Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball.
Betaed by: Zim'sMostLoyalServant and my best friend.
Special Thanks: To Bobdude17's "Launch Time" once more for inspiring this fic. If you haven't checked it out yet please do so.
Last Time on Dragon Ball IJ:
The second hunt for the Dragon Balls continues!
The wicked General White welcomed our heroes to his territory by blasting their plane out of the sky! But local girl Suno took Goku home, sorry Suno it turned out you couldn't keep him. Launch wasn't far behind, bursting onto the scene.
After being told about the Red Ribbon's tyranny over the valley, and getting some food, in them our heroes set out to liberate Jingle Village and the others. But despite freeing the enslaved villagers a greater challenge lies ahead of them in the Muscle Tower; which all the locals speak of in fear!
What challenges await them in this monument to General Whites' Inadequacy!? Find out today on" Dragon Ball: Intended Journey"!
Chapter 5
Robot Rumble
Always Knock Before Opening!
General White was alone in his command center, seated at the communications desk, speaker mic in hand.
"Yes, fall back to the tower. Unless you actually stumble upon the Dragon Ball, make this your first priority. General White out," he flipped a switch, killing the connection, and set the mic down.
"Hmph, do they really think I wouldn't notice when my men miss their predetermined check-ins? Well, it doesn't matter; once I eliminate those two and secure their Dragon Ball, I will be able to search for the one here at my leisure, and bask in the Commander's gratitude. Let the peasants have their little taste of freedom; it will be all the more crushing when we roll back in and take it away as easily as the first time."
"General White! We have bogies! Coming in a fast approach, sector three!" one of the soldiers called over the line.
"My, my, someone's in a hurry," White chuckled. Flipping a switch and picking the mic back up, he walked over to a monitor bank.
"This is General White. Fast you say, in that deep snow? Did they steal one of our light vehicles?" the general inquired.
"No, General, they seem to be running."
"…Running?" White asked.
"Orders, sir?"
"What orders, fool? The enemy's here, hit them with everything you've got!" White laughed. Putting a hand to his ear, he listened to the mounted machine guns let out their adorable clipping barks, a sound that never failed to put a smile on his face.
The general laughed outright when he heard what could only be a rocket launcher being fired.
"The boys on the wall must be quite pent up! Well, no problem, a little overkill can go a long way in war. Wait a minute, what if they send that Dragon Ball flying with an explosion?! You men, cease all explosive bombardment at once! Repeat, reduce fire to automatic rounds! That is a direct order, comply immediately or you'll be shot!" he yelled into the mic.
White gave a sigh as the machine gun fire carried on while no new rockets were fired, and casually started flipping through the monitor channels with a remote. He stopped on one scene overlooking a section of the rampart soldiers had clustered on, lending their own rife fire as support for the emplaced guns.
"What the?!" he cursed, as a spiky-haired boy pole-vaulted into sight, of all things. The men, rather than rally to shoot him down, scattered as he landed. The pole shrank, so it must have collapsed, White decided, and then the woman seemed to leap up next to the boy.
His jaw dropped slightly as they plowed through White Corps' soldiers. Flipping the channel, keeping track of their quick progress around the tower's defensive perimeter, his jaw closed and shock gave way to fury.
"Well, even a schoolyard bully like Silver wouldn't have been defeated by a weakling, I suppose. Clearly all this time pushing around these frostbitten vermin with no real fights has taken the edge off my men. Well, I suppose I should be a good host and say hello to my uninvited guests. After all, they come bearing excellent gifts," he said, flipping another switch.
"Stop right there, this is General White, Commander of Muscle Tower and of the glorious White Corps of the Red Ribbon Army; and first officer of Sector 8. Welcome to Muscle Tower you two, Son Goku and Lunch, was it?"
He watched them halt on the monitor at his instruction. The boy looked around in confusion, while the woman spotted the camera quickly. Good, now he knew who was the brains of the operation. While he didn't approve of women warriors, it was better than pretending a child was his equal in a conversation.
"Name's Launch, Lunch has the blue hair," the woman huffed.
"How's he know our names, Launch?" the boy asked.
"Fool, you left enemies alive. If you want to keep a secret, you should leave no survivors. That arrogant fool Silver gave Red Ribbon Intelligence more than enough threads to trace the incident in his sector to you."
"Must be useful to have others around to do yer thinking, just like you can't be bothered to do yer own digging, eh?" Launch said.
"Ha! Feisty, I do like it. According to Colonel Mustard, we tried to recruit you in the past. Since the recruiter never came back, I assume you weren't interested?"
