Ask to Join Dragon Ball Chronicles

[Psymallard]

"Ah..."

Bosek was a bit confused- what were these Dragon Balls? He had a slight recollection of hearing about them as a kid, and when this man in a truck pulled up to start talking about them he just assumed that was what he was selling. Odd. Then the man changed the subject before the cowboy could inquire about said 'Dragon Balls', asking if they needed a ride to East City. The old man probably hadn't gotten in a vehicle for over a decade, and he was perfectly content with walking. He looked to Yatapi, then to the city, then Tulare, and the dinosaur's corpse.

"...No, but thank ya kindly. I left somethin' a ways back and I'd best be on my way to pick it up 'fore goin' on to the city."

He tipped his hat to Tulare. This wasn't a lie, he did have a raptor corpse he'd left in a bush to take down the titanic tyrannosaur.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Bongo's frame remained in Flakes' vision as the young woman landed back down. Taking this guy on wasn't going to be a simple task. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings once again, the fact that Central City was overrun by the forces the brute worked for was another layer of disadvantage for the lone girl on the streets. It is clear fighting her way out was not the most optimal course of action.

Flakes' eyes returned to Bongo, her red eye behind her sunglasses analyzing the big man's form. He has taken a stance, clearly expecting to enter a real brawl with the green haired woman. Flakes however, wasn't so enthused by the idea. "Alright big guy, you want to go huh? Well who am I to refuse." She said in a taunting tone, not even trying to hide her intent to ryle up her opponent. Yet, these words were nothing but a bluff to disguise her true intentions.

Lowering her stance as well, Flakes suddenly took off into a dash towards Bongo. However, about halfway to the large brute, the girl took a sharp left and began running away from her would be opponent. Before leaving the scene, Flakes would quickly grab her heels off the ground during her initial dash and put them into one of her bags, not willing to lose any of her stuff there. “Can’t forget these.”

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Near East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare nodded his head in agreement as Bosek said his goodbye. Tulare's eyes widened for a moment, then turned to look at Yatapi. He remembered the orb the creature stuck in his head. Then at Redgie, before looking back at Yatapi. It was now or never. He crouched down slightly to look at the the Saibaman eye to eye.

"Scuse me there... I'm not entirely sure if you understand what I'm saying, but... May I look at that orb of yours for a moment? I promise I won't take it. I can have my robot here scan it. See if I can get any useful information from it. I don't even need to touch it. May I see it for a few seconds?" Tulare asked. Tulare wasn't sure if it would work or not, but he was a man of his word at least,and had no intentions in taking it. It was too good of an oppertunity to pass up. Tulare even put his hands behind his back and sat down as confirmation that he wouldn't take it.

 

[~Nilion~]

“Huh? Hey!” Admittedly, Bongo hadn’t been expecting the girl to suddenly ditch the fight like that. And after landing decent blows on him, too! Now more angered than before, Bongo turned to the men scattered amongst the shopfronts and barked, “The girl with the green hair! Open fire on her NOW!”

Four soldiers, relatively close by, turned on the spot and immediately set their sights on the target in question. Almost simultaneously, all of them opened fire with their brand new, state-of-the-art assault rifles. Within a fraction of a second, Flakes would likely be met with a wall of bullets.

Vrrrrrrooom-

Gyoza had just arrived to the scene fast enough to see a group of armed gunman about to open fire on an unknown girl; likely fleeing for her life.
Being fully prepared for something like this, the young cyborg expanded his right arm into a shield and swiftly road up right next to Flakes.

Pingping! Ting! Pingtinting!

Gyoza’s armored bike and cybernetic limbs easily deflected all of the oncoming rounds, shielding both he and Flakes from any potential danger- for a moment at least.

“Wanna ride?” The young man quipped with a cocky smile. He had to admit, he’d been hoping to find some trouble, but this was too perfect.
Though Flakes would need to decide quickly, as more soldiers had taken notice of the commotion and where setting their sights on the resistant duo.

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi's eyes darted to Bosek, then to the city, then to Bosek, then to the city again. So, he wasn't gonna follow? Well, guess that meant he could go off all alone there! He was just about to turn around and wave goodbye when the second stranger crouched to get on his eye level, surprising the little Saibaman.

So, he wanted to see the orange ball? Well.. he did promise not to touch it, nor that he even needed to touch it. So long as he could keep holding it, it would probably be fine? ..Unless this was a ploy to lower his guard and snatch the thing from his grasp, which could equally be as possible.

So, Yatapi answered to his request in his own way - he tilted the top of his head toward the man and open it split, revealing the dragon ball inside his hollow cranium. And should he try to swipe it regardless, it would immediately close again, likely clamping the hands that tried to take it between both sides if they were not pulled away in time. One could never be too sure, after all.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Near East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Redgie floated over to the green critter. A blue cone of light shot from the small floating robot. Scanning the dragon ball. After a few seconds of thorough scanning, the robot blinked several times.

"Tulare! Tulare! Strange energy! Strange energy! Done! Complete!" Redgie claimed as it turned towards Tulare. Floating away from Yatapi, and towards Tulare. He would wait to get to his RV to give the information a better look. With that, his meet up was concluded. He nodded to the duo.

