SZ: Greetings one and all...we are back to our little world adventure!
Z0: Come to think of it...After the original Dragon Ball...Toriyama rarely explored Goku's weird Earth…
GT: True. It always seemed to be generic empty areas or just one or two always used cities.
Z0: Which was an honest shame with the world Goku explored in the early story. But then again by the time the manga reached the content that later became DBZ, we had aliens and all that nonsense to contest with.
GT: Eeyup. Especially since the main ones are named after vegetables or instruments or cooling devices...or booze.
Z0: Don't forget Fruit...and now...breakfast foods?...Aliens are so freakin weird...but then again really weird pun names are something Dragon Ball and Sonic have in common.
GT: True. Very true. Anyways, SZ, care to do the honors of the disclaimer?
SZ: We own nothing aside from original content. Sonic is owned by SEGA while Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, and Dragonball Super are owned by Toei animations, Funimation, Fuji TV, and Akira Toriyama
Z0: That's all! *aims hand and blasts it with a dark red ki beam*
"I knew it'd be a lion's home," Sonic muttered as Chip and Tangle were looking at a photo and snickering at it, said photo being that of Goku trying to help Sonic get out of a Lion's mouth with the lion's expression being one of startlement from both its slumber and the fact it had a hedgehog in its mouth.
"I'm just glad the mothers were all out hunting at the time," Roll noted.
"Agreed…" Whisper sighed.
"Eh heh...sorry guys," Goku sheepishly chuckled, "It's been a while since I was last here and just went with the first ki I could recognize."
"A lion was the first thing you recognized is pretty cool," Tangle noted.
"We should be close to Mazuri," Whisper quietly noted, her mask on.
"How do you know that?" Goku asked.
"That's their Holy Tree," Whisper replied, pointing ahead at something they could barely see in the distance.
"Wow...that must be from your guys' world, huh?" Goku asked, floating up to get a better look, "That's neat! I've never seen a tree like that before!"
"That's good to know," Sonic grinned.
"Oh wow! Is that a giant sand city over there?!" Goku asked in amazement, looking to the left, before he floated down with a sigh, "It's been so long since I last got out and just explored the world. I used to do it all the time before me and Chi-Chi got married. But she never really liked adventures like I did. Then we had Gohan...and then Space stuff happened…"
"Yeah, I've been itching to really go all out and see the world, too," Sonic agreed before pouting, "Then school happened…"
"Never been more glad to be an adult by human standards…" Goku chuckled.
"Well, let's get going and see if they know about this temple place!" Tangle cheered as she ran ahead, "Adventure~!"
"Yay!" Chip cheered, using her tail as a seat.
"Oh boy!" Goku smiled as he powered up and flew past Tangle at amazing speeds, the resulting air draft making her spin around in place and come to a stop with a dizzy expression.
"Awesome~" Tangle squeed as Chip spun around dizzily in the air above her head.
"Anyone get the number...of that...thing?" Chip asked before falling down.
"Oh dear," Roll gasped as Sonic snickered, "Mou...Sonikku…"
"What? That was funny," Sonic defended, "And they're alright aside from being dizzy, right?"
Whisper shook her head at the shenanigans as she followed after Goku.
"Oh wow!" Goku awed, arriving at the massive baobab tree surrounded by several homes made of stone, mud, and thatched roofs, "This place sure is different from the ones I saw when I travelled as a kid." he blinked twice when he saw one of the villagers walk by with their earlobes stretched out with a heavy piercing in them, "Wow, that's new, too."
Everyone of the villagers looked in shock, noting first of all...Goku was floating in the air with no normal means of explaining it. It was actually amazing given this was a first for many who did not know Ki flight was a thing. A tsessebe rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before Sonic and Roll arrived, carrying the others in their group.
"Hey there!" Sonic greeted before looking up at Goku and at the villagers looking at him, "Uh...Goku? Think you could come down?"
"Huh? Oh, sure!" Goku replied as he landed before a gemsbok approached.
"Greetings, strangers, I am Abayomi," she greeted, "What brings you and your…" she glanced at Goku with a raised brow, "...unusual companion to our village of Mazuri?"
"I'm Goku!" he smiled, "This might seem weird, but we're looking for a temple thing. It's kinda part of fixing the world. It's kinda broken…"
"...Oh! You must be talking about the Gaia Temple," she realized.
"Yeah that!" Goku smiled, "Can you help us find it? We need it, don't ask me how...I kinda wasn't paying attention to the big smart people explanation…" he chuckled.
"Dark Gaia," Whisper stated.
"!? He's awoken already?" Abayomi gasped, her face pale in shock before shaking it off, "Come with me. We'll speak with the elder Gwek. He knows more of it than I."
"Gwek?" Goku blinked at the name, he then paused as the others kept walking. He ran off as he appeared to grab a large box someone had trouble lifting, "Here you go." he smiled lifting it with a single hand.
"Elder Gwek!" an older human male with a bushy curly greying beard paused from his game of mancala with a younger tribesman before both turned to see Abayomi approach with the group sans Goku, "Dark Gaia has arisen!"
"!?" Gwek tensed as he slowly stood up, "I thought those tremors were not normal. Abayomi, I take it these visitors know of it?"
"Yes. They're here to speak with you of it," Abayomi replied.
"Very well," Gwek nodded as he motioned to the baobab tree where a home had been made in a hollowed part of it with the 'door' made of colorful fabrics, "Come."
"Thanks," Sonic spoke as they followed him into it before asking once they sat down, "We kinda need to find this temple thing that is needed to save the world. You know where that is?"
"I do," Gwek replied, "But I do not think you are worthy of that knowledge."
"What?!" Sonic gawked.
"Please, sir," Roll spoke as she pulled out one of the dulled out Chaos Emeralds from her hair, "We want to help the planet change back to normal."
"Yeah! Ain't there a way we can prove we just wanna help?" Tangle asked.
"Hmm…" Gwek rubbed his beard before looking out towards a sandy structure in the distance, "In the savannah, an unusual group has congregated. They're filled with a darkness that troubles me and my successor. They've constructed a citadel out there and we fear an attack approaches." he looked at them, "Cleanse this darkness on our homeland. If you succeed in that, then we will talk."
"Alright. Sounds easy enough," Sonic noted with a grin, "So what do these troublemakers look like?"
"Some are metal, others look as if they wear skin but are also metal at the same time," Gwek replied, "The one who leads them is a water buffalo. But all those who wear skin wear a similar outfit."
"Must be some of Eggman's goons," Sonic sighed, "Should be easy enough, between me and Go...ku…" Sonic blinked as they all finally noticed they were missing their tall alien friend, "How did we lose a giant alien of pure muscle?"
"Black hair that spikes out? Wears orange?" Gwek asked.
"Yeah," Tangle replied.
"He's quite the attraction to the villagers," Gwek chuckled, looking outside at the crowd of villagers aweing at Goku.
Goku himself was using his Saiyan strength to lift large objects and juggle them in order to entertain them. He then tossed them all up and held his hands out as they all stopped in the air and slowly floated down. He then held his hands out in a 'Tadah!' manner as everyone cheered. A villager called out to him, Goku answering and rushing over to help him with some random chores that needed doing.
"...wow," Sonic blinked.
"Goku's good at making friends," Tangle noted as Goku seemed to have inserted himself in everyone's daily life in the time they lost track of him.
=Axel, status report= Eggman spoke on the line =Do you have the seeds and potted baobab trees ready for transport? And did you receive the document I sent?=
"Of course, boss," Axel answered with a nod, "Me and the boys should be finished before the sun sets."
=Excellent! Oh and did you find that yet?=
"Not yet, but boss...being honest here, I don't trust that slimy assassin," Axel frowned.
=Well he knows what would happen if he goes against me= Eggman grinned darkly
"Good point, still creepy though…"
=Well...that is true= Eggman nodded =But while he doesn't work for me, he also knows what'll happen if he defies me...ahem! Anyway, give me an update once you're done!=
"You got it, boss."
=Good. Eggman out=
"Running this Savannah Citadel is nuts, especially with two jobs," Axel sighed before turning to a bunch of Mobians decked out in biker gear themed after Eggman, "Alright, boys, listen up! Let's double down on production and search for that damn temple the boss wants us to find!"
"Got it, big boss!"
"And if you see the hedgehog or his allies, leave 'em to me!" Axel shouted as he walked off.
A few moments of silence passed before some bushes outside the base shook, Sonic and his team poking out as they overheard that.
