Shinsetsu na -tai- Warui
Sitting alongside a quiet flowing river, a young boy around the age of seven munched on an apple, his round and curious eyes glancing up and down the river.
"Goku!!" Krillin, another boy without a single strand of hair on his head, ran down the side of a steep riverbank. A large grin spread over his face as he caught sight of what the spiky black-haired kid was eating. "Where'd ya get it?"
"Hiya Krillin. Um, in that tree over there."
"Yay!" Krillin scrambled up the bank and sprung up into the apple tree.
Goku continued to munch happily on his apple, and tossed a few rocks into the river.
"OUCH!! Hey!" Goku winced as a couple apples hit him on the head. He sneered up at Krillin, who had a large sweat drop to one side of his head.
"Uh, sorry Goku!" he shouted down to him, leaping off the tree with an apple gripped in his hand. He slid down the bank next to Goku just as a rather short man with tall, black spiky hair appeared by the riverbank behind them.
The two boys, not noticing the dark man, continued to eat. Goku's monkey-like tail swayed back and forth behind him steadily, tossing the apple core into the river.
"Hello."
Goku quickly spun around.
"Uhh…Hi mister!" Goku blinked. Krillin leapt around in a fighting position. "No, it's okay Krillin." He just snorted and folded his arms.
"Who are ya?"
"No one special. Just dropping by, I suppose…"
"Uh-huh…sure you are! That's why you're wearing a black trench coat and holding a rifle in your hand…can't forget those sunglasses."
"KRILLIN!" Goku nudged Krillin in the gut.
The man chuckled.
"You got me there, son. Have you seen someone going by the name 'Goku'?…"
"Why d'you wanna know?" Krillin tossed his apple into the water.
"He seems to have something that I am looking for."
"Yeah? What would that be?"
"Do you know him, or not?"
"Answer the question!"
"Demanding, aren't we?"
Krillin's teeth clenched firmly as the man resisted.
Goku wasn't sure what to do at that point.
"I haven't a clue what he looks like…so I figured you two might be able to help me out."
"First tell me what you want from him! It isn't that hard…"
The man's hard gaze jumped to the unusually silent boy standing next to Krillin.
"Hmm…What's your name, boy?"
Goku froze.
"What do you want—?!"
"Shut up, boy!" The man lunged out two of his fingers, firing a daichretsuzan toward Krillin.
"Krillin!!" Goku pushed him out of the way, he being hit instead. He stumbled back slightly as he held the small wound on his arm.
The dark man smirked with a slow shake of his head.
"Again…what is your name, foolish boy?"
"It's Goku!" Goku leapt into his fighting position, ignoring the small wound.
"…You're Goku? But you're a mere boy…"
Goku's brows narrowed.
"You know what they say…you can't judge a book by its cover." He tightened his hands into tight-balled fists.
"So true…I see you have a point there," his eyes still had a look of doubt, "but, seriously…Others have told me that you…Err…Goku had some strong powers of his…your own. Is this true?" The man adjusted his sunglasses, then slipped them off the end of his nose, revealing a pair of dark maroon-colored eyes staring eerily at Goku.
Goku rolled his eyes.
"What should I tell you anything? You're just a mere stranger," he mocked.
"Goku!! Don't get him mad!"
"Heh, heh…you're very brave, I see…"
"Don't try me, mister! What do you want?"
"Hm…" The mysterious man suddenly disappeared. Goku and Krillin turned every which way, their jaws ajar. Within a moment, he appeared directly in front of Goku with his fist extended; gripping onto Goku's shirt and lifting him into the air. "That Dragon Ball!!"
"GOKU!!"
"Give it to me, boy! I demand yo—"
His words were quickly cut off due to a forceful blow to his stomach, sending him into the ground.
Goku held onto his reddened fist, his teeth clenched in pain.
"Man!"
"C'mon Goku! Let's run while we have the chance!" Krillin shouted to him.
Goku hesitated. His eye caught a glimpse of something round and an orangish color peeping out from the man's pouch held on his belt.
"A…" He snatched it up quickly, then running to Krillin. "C'mon!"
They flared up into the air and disappeared over the lightly snow- tipped mountains.
***
"Bulma! Master Roshi!!" Krillin burst through the doorway into the Kame House, soon followed by Goku.
"Krillin! Hey, Go—Is that a Dragon Ball?! How—" Bulma exclaimed, her eyes widening.
"Goku and I were by the river and this weird guy with a black trench coat, a gun, and a pair of sunglasses came along and he said he was looking for Goku and-and-and he threatened Goku to give him his Dragon Ball and Goku knocked him out and grabbed the Dragon Ball that the dude had and we flew off and now we're here!!" Krillin gasped for air, then collapsed onto the floor.
Master Roshi's eyes narrowed quickly.
"A man, eh? After the Dragon Balls…Hmm…" He scratched his chin for a moment, then his brows shot up. "Ah-hah! Was his hair black and spiky?…"
"Yea!" They shouted at the same time.
"Dark eyes?"
"Yea!"
"Hmm…Bulma, I think he may be King Vegeta."
She facefaulted.
"Vegeta's dad?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." She blinked. "WHAT?!"
"Yep, that's right. King Vegeta…"
"Uggghh…What's so great about those stinkin' Dragon Balls, anyway?" Oolong snorted.
"They grant wishes, stupid!" Krillin out-boasted with a roll of his eyes.
"Watch who you're callin' stupid, stupid!"
"Hey, stop it you two…The Dragon Balls , when all seven are brought together, call forth the eternal dragon. He grants wishes. I bet you guys King Vegeta's after the same thing most evil guys are after—immortality!" Bulma explained, her hands placed on her hips.
"You've got a point there, Bulma."
"Um, yeah…Of course I do." She folded her arms over her chest, nodding to Roshi.
"Looks like we've got another bad guy to kill!" Krillin cried, leaping up into the air with a large grin spread over his face eagerly.
"That too… But you must try to find the other five Dragon Balls before he does, or else it's all over," Master Roshi nodded his head. He disappeared through a doorway to his right. Popping out again, he held a Dragon Ball Radar device in his hand. "You'll need this, Goku." He tossed it to Goku, who caught it perfectly in his right hand. "It detects where the Dragon Balls are located around the world—"
"Around the world?!" Krillin out-bursted, his eyes wide.
"Yep."
"Holy cow!!" Krillin slapped a hand over his forehead.
"Um, when do we start?" Goku blinked, holding the small device in his hand.
"As soon as possible, Goku."
"Hey, c'mon Krillin!!" Goku grabbed onto Krillin's hand.
"Huh—?" He then yanked him out the front door, disappearing.
"Good luck you guys!!" Bulma shouted after the two as they flew off, waving her hand around.
"They'll need it…" Master Roshi muttered lowly under his breath, then making his way back into the house.
***
Scanning the area below, Goku and Krillin flew high up in the air, having left the other two Dragon Balls at Master Roshi's place.
"Hey, Goku…If we do meet up with this 'King Vegeta' character, d'we gotta fight him? I mean…He's got those huge guns…"
Goku just chuckled, holding out the Dragon Ball Radar.
"Hey, look!! A Dragon Ball!"
"Already?"
Goku pointed to a flashing and beeping round icon on the screen, and followed it to the ground.
They both landed gently on the ground, still holding the radar device. There, right in front of them, sat a Dragon Ball in a spiky bush.
"You can get it, Goku!" Krillin eyed the prickly bush.
"Um, k." Goku held his palm out toward the bush, and a small ball of energy charged up into his palm. Once to a medium size, he fired it at the bush, blowing it away. The Dragon Ball flew into the forest. "Quick!! Get it!" Goku scrambled after the ball, followed by Krillin. They disappeared in the darkened shadows of the deep woods, all sunlight being shut out by the thick-branched trees above their heads.
Goku turned his head from side-to-side, trying to find out where the Dragon Ball was.
"What the…?? It's moving?" Goku blinked at the beeping icon on the screen.
"Uhh…Goku," Krillin giggled, "look." He pointed to a small turtle with a curved in shell slowly walking by, the Dragon Ball sitting comfortably on its back.
"Hehe! Silly turtle!" Goku snatched the Dragon Ball up into his grip. "There you are, stupid thing." He stuffed the ball into a pouch tied to his navy blue belt. "Alrighty, we gotta find the other four."
"Oh, boy…" Krillin smacked a hand to his forehead, his eyes rolling back into his head.
"Aw, c'mon Krill!"
"Don't call me Kr…!!"
But before he could finish, Goku had yanked him away and rocketed up into the air with his Ki flaring.
***
King Vegeta pushed and shoved his way through a crowded street full of bustling people. His dark sunglasses hid his dark eyes, glancing around for any sign of the two who had stolen his Dragon Ball. Having two others back at his home base, he searched around for the lasting five.
"Friggin' kid…I'm gonna get him for taking one of my Dragon Balls…" he had grumbled.
Goku skid to a halt in mid air to take a look down into the busy street below. He spotted the same dark man they encountered before, shoving people aside.
"Krillin! It's him!"
He suddenly stopped, turning his head up toward the sky where the two were hovering.
"GO!!" Goku shot forward through the air, Krillin trailing through the sky.
"Oh shoot! D'you think he saw us??"
"Let's hope not," Goku turned his head over his shoulder, checking for King Vegeta. "No, he's not following us."
King Vegeta watched the two boys fly off. A sneer formed over his face quickly, sensing that Goku had a single Dragon Ball.
"They must be looking for them, too…" King Vegeta hovered off the ground, then *bukujyutsu'ng up into the sky.
*bukujyutsu – when one uses their ki, or energy; they're able to fly by surrounding themselves with it.
"Goku…"
"What?"
"Goku……!!"
"What Krillin??"
"G…AHH IT'S HIM!!" Krillin frantically bolted forward. King Vegeta shot after him.
"KRILLIN!" Goku flew up after the two of them.
"AH NO! He has the Dragon Ball, not me!"
"Exactly…now hold still you little punk!"
King Vegeta grabbed onto Krillin's leg, then disappeared before Goku could reach them.
"Hey! Krillin!" He glanced all around, finding no trace of them. "How's that possible…?" His eyes narrowed, uncertain, his palms turned to fists. "No… What'm I supposed to do now…?" Goku suddenly felt a strong presence of someone's Ki, but it was slowly drifting away. "Huh? Hey! It's gotta be Vegeta…" Goku flew forward, but the power decreased greatly. He fled into a different direction. It got slightly stronger, so he decided to follow in that direction.
***
"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Krillin scrambled to free himself.
"Not on your life, kid!"
"Where are we going?" He didn't even bother answering his question, having felt Goku's presence.
"Gosh darn it…won't he EVER give up?!"
"Goku?? Yay!"
