T H E D R A G O N B A L L ZUY½ C H R O N I C L E S
The part-Dragonball, part-Ranma,
part-Urusei Yatsura, part-Pokémon juggernaut could not be
stopped! In the fall of 2001, I restarted
the DBZUY½ campaign with some returning players. Among those who came back were Ryoga, Ferret Man, and Tim. Mendou’s player also returned, but decided
to use a new character based on another fighting anime, Street Fighter II V. Thus was born Dahlsim. Sadly, Zeno and Gangat failed to come back
and were missed. As you’ll see below,
shortly after we started, Dahlsim’s player decided he liked Mendou better and
brought the Urusei Yatsura character back into the fold. As of this writing (January 2002), the
campaign has once more gone on hiatus after only a few months of play. But it came back once, and I don’t doubt
that there’s a very good chance it’ll continue again… at the very least in the
form of one-shot “Movie” type adventures like the last one on this list. For now, though, these twenty-four episodes
close out the storyline once again. Enjoy!
Episode
One: “Fighters Reunited! But Who is the Strange Indian?”: Ryoga wanders into a village inhabited by
several Indian people and a man by the name of Dahlsim that they worship as a
“God-Thing.” After a brief skirmish,
the two team up to chase after a small robot that has stolen an ancient idol
from a nearby cave. They trace the
robot to South City, where they come across Tim and Ferret Man. The four warriors team up to defeat Dr.
Arachnus, the robot’s master, and his large Arachnaut Mark III. After the fight, Dahlsim reclaims his idol.
Episode
Two: “Wild Antics With
Ryoga! P-Chan the Hunted!”: Dahlsim takes Arachnus
and stashes him in the cave outside of his village, blocking the door with
Tim’s Snorlax. Then Dahlsim, Ferret
Man, and Tim conspire to hunt down Ryoga and harass him. They find Ryoga in a small village, trying
to build a Dragon Radar. After turning
him into P-Chan, they take him to Tim’s estate in South City and mass around
with him until he is snatched up by a gust of wind. After this, Dahlsim returns to his village and his meditations,
throwing Arachnus into the haunted cave nearby.
Episode
Three: “Servants
of the Warlord Declare War on Ferret Man!”: Two servants of Warlord Bryce, ruler of South City, kidnap Ferret
Man’s ferret and demand that he come face them on the island Androids 19 and 20
destroyed a few years back. Ferret Man
and Tim both show up and begin fighting the henchmen. Meanwhile, Dahlsim, who is in South City turning Arachnus over to
the authorities, senses Tim and Ferret Man and goes to join them. Ryoga does likewise, and together the group
defeats the henchmen and saves the ferret.
But they still wonder what has Warlord Bryce so riled up.
Episode
Four: “Urusei Yatsura! The Return of ZUY½-Fighter Shutaro Mendou!”: Dahlsim travels to South City to buy some
groceries for his village, then returns there.
Ryoga shows up at Tim’s house and brutally beats his butler. Tim, realizing he used the last of his magic
sushis during the fight with Bryce’s men, travels south to Pokémon land to hunt
Magicarp for fresh meat. Ferret Man and
Ryoga hop in Tim’s limo and drive over to Mendou’s mansion, where Ferret Man
tries to sell Tim’s business to Mendou’s father. When this doesn’t pan out, Ferret Man, Ryoga, and Mendou head
into town.
Episode
Five: “Welcome to Capsule Corporation,
ZUY½-Fighters! Hope You Survive the
Experience!”: Wanting
a high-tech gun, Ferret Man goes to Capsule Corporation to enlist the aid of a
top scientist. While there he meets
Vegeta and eggs him on until the Saiyan prince beats him up. Sensing Ferret Man’s predicament, Ryoga
shows up. Vegeta beats him as well,
sending him crashing into the city. Yamcha
shows up and tells Vegeta to stop. The
Saiyan agrees… for now. Meanwhile,
Mendou concocts a plan to build a lightsaber.
Episode
Six: “The Onslaught Continues in the
Home of the Desert Bandit!”: Yamcha gives Ryoga some clothes (he is
frequently naked from changing into and back from P-Chan), then sets out with
Puar to live in the desert again. As
they leave Yamcha’s pad, Ryoga and Ferret Man are attacked by two more of
Bryce’s henchmen! Ryoga kills one, but
the other defeats him and retreats as Mendou arrives.
Episode
Seven: “Quest for the Lightsaber Pieces
Begins! First Stop: The Frozen North!”: Mendou travels north with Ryoga hot on his
heels to search for a specific gem for the creation of his lightsaber. While there he encounters Larry Mongo, who
points him in the direction of Germ.