"Well...guess Eggman is after the temples as well," Sonic muttered, "Goku?"
"Gonna pop in," Goku spoke as he prepared to use Instant transmission, only to blink in confusion "...Wait. I can't sense him…"
"Say what?"
"I can't find him…" Goku stated.
"Does that mean something bad?" Tangle asked.
"Either he's learned to hide his energy...or he's now part robot…" Goku explained.
"...Maybe he built something to scramble your Ki," Roll guessed.
"Aww~ Then that means I can't pop in to say hi," Goku pouted.
"How often do you do that?" Sonic asked, curious.
"Well I like to pop in every other day, twice on Fridays, and most times I find him in the randomest of rooms in his house. I felt bad for the time I teleported into the shower with him, the poor old guy looked like he had a heart attack." Goku went on, not seeing the disgusted looks that formed on the faces of the others aside from a confused Chip, "Then there was the time in the basement where he was making a model out of toys, and he had a weirdly accurate figure of me and one of Sonic…" he scratched his head, "Oh and then there's the time I poofed into his room and landed on his chest while he was sleeping! He screamed really loud."
"Goku does a better job of driving Eggman crazy than I ever did. And the worst part is...he's trying to be nice…" Sonic muttered.
"So what do we do?" Roll asked.
"Given the info the chieftain told us and the new info provided, we'll have to boot these guys before they find the temple," Sonic explained, "So let's rush in a-"
"Whisper and Tangle rushed in," Chip spoke.
"Wait, what?" Sonic blinked before an explosion went off inside the base, "?!"
"Whoo! Bring it baddies!" Tangle whooped as another explosion could be heard.
"Wait, we're fighting?" Goku asked excitedly...as he just teleported away at that to join the two.
"Why am I the mature one here? Goku's like three times our age!" Sonic noted. He then looked to Roll, who gave him an understanding but reprimanding look, "Yeah, I know that's by our years...we don't know how aliens work…"
"Hai," Roll nodded.
"So...Wanna join in?" Sonic asked.
"Of course," Roll replied, katana already in hand as Chip took a photo of another explosion.
"Alright! Let's do it to it!" Sonic whooped as he raced off with Roll following right behind him, Chip resting on her head so he didn't lose them.
"Ahh! They got Rhody!" a biker punk exclaimed before he was slugged across the face by Tangle's tail.
"Whoo! Finally some action!" Tangle beamed, doding a few laser shots as her tail swung in front of her, knocking over the grunts that had fired at her, "Missed me~! Missed me~! Now ya gotta kiss the floor~!"
"Wait, isn't it 'Miss me, miss me, now you gotta kiss me?'" a biker punk asked.
"Yeah, but none of you are cute enough," Tangle replied before her tail made the shape of a fist and punched the punk several times in the face.
"Where did you come from?!" another asked, backing up before bumping into Goku, who teleported right behind him, "...Is that a marble statue behind me?" he turned to see Goku, "Oh crap…" at that, Goku smacked two fingers on his head, making his body stiffen and lock up...and then go limp and fall over.
"So...where's the strongest guy?" Goku asked, cracking his knuckles.
"...Da b-" one began before Whisper's energy hammer conked him hard on the head, "Gh!"
"Aww~! You didn't let him finish!" Goku complained just as Sonic and Roll rushed in.
"Woah...we missed th-" Sonic began before seeing Whisper approach a nearby console, "Woah woah wait! We might need that!"
Whisper seemed to ignore him at the moment, the lens on her mask glowing red a bit as she saw Eggman's symbol on the screen. The wolfess was about to smash the console before a hand was placed on her shoulder, making her turn to see Roll looking at her in confusion..and slight concern.
"Whisper-san, we may need this console to look for clues to their plans," Roll explained.
"...Understood," Whisper answered, the lens changing back to its normal color as she walked off, "I'll assist in taking down the base…"
"...yeesh…" Sonic whispered as he and the others looked on at her, "What did Eggman do to her…?"
"I could always mind read her," Goku offered, causing Roll to gasp.
"Goku-san, you never read a girl's mind!" Roll scolded.
"Oh...Well, it's a good thing I only ever do it to my guy friends then," Goku took that seriously but in the wrong way somehow, "I don't like reading Master Roshi's mind though…" he shook his head, "Ah well. Back to fighting!"
"You do that," Roll noted as Goku flew off, none of them noticing Tangle and Chip going in the direction Whisper had left.
"Again, it's weird I need to act a little more like the leader here," Sonic spoke up, "I mean me...We need to bring someone who's a good leader with us next time."
"Do you just wanna be the one causing the headaches again?" Roll asked simply.
"Stop reading my mind…" Sonic mumbled before Roll pecked his cheek.
"Never," Roll replied with a giggle before looking at the computer, "Alright…" she looked at one of the knocked out grunts, "Sonic-san, I'm going to try to get into the computer. Do you want to go around and have fun with anyone around here in our range?"
"I sense a few," he smirked, "I'll try not to go too far!" he declared as he dashed off.
"..." Roll pulled out a smelling salt and, after tying up the grunt with some chains, put it under their nose, waking them up, "Hello. May I have the password to get into the systems?"
"I'll never talk!"
"Mmm...Pity," Roll shook her head as she dug into her tail and pulled out a board, a bandana, a cooler, and some rope, "But you're messing with a kunoichi who learned T&I."
"...Uh…"
"You do know what it means, right?"
"...I'd make a guess, but I feel you'd hurt me a lot if I said what my guess is," he gulped as Roll secured him to the board and covered his eyes with the bandana.
"Good choice. Last chance to give me the password."
"I'll never talk!"
"They always say that," Roll sighed as she opened the cooler and pulled out a block of ice that she quickly tied to above the soldier's forehead, "And now I wait." she dug into her cleavage and pulled out a cookbook, "Been meaning to find time to read this cookbook."
"Hey, Whisper!" the wolf ignored Chip's call as the flying chihuahua caught up to her first, "Is everything okay? Did they guy who owned that com-poo-thingy steal your chocolate?"
"Or something worse?" Tangle asked, catching up.
"What could be worse than stealing your chocolate?" Chip countered.
"Nothing!" Goku's voice echoed in the distance.
"...It's none of your concern," Whisper stated as she increased her walking speed.
"...Does this have to do with Eggman or that Mimic guy I overheard about?" Tangle asked, making Whisper stop for a moment, "...dang...it's both, ain't it?"
"..."
"...Seriously, Whisper. What did they do to you to make you so...distant like this?"
"...They ruined my life," Whispered growled a bit as she resumed walking.
"Oh and she's walking again!" Tangle grunted, rushing after her, "Wait! Talking helps, you know! I don't know how I can help...but that's what people do! Oh and we got super aliens and magic dragons! And a chocolate-loving fluffy fairy chihuahua!"
"I know...and even with said dragon, there's nothing that can be done," Whisper argued, "Even if I had a wish, it would just be taken away by them again."
"...Ooh. It's worse than I thought if you think the magic dragon part is a bad option," Tangle cringed.
"Do you think chocolate would help?" Chip innocently asked, pulling a large chocolate bar out.
"Whoa! How'd ya hide that?" Tangle asked.
"I don't know," Chip shrugged as he flew ahead of Whisper, "Want some chocolate?"
"No."
"...Well, I've done all I've can," Chip noted with a shrug before taking a big bite of the bar of chocolate, "Mmm~"
"...Not everything," Tangle noted as she started to drag her tail on the floor before poking Chip with it.
"Ah!" the tiny one yelped before his fur puffed up, "Mmmm~"
"Whisper, look! We have a fluffy chihuahua~" Tangle cooed, holding Chip by her tail.
"..."
"...Ok. Not even that worked…" Tangle whispered, "...Hey Roll!"
"Hai?" Roll asked as she zipped over.
"Whisper's really worrying me...she's saying the magic dragon won't even help her."
"Shenron-dono doesn't want to help her?" Roll pondered, tilting her head, "...Wait. Has she even met Shenron-dono before? Or Porunga-dono?"
"Focus, Rolly," Tangle deadpanned, "We have a sad Shy-Awoo right now."
"?!" Whisper tripped a little at that nickname.
"It amazes me at how fast that nickname's caught on," Roll noted.
"Well, she is shy," Chip noted.
"Mmm...I say that you just be there for her," Roll noted, "She'll tell you eventually when she feels ready to tell others."
"I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP! I'LL TELL IT! I'LL TELL IT!"