"I'm no one's grunt," she told him.
"Yeah, we want that mayor and we want you all to leave these people alone! Or we'll beat all of you!" the boy, Son Goku, said.
"Oh, threats from a child! I'm shaking in my boots. But let's stop for a moment. Perhaps we need not fight?" White said.
"You willing to cut and run?" Launch asked, surprised.
"Of course not. But allow me to extend a better offer. The Red Ribbon Army wants the Dragon Balls, and you two clearly have a superior means of tracking them. I'd be willing to sponsor your induction into the ranks as a Colonel, Launch, Silver Corps has a vacancy, I hear. The Dragon Ball and your radar alone would be worth that, but from the power I just witnessed, the Commander would likely make you a General soon enough. As for money, whatever you're getting paid, the Commander can beat it, I assure you," White said.
The woman raised a single finger to him, while the boy pulled down an eyelid and stuck out his tongue.
"That girl's father was right, you do have this big tower cause yours ain't up to snuff, don't ya?" she said, as Goku ran off the screen. White's face reddened; he'd killed quite enough of his own men for cracks like that, he was not about to tolerate it from his enemies.
"I'm glad you refused, actually! It was my duty to extend an olive branch, but that slut Colonel Violet is bad enough, we don't need more lewd women infesting the upper ranks of our glorious army. You no doubt think yourself something special because you won some stupid tournament, well this is no sport, this is war! And you'll find there's no referees or rules to bend it in your favor, woman!"
"Ah, misogyny, a classic sign of a poor performer. I should have rammed this thing with a tank like I wanted, probably would have toppled right over. But Goku was worried about the mayor."
"Grrr. Yes, the mayor, don't forget I can end him any time I want."
"Do it and we'll just bring this tower down with you in it. Don't ask how, we've been cutting through you guys like bunch of scarecrows already."
"Two enemies topple Muscle Tower? Ha! Fine, climb as high as you can! You'll find Muscle Tower has more potency than a woman like you can handle! Bring it on!" he said, flipping a switch to terminate the connection. As he watched the monitor, she leapt again, too high for a regular human, and the image was filled by her knuckles before turning to static.
Closing his eyes, White took deep breath and let it out. He was no mere thug, he was a General; he would not let his anger, however justified, affect his command. Opening his eyes, the master of Muscle Tower made his next move.
"Sergeant Major Purple, Murasaki," White said, turning to find the specialist there behind him. He was a man in his late twenties, of average height and a long tan face. White bandage cloth tied his dark hair into a high ponytail, and he wore a purple ninja uniform of a kimono and hakama pants with a blue sash. He was committed to the look, down to a pair of straw sandals on his feet.
"So, the mysterious duo has arrived. I assume they have taken the first floor, General?" the ninja asked. White turned back to the monitor and changed the channel, the de facto lounge of the first floor, with its ladders leading to the gun nests that formed the second, was covered in defeated soldiers. As he watched, the woman looked it over before entering the tower while the boy was raiding the fridge, of all things.
"Heh, we knew from the start that ordinary troops would not be enough. As we speak, the full armored might of White Corps is on its way back. Let them savor this insignificant victory; they've stepped into their graves. Major Metallitron is just the one to throw the dirt on them."
"Yes, but the woman seems to be going in the other direction," Murasaki pointed out. Sure enough, the blonde was heading down the stairs to the basement.
"Oh well, fortunately for Gero's trophy wife, her door will stop anything short of a tank's main armament," White shrugged.
X X X
The steel-reinforced door fell to the last kick, making Launch flex the knee and ankle of the relevant leg.
"Well, since Goku hogged all the fighting, I hope there's something badass down here to vent from talking to that jerk," Launch said, stuffing her hands into her pockets and walking into a lab.
"…Well, as important as this stuff may look, I always tagged out in favor of Lunch for science class, and she still got Ds and Cs there. Huh? Shouldn't there be old guys in white coats with funny accents working on all this stuff?" she wondered.
A sound of metal on tile made her head snap around. There, a suspiciously innocent-looking door was tucked between more science machines.
"Alright, Professor Von Evil, the jig is up!" Launch yelled, rushing the door. Lashing out with an elbow, she knocked the door off its hinges and stood in the doorway with a powerful and hopefully cool-looking stance. Her cocky smile slipped as she took in the sight before her, sheer disgust overcoming her face as the mighty warrior woman took a step back, faced with the horror before her.