"Pleasure making your acquaintances, and now I have my hands full. I shall make my leave. If you guys need anything, I'll be in my transport over there" Tulare said pointing at his RV. His droid latched to his back, and he headed into his vehicle. He was going to remain there for a while. Began having his computers analyze the properties of the dragon ball scan. They were indeed interesting. He had a few parts lying around his RV that he could try work together. He'd need more parts if he was going to make anything functional, but he had the making of a prototype radar. Albeit it still wasn't working due to it not having enough circuitry.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

The sound of a gunshot reached Flakes' ears. Looking around her, the sight of a quartet of men aiming their guns at the young woman could be seen. "Damn, there are too many to dodge. Maybe I can at least avoid the ones aimed at my vitals. No, even if I do that, I'll probably be too hurt to run afterwards." As Flakes assessed the gravity of her situation, a young man on a motorbike would suddenly jump into the fray, blocking the bullets with what appeared to be a mechanical arm. Her knight in no armor would then address her, offering a way out. This was a true stroke of luck.

For a moment, Flakes entered a daze. When she thought she was about to be gunned down, this random stranger suddenly jumped in to save her life. The girl with green hair would have liked a little more time to process everything, but she knew time wasn't a luxury she could afford right now. Without a word, Flakes hopped onto the back of the bike seat, crossing her legs as she sat down. "Hurry along now, unless you want to become their target practice." She said, returning to her high class persona.

 

[~Nilion~]

“Figured that’s what you were trying to do.” Gyoza shot back, still sporting a small smirk as he stepped on the gas.
The motorbike rocketed forward with impressive acceleration, likely causing Flakes to nearly fall off if she hadn’t braced herself well.

“STOP!” The familiar voice of Bongo roared from behind the duo, causing Gyoza to whip his head back. The large brute had mounted his hoverboard and was steadily closing the gap between the three.
In a matter of moments, he was close enough to take a swing at the ‘getaway driver’ with his large, metal mace.

“Hyagh!” Gyoza roared, with his arm still transformed into a shield, he swung the armored limb outwards to meet the mace head on.
Both Bongo and Gyoza were taken off balance from the impact, causing their respective vehicles to wobble and slow in speed.

“We gotta take him off that board!” The young cyborg shouted back to his new passenger, hoping she might have something on hand she could throw at him.

 

[DevVoid]

His head closing itself shut like two automatic doors, the Saibaman looked to the man who had saved him now wandering off to his own business, right towards where Yatapi had come from. Even if this guy ended up rescuing him.. he couldn't just head back to the forest. He's been there for long enough. No more.

So, this was where it was goodbye, then. Yatapi didn't really know how to say goodbye, neither socially or literally as he had never heard or seen it communicated his way. The only thing the little red-green gremlin could really do was stare as the large man left the scene, heading off, unable to even croak out something in saibaspeak.

Instead, Yatapi walked on over to the large vehicle the other man was sat in and looked wordlessly to him, then pointed back to the city once more. If he could talk, he'd ask the man to take him there. Unfortunately, chatting just wasn't an option, so body language was his only way of communicating this over.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Near East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

While Tulare was working on his soon to be radar, Redgie was zipping around the room. Back and fourth. As Yatapi approached the RV, Redgie noticed his heat signature near the RV.

"Tulare! Tulare! Small visitor! Small visitor! I think it's the little red guy. Little Red!" Redgie said. Tulare didn't see Yatapi pointing at the town, but he looked up from his device. Placing it on the table. He looked around before standing up.

The interior had a sleek silvery appearance that looked like something straight from a sci-fi film. Small screens littered the walls on the front half and machinery lined the back half. The back half was his workshop but could be folded into a living quarters big enough for multiple people. The front half was where where all his scanners, tracking tools and other high tech screens. There were three seats out front. Two couches in the midsection, and two benches in the back. When converted into a living area, there are six beds. Three on each side hanging from the walls like bunk beds with small inflatable matrices, matching pillows and a thin blue blanket with the Tuffle Empire symbol. Though for now his workshop was out.

One of the panels on the wall lit up. He got a good image of the little red grimlen. He blinked then turned on a few more panels. Nothing. Where was the cowboy? He opened the door and looked down at him.

"Hmph. Where's your half-giant friend at...? Tulare was a bit suspicious. He kept his staff in hand. It was still retracted but he could extend and fire it in an instance if he needed to. He thought about it for a moment. Yatapi wanted to go to the City, while Bosek on the other hand, had things to do first.

"Either your friend told you to come here or they left you here on your lonesome. Whatever he's doing be anyone's guess. I suppose that's not important now. While your here, you can go ahead and come in. If we meet the cowboy again, we'll extend the invitation to him" Tulare said stepping back so Yatapi could cone in. He sat down in the driver's seat. The door would stay open and eventually close on it's own after the saibaman came in.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

The sudden acceleration of the bike caused Flakes to jerk back in her seat. "Goodness. You could have warned me about that." She said out loud as she adjusted herself.

The pair had hit the road, leaving Flakes' old harasser in the dust... or so she thought. Hearing the brute's voice behind them, the young woman turned around to see the big guy chasing after them by riding on what appeared to be a hoverboard. "Tsk, persistent isn't he." She remarked.

