Act I
SON OF MAN
"At that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
(Luke 21:27)
Mount Paozu
Year XR752
He was near the end of his meditation when the images started. It was always the same woman, with black hair and blue eyes, on the ground, bleeding, weeping. She held something in her hands but he could never quite make out what it was. Lorah suk bhavantu, she cried, a foreign language he somehow understood. Until we meet again.
He wanted to help her. He couldn't move. Could only just watch.
And then the image changed. A castle in flames. Mushrooms the size of trees. A roar so fierce that it made the ground shake. A dragon. A wish.
His eyes shot open, setting on the other side of the room where the orange sphere rested on the table a midst his other belongings. His head hurt from the effort of trying to understand the things he saw. Curious, strange things. He couldn't make sense of it.
And the woman's words, lorah suk bhavantu, a goodbye. Her eyes, kind eyes, and a gentle soul.
Goku blinked. Shook his head. He was being ridiculous. Those things meant nothing. Were nothing. There was no woman, no castle, no dragon. No wish.
No grandpa.
It was just him. It'd been just him for a while now. Too long.
A faint glow caught his attention. The sphere was glowing. Goku's eyes widened. It had never done that before. He stood up and quickly crossed the room toward the object. Four tiny red stars danced inside the little globe. Alright. That he knew. That was familiar. He reached out and touched it – and immediately removed his hand as if he'd been shocked. The sphere was vibrating.
Air escaped his lips. What was it trying to do? Maybe… Maybe it wanted to tell him something. Like the images.
No, that didn't make any sense. The sphere couldn't talk. Nothing around him ever talked. He was used to the silence by now. The emptiness. He barely ever spoke anymore. He remembered a while ago when he was returning home after fishing, barefoot, and he hit his toes on a side table. He opened his mouth and let out a groan. The sound was scary. He realized he no longer recognize his own voice. It had changed. He had changed. He had looked at his reflection in the water that night and was surprised by what he saw.
Not a boy.
The thought made him grimace. He'd been a boy still when he'd lost his grandfather. And then time had come and gone, changing what he was on the outside, but the inside remained trapped, stuck, frozen. Alone with those images that wouldn't leave him be. Aloe but no in peace.
He longed for something to happen. He imagined a shift. The turn. The moment of transformation.
Perhaps... a wish. But also a fear.
The house suddenly felt overwhelmingly small. He needed to step out a minute. He needed air. Goku lingered at the front door, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin. He preferred to be outside. It was less quiet with the sounds of the animals. Less alone.
He stepped out and started heading toward the main road. It was the safest path across the mountain. He hadn't taken twenty steps when he heard a strange noise. He turned, a bit too slowly, heart racing, and never did see what collided with him.
His body hit the ground. Darkness.
Driving was, most likely, the best part of being sixteen. The wind in her hair, the power she had over the wheel – it made her feel like such a grown up. Her parents had forced the promise out of her that she would be careful, but where she was now, so far away from home, whatever promises she had made felt distant and unimportant. She was her own person here. Free.
The increasing speed brought a smile to her face. You couldn't race just anywhere, you know. This was one of the first places she was visiting where there was not a living soul nearby. The mountain spread on both sides of the road and all she could do was drive on forward.
The Radar beeped and she glanced down. It wasn't the most sophisticated device – in fact, the mechanism of it was rather very simple – but she doubted you could find one with such a defined objective. As far as she was concerned, this was the first tracking device with the sole purpose of finding that which she sought. She felt strangely attached to the thing – the first thing she had built herself, without her father's help or interference.
Pride widened her smile. The Radar said the next one was closer than she had anticipated. Amazed by her own wit, she returned her eyes to the road… a second too late... and the Jeep hit someone. The person hit the ground with a sickening thud. She slammed her foot on the brakes.
She had to take in several deep breaths before she mustered enough courage to get out of the Jeep. Her legs were shaking. She stumbled toward her victim.
"Oh, crap…" She covered her mouth with her hands and blinked away a few tears. She knew she should try to help him, but she could not bring herself to touch him. What if he was dead? How would she explain that to her father? And Mom! Mom would die of heartbreak! "Please, please, don't be dead," she muttered. "Please…"
A million possibilities went through her head. She found herself returning to the simplest of them. Maybe… well, maybe she should just leave. Right? He was most likely dead. There was no denying it – she had hit him hard. It wouldn't make a difference if she told anyone or even if she moved him… It all had happened so fast, she could hardly be blamed!