"Oh, there it goes," Roll noted with a smile, "Ganbatte, Tangle-chan, Chip-chan."
"...Any idea what that was about?" Chip asked once Roll dashed off.
"I don't know," Tangle shrugged, "But I do know our next plan, Chip!"
"You do?"
"Yep. Operation: Happy Shy-Awoo is a go!" Tangle declared, pointing to the sky.
"Yay!" Chip cheered.
The two then flinched as a large explosion went off in the distance, with goons crying in surprise and pain as they flew overhead.
"My bad!" Goku called out in the distance, "I didn't know that was flammable!"
"...So cool~" Tangle and Chip awed, the latter taking a photo.
"...Huh," Sonic muttered as he looked around, standing on top of the base while standing on what looked like a large track set up within the trees surrounding it, "The leader of these guys isn't here...must've gone out or something."
A revving sound soon caught his attention, making him look ahead to see something flying towards him. It looked like a large robotic bug covered in dark-purple and silver armor, its mandibles large and glowing a bright hot red as they clanged together. Sitting...or rather, piloting the large robotic bug was Axle, who frowned a bit before the robotic beetle grinded to a halt.
"So...you're the blue pest that keeps annoying Dr. Eggman...honestly? Not impressed," he scoffed.
"And you are…?"
"Axle, Grand Master of the Dark Legion Efrika branch," Axle answered, "And you're on my turf, rat. If you run now…" he paused as the robotic bug gnashed its fangs, "My Egg Beetle won't be so kind on you."
"Alright buddy, let's get on with this bit," Sonic sighed, "You attack me, I fight back, I win, you lose, and that's how this whole song and dance normally goes. But see I'm no longer the crazy one in this group. That would be...Goku." He took a step back as Axle blinked as something slammed into the ground in front of the Egg Beetle.
"I'm here! I sensed Sonic's energy flash! Is the leader here? Who do I fight?" Goku asked excitedly.
"Right there, buddy," Sonic smirked, pointing at Axle piloting the Egg Beetle.
"Sweet!" Goku beamed before quickly catching the Egg Beetle's mandibles, "Heh heh...it's toasty….now it's really toasty...hot. Hot! HOT!" he yelped as he quickly jumped back, blowing on his currently burning hands.
"Hahahahaha!" Axle laughed, "What an idiot!"
"Bad Beetle!" Goku called out before kicking it, sending it tumbling backwards and flipping several times.
"...Okay. A strong idiot…" Axle muttered as the Egg Beetle got back up, "Alright...you wanna tussle?! Then let's ride!" he roared as he revved the engine, causing the Egg Beetle to shoot towards Goku and Sonic.
"So does he want us to run?" Goku asked as he and Sonic became transparent for a moment, letting the Egg Beetle...go through them.
"I guess so," Sonic shrugged as they did it again and once more the Egg Beetle just drove through them, "Think he'll ever figure out we're moving so fast we're not even standing here?"
"Let him tucker himself out a bit," Goku offered as it happened again.
"...I'm not hitting them," Axle realized as the Egg Beetle skidded to a halt, "They're mocking me…"
"Oop. He's catching on," Sonic smirked.
"He's smarter than he looks!" Goku laughed.
"Might be giving him too much credit." Sonic shrugged.
"Tch…" Axle frowned as he got out of the Egg Beetle's cockpit, cracking his neck as he jumped out, pulling out a pair of chains from the wrists of his gauntlets as he glared at the two, "Forget it...I'll handle you without a ride."
"OOH! Let's see if you can c-ACK!" Sonic gagged out when a chain wrapped around his and Goku's necks as they were suddenly tugged towards Axle.
"RAAAGH!" Axle roared out as he lifted them high into the air with his chains before pulling down, causing them to crash through the track as they hit the metal roof.
"...Oof...I like this guy," Goku noted with a grin. He walked out as he stretched his arms, "You're kinda strong, Eggman must have upgraded you." his eyes focused as his ki flared out, "That means you'll give me a good work-out." he swung his arms and entered his signature martial arts stance.
"Then let's see you talk the talk," Axle grinned, tugging the chain that was around Goku's neck and pulled him towards him, the waterbuffalo freeing the other chain as he swung it at Goku.
Goku smirked as he swung his arm and with a sudden flurry of movements, Axle was flipped up and slammed into the ground, his own chains flung around him. Goku smirked as he skipped back a bit.
"I'll give you this: you're strong, but you're using way too many wasted movements," Goku explained, "Power's nothing against someone who's better at fighting than you."
"Oh, I know how to fight…" Axle grunted as he got up, flexing his muscles before he let out a loud roar, causing the chains to shatter off him, "I'm not the leader of a biker gang for nothing!"
"Well, to be fair these guys are kinda bad at fighting, too," Goku replied as he began blocking and deflecting all of Axle's punches, "So you're not the first…"
"...Heh. You're pretty cocky, aren't ya?"
"Nah. I just love fighting."
"Well I…" Axle began as he grabbed Goku, "Like to ride!" he roared as he lifted Goku up, slamming him down hard as Goku crashed through the track from the water buffalo's power bomb, "Riding your bike with the wind blowing through you, fighting side by side with your crew, and make sure no one messes with ya! That's what it means to be a biker!"
"That's neat." Goku spoke, appearing behind him, "I kinda get it, but for me...that's fighting." he spoke as his ki flared to full force, "I'm a Saiyan raised on Earth, and I live for fighting strong people!" his ki began growing red, "Kaio-Ken!" he roared as his aura turned pure red, he then reared his arm back and punched Axle, sending him flying back.
Goku dashed ahead and met Axle at the end of his flight trajectory before swinging his arm back and swinging an uppercut that launched him into the sky. He pushed off the ground, making it crater, as he flew after Axle. Axle blinked before grunting in pain as Goku slammed his elbow into his stomach. The Saiyan warrior began spinning around and slamming a kick to Axle's back, sending him rocketing down to the ground. Thinking it would as soon as he hit the ground, Axle coughed in pain as Goku teleported down and raised his arm up, letting Axle land on it and effectively fall onto his punch. Goku growled as he opened his hand as light began charging in the palm of his hand. After a second, an explosion sent Axle flying back up into the air.
"So you gonna start going all out now?" Goku asked as he fell into the ground headfirst, "How 'bout now?"
"Wait, he's been holding back?" Sonic asked, blinking twice.
"I'm not a Super Saiyan am I…" Goku argued.
"...grr…" Axle grunted as he got up, turning his neck around as they could hear a popping noise. He then cracked his knuckles as he stared at Goku, "What's your name again?"
"Goku."
"Goku….heh...well…" Axle began to grin, "This might be worth my time then…" he then reached up for his gauntlets before taking them off, letting them hit..or rather fall through the floor as he took the top of his outfit off, revealing metal bindings underneath a metal shirt.
"...oh he was holding b-" Sonic began as Axle took the shirt and bindings off, letting them fall into the floor..and sent crashing through it and the base's roof, "WOAH!"
"The boss said I got too much of a powerboost from that machine of his, so he insisted I wear some bindings to keep myself from ending the fight so fast," Axle stated as he slipped the top of his outfit back on, "Which is fine by me...the fight would be otherwise boring."
"So you were holding back," Goku smiled, "I think this could be fun. Sonic, might wanna make sure Roll doesn't bully that one guy too hard." he turned to Sonic with a more neutral expression.
"Fine by me," Sonic nodded as he rushed off in a blur, "Gotta go search for the temple anyway!"
"So that's why you're here…." Axle noted as the two stared at one another, "You're here for the Gaia Temple…"
"Fixing the world is kinda my hobby." Goku smiled, "After all, the more I do it, the more fun guys come out to fight me."
"You'd be surprised what type of 'strong dudes' Mobius has," Axle grinned as he got into a starting position. He then bellowed out as he charged right at Goku, who quickly caught him by the horns...only to grunt as Axle began to push him back hard, destroying more of the track as Axle pushed him further and further against it.
"I used to wear heavy clothing, too!" Goku spoke as they kept going, "It really helped with training! So this is kinda nostalgic!" at that, he stomped his foot...cracking the ground and stopping Axle, "But then I learned how to control my power to the point that I seem like a normal human...or I can bring it all out!" his aura flashed, "And then...I learned how to become a Super Saiyan. Trust me...If I didn't learn how to control my strength...my wife would never let me come into the house!" his eyes flashed green as his hair spiked up, a faint gold aura glowing around him as he lifted Axle up over his head by his horns. He spun around and twisted his arms around while letting go, sending Axle spinning around and slamming into the ground, "You're right. Eggman gave you a lot of power. In terms of strength, you're a lot tougher than most folks I've fought. But that just means you're a new challenge for me." his hair returned to normal as the glow faded.
