Chapter 26 – Gather the Dragonballs
The flight over the sea took what felt like forever to Chiri; she found herself trailing behind Tenshinhan and Krillin who were leading her in a north-western direction. It was a while before they reached the coast and even then, they spent a further hour and a half skimming its rim, following it westbound until finally it curved away to the north, leaving them to travel out over the vast ocean once again. All the way there – wherever there was, Chiri couldn't remember – she kept silent, not making conversation with either man. Her thoughts were elsewhere, still brooding over how she felt abandoned by her father. He hadn't taken her to train. He'd promised he would train her on the condition she would work her hardest. She'd promised she would: she wanted to get stronger. So why had he left without her? Why had he only taken Gohan and Trunks with him?
"We're almost there!" Krillin's voice barely passed her ears over the howl of the winds rushing past them. The horizon before them was beginning to look bumpy and uneven, suggesting they were nearing the coastline once more.
"Where's there?" Chiri called over the rush of the wind but no one answered. She sunk back into her metaphorical shell and continued to dwell in her disappointment and sorrow. Was she really that weak? Did he not see any potential in her at all? Or was he trying to shield her from all the danger? What good would that do? She wanted to be out there with her dad and her brother, protecting other people rather than being protected herself. She could do something, she knew she could! Why did he not see it?
The coast soon passed below them, sandy beaches quickly replaced by vast, sweeping deserts which twisted and turned until it turned to greenery, then forests. Before they knew it, Korin Tower had appeared before them. Having been on auto-pilot the entire journey as her thoughts had practically absorbed her, Chiri only became aware of her surroundings as the two guys leading her began to fly vertically rather than horizontally! Chiri's eyes passed over the tall form of the tower, instantly she was brought back to yesterday. She'd been here not so long ago. Yamcha had been here too as they'd come to collect senzu beans to heal his wound... Chiri shuddered as the wall she'd built began to crack; that brave fighter had died here yesterday. She'd been powerless to stop it, powerless to do anything to Cell.
She had to get stronger! Why was her dad letting her willingness to grow go to waste?
The top of the tower quickly vanished from view, Krillin barely catching a glimpse of Yajirobe and Korin as they passed them by, now flying towards the lookout. Neither he nor Tenshinhan expected to see what awaited them. The trio emerged from the bottom of the lookout and ascended higher into the atmosphere before descending and landing in the middle of the lookout. Krillin glanced around, sensing there were people inside of the palace as no one was currently outside waiting for them.
"With luck their training will have paid off," Tenshinhan muttered.
"Strange, I can't sense Vegeta or Trunks anywhere... I'm not so sure if that's a good or bad thing," Krillin noted.
"Krillin!" Krillin and Tenshinhan turned to see Gohan emerging from the lookout looking pleased and surprised to see them. "Krillin, guess who's here!"
Neither Krillin nor Tenshinhan had time to ask what he was talking about before the young Namekian boy made himself present, appearing from the palace entrance looking just as cheerful as Gohan.
"Dende!" Krillin gasped with disbelief. "What are you doing here?! Did all the Namekians move back to Earth or something?"
Chiri hadn't been paying much attention up until now, seeing a small green boy out of the corner of her eye. She didn't recognise him but figured he was probably a Namekian since he looked like a miniature Piccolo! Who was he and why was he here? Was he Kami? That couldn't be him: she thought Kami had fused with Piccolo... or something like that. She felt she was missing out on something here. Another thing she was being singled out from.
The little Namekian seemed pleased to see Krillin and informed him, Tenshinhan and Chiri about his new role as guardian of Earth. Both adults – particularly Krillin – were thrilled to find out that Dende had also rejuvenated their set of Dragonballs. Chiri had no idea how such a thing was possible but she was pleased to know there could be a way to bring back Yamcha and all those other people who'd been hurt. Now all that remained was finding a way to beat all those bad guys roaming around below them. Her standing around and waiting wasn't going to make her stronger.
"Daddy, when are you gonna make me stronger too?" She inquired, butting into the small conversation occurring between the adults. All sets of eyes fell upon her; Chiri didn't particularly like being the centre of attention but right now she felt she needed to be. She had to address the troubling thoughts in her mind to ease the fears that her father had changed his mind about her.
