spoke up.
"Hey, hey, hey. Don't blame us. Skye was in charge of the programming," Dr. Briefs replied.
"I'll be sure to let my...husband...know my complaint later," Aphrodite informed, making Dr. Briefs flinch and cringe.
"Skye, why are you trying to hijack an escape pod?" Tails asked.
"I just felt terror beyond terror going down my spine," Skye replied, frantically trying to access the escape pod, "Tails, did you put a genetic lock on these?!"
"Aunty Aphrodite asked me to lock you out of them, so...a reverse genetic lock, actually," Tails replied.
"...My wife is scary smart when she wants to be…" Skye gulped.
"So we all good?" Goten asked, "Cause the world's still kinda...crazy. My Tousan is back, but he's kinda busy arguing with Vegeta about growing back his tail…"
=Isn't he...no, wait. No. Almost asked a stupid question= Nicole noted before she beeped =Ah, a message from Relic. They've found the first Gaia Temple, but it seems there's a complication. Apparently, there's something that will activate the temple to let the Chaos Emerald be used in it. A bangle of some sorts=
"Oh great," Chuck sighed, "Things are never easy for us, are they?"
"Aw...I missed all the big ol' fighting," Tangle muttered as she walked through the city.
"..." Whisper mumbled under her breath a question.
"Hm?"
"Please let go of my cloak," Whisper whispered.
"Ah! Oh, sorry!" Tangle apologized, her tail releasing her cloak, "I tend to space out and grab things without notice when I'm annoyed at something. But still, what was it like last night?"
She took a moment to think of how to best answer that. Given she spent it mostly watching Goten, a little boy shooting laser beams that outclass most weapons of mass destruction, and Haseo. ...That is not an easy thing to sum up in simple words.
"Difficult," she finally chose.
"Whoa~" Tangle awed before yelping as she tripped and fell over, "Ah!" she grunted as she got up, "Well that smarts...What'd I…?" she blinked twice once she looked at her feet, "...Huh?"
Lying there was a chihuahua-like creature just as big as the dog in question. They had deep maroon fur with white on the belly, paws, muzzle, and a big tuff of white hair on its head. It had tiny pink/blue fairy wings and a stone collar with a green orb on its neck.
"Did someone lose their pet puppy?" Tangle pondered as she picked it up, "I tell ya, I find the weirdest animals since the worlds fused. I think Jewel's still mad at me when I brought this gem and it turned out to be a giant jewel-eating bug."
"...and you didn't think to check it beforehand?" Whisper raised a brow.
"I thought it was just a big gem," Tangle argued before the dog mumbled, "Hm? Oh, it's waking up!"
"Mmm…." the dog mumbled as he began to open his eyes...and saw who he was facing, "..."
"Hey little guy, you o…"
"GAH!" he freaked as he scrambled out of her hands and hid around a corner, peeking, "P-P-P-Please don't eat me! I taste bad!"
"I don't eat puppies!" Tangle argued, "..." she looked at Whisper, "You don't eat puppies, do you?"
"I'm technically a dog Mobian," Whisper softly deadpanned.
"Oh...sorry I asked then," Tangle muttered before looking at the dog, "See? We're not cannibals."
"How do I know it's not some trick?"
"Um...Because you'd be waking up in a boiling pot with carrots?" Tangle asked, "By the way, how are you anyway?"
"...Good point, and...I think I'm okay…" he answered as he fluttered out of his hiding spot, "Just...my head hurts a bit...I don't even know who I am…"
"Huh?" Tangle pondered before whispering to Whisper, "Did I do that?"
Whisper shrugged.
"Ah! I can't remember my name!" the dog panicked.
"What can ya remember?" Tangle asked.
"This big blinding white light and then nothing!" he replied, "I can't remember a thing past that!" he zipped around on his fairy wings, "Oh, man, what am I gonna do?! What CAN I do? Where do I go from here?! What'll I…" he dropped down into Tangle's tail, "Oof, I'm hungry."
