Artificial Human 8, also known as Hacchan, stared at the ceiling in the cozy little house he called home. The elderly chief of Jingle Village and his lovely wife had been kind enough to offer Hacchan a room in their home, treating the cyborg like a son. Hacchan loved his situation, and he loved the people of the village, he loved being able to provide his immense strength to the people, clearing the heavy snow, helping patch up buildings and vehicles, and offering defense against the wild beasts that would sometimes enter the village. Hacchan didn't need sleep, but if he wanted, he could close his eyes and let his mind wander, but he didn't want to, not tonight. Every night he had nightmares, nightmares of when General White killed his precious people in front of him. If he closed his eyes, in the silence he'd hear the flickering flames, and behind his closed eyes he'd see the people screaming in fear and agony. He had lost that fight to defend his people, yet, somehow, thanks to those amazing dragon balls, everyone came back. No one blamed Hacchan for what happened, but Hacchan felt responsible all the same for their deaths, he wasn't strong enough to protect them. But what had confused him was White's power, there was no way General White would be that strong, not when 8 had been able to blow him away in one punch once. It meant Gero was back, it also explained why he had been repaired, but when the Tsukimi inspected his body, they didn't find anything odd or missing, rather, it looked like Dr. Gero had upgraded his body's specifications and did nothing else. That a man as vindictive and deranged as Dr. Gero would decide to let Hacchan go meant that maybe Artificial Human 8 was not worth his time. Hacchan thought he should be happy to know he wasn't important to the doctor, but he also knew better.
Despite his and the World Government's fears, they could find nothing malicious within Hacchan's body, no extra circuitry near his brain, no bombs, no listening or recording devices to be found anywhere, nothing within him had changed that made it harder to be… himself. But the thing that worried them all was the fact that Hacchan's upper bounds of strength and speed had increased. What purpose did Gero have in improving an Android he considered an enemy? What would the point be? Hacchan let those thoughts swirl around his head but could find no answer. The only thing he took solace in was the idea that he had some biological parts, that he was originally a human. Hacchan feared that being completely artificial meant that in some way, he lacked humanity. The fact he had a human brain, a human heart, even though he had no memories as a human, it made him feel better about his status. After rigorous testing, the Government allowed him to return to Jingle Village, and the people there welcomed him with open arms. The atrocities committed by General White were only remembered by those who survived right till the end, and by Android 8, but to everyone else, it was so quick and sudden that they didn't even realize they were dead before the dragon balls wished them back. Despite his newfound humanity, Android 8 still did not sleep, and instead stared out at the ceiling. The sounds of his snowy home's few wildlife kept him company. That sound was replaced with the rushing wind he had come to identify with those who mastered the martial art of Bukujutsu, or flight. He quickly rushed out, prepared for the worst.
"Sorry for dropping in like this Hacchan! I must have left you feeling worried, huh?" A cheery voice called out, chuckling.
Hacchan's eyes widened as he burst into laughter. "Goku!"
The young adult Saiyan grinned at his cyborg friend and the two tackled each other for an embrace.
"I missed you so much Goku! It's been years!" Hacchan guffawed as he gave Goku a bear-crushing hug."
Goku laughed as he patted Android 8 on the back. "Thanks! It's good to see you too, sorry I haven't visited in forever, I've been busy training and getting stronger!"
"Oh! Goku!" Hacchan looked worried, "I heard the dragon balls were used to bring back everyone in Jingle Village, I hope you didn't lose your grandpa's ball."
Goku grinned widely, taking out a smooth, round stone. "Nope! I'm fast enough to catch it."
Hacchan grinned, "Wow! You're even more amazing than last time I saw you, but then again you're so much bigger!"
"I mean I'm still small compared to you though." Goku stretched his arm to tap 8's forehead.
"Hey, Goku! Slow down!" The pair looked up to see a few others flying over.
