"You're here too."
Colonel Silver raised an eyebrow at Colonel Violet, who simply smiled at him.
"Hahaha, it looks like only the competent ones are left." General White chuckled.
"What about General Blue?" Silver asked.
"He's a stuttering mess, keeps jabbering about how he lost his powers." Black shook his head, "I took him anyway, but his mind is so shaken it's unlikely for him to be of any real use."
"What happened to you, sir?" Silver pointed to Black's prosthetics.
"I have been changed for the better, fixed, improved." Commander Black chuckled. "And I have no one but the good doctor to thank for that."
"Dr. Gero?!" Violet asked, "he survived?!"
"More than that…" Gero's voice filled the air as he communicated through a loudspeaker. "I'm more convinced than before that humanity is headed towards an awful direction, and we need to be the ones to lead them forward."
General White guffawed, "quit screwing around doc, you're just like me." Colonel Silver cocked his head in confusion as the General continued, "you want to tear apart that monkey-tailed bastard with your bare hands."
A grim silence filled the air. "Watch your tone." Black began quietly, "we've lost many things because of the actions of that boy, including you, General. Gero was our technological backer."
"Some great techie he was!" General White growled, "Sergeant Metallic -"
"Android 7" Gero corrected him.
"Sergeant Metallic" General White reiterated, "was a formidable warrior and extremely durable, we thought he would have killed the boy, but his strength proved too much, and Metallic was destroyed. Android 8 is magnitudes stronger, yet he's a pansy!" He was practically red with fury, "the robot didn't even have the decency to explode and be destroyed!"
Gero sighed, "I made some… mistakes with Android 8's AI system. Android's 1-6 were all too simple and rudimentary, lacking the skill and providence required to pose a real threat to an organized force. Android 2 was my only slight success, as I tested him on some pirates who purchased it to help their endeavors, only to be killed off by my Android." He chuckled, "Android 7, your Sergeant Metallic, was given a higher functioning AI and reinforced humanoid body, yet he's still vulnerable to conventional weaponry of the highest caliber. Android 8 was at first, in my opinion, a success, his specs are raised to the limit, and he could rip apart steel beams and girders in his bare hands, lift several dozens of tons, and crack diamonds with a squeeze. Unfortunately, his upgraded AI developed in a direction completely different from my designs, and he ended up developing empathy and kindness, and a sense of… how do I say?" The doctor smirked, "fairness."
"What?!" General White growled, "what does that mean?"
"I knew of your plan to dispose of the villagers, quick, pragmatic, and smart, unfortunately, for someone with empathy like Android 8, such an action was wrong." Before General White could curse, Gero smiled, "I realized, however, that perhaps my designs were wrong from the beginning, I attempted to forgo humanity completely with my designs, but the same vices that plague humanity can plague a sufficiently advanced AI, so…"
Commander Black stood forward, "the good doctor saw fit to change the name of his program from simply the 'Android project' to the "Artificial Human Project'."
"What difference does that make?" General White asked.
"Would you like the power of Android 8? Or even greater?" Gero asked.
"Huh?" General White couldn't help but grin, "what's the catch?"
Commander Black stood forward, "as you can see from my body, Dr. Gero transformed me utilizing the schematics and notes gained from the data provided by Sergeant Metallic. Luckily, because of its mechanical nature, I can easily have my parts repaired, I am also stronger and faster than the original Sergeant by several orders of magnitude. His next design choice is Android 8, forgoing conventional weaponry and instead working on creating a super durable, high strength humanoid."
"And thus you called for me." General White smirked, "alright, I'm interested,"
"Let's not be too hasty." Dr. Gero called out, "I need to test some things first, no scientist worth their salt begins experimenting without expecting some failure."
"What does that mean?" Colonel Silver asked.
"Well, quite simple really, it's time to start recruiting again." Commander Black announced, "we need men, and the doctor needs guinea pigs."
Gero laughed in the background.
…
"Hey!'
"Hey…"
Miguel and Hercule looked at each other awkwardly. Dinner had long ended and after resting and freshening up, the group began to mingle and talk to each other.
