[To Guest (and by extension JohnDoes): I had no idea that I'd spark a small power multiplier debate! I'm glad to see it, because it helps me better understand how transformations should stack up against each other. However, there is still something I'm wondering about. What do you think of the multipliers for Super Saiyan God and Blue in comparison to Super Saiyan 3, and perhaps certain other forms you've mentioned? For example, I think 4's multiplier is greater than SSG's, but is weaker than Blue's. Vegeta once said, "You can't depend on mere calculations to understand a Saiyan", but multipliers sure do paint a pretty good picture regarding power scaling!]
[To 'Frostbound Reverie': No. None of that. Shame on you.]
[There are around 7,000 words in this chapter. I really hope you all enjoy it!]
Chapter 18: Unconventional Adversaries
"Seems we're nearing this place," Yamcha said.
Trunks took out a snack and munched as their target came into view through the clouds. The four descended and hid around the side of a warehouse of some kind. Nearby, there were several heavy duty vehicles parked in a row with some suited-up personnel walking to and fro. "I think this might be a storage site or something," Trunks guessed. "Why do they have so many trucks here though?"
Bardock said nothing in response as he lead them around a corner where they came across a huge warehouse door. "Kid. You're up."
"Huh? Me?" Goten asked him.
"You told me earlier that you know how to make an energy blade now. Get to cutting," Bardock instructed impatiently.
"Oh yeah!" Goten stepped up to the metal door. "Time to make a door of my own!"
A butler strode elegantly through a lavish hallway, holding a silver platter. He approached a rich mahogany door and gave three knocks. The door was opened by another butler who took the platter and closed the door. This butler, wearing no shoes on the velvet carpet so as to not upset the occupant of the room, approached the woman in the room gracefully and bowed, holding the platter at her side by the dining table.
"Madame Musuka. Your two o' clock lunch."
"Oh, already…?" she responded curiously. "Very well then," she accepted, her voice eloquent.
The butler took off the lid and the woman's assistants prepared her for the meal by placing a napkin on her lap and arranging her cutlery. The butler asked, "May I remind you of the business talk later this evening with-?"
"I am still aware, yes. And do tell Yaroff to get a move on with Operation Clawhide. I'm getting impatient. Zoodobu must not become comprised of slackers. You may leave now," she said as she focused her attention on her food.
She looked rather miserable and one of her assistants chanced a query into her wellbeing. "Madame Musuka… if I may be so bold as to inquire…"
"Yes…?"
"There appears to be something that may be troubling you."
Mrs. Musuka looked at the assistant with half-lidded eyes. "So you finally noticed."
The assistant stood still as a statue, as did the others.
"It's my husband…" she sighed as she played with her food, "Since he was sent to jail, life has been frankly… lonely and boring without him." She took a sip of white wine. "Even with all my new investments, all my meetings… they honestly just feel like a complete waste of time."
She paused before speaking her mind again, her face brightening slightly, "Except for one investment. The company I met just last year. They have some appealing proposals I just had to have a part in."
She swirled her wine around as she stared dreamily out of the window. "Artificial intelligence has come so far since the early days of the Red Ribbon Army and the rise of Capsule Corporation. It is certainly a way to spice up my life. Am I right, 06?"
06, one of her assistants, nodded in agreement.
"What talented creations - able to think beyond human calculations, perform tasks without fail… and above all, also able to wield superhuman power! Quite the gift I was given by that man, I must say. Though, it pales in comparison to the scientific prowess of Doctor Gero or Doctor Briefs." She smirked. "I suppose it can't be helped. He says he hopes to acquire additional scientific geniuses in the near future. I'll just have to wait for better technology than what he currently offers…"
As she finished up her lunch, she donned a fur coat and spoke to a butler. "Routine five," she spoke softly. The butler acknowledged her and without further delay began to clean the room. "So simple," she chuckled as she left.
"Ghhh… Hmmm…" Goten made busy noises as he concentrated on cutting through the metal.
Yamcha checked their surroundings to make sure they weren't at risk of being exposed. "There's no cameras on the outside, but once Goten cuts through, we might have to take out some once we get inside," he advised.
"Hmph," Bardock grunted as he too looked around, covering for Goten.
"Aaaand… there!" Goten declared. The metal square fell away, making a hole everyone could fit through.
"I'll lead!" Yamcha declared in a hushed voice.
"Why you? I was the leader of my own squad-" Bardock argued.
"You don't know what the cameras look like! Just let me take point for now, please?" Yamcha explained.
Bardock scoffed and pushed him inside, but decided to humour him just this once. Yamcha almost fell over from the Super Saiyan push and immediately set eyes on a camera in a corner of the warehouse. The lights were off and no one was inside, but thanks to the daylight coming in from the high windows in the warehouse, they could see everything clearly.