"Aw don't worry! We'll help ya get your memory back!" Tangle assured, earning a surprised look from Whisper.
"Really? You mean it!?" he asked in excitement.
"Sure do!" Tangle beamed, "I'm Tangle and this is Whisper!" she whispered, "She's a Shy Awoo."
"Please don't call me that," Whisper quietly pleaded, her cheeks pink.
"Oh...I'm...uh…" the dog began, looking around before seeing a slightly damaged sign for cookies nearby, "...uh...cookie...no...Chip?"
"Chip?" they blink.
"Um...Yes?"
"...I like it!" Tangle beamed, her tail moving to put him on her shoulder as she pointed ahead, "Alright! We're off to find Chip's memories!"
"Yay!" Chip cheered.
"One crazy adventure after another…" Whisper spoke to herself, "I'm seeing a pattern."
"Onwards!" Tangle shouted as she ran off...before walking back over, "I have no idea where to start."
"..." Whisper brought a hand to her face.
=Shadow reporting in=
"Good timing, Shadow. What's your status?" Bulma asked.
=We've found five of the seven Emeralds at this time= Shadow informed =The other two may be on one of the other pieces of the planet=
"May?"
=Omega shot the radar when we were fighting some of the beasts because we went into a part that was still in nighttime= Shadow explained.
=I regret nothing!= Omega declared before an audible clang went off =I still regret nothing!=
"..." Bulma sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Why is it always a radar that I work on that gets destroyed? Just...why? We'll get to work on a new Emerald Radar. Just bring the ones you have back here. We've found a lead on one of these Gaia Temples."
=Understood=
=Still regret nothing!=
=We'll be back in a moment…=
"Understood," Bulma nodded as communications were cut, "...Ugh…"
"Something on your mind, Bulma?" Sally asked as she walked in.
"Just all the small things compounding with the big ones…" Bulma sighed, "We got Goku and Vegeta back...but one of them wants their tail back for stupid reasons…"
"Not stupid! You never had a tail! You'd never understand!" Goku's voice shouted.
"You are not getting it back! Your son was a pain in the ass enough as it was!" Vegeta's snapped.
"...Is this because he landed on you while…"
"Kakarot, I swear if you finish that…"
"What...we're friends now...Gohan was 5 and he fell on you as an Oozaru and crushed you," Goku spoke, "It's actually kind of funny now. You got beat by a naked little boy." he chuckled. He then stopped, "...I should run now, right?"
"Yes...yes you should…" Vegeta growled as a purple flash went off, "Galick Gun….!"
"Oh geez!"
"How long did it take for him to snap this time?" Sally asked.
"That's not even breaking his all time record," Bulma muttered, "But better than last time, though. I give it...twenty minutes."
"That's good," Sally noted before the door opened as Tangle, Whisper, and Chip entered, "Oh, welcome back you two...er...three?"
"Hey, you know lots of folks, right?" Tangle asked before her tail pointed at Chip, "Can you help us find who he is?"
"Uhm...who's this?" Bulma blinked.
"This is Chip," Whisper answered.
"Hey!" Chip waved before pulling out a bar of chocolate, "Want some chocolate?"
"We stopped by a few stores on the way here...He really likes stuff with chocolate," Tangle explained before a flash went off and a photo came out of the camera Chip had, "And a camera. He really liked the camera."
"He's adorable and all, but what seems to be the reason for your asking us to find out who he is?" Bulma asked, "Amnesia or something?"
"Possibly the former," Whisper answered.
"I can't remember anything but a big flash of white light," Chip added as Haseo entered, holding Nicole's handheld.
"Oh, Haseo! Did it work?" Sally asked.
"Uhn," Haseo nodded.
=I'm alright, Sally. Did you receive the message I sent about what Relic and Professor Pickle said, Bulma?=
"I did. Shared it with Shadow. They could only find five Emeralds," Bulma replied.
"Huh? Where's that voice coming from?" Chip asked.
