- Chapter 5 -

The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi

Author's Note:

I keep thinking that I'm gonna have to eventually raise the rating because of some of the more... perverted parts of the show. Like Goku skinny-dipping.

And to my guest reviewer, have no fear; Akira will not end up with Vegeta. All canon pairings will remain intact, and besides, too many fics where Goku has a sister pair her up with Vegeta. As for who Akira will end up with... you'll have to wait and see.

Mount Paozu, Skull Valley

The Son twins and Bulma continued down the path, Akira now carrying the turtle on her back. Much to their surprise, the turtle's name was actually Turtle; according to him, his parents weren't good at thinking up names.

"I hope we get there soon," said Goku. "I'm really getting hungry."

Turtle looked at Goku, smiling. "Y'know, this is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.

Akira smiled at him. "It's no big deal, really."

Turtle shrugged. "I just wanted to thank you."

Bulma glared at them.

"Gosh, I think I'm gonna cry," she said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "Spare me, please. Just concentrate on where we're going so we can get there while we're still young."

Goku looked over at her.

"Why are you always complaining?" he asked. "Why don't you try thinking happy thoughts, Bulma?"

Bulma pulled over.

"Let's see if there's anything to actually be happy about," she said, pulling out her map as Goku and Ukyo stopped in their tracks. "Hey! Not too bad. Just two more miles to go."

"Wow, we're close!" Akira said happily.

"That's great!" Goku added.

Turtle smiled. "I can't wait to get back in the water."

Unbeknownst to the four, a large, menacing figure was spying on them from a distance away with a telescope. It was particularly interested in Turtle. Drooling, he licked his lips.

"Looks like dinner is on the way!" he said.

Seconds later...

"Hold it right there!" a deep voice shouted, causing Bulma, Akira, and Goku to stop in their tracks. What stepped in their path was a hulking brute of a beast.

It was a large brown bear with a mohawk dressed in Chinese-style armor, with a large scimitar at his waist. One eye was yellow, the other was scarred and whited out.

The Bear Thief laughed evilly. "Humans give me heartburn, but I love turtles," he said. "So look. Hand it over, or you're dead!"

Bulma gulped nervously and gestured to the Son siblings.

"Y-you guys heard him," she stammered. "Give him the turtle, quick!"

Instead, Akira blew the Bear Thief a raspberry.

"No way!" Goku exclaimed. "We're not doing it!"

The Bear Thief looked surprised for a minute, but then shrugged, chuckling. "I guess a little heartburn never hurt anybody," he said. "All right! Have it your way! Die if you want to, but I'll show you why you shouldn't cross a member of the Kuma Mercenary Clan! (1)"

Bulma scowled at Goku and Akira.

"You idiots!" she shouted. "You're gonna get us killed! Give him the damn turtle!"

Goku shook his head.

"I don't care what this guy says," he shot back. "The answer is no!"

Bulma stole a nervous glance at the Bear Thief, before turning back to them. "Are you kids out of your freaking minds?!"

"We're not feeding him our new friend, Bulma," Akira added. "We promised Turtle we'd take him home, and that's what we're doing!"

The Bear Thief grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"He won't be your friend for long," he said ominously, drawing the sword.

That was all it took. Bulma let out a terrified scream, turned her motorcycle around, and revved away at full speed.

Akira turned to Turtle. "I think you'd better get down."

"LOOK OUT!" Goku shouted suddenly, and Akira turned to see the Bear Thief raise his sword and bring it down in an overhead chop.

Akira sprang backwards, dodging the swipe and putting down Turtle, who scuttled away. With Turtle safely out of the way, Akira and Goku turned to face the Bear Thief.

"Now it's just you and us," Goku said. The Bear Thief laughed.

"You little monkeys think you're real cute, don't you?" he said. "You should have saved your skin while you had the chance!"

Letting out a loud roar, the Bear Thief swung his sword at the two, who easily dodged every strike, the two jumping over him after another overhead strike.

"You missed!" Goku said tauntingly as he and Akira landed behind him.

"Over here, bear-breath!" Akira shouted, sticking out her tongue and slapping her rear tauntingly.

Bulma, who had parked her motorcycle behind a rock next to Turtle, looked at him.

"Forget about them, Turtle!" she shouted. "Let's get outta here!"

But Turtle just looked on, not seeming to hear her.

The Bear Thief let out another chuckle. "I like you, kids. Too bad you have to die!"

