Part 01 - Living on Planet Vegeta
Part 02 - Living with Grandpa Gohan
Part 05 - Red Ribbon Army Saga (Part 01)
Carrying on my What-If? in which Tarble ended up in the same pod as Goku as the pair left Planet Vegeta before its destruction. Raised by a surviving Grandpa Gohan (Goku always been referred to as Kakarot thanks to Tarble telling Gohan his real name), the pair have been on their original quest with Bulma and experienced the World Martial Arts Tournament for the first time following their training with Roshi (Tarble watching from the sidelines, having feigned injury related to his recent growth spurt), with Kakarot finishing in second place.
Now, the two Saiyans have set out to collect the Dragon Balls to wish for the moon (and possibly the Rabbit Gang) to be restored - following Tarble been forced to use his Galick Gun to destroy the moon when Kakarot transformed into a Great Ape during the final battle against Jackie Chun.
The first part of their new journey has seen them reunite with old friends and make new ones along the way (Kakarot and Chi-Chi's "first date" going well and even included the young Saiyan and his date blushing bright red after Chi-Chi briefly gained the confidence to kiss him on the cheek).
However, they've also come into conflict with the Red Ribbon Army - who seek out the Dragon Balls for their own ends. After successfully defeating Colonel Silver, Ninja Murasaki, General White and their respective forces, the two Saiyans headed to West City to meet up with Bulma to get the Dragon Radar repaired (recovering the Saiyan Pod that brought them to Earth along with Kakarot's Saiyan Armour beforehand to give to Bulma and her family as a gift that they could utilize).
After dealing with the threat of Hasky - a master thief hired by the Red Ribbon Army to steal the Saiyan's Dragon Balls - and saving Dream Land Amusement Park from getting blown up by her bomb, Tarble and Kakarot are once again joined on their quest by Bulma after her breakup with Yamcha; albeit with Bulma (despite been made aware of the Red Ribbon Army beforehand this time) still intending to wish for a new boyfriend.
To this, Tarble admits to Kakarot privately that he is happy to have Bulma along as she's proven herself to be smart, caring and resourceful despite her feisty nature - which Tarble in turn admits to finding 'interesting' despite not fully understanding why.
So, we enter Part 02 of the Red Ribbon Army Saga Trilogy; the trio continuing their search for the remaining Dragon Balls - with the Red Ribbon Army also stepping up its game as they deploy more of their forces to recover the Dragon Balls before the Saiyans and their allies do; the Red Ribbon Army's forces led by arguably their strongest officer - the psychic soldier, General Blue...
(As always, be prepared for a decent amount of text).
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- With the trio having resumed their journey (Bulma having calmed down but now been in something of two minds as to whether she's made the right decision to come along), it isn't long before they track a Dragon Ball under the water and land on a nearby island to prepare to go and get it.
However, when she tries to find a Submarine capsule, Bulma learns that she has taken her father's Dynocaps by mistake and the only one inside is the one filled with Dirty Magazines; Tarble promptly gathering them with his telekinesis before destroying them with a Ki blast before Kakarot can look. Following this (and going back to playing peacekeeper), Tarble agrees to stay with Bulma and look for somewhere that may sell Dynocaps while Kakarot attempts to dive for the Dragon Ball.
- Elsewhere, Red Ribbon Headquarters continue to track Tarble and Kakarot via their own Dragon Radar; sending pictures of both Saiyans to General Blue after it becomes clear that the boys are approaching his location.
At his island base (and after executing a soldier for nose-picking), General Blue is made aware of the two Saiyans approaching as well as been notified that they defeated both Colonel Silver and General White's forces. Despite this, Blue isn't too concerned as while he doesn't want to underestimate his foes, he still views himself as superior - although his mood somewhat changes when he takes a look at the photos of the two Saiyans. In particular, he focuses on Tarble's picture and suggests the possibility of maybe getting the boys to join the Red Ribbon Army - stating that the army is always looking for new recruits and this one would be "just his type".
