The Army Defeated! But Where is the Ball?
Goku finally got to her feet and blinked away the bright light as it dimmed down. Whatever that ball was, that laser had hurt her more than she'd expected. But never mind that, Suno had done a Kamehameha! Goku had known she would be able to do it. She was so proud of her friend.
"Suno!" Goku shouted as she stood up, "That was great!" Then she saw Suno passed out on the ground and crouched down to brush her hair aside and see if she was all right. She was breathing but it was shallow and labored. "Suno?" she asked softly. Her friend made no movement. Goku scooped Suno quickly up into her arms and ran through the battlefield. She wondered where all the soldiers had gone to and was surprised when she saw her friends. They must have come to help with the fight! "Master Roshi! Krillin! Bulma! Everyone!" They waved to her until they saw Suno in her arms and were clearly concerned. Goku put on an extra burst of speed and held Suno out to them. "I think she got hurt using the Kamehameha. Bulma, do you have any medicine or anything?" Bulma shook her head and chewed her bottom lip.
"I'm sorry, Goku," she said, "I only brought stuff I thought we could use to beat up the soldiers." She shook her head and looked disappointed with herself. "I should have thought ahead!" Yamcha put an arm around Bulma's shoulder as Roshi looked Suno over.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. I doubt your medicine would do much good here anyway. Set her down gently, Goku," he instructed and she did as she was told. She watched with a mixture of worry and excitement, wondering what Roshi was going to do and hoping that Suno would be okay. Roshi rolled up his sleeves to the elbows and held his palms out towards Suno. He closed his eyes and hummed softly as a gentle, twinkling light began to glow from his palms and all of them watched in wonderment. This was not the harsh light of an attack, it was a soft and warm light; like from a candle or the rays of the sun. He ran his hands slowly across Suno's body. He pressed a palm to the crown of her head then the center of her forehead, her throat, her heart, and her stomach. Each time he touched Suno, a faint light shimmered through her like ripples on a lake. When he was finished, she did not wake up but her breathing was much more relaxed. "She'll be fine," Roshi assured Goku with a smile, "She just needs to rest a while."
"What did you do, Master Roshi?" Krillin asked in awe. The old master gave a wise smile.
"Ki is life energy," Roshi explained. "Most people who can understand ki only know of it as a weapon. Burning, smashing, piercing. But there's so much more it can do. It can give life as much as it brings death. Suno put too much of her own ki into that Kamehameha so I put some of my ki into her to speed up the healing process."
"Not to break this up," Launch interjected, "But didn't you come here because these guys had Dragon Balls?" Goku blinked in surprise. "...Did you forget?" One second she was there. Then she wasn't. They all stared at the spot where Goku had been. Even Roshi hadn't seen her leave. "The hell did we miss?" Then she was back and holding two Dragon Balls in her fists.
"I found these in the guy's desk," she said as she held them up. "It doesn't look like they had any more, though." Yamcha groaned and rubbed a palm against his forehead.
"All that and we don't even have all the Balls yet?" he sighed and shrugged. "Okay, Goku. Where's the last one?" Goku took out the Dragon Radar and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I can't find it," Goku said and held the Radar out for them to see. She didn't understand how the Dragon Ball wouldn't show up. Bulma's Radar always found the Dragon Balls. Was this one hiding? Could they hide? Bulma smiled and took the Radar from Goku's hand.
"Don't worry," she said with a smile, "I've got something!" Goku smiled back. Bulma was so smart! She could always count on her with this kind of stuff. Bulma took a capsule out of her fanny pack and opened it to reveal… something. It looked the same color as the Dragon Radar except that it was square. There was a deep impression in the square for the Radar to fit into and slapped it down inside the square. "I had some time these last couple days and I built a Radar amplifier. This will boost the Radar's signal to cover the entire planet!" Goku smiled even wider and clapped excitedly. That was so cool! Bulma pushed the button. Then pushed it again. And then a third time. "Okay, what the hell?!"
"What's wrong?" Yamcha asked while leaning over her shoulder. The green screen showed a three-dimensional map of the Earth and six Dragon Balls in one spot. However, there was no blinking lights anywhere else. On the entire planet. "Oh. That's what's wrong."
"Maybe your gadget isn't as good as you think it is," Launch offered snidely. Bulma scowled at her.
"Can you even make toast?" she asked. "And you're giving me shit about my tech?!" Goku winced. She didn't want to see her friends fight! Roshi cleared his throat before things got ugly.