With that, he raised his sword and slammed it into the ground, creating a massive shockwave that split the ground, only for Goku and Akira to backflip over it easily. Having dodged it, Akira sprang at the Bear Thief.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" she shouted, extending her first two fingers in an apparent peace sign, which she jabbed into the Bear Thief's good eye.

The Bear Thief roared in rage and pain, clutching his eye.

"Yoo-hoo!" came the voice of Goku.

Through a slitted eye, the Bear Thief turned to see Goku standing on his shoulder. With lightning speed, Goku jumped on the Bear Thief's snout, assuming a fighting stance.

"One..." he began, his muscles tensing, "two... THREE!"

At three, Goku shot his right arm out, his fist connecting solidly with the area between the Bear Thief's eyes. Letting out a final roar, the Bear Thief fell over backwards like a tree that had just been cut down, blood squirting out from the area Goku had punched. Goku and Akira jumped down, smiling triumphantly.

"Well, that's that!" Goku said, turning to Bulma and Turtle, who were in shock at how easily Goku and Akira had felled the titanic bruin.

"Yeah, sure," Bulma said nervously. "Whatever you say, kid."

Goku made his way over to Turtle as Akira looked over the fallen Bear Thief.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked. Turtle got out from behind the rock and nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine, thanks to you and your sister," he said.

Goku tilted his head quizzically. "So some creatures think you're good to eat, huh?"

Turtle gulped and shook his head frantically.

"What?! Oh my, no, no! How disgusting!" he exclaimed. "Turtle meat is tough and poisonous! You'd puke!" He let out a nervous laugh.

Goku shrugged and lifted Turtle onto his back.

"That's what I thought," he said. "Some people eat anything. Not me, though."

Akira, having lost interest in the Bear Thief, walked back over to them.

"For such a big guy, he wasn't much of a challenge," she said.

Goku shrugged. "Eh, what're ya gonna do?"

"Ready, guys?" Bulma said. "Let's go!"

"Onward to the sea!" Akira shouted, running in step with Goku as Bulma rode after them, leaving the fallen Bear Thief behind.

Two miles later...

As the group continued on, they saw palm trees spread out, and the grass began to give way to sand.

"There it is, guys!" Bulma shouted. "We found it!"

Goku and Akira stood there in awe at the massive expanse of water before them.

"We're here!" Goku shouted, running onto the beach with Akira in tow. "We're really here!"

"It's huge!" Akira added. "And blue!"

"And beautiful!" Goku added.

The group stood on the beach, looking at the rolling waters before them.

"Isn't it beautiful, guys?" Bulma said.

Goku nodded. "Yeah, it's incredible!"

"We never dreamed that a place like this really existed!" Akira said.

"I was starting to wonder that myself," said Turtle. "It's been so long. Thanks for bringing me back!"

Akira smiled. "Hey, no problem! It was fun!"

Turtle pulled himself into the water. "Well, I better get going."

Goku smiled at him. "You sure have a great home, Turtle."

Turtle smiled at the three humans, a tear in his eye.

"I never would have made it if it wasn't for you," he said gratefully. "Thank you so much!"

Ukyo nodded. "Like I said, no problem."

Turtle swam out a bit before turning back to them.

"Would you mind waiting here?" he asked. "I have a gift I'd like to bring you to repay you for all you've done for me."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "What kind of gift could a turtle have?"

Turtle smiled. "You'll see. I'll be back soon!"

With that, he swam off.

"It's not a stupid shell, is it?!" Bulma called after him. "Hey, hold on!"

But Turtle had already disappeared under the water.

While they were waiting, Goku and Akira removed their shoes and went into the water, scooping some of it up into their hands. Bulma followed suit, lifting her nightshirt up to keep it from getting wet.

"Hey, what'cha doing there, kids?" she asked, seeing Goku lift the water in his hands up to his mouth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

But it was too late. Goku sipped some of the water... and promptly spat it out in disgust.

"Eww, yucky!" he shouted. "This water's salty!"

"It is?" Akira asked, taking a sip herself and spitting it out herself. "Ewww! You're right, it's gross!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Would it be in bad form to say 'I told you so?'"

Diablo Desert, Emperor Pilaf's Castle

In a distant village, Emperor Pilaf sat atop a majestic white horse, which reared up as the villagers bowed before him, chanting, "Hail Pilaf!"

