Jan-ken PUNCH!

By Reid M. Haynes

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump and all characters within are the properties of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.

Legend:
( ) Denotes thoughts.
{ } Denotes sound effects.

Tale 5: Go, Go, Goku! Arale-chan Too! Part 2

*****

On the long strait leading to the next exit, a single, black limousine glided down the freeway at a comfortable 70kph. The latest off the assembly line, it proudly sported quad hover pads, red spoilers, and a rounded finish, not to mention heavily tinted windows and all the usual frills. Right now, its headlights scorched the cold concrete, allowing the scoffer to navigate expertly between the yellow lines. And allowing the passenger to expertly laze off, after a hard day’s doing nothing.

Richard Jifferson, or Jiffy for short, lazily moved his cigar over to the ashtray, tapping a few scraps that barely managed to find their ways in. Taking another draw on the smoke stick, the savvy businessman reached over to the small bar for his customized import champagne, and started to pour it into a chalice. After it overflowed with liquor, he moved it to his lips, ready to take a sip. Right before he ingested the champagne, he blew a stream of gas straight to the driver’s seat, filling the entire limo with gray, stinking haze.

Jiffy twirled his cigar in his finger, spreading more ash carelessly about, as he glanced to the seat in front. "Smuckers, my good man," he said, referring to the man with his glass. "Will you turn on the air conditioning. It’s getting quite rank in here." He made a show of waving away the smoke, turning away with a small cough.

Smuckers, still wheezing from the tobacco blast he was forced to endure, took a moment to answer him. "Yes sir, Mr. Jifferson," he said, trying to keep his voice at least civil, if not respectful.

"Swell, swell," he responded, taking a swig of his beverage, taking a bit longer to savor the flavor. "That’s a good boy."

The other bit back a back a grumble as he flicked on the AC unit, turning back to driving and away from the laid back man behind him. Gentleman. Pheh. The word brought a scowl to his face, and he gripped the steering wheel with a certain malice. What an intoxicated breed of men. Always chugging down the drinks, money, and girls that came with the prestigious world. Smuckers didn’t have much credit going for him, but he bet his ass he could work a cubical as well as this joke, and probably court the ladies better too. It was tough seeing the higher ups get the pot of gold, and guys like him getting the bottom of the barrel.

The man seethed over these thoughts for a couple moments more, then sighed exasperatedly, returning to the wheel. Oh well. A zenny’s a zenny. After all, it wasn’t like he was going to be stuck in this job forever. Once he graduated from Orange Star U, he’d have a head start in the corporate world, esp. with the internship he had set up. Upon these thoughts, a slow sneer creeped its way along his lips. After a couple of years, he'd have overfed poultry like this snot for his morning brunch. That is, after he was done licking the scum off his boots.

Still. The limo driver put a hand to his chin. It wouldn’t hurt for something interesting to happen on the job right now. "Peanut Man" was a big shot in the Western Capital, so someone’s gotta be after him. Maybe the weird army guys that were in the city before...

Smuckers entertained this line of thought a little longer, then went back to his driving. (Maybe some other day. he thought,) as he kept two eyes on the street he traveled, and his two ears listening to the beats of "Sonic Adventure: Speed Highway," the only divergent he had on these boring jobs. (Good thing the noise doesn't travel through the back,) he thought with a smirk. (Having the snot scream at me is not my idea of relaxation.)

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!"

When the odd noise first sounded, Smuckers dismissed it, thinking it to be another patrol car that seemed to stake out this expressway. (or one of the weird sounds that played throughout "Speed Highway") "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!" When he heard it again, he peered in the rear view mirror, hoping to buy still not catching sight of whatever had made this noise. "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!" Then, when the sound continued to grow more and more pronounced, he slowed down a bit, waiting to see if anyone would approach from behind. "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!"

And finally, when he saw two lone shapes cut down the road, he figured that something was up. "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!"

"Excuse me, sir," Smuckers started, reverting to his semi-polite accent. "But there appears to be several fast vehicles approaching us."

"Ignore them," Jiffy answered, waving his glass causally about. "I’ve no time to waste on trifles."

"But sir...!" he protested, actually glancing back at his passenger.

"That’s an order, Smuckers," the senior of them said sternly, and Smuckers REALLY had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping out a surly reply.