When Bongo got close enough and initiated a clash with Gyoza, causing the bike to wobble, the green haired girl tensed herself as to not fall off the bike. Following that, the words from her rescuer reached Flakes' ears. "Yeah obviously. Luckily, that's something I can handle." The young woman declared as she readjusted herself on the bike.

Turning towards Bongo, Flakes closed her left eye and locked onto the man with her red right eye. She held up her right hand, pointing her index and middle finger at the brute's hoverboard. "This has been quite an experience, but I'd say it has gone on for quite enough."

Suddenly, a swift beam of energy was released from Flakes' fingers. The energy blast was aimed at the man's board, intending to pierce the device or at least damage it enough to stop it in its tracks.

 

[DevVoid]

Even before approaching the vehicle, that strange machine thing spoke up, making it quite obvious that it was talking about him. How odd. Yatapi had never really seen a robot before. Not one that he had remembered, at least. Back on the old ship, all the servants there were just him and his kin - expendable butlers that were treated like trash. Use them until you've grown bored of them, cast the old ones away and get new ones.

The door slid open, the second humanoid stepping out, giving Yatapi a chance to briefly glance at the background behind him while he tattled on about that one other guy. Seems he didn't quite get to see the man just wander off by himself. Oh well. Even despite being invited in, Yatapi hesitated. The last time he was on a techy vehicle like this.. it wasn't exactly a pleasant journey for him. But going on foot to that city wasn't gonna be any better, so.. what choice did he really have?

The Saibaman had his own look around, taking particular interest in the technology around him. The old ship wasn't exactly as advanced in terms of appearance as this vehicle had been. Sure, it had its own space mumbo-jumbo, but to say that it had a severe budget cut was an understatement, as his old masters preferred spending their pay on their own entertainment, like Alcohol, Gambling and acquiring more Saibamen seeds to plant. Then, an idea struck him. If this guy knew about tech, then.. maybe..

The gremlin looked to Tulare, then opened his cranium again and took something out of his stash. A very rusted, very old ray gun. It was so rusted in fact that, by looks alone, you'd think it wouldn't even be able to fire anymore. Still, Yatapi knew how to handle this thing by now. He held it by the barrel, keeping the handle pointed to Tulare to assure him that he wasn't trying to threaten him as, if the trigger were pulled he'd just shoot himself, provided anything would come out of this thing other than a hollow click. He had even put on the safety and approached the Tuffle, holding the clunky piece of junk to him. Maybe this would peak his interest and assure him that Yatapi wasn't here with malicious intent?

 

[~Nilion~]

Truthfully, neither Bongo or Gyoza had been prepared for Flakes’ next move as a thin, yellow beam of energy zipped from the green haired girls fingertips and directly into the side of Bongo’s hoverboard.

“WaUuUuAaAaHh!” The largest soldier In Gurumes’ army was sent spinning in the dirt as he was ejected off his now smoldering hoverboard.
Gyoza and Flakes quickly sped towards the city limits, with Bongo’s massive silhouette gradually shrinking behind them.

“So…” The young cyborg trailed off for a minute. He dared not let it show, but he was in disbelief that the girl had produced a laser-like blast from seemingly nowhere. Sure he’s heard stories of old martial artists producing energy-based attacks, but he always thought it was simply an exaggeration. After realizing he’d paused for an exceedingly long time, he finally continued, “…I’m Gyoza. Nice to meet you. What the hell is going on?”

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Near East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare heard the door shut, then turned to see Yatapi. He gave a brief smile to the little guy. Tulare could sometimes come off as cold, even at the best of times, thanks to his upbringing. Like father like son. Though even at the worst of times, he wasn't mean and wanted the saibaman to at least feel comfortable.

The creature opened his chrome dome once more. The dragon ball was there but the lil guy grabbed a blaster instead. Rusted and poorly maintained. Redgie sat on the table in the workshop area, glancing over at lil red. Tulare looked at their blaster puzzled. Despite the rust and damage the weapon may have had, he did notice a few distinctive details on the gun that may have given him an idea of what sort of model it was. He furrowed his brows.

"Hmph! Is that...? I see... What? You want your gun fixed up?" Tulare asked, tilting his head back.

 

[DevVoid]

Truth be told, his original intention was to give this rusty piece of junk away to the stranger as a gift to establish trust. However, getting it repaired.. now there was an offer he couldn't refuse. With that thing all fixed up, he could actually fend for himself again, at least against bigger threats than he'd be able to handle.. which was just about everyone and everything the Saibaman would come across, at least for a little while. So, Yatapi nodded, looking to Tulare to see if he were interested in even just taking a closer look at it, nevermind try to fix it.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Near East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare understood Yatapi's nod as consent to go ahead and took the gun. He walked over to his work station and opened a small container and placing it in. After closing it, steam began seeping out the sides of the lid. While this was going on, he took some small pieces and parts. When the gun was ready to come out, he used metal tongs to remove the gun from the container. It was scolding hot and most of the rust was now gone. He sprayed the gun down with a small spray can. A black oily substance covered the gun but rapidly cooled it.