"Couldn't Chiri come into the Room of Spirit and Time with us, Father?" Gohan suggested.
"Well... It's only built for two people in mind," Goku was hesitant to answer. He could see a flicker in his daughter's face; it was subtle but he'd grown a keen eye for spotting it over the years. He'd usually see it in his offspring's mother. There was always a subtle glimmer of anger bubbling away under that initial calm exterior and it would rise to the surface whenever she grew angry. It normally showed itself whenever Goku was trying to persuade her to let him train the children, or take them away from something she considered important. Chichi's temper was fiery and she could become physically violent if provoked the wrong way, it was a rare occurrence but it existed. Goku could handle Chichi at her worst, he knew to let the fury run its course and then console whatever remained of her once it was out of her system. He wasn't entirely sure yet how to handle it in his daughter and he had the feeling he was about to have to experiment.
He had no intention of taking Chiri into the room with Gohan. No, he needed to focus his full attention upon his son's power and harness it. Gohan was an incredible powerhouse when provoked enough; he was also older and had far more experience in battle. He'd practically grown up with the feel of threat constantly around him and had been in more than his fair share of dangerous, deadly battles. He was only ten but he had been moulded by the fight, he knew how to prioritise and when push came to shove, his heart and mind tended to be in the right place. It was a trait that Goku himself wasn't sure he'd inherited from him but it was valuable. Gohan would be an excellent fighter and was an excellent fighter for his age. That wasn't to say Chiri was pale in comparison; her childhood had been different from Gohan's. The only battle she'd ever been involved in was short-lived; she did not fully understand the feelings of loss and fear of dying. She was only just coming to grips with it. Goku couldn't push her further by getting her to train under the extreme circumstances the Room of Spirit and Time would put them all under.
"I can share a bed with Gohan, we've done that before," Chiri was quick off the mark.
Goku felt as if he were a mouse being cornered by a cat which was about ready to deal the killing blow. He was quickly running out of ideas to keep his youngest happy and knew this would not end well. Yet by some miracle, it was Krillin who saved him. "Before we get ourselves into a family spat, you should know that Seventeen, Eighteen and Sixteen made an appearance yesterday."
"They what?" Piccolo stammered.
"They somehow found Kame House – we think Gero may have given them some of the locations you regularly visit," Tenshinhan explained. "Anyway, they left as soon as they found out you weren't there and headed off in a north-west direction. Our worry is that they're either making their way to Capsule Corp in West City or they're coming here."
"If they head to West City, Bulma, baby Trunks and the whole city will be in real trouble!" Gohan exclaimed with concern. "Father, we have to do something!"
"Don't worry," Goku responded calmly, "No one in West City is going to be hurt." He turned to Piccolo, who silently nodded. "You guys are right; chances are they'll either go to West City and look for me there, or they'll come heading in this direction. Piccolo: take Krillin and Chiri over to Capsule Corp. Vegeta and Trunks aren't due out of the Room of Spirit and Time for another three hours so you're probably our best chance of saving the people of West City. Chiri and Krillin, follow Piccolo to Capsule Corp. We may as well start collecting the Dragonballs; that will be your primary job. Get the radar from Bulma and go from there."
"What about us, Dad?" Gohan asked.
"We'll stay here with Tenshinhan. If the androids come for Korin Tower or the lookout, we'll just have to do our best." Goku instructed. "If things get bad, we can always interrupt Trunks and Vegeta's training. I'm sure if it does come down to it, those two should be more than strong enough by now to stand a chance against them."
And so Chiri found herself once again on the move, this time in the presence of Krillin and Piccolo. The trio headed mainly east across the ever-changing continent, eventually passing over the coastline. The sea seemed calm and tranquil from way up in the sky, yet Chiri paid little attention to the sight her eyes focused on. She was once more deep in thought, stewing over how events had unfolded. Not only had her dad refused to agree to take her into that special room, he'd avoided the subject as soon as he could! Chiri sighed remorsefully; it looked like it was going to be up to her and her alone to make sure she grew stronger. Why didn't her dad want to train her? Did he not like her as much as Gohan? She didn't understand it and it was highly distressing for her, especially at her age. On the other hand, at least he'd given her a role to play, even if it wasn't one revolving around battle. It felt good to know that she could help to bring those killed back to life with her own hands. Plus she'd grown quite fond of Krillin and his company and would much preferred him assisting over some of the other, angrier-looking friends of her father!