"Uh, hello," the tall woman sitting on the toilet said. Holding a fork in one hand and a piece of partially-eaten chocolate cake on a plate in the other. There were even some crumbs on her chin! The woman was curvy, even wearing a fairly unflattering lab coat and a blue and red turtleneck sweater. Her auburn hair was quite bushy, and the glasses were prominent, but she was quite pretty.
And eating while sitting on a toilet!
"What the heck?! Why would you eat on the toilet!?" Launch screamed at the woman. The woman flinched but shrieked back.
"I get hungry when I'm nervous!"
"Do you have to use the crapper when you're nervous, too?! That's disgusting!"
"Well, pardon me for hiding when my steel-reinforced door is apparently being 'kicked down!'"
"Well, pardon me for scaring the evil scientist!"
"Wait, wait! I'm not evil!"
"What?" Launch calmed down a smidge. The woman grinned nervously, but made Launch shudder when she took another bite of cake before speaking.
"I'm a prisoner. The Red Ribbon kidnapped me to further their evil science plans. I had hoped some bold buff hero type in a tight white shirt would come to my rescue, maybe a bit of a playful romantic entanglement before letting it slip that I'm married. But, I didn't expect a girl action hero. Sorry, I don't swing that way," the scientist pouted, before eating more of her cake.
"…neither do I. So, you're a prisoner, you say?" Launch pressed.
"Of course; a smart curvy girl like me could never be part of something so evil, right?" she said pleadingly. Still on the toilet.
"…Then you won't mind if I smash all this evil science stuff?"
"Of course not! All that budget being flushed away into scrap won't make me die a little inside until I get to a dessert buffet," the woman said, twitching a bit as she gave a closed eye smile.
"Well, take your filthy cake and get out of here, then," Launch commanded.
"Okay. But could I have some privacy first? I need to wipe."
Launch's eye twitched.
"You've been using that thing this whole time?! You're disgusting! And why would you grab chocolate of all things while doing that!"
"Well, excuse me for not taking the time to grab the banana pudding with strawberries!"
Launch slammed the ruined door back into place, ending the conversation.
X X X
After demolishing the lab and leaving the filthy cake eating scientist to her toilet, Launch stomped up the stairs.
"Hey, Launch. Find anything fun down there?" Goku asked, sitting at the table on the first floor amidst food wrapper litter and offering her a hot dog with ketchup.
"No, no I did not, Goku," she said, accepting the hot dog as they walked toward the stairs.
X X X
"She kicked that door down, impressive," Murasaki commented.
"Don't say that so casually. The door must have been secured improperly, the men knew it wasn't guarding anyone important after all," White said.
"I'm not so sure. While Staff Officer Black's claim they trained under the Invincible One is too far-fetched, they have clearly been very well trained. In a fair fight, they might even give me a trouble," Murasaki noted. That got Silver's attention.
"Surely you're not implying they can get past Metallitron."
"Of course not. They clearly lack any subtlety, brutes the both of them. And when it comes to brutes, the monster on the third floor is king. And don't worry, even if he slips up and they get past him, I will be ready to end them," Murasaki said.
"Who's worried? I wouldn't mind a crack at those two myself. That woman in particular is getting on my nerves. Attention, Major Metallitron! You have two intruders coming up to you. Destroy them!" White commanded over the PA.
X X X
"That's a big guy," Goku said, stepping up from the stairs onto the floor. Launch followed right behind, finishing the hotdog. She took a look and saw the floor appeared to be a single room. And it had one occupant. A huge man with a flack-jacket on with torn sleeves, spiky dark brown hair and black sunglasses on a stoic face. He held a glass of red wine, which he proceeded to finish off with a surprisingly delicate sip with those huge black gloved hands. Placing the glass on a side table by his chair that held a wine bottle, he got to his feet.
"Dang, he is big," Launch whistled as the man advanced on them.
"You are the intruders," he stated.
"That's right," Goku said.
"You wish to reach the next floor?" the big guy asked in that same monotone.
"We didn't come here for the charming company of you palookas," Launch smirked.
"…The stairs leading up are over there," he said, pointing it out with a raised hand.
"Huh? Aren't we going to fight?" Goku asked.
"No, you are going to die. You can call this place your grave and I, Major Metallitron, will be your executioner," he said in that same tone, cracking his knuckles.
"Suits us, big guy, I need to blow off some steam," Launch cackled, grinning, "I'll take this one Goku, you've been hogging the fights today."
"No fair, Launch, this guy might actually be strong," Goku whined.
"No need to get in line, tombstone party of two coming right down!" Metalltron declared, punching down toward the duo. Launch leapt back while Goku leapt up, grabbing a chain running down from the ceiling. Launch looked at the cracked floor where the Major had struck it, bits of it falling off his fists as he pulled back the blow and stood back up.