Germ is also collecting gems, to make lightsabers for his fighting
team. Ryoga challenges Germ to a fight,
and is summarily defeated. Germ then
gives Mendou a gem and departs. Mendou
returns home, and his scientist call Liam Neeson in to meditate and imbue the
gem with the power of the Force. Ryoko
Mendou reports to her brother that Kyodai-Chan has left to join a fighting
team.
Episode
Eight: “Lightsaber Under
Construction! Meanwhile, in Bryce’s
Lair…”: Ryoga
wanders into South City, where Warlord Bryce takes him in and clothes him, as
he does for many of the city’s clotheless bums. Ryoga battles and finally kills Bryce’s last henchman. Ferret Man, bored, teleports to Ryoga’s
location and right into the clutches of Bryce!
Bryce explains why he hates Ferret Man so: Years ago, Ferret Man had married Bryce’s daughter, Ryce, but
then cheated on her with another woman and drove her insane. Bryce then dedicated his life to finding out
who his son-in-law was and humiliating him.
Bryce then swiftly defeats both fighters.
Episode
Nine: “Ferret Man a Circus Freak? And Who or What is Goten?!?”: Ataru Moroboshi, Lum, and Shinobu Miyake
invite Mendou to the circus with them.
There they find Ferret Man has been sold by Bryce into slavery as a
sideshow freak. Mendou helps liberate
Ferret Man, who returns to his mansion with him. There, Jariten shows up and demands that Mendou take him north
for his play date with Gohan, as Lum is too busy and Ataru is an idiot. Mendou agrees. He and Ferret Man are entranced by Goten’s carefree attitude, but
Ferret man soon leaves, deciding to once more try and sell Tim’s business. Mendou senses Ryoga’s ki further
north and goes to investigate.
Episode
Ten: “Ryoga’s
Strange Tale: I Freed the Android!”: Mendou finds Ryoga in Muscle Tower,
unconscious. He brings him around and
asks what he’s doing there. Ryoga has
no recollection, having been apparently brainwashed by Bryce and sold into
slavery as a minion to someone else. The
pair reviews Muscle Tower’s surveillance tapes and finds that Ryoga helped to
free an android in a lab: Number
12. They then go south a bit to Jingle
Village, where they encounter Android 6.
He knows nothing of any Android 12, but wishes them well in their
search. Mendou returns home, while
Ryoga heads back for Bryce’s lair.
Episode
Eleven: “Bryce is Out; Ryoga is
In!”: Mendou
reaches his estate to find that his lightsaber is finished at last. He goes to try it out in the practice
hall. Meanwhile, Ryoga reaches Bryce’s
building and dispatches the warlord with surprising ease. He then kills Bryce’s right-hand man, Darian
Clarke, and begins searching Bryce’s database for info on Android 12. Ferret Man liquidates all Tim’s assets and
begins carrying two bags of money around.
He heads for Bryce’s Tower to offer the money in exchange for his foe’s
goodwill, but finds Ryoga there instead.
They decide to visit Mendou and find out if he’s learned anything about
Android 12.
Episode
Twelve: “Kyodai-Chan Returns! Hear His Grim Tale!”: As Ferret Man and Ryoga show up, so does
Kyodai-Chan, severely injured. He is
rushed to the estate’s med lab, where he is revived enough to tell a story: He and his fighting team allies, Brogue Fenway,
Miss Jing, Lizard Man, and Germ, ran afoul of some androids in a village to the
northeast. The androids were forcibly
recruiting for a new Red Ribbon Army, and when the fighters tried to stop them,
the androids beat them mercilessly.
Kyodai escaped, but not before seeing his friends captured. He begs the Mendou siblings to go to Red
Ribbon Headquarters to the far west and liberate his friends. They agree, and depart along with Ferret Man
and Ryoga.
Episode
Thirteen: “The Red Ribbon Lives Again! But Who Leads Them Now?”: The group reaches Red Ribbon headquarters,
currently under reconstruction after many years. Pretending to be prospective recruits, they are led on a tour by
a low-ranking officer. But when they
start sniffing around where they shouldn’t be, several mecha attack them out
back. One swats Ferret Man far away,
then they attack Mendou, Ryoga, and Ryoko.
The heroes make swift work of the mecha, but then a new foe
arrives—Android 12, calling himself General Silver.
Episode
Fourteen: “General Silver’s Story: I am the Leader!”: Silver challenges our heroes to a fight and
decks Ryoga, sending him flying far away.
