The Lost Jinzouningen Saga
A Dragon Ball Super Z spinoff by Deaku
Story 02 ~ Wanderer
It was a warm autumn day, the people of Eastgate were happily going about their daily routine. Lore was watching all the hustle and bustle from the steps of the town hall. He was happy to see that everything was slowly turning back to normal. Despite all the trouble that the world had been through. Lore had come to this town to sell his "newest" salvage from the ruins to the south.. He was currently waiting for the town officials to finish cataloging and appraising what he had brought them.
Lore then sensed someone approaching behind him "Well here you are, I've been looking all over for you Mr. Tempest." It was Howard, the chief reclamation officer of Eastgate.
"No need to be so formal, it's okay to call me Lore." He said, getting up from the town hall's steps.
"Alright, Lore it is. Anyway, we've finished going through all the stuff you brought us and we decided to buy it for the price you asked. Not that I'm complaining, but it's easily worth three times the amount you asked for. Are you sure you don't want to change your mind about it?"
"No, that's alright Howard. The price will stay as it is, I'm not really in this business for the money anyway. I started doing this so that I could help people, not to hoard money that I don't really need."
"Well that's a good enough answer for me. Here's your money and your truck, already back in it's capsule like you asked." Howard said, handing Lore the two items.
'Thanks, I really appreciate it." Lore told him, placing the money and capsule into his pack.
"I do have one question for you though. How does a lone operator like you manage to bring back so much salvage? What you brought today was more than most large groups manage to bring back in a single trip. And that's with them using heavy equipment."
"Let's just say I'm more willing to dig deeper into collapsed buildings than most freelancers are. I also take my time to search thoroughly through everything. Not just take what looks good and leave." Lore answered. He wasn't about to tell anyone that he had optic scanners to aid him in his searches. Or that he could easily lift chunks of debris that weighed several tons with his bare hands. So he had no need for any kind of clunky excavation equipment.
"Is that so, I guess I'll have to tell my boys to follow your example." Howard said with a laugh. "So, I guess you'll be leaving now that your business here is done?"
"Yeah, I believe that there is still plenty of work for me to do out there. It just won't get done if I stay here."
"I guess your right about that. Well this is goodbye for now Lore," Howard said, shaking hands with the young man. "Just remember, you're welcome in Eastgate anytime."
"Thanks Howard, I will. See you around." Lore said as he left town hall, then followed the main road out of town.
~~~~~
It had been about two days since Lore had left the town of Eastgate. Since he had spent the last few months wandering around the central plains. Lore thought it was time for a change of scenery and was heading further north.
It was midday, so he had stopped to make something for lunch. Lore wasn't really doing it because he was hungry, he no longer felt hunger. It was just part his daily routine now, as he was attempting to keep his life fairly normal.
"One thing is for sure, my cooking skills have definitely improved." Lore told himself as he tasted the stew he was cooking. He had almost given up on cooking when he had first started out. His first few attempts were so bad that he could barely keep it down, despite the fact that he had an artificial stomach. "Still, it's nothing compared to what Athena used to make."
Lore sat and ate, remembering the times before his transformation. Suddenly a loud noise caught his attention, it came from the far side of a nearby hill. Quickly running to the top of the hill, Lore saw what had caused the commotion. By the looks of it, a large truck had run a van off the road. The individuals that had been in the truck were now trying to force the driver of the van to give them whatever valuables he had.
"Highway bandits, thinking they can steal anything they want from whomever passes by." Lore thought aloud, he was fed up with these kinds of people. Many times he had been attacked while salvaging in the ruins, or even when he was taking salvage to a town. These gangs were taking advantage of the lack of authority that was prevalent in so many areas. After witnessing it first hand, Lore had taken it upon himself to stop crime when he found it. I guess I must have read too many comics when I was younger.
"I shall stop these villains myself." Lore said in a mock super hero voice, as he rose into the air.
