Dragon Ball C: Book 3
Prologue
Two suction cups slapped onto the flat surface of Dende's Lookout, the sucking motion of the cup adhering to the tiled surface. The mechanical arm attached to the cup yanked the robotic cockpit upward, closer to the top where the pilot could disembark to arrive at his destination.
"If they're gonna blow us up, I think we'd better get back to the base!" cried the dog-like creature, Sho that was sitting inside the vehicle with his Boss and his secondary companion.
"No, we won't! You will follow my orders!" roared Pilaf, the diminutive blue-skinned humanoid creature wearing a small hat with an orb on its top. "We go when I say we go!"
The floating structure shuddered again and a loud BOOM sounded within, eliciting bright lights from the windows. This activity was the source of Sho's concern, and indeed seemed to threaten the threesome's plan to land on the Lookout to achieve their goal.
Without any means of warning, an even more powerful explosion sounded from within, shaking the structure insanely, a blast of fire erupting to life out of the windows, which sent the vehicle shuddering, nearly breaking the tentative grip of the suction cup.
"Now, both of you pull! Get us over that edge!" cried Pilaf, very real fear gripping him as he watched the bright fire explode forth.
Neither Mai or Sho argued, working hard at the controls to propel them upward.
Son Goku cringed as his Kamehameha blast connected with Oob's flash of energy, the two beams of luminous energy colliding with a loud crack, which sent a reverberating wave of force roll over the entirety of Dende's Lookout.
Oob cried out and flexed his muscles, the tendrils of energy screeching loudly in protest of one another. He roared louder as the blue kamehameha seemed to be gaining ground, overwhelming his own blast.
NO! His thoughts screamed at him. I won't let myself lose!
His loud scream accompanied his bolstered beam, which flared intensely and penetrated through the bright blue wall of energy.
Son Goku noticed this new development and his eyes widened. He braced himself and his arms stiffened as the force assaulted him, all of the energy turning on him
Oob had improved quite noticeably and Son Goku smirked, a silent motion of approval for his student.
Goku's muscles bulged as he dislodged his arms from his own blast and sent an exploding blast into the center of the meeting tendrils of energy. The whole of the "chi" blasts themselves combusted, creating a gigantic explosion, forcing Goku and Oob into evasive action.
Pilaf, Mai, and Sho had finally reached the top, and were crawling out of the cockpit of the vehicle. The blue-hued miniature figure touched down onto the shaking tile floor, immediately heading for the inside structure.
"Finally, I did it! Now everyone to the dragon ball!" cried Pilaf as he rushed toward the door. His goons soon followed behind him, inside the lookout's interior. The floor itself began to crack, revealing intense light, followed by loud explosions of sound.
"Thanks to decades of gut-wrenching perseverance and research, this may very well be the last time we search for the dragon ball!" proclaimed Pilaf as he made his way throughout the halls, occasionally tripping from the violent state the structure was in. "By the day's end, my reckoning shall be at hand, and all of humanity will know the name of Emperor Pilaf!
"It will be synonymous with fear and rage! And power and strength!" He continued, searching throughout the bowels of the twisting halls. "…The world will know me as their King… King Emperor Pilaf!"
Yet another explosion shook the foundations of the area, sending the three falling over each other, the three trying to get their bearings confusedly.
Suddenly, it became quiet and the shaking ceased.
Dende and Mr. Popo had been waiting on the Lookout for Goku and Oob to return from their final training session. They had stayed there, enduring the constant rattling of their beloved home, and when all became quiet again, the Lookout was marred and all but destroyed.
The two stood up as Goku and Oob came into view.
"We're finished, Dende!" called Goku as he and Oob returned, side by side.
"Well?" replied Dende. "Don't give us any suspence; how did Oob do?" asked the God of Earth.
"He passed with flying colors," Goku explained, and he smiled. "I was really impressed! I have to admit, though, I haven't had a battle that wore me out this much since Freeza!"
"How does it feel to graduate, Oob?" asked Mr. Popo.
"Really good," answered Oob. He didn't go on further, for he collapsed from exhaustion a moment later.
"Oob! Are you okay?" asked Goku as he reached out to catch his falling pupil, but he ended up similarly collapsing.
Pilaf cackled hysterically as he was glowered over the pedestal that held seven dusty wish-granting balls.
"I found them!" he cried triumphantly. "At long last, I found them…" The tiny old man reached out and picked up one of the dirty orbs.
"They don't look like any Dragonballs I've ever seen," remarked Mai.
"Oh, they don't?" asked Pilaf rhetorically, as he wiped the top of the dusty ball with his sleeve, revealing a glassy orange sphere with one black star in the center. "Feast your eyes on this!"
"The star is black," observed the old woman.
"That's right, these are the black star dragon balls! They are more powerful than the normal ones because they were made when Kami and Piccolo were still one, long ago," explained Pilaf.
