New challenges means new enemies

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you your new World Champion...Kakarot!"

Goku easily recalled the eruption of applause that followed this declaration even a full twenty-four hours later and seated on one of Bulma's air transports.

His dark gaze shifted down to his lap, where he'd left the gold-plated reminder of his victory, and enjoyed the flood of pride that filled him for the thousandth time as he once again replayed the memory of Roshi laying unconscious on the arena floor.

It had been a bit of a rough road, and if he were honest there had even been a small part of Goku that wasn't sure he could do it, but thanks to days and months of rigorous training the monkey-tailed teen had managed to defeat his martial arts instructor to become Earth's strongest fighter.

However, something inside the spiky-haired alien ate at him. A nagging in the back of his mind that had started when Goku went to rest his eyes the night of his victory; almost like a consistent poke from a stick in its annoyance. And as he lay awake in his hotel room, arms and legs spread out to the four corners, Goku analyzed the feeling until finally coming to a realization.

He wanted more. Goku wanted to be the strongest, of that the young teen had no doubt, but now that he'd defeated Roshi the boy with the tail found himself feeling almost...hollow inside. Did his victory at the World Tournament mean there was no one left on Earth who could truly challenge him?

Sure, he could go back and face Roshi again after the elderly man built himself back up, but knowing he himself still had so much growing left to do Goku knew that in only a few short years even his instructor would be no match for him. Which was why he and Bulma were currently flying with Lapis and Lazuli back to their village.

Goku needed a challenge, needed to find someone or something that could get his blood boiling and his heart racing. The young alien hated the bitter taste of defeat, yet found himself hoping that there was an enemy among the supposedly tyrannical Red-Ribbon army who could push him to the brink and force him to stare the beast in the face.

It was as he thought this that Goku's eyes lifted from staring at his champion's belt, and drifted over to look at Bulma's profile as she flew their transport. She was geared up in a pair of hefty jeans and a thick winter coat lined with some sort of white fur. Her hands were encased in gloves while her feet were stuffed away inside thick snow boots; the slightly older girl's colorful hair was pulled once again into a pony-tail for practicality.

However, it was the goggles around her neck, and the weapons strapped or stowed away across her person that truly intrigued Goku.

"Are you sure you want to do this Bulma?" He found himself asking for what he knew was the fourth time since his friend had voiced her decision to join him.

For her credit Bulma's crystal-blue eyes didn't even stray from watching the sky as she answered the boy beside her.

"For the millionth time Goku, yes, I don't like what I'm hearing about these people and what they're doing to Lapis and Lazuli's village; plus I'm still upset about what happened when we were captured by that creepy Pilaf guy. I wasn't able to do anything back then about our situation and I had to let you do all the work in getting us out of there; I refuse to be a burden like that again."

"And if these guys are as dangerous as Lazuli said?" Goku countered with a raised eyebrow.

Bulma just shifted the rifle hung from her shoulder as she finally eyed her companion. "Before I could go out searching for the dragon balls my parents made me take up learning how to use at least a hand-gun; after my first lesson I just enjoyed it so much, that I found instructors for some of the heavier options. I may not be as sharp of a shot as a trained soldier, but I think between the two of us the Red-Ribbon army won't know what hit 'em."

"Three." Lapis interjected here. "Remember that I'm coming too, and honestly I've gotta agree with the monkey on this, although I hate saying it. You'll more than likely just slow us down, plus these guys aren't just good, they're some of the best soldiers on the planet."

Before Bulma could offer a retort though she was beat to the punch by Goku, whose face lifted in a challenging smirk. "Good; I'd be disappointed if this turned out to be too easy."

"You see Lazuli," the dark-haired twin seethed at his sister. "This is why I didn't want you to involve him in our business; he's not taking any of what we've said seriously. Like Jingle Village's plight is just some sort of joke!"

"An innocent person's suffering is never funny," Goku quickly intercepted. "But as you and your sister have no doubt seen I am considered this world's strongest fighter, so how about you show a little faith hmm?"

Lapis went to say something more, his body jerking in its seat, but the hand of his sister being placed atop his own stopped him. Turning his own coal-like eyes to look into her own ocean-blue pair, the slightly older boy could easily read her silent demand that he 'drop it', before their two new companions decided to simply drop them off and leave them to their misery.