"Shut up, idiot!" He sped forward across the sky, leaving a long trail of bluish Ki behind.
A large fortress-like castle appeared in view, the two flying towards it. Krillin continued to struggle in his grip as his eyes darted to the castle.
"Urrgh!! You're REALLY starting to tick me off now mister!"
King Vegeta kicked the large front door to the fortress open, carrying Krillin over his shoulder. He walked forwards into the shadows of the darkened castle. Just as the doors almost closed, Goku swooped through them and landed on the tile floor silently. The doors slammed shut, causing an echo to rattle through the giant room and lightly shake the floor.
He quickly lowered his power level so not to be sensed, and tiptoed after them down a hallway to the right.
"Where are we going??" Krillin mumbled out.
King Vegeta slipped through a doorway and into a musty room. Goku, not seeing him turn, continued sneaking down the hall.
"Just as I thought…" King Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he watched Goku pass the doorway. He suddenly disappeared, leaving Krillin to fall.
"YIPE!"
Goku stopped abruptly, no longer hearing their footsteps.
"Umm…"
"Looking for something…?"
Goku screamed, immediately leaping backwards.
"You!! Where's Krillin?"
"Goku! There you are!" Krillin came running down the hall, then skidding to a halt behind Goku.
"Hey you little brat! You were supposed to stay put!"
"YIPE…!!" Krillin hid behind Goku. "Y…You don't scare me! Ha."
Goku looked up at King Vegeta.
"Ummm…"
"Give me that Dragon Ball, Goku… You have no use for it." King Vegeta reached out his hand, palm flat. "Come on, son. Hand it over."
"Ummm…No?" Goku bit deeply into his hand, then flipping up into the air, sending a quick kick to his chin.
"AGGH! DARN KID!!"
Goku grabbed onto Krillin's hand and ran past King Vegeta, fleeing into the shadows.
"Goku, are you nuts?! He's gonna come after us!" He watched as Goku pulled out the Radar device. "Where are we going with that?"
"He has two Dragon Balls hidden here," he explained as they ran down the hall, "and we've gotta get 'em. C'mon! They're nearby." Goku yanked him into another hallway as they got closer to the hidden Dragon Balls.
As they ran through another hallway, Goku could feel Krillin's power level rise in tension.
"Krillin, lower your power level! He could track us."
"He can do that?"
"Yeah, so can I."
"No fair!!"
"Shh!" Goku leapt behind a wall, hearing footsteps near them. "KRILLIN!" Goku shouted in a whisper, pulling him behind the wall as well. Krillin shut his eyes tightly as a few guards passed by. As the footsteps grew faint, Krillin peered around the corner.
"Hey, who were those people?"
"Probably guards."
"Oh."
"C'mon, it looks like they're in this next room…"
Goku stepped cautiously in through a doorway, then his jaw dropped down as his brows shot up in awe.
"Dude!! This room is huge!" Goku's eyes darted all around, grinning. "It's like a gigantic training room with nothing but padded floors and such…" He walked forwards into the room just as his Radar device started to beep a bit faster. He glanced to the other side of the room, where a door sat. "Hey!" He ran to the other side, quickly opening the door. "The Dragon Radar says they're in here…"
Inside, a set of stairs stood in front of him with red carpeting all the way up to the top. At the very top sat a large glass box. The device started beeping extremely fast. Goku laughed out loud.
"Haha! Found 'em!!"
"And what do you think you're doing, hmm?"
"King Vegeta!" Goku spun around.
"Your power level, Goku," Krillin stood there, a dagger to his neck, "it's flaring…"
"I…"
"One false move and Krillin gets it, Goku. I'll only let him free if you give me your Dragon Ball…"
"Goku, don't do it! Don't let him have it!!"
Goku stood still, his eyes narrowed.
"Goku…!!"
Without moving a muscle, Goku grabbed hold of King Vegeta's shirt collar, using a special attack called Kanashibari no Jyutsu. Using his mind, he pried Krillin out of his grip, his eyes then darting to the other side of the room-sending King Vegeta flying.
"Whoa! You have to teach me that technique sometime!!"
"C'mon Krillin! Let's get those Dragon Balls and scram!"
But just before they got the chance to dart away, King Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of Krillin. Without giving him a chance to think, Vegeta plowed his elbow straight into Krillin's gut, knocking all the possible air out of his lungs. Bringing up both of his fists, he slammed them both down over Krillin's back, sending him forcefully into the ground-unconscious with a bit of blood trickling out the side of his mouth.
"KRILLIN!!" Goku reared back, darting at King Vegeta at full speed. He brought his leg up, sending a powerful kick straight into his side, immediately causing him to collapse to his knees. Goku leapt back, bringing both of his hands together in a cupped form. "KA…ME…HA…ME…HA!!!" A small ball of energy quickly grew into a large electrically charged ball of energy in the palms of Goku's hands. He fired the kamehameha toward King Vegeta, hitting him straight in the gut, which caused him to fly backwards into the floor. He lay there, unconscious. Goku began to breath steadily as he made his way up to Krillin, who was beginning to wake up. He knelt down beside him, placing a hand underneath his head for support as he slowly lifted him up off of the floor. "Krillin?"
"Yeah, Goku?…"
"You alright, buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm great…Hey, what happened?" Krillin pushed himself up off of the floor, but then he stumbled backwards a little from the wound.
"Whoa! Careful, Krill. Are you gonna be alright coming back with me to Master Roshi's place?"
"Yeah, I can do it. Come on, let's go before Veggie wakes back up…"
"Right."
They fled up the stairs with no hesitation. Goku quickly lifted the top of the case, Krillin then snatching up both of the Dragon Balls.
"Two more to go…" Goku bukujyutsu'd out of the room and down the hallway, closely followed by Krillin.
"Goku, how are we gonna get rid of him for good?"
"We can get Master Roshi or Yamucha to help us…or if we get the other two Dragon Balls, we could wish him away!"
"Oh, kay." Krillin held on tight to the Dragon Ball, not daring to let go. His eyes were narrowed straightforward, heading in the direction of the Kame House.
***
King Vegeta shoved a piece of wall off of him that fell on top of him from the forceful hit.
"I'm gonna get those kids…" Stumbling back onto his feet, he brushed himself off, just as he noticed that his radar device wasn't beeping at all. "WHAT?! They ran off with my Dragon Balls?! THOSE LITTLE BRATS!!" He flew through the ceiling, disappearing through the clouds.
***
"Look! There's Master Roshi!" Krillin pointed down to the bald-headed man sitting on his lawn chair, reading a hentai magazine. They dove down from the sky, then landed gently on the shore of the beach.
"Hey Master Roshi!!" They ran up to him, both having large smiles across their faces.
"We got three more!"
"Yeah, and two of them were at King Vegeta's place…it was huge!" Krillin spread his arms out with a giggle.
Master Roshi glanced to Krillin nervously.
"You were at King Vegeta's house…?"
"Nah, it's more like a castle!"
"We—" Roshi stopped, watching as Goku turned his head toward the sky behind him. "Goku?"
"Krillin! Grab the other two Dragon Balls from the house-quick!"
"Uh, right!" Krillin ran inside the house, then darted back out. Bulma chased after him.
"Wait! Carry the Dragon Balls in this!" Bulma tossed them a small bag.
Goku caught it in his hand, smirking.
"Thanks, Bulma!"
Krillin tossed Goku three of the Dragon Balls, he then stuffing them into the bag, along with the other two.
"Come on!!" Krillin shot up into the air, Goku flying up as well. He stopped suddenly, turning around to look at the two of them. "You two, act natural."
Bulma and Master Roshi glanced at each other questionably as Goku sped after Krillin, their Ki trails disappearing quickly. Bulma's eyes widened, her jaw dropping as well.
"M-MASTER ROSHI!!"
He glanced up at the sky, watching as King Vegeta swooped down onto the opposite side of the Kame House.
"He's here…!!"
"Shh, Bulma…"
At that moment, Oolong burst through the front door, screaming.
"BURGLAR!" He fell flat on his face, having tripped down the stairs.
They watched in awe as King Vegeta stepped out from the doorway, his hands made into tight-balled fists.
"Where are they??" He shouted at them through clenched teeth. "Answer me!!"
"Well, where are who?" Bulma said to him smoothly.
"Don't toy with me, you stupid girl!" King Vegeta's eyes darted over to Master Roshi. "Listen to me, you fool! You'd better answer me before I blow this whole place away!!"
Oolong scrambled up to his feet. His eyes were wide with fear as he backed away from King Vegeta.
"Uhh-Umm…who is that??"
An evil smirk crossed over King Vegeta's lips, a light snicker escaping him.
"Your worst nightmare…"
Oolong fell over anime-style, his leg twitching as it stuck up in the air.
Bulma placed her hands on her hips stubbornly, her bright blue eyes narrowed toward King Vegeta.
"Uhh…Hey, handsome…! What do ya say you come ova' here an' show me how strong ya really are…?" She winked toward him, a smirk over her face.
A large sweat drop dripped down the side of King Vegeta's head, his eyebrows having shot up in surprise.
"Uhh…"
"Your fly is down…" she said to him, giggling.
"Stupid woman! I don't even have a zipper!"
"Well, uh…what's that then?"
"What's what?!"
"Umm…" She flashed a look at Master Roshi as if she was saying, 'Say something!!'
Master Roshi just blinked a few times, a couple beads of sweat trickling down the side of his forehead. King Vegeta clenched his teeth in annoyance, his impatience growing.
"Tell me where they went!!"
Bulma thought quickly. She pointed randomly into the air.
"They went that way!"
"……………"
"Well they did…!"
King Vegeta grumbled, flaring his aura as he bukujyutsu'd into the air.
She placed her hands on her hips once again.
"Ugh! Men!!" She turned around, marching back into the house.
Master Roshi blinked.
Goku flew through the air, trying to keep his power level as low as possible. He swung the bag over his shoulder as he looked back at Krillin, who was unusually dragging behind by a bit.
"Ummm…Krill? You feeling' alright?"
"Yeah, just great Goku. Lead the way…"
His power level is a bit too low…Goku thought to himself. He scratched his head in question, shrugging to himself, and continued to fly forward as they searched further for the two missing Dragon Balls they had yet to find.
King Vegeta flew through the sky, his golden aura flaring around him wildly. His oval eyes focused straight ahead.
'I must find those Dragon Balls before those two brats do!!' he thought to himself, clenching his teeth.
Krillin grabbed onto his gut suddenly, his teeth clenching in pain. He came to a halt in mid air just as Goku swooped around, looking shocked.
"…Krillin??" Goku blinked..
He let go of his stomach, glancing over to Goku with narrowed eyes.
"It's nothing, Goku…Don't worry about it. I'm serious. We have to find those two other Dragon Balls…That's what's important right now."
