Rush for Greatness (DBZ SI)

JustBukharin · Apr 28, 2020

Introduction Page:

Premise:
This is not your usual SI story, or at least 'not something you have seen before... until now'. Sounds ominous, rightfully so, but the truth is quite positive.
Never dabbled too much in trying to write a DBZ story, never thought of making a gamble and write a SI story because of how 'difficult' it can get in trying to uphold the interest without making the MC a Gary Stu. Consider this an attempt of mine to try to accomplish a good story out of this.

This very page will house all the info about the plot, might it be characters, techniques, and possible Xovers elements.

As I mention in the AN of the first chapter, I will set up a poll to properly get a glimpse from the readers' wish to see this being a Xover or not.
Of course, the worlds in question would match up with the level of the MC as he will not start as an OP character.

Characters:

Full Name: John Bukharin
Titles: Rookie Protector of Earth
Image: I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - ?
Race: Saiyan?
Age: 20
Techniques: Punching, Punching (Really Hard); Kamehameha; Max. Power Kamehameha; Solar Flare; Flying; Masenko; Ki-Detection;
Transformations: Wrathful State (First Time);
Allegiances: Kami; Turtle School;
Power Level: 2.000.000 (Full Power);
Appearance: Dark-brown short hair, black eyes and slim built.

Full Name: Kami (Good-Half of the Nameless Namekian)
Titles: Guardian of Earth
Image: I
Race: Namekian
Techniques: Kamehameha, Explosive Demon Wave, Evil Containment Wave, Potential Unlock Spell;
Allegiances: Earth;
Power Level: 220 (Old Age);
Appearance: Bald, black eyes, green skin (Namekian Trait) and frail built.

Full Name: Mr. Popo (Dumplin in his youth)
Titles: The TRUE Prince of Darkness and Demon God
Image: I
Race: Cosmic Force of Creation/Universe's Primordial Ooze [Former]; Majin (Majin/Demon after becoming Demon God) [Former]; Genie;
Techniques: Black Mist; Clairvoyance; TransDimensional Omnipotence; Deity-Tier Martial Arts; Ultra Instinct;
Allegiances: Earth (?); Himself (Confirmed);
Power Level: ??? (Not Enough Data recovered);
Appearance: Skin made of Darkness (It was Gray during his youth), Plump Built;

Full Name: Soukei Bara
Titles: Dr. Brief's Assistant
Image: I
Race: Human?
Age: 18
Techniques: Advanced Intellect (on par with Gero if not more);
Allegiances: Capsule Corporation;
Power Level: 10 (Suppressed?)
Appearance: Light-brown long hair (similar to an unruly mane), light-blue eyes and voluptuous built.

Full Name: Krillin
Titles: Turtle School Student
Image: I
Race: Human
Age: 28
Techniques: Kamehameha (Guiding, Dispersing Blast); Solar Flare; Kiezan; Flying; Ki-Detection;
Allegiances: Dragon Team;
Power Level: 165.000
Appearance: Bald, short and muscular built.

Full Name: Master Roshi
Titles: Turtle Hermit, God of Martial Arts
Image: I - II
Race: Human
Age: 334
Techniques: Original Kamehameha (Full Mastery); Thunder Shock Surprise; Mafuba; Hypnosis; Ki-Detection;
Allegiances: Dragon Team;
Power Level: 120 (Suppressed); 220 (Max Power);
Appearance: Bald, short and fragile built (tall and muscular built in Max Power mode)t;

Full Name: Flanny
Titles: Demon Demi-Goddess
Image: I
Race: Demon-Majin Hybrid
Age: ???
Techniques: Punching, Punching (Really Hard); Mana Manipulation;
Allegiances: Anime;
Power Level: 1.000.000 (Suppressed);
Appearance: Majin 'short hair', dark sclera/blue eyes, short and slim frame.

Full Name: Vegeta IV
Titles: Prince of All Saiyans
Image: I
Race: Saiyan
Age: 32
Techniques: Galick Gun, Final Galick Gun, Dirty Fireworks;
Allegiances: Anime;
Power Level: 5.000.000 (Full Power);
Appearance: Spiky hair, average height, muscular (athletic) form.

Villains:
Active:
Defeated:

Full Name: Arctic
Titles: Stronges Bio-Warrior
Image: NA
Race: 1/30 Arcosian - 29/30 Bio-organism
Age: ???
Techniques: Punching, Punching (Really Hard); Electrocutioner Vines;
Allegiances: Dr. Kochin;
Power Level: 700.000;
Appearance: Same color pattern as Frieza, bulkier and slightly deformed.

JustBukharin · Apr 28, 2020

Prologue: Onward in this big world!

This… this is incredibly bad.

I admit I should have understood that something was wrong when I ended up waking up in what looked to be a vacant cave located in some remote mountain range.

Panic rouse from the instant discovery, and my hands trailed at the pockets of my dark blue jacket and matching pants to try and get my phone out.

The device was nowhere on my person. I looked around, hoping that it was somewhere around but instead I ended up studying the complexity of the cavern I've woken up into.

I wasn't close to the entrance, but I could see light coming from it… along with some heavy snowing happening in the meantime.

I stared at the only entrance just for some time, either shocked by the current instance I was forced to deal with or because of the fact my brain just wasn't coping fast enough to the avalanche of crap that I had been thrown in.

Gritting my teeth at the cold temperature as my current clothes barely worked to keep me warm, I tried to find any other ways out of that freezing nightmare without perishing in the process.

The cave was big, but it was barely illuminated and showing me none of the path that led inward.

I gulped nervously, feeling a little bit of fear at the possibility that I couldn't be the only individual lingering within this cavern.

I stared at the dark abyss, but it didn't stare back much to my immediate relief.

It was a minor reprieve from the worry that was accumulating from that situation, and yet I was still facing the dilemma.

Wandering outside with heavy snow still falling all around would end in an undeniable ugly death.

Staying there was just silly and suicidal. The cold easily starting to bring me closer to hypothermia and I wasn't even considering it an option as of now.

Delving deeper in the cave was… a gamble. I could find some animal- or even a goddamn monster considering the circumstances that led me there.

I wasn't ready for a sudden horror scenario.

Taking just a couple of moments to think over this ugly predicament, I felt even more compelled to take the big risk.

I was starting to really feel the cold through my clothes and I was shivering madly as of that moment.

I needed to move, my logic was swift to dictate the importance of getting away from the source of cold and thus I decided to slowly wander off from the entrance and deeper in that mysterious cave.

My steps started to get louder the more my sight was deprived because of the pitch black darkness surrounding my proximity, my panic somewhat stabilizing as I continued to walk through the veil of shadows.

Calming down was a good thing to try even though the situation warranted uneasiness, as I needed to be the most attentive for what could've been lurking in the nearby corners.

There was an ominous silence and I shivered as I finally got to a point where the cold had lessened compared to where I had woken up into.

No explanation, no mean to contact those I had left home. I was left with only the certainty that I was alive.

…

Maybe.

Maybe this was actually hell and I somehow wounded up there after some stupid and unexpected death.

I could see it, and it wasn't a pleasant thought to have while I tried to focus in the efforts of finding peace in that terrifying darkness.

But because I hadn't nothing to look at, nothing to truly hear about other than my steps, I felt my mind stray away from the current objective, something that was so confusing, so unsure.

And I focused on certainty itself, which was that I had to be alive.

I couldn't just imagine that this was hell as… there were no true demons, nothing demonic in nature and… this seemed like a normal cave.

If not for the fact that I just woke up here without any recollections of how I ended up here.

I sighed, shaking my head at the silly fact that my attention span just wouldn't spare me even now that I wished for some peace.

Humming wasn't working, and my patience was slowly melting down at how unfair my current conditions were.

I was feeling some strain, the strain of being subjected to this circumstance starting to affect my optimistic thought.

This just wasn't normal, my brain was scrambling to still understand how did I get there.

Agitated and confused, I was too distracted and incapacitated to see by the darkness all around me as my feet finally meet with some novelty.

A stone, a pebble, or something a little bigger but still made with sturdy material.

I blinked, eyes widening instinctively as I felt the sudden rush of pain approaching as I tripped forward.

I expected to faceplant on the floor, at least that would have been a negligible issue.

Yet my shock tripled instants later as I felt my face go beyond the floor and… I fell.

Air shifted around me, a constricting pressure building up on the skin, mostly on my face as I felt the rush of plummeting from an unknown height.

Panic swelled again, this time logically and coherently as I felt my throat tightening up and making it unable for me to scream.

To think that gravity would've been the agent of my ultimate demise…

I expected cold, unforgiving ground to be my final destination, and I closed my eyes in a moment of self-disappointment over the fact that I ended up screwed up like this.

Regrets were there, anger was there too, but the former were stronger than the latter.

Too little, too late.

I wasn't seeing my life flash before my eyes, I was seeing the messes I had left behind as I fell towards my death.

I would've sighed, but I just conceded sudden defeat at the unfairness of the circumstances.

But while my sureness seemed to hold still over this fall, reality decided to play me for a fool as I did arrive to something cold and unforgiving.

It was also liquid, muddy, and terribly dirty.

A small lake of water greeted me as I went deep a couple of meters, yet my brain didn't shut down at the sudden hit from lady luck.

I was mostly saved, my eyes squinting up as trying to adjust at the traces of dirt slowly falling towards the depths, and I swam upward as fast as I could.

My body didn't hesitate, the freezing water sparking up all the inner process of my non-corpse to actually get out of that saving-grace-turned-in-a-deadly-trap.

I gasped as my head popped out of the water, my arms and legs coordinating after years of swimming lesson to quickly reach the closest edge of the lake.

Any strain went forgotten by my hands as I pushed myself out of there, quickly splaying on the ground and coughing any of that foul water out of my lungs.

I stood there for a couple of seconds, my mind reassessing the situation as I felt even closer to actually get some hypothermia out of that quick bath.

Still, I was alive and… I had been given a chance to continue to dwell even deeper in that cave.

A silly endeavor considering that I almost died because of this decision, yet my resolve was growing out of the fact that it wasn't as dark as before.

I could see a turquoise light coming from afar.

It was soothing, it just offered a friendly perspective that perhaps this decision wasn't truly horrible.

Except that I've almost died there.

With my clothes drenched in cold water, I quickened my pace to avoid risking my health even more.

I was able to look around and where I was stepping around, avoiding a couple of pebbles but noticing no more holes around.

I sighed as I finally stopped at the origin of the light, tilting my head in confusion at the odd crystal I had found.

Then another one quite closer and… another a little further.

It was a line, it was a prepared route. Relief washed over my entire body as I knew that perhaps there was a chance that I had indeed found a way out of that nightmare.

My pace increased even more and… I started to run.

I rushed through the small corridor illuminated by the crystals, hoping to find another exit to this cavern and…

I stopped as I reached the end of the corridor, my eyes narrowing all over the humongous room that I was led into.

The place was massive, maybe one of the greatest rooms I've ever been into and… there were three distinctive elements that jumped to my attention.

The entire room was well-illuminated, with various crystals creating quite the eerily planned setting of what seemed to be a terrible place where to be after what I've been through.

Two tall doors were on the other side, but those were closed shut and… I was well-aware that I didn't have not even an ounce of the strength required to push them open.

Finally, I stared at the strange pedestal in the middle of the room, and the odd hourglass-shaped bottle sitting there.

The bottle itself looked to be made in some white clay and the very detail that got me wary about it was the strange symbol plastered on it.

A red rhomboidal shape with white letters engraved in it- no, it wasn't English.

...Wait, is that Japanese Kanji?

I groaned at myself, remembering how I had missed the opportunity to learn Japanese just a while ago thanks to a cheap course.

I wasn't sure it would've worked, but I think some of these letters would've made sense if I had done it. Possibly.

Yet I couldn't just stop myself from reaching out and see what it was actually, curiosity demanding to see what was contained in that oddly-familiar bottle.

I took a couple of steps, looking around the room for any traps having been laid down for me to actually fall for and… nothing happened.

More steps, more relief washing over me and… lots of questions over what kind of place I was.

The Japanese- or Chinese letter told me that I was in Asia, or somewhere which had some correlation with Asian-based alphabets.

It wasn't much helping, but it did confirm a strong suspicion of mine.

I was very far from home.

And I didn't have anything to communicate with my own family.

Dread returned, but this time it didn't have my fear to stir trouble within my mind over what was happening right now.

I was numb to the fright I should've been feeling before such an unpleasant situation, yet my eyes were fixed on the bottle itself as I paused in front of it and reached out to pick it up.

The container was surprisingly light considering its dimensions and the material it was made of, enough to stop me in my actions as I studied a little more the letter visible there.

Upon closer inspection, I was quite sure that I was looking at a Japanese Kanji as I could still recognize the kind of style that I was more certain being not the 'stiff' style used to write Chinese letters.

There was a cork, one that easily came off as my left hand pulled it off and… I glanced inside.

A transparent liquid greeted me and its smell was… none. There was no smell.

…

I frowned, shaking the bottle a little and staring at the ripples spreading over the liquid as I felt more compelled to call it the very name I think was best appropriate for such a mysterious liquid.

This was water and… why.

I looked away, a grim look adorning my face as I tried to digest the fact I might as well have been trolled over this matter.

The buildup, the suspense, the religious-ominous subtone of this room. This was all a setup for a prank.

Was this a prank? Was this just some candid camera brought up for the sake of tricking me in some pseudo-anime BS?

Difficult to believe it as a possibility as I could feel that I was close to get some hypothermia out from the sudden dive bombing into a cold lake of putrid water, but I still couldn't understand why was this common water being left in such a 'powerful setting'.

I wasn't going to blame people for the location- actually, I was going to blame people for the location.

Whoever had wanted to make some epic scene out of this either was insane, or just wanted to prank people really hard. Which was also insane for a normal person to do.

I stared at the liquid again, glaring at it for having literally screwed me up as I now had no means to actually leave this place.

I was stuck after having been baited right to this very area.

This was so unfair and… well, I think I knew how to return 'some' of the favor I had been forwarded with this BS.

I held the bottle tightly, bringing the opening near my lips as I started to lift it up and chug down the water inside.

While I couldn't make any damage in a place that was already quite crappy, I certainly could do something about the water being left there around for unfortunate people to pick up and drink.

But as I continued to gulp down more of that seemingly normal water… the more I noticed that something felt off about it.

It wasn't satisfying my thirst. There was none of the usual relief that normal water should've been giving me and… I could feel some strange pangs all over my chest.

At first it was negligible, then a sudden and intense wave of unpleasant heat started to spread all over my body.

I tensed up instantly as I realized that the heat was actually pain.

My entire self went stiff as the intense agony took hold of all functions, forcing me to drop the bottle and let its content spill on the floor.

I fell forward, contorting as I tried to regain control over my senses, yet I quickly found out that my nerves felt like they were burning.

I was yelling in pain, screaming as much as I could as to perhaps gain the attention of someone- anyone that could've gotten me out of that situation.

Unfair. This was unfair.

Too much, this was- this was getting way beyond the kind of pain I was accustomed to.

The agony persisted, my head growing lighter as I felt my lungs contracting and having a terrible time getting air in and out.

The intense experience was excruciatingly long, enough to make me lose perception of my surroundings as I struggled against my immediate pain.

But as I continued to fight back the pain, I also noticed the liquid coming from the bottle had finally reached down below my face.

I stared down, my eyes flaring a degree of horror as I spotted that the 'water' wasn't water.

It was green, not transparent and the color was enough to highlight what I might've just drunk.

Poison? This was making way too much sense for me.

I was in pain, I couldn't move, and if it was truly some poison, then I was going to die any minute now with how much I had taken.

I shivered, I felt the panic swelling again as I knew that there was no saving grace there.

There was no 'lake' to avoid my 'fall'.

I was dying, I could feel it.

Yet the emotion felt more and more difficult to think about as the horrid intensity going through my body increased to an unbearable level.

I tried to crawl away, but I just couldn't feel any of my senses.

My sight was compromised, and so was my smell, my mouth was souring up and… I couldn't feel anything with my touch.

The ordeal continued for a while… but then something odd happened.

The pain reached its peak, the zenith, and soon I felt the unpleasant warmth recede back from my limbs.

The process was slow, but soon I could start feeling my mind and body regain some control over the situation.

Time passed, but I was soon freed by the unwavering notes of agony.

I stood there, breathing tiredly as the torture had taken a tool over my capacity to think and move.

But while I tried my best to slowly recover from what had just happened, I could feel something prodding from my lower behind. It was itching, lively so, as if trying to spring out of my clothes.

I tried to reach out, feeling like the sensation itself, the constriction of such absurdity, was leaving me drained, weakened.

It was about the very moment that I reached there and pulled my pants a little to let the strange sensation out that I saw a small shadow over me and soon the 'sensation' moved around for me to see.

It was furry, it was brown and… it was a tail.

…

No. What the fuck?

This- This couldn't just be-

WACK!

Something struck the back of my head quite harshly, the strength enough to put me out of commission instantly.

With my consciousness slipping away and my mind shutting down, I could only see a new shadow moving closer before staring down at me.

"It would seem like… she was indeed correct."

…

W-What?

That little question was the only thing that I could get out in my thoughts before I was fully asleep.

