This story is one that's been kicking around my head (not to mention my
hard drive) for some time. I recently finished the first chapter (of how
many, I have no idea..), and thought it'd be a good idea to get some
feedback on this one..
The story takes characters from Ranma 1/2, and Dragonball (Z), and my own
Mikado Ichiban series, and tosses them into a somewhat overblown
Terminator-style story. Ages of characters, and the actual dates of the
events have been shifted to fit my own series' time line. :) (yes, I
know the events of DB and R 1/2 prolly started well before 1996..)
I'll classify this as a 'Mikado Ichiban side story', and it's intended
occurrence is some time after episode 10. When exactly, isn't really all
that important.
This is one of my first attempts in a while that isn't in script format,
and I'm a little rusty. Any and all suggestions are welcome. :)
And if anyone has a good idea for the title of this chapter, I'd love to
hear it too..
-----------------------------------------
------------- Cire productions presents: ------------
2036
Somewhere along the line, things had gone wrong.
Sure, when one planned to take over the entire universe, one had to expect
snags. His master, The Overlord, had always reminded Mazer of that as they
finally set their plans in place. So long they had waited to finally be free
of their bonds, once more, free to dominate, as they always meant to..
They had set their plan in motion three years ago, and it had been
successful. Until now. Now, the situation was beginning to become
insufferable. And if his predictions were right, things were only going to
get worse.
"But things will be back on track soon." thought Mazer, "the rebel fleshtypes
don't stand a chance."
Mazer's thoughts were disturbed by a voice, bringing him out of his reverie,
back to the adamantium structure that he was vaulted in, the very centre of
his master's domain. The voice didn't seem to be connected to anything, it
was just a hollow, deep voice that resonated in his head, saying simply, "The
plan has been laid out, do you understand what needs to be done?"
Mazer smiled, speaking to the being that was all around him. "My leige, your
plan is brilliant. The rebels shan't have a chance against it."
"Be sure they don't. Our survival in this realm depends on the sucess of
your mission."
"Great, no pressure here." Thought Mazer, who then spoke up, "It shall be,
Overlord. I give you my word."
With that, Mazer stood up to his full height, a daunting 8'4" of sheer power.
With a few simple gestures, he flashed, and then dissapeared.
The Overlord went over the sets of schematics he had worked out, and the air
about the room almost curved, almost like a smile. All was going to go quite
well for him, a long time ago... His laughter rose up from the room,
resonating through the structure now devoid of any 'life'.
------------
Almost devoid of life, that is. A few moments before Mazer had dissapeared,
a short, purple-haired man ran from his vantage point that had looked down
upon the room. He had almost made it to the outside of the building, when
the Overlord's laughter caught up with him, chilling him to the bone.
"Gotta act fast!" Thought the man, who summoned his will, and blew a hole
through a wall in the buliding.
"Once outside, I can..." thought the man, breaking open a small, purple pill.
A device popped out, just large enough for him to get into, which naturally,
he does. He examines the masses of knobs, and adjusts a few dials. He
grins. "It seems I'm always the first to try these out. Hope it works this
time..." he says, flicking a switch, and looking to the sky.
"I'm coming for you, guys..." he says, just before he vanished, a trail of
lazer beams trailing through where he just was.
------------- written, produced and directed by Eric Jones
(what a coincidence!) -------------
1996
Atop a small mountain somewhere in Japan, a young boy named Goku had just
finished his twelth meal of the day.
"That was good fish!" said Goku, to no one in particular, which wasn't hard,
considering no one else was there.
Goku cleaned up the table he had just eaten at, and took the dishes back into
the kitchen. He would have washed them too, if his stomach hadn't started
growling again.
"It's almost been a minute since I last ate, I gotta get something!" he
cried, digging through a cupboard for a box of Poki sticks. As he savored
the plastic-enriched choclate covered crunchy things, there was a knock at
the door.
Goku dropped the box, and looked all around. "Where's that coming from?" he
asked, opening a cabinet, and searching all around the room. The knocking
got louder, and Goku looked down at his stomach.
"Are you really that hungry?" he asked his stomach doubtfully. Not
surprisingly, his stomach didn't respond.
"Are you going to open this door or not?" a voice cried from outside.
Goku turned to the voice, smiling happily. "Oh wow, a visitor!" he cried.
And with that, he zoomed off towards the door. He opened it up to see One of
the ugliest... beings he had ever seen. Again, this wouldn't be hard, since
he's never really seen that many people, but even if he had seen a lot of
people, this one would still be a contender for the ugliest.
The being was really tall, had a greenish tint to his skin, which was even
darker on his antennae... Antennae?
Mazer strode through the door, brushing Goku aside, and knocking him to his
feet. He surveyed the room, smiled, and walked towards a small, glowing ball
Goku had set up on one wall.