(For those of you wondering where I'm going with this, General Blue is generally implied to be a homosexual - especially if you read his personality page and learn who he was inspired by. Furthermore, if Future Trunks meets General Blue in Dokkan Battle, General Blue makes it clear that he considers Future Trunks "his type" - been aggressive in his advances, not handling rejection well and refusing to give up on those he desires even if he's defeated.
Put simply, Tarble - who has had a more potent growth spurt due to having a better quality of life in this story - is going to end up going through what his future nephew had to deal with).
- Kakarot attempts to dive for the ball but, like in the original, it's too far down and so he has to return to the surface.
Bulma and Tarble, meanwhile, begin exploring - with Bulma once again piggy-backing on Tarble as he flies around the island. However, the pair are soon spotted by a pair of Red Ribbon Army soldiers flying in Jet Copters - with Tarble having to evade their gunfire (keeping his tail wrapped around Bulma's waist to prevent her falling off) as the soldiers pursue them.
Tarble is soon able to bring the Jet Copters down, however, by slowing down and shooting the both of them from behind with Ki blasts when they fly past - causing both to crash land and attracting Kakarot's attention. As the soldiers get out of their wrecked vehicles and decide to try fighting on foot, Kakarot joins Tarble and the pair make quick work of the soldiers - with General Blue amazed when he learns that his two soldiers have been beaten by the pair.
Following the fight and with no way currently to retrieve the Dragon Ball, Kakarot suggests the group visit Master Roshi to see if he has anything they can use - with Tarble reasoning with Bulma that it won't be safe to stay where they are if the Red Ribbon Army send reinforcements and also that he'll try to prevent Roshi from "indulging his vice" - to which Bulma relents before shrinking herself down again as the trio fly to Kame House.
- Upon the trio meeting Master Roshi, the trio ask if he has a submarine they can use to recover the Dragon Ball in the ocean - to which Roshi agrees to lend it to them once Krillin and Launch return from getting groceries; asking for Bulma's Micro Band in return.
Things then play out mostly like before, with Bad Launch causing trouble at the market, Kakarot and Tarble helping Turtle gather food (finding Turtle's son Taro in the process) and Roshi attempting to spy on Bulma with her Micro Band - only to get flushed down the toilet.
After Krillin and Launch return and the group look over the map, Roshi tells the group a story about Pirate Treasure that is supposedly hidden nearby - with Krillin going along with Bulma, Kakarot and Tarble in Roshi's flying submarine (Kakarot sat on Tarble's lap due to the sub only having three seats) - unaware that they're been tracked by one of General Blue's scouts.
- General Blue sends a company led by Captain Dark to attack Kame House, which plays out pretty much the same as before with Roshi and Bad Launch defeating the group, while Blue and his company of soldiers go after the Saiyans and their allies in their submarine.
Checking the Dragon Radar, Bulma eventually realizes the Dragon Ball is in an underwater cavern, to which the group begin to head for it - only for their submarine to come under attack from the Red Ribbon Army (albeit this time General Blue orders for their submarine to be disabled rather than destroyed). With the heroes alerted to the Red Ribbon Army's presence after narrowly avoiding the first torpedo volley, Tarble is able to defend their submarine from the next volley by using his telekinesis to turn the torpedoes around and push them back towards the Red Ribbon submarine. Despite its attempts to dodge, the Red Ribbon submarine is hit by two of its torpedoes - one of them damaging the ballast tank and forcing General Blue and his soldiers to get into their smaller submarines earlier to continue the pursuit as their large submarine can no longer remain submerged.