Goku just stared at him silently for the next couple moments, his hands tightened into fists. Sweat trickled down his forehead nervously.
"Krillin…Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Come on, let's go before King Vegeta catches up to us…"
Goku nodded once slowly, turning to face the other direction as he led them forward once again.
The sun was slowly beginning to set overhead as the two boys neared their destination. Goku's radar device started beeping out of the blue, pointing out the nearest Dragon Ball.
"Look! Finally, the sixth one." Krillin managed to force a weak smile as Goku said this, looking as though he was trying to hide his pain. Goku glanced down below, there being acres and acres of forest.
"This is gonna be like trying to find a needle in a haystack…" Krillin mumbled, following Goku as he lowered down to an open meadow.
"Hmmm…" Goku began to walk forward, since the Dragon Ball seemed to be in that direction. "Follow me!" He ran toward the woods, his feet pattering against the soft grass. Krillin laggingly trailed after him, a slight limp holding him back.
The sun began to disappear behind the mountains as Goku followed the device deeper into the forest.
"Krillin, you hangin' in there? I think I almost got it…" Getting no response, Goku asked again, "…Krillin? Hey, bud, you there?" He turned around, seeing no one at all. "…Oh no, Krillin!" He clumsily stuffed the device into his belt, running back the way he came. Running all the way back to the field and finding no trace of him, Goku's heart began to race. "KRILLLLIINNN!!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the field. "No, Krillin! Don't desert me now…Krillin…" Something blue caught his eye. He dropped to his knees, lifting a blue piece of cloth from off of the ground. "A piece of his clothing…?" Goku snapped his head up, his eyes jumping from the cloth to a figure in the sky. His eyes widened, making the figure out. "Vegeta…" Goku quickly scrambled to his feet, gripping the cloth tightly in his hand. King Vegeta floated there, holding something…or someone in his hand. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't moving, but just hanging there limply like a dead body.
That made Goku's heart jump and his eyes flash open, his skin turning a ghostly pale. He then noticed some blood on the back of the blue cloth, flapping gently in the breeze as he examined it. A trail of blood suddenly seemed to appear before him, stopping abruptly a few feet in front of him. He could feel the warmth of his tears blur his vision, then a tear trickling down his cheek as he blinked them away…at first he couldn't find the words to say, stuttering and biting his tongue.
"K……Krill-in…" he had managed to mumble out. "Ho-How…could….you…" he said softly at first, "…HOW COULD YOU?!" Goku raged, a few veins popping from his neck. King Vegeta did nothing but smirk toward him. He instantly let go of Krillin, letting him fall to the ground. "NO!" Goku shot forward, catching him just before he hit the ground. Landing on the opposite side of the field, he lay Krillin down in a bed of grass. "……" His tear-streaked face turned to King Vegeta. "You beast…you will pay for this, Vegeta, and I will make sure of that! You have my word!!" he said with his left hand curled into a fist.
King Vegeta chuckled at this.
"I had to finish him off at one point…I was doing him a favor by putting him out of his misery, don't you see?" He let his arms drop to his sides casually. He watched as Goku's stare lingered on, his gleaming eyes transfixed on King Vegeta. "…Do you really think you can beat me, boy?…Well, you've got another thing coming…" He slowly lowered himself to the ground, still staring deeply at Goku. "Such a fool…" he said lowly to himself as he landed gently on the ground.
At that moment, Goku sped forward with brilliant speed, extending a fist forward as he came in contact with Vegeta. But just a few moments before he actually hit him, King Vegeta had grabbed a hold of Goku's fist, flinging him up and over his head. He forcefully slammed the boy headfirst into the ground afterward. Goku heaved himself up off the ground only to find King Vegeta's foot slam into his face, which sent him pummeling into the ground.
"You really shouldn't have started with me, Goku. See the mess you've gotten yourself into now?" King Vegeta turned to look down at him, but Goku had long since vanished. Goku, floating above his head unnoticed, was hiding his power completely. He threw his hands up and over his head, an energy ball forming in the palms of his hands. He lunged it down directly over King Vegeta's head, throwing him forward into the ground. Goku pulled his cupped hands to his left side, yet another glowing ball of energy forming in his palms.
"KA - ME - HA - ME - HA!!!" The ball jumped from being tiny to twice the size of Goku. "THIS IS FOR YOU, KRILLIN!" Goku lunged the gigantic energy ball in King Vegeta's direction, hitting him just as he began to pull himself to his feet.
"Foolish…*wince*…Boy…" He flung his arm up over his head, a flat disc-like shape forming in the flattened palm of his hand. Giving Goku hardly any time to think, he chucked the fully charged Kienzan at Goku like you would a Frisbee. He slipped aside, hoping to dodge the attack. It sliced through his left arm, causing a bit of blood to spurt out. He grasped onto the wound on his arm, his eyes clenching shut for a moment. Goku's eyes then flashed open, flipping out his right hand palm-forward, a bright blue ball appearing there as his aura flared blue. But before he was even near finishing off the attack, King Vegeta appeared beside him, bringing his left knee straight into Goku's wounded arm. Goku cried out in pain as King Vegeta sniggered at the sound of a satisfying crunch.
Goku's arm fell to his side limply as he hunched over, trying to ignore the pain the best he could. His left arm now broken, he had only one to fight and defend himself with.
"Give up, Goku…" King Vegeta slammed a fist into Goku's back. He collapsed to his knees, holding himself up with his good arm. He coughed up some blood, his eyes tightly shut.
"You don't…have to do this…Vegeta…" Goku tried to gather himself back to his feet as he said this. King Vegeta shrugged. He grabbed hold of the back of Goku's gi outfit, picking him up off the ground. Shaking his head slowly as he smirked, he held Goku there as he spoke.
"Such a pity, really…" He turned Goku so that he was now facing him. "I thought you were stronger than this, Goku…Much stronger. But I proved myself wrong, I suppose…" Goku didn't say anything for a few moments, his jaw open and his eyes halfway open. "Goku, Goku, Goku…Time is running out, and I must go soon. You can choose to give me the Dragon Balls now, or prepare to
die…"
Goku lifted his head to look at King Vegeta, still looking half- dazed. He growled, narrowing
his eyes.
"You pathetic excuse for a Saiyan! Do you really think that's going to scare the King of Saiyans off, hmmm??"
"Will you shut UP already?!" Goku tightened his fist, directing a blow into King Vegeta's stomach. He instantly dropped Goku, holding his gut in pain. Goku flipped up before he hit the ground. He brought his left knee flying into King Vegeta's chin, causing him to stumble backwards. He flared forwards, his aura flaring as he flip-kicked King Vegeta in the face. He fell to the ground, sprawled out on his back as Goku started to charge up an attack in his right hand. He gathered up energy for his finishing attack, a ball appearing in his hand. It wasn't like any other energy ball, no. It started flipping different colors as it grew, sparking here and there. It leapt from being his full size to thrice his size, the whole field brightening up. The grasses danced wildly in the wind created by the energy-consuming attack. Once it had reached its fullest size, Goku raised it above his head as beads of sweat trickled nervously down his forehead.
"T…THIS OUGTHA TEACH YOU, VEGETA!! I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO FIND A NEW AND IMPROVED KING AFTER I DESTROY YOU!! THIS IS ALSO FOR YOU, KRILLIN!" Goku raged, staring angrily down at King Vegeta as he said this. He sent one last jolt of energy through his body and into the attack, preparing himself. "AKUMAITOKOSEN!!" Goku heaved it backwards, then, in one forceful movement, lunged the giant attack down towards the ruthless king. He heard King Vegeta scream out in pain as the attack hit him straight in the back, killing him instantly. After coming in contact with the body, a blinding light flashed and filled the entire area.
Goku, completely out of breath and energy, fell limply to the ground as he still held onto his lifeless arm. He lay sprawled out on his back, having passed out…
Everything was silent for the next few minutes, not anyone or anything moving at all - not even a light breeze passed through the field.
Goku's eyes slowly fluttered open. He gently sat up, holding his broken arm close to him as his eyes focused. He couldn't sense King Vegeta's power level anymore, so he was finally gone…then he remembered: Krillin! Oh, Krillin…He pushed himself off the ground, making his way over to Krillin with a slight limp. He felt a few tears come to his eyes as he neared him, forcing him bite his lower lip to keep them from coming. He collapsed onto his knees next to him, watching as he lay there motionless.
"Krillin…Why did he have to do this to you? Why…?" He gently and slowly lifted his friend's head off of the ground, staring deeply into his lifeless eyes. He blinked, forcing a single tear down Goku's cheek. "…" He lowered his head back onto the ground with a light-hearted sigh, "…well, he's gone, now…" Goku turned his gaze to the sky, there being a hint of sunlight peeking up over the horizon. "My first day without…you…" Then it came to him: The Dragon Balls! He already knew where the sixth one was, so all he had to do was to find the seventh one and wish Krillin back! Yes, there was still hope…
Goku pushed himself onto his feet. He went to grab the radar device, but he grasped onto nothing but air. His heart sank.
"What?! No, it can't be!" He frantically started searching around for it, his heart beating rapidly. "I must've dropped it before…I should've been more careful! Stupid me!" He turned to look at Krillin. "Stay put…" Goku, still holding his arm, ran down the same path he had been down the day before in search of the sixth Dragon Ball. He ran along the path, looking this way and that for any sign of the device. "Got to find it, got to find it!" He stopped abruptly, hearing the faint sound of something beeping. "The Dragon Ball radar! But where?!" He suddenly spotted it lying on the ground near a large moss-covered rock. "There you a—!" As he went to grab it, he tripped over something, sending him face-first into the dirt. "Euch!" Goku spat out some of the dirt, then turning around to see what had tripped him. "Huh?…Hey, the sixth one! Just my luck…" Goku snatched up the sixth Dragon Ball, picking the device up as well. "I hope the seventh one isn't too far…" Goku pressed a button on the radar device, watching as it tried to locate the seventh one. "Darn it! No where around here…" Goku turned his head in the direction where the field was. "I can't leave Krillin out in the open like that…I have to take him back to Master Roshi's…" He decided to use the Nimbus to help carry Krillin back to the Kame House. Running back to the field where Krillin was, he called for his Nimbus, and watched as it landed in front of him. Picking Krillin up carefully by the shirt collar, he laid him down as gently as he could. Stepping up beside him, they flew up into the air and shot across the sky in the direction of the small island.
As they flew across the clear blue ocean water, Goku glanced down occasionally at Krillin. Seeing him like that gave Goku an uneasy feeling. He swallowed hard, and kept his gaze forward.