"Hey, what you doing?"
Mazer smiled coldly, raising a hand casually in Goku's direction. "I'm
taking this little bauble. I have many plans for it.." said Mazer, arching
an eyebrow, "And you aren't in any of them..."
Goku fell into a battle stance, and pulled a staff out from behind him.
"That's my grandpa's!" He cried, "Give it back!!", extending the staff right
into Mazer's hand.
Mazer screamed, the crystal falling down to the floor. He turned growling
feircly at Goku. "You little brat!" he cried, raising his hands forward,
towards Goku. His hands began to glow with a fierce aura. "Meet your fate!"
Mazer cried, a blast filling the room.
------------- definately not starring Goku...
(woo hoo!) -------------
Meanwhile, in a small car putting along a countryside road, a young woman
doubtfully examined a piece of machinery on her dashboard. "That's odd.."
she said, peering at the blips appeaing on the screen. She gasps.
"The dragonball is moving, someone must already have it!" She pounded a fist
down. "I'm not letting it go after this much work.." Her eyes glint with
purpose, and she pounded her foot down on the gas pedal. Her mouth a cool,
thin line, she zoomed along at a much faster pace.
As she's driving, a car phone rings. Picking it up, she answers with a small
snarl on her lips. "Who is this?" she barks viciously.
"Bulma, it's me, your father."
Bulma paused for a few moments, blushing profusely. "Err, sorry dad, just
had an unexpected setback.."
"Quite all right. I just wanted to make sure you were doing fine?"
Bulma grimaced. "Well, except for the setback, things are going fine."
"That's good, good... Bulma, be careful, please? There's more evil out
there than you might think.."
Bulma blinked. This wasn't normal for her father. "Dad.. Is everything
okay back there?"
Soothingly, almost too soothingly, her father replied, "Oh, couldn't be
better back here.. Just keep on with your little search, don't mind me.."
Followed by a click, this message was more than a little confusing to Bulma.
She shrugged. "If he wants me to go on..."
Bulma tossed it to the back of her mind, she had those crystals to think
about.. The dragonballs. They could change everything.
------------- but it *does* star:
Bulma -------------
Bulma's father put the phone down onto the receiver down slowly. Much evil
indeed. But hopefully he could avoid as much of it as possible. He made
another phone call. The voice at the other end picked up immediately. He
always did.
"Sukuma betting." the voice said neutrally.
"It's me.."
"The voice at the other end sharpened. "Ah, good to hear you old man. You
wanting to pay up finally?"
"No.. Not yet.. I have to get back all the money I've lost.."
"That's a lot to recover.."
"But I have to!" Bulma's father breathed heavily, trying to keep calm. This
was a sure bet this time. "I want to stake all the rest of the money from my
company into one bet... A skating match, the Japan All-National
Championships, Paired skating.."
"That's a lot of money to bet old man... You sure you want to lose it all?"
Bulma's father grinned. "But I won't lose.. I'm betting it on the Golden
pair.. Three to one odds, isn't it?"
-------------
3 days later
Mikado laced his skates slowly. This was his one point of meditation, before
the madness on the rink. A lot was riding on him, not the least of which
Chance related to him only recently, a large of money suddenly being bet on
him. How could he let down such dedicated fans as he had?
He sighed happily. It had been a long time coming, but he was going to win
this competition, psychotic partner or no. He stands up, and walks out to
the rink, welcomed at the entrance by Azusa, and a croud of screaming
thousands.
------------- Mikado Sanzenin -------------
Bulma grinned ear to ear. That moving dragonball had been some weird twist
of fate, it landed right on the road beside her! And all the others came so
quickly. It was odd, almost like someone was purposely giving them to her..
But no matter, she had business to attend to. Her final stop was in China,
atop a mountain in the Shantung hills, if her device was correct.. She was
at the base of it now, looking up. Only 15,000 feet, no problem.. Bulma
reached into her pocket, and pulled out a tiny pink pill. Popping it open, a
small, one ma.. Er, woman, helicopter comes out.
"Dad, you're a godsend." She muttered as she jumped in. Gunning the engine,
and heading the only way to go- up. After only five minutes, she was atop
the hill, her eyes set on the object of her dreams.
"Finally!" she cried, jumping out of her helicopter, and picking up a
dragonball. "The seventh and last..." she whispered, pulling six more of
these crystals out of a backpack. Eyes glazed over, she looked at them, just
soaking in the implications.
-------------
Not too far away Mazer was grinning ear to ear as well. "Yes..." he mused,
"Go ahead Bulma, seal our fates..."
-------------
On top of another hill, in Okinawa, the purple-haired man suddenly phased
into being. He looks around frantically, searching for any sign of life.