~~~~~
"C'mon old man are you gonna hand over the goods, or do I fill you full of holes instead?" Jake threatened, confident that the old man would quickly comply. This was the best plan he had ever thought of. His gang would wait along the old highway and wait for any traders that were heading for town. They would then run them off the road and take whatever they had and be gone before the authorities arrived. Afterwards they would sell the stolen goods for a hefty profit.
Jake was about to threaten the old man again when one of his gang spoke up. "Does anyone hear that whistling sound?"
"Yeah, where the hell is that coming from?" Shin, the gang's second in command, asked.
"Will you guys just forget about it and shut-" Jake was cut off by an extremely loud noise from behind them and a thick dust cloud suddenly covering the area. He didn't know what it was, it sounded as if someone had knocked a building over. Jake's whole gang nearly lost their footing due to the shaking caused by whatever had impacted.
When the dust cleared, Jake simply stared in disbelief at the scene behind him. His truck was now split in two pieces, each half on opposite sides of a deep crater. Stepping out of the crater was a young man that he didn't recognize.
"Let the old man go and you won't get hurt." Were the only words uttered by the stranger.
Who the hell does this guy think he is. I don't care how he just did that, this guy is toast. Jake was furious, "Get him!" he screamed at his gang. But nobody was moving. His whole gang was just standing around staring at the stranger. "What are you waiting for!? I told you to get him!" After a moment more of hesitation the group charged, the stranger just sighed and shook his head.
Shin was the first to attack, throwing a wicked punch straight at the guy's face. The stranger countered the blow by catching Shin's hand. Shin was knocked unconscious by his own fist being slammed into his face. The next two tried to tackle the stranger, but were quickly sent into unconsciousness. One by a knee to the stomach and the other was dispatched by a blow to the back of the neck. Rufus, the last member of Jake's gang, simply charged screaming. Rufus was by far the largest and strongest of the entire gang, but he was definitely lacking any form intelligence. Jake was shocked to see him knocked out by a single open-handed strike to the face.
Jake then heard an a engine revving up behind him, "Your not going anywhere old man!" he yelled. Spinning around, he fired at the old man. Jake was going to make sure that the old man and the stranger would never leave here alive.
The bullet never made it to it's mark. The stranger somehow materialized between Jake and the van and caught the bullet. Jake stood there, refusing to believe what he had just seen as the van pulled away.
"So you think your really cool beating up my gang and saving that old man! Well, I'll teach you!" Jake didn't care that the old man had gotten away, he just wanted to kill this kusottare. He switched his gun to full-auto and opened fire. "SHI'NEEE!"
The only movement the stranger made was moving his hand in an arc. Jake was sure that he had hit and that the young man would fall over dead any second. But that was not to be, as the stranger opened his hand and let the bullets fall to the ground.
"Masaka!" Was the only thing that Jake was able to utter before the stranger charged, sending Jake spiraling into unconsciousness.
~~~~~
A moan from above brought Lore out of his daydream. Lore stood up and turned to see which of the gang, who were now tied up and hanging from a tree, had woken up. It was the one who had the gun, who Lore assumed was the leader.
"Have a nice nap?" Lore asked, as the man opened his eyes.
Jake nearly passed out again when he saw the stranger standing before him. But the fear quickly turned to anger, "Whoever and whatever you are, you are going to be sorry you ever crossed me and my gang!"
"I'm going to be sorry am I? That's big talk for a man hanging from a tree."
"Just you wait! As soon as I get down from here I'll teach you a lesson myself. This time I'll use my fists to turn you to a bloody pulp!"
Baka, "Listen, you might as well just calm down. There's no way your going to get down from there before the authorities arrive." Just then Lore detected a faint sound coming from the east. Turning towards the noise, he saw a dust cloud rising in the distance. Switching his optics to long range, he could see that it was several police vehicles. "Speak of the devil. Well, I guess I'll just leave you guys to hang around until they get here." Lore said, as he turned away to leave.
"Kusottare! I'll pay you back for this, I swear it!" Lore simply ignored Jake's ranting, as he walked away.