Something the male twin didn't appreciate, but that he heeded none the less. "Fine...but onlybecause of how much you look like her when you make that face."

The reminder of their deceased mother twisted Lazuli's pretty face into a downcast mask, and filled the aircraft with a somber silence. This left the air a bit stiff in Bulma's opinion, since she was the type of person who enjoyed talking when others were around, but a quick glance at the boy seated beside her allowed the teenage genius to take the lapse in conversation in stride.

Before they'd lifted off Goku had been about to call out for the Nimbus, rather than sit and ride with Bulma and the siblings, but the girl had stopped him and convinced the spiky-haired fighter to travel via airbus.

And while Bulma had originally done this with the intention of speaking with her friend about something important, now that they were actually on their way and flying, she couldn't seem to make her voice work. Her tongue felt as if it were twisted up and glued to the roof of her mouth.

This irked the young inventor, because the thing she desperately wanted to talk with Goku about was what she'd witnessed during the tournament; when he'd nearly killed another fighter with, of all things, a smile on his face.

Just recalling that memory sent shivers down Bulma's spine and halted her breath. There were only a small handful of times that the blue-haired girl could recall being worried about her monkey-tailed friend, and this one was at the top of that list.

The complete loss of recognition he'd displayed when Bulma had called out to him coupled with the cold, callous smirk that had painted his face right before it dropped to a look of confusion shook the young beauty to her core. Yes, Goku was a fighter and he didn't shy away from death, but what Bulma had glimpsed from his beat down of Nam went far beyond anything she once thought him capable of...and it scared her.

What if something like this happened again? And if it did, would she be able to bring Goku back from the edge a second time, or would the boy Bulma had grown fond of slip away forever only to be replaced with a bloodthirsty monster?

Because that's exactly what Kakarot seemed to be; a cruel, viscous monster. And just imagining that he was who Goku was meant to be made the anxious teen's stomach turn.

Unfortunately, from the start of their trip Bulma had been unable to bring up the subject, and when the blue-haired beauty turned her eyes back to fully looking ahead she knew her chance had gone after what she saw.

"Whoa," the blue-haired beauty gasped as she eyed the large, ruddy-red tower that stood on the other end of the village. "That is one big watch tower. And from the looks of it, they've even got turrets mounted at varying spots all across its length." She informed Goku with the help of her goggles, which were equipped with a variety of different sight enhancement options.

"There is also a rotating guard that patrol the outside of the tower, and hidden blast-cannons buried under the snow to keep the villagers from mounting an attack on them." Lapis added through gritted teeth, the look in his eye letting Goku know that the other boy was re-living one of those failed attacks.

Bulma adjusted the grip on her rifle, readying herself for what was to come, before looking back over at Lapis. "So what's the game plan then? The way it sounds, a direct attack isn't going to be the best idea unless we wanna get killed."

"Speak for yourself." Goku threw out. "I doubt they'll do much, if anything, to me. I'll be going in the front door, so if you three want to play hide-and-seek be my guest."

"Are you crazy Kakarot?" Lazuli gaped at the wild-haired boy. "I mean, I know you're strong, but that doesn't make you bullet proof, and these monsters will not hesitate to shoot you even if you are a kid."

When the blonde got an answer it actually didn't come from who she expected; instead it was her brother. "I think the better question is, are you crazy? If you think you're going with us when your shoulder is all propped up in that sling then you're the one who's out of their mind sis."

"You can't really expect me to just go home and wait Lapis! I have justas much of a right, and need to do this as you, and you know it!" The younger girl of the group retorted, the challenge to her brother dripping from every word.

"No one's saying you don't," the dark-haired twin relented a little. "But with your shoulder in the condition it's in can you honestly say you won't just slow us down? Or worse, what if you get caught, what am I gonna do then, huh? I already lost mom to those bastards, so I'll die before I let them get their hands on you."

For a moment Lazuli was at a loss for words. It had been a long time since her brother had made such a blatant declaration of their familial bond, and even longer since he'd been willing to do it in public in front of others. In that moment the blonde was again reminded of the young boy who loved to take care of stray animals, and who not-so-secretly dreamed of being working in a career that involved the many kingdoms of their planets creatures.