Yamcha refrained from shooting the cameras for now. He told the group, "Unless we really can't get past without being seen, we'll leave them alone, alright?"
"Okay! That's the name of the game after all, isn't it?" Trunks grinned.
They kept to the wall following Yamcha, and took in all the items stored in the room.
"Crates filled with buckles, zip-ties, harnesses… That checks out," Trunks commented.
"This Zoodobu's supposed to deal with animals, right? So, of course it's got that sort of kit," Yamcha stated. He then rubbed his arms. "Man… There's kind of a chill in here." He walked a little further until he saw some empty cages. However, some appeared to be occupied. "Hey, guys?" Yamcha said.
"What?" Trunks replied.
"I think we got some guests in here," Yamcha whispered. Said guests consisted of big cats like tigers and lions, and some sleeping chimpanzees and bears.
Goten gasped. "They must be freezing in there!"
Trunks held up his index finger as he pointed out, "Well actually their fur protects them from the cold-"
"We gotta help 'em! They've been captured like Icarus was!" Goten exclaimed, ignoring Trunks' argument.
"Just saying, but what if these ones in particular are actually being legally kept here?" Yamcha asked.
"This can't be legal! Look closer - They're so skinny, see? Who knows how long they've been locked up here!" Goten retorted. "We have to-"
A male voice could be heard murmuring something about a break-in.
"Oh, fantastic," Bardock whispered, "They found the hole already. Let's get moving."
The four slid away from the area and entered a side door in a bid to slip out of the warehouse. Trunks closed the door behind them and ran down the bright white corridor with the others. Yamcha, upon seeing no other way around a camera ahead of them, blasted it to shut it off.
"We're gonna have to pick up the pace now," Yamcha warned them.
They darted left and right down passageways until they were spotted by a worker.
…Well, until they weren't, as Bardock knocked the man out cold in an instant.
"Nice takedown," Yamcha said. He turned to look behind him and saw a team of personnel, each holding a handgun.
"Intruders! Take 'em down!" one shouted.
"Yes sir-" another acknowledged before being hit to the floor because Trunks vanished behind him and hit his head.
Bardock charged up to a gunman and elbowed him right in the jaw. The gun fired but Bardock's ki was too high for any damage to be dealt.
Goten fired a couple small blasts at another man's chest, making him go down for the count.
And finally, Yamcha fired a small blast at the last man's gun to disarm him. Then, he did a dive kick, making the man fly into the wall, hard.
"That's all of 'em," Trunks said.
"Let's go!" Yamcha ran ahead and the others soon followed him. As they ran down the hallways Yamcha was hitting cameras left, right and centre. Yamcha suspected they were nearing somewhere important, and he soon discovered he was right. Two troopers were guarding a steel door a ways off. The four peered over at them from behind a wall.
"They look like more small fry. Why aren't we taking 'em down already?" Bardock asked, irritated.
"I can't sense them," Yamcha stated in a nervous tone, "Why can't I…" He looked back over at the troopers. "Oh no…"
"What?" Bardock responded in a clipped tone.
"I think they could be androids…!" Yamcha started to sweat a little.
"Androids?!" Trunks exclaimed.
"So what if they got some metal puppets roaming around? I can take a couple of tin cans," Bardock readied himself to charge…
And charge he did.
"Bardock!" Yamcha shouted. He shook his head with a sigh. "Figures... Alright, come on! We gotta help him!" He beckoned the kids to follow him.
The android troopers sharply turned their heads in Bardock's direction as he dove into the fray. Bardock snatched one of their guns and aimed a punch to the head. The android, having been stationed there for good reason, caught the fist and yanked him into a headbutt. Bardock backflipped away and Yamcha went in for the next attack.
"Wolf Fang Fist!" The unique move seemed to get past the android's defences and the android fell onto the floor.
The other one was occupied with the two children, who took turns landing punches and kicks on the armoured android. The children raised their ki to just below transforming into Super Saiyans and disposed of the android with a precise strike to the lower torso. Electric sparks danced around the android's body before it crumpled onto the ground, its bright eyes flickering dimly before shutting off completely.
"Alright! Nice going!" Goten cheered.
"Another victory!" Trunks chimed in. He stared at the android for a moment with unease, recalling the soldiers he fought the other day. They had seemed human enough, but he was sure they had metal augmentations. One thing was for certain - they shouldn't tread too lightly around here.
The other android was on its last legs due to the combined efforts of Bardock and Yamcha. It turned out that Bardock's brute force was less effective than Yamcha's more skilful techniques, which penetrated the right weak spots on the android.