"Make way for Emperor Pilaf, the supreme ruler of the world!" a voice called as the masses parted to make room for him.

Pilaf waved and chuckled at them. "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Emperor Pilaf!" came Shu's voice, waking Pilaf up from his dream. Shu and Mai barged into the room, looking terrified.

Pilaf stood up. "Well, spit it out! Did you get the Dragon Ball?"

Shu shook his head. "Not exactly."

"It's like this," Mai said. "There was a slight problem with the information, sire."

"And?" Pilaf demanded.

Mai gulped. "It was bogus! Yeah! We were nearly killed by a huge pack of wolves!"

"And then we crashed, sire!" Shu added. "Some crazy kids took down our plane! It was horrible!"

"SILENCE!" Pilaf shouted, having heard enough. "I'm sick of your lame-brained excuses! Now get out of here and find that Dragon Ball if it's the last thing you do! Understand?!"

Shu and Mai saluted. "Sir!"

At that moment, the sound of a phone ringing reached their ears, and the three turned to see a bizarre, reptile-shaped phone walking up to them, seemingly alive. It was their hotline.

Pilaf promptly answered it. "Hello?" he said.

"We've found another Dragon Ball, sire," came a voice on the other end.

Pilaf's eyes lit up. "What's that, you say?" he said eagerly. "You're kidding! And where is it?!"

"It's in the possession of a hermit named Roshi out at sea," said the agent on the phone. "He's currently out."

Pilaf smiled. "I see! Well done!" He hung up and turned to Shu and Mai. "Another Dragon Ball! We're in luck! An old hermit named Roshi has it and no one's even guarding it!"

Shu was still nervous. "Does he have any wolves?"

Pilaf scowled. "No, you dunderhead! He lives on an island in the middle of the sea! Wolves don't go there!"

"We'd better be careful," said Mai. "Could be another bum steer."

Pilaf waved a hand, dismissing it. "Never mind that! Go get me that Dragon Ball!"

Shu and Mai saluted again. "Yessir!"

They quickly rushed to the hangar and another plane, only to be surprised to see Pilaf right behind them.

"Sire?" Mai said, surprised. "You've never come with us on a mission before."

Pilaf glared at her. "You keep screwing up. I can't trust you two on your own anymore!"

Shu shrugged as they filed into the plane. "Whatever you say, sire."

With that, the top hatch opened up, and the plane flew out into the open.

"Engaging thrusters!" said Shu as he flipped a few switches.

As the plane took off, Shu continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please fasten your seat belts and remain seated at all times."

Pilaf grunted as he was squished up against the window. With all three of them crowded in the front, it was very crowded.

"Forget the seat belts!" he said. "It's too narrow in here!"

"Yeah, it's a little stuffy." said Mai.

Shu looked over at Pilaf, a deadpan expression on his face.

"That's 'cause there's one too many in here." he said flatly.

Pilaf glared at him. "What did you say, you stupid dog?!"

Shu corrected himself. "I said I read you loud and clear!"

With that, the plane zoomed off towards their destination.

Meanwhile...

Goku, Akira, and Bulma were still waiting on the beach for Turtle to return, Bulma scribbling in the sand with a stick while Goku and Akira were building a small sandcastle.

Bulma sighed happily. "I get so relaxed when I'm on the beach."

"I can see that," said Akira.

"Yeah!" Goku added. "You're not talking nearly as much!"

Bulma was about to retort to that, but then looked out to the sea to see something approaching. "Hey, what's that?" she said. "Whatever it is, it's moving toward us."

Goku and Akira stood up and squinted.

"It's Turtle!" Akira said excitedly.

"And he's got someone on his back!" Goku said.

Bulma looked at them in awe. "Wow, it's like you've got super-vision or something. Pretty cool, guys."

As Turtle approached, Goku started waving his arms. "Hey, Turtle! Over here!"

The figure on Turtle's back raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't he realize that they're the only ones on the beach?"

Turtle shrugged, before calling to the twins and Bulma, "Ahoy there! Sorry I kept you waiting! I had to get my master!"

Bulma looked at him curiously. "Man, check that guy out."

As Turtle pulled up to the beach, the figure could be seen clearly. It was a short old man with hunched shoulders, a bald head, and a thick white beard and mustache. He was completely bald, wore a pair of sunglasses with red rims, and was dressed in an orange Hawaiian shirt decorated with purple triangles and various letters, white shorts, tan flip flops, and what appeared to be a large purple turtle shell on his back. He had a brown wooden staff in one hand.