Meanwhile, Tim is returning north from his Magicarp hunt, and happens to
be sailing past the beach upon which Ryoga lands. Tim sends his pirate flunkies on to invade Gul DaiMon’s casino
and acquire some rice for the magic sushi, then goes to Ryoga. Tim allows Yazbum to partially heal Ryoga. Meanwhile, Mendou explains to Silver that he
wants to join the Red Ribbon Army. Silver
says that if Mendou will kill his friend Ryoga, he will be allowed in. Mendou agrees, and the two of them, fly to
Ryoga. Ferret Man has also caught sight
of Ryoga and gone to him. Meanwhile,
Ryoko sneaks into Red Ribbon HQ to search for Kyodai’s fighting teammates. Once Mendou’s group is assembled, Silver
bids Mendou destroy Ryoga, then gets a call on his cell phone. While he turns his back to answer it, Mendou
splashes cold water on Ryoga, turning him to P-Chan, then fires off a harmless
energy blast to make it look like he has killed Ryoga. Silver, impressed, allows Mendou and the
others to return to Red Ribbon Army HQ with him.
Episode
Fifteen: “Sneaking About in Red Ribbon
Headquarters! What Horrors Will We
Behold?”: Ryoko
and her kuroko henchmen come across a lab filled with machines for torture and
brainwashing. They proceed to wreck the
place. Meanwhile, Silver, Mendou,
Ferret Man, Tim, and P-Chan return to Red Ribbon Headquarters. Silver wants to test their fighting skills,
so he has Tim battle the mentally enslaved Germ. Tim easily destroys Germ, disintegrating him. Meanwhile, P-Chan sneaks into the base and
is followed by Ferret Man. Mendou is
sent into the ring to battle another mental slave, Brogue Fenway. Brogue puts up a tought fight and nearly
finishes Mendou, but thanks to his Clone Technique Mendou wins. Silver is impressed with the pair’s fighting
abilities and leads them into the base towards the lab, so their minds can be
scanned to reveal once and for all if their wish to join is genuine.
Episode
Sixteen: “A
New Sinister Force! Is Silver Really
the Boss?”: P-Chan wanders into the
ventilation shafts and comes across a room housing two shadowy figures. He leaps down at them, Startling the male of
the pair, who orders the female to catch the pig. P-Chan races out into the hall, followed by the woman,
Violet. Elsewhere, Silver, Mendou, and
Tim reach the lab and find the place is a shambles. While Silver gets on the communicator to tell someone what has
happened, Mendou catches sight of Ryoko and tells her to go, because they have
found who they’re looking for. Bored,
Ryoko agrees and departs. Meanwhile,
Violet finally catches up with P-Chan just as Ferret Man arrives. She is going to destroy the pig, but he
escapes through the ceiling. Violet
follows, but loses sight of P-Chan. She
begins searching the grounds for him.
Ferret Man wanders off through the halls.
Episode
Seventeen: “Strange Hi-jinks in Red
Ribbon Headquarters! We’re as Weird as
Ever!”: P-Chan
escapes into a hangar out back and finds some water to change back to
normal. Yazbum Jr. joins him in the
hangar, but he throws the Namek out, thus drawing the attention of some guards. They advance on him, but Ryoga defeats
them. He then begins trying to cobble
together a device to produce an electromagnetic pulse. Inside, Silver hears the sounds of gunfire
from the guards after Ryoga. He orders
Mendou to stay put, then runs outside.
Mendou, meanwhile, promptly leaves the lab and explores. He finds Brogue Fenway, Lizard King, and
Miss Jing, the rest of Kyodai’s team, all locked up. They have no free will, but they retain their memories, and plan
to break free once their brainwashing wears off (Ryoko destroyed the
brainwashing device in her rampage). Mendou
leaves the room and goes to another, which seems to be a lab. A mad scientist is within, and his voice
draws Tim to the room. Tim demands that
the scientist make him into an android.
Out in the hangar, Silver corners Ryoga.
Episode
Eighteen: “The True Leader Revealed!
But Isn’t He Dead?”:
Ryoga triggers his pulse, but nothing happens. He and Silver then begin a knock-down, drag-out fight, destroying
the hangar in the process. In the lab,
Tim bullies the scientist into turning him into an android. The scientist begins the procedure. Meanwhile, Mendou walks into yet another
room, finding to be the sanctum of the true leader, General Blue. Blue explains to Mendou that his body was
kept by Gero all those years ago, and made into an android. Then, hearing the commotion of the fight
between Ryoga and Silver outside, they go to investigate. Along the way, Mendou explains his desire to
join the army.
Episode
Nineteen: “Behold Silver’s Power! The Strongest Foe Ever?”: Silver and Ryoga continue their fight as
Mendou and Silver watch. It is a
violent battle, with both fighters suffering damage. But in the end, Silver bests Ryoga, leaving him near death on the
ground. Within the lab, the mad
scientist finishes android-ifying Tim (he fortunately had a spare body around,
so the process was simple). Now with
#16’s body, Tim is ready for battle. He
heads outside to see what’s happened with Ryoga. Violet also arrives outside at the same time.