During Blue's pursuit, Tarble attempts to telekinetically push the mini-subs back to prevent their attempts at ramming, although Blue confidently states that "two can play at that game" as he grabs the team's submarine with his own telekinetic power - forcing Tarble to focus on trying to repel Blue in a battle of minds. Tarble is eventually able to repel Blue, briefly causing the Red Ribbon mini submarines to collide while the heroes make their escape; Blue silently congratulating Tarble's telekinetic prowess but stating that next time their minds match up, he'll be "taking off the kiddie gloves".
- When the heroes surface and abandon their submarine, Tarble rejects Kakarot's idea to go and fight; reasoning that he doesn't want to put their friends at unnecessary risk while they're in an environment where they can't use their full power. Furthermore, after realizing that one of the Red Ribbon officers is also a strong user of Telekinesis (Tarble having never faced another psychic opponent before), he wants to brace himself in case the Red Ribbon Army soldiers behind them have any other surprises.
As the group explores deeper, they soon realize that they're in the cave where the Pirates hid their treasure after Kakarot finds one of the Pirate's bodies - the group's exploration eventually leading to some of the Pirate's traps.
At the first trap involving spears been fired out of the wall if the dots on the floor are stepped on, Kakarot and Krillin are both able to fly across without issue - with Tarble picking up Bulma in his arms and flying them both across; Bulma blushing but composing herself once they get to the other end. The Red Ribbon Army, meanwhile, aren't so lucky as they are caught in the trap - General Blue finding a secret way around the trap, however, and continuing his pursuit alone.
- At the next trap involving the collapsing floor above the lava pit, the group manage to get out quicker than before as Krillin flies up while Tarble is able to grab hold of Bulma with his tail, allowing Kakarot to climb up with Krillin's help while Tarble clambers up with Bulma (Krillin not getting a peek at Bulma's underwear). General Blue, meanwhile, still suffocates the electric eel that tries to attack him before he ends up in the Pirate's port at the same time as the heroes.
When the Pirate Robot appears to defend the port, Tarble, Kakarot and Krillin take it on together while Bulma and General Blue watch from their differing locations. The Pirate Robot itself proves to be a tough opponent, knocking Krillin aside and been durable enough to resist Tarble and Kakarot's basic Ki attacks despite the destruction of its sword by Krillin. In an attempt to stop it, Tarble tells Krillin and Bulma to carry on as he and Kakarot will take care of the robot.
As Kakarot keeps the Pirate Robot busy with physical and Ki attacks, Tarble charges up a Galick Gun before shouting for Kakarot to get out of the way - Kakarot flying up into the air and avoiding the Robot's gunfire while Tarble hits the Robot with his Galick Gun; the blast proving more than sufficient to blow it to smithereens.
- However, while the two Saiyans go to catch up with their friends, General Blue has left a fake arrow pointing in a different direction to the way that Bulma and Krillin have gone - successfully separating the group. Tarble and Kakarot end up going down a trap door and encounter Octopapa, although their fight with the Giant Octopus is shorter than before as the two work together to beat Octopapa back before using the Galick Gun and Kamehameha respectively to roast the oversized cephalopod; the two Saiyans each grabbing a roasted tentacle to eat as they try to find their friends.
Bulma and Krillin, meanwhile, manage to surface in the Treasure chest room - with Krillin dealing with the Sword-wielding Statue and avoiding the Gun-wielding Pirate Dummy before Bulma opens the correct chest and releases the treasure from the statue using the key from the chest she opened. Unfortunately, the pair are confronted by General Blue, with him and Krillin having their battle after Bulma's attempts at seduction fail.
Although Krillin initially does better than in the original thanks to having the ability to fly earlier than before, he is still paralyzed by General Blue's psychic eyes after giving Blue a nosebleed - with the General proceeding to brutally attack Krillin while he can't fight back before threatening to kill Bulma when she tries (and fails) to seduce Blue again.
Thankfully, Tarble and Kakarot arrive soon after - with Kakarot getting Krillin out of harm's way while Tarble takes on General Blue personally; Krillin warning the older Saiyan about his power as the two psychic warriors begin their battle.