Hacchan cocked his head at the group that arrived. Goku grinned at his friends. "Guys! This is Hacchan! He's a good friend of mine that helped me out a bit when I first came to this village to find the dragon ball. Even though he was made by the Red Ribbon Army, he's a good guy! Hacchan, these are some of my friends!" Goku then introduced Chi Chi, Krillin, Jazz, Bulma, Yamcha, Tien, Launch, PaoPao, and Chiaotzu to Android 8.
"We've already met," PaoPao stated simply, smiling politely. "Hello Android 8, do you remember me?"
8's smile became a bit more reserved, "hello Ms. PaoPao" He said politely, he remembered having to stay at the government facility. Strazzapreti was a friend of his, and one of the people who helped the village recover, and she was a subordinate of PaoPao. He heard from many of the soldiers and Tsukimi members of the tough and somewhat scary leader of the Tsukimi organization. He was surprised that she was such a young-looking lady, but he remembered how strong Goku was as a child. "Could I ask why all of you are here?" He remained polite and friendly but felt slightly fearful. His time being checked on by the government wasn't fun, and he feared that they were here to take him back.
"You should have no fear of us taking you somewhere you don't want to go." PaoPao said gently, "I came to have my friends check on you."
"Oh?" Android 8 asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Bulma stepped forward, grinning, "Like your name's Bulma, I'm a pretty good scientist if I do say so myself. If there's anything the government missed, I'll probably catch it."
"I'm Chiatzu." The doll-like boy smiled. "It might feel weird, but I can sense around your body with psychic energy, so I should be able to safely help Bulma remove anything dangerous from you."
"I would be happy to receive your help." Android 8 looked confused, "but didn't a bunch of scientists and engineers already check and find nothing?"
"That's because they weren't thorough." Bulma announced smugly, Dr. Gero is the world's leading authority on robotics and cybernetics, but I've already had to deal with his Red Ribbon maniacs one too many times, If there's anything wrong with you, I'll find out, no matter how far I have to dig."
"And that's where I come in." Jazz stepped forward, "I can heal you as the procedure starts, continues, and finishes, making sure your biological parts aren't put in jeopardy."
After Hercule discovered Miguel's pregnancy, the vacation was cut short for those two as he wanted her to come home and rest. Miguel for her part wanted Hercule to come home and rest because he had been bawling his eyes out with joy so hard that his eyes were red and puffy. Bulma prepared a flight home for those two and PaoPao asked Lapis and Lazuli to head back with the pair of lovebirds as escort and protection, hopefully, they were less likely to bicker in the presence of a pregnant woman. With the mood somewhat subdued Jazz suggested they look into what happened to Android 8 themselves, it was very likely that there was an angle that they weren't looking into when it came to Dr. Gero's modifications of Android 8.
"But do not worry, we aren't telling you to do this now, and we aren't going to make you either, the government didn't find anything and it is hopefully unlikely for us to find anything either." Jazz added measuredly, "we simply want to make sure you were alright, and that your village doesn't experience a tragedy like the one before."
"Hmm?" A creaky voice called from within the house. They turned to watch as the owner of the voice, the elderly chief of Jingle Village, walked out. "Hacchan?" He said wearily, "what are you doing out so late, and who are these fellas? Your friends?"
Android 8 smiled at the old man, "sorry Mr. Chief, I couldn't sleep so I heard them come, they want to try and help me want to make sure that Dr. Gero didn't do anything to me."
"Are you sure you're okay?" The chief allowed some edge to creep into his voice, "if these fellas are botherin' you I'll tell them to leave!"
The cyborg allowed a smile to light up his face, the chief, the chief's wife, Suno, and all of the good people of the village were like family to him.
"They aren't bothering me, Pa, you can go back to sleep, I'll talk to you in the morning."