He guided the cloud down to the island once they'd reached it. Jumping off of the cloud, he dropped the bag off his shoulder. He turned towards the Kame House with narrowed eyes. He let out an exhausted sigh, and pressed on towards the house.
***
Master Roshi hit Oolong over the head.
"How dare you insult the way I fight! Do you really wanna see how strong I am?!"
Oolong huffed, sneering at the old man.
"Well, I—" Oolong was cut off due to the slamming of the side door. They all turned their attention to the noise. "Goku!!"
"Goku, you're back! Say, where's Krillin?"
"I need you to watch him while I find the seventh ball," he said to them, his dark eyes narrowed.
They blinked.
"Eh, what's that? Where's King Vegeta?…"
Goku turned his head away, tightening his good fist.
"He's gone, Master Roshi. He killed…Krillin, and I need to find the seventh ball to wish him back."
Master Roshi looked shocked.
"Who killed him?? Wowee!"
"…" Goku stared blankly at him. "I did."
They broke out into sudden laughter. Goku clenched his teeth in annoyance, still having his hand curled into a fist.
"You killed King Vegeta???"
"Hey, you guys!" What's goin' on here?" Bulma had walked into the room, a smile across her face. As soon as she spotted Goku standing in the doorway, she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Goku! You had me worried sick! I seriously thought some—"
"Ow, hey! Watch the arm…"
"Ohh, sorry…what happened?" Bulma pulled back from the hug.
"Just…Just watch Krillin for me, will you? I've got to find that last ball!"
"Wait, take this first." Master Roshi tossed Goku a single senzu bean. He caught it in his hand, then nodding thanks to Master Roshi. Without another word spoken, Goku darted out the front door and flew up into the sky, his aura engulfing his entire body.
Bulma watched has he took off, one hand over her eyes to keep out the sunlight.
"That was…Uh…Weird."
Goku held on tightly to the device, his palms being sweaty.
"Just one more, Goku…Just one more," he said lowly to himself, continuing to fly across the slightly cloudy sky. "Don't worry, Krillin…I'll bring you back to life. I promise…"
***
King Kai watched in his mind as Goku searched for the last ball. His antennas twitched uneasily.
"So, Krillin's no longer alive…" he mumbled out, his hands held behind his back. His pet monkey started to jump up and down, making noises. "Quiet, Bubbles!" He looked away for a moment. "Yes, I'll invite Krillin here…"
At almost that same instant, Krillin appeared on the ground. He rubbed his head slightly, moaning as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Uhh…King…Kai?!" He stumbled backwards onto his feet, looking rather shocked. "H…How'd I get here?" He blinked continuously. "And…To be here…I'd have to b-be…DEAD!" Krillin toppled over again.
King Kai shook his head slowly.
"Yes, Krillin…But Goku's going to try to save you. He's on his way to find the seventh Dragon Ball right now."
Krillin blinked.
"Wow…There's just no stopping that guy…" Krillin sighed happily, his hands behind his head. His arms suddenly dropped to his sides. "Wait! What happened to that King Vegeta guy??"
"Erm, well, he was destroyed."
Krillin's eyes widened.
"By who?"
"Goku…Goku destroyed King Vegeta."
"Wow! What a guy…"
***
"Wha!" Goku's device suddenly started beeping insanely. "Yes! Yes! Finally, the seventh Dragon Ball! Goku looked around in different directions, seeing that he was nearing it. He stopped abruptly in mid air, glancing below. 'It must be under the water…' he thought to himself, since no other land was around. "Well, here goes nothin'…" Goku plummeted towards the water, shoving his luckily water proof device into his belt. He slowed up a bit as he neared the surface of the water. Goku then dove headfirst into the freezing cold ocean, his once broken arm restored thanks to the senzu bean given to him by Master Roshi.
His heart seemingly skipped a beat just as he hit the surface of the water. His eyes shut tightly, the feeling of a thousand knives clashing against his body. Once Goku got used to the feeling, he pulled the radar device out from his belt again.
'This isn't gonna be fun…' he thought to himself, holding the screen out in front of him. Seeing that the beeping icon was to his left, he turned a bit, and right there sitting in front of him was the seventh ball. 'Wow!' he thought again. 'That was easy enough…' But just as he started to swim down towards it, something large jumped out at him. He rocketed backwards as soon as it lunged toward him, nearly dropping the device.
A pair of yellow diamond-shaped eyes gleamed hungrily at him. Goku glanced once to the Dragon Ball, then quickly back to the monster coming at him. Two large fins sprout out from its sides, along with a long spiked tail, swaying gently back and forth behind the creature. Without giving the boy any time to think it lunged out at him, jaw ajar - showing off rows of sharp, shimmering teeth. Goku shot backwards again, but he hadn't been quick enough. His pant leg caught on one of the many teeth. He tore it away before the monster had a chance to pull him forwards and capture him inside his mouth. Goku bukujyutsu'd around the monster. He stopped right behind its tail, his Ki trail disappearing. Before giving any time for the monster to turn around, he grabbed hold of its tail and without hesitating, started to swing it around in circles. He bukujyutsu'd up out of the water, bringing the beast up with him and continued to spin him in circles by his tail.
"Here - Goes - Nothin'!" After one last forceful swing, Goku let go of its tail, watching as the monster flew across the sky and disappeared from view. "Now…to get that ball."
***
Master Roshi and the others huddled around Krillin, blinking at him.
"Ummm…is he…Dead?" Oolong asked as he scratched his head in curiosity.
"Of course he's dead, stupid!" Master Roshi hit Oolong over the head with his cane.
"AH! We're hangin' around a dead guy?!"
"Ugh, Oolong! Leave poor Krillin alone." Bulma folded her slender arms across her chest.
"You mean poor dead Krillin."
"Listen - He won't be dead after Goku finds the seventh ball and wishes him back, got it? We just have to watch him until he does—!"
"Look! There's Goku now!" Oolong pointed out.
"Yay! Goku!!"
He swooped down from the sky, leaping down onto the soft sand. Running over to them, he waved the ball with a devious smirk across his face.
"Got it!"
He brushed aside his bangs as he stopped by the bag containing the other six. Opening the bag, he then dumped them out onto the ground.
"Err, Goku, this isn't exactly the best place to do that…" Oolong muttered to Goku.
He blinked.
"Oh, you're right…" Goku scooped them back into the bag and dropped the seventh one in as well. "I'll move them over here in the open." He ran out further onto the beach, farther away from the others and the Kame House. "This should do it…" He opened the bag back up, turning it upside down and watching as all seven landed with a thud on the milky white sand. "Now…how does it go again?" Goku scratched his head a little, blinking down at the Dragon Balls. "Umm…"
The others watched him curiously, waiting.
"Uhh…Open Sesame!!…?" Nothing happened. "…Come out, come out, where ever you are?"
***
King Kai twitched as a few beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
"What's he doing?" Krillin asked King Kai, sitting down against King Kai's little hut of a house.
"He's trying to summon the dragon…He doesn't know what to say. Mind coming over here and telling him how to do it, Krillin?"
His eyes widened.
"You mean…I can talk to him?"
"Yep, just put your hand on my shoulder and I'll contact you with Goku."
"Wow! Okay!" Krillin scrambled up to his feet, walking up to King Kai and doing as he told him so. King Kai directed a telepathic line between their after world and Earth, where Goku currently was.
"Talk to him!"
"Uh…Goku, can you hear me?"
"AH! Krillin?? Is that you? But how? No way, you're still dead! Am I going crazy??"
"CALM DOWN!! Jeez, Goku…I'm talking through King Kai. There's this telepathic line thingy…Umm, don't make me explain it."
"Ohhh…Uhhh…Cool! What's up?"
"GOKU!!I called to tell you how to summon the dragon."
"So…How?"
"…I'll do it for you," Krillin said deeply, narrowing his eyes. After clearing his throat, he started. "Eternal Dragon, Shenlong…I call you forth to grant me a single wish…"
Goku blinked.
"That's it—?"
"Sh!"
The seven Dragon Balls began to glow. Goku stepped back quickly as the light became brighter, then a large beam of light shot up into the clouds, parting them slightly. Wide-eyed, they stared; astonished, as the light took form as a long, slender dragon, with slanted blood-red eyes. It had a long, slender snout, having two catfish-like whiskers beside its nostrils. Up atop the dragon's head sat two horns, jutting out towards the heavens. He growled lowly, effectively shaking the land and waters around the tiny island.
Goku, in awe, stared up at the giant looming beast.
"W…" he stuttered. "Krillin, now what?…Krillin?" Goku's palms became sweaty.
"You have summoned the Eternal Dragon…you have one wish, and one wish only…" The dragon's giant voice made Goku stumble backwards and fall on his rear in the sand.
"Gah!…Umm…Mr. Dragon? Could you…I mean…I wish Krillin back to life…" he said strongly, pushing himself up off the sand.
"Mmm…" Shenlong's eyes flashed once. "Your wish shall be granted…"
Goku's eyes lit up instantly, laughing a little.
The dragon's eyes flashed red repeatedly, a golden aura brightening around his body. A lightning bolt struck here and there. The waters churned rapidly, causing giant white caps and waves to clash upon the shore. After a few moments of this happening, things finally became calm.
"Your wish has been granted…I bid you farewell." A few more lightning bolts struck down, the clouds disappearing in the sky. The ocean's surface calmed eventually as the dragon became the single beam of light, then being sucked back down into the Dragon Balls. The seven of them lifted off the ground, spinning in circles as they shot off in different directions.
Goku slowly turned around, his eyes locking onto Krillin.
"…Krillin…" He smiled broadly, running as fast as he could across the sand and towards him. "Krillin!" He collapsed beside him just as his eyes began to open, placing a hand on his forehead.
"Uhh…Hey!"
"Krillin, you're back!" Goku hugged his best friend tightly, but quickly pulled back after he realized what he was doing, looking a bit embarrassed. "Uhh…Yeah." Krillin laughed a little.
"Hey, it's okay," he joked. His smile quickly disappeared, a slight frown of concern replacing it. "Goku…Is…He really gone?"
"Yeah…He didn't deserve to live after what he did to you, my best bud… What did he do to you, anyway?" Goku helped Krillin to his feet, letting him lean on him a bit.
"He snuck up behind me and WHAM…everything went black. That's all I remember…"
"Oh, wow…Well, we're all safe and that's all that really matters, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that again…" Krillin glanced over to the others and waved, smiling happily. They fell over. Bulma came running over to Krillin, scooping him up into her arms and hugging him.
"Yay! You're back, Krillin." She kissed him on the forehead, causing him to turn beet red.
"Uhh…Heh, heh."
They all laughed. Goku shook his head with a smirk, patting Krillin on the back.
"Great to have ya back, bud."