"It should be around here.." he muttered, looking all around. He sharpened
his senses, alert past the level of any animal in existence. In his minds
eye, he saw the plateau of hills, and sharpened in on the image of Bulma.
His eyes almost bugged out in shock- would have if he was looking with his
real eyes- she was standing atop a hill, holding all of the dragonballs!
Shaking uncontrollably, the man suddenly lifts off the ground, flying at
near-sonic speeds, crying out a single word: "Mom!!!!"
------------- Trunks -------------
Bulma's father sat in front of the television, praying and chanting as Mikado
made his way to the ice. "Oh please, *please* win.. Pill technologies
depends on it!"
-------------
Trunks sped towards the mountain, flying towards his mother as fast as he
possibly could. Just faintly could he hear that old incantation, and he
winced as he saw the old green serpent of a dragon appear once more. He
wasn't going to make it...
-------------
The dragon grumbled. Some imputent human again, waking him up. And he has
so enjoyed the last five centuries of sleep.. He sighed, all in an
immortal's work, he guessed.
"Who dares wake me from my slumber!" he roared. He loved this part of the
job more than anything- acting grumpy and powerful were two of his favourite
things.
This completely passed by Bulma, who was just too happy that it actually
worked. Her hands clasped, and doing a little dance, she sqeaked out, "I wish
that the most handsome man in the world was here in my arms!"
The dragon smiled gruffly, though no one else could tell. "It will be done."
-------------
Trunks landed on the mountain just in time to hear this. His face went pale
with shock. He barely managed to cry out, "Nooooo!!!", before the area was
engulfed in a bright light, absorbing all around it.
-------------
"Well folks, this is it! The golden pair has pretty much solidified their
win, after their patented dual pent loops routine, but it seems they're only
warming up for something even more impressive!"
The commentator was agape at the whole going on. This pair had been the
underdogs, what with this being their first year professionally, but they
were coming up with moves out of nowhere that had never been done before.
Coming up for names to all of it was getting to be quite a strain.
He watched intently as the pair leapt off the ice, when they were both
engulfed in a now familliar light. It dissapated, and Mikado was nowhere to
be seen.
-------------
Five bodies fell, one after another. Azusa fell to the ice gracelessly, not
able to make up for the quite sudden lack of a skating partner, spraining her
ankle.
The commentator fell out of his chair, naming the move the 'double quad loop
with a temporal shift'. ...That is, until he realized it wasn't intentional.
Bulma's father collapsed to the ground after hearing the subsequent ruling
that the golden pair was disqualified.
Mikado's bodyguard, Chance collapsed after all this, realizing his source of
income was nowhere to be found.
And finally, Mikado fell, but at least someone was there to catch him.
"What the!?" he managed, before Bulma grabbed onto him eagerly as he fell
right into her arms.
Hearts were aflame in her eyes. "Oh baby!!"
-------------
A Mikado Ichiban Movie
(sort of)
Be Careful What you Wish For.......
Chapter 1: (needs a title!)
-------------
Seven other things fell at the same time, but they weren't people. The
dragonballs dispersed themselves across the planet once again, one of them on
a crash course for a small area of Tokyo known as the Furinkan district. It
slammed through the ceiling of a large mansion, creating a sound louder than
a gunshot.
The master of the house, or so he liked to think, was up like a shot. Out of
nowhere, a bokken appeared in his hands, and equally out of nowhere, he
decided he knew who the invader was.
"That infidel! Foul sourceror! Saotome has finally laid siege upon my sole
sanctuary!" he cried, bursting through his bedroom doors, scanning the hall
intently, trying to decide where that cur Saotome would be hiding himself.
"Show yourself, you mongrel!" Kunou cried, swinging his bokken about for
emphasis. If he was trying to look impressive, it wasn't working. That he
was still in his pyjamas didn't help either. Kunou pounded his way down the
hall to his left, calling for Saotome's head, on a platter.
Moments later, he met with an untimely blow to the back of head. 'Saotome
has shown himself finally,' concluded Kunou, 'And as usual he uses his black
magic to subdue me. The coward.' Amazingly, he actually managed to think all
this before falling off to unconsciousness.
The slim, feminine figure standing before him shook her head sadly. Sliding
a metal rod into her kimono, dissapearing into the folds of clothing, she
smirked slightly.
"Brother dear, you need to stop having these walking dreams. They're
positivly unbearable." Muttered the girl, dragging the man back down the hall
to his room.
Behind her, was a presentation of various jewels on a series of pedestals.
One of these was littered with small scraps of wood, obviously from the
ceiling, which was lacking just above that particular pedestal. On that
pedestal was a small, glowing globe.
The girl had noticed all this, but wasn't terribly concerned about it. If
people wished to break into her mansion and *give* the household more jewels,
what harm could come of it?
