"WHAT?!!"
After a brief stunned silence, Commander Red erupted in rage.
"That useless Violet! Pass my orders—gather all elite members to HQ! And summon Tao Pai Pai!"
"I'll make sure those who defy us learn the power of the unbeatable Red Ribbon Army!"
"Understood!"
In an instant, the full force of the Red Ribbon Army was mobilized.
As a military organization rivaling global powers, their ability to rally was unparalleled. Soon, the Army's top generals, scattered across the globe, and even the world-renowned assassin Tao Pai Pai, assembled at headquarters.
"Hmph! All this over a brat?" Tao sneered after learning the mission was to subdue a young punk and kidnap Dr. Brief from Capsule Corp.
"Fine, do what you want—but don't expect me to give you a discount."
"Of course," Commander Red nodded.
Tao was their trump card, but Red wasn't about to cheap out on this job—not after recent embarrassments.
The other generals seemed equally casual about the task.
In their eyes, the mighty Red Ribbon Army facing a kid and a scientist? That was no threat at all.
But they couldn't have known—at that very moment—a lone figure had arrived near Red Ribbon HQ.
"So this is the Red Ribbon base?"
That figure was none other than Tights.
Though she'd now mastered Instant Transmission, her ki sensing was still limited. She could only detect familiar signatures. When it came to strangers, she had no choice but to rely on good ol' flying.
As she approached the perimeter, scouts in Red Ribbon recon planes picked up her approach.
"Someone! There's someone flying in midair!"
"Holy crap! Alert HQ!"
The scouts barely managed to send the alert before Tights shot them down effortlessly.
BOOM!
The explosions rang across the base—one scout plane even crashed directly into the compound, triggering violent tremors.
"What's going on?! What's happening outside?!" Commander Red shouted.
"Commander! We're under attack!" reported a soldier.
"WHAT?! Who dares attack the Red Ribbon Army?!"
Just then, a woman's voice echoed through the base loudspeakers.
"Red Ribbon Army! Did you really think you could mess with the Brief family and get away with it?!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Blazing ki blasts rained down like artillery, tearing the base apart in seconds.
Before anyone—including Commander Red—could even respond, the entire command center was engulfed in flames.
In mere moments, half the base was reduced to rubble.
Hovering in the sky, Tights exhaled slowly.
Though her battle power had surpassed 10,000—making her perhaps the strongest Earthling alive—this was the first time she had ever taken lives.
Still, her conscience calmed quickly.
After all, these weren't innocent civilians—these were irredeemable scum.
"Damn Lynx… ever since I got with him, I've started acting more like a Saiyan…"
She muttered to herself, then disappeared with Instant Transmission.
Unbeknownst to her, thanks to her intervention, the Red Ribbon Army—which was supposed to have a lengthy arc with Son Goku—was wiped from history prematurely.
Much later…
An old man slowly stepped through the smoldering wreckage of what had once been the Red Ribbon HQ.
"A nightmare… Is this some kind of nightmare? Our entire Army… wiped out in an instant?! Who… who could've done this?!"
Just then, he spotted something half-buried in the rubble—a photograph clutched by a scorched hand.
It was a photo of Son Goku, taken during his assault on Muscle Tower.
"That kid… it was him?! UNFORGIVABLE!! I, Dr. Gero, swear I will avenge the Red Ribbon Army with my own two hands!"
"Help… me…"
Suddenly, a mangled arm reached out from beneath the rubble.
Dr. Gero turned—and his eyes widened.
"You… it's you? Heh heh… perfect. With your potential, I'll finally create something that won't fail me…"
Meanwhile… beneath Korin Tower…
Still tracking down the Dragon Balls, Son Goku had arrived at the base of a towering structure.
Unexpectedly, he bumped into Bulla's family (a filler-like addition for this fanfic).
During the encounter, he recovered his grandfather's Four-Star Ball, and also learned the identity of the sky-piercing tower above him.
"Korin Tower? I've heard of this—Bulma once mentioned it!"
"Yeah, legend says if you can climb it on your own strength and drink the sacred water from the Hermit at the top, your power will skyrocket!"
"Awesome! This is it!"
Remembering the tales Bulma told him, and rumors of a temple in the sky above the tower, Goku became hyped.
Without hesitation, he began climbing the legendary tower.
Though events were unfolding differently from the original story, Goku's journey still led him to Korin the Cat Hermit.
And in time, he might even be allowed to reach the Lookout.
DING!
"Timeline deviation confirmed. Congratulations, Host—1 Time Point awarded!"
"Hmm?"
Back on Planet Vegeta, Lynx was deep in meditative combat training with Hannah.
This type of mental sparring was inspired by the training Krillin and Gohan did on their way to Namek, meant to sharpen mental strength.
Though once a makeshift technique, Lynx had refined it into a true method for developing mental power.
But mid-session, he suddenly heard the system chime.
"Wait, what? Did I just… get a free Time Point out of nowhere?!"
"System? What's going on?"
DING!
"Due to timeline adjustments caused by an individual connected to you, the timeline has been repaired. You receive a Time Point."
"Someone connected to me? Who? What'd they do?"
Lynx didn't get his answer until Tights suddenly teleported in from Earth and told him everything.
As he pieced together the chaos she'd caused—derailing canon only for the story to slowly swing back—Lynx couldn't help but marvel at history's self-correcting power.