{tmp-tmp-Tmp-Tmp-TMP...!} Suddenly, a rapid series of footfalls overtook the roar of the hover engines, preempting the driver’s imminent ire. The man turned to the back to see what the trouble was to find that the two mystery cars had gained a lot of ground on them. Only they weren’t cars, but actually small children, maybe around their pre-teens. They were moving exceptionally fast, fast enough even to catch the eye of Planters, who looked with growing astonishment at this astonishing sight (reduntant, isn‘t it?)

The two continued to look at them with wide eyes. And there eyes grew even wider upon discovering that they were not ten meters within the limo. "What the hell...?"

One of the kids, a black haired boy, began to speed a bit ahead of the other.

"Get outta th’ way! Get outta th’ way!" and {SHOOM!} he shot by on the left side, nearly sideswiping the expensive automobile as he continued to rip down the road, unheeded by any physical law known to man.

As it was, Smuckers had to fight to regain control of the vehicle. "Urrrgh...!" The limo edged sharply to the side, tilting over a full 33 degrees before managing to settle back down with a hand {FWAP!} The man checked left and right to see if they were still in the right lane, then turned back front to glimpse the fast figure zooming away. "Geez, what the hell WAS that?!" he exclaimed, not really caring who was listening.

Jiffy did not respond to this rugged talk, but just kept staring ahead, not even bothering to wipe off the wine that had spilt on his brand new suit. "Uhh..." His hand barely managed to keep hold of the glass, and his mouth was hanging open with a small glob of drool dropping from his mouth; very ungentlemanlike.

"KiiiiiiIIIIII...!"

Before they had a chance to really celebrate, the second figure had approached. Smuckers barely had time to turn the wheel before {WHAM!!!} the limousine was hit by a tremendous force. (SKIII...!} It span and swerved right over the median, crossing four lanes and eventually settled for teetering on the edge, rocking back and forth over the shining city.

Amidst the hair-raising situation, Smuckers tried his best to remain under control. But when he heard the older gentleman cowering and whimpering, and saw that his favorite champagne was all over the floorboards, he changed his nervous expression into a covert smirk. He allowed a small chuckle to escape his mouth.

(Good.)

*****

Note: If you happen to have the song "Speed Highway" on your PC, now would be a good time to take after Smuckers and play it...

*****

The cold asphalt of the suspended expressway melted into a montage of blue/gray streaks as it rushed backwards over and over again. Shining over this strange tapestry were fast-moving gold spotlights, one left behind and one popping up every half-second. Beyond the road’s concrete rims were the holiday-like speckles of the nuclear powered metropolis, red, blue, etc. And high on the horizon, the orbs and shafts of the varying skyscraper designs made its accent to the bluish glow that they themselves emitted, completing the scene for this highway chase we’re about to observe.

{TMP! TMP! TMP!} The soles of our hero and heroine’s shoes beat their ways through the neon-night and carried them down the highway. Son Goku and Norimaki Arale were zooming on either side of the yellow dividers, both moving at about the same excessively-speedy pace. Behind them, the two observed the 5 RR bikers, who were arranged in an inverted V that seems wanting to chomp them up. As they approached closer, this seemed actually to be the case.

As they approached closer, their peaceful run was over.

To Goku’s immediate right, one of the motorists was reaching for the rifle fixed to his back. He altered his onward course to move in the direction of his attacker, running alongside him. The RR almost had his weapon adjusted into place when {FWAP!} it was smacked out of his hands off towards the edge of the road, Additional surprise awaited him when he found he was soon to join the rifle, as {BAM!} a hard kick of Goku’s swept him off his bike and down the long drop to the below city, where hard concrete awaited him.

Following through with his aerial roundhouse, Goku landed deftly on his feet, continuing his run. Upon hearing some harsh pops behind, the boy turned to view the rear view action. Two of the soldiers had managed to get THEIR guns out without incident, and were now using them to take potshots at the little girl ahead of them. {PAM!} {PAM!} The knifelike crack of their blasts jabbed through the city air; however, Arale’s weaving made certain they hit nothing but road.

{KSS!} {PEO!} {KANG!} A series of sparks arose at every one of her previous positions, blinking on and off like a electric light display. Still, not so much as a bit of the fire hit on target, just fizzling out as cold as the street they burned upon. Frustrated, the RRs continued pulling their rifles‘ triggers, only to discover that they had squandered all of their ammunition away. Dismay radiated their cheekbones, as the hollow clicks failed to emit any sort of projectile at the enemy. They looked down at their belts, hoping to find a spare clip for reloading, but a glimmer ahead made them turn back to the road.