Unfortunately, that memory was blown away by her newest companions scoff.

"While he can keep the sentiments I do agree with your brother; it'd be best for you to stay out of the way Lazuli. I remember the blow Nam dealt to you in the tournament just a few days ago, so there's little chance of it being healed enough for you to fight off highly trained soldiers; you asked me to help you, so I will, but I'll only be able to do my best if there's nothing distracting me."

Lazuli's soft features crinkled into searching gaze as she eyed the wild-haired boy beside her. Where just the other day the blonde would have been offended at what seemed to be a blatant disregard for her person, Lazuli remembered her silent promise to actually understand Kakarot and instead caught her tongue before any sort of retort could fly from her lips.

Going back over his words, the younger girl of their group decided that her companion was really just trying to tell her that he wouldn't be able to focus if he was worried about her safety.

'It might be a stretch,' She thought to herself with a sigh, 'but it beats the alternative I guess.'

With that thought in mind, Lazuli tuned back into the world around her and caught the tail end of Kakarot's biting conversation with Bulma, where the blue-haired beauty was lightly admonishing the monkey-tailed boy for his lack of tact. Not wishing to cause any more of an argument than she'd already seemed to, the blonde called for Bulma to let her know it was alright.

"I'm just...anxious, my village finally has a chance to be free, and it eats at me to be told I can't be there to help in any way."

There was a response sitting on the tip of Goku's tongue, but he held it back after thinking of how...human it made him sound. And while he did not know just what sort of alien he was, the spiky-haired teen was sure of one thing; a human he was not.

So instead, he just made a non-committal noise and turned to Lapis with a stern look; the little voice in the back of his head asking what was so wrong with being human pushed to the darkest corners of his mind.

"I assume then, that we'll be dropping off your sister and grabbing anything you might need before we actually head to the tower, hmm?"

"That would be best, yeah." The dark-haired twin agreed before motioning for the other boy and his female companion to follow him and his sister.

The walk was a bit lengthy since they'd chosen to keep Bulma's vehicles capsulized so as to not draw any unwanted attention, as well as silent. Lapis had nothing to say to Kakarot, having no desire to make friends with the slightly younger boy, and the two girls were each in their own worlds but both thinking about the upcoming conflict.

After some time though the foursome managed to find their way to the twins' house, a homely little dome house much like the rest of the village, but a bit of board in one window and clear signs of decay. There were numerous cracks spattered across the semi-circular abode, and the door was haphazardly hung from its hinges.

Upon a closer look as he was let inside, Goku could see that their door had indeed been kicked in, which no doubt caused its poor state.

Once inside Lazuli wished the group luck before mentioning that she was heading to her room, and then disappeared behind another worn down door. "I hope you at least come and see me before heading off again, Kakarot, I'll want to properly thank you for your help after all."

While the somewhat naive alien only offered a short agreement to the blonde's terms, Bulma eyed the younger girl with scrutiny as she imagined just what type of 'reward' her friend would be getting. Being a girl herself, the brilliant blue-haired teen could guess just what Lazuli meant, and it left her a little bristly if Bulma were being honest.

'I mean, she hardly even knows Goku, but she's offering him 'proper' thank you's? What kind of girl does that?' She thought sourly to herself, Bulma conveniently forgetting that she'd once used a similar tactic to get boys in school to buy her a variety of trinkets...that now gathered dust in her closet at home.

With Lazuli's leave the house grew quiet again, save for the rustling of her brother gathering his weapons for their attack on Muscle Tower, and in her distaste for the quiet Bulma began looking around the twins home.

"Aren't you the one who told me it was rude to snoop, Bulma?" Goku questioned with a raised brow as his friend picked up and inspected a framed photo that had been placed over Lapis and Lazuli's fireplace.

"And it is," Bulma agreed. "But I'm not snooping; I-I'm just...getting to know your new friends a little better is all, yeah, that's it."

The girl's crystal-blue eyes stayed glued to the image in her hand as she spoke, taking in the happy faces of the twins when they were children along with their parents. She became confused, and even a little worried however, when the teenage genius noticed that the head of their father had been cut crudely from the photo.