"Here" Tulare said handing Redgie a small rag to remove any lingering rust and oily substance. Tulare looked over his tools, and while Redgie cleaned the hard to reach gaps. With the gun held in place with clamps, Tulare began taking the gun apart. He had Redgie scan the gun in case he ever wanted to make a copy of the gun. He replaced a few old parts. Fixed the trigger and ultimately the gun looked great. He held the gun by the barrel to give back to Yatapi.

"Good as new. You ready to head to East City now? What do you hope to find there?" Tulare asked.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

"Heh, learn how to properly treat a lady next time!" Flakes exclaimed as the large frame of her aggressor faded from view. To be honest, it was quite a stroke of luck that this strange man on a motorcycle came when he did, she'll have to thank him properly when she gets the chance.

After a minute of silence, her rescuer spoke up. "You can call me Flakes, charmed." She replied. "A bunch of these armed men suddenly invaded the city in the middle of my shopping spree, I do not know where they came from. The big guy was talking about their king losing something and they were trying to find it." The young woman explained. "Honestly, how important was that thing this king lost for them to resort to launching a large-scale invasion like this?"

 

[~Nilion~]

Gyoza was quick to shake off the shock of seeing this ‘Flakes’ fire laser beams out of her fingers, as there were far more pressing matters to deal with.

“I saw a news report earlier about these choppers popping up all over. Should’ve known something was up. If central cities police force was really overrun that quickly, we have to warn officials.” The young cyborg began tapping away on the screen stationed in front of him.
After a few seconds of clicking into an emergency services call, Gyoza was met with an automated voice asking him to ‘please wait’ until a dispatcher was available.

“Lines totally busy. Evidently a lot of people already got to it. But that still begs the question…” The young man trailed off as the pair reached the city limit. He noticed a small, frail-looking soldier walking the border of Central City nervously- likely attempting to avoid conflict.
Gyoza slammed the breaks, which again, would potentially throw Flakes for a loop if she wasn’t prepared. Maybe she’d get the message- always be ready.

“Hey! Come here!” The relatively imposing cyborg half-shouted while swiftly hopping off his bike and speed walking towards the soldier.

“FREEZE! I SAID FREEZE!” The moment some caped body-builder began angrily trudging up to him, the soldiers face when as pale as snow. With shaking hands, he raised his rifle and attempted to line the site up with his aggressors chest while shouting commands.
When the man in civilian in question had gotten within just a few feet and still didn’t stop, the soldier clinched his eyes shut and let loose a barrage of gunfire in his potential attackers general direction.

Unfortunately for the soldier, Gyoza had been ready for this. He quickly slipped his cybernetic arm out of his cloak, shield already extended, and took a backhanded swing at the soldier. This not only easily deflected the nearly point-blank bullets, but also sent the small-framed grunt slamming down onto his left side.

“Waitwaitwait please! I didn’t want this, please!” The small soldier attempted to scramble away on his hands and knees, only for Gyoza to quickly reach down and rip the man to his feet by the back of his collar.
The soldiers eyes went wide as a cold, metal hand gripped around his throat and hoisted him about a foot off the ground. The cyborg made sure to adjust his grip enough to left the soldier breath and speak, before finally talking again, “You better start explaining what the hell is going on here. Who’s your ‘king’ and what exactly is he looking for?”

“Gurumes! K-king Gurumes! He wants the dragon balls. I don’t- I-I-“ The soldier squirmed against Gyoza’s immovable metal limb, attempting to alleviate a bit of the pressure around his neck.
Satisfied with the man’s willingness to cooperate, the angry kickboxer quickly dropped the soldier onto his feet, causing the man to stumble and cough for a few minutes in an effort to finally catch his breath.

“King Gurumes? As in the Land of Gurumes? That’s a village of farmers, how was he able to put together an army capable of overrunning Central City? And what are dragon balls?”

“Look… I r-really don’t know much. Gurumes doesn’t talk to us. All I know is h-he got a LOT of money recently, started getting sick with s-some illness, n-now he wants dragon balls. They’re these orange balls with red stars in them. I really don’t know anything else…” The conversation went silent for a few seconds as Gyoza, and likely Flakes, let the information sink in. During this time, the soldier only grew more and more nervous, until he finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up again, “Look I didn’t want any of this. My options were t-to join the ranks or b-be taken prisoner. I d-don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Well now is your chance to prove it- leave. Go find a vehicle and drive away. Never return to the land of Gurumes and be a decent person elsewhere.” As Gyoza finished speaking, he made quick work of crushing the soldiers rifle under his metal boot, before hoping back on his bike.

“Care to join me? Don’t know what the hell that laser thing was, but it could be pretty useful at stopping a mad King.”

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi watched with great curiosity as Tulare took the gun from him and immediately begun working on it. Speaking for himself, the only things he ever had to fix were loose wiring or broken panels on the spaceship using nothing but the barest minimum of tools provided to him by his former masters, those cheap bastards.