When it was down for the count, Yamcha pondered something. "Hm… those two weren't like the other androids I've run into in the past…" He put a hand to his chin. "The others could kill me in one blo-" He looked at Bardock. "Ahem! I mean, the others were more of a threat! Haha!" He scratched his head, laughing.
Bardock decided to ignore his silly remarks. "Those buckets of bolts were guarding this for a reason." He punched straight through the door, knocking it off its hinges.
Elsewhere, a security cameraman stared with bulging eyes at a door somehow flying across the room he was observing on CCTV.
"Is the stealth game over? Oh well. Let's head on in here, then!" Goten said excitedly as he bounded inside.
As the four ran inside, other footsteps could be heard at the far end of what looked like another storage room. The four couldn't get to the escaping employees in time as the elevator door carrying them closed.
"Aw, they got away," Trunks complained.
"Hmph, whatever. They can't outrun me," Bardock responded with certainty. He glanced over at a table, with a look of intrigue forming on his face. "Look at this stuff they got in here," Bardock spoke. He held up a gun with a magazine of darts. After a crunch sound, he then held up what used to be a gun with a magazine of darts.
His face held an indignant grimace. "Destroy them. It's the same equipment they used to take us down…" He added, "…a peg."
"Well, alright then," Yamcha acknowledged. "I wonder how much all this kit is worth, though…?"
After about five minutes of destroying high-tech equipment, several more footsteps approached them from the door entrance and the elevator. "Surround them! Let none escape!" an authoritative shout came from outside the room.
Soon enough, a platoon of troopers swarmed the room, taking up every corner in a tight circle. The four looked around them warily, especially Bardock and Trunks. Bardock knew what those sorry excuses for weapons could potentially do to even a Saiyan, while Trunks was more concerned about the troopers' physical capabilities.
"…Is that Yamcha? The baseball player?" one soldier openly whispered. "I always wanted his autograph…"
Before anyone else could talk, a blonde man in a grey suit strode into the room wearing the most absurd red sneakers one could imagine. It completely clashed with the classical outfit.
"Alright, who's this loser?" Trunks sighed. "Those shoes have to be the worst fashion choice I've ever seen!"
"Did, you, call, me, a "loser"…?!" The man spoke slowly in a menacing tone.
Trunks couldn't help but gulp, having not expected that response.
"Maybe try to start off a little less rude next time, Trunks…" Yamcha spoke quietly, "Seems he's not in the mood for joking around, even with kids."
"You're right… interloper," the man before them spoke in a ridiculously evil-sounding way. He sneered, "I must say, Yamcha, for a celebrity, your IQ seems to be as low as your standards. Do you have any idea how much this equipment is worth?"
"I wondered that myself, honestly-"
"Enough! You will be detained and sent off for interrogation…" He marched forwards slowly. "…then deprived of your celebrity status and your riches. And most importantly, you will pay for what you have done here!"
"How can Yamcha pay for this stuff we broke if you take his riches?"
"Shhh, Goten!" Trunks whispered.
"Oh Kami. I'm gonna have a field day with the Press if this goes south…" Yamcha shook his head.
"This won't go any way but our way," Bardock assured him. "Whoever this clown is, he or his men won't stop me from getting my revenge."
"Tough words from a man who has miraculously regressed in evolution," the suited man bit back.
Bardock recoiled at his audacity. "What the hell d'you mean by that?!"
"From what my men told me when you were captured…" the man began, "You were clamped down… tail and all. That's right, I recognise you and those children. You match the intel we gathered from the helipad a few kilometres away from this base." He pointed at Bardock. "What's more, there's quite a history on you."
He elaborated, "Who else has a monkey tail except that one child from one of the old martial arts tournaments? You deserve to be in a zoo from what I can see!" He laughed haughtily as if he would face zero repercussions from that statement.
He was in fact about to face repercussions, until one of his men covered for him before Bardock could send a blast into the man's chest.
"You… You…!" The suited man pointed shakily at him, his tone full of boiling rage. "Attempting to fire at the likes of me! With those dangerous tricks!"
"Foreman Yaroff! Are we to engage?" a trooper asked the suited man, now known as Foreman Yaroff.
"…Yes," he growled as he stared at the four, with a look that could kill.
"Time to get busy!" Yamcha yelled. The four split into different directions, trying to knock down as many troopers firing on them as possible. Bardock and the kids were having just as much trouble as Yamcha, who had honestly had enough of today already and just wanted to head home. Yamcha ducked and dived to avoid a barrage of darts.
By now only half the troops remained, and Foreman Yaroff was growing restless. "You incompetent idiots… Do I really have to step in and save your sorry skins?!" he yelled at the soldiers.
"N- No, sir! We are adjusting to the fight as we- Augh!" The trooper was knocked down from his lack of focus.