Miguel and Hercule had walked a distance away from the house, subconsciously trying to search for a private place to talk. But now that they found it, it was difficult for either of them to talk.
"I see you've been training, getting stronger?"
"Oh? Uh… yeah!" Hercule flexed a bicep, "these guys are so big I'm surprised I haven't been arrested for brandishing weapons!" This caused Miguel to snort and giggle. Hercule snapped his mouth shut, embarrassment taking hold. "But uh… I, you're doing really great with the singing stuff!" He nodded.
"Thanks…" Miguel smiled.
At a distance, the group trailed a fair distance away, Bulma had a contraption attached to a microphone and video camera that focused on the couple.
"What are they doing?" Krillin asked, curiosity dripping from his voice.
"They're just…" Bulma's face twisted in annoyance, "just talking? It's awkward…"
Yamcha shook his head, "We should leave them alone, it's private."
"Didn't you come here first, Yamcha?" Puar replied dryly.
"Well, yes, but I've had a bad feeling," Yamcha replied darkly.
"Bad feeling? How? That Mark's gonna ruin his date?" Bulma replied sassily.
"Yeah, Yamcha…" Krillin chuckled, ribbing the tall young man.
"No, I'm trying to be serious here." Yamcha replied, "I've had a bad feeling, I don't like it."
"Pft… this guy…" Krillin turned to Chi-Chi, "he's so dramatic sometimes, isn't…" He raised an eyebrow, Chi-Chi was staring off into space dreamily.
Chi-Chi's mind was aflutter as she thought of scenes like that with Goku.
"Will we be able to dance and sing like that?" She giggled shyly, "can we talk and sit and gaze at the stars?" The version of Goku in her mind was tall, traditionally handsome, and dressed in a suave princely pure-white suit. She herself was in a wedding dress, adorned with jewels and glittering like a gemstone in the sun.
"HEY! EARTH TO CHI-CHI!"
Chi-Chi screamed, causing Krillin to scream.
A distance away, Hercule turned, "huh? I could have sworn I heard Krillin…" Before he could continue, Miguel shrieked. He turned just in time to see several clean-shaven and bald men in orange and green martial arts gi charge forward.
"What the?!" He grabbed Miguel and dodged out of the way as the two men's weapons slammed into the ground they used to stand on. "Who the hell are you guys?!"
"We're the crane school, and, between you and me, I'm hungry for Turtle Soup!" The two men charged at Hercule, who backpedaled as quickly as he could.
"Hungry for Turtle Soup! That's the worst threat I've ever heard." Yamcha rushed past Hercule, tackling one of the men to the ground. They reached out to punch him, Yamcha replied by dodging and cupping his hands. He clapped them on the monk's ears, "Suppon!" (snapping turtle). The monk began to froth and collapsed in pain. The second monk screamed out angrily, he pointed a finger at Yamcha and shouted.
"Don Don Ray!"
Krillin was on them in a flash. He stood in front of the beam and batted it away with ease.
"I-impossible!" The Crane School student shouted.
Krillin grinned and took off his turtle-weighted gear. Running forward, he blitzed the enemy, appearing at their left and sending a devastating kick to the right side of their body, sending them flying.
Several Crane Students shouted, "get them!"
"Look alive!" Launch rushed forward, pulling out her tommie gun from a capsule. She began firing on the crane students who rushed from over a hill, coming in from the left and right.
Chi-Chi and PaoPao joined in the fray, and together, the 6 Turtle Students fought against the 30 Crane Students.
"What are these guys!"
"Aaah!"
"But?! We're supposed to be the elites!"
Crane Students were knocked away left and right as if they were bowling pins.
"No way! They shouldn't be this strong! Master Shen sent us in particular to handle them! Based on-" The warrior was cut off by a strong kick to the sternum. He collapsed against their training boulder and fell wordlessly.
PaoPao looked at the fallen Crane assassins. "This is odd…"
"What do you mean?" Krillin asked.
"They were pathetically weak." She said quietly, "there's no reason they should have been that weak…"
"Maybe we're just strong!" Krillin joked.
