Chapter Three: Got the sixth Dragonball! The Saiyajin are looking for Kakarott.
Warning: Mild language, Violence
Yumcha tossed the dragonball up in the air and caught it easily with
the same hand. "And this," he said, grinning at Bra and Ranchi, "makes
six."
"Yep!" Bra declared. "Hand it over."
"Aw, I got it, lemme play with it," Yumcha's grin widened as she scowled at him.
"What were those creatures?" Ranchi asked, carefully bumping the dead body of a short blue humanoid with her foot.
"Gnomes, I think," Bra shrugged. "I didn't think they really existed. Good thing they do, I didn't really want to go up north after the next one. It was so nice of them to... bring it down for me!"
"Well, if they come back, they won't exist for long," Yumcha concluded. "They were so pathetic."
"Ah-choo! I'll say. Even Bra could take them out," Kashumi cracked her knuckles. "Hey, Yumcha, do you sense something?"
"Huh?" Yumcha looked at his blond sister. "Sense what?"
Kashumi frowned. "I dunno, I just got the feeling that something strong is heading our way. Let's hide."
The blond woman took her own advice, quickly scampering up one of the nearest trees. The closely packed trees had been the only reason the Gnomes had had any advantage. It had been a surprise to see, after picking up the fourth dragonball at a small island off the coast, that another of the dragonballs was moving - through the forest-not-yet-jungle areas between the Animal Kingdom and the desert.
"Kashumi..," Yumcha began.
"Shut up!" Kashumi hissed.
Bra and Yumcha looked at each other and shrugged. Suddenly Yumcha's eyes widened. "There is a strong Ki signature near! Damn! It's closer!" Yumcha spun around, staring upwards. "I wish I could sense Ki unconsciously like Kash can."
"What are you talking about? You can sense people coming?" Bra asked, also turning to look upwards.
"Uh..," Yumcha answered, then he stiffened. "Hide!" He yelled, grabbing Bra and unceremoniously shoving her into a bush.
"What?!" Bra squawked.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A male voice called. Bra scuttled backwards before rolling over and looking around for the source of the voice. Yumcha was staring upwards again, but Bra's view was blocked by branches.
"A human. Must be a warrior, to make a Ki large enough to attract our attention," A second voice replied. Bra frowned. There was something about that voice...
"Hey, what do you want?" Yumcha yelled up to the voices.
"Radditz here is looking for his brother. I'm just along for the target practice," The second voice left no doubt that it's owner was sneering.
'Radditz?' An alarm went off in Bra's head. 'That was one of the people Kakarott mentioned. I wonder...'
"Well, I'm not his brother. If you'll excuse me, I have..," Yumcha began.
"That's obvious," The same voice continued, "but I think you'll make good target practice."
"...goodie," Yumcha muttered.
Suddenly two shapes dropped from the sky, humanoid, landing easily on their feet.
"Kuso!" Bra swore, then realized she'd spoken aloud.
"What was that?" The two strangers turned to peer in her direction.
"Hey, who the hell are you, anyway?" Yumcha demanded, trying to draw their attention back to himself. It was, of course, pretty obvious who they were. Dark leather close-fitting clothes, with those strangely flexible bands of armour worn around their torsos, over which furry tails were wound - Saiyajin.
"Heh," The shorter one turned back to Yumcha, sneering. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Prince Vegeta. I do trust you've heard of me."
"Uh... Well, I'd have been living under a rock if I hadn't..," Yumcha babbled, taking a step back.
"That's right," Vegeta confirmed smugly. "This," he indicated his tall companion, "is Radditz. Who's your friend in the bushes?"
"Who?" Yumcha asked, feigning innocence.
"Radditz," Vegeta said calmly.
Radditz nodded, and began walking towards the bushes.
"Shimatta," Bra scowled, and stood up, brushing the leaves and dirt off her clothes. "I do not need your help to stand," She informed Radditz, who had stopped.
"Bra!" Yumcha shook his head, then sighed.
"A girl?" Radditz scoffed.
"Don't tell me we were interrupting anything," Vegeta said, suggestiveness dripping from his words as he eyed Bra up and down.
"You wish," Bra snorted.
"Ah, not really," Yumcha blurted at the same time.
Radditz started to snicker softly. Bra shot him a dirty look.
"Oh well, two targets are twice the fun," Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly. "Even if one has the same Ki level as a lizard."
