Chapter 2: Bulma and the Dragon Balls
Grandpa Gohan walked up the mountain with intense concentration. The man was getting old, but these early morning hikes were important for him so that he could stay in shape. The life of a Martial Artist such as himself was one of constant self-improvement, after all!
He held a large staff in his right hand which helped him to climb quickly, sort of acting as a walking stick. On his back, he had a bag that held his two adoptive children, Kale and Kakarot, inside. Although they were only babies, they were extremely powerful and destructive. They would constantly bite and destroy things all around them, and would constantly fight with each other. This particular day though, their fighting was a bit too much, even for their standards.
"Children, please stop fighting. This is a very tall mountain, and you might accidentally hurt yourselves and fall off," Grandpa Gohan warned. He was extremely tired from his hike, but he thought it would be right to warn them.
Of course, since the two of them were babies, they didn't really understand their adoptive grandfather's warning. They continued to pull each other's hair, push each other using their hands, and all sorts of dangerous things.
Suddenly, Kakarot pushed his sister a bit too hard, and she was pushed out of the bag. Grandpa Gohan was quick to notice this and attempted to catch her, but it was too late. The young baby was thrown off of the cliff, and was now in free-fall!
Kale let out a cry as she fell towards her certain doom. However, the world around her began to morph. She was now older, and it was nighttime. She looked to her right and to her horror saw Grandpa Gohan attempt to fight off some sort of giant ape creature.
"Grandpa Gohan! LOOK OUT!" she cried. But it was too late. The monster brought its enormous foot down and crushed her grandfather! It then brought its foot up and continued its rampage.
She ran up to her Grandfather with tears in her eyes. She began to shake his body. "Grandpa Gohan! Wake up!" she cried. Suddenly, she looked up and her eyes widened as the giant ape was about to crush her as well.
"KALE!" was the last thing she heard.
Kale woke up immediately in a cold sweat, panting uncontrollably. She was in bed, in her room. She looked to her right to see Grandpa Gohan smiling.
"Finally, you're awake! From the look on your face, I can guess that you must have had a terrifying dream!" he said with a smile.
Tears collected in Kale's eyes as she hugged him. "Oh Grandpa! I had that same terrible dream!" she cried.
Grandpa Gohan smiled and patted his adoptive child's pat. "Again? That's the fifth time this week! But you have to remember that everything is okay. You may have hit your head when you were younger, but you survived!"
Kale sniffled. "Well, what about the time where Kakarot turned into a giant monkey?"
Gohan stood up and patted Kale on the head. "Don't worry about that! You saved me in the nick of time back then! Now come on, those clothes won't hang up themselves! Get dressed and go do your chores."
Grandpa Gohan left and Kale sighed. Apparently, she was extremely violent as a child. However, after her brother accidentally pushed her off a mountain, she became well-mannered and polite. She was basically now the complete opposite of him. She wondered what he was doing now…
Kakarot grinned to himself as he pulled an enormous fish behind him. He was wearing a blue Gi with a white obi. It was his job around the house to get food. Although he didn't particularly like doing chores, especially since he was sent to Earth to eradicate all life from it, Kakarot still found some enjoyment from hunting animals. It was a good way to practice the skills that Grandpa Gohan had taught him.
He glanced back at his fish and grinned. This fish was extraordinarily big, and it could probably keep the household full for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then some. "This thing is going to taste great!" he thought to himself as licked his lips.
Suddenly, he sensed something! Out of nowhere, a white car appeared and crashed into him, sending him and his fish flying away and crashing into a nearby tree! After sliding down to the floor, Kakarot immediately got up to his feet and held his head tightly. "Ouch! What the heck?!" he asked as he looked to see just what had crashed into him. He then noticed the car, simply standing there.
"You beast! You're trying to steal my food, aren't you?!" Kakarot shouted at the car. He wasn't accustomed to modern civilization, so cars were pretty new to him.
He immediately ran up to it and lifted it up over his head using his advanced strength. He then let out a yell as he tossed his strange discovery in front of him, causing it to land on its side. To his surprise, however, a girl with blue hair peeped out of the vehicle.
"Jerk!" she yelled out as she pulled out a gun and began to fire at Kakarot.
Kakarot's Saiyan instincts kicked in and he immediately pulled out his Power Pole in retaliation. He began to swing it around in a circular motion, deflecting all of the bullets. The blue-haired girl had to duck to avoid being shot at by her own bullets. After the coast was clear, she immediately got out of her car and yelled "HEY! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"
Kakarot flinched at the way it was delivered. She sounded like Kale when Kakarot accidentally spilled water all over her favorite Gi. However, he still wasn't sure if this girl was an enemy or just some random passerby, so he decided to keep his Power Pole out and walked towards the girl.