Their faces lowered an octave on the depression scale when they found it was Arale, who had turned at the sound of their empty guns. More precisely, it was the gleam from her smiling mouth. Their faces registered absolute horror. "Hoyooo!!!" Then, they bore witness to a bolting, flying kick headed straight at them, performed by none other than their target. {DONG!} First, the rubber sole sunk into the left-hand RR’s face, knocking his body and bike a good 180; next, the girl used this to springboard to the other to give him the same treatment. In the end, both were disposed of in much the same fashion, their cycles cutting a saffron wave of spark as the handlebars ground on the pavement, wheels failing to find a place on the road. Arale watched them skid to a stop, then returned to face the oncoming turns, still running, still moving...

Three of the five bikers behind had met their end, and Goku and Arale were now fairly matched with the remaining two. Unfortunately, for the duo, this was not to last. Behind them, seven glowing spots bit through the mist, the shapes concealed becoming more and more defined as they The kids watched out of corner of their eyes, and were surprised to see another wave of Red Ribbon motorcyclists, the revealed figures pulling their rifles out, and ready for a second assault.

Goku made a slightly irritated face, then slowed his run to half it’s original speed in an effort to let the enemy catch up with them. Wide eyed, Arale made the decision to join him, and soon both fighters were neck to neck in the biker’s general area, matching their speed quite easily. They glanced left and right at their opponents, gauging the nine soldiers potential danger to them. Then, then clenched their fists, making ready for another quick bout of fisticuffs.

{sssSBAP!} Arale made her fist collide into a biker’s helmet, tilting him and his cycle into a staggering sideways roll that carried them away from the girl, and off the highway. Wasting no time, she jumped to another RR’s head, wrenching him off his perch and above her head. Balancing perfectly on the seat, she scanned the blurring road of the closest available target. Finding it in the form of a horrified solder, she bent back and, with a heave, tossed her cargo straight at him, knocking them both into a scrambled mess that tore backwards along the road, not stopping until Arale had hopped back onto the road, letting the rider-less motorcycle drain itself uselessly of gas.

As Arale was finishing up with her half of the group, Goku tangled with his a bit further down the road. {PAM!} {PAM!} The soldiers tried their best to sink their bullets in the boy’s skull, but they found the lithe little fighter to be no easier than the previous opponent. {VNN!} {VNN!} He danced like lightning around the whizzing bullets, simultaneously running and pulling out the Nyoibo from behind his back. The weapon was brought horizontally along his chest, stretched out to the ends of the road, until it reached the relative distance of the two opposing bikers that he was currently dealing with. He gauced his position carefully, making sure the staff was placed just right. Then, all he had to do was slow down a bit, and (BING!} the RRs beaned themselves on their own accord, running their heads straight into Nyoibo and putting them out of the fight.

There were only two bikers remaining, remarkably the same two that had avoided defeat earlier, and the duo sought to it that they wouldn’t last much longer. Arale moved over to the nearer of the two and swatted him off his bike with a series of rough-and-tumble. He toppled away to the side, and somehow managed to hook his foot on his vehicles exhaust pipe, dragging it along with him. The remaining guard had only enough time to fire one last futile shot at Goku, who then was the approaching one. But this was render futile, as the fighter plucked the bullet out of midair and {PLIK!} sent it straight into the rider’s tire, causing a world class spinout that ejected him straight off the road.

The soldiers were cleared off the road, and Arale and Goku were treated to a pleasant run to the remainder of the expressway, though they certainly didn‘t take their time with it. {VOOM!} No, they continued moving just as fast as before, tearing into the turnpike fast enough to melt the cement beneath their shoes. Down through the turns and loops they curved, each staying within five feet of the other. The city lights blurred and swirled into a psychedelic effect, unrecognizable and indescribable to all but those who experienced it.

Street lights moved at a fantastic pace. Reflectors flashed along the road. The city shone all around. And the two young kids kept moving, moving, moving...

Street lights moved at a fantastic pace. Reflectors flashed along the road. The city shone all around. And the two young kids kept moving, moving, moving...

"Yo," Goku called behind him, after they had gone aways down the road. "I think we’re past the first wave."

"Yup," Arale nodded, then turned behind her. "Whadabout those guys over ‘dere?" she asked, pointing to the large, heavy things approaching on the road.

"Huh?" Goku followed her gaze, and lurched back in disdain. "Uh, oh..."