"Eh?" Haseo looked at Chip, "...K-Kawaii…"
=Hm?= Nicole pondered before Haseo held her handheld up for the screen to Chip =...That's the item we needed!=
"Huh? …" Chip looked between the device and his camera before putting the camera behind him, "My camera." the flash went off and a photo of a surprised Whisper developed, "...Still my camera."
=No no. I mean your bracelet= Nicole explained.
"My...what?"
"...His dog collar?" Tangle asked.
=It's a very important artifact that will help us put the world back together= Nicole explained.
"That thing?" Bulma asked, raising a brow in surprise, "Then again...the Dragon Balls appear to be unassuming but they can summon Shenron...and the Chaos Emeralds just look like regular gems unless you know how to tap into their power."
"We need to stop judging based on looks…" Sally muttered.
"So...did I just stumble upon something that will save the world?" Tangle blinked.
"I...think you did…" Whisper blinked in equal surprise and confusion.
"LUCKY~!" Tangle cheered.
"This...is...way too coincidental…" Bulma muttered, "It's chaotic…"
"Welcome to Mobius," Sally replied, "We tend to joke that because of how much we're around Sonic, chaos just happens around us."
"You think Goku would have made me learn the same," Bulma sighed.
"I was much worse as a kid!" Goku laughed, running past the door with Vegeta still chasing him.
"No tail for you!" Vegeta snapped, firing another laser at Goku.
"Missed me!" Goku laughed.
"KAKAROT!" Vegeta snapped as he now flew after him.
"I shall not be denied!" Goku cheered, clearly enjoying this bit more so then trying to make a solid argument.
"I swear he fluctuates…" Bulma sighed.
"He's so cool!" Tangle beamed, earning facepalms from the majority of the people there.
"Who was that guy with the spikey hair and the orange outfit?" Chip asked.
"That was Goku," Bulma explained.
"Mmm...It's weird but he feels...familiar, I think," Chip noted.
"You know him?" Tangle asked.
"I don't know. He just feels...familiar," Chip shrugged.
"Goku has helped a lot of folks…" Bulma muttered, "He even takes nature into his own hands at times...He really likes protecting animals...and scaring predators into backing off." she paused, "...Oh my Dende, he probably eats them…"
"I do!" Goku cheered.
"He won't eat me, wil he?" Chip asked, hiding under Whisper's jacket before a flash went off and her cloak went wild, "AH! WHOA! EEK! Where'd you all come from!?"
"Uh...should we…?" Bulma began before stopping herself, "Maybe best we not pry." she shook her head, "But maybe Goku helped you out somehow, Chip. He does it a lot; he even saves the world without noticing sometimes."
"I've barely known him for half a year now and that sounds exactly like he'd do that," Sally shook her head.
"But still, he can help us when it matters," Bulma noted as Sonic and Roll ran in.
"Hey guys," Sonic greeted before seeing Chip when he flew out of Whisper's cloak and ended up in Roll's tail, "...What was that?"
"Oh, that's Chip," Tangle replied as Roll pulled him out in time to get her and Sonic's picture taken, "He likes chocolate and taking pictures! Oh, and he doesn't remember anything and named himself after a cookie."
"Want some chocolate?" Chip asked as he held up a chocolate wrapped up in tinfoil resembling a wooden puppet.
"EEK!"
The next thing everyone realized was that there was a Roll-shaped hole in the wall and Chip was pinned to a wall by his held chocolat being pinned to it by multiple bo shuriken.
"...What just happened?" Sonic asked, blinking twice.
"Onee-chan has a fear of puppets," Haseo explained, covering his bright red face with his tails.
"Puppets?" Sonic blinked, "I feel there's a story to that, isn't there?"
"I don't know. It was before I was born, but Aunt Jem whistles whenever it's brought up," Haseo replied.
"...Sonic, what's your distance at the moment?" Sally asked.
"...SHOOT!" Sonic yelped as he ran out through the Roll-shaped hole in the wall, "Roll, come back!"
"Must be a bad fear if she ran that far...like Goku and needles..." Bulma muttered.
