Chapter Fiftyfive: The Land of Korin

Dawn came cool and clear to the mountains in the land of Korin. The air blew swift and clear as creatures awoke. The birds chirped. The fish swam, and the creatures of the wood made their living.

Or so Yamcha assumed. He'd been up here flying a plane for a while now. 'How close are we Puar?'

'We're almost there Yamcha!' said Puar 'Do you think we'll get there before the Red Ribbon Army?'

'Sure,' said Yamcha 'remember we've got the most precise dragonradar ever made. By my girlfriend the biggest genius in the world.'


The sun beat down upon General Blue as he rode on camelback in the general direction of the Red Ribbon Army HQ. It was sweltering hot in this desert and he was sweating all over.

'What I wouldn't give for some conditioner.' muttered Blue. 'This heat is absolutely murdering my hair. It's those little brats' fault that I'm stranded out here like this. I promise they're is going to pay for every single split end.'

A pool ball was shot, and knocked a ball in the triangle into their holes. Red switched his cigar to the other side of his mouth as heheard a knock. 'Enter!'

The door opened and Black was silhoeutted in light. 'Excuse me sir, but Brief's other party has been spotted heading west, just as you expected. Brief's herself has gone off the radar since Blue took her dragonball, however it is likely they will be heading to meet up with the rest of their group.' Red took his shot and walked forward.

'Hmm, right into the hands of Captain Yellow.' mused Red. 'That reminds me, has he been able to locate the dragonball yet?'

'No sir.' said Black 'He's had quite a few setbacks.'

'Well that figures.' said Red 'Enough! I've had it with all these silly games!' He took another shot and knocked the remaining balls into the nets.


It was an active vulcano this time. Captain Yellow could hardly believe the bad luck which he'd had during all this. Every time they came within reach of the ball, some disaster interfered to take it out of their hands. It was as though Kami himself conspired against them.

But that was ridiculous, Kami didn't exist.

As men cut through the dirt with picks and shovels and heavy machinery operated, Yellow, a large orange tiger, wiped sweat from his brow and patched. 'Buffoons, they've been digging here for days now, and no results.'

He got a call on his walkie talkie and brought it up. 'What ya want?'

'Captain Yellow sir, we have located the dragonball.' said a man 'I am looking at it right now.'

Yellow walked up to meet the man and stood beside him. 'Where is it?'

'It's down there sir.' said the man, pointing down.

Down into the active vulcano which he could see lava bubbling at the bottom of. Yellow raised his binoculars and looked closely. 'I don't see anything.'

'Look closer to the edge of the crater sir, it's there.'

Yellow did look. And there it was. 'Well how about that. Stop the presses. You've done something right for once.'

'I don't know how we're going to retrieve it-'

'The helicoptor imbacile!' snapped Yellow 'We'll take the helicoptor into the vulcano!'

'Yes sir!'

Knowing their luck there would be an eruption.


Deep within the forests of the land of Korin there was a tower. Not as tower like you or I could see or build. It was tall, taller than the tallest mountains. It reached up and up and up, inlaid with many strange symbols.

And at the base of this tower lived Upa and his father, Bora. Upa was small, but dexterous and happy to learn. More than anything he admired his father, who was a huge giant of a man with bulging muscles and many scars.

One day as they stood by a river, Upa looked down into it. 'I'm going to grow up and catch all the fish in the ocean!'

'Son,' said Father 'you should not take more than you need.' He raised his spear. 'If you respect nature, she will always take care of you.'

For a long moment the great hunter stood there, as still as a statue made of bronze. Gazing into the waters, Upa marveled at his father. He was the strongest and greatest man in the world.

Then he threw his spear. It shot forward like a bolt of thunder and struck something in the river. Drawing it back with a rope, Bora caught the spear and held aloft a huge fish.

'Yay, that was so fast!' said Upa 'Oh daddy, you're the best!'

Then a huge fish leaped out from the water and devoured the top of the spear whole. Bora looked in frustration as the fish landed in the water and disappeared. Then the same fish came out of the water, mouth bared as it went straight for Upa. Upa cried out in fear.