'I wonder why,' Bulma mentally pondered to herself, missing how Goku informed her that the twins were not his 'new friends', and only being jostled from the working of her mind by the harsh voice of Lapis.

"He's right, because I definitelydon't want to be friends with people who go poking their nose into other peoples private lives the moment their invited into my home."

Bulma jumped at this, and nearly dropped the framed photograph in her moment of fright, but the bluenette was quick to recover and returned the picture to its rightful place before turning to give Lapis a nervous smile.

"Nosy, w-who's being nosy? Goku and I were just waiting for you Lapis." The teenage girl laughed in an attempt to diffuse her host's obvious anger.

"If you're going to lie," Goku called to her as he headed towards the door. "At least have the decency to leave me out of it Bulma. Now, are you guys gonna stand there all day or are we gonna go take care of this 'Muscle Tower'?"

Bulma, eager to get a move on and put the last few embarrassing moments behind her, agreed wholeheartedly and followed after her friend. On their heels Lapis followed, his pistol holstered to his waist and ammunition held in the compartments of his new belt. Ever conscious of going out in public though, the dark-haired teen pulled his orange bandanna up and over his mouth and nose.

Once outside, Bulma voiced that now would be the best time for them to use one of the capsules in her case and chose a very nondescript looking van.

"The plan is pretty simple to start with; this'll allow us to get in close to the tower without drawing a whole lot of looks from the guards on patrol. I'll park it in the woods that I saw lining the edges, and from there we'll-"

"I'll get out and draw their fire." Goku interrupted. After they all are looking at me then the two of you can figure out how you're gonna get inside; or rather, Lapis will tell you the best way, since the guy's been planning this his whole life."

Before Bulma could retort Lapis begrudgingly agreed with the other boy in the van.

"Your friend is right; I have been working on this plan for a long time, and I did find our best way in. It's a cargo bay towards the back, I staked out their delivery schedules and noticed that each day they use a different code to open the door; it took me a few weeks after the fact to remember what codes went with what days, but I've got em."

It didn't take the trio long before they finally manged to wheel Bulma's van into position. From there, the blue-haired girl wished her friend luck before following Lapis to the cargo hold on foot.

Goku didn't take more than two steps out of the hedge of the forest before he noticed just how many guards the Red-Ribbon army had to spare for a single base of operation.

"Mr. Attitude wasn't joking, these guys might actually be fun to take on." It was with a smile on his face that Goku shifted, and then started running head-first into the unsuspecting crowd of soldiers who appeared to be digging trenches.

Bypassing the large, moving metal tanks for the moment Goku instead went ahead and launched himself into the air so that his first target was dropped into the snow by a falling hammer-fist to the skull. From there the young teen went ahead and bounced from a single foot planted in the snow, and wheeled a fierce kick into the face of another soldier which lead to his neck snapping like a twig.

It was as the monkey-tailed alien was taking down his third guard that the rest of the men patrolling the area finally broke through their shock, and from there Goku saw hundreds, if not thousands, of bullets flying his way.

Ducking the first round of speedy little projectiles the spiky-haired youth soon grew bored of this and unsheathed the power pole from behind his back, with which he started to block and deflect the bullets by what seemed a simple twist of his wrists.

Goku's dark eyes followed each and every bullet that came at him, his gaze hard and focused, so that only the sound of the men crying out in pain alerted him to if any of those metal stubs they were firing at him had found homes in their bodies after he'd deflected them. This went on for a only a little longer before the thunderous 'boom' alerted Goku to a new threat, and had him shift his attention to the massive rocket that was hurtling towards him.

Not wanting to risk the power pole, Goku instead chose to just jump over the incoming projectile before using his weapon's special ability to propel himself towards the tank he'd seen the large bullet come from. From there the gi-clad fighter pumped his fist straight into the cold, metal shell. There was a small explosion that followed this, with a plume of smoke rising from the hole that nearly blinded Goku with its thickness before he jumped away to continue dealing with the rest of the guards and tanks.

From there it was only minutes before the entire patrol was finished off, along with another wave of soldiers that had been sent out to attempt to deal with Goku, and they were laid out in the snow.