"There were several Crane School Students stronger than me even after my training with them before the Tenkaichi Budokai, a man named Tien ShinHan was the best of them." PaoPao frowned darkly, "there are only two reasons a man like Shen would send such a paltry force against us."
Yamcha was the one to interrupt, "he underestimates us, or they were simply a distraction."
"Tsukimi is under attack," PaoPao said quietly, she clipped her phone and turned to head back to Roshi. "It's the Crane School."
"We'll help you!" Krillin shouted.
"Some of you need to stay back, this can't be all they throw at us" PaoPao turned to the group, "Krillin, you're with me. The others, stay here and defend." She turned to Bulma, "you have Jazz's number, right?"
…
Tien felt nervous, it was the first true fight against an enemy he would find himself in. One-on-one battles were one thing, but this was a war between clans, disciplines, people. And it was the first time he would finally kill.
"Dr. Gero told us that Tsukimi was situated in this forest," Chen smiled, "our job is simple, attack the base and destroy it, our goal is to annihilate the main building, inside are their elders and their treasury." He gritted his teeth, "these bastards will pay for what they did to my brother!"
"Yes! Master!" The Crane Students yelled in unison, they grouped up into squadrons of six and began to position themselves around the forest. Ahead of them, the Tsukimi home base stood, casting an imposing shadow on the forest. It was a mix of traditional and modern building style and design, a state-of-the-art defense system surrounded by a massive moat and drawbridge. Snipers situated in towers, at their sides were ballista, primed and ready. And inside, men and women trained equally in the traditional arts as they did in gunplay and in the more unique avenues of gaining strength.
"They should focus their efforts down singular disciplines." Chen spit to the side. "These fools will get themselves killed if they continue down such a path."
"But master," one of the Crane Students smirked maliciously, "aren't we the ones killing them now?"
Shen laughed, "of course!" He patted the warrior on the shoulder, "we will teach them to fear the Crane…" He, alongside several other students, pointed their fingers forward.
…
The Tsukimi stronghold had seen some major renovations over the years under the management of PaoPao. Emptying her family's coffers, she upgraded the facilities and pay, then moved to overhaul their training system. At the moment, after studying under the Crane and Turtle Schools, her goals were beginning to bear fruit, as the combined training regiment was proving effective in raising capable warriors.
Within the complex, three buildings surrounded the central palace. One building, The House of Fists, focused on teaching the warriors a combination of the philosophy, techniques, and training regimen of the Crane and Turtle School. As it was aimed for a large group, the results were slower than either school combined, but it lay an important foundation that would never leave the warriors. The next building was The House of Blades, it taught the warriors the art of Kenjutsu, swordplay, as well as several other weapon styles and techniques, from as basic and ancient as the club and spear, to as advanced and contemporary as the gun and taser baton. The last house was known as the House of the Arts, it taught the talisman magic normally exclusive to the main house, as well as a bit of witchcraft. This school has the least consistent trainees, but each one who entered definitely had the affinity for magic required to learn. Each school would consistently take in different students in a rotation so that each member of the Tsukimi had the chance to learn a bit of everything and see where their affinity lay.
In the House of Blades, instructions were headed by two teachers, the hawk-eyed Taka, and Talia, Lady PaoPao's strongest subordinate. It was as they were instructing drills when the alarms began blaring.
~"Sir!"~ An alarmed man screamed over the radio.
"What?!" Taka shouted, "status report?!"
~"It's...it's the Crane School! We're u-"~ The call was cut off shortly by the sound of a massive explosion. The compound rocked.
"Sir!" Another man ran into the main training pavilion, "we're under attack! Several unidentified long-range strikes demolished our northern wall!"
Taka moved into business mode, turning to his students he shouted quickly, "all adults, get to your stations! Those below age?! Head to the emergency stations, there are weapons at the armory near the entrance, arm yourselves with at least two weapons of choice and rush to your stations, this isn't a drill!"
The men and women began quickly filing out of the location. Taka watched them worriedly as he began to turn on his radio once more. Talia rushed over.
"Taka!"