The trio soon arrived on the outskirts of West City. Chiri had very vague recollections of being here before but wasn't sure whether she was getting mixed up with some other city such as East City! Either way, she was completely blown back by the sheer number of buildings and ki signals she could feel below as she was led towards a large yellow dome-shaped building. Despite their distance from their apparent destination, she could easily make out the word 'capsule' written across the building and quickly concluded that this building was where they were heading for. This was Miss Bulma' home: Capsule Corp.
Piccolo and Krillin descended at the same time, Chiri hot on their heels. The three landed outside the main entrance on the lawn, Chiri scanning their immediate surroundings. It was a very spacious place compared to how tightly packed a lot of the other buildings were. There were a few smaller buildings inside the perimeter wall but none really grabbed her interest. Instead, her eyes fell before her and she silently followed the two warriors through the entrance doors of the main building. Her eyes quickly darted around as she took in the chic room, admiring the large fish tank opposite them and to their left. As Krillin began talking to the receptionist (Piccolo remaining outside of the building for some reason), Chiri wandered over to this large tank, watching as a small silvery fish fluttered about the tank, circling some fake coral before becoming lost within the greenery at the bottom. There seemed to be a couple dozen fish, all with plenty of room to swim without squashing up. Chiri rested her hands upon the glass frame and pressed her nose to the glass, watching closely as one fish broke from the school and came over to investigate, its beady eyes looking directly at the young girl before it soon lost interest and swam to the right. Chiri felt she could stay here forever, just watching the fish swim around calmly in their beautifully decorated, spacious tank...
"Piccolo, what are your plans for now?" Krillin asked as he poked his head around the entrance to the building. He'd just received the go-ahead from the receptionist that it was ok to enter since they were friends of Bulma Brief and Miss Brief had authorised them to enter. The receptionist had handed over a couple of visitor passes to the short fighter – three in all – and had instructed them to wear them since they would need identification.
"... I'm going to remain here," Piccolo slowly answered, not making any attempt to make eye contact with Krillin as he seemed to be mulling over his decision. "If the androids do decide to come here looking for Goku, the people of West City shouldn't be in any real danger if I'm here to protect them."
Krillin nodded silently, still falling head over heels with how Piccolo's personality had changed since his fusion with Kami. It would take some time getting used to him talking about protecting the people not so long ago he set out to destroy. "Wanna come in?"
"No, I'd prefer to stay out here."
"Suit yourself, but if you change your mind I know Bulma and her family won't mind," Krillin turned and passed one of the visitor passes back up to the receptionist. "One of our party wishes to remain outside the building. He won't cause you any hassle."
The receptionist nodded, not fully comprehending what Krillin was saying and a little baffled by their friend's choice to stay outside the building. Nevertheless she took the pass and continued on with her work, keeping one eye on the two visitors. Krillin was headed over towards Chiri who still seemed mesmerised by the fish tank. The receptionist looked up again, watching the two as Krillin approached the young girl. She couldn't help but notice how much they seemed to be dressed for a fight; she could have sworn those were dojo uniforms. Now she thought about it, she was sure she'd seen the short gentleman here before a few years ago...
"Hey you," Krillin prodded Chiri on the back of her head with one finger, jolting the child from her mesmerised state. "Put this pass around your neck and follow me. We've gotta go find Bulma."
"What is this?" Chiri asked as she took the pass from Krillin, examining it carefully.
"It's a pass to say we're allowed to be walking through the building," Krillin explained. "We have to wear these so that if anyone who works here sees us, they'll know we haven't broken into the building and that we've signed in at the reception lobby here."
Chiri observed the small pass a little more before putting her head through the wide band, letting the pass hang from her neck. She suddenly felt quite important having this piece of vital information and smiled triumphantly, "I guess we're really important people to have these on, huh Krillin!"
"S-Sure, why not," Krillin snorted. "I think Bulma's still in the lab. If we're lucky, I should remember which way to go!"