Meanwhile, the figure that was responsible for my unconsciousness slowly used its wooden staff to lift me up by the edge of the clothes behind my jacked, slowly pulling me away from the large cave and right through the now open doors.

Uncertainty was now my only truth.

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AN

This project has been… buzzing inside my head for some months now. I had thought well from actually going and writing down a simple DBZ fanfic as I had yet to catch up with DB Super Anime and Manga (both will have some influence with my plans as I do plan to mash ups some elements from both despite their different timelines).

What is this? An experiment. Not even I'm sure what I will do from there as I know it's a huge commitment to keep up with the massive issue about 'power levels', techniques and other variables in DBZ's fights. And no, it will not just be 'raw power wins all', the main priority will actually be mastering strength over going through major boosts as soon as possible.

What is the Year? Next chapter will hopefully contain the glimpse over the proper Year. You can all speculate, but the only hints I can offer is: A) It's set DBZ; B) This Year was never used for a SI story, this is a unique setup I had planned out to offer a limited amount of time for the MC to evolve into a proper warrior; C) It's before DBZ's end.

Who is the MC? As explained in the answer up above, the MC is SI so… yeah, quite odd as many would just call out a power-fantasy (but I can assure you all, that I would probably bail that opportunity, no matter how cool it would be to shoot Kamehamehas like there's no tomorrow); Also, there will be a degree of difficulty that will 'defy' the plot in which the story is set into.

Is the MC a Saiyan? Technically yes, but also no. While the tail would suggest that, his current biology isn't one correlated to a normal saiyan. And no, his unique biology doesn't make him instantly stronger or enable some Cheat early on (I like MCs sweat for power, never to let them slide into sudden Godhood).

Will this actually contain Xovers? Debatable, I'm still considering it up. Perhaps I will set up a poll so that people can decide whenever or not I should try out my hands in xovers. MC will start pretty weak compared to most of the Z Warriors, and perhaps throwing in some acceptable Worlds will help things up in the process. I'm thinking to make polls for worlds to let the MC dabble into.

JustBukharin · Apr 29, 2020

Chapter 1: First Steps in a World bigger than me

The very first thing that hit me as I woke up was… warmth.

The place where I had been slumbering wasn't the cold and sturdy ground of the cave I had been wandering up until a certain point, and I could feel quite comfortable in the place I currently was.

I could feel some soft covers and I slowly realized that I was lying on a mattress.

A bed?

Now, wasn't that an odd development without any external help?

Which meant that someone actually had been watching me as I went trhough mini-hell and-

Then wacked my head quite harshly.

I tensed up just a little, but forced myself to a sense of peace at the thought that the very culprit behind my current whereabouts could still be around as I was now half-awake.

I stirred carefully, trying my best to find the best position where to open my eyes without alerting who was possibly still within the room.

I shifted around, dropping my face off the pillows and right onto the mattres in quite the unpleasant positioning and… I cracked my eyes open.

…

I blinked, freezing up in a moment of utter shock and confusion as I was greeted by… pitch-black darkness.

Yet the darkness had a face. A smiling face with red lips and dark, soulless eyes.

"Hi."

The mere voice, the appearance- I didn't need to have any other proof to know who I was looking at.

My immediate reaction was legitimate as I screeched madly and jumped backward and away from that hellish sight.

"N-No, I refuse- You can't just be-"

"Well, maybe you are the one that will not be if you continue to gawk like a moron," The figure stated mirthfully, his tone sporting just a hint of amusement as he walked around the bed. He paused in front of me and I got a full glimpse of his stature.

This- There was no denying there that the one in front of me was the real thing. The OG Mr. Popo from the Dragon Ball Z Abridged.

But how the heck was he here? How the-

"Stop with your mental yapping, I really don't have the patience so early in the morning," He ordered quite sternly, drawing my thoughts to silence as I continued to stare wide-eyed the monster in front of me.

"Flattering, but it will take you nowhere and please, Kami is going to enter the room soon," The Genie/Demon commented tiredly. "You should return to your bed and do not comment about our interaction."

I gulped nervously at the unexpected order, but complied fairly quickly as I rushed back inside the covers, trying my best to ignore the figure within the room.

The place itself looked fairly familiar, but I was sure that this wasn't away from the cave itself.

It was part of it, one of the sections that had been turned in some sanctuary.

The style of the walls that reminded me of the inner sections of Kami's lookout, the lack of windows, and the second occupant…

Why? Why was this a thing?!

I didn't want to believe this was real. I really wanted for this to be a fake reality, a dream- no, a nightmare that I could leave by pinching hard onto my skin.

Yet my nails were digging at my arms, not enough to draw blood but well to give me nothing more than pain.

The intense frustration wasn't getting me out of that hellish scene, putting me in an even more worried mindset over my current situation.

And even in that shocking sight, my attention was swiftly taken away by something shivering by my side, something that felt connected to me.

I stared to the origin of this sensation, and I narrowed my eyes at what looked to be a tail.

A monkey-like one, with dark-brown fur and… it stretched from behind me, right by my lower back.

I reached for it, my grasp being fairly soft as I cautiously studied the novelty in front of me.

I-

This was Dragon Ball universe, I was in Dragon Ball universe-

There should be no way in Hell that this is Dragon Ball universe and I was in it now!

I sighed, biting down a nervous huff as I gave a quick squeeze at the tail to see if this was the real deal and... the effects was instantaneous as I felt my entire body stiffening up at the action.

It was an odd degree of stiff, as I felt my limbs tensing up and my eyes widening in immediate panic at the tighter grip over the little addition to my current biology.

Drawing my hands away from the twitchy tail, I released the hold the very moment I perceived the emotion.

I was just confused to silence, the absurdity of the situation hitting me like an entire two-floor house coming crashing down on my poor head.

My musings died away as my ears caught a noise coming from the only door of the room, as it opened to reveal an individual I had expected to see from Mr. Popo's comment and… he was there.

Tall, old and wearing his classic white robe with a blue collar, dark blue shoes that covered his feet.

A single red colored Kanji was painted by upper-chest section of the robe, and if I remember correctly it translated in his title.

Kami.

The Namekian glanced at me with some curiosity, but overall no major emotions passed through his standard neutral expression.

He approached, his tired pace improved by the presence of his wooden staff-

The very one that wacked me mere hours ago!

"I see that you're awake, young Saiyan," He greeted with a nod, and I could notice some strain within his weary voice.

I tensed up and nodded back. "Kami."

He looked particularly surprised as I returned the greeting quite curtly and mentioning his role.

"So you're aware of my identity," He muttered calmly, sighing as he stopped by the edge of the bed. "Then may you state your name? I think it would only be a case of politeness by now."

I blinked at that inquiry. "You bashed my head with your staff."

The swift rebuttal was met with another sigh. "You were recovering from the draining test of the Guardian Water, your mind was surely unable to distinguish foes from possible friends."

"Why?" I asked with a confused tone. "Why am I here, why I have a tail, why-"

"Stop." He looked sterner for a moment, enough to induce me to silence as I waited for him to continue. "Right now you can't afford to make any strains after what you just went through. I suggest you take a moment to ponder properly, calm down and then offer a question."

Technically, I had more reason to panic than to calm down.

I had yet to fully digest the fact that this was happening, that I was talking to Kami and that Mr. Popo… was someone I didn't even want to think about.

I gave a slow nod, still trying my best to attain a degree of control over my currently chaotic mind.

A couple of quiet moments passed, my breathing becoming the main focus of my attention as I tried to regulate it back to a normal rhythm.

Once I felt a little less freaking up, I decided to offer the first question.

"W-Where are we?" I asked quietly. "I think this isn't the Lookout, but I could be wrong-"

"This is a sanctuary that was built by my predecessor in his youth," Kami replied almost instantly, his eyes darting away from me and around the room. "This place is one of the few living quarters around, and the entire structure was meant to have the same function as the Lookout currently has… yet it has been barely used since he passed away."

I blinked in recollection of the few times the former Guardian of Earth had appeared. Most of the times it was through flashbacks, but there was a single time where he appeared in one of the early movies.

I nodded again, this time sponging up the information as it confirmed my suspects behind my whereabouts.

But a new place? Sure, it was making sense to me that the former Guardian would've had some other places, some other bases where to live by.

Yet I was skeptical over why I of all people was here.

"If it's not asking too much… can you tell me why was I brought to that cave?" I inquired once more, this time with a slower voice.

"That question is… quite complicated." The Namekian looked quite uneasy, seeming fairly uncertain of how he was supposed to offer that kind of answer. "Your concerns are noted, those are legitimate, but I would like to know if you really want to know the full truth or just a summary of it."

"I think I will listen to the full version."

He gave a nod, showing some minor reluctance before starting to explain the situation.

"I'm sure you're aware of who Son Goku is," The Guardian probed first to which I gave a quick 'yes'. "The same I suppose is for the other warriors that are responsible for protecting Earth."

"I'm aware of them, yes," I replied again, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Good, it makes the burden a little lighter than I had expected," The old Namekian pointed out with a hint of relief. "The reason why I requested for someone to be brought here is connected to one of the issues that comes from those brave heroes' never-ending mission of protecting Earth from external threats."

I blinked at his words. "And… that is?"

"Earth itself has its own problems. Some individuals linger around which, while not dangerous enough to condemn the planet as a whole, are currently sowing chaos all over the world," The Guardian replied with a sigh "Goku and the others are understandably busy now as they need to train for the upcoming issue, a threat that had been mentioned by a 'time traveler' that had arrived and gone just two days ago to explain this problem. One about androids built to kill Goku and destroy humanity."

...Oh God, I knew exactly 'when' I was right now.

The time traveler was Trunks, and if he had truly been there just two days ago…

Then that meant that this was three years before the Android Saga. I was in Age 764.

Three years before Cell, three years before the world would end up getting put in a situation of grave danger.

And I was here now of all times!

"That's… quite interesting," I muttered distractedly, holding back my sarcastic tune born from the unpleasant discovery.

"Indeed, the situation is fairly driven by uncertainty as of what kind of threat this truly is," Kami agreed with a nod. "But your assignment strays away from this issue, especially since you're far from making a formidable ally as of right now."

I nodded, glancing once more at my tail as I started to willingly move it around.

The sensation itself was odd, yet I could feel a strange wave of relief the more I had it wave left and right.

"How strong am I?" I asked calmly, feeling a little less distressed over the surreal situation.

"I can't give proper estimations but… I would say that you're stronger than the first Saiyan that attacked Earth. It think his name was-"

"Raditz," I interrupted with a hum. "Goku's brother and the one that started the new growth for every warrior protecting the planet."

Perplexity was displayed in the Namekian's wrinkly face, but the elder still nodded at the piece of knowledge I had just offered.

"That's correct," He commented. "And yet you're far from actually being as 'strong' as he was."

I frowned. "But if I'm as powerful as-"

"Discipline, martial arts, ki control- you lack the same proficiency as some of the masters that are 'weaker' than you. In a normal fight, I think you would lose badly against Master Roshi."

I flinched at the comparison, but not because I found its correlation senseless, quite the opposite about that case. I was appalled from the fact that I had forgotten that Dragon Ball wasn't actually about… raw power.

Screaming and flashy blasts were its main features, but some technique within the fighting style was something that drove many low-tier characters to make an admirable stand against stronger opponents.

"You want to train me," I realized with a frown. "But truly, why me and… for what?"

"The rest of the warriors are all well taking their own path to unleash their own potentials, I suppose you are confused about why I would start from 'little'," Kami hummed quietly. "I wouldn't even consider that to be 'little', in fact your potential is slightly higher than I had expected to start with- and the reason why I wanted to start anew is connected to the fact that I feel the need to have a proper disciple."

I didn't comment on that, letting the elder continue with his explanation as I knew there was much more to it than I was currently thinking about.

"Your role, differently from people like Goku, Krillin, Yamcha and Tienshinan, will be to keep watch over humanity and intervene when necessary against threats directed at innocents in the situations born from fellow humans," He finally answered, giving me a clear sight over what exactly my role was. "You will train, grow, but most of it all prepare to become a resolution to any evil-doing."

That sounded incredibly interesting, but also confusing as this wasn't something that Kami had originally thought about in the show.

So why now and… like this?

"Sir, I understand the importance of the role, but… can I ask you just two questions about this all?"

He looked curious at the sudden inquiry, but nodded.

"How exactly was I chosen and… why I am now a-"

"Saiyan?" He interrupted with a frown. "The first question is correlated to the fact that I had requested the help of Fortuneteller Baba to find me a candidate that matched the criteria I wanted to see in a possible disciple of mine. She was quite supportive with the cause, and she managed to find you as the best choice."

I was… confusedly flattered by this discovery. I pondered over the chances of someone like me actually getting picked among others.

The mere thought felt oddly unpleasant, as it meant that there was something that made me stand out from the mass. Which was surely not the case.

I was the average guy, I didn't have any 'unique trait' that should see me be in this very position.

"And for the reason behind your sudden… situation here as a Saiyan, which is quite fascinating as I was quite certain of your human biology when we first found you," Kami continued despite my own thoughts distracting me a little bit from the conversation. "I don't think I can offer you a concrete answer. Just theories over this curious topic."

I blinked twice at that.

"You... don't know?"

"The Guardian Water's unique feature is to bring forth a proper potential out of a candidate from the willpower present within them," The Namekian answered truthfully. "As far as I'm aware about, there are no cases of people that ends up turning from humans into other races."

Which meant that the 'Water' wasn't responsible for my current circumstance, and that something else had gotten me to turn into a 'Monkey' as Frieza would call me as.

This very topic would have to be solved eventually, it was a priority that I had to verify as of why it had happened to me.

But for now I was left with only thoughts that were baseless in the best case scenario, and a serious proposition I had yet to give a response to.

I contemplated the idea of literally going around, helping people, training up and… hopefully change things within the timeline.

With Trunks already meddling, I wasn't going to ignore the fact that the idea of improving the current situation of reality was ideal, especially with the kind of problems that lingered just after Cell Saga.

But to do so, I would've to put most of my efforts, all of my mind and body to get some genuine chance of actually being able to do actually something within this universe.

There were numerous individuals that I was just a bug to right now, with most of the Dragon Squad having a power level close to First Form Frieza as of now.

I glanced at Kami with some curiosity over the matter. "So… how what kind of training do you have planned, Sir?"

There was a smile that settled on his face, a sigh leaving his mouth. "I was thinking about gauging your strength first and then work on your flaws. I assume this would be your first time training in combat."

"Kind of, yes."

The admission was met with a nod as the Guardian. "I will be offering you three weeks of training, then I will send you to find two more masters before resuming your formal training."

"What? Why?"

"There are just a couple of things I can teach you because of the fact you lack the basis of martial arts and ki control," He answered quietly as he started to make his way back to the door. "I have two masters that are specialized in both arts, and you will receive training from both in due time."

As Kami concluded these words, he turned to look at Mr. Popo as he stopped by the doorstep.

"Mr. Popo, could you please prepare some training attire for Mr. Bukharin to use?" The elder requested, getting a nod from the Genie/Demon as the shorter figure swiftly moved through various cabinets to prepare the new set of clothes that I was supposed to wear.

Kami spared no further words, retreating away from the room as I was left to deal with my thoughts… and someone I didn't want to be around with.

"A pity that I can't train you, boy," He mentioned with a sigh. "I sure would've enjoyed see you go through the same train-torture as the Maggot Squad had to experience under me."

I gulped nervously, giving a slow nod despite the unfairness of that statement.

"A pity..." I replied distractedly and unwillingly.

And while I waited for the man to be done with his task, I ended up thinking about the absurdity of the situation… and how screwed I was considering the limited time I was supposed to be working with.

I was supposed to train a lot to actually match up with the challenges that were going to become a problem once the three years passed by.

But just as I prepared for what was going to be three weeks of intense training and self-improvement, I ended up realizing that there was something that I had completely missed off from the last interaction with the Namekian.

…

How the heck does he know what's my name?!

----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------

AN

New chapter, I thought the last one was being a little too 'open' over certain situations.

The year is 764, there will be lots of stuff to do, people to save, villains (Canon and not) to beat, and some events to be part of.

Events that happened in these years but were ignored during the original storyline.

I'm still unsure if I will make a timeskip after next chapter, just giving some glimpses of the training instead of making a convoluted and lengthy story that would bore people with too many details about training, and little about fights.

Also, Mr. Popo being a troll. You've been warned.

Now…

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin: 1800 (Untrained)

Ame · Apr 29, 2020

Okay, not a bad start. Looking forward to seeing where you take this.

KenneGlitch · Apr 30, 2020

This is in DBZA??? Oh, this guy is in for a world of hurt. Just find the muffin button to make a shield!!!

JustBukharin · Apr 30, 2020

KenneGlitch said:
This is in DBZA??? Oh, this guy is in for a world of hurt. Just find the muffin button to make a shield!!!

Only Popo is in its DBZA version. But yes, the muffin button will be there... and yes, perhaps a world of hurt too.

KenneGlitch · Apr 30, 2020

Awww, so no sensu bean throwing? Or androids running with demo coppies of winrar?

JustBukharin · May 2, 2020

Chapter 2: So I started blasting!

Weighted clothes.