- Blue immediately bulks up for his fight, although Tarble is still able to keep the Red Ribbon General on the back-foot. When General Blue uses his psychic eyes, Tarble is forced to use his own psychic power to try to free himself; Blue complimenting Tarble on his performance and power before offering to "spare" his friends if he and his brother give him the Dragon Balls. He also offers the two Saiyans a place in the Red Ribbon Army - although he makes his own intentions clear when he states that he and Tarble would 'work great' together; adding "the tail is a bit unusual, but I could get used to it".
Tarble, both angered and creeped out by the General's requests, outright refuses to join the Red Ribbon Army - with Blue angrily re-alliterating his demands and stating he won't take no for an answer, before summoning his shotgun from a capsule and threatening to kill Tarble's friends if he won't co-operate.
However, he then mistakenly declares that he will kill Bulma first as he aims his shotgun at her, referring to her as a "disgusting, blue-haired beast" in response to her earlier attempts at seduction...and the reasons as to why Tarble found Bulma 'interesting' becomes a lot more clear as his Ki flares up and he lets out an angry roar before fully breaking free of General Blue's telekinetic restraints.
- Blue is barely able to process Tarble's actions before the Saiyan charges towards him; delivering a gut punch that severely winds the General. The shotgun is grabbed by Tarble after Blue drops it before he uses it to smack Blue across the face with the shotgun's stock - hitting his enemy hard enough to knock out some of the General's teeth and break the stock before Tarble throws the ruined weapon aside.
As Kakarot, Krillin and Bulma cheer Tarble on, Tarble begins to - much like the title of the original episode - beat General Blue 'black-and-blue'; during which he praises Kakarot, Krillin and Bulma for their positive traits and declares "We may not be related by blood, but as far as I'm concerned, we're family - and I'd sooner traverse the darkest paths of the deepest pits of Hell for them then spend a second working with a sadistic slimeball like you".
His words leave Kakarot and Krillin smiling while Bulma is herself going through a mix of emotions - all while her face is glowing red to the point there is steam coming off of it.
Tarble then asks Kakarot if he'd like to finish off the fight, to which his younger sibling does by kicking General Blue between the legs - the General comically letting off a high-pitched scream - before knocking him out by punching him into the wall. With the fight over, Tarble takes a few deep breaths to relax before making sure his friends are okay; Bulma - her face still glowing slightly - smiles before hugging Tarble, with Kakarot and Krillin making it a group hug as the friends chuckle following their victory.
- As the group locates the Dragon Ball and tries to gather the treasure, however, the battles with the Pirate Robot and General Blue begin to take their toll as the cave starts to shake and collapse. Taking what they can in one of the chests (Kakarot still finding and rescuing Mousey), the group head back the way they came and manage to make it back to Roshi's submarine - the cave collapsing slower than in the original and with three of the group able to fly so they are able to make it back in time despite plenty of obstacles in the way and some of the treasure getting dropped in the rush.
With their submarine moving slower due to the weight of the treasure and the cavern collapsing around them, Tarble focuses his telekinesis on their sub's propellers before forcing them to spin as fast as possible - the submarine darting forward at greater speed and allowing the group to successfully make it to the surface despite taking some damage from falling debris.
Unbeknown to the group, General Blue has also managed to escape the Pirate's Cave - albeit in a worse state both physically and emotionally than in the original - and begins to swim slowly back to his island base.
- Before the group of friends head back to Kame House (and after Kakarot has let Mousy go), the Saiyans decide to check out General Blue's island base to see if they can find some food and any spare Dynocaps for Bulma; the soldier inside hiding after overhearing that General Blue and his company were defeated.
While inside, the brothers overhear Commander Red over the radio, demanding to know what is happening - to which Tarble (still feeling somewhat fired up over his encounter with General Blue) takes hold of the microphone and, after confirming that Commander Red is the one in charge of the Red Ribbon Army, identifies himself by his full title of "Tarble, Prince of the Saiyans" and declares that he and his brother Kakarot are the ones who defeated Silver, White and now Blue.