Here, he could really see what true craftsmanship was and kept his eyes glued to the whole process, even admiring his own ray gun when he had been given it back. Then, the humanoid asked if he wanted to the city and Yatapi's eyes glanced up immediately. He couldn't speak quite yet, but there was one motion he knew about to signal a positive or negative response. In this case, it would be the former, as Yatapi nodded his head in agreement as a response. As for what he hoped to find there, well, only one thing to find in such a place, right? With a claw, he tipped against his own head, trying to indicate that he was trying to learn all that he could in that place.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Arriving in East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare knew what answer to expect, but asked anyways. Yatapi answered, and Tulare understood the head nod. Whatever he said afterwards went unnoticed as Tulare headed to the driver seat to get ready. Redgie continued to sit on the table in the workshop. Glancing over at Yatapi and kicking his legs back and forty as they dangled off the table.

"Make yourself comfy then, we're headed out now" Tulare added. The vehicle rumbled and shook slightly as it lifted off the ground high enough to hover. In seconds, he was going 60 mph. They'd eventually arrive in East City. Tulare was driving his RV through the street when he spotted a few businesses and a strip mall.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

"It's pretty obvious the lines would be busy. When something like this happens, of course the police will be some of the first people contacted." Flakes said out loud at the young man's attempt to reach law enforcements. Although, it was still worth a shot, so Flakes didn't make fun of the young man any more than that.

The duo continued down the road until the silhouette of a lone soldier stationed at the city limits came into view. "Huh, is that another soldier? Why is there just a lone soldier stationed-" Before she could finish her thought, the bike abruptly came to a stop. Luckily, before she was flung off the bike, the young woman was able to tense her body and grip and held herself on as the vehicle halted its movement. Flakes shot a glare at Gyoza as the man jumped off his bike. "A warning would be nice you know." She spat at the cyborg before clicking her tongue in annoyance.

The young woman hanged back as she observed Gyoza bully this meek soldier out of all the information he had. Despite saying he didn't know much, the man still cleared up a lot for the duo. "Gurumes huh, can't say I know much about that land. And what's this about looking for a dragon's balls?" Flakes said to herself as she took in all the meek soldier was saying. "Is it some kind of medicine? He did mention that this king caught an illness of some sort."

Flakes was taken out of her thoughts when Gyoza returned to his bike, casually asking the you woman if she'd like to join him. "Is that how you ask someone for help?" The girl scoffed. "Wel, what happened here will likely happen in other places until this king finds his 'Dragon Balls' or whatever unless someone stops him, and I would like to give this king a piece of my mind for what he pulled." She began as she took her seat on the back of the motorcycle. "So I suppose I can accompany you for a bit longer if you intend to stop this mad king." She added. "Although, I fail to see how a half naked guy like you can do anything to stop someone with an army of that size by himself. You got a plan, hotshot?"

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi did as he was told and threw himself into a seat, making sure to peek out the window as the vehicle rumbled and took off. It kind of reminded him of traversing the world of the cosmos in that bucket of bolts that was the old spaceship, but with much more interesting scenery.

And then, they were in East City and the Saibaman quite literally jumped out of his seat in wonder and awe as he stared down the vast amounts of different buildings around him, his eyes practically glued to the window. He was like a kid in a candy shop, and he hadn't even exited the RV yet!

However, he still knew better than to stand around and quickly got back in his seat again, calming himself and patiently waiting for the vessel to settle again so he could go explore.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, East City Strip Mall...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare eventually stopped the RV. The vehicle was parked in a large strip mall parking lot. Several businesses lined the sidewalk. The one that grabbed Tulare's attention was an electronics store. Not far from the electronics store was a book store. He stepped out of his seat and looked to Yatapi.

"Here's our stop. I don't know what you're looking for, but you may find it somewhere in this area. We can either shop together or we can go separate ways and I can meet up with you when I'm done. Sound like a plan?" Tulare said before heading outside.

"Redgie comes too! Redgie comes too!" Redgie said before following Tulare out the door. Tulare walked into the electronics store to turn and see what Yatapi was going to do before heading in. Tulare's plans were to grab a few cheap/discounted small appliances and tools that could be taken apart, for parts.

 

[~Nilion~]

“Guessing you don’t leave the big cities very often, huh? Land of Gurumes is one of the biggest farming villages on Earth. If you’ve eaten produce that grows from the ground, you’ve probably had some of their products at one point or another. No idea how a farming village, even one of the at scale, could afford to put together such a sizable army. Don’t know much beyond that, myself. And as for dragon balls… I’m just as lost as you…” Once again, Gyoza paused and took a moment to bring up the phone of his dashboard, this time dialing a number saved as ‘Old Man’.

“…Gyoza?! Just a few hours after you depart, air traffic starts exploding all over the globe! Please tell me you have nothing to do with this.” The voice of a much older man suddenly blasted through the speaker. His tone was gruff and aged, but there still remained an almost regal quality to the way he spoke.
Despite being on a speeding bike, Gyoza closed his eyes for a long moment and sighed. He knew the old man would point fingers.

“I had nothing to do with it, but I intend to get involved. Theyre soldiers from the Land of Gurumes. They completely overran Central City hunting for something called ‘dragon balls’. You got any intel?”

“Dragon balls? Preposterous. If Gurumes is hunting for dragon balls, that man has completely lost his mind. It was a popular bedtime story back when I was a young child. They said you could make a magical dragon appear by gathering the dragon balls. It’s a complete fairytale, he might as well be hunting for Santa.”