"These guys are tougher than I thought. Time to thin out the herd!" Yamcha leapt back and charged a familiar move. He thrust his arm out and yelled, "Spirit Ball!" The ball of light zipped every direction, ploughing through the soldiers with expert precision. Not once did the ball come close to hitting an ally. Yamcha was more careful this time.
Bardock was done with his lot of troopers and turned slowly to face Yaroff with a deeply-set scowl. Yaroff looked back at him with a nasty grimace, and aimed a foot out towards him from a distance. A click sound could be heard and a small dagger shot out from under the sole of Yaroff's red shoe.
Bardock was no amateur when it came to predictable movements, and anticipated that something might come out of the ridiculous footwear. With a quick twist, Bardock expertly dodged the dagger. He picked it up, briefly examined it, and chucked it right back at him. It hit Yaroff right in his suited chest, before unexpectedly bouncing off of it.
"You're not the only one wearing armour. What kind of Foreman would I be if I left myself defenceless in battle? Pahaha!" he guffawed as he hit a hidden button on the side of his other red sneaker and a miniature pistol shot out of it, and into Yaroff's grasp. He pointed it straight at Bardock's head. "Now what say you, on death's doorstep?" he spoke with grandeur.
Bardock was losing his patience. "I ain't anywhere near dying yet, you moron. It'll be you appearing on "death's doorstep" if you can't even put up a proper fight against a warrior!" Bardock flew forwards and kneed him in his protected torso.
Yaroff was launched back to the entrance. He got up quickly and threw down a smoke bomb, then ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Bardock was unable to pursue after being exposed to the toxic smoke that felt like it would burn his eyes and skin if he lingered in it any longer. He subconsciously powered down to base form.
He shouted out to Yaroff, "You coward! I'll kill you!"
"Woah! Bardock! Calm down!" Trunks tried to ease him. "We took down everyone but him. He's just one guy, so we'll definitely get him soon!"
"Rrrgh…" Bardock fumed, uttering, "I'll rip his unsightly shoes off where he stands…"
Goten pointed out, "But you can't rip someone's shoes off while they're standing."
"Honestly Goten, he might just be angry enough to actually do that," Trunks replied.
"That's some seriously toxic gas he used. That's gotta be illegal," Yamcha commented.
"I don't care what's legal or what isn't. He's not getting away from me unscathed. He will know the wrath of a Saiyan!" Bardock was still fuming. It seemed he greatly disliked cowards of all kinds.
"Huh…" Yamcha sweatdropped. "Well, who knew this Zoodobu was so dangerous! I mean… androids? Or at least cheaply produced ones? That's giving off all sorts of red flags to me."
"Which is why we gotta avenge Icarus and save these other animals!" Trunks declared, "How about we take that elevator to-"
Bardock strode up to the elevator door and blasted it to nothing. He then gave a two-finger hand signal for them to follow him down the elevator shaft, and he jumped.
"Are you kidding Bardock? The elevator could hit us on the way down!" Yamcha called down to him.
The kids checked the elevator shaft as though they were looking left and right before crossing a busy street. They then plummeted down with a whoop.
"Are you kidding? …Ugh. Fine. Here goes!" Yamcha followed the three.
"Wheeee!"
"Woooo!"
"Ouahhhh!"
Yamcha and Trunks landed expertly while Goten almost lost his footing. The four dashed across the corridor, barging people out of the way. As they ran, they could see several troopers stationed surrounding a black jet outside of a window.
And as luck would have it, they spotted their primary target dashing onto the jet because of his bright red sneakers.
Bardock turned back into a Super Saiyan and made a shortcut by smashing through the window, with the others following right behind him. "He's over there!" Bardock yelled to them.
The jet's engines started up and it rose off the ground with a loud whirring sound. Yaroff gazed down at them. "Perfect, you came to the landing strip away from the buildings! Now I can dispose of you without you damaging any more of our assets!"
Bardock stood there half not caring about the type of weapon Yaroff chose to antagonise them with.
"Battle routine, set!" Yaroff shouted confidently.
"Yes sir. Executing now," came a robotic sounding female voice from the jet's system.
The jet's wings tucked inwards and the back fins stuck further out. The jet began to morph into something akin to a flying turret.
"Whoa! Hey, it transformed! Did you see that?"
Trunks gave Goten a half-lidded glance as if to say 'duh' before looking back at the plane.
"Anyone calling dibs?" Trunks asked the group.
"Me," Bardock said gruffly.
Yaroff guffawed through a loud speaker, "Hahahaha! Prepare to meet your makers, interlopers! This is what you get for undermining Madame Musuka!"
"Musuka! She's the top dog, right?" Yamcha realised.