"So, you really got some juice in you, big guy? Good! Try this on for size," she sprang forward. Metallitron raised his arms, taking the flurry of punches and jabs on his trunk-like forearms. He was pushed back slightly, but she let up the assault with his defenses still raised.
"Dang, you're made of iron, ain't ya?" Launch said, flying back a few steps, watching him warily.
"You are quite strong. It is time to fight at full capacity. You will be crushed," the Major said, charging forward, hands extended to grab her. Launch took a stance, meeting him head on, then slipped to the side under his grab as he passed, twisted to kick him in the rear. The Major stumbled, still going full tilt, but didn't cry out even as he ran full force into the wall, sending cracks along it.
"Tough, but not so nimble on yer feet, eh?"
"Tough enough," he said, pushing off the wall. He pushed his shades back into place, but otherwise just let bits of wall fall off him as he turned to face her.
"Do you even blink?" Launch asked.
"Negative. And my foot speed is nothing to scoff at. Observe."
He charged her again, this time following her feint and forcing her back as she dodged punch after punch.
"Launch, you're running out of room!" Goku called from above.
"I know," Launch said, ducking at the last second as her back went to the wall. The fist grazed her hair and went into the wall, deep into the wall. Launch slipped to the side, dodging the Major's awkward grab as he struggled to pull his arm free.
With a crumbling 'shunk', his arm came free. He flexed the hand and scanned the room. No one was in sight.
"No targets, returning to standby mode," he declared.
'What?' Launch wondered, hiding behind his chair, taking a swig of his wine.
X X X
"Where'd she go? I was busy watching the Major," White said, shifting in his seat like it would give a new angle on the screen.
"If she was smart, she ran back down the stairs. But she seems the type to press until she breaks. And we lost sight of the boy, too," Murasaki commented.
"Major Metallitrion, why are you taking a load off?!" White shouted into the PA.
"In the absence of targets, my programing is to switch to standby and await further orders," the massive fighter answered plainly. Murasaki sighed, shaking his head.
"Remember General, he's not some science fiction man who happens to be made from metal. He's just a machine that emulates a mind. And a flawed one at that, it's why we ordered Number 8 as a whole new series."
"Bah, I've micromanaged soldiers before. I can do it again. Listen up, 'Android Seven', you get off your oversized chair and search the floor for intruders thoroughly, right now!" White commanded.
"Affirmative," the android said, getting up from his chair.
"Ha, you see," White said, turning to smile at Murasaki, "That is why you're not a General, Sergeant Major, you need to be ready and willing to be the common sense and great mind both for your knuckle-dragging subordinates. And when you get it right, it unfolds with all the beauty of an orchestra and all the power of a carpet bombing."
"Do either of those involve him staring at a wall, General?" Murasaki asked.
"…What?" General White said, reluctantly turning back to look at the screen.
X X X
"So, he's a robot? I thought he was just cosplaying the Determinator," Launch whispered, as the big guy inspected the hole he'd made in the wall, snowflakes blowing through it.
"Searching. Searching…" he said in that same monotone.
"Well, if he's just a machine, even less reason than usual to play fair," Launch said, rushing from her hiding spot.
"Rocket Launch!" she said, bursting into high speed as she leapt. Rather than pulling back a fist for a punch, she twisted in the air, striking him in the back of the head with her knee. The hulking man was sent forward, head first into the wall.
"Attack detected!" he called, muffled by the wall as he struggled to get out.
"Going down!" she declared, striking his backside with a flurry of blows, hammering him deeper into the wall as he struggled to gain purchase in the crumbling masonry. With a final snap, the wall gave way and she let up.
"I'll be back!" the major roared as he fell down into the snowy exterior.
Goku landed on the floor with a clack and walked over to her, looking out of the hole.
"Nice move. But you know this isn't a tournament, Launch, fight's not over just because you knocked him outside," he reminded her.
"You think he survived, then?" she asked.
"Why wouldn't he?" Goku asked.
Thundering steps came from below, and the duo turned to see the Major dash up the stairs back onto the floor.
"I am back," he declared, glowing red eyes now on display with his shades gone.
"Told ya. Can I fight him now?" Goku asked.
"No! It's still my fight!" Launch objected, dodging the kick as the Major charged at her. The PA crackled back to life, and General White's voice filled the room.
"Enough! Major Metallitron, Android 7, I want you to use your full power to wipe them out! Erase this insult to Muscle Tower's power at once!" the unseen General demanded.
"Use of full power violates safety parameters to protect base from destruction," the android said, tilting his head up.