Unfortunately Krillin's memory was not as reliable as he'd hoped and the two spent the next ten or fifteen minutes – or maybe it was two hours, Chiri wasn't sure – looking around for the entrance to the laboratories. Eventually a member of staff found them and directed them to a map, indicating that Miss Brief was working on the upper floors of the labs, fixing up some sort of gadget in her own private lab room. Rumours had always spread about this particular room designated only for the heiress to the Capsule Corporation empire and about what would go on behind those closed doors. Only she and her father had access to that room, leading many to believe that confidential papers and plans had been kept in that room. Naturally this had lead to some rogue employees attempting to break into this room – many rival companies had sent in spies to infiltrate the company and spill its secrets in order to gain a competitive edge. Unfortunately for them, no one had made it past the immense security measures set up around this particular room to spill any secrets to their competitors! No one knew what had happened to those who'd tried to break in, none had been seen since their futile attempts. Rumours were powerful things and many employees heeded the somewhat bizarre stories and kept themselves away from the feared lab room, not wanting to be the next employee to meet a mysterious and supposedly unpleasant end...
Krillin had no knowledge of such rumours and was perplexed by the many worried looks given to he and Chiri as they continued their way down the many corridors to said lab room. Chiri followed on auto-pilot, far too busy looking around at the many sets of doors leading off into separate rooms. She was so engulfed in her observations that she nearly walked into Krillin as he stopped before the door! The short fighter gave a small tap on the door, "Bulma, you in there?"
"Come on in!" A muffled voice came from the other side of the door. Within a couple of seconds, the door itself slid sideways into the wall, startling Chiri as she'd never seen a door move in such a way before! The room was larger than it appeared outside, almost looking like a storage cupboard before they'd entered! Chiri's eyes wandered even more across this new environment, noting how observant she'd been today. There was no natural lighting coming through and the room held a bluish glow to it from the machines and Bulma's computer monitor. As they stepped in, Chiri felt the carpet suddenly become smoother, realising the tiled flooring was reflecting the shapes and contours of all the objects within the room. Bulma had been sat at a small work-desk, a set of spanners and screws and metal parts scattered across it. The blue-haired woman was wandering back to her seat after letting the two visitors in via the keypad lock upon the wall; upon reaching her chair she sat herself back down and leaned back into her chair. "So what can I do for you guys? You wouldn't believe how hard I've been working to help you guys out! I've got something to show you!"
Chiri frowned, noticing the dark circles under the beautiful woman's eyes: had she slept at all since those androids first appeared a couple of days ago? If Chiri'd done the same thing, she'd have gotten a large telling-off from her mother, not to mention be banned from going outside and be forced to spend all day doing more work than usual. It was a horrible but effective punishment and Chiri dared not pull a stunt like this. Miss Bulma was lucky not to be punished for being naughty and not sleeping!
"Can it wait?" Krillin asked, quickly putting his hands up defensively when Bulma shot him a cold look. "S-Sorry Bulma but we're in a real hurry. Long story short, we've got a new set of Dragonballs because Dende – that little Namekian boy we befriended when we visited Namek – became the new guardian. Now Chiri and I are here to collect the Dragonball radar from you so we can gather the Dragonballs."
"Wow, Dende became the new guardian? I didn't realise he could even do that!" Bulma gasped with amazement and surprise. "How did you even get him to agree to this – and since when could he even create Dragonballs? I don't really understand this, there're so many unanswered questions!" She rose from her seat and strode across the room to a smaller, bare desk. Pulling open one of the drawers to the left, she retrieved a small gadget Chiri didn't recognise, or at least she didn't think she did! Bulma passed the gadget over to Krillin's waiting hands, the fighter very eager to take it from her.
"Thanks Bulma, I wish we could stay to explain it to you but time's really tight," Krillin smiled. "I'm sorry to say I've got some pretty jarring news for you too. You might want to get in contact with the local police force or something because there's a good chance the androids could come here. They're still looking for Goku and they seem to know the locations of where he usually hangs around and where we all live. They came to Kame House yesterday searching for him."
"Is everyone there alright?" Bulma asked nervously. "What happened? Are Trunks and Vegeta ok?"
"Everyone is ok," Chiri perked up, feeling a little anxious after being reminded about her close brush with stupidity. She'd made the bizarre request of fighting those androids in her father's place and what had they done? Chiri should really have been thankful they decided not to take her up on her offer, she was sure she wouldn't be standing in this large building if they'd thought otherwise...