~~~~~
After Lore had left the gang to the authorities, he decided to continue on his way north. Late in the day, a sudden downpour caused Lore to search for some kind of shelter. The rain wouldn't of harmed him in the least, but he saw no reason to get soaked. Taking refuge under a rock ledge, high up the side of a mountain. Lore built a fire and began roasting marshmallows for something to do.
As he sat there, Lore began contemplating the events of the past few days. As always the same question appeared in his mind. Why was he doing all of this? Would anyone really care if he disappeared into the wilderness, never to be seen again? But, whenever that question appeared the answer was the same as well. All these problems were born from the chaos created by the Jinzouningen. Being one of the Jinzouningen myself, I am obligated to help return things to the way they were before the rampage. He sighed. But still, I wish I would have had my camera with me earlier. The look on that gang leader's face when I stepped out of that crater was hilarious. As he remembered that moment, Lore began to laugh.
His laughter was cut short however, when he detected two energy signatures rapidly approaching from the west. Damn, Those are powerful! Who in the world is making them? Looking in that direction, Lore saw three figures flying toward him. Three? But there are only two energy signatures. Lore got a better look when the trio flew directly overhead. A male human, a green humanoid, and a female cyborg? Could the cyborg be one of Gero's other Jinzouningen? Hold on Lore, just because she's a cyborg doesn't automatically mean that Gero had anything to do with it. Either way, her being a cyborg would certainly explain the lack of an energy signature.
But what are they doing all the way out here? I wonder if I should follow them, just in case they mean to harm somebody? Lore was just about to fly after them, then stopped himself from doing so. I better not, judging by the power I'm reading from the two guys. If they all took offense to me following them, the three of them could probably pound me into scrap. Then they could continue on their way and finish whatever they're planning to do. Damn, this sucks! If they are a danger, there isn't anything I can do about it! He then noticed which direction the group was headed. Wait a minute, that's where I was earlier, why would they be going there? Could they have heard about the commotion earlier? If so, they could possibly come back looking for me.
~~~~~
"I think we startled camper boy back there." Piccolo said to his two companions as they flew through the storm.
"Who are you talking about?" Trunks asked as they continued flying towards their destination.
"The guy that was sitting under that ledge on the other side of the mountain back there. He sure looked surprised when we flew by, he was kind of cute though." Juuhachi-gou said with a smile.
"Nani?" Trunks replied.
"I was just kidding, your so easy to tease Murasakige" Juuhachi-gou said as she laughed.
"Knock it off you two! Let's just get this over with." Piccolo half-heartedly yelled at the two. This journey had started when he spotted the pair flying east from New Hope City. Sensing something was up, he asked the two what the problem was. They told the Namekian that they heard on the radio of how a gang in an area to the east was stopped by a mysterious individual. By the account of what the individual did, Juuhachi-gou thought it might be Juunana-gou. She wanted to check it out it and Trunks was coming along in case of trouble. Piccolo had decided to come along for different reasons. If it is Juunana-gou, he must of gotten rid of that limiter wind-up girl told me about. If it does turn out to be him, I'm going to have to pay that girl a visit. If she hasn't been destroyed already.
~~~~~
Lore had put out the fire and was quickly gathering his gear. I wonder if those three could have been some of the warriors I've heard so much about? I've heard so many different things about them during my travels, I'm not sure what to think. Besides, If they do come back looking for me, they'll most likely to have assumed I'm another evil Jinzouningen or something equally threatening. Then, if some of the rumors I heard are true, they might not give me the chance to explain myself before they try to destroy me. Regardless of the things I've heard, there's probably going to be trouble when they come back. Trouble I'll be getting the worst of.
"And I'm not ready to die just yet." Lore said to himself before launching into the air. Damn it! If only one had flown by, I know I could hold my own against one of them. If it had only been one I might have actually followed after then, especially if it was only the cyborg. Lore stayed low to the ground as he left the area, to lessen the chance of the others seeing him as he flew away.
~~~~~
After arriving in Corel. Trunks, Juuhachi-gou, and Piccolo went to the police station to find out what had happened. Talking to the gang wasn't much help, as most of them refused to talk or were in hysterics. Only the leader was willing to talk, and he was utterly convinced that they were attacked by some kind of monster in human guise.