"Great to have you back, too, bro." - Owari
Sitting alongside a quiet flowing river, a young boy around the age of seven munched on an apple, his round and curious eyes glancing up and down the river.
"Goku!!" Krillin, another boy without a single strand of hair on his head, ran down the side of a steep riverbank. A large grin spread over his face as he caught sight of what the spiky black-haired kid was eating. "Where'd ya get it?"
"Hiya Krillin. Um, in that tree over there."
"Yay!" Krillin scrambled up the bank and sprung up into the apple tree.
Goku continued to munch happily on his apple, and tossed a few rocks into the river.
"OUCH!! Hey!" Goku winced as a couple apples hit him on the head. He sneered up at Krillin, who had a large sweat drop to one side of his head.
"Uh, sorry Goku!" he shouted down to him, leaping off the tree with an apple gripped in his hand. He slid down the bank next to Goku just as a rather short man with tall, black spiky hair appeared by the riverbank behind them.
The two boys, not noticing the dark man, continued to eat. Goku's monkey-like tail swayed back and forth behind him steadily, tossing the apple core into the river.
"Hello."
Goku quickly spun around.
"Uhh…Hi mister!" Goku blinked. Krillin leapt around in a fighting position. "No, it's okay Krillin." He just snorted and folded his arms.
"Who are ya?"
"No one special. Just dropping by, I suppose…"
"Uh-huh…sure you are! That's why you're wearing a black trench coat and holding a rifle in your hand…can't forget those sunglasses."
"KRILLIN!" Goku nudged Krillin in the gut.
The man chuckled.
"You got me there, son. Have you seen someone going by the name 'Goku'?…"
"Why d'you wanna know?" Krillin tossed his apple into the water.
"He seems to have something that I am looking for."
"Yeah? What would that be?"
"Do you know him, or not?"
"Answer the question!"
"Demanding, aren't we?"
Krillin's teeth clenched firmly as the man resisted.
Goku wasn't sure what to do at that point.
"I haven't a clue what he looks like…so I figured you two might be able to help me out."
"First tell me what you want from him! It isn't that hard…"
The man's hard gaze jumped to the unusually silent boy standing next to Krillin.
"Hmm…What's your name, boy?"
Goku froze.
"What do you want—?!"
"Shut up, boy!" The man lunged out two of his fingers, firing a daichretsuzan toward Krillin.
"Krillin!!" Goku pushed him out of the way, he being hit instead. He stumbled back slightly as he held the small wound on his arm.
The dark man smirked with a slow shake of his head.
"Again…what is your name, foolish boy?"
"It's Goku!" Goku leapt into his fighting position, ignoring the small wound.
"…You're Goku? But you're a mere boy…"
Goku's brows narrowed.
"You know what they say…you can't judge a book by its cover." He tightened his hands into tight-balled fists.
"So true…I see you have a point there," his eyes still had a look of doubt, "but, seriously…Others have told me that you…Err…Goku had some strong powers of his…your own. Is this true?" The man adjusted his sunglasses, then slipped them off the end of his nose, revealing a pair of dark maroon-colored eyes staring eerily at Goku.
Goku rolled his eyes.
"What should I tell you anything? You're just a mere stranger," he mocked.
"Goku!! Don't get him mad!"
"Heh, heh…you're very brave, I see…"
"Don't try me, mister! What do you want?"
"Hm…" The mysterious man suddenly disappeared. Goku and Krillin turned every which way, their jaws ajar. Within a moment, he appeared directly in front of Goku with his fist extended; gripping onto Goku's shirt and lifting him into the air. "That Dragon Ball!!"
"GOKU!!"
"Give it to me, boy! I demand yo—"
His words were quickly cut off due to a forceful blow to his stomach, sending him into the ground.
Goku held onto his reddened fist, his teeth clenched in pain.
"Man!"
"C'mon Goku! Let's run while we have the chance!" Krillin shouted to him.
Goku hesitated. His eye caught a glimpse of something round and an orangish color peeping out from the man's pouch held on his belt.
"A…" He snatched it up quickly, then running to Krillin. "C'mon!"
They flared up into the air and disappeared over the lightly snow- tipped mountains.
***
"Bulma! Master Roshi!!" Krillin burst through the doorway into the Kame House, soon followed by Goku.
"Krillin! Hey, Go—Is that a Dragon Ball?! How—" Bulma exclaimed, her eyes widening.
"Goku and I were by the river and this weird guy with a black trench coat, a gun, and a pair of sunglasses came along and he said he was looking for Goku and-and-and he threatened Goku to give him his Dragon Ball and Goku knocked him out and grabbed the Dragon Ball that the dude had and we flew off and now we're here!!" Krillin gasped for air, then collapsed onto the floor.
Master Roshi's eyes narrowed quickly.
"A man, eh? After the Dragon Balls…Hmm…" He scratched his chin for a moment, then his brows shot up. "Ah-hah! Was his hair black and spiky?…"
"Yea!" They shouted at the same time.
"Dark eyes?"
"Yea!"
"Hmm…Bulma, I think he may be King Vegeta."
She facefaulted.
"Vegeta's dad?"
"Yeah."
"Oh." She blinked. "WHAT?!"
"Yep, that's right. King Vegeta…"
"Uggghh…What's so great about those stinkin' Dragon Balls, anyway?" Oolong snorted.
"They grant wishes, stupid!" Krillin out-boasted with a roll of his eyes.
"Watch who you're callin' stupid, stupid!"
"Hey, stop it you two…The Dragon Balls , when all seven are brought together, call forth the eternal dragon. He grants wishes. I bet you guys King Vegeta's after the same thing most evil guys are after—immortality!" Bulma explained, her hands placed on her hips.
"You've got a point there, Bulma."
"Um, yeah…Of course I do." She folded her arms over her chest, nodding to Roshi.
"Looks like we've got another bad guy to kill!" Krillin cried, leaping up into the air with a large grin spread over his face eagerly.
"That too… But you must try to find the other five Dragon Balls before he does, or else it's all over," Master Roshi nodded his head. He disappeared through a doorway to his right. Popping out again, he held a Dragon Ball Radar device in his hand. "You'll need this, Goku." He tossed it to Goku, who caught it perfectly in his right hand. "It detects where the Dragon Balls are located around the world—"
"Around the world?!" Krillin out-bursted, his eyes wide.
"Yep."
"Holy cow!!" Krillin slapped a hand over his forehead.
"Um, when do we start?" Goku blinked, holding the small device in his hand.
"As soon as possible, Goku."
"Hey, c'mon Krillin!!" Goku grabbed onto Krillin's hand.
"Huh—?" He then yanked him out the front door, disappearing.
"Good luck you guys!!" Bulma shouted after the two as they flew off, waving her hand around.
"They'll need it…" Master Roshi muttered lowly under his breath, then making his way back into the house.
***
Scanning the area below, Goku and Krillin flew high up in the air, having left the other two Dragon Balls at Master Roshi's place.
"Hey, Goku…If we do meet up with this 'King Vegeta' character, d'we gotta fight him? I mean…He's got those huge guns…"
Goku just chuckled, holding out the Dragon Ball Radar.
"Hey, look!! A Dragon Ball!"
"Already?"
Goku pointed to a flashing and beeping round icon on the screen, and followed it to the ground.
They both landed gently on the ground, still holding the radar device. There, right in front of them, sat a Dragon Ball in a spiky bush.
"You can get it, Goku!" Krillin eyed the prickly bush.
"Um, k." Goku held his palm out toward the bush, and a small ball of energy charged up into his palm. Once to a medium size, he fired it at the bush, blowing it away. The Dragon Ball flew into the forest. "Quick!! Get it!" Goku scrambled after the ball, followed by Krillin. They disappeared in the darkened shadows of the deep woods, all sunlight being shut out by the thick-branched trees above their heads.
Goku turned his head from side-to-side, trying to find out where the Dragon Ball was.
"What the…?? It's moving?" Goku blinked at the beeping icon on the screen.
"Uhh…Goku," Krillin giggled, "look." He pointed to a small turtle with a curved in shell slowly walking by, the Dragon Ball sitting comfortably on its back.
"Hehe! Silly turtle!" Goku snatched the Dragon Ball up into his grip. "There you are, stupid thing." He stuffed the ball into a pouch tied to his navy blue belt. "Alrighty, we gotta find the other four."
"Oh, boy…" Krillin smacked a hand to his forehead, his eyes rolling back into his head.
"Aw, c'mon Krill!"
"Don't call me Kr…!!"
But before he could finish, Goku had yanked him away and rocketed up into the air with his Ki flaring.
***
King Vegeta pushed and shoved his way through a crowded street full of bustling people. His dark sunglasses hid his dark eyes, glancing around for any sign of the two who had stolen his Dragon Ball. Having two others back at his home base, he searched around for the lasting five.
"Friggin' kid…I'm gonna get him for taking one of my Dragon Balls…" he had grumbled.
Goku skid to a halt in mid air to take a look down into the busy street below. He spotted the same dark man they encountered before, shoving people aside.
"Krillin! It's him!"
He suddenly stopped, turning his head up toward the sky where the two were hovering.
"GO!!" Goku shot forward through the air, Krillin trailing through the sky.
"Oh shoot! D'you think he saw us??"
"Let's hope not," Goku turned his head over his shoulder, checking for King Vegeta. "No, he's not following us."
King Vegeta watched the two boys fly off. A sneer formed over his face quickly, sensing that Goku had a single Dragon Ball.
"They must be looking for them, too…" King Vegeta hovered off the ground, then *bukujyutsu'ng up into the sky.
*bukujyutsu – when one uses their ki, or energy; they're able to fly by surrounding themselves with it.
"Goku…"
"What?"
"Goku……!!"
"What Krillin??"
"G…AHH IT'S HIM!!" Krillin frantically bolted forward. King Vegeta shot after him.
"KRILLIN!" Goku flew up after the two of them.
"AH NO! He has the Dragon Ball, not me!"
"Exactly…now hold still you little punk!"
King Vegeta grabbed onto Krillin's leg, then disappeared before Goku could reach them.
"Hey! Krillin!" He glanced all around, finding no trace of them. "How's that possible…?" His eyes narrowed, uncertain, his palms turned to fists. "No… What'm I supposed to do now…?" Goku suddenly felt a strong presence of someone's Ki, but it was slowly drifting away. "Huh? Hey! It's gotta be Vegeta…" Goku flew forward, but the power decreased greatly. He fled into a different direction. It got slightly stronger, so he decided to follow in that direction.
***
"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Krillin scrambled to free himself.
"Not on your life, kid!"
"Where are we going?" He didn't even bother answering his question, having felt Goku's presence.
"Gosh darn it…won't he EVER give up?!"
"Goku?? Yay!"
"Shut up, idiot!" He sped forward across the sky, leaving a long trail of bluish Ki behind.