"Hey!" Bra scowled. She put a hand on her hip. Right beside one of her pouches, Yumcha noticed. Instead, he focused and began to draw power up for the coming fight.
Vegeta smirked. "At least today won't be a total waste." He frowned. "What's that?" He asked, nodded towards Yumcha's left hand. Yumcha followed his gaze. The dragonball.
"That's mine!" Bra yelled. Both Saiyajin snapped to watch her at the noise. "It's, uh, my crystal ball. I'm a fortune teller," She offered, a bit quieter.
"A what?" Radditz asked.
"A fortune teller!" Bra repeated. "I tell people their fortunes. You know, what'll happen in the near future, what sort of things to watch out for, where you'll meet your next boyfriend..," She glanced at their faces to see their reactions.
"Can you guess what's going to happen in your near future?" Vegeta smirked at her.
"Let me see," She said, half-running over to Yumcha and snatching the ball from him. She held it carefully in her hand, peering deep into it.
She looked up. "You know, this usually works a bit better when there's some gold really close to the ball."
Yumcha made a strangled sound.
"..." The Saiyajin stared at her.
"Well it does!" Bra scowled.
Radditz walked over, frowning as Bra scooted back a few steps. "Give that here," He ordered.
"No," Bra said, putting it behind her back. A second later she screamed as she flew backwards after an energy blast ripped through the ground under her feet.
"Hey!" Yumcha yelled, glaring furiously at Vegeta. The Saiyajin smirked at him.
Radditz picked up the ball, which had flown from Bra's hand. He turned it around several times, then tossed it to Vegeta, who caught it easily.
The Saiyajin Prince looked it over, then glanced back at Radditz. "So?"
"You ever hear that story about the legendary dragonballs?" Radditz asked, ignoring Bra's angry hiss as she scrambled to her feet.
Vegeta stared at the orange sphere again, with more intensity. "I seem to remember something about them. You think this is one?" He asked his insubordinate.
Radditz shrugged. "It looks like the descriptions, about the size of a fist, orange, has red stars in it..."
"Don't be silly! Those things don't exist!" Bra yelled. "I just had it made like that as a marketing ploy! Why use an ordinary crystal ball when I can claim it's a dragonball?!"
Vegeta frowned at her. Bra ignored him, and focused on straightening
her clothes with an almost tangible air of arrogance. The Saiyajin Prince
regarded the ball in his hands, turning it around a few times, then started
to crush it.
Or tried to.
"What's this thing supposed to be made of?" He asked, tossing it up and down to weigh it.
"Uh, some... magical stuff," Bra stuttered.
"Oh, really?" Vegeta sneered.
"Yeah!" Bra said, putting her hands on her hips in an attempt to bolster her courage. Vegeta's sneer transformed into a smirk as he made a flicking motion with his free hand. A Ki blast smashed into the ground at Bra's feet, knocking her onto her backside with a small shriek. She sat there for a moment, then decided she felt indignant and wronged, and jumped back up, glaring.
"You jerk! How dare you treat me like that!" Bra screeched.
"Um, Bra?" Yumcha said urgently.
"Huh?" Bra looked at him, blinked, then laughed nervously. "I guess... oh, never mind," She said, turning back to Vegeta, and favouring him with a somewhat nervous smile.
Vegeta glared at her. "You rude wench!"
Yumcha cringed as he watched Bra react. She straightened slowly, fury positively radiating from her, and snarled wordlessly as she tried to kill the Saiyajin with her glare. She made a strangled sound in the back of her throat.
"Can you please just kill her, Vegeta-sama?" Radditz said, sounding bored with the whole affair.
"Hmph," Vegeta shrugged, then flicked a Ki blast at her. Yumcha stared in horror as it smashed into Bra sending her flying backwards. She didn't move.
He barely had time to react as a second blast shot past him, missing by a hair's breadth. The bandit wasted no time, dodging around a tree, then sprinting off into the forest. He could hear laughter behind him and glanced back, carefully dodging two more blasts. His mind whirled as he considered his options. Vegeta was too close behind him to try hiding, so running and dodging it was, at least until something better came up.
Unfortunately, his moment of thought slowed him down slightly, and one of the Ki blasts grazed his leg, obliterating cloth, burning the skin, and most importantly, altering his balance. Before Yumcha could regain enough awareness to dodge again, three more Ki blasts slammed into him, catching him in the legs and back, and sending him sprawling face first into the dirt.