While they were busy fighting the motorcyclists, creeping up behind them were the tanks and helicopters they had forgotten about. Very, very FAST tanks and helicopters, somehow managing to put out enough power to clear the gulf of pavement that separated them from their quarry. They had already lurched over the hump that concealed the full armament that they were. In a moment...they would catch up to them.

Goku looked at the approaching vessels warily, a slightly worried expression on his face. "It’s gonna be tough to fight all those things on this tiny road..." he said to himself, somehow able to speak normally despite his intense stride. He continued running aways, watching the road again. "Hey, I know!" he suddenly burst out, upon sight of an inspiration. Arale turned to where the boy was staring at, and let loose an exclamation of her own. "Hoyo?"

Within a stone’s throw, there was the green board signifying a highway exit. While the straight path continued the highway out of the city, taking the right-hand branch would lead back to downtown, through the business skyscrapers and high-class restaurants. "Why doncha go down thadaway," he requested, pointing off to the side path. "And I’ll go this way. Then, we’ll have some room t’ fight without each other gettin’ in the way. That cool?"

Arale nodded her consent. "Okay!" she responded, looking back to the road, and slowly edging to the upcoming exit sign.

The road’s little yellow lines continued to swarm in a constant streak, melting together like it was really just one line trying to convince you it was several. Goku and Arale sped up to the fork, still moving as one unit, though they were beginning to separate. Each child kept his/her eyes towards their own destination, ignoring the other path that they would not be taking.

Then {KZMM!!!} they took off for their own ways, going to either downtown or the rest of the expressway, disappearing from each other’s sight and senses.

As predicted, the tanks and helicopters each split up to take on both Goku and Arale. However, they had not deviated from their previous formation; each type of vehicle keeping with its brothers and sisters. The helicopters decided upon themselves to continue their vigil over the expressway, preparing to end the boy’s life. And the tanks opted to go for the girl, running a trench down the exit and heading into the commercial area of Western Capital, the turrets slowly scouring for her.

Hovering a good distance over the road, the Red Ribbon air patrol of four succeeded in catching up with Goku, perhaps only a few meters horizontally from where he was running. He turned upwards to find his enemy close upon him, their whirling blades going {TKATKATKA!} though the cold, city air. Searchlights burned from their sources aboard the crafts, cutting a gold swath towards the young warrior. Then the gatling guns rose from under the cockpits, aiming for the head.

Goku gripped the Nyoibo, still in hand, and raised it behind him. With a stern eye, he watched the copters’ every move. As the barrel began to turn, the staff spun as well.

And when the guns started firing, Goku twirled his weapon into a spinning fan blade, knocking away any of the bullets that entered within its radius. {PIPIPIPIPING!} Nyoibo scattered the shots far and wide, sending them on random courses away from the boy...and back towards the RRs.

Most of the shells missed the helicopters by a fraction, but one managed to find its way into the propeller device, sinking within its vital mechanisms. {Creeee...} The blade tried desperately to turn, but with the bullet clogging up the works, it could only grunt and squeal like a pig ready for slaughter. The copter hopped and inched through the sky, sinking down ever so father to the highway below. Soon, it could take no more, and {DABOMB!!!} detonated among the asphalt, its blades cutting a sparkling gash against the road that trailed long after it had met its end.

Goku wasn’t through yet, though. He tossed the pole behind him, catching it with his other hand and pulling it into a batting position. Running forward the best way possible under the circumstances, he gripped it with both hands, aiming carefully for the rightmost helicopter. He concentrated all his energies into his strike, letting a low growl escape into the air.

"NYOIBO EXTEND!!!" then he swung the staff in an ascending arc, activating the whimsical power within. {GYUUUN!!!} Growing longer and longer, Nyoibo’s trajectory came eventually to include the helicopter, who’s pilot was watching with a worry that grew as fast as the weapon that approached him. {BWONG!} It hit hard on the side of the craft, spinning it towards another helicopter that hovered nearby. They of course collided, knocking both of them into the last remaining copter, combining all three into a single, indescribable mass that hovered unsteadily in midair before {KABOOM!!!} shattering into a conflagration of gas and scrap that burned into atoms among the vagrant, night sky.