The Chief laughed, "Pa? Oh boy, it must be my birthday, I don't hear you call me Pa too often." Android 8 blushed, causing Goku to laugh. The chief peered over, "oh my… it is you, Goku? How have you been, kid? My, how have you grown up! So all these fellas are friends of yours Goku?"
Goku nodded, "it's nice seeing you again, Chief Guy."
"Well, we don't have much space, but you can stay the night I reckon, all of you fellows."
"Actually, we have accommodations of our own." PaoPao politely declined. "Erm… Hacchan, if you don't mind, we can continue our discussion in the morning, I certainly don't want to bothe-"
"No, it's fine!" The artificial human said. "I'm not as worried as I was before, and you are Goku's friends, so friends of Goku must be good guys, I'm sure you'll do your best to help." He bowed lightly. "Whenever you are ready, we can get it done."
"Then tomorrow morning?" PaoPao offered.
"Deal."
…
"Well, that wasn't too hard." Bulma began, "I don't see why you were in such a hurry to get all of us to come, we even had to go out of our way to find Chiaotzu."
"That's because I'm worried about what Dr. Gero plans to do next. The Red Ribbon Army has been quiet, but my agents noticed odd movements in the fringe countries and islands." PaoPao raised her fingers. "Family members of alleged high profile Red Ribbon Army Sympathizers have disappeared from our radar. This, mixed with the fact a large number of assets have been shifted in the various local countries into defense and infrastructure leads me to believe that there is something the President of the World knows that he won't tell my organization."
"Huh?" Chi-Chi flinched in surprise as she set the plates. "But the Tsukimi was extremely helpful in protecting the world from the Red Ribbon Army, wasn't it?"
"Too helpful, probably." Tien closed his eyes and smirked, "the rest of the world fears you, a group capable of killing the Great Demon King Piccolo and his army, a group not controlled by any one country, led by a young woman. Those people are being clouded by fear."
Yamcha scratched his nose, "so what, do you think they are trying to get in the good graces of the Red Ribbon Army? Wouldn't that just be worse?"
"Old Bastards would rather work with other old bastards than leave things to the young." Bulma muttered, "I'm sure they think they're on a similar wavelength to Dr. Gero. While PaoPao, from what I heard, is pretty good at finding and exposing corruption."
"So ultimately they're mad they can't get away with bad stuff since PaoPao's around?" Goku asked, "are they stupid?"
"Greed begets stupidity." PaoPao began, "and our thoughts are simply speculation for now. Let us rest in preparation for tomorrow."
…
Lapis sat at the kitchen table of Hercule's home. He watched, bored as his sister, Hercule, and Miguel's father ran around like headless chickens in order to make Miguel as comfortable as possible.
"Here's an extra pillow!"
"Did you chill the ice tea to the perfect temperature?"
"2-and-a-half cubes left to chill for 15 minutes, condensation wiped consistently!"
"Good! Now sweetie, lift your legs on the pillows, it's good for circulation."
Miguel laughed nervously, "guys, I'm alright, I'm barely showing anyways."
"Nonsense we need to make sure you get the absolute best care you deserve!" Hercule shouted back emphatically, "in fact, I'm going to increase my vacation, by 9 months just to be there for you babe!"
"I appreciate your sentiment and care for me Hercule, but you really don't have to…" Miguel began, embarrassed.
"You guys really should just let her be." Lapis muttered, "she says she's fine after all."
His twin scoffed, "look, if you're bored enough to nag, you might as well help out," The blonde girl handed a sheet to her black-haired fraternal twin. "Go shopping and get this stuff for me. It's a list of safe medicines and foods for a pregnant woman."
Lapis rolled his eyes at Lazuli's list. "Okay, fine." He grabbed the list and trudged outside.
"Stupid lists, she says she's okay, and I'm stupid bored, Jazz just wanted us out of his hair…" Lapis muttered to himself as he walked the streets of Orange City. After picking up his stuff from a late-night convenience store, Lapis began his slow walk back to the Hercule residence.