As Commander Red declares that he and the Red Ribbon Army will end the pair like they've done all their previous foes despite this setback, Tarble responds by stating that his people were once enslaved by a far more dangerous villain than Red will ever be - solely for the purpose of conquering entire planets, even as infants; finishing by warning Red that the days of the Red Ribbon Army are numbered as the brothers "will" be coming for them. With that, Tarble ends the call by destroying the radio - telling Kakarot not to tell Bulma about the conversation so as not to worry her.
Following the call, the Saiyans grab the food they can find and destroy the stationary Jet Copters at the base (just in case any of Blue's company are still around) before joining Bulma and Krillin back in Master Roshi's submarine as they fly back to Kame House; the group agreeing to split the treasure's proceeds with Master Roshi (especially as they've damaged his flying submarine during their journey).
Upon talking to him about the treasure, the group is briefly held hostage by Bad Launch - who demands they hand the loot over - before Tarble and Kakarot work together to turn her back to her 'Good' self by having Tarble use his telekinesis to restrain her while Kakarot brushes her nose with his tail until she sneezes.
- As the group relax some more in Kame House and go over the treasure, Tarble and Kakarot state they will be hunting down the rest of the Dragon Balls, although the two Saiyans shock the group when Tarble declares they will also be taking down the Red Ribbon Army; Bulma been the first to claim that such a plan is suicidal despite the pair's success - stating that the Red Ribbon Army was once business competitors with Capsule Corporation and claiming that Earth's military forces are no match for the organization as it's too big and too powerful.
To this, Tarble gives Bulma a more serious look before stating he's going to show the group something only he, Kakarot and Grandpa Gohan have seen before - taking out his custom scouter and setting it up to show some of the footage. After initially showing his past excursion on Planet Vegeta that Bulma and Krillin had already seen (so as to show Roshi and Launch what the Saiyan's homeworld looked like and to explain more about their species history), Tarble then moves onto the next clip - showing the night that he and Kakarot had to leave Planet Vegeta behind due to Bardock's concern about Frieza planning to kill them; the footage including Tarble's promise to Gine to raise Kakarot like a brother and train him to be as strong as possible in case Frieza or other villains showed up.
- Following the end of this clip, Tarble explains that his planet was destroyed and his people wiped out; with the report from the Frieza Force claiming it was a "meteor" although Tarble refuses to believe it.
Tying this back to their current discussion, Tarble (teary-eyed from watching the footage) points out that if the Red Ribbon Army achieve world domination using the Dragon Balls then the heroes, their loved ones and many other innocent people - regardless of whether they've opposed the Red Ribbon Army or not - will suffer for it, stating "In one fell swoop, a tyrant and his army stole mine and Kakarot's lives by separating us from our families, decimating our people and destroying our world...I'm not about to let another tyrant and his army do the same here".
To this, the group are able to see both Tarble's determination to protect those he cares about and the pain of what he's lost just from looking at his face, with Bulma - despite not wanting to go along any further on their 'adventure' - going up to Tarble and gently placing her hands on his cheeks; the older Saiyan now having his turn to blush as she kisses his forehead before telling him softly "Just promise me you'll both be careful, okay?"
After agreeing to this and briefly talking a bit about Tarble's scouter, Bulma decides to make a modification to it - using a mix of technology she can salvage from around Roshi's home to create a transmitter so she can view the recordings from the Scouter's camera live through Roshi's TV and communicate directly with Tarble through it in case he or Kakarot need help from her or Roshi during their battles.
(Considering Bulma is pretty good regarding reverse-engineering alien technology as well as the fact that she makes both a camera drone and a telephone using technology from around Roshi's home in the original timeline, I don't think this is too far-fetched in comparison).