"Guh…" Axle grunted as he pulled himself up, "This...is gonna be fun."
"Hey, Roll! What's...uh…" Sonic blinked twice to see Roll at the computer, pouting as a smoking USB laid on the console as the grunt she had tied up knocked out on the floor with a puddle around him, "Why's he all wet?"
"Oh, basic method of getting a password without having the ability to hack into computer systems," Roll replied, "But when I tried to copy the data I found in here, it blew up my usb."
"...You mean U-S-B."
"It's what I said," Roll replied, tilting her head, "Why are you spelling it?"
"...Nevermind," Sonic rolled his eyes, "So what did ya find?"
"He has a copy of the Gaia Manuscript," Roll replied, "And he's translated it enough for two different locations aside from Mazuri: Apotos and Holoska."
"Well, if it wasn't for the fact it's Eggy...I'd be impressed," Sonic sighed, "But this is a pain. Now we gotta deal with his goons trying to beat us to the temples."
"Hai," Roll agreed, "Our advantage, though, is that the only way to get into them is Chip-chan's collar." she pulled out her katana and stabbed the console, causing it to short out, "Well, that's all I could get, so let's keep going, ne?"
"Yeah," Sonic grinned as the two walked by a large window to see the sun starting to set, "Oh, that's not good. Didn't the others say that those monsters show up at night?"
"I think so," Roll replied.
"There they are!" the two looked to see several of the troops run out from the other side of the hallway as the door behind them slammed shut with steel shutters.
"Oh great…" Sonic rolled his eyes, preparing to charge, "Well let's g…" he froze as the sun fully set, "Gh!"
"Sonikku?" Roll pondered as he collapsed to his knees, "Sonikku!?"
"Don't worry! We're here t-what's happening to Sonic?" Tangle asked as she and Whisper ran in.
"Oh, he doesn't look good," Chip noted before yelping as the door they had come in through slammed shut as Eggman's troops aimed blasters at them, "And neither are we!"
"I don't know," Roll replied, kneeling down beside the now-trembling Sonic, "Sonikku?"
Sonic gasped and shuddered as his body started to break out in a cold sweat, his quills starting to darken.
Goku paused as he blocked Axel's punch. He looked off to where he sensed Sonic and the others, feeling something was wrong. Sonic's ki was acting strange. He flinched as Axel's next punch hit his face. Axel smirked...before his eyes widened just a bit as Goku's hair flashed gold. The Saiyan raised his arms and grabbed the Mobian's arm...before spinning around and tossing him in the distance of his gang. Goku put his fingers to his head and teleported to meet him and his friends.
Sonic grunted as his body tensed before his quills were engulfed in darker-blue fur, the tips being coated in pale grey/white fur, and his ears sharpened. Beneath his skin, his muscles began to swell up all throughout his body, making him grow taller as well. His gloves bulged out before ripping apart, exposing the grey-blue hands ending in vicious razor sharp claws. His peach muzzle and stomach turned pale grey/white as his teeth grew out, sharpening into fangs. He slowly rose up, exposing his shoes had become darker with spikes erupting along the now metal strips and on his soles, before letting out a roar, his eyes snapping open to expose the emerald eyes were darker and slit.
"Uh...Roll...your boyfriend just went all lycanthrope on us…" Tangle muttered, taking a step back.
"G...g...ra…." Sonic panted out just as the grunts began to pile on top of him...only for Sonic to pushed them off and send them flying, "AWWWOOOOOOOOO~!-!-!-!"
"Oh sweet Chaos!" one yelped, having not jumped and began to back away only for Sonic to spin around to snarl at him, "Eek!" he started to run before Sonic swung an arm out...and the limb stretched out and grabbed the grunt, pulling him back to the transformed Hedgehog who proceeded to use his other fist to smash the grunt's face into the ground, cratering the ground beneath them.
"Whoa! His arm stretched!" Tangle gasped just as Goku appeared.
"Gyah!" Chip and Tangle yelped, hugging each other from the sudden appearance.
"Uh...Do Mobians normally do that?" Goku asked as he held his hand out and let Axel fly into his fist again.
"Ugh…" the water buffalo groaned through the fist in his face.
"I'm gonna guess 'no' 'cause you all look as scared as I was when Gohan was born," Goku spoke while blasting Axle away and powering down from SSJ...before Sonic's fist slammed him through the wall, "Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"
"GRAH!" Sonic roared.
"He's gone berserk," Whisper...well whispered, keeping her weapon ready as she, Chip and Tangle cautiously regrouped with Roll, "He's acting on pure animal instincts."
"Something weird is up with his ki," Goku spoke, "But...just his," he noted, widening his ki sense to Roll just for good measure, "Roll, the bit of Sonic's ki in you is normal though. Your body must not be compatible with whatever...infected him." Sonic roared as he pounced on Goku, who grabbed him by the neck, "No! Down, Sonic! Do…" Goku forgot that he had grabbed Sonic by his neck and not the arms...but was quickly reminded when both fists slammed into the sides of his head, forcing him to release Sonic and letting the transformed hedgehog grab Goku's head and slam him through the floor, "Okay, I'm getting annoyed here, Sonic..."
Goku jumped out before swinging his arms and pushing the punches away. He began floating back as Sonic rushed after him, seeming to not be using the full ability of his speed. The Saiyan flying around as he tried to tire Sonic out first, only for the Savage Hedgehog to lunge and extend his arm and grab Goku by his neck. Goku grunted...before powering up and opening his jaw to suddenly chomp down on Sonic's hand with all his might. Sonic's eyes widened and began watering in pain at...the surprising biting force Goku had. Goku growled as he kept biting Sonic's hand, probably out of sheer rage and annoyance.
"Wait...don't werewolf-like things infect people?" Tangle asked as Sonic slammed Goku into the ground and grabbed Goku's left leg before biting down hard on it as well.
"I don't think this is a normal werewolf thing," Whisper noted.
"Ah! Sonikku, matte!" Roll exclaimed, "You don't know where Goku-san's been!"
"Grr!" Goku growled, grabbing Sonic's right leg and chomping him once again.
"Goku-san, you don't know where Sonikku's been!" Roll groaned, facepalming.
"I have all kinds of bad feelings from this," Tangle spoke as they rolled around just...dirty fighting each other at this point, Goku currently screaming into Sonic's ear.
"What I wanna know is when did this happen?" Chip pondered, "Did he do this before?"
"No. He hasn't transformed like this before," Roll replied, rubbing the side of her head, "What could have caused this?"
"Grah!" Goku roared before holding his hand up in a chopping motion to block Sonic's pointer and index finger trying to aim for his eyes, "Heh!" he let out a squeak as Sonic's free fist hit below the belt, "That's...dirty…"
Sonic growled out as he glared a bit at Goku. Only...to him at the moment, it wasn't Goku. It was some...thing. Some...monstrous ape-like creature that was trying to hunt him...to hurt and eat him.
"Well some of Sonic is in there…" Goku grumbled, "But it's like he can't even recognize us…" he shook it off as he stood up, "Not sure why he's acting like this, but I gotta knock some sense into him," he held his arms up and waited, wanting to see what else this form could do.
Sonic growled before digging his claws into the floor. With a grunt, he ripped out a large chunk of it and swung it at Goku, leaving it dented with the shape of half of Goku's body.
"Yeah, he's gotten really strong now…" Goku winced from the impact. He pulled himself free as he twisted his body around and took a new stance that was lower to the ground, "But...looks like this form doesn't have his normal speed, his muscles have changed, he doesn't have the body built for speed like before. Sorry Sonic, I'm gonna have to hit you for real. But just one hit is all I'll need." he closed his eyes as his ki flared around him, "Haa…" his ki flared red, "Kaio-Ken...Times 3!"
Sonic growled and rushed to attack only to cough in pain as he was suddenly struck by Goku's elbow. The ground behind Sonic was suddenly torn asunder as a path of ground was carved out for miles, a large rock formation a ways away blown away like dust from the force of Goku's strike. Sonic groaned as he slumped backwards and fell onto his back, a slight twitch coming off him now and again.