Looking around at the mass amount of bodies he'd sent crashing into the ground Goku scoffed while rolling his shoulder. "I sure hope that's not the best this 'Muscle Tower' has to offer, otherwise I'm going to be sorely disappointed." Then, after taking a deep breath, the young teenage alien raced through the open doors and into the military structure.

What the battle-happy martial artist didn't take note of however, was the creeping blonde making her way towards the cargo hold.

What Goku does pay attention to is the next wave of gun-wielding red-ribbon goons who came scrambling down the stairs to meet him. More bullets came flying at him, but just like before the spiky-haired youth used the power-pole to work in tandem with his martial arts skills to defeat these men as well to move up the level of Muscle Tower.

It was once he made it to level three however, that the young teen met his first real challenge.

The foe Goku met here was a large, red-headed male dressed in a dark, sleeve-less vest embolized with the Red-Ribbon insignia along with dark pants and gloves. Shades covered his eyes, and his muscles rippled as he towered over the spiky-haired youth. Goku stared down his newest opponent with sharp eyes and quickly noted the stoic, stone-wall look was settled over his face; almost as if the hulking figure didn't even register him as a threat.

This got the gi-clad martial artist to raise a single brow as he scoffed. "You know, after beating down those other weaklings I was hoping there would be something a little more challenging than just some big brute standing between me and the top of this tower, but then I was also told that the Red-Ribbon army was the best in the world and I've been tearing through them like butter for twenty minutes so-"

"Your attack on this tower, as well as your life, end here boy." The heavily-muscled giant finally spoke, cutting off Goku's taunting words. His voice was thick and deep, but Goku's superior hearing could also detect a strange robotic quality to it.

One that was easier to hear the more the larger figure spoke. "No one makes a fool out of the Red-Ribbon army and lives; especially not some foolish child. For the glory of The Commander and Dr. Gero, I will crush you."

Then, before Goku could verbally respond, he found himself dropping into a defensive stance and getting ready to deal with his new foe as the red-head came charging at him. The giant's steps were slow due to his obvious weight, but he made up for it with long strides that quickly closed the gap between he and the monkey-tailed youth.

However Goku used the soldier's lack of speed to his advantage, and easily danced around the bulging muscles and heavy fists that came flying at him, a smirk soon finding its way to his face at how easy the fight looked like it would be.

That sense of bravado took a hit however when the giant's sunglasses burst, and red-hot beams shot from his eyes. Even with his quick reflexes, Goku found the shoulder of his gi shredding under the intensity of the attack, and a scorching red burn blistering skin underneath.

Gritting his teeth Goku jumped back to avoid being grabbed before using the power pole to boost himself high enough for a spin-kick to the giant's face. Smacking his shin against the red-head's cheek however, let the spiky-haired alien know that there was indeed something different about this fighter compared to all the others Goku had faced so far.

They weren't human.

No one made from flesh and blood had felt like this guy when the alien boy hit them; it reminded Goku of the cold metal used to make that plane he'd ridden in to get to the World Tournament. However, this revelation only caused the young martial-artist to grin savagely as the prospect of not needing to hold back even the slightest bit started to make itself known.

After all, if this oaf wasn't alive, then could tearing it apart really count as killing it? Surely Bulma wouldn't be cross at him for such a thing.

"You're quick for such a little runt, but the games end here, prepare to die!"

Tensing his muscles as the giant came at him again, Goku sprang into action. Meeting his foe in the middle, the monkey-tailed boy used his superior speed to twist around the red-head's lumbering punch before pushing off their forearm and flying up to deliver a sucker-punch with every bit of strength Goku could muster.

The result; a face caved in, and head sent sailing from its neck.

Sparks and wires jutted from the newly opened cavity, and the alien boy was reminded of the many different machines he'd come to see thanks to knowing the blue-haired girl from West City, yet none had been even remotely close to whatever this thing was that had just tried to stand in his way.

'I'll have to ask her later,' Goku surmised before kicking down the next door and continuing on his way through the tower. Beyond the giant metal man he encountered no true threat to his advancement, and within no time the spiky-haired youth found himself busting through to the final floor...and nearly face-palming at what awaited him.

It wasn't the platinum-blonde man smiling menacingly with eyes reminiscent of the dark-haired boy he'd left behind earlier that afternoon, or even the hunched old fool garbed in a lab coat that made Goku assume made him 'Dr. Gero'. Nope; neither of these were the thing that had his tail bristling with disbelief. It was the slim, pretty blonde being held at gun-point.