- Elsewhere, General Blue finally makes it back to base but - due to the physical and emotional state he's in - he's even less tolerant of any excuses made by the remaining soldier at the base; actively shooting him in mid-conversation before summoning his Thunder Rocket VTOL Jet from its capsule and heading towards Kame House.
Arriving before Tarble and Kakarot prepare to leave, General Blue ambushes the group with his telekinetically controlled ropes - surprising everyone as they thought he was dead - as he makes a final demand for Tarble (whom was able to repel Blue's restraint) to join him; showing less of a grip on his sanity as he reveals his detonator before warning Tarble that if he can't "have" him, no-one else will.
His threat is ended as Kakarot, despite been tied up, is still able to fly and launches a flying headbutt to General Blue's face; breaking the General's concentration and allowing the rest of the group to get free as Blue is sent tumbling backwards from the impact.
With his leverage gone, Tarble and Kakarot both attack General Blue again - this time with Master Roshi joining in and finally Bad Launch attacking the terrified officer with a barrage of gunfire. Outnumbered and outmatched, Blue retreats empty-handed back to his Jet and attempts to flee - with Tarble and Kakarot in pursuit. The chase eventually leads them to Penguin village, with Tarble managing to score a successful hit on the Jet's thruster, to which General Blue narrowly escapes before the ship crashes. In the meantime, Tarble and Kakarot meet Arale Norimaki and her friends in Penguin Village - with Arale offering to help find General Blue when the Saiyans realize he's still alive.
- After a bunch of shenanigans around Penguin Village, Tarble, Kakarot and General Blue all meet at Senbei Norimaki's house - Tarble and Kakarot having gone there to fix the Dragon Radar after find out it had been damaged again (the radar been secretly fixed by Senbei's son, Turbo) while General Blue - no longer interested in 'recruiting' the Saiyans and instead deciding to settle his score with them while also intending to steal Senbei's plane - tries to hold Arale hostage to gain the Dragon Balls and Dragon Radar before ultimately been forced into another fight with the Saiyans.
Like in the original, the fight is unexpectedly ended by Arale herself, who sends General Blue flying into the distance with a powerful headbutt; the beaten officer eventually landing in the desert (this time without either the Dragon Balls or the Dragon Radar) and been forced to try and find his way back to the Red Ribbon Army HQ after calling them from a phone booth to admit his failure - this time outright sobbing in a comedic fashion at how he has lost everything and, worst of all (to him), he got rejected.
Kakarot and Tarble, meanwhile, thank Arale and her family for their help and re-claim the repaired Dragon Radar before heading onward to find the remaining Dragon Balls.
- At Red Ribbon Army HQ, Staff Officer Black questions Commander Red on whether he believes Tarble's story about the boys been aliens and how they're going to deal with them regardless - now that three of their top officers and their forces have fallen.
To this, Commander Red reveals he has a two-pronged approach planned - the first of which involves hiring the dangerous Mercenary Tao to "knock the two boys down a peg or two" and bring them to the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters (alive if possible). The second part of Commander Red's plan in one that he states he will deal with 'personally' - later been shown making a phone call to a man whom he addresses as a "fellow founder" of the Red Ribbon Army before requesting his presence at the Headquarters regarding some 'interesting developments'.
On the other end of the line, an older man in a hidden laboratory surrounded by machinery and numbered pods agrees to make his way there soon, before ending the call - mulling to himself that whatever Commander Red is talking about must be important for him to request "the Good Doctor" to make a public appearance...
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So, for the next part we move on to Part 03 in the 'Trilogy' of the Red Ribbon Army Saga - with the Saiyans preparing to recover the last of the Dragon Balls, unaware that they are set on a path that will cross ways with the deadly Mercenary Tao before the fight can be taken directly to Commander Red and the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters; the aftermath of which could set the wheels of fate turning in a different way in regards to the Saiyan's future...
Hope you like what you've read and curious to see what you guys think.