"...phew…" Goku sighed, powering down as Sonic gagged from the pain and the blow knocking the air out of his lungs, "Sorry Roll...I had to hit him hard!" he called out.
"Ah mou…" Roll sighed as she quickly ran out to get over to them, "While I'm glad you managed to pacify him, you almost had him reach the limit of our current distance, too."
"Eh-heh. Sorry about that," Goku sheepishly apologized, "Still...I don't get it. Why's he all Mr. Monster Guy now? ..." he looked up at the moon, "No, it's not a full moon, so werewolf's out of the picture."
"Sonikku, easy now…" Roll gently spoke, "You're going to be alright."
"I got some Senzu beans in case I hit him too hard," Goku pulled out the bag, "I needed to stop him, so I had to hit him so he'd stop moving. So I took his breath away." he poked Sonic's chest slightly, earning a weezing growl and an attempt to weakly swipe at him, "Huh…" he poked again, earning the same reaction, "Wow, he's got a lot of muscles packed away. ...Were you holding back on me?"
"Goku-san, I can and will tell Chi-Chi-san to put you on a diet if you don't stop poking him."
"I'll be good," Goku replied, behind Tangle and Whisper now.
"Half of that has to be alien powers, right?" Tangle asked in awe of his speed.
"Wow. He's like a...um...a Mr. Monster Guy now!" Chip noted as he took a photo of Sonic, who gave a weak growl at him.
"I don't think he likes that name…" Whisper muttered
"So...uh...what do we do?" Goku asked scratching his head, "Cause I don't think what he's got works like our Saiyan Oozaru thing, I'm fairly sure his tail has nothing to do with this one…"
"Couldn't hurt to try?" Tangle offered.
"I don't know...it's a mighty short tail…" Goku muttered.
"We're not cutting off any tails…" Whisper sighed.
"Aww…" Chip pouted, having a pair of scissors out before he tossed it away.
"But why did he go all crazy on us?" Goku asked again, "Cause something tells me if this is a recurring problem...it's gonna cause us more problems. And then somehow it's gonna get blamed on me. Cause it always does…"
"..." Whisper said nothing as the lens of her mask shone for a bit, "He's covered in something similar to the Dark Gaia Monsters…"
"Covered?" Goku blinked, "So...he's dirty?"
"I'm certain with Roll as his girlfriend his thoughts sure are…" Tangle joked, her tail pointing at Roll's chest and behind.
"T-Tangle-chan…" Roll whispered with a blush.
"No…" Whisper sighed before jumping up, taking her mask off before putting it on Goku's face.
"Ahh! What was th-ooh~" Goku awed a bit as he looked around, seeing the girls and Chip covered in different auras, "Oh that's cool...oh wait…" he turned back to Sonic, who had a bit of a dark-purple aura, "I see it now…It's the same color as those Dark Gaia monsters." he nodded, "His Ki does feel really weird, too. Hmm...I've never tried messing with Ki to help people before, just to paralyze them in place."
"You can do that too?" Tangle asked.
"Uh-huh!" Goku nodded, "But maybe this new Ki from Dark Gaia is janking up Sonic's head," he spoke while putting a hand on Sonic's head, "Let's see if I can find the root of that problem." his hand began glowing, "Ooh boy, this dark ki stuff is all around his body. Now let's see. If I do that, move this here…" Sonic's body spasmed around a bit, "Not that!" Goku panicked, undoing what he did, "There it is," he moved his hand back, "The Dark Ki was blocking a lot of his normal Ki, so I just unblocked it and it all started flowing together."
"Hmm…" Whisper muttered, taking her mask back from him as she scanned Sonic, "...The Dark Gaia aura is not as strong now…"
"Mmm...Why do I feel so sore…?" Sonic muttered out, his voice rougher than normal, while the group stepped back as he sat up, "Dang...did I get into a battle with Shadow and Knuckles?"
"No...you kept attacking Goku...so he hit you for real." Tangle answered, "He knocked you the heck out."
"Huh? I attacked Goku?" Sonic muttered as he opened his eyes...and soon took notice of his current body, "?!"
"You are a Werehog," Goku spoke up.
"Werehog?" Tangle asked.
"Well...he's not half wolf now. He's just...werebeast like," Goku argued, "That is unless he's got like a 'The Wolf' somewhere in the family tree…"
"I don't! ...At least, I don't think I do!" Sonic freaked as he shot up, "Look at me! I look like I didn't skip leg...arm...gym day!"
"Also, you have stretchy arms," Tangle chimed in.
"I do?" Sonic blinked.
"I have a bruise in a cheap shot area to attest to it." Goku spoke up.
"Yeah! You stretched like rubber!" Chip spoke up, trying to pull at Sonic's arm, "You're a Mr. Monster Guy!"
"Please don't call me that…"
"You sure you're in control though? 'Cause you were really bitey before." Tangle added, "You looked like you tried to eat Goku...then it looked like he tried to do the same."
"I followed my instincts…" Goku muttered.
"I...honestly don't know…" Sonic muttered as he looked at his hands, "One thing I'm fine and then the next the moment it got dark out, and I just...blanked."
"Goku did say your energy was all janked up by dark stuff."
"Your Ki was being overwhelmed by Dark Gaia's energy, Sonikku," Roll explained.
"Wait...I got that dark god's energy in me?!" Sonic gawked.
"Uh...m-maybe you'll change back once we find the temple!" Chip suggested.
"It's a theory to go off of," Roll nodded, "But at least you're in control for now."
"Yeah...I am…" Sonic nodded before looking out at the citadel, "Well...I think we did enough of breaking the place up."
"Most of it from you two," Tangle added, her tail pointing at Goku and Sonic.
"Yeah, that's my B," Goku nodded.
"We've done enough," Whisper stated as she looked on at the citadel, seeing a broken Eggman symbol within the rubble, "..."
"Oh no. No dazing out on fatty's symbol," Tangle frowned as she turned Whisper back around as Chip offered another bar of chocolate to the wolf.
"So now what do we do?" Goku asked as he rounded up everyone they just got done beating up into a neat pile, "And them? Normally, when I find a random bad guy I just give them over for the police."
"Hmm...I'd say leave them with the Freedom Fighter group here, but chances are they have tracking chips or something in them, which would lead to Eggman finding their base," Sonic stated, "...At least I think so. My brain's a bit more...feral than it usually is."
"I'll ask one." Goku picked one up and slapped him 'till he woke up.
"Gah! Oof...my face…" the tubby aye-aye lemur groaned as he opened his eyes, "...Oh...Uh...I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"Well, you've got three options. One, you tell us what we wanna know. Two, you don't tell us and we give ya to Goku," Tangle noted before her tail pointed at Sonic, "Or three, we give ya to him and he's mighty hungry~."
"Okay, while rude, it's true," Sonic grumbled.
"...What do you wanna know?" the aye-aye asked with a nervous gulp, "Please don't let the Mr. Monster Guy eat me."
"That's gonna stick to me, isn't it?" Sonic asked.
"There-there," Roll comforted, patting his arm.
"...Huh. I'm taller than you now," Sonic noted.
"So what's ol' robo-fatty want with the Gaia Temples?" Tangle asked.
"I think he wants to control Dark Gaia while securing the means to stop it…" the aye-aye answered.
"Big shocker...Eggman wants to control an ancient evil god to conquer the world…" Sonic sarcastically muttered.
"How come I can't find Eggman anymore?" Goku asked, "Before I could sense him and Instant Transmission to wherever on the planet he's hiding. But now I can't find him. Did he brag about some new gizmo?"
"Not that I know of…"
"Drat…" Goku muttered, "...Wait. Does that mean he's not trying to make a base on Mars?"
"Oh, no. He's still doing that," the aye-aye replied, "You would not believe the hassle of getting two of all the animals here of opposite genders together for him was. And I hear that the guys in the Himalayas bases are having a conniption trying to find another male goat since his got swiped."
"I regret nothing…" Goku replied.
"But now we know why Eggman's goons are looking for the temple...he wants to try and control another ancient god," Sonic sighed.
"Another?" Goku repeated.
"He tried it with Chaos….did not end well for him."
"So...I'm not gonna get eaten, am I?" the aye-aye asked nervously.
"Nope. That's all our questions," Tangle replied before punching him in the face with her tail, knocking him out.
"I still wonder if I should pop in and ask King Kai about this," Goku muttered.
"Who?" Chip and Tangle asked.