"I know, it is the Crane School no doubt, our spies reported some movement from them three days ago, but to think they found our location…" He sighed, "we're not ready for this at all…" The compound began to rock once more. "Shit… where are the others?"
"The others are gathering their warriors, the King has been notified and Lady PaoPao told us that she is en route."
"What's their ETA's?"
"The King's army will take 2 hours to mobilize, Lady PaoPao is already coming over with Kame-Sennin's second strongest disciple. They will be in an hour."
Taka nodded grimly, "then we must get ready. How is the newly fledged witchling?"
"She is nervous, but prepared." Talia said, "her technique is not as powerful, but it is far-reaching, so we have a chance."
…
Tien watched in grim satisfaction as the walls crumbled. To his side, Chiaotzu held his hands up.
"It will be our victory, Tien!"
"Yeah…" Tien clenched his fist.
As the smoke cleared, dozens of Tsukimi ninja fired at the Crane School students. A few members of the Crane school fell as bullets struck their bodies, but the majority leapt out of the way.
"Su-Zhi!" The Master of the Crane school shouted loudly, a woman rushed forward, leaping into the air she dodged gunfire left and right and cupped her hands in a triangle formation.
"TRI-BEAM!" She launched a beam of condensed energy in the shape of a diamond. The soldiers' eyes grew wide as they disappeared in the beam of light.
Su-Zhi slowly landed, gasping for air, her limbs shuddered and her face paled as she collapsed. A Crane student rushed over to help her up, only for both of them to be sniped from a distance.
"Monsters!" A shriek came out from the Tsukimi side and nearly 50 men and women equipped in Samurai-like armor and wielding guns and blades charged out of the wall. Above, several helicopters zoomed over the walls, carrying more soldiers who fired their weapons forward.
"Pft… the hypocrites call us monsters." Chen laughed, "kill them all!" He took to the sky, alongside Tien and Chiatzu, and began to lead the charge with several Don Don Rays. Some Crane Students took to the air, while others charged to meet Tsukimi's ground troops.
Blade clashed against blade, spear against spear, flesh against flesh, as the two groups charged into each other.
Despite being outnumbered, the Tsukimi warriors put up a good fight, they were the elite troop who spent some time under the training of Muten Roshi and carried with them the philosophy and training he gave out. 6 months wasn't much time, but it was more than enough to make the ninja an equal match to two or three Crane Students at a time, who Master Shen often neglected in favor of his few star pupils. They also had the advantage in long-range fire support from the snipers in the back, and air superiority from the helicopters, who took out any Crane Students who stuck out or took to the air and couldn't dodge in time.
Talia, who led this group of 50, grinned fiercely behind her mempo mask. "Just keep moving forward! They may outnumber us 10 to 1, but we have the bravery of 100 men, and fight like 1000!" Her troops cheered with her.
"Too noisy!" A Crane disciple fired a Don Don Ray, catching Talia off guard and burning off her left hand. She held in her scream of pain and sprung into action against the soldier.
"Oh? A brave one." The Crane student laughed. "Well, this will be fun!"
He wielded a spear lazily in one hand, waiting for Talia to draw close, then swung the weapon violently.
Talia barely blocked the attack but had to move back as she lacked the strength and balance to fully deflect the strike.
"Protect Lady Talia!" Others cried out, charging forward.
"Oh no, you don't!"
Rushing in from the sides, several Crane School students began firing Don Don Rays towards the Tsukimi ninja. Several of them were picked off by snipers, but those same snipers were immediately killed by ki blasts. A massive explosion rocked the sky as 5 of the helicopters came crashing down.
"Hahahaha!" Master Shen charged down, Tien in tow, after taking out the helicopters, they moved down to kill the 50 who defended.
Without batting an eye, Talia and the other ninja threw down capsules, revealing several dozen combat-grade robots that began to shoot at the land and sky, but the Crane Students had little trouble dodging or destroying the robots.
"Retreat!" Talia moved back towards the base while the Crane School rushed forward.
"You're not getting away from our dance, are you?! I'm beginning to fall in love." The Crane Student, a bald man with a grizzled beard, flew forward.