“Listen- I picked up…an ally,” Gyoza took a moment to glance over his shoulder and back towards Flakes. Her city had just been overrun, so he was trying to be understanding… but there was no denying that she was a bit rough around the edges. It would probably be best if he kept the details to a minimum for now.
After turning back, the cyborg continued, “We’re headed towards the Land of Gurumes right now and I could really use some assistance.”

“Absolutely not! You’re not taking on a mad man with an army. I won’t help you kill yourself. You need to come home till government officials sort this out.”

“Dad they totally overran Central City. People were getting beaten and buildings were being smashed up. There are gonna be a lot of casualties if we just sit around and wait, so I’m going. The question is, are you gonna let us go alone?”

“…..I’ll send a couple drones out, have them scout ahead and report back what they find. Gyoza… be careful.” And with that, the call ended. The chestnut haired kickboxer took a moment to let the twinge of guilt pass. He knew his father would be worried, but he still hated to see it.

“So that was my father. Sorry for not introducing you, bit busy. As for my plan? Stop Gurumes.”

@Grand Master Koop

———————————

Parked far on the other side of the parking lot was a large, armored hummer decorated in a dark, forest-green camo akin to that worn by Gurumes’ men.
Sure enough, a beefy looking soldier was sitting in the drivers seat. He seemed preoccupied with his radio, but the car door was propped open and both of his feet remained outside the vehicle and flat on the ground. What’s more, a funny looking weapon reminiscent of a shotgun was propped up between his legs. It was apparent that he was ready for conflict.

“East Cities still quiet. Words spread but law enforcement is likely scrambling to coordinate a plan.” The unknown soldier shouted somewhat loudly into the speaker, as he’d been having trouble maintaining a clear signal.

“Good. We’ll move the forces in soon, make it a quick takeover just like the last.” A choppy female voice replied, before the line promptly went dead.

“This damn thing wasn’t made for such long distances.” The soldier muttered while lightly smacking the top of his radio. Even still, he hadn’t noticed the new arrivals across the way.

@ThAtGuY101 @DevVoid

 

[DevVoid]

The little red-green Saibaman stepped out of the RV, following Tulare. Immediately his attention was taken by all the shops around him, especially that book store over there. Even still though, he knew better than to simply run off and do his own things. He knew how shops worked, he's been sent on plenty of runs before. And while he didn't know the local currency, the one certain he did know was that he owned exactly zero of it. So, Yatapi stuck to Tulare's side and decided to just follow him until his business was done and then point him to where he wanted to go.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Arriving in East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare waited until Yatapi got out of the RV to see what the lil red gremlin was going to do. He came with Tulare. Better in a group than alone.

"After we leave here, I'll let you lead the way and..." Tulare paused mid-sentence to look at the camo hummer. In a brief moment, he noticed a familiar symbol as he headed inside. More importantly, the big guy sticking his feet out the vehicle looked like trouble.

"Where was i... Oh right... After we leave here, you get to decide where we go next" Tulare said grabbing a few random small pieces. Examining them. Useless in their intended purpose but very useful for parts. The discount section. Used items, but he'd disassemble them and repurpose them anyways. After grabbing a few pieces he liked, he was done. Paid for it and that was it.

"Ready to go, where to? I can pay for it, if you want." Tulare asked. He had a sneaking suspicion about the armored vehicle, and the people in it. Luckily his staff was easily concealed and ready to go if they needed it.

 

[DevVoid]

Heading right into the electronics store, Yatapi took a closer look at all the different things and apparatuses there, finding them all very interesting. Technology always had been a fascinating thing for the Saibaman, even if his former masters tried to reduce his enjoyment during his 'employment' as much as possible and bring up the misery. So, all he had simply done was keep staring while Tulare had done his shopping, quietly tagging along and following him outside the store once more. Then, when he was prompted where to go, he excitedly pointed to the book store, hoping to buy a few vital things for himself, mainly a book about the universal language that was generally spoken across the galaxy so he could finally learn to speak, alongside some reading material for general knowledge just to up his own smarts a bit.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, Arriving in East City...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare looked to see where Yatapi was pointing. It was a book store, and the lil guy must have been interested in learning. Which was sonething that peaked Tulare's interest.

"Books, huh? Knowledge is power, after all" Tulare commented before making his way to the next location. Opening the door for Yatapi.

"right after you" He said. Redgie was near Tulare, by his side the entire time. Tulare saw the hummer again. He tapped Redgie on the head.

"ten o' clock, power check" Tulare said, looking at the library, and away from the hummer. Redgie glanced under Tulare's arm. Getting a good look at the people in the vehicle. The small robot turned back to Tulare and told him numbers. The power levels of the people he looked at of course. Tulare wasn't expecting anything bad, but liked feeding his curiosity.

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi waltzed into the shop, eyes of fellow shoppers (and store clerk) fixated briefly on whatever the hell kind of thing just walked into this shop. Of course, the Saibaman paid them no attention as he sprinted through the store, quickly trying to pick up what he wanted so they could get out again. He wanted to stay longer of course, but his previous 'training' taught him not to waste other people's time so his only choice was to be speedy about his actions.