"Maybe when we beat this guy, he can tell us where she is!" Goten suggested.
"Not a bad idea! Go get him, Bardock!" Trunks shouted.
Yaroff ordered the jet to attack the Saiyan, causing two gatling guns either side of the jet's undercarriage to rotate and fire. Bardock shielded his face from the spray of bullets and zipped about to avoid most of them. His ki was so high that the bullets that did touch him had little to no effect. Bardock was prepared this time.
"Fire! Fire more!" Yaroff yelled. Two hidden compartments emerged from underneath the jet, opening to launch twin rockets. Bardock blasted the first, causing a moderate explosion, and he flew away from the other as it collided with the concrete ground.
Yaroff was getting just a little frustrated. "Rrrgh! More!" The frontal point of the jet opened up to reveal a pointy metal pole.
"What's that…?" Trunks wondered to himself.
"This weaponry is in the experimental stages, which makes it all the more dangerous for you, monkey man!" Yaroff explained confidently.
"Did he just call me…?!" Bardock looked up at the cockpit, furious.
"Fire!" The foreman pointed down at him. Bardock dodged a purple beam that charged and shot at him, carving a squiggly mess of charred concrete in his wake via the beam. Suddenly, it fluctuated in size before firing too forcefully. The jet lurched backwards from the force of it, giving Bardock the perfect opening to strike. He flew up to the jet's weaponry and yanked it all away, before punching the lazer pole when it had ceased firing.
"Weaponry at 20% capacity," the female console voice informed.
"Then send out the rest before we're done for!" Foreman Yaroff ordered.
"Processing…"
"You know, I think that guy's losing pretty badly," Yamcha snickered. The kids snickered too, watching Bardock's little battle unfold exactly how they expected it to go and more.
"Oh, look, something else is going on with the jet!" Goten commented as he pointed at it.
The jet made a high-frequency noise and its wings expanded. A column of holes appeared from within the wings, sending out more rockets.
"Is that all you've got?" Bardock said in a bored tone.
"Fire, fire, fire!" Yaroff screamed, "I don't have all day here!"
"You don't even have ten minutes, let alone the rest of your pitiful day," Bardock mocked him.
Yaroff held a button on the console. "Get me reinforcements! Everyone available to their jets! Deploy every available android!" Yaroff turned back to Bardock. "You're completely finished now, fool! When the rest of my men get here, you'll be more than sorry!"
"Did you forget what the hell I did just earlier in that little room? You're still toast, moron!" Bardock retorted.
"Shut. Uuuuup!"
The jet took a 'step back' when the reinforcements showed up, allowing Yaroff to plan his next steps. 'If this keeps up, Madame Musuka will…' He clicked his fingers as an idea struck him. 'I wonder if they're the… negotiable type…'
While Bardock and now the other three were engaged in combat with the influx of jets and cheap android soldiers, a few minutes later the foreman demanded their attention, and told everyone to cease combat. "How about I change up the stakes at play here? If you're so willing to destroy our tech, you won't mind if we in turn…" he chuckled, "…put animal lives on the line if you continue?"
"What?! You can't do that!" Goten exclaimed in shock. "Doesn't Mrs. Musuka need them?!"
"Ah, little one, you've much to learn about how-"
Bardock impatiently interrupted him and pointed at him. "You're not only a coward; you've resorted to cheap bargaining tactics just so that we'll let you go."
Yaroff scowled. "You think you see right through me, huh? I'm no coward. At least not by my definition. Tactical retreats are common in warfare, are they not?"
"This is "warfare"?" Trunks sighed.
"It's more like a skirmish compared to the stuff I've been through before," Yamcha commented. "Besides, if you're seriously okay with killing the animals you've got, isn't that gonna be hard to cover up? On top of that, won't it be harder for you to get more of them?"
"Pah. They're easy to get ahold of, Yamcha. We have our ways of covering for ourselves, that you can be sure of," he responded cryptically.
"Don't we know it." Trunks frowned.
"Kidnapping animals for money. I can't forgive you!" Goten asserted.
"As if I'm bothered whether some children like yourselves can 'forgive' me!" Yaroff snorted, "Even if you have somewhat substantial combat training, you still don't know a damn thing about operating a business!"
"He doesn't know who I am, does he?" Trunks mumbled amusedly.
Yamcha whispered into his ear, "Best keep it that way. We don't wanna start a feud involving Capsule Corp."
Trunks shrugged. "Pff. Guess not. Either way, I don't remember stealing being a proper technique taught in my business classes."
"Hey! Enough of the stalling, you interloping idiots!" Yaroff shouted from afar, "I'm calling the shots now, unless you're willing to let those poor animals get it!"