The boy moaned. The girl screamed.
She watched, in shock, as he moved, sitting down, caressing his head like he had banged it on a shelf or something. His nose was bleeding, but not overly so. He stood up and looked past her like she was invisible.
"What… What in the world…?" He was staring, awe-eyed at her Jeep.
"Hey!" she shouted, coming out of her shock. "You little shit—What are you—You're fine! How are you fine?"
Before she could blink, he moved, so fast she barely saw it, and then he was standing before her, closer than she would've liked. "You're a… You're a girl." He grin, as if proud of himself for putting it together.
She measured her next words very carefully. "No. Shit. Sherlock."
That got no reaction out of him.
"Yes, you are correct. I am a girl," she said with a sigh. "That's my car." She gestured to the Jeep.
"Oh!"
"And I didn't realize this was a private property, otherwise I'd–"
"I know about cars," he cut her off which annoyed her to no end. "I had never seen one before, but Grandpa says they're very useful. That's how you came here? In a car?" He looked at her with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were curious. Eager. They had a longing in them that seemed odd for someone so young.
He had to be younger than her, she thought. Maybe… fifteen? He was a little shorter than her which she liked. His clothes were pretty ordinary, not to say sloppy, with a gross looking fur belt. The way he spoke told her he must have led a very simple life. His shaggy hair was black as coal and looked unwashed.
"Yes, in a car," she replied, trying to keep the sarcasm to a minimum but probably failing. "Listen, kid, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd love more to just leave. So bye."
"No, don't leave!" He reached out to grab her arm but stopped before touching her. He was unsure. A little nervous. "I, uh… Would you like to… uh…"
Ugh. What a sap.
"Look, you seem like you're struggling there, buddy, so let me clear the air. I'm on a mission. A very important mission. And I don't have all the time in the world. So I must get going, alright? I'm sorry I hit you with my car. Tell your grandfather that I promise I'll be more careful next time, okay? See ya!"
She had one foot inside the Jeep when he spoke again.
"He's dead."
Oh.
She instinctively glanced at him which was a mistake. His eyes were pleading. And she was screwed.
She couldn't resist. She let out a curse under her breath and slammed the Jeep's door close.
""Riiiight. Umm… So I was wondering… Would you be so kind to offer me something to drink?" She supposed that would be no harm in that. Surely she could spare a few hours. She had been driving for five days straight; she was starting to feel a little stiff.
And the smile that brought to the boy's face. Oh, she was such a sucker for the tortured souls.
The boy gladly lead her to his house. He kept quiet, but he was excited, she could tell. He kept looking over his shoulder, checking that she was still there. He looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite put the words together.
She decided to give him a nudge. "What? If you have something to say, just say it." Not very tactful, but then again she had never been accused of being that.
"Oh, I..." he hesitated. "Um, I wasn't going to say anything 'cause I didn't want to make you feel bad, but... what happened to your tail?"
Her… tail? She blinked. What tail?
"I beg you a pardon?" she said, fighting the urge to check her behind.
"You don't have to beg," he said.
"I—" she choked when she saw it. The thing she assumed was a belt moved. Brown furred snake wiggling about him, coming straight out of his– "Oh, what the f–" She looked away, disgusted. That wasn't right.
"Please, don't feel bad," the boy said, sounding regretful. "I didn't mean to upset you. I was just… wondering. Anyway, do you… do you have a name? I'm Goku."
There it was. A strange name for a strange boy.
She reached out her hand. "Bulma Brief."
He smiled again, but instead of taking her hand, he looked puzzled.
"You're supposed to shake it."
He shook it.
"Bulma Brief," he said energetically, "come with me. I will feed you."
To sharks hopefully.
"Hell, as long as you're the one doing the cooking," she conceded.
He was mesmerized. The girl moved beside him with grace and charm and confidence. She spoke fluidly, fast, sometimes too fast and he was dizzy trying to keep up. Sometimes she would glance at him with suspicion which he found a bit unsettling.
He wanted her trust, he realized. He wanted to earn that.
He tried not to stare too much. She had a nice face, he found, with peachy skin and large green eyes like emeralds. He had never seen eyes like hers. It was new and exciting and elating.
