Chapter 9: Muscle Tower Showdown
Chapter 9: Muscle Tower Showdown
The Red Ribbon Army had tasted defeat—but far from discouraged, they regrouped, retreating to their fortified strongholds. One such fortress stood far to the north, beyond icy plains and frostbitten winds: Muscle Tower.
Its commander, the ruthless General White, received news of General Silver's loss with a chilling smile.
"So, a pair of children defeated our outpost?" he mused, sipping tea from a porcelain cup. "Then let's see how they handle the cold."
---
Goku and Aera trudged through deep snow, their breath coming in frosty puffs. Aera's hair was stiff with ice crystals, and yet she beamed with joy.
"I love snow!" she giggled, flopping backward into the powder. "It's soft!"
Goku snorted. "You're gonna freeze!"
"Nope. I am warm!"
They both laughed until a gunshot echoed from the trees.
A group of Red Ribbon scouts emerged, rifles trained. "Hands up!"
Goku raised a brow. "Again?"
Aera tilted her head. "Do you guys not get tired of losing?"
She vanished and reappeared behind them, tapping their helmets. "Boop."
Every soldier hit the snow, unconscious.
---
Muscle Tower rose from the tundra like a blackened fang. Steel walls, twenty stories tall, bristled with cannons and searchlights.
Goku whistled. "That's a big building."
Aera's eyes sparkled. "Looks like a climbing toy!"
With a powerful leap, they cleared the outer defenses and crashed through the front gate.
Alarms howled.
"INTRUDERS! SEAL THE FLOORS!"
The first floor was a trap-laden maze of electric walls and spike pits. Goku danced through the traps effortlessly while Aera… skipped.
"Ooh, shiny zappy wall!" she said, poking it. Sparks flew, but she just giggled. "Tingly!"
By the second floor, the duo met Sergeant Metallic—a giant android, built like a tank.
"I will crush you," the robot boomed.
Aera stepped forward, hands on her hips. "You have funny shoulders."
"Destroying target."
He charged.
Aera caught his punch and spun him like a top before launching him through the ceiling.
"Up you go!"
Goku clapped. "Nice!"
---
The third and fourth floors housed Red Ribbon's best fighters.
They lasted less than three minutes.
One even tried proposing to Aera mid-fight. She accepted the flower but knocked him out anyway.
"Pretty!" she said, tucking it behind her ear.
---
Floor five was colder. Literally.
As the door opened, they were greeted by subzero wind and sheets of ice. In the center of the floor stood Buyon—a pink, blobby monster immune to punches and seemingly indestructible.
Goku's fists bounced off him like jelly.
"He's like pudding!" Aera said in awe.
"Yeah, but mean pudding!" Goku shouted.
Buyon lashed out with a whip-like limb, knocking Goku back.
Aera stood still, closing her eyes.
She raised her power just a little.
The air around her shimmered with warmth. Steam hissed as her body heat melted the ice beneath her feet.
Then she walked toward Buyon.
He lunged. She vanished.
In a flash, she was behind him, her tail flicking.
"One tap," she whispered—and struck.
Buyon exploded into goo.
Goku's jaw dropped. "How'd you do that?!"
She blinked. "I don't know!"
---
Finally, they reached the top floor.
General White stood beside a large red button, nervously adjusting his monocle.
"I must say," he muttered, "you're far more troublesome than anticipated."
Goku stepped forward. "Give us the Dragon Ball."
Aera nodded. "Please."
White snarled. "NEVER!" He pressed the button.
A wall opened, revealing a massive suit of battle armor—fully automated, armed with missiles and plasma cannons.
"Destroy them!"
Missiles fired.
Goku and Aera split, dodging effortlessly.
Aera flew upward, deflecting blasts with the palm of her hand, while Goku vaulted off the wall and kicked the armor's core.
It reeled back—but still stood.
Aera hovered beside Goku. "Tag team?"
He grinned. "Let's do it."
Together, they launched a combined flurry of punches and energy blasts. The air rippled with force. The armor tried to retaliate but was overwhelmed.
Aera's final move was a spinning heel kick that crushed its power core.
It collapsed in flames.
White fell to his knees. "W-we surrender…"
Goku grabbed the Dragon Ball from a locked case. "That's five."
Aera twirled. "Yay!"
They left Muscle Tower in ruins—and the legend of the two mysterious warriors spread through Red Ribbon ranks like wildfire.
---
That night, they camped beneath the aurora borealis.
Aera stared up in wonder. "The sky is dancing!"
Goku smiled. "We're getting close."
She nodded. "To the end?"
"To the wish."
They didn't know what lay ahead. But together, nothing seemed impossible.
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End of Chapter 9