-------------
The other six dispersed across the planet in generally less distracting
places. That is, except the other one that decended upon Japan.
Coincidentally, also in Tokyo.
"Umao-san, Umao-san, wherefore art thou, Umao-san?" A woman cried out to the
sky above her apartment. Her only response was the sound of something
hitting a body, and that body's subsequent connection with the ground.
"Umao-san? ..Umao-san?"
Life is such a tragedy sometimes.
-------------
Mikado shook his head, taking in his situation. He was not, as he had
previously been, in the middle of an ice rink, but was instead in the arms of
some adoring female. So far so good. Mikado didn't have a problem with
ending up in women's arms, but he did prefer to know how he had gotten there.
"Where am I?" he cried, his face as bewildered as his voice.
"Right where you belong.." said the girl dreamily.
Again, so far so good. It was much better to be in the arms of someone who
had positive feelings as opposed to negative ones. But then, his fans were
far more persistant than his enemies most of the time...
Over the shoulder of the girl, Mikado could see the shape of a.. Man? He
was in his early thirties or so, he look confused, and angry. Now this was
definately not a good thing. In Mikado's experience, if people were angry,
it was usually blamed on him.
He looked back into the eyese of the girl holding him. Quite pretty
actually. Odd blue hair color, but otherwise, quite passable. Mikado
shrugged mentally. It couldn't hurt to give her his 'official greeting'.
Pleasing the natives was always a good first step...
Mikado leaned forward, a sly smile on his face. "In the arms of a beauty
such as yourself, is where I always hoped to be.." he whispered, slowly
nodding his head towards hers..
-------------
The purple-haired man Mikado had noticed was most definately confused and
angry. "This was what the Overlord had in mind.." he mused, "And I couldn't
do a thing to..." His thoughts were cut off by the first words the man that
had dropped into Bulma's arms. His jaw dropped as he saw the man moving in
for zero clearance between his lips, and Bulma's.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The purple haired man raised his hands,
and with a barely discernable movement, sent a bolt of energy from his
fingers.
-------------
Mikado barely had enough time to turn from his kiss to see the yellow streak
of energy. It slammed into his chest, sending him out of Bulma's arms, and
flying into a nearby rock. This was actually quite fortunate, considering
that the other option would have been flying over the edge of the mountain.
"Don't you dare touch my mother!" Cried the man Mikado have barely noticed
before. Mikado simply blinked at him, looked at the woman, back at the man,
then back at the woman.
"Just how old are you?" he asked. That incredulousness in his voice was only
increasing...
-------------
Bulma replied with the only answer she could think of- "21."
She stared on dubmly, looking between the two men who had appeared. The
purple-haired guy was a hunk, but way too old. Besides, he thought that
somehow he was her son.
She continued to look between the two of them. Which one was the one her
wish gave her? The blonde-haired man had replied favourably enough, until he
was tossed out of her arms that is.
The blonde haired man looked over at the purple-haired man. "And you're
what? 32?"
"35, actually."
Ugh. WAY too old.
-------------
The only one possibly more confused by that trio was the... Thing, that was
watching the entire affair from afar. And he was the one that was supposed
to know what was going on.
Mazer's eyes bugged out of his head. How did *he* get back here? He
shouldn't even exist anymore! That's what half this plan was all about!
Mazer groaned. Of course this couldn't be a completely cut and dry
mission...
He regained himself quickly. "On to phase two." He mused, floating up into
the air, "This is little more than a minor set-back.. I hope."
-------------
Mikado shook his head a few times. "Would someone mind telling me what's
going on here?"
Bulma nodded blankly. "I wouldn't mind knowing myself."
Both heads turned to the third. The purple-haired man back up, trying to
collect his thoughts. "By all logic, I shouldn't even exist... But then,
when did logic ever make an appearance in my life.." he muttered silently.
He was debating what to tell them. Who knows what effect telling them of
future events? But then, his future was messed anyways, it would seem....
The man drew himself up, trying to look confident. He might have succeeded,
but he didn't seem to think so. "My name is Trunks. I'm a, uh time
traveller."
The reaction he got was what most people would do when someone admits to
being a time traveller. Confusion.
"You mean to tell me that you're from the future?" Mikado queried.
"40 years, yes."
"So you're born.. Five years from now?"
Trunks nodded.
Mikado pointed at Bulma. "And she's your mother?"
Trunks nodded again, and added with a growl, "And you're not the father.."
Mikado shuddered at the thought. His face took on a frightened look. "Who
said anything about marriage?"
At this point Bulma managed to get a word in. She grabbed onto Mikado's
lapel, dragging him down to face her. "And what do -you- mean? I wished you
here, you're mine!!"
