Bayonetta IV

Chapter 3 - The Man in the Leather Coat

Luka, Sonic, and Mr. Game and Watch continued to follow the map towards the second Dragon Ball. After a long walk, they eventually sat at a bench, and went over the map.
"Okay, so we should be... around here." Luka said. "And the second Dragon Ball is... way over there."
"Está resultando ser una aventura que requiere mucho tiempo." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"You can say that again..." Sonic said.
"Está resultando ser una aventura que requiere mucho tiempo." Mr. Game and Watch repeated.
"I was joking..." Sonic said.
"¿Qué crees que será más difícil, Sonic, aquella vez que versamos a Taboo, o cuando luchemos contra Vegeta?"
"Oh, did Luka not tell you?" Sonic asked. "We aren't fighting Vegeta."
"Yeah, we're using the Dragon Balls to summon Goku to fight Vegeta." Luka confirmed. "You really think we can take on someone like Vegeta?"
"Pensé que estábamos recolectando las Bolas de Dragón para poder pedirle un deseo a Shenron que nos hiciera lo suficientemente poderosos para luchar contra Vegeta." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"No, no." Luka said. "Benjamin Franklin told me that I needed to collect the Dragon Balls to summon Goku."
"¿De verdad? Dime exactamente qué dijo Benjamin Franklin." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"Alright, then." Luka said. "What Benjamin Franklin said exactly was 'Vegeta and his knight, Sephiroth, are trying to take over the planet. You must collect the seven Dragon Balls to summon Son Goku and save the world from being overtaken by the dark prince Vegeta.'. That's what he said."
"He's right." Sonic said. "And that's exactly what happens in the future. Or... the future where Luka doesn't die, at least."
"Can we stop bringing that up?" Luka said. "I'd rather not be reminded that I die."
"You said yourself, now that I'm here, you're basically invincible." Sonic said. "You don't have to worry about dying, so why should you be so concerned about dying in a future that won't even happen now that I'm here?"
"Because it's still kinda depressing to know there's a future where I die and the world gets taken over by Vegeta and Sephiroth!" Luka shouted. "It's kinda stressful knowing that, in some alternate future, I die due to something completely out of my control."
"That's an alternate future that doesn't happen. That never will happen." Sonic retorted. "Stop getting so stressed over something that doesn't even happen."
"I shouldn't be expected to be completely calm over the potential death of myself!" Luka argued.
"It doesn't happen. It won't happen." Sonic countered. "So just stop worrying about it!"
"Why should I?" Luka snapped. "That's still me dying! It could be two thousand years into the future, I don't care! No one should be calm knowing the day they die is fast approaching!" The two continued to argue for a few more seconds before they were interrupted by a voice they didn't recognize.
"Gentlemen, what's with all the noise?" The mysterious man said. Luka, Sonic, and Mr. Game and Watch looked up at the man. He had brown hair, a leather coat, and had a small gun mounted on his belt.
"Who're you?" Luka asked. He looked at Sonic. "Y'know who this guy is?" Sonic didn't respond. His eyes were wide staring at the strange man.
"Sonic?" Luka said, waving his hand past his face. "Hello? Anybody in there?" Sonic suddenly jolted up off the bench, and looked at the stranger and Mr. Game and Watch.
"I need a minute alone with Luka." Sonic said. The stranger looked at them suspiciously as they walked away.
"What the hell's going on, Sonic?" Luka said once they were out of earshot of the stranger and Mr. Game and Watch.
"You may have no clue who this guy is, Luka, but I do." Sonic said. "He's very important to the future. You need to bring him with you."
"What? Why?" Luka asked.
"Just trust me." Sonic said.
"Well... he does seem to be equipped for combat." Luka said. "Plus, one more ally wouldn't hurt... alright, fine. I'll get him to come with us."
"Alright, good." Sonic said. "Let's head back then." Luka nodded, and the two headed back to Mr. Game and Watch and the mysterious stranger, who seemed to be fascinated by Mr. Game and Watch's stories.
"Luego, tuve que luchar contra una dama con resortes por brazos." Mr. Game and Watch said. "Era bastante extraño, pero no tanto como el hombre con forma de bloque."
"The... block-shaped man?" The stranger said, flabbergasted.
"Ah, sí, el hombre con forma de bloque." Mr. Game and Watch said. "Podía producir bloques de la nada. Eso tampoco es broma. Podía producir literalmente bloques para pararse de la nada. Incluso podía colocar estos bloques en el aire, haciéndolos flotar."
"That sounds like... quite the strange fighting tournament indeed." The stranger said.
"No tienes ni idea. Eso sin mencionar el esqueleto con el ojo azul." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"The what?" The stranger said, flabbergasted.