The old man raised a hand in greeting.

"Well, hello there, kids!" he said.

Bulma nodded at him. "Hi! How's it going?" she said. "Welcome ashore." She looked over him for a minute. "What a cool outfit."

The man smiled at them. "Kids, I want to thank you for helping my turtle."

Akira smiled. "It was our pleasure, mister!"

"And we'd do it again, too!" said Goku. The man jumped off of Turtle and onto the beach.

"I'm Roshi, the Turtle Hermit," he said. Bulma tilted her head curiously.

"A Turtle Hermit?" she asked. Roshi nodded before turning to Turtle.

"Which one of these kids helped you?" he asked. Turtle pointed to Goku and Akira.

"That little boy and girl right there," he said, with Roshi approaching the twins.

"You're very brave kids," he said. "I have a gift I wanna give you two as a token of my gratitude."

Bulma smiled at them. "Did you hear that, guys?" The twins nodded, while Roshi walked up to the shoreline and held his staff to the sky.

"Come, magic carpet!" he shouted. Bulma's eyes lit up.

"A magic carpet?!" she said excitedly.

Goku looked at her curiously. "What in the world is a magic carpet?" he asked.

Bulma looked at him.

"What's a magic carpet? It's a carpet you can sit on and fly anywhere you want!" Her face fell for a minute. "They're not real, though. At least, I don't think they are."

The three looked over to Roshi, who was still gesturing out for the magic carpet... which had yet to arrive.

Turtle looked up to Roshi. "Hey, Master, hold on," he said. "You took the magic carpet to the cleaners, remember?"

Roshi looked to Turtle, letting out a sheepish laugh.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," he said. "Good point, Turtle." He stroked his beard in thought.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "I knew it," she said. "They're not real."

Akira was disappointed. "Really?"

"Hmmm," said Roshi thoughtfully. "The other option is the Flying Nimbus, but am I really ready to part with it?" He snapped his fingers before turning to the trio. "Why not? If you can ride it, it's yours!"

With that, he held his staff out again and called, "Come to me, Flying Nimbus!"

Goku looked at Akiraand Bulma. "He's odd."

"He certainly is," said Akira.

Bulma shook his head. "He's not odd. He's nuts!"

Roshi looked up to the sky impatiently. "Now where is that cloud?" At that moment, he saw a streak of yellow flying across the sky. "Oh, there it is! About time."

Bulma, Goku, and Akira gasped in awe to see a fluffy yellow cloud fly towards them.

"See?" Roshi said proudly. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"

"Wow!" Goku said. "Akira, Bulma, look! Isn't it neato?"

Bulma nodded. "Yeah!" she said. "How strange!"

The Flying Nimbus came to a perfect stop in front of Roshi.

"Don't be afraid," said Roshi. "She's as sweet as candy."

Goku and Akira ran around the cloud in awe. "It's so light and puffy," said Goku.

Akira looked at Roshi. "Do you mind if we have a taste?" she asked.

Roshi rolled his eyes. "You don't eat it, you little baboons!" he said.

Bulma turned to Roshi. "What does this thing do?" she asked.

Roshi smiled. "If you manage to sit on this cloud, it can fly you wherever you want."

Bulma raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"There's gotta be some kinda hitch," she said. "You wouldn't be giving it away. Something's wrong with it, right?"

Roshi glared at her. "There's nothing wrong with this cloud!" he snapped.

Goku and Ukyo, however, were much more interested in something else.

"Can we try to ride it now?" asked Goku.

Roshi nodded. "Sure. But I must warn you, you must be pure of heart to ride this cloud."

"Really?" asked Akira.

"Yep," said Roshi. "Otherwise, it won't let you on it. It's picky that way."

He set his staff down. "Here, let an old man show you how it's done."

With that, he jumped up into the air and tried to land on the Nimbus-

-and phased right through it, landing heavily on his rump on the ground.

Roshi fell backwards on the ground, holding his rump in pain, while Bulma started pointing and laughing.

Turtle crawled over to Roshi. "Are you okay, Master?" he asked as he helped Roshi sit up. "You must have done something naughty."

"Be quiet!" Roshi snapped. Akira smiled.

"My turn!" she shouted, jumping up and bracing for impact, only to be pleasantly surprised when she landed on the cloud as if it was solid, much to Roshi and Turtle's surprise.