"Hey! You!" Lapis turned to the voice. "Yeah that's right kid, what's a little fella like you doing out here?" A group of 12 men moved to surround Lapis.
"Look at him, pretty enough you'd think he was a girl."
"Hell, he just might be a girl."
"Those are some pretty nice clothes he's got there too, must be some prissy rich fella's brat, what are you doing out here at night, didn't your parents tell you it was dangerous?"
The men guffawed.
Lapis raised an eyebrow, "you guys are serious?" Before the men could retort they were all flat on their asses as a rush of wind jettisoned from Lapis's body. "I'm not even annoyed with you calling me a girl, I've been irritated and bored for a bit so I guess I gotta thank you." He gave off a frightening Cheshire grin as he stomped forward.
…
Sunny was sipping on some coffee as he read a case report. The advent of more and more martial artists made things complicated, muggings became calls about possible excessive force, people would accidentally trespass because they over-estimated how high they could jump, and the few bad eggs resisting arrest could spell a fatal accident for the officers in question. Many officers in turn began to train as well to compete, but it began to turn into an arms race, with many officers abusing their newfound power. Sunny himself trained for quite a bit and was somewhat proud of his skills, but he missed the days when he didn't need to worry about someone breaking out of his handcuffs. He absentmindedly touched his dog-like ears, when he was young, the animal people fad was all the rage, his mom and dad took on full transformations and encouraged him to do the same. He chuckled from the memories. A dull thud snapped him out of his thoughts as he glanced out the window. He gaped in surprise when he saw a pile of unconscious men, bruised and beaten. A note was taped to one of their faces, reading out: "I tried to rob a kid."
He recognized the faces of a few of the men instantly, martial artists of the disgraced Crane school, wanted things who had multiple charges on their records, larceny, theft, assault, vandalism, and a whole host of other crimes. Grabbing his radio he called in dispatch and his direct superiors to get some backup, he'd need some help processing the men.
50 feet above the officer, Lapis smirked as he flew over. He had his hands in his pockets and a few plastic bags wrapped in his arms, full of the groceries his sister ordered him to get. "Well, that's a good deed done for the day." He mused, flying off at a brisk pace of approximately 50 miles an hour. If his sister asked, he'd just say that he walked there and back in order to enjoy the night sky. As he got closer to the apartment he began to get a weird feeling. He narrowed his eyes, his sister's ki, it wasn't dangerously low like she was dying, nor was it spiked up, but it was lower than normal as if she was asleep, but it was only 8:15 and the sun had just set half an hour ago, not to mention his sister had been fussing over the pregnant Miguel.
Something smashed into Lapis as he began to pick up the pace.
"Hello, brat." A silver-haired muscular man with brown eyes launched Lapis towards a building. Before he struck the side of the high rise, Lapis twirled, catching himself with a burst of ki before spinning upwards and smashing his fist into the silver-haired bastard's face. "We've got a lively one, heh!" General white smashed his fist into Lapis in retaliation, causing the boy to puke out clear stomach acid and water as he folded under the force of the strike, this time smashing into a glass window.
Lapis crashed into a bedroom, causing the couple sleeping in it to scream in terror at the sight of the bloody teen. Lapis got up quickly, trying to sense his opponent with his ki. Try as he might, however, he couldn't figure out where the mysterious fighter was. His ears twitched and he charged forward, barely dodging as the man charged through the floor where he had been just a few seconds ago. Lapis began to fly through the city, going as fast as he could dare to control as he raced towards Hercule's apartment.
"Please be okay." He whispered, repeating that phrase to himself like a prayer as he rushed to his sister's ki. Ignoring the locked door in his haste, he broke through, turning the knob and just pushing it open. "Sister!" He shouted out. His eyes narrowed and his heart seemed to stop as he saw his sister slumped on the floor, blood dripping from her mouth and a vacant stare in her eyes. The air smelled sickly sweet, enough for him to cover his nose as he made his way to her. "Sis!" He shouted, looking around, he spot an unconscious Miguel and a comatose Gabriel, the flowery smell was so thick that it started to make him feel light-headed. He turned to the closed window and launched a blast of ki forward, vaporizing the wall and window, as the gas rushed out of the room he began to feel a bit better.