Then Bora was there. He kicked the fish into the air, before punching it up against the cliff as it fell. It hit the rock and fell dead to the ground. Upa ran to his father's leg and cried.

'Daddy…' he said.

'Do not cry.' said Bora 'We were never in any danger. We live under the watchful eye of the guardian.' Reaching down he picked up his son and put him on his shoulder. 'We must thank him for protecting us from harm.'

The buzzing of the helicoptor was music to Yellow's ears. Finally after weeks of endless searching they had an eye on the dragonball, and now they could get down to business. The coptor flew over the vulcano and down from it came a man in a super heat resistant enviromental suits. Of course it would be no good against direct contact by lava, but it would allow one to be a few feet away and live.

'I have it, now get me out of here!' cried the man.

'Come on…' said Yellow.

And then the mountain exploded.

There was a scream from the man in the enviromental suit before he was consumed by a tide of lava which exploded over the edge. The men scattered in fear, abandoning machinery to be melted and destroyed as the camp was overrun with lava. A number of men didn't get away in time and were burned alive.

Poor bastards.

The rest fled to their coptors and rose into the air just in time.

Even as they did so the mountain seemed to burst and lava poured forth from the ground. As they flew away, Yellow raised his com and opened a channel. 'Call back headquarters and tell them to find out exactly where the dragonball has gone.'

'Yes captain,' said the soldier 'calling base. Base come in. Come in base.'

'West,' came the response 'the dragonball has moved approximately five miles to the west.'

'Troops,' said Yellow 'head west immediately.'


Far away, Upa dropped the firewood he had been gathering and looked up to the mountain. The very earth was shaking, and he wondered what had made it angry. Father looked with him to where a great cloud of smoke was rising over the mountain, as liquid fire consumed everything beneath it.

'W-what's happening?' asked Upa.

'Mount Kana has been disturbed.' said Father 'Something is wrong.'

Then great balls of flaming rock descended on them. One landed near Upa, knocking him from his feet as others came behind it. Father leaped forward and shielded Upa with his body. The rocks struck him again and again, and Father grunted in pain as the shower continued.

Finally it ended and Father arose to look up. 'It's over.'

'Daddy, are you okay?' asked Upa.

'Yes,' said Father 'no damage done.'

Upa looked around and noted that their teepee and lands had been left undamaged. Still many of the red hot stones were cooling in the grass around them. It was a good thing they hadn't started a forest fire.

Upa made his way among them and then spotted something. It was an orange ball with a number of red stars on it. Reaching forward he picked it up, then yelped as heat surged through his hand. The ball flew from his grip and landed by Father.

As Upa blew on his hands, Father picked up the ball and examined it. 'Hmm…'

'What is that thing?' asked Upa.

'I do not know.' admitted Father 'I've never seen such an object before.'

Upa marveled at its smooth surface, and how it fgleamed in the sunlight. 'It's so pretty.'

As Yellow flew through the air he scanned the trees below. This wasn't going to be fun. The trees were dense and thick, and what they were looking for could have landed anywhere.

'The jungle…' he muttered 'Won't be easy to find a dragonball in there. Whatever, this is as good a place as any to set up camp. Soldiers, prepare to land!'

Father suddenly looked up and Upa followed his gaze. Great birds were coming toward them, though they had very small and straight wings. Their beaks were shiny and they had no visible eyes. Upa huddled close to Father.

'Daddy, those gigantic birds are going to land on us.' he said.

'Those are not birds, little one.' said Father 'Those are vehicles called helicoptors.'

As the helicoptors landed they kicked up a huge cloud of dust. The blades on the top of their heads sloed gradually. Then out of them came an orange tiger, along with a number of other men clad in strange clothes. They approachedi with a swaggering look about them.

They saw Upa and Father and Upa became afraid.

'Well,' said the tiger 'I can't believe anyone would live out here by choice.'

'Who are you?' asked Father.

'Oh yes,' said the tiger 'I'm Captain Yellow of the Red Ribbon Army. We'll be setting up our headquarters right here.'

'Here?' asked Father.

'Yep,' said Yellow 'and there's plenty of work to go around so we could put a big fella like you to good use.'

'No thanks.' said Father. 'You must leave. This is no place for people like you. Now go.'