I wasn't certainly expected to be introduced to those… from the very beginning.

The training gi that Mr. Popo had left at the edge of the bed had seemed fairly normal, or at least as normal as blue-colored Piccolo-style gi could've been.

I spent a little while trying to get done putting on the new set of clothes, yet changing into the training gear proved to be something a little more complicated that I had hoped for.

It took me about twenty minutes to get everything done and… the burden wasn't something I could just ignore considering what I was supposed to do while donning this.

If there was something I was genuinely concerned about was how straining the weight itself was and how it was limiting part of my mobility.

Sure, I could easily walk with those without showing none of my inner discomfort, but I was fairly sure that fighting while wearing the gi would end up causing me some complications.

Despite my uncertainty over this first obstacle, I decided to do my best to just shrug this issue off as I had yet to see what kind of training I had to go through with the elder Namekian.

Kami hadn't said anything about fighting, only that he had wanted to test my abilities before actually giving his own input over my flaws.

Which were way too many to be dealt with in the limited time span allowed by the Guardian considering the feats accomplished up until now by many warriors even younger than me.

Walking out of the living quarters, I proceeded to follow the single corridor just outside the door.

Silence domineered with only the noise created by my steps giving me a perception of liveliness in the place.

The walk turned out not to be as long as I had thought after a certain point, yet my mind was still distracted by the baffling sight that I was bestowed with as I reached the end of that hallway.

The humongous room was a definitive proof that I was still in the very cave I had wounded up into, with most of the upper section had some natural openings that filtered much of the illumination inside.

The light itself was what brought to my attention the two small rivers slowly flowing by the sides of what looked to be a large arena set in the middle of the area before disappearing behind some openings in the lower side of the white wall delimiting the room perimeter.

There were two bridges that connected the sides of the arena to the corridor where I had just walked out from, and another hallway that on the opposite side of the room.

I took a couple more steps, passing the bridge and approaching the middle spot of the arena as I continued to look around for more details within this place-

"I see that you finally are here."

Jumping at the sudden sentence, I turned around swiftly to stare at the calm-looking Namekian.

Kami glanced at me for a while before nodding. "And you seem to be having not much of a trouble in wearing your training clothes."

I blinked, staring at the elder approached. "It's a little bit limiting but-"

"Is it straining your body too much?" He inquired politely.

My eyes widened a little before reluctantly shaking my head at his question.

"Then there is no reason to be lowering the weights," The Guardian concluded, leaving no room for protest about it. "Now, are you ready for your challenge, Mr. Bukharin?"

I nodded, part of me wanted to actually ask about how did the Namekian learn about my name, but I subdued this thought at the mere idea that I would just be ignored or just chided about it.

There was just something about Kami that reminded me of a stern teacher, one that wasn't in the mood for wasting time- which was technically a legitimate concern with how limited my time here was going to be.

And if I got the most training out of the three weeks, the higher my chances to improve my current situation would be.

But while I knew that there were things that I could technically already change… I didn't felt strong enough to take on the multiple consequences that would come out of some of those.

I could already kill Cell and avoid the outcome caused by his little crusade for perfection as I knew that the bastard had arrived a year or so ago and was currently resting underneath some natural area nearby Ginger Town.

The idea was interesting… but also held quite a couple of problems.

I had no distinct notion about where exactly the monster was slumbering, nor I knew how 'attentive' his larvae form was as of now.

If I started to search around the area near to the damaged Time Machine, I would only end up stirring it awake much earlier on… while also providing it with more time to properly react to what was going to happen by the end of the three years.

The more I pondered over this very possibility, the more I felt that things were far more complicated from that very point onward.

Facing Badibi and Dabura this early on? I wasn't going to fight the Demon King, especially with how troublesome he had been while fighting Gohan.

And that was while also ignoring the rest of the servants to the malicious wizards.

Still, my current situation was still quite complicated considering what followed next.

"Mr. Popo, please bring the combatant within the arena," Kami requested calmly and the elder Namekian moved out of the fighting zone as the smiling 'Genie' walked beside whom was going to fight me and…

I frowned at the masked fellow.

He was wearing a gi similar to mine, yet his was a shade lighter than the blue-colored one I was donning.

He looked quite familiar, enough to make me question about where I might have seen him before and, while the mask was offering me a little hint over his identity, I knew that something was actually wrong the very moment I noticed… the brown monkey-like tail he had.

"What?" I blurted out quietly, and perhaps my query went unheard as I was given only silence as the figure continued to walk towards me before stopping just a couple of meters away from me.

We were both standing by the center of the arena, but while I looked still confused over my opponent's identity, the man seemed to be at his calmest.

His posture was eased, but far from outright relaxed. He was waiting for the beginning of this spar, yet I wasn't genuinely sure how exactly was I meant to fight some mysterious Saiyan that Mr. Popo had somehow found.

Someone from Xenoverse? Maybe. I wasn't certainly going to inquire as the match was going to start very soon.

I thought that Kami would've given some verbal input to properly begin the fight, yet I soon discovered that this wasn't a luxury I was going to receive.

My opponent rushed suddenly and without giving me much of a warning, a right hook already cocking and preparing to be the first attack at me.

I jumped back, letting his swing go missing, moving closer the very moment he was recovering from the failed punch.

My right leg slammed to his side, going through the opening that was there on his guard and I felt incredibly surprised by the recoil that the sudden counter had caused on him.

I knew that I was technically stronger now, yet it was still a shocking element to see how much of a difference it was compared to when I was a mere human.

But while I was glad that I had drawn first blood, my little victory was crushed as I was suddenly pushed around by a seemingly-unflinching opponent.

The Saiyan was relentless, throwing precise punches and kicks around and without hesitation. He even looked to be barely reacting or recoiling at my own counters, forcing me to adopt a more defensive stance as the fight intensified.

It wasn't anything abnormal as we both weren't using any particular fighting style that would've offered a little more entertainment (and maybe some help on my side), with the two of us preferring to think and then act on the moment.

Well, that was for me as the masked individual seemed to be only acting without thinking, his mind fixed so intensely over beating the crap out of me.

I was confused and awed by such drive, but then again I wasn't going to laud someone that was actively kicking my ass around.

Starting to feel my body growing a little sore about twenty minutes in that stalemate I was slowly losing, I finally decided that it was about time to return the favor with more attention.

Just as he plunged his fist forward in the effort of landing a punch on my face, I moved closely to slam a powerful hook on his mask.

While he looked to be fairly strong, his mask had started to show some cracks at the previous attacks and… this last hit managed to get his to collapse inwardly.

The man tensed up and rushed his hands to try and clear the obstruction his vision, and I rushed with only a single intention painting my thoughts.

I needed to hit him, really hard.

Biting down a chuckle, I proceeded to deliver a kick on his knee, forcing his footing to falter long enough for me to deliver a second kick to his ribs.

There was no groan, there was no reaction to that painful combo, almos making me doubt that I had actually scored some damage on my foe.

But I didn't back away from the opportunity bestowed by this situation, and I continued with some punches on his face.

The mask cracked even more at the stress I was providing with my aggressive approach, and I started to see glimpses of this strange figure's appearance.

I frowned, then I blinked, but I was ultimately forced to back away to avoid a sweeping kick from the now unmasked opponent.

Staring at me with a chilling blank pair of Mr. Popo-like eyes, I was granted a horrid vision in the form of a clone of me.

Or better, a doll with my own abilities that Mr. Popo had to have build from some of my hair.

It was old-style Dragon Ball, one of the last episodes before Goku started to train up for the last World Tournament for that first series.

A foe which only limits were the lack of experience from the body it was modeled after, and the draining effects that its mere existence took from its lifeforce.

It had the same power I had, and its mind lacked any of the troublesome thoughts that might distract it from the ongoing battle.

In fact, I was forced to cut short my shock as I saw it pursuing a close encounter, and I matched its enthusiasm with my own eagerness to see it defeated.

It was a battle of endurance by now, as I had no means to genuinely beat back this dangerous opponent with what I currently knew about combat.

I was getting some bruises, and I could start to feel the strain of the weighted clothes as the battle persisted for more than just an hour.

Breathing haggardly, I noticed that the doll had sustained a fair amount of hit and that it was starting to wobble around at the situation.

I felt my lungs burning a little as I ran again towards my wavering enemy, its reaction time having dropped drastically since I've had its identity unveiled, enough for me to pass through his defense without much of an issue.

His arms flailed around, trying to push me away as I persisted in this last assault. My persistence was followed by a growing crescendo within my chest.

I almost roared a yell as I slammed a final uppercut against the doll, the figure soaring away and falling down on the ground, failing to stand up once again from that last blow.

I stared at the doll with a nervous look, part of me expecting for the monstrous individual to stand up again.

…

But soon the doll started to lose most of any similarity we shared, the last bits of energy that kept it alive finally faded away.

I eased my guard a little bit as I started to look around to try and find where Kami had been while I was focused on the fight.

The old Namekian was staring back at me, giving me a nod as I matched his glance.

"That was an interesting brawl, but this test is far from over."

His words made me frown, yet my focus shifted away from him as I saw him throw a small object towards me.

I caught it with both hands, and I stared down at what I had just received.

A small green-colored bean.

I didn't need to think too much about it, eating the Senzu bean without any hesitation and… I felt my entire body regaining most of the lost energies.

Bruises slowly vanished and I was sure that… something else had been added to my previous capacity.

I had been wounded, albeit just a little, thus I wasn't going to deny the fact that I had to have gained some Zenkai out of that heated spar.

"Now that you've shown your physical capacity, I will ask from you to try and focus on unleashing your own Ki," The Guardian explained calmly. "Your next opponent will help you with this simple exercise."

I felt an odd need of frowning at his use of the word 'simple', especially with how 'simple' the previous training step had been.

But before I had the chance of inquiring about how I was supposed to bring out my ki, an energy that I couldn't certainly use so earnestly without actually having some instructions about it, I froze at the noise of footsteps approaching from the very direction the first doll had come through.

The new one appeared out of the shadows, and I flinched as I noticed almost too instantly that it wasn't another doll with my appearance.

It didn't have a mask, and I easily recognized the individual it was built from its long black hair and its light-orange gi styled after the Turtle School Uniform.

"Oh no," I muttered quietly as I realized that I had to fight a doll that had been formed with Yamcha's face and Mr. Popo's eyes.

...That was some nightmare-fuel material for tonight's sleep.

The hair that had been used to build this doll had to have been taken when the rest of the Z Warriors were still training for the arrival of Nappa and Vegeta, so I wasn't expecting anything truly troublesome out of it.

But with just that little relief, my little expectation that this was going to be a redo of the previous fight where I would've ended up having to have some close encounters with him, this time against Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist, were there to be broken moments later.

The doll took position, but it was quite far from where I was.

It didn't rush like its fallen 'brother', instead adopting a curious stance as he brought his hands together by one of his sides and-

Blue light started to channel right by his palms, creating a terribly familiar orb of energy and possible doom.

Oh. So that's what Kami was referring to about Ki control.

But how was I supposed to replicate that powerful technique if I barely had any experience with Ki-based abilities?!

I didn't have the luxury to neither ask nor whine about this topic, as a beam of blue light suddenly rushed in my general direction.

Rolling away, I tried my best to understand what kind of test this was. Kami had to already know that I'm not even a novice with it.

I knew close to nothing about how I was supposed to bring out 'my inner energy'.

The doll didn't care about this very issue and it stopped with its previous Kamehameha, to prepare a newer blast at my newest direction.

I pondered over the circumstance, trying to remember if Goku had managed to learn the Turtle School's prized ability before or after some basic Ki training.

...I needed to try.

If Kid Goku had managed by just watching Roshi do it without any other instructions, I could technically try and replicate the feat myself.

I've seen the ability being used countless of times, and I had seen this Doll-Yamcha use it already once.

With this theory growing stronger, I took stance and went through the simple preparation for the technique.

I held my hands together by my left side, still staring at Yamcha as he prepared to unleash the second beam while I tried my best to focus some energy by my palms.

It could be done. I had to tap into my ki by reaching deep into my core.

Gritting my teeth, I imagined something close to the heat I had felt coming from the previous Kamehameha, and I… I actually felt something starting to flow unconsciously towards my hands.

It was little, it was reluctant, but it was there and it was constant.

I reached for it, while I chanted the first bit of the technique.

"Kame-" I was nervous as I saw the doll bringing the sphere of energy forward, letting it explode once more in a powerful stream of raw Ki.

I had to keep going, I couldn't dodge just yet the attack.

My palms were heating up in awing warmth, I could feel a rush of something streaming through my arms and into the growing sphere in my arms.

"-Hame-"

I saw the light soaring rapidly at me and I felt my heart quivering in a mix of utter fright and panic.

I could be dodging right now, I should be. But I wasn't!

The thing was… I was so close to get that little achievement, completing a goddamn Kamehameha and… and I couldn't have just bailed the effort like that.

Not when I was so close to it!

As if my little prayers had been answered by some deity (hopefully, Beerus was still sleeping), I felt ready to unleash my own beam and… I pushed forward my palms.

"-HA!"

I felt raw power surging out of the sphere, a bright beam clashing into the approaching one from the doll.

Mine was denser, it was dripping with more energy as I saw the struggle distancing away from where I was standing, rushing back in a slow pace back towards the Yamcha-alike doll.

I could feel my body drained, I could feel the rush of my Ki fueling the furious blast back to my opponent and-

KA-BOOM!

Smoke exploded as the beam reached back the doll, I felt my control of the technique wavering and getting disrupted at the loud noise and I stare wide-eyed at the results of my first Kamehameha.

Moments passed quietly, but soon the battlefield was cleared by the black smoke and… I saw the second dolls, now back to its white feature-less form and without a large chunk of his upper torso now lying on the ground.

"It would seem like you've a rudimentary grasp over Ki."

I turned to the side, noticing that Kami had landed in the arena and was approaching me.

"That's- That was my first time that-"

"You used a ki-powered technique," He interjected, concluding the sentence. "Which is partly admirable, but I suppose you took under consideration some experience you've drawn from… other people."

I blinked, putting some efforts to not tense up at the implicit mention of Goku but I still nodded at his comment.

"At least you know how to use your knowledge under pressure. That's a trait that will help you during training," He pointed out with a small smile. "But still, I hope you understand that we will have to start quite soon, especially now that I've a clear path for you to follow for the rest of the three weeks."

I gave him a nod, understanding that the training wasn't going to be an easy and slow-paced experience for me, but I was well-aware that it was a must that I got up in shape to start and wander the world on my own.

"You will meditate and exercise under my guidance for the next two hours. I wish that you get a proper grasp of your power before continuing with proper sparring," The elder continued, nodding my way as I gestured me to take a seat by the floor. "And you might be facing a little more focus on the spars. Mr. Popo seems to have made some mistakes with the creation of dolls and there might be a surplus that needs to be dealt with during these weeks."

Popo making mistakes.

I mean, to a certain degree… actually no, everything he does is made on purpose. Even the illegitimate conception of numerous offsprings during his youth.

Wait, was that even a thing in this part of the universe? Maybe this Dark Lord Popo wasn't as trouble-making as the full DBZA version.

And while I began following the instructions from the Guardian about proper meditation, I couldn't help but genuinely pray that I wasn't going to be dealing with none of Popo's shenanigans beyond the commentary.

Let's just hope that I'm not jinxing myself with these prayers.

---------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d---------

AN

Oh mai Gawd! He done an 'ONDA ENERGETICA'! The madman, the sublime fool in a game of deities and godified Demons.

But no shitposting. This is a serious fanfiction after all…

Well, mostly serious.

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin: 2100 (First Zenkai); 4500 (Kamehameha);
Doll (Bukharin): 1800 (Draining quickly);
Doll (Yamcha): 1470 (Draining quickly/Pre-Saibaman);

Ame · May 2, 2020

Okay, that was entertaining to read. Hopefully he improves quickly considering the time crunch. But being in the 3 years pre Androids that gives him at minimum 1 wish on the Dragon Balls. And that's only if he's not beaten to them. But at least in canon they were left alone until after the Android attack.

JustBukharin · May 9, 2020

Chapter 3: Spread your wings and- DODGE!

The battlegrounds were once again filled with yells and noises as I engaged against the three Dolls in front of me. Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan.

Gulping tiredly as I moved through their combined assault, my figure fluidly dodging their attacks thanks to the usage of carefully-planned Afterimages. They were relentless, and their silence was once again putting me in an unpleasant vibe as I studied a solution to actually beat this last obstacle to success.

Three weeks had seemingly flied through during the harsh training sessions and the lectures scheduled by Kami.

I was once more reminded how much of a stern but careful teacher the Namekian was as he offered me numerous challenges that pushed me to unlock more and more my initial potential.

It was the rush, the heat of the moment- the quintessential fuel for a Saiyan's lust for battle.

A novelty within my usually quiet mind, as the sheer panic was soon replaced by a surprising amount of eagerness at the difficult match I was supposed to win.

The unfairness vanished before the giddiness. I was just 'too glad' to be given this kind of circumstance. But I wasn't opposed to this new emotion, actually enjoying the rise in difficulties that I was experiencing on a daily basis.

The dolls might have been troublesome early on, yet most of their unnerving charm had flickered away the more I continued to fought those.