"I might have a solution but I'll wait until Suno is feeling better. In the meantime, though," he gestured to Goku, "I think you need some new clothes." Goku looked down at her gi. She hadn't noticed but it was pretty beat up. It was full of bulletholes and tears from shrapnel and scorch marks.
"Okay!" she said eagerly, "We'll just go back to Kame House and–"
"Nope," Roshi cut her off. "Fresh outta uniforms. They don't grow on trees, y'know." Goku blinked.
"I know they don't," she said plainly. Clothes didn't grow on trees. Fruit did! Roshi sighed.
"No, it's–"
"I mean, cotton can be made into clothes. But that grows out of the ground. That's different." Roshi sighed again.
"Never mind! Let's just head into the nearest town and ask the tailor to make you a new gi." Goku called down Nimbus and Bulma slipped on her Sonic Discs as Roshi unfurled his magic carpet for himself, Yamcha, and Launch. Krillin helped Goku put Suno on the Nimbus and then they all flew off together.
As they flew to the city, Roshi explained that between the seven of them, they'd taken out most of the soldiers. Those that were left turn tail and ran after Suno defeated Commander Black. Since their boss had threatened them all with nuclear annihilation, whatever that meant, it wasn't likely that they were going to be fighting again anytime soon. That made Goku feel a little better. Even if they didn't have all the Dragon Balls yet, at least the Red Ribbon Army wouldn't be hurting anyone ever again!
OoOoOoO
It was… all gone.
Gero had been having a splendid day. He'd finally gotten Frappe to reveal his secrets of biomechanics and was then able to finally put an end to the insufferable coward. A giant wrench was an admittedly primitive way to get the job done but it had been very satisfying. He had been sketching and designing and had plans for the next ten androids. It was going to be perfect.
However, when he called his private line to the Red Ribbon Army that he used to procure resources and funds, there had been no one there. He called again. And again. He tried a different number and Cyril's personal number that he was to only use in emergencies. Nothing. Finally he turned on the news. Defeated. The Red Ribbon Army had been… defeated. Cyril was dead. And so, too, were Gero's hopes for humanity. He'd destroyed half his lab in a black rage and set fire to all his designs. It wasn't fair! When his fury had finally subsided, he realized who had to be to blame. That Son Goku girl. Super strong, fast, invulnerable. What could she be but an alien? It was her fault. She'd taken it all away from him. His hopes, his dreams, his son's memory.
It was then that Gero decided that it was not over. He would not let it be over. It would take much longer now, maybe the rest of his natural life but he would have his cyborgs and he would save humanity. Most of all, however, he would kill. Son. Goku.
OoOoOoO
"It's that!" Goku told the tailor, pointing at Krillin, Yamcha, and Launch. The old man had a lean, clean-shaven face and adjusted his spectacles as he leaned over his counter and peered at the fabric to determine its exact color and texture.
"Hrrm," the tailor muttered and sucked on his teeth, "Yes, I believe I can do that. You'll just need to get on the counter so I can get your measurements." He bent down and disappeared behind the counter, muttering something about having a stepladder or a stool Goku could use. When he came back up, Goku was already standing on the counter. The old man blinked and shrugged. "Well, all right then. Stick out your arms for me." Goku did so with a smile as the man found a measuring tape and then proceeded to measure her legs, chest, and the circumference of her shoulders, jotting each one down on a pad of paper. Goku giggled and squirmed when the tape wrapped around her middle. It tickled! "This shouldn't take more than an hour or two." The old man said with a smile before he disappeared into the back of his store. Goku smiled and hopped off the counter.
They spent the hour wandering around the store and looking at the different gi and outfits the tailor sold while Yamcha went back to the Kame House to get Puar. They'd been in luck that the tailor specialized in clothes for martial artists and adventurers. There were some outfits that Goku thought were kind of neat and some that were kinda dumb. In the end, she was glad to get her new gi. The old one was in such rough shape that it fell apart as she was changing into her new clothes! Yamcha paid the tailor and returned to where they had left Roshi and Suno.
OoOoOoO
Suno awoke to a world of pain. She honestly didn't really mind that since she was surprised that she awoke at all. The fact that she was staring at the open sky rather than some ceiling clued her in to the fact that she had been moved but she had no idea how long she had been out.
She groaned softly as she gingerly sat up. "Easy now. You did a real number on yourself," she heard someone to her left say. She looked over to see Muten Roshi sitting on a flying carpet. With his sunglasses off, he not only looked every bit the wizened old master but his gaze seemed to pierce straight through her. "What you did was very reckless," Roshi continued, "but I understand why you did it. I have to say, I'm actually impressed that you even managed to perform the Kamehameha. When I was repairing your chakras, I noticed that they weren't naturally tuned towards combat."