"I'm overriding that protocol! Muscle Tower can take a hit! Do it!"
"Override accepted. Prepare to die, intruders," he said, planting his feet firmly and facing Launch.
"You already said you were going all out, this for real, big boy?" Launch said. The Major didn't answer, opening his mouth wide, and wider.
"I don't like this," Launch thought, recalling Jackie Chun charging up freakin' lighting to blast Goku, and a Kamehameha being powered up.
"Launch Time!" she yelled, launching forward as light ignited in the Major's throat. Her uppercut connected just as the light flared, snapping his jaw shut. She could swear his expression actually changed to utter surprise before his head exploded and she was sent hurtling back to smack into the wall.
"Launch, you killed him! That was rude," Goku said, walking between her and the man with a smoking hole where his head had been.
"Rest in peace, big ugly bad guy," Goku said, bowing his head to the still standing corpse of the android as Launch peeled herself off the wall.
"Huh, guess he backfired? Well, glad that didn't hit me. Going up, I guess," she said, shaking her arms out a bit. As they made their way to the stairs, General White chuckled, watching on the monitor.
"Fools, it will take more than a little decapitation to stop a killing machine like him. He's programmed to keep going even if he was reduced to just an arm dragging itself along," White laughed manically as the Major, unnoticed by either intruder, turned and began following them. Then he stopped mid-step and toppled over on his side.
"Huh?" White went.
"…uh, whose turn was it to charge his battery?" Murasaki asked.
"…Get down to level four and stop them, you moron!" General White yelled at him.
X X X
"Well, that was interesting," Candi, also known by her birth name Vomi, said, finishing off a cupcake, watching the smoking remains of Android 7 through a cracked monitor in her lab.
"You were a failed product, Android 7, but you still held up well against unexpectedly strong opponents. Better check in," she said, walking over to an undemolished desk and pulling out a drawer to reveal a red phone with the letter G on it in white.
"Candi?" a man's voice came from the other end.
"Donald, Seven's been defeated," she said, twirling the phone cord on her finger.
"Bah, his AI was too flawed for use in the field anyway. Wait, is Muscle Tower under attack?" Donald asked.
"Oh, I'd say its fall is probably imminent," Candi said, fiddling with the gold ring on her finger.
"What?! Get out of there immediately!" he demanded.
"Relax, I spun a cliche little yarn about how I'm a kidnapped scientist. I almost had a chance to play out one of my old college fantasies, but the hero had to go and be a tomboy of a woman instead of a big strapping man with five o'clock shadow in a skintight white shirt," she pouted.
"How unfortunate for you," Donald said flatly.
"Ah, don't be jealous of my fantasies, dear. I'm not going to get upset over you fantasizing about anime girls that were popular when you were in high school, you know," she teased, grinning slightly.
"I told you, those figures were collectibles! Their value increases over time! And stop trying to change the subject. You're too valuable to risk in live fire scenarios. Get out of there. Now," he ordered.
"Hmph, if I wasn't so fond of you, I'd take offense to being ordered around like a lackey. But I guess there won't be much more useful data to be gained here anyway. If that loser ninja performs to par, he'll try and use Android 8, since I made adjustments."
"Did they work?"
"Not at all, our little 8 is still an utter failure that makes his late big brother look like a model soldier. But they never bothered to ask for the details, so why tell them that?" Candi grinned.
"Just get back to the redoubt lab. Commander Red has been more bloodthirsty than usual. I'd sooner you not be near him."
"I'm not some maiden to be hidden from the world, you know," Cabdi reminded him.
"I do know. But I also want someone capable seeing to our newest test subjects while I have to no doubt explain to Red why he should keep funding us after this fiasco."
"Fine. Love you, dear."
"Love you, too. And don't stop for donuts," Donald asked, before hanging up on his end.
"…Launch and Goku, I think you're going to be a very interesting source of data," she said, smiling up at the screen as the light turned her glasses opaque.
Author's Note:
Happy early New Year to you all! I wish you a good celebration and caution you to celebrate responsibly; don't become a part of the tragic statistics of the holiday.
This turned into a good year for my writing and I hope to keep it up in the coming year. Not just by keeping the rhythm with Dragon Ball IJ but by continuing to give attention to neglected stories on my account bolstered by the good feelings of regularly updating a story.
So may you enjoy apples for good health, 12 grapes for good luck in each month in the year to come, and bear bread into your home for prosperity in the coming year. And a drink because people tend to do that for stuff like this I guess?
Well however you celebrate, long days and pleasant nights to you all!