I was accustomed to the unpleasant staring, and to the seemingly-endless brutality within their attacks.

Instead the issue was represented by two developments that were hindering my capacity to prepare attacks on my own.

Piccolo was the tallest of the trio, and the one that could extend his limbs to a dangerous degree to catch me by surprise and grab me.

Gohan and Krillin were perfectly using their limited height to provide low blows while the Doll-Namekian distracted me with some punches and kicks.

In this very spar I also learned that the Kienzan was far from a stupid technique, especially with how many times it had come close to actually bisect me.

Goku's son was impressive to face without any emotional limitations burdening his mind. He was quite fast, terribly quick with his ki-based attacks, and the Masenko was way stronger than I thought it being compared to the Kamehameha.

Trying to class against it saw me winning earlier in the fight, but the technique was easily dispelled the very moment that the stalemate seemed to favor my victory.

Smart and incredibly fierce with his insistence to keep a steady assault on me. I couldn't help but wonder how Gohan would've fared if he had been showing a little bit more of backbone in the Frieza Saga.

He was brave, especially for a kid of his age. But there was so much that he was keeping within that ended up turning him in a liability in some stressful occasions.

I didn't blame him for being afraid of deadly situations, but I think it would've done well to everyone if Goku would've paid some more attention to his son regarding his peaceful perspective.

Yet I was being a little too much distracted with these thoughts as I had to still destroy the three dolls in front of me.

A solution had appeared in my mind as I ducked down to avoid a kick from Piccolo, bringing up my arms in front of my face to catch the punches coming from both the bald Buddhist and the young Saiyan hybrid.

Pushing their palms away, I brought my hands to the side of my face, finger spread and close to touch my temples as I prepared to use one of the few techniques that Kami had seen fit to teach me about.

"Solar Flare!"

The effect was instantaneous as those words left my lips. A bright light erupting from my Ki and blinding my opponents just enough to offer me a way out of that close encounter.

Instead of just backing away and just get some break away from the intense brawl, I decided to go for a killing blow.

I jumped up, my legs pumping some Ki as I soared up for a couple of meters away from the ground, quickly cupping my hands close to my left side.

"Kamehame-"

I had used the trademark Turtle School technique a lot during these weeks, gaining a greater understanding over it as I managed to perfectly learn how to quickly bring forth the might of the ki-based ability without wasting too much time channeling the proper amount of energy.

"HA!"

The beam of blue light came crashing down on the stunned Dolls, an explosion ensuing while smoke rose to cover any sight over that part of the battlefield.

I kept quiet as I slowly focused to keep myself flying over the area. Flying was… a very complicated concept that reminded me much of keeping afloat in a swimming pool.

While many could already accomplish this without sparing too much attention on it, I had yet to grow accustomed to the strange sensation, thus I had to pay extra concentration to not starting falling to the ground.

Thinking that I was finally done with the Dolls, I waited just a little more before actually realizing, knowing that these opponents knew how to hide their Ki away.

The smoke started to quietly dissipate, leaving just the broken form of a Doll-Namekian and-

Two Kienzans moving quickly towards me.

Eyes going wide, I pushed myself to swiftly dodge the dangerous attacks. It was a close call as I rushed away from the discs, but now I knew that Krillin had survived my Kamehameha.

Just as I prepared to blitz to where the attacks had came from, I noticed a quick shadow rush from above down towards me.

I turned just in time to catch a solid kick from Gohan on the cheek. Surprise swelled at this unexpected tactic, barely noticing that this sneak attack was just the first step of a bigger plan.

My body was falling rather quickly, my eyes blurring a little at the slight concussion registered from that kick, but I saw a blue light waiting for me right to where I was falling towards to.

I blinked, some clarity and dread rousing at the sight of Krillin preparing a Kamehameha that was surely meant to be unleashed on point blank.

With my panic swelling once again, I pushed myself to regain my bearings over the situation and I jumped as I saw the orb explode in the beam, mere moments to crash onto me.

I felt the heat, the raw energy just grazing my presence as I continued with my rapid fall towards the short fighter.

Cocking a punch, I used the momentum of my current speed to heighten my strength to land a devastating punch on his face.

I heard a crack at the impact, the Kamehameha quickly dispelled as the user was now rendered unable to live any longer. The Doll collapsed and I landed on my feet, allowing myself little reprieve before I turned my attention back to Gohan.

A golden aura was channeling within his palms, now pressed together above his head as he prepared to unleash a full-power Masenko.

"Again?" I muttered quietly, despite the fact that I knew that the Doll couldn't have replied to me.

I prepared another Kamehameha, feeling strained enough to know that whatever beam I could've mustered wouldn't have been enough to push back that attack.

I needed to do something to get the kid to fail to get enough energy to pose a problem. But what could've worked on the Doll version of-

...No, that wouldn't work. It just wouldn't.

This was the first time I was fighting 'Gohan', and I had gone through with the match pretty blindly over how I was supposed to genuinely approach him in a fight.

But I had to try this little possible solution. Either for a smart win, or for some giggles about it.

"Gohan!" I yelled at him with a serious tone. The doll spared me little attention as he continued with the Masenko. "DOOODGE!!"

The loud word seemed to reach his ears right as he unleashed the technique, and while I thought that this little reference to the Abridged series had gained little effect on the boy, I soon noticed that the trajectory of the Masenko was slightly off as I rushed up above my head.

...It had worked. Somehow, the running gag between Piccolo and Gohan had worked on the Doll.

I was shocked, and incredibly amused by this very discovery, but I wasn't certainly going to gawk at this precious opening offered by this opportunity.

"Kamehameha!" The blue beam cut through the yellow one, blitzing back to where my opponent was, exploding in front of him unceremoniously.

I saw the smoke rouse again, but this time I saw the lifeless doll fall on the ground. I blinked, still recoiling from that interesting revelation I had made out of a joke.

How much of the Abridged version existed in this universe? Hopefully it's just some partial changes compared to the normal vastness of this dimension.

I didn't need to deal with that madness, despite the fact it would've been… funnier.

My mind felt a little fuzzy, the concussion and the fact I was running low on energy starting to leave me close to collapse on the floor… and that was while ignoring the state of my body.

Cuts, bruises- my training gi was tattered and in ruins after some continuous training session that had seen me handling some unfair circumstances.

Kami appeared mere moments later, quickly offering a Senzu bean to recover from that state of fatigue and damage.

The effects were as impressive as the first time, with my eyes failing from not widening at the fact that I was completely healed in a single blink.

I could feel my power increasing too, this time the Zenkai being far bigger than the previous ones I had experienced in the last three weeks.

"Your first training has come to an end, young man," The Guardian finally spoke, his tone gaining a solemn hint. "But you're still far from reaching the end of your journey. These are your first steps, the beginning of your work as a protector for Earthlings."

I nodded at him, but didn't spoke as I noticed the Namekian presenting me with… my tracksuit?

And as I frowned at it while I went to pick it up in my hands, the elder continued with his words and explained the situation.

"Yet there are a few stops you will have to take before actually going to find your next master," Kami commented. "You shall go and reach West City, where Capsule Corporation is."

Tensing up at that order, I gave him a nervous look. "Isn't Vegeta still-"

"He's recovering from a mistaken handling of his training regiment. If you keep your Ki low, he will not notice you," The Guardian assured with a nod. "And your mission shall be to retrieve an object I've requested from Bulma. It will help you in your journey around the world."

I nodded back at that comment, still perplexed over the fact that I was supposed to enter the dragon's lair without getting noticed by the dragon himself.

"But… why you're returning me the tracksuit?" I inquired quietly, confused as to why I wasn't just receiving a new pair of my weighted Gi.

"When you started with your training sessions, I decided to bring the case of your confusing situation over your new… nature to the very individual that was also present when we first located you," The man explained. "Baba was rather surprised by this development, but nonetheless promised to study your case too. One of the few things that she decided to prepare was also a seal that would allow you to restrict your current Ki, to allow you to properly grow through training without reaching a dangerous energy level."

"And… what does this seal exactly do?" I pressed with some insistence. "And why is it important?"

"Right now your power growth limits your chances of properly training and master Ki training and Martial Arts," The old Namekian answered. "With this seal, you will be able to reduce your available Ki to a percentage of your choice."

"So it technically is limited to training… but it would be best for me to keep a restrained power level for the time being?"

"The lower it is during training, the better it will be for you to actually accomplish more in these three years," The elder confirmed calmly. "But considering how much your power might alert people around, you might need to make sure you're as inconspicuous as possible."

I nodded again, grasping at the familiar texture of the cloth as he continued to talk.

"But before I offer you directions over where your next destination is, I wish to bid you with a final gift," Kami muttered before his left hand settled on the top of my head. "Something that will further serve to verify if your power growth is as unstable as I fear it to be."

Unstable? I thought that the progress was a little fast but- Unstable? Is there something truly abnormal about it?

Then I realized that he was referring about something that I was completely unaware he was capable of doing, having always thought that only a very handful of individual could've been able to-

"I thought that it was only known to Guru and-"

"Grand Elder Mori decided to bestow me the teachings required to unlock some of an indiivdual's untapped potential," He interjected with a sigh. "While it isn't as potent as the Grand Elder, it will help you with your general growth."

I blinked, and yet I was denied the chance of continuing this conversation as I felt… lifted.

My eyes went wide in shock, my entire being trembling as I felt more energy surging within my body from within.

It seemed like an eternity for me, and yet the process lasted just for a couple of seconds.

There was some silence as the elder retreated his palm away from my hair. I glanced at my hands, a sliver of white ki coating my body as I could feel the raw energy that was now filling my core.

I feel like I need an adult.

"Truly… interesting," The Guardian muttered with a drained tone, his breathing sounding a little deprived as I looked at him. "This confirms the necessity that you will need of restraining most of your power."

I gave a slow nod as I realized that I made a massive jump. While this would've been nice considering how I was still far from actually being useful with the BS-Tier of monsters that were to come, I knew that I had yet to master it all.

This- this really needed some limitations if I wanted to really have a chance to properly train before the arrival of the Androids… and Cell.

I left the battlegrounds, returning to my room to change back on my tracksuit and leave the damaged Gi to Mr. Popo.

The Genie spared me no response for some reason, merely smiling as I started to make my way back to Kami.

The elder Namekian had gone through to repair the damage on the arena, making me wait a little bit before he started leading me through some of the rooms of this Sanctuary that I hadn't seen up until now.

The corridors were pretty much the same as the other bits of the sanctuary, but the final one that connected to the top of the mountain seemed to have been styled pretty elegantly.

The light of the sun shone over us as we stood out of that last staircase, and I admired with unveiled awe the beauty of the entrance.

"My master, the former Guardian, picked this place out of many others for the natural beauty that was bestowed to anyone ever reaching this location," The elder commented with a sigh. "I remember having an awed look as you have right now, young man. The one only someone that can appreciate the world can show so earnestly before this sight."

I blinked, glancing back at him and giving him a nod.

"Earth is filled with its own troubles. The world need someone to keep an eye to protect the innocents," The Namekian resumed with a more serious tone. "These three weeks have confirmed that choosing you for this duty wasn't a mistake, and I will not lie and say that I have high expectations for your tenure with this important work."

Nodding again, and with a smile plastered on my face, I carefully drew my hand near to the seal I was now sporting on the upper right section of my shirt, following Kami's previous instructions in how I was supposed to work with it.

I dropped my energy back to five percent, feeling the sudden change already and almost groaning at how I felt… less-hyped about this very circumstance.

"West City is quite far from here, but you will reach it if you start flying towards that direction," He aimed his index on his right, and I glanced at there for some time before actually nodding at him. "I'm sure you will need some time to think about your work, and I would like for you to not rush at destination. There is plenty of time for you to actually train."

Considering that in three years I will end up facing Cell?

Maybe I was a little too much paranoid over this very instance. Maybe I was assessing the grave situation the best way possible since the bug man was going to be a nightmare to beat with my current power level.

I was sure as hell not even close to Gohan's current state right now, and I had yet to unlock the Super Saiyan form which was the catalyst to many other transformations.

So much to do, so many things to see. And all of that in a fairly limited amount of time.

Sure, three years were going to have plenty of opportunities for me to make leaps forward… but I wasn't certainly looking for the end of this 'time-skip'.

After parting a final farewell to Kami, I lifted myself off the ground, floating above before soaring through the sky right where West City was supposed to be.

The wind was whistling around me, I could feel the cool touch of the air as my flight was indeed not hasty as I had initially planned it to be.

I had so much to ponder about, especially over the fact I would be dealing with some of the events that happened in this time period.

I wasn't sure which movies would happen, which ones have already happened. I was going to discover this only if I arrived to Capsule Corporation as maybe a conversation with Bulma would offer me some insight over the current situation as a whole.

Goku, Piccolo, and Gohan were probably training near Mount Paozu, the rest of the Dragon Squad was continuing with their individual growths and… Vegeta had surely failed to understand that going for the harshest grade of the Gravity Chamber so early on wasn't going to help him much about.

And I was going to walk rather close to where the Prince of all Saiyans was currently resting by just to get some tool that the heiress of the company had built specifically for me.

I wondered a little what kind of device Kami might have requested, my first thought of it being a Dragon Radar easily dismissed by the fact that there wasn't an actual need to get the Dragon Balls this early on.

Maybe something to manipulate gravity? I certainly wasn't seeing any reason to get a portable gravity chamber for training, especially since I was still struggling with basic training right now on normal Earth gravity.

With these queries entertaining my little flight over to reach the city, I finally ended up arriving at the entrance of the large settlement after a little more than half an hour.

I stopped by the entry point, deciding to actually wander around the place instead of directly going to the Capsule Corporation.

And as I made my first steps inside the bustling streets of that futuristic city, I couldn't help but smile at the fact that I was finally out there and making my first steps in this massive world.

----------d-d-d-d-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d--------

AN

Will Bukharin be graced with a normal and sane DBZ world? Or perhaps some more elements of the DBZA have bled into this universe?

Of course, no full-fledged characters' personality. But yes, I can imagine little Gohan (about 6 years old right now) to have a little bit of PTSD after training with Piccolo over dodging. And… yes, I've some plans with Gohan, it will be FLUFFY!!

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin: 12.500 (Training done + Zenkais); 112.000 (Potential Unlocked); 5600 (Suppressed to 5%)

JustBukharin · May 18, 2020

Chapter 4: World-shattering Dilemma

Finding Capsule Corporation ended up being… easy. While West City didn't lack skyscrapers, the renowned laboratories owned by the Brief family stood out because of its unique shape and color.

The walk to reach it was particularly slow, mostly because of the crowded streets that made it quite difficult to keep up with a proper pace through the various bystanders. It wasn't annoying, just time-wasting. Yet, instead of giving it too much attention, I was still lost in my thoughts over what I was supposed to do once I entered through the main entrance.

I wasn't 100% happy to engage in social situations with people that I knew from the show, but had little to no connection plot-wise. I was going to 'make acquaintances' with individuals that I've known thanks to the series, yet I had absolutely no interactions with them up until now.

Humming quietly at the peaceful-looking city, I was kind of mesmerized by the state of… calm it had. It didn't seem to have the same issues that the cities back home had, and I was kind of curious to understand how chaos and anarchy just seemed to not exist within this world.

Sure, I knew the truth about how all crimes happened away from broad daylight and away from people, and that it wasn't desperation but greed that led some villains to rally up in gangs and made some evil deeds across this bizarre world. I wasn't going to certainly laze around and ease my guard because of this calm scenery, and I was soon shifting my attention back to my destination.

I paused in front of the open gates of the Capsule Corporation, with my eyes sporting a mix of surprise and curiosity over how much crowded the entire place looked to be. Differently from the Anime, I could see that many workers and scientists were wandering around, some enjoying what looked to be their breaks from the job while others were delving deeply in the reports they were writing while walking.

It looked like a proper laboratory from once and… I wonder how it looked inside. Taking the first few steps toward the glass doors, I spotted a couple of individuals turning their attention on me, with my light-blue tracksuit gaining the curious staring of the regular workers there. Yet, instead of rushing and inquire about my presence, they merely shook their heads and returned to their tasks.

I suppose they got accustomed to strange people passing by.

I didn't linger any longer and continued with my quiet walk towards the entrance of the building, the very moment I stepped close to the doors, those opened automatically and I walked inside and towards the reception section.

Many of the receptionists available there were seemingly busy with some scientists or clients inquiring about the products sold by the company. Only a couple were free to be approached, and I went for the closest there.

The young man looked fresh out from college, his uniform looking stark clean and his appearance embodying the true essence of a new worker in this specific area. I nodded, and I was graced with another one.

"Good morning and welcome, sir," The receptionist said with a polite tone and bright smile. "How may I help you?"

I blinked, mustering up some words to get through with this little intermission before training.

"Hello, I... I think I have an appointment with Ms. Brief over some products that had been commissioned with her," I replied with a careful tone, gaining a curious look from the guy. "I was sent to recover the object in question, I think that-"

"Do you have a name that can help me check on the legitimacy of your query, sir?"

The question was partly unexpected, as I had thought that it would've been awkward if someone could just waltz in, ask about Bulma without having ever made an appearance around her and then got out some free CC-owned products.