"WHERE?!" at that, an explosion was heard followed by groans of Vegeta pulling himself out of a wall.
"He...poofed...mid flight...ugh…"
"...Oh so that's why she did it that day Jewel brought in that ventriloquist dummy to take out the jewels in it," Tangle recalled, "I thought it was because it had a plastic burger with plastic pickles."
"Oh sweetie...you're like a girl version of Goku, aren't you?" Bulma asked in concern.
"I am? Awesome!" Tangle cheered.
"Well...I have some questions to ask later to Jem, it seems," Bulma noted.
"I feel terrified of Bulma learning something that I did again," Jem noted, sitting up wide awake in the bed as Pari pawed at her in her sleep, "...Sleep now, panic later." she went back to lying down and snoozing, a bright red-faced Yamcha acting as their hugging pillow.
"Chaos really does become the norm…" Piccolo grunted, overhearing all the nonsense as he watched over Gohan, who was resting in bed, Videl sitting next to the bed also sleeping after waiting the whole time since he transformed and vanished, "Still…" he closed his eyes, "Why do I feel an energy like those creatures here...but different?" he looked in the direction of Bulma's lab before blinking twice, "It's gone?"
"I don't like taking it off," Chip muttered, adjusting his collar while Bulma looked over the scans she had done of it with Sally.
"Yep! But you get a big ol' cookie for your troubles," Tangle pointed out at the chocolate chip cookie as big as Chip in her tail.
"But…"
"Triple Chocolate Chip~" Tangle teased before the cookie was instantly taken from her, "Woah!"
"So good…" Chip muffled out between bites.
"These readings are rather interesting," Bulma noted, "The gem on his collar has the same frequency as the Chaos Emeralds, but the wavelength is the complete opposite of them."
"I understood none of that," Chip smiled.
"I think I did...something about your collar being opposite to the Chaos Emeralds...so would that make it an Order Collar?" Tangle pondered.
"I mean, if we're gonna name it off that, it seems catchy," Bulma agreed, "But I suppose it's hard to justify it in any form of good or bad. It's just energy on a different end of the same spectrum. Like the positive and negative charge in electricity."
"Very true," Sally nodded as she looked through the data before Team Dark entered, "Oh! Welcome back."
=I am disappointed we are not out in the night killing more of those night monsters= Omega stated, earning a dope slap from Rouge whom was sitting on his shoulder.
"We brought what we have gathered so far," Shadow spoke as he presented the five Emeralds, "I also noticed that the others are back." he leaned out and looked at the Goku and Vegeta-shaped holes in the wall, "...Let me guess, the idiot?"
"He wants to grow his tail back…" Bulma sighed.
"Uh-huh…" Rouge noted before noticing the Roll-shaped hole, "And that one?"
"An advanced case of Pupaphobia that we just learned Roll has for reasons I'll get from Jem later," Bulma replied.
Shadow nodded, "What's the next step?"
"Professor Pickle and Relic figured out where one of the temples is," Sally explained, "We need to go see them to learn where the location now that we have some of the Chaos Emeralds and the key to let them work with the Gaia Temples."
"I'm apparently lucky," Chip noted before taking a photo of the trio, "You know, that one kinda looks like Sonic."
"Hmph. More like he looks like me," Shadow snorted.
"Let's not start this argument again," Bulma sighed, "Come on, let's go talk to them to get the location."
"Right…"
"H-Hold on now. What do you mean I just left my office?" Pickle's voice spoke, earning the group's attention as they looked outside the room to see him speaking on the phone, "I have been here in West Mobotropolis this entire time….how could I have been there yet here at the same time?"
"..." Bulma took a moment to process what she heard, "GOKU!"
"...Yes…?" he asked after a moment.
"Go...Visit...Eggman…" she growled.
"K," Goku nodded as he used Instant Transmission.
"Alright...good...all is going as planned." Eggman grumbled, a little frazzled from Vegeta's stunt.
"We almost died…" Lien-Da sighed.
"But we didn't!" Eggman laughed as he turned around, only to walk face first into Goku's chest, "...Is this a wall of marble?"