What he had picked himself out was also of interesting note - an english lexicon, a couple learning books to study topics such as how to learn basic math, how to write and this planet's history, some sci-fi books so he could imagine what it'd have been like were his masters not complete douchebags and one big colouring book, complete with a pack of crayons and pencils.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, East City Outlet Mall...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare walked around the book store. Keeping an eye on both the lil gremlin and the patrons. With their attention on Yatapi, he could easily walk around mostly unnoticed. He made sure nothing bad would happen. After Yatapi seemingly got all the stuff he may want, Tulare made his way to the counter. Giving the saibaman one more glance.

"If that's what you're getting, go ahead and sit it on the counter so the man here can scan it, and I can buy it so you can take it with you" Tulare said. Turning his attention back to the worker.

"Its not polite to stare" Tulare said. The cashier wasn't sure what to think, but Tulare was a customer willing to pay for the lil guy's books. He nodded at Tulare then turned his attention to Yatapi.

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi did as he was told and placed his things on the counter, just barely reaching it, what with his small frame and everything. Being a Saibaman had its quirks, its benefits and its disadvantages, admittedly. Where in the wild it helped him get away and hide from bigger predators, out here.. it just really didn't help him blend in well. ..well that and his unusual colouring and appearance didn't help one bit, either. He didn't really care much for all the staring, though. He was already used to getting constant intrusive stares from his previous owners, so these gazes from all these strangers didn't unnerve him one bit. Even if some looked more disgusted than confused or curious. And as soon as his things were paid for, Yatapi was ready to grab them and get going to wherever Tulare wanted to head to next. Not like the red-green gremlin had anywhere else to go, really.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, East City Outlet Mall...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

After the clerk scanned the items, Tulare gestured to Yatapi to get his new belongings.

"Alright. Let's see here..." Tulare said before swiping a card. The cost was paid for. Tulare had paper money, but he enjoyed using his credit card. An interesting earth currency tool he fully planned to take advantage of.

"Got any other places you want to see or is this it?" Tulare asked. Redgie looked over at Yatapi then over to Tulare. Assuming Yatapi wanted to go to another place, they would. And if he hadn't, then they'd head back to the RV. Tulare would use the time to finish his radar prototype. Where they would go afterwards depends on where his prototype lead him.

 

[DevVoid]

As soon as they got out of the store and out of sight of all the folk in there, Yatapi had quickly opened up his hollowed-out head and stored his newly-owned stash of knowledge inside. He was asked if he had any other places to see, which got him thinking as his cranium closed up again like two sliding doors leading to a miniscule, portable storage space. Well, there was one place.. but, it wasn't much of a place, per sé.

The Saibaman looked over to the armored vehicle, voicing his suspicions with a rather quiet, curiosity-filled saibaman screech. He knew not to point blanky, else whoever it is that was there seemingly guarding it would probably notice them before the two could even get close. Truth be told, Yatapi genuinely just wanted to check it out, not intending to try doin anything other than just getting a closer look.

 

[~Nilion~]

All while the eccentric duo went about their shopping spree, the unknown soldier had finished fiddling with his radio. While he hadn’t successfully fixed the signal, he had given up out of frustration, so in his mind… he was done.
With a loud huff he jumped out of the truck and slung the large energy weapon over his shoulder. Now in full view, one could see that unlike the average foot soldier who donned a blue uniform, this man was dressed in attire similar to that worn by Bongo and Pasta. The unknown soldier, whoever he was, appeared to be a rather significant member of Gurumes’ ranks.

“Stiff as all hell. Long drive for this. Better be worth it.” The soldier grumbled to himself in a deep, gravelly voice while taking a moment to stretch his tensed muscles.
A quick glance around would inevitably lead to the soldiers eyes locking onto what he could only describe as some type of… combat RV? The thing was teched out from front-to-end; numerous modifications to what he believed used to be a standard vehicle.

“…who in the hell is drivin’ that…” The soldier took a moment to flip up one of his belt pouches and retrieve a cigarette and lighter.
He slowly sauntered over to the strange vehicle, taking a long slow drag from his cigarette as he did so. A quick tap on the main body would reveal it was solid, definitely not some type of prop.
Once he was about arms reach from the door, he blew out a thick cloud of white smoke, making sure to cloak as much of the door as he could. Didn’t appear to be any type of motion sensors or laser scanners present. Advanced, but lacking in security features.
Just as he was about to see if the van was unlocked, the sound of a heavy shop-door slamming in the distance quickly made him pull back and slip around to the other side of the large vehicle. While this definitely wasn’t his assignment, he had to know who was driving this thing.

He went to take a quick glance around the corner of the RV and immediately froze in place. Right there, just across the parking lot stood a little, red demon and a strange-looking teenager. If that weren’t enough, the little demon suddenly split its head open like a coin purse! Was it… putting books in? Dear god that demon was absorbing knowledge! And on top of all of this, he was positive he saw a shiny, orange orb roll around up there as books were tossed in…

“That demons brain must be what these ‘dragon balls’ are! We gotta save Gurumes from demons!!” The soldiers face drained as the whole story clicked in his head. Rumors had been spreading that their leader was cursed. While he didn’t believe in fairytales, that little monster made it all seem too real.

“Stop in the name of Lord Gurumes!” The soldier shouted in a firm, authoritative voice while stepping out from behind the vehicle, energy blaster in hand.