"I think… it's under the name 'Kami'. I'm quite unsure about it, but I was told that-"

"Just one moment," The receptionist answered with a nod, showing a friendly look. "The Brief family have some 'interesting' friends, and I think we've heard already of someone being mentioned with that name. I will check on the database."

Soon his attention shifted to the small terminal of his position, his eyes giving utmost focus over the display as he started to check through the available data in the computer-like device. Then, the man nodded and looked back at me.

"There is indeed a product left to someone called 'Kami," He commented happily, yet he showed a sad look. "Still, Ms. Brief is currently busy with some private business and I don't think I will be able to reach for her as of now."

Oh. Now that wasn't something that I hadn't expected to happen. Things had been going well up to now, but I suppose some complications would happen. Especially because a certain Prince of all Saiyans had yet to leave the premises of this place.

"I see..." I muttered with a sigh, prepared to inquire about when I could try to reach out for the appointment within the day. But before I had the chance of uttering something else, the man returned with a smile.

"Although, I think Dr. Brief's assistant is currently working within the area where the product has been left. If you want, I can notify her and see if she is available to assist you over the matter.2

I blinked in surprise at that very comment, kind of relieved that this place had much more people than how the series had shown. Still, I wondered who was this assistant and… why the mere idea of an assistant put me in a nervous mood.

Right now I could barely feel any troublesome power levels, with the exception of the high one that was Vegeta's. Yet, instead of eagerly accept the kind offer, I restrained my response to a mere nod and a 'thank you'.

The man ignored my hesitant response, focusing back on his terminal for a couple of seconds and nodding again with his smile widening at the outcome of this attempt.

"She replied favorably. She's willing to spare some time to help you on the task and… you can already go at Area 12, right in that direction." He aimed his finger at the corridor on the left, from there I could see various small boards by the ceiling indicating the various areas with arrows.

Nodding at the receptionist, I thanked him again as I started to walk through that corridor, almost missing his 'you are welcome' as I went along with the directions offered. The place was fairly big compared to what was displayed in the show, and I was surprised by the various sections dedicated to other subjects than mere capsule-development.

As I went ahead to look around in my slow wandering, I ended up reaching Area 12 after some time. The place looked more of a warehouse with how many tools and broken objects were lying by the corners of the place. The light of the room was dim but not enough to hinder my capacity to see over the glowing terminals and the large black and green board.

Taking a few steps inside, I tried to find where the assistant was and I got drawn by the quiet sound of someone humming. My eyes scanned the general zone which the noise came from and I got a glimpse to the assistant giving me her back.

I blinked at the strangely familiar light-brown hair that looked more of a mane from my current perspective. Quite unruly, but certainly not an utter birdnest. I started to approach her slowly, seeing that she was still busy with some tinkering by the table she was standing in front of. I tried to gaze at what she was working on, yet I couldn't see because of the way her body was covering my sight over it.

I was right a couple of meters behind her, and I stopped as I thought how I was supposed to gain her attention without making her jump at my sudden closeness. I frowned as I slowly felt some realization striking at her frame and dress.

"Hello?"

I was groaned at my suddenness as I saw the young woman jump in surprise at the word, swiftly turning around and aiming her welder in a threatening manner. I was tempted to raise my hands up at the unplanned standoff, yet my brain was mostly taken by the big smack I just received in seeing her front. Now, I know that face.

The bespectacled brunette was glaring at me, her light-blue eyes narrowing at my form as her tense mind tried to made sense about my presence. I could see that she looked a little bit… out of the loop with the crazed glint in her stare and the bags under her eyes.

My God, is this the human version or am I talking to the legit Android 21?!

Panic swelled within my chest, but I held back myself from actually showing my inner discomfort to the young woman. She looked trigger-happy as she was right now, and I didn't need to ruin my clothes because of that.

"You-" The brunette muttered, pausing quickly as she seemed to carefully ponder over my appearance. "You're the young man mentioned by the receptionist? The one needing help recovering the product commissioned for 'Kami'?"

I blinked. "Yep."

Her tense guard crumbled instantly as she lowered her 'weapon'. "Oh- I mean, I'm sorry for-"

"It's not a… problem. I understand that you were busy," I conceded calmly as I tilted my head to the side over the little device being worked on. "And some complicated thing from what I can see."

She glanced back, following up my stare, but then she snapped back with a nervous look.

"I-It's quite important I see it completed before the end of the day, and I think I'm close to get it finally working-" She stopped, frowning at herself. "Wait, why do I need to tell you about this?"

"Maybe you should get some sleep once you're done with it," I muttered in response. "I think you're close to collapse."

"I'm fi-… it's not true. I can do more." Almost pouting at my flat comments, the scientist turned her stare elsewhere. "So, you're here for the device prepared by Ms. Brief? Let's get done with this before you actually convince me to seek some rest."

"You should still-"

"Quiet," The female researcher interjected with an edge of annoyance. "I have still so much paperwork to go through."

"And sleep."

"And sle-No, I will not fall for these tricks!" She rebuked vehemently.

But… that wasn't even a trick.

Yet I didn't press my luck any further considering that I couldn't yet discern if this was just the Kakarot's cameo or the main antagonist from FighterZ. One could easily confuse the fact that since I could perceive her energy, there was no way that she was one of the Androids. Yet 21 was a bio-android, something that could actually emit energy like Cell could. She was more organic than machine… or that was the worst case scenario I could see.

Maybe I was talking to the relatively harmless human version of the brunette, or maybe I was facing a dangerous threat that was waiting to spring in action. Which wouldn't be a good thing considering how powerful she could get if she went in a 'sugar-induced frenzy'.

My musings came to an end when she finally opened the small box containing the tool that Kami wanted me to keep for the remainder of my long-term mission. I blinked, yet that was but a massive restraint from the giddiness building up the very moment I was shown what looked to be a working version of a Scouter.

"This is the updated version of a device recovered from when the three Saiyans attacked Earth. The project was to initially replicate and improve the functions available within the small thing, but Ms. Brief saw fit to include a map function and a communication device within it," The scientist started to explain. "From my basic understanding over this specific project, it will be constantly updated through the implementation of patches through the wireless connection. So, you might find some changes happening while you've it on you."

I gave a slow nod. "This… is certainly a big gift. Can you please tell Bulma she's amazing."

"I will… try to bring your compliments to Ms. Brief, but I suggest that you're still careful with it. It's not capable of resisting in situations of intense fighting," The young woman commented with a nod. "And can I ask you a question?"

Frowning at the sudden query, I merely nodded as she turned to stare with some fascination at… my lower behind.

"How is it possible that you've a tail, Mister-"

"Bukharin," I interjected with tension in my voice. "My name is John Bukharin."

"A pleasure. I'm Doctor Soukei Bara and why don't you explain to me how you got a tail?"

The young woman was pretty insistent over this detail. But now that I thought about it, no Saiyan in DBZ had ever wandered inside the Capsule Corporation while having their own tails in display. Not even Vegeta. So I could see why me having this on display before the researcher was the source of some novelty to the weird nature of the company's visitors.

"Well, that's because… I'm a Saiyan."

She blinked. "Wait- you mean that you're somehow related to Son Goku? Or even… Vegeta?"

"It's a little more complicated. But I'm part of their race, yes."

Humming at this discovery she leaned a little closer to the shivering thing. My own worry of seeing it suddenly grasped was manifesting in its own waving. I really didn't need to deal with a 'kick' right now.

"So all Saiyans have this tail or-"

"Biologically speaking? Yes. But there have been circumstances that saw both Goku-san and Vegeta-san ditching it because… it was problematic most of the times.

"Fascinating and..." Bara leaned back much to my relief. "I think I can offer you something to help you about… the Androids. Dr. Brief mentioned that you were all training to fend off against this menace, and I think I can offer you something to speed up your efforts."

I didn't need any other hints to know what she was suggesting about, but I still played clueless as I tried to pry out if the brunette was truly unaware about the androids as she was trying to appear.

"Truly? I mean, every bit of help can be precious, especially against Dr. Gero's machines," I said, faking a genuine thankful tone while gauging her reaction. It was there, as I pronounced the name of the androids' creator, that I saw her turn away and nod in agreement.

"Yes, it's of the utmost importance that you're all trained for this threat," She said with a neutral tone. "Which is why I wish for you to try out one of the newest functions we've integrated in the Training Room."

I nodded, hiding away my unpleasantness at knowing that she was actually a bio-android. Still, she had yet to show any of her malicious self, and I could work with the fact the young woman was blissfully unaware of my current knowledge over this Saga and beyond. Maybe if I used the Dragon Balls, I could wish for her berserk button through power-lust to be removed from her essence.

It could be possible through Shenron's magic, but I was very unsure if using the Dragon Balls this soon would actually be convenient, as I wasn't sure if things were going to be 'peaceful' during these few years before the Androids' arrival. I needed contingencies, and I needed some countermeasures to use against a Berserk Majin Android 21.

Nobody could actually beat her if she managed to absorb people and… I wasn't going to risk it if things went south about her case. I… would've to act before she had the chance of achieving that state of power.

I quietly followed the brunette to the small area which Vegeta had been using to try and get through with his efforts to gain the Super Saiyan form and… I entered it alone. The girl moved silently by the controls and nodded to me as she activated the system.

The world exploded in a flash of light, but soon I felt floating above ground, forcing me to suddenly think of flying up at the lack of some footing.

"This function has been designed thanks to the data recovered within the Space Pod that Goku used to return to Earth," Bara commented with some renewed interest. "We've yet to fully integrate the entire database, but we managed to replicate some weaker versions of the former owner of that pod. Her name was Bonyu."

I was aware of this very issue. I was terribly aware of who I was going to fight in this endless landscape of hills and mountains. Just as the woman concluded with this explanation, I saw a red and white blur rushing towards me.

Chubby, red-skinned and white-haired, this was one of the former members of the Ginyu Force, the most-known elite squad in the Frieza's army. Well, what was left of it right now considering what happened to the tyrant and his father.

"Show me what you got, bug!"

Oh right, I was also going to fight with someone that still cared for the team's infamous and flamboyant flexing and posing. This was surely going to be more of some irritation than else.

Before rushing to intercept the approaching boss, I quickly positioned the scouter by my right eye and activated it. The device smoothly went through its initial activation and soon I was bestowed with a clear sight over the threat coming for me.

This low-tier Bonyu had a Power Level of… 4800. It was fairly close to my current PL, which was 5600 from the device's rapid scanning, but I wasn't going to let myself get cocky before someone with plenty of battle experience. Albeit she wasn't the real deal, I wasn't going easy on her. I needed to win as quickly as possible and without goading my enemy too much.

Thus, I soared furiously towards the approaching Brench-Seijin. The woman was smiling confidently as she prepared a sudden Crusher Ball, taking the same pose that Jeice would take to prepare the attack.

The issue? I wasn't slowing down. Not even a moment. Instead I pushed myself to fly faster, and my reckless blitz was rewarded by some hesitation from my opponent. Bonyu interrupted her attack, raising her guard just barely to block my punch and following kick with her arms crossing before her face.

But I didn't relent this soon, as I formed an unfocused ki blast in my palms and slammed it on her exposed stomach. She recoiled, eyes going wide in surprise and pain as I proceeded to twirl around her and slam a kick on her back.

Yelping, the white-haired woman was sent flying to the ground, and the crash was strong enough to create a modest crater below the recovering Frieza's soldier. She didn't waste too much time in regaining bearings over her surroundings, and as she turned around to face me, her palms burned a purple light.

I had the time to blink as numerous small ki blasts rushed towards me, forcing me to strafe away from the incoming violet explosive spheres. My efforts barely got me out of that situation, the smoke clouds covering my vision for a while as I tried to find where the woman had gone and-

I felt something strong slam on my neck, with Bonyu bringing her hammer-like attack down on me and sending me on a one-way trip to the ground. It's been a while since I made acquaintance with the floor, especially one as green as the one created by the simulation.

Seriously, this all felt so incredibly real.

But before I had the chance of studying more this interesting detail, I was forced to roll away because a certain chubby warrior was feeling rather furious about my previous attacks. A snarl mounted on her face as she rushed with her blows, trying to overwhelm my guard, but failing all because of how unfocused her punches and kicks were.

"I'm a grand warrior for Lord Frieza! To have you, a stupid fool, strike me so easily- this is unforgivable!!"

I snorted, the action swiftly intensifying the woman's irritation over my stubborn resistance, but I suddenly got an idea over how I was supposed to win this fight with minimal efforts.

"You know, it's… quite funny to say but… your zipper is down."

Her scowl worsened, and she didn't stop with her hitting. "You think that would work! I've experienced far better mind tricks than this."

"I mean- I can see it being a crappy attempt to a distraction," I continued while I held her back from actually hitting me with my guard. "But you see, a distraction doesn't mean something that truly make sense. It can be confusing, insanely so. Like a donut without a hole. Can you think of that?"

She frowned at the insanity that just left through my mouth. "W-What?"

I smiled at her confusion, but then I broke that moment of surprise with a powerful punch slamming on her stomach. She recoiled again, this time wasting a little too much time about it and… she was caught unprepared as I quickly prepared a point-blank Full-Power Masenko.

The explosion was powerful, but so was the drain on my energy pool as I put a lot on that last attack. I wasn't in the mood of playing nice, and I knew that I got a win out of that very sneaky attempt.

In fact, just as the smoke settled, I found myself standing back in the training room's initial form, with a smiling Bara clapping happily in my direction. "Congratulations, you just won your first session."

I nodded, making my way back to the exit where the young woman started to walk beside me as we wander back to the laboratory.

"Quick question: What if I had thrown a ki blast to one of the walls?" I had to ask. I could understand some 'realistic illusion' but I was fairly sure that Goku and Vegeta had used ki blasts around to defeat the stronger version of the red-skinned elite guard.

"It's actually an interesting technology that I've personally created," She explained proudly. "The panels used to cover walls, ground and ceiling absorb kinetic energy and heat. And so, any physical attack and ki-based technique is-"

"Absorbed by the walls and… I guess into a generator?"

Just as I interrupted her about this, she punched me on my arm. "Rude, I was having fun telling you about this. But yes, that's where the energy goes."

I nodded, a small smile appearing on my face in an effort to match with her pretty one. And I quickly realized that I was supposed to kill her if she proved to be the monster I thought she was.

Goddammit, I wasn't spared even though this was the first day at 'work'.

"So, now that you got your little gift, where are you going now?" The brunette inquired innocently and I hummed about it.

"I still have to find a teacher to help me refine my control over my Ki. I'm still far from getting to use my full power and… I think I've some ideas about it," I muttered, making the girl nod.

"Sounds like an adventure. Not the kind of stuff I generally find fun but… I think I will keep in contact with you, Johnny," The scientist commented with a smug grin. "I have my number saved on the Scouter. I think I would like to keep hearing from you."

I blinked at that unexpected interest. "Any reason why?"

"I can find just so much fascination with my own projects. It's still work and… you're one of the few people that aren't related to work I think I can talk without falling into some awkward silence," She replied with a nod. "Plus, you got a fluffy tail."

… "Wait, wha-"

"As I was saying, you got my phone number. I don't think I need to explain to you that I might be busy once in a while and… I will block you if you spam-call me, don't do that."

I nodded, still trying to make sense about that tail comment, yet… I decided to not linger further around, feeling quite unnerved by the fact this might as well be a bio-android that a mere human.

"I suppose I will get going then, don't want to keep you from your mad-scientist situation and-" I stopped with a frown directed at her, one that promised retribution. "Once you're done with that, you really need to catch some rest. You got bags under your eyes."

She swatted off my genuine request with a scoff. "I'm a big, responsible woman. But I will keep your words in mind… mom."

I fake-glared at her just briefly before waving at her as I walked out of the area and the building itself. Then I went around the place to find a proper place where to lift off without getting too much attention on me and… I was flying away from West City.

The wind was caressing my hair, and my clothes were fluttering at the pleasant breeze… yet instead of finding relieve in making my way out of that important section of the world, I felt a chill going down my spine.

I felt someone watching from afar, silently so and… I glanced back to try and find who was staring at me. I instantly regretted that decision, suddenly turning back to stare forward and pump more energy into my flight.

Meanwhile, Vegeta continued to glance at me impassively, his bandaged form perched right by the slim top of the CC's building.

Goddammit, I didn't need these scares so early in the morning!!

----------d-d-d-d------------d-d-d-d----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d----------

AN

Many things happened in this chapter. We got Doctor Soukei Bara (早計バラ – Premature Rose) which could be or not a certain Android. Who knows? Maybe that reaction to Dr. Gero was for another reason.

Also, little detail about Android 21 that I feel the need to bring up to avoid any awkward comments from people: Android 21 was created to 'resemble' Dr. Gero's wife. She isn't his wife, but a replica as she is a Bio-Android, like Cell. She was created like Cell, not like her 'brothers and sisters'.

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin: 5670 (Suppressed to 5%)

Devlman127 · May 18, 2020

Is his power level of 5670 before or after the suppression?

JustBukharin · May 18, 2020

Devlman127 said:
Is his power level of 5670 before or after the suppression?

It's with the suppression. The informational page is always updated with this kind of info, so I invite readers to check it if they have any questions of the kind.