Episode
Twenty: “Ryoga’s Down, But Three
Remain! Android Tim Unleashed!”: Blue takes Mendou inside to test his
intentions under the brainwashing machine.
Outside, Tim is reunited with Yazbum, and the two of them turn Ryoga
into a pig, dig a grave for him, and drop him into it. They cover it with a rock. Inside, Blue finds that the brainwashing
machine is wrecked. He goes to find his
scientist. Meanwhile, Silver enters the
lab, having had it with Mendou’s shenanigans.
He attacks Mendou, who begins fighting back with his Clone
Maneuver. It’s a long, rough battle,
but Mendou wins in the end, destroying Silver.
He takes the android’s face as his prize. Tim re-enters the building with Yazbum. He heads for the lab and orders the scientist to remove the bomb
within him. Mendou and Ferret Man also
enter the lab to stand guard while the operation proceeds. But soon into it, General Blue shows up at
the door.
Episode
Twenty-One: “KABOOM! The Explosive Bomb From Within Tim’s
Chest!”: Tim
awakens, even though his operation is not yet complete. While Mendou and Ferret Man try to stall
Blue and Violet, who has also arrived, Tim forces the scientist to work
faster. However, Blue grows impatient
and disintegrates the scientist. Taking
a chance, Tim disconnects a wire and
removes the bomb, triggering a 20-second countdown to extinction. There is much hot-potato style bomb tossing,
until it winds up in Blue’s grasp.
Mendou, Tim, and Yazbum grab hold of Ferret Man, and the group teleports
away to Tim’s pirate ship just before the bomb goes off. As the bomb goes off, Brogue, Miss Jing, and
Lizard King are freed from their cell and from their mental control. They burst forth from the wreckage of the
base just as Blue and Violet do the same.
Seeing that the slaves are rebelling, Violet begins a battle with Brogue
and his friends while Blue looks on.
Episode
Twenty-Two: “Return to the Base! This Time We’ll Finish the Job!”: Mendou, Tim, and Ferret Man fly back to Red
Ribbon HQ. Seeing that Brogue and his
crew have Violet busy, they attack Blue.
Tim and Ferret Man perform the Fusion Dance, which they had never quite
perfected… but this time it works, and they form Terret Man. This new warrior begins fighting Blue and
actually makes some headway against him… but after a long battle Blue gains the
upper hand by using his hypnotism power on Terret Man.
Episode
Twenty-Three: “Terret Man
Possessed! Does Mendou Stand Alone?”: Mendou performs his clone maneuver, creating
duplicate warriors of himself to stall Blue and keep him from killing the
mentally paralyzed Terret Man. As his
clones fight for him, Mendou flies back to Ryoga’s grave and grabs the pig’s
unconscious body. He returns to the
battlesite and shocks Blue with the site of the pig, so much so that Terret Man
is able to break free of Blue’s control and attack again. The tables have been turned, and Blue is
split in two by the valiant warriors.
However, he dissolves into a sort of goo and begins to join together
again.
Episode
Twenty-Four: “The Androids
Defeated! Parting Ways Once
Again!”: Thinking
fast, Mendou catches half of the Blue-goo in a Pokéball and pockets it. The rest of Blue, however, escapes into some
cracks in the ground. Mendou and Terret
Man find that Violet has also escaped from Brogue and his allies. Mendou puts Ryoga in a Pokéball and gives
him to Brogue, then the ZUY½ Fighters part ways. Mendou flies to Korin’s tower and gives the Pokéball containing
Blue’s goo to Korin, then heads home.
Terret Man and Yazbum return to Tim’s estate, and after the fusion wears
off Tima and Yazbum fly off to parts unknown to test Tim’s new android body.
DBZUY½
All-Star Action Movie: “Ferret Man’s
2000 Inch TV!”: Several
months later, Brogue remembers the Pokéball in his pocket and lets P-Chan
out. The pig quickly changes back to
Ryoga and flies towards South City for revenge on Mendou. About that time, Ferret Man, in charge while
Tim is away, goes to an electronics store and buys the biggest television set
ever made, at a whopping 2000 inches.
Ferret Man sets it up in his backyard, but the TV blocks out the
sun. The newly arrived Ryoga tries to
destroy it, but its automated defenses activate and in the ensuing chaos Ryoga
and Mendou must battle Amuro Rey in Gundam and Char Aznable in his Zaku,
Superman, and the Dukes of Hazzard.
Finally, the TV agrees to stop siccing television characters on our
heroes if Mendou will give it rockets so it can fly into space. He does so, and the TV departs… for now.