"King Kai, he's the god in charge of our section of the universe, North Galaxy." Goku explained, "In fact," he looked up, "King Kai! Can you hear me!" he shouted at the sky, which...even for Goku was bordering on odd.
"Ah Goku! I was wondering when you'd call!" a voice spoke in their heads.
"Ahh! Who said that?!" Tangle freaked as she rapidly looked around, "Are we being targeted by a psycho?!"
"Psychic…" Whisper corrected.
"Who said that?" Sonic asked.
"I think that was King Kai-sama," Roll noted.
"You're correct," the voice chuckled.
"You got an eye on all this crazy Dark Gaia stuff?" Goku asked.
"Actually, yes. I've been keeping a close eye on it since things started getting crazy. You would not believe the amount of bad juju this thing is giving off. Even the Supreme Kai is getting antsy from this whole thing. But well not a whole lot we can do since this isn't a galactic level threat yet. Rules are rules after all. Even for good friends."
"Well know anything of use to help us?" Goku asked.
"Hmm. Well let me do a quick scan of the Earth," they waited a moment, "Looks like this Eggman character has deployed most of his troops to some of these temples already, and is on the look for them too. As for Eggman himself, I found him in a bunker somewhere."
"Wait...How'd you find him?" Sonic asked.
"I'm a god, kid, try and keep up will ya. It's called Omnipotence. Kinda lets us know everything, ain't no science that can hide him from me. Kinda like how I know it was you who let Haseo have some of that energy drink that one time that hyped him up for hours. And then shared the same drink with Goten, and you just enjoyed the chaos."
"Eh heh...heh heh heh…" Sonic sheepishly and nervously chuckled when Roll narrowed her eyes at him a bit.
"I will say it was funny. Wrong...but funny. Anyway, best I can do is help guide all of you around. Last thing I want is to lose the greatest planet in my Galaxy. Also Enma is concerned as heck 'cause this is all kinds of crazy, and now he's blaming me! Which, to be fair, that began with Roll's wish but bless her heart I can't get mad at her."
"I really am sorry for any and all paperwork I caused to you and Enma Daiou-sama," Roll apologized.
"Ah he'll get over it, it's more so you brought back so many at a time." he muttered, "Anywho, I'll keep track of stuff and get in touch now and again. Goku...try and...not be...you…"
"Why does everyone say that?" Goku asked.
"You know why…" King Kai deadpanned as they felt his presence fade.
"Well, he sounded nice!" Chip beamed.
"We should head back to see elder Gwek," Whisper noted.
"Seriously...Gwek?" Goku raised a brow.
"Goku…"
"It's an honest question!"
"So you were able to deal with those who built that structure," Gwek noted before nodding, "Very well.
"It was pretty easy," Goku explained, "And thanks for all the rope to make that net for them. I'll take them someplace safe in a minute."
"Not a trouble at all," Gwek chuckled before becoming stern in posture, "Now...since you fulfilled your end, I will fulfill mine. The Gaia Temple lies at the top of this tree."
"Really?" Goku asked as he looked at the tree, "Well...It is a big tree."
"The seed that grew this tree was once buried beneath the Gaia Temple. When the last time the planet shattered from Dark Gaia's awakening and Light Gaia's besting of his brother, the energies of Light Gaia healing the planet made the tree grow almost instantly."
"Wow," Tangle awed.
"So there's a temple on top of a giant tree because of Light Gaia...neat," Sonic and Chip noted.
"Still not the strangest thing I ever climbed," Goku spoke.
"What is?" Sonic asked.
"Korin's tower…"
"...How tall we talkin'?" Tangle asked.
"Tangle…" Roll sighed.
"What? I want a challenge!"
"Very, very tall," Goku replied, "Maybe after the world's back together, I'll take everyone there and see if anyone can climb it without flying."
"Challenge accepted!" Tangle beamed.
"For now, we should focus on actually saving the world," Whisper reminded.
"Ah. R-right," Tangle nodded, slapping her face a bit to calm down before hopping onto Goku's shoulder, "Top floor, please!"
"Hmm…" Sonic looked at his hands and then at the closest branch.
"You don't want to fly?" Roll asked.
"I want to try to get used to this," Sonic replied.
"Meet you at the top!" Goku smiled, lifting the others into the air.
"Alright, let's try that stretchy arm thing," Sonic noted as he reeled his arm back and swung it, causing the arm to stretch...only to hit the ground and punch himself in the face, "GAH!"
"You okay?" Chip asked.
"No...I hit myself…" Sonic groaned, rubbing the sore bruise on his face, "I can get this...Roll, you mind asking Whisper i-"
=HOVER!=
"?" the three looked up to see Whisper floating up the tree, her weapon resembling a green energy umbrella as she hopped off a few branches to get higher.
"Just how many modes does that weapon of hers have?" Sonic blinked.
"Sugoi~" Roll awed.
"That is so cool!" Chip awed.
"I will figure this out. My body just feels so different." Sonic sighed looking at his hands, "I feel all off balance."
"...hmm…" Roll began to ponder for a moment, "...Maybe try both?"
"That sounds like it'll result in more face pain…" Sonic muttered before reeling both arms back, "But better than nothin'..." he sighed before stretching his arms out and grabbed a branch. An accomplished grin grew on his face before the branch broke...and slammed right into him, "OOF!"
"You had it that time…" Chip noted.
"I think my new body hates me…" Sonic groaned.
"Well you are a giant mound of muscle," Chip stated as he flexed his muscles a bit and posed.
"Yeah...I noticed…How does Goku live like this?" Sonic groaned as he got up, "Ok...one more time...I can get this!" He looked for a larger, more sturdy branch before stretching his arms up to it, Roll and Chip grabbing onto him as he pulled himself up...and right past the branch at high speed, "Ha ha! Got it!"
"Whee~!" Chip cheered.
"It may take some time, but I think you'll be able to adapt to this more, Sonikku," Roll noted with a giggle.
"Heh...I know I will!" Sonic laughed as he grabbed another branch, using his muscles to pull himself up faster and faster as he went past Whisper, "Yo!"
"...That was fast," Whisper muttered before Sonic's arm reached out and grabbed her, "?!"
"Let's see if we can catch up to Goku and Tangle!" Sonic beamed, standing on a branch as he pulled her up, putting her on his back next to Roll before jumping off the branch. He then reached out to it and once he was far enough...he pulled himself up and shot up at very high speed, "WHOO HOO~!"
"WHOO~!" Chip whoopered, barely holding onto Sonic.
"Too...fast…" Whisper grunted, holding onto her mask and weapon tight.
"Please don't throw up on us," Roll pleaded, "I don't think I have enough shampoo for Sonikku's new fur."
"Eh it's fine!" Sonic laughed as he looked ahead, "Oh hey! I think I see Goku and Tangle! Hey guys!"
"Hmm?" Tangle blinked as she looked down, tapping Goku's shoulder with her tail.
"Hmm?" Goku blinked before seeing Tangle's tail pointing down, prompting him to look down and see Sonic coming up fast to him with Whisper, Chip, and Roll holding onto him, "Whoa! That's so cool!"
"I finally figured out how it works!" Sonic cheered as he shot past the two, "See ya guys at the top!"
"You're on!" Goku called as he began to fly faster.
"Whoo!" Tangle cheered.
"Don't...encourage…!" Whisper grunted, grabbing Chip just as he was about to fall off.
"I don't think he can hear you," Roll muttered, noting the excited look on Sonic's face as Goku caught up with him.
"Almost at the top!" Sonic whooped as he went faster, "Come on Goku, step it up!"
"Alright!" Goku smiled as his aura flared brightly, before he shot up at amazing speed.
"Uh guys?" Chip spoke up.
"Gonna beat ya man!" Sonic laughed as his arms were practically blurs.
"Ano...minna?" Roll spoke.
"Eeee! This is the best…!" Tangle excitedly began.
"GUYS!" Roll and Chip shouted, earning the three's attention.
"We shot far past the top…far off..." Whisper pointed out.
"Huh?" the two blinked twice as they looked down to see the top of the tree below them, "Oh…"
"Also, we're falling," Chip added.
"...Oh…" the three whispered before gravity finally took effect for Sonic.
"Oh geez!" Goku yelped as he grabbed Sonic's arm..before plummeting down with him as the shot past the top once more...well barely had Tangle's tail not grabbed onto a stone pillar.
"GH?!" Tangle tensed up once they stopped practically half way from the top, "Heavy…!"