Akira let out a happy squee and started dancing.

"It works! I did it! Yay!" She looked at Goku. "Hey, Goku, you gotta try this!"

Goku smiled. "Okay!" With that, he jumped up and landed on the cloud as well, right behind Akira. With that, he started cheering and dancing as well, grabbing Akira's hands and jumping up and down with her in sync.

Turtle turned to Roshi in disbelief. "He did it, Master."

"I'll be damned," said Roshi. "There goes my cloud."

Kame House, The Sea

While this was going on, the Pilaf Gang was searching for their Dragon Ball, Shu humming happily to himself as he piloted the plane while Mai and Pilaf searched every which way with binoculars.

"Shut up, Shu!" Pilaf snapped, annoyed with Shu's humming. "Pay attention!"

"Sorry, sire," said Shu. "Is there any sign of the island yet?"

"Negative," said Mai. Pilaf looked forward, and saw their destination.

"Hey, there it is!" he declared. "Take her down!"

"Right away, sire." said Shu. With that, he took the plane down, skimming across the water and parking on the beach. The three exited the plane, and looked over the house.

The house was pink with a red roof, the words "Kame House" printed above the front door in red.

"Wow," said Mai in admiration. "Nice house for a Turtle Hermit."

"Yeah," Shu agreed. "Wonder if he's hiring?"

Pilaf rolled his eyes. "You imbeciles. Let's get on with it. Get that Dragon Ball, and don't you dare screw up!"

"Sire!" Shu and Mai said in sync.

"Now follow me," Pilaf said, making his way to the front door with Mai and Shu in tow.

Laughing wickedly, Pilaf held his nose.

"Telegram!" he declared in a nasally tone, causing Mai and Shu to face-fault as he knocked on the door.

"Hello?! Special delivery! Telegram!" Getting impatient, he rapped on the door with his knuckles. "Hello! Is anybody home?!"

Getting no answer, Pilaf chuckled. "Good, the place is empty," he said.

Shu looked at Pilaf.

"I've got a great idea," he said. "Let's just break in."

Pilaf turned to him.

"Break in?" he asked. "I like your style, Shu, but when in the presence of a brilliant mind, there is seldom need for brute force."

With that, he started rummaging around in his pockets.

"Now, where did I put that thing?" he said aloud. Not finding it in his pockets, he knelt down, took off his shoes and looked in them, only to find nothing. Finally, he lifted up his hat to find what he was looking for: what appeared to be a small handle.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Here it is. My universal key is just the thing for this job."

With that, he pressed a button on the side, causing a skeleton key to pop out, and stuck the key in the lock.

"We could smash right in," he continued, "but hey, that's not the way I operate."

They heard the lock click.

"There, that's it," Pilaf said, withdrawing the key and turning the knob, only to find it still locked.

"Hey, what's the deal?!" he demanded, tugging on the door with all his might.

"Um, Emperor?" came Shu's voice. "This window was open the whole time."

Pilaf turned to the window to the left of the door, and indeed, the window was open, with Shu and Mai already in the house.

"I'll open the door," Mai said simply. "Wait."

Pilaf just let out an irritated groan.

Meanwhile...

Goku and Akira laughed giddily as they flew through the sky on the Flying Nimbus, even performing several loop-de-loops as they did. After a brief slide through the sea and some more looping, they skidded to a stop in front of Bulma, Roshi, and Turtle, who had watched the whole thing.

"Wow, that was fun!" Akira exclaimed happily.

"Thanks! We love it!" Goku added.

Roshi looked at them respectfully. "You two fly that thing like you've had it your whole lives."

Goku and Akira just laughed bashfully before zipping off again. After watching them fly off, Bulma turned to Roshi.

"Hey, what about me?" she asked expectantly. "Aren't you going to give me a gift, too?"

Roshi turned to Turtle. "What do you say?" he asked. "Did this young lady help you as well?"

Turtle shook his head. "No, just the younger ones."

Bulma glared daggers at him. "Hey, what about the seawater I gave you?!"

Roshi stroked his beard. "I think I have to side with Turtle on this one," he said thoughtfully, before adding, "but I could be persuaded to change my mind."

He turned to Bulma, sweating and chuckling. "For instance, if you were to let me see your underwear..."

Bulma turned beet-red. "You wanna see my..."

"Master!" Turtle shouted reproachfully. "What are you doing?!"