"Sorry to interrupt whatever... riveting conversation was going on here." Luka said. "But, we're back."
"I see." The stranger said. "You know, this gentleman sitting on the bench here has some very interesting stories to tell."
"Yeah, yeah, we know." Luka said. "Look, I need to ask you something, mysterious stranger that I literally just met not five minutes ago."
"Uh, okay." The stranger said. "Lay it on me."
"Okay, buckle up, this is a wild one." Luka said. "Basically, we're on a journey to find the seven Dragon Balls so we can summon Goku and defeat Vegeta and Sephiroth. We would like your help, as, right now, we really only have two people here that can fight, and basically only one that's willing to fight. We can see that you're equipped for combat, so we'd like to ask if you want to come with us to find the Dragon Balls and stop the world from, uh, ending." Luka was expecting the stranger to be completely flabbergasted by his sudden request, but the stranger stayed completely calm and unfazed.
"The Dragon Balls?" The stranger said. "You mean, like, these Dragon Balls?" The stranger then suddenly pulled the second Dragon Ball out of his pocket, much to the bewilderment of Luka and Mr. Game and Watch.
"Y-you have the second Dragon Ball?!" Luka exclaimed.
"Yep. I found it lying around on the street just over there." The stranger pointed to the exact direction where the map said the second Dragon Ball would be. Luka was absolutely bewildered.
"So... will you join us?" Luka asked. The stranger thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Sure, why not?" The stranger said. "I've not got anything better to do. Name's Kennedy. Leon Kennedy."
"Bienvenido a la tripulación, Leon." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"Yeah, welcome aboard, Leon." Sonic said. "Hope you can put up with us for the rest of our journey."
"Oh, believe me, you three are the least stressful thing I've had to deal with." Leon said.
"Nombra algunas de esas 'cosas estresantes' por las que has pasado." Mr. Game and Watch said.
"Well, there was that time I had to fight off some... let's say, evil residents." Leon said. "Then there was... uh, the other time I fought off some evil residents... now that I think about it, that's happened a lot."
"You seem to be an expert on evil residents." Luka said.
"You have no fucking idea..." Leon sighed. "I regularly question what the life choices I made were that lead to this..."
"Alright then..." Luka said. "Anyways, now that we have two of the Dragon Balls, we can set out for the third one."
"Just like that?" Leon asked. "No rest?"
"We don't have time for rest." Sonic said. "We need to find the remaining five Dragon Balls before Vegeta and Sephiroth do."
"I see." Leon said. "One question. Well, two. First of all, are you Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Yep, that's me." Sonic said. "How'd ya know me?"
"Mr. Game and Watch mentioned you while telling me tales of his battles in that fighting tournament." Leon said. "Well, he mentioned a blue hedgehog named Sonic, so I kinda put two and two together."
"Makes sense." Sonic said. "Anyways, what's your second question?"
"When I initially walked up to you three, you seemed to recognize me." Leon said. "Mind explaining that".
"Sure." Sonic said. "Basically, I'm from a future where this guy, Luka, gets killed. I've come back from the future to protect him. I also know the exact way everything on this journey will play out, since I've seen it all already."
"Is that why you told me Leon was important?" Luka asked. "Because you knew he had the second Dragon Ball?"
"Yes, and no." Sonic said. "While I knew Leon had the second Dragon Ball, and you could argue that's pretty important, that's not exactly what I meant by important."
"Then what did you mean?" Luka inquired.
"You'll find out later." Sonic said. "Just trust me. It's better you find out later, when it actually happens."
"Okay then..." Luka said, narrowing his eyes.
"Anyways, that's how I recognized you, Leon." Sonic said.
"I... see." Leon said. "You understand that this comes as a shock to me."
"I'd be more surprised if it didn't come as a shock to you." Sonic said.
"Deberíamos retomar el camino." Mr. Game and Watch said. "Todavía tenemos que encontrar las Bolas de Dragón restantes."
"He's right." Luka said. "Those Dragon Balls won't find themselves. Let's mosey, gang."
"I'll pay you thirty five dollars to never say that again." Leon said.
"Deal. Luka said, taking thirty five bucks from Leon. "Let's get moving." The four then began to follow the map to the third Dragon Ball. Meanwhile, in the shadows of another nearby alleyway, the mysterious man pondered.
"The Hedgehog and his allies have recruited Kennedy." The mysterious man said. "This is all going according to plan. The next time they face off against my past self, I'll swiftly intercept after the battle, and speak to my past self in regards to joining me. If I recall correctly, I intercepted them around the third or fourth Dragon Ball. I must stay nearby to them and watch for my past self. This plan cannot fail." The mysterious man then began slowly creeping through the shadows of the alleys, following Luka and his gang from a distance as they travelled to find the remaining Dragon Balls.