"Tangle, don't let go! Don't let go!" Chip yelped as he held onto Sonic's head.
"You are heavy…" Goku grunted as he struggled to move his fingers to his forehead, "Just...a second…" he tapped his fingers to his head, and everyone blinked as they were Instant Transmission-ed onto a safe foothold at the top of the tree, "There we go!"
"You could've done that beforehand…" Sonic groaned, his face planted in the stone floor they stood on.
"Ahh geez…" Tangle winced, her tail stretched out as she gathered it up, "It's the diamond mine all over again…"
"I have some massage oil you can use for your tail," Roll offered.
"Strawberry-scented?"
"Well, strawberry and blueberry scented," Roll replied as she tried to help Sonic pull his face out of the floor.
"I'm technically still right!" Tangle cheered.
"Huh...Is that it?" Goku pondered, looking to their right.
Roll and Sonic grunted as they finally pulled Sonic's face out of the tree, leaving an indent shaped like his beastly face in it. They then turned to see what looked like a large stone temple standing before them decorated with several colorful banners and flags held by ropes, the door opened with a symbol of a sun and moon on each side of the entrance. The group shared looks before Sonic took lead into it.
"This is a lot bigger than I expected." Goku noted, "But something about it feels weird."
"Weird?" Chip repeated, flying around and taking photos at times, "Feels kinda nice to me."
"I don't know, it just, it feels like things aren't like they're supposed to be," Goku spoke up, "Like...things are unbalanced."
"Unbalanced?" Tangle repeated.
"I can't really explain it," Goku added, "The Earth has had this nasty dark Ki all over it, but this place feels as close as I can get to the planet's energy. Without going into the core again…"
"You what?" they all blinked.
"Long story…" Goku stated, "Shot of it is, it was my wedding, and fire was kinda swallowing up Ox King's castle, me and Chi-Chi went on a trip around the world to deal with it...things were kinda magical and crazy, and honestly didn't fully understand how and why fire was erupting from the Earth's core…"
"...Wow," Tangle blinked as Whisper looked at Goku in surprise and shock behind her mask.
The group soon approached a pedestal of sorts surrounded by a circular set of steps going around it. Chip landed on the top of the pedestal and looked down into the cavity at the top of it.
"Huh...Is this all there is in it?" Tangle asked, looking at the empty pedestal.
"Seems like it," Chip agreed before the gem on his collar glowed and a smaller pedestal with an indent on the top popped out, hitting Chip on the snout, "Ah!" he zipped into Tangle's tail, "It hit my nose!"
"It looks like something fits in this," Roll noted, looking at the indent.
"...hmm…" Sonic muttered for a moment, "...we need a Chaos Emerald."
"Eh?" the group blinked at that.
"Don't ask. Just...something for us to try," Sonic shrugged.
"Soka," Roll noted as she dug into her tail and pulled out one of the greyed out Chaos Emeralds.
She reached out and placed the Emerald onto the indent. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Another moment passed and a green light began to shine and flow into the Chaos Emerald. It began to float several meters into the air, spinning slowly and gaining speed quickly. In another flash, the Chaos Emerald floated down onto the indent, now a brilliant emerald color once more. Tangle whooped as she gave Whisper a side hug...before quickly being forced away by Whisper pushing her away with her gun.
"Eh heh...s-" Tangle began before the area rumbled, "?!"
"Oh geez!" Chip panicked as he dove back into Tangle's tail, "Did we break something?!"
"This is why magic and me never get along," Goku sighed, "I think I understand it...and then it burns my pants off."
"...Air is not as thin," Whisper spoke up, earning the attention of the others, "Something happened outside…"
"I'll check," Goku said as he flew out, flying above to near the atmosphere as he looked up, seeing the piece of the planet where Efrika resided was connected back to the planet's core, "Ahh so that's what happened…" he noted, using Instant Transmission to meet back with the others, "Efrika is back in place."
"Back in place?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah, putting the Emerald in kinda fixed the chunk of earth Efrika is on back in place," Goku explained before the pedestal went back into the bigger one...with the Emerald, "Ah! It ate the Chaos Emerald!"
"It may need to keep it here to keep this piece of the planet in place for now," Roll noted.
"Well that's good. We at least fixed this," Sonic sighed, "And now we know we're doing the right thing this way."
"Huh...Come to think of it, the earth's Ki feels fixed." Goku spoke up, closing his eyes for a moment as Chip landed on his head, "Not all of it, but it's better than before."
"Meaning we'll be dealing with less of those Dark Gaia Monsters," Sonic noted.
"We should inform the others then," Whisper suggested.
"I got it," Goku poofed out for a moment.
"Hmm…" Bulma muttered, working on something before yelping as Goku appeared on her desk, "Goku!"
"It worked! We fixed a chunk of the planet! We'll all be back soon! This was my first idea, bye!" Goku spoke in one breath before vanishing again.
"D'oh...GOKU!" Bulma snapped before blinking, "...wait. Fixed a chunk of the planet?"
=Goku's correct= Nicole spoke up from the nearby computer console =The piece of the planet Efrika is on is back on the planet's core=
"Well...He could have done that without poofing out of thin air," Bulma sighed, "Maybe Vegeta's right...maybe he doesn't know how a cell phone works…"
"I told you so!" Vegeta shouted from another room.
"Still, I've rarely seen him talk that fast and get away so quickly. He only really does that when something goes wrong that he knows will get him...in...trouble…" Bulma trailed off before frowning, "Nicole?"
=Yes, Bulma?=
"Does anyone with Goku have a phone?"
=Roll purchased one at Videl's urging. Something about an app involving a 'littlest pet shop' or something like that= Nicole replied.
"Can you please call her?"
=Right away=
"Alright I told Bulma!" Goku smiled to the others.
"You didn't tell her about me, did you?" Sonic asked.
"Nope!" Goku replied honestly, "'Cause knowing my luck, it'd somehow be my fault...and everyone would yell and hit me."
"Why are you afraid of getting hit?" Sonic asked, "Can't you bench press a planet?"
"Well...yeah but, this is Bulma, I'd never fight Bulma. She's family, and for some reason her slaps really hurt…"
Roll's tail shook as a J-Pop tune began to come out of it. Everyone looked at her tail as Roll raised a brow. She dug into it before pulling out a touchphone and tapped it.
"Moshi-moshi?" Roll answered, "...Oh, Bulma-san, konbanwa!"
=Roll, be a dear and tell me what Goku's hiding?= Bulma sighed.
"Eh? ...He just did a tell and run, didn't he?" Roll asked.
=Yes. All he said was the part of the planet Efrika's on is fixed=
"Soka...Ano...Well, the Gaia Temple has to keep the Chaos Emerald to keep this piece of the planet attached to the core until this is all over," Roll listed, "Eggman-Hakase can't be found by Goku anymore and wants to both flee the planet for Mars and try to control Dark Gaia with the former being done if the latter fails. We took apart his forces that had built a base here." Goku began to tip-toe away, "We nearly fell off a giant tree if Tangle-chan hadn't saved us with her tail. And Sonikku transformed into a werewolf."
"Roll!" Sonic exclaimed.
"I don't want to get in trouble if I leave something out," Roll admitted.
=All in all doesn't sound that...WAIT, WHAT?!=
"Goku-san stole Eggman-hakase's only male goat?"
=After that!=
"Tangle-chan needs her tail massaged later for saving us?"
=After that one!=
"Sonikku turned into a werewolf?"
=Yes, that!=
"Alright gang, time to teach you how to survive an Angry Bulma...Run away!" Goku panicked as he flew off.
=Are we on speaker?=
"Iie. Everyone just has sensitive ears."
=Right. Well...Bring Goku here now=
"We're gonna need a minute…" Roll spoke up.
=Did he run away again?=
"...Hai. He did," Roll replied.
=Great. Just great…= Bulma grumbled =Anything else?=
"Oh, he has a digital copy of the Gaia Manuscripts he's decoding on his network. So far, he has two new locations."
=I swear if you weren't so honest, I'd be angrier. Alright, get Goku, come back, and we'll brainstorm on our next move=
"You'll yell at me!" Goku shouted.
=Not important right now knowing that fat egomaniac is onto us and trying to revive an ancient evil god!= Bulma argued.
"We've dealt with worse." Goku argued.
=Not the point!= the phone seemed to jump up out of Roll's hands for a moment at that outburst.
"Hoo she's mad…" Tangle whispered, hiding behind Whisper with Chip.