A large fortress-like castle appeared in view, the two flying towards it. Krillin continued to struggle in his grip as his eyes darted to the castle.
"Urrgh!! You're REALLY starting to tick me off now mister!"
King Vegeta kicked the large front door to the fortress open, carrying Krillin over his shoulder. He walked forwards into the shadows of the darkened castle. Just as the doors almost closed, Goku swooped through them and landed on the tile floor silently. The doors slammed shut, causing an echo to rattle through the giant room and lightly shake the floor.
He quickly lowered his power level so not to be sensed, and tiptoed after them down a hallway to the right.
"Where are we going??" Krillin mumbled out.
King Vegeta slipped through a doorway and into a musty room. Goku, not seeing him turn, continued sneaking down the hall.
"Just as I thought…" King Vegeta narrowed his eyes as he watched Goku pass the doorway. He suddenly disappeared, leaving Krillin to fall.
"YIPE!"
Goku stopped abruptly, no longer hearing their footsteps.
"Umm…"
"Looking for something…?"
Goku screamed, immediately leaping backwards.
"You!! Where's Krillin?"
"Goku! There you are!" Krillin came running down the hall, then skidding to a halt behind Goku.
"Hey you little brat! You were supposed to stay put!"
"YIPE…!!" Krillin hid behind Goku. "Y…You don't scare me! Ha."
Goku looked up at King Vegeta.
"Ummm…"
"Give me that Dragon Ball, Goku… You have no use for it." King Vegeta reached out his hand, palm flat. "Come on, son. Hand it over."
"Ummm…No?" Goku bit deeply into his hand, then flipping up into the air, sending a quick kick to his chin.
"AGGH! DARN KID!!"
Goku grabbed onto Krillin's hand and ran past King Vegeta, fleeing into the shadows.
"Goku, are you nuts?! He's gonna come after us!" He watched as Goku pulled out the Radar device. "Where are we going with that?"
"He has two Dragon Balls hidden here," he explained as they ran down the hall, "and we've gotta get 'em. C'mon! They're nearby." Goku yanked him into another hallway as they got closer to the hidden Dragon Balls.
As they ran through another hallway, Goku could feel Krillin's power level rise in tension.
"Krillin, lower your power level! He could track us."
"He can do that?"
"Yeah, so can I."
"No fair!!"
"Shh!" Goku leapt behind a wall, hearing footsteps near them. "KRILLIN!" Goku shouted in a whisper, pulling him behind the wall as well. Krillin shut his eyes tightly as a few guards passed by. As the footsteps grew faint, Krillin peered around the corner.
"Hey, who were those people?"
"Probably guards."
"Oh."
"C'mon, it looks like they're in this next room…"
Goku stepped cautiously in through a doorway, then his jaw dropped down as his brows shot up in awe.
"Dude!! This room is huge!" Goku's eyes darted all around, grinning. "It's like a gigantic training room with nothing but padded floors and such…" He walked forwards into the room just as his Radar device started to beep a bit faster. He glanced to the other side of the room, where a door sat. "Hey!" He ran to the other side, quickly opening the door. "The Dragon Radar says they're in here…"
Inside, a set of stairs stood in front of him with red carpeting all the way up to the top. At the very top sat a large glass box. The device started beeping extremely fast. Goku laughed out loud.
"Haha! Found 'em!!"
"And what do you think you're doing, hmm?"
"King Vegeta!" Goku spun around.
"Your power level, Goku," Krillin stood there, a dagger to his neck, "it's flaring…"
"I…"
"One false move and Krillin gets it, Goku. I'll only let him free if you give me your Dragon Ball…"
"Goku, don't do it! Don't let him have it!!"
Goku stood still, his eyes narrowed.
"Goku…!!"
Without moving a muscle, Goku grabbed hold of King Vegeta's shirt collar, using a special attack called Kanashibari no Jyutsu. Using his mind, he pried Krillin out of his grip, his eyes then darting to the other side of the room-sending King Vegeta flying.
"Whoa! You have to teach me that technique sometime!!"
"C'mon Krillin! Let's get those Dragon Balls and scram!"
But just before they got the chance to dart away, King Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of Krillin. Without giving him a chance to think, Vegeta plowed his elbow straight into Krillin's gut, knocking all the possible air out of his lungs. Bringing up both of his fists, he slammed them both down over Krillin's back, sending him forcefully into the ground-unconscious with a bit of blood trickling out the side of his mouth.
"KRILLIN!!" Goku reared back, darting at King Vegeta at full speed. He brought his leg up, sending a powerful kick straight into his side, immediately causing him to collapse to his knees. Goku leapt back, bringing both of his hands together in a cupped form. "KA…ME…HA…ME…HA!!!" A small ball of energy quickly grew into a large electrically charged ball of energy in the palms of Goku's hands. He fired the kamehameha toward King Vegeta, hitting him straight in the gut, which caused him to fly backwards into the floor. He lay there, unconscious. Goku began to breath steadily as he made his way up to Krillin, who was beginning to wake up. He knelt down beside him, placing a hand underneath his head for support as he slowly lifted him up off of the floor. "Krillin?"
"Yeah, Goku?…"
"You alright, buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm great…Hey, what happened?" Krillin pushed himself up off of the floor, but then he stumbled backwards a little from the wound.
"Whoa! Careful, Krill. Are you gonna be alright coming back with me to Master Roshi's place?"
"Yeah, I can do it. Come on, let's go before Veggie wakes back up…"
"Right."
They fled up the stairs with no hesitation. Goku quickly lifted the top of the case, Krillin then snatching up both of the Dragon Balls.
"Two more to go…" Goku bukujyutsu'd out of the room and down the hallway, closely followed by Krillin.
"Goku, how are we gonna get rid of him for good?"
"We can get Master Roshi or Yamucha to help us…or if we get the other two Dragon Balls, we could wish him away!"
"Oh, kay." Krillin held on tight to the Dragon Ball, not daring to let go. His eyes were narrowed straightforward, heading in the direction of the Kame House.
***
King Vegeta shoved a piece of wall off of him that fell on top of him from the forceful hit.
"I'm gonna get those kids…" Stumbling back onto his feet, he brushed himself off, just as he noticed that his radar device wasn't beeping at all. "WHAT?! They ran off with my Dragon Balls?! THOSE LITTLE BRATS!!" He flew through the ceiling, disappearing through the clouds.
***
"Look! There's Master Roshi!" Krillin pointed down to the bald-headed man sitting on his lawn chair, reading a hentai magazine. They dove down from the sky, then landed gently on the shore of the beach.
"Hey Master Roshi!!" They ran up to him, both having large smiles across their faces.
"We got three more!"
"Yeah, and two of them were at King Vegeta's place…it was huge!" Krillin spread his arms out with a giggle.
Master Roshi glanced to Krillin nervously.
"You were at King Vegeta's house…?"
"Nah, it's more like a castle!"
"We—" Roshi stopped, watching as Goku turned his head toward the sky behind him. "Goku?"
"Krillin! Grab the other two Dragon Balls from the house-quick!"
"Uh, right!" Krillin ran inside the house, then darted back out. Bulma chased after him.
"Wait! Carry the Dragon Balls in this!" Bulma tossed them a small bag.
Goku caught it in his hand, smirking.
"Thanks, Bulma!"
Krillin tossed Goku three of the Dragon Balls, he then stuffing them into the bag, along with the other two.
"Come on!!" Krillin shot up into the air, Goku flying up as well. He stopped suddenly, turning around to look at the two of them. "You two, act natural."
Bulma and Master Roshi glanced at each other questionably as Goku sped after Krillin, their Ki trails disappearing quickly. Bulma's eyes widened, her jaw dropping as well.
"M-MASTER ROSHI!!"
He glanced up at the sky, watching as King Vegeta swooped down onto the opposite side of the Kame House.
"He's here…!!"
"Shh, Bulma…"
At that moment, Oolong burst through the front door, screaming.
"BURGLAR!" He fell flat on his face, having tripped down the stairs.
They watched in awe as King Vegeta stepped out from the doorway, his hands made into tight-balled fists.
"Where are they??" He shouted at them through clenched teeth. "Answer me!!"
"Well, where are who?" Bulma said to him smoothly.
"Don't toy with me, you stupid girl!" King Vegeta's eyes darted over to Master Roshi. "Listen to me, you fool! You'd better answer me before I blow this whole place away!!"
Oolong scrambled up to his feet. His eyes were wide with fear as he backed away from King Vegeta.
"Uhh-Umm…who is that??"
An evil smirk crossed over King Vegeta's lips, a light snicker escaping him.
"Your worst nightmare…"
Oolong fell over anime-style, his leg twitching as it stuck up in the air.
Bulma placed her hands on her hips stubbornly, her bright blue eyes narrowed toward King Vegeta.
"Uhh…Hey, handsome…! What do ya say you come ova' here an' show me how strong ya really are…?" She winked toward him, a smirk over her face.
A large sweat drop dripped down the side of King Vegeta's head, his eyebrows having shot up in surprise.
"Uhh…"
"Your fly is down…" she said to him, giggling.
"Stupid woman! I don't even have a zipper!"
"Well, uh…what's that then?"
"What's what?!"
"Umm…" She flashed a look at Master Roshi as if she was saying, 'Say something!!'
Master Roshi just blinked a few times, a couple beads of sweat trickling down the side of his forehead. King Vegeta clenched his teeth in annoyance, his impatience growing.
"Tell me where they went!!"
Bulma thought quickly. She pointed randomly into the air.
"They went that way!"
"……………"
"Well they did…!"
King Vegeta grumbled, flaring his aura as he bukujyutsu'd into the air.
She placed her hands on her hips once again.
"Ugh! Men!!" She turned around, marching back into the house.
Master Roshi blinked.
Goku flew through the air, trying to keep his power level as low as possible. He swung the bag over his shoulder as he looked back at Krillin, who was unusually dragging behind by a bit.
"Ummm…Krill? You feeling' alright?"
"Yeah, just great Goku. Lead the way…"
His power level is a bit too low…Goku thought to himself. He scratched his head in question, shrugging to himself, and continued to fly forward as they searched further for the two missing Dragon Balls they had yet to find.
King Vegeta flew through the sky, his golden aura flaring around him wildly. His oval eyes focused straight ahead.
'I must find those Dragon Balls before those two brats do!!' he thought to himself, clenching his teeth.
Krillin grabbed onto his gut suddenly, his teeth clenching in pain. He came to a halt in mid air just as Goku swooped around, looking shocked.
"…Krillin??" Goku blinked..
He let go of his stomach, glancing over to Goku with narrowed eyes.
"It's nothing, Goku…Don't worry about it. I'm serious. We have to find those two other Dragon Balls…That's what's important right now."