Yellow's eyes flashed. 'I wasn't asking.' He raised a black tube. 'For your permission.'

The other men all raised their larger tubes as well. Father tensed as he looked at them. Upa ran for cover and watched from behind the teepee. Father was about to fight the bad men.

There was a deadly silence.

'Captain Yellow,' said a man 'do you see what's in his hand?'

Yellow looked to the orange ball. His eyes widened and his hand shook. 'The dragonball!' He raised a hand. 'Now hand it over you painted peasant!'

'You will receive nothing from me.' said Father.

'Whatever,' said Yellow 'pulverize him.'

There was a noise like thunder and the tubes in their hands began to flash at the end. Many small things Upa could not see began to hit Father in the chest, sending off sparks as Father groaned beneath the impact. On and on it went.

And then all fell silent.

Father was still standing, without a scratch. The bad men stared in awe and horror as the smoke from their weapons faded away with a wind.

'What the…' began one.

'No way…' said another.

'Guns are but useless toys!' cried Father 'Get me my spear, Upa!'

'Sure, dad.' said Upa, rushing into the teepee. He snatched the spear from where it hung and brought it out to hurl through the air. Father caught it, and readied himself for a spring.

'Do you have any idea who you're tangling with?' asked Yellow 'You'd better turn over the ball, before you get hurt!'

'The ball is of no concern to me.' said Father 'But this is sacred land and I am here to protect it. You must pay for the destruction you have caused.'

'Sacred land?' laughed Yellow 'You gotta be kidding me, this dump?'

'It's the truth.' said Father 'The guardian of our people was born here. And this beautiful monument was built to honor him. He still lives here today above us at the top of the tower. Leave here, otherwise prepare to face my wrath.'

A man slipped behind a tree, looking to ambush Father. He drew the pin from a green ball and prepared to throw. But Father turned around and hurled it spear. The weapon pierced his chest and pinned him to the tree. The ball fell from his hand and exploded.

'Men!' cried Yellow 'Destroy him!'

They opened fire with what Father called guns again to much the same mistake. They made a lot of noise and scared some birds, but Father didn't even flinch. He just stood there, like a mountain, taking it with ease.

'Don't you see!' he cried 'Guns can't hurt me!'

Then surging forward he punched a punch and laid him low. Bringing around a leg he kicked another in the chest. With his hands and feet he systematically demolished all the bad men. And nothing they could do could stop him.

With a cry of fear Yellow rushed into his plane and flew away. Father watched him go. 'Good riddance.'

'Whoa,' said Upa as he ran to his father. 'daddy.'

Father hoisted up a number of the unconscious men and looked to him seriously. 'Stay here while I dispose of these troublemakers.'

'Okay.' said Upa.

Upa watched Father carry them off with stars in his eyes. When he grew up he wanted to be just like Father. But he had a long way to go before he was anywhere near his level. It was something to work for.


In the Red Ribbon Army HQ Black looked up as a man ran up to him and saluted. 'Sir, Captain Yellow sounds frantic! He's calling on the radio right now!'

Black took the phone and put it to his ear. What was it this time? Yellow's operation had been one long procession of slow burn disasters. 'Captain?' he said.

He heard Yellow's words. They were the same words which Black had been hearing an awful lot lately.

'What!' said Black 'The men were overpowered and only you could escape?! What happened to the dragonball?!'

'We uh… we ran into a bit of a snag.' said Yellow.

'Enough of your excuses Yellow!' snapped Black 'Retrieve the dragonball at all costs! It's more valuable to this army than your life!'

'Sir I… understand.' said Yellow 'I'll try harder.'

'Can't you handle anything right?!' came a snarl.

'Commander Red,' said Black turning to give him the phone.

'Listen up Yellow:' said Red

Yellow's response was terrified. Black couldn't hear it but he knew it.

'You have exactly one hour.' said Red 'That is sixty short minutes to bring me the dragonball or else I'll be forced to send in Tao.'

Tao? That was a name more dreaded than any other in the Red Ribbon Army. It was used only for the most grave of threats. 'But sir…' said Black 'Mercenary Tao… isn't that a bit excessive?'