The color of her hair was so fascinating he could barely keep his hands from touching it. The way it moved around her face… it looked soft and it smelled good. She wore simple clothes, jeans and a pink T-shirt, paired with brown boots and a big belt with a dozen pockets. She carried a purple backpack over her shoulder.
When they reached the house, she muttered something that sounded like 'cute' but didn't show any real interest. It was when she stepped inside that she let out a squeal and rushed across the room. Too late he realized what she was going for. She grabbed the orange sphere and raised to her eyes.
"Hey," he called. He didn't like the possessive look in her eyes. "That's mine."
She turned to him with ferocity. "Where the hell did you get a Dragon Ball?"
The sphere started to glow again. So bright it almost blinded him. Goku looked straight at it and again the images flew before his eyes. The woman. The fire. The dragon.
He gasped. "Why… Why is it doing that?"
She looked from the sphere to him. "It's reacting to mine." She set her backpack on the ground, opened the zipper and showed him its contents. Two orange spheres identical to his.
Goku could scarcely believe it. His wasn't the only one. He hesitantly brushed a finger over one of the spheres and felt it vibrate. He looked up at Bulma. "What are they?"
There was a glimmer in her eyes almost as bright as the glow from the spheres. "I told you. They're Dragon Balls."
Goku repeated the words with awe. So that's what they were. Surely Grandpa hadn't known or he would have told Goku all about it. But what were they for? Before he could ask, Bulma set the three Dragon Balls together over the table and sat down. Goku followed suit.
"There are seven of them scattered around the world," she went on. "I found Ryanshinchu in my attic, four years ago. For you, it's the two stars ball. I was so fascinated by it, I started to research how to find the other ones and I discovered many incredible things. Long after, I found the five stars ball, the Ushinchu, near the North Valley. Now I'm looking for more."
Goku's head was spinning. He had to fight the urge to ask her to repeat everything. "I don't… But why, though? What do you want with them? What are they for?"
Bulma smirked and bent toward him over the table. Her eyes were so intense he almost had to look away. "Would you really like to know, man-boy? Then answer me this first. How did you get yours?"
The answer to that was a simple one. The issue was if he was prepared to give it. He hadn't share anything about his life with anyone in forever and he barely knew this girl. Yet, something propelled him forward. She knew things he longed for. And to have it, one must give it.
"My grandfather gave it to me for my eleventh birthday," he revealed. "It was the last thing he gave me before he…" Goku swallowed. This was hard. "He didn't tell me what it was. I guess he didn't know."
Goku remembered that night like it'd been yesterday. A cold night. A bright night. And the answer his grandpa had given him when he had asked what the sphere was. I believe it to be a great variety of things. To me… the humility of gentlemen and the pride of warriors. What it is going to be to you, that you must find out for yourself.
"Did he tell you where he got it?" Bulma asked.
Keep it always with you, Goku.
"No. He didn't."
She watched him for a moment, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. She nodded. "Alright. So here's the thing, Monkey Boy. By themselves, the Dragon Balls have no power. You could've kept Sushinchu forever and never know what you had. But here's the thing. When you bring all seven Dragon Balls together, the great Dragon God Shenron appears, and he grants you a wish."
A wish.
Lorah suk bhavantu.
Until we meet again.
"So what you're saying is that… if… if I find all seven of them, I could ask for my grandpa back?"
Bulma pursed her lips at that. "I… I don't know."
That sounded like a lie.
She cleared her throat. "What I do know is that the last man to gather all seven Dragon Balls was made a king."
"But they can be anywhere, you said? Anywhere in the whole world?"
Bulma grinned. "Well, you didn't think it would be easy, did you?"
Goku supposed not. Nothing good ever was.
"Alright," he said. "You've convinced me. I'm going with you."
She started at that. "You… what?"
"I want to find the Dragon Balls."
Bulma didn't look interested. She was going to say no. What could he do if she did? He didn't have anything to offer beside the Sushinchu and nothing would make him part with it.
He felt terrified for a moment. That he had missed his chance. That she would walk away and he would have to go back to his boring old life. How could he? There was no going back now. He could only move forward and forward was her.
He wanted to speak, to compel her to take him with her, but he didn't need to. She had made up her mind. She reached out her hand to him again. He shook it.
Finally he would leave.
Until we meet again.