Mikado got the chance to blink a few more times. "Wished me here?" He was
quite taken aback. Did many of his fans have such strong will?
Trunks managed to get between the two of them. "There's more, there's more!
Now please, just give me time to explain...."
-------------
"There is a place, somewhere between reality and the realm of fantasy, where
beings of incredible power existed. This place is known as the Etherrealm.
Nobody knows how it came into existence, but we have been able to find out a
few things.. The inhabitants of this land were in a kind of pergatory, not
able to exist in either of the otherrealms, as they refer to them. They
wanted to be free of the bonds to their realm, but could not escape.
"That all changed three years ago, umm, to me at least. The most powerful
being of the otherworld, known as The Overlord, finally found a way to break
free. Again, we're not sure how. Apparently though, their being confined to
the Etherrealm had to do with the efforts of people of our universe, some long
time ago. Now that they were free, these creatures now sought revenge.
"They destroyed everthing in their path, enslaving three entire solar systems
before a weekhad passed. From there, they were only more sucessful.
At least, until they arrived here."
-------------
Mikado groaned. "So Earth becomes the saviour of the galaxy? This is
sounding like a bad sci-fi movie.."
Trunnks glared at Mikado. "I wasn't finished."
Mikado scowled to himself. This man was a scene stealer, and rude to boot.
"Just because he comes from the future, doesn't mean he can give me orders.."
he muttered.
Trunks continued. "Make no mistake, they took us too. But partly because we
let them. My father Vegita, our friend Goku, and his kids.."
Mikado barely stifled a yawn. He went on and on about some super powers,
some magical crystals, and some aliens. It sounded like a silly manga series
he had read as a kid. He also mentioned some resistance thingy. Apparently,
they (as the heroes, of course) managed to take back their planet, and began
freeing other planets as well. Conspicuously, no mention was made of how
they got between planets...
-------------
"...And so, I finally managed to break into the Overlord's fortress, which
for all practical purposes, *is* the Overlord, when I heard about their plan
to go back in time to this era. I didn't hear why, but I knew it would have
to do with you, Bulma."
Bulma blinked a few times. "Why me?"
Trunks pondered for a few moments, and shrugged. "I guess I'm important
back, err, forward, in my time. Maybe I play a pivotal role in the
revolution. The Overlord had a staggering ability to guess future events,
which helped him shape his takeover so easily. Maybe he could see I was about
to do something nasty [invade his fortress, perhaps?], and did this..."
Mikado felt he had to get a word in here. "So.. What did 'this' do?"
Trunks slapped a hand to his forehead. He grabbed Mikado, and shook him,
hard. "Don't you get it? The Overlord did this on purpose. If things go on
this way, the wrong way, I won't be born!!"
Mikado came across an obvious logical fallacy, and ignored it, instead
deciding to slip off into unconsciousness.
Things were easier to handle that way.
-------------
Meanwhile, in the heart of Kolkhoz, Tokyo, beneath the city's surface, even
more confusion was going down. Once again, this was not a good day for
Chance. Sure, anomalies had happened before working under Mikado, but this
one really took the cake. He looked over all the scanning equipment he had,
trying to find any kind of clue.
"There's no sign of him anywhere... Hudson!"
A young, blonde man snapped to attention, nearly poking an eye out as he
saluted. "Sir. Ow!"
Chance sighed. It was so hard to find good help these days. "Never mind,
private.." he said, turning towards his scanning equipment. "If you want to
do something right, do it yourself.." Moments later, he requisitioned US spy
satellites to do a little looking around for him..
-------------
Mikado woke with a pair of eyes staring into his eyes. And lips- he felt
those. Against his own. This was fine. This he could deal with. He went on
enjoying his situation for a little while longer.
Trunks sighed as he watched his mother [No.. She's not your mother anymore,
not in this time line.] perform 'cpr' on this man. Slowly, the pair got to
their feet. Trunks took a step forward, reaching a hand towards the man.
[Whatever these two do, it doesn't make any difference.. Don't forget
that..]
"I need your help, Mr..?"
Mikado smiled. Now he could finally be in the spotlight. "My name is
Sanzenin Mikado.. Professional skater. Perhaps you've heard of me?"
Trunks reacted quite differently than Mikado was used to.
He thought about it for two seconds, and fell down laughing.
Mikado growled. Super powers or no, this man was definately getting on his
nerves. "What's so funny?"
Trunks took a few moments to recover, after which he still let out a small
giggle or two, "Irony. It seems you are my father after all.."
Mikado pondered for a few moments, but had problems adding up this particular
equation.
Trunks grinned. "Or should I say, father-in-law."