"You can't be serious!" Bulma shouted as a wave crashed onto the shore.

Still sweating and chuckling, Roshi nodded. Turtle glared at him in disgust.

"Have you forgotten your code, Master?!" he demanded. "Please, that's wrong! Dead wrong!"

Roshi glared down at him. "Oh, shut up, will ya? Can't a master take a break from training and have a little fun?!"

Turtle looked away, muttering, "Now I understand why you couldn't ride your cloud."

"Bite your tongue!" Roshi snapped.

Bulma gulped, grabbing the edge of her nightshirt and blushing furiously. "This is so embarrassing. I can't believe I'm doing this."

Taking a deep breath, Bulma yanked up her nightshirt, exposing her lower half to Roshi and Turtle. Of course, she had no idea that she wasn't wearing any underwear beneath the shirt.

"Ta-da!" Bulma shouted. Roshi let out a yell and squeezed the end of his staff so hard that the top broke off, blood squirting briefly from his nose.

With that done, Bulma turned away in embarrassment, leaving Roshi and Turtle visibly taken aback. "There, done. That's it."

"Oh, my eyes," Roshi said to Turtle. "I'm think I'm blind. I'm gonna faint!"

"It serves you right!" Turtle shot back.

Bulma composed herself and turned back to Roshi, clasping her hands. "All right. So, where's my gift at?"

Roshi snapped back to attention. "Oh, right! The gift! Well, I have one in mind..."

He stopped to think, scratching his head. Now let's see. I could give her the... no, not that. The wheels fell off. Well, what about the...

As he was thinking, Bulma took a closer look and finally noticed what was hanging around Roshi's neck.

She gasped. It was a Dragon Ball! That settled it.

"Never mind, never mind!" she shouted, approaching Roshi. "I know what I want!" Roshi turned to her.

"You do?" he asked. "What?" Bulma pointed to the Dragon Ball around his neck.

"That!" she exclaimed. "I want that! That thing right there that's hanging around your neck!"

Roshi pointed to it. "What, this?" he asked, removing it from around his neck and holding it out to her. "You sure you want this old thing? I found it washed up on my island a long time ago."

"It's beautiful," Bulma whispered as she took the ball, looking at it eagerly.

The three-star ball, she thought. I can't believe it! She looked up to Goku and Akira, who were still flying around on the Nimbus.

"Goku! Akira!" she shouted, causing them to screech to a halt. "Come here! I've got something to show you!"

"Okay!" Goku replied as they zipped over to her.

"What's up?" asked Akira. Bulma held out the ball to them.

"Look! Another Dragon Ball!" she said. Goku took it in his hands, grinning.

"It sure is!" he said excitedly.

"Neat!" Akira added, looking the ball over herself.

"Our fourth Dragon Ball," Bulma said ecstatically. Roshi looked at them confusedly.

"A Dragon... what do you call it?" he asked, but Bulma and the twins didn't hear him.

"So aren't you glad we helped the Turtle after all?" Ukyo asked. "It paid off!"

Bulma nodded. "I sure am. You two were right! And now just three more, then wish time!"

"Yeah!" Goku said. "What a great day!"

Roshi looked at them. "What? That thing grants wishes?"

Bulma turned to him, smiling happily. "Thank you! We really love our gifts! You're a kind-hearted and generous man! Thanks so much!"

Roshi shook his head. "I never said you could have the ball!"

Bulma pouted. "But you said you were going to give me a gift. Can I have it, please? Aw, come on!" Blushing, she lifted up her shirt and exposed herself to Roshi again. "There! Huh?"

Blood oozing from his nose, Roshi covered it with a tissue. "Okay, I give up! It's yours! Take it!"

"YAAAAAY!" Bulma cheered, dancing and laughing happily as Goku and Akira stood there smiling.

With that, Bulma got back on her motorcycle while Goku and Akira floated next to her on the Nimbus, as Roshi and Turtle made their way back into the ocean and went off.

"Good-bye, Turtle Hermit!" Goku shouted, waving. "Thanks a lot!"

"See you later!" Akira added as they zipped back down the way they came.

"Boy, I tell ya, these kids today," Roshi said to Turtle, "they're like little piranhas! I was lucky to get out of there with my staff and sandals!"

Turtle rolled his eyes. "Well, that's what you get for being such a lecher."

Some time later...

It wasn't long before Bulma and the Son twins returned to the capsule house, the trio disembarking their respective rides.