He stopped a few centimeters away from her. She wore a short pink dress with the word "Bulma" written on it. Her blue hair was braided in a ponytail with a red ribbon, and she wore blue sneakers with purple socks. She dropped her gun and raised her hands defensively upon seeing that the boy was still wary of her.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot, kid. I don't mean any harm!" the girl said with a smile.
Kakarot's eyes narrowed. Unlike his sister, he was harsh, and he wasn't the best at communicating with new people. "My name's Kakarot," he said. He then pointed to the car and asked "Why did you and that creature attempt to steal my food?"
The blue-haired girl blinked twice and asked "Steal your food?"
Kakarot nodded. "Yeah! That creature rammed into me to steal my food! I just know it!"
The blue-haired girl couldn't help but grin. "No way! I don't wanna steal your food! That's ridiculous!" she laughed.
Kakarot raised an eyebrow as he put away his Power Pole. "Then what are you doing here? I've never seen you here before," he asked.
The girl sighed. She took out a strange device that Kakarot had never seen before. It was in the shape of a circle, and it had a green screen and a silver outline. She pointed to it and said, "I'm looking for some special items called Dragon Balls." She pointed to a little yellow dot on the green part of the device and said "As you can see here, my special Dragon Radar, which helps me locate the Dragon Balls, says that one of them should be around here somewhere. Do you know where I can find it?"
Kakarot tilted his head in confusion. This was the first time he had ever heard of a 'Dragon Ball'.
"Uh, I'm not sure if I can help you, lady. But my Grandpa is really smart and wise! Maybe he'll know where you can find it!" Kakarot suggested.
The blue-haired girl sighed and put away her Dragon Radar. "Okay, can you take me to him?" she asked.
Kakarot nodded and ran to his fish and picked it up. "Follow me!" he exclaimed.
The two of them walked back to Grandpa Gohan's house. The trip was uneventful, until Kakarot asked "My name's Kakarot. What's yours?"
The blue-haired girl remained silent, but then said "Bulma…" extremely quietly.
Kakarot began to laugh hysterically. "Bulma! That's a funny name!" he exclaimed.
Bulma's face was red with anger and embarrassment. "Hey! I didn't pick it!" she yelled.
Kakarot shook his head. "Well, whatever. We're almost there."
After a few more minutes of walking, they eventually got to Grandpa Gohan's house. Kale was busy hanging clothes on a clothesline outside of the house. She was wearing an outfit similar to Kakarot's. However, she was wearing a red Gi with a black obi.
She turned her head and grinned when she saw her brother. She ran up to him and asked "Hey Kakarot! What did you bring today?!"
Kakarot slammed the fish onto the ground and stood triumphantly over it. "I brought fish! I was going to get tiger, but Grandpa Gohan said that tigers don't taste that good…"
Kale then noticed Bulma standing behind Kakarot and asked "Uh, Kakarot? Who's that girl that you brought with you?"
Kakarot shrugged. "Her name is Bulma. I met her while I was coming back from my hunt. Apparently, she wants to find some Dragon Balls. The problem is, I don't know what Dragon Balls are though! So I told her that Grandpa Gohan might know a thing or two about them!" he explained cheerfully.
Kale nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense! Grandpa Gohan's really smart!" she replied.
Kale then looked at Bulma and pointed at the house. "Grandpa Gohan is in there! I think he's meditating or something, miss," she said politely.
Bulma nodded with a smile and said "Thanks! At least one of you has good manners…"
The twin-Saiyans entered the house with Bulma in tow, leaving the fish outside. "Grandpa Gohan! There's a girl who wants to see you!" Kakarot called out.
Grandpa Gohan peeped his head out from a nearby doorway and noticed Bulma standing there. After getting acquainted with each other, the four of them sat down at a table and Bulma placed the two Dragon Balls that she had onto the table, ready to explain what they are, and why exactly she wanted them.
The trio entered the dark hallway. Skeletons in knightly armor could be found all across the walls, sending a shiver down their spines. It was dark and scary, and it looked like something ripped straight out of a horror movie! However, they were here for a purpose, and they were determined to succeed!
After a bit of searching, they found what they were looking for. At the end of the hallway, they found what they were looking for. It was a Dragon Ball!
Pilaf, who was short and had blue skin and pointy ears, grabbed the ball and laughed. "Yes! Now I can wish for anything I desire!" he declared.
Mai, who was a human dressed in a military-esque outfit, tapped Pilaf's shoulder and said "No sir, you need to gather all seven of the Dragon Balls. Then, once you do, Shenron the Eternal Dragon will appear and then you can have your wish," she explained.
"Oh," Pilaf said dejectedly. However, his mood quickly lightened and he grinned maliciously. "Fine then! I'll just collect all seven of the Dragon Balls, and then I will wish to Shenron to make me the king of the Earth! HAHAHAHAHA!"
A/N: Just like in canon, the first arc will be the Emperor Pilaf saga. I have a few changes planned for this arc that are going to have a big impact on the story moving forward. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter in the reviews. See you next week!