Three of them stood and looked at each other thoughtfully while Bardock still looked irritated. It was then that Yamcha made a plan. "There's probably way more animals around here than what we've seen. And I'm betting this guy's actually game to go that far and kill them. Hey kids, do you think you can handle defending all the animals while the two of us defeat these guys?"
"That might be tough - What we can't get to them all in time?" Goten wondered.
"Nah, we got this, Goten! We're the fastest in the world!" Trunks said confidently.
"Oh, okay, Trunks!" Goten gave a thumbs up. "Maybe we should split up and search for them!"
"It's not a bad plan. Most of his goons are probably all here, meaning all the more fun for me. Get going," Bardock ordered. He turned to Yaroff and the enemy forces with a smirk. His eyes glowed a brighter teal than before. "I think it's time to step it up a notch again."
Bardock walked slowly forwards for maximum intimidation. Yamcha rolled his eyes and chuckled, knowing full well how Super Saiyans seemed to always put on quite a show of strength.
Bardock began to sprint at Yaroff's jet, which hung back from the rest of the offence. At the same time, Yamcha began to Spirit Ball, Wolf Fang Fist and Kamehameha the heck out of the remaining artificial soldiers. He knew that crowd control was key whenever he found himself surrounded by enemies.
"Argh! Will I have to resort to sending out our ultimate 'heavy hitter' for these people?!" Yaroff hastily backed away from Bardock's advance to think. He took another quick look at Bardock and held a button to speak. "Send out Dinodroid Zero!"
Yamcha recoiled in slight surprise. "Did he say, "Dinodroid"? As in… a dinosaur android?"
A huge string of loud beeps sounded, and the remaining forces backed off from Yamcha and Bardock. Through a warehouse door surrounded by revolving red sirens, a huge monster stomped forth towards Yamcha.
"What the heck?! No way!" Yamcha exclaimed with his brows lowered. "This thing is… awful to look at!"
Just before, Bardock landed on the jet and was about to blast the glass separating him and Yaroff. Yaroff had had enough close shaves for one day and didn't quite feel like experiencing another. He pressed yet another button on the side of the cockpit, which opened a hatch from underneath the jet.
Yaroff made a daring jump from 10 metres above the ground and was caught by one of the android soldiers who wore a jet pack. The two blasted off and Bardock was about to give chase until Yamcha called to him.
"Yo, uh, Bardock? You wanna help me take this… thing down?!" Yamcha's voice was clearly laced with discontent due to the sight he was currently bearing witness to.
"That idiot's getting away! You deal with-" Bardock took a long look at the disgusting dinosaur-android hybrid. "That coward can wait. That thing is revolting!"
He yelled out and swung a punch at the Dinodroid, knocking it off-balance for Yamcha to fire a barrage of ki at its body. The Dinodroid took the shots and righted itself. It started to furiously stomp around, forcing the two to take to the air. Bardock nodded towards Yamcha and they both reared their fists back and charged straight at the beast's head.
With a mighty impact, the Dinodroid almost toppled over from their combined blow. It gave a huge roar and tried to bite at Yamcha who flew high up into the sky.
"It's pretty durable, huh? Surviving a blow from a Super Saiyan!" Yamcha shouted over to Bardock.
"No kidding. It reminds me of a Great Ape," Bardock replied. "Back of the head it is!"
The duo flew in a confusing pattern around the Dinodroid before landing consecutive punches and kicks to its head from behind. The Dinodroid tried swatting the two away with its huge robotic tail, only just missing Yamcha.
"For a backwater planet like Earth, I sure didn't expect there to be beasts this tough," Bardock commented as he evaded the beast's blows. 'It's just like that sea fish at the islands, but with cybernetic enhancements,' he thought.
"We shoulda had this thing fight Cell!" Yamcha joked.
Back with the kids, Goten flew back to the place where they first spotted the animals while Trunks searched elsewhere for any more of them. 'Hm… not many enemies around here anymore. That's a relief,' Trunks thought to himself. He flew through many warehouses until he saw a sign referring to live cargo. He broke through the door and saw massive cages containing dinosaurs.
"Halt!"
Trunks spotted a group of armed handlers train their guns on him and the animals. "This again?" he complained.
Goten had a similar issue when he finally arrived back at the first place they broke into. There were eight men pointing their guns at the poor animals, seemingly awaiting further orders.
Goten frowned, and crouched into a fighting stance. He shot forward and without hesitation, he turned Super Saiyan. They weren't gonna catch him with those darts this time. "Hu! Ha! Ho!"
There was one thing Goten hadn't expected as he beat them all up - there were no darts this time, but bullets.
"Guaaah!" The last soldier yelled as he hit the floor.
"And stay down!" Goten pointed at him as he disengaged his Super Saiyan form.
