Disclaimer: Dragonball and Dragonball Z are the property of.... ME!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!



Chapter Two:





In the middle of the ocean, just close enough so that you could barely see the mainland as a strip of fog, there was a very small island. On the island was a house. In the house, watching TV, was a very old man.

Unlike usual, he was not watching aerobics. He was watching the news. It vaguely interested him, because the world emperor was giving a speech.

"These two men are the most dangerous people on earth right now!" the emperor thundered. "They seek to take over. But I assure you that we will not let this happen. Right now, we are taking measures to ensure that this horrible tyrant and his chief assistant are wiped off the face of the earth!"

A picture flashed on the screen. It was actual two pictures. One was of a three eyed man. The other was a small thing that looked like a doll. Apparently, this was the emperor of a huge realm, on the other side of the huge ocean. His name was Choutzu.

The world emperor's face reappeared. "If these two men are sighted, or if any information id known of them, please contact your local military post. It is rumored that they may be hiding right in our midst. We will..."

Roshi got up and flipped the TV off. It got so old, sometimes, listening to that. The world emperor was usually fair and just. But just lately, his advisors seemingly had persuaded him to think that the empire far east of them was a threat to their society.

"What a mess." Roshi said to himself. He walked into the kitchen to make himself a snack.

As he was putting several slices of ham onto two pieces of bread, he began to wonder what had become of Umigame, his turtle. The turtle had left a few hours ago to go for a swim, and had not yet come back.

The old master took his sandwich into the living room and turned the television back on, this time to an aerobics program.





It had taken some convincing, but Bulma had done it. Goku was riding in the passenger seat of her capsule car, the four star Dragonball still in it's pouch.

At first, she had tried everything she could think of to get his Dragonball. But after only a few minutes of arguing, she saw that yelling had no effect on him whatsoever, and apparently he didn't care to see her naked. That about used up her persuasive powers.

So, she had settled on the next best thing. She had convinced him to come with her on her trip to look for the Dragonballs. He had agreed to that almost right away, after she had assured him that she would wait while he ran home and got a few things.

She thought she would have had to wait for an hour at least, but Goku had shown up only a few minutes later with a sort of stick slung over his back in a sheath, and a cloth bag. When the bag was opened, she saw that it contained enough food for ten people. Goku explained simply that he liked to eat.

Never in her life had she seen someone eat like him, either. It had taken him about thirty minutes to finish all of the food in the large bag, and he had apparently been eating at a leisurely pace.

"Uh, Bulma?" Goku said suddenly. She jerked herself up from her thoughts.

"What is it, Goku?"

"I was just wondering... if the Dragonballs give you a wish, what do you want to wish for?"

To Goku's surprise, she began to blush madly. "Uhh... it's a secret."

Goku raised one eyebrow and shrugged. He had only known her for an hour or so, and he already knew one thing. Girls were weird.





Choutzu's throne room was once again occupied, but this time only by himself, Tien, and the three men he had decided on sending to look for the Dragonballs.

The first, a tall, muscular youth with long black hair, was named Yamucha. He wore the same kind of clothes as when he had been a bandit: a fighting gi with an orange jacket and green pants. Floating nearby, sometimes talking to him, sometimes just being still, was his pet cat, Puar.

The second man was the smallest of the three. He had neatly trimmed, short, black hair, combed back over his head. He was dressed in a simple dark brown gi that resembled a robe with legs. His name was Khaymen.

The last was a tall, proud looking man. He wore a jacket with a floral pattern, and black pants. His hair was pulled into a braid that hung over his shoulder. A thin mustache covered his upper lip. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He had the air of a man who is very powerful, in rank and strength, and knew it. He was Tao Pai Pai.

Choutzu's empire was riddled with treason and traitors. A perfect example were the three men in this room. Of all of them, Khaymen was the only one who intended to bring a Dragonball back to Choutzu, and that was because, though powerful and loyal, he was utterly mindless. He only did what his emperor ordered.

Yamucha had his own reasons for wanting the Dragonballs. He wanted one wish, and then, he would be done with life as a bandit or in the army. He only wanted a wife, so that he could settle down.

Tao Pai Pai, of course, worked for Dr. Gero and the Red Ribbon Army. His goal was to bring the balls back to help Red Ribbon control the world.

Choutzu was a psychic, so he could read the three men's minds. Or at least Tao and Khaymen. But Yamucha seemed to guard his thoughts. As a result, the psychic emperor could not tell his intentions very well. But he now was sure that Tao Pai Pai would betray him.

