Haru no Momo
The warm glow of the sun gently lifted over the horizon, greeting the world below with its live-giving light. As it climbed higher into dawn, the ghost-like mists in the forest-covered hills below began to part, waking the woodlands and making the steep mountain paths clearer. And as the mists thinned and revealed the steep path, three small travelers trudged, aiming to make it to the top of the mountain within the hour. These travelers, mounted in small, terribly old robot suits, were none other than Shou, Mai, and their ever-persistent leader, Pilaf.
They climbed higher for a few feet when Shou and Mai stopped, panting lightly. Pilaf growled and turned around. "Come ON you lazy slugs," the wrinkled blue raisin barked. "We're almost to the top, and that brings us one mountain closer to finally winning over that punk, Goku!"
Shou and Mai blinked. "One… mountain closer, sir?" Chou asked. "How many more are there?" It actually was a very valid question; they already knew the plan was do "finally get Goku," that hadn't changed any. But the question this time was how? Pilaf certainly seemed to know where he was going, but the rest of the group was completely in the dark about most of the entire project.
"Seven," Pilaf said flatly. "And then through the following valley, and straight on towards the sea. That's our first destination. And THEN, we come back through this way and head for Goku's!" The two stared in total disbelief. They would trudge up eight steep mountains, a valley, and then to the beach, only to turn around in the complete opposite direction and do it all over? It better be a damn good plan, Mai thought agitatedly. I'm getting too old for this.
As they reached the top of the mountain, Pilaf pointed across the land. "You see the beach far off there? At that beach is a powerful witch who has already promised me a no-fail bit of insurance. All the paychecks of yours that I've withheld for the past few weeks has gone to paying her for this insurance, even though she hasn't even told me what it is yet. Just that it will get me the dragonballs. And THAT is all that matters! Soon, I will have my revenge!" Pilaf burst into a set of mad laughter, shortly followed by a small bout of coughing and choking. They really were getting a tad old for this.
Yet as the two faithful workers of the insane blue raisin climbed up next to him, Pilaf lost his balance. The scrawny robot arms of Pilaf's small bot flailed desperately, frantically searching for something to get a hold of to regain balance. Something. Anything. Unfortunately, that something he grabbed just happened to be Shou and Mai. Caught completely off guard, the two were pulled off balance as well, and the three robot-clad wannabe baddies toppled back down the side of the mountain in a jumble of arms, legs, and well-edited curses, all the way back to the ground and ultimately shattering the morning glory.
**
Elsewhere, that same fresh morning light streamed warmly through the peach-colored gauze curtains in Yumi's bedroom window, gently waking the teenage android to greet the world with her responding warmth. A warm beam sifted across her bed and crawled up to her face, where she promptly shifted where she lay, rolling over lightly, struggling for just a few minutes more. Dreams were so sweet, so warm and pleasant; why wake? Yumi lifted a hand softly, blocking the bright light that invaded her eyes and interrupted her most lovely dreams and moaned softly as she came to the world of consciousness.
Peeking her pale blue eyes open slowly, she was quickly greeted by the soft tickles of very long whiskers and soft mouse fur. Chu-Chu swiftly scrambled up the drapes of Yumi's bed sheet and sat upon her chest, smiling sweetly (as much a mouse can smile, anyway). Yumi sighed with a soft laugh, smiling up at her beloved pet. "I suppose you're wanting breakfast?" she asked. Chu-Chu became very excited at the word of 'breakfast' and began trotting around her chest, bouncing up and down. Scooping him in her hands, Yumi stood up, pulling the sleeveless work-shirt off the chair by her bed and pulling it on. Instinctively, Chu-Chu climbed down her arm and nestled himself in the left breast pocket.
Yumi's apartment was small and clean, and didn't have much in the way of furniture. Aside from bed, dresser, futon and kotatsu, she only had a few small bookshelves and of course a high-tech scientific laboratory in the next room where she conducted her experiments to help better the human race.
As she rolled out of bed, a small robot that looked like a tiny flying saucer buzzed up, floating lightly over to her. With a small beep and a click, a small flatscreen flipped up, showing Yumi her schedule. Minor repairs at the garage, a trip down to Capsule Corp. to go over some new prototype designs, and an afternoon meeting with Trunks and Goten, who had been bribed into being Yumi's guinea pigs for an energy experiment.
**
"And you're CERTAIN that this will kill Goku? Like, he'll never come BACK? EVER?" Pilaf practically stood on the edge of his seat, his eyes wide and dreamy. Could he finally defeat Goku once and for all? The wrinkly old woman grinned, her hands neatly folded in her lap, which sat comfortably on her floating crystal ball.
"Yes. All you have to do is get him to eat one BITE of this magic peach, and it'll progress from there. First, he'll fall into a deep sleep, from which energy will slowly drain from his body. After there is no energy left in the body, the spirit will be banished to a plane of existence somewhere between life and death, and no dragonball wish could return it. After the peach is eaten, you have two hours to give him the antidote, or else they are banished forever to this plane.
"The antidote, however, will reverse the process to a degree. It will stop the energy drainage, and possibly return some. But there's still a good possibility that they can't return from the plan or don't want to. But it has to be administered before the two hours are up; a minute after, and the potion will be null and void. Have I made my instructions perfectly clear?"
Pilaf grinned like a maniac and nodded eagerly, tightly gripping the small purple vial with the antidote and placing it in his coat pocket, and very gently placing the magic peach in a velvet-lined box. "One bite and he's gone forever," Pilaf murmured, half-daydreaming. "I understand perfectly. Thank you SO much for your contributions!" Pilaf hopped down from the chair, and gave a sturdy shove to Shou and Mai to wake them. Their purchase made, it was time to head BACK over the mountains the way they came to finish off that pest once and for all.
Baba grinned as they left, and once out of earshot began cackling loudly. "Idiots," she laughed as she started counting out her money. "They only asked for a magic potion that COULD get rid of Goku. They never bothered to ask if he was still alive or not. Oh well, no refunds!" Baba gave another good cackle before returning to counting out her thick wad of money.
**