Yumcha threw himself to the side desperately, and continued rolling,
twice, three times, then onto his feet and he stood for a moment, pushing
the pain from his mind as he stared at the short figure hovering in the
air near him.
Growling, Yumcha gathered his own energy and visualized a huge wolf,
raking it's claws towards Vegeta's throat, and watched at the same time
as the dark illusion from his mind sprang to life, leaping at the Saiyajin.
Vegeta was surprised enough to fly backwards a foot or so, then he narrowed
his eyes and raised his empty hand, sending blast after blast at the shadow
creature.
Yumcha used the opportunity to slip around behind a tree behind the Prince, and he quickly gathered as much power as he could muster, then sent it all in a large blast. Vegeta heard the displacement of air in time to turn and catch the Ki blast full in the chest. He fell backwards, through the disappearing wolf and hit the ground. Yumcha quickly gathered his power again, sending off a second blast at him, but Vegeta jumped up and back into the air, easily avoiding it.
He grinned down at Yumcha, then chuckled. "What luck, one that can shoot back!"
Radditz flew into view near Vegeta, then landed and leant himself against a tree, scowling quietly as Vegeta continued.
"Come on, then, Human! Let's see how strong you are!"
Yumcha dove to the side as Vegeta streaked through the air. Righting himself, the bandit found himself desperately blocking blow after blow as he was forced backwards. Suddenly his back hit something solid - a tree. Unfortunately, the moment it took to figure out what it was gave the Saiyajin enough time to land a punch through Yumcha's defenses, and then another until it was only the tree holding Yumcha up in place.
Through a haze of pain, the Human was aware of laughter, then someone
yelling, then his world went black.
Radditz straightened as Vegeta powered up to finish off his opponent. It was about time, really. Radditz scowled slightly, wondering why Vegeta had bothered to come. Knowing the Prince, he'd get bored soon and demand that they head home. Radditz probably wouldn't even get a proper look around for Kakarott. Not that he was particularly heart-broken. He was sure Kakarott could, if given enough time, make his own way home. It would, though, reflect badly on his family. Kakarott may be an incredibly good fighter, but his sense of direction had left along with most of his sense after that fateful fall Kakarott had taken down a ravine when he was four. He'd completely forgotten everything, and it had taken a couple of years for him to re-learn the basics of Saiyajin life. He still seemed like an outsider at times... most times.
"Wait!" A high-pitched female voice screamed from nearby. Radditz whirled to see that noisy black-haired girl from before.
'Didn't Vegeta kill her?' Part of his mind demanded. Radditz frowned, remembering a distinct lack of blood and holes, but chalked it up to Vegeta's usual manner of playing with his victims.
"You wanna die first?" Vegeta asked, sneering as he aimed the half formed Ki blast at her.
She didn't even flinch. "If you don't kill him, I'll help you find your friend, Kakarott!" She called, planting her hands on her hips.
"Eh?" Vegeta blinked, surprise registering on his face for a moment, before he remembered himself and frowned. "What makes you think we're looking for someone?" He demanded.
"Well, I just thought since Kakarott mentioned some guy named 'Radditz' that you might at least know each other, right?" She turned to Radditz seeking confirmation for her theory.
Radditz flicked a glance at Vegeta. The Human he'd been about to kill had passed out, and was now lying at the base of the tree, and the Prince had dispersed his Ki blast, and began to fold his arms over his chest, then remembered he was holding the orange ball. He settled for glaring at the girl instead. Vegeta nodded once to Radditz.
"Yeah, I know him," Radditz said in a bored tone.
"Hm, well, do you want to know where he is?" Bra said, crossing her own arms and fixing Radditz with a compelling glare.
"Sure," Radditz shrugged.
"Then, if you promise you won't kill any of us, I'll scry him out for you," Bra offered with a toss of her head.
"So you don't know where he is," Vegeta sneered.
"Last I saw him, he was headed down the main trade road. Of course, that was two days ago," Bra said snobbishly. "Scrying him would get you much more up-to-date directions."
"You're some sort of magician, huh?" Radditz asked.
Bra turned to him, furious, and screamed, "SORCERESS! I'm a SORCERESS! Not a magician!" She spat the last word like it was some kind of insult.
"Heh. Sure you are," Vegeta snickered.