"Hi, Eggman!" Goku smiled, flexing his pectorals with enough strength to literally knock Eggman onto his rear, "Eggman...are you plotting to take over the world again?" he sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
"Absolutely not! I am trying to get my troops off this planet before whatever remaining gravity is keeping it together is lost," Eggman replied as he pointed at a projector nearby displaying a drawing of Mars with Eggman's face on it, "See? Mars."
"Are you sure?" Goku asked, "'Cause Bulma says there are some shenanigans with a doppleganger going on and you are suspect number 1."
"No, it's not me. Honestly, I'm the primary enemy to Sonic and his bunch, but it doesn't mean I'm the only one," Eggman replied, "Try asking Mammoth Mogul or those Battle Birds that hate Tails. Was planning on recruiting them, but then this happened so I'm not dealing with that."
"So you don't know any shapeshifters?" Goku leaned forward.
"I may, but they're not under my employment or Sonic and his pals already broke them since they were machines," Eggman replied.
"Hmmm?" Goku leaned forward more, for emphasis his eyes began flashing green as he powered up.
"Do you mind? I have no clue what's going on with a doppelganger going after your blue-haired friend and I am already behind schedule on getting two of every animal and some trees to plant on Mars," Eggman replied, managing to remain surprisingly calm, "Seriously, who knew moving to another planet could be such a large scale effort when the other planet doesn't have supporting life on it?"
"I don't know, it was pretty easy for me when I was a kid," Goku replied honestly, reminding Eggman...he was also an alien, "But you mean it? This isn't you or your buddies?"
"Yes, it's not me nor a friend," Eggman replied before a crash and a bleating went off, "Ah! No, my goats! Keep them away from the cans!"
"Alright, I'm trusting you. But if something happens, I'm bringing Vegeta next time," Goku replied, powering down, "And he'll be majorly nettled. 'Cause Bulma will be nettled."
"...Boy, that must be hurting your head using that word."
"A little," Goku admitted, "Chi-Chi has me listening to a recording of someone reading the dictionary when I sleep at home lately."
"That explains many things." Eggman muttered.
"Kay Eggman, I'll see ya later! Oh and just remember...I can teleport across the whole universe. Even if you died, I could go to hell and find your soul." Goku smiled.
"Right…" Eggman nodded, now sweating a little, 'Ki Scrambler! I have to finish that dang Ki Scrambler!'
"Also...I'm keeping this goat," Goku spoke, holding up a goat and vanishing into thin air.
"...Oh come on! Do you have any idea how hard it was getting those goats!?" Eggman snapped at the sky.
"I can't believe you're actually doing this," Lien-Da deadpanned, poking her head in.
"It's Plan B if Plan A fails. Plus, occupying another planet and mining its resources is a perfect idea," Eggman argued, "Now hurry and catch those other goats!"
"...Goku, I sent you to interrogate Eggman...and you bring back a goat," Bulma sighed.
"Well yeah. He's busy moving to Mars since he thinks the planet's gonna go flying off," Goku replied, "Um...He also mentioned this mogy guy as another suspect."
"...Was it Mammoth Mogul?" Rouge asked.
"Yeah! That's the name!" Goku noted, "Who is he?"
"Immortal mammoth from the early years of Mobius. He became immortal when a Chaos Emerald was lodged in his chest," Shadow explained, "He's strong, both physically and mentally, as well as a powerful sorcerer."
"Ah, a magic mammoth guy?" Goku asked.
"Yes…" Shadow sighed.
"Where can I find him?" Goku asked as he put the goat down, "Maybe he knows what's going on."
"The last place anyone saw him was in Casinopolis before he sold it to Breezie," Rouge replied.
=It is ill advised for you to face him= Omega informed.
"Aw why?" Goku asked.
=He uses numerous large words when he speaks instead of being blunt=
"...Did you put a humor program in him or did our mechanic sneak it in?" Rouge whispered to Bulma.
"Not me," Bulma replied.