"This is harassment, you know?" Talia didn't smile as she blocked, swung, and fought with all her force, moving backward.
The assassin leaped over her and kicked her further from her base. "Just keep dancing babe, and you might very well survive the night, and have some fun while you're at it." The man winked and stuck out his tongue.
Talia hid her fear and irritation, twisting her face into an annoyed scowl. She glanced behind her, seeing that her troupes were hesitating and had begun to get cut down. "RETREAT!" She roared, charging forward angrily. The Crane School monk sneered, raising his spear to cut her down.
A bullet pierced his chest, causing him to hesitate and stumble forward. Talia's blade was merciless as she took advantage of the moment to decapitate him.
~"Get the hell back here before you get yourself killed."~
"Thanks…" Talia groaned in pain, "I owe you one…" She turned to run back towards the base, only to collapse as a beam of light pierced her chest.
Chen jumped over her quickly dying body and led his remaining men forward. "Attack!" The Crane School Disciples, incensed over the loss of some of their troops and emboldened by the enemy's retreat, rushed forward.
"Talia!" Shinobu screamed out, tears glistening. She stood up and fired a sniper bolt at the Master of the Crane School. Tien snapped his hand out and caught the bullet, and Chiaotzu fired off a Don Don Ray at the kunoichi. Taka pulled her to the ground violently, and they barely dodged the beam.
"Idiot!" He hissed, "we don't have enough breathing room! We need to bunker down and wait for the witchling!"
"The witchling is still focusing her spell, her rune crafting is good, but she isn't nearly as fast as PaoPao, and she has to draw each one individually!" Shinobu's tears ran hot and free from her eyes. "How much longer do we have to wait? 15, 30 minutes? We'll all be dead by the time the Jiang-Shi are ready! At least let us die honorably!"
"You think I don't know that?!" He cursed loudly, "I don't fear death, but I don't want to die in vain, not like this!"
~"Master Taka!"~ Someone shouted on the radio.
"What?!"
~"An unidentified flying object is approaching from the north!"~
…
Tien grinned with excitement, the warriors he fought were painfully weak, but brave, so they posed a surprisingly decent threat to the other students, though not to him, especially after all of his training. The image of the monkey boy who equaled his strength lay dead at his feet whenever he had an image battle. The idea that the boy could have grown stronger at a similar or greater pace never crossed his mind, which added to his increased arrogance. His master had commanded him to take out the snipers from the walls and the insects buzzing in the air, and while he had dealt with the helicopters, a few stubborn snipers remained in their hiding spots. But they were so few that he no longer needed to worry about himself, Chiaotzu, or his master.
The last of the frontline fighters on the Tsukimi side collapsed, allowing the Crane School to charge into the open hole in the wall.
Hundreds of warriors rushed them, but unlike the elites of the Tsukimi, these ninjas collapsed like reeds in the wind. Blood sprayed the air as people dropped, one by one, and Tien's vision was dyed red from the literal blood bath he helped orchestrate.
Eventually, he was pulled from his frenzied stupor by the pain of a spear piercing his shoulder. Snapping the weapon with a quick strike, he turned to the diminutive attacker and struck at full force. The warrior was smashed into a wall. Tien began breathing heavily as his adrenaline rush calmed down somewhat. All around him, the grounds were filled with screams and moans as the Crane School began to wholesale slaughter the people of Tsukimi. Men, women, and children were not differentiated. Tien turned to look at his victim and felt revulsion as he lifted the hood to reveal a child, no older than Chiaotzu. He stepped back slowly, a sudden sense of shame filling his heart.
"What are you doing?!" Shen roared at him, "you are an assassin! No target is innocent, no one escapes your judgment! This is what you have learned!" He aimed a Don Don Ray at a fleeing fighter. "Spare no quarter! They will all be judged!"
Tien gripped his fists. "I… I understand master, but… they're too weak, it's… it's pitiful."