She made a growling noise in the back of her throat. "Listen, you! My magic is the best you'll ever see, especially since Saiyajin magic users never make it past Enchanter level! You should be thrilled that someone with so much talent is offering to do a scrying spell to help you find your odd friend!"
"You are much too rude, Human," Vegeta growled at her. He glared a moment longer, then smirked. "Okay, prove that your a sorceress. Do the spell."
"Blood oath first," Bra demanded promptly.
"Blood oath?!" Vegeta yelled. "No way! You think I actually give a damn about Kakarott?"
"Then why are you out looking for him?" Bra screamed back.
"Radditz is out looking for him! I'm only here for target practice!"
"Oh yes, the all so might Prince of the Saiyajin needs Humans for target practice! What's the matter, your mmmphmmp..," Bra's tirade cut off as a second girl jumped out from behind a tree and quite firmly clapped a hand over her mouth. The new girl had dark blue hair, and a worried expression.
"Excuse me," She said politely, dropping into as much of a curtsey as she could without compromising her grip on Bra, "but if you would just give your word not to harm us, she'll do the spell."
Ranchi ignored the sulky look Bra threw in her direction, watching the Saiyajin while keeping her face angled down demurely.
"Hmph," The Saiyajin glared at her.
"Uh, Vegeta-sama?" Radditz mumbled, just loud enough for him to be sure Vegeta heard him.
His Prince curled his lip in distaste. "Very well, Radditz, but you'd better hope your moronic brother is still in good enough condition for a fight, or you'll be fighting in his place."
'And getting beaten up in his place,' Radditz finished the threat in his mind.
"Okay, Human, you and your weak friends will live," Vegeta scowled at Radditz, who kept his face blank.
"Thank you, Vegeta-Ouji," Ranchi said, letting Bra go. The other girl merely sniffed and reached into one of the tiny, empty looking pouches hanging from her belt. She pulled out a large but thin piece of metal backed glass, the pouch widening momentarily to accommodate it's exit, and placed it on the ground. She reached into a second pouch and appeared to feel around for a moment before pulling out a metal bowl. She placed the bowl by the mirror, then pulled out a metal box that had two thin metal wires extending from it. She knelt, placed the box between the other two objects, then placed one wire on top of the mirror, and sat the bowl on the other one.
"Your pouches are magic?" Radditz asked, looking surprised.
"Of course," Bra sniffed.
Bra tapped the box a few times and began muttering something under her breath. Ranchi peered down at the mirror curiously as Vegeta strode over, glaring down at Bra and her things with evident dislike. Radditz came over as well, keeping on the same side of the mirror as Vegeta.
"What the hell are you doing? How is that a scrying spell?" Vegeta demanded.
Bra stopped, looking cross. "I suppose you expect me to fill the bowl with water and demand some of Kakarott's hair, then chant for several hours till I'm blue in the face? Forget it. Kakarott touched the bowl, so that's my link to him, and my mirror makes a better image than any amount of water could."
"What's that thing, then?" Ranchi asked, pointing to the box in the middle.
"That's one of my spell aides. Any good sorceress has tons," Bra snapped, then began to mumble odd sounding sentences under her breath. "Execute," she said at last, with an air of being finished.
Abruptly the view of the sky in the mirror altered. Ranchi saw, rather clearly, Kakarott and a Human boy, both sitting on the ground, apparently speaking. Vegeta made a displeased sound. Bra muttered something else in that strange language. Ranchi could almost make sense of what she said, but somehow the meaning stayed firmly on the edge of her mind, refusing to come any closer - except for a 'shimatta Saiyajin' which Bra had snuck in for good measure. The image wavered and flipped over so it was right side up for Vegeta and Radditz.
"Zoom out," Bra commanded, and the image became smaller, revealing more background. Jungle. "Zoom out," Bra said again, and the image shrank again. Bra scowled and hit the box, and a large-ish yellow dot appeared where Kakarott and the Human were.
"Map!" Bra snapped, and the image that appeared surprised the bandit girl. It was a map, but one Ranchi had never seen the like of before. Vegeta raised an eyebrow though. A yellow dot blinked at one side of it, in the middle of a swirl of greens, and on the other side, amidst a different patch of green, blinked a red dot.
"Hmph," Bra said, shifting her legs so she was sitting cross legged. "There he is. Still in the jungle, and on the wrong side, too."
"Figures," Radditz muttered.
"On the opposite side from Animal City," Was Vegeta's comment. Bra glanced over her map again.