Suddenly, he was hit…
…with a great idea, one Trunks would be proud of. There just so happened to be empty cages in the warehouse he was in, so Goten put the soldiers in them.
After welding the locks shut using his ki, he patted his hands clean and nodded to himself for a job well done. He then flew over to the trapped animals, and brought out a capsule.
"Here, you guys. You need this more than I do!" he said as he threw down the capsule of what was meant to be his food for the animals to eat instead. And, of course, being half Saiyan, the food inside was plenty for the poor animals.
They looked up at him then back at the food and immediately began to chow down gratefully. Goten smiled and set off to find Trunks. He figured that when these bad guys were all defeated, then they should try and help the animals further.
Trunks had no time to waste, and turned Super Saiyan, the power radiating out of him in golden waves. The soldiers' shocked faces spoke for themselves as they shakily held their guns out at him, and fired. Trunks was far too quick and successfully knocked all of their guns out of their hands. He then shoved their heads into the bars of the dinosaurs' cages, knocking them out.
He then did something Goten would surely laugh about when he would tell him later.
There just so happened to be empty cages in the warehouse he was in, so Trunks (also) put the soldiers in them.
Mrs. Musuka was on a phone call, listening with interest. She replied at every interval. "…Yes, that's what I thought. …Mhm. …Rest assured, I never break beneficial partnerships. …Then it's all the more important that we continue to exchange resources. My animals and money for your promised technology."
Mrs. Musuka smiled as her contact inquired about something. "I have several of those kept in the northern regions. Not to mention my staff are in the process of gathering more. Is that acceptable?"
The contact spoke to her once more, answering her declaration.
"…Splendid. I shall bid you farewell for now, dear Magenta."
Trunks and Goten found each other again, beaming mischievously. "Trunks/Goten!" they greeted each other excitedly and simultaneously. "Guess what I did to some soldiers!" they both said at the same time.
The two of them laughed. "What did you do, Goten?" Trunks asked.
"So there were some soldiers threatening the animals, and when I took them out, there were some empty cages around, so I put those guys in them!"
"That's exactly what I was gonna tell you!" Trunks exclaimed.
"Haha! That's funny!" Goten giggled. "I guess there are no more animals to find here."
"Yeah. Let's head back," Trunks suggested.
The boys proceeded to fly out of a window and approached the adults, floating beside them. Trunks pointed at the ground. "What is… that?"
Yamcha held up a finger to explain. "That, Trunks, is a Dinodroid-"
"Was," Bardock chimed in, "Think your 'Karma-ham-mayhem' finally made it kick the bucket," he butchered the name of the attack.
"You said it like that on purpose, didn't you? It's 'Kamehameha'." Yamcha looked back at Trunks. "So yeah, that there was a Dinodroid. An android dinosaur. Looked more like a cyborg than an android, really…"
Trunks and Goten exchanged thoughtful glances. "Why did you kill it?" Goten asked.
"It was tryin' to kill us. And besides, it seemed completely out of its mind. So that's why it's dead," Bardock simply explained as he gestured to it.
"Oh…" Goten looked at it.
"Anyway, thanks to that… thing, the moron and those other idiots got away. Who knows where he could be by now," Bardock said in annoyance.
"At another base?" Yamcha said with zero enthusiasm.
"Totally," Trunks agreed. "So… should we head back to Grandpa, or…?"
"Yeah. We can get him to file an anonymous report on the state of the animals they've got, and bam! They'll be hit with a criminal investigation!" Yamcha smirked.
"Nice idea! Let's go, then!" Trunks exclaimed.
"I'm hungry," Goten stated.
"You've still got food on you, right? Eat that," Trunks advised.
"I don't have the food anymore. I gave it to the animals."
"…All of it?" Yamcha asked.
"Yeah! They looked like they were starving!" Goten explained.
"But… Goten, Grandpa put chocolate in there. Animals can't eat that," Trunks told him, seeming a little concerned.
"Oh… You're right!" Goten seemed a little concerned himself, now.
"They'll be fine. In any case, we're filing a report of some kind, so I guess they're gonna be all checked up on soon. Those creatures probably won't die by then," said Bardock, who was surprised at how quickly he had forgotten about Yaroff escaping.
A minute later, the four warriors decided to head back to Capsule Corp. They landed at the entrance and went inside, intending to tell Dr. Briefs what happened. As they approached his workspace, it looked as though he was busy chatting to someone while stroking his little black cat.
"Yes, well, you had forgotten to tighten a screw at the back that secures the exterior plating," they heard him say.
"The last time I touched that thing was years ago! It probably came loose or something!" a female voice could be heard on the receiving end.
"…Mom?!" Trunks beamed.