"Aren't you a clever one?" Lapis snapped his head to the sound, and without skipping a beat activated his pump up, rushing forward. The silver-haired man blocked his attack. "My word, kids grow up fast, I remember it was only a few years ago when that fatass king tried using you twins as bargaining chips."
Lapis's eyes widened as he applied even more pressure to his attack. Smashing into the man's face and launching him out the window. He took a moment to make sure all three of the unconscious victims were still breathing then pulled out his phone. He attempted to call but there was no signal.
"You think we would let you call for help? We wouldn't want anyone like that PaoPao Dango, Tienshinhan, Son Goku, or Jasper Duncan come rushing here, now would we?" Another figure stepped out of the shadow, a smoking barrel coming out of his arm. Lapis coughed out some blood as he looked down at the quickly darkening spot on the side of his stomach.
"Y-you… you're… General Black…" He hissed, charging forward before stumbling as his vision swam.
"In the flesh… well, in the… metal? Cybernetic hybrid?" The dark-skinned man chuckled. He stood at an imposing 7 feet tall and seemed to be brimming with musculature, the only signs of his cyborg state were his artificial, glowing scope-like right eye, and the metallic sheen of his right arm. "I'm glad I'm famous enough for a brat to have an idea of who I am, it's such a shame that you don't know General White though." Black laughed.
"Unlike you, I took my job seriously and didn't leave people to recognize my face." General White flew back into the room, the wind whipping past his silver hair.
Lapis didn't let them prattle on, he launched razor-thin short ranged bursts of ki, launching out like spikes meant to pierce through his opponents. Both cyborgs raised their hands to block the blows, surprised when the ki pierced through their hands into their chests. Lapis picked his first target in the confusion, charging toward General White. White swung his fist in retaliation but Lapis had begun to understand the man's attack pattern, the swing grazed his face but he didn't care as he struck the cyborg in the first, launching him out of the room again.
Black's arm morphed, transforming into a heavy caliber machine gun. Lapis launched a blast of ki to counter the live rounds as he charged toward his sister, Miguel, and Gabriel. Grabbing unto them as best he could he flew out. He needed to get out of the city, maybe he'd regain signal if he did. The Red Ribbon Army clearly wasn't scared to flaunt their power out in the open.
Lazuli moaned in pain as Lapis reshuffled his grip on them in order to reach for his phone. He was already doing something extremely risky, if he changed speed too quickly or went too quickly he could kill Miguel and Gabriel, they were normal people, and even his sister could be hurt by his movements in her unconscious state.
"Peekabo!" General White appeared at Lapis's side, his fist swinging towards Lazuli's back. Lapis turned around, taking the blow. He nearly blacked out from the pain but powered through as he struck General White with a screaming mouth beam, a trick he picked up from Piccolo. The General backed off, giving Lapis enough time to get some more distance, and set Miguel, Gabriel, and his sister on the roof of a nearby building. He swallowed hard, gathering ki into his fists.
"You better back off! If you try to touch my sister again… I'll…" Lapis faltered.
"What? You'll kill me?" General White laughed. "The power you freaks have attained, it's not special, not anymore, we're catching up, and soon, we'll surpass you with technology, and the Red Ribbon Army will be supreme."
"I don't care about your deal!" Lapis charged forward, "what does it have to do with us?!"
General White smirked cruelly, "honestly, we were just after the pregnant bitch and her old man, but your sister, and now you, are a nice bonus." Lapis began to fall from the sky, his wounds, the poisonous gas, and exhaustion beginning to take their toll on his flagging body.