"Been there?" She asked casually.
Vegeta ignored her, instead a burst of blue light flared around him for an instant, then he leapt into the air, speeding off and was almost out of sight by the time Radditz left the ground after him.
"Bastards," Bra sniffed, and began packing up as Ranchi ran over to
her brother.
Yumcha groaned as his eyes began to register light through his eyelids. Unfortunately, the rest of him was registering a lot of pain.
"I think he's waking up!" He heard someone say.
"Oh, thank Kami!" Ranchi. He knew her voice anywhere.
"Yumcha? Yumcha? Can you hear me?" Ranchi continued. Yumcha groaned and opened his eyes a crack, slowly opening them wider as they adjusted to the light.
"Yeah?" He slurred.
"Oh, thank Kami!" Ranchi said again.
"Am I dead?" Yumcha mumbled.
"No, you wouldn't be in so much pain if you were dead," Bra informed him with false cheerfulness.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be dead?" He asked her.
Ranchi shook her head. "No, when the Saiyajin followed you off, I got down and checked on her. She was just unconscious, really. I was so scared for you, Yumcha!" She said, starting to cry. "That little one..."
"Prince Vegeta," Bra cut in darkly.
"...kept laughing and he kept blasting you," Ranchi babbled.
"Uh, yeah, I know," Yumcha assured her. "Did you attack him?"
Ranchi looked away, ashamed. "No."
"S'okay, Ranchi, that was the smart thing to do. No sense both of us getting killed," Yumcha said, gritting his teeth as another wave of pain hit him. He heard Bra mumbling something under her breath.
"Drink this," Bra commanded, holding a small vial over his mouth. He obediently opened his lips and she proceeded to carefully pour it. Swallowing, he grimaced.
"What the hell is that? It tastes awful!"
"It's a potion," Bra said. "It helps speed healing."
"Why am I alive anyway?" Yumcha asked.
"I woke Bra and we followed you. Bra did a spell for them, and they left," Ranchi informed him.
"Oh," Yumcha said, then groaned.
"Here, drink this," Bra said, holding out a new vial.
"Why?"
"It'll put you to sleep," Bra sniffed.
"Thanks," Yumcha said, genuinely grateful. He opened his mouth and shortly was sleeping soundly, away from the pain.
Ranchi turned to Bra. "We need to talk."
"Hmm?" Bra blinked.
"You are an idiot."
"Huh?"
Ranchi sighed, and slapped the black-haired young woman beside her. "You don't ever argue with people who have a distinct advantage over the situation unless you have a damn good reason. You were just making a target of yourself."
Bra glared at her, eyes cold. She opened her mouth once, then stopped. She whirled and would have left, but Ranchi caught her arm.
"Please don't be too mad, Bra-chan. I know you've probably never really been in a fight, not one where you could get killed, but next time something like this happens, be cautious," Ranchi said, sincerely.
Bra removed Ranchi's hand haughtily. "If I'm going to die, I'm going out big," She threw Ranchi another blue-eyed glare and stomped off.
Ranchi shook her head, and turned back to her brother, hoping Bra wouldn't
get herself lost.
Kakarott and Kuririn had just finished lunch, and were getting ready to leave when Radditz and Vegeta found them. The two boys had traveled till lunch the day after they left Animal City, before Kakarott reminded Kuririn he'd promised to show the young Saiyajin his Kienzan. So they'd stopped, eaten, and spent the rest of the day showing each other their techniques and sparring.
Then Kuririn had complained that since Kakarott could fly, he had too much of an advantage. Kakarott, always a fan of 'fair fights', promptly began teaching him the next morning. After all, he pointed out, when they reached the sea, it would be much easier to fly over it than to find a new boat.
The result was that they were not very far at all from where Bra had pinpointed them yesterday.
Vegeta, of course, picked them up first. Since he was bored he'd applied himself to hunting down Kakarott, and when Vegeta applied himself to something, he got results. Radditz followed Vegeta down, landing just behind him and looking over at his brother and the little Human with him. The latter was staring at Vegeta and Radditz in a combination of nervousness and fear, while Kakarott merely looked shocked.
"So, this is where you've gotten off to, Kakarott? You do realize you're ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE JUNGLE?!" Vegeta shouted at the boy.
"Um, hi, Vegeta-ouji," Kakarott said, nervously placing a hand behind his head. The Human beside him gasped, suddenly looking decidedly ill.