"Man, I never thought things would be going this well!" Bulma said excitedly as she walked up to the door. "We only need three more Dragon Balls! Guess it was meant to be, kids."

As Bulma entered the house, Goku and Akira kicked back and relaxed on the Nimbus.

"If Grandpa could only see us now, Goku," said Akira, smiling happily.

Goku nodded. "He'd be so proud of us."

Their restful moment was cut short, however, as a horrified scream came from the house.

Akira jolted up. "Goku, I think Bulma's in trouble!"

The two sprang off of the cloud.

"Hang on, Bulma! We're coming!" Goku shouted as they bolted into the house.

"What's wrong?!" Ukyo asked.

Bulma was standing there, visibly and audibly shaking as she held a pair of panties in her hands... the same panties Goku had removed from her in her sleep earlier that morning.

"M-my underwear was here on the floor..." she said. "I'm afraid to look..." She felt around the outside of her shirt, and her worst fears were realized.

"THEY'RE NOT THEEEEERE!" she screamed in horror, said scream scaring nearby birds off of their perches outside. Then she came to a horrifying realization.

That means on the beach... the old man... oh, God... She felt nauseous at the thought.

Goku smiled, his arms folded behind his head. "Oh, is that all? Well, that's okay, Bulma! That's right where I put 'em!"

Bulma slowly turned to them. "W-what are you talking about?"

Goku shrugged. "After I took 'em off this morning!"

Bulma whirled around, glaring. "Are you saying you took my underwear off while I was sleeping this morning?! Huh?!"

Goku nodded. "I sure did!"

Bulma held them forward. "These underwear?!"

Goku nodded again. "Yep! They're the ones!"

Fuming, Bulma turned to Akira. "Did you know about this?!"

Akira shrugged. "He told me before we ran into Turtle. That's what he meant when he said your balls are gone."

"And you didn't say anything?!"

Akira shrugged again. "Didn't seem important."

Bulma was outraged. Running over to her pack, she withdrew a machine gun and loaded it.

Goku looked at her. "What are you doing, Bulma?"

He didn't need an answer, as Bulma furiously aimed the gun at the twins and let loose with a hailstorm of bullets. Goku and Akira frantically ran around the room, yelping as Bulma fired on them until the clip ran dry.

"What was that for?" Goku asked, bewildered as he stopped and panted.

Bulma glared at them. "Maybe next time, you'll think twice before doing something like that again!"

Akira glared back at her, fire in her eyes. Bulma had just enough time to register a look of surprise and fear before Akira sprang at her with a cry, punching her in the face with such force that Bulma was sent flying across the room, slamming back-first into the wall and slumping down, her nose bleeding and a dazed look on her face.

"That wasn't very nice!" Akira snapped.

Kame House

Meanwhile, Emperor Pilaf and his cronies were busy ransacking Kame House for any sign of the Dragon Ball. They looked in the cupboards, in the dresser, under the couch, even in the fridge, but there was no sign of it.

"Damn it, where's that Dragon Ball?!" Pilaf snapped as he finished looking in the living room.

Shu descended the stairs. "It's not in here, sire."

"Or in the kitchen," Mai added as she entered the room. "It's possible that someone tipped him off."

Pilaf scratched his head in thought. "I wonder..." he said to himself. "Wait here!" He dashed out the door over to their seaplane, only to stop when he saw a green alligator with sunglasses lounging on the beach in a lawn chair.

Maybe he knows something, Pilaf thought, approaching the alligator.

"Hey, there," he said. "Nice day, isn't it?" The alligator turned to him, and promptly recoiled in fear as Pilaf drew a switchblade from his pocket, holding it up menacingly.

"You better tell me what I want to know, or I'll make a green handbag out of you!" Pilaf demanded.

"Okay!" The alligator yelped. "Just don't hurt me!"

"Where did this Roshi, the Turtle Hermit, go?" Pilaf asked.

"Master Roshi?" the gator asked, pointing behind Pilaf. "Here he comes now, buddy."

Pilaf turned, and gasped in horror as he saw Roshi approaching on Turtle's back. "Shu, Mai! Get out here!"

Shu and Mai exited the house. Seeing Roshi, Shu drew his sword, and Mai drew her gun. "Keep me covered," Pilaf said as he stood behind them.

Roshi reached the beach and hopped off of Turtle. "I don't think we've met," he said. "Hi."