"Trunks and Vegeta are with Goku and Gohan training at Kami's Lookout," Krillin explained, still eager to leave as soon as they could. "Tenshinhan's with them. Piccolo's here too but he's keeping an eye on outside. If the androids do come here, he'll be the one to fight them. We think they'll either come here or go to Korin Tower looking for him."
"You should leave here," Chiri added with a tone of concern. "You have to get yourself and everyone who works here out of this city. If the androids do come here then they'll all get hurt."
"... How long do you reckon it'd take them to get here if they left Kame House yesterday?" Bulma asked nervously. "I hope they don't get here too quickly... You guys really should go. I've got something that needs a little tweaking but if I manage to complete it before the androids show up and blow us all up, I might just have a little surprise for them!"
Neither Krillin nor Chiri fully understood what Bulma was referring to but Krillin was in too much of a rush to ask. With the radar in their possession, he bid the heiress farewell, adding that she should leave while she still could, to which Bulma reiterated she'd come to no harm providing she could finish her latest project! This left both Krillin and Chiri wondering what it was she was making that made her feel so sure she could do anything against these terrifying foes. Nevertheless finding the exit was a lot quicker thanks to the signs leading them towards it! (Apparently a lot of new employees would get themselves lost looking for it so Dr Brief had put signs up – or so said one employee!) They passed their visitor badges back to the receptionist who bid them a safe journey.
Piccolo still stood leaning against the outer wall of the building. Sensing the two leave the large complex, he left his spot and ventured over towards them. "I assume you were successful?"
"Yep," Krillin nodded. "Got the radar. You sure you wanna stay here and miss out on the fun of Dragonball-hunting?" He wasn't expecting an answer and didn't get one other than a narrowing of the eyes from Piccolo! Ignoring him, Krillin turned to Chiri: "You ready to go?"
"Yeah," Chiri nodded eagerly, suddenly feeling more excited about this search than earlier. Whether it was because she would be doing something proactive or because she'd never gone Dragonball hunting before, she wasn't sure! There was something about the prospect of finding these balls which made her feel she was useful, even if her original desire had been to assist in the fighting.
With that, the two short warriors flared up their auras and bolted from the ground up into the air. Krillin held the radar in his hand and pressed the small button on the top, switching the little gadget on. Immediately several dots began to flash upon the screen, all scattered across the landscape and seas of the world. Krillin sighed with relief when he noticed all the balls seemed to thankfully be on some sort of landmass and not under water. That would make their search a lot easier. Focusing on the closest ball to their current location, he turned he and Chiri northbound.
"So how does that thing work?" Chiri asked, eyes fixated on the small and peculiar device Krillin had gotten from Bulma.
"Well these dots on here are Dragonballs," Krillin showed the inquisitive child the screen and pointed to one of the seven dots still blinking on the display. "The Dragonballs give off a distinctive energy source and this radar picks it up. It'd be nearly impossible to find them without this so we really do owe Bulma a lot of credit for making this!"
"Really? Miss Bulma's really lucky to be so smart and really pretty too," Chiri mused more to herself than to Krillin. "How long do you think it will take us to find the Dragonballs?"
"Hopefully not too long," Krillin responded, although he had his concerns. 'With any luck we'll be able to stay away from the androids and from Cell! That Android Thirteen may be stronger than Seventeen and Eighteen and I don't want to think about how powerful Cell probably now is! His power jumped up dramatically when he took Yamcha's life... as morbid and horrible as it sounds, I'm glad it wasn't Piccolo or any of the Saiyans otherwise I dread to think of what might happen...' His eyes shifted over to Chiri, who was now staring ahead concentrating on their flight. 'Poor kid, I wonder what seeing such a horrible thing has done to her... It's gotta have at least scarred her. Gohan wasn't exactly willing to fight when he started seeing everyone be killed around us against the Saiyans but he gave it a shot. Chiri seems to have reacted differently. She doesn't seem scared or fearful like her brother did, she seems almost calm as if nothing of the sort could have happened... but it's gotta show itself. Maybe not now but it will, soon.'
The duo continued their flight across the continent, leaving the vast and crowded West City over the horizon.