"Yup…" Goku meeped.
=Just...ugh. Just come back here so we can talk=
"Alright," Goku spoke up, "Come on. Let's get the yelling and the hitting over with." he sighed, putting his hand to his forehead so he could Instant Transmission them all back.
"Hoo boy," Chip gulped.
"It can't be that bad," Tangle assured.
"AND ANOTHER THING!"
"Okay, I was wrong," Tangle admitted, hiding behind the couch with Chip, both wearing pots as helmets, and staring wide eyed at the downed Goku with a scolding Bulma over him, her fist smoking alongside the impressive bump on his noggin.
"Can ya stop poking me?" Sonic grumbled, Pari and Yamcha poking him.
"Sorry, but...I just can't believe you're like this now," Yamcha admitted.
'It is quite surprising. ...Did you figure out how to turn into this so you could be the taller one in the relationship?' Pari asked.
"It wasn't by choice!" Sonic argued, "The night came and I was staring at the moon and then I black out and woke up like this!"
"He's covered in the same substance as the Dark Gaia monsters, but it's not as potent as it was before," Whisper stated from nearby, "It was as if he was a berserk beast, acting on pure instinct."
"He tried to eat Goku…" Tangle added.
"Did Goku bite back?" Bulma sighed.
"How did you know…"
"It's what he does...If he's trapped or in a wild fight...he resorts to biting."
"My instincts have never failed me." Goku argued with a groan.
"Wait, he what now?" Sonic asked.
"I took pictures," Chip noted, holding up a developed photo showing the two doing so.
"Dude!" Sonic exclaimed.
"I mean you fought dirtier…" Goku argued.
"Yeah, but when I do it, I do it to mess with Eggman or his robots!"
"You punched him below the belt." Tangle spoke up.
Bulma sighed, "Roll, did you get the location of the two places?"
"Hai. Apotos, Greece, and Holoska, Artika in the Arctic Circle," Roll replied.
"Holoska? Huh...That sounds familiar," Sonic noted, scratching his head.
=It is where Rotor's family originates= Nicole explained.
"Oh yeah! Man, I haven't seen Rotor at all since this whole world fusing happened," Sonic noted.
=From records, Naugus had him banished and sent back to Holoska with a communication lockdown= Nicole replied =With how low-tech the area is, it is likely Rotor has not learned that West Mobotropolis is once more in Elias's hands=
"Ooh…" Sonic cringed, 'Hope Rotor's been handling himself with all this going on…'
"That's a lot of places. Even with Instant Transmission, getting to all of them will take a while." Goku spoke up, already over his injuries.
"I guess we'll have to split up teams to handle multiple at once," Bulma offered.
"Probably for the best," Whisper nodded.
"...or...oh wait...Piccolo has those…" Roll whispered.
"Hmm?" Bulma raised a brow.
"You talking about the Warp Rings Thrash had, right?" Sonic asked.
"Hai."
"Alright. I'm back from making sure things aren't going to hell," Piccolo spoke while walking in, "No, this isn't irony. I just heard my name and decided to mess with you."
"So ya think you can spare some of those Warp Rings?" Sonic asked.
"Who are you, Mr. Monster Guy?" Piccolo asked.
"...Not funny, man," Sonic pouted.
"I thought it was," Piccolo smirked before tossing a few Warp Rings around, "I'm giving these to the responsible people. In majority rule...that's mostly the women present in the room, minus Tangle."
"Hey!" said exception whined.
"Do you deny the desire to do something stupid with it?" Piccolo asked.
"..."
"And don't forget that you'll need Chip when you find those towers," Piccolo added, "So if one of the teams finds the temple and Chip's with the other, get Goku to teleport him there."
"That should be easy." Goku smiled.
"Also, we need someone to keep an eye on Goku." Piccolo sighed, "So he doesn't go off and try and regrow his tail!"
"It's my body…" Goku argued.
"We don't want to blow up the moon again," Bulma argued.
"Why do you think I can't control it now?" Goku argued.
"You never could. Also...you're an idiot," Bulma argued back.
"But everyone else has one," Goku whined.
"If everyone jumped off a cliff and not fly, would you?"
"..."
"And no calling Nimbus either."
"..."
"...I thought so," Bulma sighed.
"Mmm…" Goku pouted.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tangle exclaimed before digging in her tail, "I got some souvenirs before we left and…"
"EEK!"
"?" Tangle blinked twice, looking from her vacant hand, to the embedded straw puppet in the wall, and then to a Roll trying to flee for the hills while being held in the air by the scruff of her neck by Sonic, "...oh right...her fear of puppets…."
"Jem, explain," Bulma ordered.
"...I drank a little too much sake at the party, alright," Jem muttered, blushing in embarrassment.
'She read this story our Cousin-In-Law P'li found on an archaeological dig called Pinocchio,' Pari 'explained.'
"Oh, I liked watching that movie when it came out," Yamcha noted, "But…" he tilted his head, "How would something that adorable make Roll…" he motioned to the embedded straw puppet.
'She told her the original story…'
"Ooh...And how old was she again?" Bulma asked with a cringe.
Pari held up four fingers, Jem keeping her hands to her beet red face.
"Yeah...it's really bad for her," Tangle whispered with a cring, "Me and Jewel got really worried for her when we saw it first hand…"
"I don't get it…" Goku muttered, "When I was that age I was wrestling wild bears for dinner."
"Right...Goku never had any kinda normal childhood." Yamcha muttered, "Goku, has Gohan ever watched movies?"
"In secret when I could sneak him away from Chi-Chi." Goku explained, "I used to sneak him all sorts of stuff like comic books, video games, candy, all while Chi-Chi wasn't looking. She'd get mad when I did it infront of her. Something about studying being more important. But those books made my head hurt, so I'd fly Gohan into town to find fun stuff all the time."
"...yeesh. Chi-Chi was one of those types of mom," Sonic cringed a bit, "Thank god she mellowed out…"
"I think she also hired him a tutor once...then he got fired after she found out he was hitting Gohan with a whip and badmouthing me," Goku continued.
"I was watching...I honestly felt sorry for the bastard." Piccolo added, "If she didn't beat him so bad he ran for the hills...I was contemplating doing something…"
"Were you gonna kill him?" Goku asked.
"The whip made me angry." Piccolo replied.
"If Gohan wakes up and next time he's free, I'll ask him what he looked like and get him blacklisted," Bulma muttered.
'How old was he?' Pari asked.
"I think this is during that year I was lost in space…" Goku muttered.
"Wait you did that, too?" Sonic blinked.
"Well yeah, but I was training on Yardrat," Goku added, "So Gohan was about 5 or 6." he turned to Pari.
Pari frowned, 'When you find him, tell me.'
"I feel like even Gohan would feel sorry for this guy…" Yamcha muttered.
"Yeah, but that's because Gohan is a good person," Piccolo argued, "Most of us are just scraping barely. Especially Vegeta…"
"Oh screw you!" Vegeta shouted from another room.
"Oh what? So you'll let your child b….actually, nevermind."
"I thought so! ...Also, if it were Trunks in that situation...Trunks?"
"I'd take his whip, wrap it around his neck and squeeze him Simpsons style?" Trunks offered.
"That's my boy!"
"I have to live with this…" Bulma turned to the other girls.
"Hey. That's what family tends to be, right?" Chip asked.
"...Family…" Whisper whispered, looking at the empty table nearby as she imagined three Mobians sitting there for a second, "..."
"Hey...you okay?" Tangle asked, making Whisper lose her train of thought, "You've been mostly quiet after that whole thing with Eggman's base back in Efrika."
"...It's nothing."
"Mmm…" Chip and Tangle pouted at her response.
"Can we get on with getting to those two places?" Sonic asked.
"Right, Vegeta! I need you to hit people!" Bulma spoke up.
"YES!" at that, the wall was destroyed as Vegeta walked in, "Who's face shall I smash in? Oh, please tell me it's the fatman."
"I'm not on his team…" most everyone muttered.
GT: No one wants to be on Team Vegeta, it seems.
Z0: Would you want to be on a team with him?
SZ: Nope...because you're literally walking on eggshells with him. One wrong word, you get brutalized emotionally, mentally, and physically
Z0: Mostly physically.
GT: Oh, the poor folks who draw the short straws. ...No, really, there's a good chance they'll have to end up drawing either long or short straws or something to decide who goes with him.
Z0: You'll find out next time who got stuck with that team.
SZ: Later folks! Read and review!