Vegeta glared at Kakarott, and Radditz fought a smirk as he realized they were about even in height, although Vegeta was a good five years older than Kakarott. For his part, Radditz was tall enough to pass easily as an adult, and he was only a year ahead of the Prince.
"And why are you running around with Humans?" Vegeta snarled.
Kakarott opened his mouth, then shut it and shrugged. Suddenly he blinked. "Where'd you get a dragonball?" He blurted.
"What?" Vegeta asked, startled.
"A dragonball," Kakarott repeated, pointing to the orange ball Vegeta was still holding onto.
"This? What makes you think it's a dragonball?" Vegeta asked, his eyes narrow with suspicion.
"Well, Bra was looking for them, and she found one while I was with her," Kakarott said.
"Really?" Vegeta said, seeming to barely care.
"Uh huh," Kakarott nodded, knowing from experience that when Vegeta showed no interest he was, in fact, very curious. "It had four stars, though."
"Four?!" Vegeta straightened, bringing up the dragonball he held to study it. "This one only has two."
"She'd probably want it, then," Kakarott mused.
"Wait a minute, how many does she have?" Vegeta growled.
"Um, she said she had three of them," Kakarott scratched his head, frowning in concentration.
"Three?" Kuririn piped up. "Aren't they supposed to be scattered all over the world, virtually impossible to find?"
"Yes," Vegeta hissed. "Who the hell are you anyway?"
"Uh, my name is Kuririn," The boy stuttered, remembering he was supposed to be terrified. Vegeta glared at him for a moment before returning his gaze to Kakarott.
"If they're impossible to find, how'd she get three?" Radditz wondered.
"She's got a magic amulet that shows her where they are," Kakarott said.
"Huh?" Vegeta blinked. "Kakarott! Idiot! Explain!"
Kakarott cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Bra said she was looking for the dragonballs, and that she wanted to use them, so she made an amulet that would locate them. She wears it around her neck, and the dragonballs show up as little yellow lights when you turn it on."
"Made it? Grrrr, that lying bitch!" Vegeta growled, clenching his hands. "If she really can find all seven dragonballs, there's no way that any wish should be wasted on her!" He continued making a growling noise, then straightened. "Kakarott, Radditz, come with me!"
The Prince of the Saiyajin shot off into the sky, Radditz on his heels. Kakarott looked at Kuririn. Kuririn looked at Kakarott.
"Sorry, Kuririn," Kakarott sighed, and took off after the other two.
Kuririn frowned. "Hey, if they're actually going to find the legendary dragonballs, I want to see it!"
The Human concentrated, levitating into the air, then sensed for Kakarott's
Ki and flew off after it, as fast and as high as he could maintain.
Bra and her friends had made pretty good time heading towards the next dragonball as they were all really anxious to get away from the clearing where they'd run into those two Saiyajin. Bra sighed and consulted her amulet.
"Damn, why didn't I make this with a zoom function?" She grumbled.
It seemed that the last dragonball - except the one she'd just lost to that bastard of a Saiyajin - was heading towards them.
"What is it with this? The dragonballs surely haven't been in use recently, so why are they moving all of a sudden? Why is it, just when I decide to make a wish, everyone else decides they want to too? Why? Why me?" Bra began to whine as she walked. "And this walking is really getting me down. Next time, I'm going to have to come up with a way to move faster. Some sort of transport and a zoom function. What else do I need? Oh, a weapon. That'd be a good one. How many times does a simple peasant girl get attacked when wandering around? You'd think she'd be of no interest to anyone. I'll bet this is all Kakarott's fault. Everything went nuts the minute the monkey-boy decided to drop in for directions cause he was lost..."
"Put a sock in it!" Kashumi growled at her finally.
"Oh, don't be so snappish," Bra frowned. "I didn't invite you along."
"Argh, you're so difficult," The blond woman said, touching two fingers to her forehead momentarily. "Ah-choo!"
"Sorry, Ranchi, I'm just so... grrr, that stupid Saiyajin!"
"You know, since he's got that one, this quest is pretty pointless," Yumcha said, moving closer to the girls to join the conversation.
"I know," Bra sighed, slumping her shoulders forward. "It's just... I was so close."
"There, there," Ranchi said, patting her shoulder, "I'm sure things will be okay. You don't need dragonballs to find a husband."
"Perfect husband," Bra corrected. "I guess you're right. I'm being too picky about that. I'm a confident, capable woman, and I can have anything I want."