Meanwhile, in the heart of downtown, another onslaught of mayhem was abound, causing panic in the citizens daring to walk the streets. The RR tanks gave no quarter to the defenseless city, running over all obstacles in their way. {CRUNCH!!!} An abandoned Capsule car was crumbled under the treads of the lead tank. {GRIINN!} The support of a traffic light bend and broke against a roving turret. There was no salvation from the destruction the tanks implemented against the hapless town. Of course, there was the purple-haired girl that was dashing in front of them, but she was really doing nothing more than causing more wreckage.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...!" Arale burned through the oncoming traffic, moving in a zig-zag that knocked trashcans, telephone poles, and fire hydrants awry. It was clear she didn’t really care enough to preserve property, though she did make an effort to jump the few cars that managed to get in her way. Her haphazard actions weren’t without reason, for the tanks were finally within range to fire their cannons.

{BBOOM!} A blast erupted next to a novelty store, barely avoided by the girl. {BBOOM!} Another shell smashed just behind her into the sidewalk. {BBOOM!}{BBOOM!}{BBOOM!} Arale was forced into a series of jumps over cars; fortunately already abandoned, for each one intertwined in an uncomfortable relationship with an explosive round. {BBOOM!}{BBOOM!}{BBOOM!} A trail of orange fireballs followed her heels, trying its best to engulf the heroine and swallow her up. {BBOOM!}{BBOOM!}{BBOOM!}

Arale turned her head, trying to see through both the flames and the fog mounting on her glasses. Then, she let out a very odd sort of glare. "Mean ol’ bad guys!"

{SKIIID!!!} The girl did a 180 on the concrete, sliding and spinning around until she was face to face with her attackers. She was in a parking lot now, a rather nice one with many of the top designers vehicles stocked. Which was kinda bad, ‘cause Arale was now lifting the most expensive coupe up over her head. She strained lttle, even with the hefty weight in only two palms, and glared out at the tanks entering the lot. Then "Hoi!" she tossed it directly at the leader, using the car as an impromptu projectile.

{FWOOM!} the coupe impacted against the tank, a massive blaze masking all of the destruction. Quickly opting to follow it up, Arale moved over to a pricey hover-Lamborghini and flung the car into another tank. {KABOOM!} Then a Chevy. {BOMB!} Then an Acura. {DDOOM!!}

"Take that!" she shrieked as she hurled a mid sized truck. "And that!" she continued, sending a sports car on its way. "And this too!" {BABOMB!}{BABOMB!} {BABOMB!} Vans, jeeps, and other vehicles were tossed one by one into the tanks, which were not starting to dwindle in number. The few that could move were inching away from the energetic girl, hoping not to get caught in the fire. And the others...well, they couldn’t even be seen, so covered in flame and car-parts that it was just too hard to describe. They’re toast, anyway.

Arale took a brief moment to catch her breath, then turned to heading once again downtown, leaving behind a tattered combination of rubble, cars, and stray tank parts. With maybe a bent turret hanging out, every now and again...

A minute or so passed, and she was back on the road, having found her way out of the main city. It was another highway, much like the one Goku was currently traveling. In fact...wait, there he was. On a suspended bridge overlooking the expressway, Goku was running, still a good distance away but definitely recognizable. He had apparently gotten rid of those flying guys a while back, and not traveled unhindered towards the edge of the Western Capital. Which was approaching real fast.

Arale was in a fairly good mood, as demonstrated by the smile on her face. She got this entire way without being blown up once! She looked up at Goku, and called to him. "Hey, hey!" she cheered, waving enthusiastically. "We’re doin’ it! We’re doin’ it!"

She continued to holler up to the boy, and eventually he looked down. He smiled, catching her eye, and gave her a thumbs up. But soon, his hand flipped to a thumbs-down, and his eyes shrunk with a sudden panic. When Goku saw something Arale didn’t.

While the girl’s attention was on Goku, a stray motorcycle that had escaped being scrapped was slowly gaining on her. Unbeknownst to Arale, the RR was pulling a heavy bazooka from the sling on his back, bringing it up to bear towards the road she traveled. He focused the sight, adjusting himself on his bike, and when he was sure of his aim, {V-WHOOSH!!!} a large rocket emerged from the barrel, streaking towards the speeding girl.

She turned just in time to notice the missile approaching. "Hoyo...?"

Then {D-BOM!} a entire piece of the road was blown to bits by a tremendous detonation, sending Arale spinning off to the buildings far below. "Oh!"

"Arale-chan!" Goku called off from the high road, staring in despair at his falling friend.

"HOH-YOO!!!"

*****

Goku: "Part 3 will be comin' soon."

Arale: "Don't go bye-cha!"





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