"I had to do it," Suno said somewhat defensively. "If I didn't-"
"You don't have to explain yourself," Roshi waved her off. "That desperation is likely why you managed it and I'm really glad you did. There's no way any of us could have survived a nuclear blast. Still, when I created the Kamehameha, I structured it so that it would never draw from the ki needed to maintain your life. It's only supposed to use your body's excess ki. It may not have the destructive power of the Kikouhou because of that but it's a lot safer. That aside, the body has a very strong natural resistance to altering the ki needed to maintain itself. The ability to manipulate it like you did is one rarely found even among masters."
Suno grunted as she moved to where she was sitting upright on the Nimbus. While being praised by the Turtle Hermit was something that was beyond even her wildest dreams, there was something about the way he was talking that was preventing her from getting embarrassed. "Thank you, Master Roshi, but why are you telling me all of this?"
"I've got two reasons. The first is that I want you to promise me that you'll never do that again. You would have died if I hadn't been there and putting that much stress on your body shortens your lifespan. If I had to guess, that stunt cost you a couple of years." Suno paled at this and nodded. "The second is that your talent doesn't lie in fighting. You can become a great fighter, sure, but your skills would be wasted there. Like I told the others, ki can be used to heal and restore just as readily as it can be used to destroy. If you want, I can teach you how to use your ki to heal others."
Suno paused for a long moment. This was definitely the chance of a lifetime and yet… "Thank you very much, Master Roshi, but I'll have to pass for now. There are things I still need to do and I need to be stronger in order to do them. I don't have the time to focus on something unrelated right now."
Roshi nodded. "Alright. I can appreciate your conviction if nothing else. Still, letting your talents go to waste would be awful so consider this an open invitation. Just come see me whenever you're ready. Now," Roshi put his sunglasses back on before gesturing to the side with his head, "I think some people are coming to see you."
Suno turned her head in time to see Goku charging towards her as she cried out her name and threw her arms around her. Suno hugged her back and then Goku backed away to let Suno see that all of Goku's friends were around her in a circle. She supposed they were her friends now, too. They'd come to give Suno and Goku help and she'd risked her life to save theirs. Didn't get much friendlier than that.
"Hey there, kid. Goku told us what happened. That was pretty brave," Yamcha said with a smile as Krillin nodded. Launch huffed and folded her arms over her chest.
"So that's one more person who can do the Kamehameha before me," she muttered. She still had a bit of a smile despite her words so Suno knew it was supposed to be a bit of a compliment. It was then that Suno finally took in her surroundings and noticed that they were in a city rather than a secret military base in the mountains.
"What did I miss?" she asked in confusion. So Goku told her about how she'd found the two Dragon Balls but that the last one was missing and that Master Roshi had a plan.
"So what's your plan, Master Roshi?" Yamcha asked. Roshi took off his sunglasses and cleaned them with the hem of his shirt as he spoke.
"Simple," he said. "Ask my big sister." Bulma blinked.
"What," she and Launch said flatly in unison and then glared at each other. Goku gasped and clapped her hands.
"Master Roshi has a big sister?!" she asked excitedly.
"Oh, right!" Yamcha said with a nod, "The one who you said made those super-heavy turtle shells. I didn't think she was actually a witch. I figured it was, I dunno, a euphemism." Roshi smiled and nodded as he put his glasses back on.
"Yup. Uranai Baba, the Fortuneteller."
"Your parents named your sister 'Crone'?" Suno asked incredulously. Clearly Roshi was the favorite. She also wondered how much older Baba could possibly be. That made him laugh out loud and he shook his head.
"Oh, heavens no! She changed her name when she got into the fortune-telling business. Her name used to be… uh… hrm…." Roshi paused and scratched his head. "Well, I don't really remember." Everyone face-faulted and Roshi huffed indignantly. "Let's see what you remember when you're all three hundred years old!"
"So you really think your sister can tell us where the last Dragon Ball is?" Krillin asked once everyone was back on their feet. Roshi smiled.
"Well sure! She's a fortune teller, isn't she?" Bulma grumbled and groused something under her breath about "stupid magic". "The only thing," Roshi said, "Is that my sister never does anything for free. She doesn't always charge money but you'll probably have to play some game or beat some challenge."
"Let's go, let's go!" Goku declared eagerly as she and Krillin jumped onto the Nimbus. Soon enough they were flying again, with Roshi leading the way. Suno wasn't scared about any challenges the Fortuneteller might present them with. They'd just defeated the Red Ribbon Army. What could an old witch possibly throw at them that was tougher than that?