'Can it!' roared Red 'I need the ball and Briefs eradicated so that I can complete my plans.' He turned his attention back to the phone. 'Of course if you fail, Tao will exterminate you along with whoever else gets in his way. Keep that in mind, Yellow.''

Red listened to something, then smiled and hung up the phone. 'Our enemy has a son. Yellow will use the boy as a bargaining chip to get the dragonball. Or he'd better, or else…'

He marched off muttering. Red was in a bad mood. People died when his moods were bad, so everyone did their best to look busy.


While Father was off throwing the helicoptors off the edge of a cliff, Upa had gotten to work cooking fish. It was something he had a lot of talent for, cooking. Much more than he did for hunting, though he wasn't proud of the fact. Still the aroma produced by roasted fish was delicious as always.

'I bet dad's gonna be really hungry when he gets back.' mused Upa.

Then something grabbed him from behind and he was dragged up into the air. Crying out in fear, Upa saw the world getting smaller and smaller as wind rushed around him like a tempest. He cried and screamed as the hand held him aloft.

Yellow held him aloft.

He saw Father below. 'Daddy, help me!'

'Oh no, Upa!' cried Father.

'Hang on kid,' said Yellow 'now, where's your pop?'

'What do you want with my son?!' roared Father.

'Aw, there's your devoted daddy!' sneered Yellow.

'Daddy!' cried Upa.

'Now listen up,' said Yellow 'if you ever want to see your son back, give me the ball! Just toss it right to me! Understand!'

Father raised the ball. 'Here is your ball, come down here and get it!'

'No way!' said Yellow 'That's a trick! You'll kill me if I go down there! Throw it to me!'

'No!' roared Father 'I am true to my word! I am not as despicable as you!'

'Help me!' cried Upa.

And then another plane surged out of nowhere. The cockpit opened and out of it surged a black haired man dressed in green and orange. He lashed out with one fist and Yellow reeled backwards. Down fell Upa, but just as he seemed about to hit the ground, beneath him formed a black canvass table. As Upa hit the canvass, it bent beneath him to slow his fall and Upa was bounced off to land lightly on the ground.

The trampoline then transformed into a blue cat who went near them. 'Are you all right?'

'Yes…' said Upa 'Who are you?'

'I'm Puar.' said the cat. 'And my friend is Yamcha.'

Then the man landed near them without fear or injury. 'Hey Puar that was a pretty sweet move turning into a trampoline that quickly. Nice thinking. Bout time we saw some action.'

'Thank you for saving my son.' said Father, coming up.

'No problem,' said Yamcha 'it's kind of our thing actually. These Red Ribbon creeps have been causing all kinds of trouble lately.' Then he caught sight of the orange ball. 'The dragonball… that's probably why they came after you.'

'So you are looking for the ball too.' guessed Father.

'Mostly to keep it out of their hands.' said Yamcha 'Though we've got a couple of plans.'

'What is this dragonball and why do so many search for it?' asked Father.

'It's… a bit of a long story.' admitted Yamcha.

Upa was looking forward to hearing it.


In his office General Red looked up as a shadow passed overhead. The room became chilled as a figure walked in. The pink and red outfit he wore did nothing to take away from his menace, for snickering at it was a sure way to die painfully. Red did his best not to gulp as the figure approached his desk.

'I'm Mercenary Tao.' he said 'At your service.'

There had been no notification of Tao entering the compound. He simply did, and no one had noted his coming before he entered the room. Red was very glad that Mercenary Tao was not at someone else's service right now.


Authors Note:

So I have something of an apology to make. The last few chapters have been a step down in quality, and I feel I should explain why. I have never watched Dr. Slump. As a result of this I have less than no interest in the characters who are all cameoing. I don't even know most of their names.

I write from emotion. As in, I imagine an emotional state for the character and then put it to page. Since I do not know the cast of Dr. Slump I cannot manufacture emotions without fearing that I am in some way breaking canon.

As a result of this I felt obligated to cut out anything which was not directly related to the narrative with Kakarot and Chi Chi. However now we are out of the dark places and dealing with a plotline I have been looking forward to for quite some time now.

This is why I updated sooner. I had more interest.