-------------
Elsewhere, in Nerima, Kunou Tatewaki stirred out of his slumber. Something
vile was in front of his face. Breakfast, no doubt. He cracked his eyes
open, viewing the bubbling mass of liquid in front of him. By the gods, now
his sister invaded his own room with these creations!
A small, pudgy face, attached to a small, pudgy man popped into view. It
bowed as he saw Kunou awake. "Good morning master! I hope you're feeling
better after your, ah, accident this morning!"
His servant's cheerfulness was usually a help to Kunou, today, it wasn't.
"Did you catch the cur, Sasuke?"
Sasuke tilted his head slightly. "Cur, master?"
Kunou gripped his hands together. "That demon, Saotome! He craftily entered
my humble home, and snuck past my keen senses, knocking me out cold with a
treacherous blow from behind!"
Sasuke shook his head. "Oh no master, that wasn't Saotome, that was your
sister Kodachi. Saotome hasn't ever been here. Otherwise my keen ninja
skills would have detected him!"
Kunou let that one slide. Incompetent as he was, even he could recognize
Sasuke as a buffon. But at least, his price was right.. "Kodachi. Of
course. If there is anyone more underhanded than that evil sorceror Saotome,
it would be her."
-------------
"So, you're..."
"Married to your incredibly beautiful daughter. You raised her well." Trunks
took another look at Mikado, "Or, maybe her mother did..."
"So I..."
"Get married eventually? You most definately do."
"To who?"
"Hey!" interrupted Bulma, "What about me? You know, your now future wife?"
"Who said anything about marriage?" Questioned Mikado. This was always his
reply to any mention of that.. word. It was a bad response. How bad it was
was exemplified by the force at which Bulma leapt at him. Fortunately,
Trunks somehow picked her up in mid-lunge, and held her up in the air.
"What about our kiss?" asked Bulma, nearly shouting.
"It was good?" Bad responce number two. Mikado was quite good at them,
actually.
Bulma nearly struggled free, but couldn't escape Trunks' grip. She was
almost at the point of tears. "But.. But I wished for you! The dragon sent
you here into my arms, just like I wished!"
"Did you mention the word 'love' in your wish at all?" queried Trunks.
Bulma flinched. All the planning she'd made into retreiving the dragonballs,
of course she'd forget something....
Trunks shook his head. "Wishes aren't just granted so easily. The dragon is
quite literal. Shame on you mom. I thought you were made of better stuff."
He put her down, a goodly distance away from Mikado. "But this isn't about
your wish, that damage has been done. In needs to be fixed.."
Trunks turned to face Mikado. "Mikado, as I was saying, I need your help.."
Mikado paused. Something to do might help him forget about the massive
headache felt coming on. The best way to deal with confusion is to ignore
it, or embrace it. He snuck another look over at Bulma. Ignore, embrace...
Not a tough decision. "What do you need?"
"I need your help recovering the dragonballs."
-------------
Chance punched away at his computer, cross-referencing news reports with the
time of his employer's disapearance. Spy sattelites were fine and dandy if
you knew where to generally look for your target. Chance didn't have that
luxury. Finding a needle in a haystack wouldn't even be a proper comparison-
a specific speck of dust in the Sanzenin mansion.. Now that might be a
little closer.
News was much easier. Random appearances of people, in any state, tend to
make the news. There wasn't anything like that, but there were a few reports
of unusual disturbances at almost precisely the same time as his employee's
dissapearance. He checked the addresses, seven of them, and paused at one of
them. In Japan.
Somehow, he just knew those damn Nerimans would be involved in this.
-------------
Mikado's mind processes- and responses- were becoming rather familliar. "The
what?"
Trunks glowered momentarily, but supressed the urge to throttle Mikado. "The
Dragonballs.." He said, staining to be patient, "You know, those balls I told
you about, the ones that mo.. Bulma used to wish you here?
Mikado nodded. "Right. Those." This was all disconcerning to him. The
worst he had to deal with before this was his best friend who happened to
look exactly like him. That was much easier to deal with. Well, maybe not
that much, but at least he knew his friends, and expected them to be a bit
strange. Time travellers from the future just weren't something Mikado had
in his daily routine. He hoped they would never become as such.
Mikado shrugged. "It beats staying on this mountain, I suppose. But
why do you need my help?"
Trunks looked around, shaking his head. "It completely goes against logic
that I even still exist. As it stands, I shouldn't have been born to come
back here in the first place. And I'm not sure if logic won't just catch up
with me at some point.."
Mikado shook his own head. Science had never been his strong subject, but he
thought he understood what Trunks meant. "So in other words, you need
someone to continue on if you just... Blip out of existence, or something?"
Trunks nodded, but looked distracted. "That's part of it. But there's
something else, too. I'm going to need all the help I can get, because
someone else is back here too.."
"Who's that?" quieried Bulma.