Goku just stared at him silently for the next couple moments, his hands tightened into fists. Sweat trickled down his forehead nervously.
"Krillin…Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Come on, let's go before King Vegeta catches up to us…"
Goku nodded once slowly, turning to face the other direction as he led them forward once again.
The sun was slowly beginning to set overhead as the two boys neared their destination. Goku's radar device started beeping out of the blue, pointing out the nearest Dragon Ball.
"Look! Finally, the sixth one." Krillin managed to force a weak smile as Goku said this, looking as though he was trying to hide his pain. Goku glanced down below, there being acres and acres of forest.
"This is gonna be like trying to find a needle in a haystack…" Krillin mumbled, following Goku as he lowered down to an open meadow.
"Hmmm…" Goku began to walk forward, since the Dragon Ball seemed to be in that direction. "Follow me!" He ran toward the woods, his feet pattering against the soft grass. Krillin laggingly trailed after him, a slight limp holding him back.
The sun began to disappear behind the mountains as Goku followed the device deeper into the forest.
"Krillin, you hangin' in there? I think I almost got it…" Getting no response, Goku asked again, "…Krillin? Hey, bud, you there?" He turned around, seeing no one at all. "…Oh no, Krillin!" He clumsily stuffed the device into his belt, running back the way he came. Running all the way back to the field and finding no trace of him, Goku's heart began to race. "KRILLLLIINNN!!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the field. "No, Krillin! Don't desert me now…Krillin…" Something blue caught his eye. He dropped to his knees, lifting a blue piece of cloth from off of the ground. "A piece of his clothing…?" Goku snapped his head up, his eyes jumping from the cloth to a figure in the sky. His eyes widened, making the figure out. "Vegeta…" Goku quickly scrambled to his feet, gripping the cloth tightly in his hand. King Vegeta floated there, holding something…or someone in his hand. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't moving, but just hanging there limply like a dead body.
That made Goku's heart jump and his eyes flash open, his skin turning a ghostly pale. He then noticed some blood on the back of the blue cloth, flapping gently in the breeze as he examined it. A trail of blood suddenly seemed to appear before him, stopping abruptly a few feet in front of him. He could feel the warmth of his tears blur his vision, then a tear trickling down his cheek as he blinked them away…at first he couldn't find the words to say, stuttering and biting his tongue.
"K……Krill-in…" he had managed to mumble out. "Ho-How…could….you…" he said softly at first, "…HOW COULD YOU?!" Goku raged, a few veins popping from his neck. King Vegeta did nothing but smirk toward him. He instantly let go of Krillin, letting him fall to the ground. "NO!" Goku shot forward, catching him just before he hit the ground. Landing on the opposite side of the field, he lay Krillin down in a bed of grass. "……" His tear-streaked face turned to King Vegeta. "You beast…you will pay for this, Vegeta, and I will make sure of that! You have my word!!" he said with his left hand curled into a fist.
King Vegeta chuckled at this.
"I had to finish him off at one point…I was doing him a favor by putting him out of his misery, don't you see?" He let his arms drop to his sides casually. He watched as Goku's stare lingered on, his gleaming eyes transfixed on King Vegeta. "…Do you really think you can beat me, boy?…Well, you've got another thing coming…" He slowly lowered himself to the ground, still staring deeply at Goku. "Such a fool…" he said lowly to himself as he landed gently on the ground.
At that moment, Goku sped forward with brilliant speed, extending a fist forward as he came in contact with Vegeta. But just a few moments before he actually hit him, King Vegeta had grabbed a hold of Goku's fist, flinging him up and over his head. He forcefully slammed the boy headfirst into the ground afterward. Goku heaved himself up off the ground only to find King Vegeta's foot slam into his face, which sent him pummeling into the ground.
"You really shouldn't have started with me, Goku. See the mess you've gotten yourself into now?" King Vegeta turned to look down at him, but Goku had long since vanished. Goku, floating above his head unnoticed, was hiding his power completely. He threw his hands up and over his head, an energy ball forming in the palms of his hands. He lunged it down directly over King Vegeta's head, throwing him forward into the ground. Goku pulled his cupped hands to his left side, yet another glowing ball of energy forming in his palms.
"KA - ME - HA - ME - HA!!!" The ball jumped from being tiny to twice the size of Goku. "THIS IS FOR YOU, KRILLIN!" Goku lunged the gigantic energy ball in King Vegeta's direction, hitting him just as he began to pull himself to his feet.
"Foolish…*wince*…Boy…" He flung his arm up over his head, a flat disc-like shape forming in the flattened palm of his hand. Giving Goku hardly any time to think, he chucked the fully charged Kienzan at Goku like you would a Frisbee. He slipped aside, hoping to dodge the attack. It sliced through his left arm, causing a bit of blood to spurt out. He grasped onto the wound on his arm, his eyes clenching shut for a moment. Goku's eyes then flashed open, flipping out his right hand palm-forward, a bright blue ball appearing there as his aura flared blue. But before he was even near finishing off the attack, King Vegeta appeared beside him, bringing his left knee straight into Goku's wounded arm. Goku cried out in pain as King Vegeta sniggered at the sound of a satisfying crunch.
Goku's arm fell to his side limply as he hunched over, trying to ignore the pain the best he could. His left arm now broken, he had only one to fight and defend himself with.
"Give up, Goku…" King Vegeta slammed a fist into Goku's back. He collapsed to his knees, holding himself up with his good arm. He coughed up some blood, his eyes tightly shut.
"You don't…have to do this…Vegeta…" Goku tried to gather himself back to his feet as he said this. King Vegeta shrugged. He grabbed hold of the back of Goku's gi outfit, picking him up off the ground. Shaking his head slowly as he smirked, he held Goku there as he spoke.
"Such a pity, really…" He turned Goku so that he was now facing him. "I thought you were stronger than this, Goku…Much stronger. But I proved myself wrong, I suppose…" Goku didn't say anything for a few moments, his jaw open and his eyes halfway open. "Goku, Goku, Goku…Time is running out, and I must go soon. You can choose to give me the Dragon Balls now, or prepare to
die…"
Goku lifted his head to look at King Vegeta, still looking half- dazed. He growled, narrowing
his eyes.
"You pathetic excuse for a Saiyan! Do you really think that's going to scare the King of Saiyans off, hmmm??"
"Will you shut UP already?!" Goku tightened his fist, directing a blow into King Vegeta's stomach. He instantly dropped Goku, holding his gut in pain. Goku flipped up before he hit the ground. He brought his left knee flying into King Vegeta's chin, causing him to stumble backwards. He flared forwards, his aura flaring as he flip-kicked King Vegeta in the face. He fell to the ground, sprawled out on his back as Goku started to charge up an attack in his right hand. He gathered up energy for his finishing attack, a ball appearing in his hand. It wasn't like any other energy ball, no. It started flipping different colors as it grew, sparking here and there. It leapt from being his full size to thrice his size, the whole field brightening up. The grasses danced wildly in the wind created by the energy-consuming attack. Once it had reached its fullest size, Goku raised it above his head as beads of sweat trickled nervously down his forehead.
"T…THIS OUGTHA TEACH YOU, VEGETA!! I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO FIND A NEW AND IMPROVED KING AFTER I DESTROY YOU!! THIS IS ALSO FOR YOU, KRILLIN!" Goku raged, staring angrily down at King Vegeta as he said this. He sent one last jolt of energy through his body and into the attack, preparing himself. "AKUMAITOKOSEN!!" Goku heaved it backwards, then, in one forceful movement, lunged the giant attack down towards the ruthless king. He heard King Vegeta scream out in pain as the attack hit him straight in the back, killing him instantly. After coming in contact with the body, a blinding light flashed and filled the entire area.
Goku, completely out of breath and energy, fell limply to the ground as he still held onto his lifeless arm. He lay sprawled out on his back, having passed out…
Everything was silent for the next few minutes, not anyone or anything moving at all - not even a light breeze passed through the field.
Goku's eyes slowly fluttered open. He gently sat up, holding his broken arm close to him as his eyes focused. He couldn't sense King Vegeta's power level anymore, so he was finally gone…then he remembered: Krillin! Oh, Krillin…He pushed himself off the ground, making his way over to Krillin with a slight limp. He felt a few tears come to his eyes as he neared him, forcing him bite his lower lip to keep them from coming. He collapsed onto his knees next to him, watching as he lay there motionless.
"Krillin…Why did he have to do this to you? Why…?" He gently and slowly lifted his friend's head off of the ground, staring deeply into his lifeless eyes. He blinked, forcing a single tear down Goku's cheek. "…" He lowered his head back onto the ground with a light-hearted sigh, "…well, he's gone, now…" Goku turned his gaze to the sky, there being a hint of sunlight peeking up over the horizon. "My first day without…you…" Then it came to him: The Dragon Balls! He already knew where the sixth one was, so all he had to do was to find the seventh one and wish Krillin back! Yes, there was still hope…
Goku pushed himself onto his feet. He went to grab the radar device, but he grasped onto nothing but air. His heart sank.
"What?! No, it can't be!" He frantically started searching around for it, his heart beating rapidly. "I must've dropped it before…I should've been more careful! Stupid me!" He turned to look at Krillin. "Stay put…" Goku, still holding his arm, ran down the same path he had been down the day before in search of the sixth Dragon Ball. He ran along the path, looking this way and that for any sign of the device. "Got to find it, got to find it!" He stopped abruptly, hearing the faint sound of something beeping. "The Dragon Ball radar! But where?!" He suddenly spotted it lying on the ground near a large moss-covered rock. "There you a—!" As he went to grab it, he tripped over something, sending him face-first into the dirt. "Euch!" Goku spat out some of the dirt, then turning around to see what had tripped him. "Huh?…Hey, the sixth one! Just my luck…" Goku snatched up the sixth Dragon Ball, picking the device up as well. "I hope the seventh one isn't too far…" Goku pressed a button on the radar device, watching as it tried to locate the seventh one. "Darn it! No where around here…" Goku turned his head in the direction where the field was. "I can't leave Krillin out in the open like that…I have to take him back to Master Roshi's…" He decided to use the Nimbus to help carry Krillin back to the Kame House. Running back to the field where Krillin was, he called for his Nimbus, and watched as it landed in front of him. Picking Krillin up carefully by the shirt collar, he laid him down as gently as he could. Stepping up beside him, they flew up into the air and shot across the sky in the direction of the small island.
As they flew across the clear blue ocean water, Goku glanced down occasionally at Krillin. Seeing him like that gave Goku an uneasy feeling. He swallowed hard, and kept his gaze forward.