Teewwwww~

A gentle revving sound could be heard as the soldier quickly pumped the forend of his shotgun-like blaster and aimed it right at the pair. The weapon lit up as the various tubes and lights on it ignited with a bright orange glow.
The way he saw it, there was no way he could let that thing flee before he had a chance to crack its head open and see for himself what was going on up there.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, East City Outlet Mall...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

As they headed back to the RV, Redgie turned towards the RV, showing Tulare his back, and screen. He showed it to Tulare earlier, when he showed him the power levels of the people in the vehicle. A man standing outside the RV could be seen. Smoking and checking out the RV. The vehicle no doubt stood out. Yatapi by his side did not hep things, not that he was to blame. Tulare held his retracted staff. It was roughly 8 inches long as he held it.

The man saw the dragon ball Yatapi had, and this seemed like a fight was inevitable. They'd need to get to the RV if they wanted to get out of there. There were also the two in the vehicle. They'd likely jump in. In this split moment, he turned to look at the man who called out to them. He was not gonna let them leave, and by the looks of them, they likely wouldn't be able to reason with them. Tulare knew they were in a bad situation. He might as well ask a question or two.

"I see. And just who is this Guru- Err... Lord Gurumes person you serve under, and what is he doing? Though I suppose I should be asking, who you are" Tulare said standing there, Hands calmly rest by his side to give the illusion of being relaxed, but he was ready for a fight. He glanced over at Yatapi, then up at the shotgun wielding man near their RV. Not moving anywhere to avoid escalating or angering the man.

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi noticed the man stepping towards the two and immediately got anxious, especially becoming nervous when that thing he was holding in his grasp was pointed at him, all but confirming his suspicions of it being some form of weapon. Instinctually, he looked for cover and disappeared behind Tulare's frame.

His head opened once more as he reached for his two most trusted items - the shiny ray gun. One claw flicked the safety off before both hands now held onto the space blaster with shaky hands. He didn't want to use this guy as a meatshield, but he wasn't exactly given much option here. Still, if that guy opened fire, Yatapi would provide as best fire support as he could.. even if his aim wasn't the best.

 

[~Nilion~]

“Listen kid, this really doesn’t concern you. I need a look in that little monsters head and I don’t wanna have to kill you to get to it. Would make for more paperwork.” Upon seeing the pair weren’t immediately hostile, the soldier was quick to relax his composure a bit. He the lowered the end of his weapon a touch, now aiming for his targets legs, rather than their heads.
The man was middle-aged, a bit older than Bongo and Pasta as deep lines and creases were plastered across his rough face. Despite this, the guy was clearly still built like a tank; a sharp jaw, wide chest and lean, muscled arms. Clearly a man who’d seen his fair share of combat.
Just above his right breast-pocket, one could just barely make out a name tag reading ‘General Itrus’.

“Sir, should we call this in?” One of the two soldiers still inside the hummer asked.

“No, not yet. I’ve got questions that I need answered. Get off your asses and get on guard!” General Itrus barked, causing the pair to quickly scramble from the large vehicle, rifles in hand.
It was clear that the situation would likely only get worse for Yatapi and Tulare as they now had three weapons trained on them, rather than one.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Tulare...~
~Location, East City Outlet Mall...~
~September, 12th(Thursday)...~

Tulare gave side eye glance at Yatapi before turning his attention back towards the soldier in front of him. Stating his intentions clearly, he wanted the saibaman. Clearly he knew they had a dragon ball. He also knew based on his encounter with the other soldier from the helicopter crash, they wanted dragon balls. Their leader likely already had some in their posession, but how many? For now, these soldiers were his problem.

"No. I don't believe you will get that opportunity" Tulare said. He listened to them banter back and forth.

"What questions? I'm guessing you're not interested in reading" Tulare asked reluctantly. He wasn't sure whether or not, he'd like what they had to ask, but maybe in answering their questions, he can ask one or two, or they may end up saying something useful information.

 

[~Nilion~]

“As I said, I don’t need you to find the answers I’m seeking.” While he’d been talking, General Itrus had taken the opportunity to discreetly adjust the aim of his weapon.

TEEEWW~

A glowing bolt of yellow-orange energy shot like a crack of lighting through the air and struck the ground just a few feet in front of where Tulare and Yatapi had been standing.
His goal wasn’t to hit either of them. It was simply to take them off their feet and maybe rough them up a bit. Almost as if a small hand grenade had gone off, a shockwave was created that cracked the pavement and sent small chucks of concrete hurdling through the air and likely towards the duo.
Itrus had always hated trying to talk with teenagers.

 

[DevVoid]

Yatapi slowly had come out of hiding before the debris was sent their way, causing him to immediately hide behind Tulare again. Something was telling him that the two would not be getting away from this. Well, the fight seemed just about inevitable.. he may aswell. The Saibaman proceeded to come out of hiding, holding in his hand his shiny, repaired ray gun, a weapon clearly not from this planet by looks alone, now pointed at the man who just nearly shot them. And, true to his nature of the Saiba's way of speech, he spoke no direct words, but made only one clear, aggravated noise.

" Gyyuuuhh..! "