Trunks' eyes narrowed to slits, and he nearly spat out the name. "Mazer,
second in command of the Overlord's army."
Bulma paled at this comment, but Mikado had to think about it for a few
seconds before paling himself. "So you're telling me, that you want us to
help you defeat some creature that was second in command in a campaign to
take over the universe?"
"Sadly, yes."
Mikado swallowed hard. "Staying on this mountain sounds more and more like a
good idea..."
-------------
Chance checked the address on his paper, and looked up at the house..
Mansion, he was standing in front of. He'd already checked out the first
crash reported in Japan. The only thing to be found was some strange golden
ball, which had been lying underneath some trash beside the chalk outline of
a person. He'd taken it, naturally. Even if it wasn't a clue, it might at
least be of some value to someone..
There was one possibility that made sense given the circumstances, but
he'd need to check this place before he could be sure.
Chance checked to make sure his wig was in place, checking to make sure it
was well in place. Donning a police jacket and cap, walked towards the front
gate. Passing it, Chance walked right up to the front door, being sure his
'police ID' was still in his wallet. He rapped on the door twice, and waited
pateintly. A few moments later, the door was opened by... No one?
"Hello?" Chance said, peering inside the door, over the cat on the flo.. Ah,
that's who opened the door.
"Greetings!" said Sasuke, "How may I help you?"
If this is the kind of competition to be expected around this household,
there wasn't likely to be much of a problem. Tatewaki wasn't anything to
sweat about, that's for sure. Chance held up.. That is to say, down, a
badge for Sasuke to inspect.
"Officer Clark, Kolkhoz District Police. I'm here to investigate some
reports of some strange incidents that happened earlier this morning, at this
residence."
Sasuke sweated nervously. Had mistress Kunou spiked the water supply again?
"Wha.. What incidents would those be, officer?"
"There was reports of some gunfire, and a dispersal of black-clad people
running from this household?"
Sasuke sighed. This he could reply to. "It.. It was nothing officer. The
master's servants were just a little jumpy this morning after the incident."
Chance quirked an eyebrow. "And what incident might this be? Please give me
all the details.."
Sasuke fidgeted nervously. "Perhaps it would be wise to talk to the master
of the house. He saw more than I.. Or, maybe he didn't.."
"The incident?" Chance repeated, firmly.
"Ah, yes.. Well, someone broke into the mansion, and added a golden orb to
the masters collection of treasures.."
"Indeed? We had feared it might have been this.."
"Feared? Feared what?"
Chance looked around, feigning concern. "You won't tell a soul?" After
Sasuke replied with a nod, he went on, "We've had a problem recently with a
bomber. He makes these bombs look like jewellry, and tosses them into rich
people's houses."
Somehow, Sasuke's eyes became even wider than normal. "You mean.. It might
be a bom.."
Chance cut him off quickly. "*Might*. I'll have to come in to take a look
first.
"Of course! Come on in.." With a smirk well-hidden on his face, Chance
entered the Kunou mansion. He scanned around. Definately loaded, this
Kunou fellow. Hopefully, he was also respectful of the 'law'.
Chance's answer came quite quickly as Tatewaki himself entered the room,
clothed in a kendo haka, and holding said golden orb. Upon seeing it,
Chance couldn't contain himself. "Good god, that's it..." he muttered.
Tatewaki barely noticed Chance as he entered, being entranced with the
sight of the orb he was holding. "What manner of bauble is this,
Sasuke? Methinks it was not part of our jem collection yesterday, but
a fine addition it is indeed.."
Sasuke, upon hearing Chance's speech, dived for the nearest thing
resembling cover. "It's a bomb!" he squealed, for once becoming as
good as a true ninja should be at hiding themselves.
Tatewaki barely batted an eye. "So, Saotome wishes to sabotague me
after all? That... Fiend!! He shall die by my hands!!"
Tatewaki's soliloqy could possibly have gone a lot longer, if Chance
had not taken that moment to clear his throat.
"Saotome? I don't think his name was on the list of potential
suspects.. But that's beside the point. Could I have the,
ah, bomb, please?"
Kunou regarded Chance curiously. "And what manner of person are
you, to request so boldly something from Tatewaki, the blazing glory
of Furikan High?"
Chance revealed his 'badge' for the second time that day. Luckily,
Kunou's reaction was favourable.
"Ah, I see, an upholder of justice. Very well then, officer, I shall
procur upon you this curious bauble." To Chance's relief, Kunou handed
it over with no arguement.
"Many thanks, sir. I shall dispose of this bomb as quickly as I can,
within a safe place. If you should come across any more gem-bombs that
look like this, please let me know as soon as possible." Chance nodded,
and was let out by Kunou.