JustBukharin · May 23, 2020

Not much of an artist, but I got something 'good' by imitating a mix of early DBZ and current DBZ style. Here's Bukharin!
Warning! Don't expect a DaVinci's move.
P.S. I know, it seems low-effort, but I generally don't draw and last time I did something serious and by pencil&colors was back ages ago (7-8 years ago).

Ascandas · May 23, 2020

JustBukharin said:
Not much of an artist, but I got something 'good' by imitating a mix of early DBZ and current DBZ style. Here's Bukharin!
Warning! Don't expect a DaVinci's move.
P.S. I know, it seems low-effort, but I generally don't draw and last time I did something serious and by pencil&colors was back ages ago (7-8 years ago).

Question though: should he have black hair like any other pure saiyan? Or is it a part of what you've mentioned earlier that "he's a saiyan but there's something else about him? Or maybe I'm just looking too much into it.

JustBukharin · May 23, 2020

Ascandas said:
Question though: should he have black hair like any other pure saiyan? Or is it a part of what you've mentioned earlier that "he's a saiyan but there's something else about him? Or maybe I'm just looking too much into it.

King Vegeta in Dbs: Broly has dark-brown hair. Considering that the movie is considered Canon, I guess Toriyama decided to backtrack on his stance over Saiyan's hair-color.

JustBukharin · Jun 1, 2020

Chapter 5: Stumbling into an evil plot

Stopping with my flight to genuinely 'hide away' from any unpleasant encounters with the Prince of all Saiyans, I found myself wandering quietly by what looked to be a bountiful forest. The place seemed familiar at first sight, but then again I had watched, read and played enough of Dragon Ball to know that certain places were just… the same as the ones I knew about.

So I wasn't much surprised when I saw some T-rex giving chase around at some wild sheep, the conclusion of that dreadful chase covered by the limited sight offered by the trees-dense area I was walking by. I took an apple, quickly taking a bite out of that delicious fruit and enjoying the juicy and energizing taste coming from it.

I pondered about my situation, once again thinking about whom I had decided to pick as my first master in this long journey in front of me. I had wasted plenty of time thinking about actually seeking the help from one of the Z-Warriors, knowing that their training and power was high enough to make for good teachers.

But… I decided for someone way weaker than me. It had been a choice that had popped up in my mind while I was training with Kami, especially when the old Namekian had pointed out how my Kamehameha was 'flawed'.

It was odd to hear the Guardian label the powerful attack 'imperfect', especially since I knew I had sharpened my capacity of control over its conception. The energy beam was easy to muster up, and easier to control around; plus, I felt close to actually 'guide' the attack around if I trained more with it.

Still… something about his words just struck me in a curious way. I always pondered over the fact that, compared to the other human warriors, Master Roshi never ditched the extra steps to create his technique. It was a lengthier process… but the beam looked slightly different from any of his students' attempts at it.

Yet this decision wasn't motivated just by the fact that I wanted to refine the Kamehameha. No, I really wanted to attain a better control over my Ki. While Kami's approach helped in making it possible for me to actually 'understand' where my energy was within my body, the overall control was… lacking.

Goku might have learned for years under the Namekian, but it was under Master Roshi that he learned how to better control his raw ki. As a Saiyan, learning through fighting was the best thing possible… and martial arts were the catalyst that would surely lift me up to higher points.

I didn't expect to improve my raw power, but to actually bring out more of my inner potential by refining what was already there within my body. It sounds… odd, but it worked well for many other warriors that had studied under Roshi, even those that were well beyond the old pervert's power-level.

Getting a perfect control of my Ki was my first priority, then… maybe I will start aiming at stronger teachers that could genuinely help me up with my current power level. One in particular, the one I wished to have as my third teacher, was going to be difficult to get in contact with considering in which point of the timeline I was right now. But… maybe, if I get in contact with King Kai-

Just as I finished this thought, my attention was taken by the distinct smell of fire coming from… somewhere deeper in the forest. Blinking, I lifted off from the ground and tried to look around for any smoke trail and… I saw a big, dark one coming several meters away from my position.

Someone was trying to burn the forest? Or maybe there was something else going on- I didn't waste time thinking too much about it and just ended up flying over the interested zone. The clearing looked to be crowded with people, some of those armed to the teeth.

I frowned, studying a little more the oddly-familiar uniform and helmets, almost gawking at the realization coming to my mind at the sight. There was a common element by their headgear, a small ribbon… colored in blue.

"You got to be kidding me..."

I approached, settling back to the ground before actually try to understand what was truly happening. The men deployed by the now burning trees were coating the bases of the untouched ones with what looked to be fuel. Then they lit up the liquid with matchsticks.

I didn't wait any further as I got full glimpse of the horrible deed unfolding right before my eyes. I jumped out of my cover, bolting at maximum speed as some of the guards already noticed my presence. I was a blur to their eyes, a blur that quickly reached for the distracted bastards burning the forest and knocked them out.

I had to put extra attention with my strength as I started to deal with the 'Blue Ribbon' soldiers. Even at 5% I was well capable of mistakenly kill the people in there with how weak those people were compared to me. And I really didn't want to kill anyone there despite how my mind was calling me to draw some blood. It sounded like the right thing to do… except that it wouldn't be really the right thing to do.

Justice in this world surprisingly worked in keeping criminals jailed away from the world. I don't know if it was something idyllic that came from a large history of careful reforms from the central government, but I was well-aware that tribunals and prisons were good at making their correct jobs.

So, instead of going full DB Goku on those jerks, I decided to put them out of commission for the time being. I panicked a little as I heard some machinegun starting to spray bullets around, the guards that had yet to be decimated trying to kill me but failing to bring their aim to properly reach my swift frame.

I was incredibly doubtful that I could actually tank bullets as of now, so I just decided to dodge those until I was certain of my bullet-proof capacity.

It took me roughly two minutes of intense pacing to get the entire situation under control. Well… mostly under control. There was still a dangerous fire enveloping more bushes and trees while I checked on the entire clearing. The moment I knew that I was safe and could now focus on this problem, I proceeded to try out something I had tried just once during my training.

Ki could be used to do more than create explosive beams or boost the user's body. No, it could be used to bolster physical actions that normally wouldn't make much of an impact in a situation. I raised my arms away and spread as I prepared to unleash my first 'meme' technique.

"Please-"

I muttered, quickly bringing my open palms in front of me, slamming one against the other.

"Clap!"

A powerful gust emerged from the single powerful clap. One directed right at the direction where the fire was spreading and slamming onto the burning trees. The power of the wind was enough to suppress the flames, leaving just the dying embers on its wake, but also moderate enough to not see any trees flying at the sudden ki-enchanted clap.

I waited for a moment, gauging for any possible elements that could've rekindled the flames, but soon enough I eased up my posture at the sudden calm and peace introduced to the forest. With this very problem solved, I returned my attention to the unconscious soldiers. Rather, I was aiming at a specific one that was still barely awake after my little blitz.

I reached for him, lifting him off the ground and carefully snatching the gun in his hands away from his hold. He yelped in surprise, the sudden bout of violence forcing him to be wide awake as I addressed him.

"Look, I'm not here to kill you, but I want to know what the heck is going on," I demanded quickly. "And I want some real answers because I know that this isn't just a jolly evil deed done out of pure boredom."

He was shivering, my bored tone combined with what had just happened seemingly bringing him in a state of fear. The man recoiled in mild horror at the situation, but he seemed quick to comply as he nodded at my words.

"I-I'm sorry- I didn't even want to be there- but the boss wanted to find something in there," The soldier quickly ratted out. "I don't know what- He just wanted us to raze the place and find something like a sphere or an orb."

...What the fuck?

"Tell me more about your boss," I demanded once more. "Who is he, and why you were all 'forced' into this?"

He gulped nervously. "A-At first we thought it was a mere bodyguard job- these men, we're all part of the same mercenary group," The man continued to explain. "He wanted us to wear these uniforms, to say that we were part of the reborn Red Ribbon Army, now called Blue Bow Army and… and I don't know what his true appearance is. He spoke to us through some powerful tiny robots that- that forced us into this. Those who protested were killed quickly and brutally."

...Gero was behind all of this? It… it wouldn't make any sense. Why would he aim at the Dragon Balls- why now of all times?!

I let him go, the man trembling on his feet and taking just a step away from me.

"Give me the address of the place where you were briefed about this mission."

The request was quickly answered and I blinked at the fact that I was actually nearby to where Ginger Town was. The warehouse in question was an abandoned one which had some signs about 'Mech Corps' or something like that. I was going to find it and see what the hell was going on… once I was done here.

The man was reluctant to run away as I said that I was going to call the cops through the Scouter, merely grateful he wasn't dying one way or another. Leaving the now disarmed soldier to his own mutterings and shivers, I decided to take a look around the burned area, now feeling interested by the fact that there was a Dragon Ball nearby.

I was still digesting the fact that whoever was behind this kind of operations had built something akin to the Dragon Radar, but I restrained myself from over-thinking about this by actually searching the scorched zone.

Blinking at the semi-transparent orb with three stars that I ended up finding after about twenty minutes of careful searching, I proceeded to fly away from the area. The Dragon Ball was safely placed within one of my deep jacket's pockets, and my attention was taken by the quick call I needed to make as I went to verify the claims of the terrified soldier.

"John, I didn't expect you to call so soon," A certain brunette answered my call. "But since it's not been even a couple of hours since I've last seen you, I bet it's not a courtesy call."

"Nope, sorry Bara. I promise you that once I'm done with this issue I will call for some chatting," I promised her as quickly as she finished that last sentence. "Is… Ms. Brief there? I really need to spare a couple of words with here."

There was a pause. "What did you do to the Scouter?"

"I did nothing to it," I rebuked with a sigh. "I just need to talk to her about something I just learned recently. Something… that might be threatening the world as a whole?"

"Oh? Not even a day in your adventure and already finding some trouble to butt heads with? What is it? Some megalomaniac trying to mind-control the planet?"

"Something about the wish-granting dragon being sought by some malicious bastard. Again," I muttered, with my last word drawing an amused snort from the researcher.

"I suppose this isn't the first time this happens… but sure, I think Ms. Brief is working by one of the nearby laboratories. Hang there, I'm going to check."

I nodded absently, despite the fact I was well-aware she couldn't see me right now. Humming quietly as I patiently waited for her to go through with that little search, I went silent as I heard some scrambling happening from the other side of the call.

"Hello? Is the call still on?" A new feminine voice suddenly inquired and my eyes widened in recognition at the fact this was Bulma.

"Yes uh- I'm speaking to Ms. Brief?" I asked with a hint of nervousness.

"Yes, and I suppose you're… do you prefer 'John' or 'Bukharin'?"

"Both are fine… but I suppose I can go with 'John' since it's curter," I quickly replied.

"Then let's just skip the formalities. I'm Bulma and… from what Bara just told me, you got something important to say. Anything I should be concerned about?"

"I've reason to believe someone with bad intentions is searching for the Dragon Balls," I explained with a serious tone. "Just a couple of minutes ago I stopped a group of people that had been hired to burn a forest where one of those are and… I just found it. It's the Three-stars."

"Is that so? Then that means that whoever is hunting the Dragon Balls down is aware of their current positions," The blue-haired young woman deduced swiftly. "Which is actually bad and worrying since that means this guy is prepared for the task. Do you want me to contact Goku or-"

"I actually wanted for Kami to be alerted," I interrupted her, thankful that there was no video to the device as I hadn't to hide away the flinch of having to deal with the man early on in my journey. "I don't think it's a big fish, but if he can recover some of the balls before they are all taken, it would-"

"Help us delaying this dangerous individual enough for you to find out who it is."

...Goddammit, she IS as smart as I imagined her being. That deduction was just… absurd.

"By the way, before I give the phone back to Bara… I hope you're aware that Vegeta has seen you when you visited," She commented, drawing another flinch from me. "He seemed incredibly… fascinated. I wouldn't say he's obsessing about you, but considering how few Saiyans exist right now and how he's trying to get the whole 'Super Saiyan' gig going, I can only warn you that he might try to catch up to you once he has fully recovered from his injuries."

I gulped nervously at that big warning, dreading that very possibility now that I thought back about it. While the man wasn't truly as bad as he was back in the Frieza Saga, he was still an arrogant jerk that liked to eagerly throw around any insult or preaching over the 'Proud Warrior Race' that were the Saiyans.

I wasn't ready for that kind of abuse… and much more than that since he would surely want a partner buddy out of me despite the fact I wasn't strong enough to be worth a good spar. Why he would still pursue an active effort to train with me? I wasn't as cheerful and 'annoying' as Goku, and I wasn't a 'half-breed' like Gohan. There was also the fact I wasn't a Super Saiyan… like Trunks was.

"How much would it take for him to be back to perfect shape?"

"Two weeks at best," Bulma answered curtly, making me flinch at how little time it was considering how I was meant to train and 'spike' my power-level to fly around. "I can offer you three by lessening the medicines he's taking to recover. It wouldn't be much of an impact, but I'm not going to try and kill him with that."

"I can take that. I understand that I can't exactly ask for more." I quickly answered. "Thank you for you help, Bulma."

She sighed. "Happy to be helpful… and good luck with your trip, new guy."

New guy? Really?

I didn't have time to inquire about that nickname that there was more scrambling from the other side of the call.

"Now, that was an interesting discussion I just eavesdropped to," Bara muttered with some curiosity. "Now, what was that about you not needing help from 'Goku'?"

"It's complicated," I rebuked meekly. "I really don't… feel like I should be involved around someone around him. I don't need him but-"

"Oh, is someone feeling nervous about meeting someone like Goku?"

I snorted at the teasing. "Who knows… by the way, did you get that rest you promised me to get?"

"I don't recall making such a promise. Still, I grade your efforts a solid B- for trying to guilt-trip me."

"B-? Really?" I asked with a disappointed tone.

"If you had put a little more effort instead of blurting out the first thing you had in mind," She admitted, taking a moment to sigh. "But I guess your mind is elsewhere and you can't provide with any fun discussion just yet. Also, do promise me of that, wouldn't want you to back away from that."

"As if I would back away from talking with you," I muttered calmly, only to pause for a moment as I realized what I had just said and in what tone. "I didn't mean like-"

"Jeez, you sure are mess when you're focusing elsewhere with your mind," Bara commented with a mirthful tone. "I leave you to your own business. Don't get hurt, and call if there are any other problems."

The phone call ended there, but my mind lingered a little more about the last bits about it.

Do I really blurt out things when I'm thinking about something more important than social situations?

---------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d---------

The warehouse looked to be in the worst shape possible for a building to be.

Windows cracked and broken, main doors bent and already twisted outwardly to offer easy passage inside and a grim-like gray color staining the walls. It wasn't the original paint, it looked more the result of time and dust screwing with the color.

I was going inside a spooky building alright, but I was helluva prepared for whatever was lurking within it. I couldn't perceive any abnormal energy, but then again some mechanical foes didn't need 'power levels' to poise a threat to anyone. So while I had early intentions to breach quickly and get to the bottom of this situation, I suddenly realized that the gung-ho attempt was only going to make things… messy for me.

I wasn't sure what I was going to face, nor if the bastard responsible for this situation to not be Dr. Gero. The fact I was dealing with 'robots' might allude to that possibility, yet I had this little voice inside my head shunning this very possibility. The man was far too busy with building Android 19 and turning himself in an android to actually care about the Dragon Balls. And for what? He got 'everything' solved thanks to his science.

Still, beyond that natural assurance that I wasn't going to face Gero this early in my trip, I wasn't going to ease down my guard at whatever was lurking around in this place. The main entrance was dim, the light coming from the windows reaching just barely the indoors and I was forced to produce a sphere of ki by my right hand to have some good light.

The messy place was messier than I had looked outside. Various machinery was cracked, half-dismantled from how it was originally meant to be. The sense of dread and that I felt watched pushed me to delve deeper. The faster I unraveled this mystery, the quicker I was going to get rid of this maddening sensation.

I made my way through the empty hallways, staring left and right, glancing the half-open doors of the various rooms on both sides of the corridors. Gulping nervously, I started to hear some… noises coming from deeper the building. At first I thought them as part of the roof having collapsed and letting go some of its pieces to fall down.

Then I got closer to the sound, noticing how it matched more like someone banging at a metallic barrier. It grew louder the more I approached the large central room, the very epicenter of the building. And I finally got sight of the cause the moment I entered inside that area. A small cage, there was someone slamming their hands by the small door that kept them inside that limited space.

"Is- Is someone here?" A hoarse voice inquired in what sounded like an attempt to a yell. "H-Help."

I blinked at the voice, but I picked up my pace to approach the cage. I stared around it, trying to get a proper look of who was inside the place but-

"H-Hey, I see you!" The masculine voice commented. "P-Please- I've been here for so long and… and I don't want to be part of what is going on!"

Maybe this guy was a prisoner of the scumbag behind the situation. I didn't hesitate in reaching out for the metallic door… and rip it in a single swing. The material was slightly resilient, but not enough to survive a solid pull.

I saw a tall figure fall by the floor, his breathing quite labored as he tried to recover from the experience suffered up until now. I stared at him, confusion building up as I felt like his red hair were familiar. The way those were combed… the vibe I was getting from his appearance was one of familiarity.