He guided the cloud down to the island once they'd reached it. Jumping off of the cloud, he dropped the bag off his shoulder. He turned towards the Kame House with narrowed eyes. He let out an exhausted sigh, and pressed on towards the house.
***
Master Roshi hit Oolong over the head.
"How dare you insult the way I fight! Do you really wanna see how strong I am?!"
Oolong huffed, sneering at the old man.
"Well, I—" Oolong was cut off due to the slamming of the side door. They all turned their attention to the noise. "Goku!!"
"Goku, you're back! Say, where's Krillin?"
"I need you to watch him while I find the seventh ball," he said to them, his dark eyes narrowed.
They blinked.
"Eh, what's that? Where's King Vegeta?…"
Goku turned his head away, tightening his good fist.
"He's gone, Master Roshi. He killed…Krillin, and I need to find the seventh ball to wish him back."
Master Roshi looked shocked.
"Who killed him?? Wowee!"
"…" Goku stared blankly at him. "I did."
They broke out into sudden laughter. Goku clenched his teeth in annoyance, still having his hand curled into a fist.
"You killed King Vegeta???"
"Hey, you guys!" What's goin' on here?" Bulma had walked into the room, a smile across her face. As soon as she spotted Goku standing in the doorway, she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Goku! You had me worried sick! I seriously thought some—"
"Ow, hey! Watch the arm…"
"Ohh, sorry…what happened?" Bulma pulled back from the hug.
"Just…Just watch Krillin for me, will you? I've got to find that last ball!"
"Wait, take this first." Master Roshi tossed Goku a single senzu bean. He caught it in his hand, then nodding thanks to Master Roshi. Without another word spoken, Goku darted out the front door and flew up into the sky, his aura engulfing his entire body.
Bulma watched has he took off, one hand over her eyes to keep out the sunlight.
"That was…Uh…Weird."
Goku held on tightly to the device, his palms being sweaty.
"Just one more, Goku…Just one more," he said lowly to himself, continuing to fly across the slightly cloudy sky. "Don't worry, Krillin…I'll bring you back to life. I promise…"
***
King Kai watched in his mind as Goku searched for the last ball. His antennas twitched uneasily.
"So, Krillin's no longer alive…" he mumbled out, his hands held behind his back. His pet monkey started to jump up and down, making noises. "Quiet, Bubbles!" He looked away for a moment. "Yes, I'll invite Krillin here…"
At almost that same instant, Krillin appeared on the ground. He rubbed his head slightly, moaning as he pushed himself off the ground.
"Uhh…King…Kai?!" He stumbled backwards onto his feet, looking rather shocked. "H…How'd I get here?" He blinked continuously. "And…To be here…I'd have to b-be…DEAD!" Krillin toppled over again.
King Kai shook his head slowly.
"Yes, Krillin…But Goku's going to try to save you. He's on his way to find the seventh Dragon Ball right now."
Krillin blinked.
"Wow…There's just no stopping that guy…" Krillin sighed happily, his hands behind his head. His arms suddenly dropped to his sides. "Wait! What happened to that King Vegeta guy??"
"Erm, well, he was destroyed."
Krillin's eyes widened.
"By who?"
"Goku…Goku destroyed King Vegeta."
"Wow! What a guy…"
***
"Wha!" Goku's device suddenly started beeping insanely. "Yes! Yes! Finally, the seventh Dragon Ball! Goku looked around in different directions, seeing that he was nearing it. He stopped abruptly in mid air, glancing below. 'It must be under the water…' he thought to himself, since no other land was around. "Well, here goes nothin'…" Goku plummeted towards the water, shoving his luckily water proof device into his belt. He slowed up a bit as he neared the surface of the water. Goku then dove headfirst into the freezing cold ocean, his once broken arm restored thanks to the senzu bean given to him by Master Roshi.
His heart seemingly skipped a beat just as he hit the surface of the water. His eyes shut tightly, the feeling of a thousand knives clashing against his body. Once Goku got used to the feeling, he pulled the radar device out from his belt again.
'This isn't gonna be fun…' he thought to himself, holding the screen out in front of him. Seeing that the beeping icon was to his left, he turned a bit, and right there sitting in front of him was the seventh ball. 'Wow!' he thought again. 'That was easy enough…' But just as he started to swim down towards it, something large jumped out at him. He rocketed backwards as soon as it lunged toward him, nearly dropping the device.
A pair of yellow diamond-shaped eyes gleamed hungrily at him. Goku glanced once to the Dragon Ball, then quickly back to the monster coming at him. Two large fins sprout out from its sides, along with a long spiked tail, swaying gently back and forth behind the creature. Without giving the boy any time to think it lunged out at him, jaw ajar - showing off rows of sharp, shimmering teeth. Goku shot backwards again, but he hadn't been quick enough. His pant leg caught on one of the many teeth. He tore it away before the monster had a chance to pull him forwards and capture him inside his mouth. Goku bukujyutsu'd around the monster. He stopped right behind its tail, his Ki trail disappearing. Before giving any time for the monster to turn around, he grabbed hold of its tail and without hesitating, started to swing it around in circles. He bukujyutsu'd up out of the water, bringing the beast up with him and continued to spin him in circles by his tail.
"Here - Goes - Nothin'!" After one last forceful swing, Goku let go of its tail, watching as the monster flew across the sky and disappeared from view. "Now…to get that ball."
***
Master Roshi and the others huddled around Krillin, blinking at him.
"Ummm…is he…Dead?" Oolong asked as he scratched his head in curiosity.
"Of course he's dead, stupid!" Master Roshi hit Oolong over the head with his cane.
"AH! We're hangin' around a dead guy?!"
"Ugh, Oolong! Leave poor Krillin alone." Bulma folded her slender arms across her chest.
"You mean poor dead Krillin."
"Listen - He won't be dead after Goku finds the seventh ball and wishes him back, got it? We just have to watch him until he does—!"
"Look! There's Goku now!" Oolong pointed out.
"Yay! Goku!!"
He swooped down from the sky, leaping down onto the soft sand. Running over to them, he waved the ball with a devious smirk across his face.
"Got it!"
He brushed aside his bangs as he stopped by the bag containing the other six. Opening the bag, he then dumped them out onto the ground.
"Err, Goku, this isn't exactly the best place to do that…" Oolong muttered to Goku.
He blinked.
"Oh, you're right…" Goku scooped them back into the bag and dropped the seventh one in as well. "I'll move them over here in the open." He ran out further onto the beach, farther away from the others and the Kame House. "This should do it…" He opened the bag back up, turning it upside down and watching as all seven landed with a thud on the milky white sand. "Now…how does it go again?" Goku scratched his head a little, blinking down at the Dragon Balls. "Umm…"
The others watched him curiously, waiting.
"Uhh…Open Sesame!!…?" Nothing happened. "…Come out, come out, where ever you are?"
***
King Kai twitched as a few beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
"What's he doing?" Krillin asked King Kai, sitting down against King Kai's little hut of a house.
"He's trying to summon the dragon…He doesn't know what to say. Mind coming over here and telling him how to do it, Krillin?"
His eyes widened.
"You mean…I can talk to him?"
"Yep, just put your hand on my shoulder and I'll contact you with Goku."
"Wow! Okay!" Krillin scrambled up to his feet, walking up to King Kai and doing as he told him so. King Kai directed a telepathic line between their after world and Earth, where Goku currently was.
"Talk to him!"
"Uh…Goku, can you hear me?"
"AH! Krillin?? Is that you? But how? No way, you're still dead! Am I going crazy??"
"CALM DOWN!! Jeez, Goku…I'm talking through King Kai. There's this telepathic line thingy…Umm, don't make me explain it."
"Ohhh…Uhhh…Cool! What's up?"
"GOKU!!I called to tell you how to summon the dragon."
"So…How?"
"…I'll do it for you," Krillin said deeply, narrowing his eyes. After clearing his throat, he started. "Eternal Dragon, Shenlong…I call you forth to grant me a single wish…"
Goku blinked.
"That's it—?"
"Sh!"
The seven Dragon Balls began to glow. Goku stepped back quickly as the light became brighter, then a large beam of light shot up into the clouds, parting them slightly. Wide-eyed, they stared; astonished, as the light took form as a long, slender dragon, with slanted blood-red eyes. It had a long, slender snout, having two catfish-like whiskers beside its nostrils. Up atop the dragon's head sat two horns, jutting out towards the heavens. He growled lowly, effectively shaking the land and waters around the tiny island.
Goku, in awe, stared up at the giant looming beast.
"W…" he stuttered. "Krillin, now what?…Krillin?" Goku's palms became sweaty.
"You have summoned the Eternal Dragon…you have one wish, and one wish only…" The dragon's giant voice made Goku stumble backwards and fall on his rear in the sand.
"Gah!…Umm…Mr. Dragon? Could you…I mean…I wish Krillin back to life…" he said strongly, pushing himself up off the sand.
"Mmm…" Shenlong's eyes flashed once. "Your wish shall be granted…"
Goku's eyes lit up instantly, laughing a little.
The dragon's eyes flashed red repeatedly, a golden aura brightening around his body. A lightning bolt struck here and there. The waters churned rapidly, causing giant white caps and waves to clash upon the shore. After a few moments of this happening, things finally became calm.
"Your wish has been granted…I bid you farewell." A few more lightning bolts struck down, the clouds disappearing in the sky. The ocean's surface calmed eventually as the dragon became the single beam of light, then being sucked back down into the Dragon Balls. The seven of them lifted off the ground, spinning in circles as they shot off in different directions.
Goku slowly turned around, his eyes locking onto Krillin.
"…Krillin…" He smiled broadly, running as fast as he could across the sand and towards him. "Krillin!" He collapsed beside him just as his eyes began to open, placing a hand on his forehead.
"Uhh…Hey!"
"Krillin, you're back!" Goku hugged his best friend tightly, but quickly pulled back after he realized what he was doing, looking a bit embarrassed. "Uhh…Yeah." Krillin laughed a little.
"Hey, it's okay," he joked. His smile quickly disappeared, a slight frown of concern replacing it. "Goku…Is…He really gone?"
"Yeah…He didn't deserve to live after what he did to you, my best bud… What did he do to you, anyway?" Goku helped Krillin to his feet, letting him lean on him a bit.
"He snuck up behind me and WHAM…everything went black. That's all I remember…"
"Oh, wow…Well, we're all safe and that's all that really matters, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that again…" Krillin glanced over to the others and waved, smiling happily. They fell over. Bulma came running over to Krillin, scooping him up into her arms and hugging him.
"Yay! You're back, Krillin." She kissed him on the forehead, causing him to turn beet red.
"Uhh…Heh, heh."
They all laughed. Goku shook his head with a smirk, patting Krillin on the back.
"Great to have ya back, bud."
"Great to have you back, too, bro." - Owari