"If they're stronger, do they grant a stronger wish, or do you get more than one wish?" asked the old woman.
"Idiot," Pilaf interjected. "The wish is mine to make!"
A moment of silence passed.
"I order you to pick up the rest of the dragon balls immediately!" commanded Pilaf.
"Yes, Emperor," muttered Mai, beginning to collect the balls with Sho.
"I hope you're proud of yourself as we are, Oob!" Goku congratulated his graduated martial arts student. "You certainly have earned it,"
"Thanks for everything, you guys. I just hate to leave the Lookout like this!" said Oob, sweeping his arm out wide to encompass the nigh-demolished area.
"Don't worry about it, Oob. It's been through a lot worse. Mr. Popo and I can fix it right up, really! And besides, you've got to get back to your family—I'm sure they miss you,"
"Thanks, Dende," said Oob. "And Goku, I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything… You changed my life!"
Goku seized Oob's hand in a firm handshake.
"Hey, don't thank me," Goku insisted. "I got just as much out of it as you did. You're a great teacher."
"Really? That's funny Goku!" laughed Oob. He began to run to the edge of the Lookout. "I'll see you guys later!" The young man leaped off the edge. "Take care!"
The seven Black Star Dragonballs were dropped to the tiled floor, and Mai and Sho backed away from them as Pilaf made his approach.
"All we have ever worked for has culminated in this moment," remarked Pilaf. He then remained standing there in front of the balls, reveling in his glory to come.
He began to laugh maniacally, spreading his arms out to the sides.
"Rise!" He called to the orbs. "Rise, Shenlong!"
The sky grew dark and the balls began to glow. The glow altered from the soft glow to a brilliant brightness. Suddenly, that brightness exploded into motion, exploding upward into the sky in a serpentine maneuver, elongated and shifting incredibly to take the shape of a gigantic dragon. It grew and grew until the draconic figure, by a huge margin, was larger than Porunga, the humongous Namekian Dragon God.
Goku, Dende, and Mr. Popo exited the inside of the Lookout.
"Man, what a meal!" exclaimed Goku as he walked.
"The pleasure was all ours," said Dende, grinning.
"Thanks. But I think I had better get going home. I haven't been home in a few years, so I doubt that Chi-Chi will be happy with me," laughed Goku, but a distant light had him distracted.
"Why have you summoned me?" boomed the echoing draconic voice from above. The Dragon was red and impossibly large, its blue eyes penetrating and fierce as it stared down at those that summoned him.
Pilaf was speechless, and his cohorts were similarly unmoving, so intimidated and scared by the dragon were they. They all were silent for a few heartbeats until a voice from behind broke the hush.
"Hey, what's going on in there?" Son Goku called to the three.
Pilaf and his cronies jumped, startled by the arrival of this stranger. The boss spun on him, enraged by the interruption, but he blanched as he got a look at the man that looked back at him.
"It's him!" squealed Sho, backing off a step.
"Hey…" Goku greeted slowly. "I know you guys from somewhere, don't I?" he asked, considering the threesome. "I can't quite place it, but you look familiar,"
The three remained unmoving, and they seemed to have paled.
"…Do you know me?" asked the saiyan.
"It's Goku…that little brat that always got in the way of my greatness…" muttered Pilaf, staring at the saiyan in disbelief.
Recognition sparkled in the saiyan's eyes. "I remember you now! You're Emperor Pilaf, right?" Goku's face became grim as he considered the dragon. "All these years and you're still up to no good,"
"You've grown from being a huge nuisance into an even bigger one!" cried Pilaf, planting his palm into his face.
"Well, you're the bad guy—I'm supposed to stop your evil plans." reasoned Goku as he calmly stepped closer.
"Get away from me! Oh, I wish—"
A small explosion of "chi" at Pilaf's feet silenced him, cutting him off in midsentence, making him yelp and jump back in fright.
"That's enough out of you, Blue Guy." said Goku. "Times are good for me right now, and I really don't want to bother with you guys right now."
"Is that the case?" screamed Pilaf, outraged for his failure, which he previously thought would ultimately be his final victory. "Do you think the times I am in at this point are all fine and dandy? I hate losing! I wish that times were horrible for you again!"
In that instant, the eyes of the Red Shenlong flared blue, and an aura of dread washed over Son Goku.
In the background could be heard the music of Sandstorm by Darude.The world spun, Pilaf screamed, and Goku roared his outrage, because the world around him shifted unbelievably and he felt recognition course through him as he watched the events of the world blast backward in time. Gradually, the form and voice of Emperor Pilaf faded into nothingness before the petrified saiyan's eyes.
Red and blue hues twisted around him as he was hurled in an insane spin throughout the space-time continuum. His clothes trans-materialized into his original orange Gi, and dazzling lights flashed before his terrified countenance.