Chapter 6: Red Ribbon Subjugation p.III
The faces of four individuals hovered over the war map which depicted all four quadrants of the mainland, carrying a high quality reference of the state of the continent. Here, in addition to the first fortress they had struck, five more fortresses and eleven more towers had been cast aside to symbolize their destruction. The only remaining location of the army was the headquarters of the Red Ribbon Holdings parent company which Red Ribbon Pharmaceutical and Red Ribbon Electronics.
Of the four, Hakurei moved a knights chess piece that was meant to symbolize the team, into conflict with the headquarters. Now was the time for offense, Hakurei had retrieved Son Goku and Lucian lived within the town so retrieving her wasn't of any trouble. Hakurei stepped over to a map of the headquarters, "I'll approach from the main gate with Son Goku, we'll assault General Blue and his Blue Force. Lucian, I want you to take the west gate which is being handled by more mercenaries and their leader, Tao Pi Pi."
It had been two weeks since the team had begun their assault on the Red Ribbon Army, and they had done well to cut down the enemy. in his free time Hakurei had focused more on training Goku's mind and mannerisms, but had still managed to teach both Son Goku and Lucian of the after-image technique Zanzoken. Lucian sighed deeply with a morose sloth nature, responding exasperatedly. "Are you serious...? Alright... But you better let me sleep after that.."
"Of course, of course. We just need to nip the bud before it blossoms, then you can have a whole month to relax and slack off. After that though, I'll need you to get back to your training. I sense that our job might not be over after the army, not just yet." answered Hakurei with a warm smile. Now that the plan had been made, he brought himself to full height and with the others, headed to the garage he had added to his workshop where Bulma was tinkering with the team's new vehicle, a large cargo 'plane' that had been build for space flight as well. The loading ramp descended.
The three ascended to find that within the affectionately dubbed 'Airstriker One' was a veritable home away from home with full amenities provided including personal quarters, a small canteen, and an entertainment nook. Furthermore on the level above was a training area and the vessel's cockpit. Soon after the craft was boarded, the garage opened and the Airstriker took to the skies above Brayberry Hills. The craft did an about turn and shot towards the location of this hunt and kill operation.
With a thunderous cry, the Airstriker pierced the daytime sky at speeds exceeding sound and as high as Mach Four, yet due to inertial dampeners only a tenth of that force was transferred to the occupants inside. Within minutes the craft had pierced Red Ribbon aerospace and had left behind three warriors before ascending to safe altitudes. Hakurei burst from the sky, releasing three minuscule orbs which burst through the main gate. Hakurei and Son Goku landed at the gateway just as Lucian began to tangle with sword-wielding mercenaries.
A number of brilliant crimson lasers locked on to Hakurei, soon after the area around him exploding violently from explosive rockets. Hakurei stepped from the smoking blasts then rushed forwards while Goku handled the blue grenadiers who had shot at his master. General Blue leaped into a lunge with his left arm, quickly avoided by Hakurei who grasped the man's wrist and threw him to the ground behind. Blue spewed out blood on the ground, staggeringly pulling himself back to his feet slowly. While Blue was staggering, Hakurei ran forward.
Hakurei quickly drilled the torso of General Blue with a series of quick jabs aimed for the pressure points of Blue. The general was able to avoid the first two strikes before the speed of Hakurei quickly blitzed him and he fell to the ground, dead. By now, Son Goku had also dealt with the grenadiers and weapon specialists of the Blue Force, and the both of them progressed further into the headquarters. Hakurei quickly released two miniscule orbs of ki that when exploded would clear out both defensive emplacements nearby, leading to a clear shot to Gero's lab.
"Son Goku, go ahead and destroy the Red Ribbon Electronics headquarters building nearby. Meanwhile I have some business in this laboratory then we'll rendezvous to tackle the defenses around the Red Ribbon Pharmaceuticals Factory." ordered Hakurei to Goku, with the latter nodding in affirmation before dashing away towards the indicated location. The red-haired youth stepped into the laboratory, finding the inside decorated with the shambled destroyed remains of androids done at the hands of Hakurei himself.
What awaited the mutant ahead was a thick airlock style bulwark. Hakurei quickly whipped up his ki and bombarded the gateway with ki blasts and then released a beam of ki that burned a hole through the airlock blast door. Hakurei stepped through, carrying himself into the central laboratory where a human male in his early thirties and an advanced android awaited him. "If you want to continue holding onto existence, then you will want to leave now. Otherwise you'll end like General Blue out there. Do you really want that, Lieutenant Gevo?"
"How do you know my name?" spoke Gevo, his previously resolute heart starting to waver in fear. At first he thought maybe he and his father's latest android could take the kid but now, he wasn't so sure. This kid had given him an out, and he wasn't deign to look a gift in the eye and not take it. Whatever befell his father, at least his mother wouldn't be around to see it right now. Besides, his father reaped what he sew. Wasn't it the duty of the younger generation to continue the legacy? Gevo nodded his head somberly, then took off running.
The android whirred into action, however Hakurei smirked. He quickly blitzed the android, vanishing via Zanzoken before re-appearing behind the android and reaching into it's metal shell with ki surrounding his hand. Hakurei quickly pulled the central processing unit and main generator free of the android's metal body and let it thud to the ground before he walked up towards a shocked Gero. "No! I promise that I won't continue my research if you just let me live! I only helped out the red ribbon army because they provided me funding, I don't-"
The doctor stopped instantly as soon as Hakurei broke into his human body's chest cavity and grasped the man's heart. And so, Dr. Gero would no longer live within this alternate series of events as Hakurei had killed him. If only Hakurei had known that this would result in the events of the future still playing out, only slightly differently? Then perhaps he wouldn't have let Gevo away, but had hoped that the fear he had struck into the male's heart would stop him from any delusions of grandeur. Hakurei left the lab, and flew into the sky along with his two companions.
Son Goku and Lucian had began to gather Ki and transfer it into the technique of Hakurei who held his hands over his head. His power flared for the first time in twelve years from it's suppressed nature. Rising to one-thousand and five hundred, then three thousand, then five thousand, only stopping at ten thousand. Finally, with his power released to this level which in truth was about one tenth of his full power, he released the technique which saw a massive wave of ki projected down to erase what remained of the headquarters. Red Ribbon had been wiped out.