Where have I seen this guy before?

Just as I started to think about this, I saw him lift up his face to me and show a grateful look… completely unaware of the inner shock I was going through at discovering who I just freed from that small prison.

There was no doubt about it, even with that thick mustache, I could recognize the face owned by the one and only Colonel Silver of the Red Ribbon Army. The man looked way older than he was back in his presence in the first Dragon Ball series, but I didn't doubt it was correlated to the fact that it's been 14 years since he had been last seen.

I couldn't exactly remember whenever or not he was killed or not when he was beaten by Goku, the last scene he was shown was never expanded enough to reveal his final fate. Demise or exile.

From the sight bestowed to me right now, I was leaning decisively towards the latter option.

"T-Thank you- I- I was afraid that I was going to die here," The once prideful man said while bowing and prostrating towards me. "Y-You saved me. I'm grateful and-"

I held my hands up in an appeasing gesture. "Sir, maybe you should take a moment to regain your bearings," I suggested calmly and slowly. "I understand you're thankful, but I need you to recover a little more so I can ask you about what the hell is going on."

A decrepit cackle dashed my little hopes of a peaceful understanding of the current circumstances, the sudden interruption causing Silver to panic and grasp at me, while I turned my attention right up to the origin of the dreadful noise.

An old man advanced through the darkness, a devious smile on his balding head and a small cane helping him approach…

…

Goddammit, what the heck is he doing here?!

"Greetings young man, I suppose you're here to hinder my chances of recovering the Dragon Balls," Dr. Kochin, Assistant to Dr. Wheelo, commented with his creaky tone. "Quite a pity to be fair, you seem quite young… to be living your last day on Earth."

"Cool, did I win a lottery for a space trip to Mars?" I shot back with a smug tone. "Or maybe you're just begging for a quick death, old man?"

His smile twitched, it was amusement that played in his features. "A joker, who would've thought. But still, I can't allow you to persist. Your presence here is… an obstacle to our plans."

"Oh, don't tell me. Did your front door get frozen in ice?" I asked, trying to play out the fact that both the original and the Abridged version played with this very initial part. Summoning Shenron… to melt some ice.

…

Surprisingly enough, the elder frowned at my word. "What? What are you even talking about?"

"You know, things can get frozen, even machinery, when they are located by the Tsumisumbri Mountains," I suggested with a hint of curiosity, getting a surprised look from the old assistant when I brought up where his Master's laboratories were.

"I'm… perplexed about how you know about that. But I feel more confused as to why would I need to use a Magic Dragon to wish away some ice off the door… if it's going to reform after a little while it's gone," He remarked. "Sure, there were some problems with the front door, but we had it solved by creating a long tunnel that allowed passage through the backdoor."

Holy shit, isn't this like a… smarter version of Kochin? Like… he sure sounded like his Abridged version but the fact he actually 'understood' that using the Dragon Balls to literally melt off some ice wasn't a smart idea just made things… oddly pleasant.

Maybe it was the lessening of the dumb reasons for once.

"But why would you actually need the Dragon Balls?" I pressed on with even more confusion.

The man chuckled, sounding more like one of his lungs was committing seppuku before my eyes.

"Why? Well, my Master, Dr. Wheelo, wishes to obtain a body that better fits with his mind. And that body is… the one owned by-"

"Son Goku?" I finished, frowning even harder at that and making the old man look… nervous.

"Y-Yeah- but I suppose you're aware of that and much more," He conceded with a sigh. "Still, your efforts to actually beat us are less than null?"

Was that even possible in the world of real things? I can be mathematically wrong, but the numbers here just don't add up with these chances.

Still, it was worrying that the two scientists were trying to pull a Zamasu, and that attempt was genuinely going to succeed if I didn't move to stop them as quickly as possible. So, instead of lingering quietly about the matter, I shrugged off Silver and took a fighting pose.

"You know, doc, I feel like Math wasn't your strength back at school," I rebuked, a small smile appearing in my face. "In fact, I think I will teach you through a crash course of Infinite Punching 101."

He shrugged. "That sounded weak."

I narrowed my eyes at him for that, but my attention was suddenly taken by two dark creatures rushing towards me. Bald, creepy, and with scary eyes.

...No, these weren't Saibamen. I was dealing with 'Bio-men'. I was still unsure what exactly was the difference, but I didn't ponder too much about it as I started to counter that sneaky attempt. A powerful kick swept both monsters away, the attack strong enough to kill them instantly.

I mean, those were weaker than Raditz. And I wasn't certainly letting any of those getting too close to me. I wasn't going to die the Yamcha way… first version.

"Oh my, it would seem that I'm out of means to defend myself. What will I do." The dull tone in his voice showed how little the decrepit doctor cared about the situation, his devious smile resurfacing as he turned around and started to walk away. "Better starting running back home. I don't want to die."

I jumped, ready to intercept the bastard, his cheeky attempt at irritating me (which was succeeding), only to be forced to back away as a swarm of Bio-Men blocked the direct path that led to him.

If it had been just six or seven, I wouldn't have hesitated from continuing with my pursuit. But when I found a little more than twenty monstrous things rushing at me, I felt a sliver of panic at the cadre of fiends in front of me.

Still, the situation wasn't that bad. The real issue was that I couldn't move to stop the crazy assistant from leaving the room and the warehouse because of the various low-level bastards keeping me busy and distracted.

After about five minutes of careful fighting, I found myself alone with various broken Bio-men, a trembling and awed ex-Colonel Silver, and… a growing dread regarding the recent developments.

Now, can someone give me some directions to the creepy lair of Father Brain?

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AN

First mission? More like immense mess to deal by the 'first real day at work'. Yes, I will twist the movies plots to create something amazing, especially since most of those are deemed non-canon… except for some characters actually appearing.

The first one is Wheelo and… one can wonder if it's the Abridged Version or not. Maybe something even worse than that.

Also… Colonel Silver. Kind of a forgotten character which fate is canonically… unknown. He was meant to die for failing to kill Kid Goku, but it was never mentioned if that went through or not. Here he is and… things will be fun with him, but nothing 'too serious' (kind of serious, but also comic relief).

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin: 5670 (Suppressed to 5%)
Standard Blue Bow Soldier: 12
Bio-Man: 1000

Ascandas · Jun 1, 2020

Hehehehe, John vs the sai-Bio men: John wins, perfect. Alright, things are truly kicking off, John has panic regarding the characters which is understandable, John is already putting his foot in his mouth with Bara (let the shipping begin!!!), and Wheelo is trying to pull a Zamasu. Overall great chapter with lots of great things.

JustBukharin · Jun 15, 2020

Chapter 6: As cold as Arctic

"So you really mean it when you said that you went out of your way to reform the Red Ribbon in a force of good," I muttered while glancing at the small group of people sitting near to the older Colonel Silver. They looked pretty harmless as they went on checking some supply box they had set in their little headquarters.

Still, I was surprised to learn that the man was not only alive, but also making an effort to redeem all the pain caused by his former organization. We were in what looked to be a small makeshift encampment that had been set just outside of Ginger Town.

The place had some tents, some metallic fences set around the perimeter and two checkpoints by the entrance. It was well-organized considering that they weren't working with a stable income with their 'volunteering'.

"What happened years ago, when Goku-san stormed our bases and battled us because of what we were doing to the weak and the innocents- it showed me that the course of action taken by Commander Red was a despicable act," The leader replied with a nervous tone. "I refused to fight for a while after my 'betrayal' to the cause. I kept under the radar, away from any dangerous situations and… for a while I loved being a simple farmer."

"But… now you're here and leading a good-willed organization. I can only imagine that something pushed into this situation?" I guessed with a skeptical tone, still unsure how I was supposed to digest this development. While Colonel Silver wasn't evil and the original dub version had him as a cocky young man that was unsure how to live like a proper Red Ribbon soldier, I wasn't just going to shut an eye at what was unfolding in here.

So many people, so many military-grade vehicles… but little to no weapons being carried around. Kind of odd to see just a handful of people wandering around in patrols with some guns, especially if these guys in particular were the former remnants of a dangerous group like the Red Ribbon Army.

"There was a… moment of clarity."

I blinked. "A what now?"

"It was something that happened some years ago. It was a little after I had settled down in the countryside," He started to explain with a tense tone. Whatever he was planning to say, it had to be quite uneasy to reveal. "The place was bountiful with its fertile fields, but I wasn't alone in that area. There was a small family of three that lived nearby and… I knew them. Closely so."

There was a slight pause, and I stared at him without pressuring him to continue. Still, he let out a sigh and nodded as he went on with this tale.

"While the World has a powerful army that can move quickly across the continent, the same effectiveness isn't with the police force. There's hardly a station available to send patrols across the land and… bandits are still a problem."

I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "There's no need to continue-"

"I think I still will," Silver interjected, pausing a moment and then bowing as he realized that he had talked over me. "I didn't mean any disrespect-"

"Don't paint me like a God of War just yet, Silver-san. I'm not here to exact any ass-whooping if the situation is truly as your exposing it," I interrupted myself, sighing at the cowering I was looking at. "But please, do continue with this tale if you truly think it's that important. I guess it's something you find a reason to continue down this road."

He nodded again. "When some bandits attacked the territory, I tried to swiftly take care of them," The former RR leader said as he resumed his story. "They weren't well-equipped or trained, which made the entire situation less than dangerous for me. The same… couldn't be said about my neighbors."

…

"They didn't have a gun and, while I was quick to make my way through the thugs between me and their house… I arrived too late."

I sighed, keeping quiet as I studied the mourning look on the redhead's face.

"You brought up this paramilitary force to not let this horrible ordeal happen again," I calmly supposed, knowing quite well that it just sounded to be the truth in this case. The man nodded, and I continued. "Still, I hope you understand that those men of yours that had been jailed can't be freed right now."

"I understand and- I think we can spare some coin to pay for their bail," Silver answered readily. "We work with the system, not against it."

Nodding, I turned to give another look around the place. Some of the soldiers had stopped in their tasks to listen to this discussion. Silent nods agreed to the chief's mentality and I couldn't help but frown at the curious situation I was facing as of now.

I had expected some strange surprises along the way. But something like this had me quite confused over the matter and unsure of what to do with this revelation.

They sounded to mean well. Genuinely so. But I couldn't certainly let them unchecked now that I was aware of their existence.

"How did you ended up recruiting so many people?" I inquired with some interest. "I know a few had minor roles in the Red Ribbon army, but what about the rest?"

There was a hint of nervousness popping in Silver's facial features, but he quickly nodded at my words.

"A couple of the recruits are relatives to the first members, while the rest are just volunteers that found the idea of joining my group appealing," The man answered. "Most of the men here are intellectuals with little to no knowledge of how to use a gun and… we've a full-fledged PR department because of this surplus of… nerds."

I frowned, showing a speck of fascination at the last detail. "Truly?"

"There are experts among us that are willing to offer their services cheaply. But of course, I've seen to provide them with good wages."

I nodded at that swift response and decided to think about this for a while. Humming quietly, I started to cross out the possibility that this was just a cover for something more nefarious.

If they truly had plans similar to the group they were trying to 'redeem themselves from', I would've imagined a situation a tad bit more militaristic. No tanks, not armed helicopters and not much of an army-like outlook from the way things were organized.

If they truly wanted to take on the mantle of the Red Ribbon Army, then they were already failing miserably at it.

"By the way… sir-"

"John. My name's John Bukharin," I quipped distractedly, still thinking about the complicated dilemma of whenever or not trust them.

"Well… Bukharin-dono, if I may ask- are you Goku-san's son?"

I almost stumbled at that unexpected question, and I was about to let out a quick 'why' at that. But then I remembered about the tail and things clicked about this new topic.

"No. I'm… kind of related to him, just not as directly as that," I muttered with a sigh. Then I looked back at him with a serious look. "Still, I've to say that the situation is quite surprising, if not worrying considering that you're rallying quite a big group here."

He tensed up at my words, but provided a calm nod at those. "I'm- I'm ready to take responsibility for my men's actions. If you have to arrest someone then-"

"Which is why, instead of making brash decisions now, I will focus on the other pressing issue before giving the circumstances a proper verdict," I interrupted, continuing with my judgment and driving him to a quiet but shocked reaction. "About that, can I ask for a phone number or something like that so I can contact back once I'm done."

-----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d-----------

The man didn't let himself wait as I was given that contact quite earnestly.

Frankly speaking, this was one of the fastest ways I got someone's phone number. Truly not something to be proud about if said person was slightly terrified of me going 'Kid Goku' on his plans.

Heck, even I would be a little unnerved at dealing at that kind of madness so suddenly.

Flying away from the area, I shifted my mental focus right onto what was going to be a difficult battle.

Sure, I could stomp on whatever Dr. Wheelo was using as guarding mutts in his laboratories. I was well aware that any of his mutants there were hardly a threat even at my current fighting capacity and that the giant brain-in-a-jar's power level was terribly low compared to many other DBZ villains. Even lower than Garlic Jr. for Kami's sake!

I was surprised that the guy was still making an effort despite how many heavy-hitters now lived on Earth. Yet I wasn't truly much surprised by the stupidity of certain villains in making a 'run for it' and ending up burned the process.

…

And I slowly got the feeling that this wasn't actually the case. Not even close to it.

I started to realize that blitzing in and destroying everything around me wasn't just going to work well with the fact that the guards at the bunker's entrance didn't seem the same 'weaklings' I had hoped to encounter.

25.000? What the heck is going on here?

There were multiple creatures lurking by the open doors, and I stopped in my flight when I got a clearer glimpse at the closest around. The monster was hideous, but I quickly too notice of the fact that it looked nothing to the trio of freaks that the movie had displayed as the only mutants created by mad scientist.

The creature took notice of me, its deformed face snapping at me as its mouth let out a shrill shriek. Gritting my teeth at the ugly sight, I proceeded to up my current power level to 40%, reaching 45.360.

Better safe than sorry.

I dived down, quickly slamming a ferocious punch on its unpleasant mug. The hit forced the monster to painfully faceplant into the ground. The rest of the circus ran towards me as they noticed their fallen comrade.

I didn't hesitate with my blows, punching and kicking my way into the laboratories while destroying with ki blasts the various fiends. Screeches, roars, and other inhuman noises kept me on the edge while I ventured inside the dark lair. This just wasn't what I had expected to find in the Arctic, nor I was going to have pleasant dreams with the imagery I was finding around me.

The first wave of freaks was dispatched mercilessly, and I was relieved of any pressure for about a minute or two as I continued to walk deeper in the large building hidden in the mountains. The dim light offered by some light-bulb set fairly distant from the central path highlighted some of the things that were on display by the walls.

Monitors, terminals, some blackboards and… large tubes filled with liquids and living beings. Most of those looked to be the same as the fiends I had been dealing with early on, while the more I delved further in that scary place, the more I saw some 'less-refined' specimens.

They had curious clothes, and those were the definitive clues that explained why these monsters were stronger than how they had been back in the movie.

White boots, black full-body suits and some helmets here and there. This kind of uniform was only available to the Frieza Corps. And I'm pretty sure that Trunks didn't vaporize the grunts by destroying Frieza's ship.

Goddammit.

Seriously, I hadn't thought about this possibility as nobody on Earth truly cared about experimenting on dead aliens' body… except for Dr. Wheelo and his amoral view about science itself.

This is just perfect, ain't it?

Just as I foully regarded the situation with plenty of swearing and dark thoughts, I barely noticed one of the creatures starting to twitch actively within its tube as I passed near to it and-

"GA!!"

A single loud noise, then I saw light erupt from it as a beam of energy rushed towards me. Panicking, I jumped away just in time from the blast's path. An explosion echoed across the building as the energy collided to the other wall and… the rest of the sleeping pack seemed to wake up at the quaking.

More fighting, I mused grimly. The brawl was as dumb as it had been before. While their power levels weren't close to damage me, I wasn't dropping my guard any lower with how aggressive these little fiends were being.

Considering how dangerously powerful those were compared to their movie's counterparts, I picked up the pace with my exploring as I knew that Dr. Wheelo wasn't going to be any easier than that.

If he had improved his current robotic body, then that last battle was truly going to be dreadful to go through. Still, the 'warm welcome' offered by the mutated zombies got me to not take too much of a swift pace.

I was meticulous in destroying their remnants, unwilling to see those regenerate and stab me in the back as I went deeper and deeper in those laboratories.

More mutants, more experiments, more headaches. I huffed as three freaks ran at me at the same time.

Jumping over them and delivering a half-strength Masenko seemed to do the trick… before I had to deal with four more. Then ten, and finally twenty.

I was starting to lose my hopes of having a pause away from fighting with how big the swarm was getting… but then the reinforcements started to run dry. I was killing more than they could come and soon I was left alone once more.

"Fucking hell," I breathed, feeling a little bit winded by what had been an arduous walk for a couple of kilometers. I stopped just as I reached two massive doors and while I couldn't hear any boss fight music, I prepared myself for what was going to be a tough fight.

The doors slowly started to open without any input from my part.

I sighed. "A little mercy, I guess."

I ventured inside and I stared at the humongous room that greeted me. I could see the large iced glass barrier that was supposedly keeping Dr. Wheelo hidden from sight, and I stared at it quite intensely.