"Hi," Pilaf said simply from behind Mai. "Now hand it over. The Dragon Ball."

Roshi raised an eyebrow. "What ball?"

"That's right, Needlenose!" Shu said.

"You heard the man," Mai added. "Now cough it up."

Roshi stroked his beard in thought. "Dragon Ball?" he said aloud, before snapping his fingers. "Oh, I remember now! I just gave it to a pretty girl on the beach!"

Pilaf looked at him. "Are you kidding me?"

Roshi shook his head. "Seriously. She wouldn't leave me alone until I gave it to her. She was nuts about that ball because of some crazy wish."

Shu and Mai exchanged glances. Someone else was after the Dragon Balls?

"Doesn't sound good," said Shu. Pilaf pushed his way past the two and approached Roshi.

"Where is that girl?" he demanded.

Roshi shrugged. "I don't know, but I just said goodbye to her about-"

Pilaf cut him off. "She couldn't have gotten too far! C'mon, let's go!" He rushed back to their plane, Shu and Mai behind him, and boarded it.

"Engaging amphibious transformation!" Pilaf declared, and the plane shifted from a plane to a submarine, the wings retracting and a little sub propeller coming out.

Pilaf turned to Roshi. "Excuse me, could you mind giving us a little push?"

Roshi shrugged. "Anything to get you off my island, you blue-faced dwarf."

He approached the sub, and tapped it with the end of his staff a few times, knocking a small hole in it.

"Oops!" he said, chuckling, before pushing the sub into the sea. "Bon voyage! Enjoy the bottom of the sea!"

"Thank you!" Pilaf called back as they sailed off.

Roshi chuckled. "Those three deserve the hole I put in their side. Too bad. It was a nice plane."

Seconds later...

The sub began to slow down. Pilaf turned to Shu and Mai.

"Shu! Step on it! We're going too slow!" he yelled.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Shu replied.

Unbeknownst to them, water was rushing into the plane through the puncture Roshi had inflicted.

Shu sniffed the air. "You guys smell something?"

Pilaf glared at him. "Well, he who smelt it, dealt it!"

At that moment, Mai felt something wet soak her legs, and looked down in horror to see the sub was filling with water.

Shu, Mai, and Pilaf had just enough time to panic before the plane sank into the sea.

Meanwhile...

Now fully dressed, Bulma pushed a button on the side of the house, causing it to retract back into a capsule instantly. Goku and Akira recoiled in shock.

"Now that's what I call house cleaning," Bulma said as she collected the capsule and put it back in its case.

"Don't scare us like that!" Akira exclaimed.

Bulma shrugged. "Okay, I'll warn you next time."

She looked at the Flying Nimbus as Goku and Ukyo rubbed the bruises on their backs left from Bulma's machine gun. "I guess we'll both have to take the Flying Nimbus. It'll be faster."

Goku looked at her. "But didn't Master Roshi say you have to be pure of heart to ride the Flying Nimbus?"

Bulma glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm probably the purest person you know!"

Akira shrugged. "Okay then," The Nimbus lowered to their level. "Go ahead. Give it a try."

Bulma jumped into the air in an attempt to land on the Flying Nimbus-

-only to fall right through it and faceplant on the ground. Goku and Akira chuckled.

"Pure, huh?" Goku asked. Bulma let out an annoyed grunt as she sat up.

"Now my clothes are dirty!" she yelled. "Damn it! I didn't wanna ride that stupid cloud anyway!"

Goku and Akira shrugged and zipped off on the Nimbus, while Bulma got on her motorcycle and rode up behind them.

"Kinda slow, huh?" Akira asked.

Bulma looked at her with discontent. "Oh, shut up! Nobody likes a show-off, y'know!"

"Whatever," Goku said as the two rode off to their next destination.

Elsewhere...

In the area where they had battled, the Bear Thief sat up slowly, dried blood caked between his eyes.

"Those rotten kids," he hissed. "Well, this ain't over. They'll learn not to mess with the Kuma Mercenary Clan."

With that, he went off into the shadows to plot his revenge.

Author's Note:

(1): The Kuma Mercenaries were an enemy class in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, based on the Bear Thief.

Well, another chapter down. Sorry for the long wait.

Yes, the Bear Thief will appear later down the line. I'll give you a hint as to what that will entail: think like the first boss battle of Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo.

Next chapter: enter Oolong!

Please R&R. Until next time...