"Do we catch him?" General White asked General Black, who flew in on an internal jet pack. The cyborg observed the boy for a few moments. "My scanners indicate that his energy parameters have dropped below 1%, this normally indicates that he is dying. We don't have the first aid to treat him."
General White grinned, "nice, I'll kill him then."
"You aren't killing anyone." The two snapped their heads up to see an afro-wearing young man. Hercule glared at them, his temples pulsing in fury. "Because I'm going to end both of you."
"Run." General Black said simply. But neither could get away quickly enough as Hercule blitzed forward, killing the androids in an instant with his sheer power. He paid little attention to the fact that their bodies were completely mechanical, instead flying down to catch Lapis.
"S-strong…" Lapis moaned, "I… I wasn't s-strong enough."
"Nonsense, you were plenty tough, those bastards were just being dirty." Hercule handed Lapis a senzu bean from a capsule. "Now let's get you kids home safe." He flew to the roof, to his wife.
…
…
Jasper(Jazz) Duncan
Age: 21 and 10 months
Hair color: Red
Skin color: white
Race: "Human"
Height: 6 feet 0.5 inches | 184.15 centimeters
Weight: 195 lbs | 88.4505 kilograms,
Skills: Advanced Staff Technique, Advanced Kinjutsu (sword technique), Advanced Hand-to-Hand technique, Advanced Ki techniques, Mastered Magic Materialization
Capable of creating: Conventional Weapons, Food, various tools (limited by his knowledge of the materials, craftsmanship, and scientific knowledge)
Weapons that can be created: Long Ruyi Jingu Bang, Long Bansho Fan, Ryu Kusanagi, Wyvern's Wind-And-Fire Wheels, Dragon's Flame-Tipped Spear, Fafnir's Gungnir, Leviathan's Trident, Jorgumandur's Svalinn, Hydra's Ancilla
Powers: Elemental Magic Materialization, Capable of summoning and freely manipulating fire, water, wind, and earth, lightning, ice, smoke, and steam, capable of manipulating and stirring the growth of plant and animal life. Mastered Telekinesis.
Mastery of General Magic Concepts and abilities. mastered understanding of intermediate-level magical techniques, an advanced understanding of advanced magical techniques.
Shapeshifting: Mastered Skill level (indefinite)
Transformation Power Techniques
Noble Werewolf: True Awakening: 5.3x power
Ultimate Full Power: A renamed form of Pump-Up/ Max Power, no longer lowers speed, instead it now grants strength and speed proportional to power gain, due to witnessing Launch's utilization of the technique, the power raised up to 5.4x
Talisman Magic: Body Enhancement: 5x Power, drains magical energy over time, lasts 10 minutes at full, before then draining ki,
1.5x level: can be used for 6 hours straight
2x level: can be used for 2 hours straight
3x: can be used for 1 hour
4x: Can be used for 30 minutes
Emissive Techniques: Kamehameha, Don Don Pa, Solar Flare, Tri-Beam, Thunder Shock Surprise, Barrage Ki attack, Magic Fire Kamehameha, Thunderfire Kamehameha. Ki-Flame Sword, Marshmallow Meteor,
Body Techniques: Four Witches Technique, 12 Eyes Technique, Fusion Dance, Wolf Fang Fist, Mafuba
Blessing from a "Friend": Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, senses, capable of surviving a 2 fold fusion without extreme backlash.
Powerlevel: 1954
Power of Just Werewolf: 10,356.2
Power of Pump Up: 10551.6
Power of Werewolf and Pump Up: 55923.84
Power of Werewolf, Pump Up, Magic Talisman Technique: 279,617.4
…
Afterword:
It looks like the Red Ribbon Army has planned an elaborate Ambush, if this is what the twins and Hercule Faced, imagine what might be at store for Penguin Village. The next chapter will be the last in this rapid fire of chapters, and hopefully things will be at a normal schedule again.