"...Back to the matter at hand," Sally muttered as Whisper began walking by them, "A Professor Pickle Doppelganger having just left Spagonia university while the real one was here…"
"?! ..." Whisper stopped upon hearing that, her eyes slowly opening as it showed a state of shock...and anger in them, 'Mimic…'
"If I don't know them...I can't find 'em," Goku replied, "I need to know the person's Ki beforehand. And I doubt I could pick out a random Ki and find a shapeshifter."
=There's also the chance that the shapeshifter is a machine= Nicole added.
"We'll have to keep an eye out just in case," Shadow advised.
"I'll have Nicole send out a signal to anyone who might've seen anyone who looks like us or them," Sally spoke.
"...It won't do any good," Whisper spoke, causing everyone to look over at her, "Many have tried to find Mimic before...all attempts have failed."
"Mimic?" Sally repeated.
"...Hold on. I think I've heard that name," Rouge spoke as she pulled her phone out, looking something up before showing them an article, "He's around the top of the world's most wanted criminals. He specializes in assassinations and stealing any important data for the right price. Nobody has been able to get even a glimpse of what he truly looks like."
"Really? Huh, that's pretty spooky," Tangle noted.
"Yeah, if you don't know what he looks like, how do you know he's not here now?" Chip asked.
"...We need to get an airlock or something to shoot people out of if they're the imposter," Tangle noted.
"Hm?"
"I gotta introduce ya to video games, Chip," Tangle spoke.
"This is serious," Whisper frowned, "Mimic is dangerous...he won't hesitate to kill you just to keep himself hidden."
"How do you know so much about him?" Sally asked.
"...We've…" Whisper paused, looking away as she took a deep breath to calm herself, "We've met…"
"But he just changes his face, right?" Goku asked, "He's not actually turning into someone, So that means even if the outside is different, his Ki is still the same."
"It's not just his face...Mimic can make himself look like anyone," Whisper explained.
"Except down to their ki," Shadow intervened, making Whisper turn to look away from him as she put her mask on, "..."
"Let me know if you hear anything about him…" Whisper said as she began to walk away, "And word of advice, princess...Mrs. Briefs...keep a close eye on your family."
"Well it seems like she needs some help...and possibly a lot of hugs." Bulma sighed.
"But Shadow's right, you can't copy the ki of someone else. The only way to do that would be to absorb someone's Ki, or be a clone." Goku added, "Meaning if we do meet this guy, we can find him again, anywhere. Face changing or no face changing."
"True...still we should be careful," Sally stated, "With an ability like that...we'll have to be careful on who we talk to or even trust."
"Well those of us who haven't learned this incredibly useful skill." Shadow added, "Meaning just trust who we trust and you'll be fine."
"Pretty much yeah." Goku smiled.
"...You're going to spend half the time globe-trotting to find Mogul, aren't you?" Shadow deadpanned.
"Was it that obvious?" Goku asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Goku, you can fight him later!" Bulma complained.
"Ah...but by then, he'll probably be next to try and take over the world!" Goku groaned, "And then I'll have to fight him out of responsibility instead of fun. I wanna see if I can fight a wizard who can fight on his own. Most Wizards I meet are really weak. Can hardly take a single punch."
"...You just search for and punch wizards?" they asked.
"...maybe…" Goku muttered as he then picked up the goat and ran off.
"Should've seen that coming…" they facepalmed.
"Okay, have you calmed down?" Sonic asked, looking up at Roll as she climbed down from the tree he found her in.
"I...I think so," Roll replied, her cheeks pink as she tried to not look at him.
"What was that about anyway?" Sonic asked, "That little guy showed off a puppet and you suddenly screamed, pinned it with those metal needles, and now there's a hole shaped like you in their place."
"I...a-ano...Puppets terrify me," Roll replied.
"Seriously?" Sonic raised a brow as they started to head back.
"They're evil! They're just waiting for us to lower our guards before ripping our souls out of our bodies and using them to turn into flesh and blood!" Roll argued.