By this time, Sasuke had emerged from his hiding place, and with a
distinct thought in his mind- that the LAPD had no jurisdiction at all
in Japan..
-------------
Chance ran as quickly as possible from the Kunou residence. This was
interesting news, interesting news indeed. The dragonballs had always
been a rumour around the Lazarus offices, but now Chance had definite
proof of their existance. Such a find could be very profitable for
the company... Or for himself. But that could wait. He still had
an employee that was MIA..
Two down, and five to go. Surely Mikado would try to contact him?
It was a simple matter of a phone call.. Obviously, Mikado had been
the object of someone's wish, and was now with that person. Provided
Mikado could get to a phone, things would be okay..
But maybe, just maybe.. This person might seek out the dragonballs
again? it was a possibility, and besides, Chance wasn't about to let
an opportunity like this slide through his hands.
Whistling softly to himself, slowing down to a leisurely pace, he
consulted his printout of events that had occured at that crucial
moment. There were only four other reported events. The last one
probably ended up in the middle of nowhere. And on the entire
surface of the Earth, there was a lot of nowhere to cover. Hmm.
This might take some work..
"Cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess." he muttered, walking
down a street. First order of business was to book a flight to China..
This quickly became the second order of business, as a cry erupted
from behind him. He leapt, just in time to avoid becoming one with
a bokken. He rushed down the street, Kunou and Sasuke on the
chase. Chance considered his options.. He needed to think up a
plan. Given his pursuers, it wasn't hard to figure out something
appropriate.
It was so simple.
He needed to lose this moron.
He needed to get to China.
What better place to lose a crazed man weilding a sword than in Tokyo
airport?
"Devilish deceptor! No one pulls the wool over Tatewaki Kunou's
eyes, and lives!!"
Chance quickly dashed down a side street. Only a small delay in the
plans...
-------------
Tatewaki Kunou was livid.
Sure, it didn't take much to get him riled. Not bowing the proper
amount to a superior such as himself, stepping in front of him with no
apology, or simply talking to him after his watching "The Seven
Samurai" for the 1,021 time. But this time, it was serious.
Someone had lied to him. Under the guise of an honorable
protector of the law, no less. Such a horrid deed could not go
unpunished. Indeed, this foul cretin would pay.
And he'd walked off with a valuable-looking jewel too. That
REALLY rubbed Kunou the wrong way.
Naturally, the coward was running away. But there was nowhere on
Earth that one could hide from the mighty hand of Tatewaki Kunou.
-------------
Chance lost them after the third corner. Just to be safe, he turned
down another half dozen streets, and then pulled himself up against
a wall. Certain that no one was following him, he flipped out a
cell phone. Just a phone call away..
He called his most obvious option- his home base. The person
answering the phone was as curteous as ever. "This is a private
line, who the hell's calling?"
"It's me, Chance. Your leader, remember?" Chance smirked. Ferro
had the right idea, but being so uptight while replying would
only make people more suspicious. Still a ways to go...
The other end was silent for a few moments, and a far more
curteous Ferro replied. "Oh! Uh, sir.. How goes the mission?"
"It's taken a bit of a side track.. Into the twilight Zone. I
need a ticket to China."
"Jesus! What happened to Mikado this time?"
"It would take far too long to explain, really. I just need a
ticket from Tokyo Airport, leaving as soon as possible."
A few moments passed.. "Done. You prefer window seat? First
class?"
Chance smiled. "We've been through this before. Keep a low
profile... Window seat, executive class."
"That's low profile?!"
"Well, not really, but fewer people will see me.."
-------------
Sasuke sat and listened to the information coming from the
stranger's mouth. But he had all he needed to know. He
was headed for China.
Finally, Kunou caught up with Sasuke, but not before Chance
had made a speedy retreat.
"Did you catch the infidel, Sasuke?"
"No master, but I know where he is headed.."
"Good. We shall rout him out of his own lair.. The winds
of justice are strong, Sasuke.. And I shall see to this
man's punishment!"
-------------
Above the atmosphere of Earth, drifting lazily along, was
a golden orb, with a single star imprinted into it's
side. It flew along unimpeded, in a gentle orbit around the
planet.
Unimpeded, but not for long. A blue light appeared beside
it, filling out into the form of Mazer, who smiled widely
at the sight of the Dragonball, and picked it up. Trunks
may be back in time, but so was he.. The full plan would
see completion, come hell or high water... Mazer personally
hoped for both. He'd been itching to meet that rebellious
fleshling for a long time.. Soon, soon.. They would ALL pay...
-------------
end of part 1...
-------------
The next chapter, 'Convergence' will be out god knows when. I guess it
depends on people's reactions..
Hope you enjoyed it!
- Eric
ejones@butterfly.uvic.ca
http://kafka.uvic.ca/~ejones/home.html