After giving up on talking to the gang, Trunks was able to get some information from the police chief. He found out the name and address of the trader who was attacked. He was also able to find out where the incident took place. It was decided that Trunks and Juuhachi-gou would talk to Mr. Marlek, while Piccolo would check the battle site.
~~~~~
"Please continue Mr. Marlek." Trunks said, after taking a sip of the tea that was offered by Mrs. Marlek.
"As I was saying. After they had run me off the road, they started threatening me with a gun. That's when the young man showed up and told them to stop." Mr. Marlek told them.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did he arrive?"
"It was incredible! He dropped from the sky like a meteor, splitting their truck in two and creating this huge crater. After he told them to stop, they attacked but failed miserably. It probably took him less than ten seconds to take down the entire gang. Well, that's when I figured it would be a good time to get out of there. So I floored it, driving away at full speed. The last thing I heard was a gun shot."
"What did this guy look like?" Juuhachi-gou asked, "Did he look anything like me, and did he have black hair?"
"He did have the same color of eyes as you, but he had dark green hair. He was also a little taller than Trunks. Why do you ask?"
"I thought it might be someone I knew." She said with sadness in her voice. If it's not Juunana-gou, then who is it? Wait a minute, that description matches that guy we saw on the way here. Could he have been the one that did all this?
After speaking with Mr. and Mrs. Marlek for a while longer, Juuhachi-gou and Trunks decided it was time for them to leave. After politely declining an invitation to have dinner, they left and met Piccolo on edge of town.
"Hey Piccolo!" Trunks called out as they landed, " Did you find anything?"
"Nothing but a big hole in the ground. What did you two find out?" Piccolo answered gruffly.
"It wasn't Juunana-gou, if that's what your asking. But we did get a basic description of the guy."
"Actually, the description matches that camper we saw on the way over here. I say check him out on the way back home." Juuhachi-gou added.
"Why not, it might be interesting to see if we can give him another scare." Piccolo said with a smirk, as he rose into the air.
~~~~~
Lore had been flying for the past hour. He was getting to the northern regions a lot faster than he originally planned. Lore was flying at a higher altitude now, so he could get a better view of the surrounding area. Pulling out his map, he began marking the locations of the different ruins, towns, and other things that could be used as landmarks. After he was finished, Lore put his map away and landed at the edge of a nearby town.
~~~~~
"Whoever he was, he's long gone by now." Piccolo grumbled, as he looked down at the remains of a campfire.
"Maybe not, Piccolo." Trunks told the brooding Namekian, "He probably left when the rain stopped. Since the storm didn't subside until about ten minutes ago, he's probably still in the area. I bet he's in that forest down below us right now."
"Don't bet on it kid. There's no tracks leading down from here, which means he flew away. He could be miles away by now."
"Actually, he's probably a lot further away than you think Piccolo." Juuhachi-gou spoke as she examined what was left of the campfire. "Judging by the temperature of these embers, I say he left quite awhile ago, probably right after we passed by. I really don't think we have much of a chance of finding him now."
"What should we do then?" Trunks asked.
"Not much we can do, except wait until he shows himself again." Piccolo answered.
~~~~~
After wandering around town for awhile, Lore decided to stay in the area. There was lots of reconstruction, so there was probably a large demand for supplies.
"This place will keep me busy for awhile." Lore told himself as he looked around, then he noticed how late it was. "But first, I think I'll find someplace to eat dinner."
The End
Don't worry, it's not over yet. In the next chapter, Lore gets lost in the northern wilderness and battles an alien beast.
"What do you mean, an alien beast?"
Do you mind Lore, I'm trying to do a preview here.
"I mind when somebody says I'm going to be fighting an alien! Now are you going to tell me what you meant by that or not?"
I meant just what I said. Now will you get out of here and let me finish this preview?
"Alright, alright I'll leave. I think somebody has been watching too many monster movies lately."
Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter of the Lost Jinzouningen Saga: Invader.