Lazuli, the girl he'd promised to help, had apparently chosen to disregard her own safety and sneak into the tower alone!

"Ah~ So you do have a weakness after all," the blonde leader of Muscle Tower hissed. "To be quite honest the good doctor and I had watched your destruction of my base and were growing a little worried after you managed to defeat Major Metallitron; he as Gero's latest android model, and was more than enough for even a full battalion of highly trained soldiers.

Yet with as much power as you posses, all it takes is for someone to stick a gun at my daughter's head and you're helpless to do anything but stand there and stare with your mouth wide open; truly a very anti-climactic ending to such a brave adventure, don't you think boy!?"

Goku's ears twitched, and then his eyes narrowed as he began to smirk.

"You wanna know what I think? Well, that's an easy one, because I think you and this 'Dr, Gero' are a couple of spineless wimps!"

The World Champion moved with a speed neither of the men could follow with their eyes and, before Commander Blue could even think to pull the trigger on Lazuli, pulled the girl away before striking out with an open palm that sent the blonde man flying back into the wall. Then, turning sharply, Goku jumped up and landed a powerful kick against Gero's jaw.

With both men sprawled out on the floor, Bulma and Lapis came rushing in moments later with their weapons high and eyes fierce. The boy, catching sight of his sister, let a scowl form over his face as he barked at her for even being there.

"You idiot; you could have been killed! What the hell do you think I would have done if anything happened to you, I could never face mom's grave again for the rest of my life! And now, you're gonna force me to have to thank this cocky bastard for saving your life!"

"Shut up Lapis," the female twin snapped from her place beside Goku. "You're not the only one who loved mom ya know, so you can just buzz off! Besides, I knew that if anything happened Kakarot would be here in no time; it's just like I told you, these losers were nothing compared to him."

Before the twins could argue anymore a shot rang out, and Goku's small fist caught the bullet meant for Lazuli's head. All eyes turned to watch as the pairs father climbed to his feet, 9mm aimed and azure eyes burning with rage. There was blood leaking from the ends of the man's mouth, but aside from this he appeared fine, and Goku silently applauded him for being able to get back up after such a strong direct attack.

'Maybe, I'll get to have some fun after all~'

"Y-You, you stupid brats; after everything I tried to do for you this is how you thank me!? Bringing those filthy peasants here to my tower and having them try to assassinate me!? I knew you'd turn on me, just like your mother, it was only a matter of time. But no matter; as you know I have ways of dealing with traitors."

Goku pushed Lazuli back, motioning for the girl to join Bulma and her brother while he handled their father alone.

"We don't know each other, but I was lead to believe that this whole 'Muscle Tower' trip would be worth my time; so far, I've been disappointed. Now, instead of worrying about the two of them, how about you show me just what it is that makes the great 'Commander' so scary?"

Commander Blue glared at the pompous boy, blood-stained teeth glinting under the overhead light of the hundredth floor. How dare this whelp speak to him that way; he'd make sure the little puke never opened his mouth again!

"You want to see what makes the Commander-and-Chief of the Red Ribbon Army so feared throughout the world boy!? Fine! But just know that this will be the very last sight you'll ever see, so I hope you've said all of your goodbyes!"

Lapis felt the change in the air, he knew what was coming and the boy did his best to stop it, but as he raised the gun in his hands and fired Commander Blue's son was left frightened as the man he called 'father' simply healed from his wounds; the shells being spat out from the blonde's chest, with not even a scratch left behind to mark their entry.

Goku had heard the shots being fired, and found himself intrigued at the grown man's ability to simply shrug of each and every round. Commander Blue's uniform tore away under the increasing size of his muscles, as his hair grew shaggy and wild as fangs took the place of human canines. The boy could tell that his intended foe was going through a very serious transformation, and by the time it was finished Goku was staring at a man who stood nearly seven feet tall and looked to be some sort of cross-breed between a human and a lion.

"Your foolishness shall be your downfall boy; you should have finished me when you had the chance! Now you'll see, you will ALL see, this is the true power of the Red Ribbon Army!"