I stopped, looking around for any hints of an ambush. But nothing. This place was mostly desolate by now and I sighed.

"Ya know I can see you, right?" I said loudly at the glass barrier. "Like really, it's kind of difficult to ignore the big brain-in-a-jar."

"I would've been surprised and terribly disappointed if you had, young man," The brain spoke through the few speakers near the glass. "By the way, have you seen my assistant? Bald creepy guy with trust issues and… that had been missing for a couple of days now?"

"Kind of? He was trying to get some mystical orbs to summon a wish-granting dragon," I quipped.

…

"Is that so? Are you sure you're not influenced by alcohol or any drugs?"

"I'm fairly clean about both, sir," I retorted with a frown… only to frown even more as I digested what I had just heard. "Wait. What do you mean he's been out for days now?"

"Oh, I really don't know what Kochin is up nowadays and… I really don't care," Dr. Wheelo responded with a sigh. "After fifty years of him avoiding the laboratories all for his cooking hobby, I've lost hopes of seeing him regularly visiting to check on me."

"That's… sad," I commented with a genuine look of awkwardness. "Still, you don't know anything about what he's plotting. He wanted to give you the body of the strongest being in the world."

"Oh really? And did he mention that I was also responsible for whatever heinous plan he's trying to achieve?"

I nodded.

"Goddammit! I should've listened to Shirley and ignored that creepy kid instead of recruiting him as an assistant."

"I mean, there's crazier than that but-"

"What?! EXPLAIN!"

I flinched a little at the loud voice, but I offered a quick summary of the stuff his minion had done without his permission. From trying to use a volunteer group to set a fire in a forest for one of the Dragon Balls, to using dead aliens' bodies to create Bio-Zombies, to the fact he was trying to have him switch minds with Son Goku.

"All of that sounds like a mess after another. Please, tell me he didn't say 'minds' but 'brains'."

I offered him a sympathetic tone. He looked like he was listening to a defeat after another for his crippled life. Now, that's a tragic story alright.

"I don't think that would make much of a difference..."

…

"What do you mean, boy?"

"You know that your brain is… have you ever played Metroid?"

"Which one?"

"The first one. Well, right now you look like the final boss."

…

"Wasn't the final boss Mother Bra-"

There was a long pause after that interrupted sentence. One filled with much shocking realization and regrets.

When I entered this room I had expected something tougher than fighting the previous frekas but… this wasn't what I had planned about.

"I'm going to kill him," Wheelo promised with utmost resolution. "I will fry him up, then I will crush his body. Maybe killing myself if the situation is truly that bad."

"I mean, from what I can pick from your personality, I think you would go in Heaven, Doc."

"Is there a Heaven- Actually no, don't answer," The brain 'groaned'. "I should expect the mystical to be more literal considering that there's actually a wish-granting dragon."

At least he wasn't having that much of a meltdown. And the one already visible was all directed to his 'late' assistant.

Just as the doctor finished to say this, the door on the other side of the room opened.

"Master, I'm back and-" Dr. Kochin paused as he took notice of my presence. His eyes narrowed and some irritation swelled at me. "You!"

"Hello Pinky," I hummed back with a small smile.

"So there's indeed an intruder that-"

"Kochin, explanations- NOW!"

The bald man almost eeped at the booming voice coming from his boss.

"Master, I can assure you that whatever the brat said, it was all false!-"

"Did you force a group of volunteers to spark a fire in a forest?"

… "Yes- but it was all for-"

"What about the Bio-Warriors? Did you really dig some alien corpses and turn them in Zombies?"

"Technically, I call them Mutant-Warriors-"

"A-And what is this about my brain being as big as a Greyhound?!"

"...You mean the dog or the-"

"THE BUS, KOCHIN. I MEAN THE BUS!"

Wait, there is a Greyhound organization here too?

"To be fair, it's not my fault."

"Did you leave him here for fifty years… and even more?" I quipped with a confused tone.

"You're not part of this-"

"HE IS! And it's all because of your foolish individualism, Kochin," The brain interjected fiercely. "Do I need to remind you that I'm your boss?"

"I'm well aware that you're my Master, Dr. Wheelo. In fact, just like you would've wanted, I've prepared the ultimate Bio-Warrior that will take care of the last obstacle to-"

"Your plans! I refuse to stand by this nonsense and- Wait a minute, what happened to the first three?"

Silence resumed after that as the bald old man didn't seem brave enough to muster an answer.

"I think they're dead," I suggested quietly.

"Kochin-"

"Master, I can forgive myself by offering you a proper body-"

"My brain wouldn't fit in a normal one!"

"Brain science is-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. I swear to God that if that was a correlation to your stupid hobby, I will tear you apart!"

…

"While I appreciate the fact that you're dissociating yourself from this bullshit, Dr. Wheelo," I intervened. "I think you will understand that I need to put an end to this charade. And kill your assistant."

"As if my Master would-"

"Oh, go ahead. I don't mind."

"M-MASTER!?

"Take this, Pinkie!" I threw a condensed sphere of ki at the shocked-looking old man, ready to see a fiery explosion take him out of this plane of existence.

What I didn't take into account was the 'Bio-Warrior' standing beside him and that the being was actually able to deflect attacks of that degree.

The explosion that ensued ripped part of the roof off, letting sunlight bathe the entire room and reveal the monster in its full glory.

My jaws almost dropped as I realized that its appearance was identical to a certain Arcosian I really didn't want to fight right now.

"Holy shit, what the hell?!"

Kochin cackled at my bamboozled reaction, admiring the stern posture adopted by his creature.

"My greatest creation! I present you something that exceed the leader of the aliens that tried to take Earth a month ago. I present you… Cooler!"

…

My shock vanished instantly at that unexpected and disappointing introduction as it just… didn't match well with what it looked like. It was like Frieza, but smaller and… dumber-looking.

"I think that name's already taken," I replied with a frown. "Like really-"

"Th-Then I present you…" He paused, thinking about it for some time. "Yes, I present you Arctic!"

There are so many other names he could've thought about it that little time, and he settled for the name of the place this laboratory is located. I could've chided him about it but...

"You know what. I can work with that and… let's see."

I activated the scouter and checked on the Bio-Warrior's power level. Surely the freak wasn't as strong as the one he looked like and-

700.000

Fuck my life with a silver spoon. Like really, why the hell did it have to be that strong?!

"Yes! Cower before Arctic's might and our brilliance-"

"Stop pulling me in this crap. I refuse to be part of this maddening situation!"

As Wheelo finished that sentence, the Bio-Warrior jumped in action with a loud screech.

Time to go full power!

Gritting my teeth, I rolled away from its path and rushed back at it while it tried to turn at me. The being reared its head away from my first two punches and tried to return the attacks with some of his owns.

I ducked under the approaching fist, but the knee reaching up to my chin flawlessly slammed onto its target.

It's faster than me, I quickly deduced as I recoiled and started to move away from the following attacks. But… it was also incredibly uncoordinated.

Its kicks were quick and tentative, never putting too much power in those, and its Ki blasts were imprecise.

Slowly abandoning myself in my basic understanding of Martial Arts, I started to vehemently exploit all the weak spots I could find in its guard and… I finally managed to get through that unpleasant start.

Arctic screeched again, this time recoiling in pain as my leg stabbed into its stomach. My feet pressed harshly on its belly, forcing its lungs to eject every bit of air it had in itself. An uppercut followed as I resumed with a barrage of punches.

I rolled once more away from it as it tried to pounce at me, offering me the opportunity to throw a quick Masenko at its exposed back. The little explosion pushed it on the ground, but that moment of weakness proved to be terribly brief as it pushed itself off the ground and… roared with fury.

Overwhelming this opponent seemed to work just fine… until things took a weird turn.

I prepared to throw the umpteenth punch at its ugly face, but just as the fist rushed towards the head, I found my limb immobilized by… tendrils.

"Surprise!" Kochin yelled. "It seems like you weren't prepared for Arctic's special ability!"

The wire-like vines emerged from its back and were wrapping tightly around my left arm. I tried to kick the monster to force it to let go, but just as my attack landed on the planned target, I noticed something shiny go through the tendrils.

Pain swiftly spread across my entire body as electricity flowed through it. I yelped, my throat aching at the sudden noise but… the torture extended for a while.

Smoke formed as my clothes looked a little bit tinged the electrocution.

"T-Two can play this game, you bastard!" I pressed my open palms slightly above my head and channeled Ki by those. "Masen-GAH!"

More electricity, my concentration was easily disrupted as the excruciating pain resumed. The tendrils lifted me off the ground and… soon I was slammed on the nearby wall. The freak cackled as I found myself getting dragged across half of that very wall, all the while getting hit by an unpleasant dose of electricity.

I felt the strain way too much now on my body. Everything was burning. My nerves, my limbs, my face… I could barely keep my eyes open as I stared at the monstrosity gloat at my damaged state.

"Finish him, Arctic! Show him our drive to win!"

"This is the last time I will accept this insubordination, Kochin!"

Too much pain. Pain- PAIN!

I felt my muscles flexing incoherently under that horrible condition. I shivered, I trembled and… I felt something bubble up from within my chest.

Unfocused, raw- Primal.

I couldn't think straight, but my brain was growing tired of that cackling. It was so infuriating- SO ANNOYING!!

I felt my lips twitch in frustration and then… the pain went blank.

I was confused- no, I was literally shocked by the fact that I couldn't feel pain anymore. Did I grow insensible to it? Did I develop some sudden immunity?

Impossible. Not this quickly, not this suddenly.

It took me a moment to notice that the reason why I couldn't feel the pain of that torture… was because I was feeling a pain equally excruciating to the one caused by the wires. This one was coming from within.

I grunted and I trashed, I could feel my thoughts growing fuzzier and… I roared.

The raw noise was mixed with a Ki burst, and the powerful shockwave that ensued tore the vines off from me and shredded with various cuts the limbs of the Bio-warrior.

Arctic shrieked, but its muttering was quietened as soon as I glared at it with utmost anger.

The pain was now there to keep me focused, motivated, frustrated and… reluctant to go forward.

But I had to. I needed to. I couldn't just stop now.

So I made a step forward and… felt my Ki rally by my hands. Differently from before, the color of my aura was no longer a mix of white and blue.

No… it was a suave green.

I couldn't focus on that. Not just with the monstrous fiend still alive and ready to attack once more.

The creature hardly felt… consequential. But it needed to die.

I needed it to die.

Arctic tried to run. A terrible mistake to reveal his back as I was already over him.

A frightened screech, then my fist slammed it down to the floor. A ki blast followed.

Differently from before, the little sphere did leave some damage on my opponent as it back was now bleeding profusely.

Not enough. It wasn't enough.

I lifted my hands up and… started to barrage the weakened freak with various ki balls. It was cruel, it was merciless… but I just couldn't care.

Too much pain. I needed another distraction and, as soon as Arctic was leveled with my last attack, I shifted my attention to 'the only bastard' I could see in this room.

Kochin looked positively afraid. The old man was shivering at the morbid sight of his creation getting dismantled like this and… he lifted his cane up at me.

A memory forced me to take a guarded stance and I raised my open palm just in time to see a furious barrage of flames and energy rush at me. I pushed it back with my ki, slowly repelling the beam to its sender and… the results were surprisingly smooth.

Kochin didn't make much of a sound as his attack was thrown back at him and… the sudden silence offered me some reprieve to think and solve this unending pain that growled from within.

I dropped to one knee, my body shivering at the strain it was being put on and… I slowly forced back whatever had taken over me.

I coughed, some blood dripping from my lips as I regained more control over my body. The pain subsided, but the toll was still there to keep me in a deadly state.

Without wasting further time, I reached down to my pants' pocket and pulled the small bag filled with Senzu bean.

The healing item was quickly ingested, and its effect were instantaneous as usual.

I recovered from the feverish state, standing up as I calmly stared around and at myself. The pain was now gone, replaced by uneasy confusion at what had just happened.

I wasn't Broly, and I hadn't gone Super Saiyan. Of that I was quite sure about… but something had indeed happen.

"Is this normal for you? A berserk button highlighted by a green hue and yellow eyes?" Wheelo questioned with a hint of curiosity. "That sounded like you've a fair amount of issues."

"I was getting fucking electrocuted!" I retorted fiercely. "I reckon that's the fair amount of issues."

…

"Fair enough," The big brain conceded while sighing. "And now, what are you going to do to me?"

Indeed, what was I going to do with him. I wasn't certainly going to 'grant him his wish' like DBZA did… and I really wasn't sure if there was a peaceful resolution to it.

"Do you really need a body?" Maybe his consciousness could be… transferred in a machine? Like a pseudo-AI or something like that?

"It would help," He admitted. "But I suppose there's nothing like an easy solution considering my brain's situation."

…

He sighed. "I suppose I've lived a long life."

"But- But what about-"

"Look, young man, I should've died decades ago because of lung cancer. This… this is just deluding myself that I can live beyond my expiration date," The doctor interjected. "At this point killing me would be a mercy. One I feel ready to take. I've already lost plenty of dignity today… and I guess it's time to see what kind of place Heaven is."

"It's nice. Lots of flowery fields, no labor, and no frustrations."

He snorted. "Sounds like a boring place."

"It's still better than hell."

…

"Before I… go, can I ask you a favor?"

I blinked. "Sure?"

"If you walk by the door from which my now wasted assistant came from, there should be a room on the right. It was my office," The brain started to explain. "There are some papers there that I wish to get patented… and the products to be published for free."

"I will keep up this promise."

A final sigh. "Thank you."

I channeled a strong enough ki ball and… I threw the explosive beam at the waiting brain.

This last explosion tore through its protection and destroyed what was left of Dr. Wheelo instantly. No pain, no torture… just freedom.

I closed my eyes, giving a brief prayer to the passing tortured soul and… I went to comply with that last wish from the deceased doctor.

I wonder if Bara knows how to patent this kind of stuff…

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AN

This chapter was a rollercoaster of emotions. From serious, to comedy, to brutal, to sad.

But now the little diversion to 'face Dr. Wheelo' is over and our protagonist can resume his journey to reach the Kamehouse… while also dealing with Colonel Silver's redemption attempts.

Lastly, no, the MC isn't copying from Broly. Rather, that was a transformation that was made canon thanks to Broly from DBS, but was actually used before by both Goku and Trunks before him. It's the Wrathful State!

Current Power Levels:
John Bukharin:
5670 (Suppressed to 5%);
45.360 (Suppressed to 40%);
113.400 (Full Power);
75.400 (FP – Wounded);
754.000 (Wounded + Wrathful State);
189.000 (Full Power + Zenkai);
Bio-Warriors:
25.000~
Arctic:
700.000 (Beginning Fight);
580.000 (Pre- Final Beating);

stairmaster · Jun 15, 2020

Really MC should have just put dr.wheelo in touch with dr.gero.

Ame · Jun 15, 2020

Or Bulma and Dr. Briefs.. They could have possibly come up with something or just wished for a cure from the Dragon Balls.

JustBukharin · Jun 15, 2020

stairmaster said:
Really MC should have just put dr.wheelo in touch with dr.gero.

Ame said:
Or Bulma and Dr. Briefs.. They could have possibly come up with something or just wished for a cure from the Dragon Balls.

Ignoring the fact that Wheelo didn't actually plan to live for as long as he did and that he was literally done with keeping up with that chaotic mess:
1) MC doesn't know where Dr. Gero's laboratories are, nor doe he know his phone number;
2) Once again, the Brief family can't create full organic bodies despite their impressive grasp at science. Using the Dragon Balls would also not be the best of ideas for this very situation. Especially when the wish need to be incredibly precise and well-corroborated to Shenron (or things like what happened in the DBZA's aftermath ensue) and that once the wish is granted, the Dragon Balls are inactive for a full year.

I understand if readers find Wheelo's passing quite awkward and 'unnecessary', but it was the doctor's choice to go out like that. After what Kochin put him through, I couldn't see him think otherwise. 50 years of solitude can do that.

Habanero · Jun 16, 2020

stairmaster said:
Really MC should have just put dr.wheelo in touch with dr.gero.

Ame said:
Or Bulma and Dr. Briefs.. They could have possibly come up with something or just wished for a cure from the Dragon Balls.

But he tried to propose this to him right? At the end it was Dr. Wheelo choice to pass on.

Ame · Jun 16, 2020

I agree that it was Dr Wheelo's decision to pass on. I just feel like he just gave up too quick on looking for solutions. But that's just me.

JustBukharin · Jul 1, 2020

Recently my sister got herself a digital drawing board and I learned about this fun program. I decided to make another attempt at drawing the MC.

Here's the result: Link

My opinion on this first try: Krita is 10 times better than PS for drawing. Perhaps I should've been browsing for this kind of programs earlier on instead of suffering with the clunky mechanics of Photoshop. I will surely make more drawings with Krita!

A quick explanation as to why I'm trying to do this on my own: I've already tried to get hold of someone that could draw stuff for me but surprisingly enough it's very difficult (read as 'impossible) when my 'income' doesn't allow me to pay for any. I don't blame anyone except the fact I can't afford that kind of staff.

Rush for Greatness (DBZ SI)

Should this story have Xover elements?

Full Xovers

Partial Xovers (Only Techniques)

No Xovers, Full DB!

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