"They would not spare you if the role was reversed, do not be taken in by weakness!" A sniper bolt whizzed past his face. Without skipping a beat, the master of the Crane School pointed a Don Don Ray at the shooter, killing what appeared to be a kunoichi with long brown hair. The air around her exploded out as the beam connected, causing the Crane students to laugh and cheer. The smoky form fell to the ground, billowing away to reveal the still living kunoichi. Before her, striking an imposing figure, was a 6-foot tall humanoid man.
The Crane students watched him with curiosity. "What the hell is that thing?!" Even Tien was left speechless at the sight of the being.
It was a masculine humanoid, wearing human-looking clothes, the major difference however was its skin, bright green like an evergreen plant, two antennae stuck up over the being's pronounced eyebrows, and long elf-like ears sprouted from its head. It held its hand up and spoke in a definitively masculine voice. "You must be proud of yourselves."
"Tien…" Chiaotzu asked, terror, dripped from his voice. "Who is that?"
Tien shook his head, "I… I don't know, perhaps… it's… maybe the master knows?" He turned an expectant gaze towards Shen, only to flinch as he observed the horror on Shen's face."
"D-demon K-king P-Piccolo!"
…
...
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 16 and 6 months
Hair color: Red
Skin color: white
Race: Quarter Caucasian(White American of English-Irish descent), Quarter Asian (Korean), Quarter Black(African-American), Quarter Hispanic (Cuban)
Height: 5ft 10inches | 177.8 centimeters
Weight: 146 lbs | 66.2 kilograms, bound by a Crane School Training/ Torture device
Skills: Skills are what you make of them, it doesn't matter what's known, just how to use it
Powers: Magic Materialization (Fire) (Mastered Understanding), Magic Materialization (Water) (Advanced Understanding), Telekinesis (Intermediate)
General magic: Basic Understanding
Max Power/ Pump Up (1.5x (mastered), 2x (capable),
Shapeshifting, Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Noble Werewolf. Juvenile Awakening, 1.5x, currently possible only under a full moon
Powerlevel: 27, will raise to 41 temporarily when using Pump Up/Max Power 1.5, or 54 when using Pump Up/Max Power 2x, if using Juvenile awakening, power will be 60 or 81 respectively
…
…
Afterword:
Goodness gracious, who's this mysterious green fighter? Did someone release the Demon King? But that's impossible. Did Kami decide to attack early? Also… huh? Why's Jazz's power level so low? Oh no, it looks like I've nerfed him… yeah, this story was superduper a waste of everyone's time, there's no reason to believe I'll have another chapter out soon guys, especially after ending it on a cliff hanger.
Jk lol though,
Thanks for the comments, favorites, and follows! I just hope you all are able to enjoy the story. Don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts.
Serious Afterword:
The Crane School having this many disciples is a creative liberty I took given the fact that TIen and Chiaotzu (according to the super Anime) weren't the only disciples of the original school. Mix that with Tien creating a massive school in the anime, and that inspired this idea of a full fledged old Crane School.
Now, I don't know if I have to justify this again, but here goes.
Android 8 was designed by Dr. Gero. Android 8, when angered in the original manga, punched General White with so much force that a post 21st Tenkaichi Budokai Goku said the punch was way more powerful than anything he (Goku) could put forth. Goku at that point was stronger than a powerlevel of 100, but definitely weaker than a powerlevel of 180, which was what he had against Tien in the 22 Budokai. Android 8's physical power reflects a powerlevel above Goku's, above 100 somewhere, though we do not know for certain, he could very well be 22 Budokai's strength level, beyond, or way less. But we know that we can put down the strength as: 100 Goku Android 18.
Jazz was captured at a power level of 87, and by his own words determined that he would not break out until he could do so at his base strength. Gero designed the trap, as made obvious by Master Shen. Jazz could, very likely, break out quite easily physically, but he chooses not to, because he believed he had more to gain by staying. If his being captured is that difficult to deal with, realize that we are still talking about characters below a power level of 1500, the benchmark for the beginning of power progression in Z, there's no reason to believe conventional technology cannot still create a check and balance against these sorta-superhumans. Ultimately though, I concede that my opinion is simply that as an author, and a reader is entitled to their interpretation and beliefs, which at times can be more clear than through my rose-tinted lenses.