"Hoo-boy," Yumcha muttered under his breath. Bra shot him a look before continuing.
"After all, what guy wouldn't want to be mine? I'm lovely, virtuous, intelligent, beautiful, smart, a sorceress of immense power with a really good family line," Bra began ticking points off on her fingers.
"You ought to marry a merchant," Yumcha suggested. "Between the two of you you'd probably be able to rip off just about anyone."
"SHUT UP, YOU JERK!" Bra screeched, lunging at him. Yumcha dodged backwards, then nimbly danced well out of her reach, grinning. "Ooooo, I oughta have you skinned!"
"Aw, Bra, be a sport," Yumcha snickered.
Bra muttered something highly uncomplimentary under her breath. Then coughed. "What's that funny smell?" She asked.
Ranchi started coughing.
"I don't..," Yumcha started to say, before he passed out.
When Ranchi woke up, the first thing she was aware of was something holding her upright. That, and that her neck hurt. Groggily she opened her eyes, and blinked. She was indeed upright, held in place by ropes, tied to... a tree. Next to her, also tied up, was Yumcha, and on the next tree over, Bra, who was awake and cursing.
"Bra?" Ranchi called.
"Ranchi? Oh, good, someone else is awake. Grr, when I find the moron who's tied me to a tree, I'm going to create a spell to... do something really really horrible to him!" Bra snarled.
"Uh huh," Ranchi nodded, looking around. She wondered what her other would do, if she were here. Ranchi was, truth be told, aware of her other half, although she didn't know that the violent voice in her mind sometimes controlled their body and had it's own name. Instead, she simply labeled it 'the other', and wondered why people sometimes confused her with someone named 'Kashumi'. Still, the other might have been able to do something here that Ranchi couldn't. Ranchi sighed.
"Hey, they're awake!" A small voice caught her attention, and Bra's also. Both girls looked around, then focused on a bush as two people pushed their way in. A very, very small girl-woman with blue skin and long dark hair, and a dog - or was it a fox - walking on all fours, wearing some sort of black cloth.
"So they are, Mai," The dog said to it's elfish companion. "Should I go get his Majesty?"
"Yes, Shuu, I think that's a good idea," She said. The dog-creature trotted back off into the bushes.
"Who the hell are you?" Bra scowled at her.
"I am Mai, loyal advisor and aid to his Majesty, Lord Pilaf, soon to be Emperor of the World!" She strode forward proudly, stopping beside Bra. She came to Bra's knee, yet up close it was very apparent that she was correctly proportioned for her height.
"What the hell are you?" Bra asked.
"A Gnome," Mai sniffed. "Actually, I'm a very special Gnome. A Super Gnome! One is born every hundred years, and I'm it!"
"Oh. Good for you," Bra said, unimpressed.
"Um, excuse me, Miss Mai, but what's the difference between a Super Gnome and a normal one?" Ranchi questioned.
"Well," Mai said haughtily, "a normal Gnome, is a Gnome, but a Super Gnome has an extra ability ordinary Gnomes don't possess. The ability to locate the seven magical dragonballs!"
"WHAT?!!" Bra screeched. "So you're the little bastards that've been stealing my dragonballs!"
"They are not your dragonballs," Mai scowled. "They are the property of his Majesty."
"You wanna bet?" Bra growled back.
Mai kicked the Human girl in the shin. Bra gritted her teeth, and tried to kick back, only to find her ankles were secured. Mai reached up and plucked one of Bra's magical pouches off her belt.
"HEY! You give that back, you smelly little freak!" Bra howled.
"I can sense dragonballs in here!" Mai said excited. "His Majesty will be so pleased!" Turning, the Gnome woman sprinted out of the clearing, disappearing through that bush.
"Come back you... you little monster!" Bra screamed. Ranchi winced. The noise was incredible.
Yumcha groaned, then gasped as he came to.
"Hey, what am I doing tied to a tree?" He blurted.
"Some Gnomes tied us up," Ranchi told him helpfully.
"Yes," Bra said, practically spitting with anger. "Tied up by some little thieving Gnomes. I wish I was a Saiyajin, so I could eat them."
"O-kay," Yumcha said, hoping to not to incite her wrath. "Can someone
please fill me in?"
- Finis Chapter 3 -
Please take two seconds from your life to bring a spark of joy into
mine - review! :)