Dr. Briefs turned around in surprise at the group being back already. "Well hello there! Back so soon, eh? Bulma dear, Trunks and Goten are here with me!" Dr. Briefs turned to the computer, though there was no video feed of Bulma as the two were simply on an audio call.
"Trunks! Goten…! Are you both okay?! We're coming home soon, Trunks! We won't be too long, just two weeks!" Bulma spoke worriedly.
"We're doing okay, Mom!" Trunks assured her.
"I'm sorry we worried you," Goten apologised.
Bardock looked at Trunks. "So that's your mom, huh, kid? Vegeta's wife…" he said amusedly.
"Who's that? You don't sound familiar. How do you know about Vegeta?" Bulma asked suspiciously.
"Oh, that's Bardock! You know, the guy who came to Earth with us!" Trunks explained. "Yamcha's here too, by the way."
"Hi, Bulma!" Yamcha greeted her.
"Hi Yamcha!" Bulma greeted back, "What are you doing over at Capsule Corp?"
"Oh, uh… just… helpin' out, and uh… training a little."
"If that's all the training you're thinking of doing, then consider your pay halved!" Dr. Briefs jokingly admonished with a smile.
"Ahaha! I was joking, Dr. Briefs! Honest!" Yamcha sweatdropped.
"Trunks, Goten, Yamcha and Bardock are with you, Dr. Briefs?" A male voice came through the computer's speaker.
"Gohaaaan!" Goten cheered.
"Goten! How've you been, squirt?" Gohan asked.
"I've been doing great! So have Mom and everyone else, too!" Goten replied enthusiastically.
"That's great to hear! Can I talk to Bardock?" Gohan requested.
"So you're Goten's older brother?" Bardock spoke.
"That's right. I wanted to thank you for looking after him and Trunks when we couldn't. We owe you one."
"Hmph. You sure do. Anyway, I heard from Goten that you're pretty strong. I want us to have a one-on-one match when we meet," Bardock declared.
"He's a typical Saiyan, alright," another lower voice spoke.
"Oh, that's Piccolo," Gohan introduced. "I'm sure the kids have told you about him. So, you wanna fight me, huh? I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it wouldn't be much of a real fight if you're not at least on par with a Super Saiyan's power."
"You think I'm disappointed about that? Fighting other Super Saiyans is one of the reasons I'm on this planet," Bardock responded with a frown.
"Really?! You mean you're a Super Saiyan, too?"
"Well, obviously. For your information, kid, I was the first one to achieve the legend in a thousand years."
Gohan countered, confused, "I'm confident my father was the first Super Saiyan in recent history - around 18 years ago, by my count."
"If you instead count me achieving the legend a week or so after Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, that makes me the first," Bardock retorted with an argumentative tone.
"You… what?! Are you serious?" Gohan stuttered in disbelief. "Man…" he sighed, "If you had known about the threats on Earth, maybe a lot of trouble could've been avoided."
"Even if I knew about those threats, I still had no way to get to your planet until recently," Bardock explained, not giving away that he did know about some of the threats to Earth through his visions beforehand.
"I see. How did you get away from Frieza, anyway?" Gohan asked in curiosity.
"That isn't so simple to explain," Bardock stated.
"Okay then… Well, I look forward to properly meeting you, Bardock," Gohan said cordially. "Thanks again."
"Uh… You too," Bardock responded in an unsure tone as he still wasn't used to people being so polite towards him.
"Oh yeah! Before you go, I heard from Dad about the scouter you wanna use," Bulma piped up. "It's been upgraded to withstand way higher ki levels! Don't go breaking it! It's like a special artefact to me."
"Is that why it was in the back of your drawer, Bulma?" Dr. Briefs asked, amused.
"W- Well, look! I've had a lot of other projects to focus on, you know!" she retorted.
Bardock scoffed. ""Special artefact". Feh… It's more special to me than it could ever be to you. Rest assured, it won't get broken."
'That's some strong phrasing. Wonder what that's all about,' Piccolo thought.
"Ugh, alright, if ya say so, tough guy," Bulma sighed. 'You Saiyans and your scouters…' she thought.
"Guess I'll be seeing you soon… Princess. Heh," Bardock said with a teasing voice.
""Princess", huh? If you're gonna call me that, then treat me like one!" she huffed. "I'll be signing off for now, you guys. Glad to hear you're all doing okay!"
"Take care, now!" Dr. Briefs said in farewell.
"Bye, Mom!" Trunks said also.
"Bye, Big Bro and Piccolo!" Goten called.
"Bye!" Bulma and Gohan said before the connection cut.
The five in the work lab turned to each other. "Well, what a nice little reunion that was!" Dr. Briefs commented, "Now, what happened at the base you went to?"
[To be continued!]