"Uh-huh…"
"I am serious! They're evil and planning on it! Never trust a puppet! Especially if it's able to move on its own!"
"Okay...May need to schedu-WHOA!" Sonic yelped as he tripped on some rubble and fell on his face.
"Sonikku!?" Roll gasped as she went back, "Daijobu?"
"Yeah. Guess I got distracted by this ta…" Sonic began before some dark purple smoke shot out of a crack into his face, "ACK!" he coughed and sputtered, "Ugh! Did a gas pipe break or something?! Ugh! Ptui! Uck..."
"Chili-Dog?" Roll offered, pulling one in a container from her tail.
"Thanks," Sonic coughed as he quickly opened it and scarfed it down, "Phew...Perfect way to get that out of my senses. Now let's go get some chocolate to make up for the puppet you broke."
"H-Hai…" Roll replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"From what we've managed to decode, the first temple is located in the country of Mazuri," Relic explained, "It's made of a cluster of small villages with the largest being called Mazuri located here on Efrika."
"Africa?" Bulma questioned.
"No, Efrika. The nations on that continent all agreed to call it that as of last month," Relic replied.
"So where do we find it?" Bulma decided to go with it for the sake of speed.
"Our best bet is to speak to the village chieftain in the village of Mazuri," Professor Pickle replied, "Though with the current status of the planet, plane tickets will be practically impossible to get for continental travel."
"...He knows we can fly, right?" Vegeta questioned.
"Not all of us can," Bulma replied.
"I can just poof us there," Goku spoke, using Instant Transmission to jump around the room to the point it looked like there were dozens of him, "See?"
"There is also a need for a base of operations. There may be times that there isn't a safe place remotely close to these temples," Sally noted.
"Must you both poke flaws in good arguments?" Vegeta muttered.
"Two of us can teleport," Shadow spoke, "If we can find friends of Sonic's in these areas, we can have a sort of base in these locations, and alternate between here and the site."
"Good idea," Sally nodded, "We'll set up a team to go over to Efrika, and Goku will help send them off."
"Gotcha!" Goku smiled as he gave a thumbs up.
"Do you know where to land, Goku?" Bulma asked.
"Oh yeah. I've been all over the world looking for Dragon Balls," Goku smiled, "I know what to picture."
"Then who's going?"
"Anyone call for me?" Sonic asked with a smirk as he ran in, skidding to a halt with Roll right behind him.
"Time to save the world!" Goku smiled.
"Had a feeling," Sonic nodded before looking at Sally, "So what's the job, Sal?"
"We're making a team to go to Efrika," Sally explained, "A Gaia Temple was found there and we're thinking of forming a base there in case you run into anyone we know there."
"Oh nice!" Sonic beamed.
"Sign us up!" Tangle beamed as her tail pointed at Whisper, who was standing against the wall nearby as she focused on her weapon, "Since Chip's gotta go because he's the guy with the collar, we've gotta go too since we made a promise to help him with his memories!"
"And because it's an adventure to another continent," Roll added with a smile of amusement.
"You know me so well!" Tangle beamed.
"Alright, everyone that's going hang onto Goku then," Bulma pointed.
"I can't promise we won't poof into the middle of a Lion Pride," Goku smiled.
"We'll just outrun 'em," Sonic smirked as he, Roll, Tangle, and Whisper grabbed onto Goku while Chip grabbed onto his back.
"Is this safe?" Chip asked Goku, "We're not gonna end up in each others' bodies are we?"
"What? No! That's never happened before." Goku spoke, "Although that does sound wacky and funny…" he muttered, "That could make a great movie!"
"Focus," Bulma and Sally said.
"Oh, right!" Goku nodded as he quickly teleported the team away.
"Um...Can I ask why Mr. Goku was carrying a goat?" Fixit asked.
SZ: And the world search has begun!
GT: And it seems Eggman really is planning on leaving to Mars if Plan A fails.
Z0: It's gonna fail...it always fails.
GT: Well, next chapter we start in Mazuri!
Z0: Till next time!
GT: Please read and review!