This wasn't good. He had never fully trusted the Red Ribbon Army, but he didn't think that they were really dangerous to his empire. Now that he took the time to read Tao's mind thoroughly, however, he was getting very nervous. His own army was rather small, the reason being that most of the population were peaceful. He had needed the Red Ribbon Army to fight for him. He had gotten so used to having the powerful organization at his beck and call that he had gotten a bit to at ease. And now they planned this...

It seemed that they planned to overthrow his rule, and then conquer the 'world emperor' (whose army was actually quite large) as well, all with the power of the Dragonballs. And it was to be Tao Pai Pai that would start it all, by delivering the ball he found to the Red Ribbon Army, not to Choutzu.

*Tien.* he said telepathically, hoping that Tao was not capable of telepathy. *I believe we may have a problem.*

*What is it?* Tien said back. *Is something wrong?*

*Oh, yes. Very wrong.* he said, quickly informing Tenshinhan in the telepathic way, which is mostly through feelings, of what he had discovered in Tao Pai Pai's mind.

*You're kidding!* Tien seemed to scream into the emperor's head. He knew how bad this could be as well as Choutzu did. This could cost them their lives.

It was even worse than it seemed at first. Because Tao Pai Pai's brother was the Crane Master, both Tien and Choutzu's former sensei, and the only person in the empire who was more powerful psychically than Choutzu himself. If it came down to a real fight, the Crane Master could simply use a few of his most powerful psychic attacks, some so powerful that not even Choutzu could stop them.

*What are we going to do?* Choutzu almost cried mentally. It was like being in a trap. If he confronted Tao, the general would deny it, and then the whole Red Ribbon Army would be ready to overthrow him by the next day. If he said nothing, it would only prolong the inevitable.

*I think there may be only one answer.* Tien said after a slight pause. *And you know what it is as well as I do.*

But he never got a chance to tell the emperor his solution, because that was when Tao sprang his trap.







Korin's face held an expression that it very seldom did. Worry. And for a mortal, no less.

He and Kami cared for mortals, of course. But seldom did they express worry for them. It was all like a game to them, watching the people below have their fun. Actually, it was more like a play than a game. Korin thought a play-write of the human race had said it best long ago. He never could remember the exact words, but it was something to the effect that all people were merely actors, and the world was their stage.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't really a mortal he was so worried about. It was Choutzu, the emperor who was descended, though long ago, from a god. He was in quite a bit of danger.

Of course Korin had known that the Red Ribbon Army was going to turn on him soon, but he had not expected this sudden turn of events. It seemed that something had boosted Dr. Gero's confidence enough to attack right away. He didn't know what it was.

He could feel the anxiety of Kami far above him. It seemed that even the god of earth had noticed the strangeness of this as well.

It was very unnerving. But he supposed he could wait to see how things played out before he got too worried.







Just as Tien was telling Choutzu his plan, Tao Pai Pai sprang his trap.

He didn't move, or say a word, but told his brother, the Crane Master, that it was time.

Before the emperor could even blink at the sudden telepathy coming from a non psychic, the huge carven doors of the throne room burst open, and more soldiers than they could count began to rush in.

At first, the foolishness of this nearly made Choutzu and Tenshinhan laugh out loud. They could kill these soldiers and get away easily; because they were soldiers, not martial artists or psychics. But then, they saw the problem.

Striding in behind the soldiers were several other men, these much more formidable opponents.

The first they could see was advisor Black, a tall, dark skinned man that worked in the top ranks of the Red Ribbon Army. The second was Gero himself, not very powerful, but carrying a huge laser gun, one of the newer models. The intensity of those things could melt steel.

The third and last was the Crane Master. An older man, wearing ceremonial robes and dark glasses. He looked harmless. But he was the most dangerous one in the room.

With those three and Tao Pai Pai, the chances of escape seemed to be quite limited.

There were five men on Tien immediately, although he didn't even move. One's arms were around his neck, and there were two for each arm. Choutzu did nothing. He only stood there, looking very sad.

"Hello." Gero said in a hatefully happy voice. "I believe we've met, haven't we? Ah yes, you're the former emperor!" he laughed in Choutzu's face.

Choutzu could care less what Gero said about him. The man was a lunatic. But he felt betrayed by the Crane Master. There had been no quarrel between them.

The little emperor tried to step toward the man, but as soon as he moved, he felt the immense psychic power of the Crane Master hold him in his place.

"Why are you doing this!?" he screamed at them in fury. "Why do you have to destroy my empire!?"

Gero said nothing, the Crane Master said nothing, only offered a hate filled smile. Advisor Black and Tao Pai Pai laughed.

"Why?" Tao said mockingly. "Why? Because, we will rule the world. And you are merely the first to fall. Don't feel to bad about it. Nothing personal."

Just then, someone slammed into the general, knocking him sideways into a wall. It was Khaymen, the only loyal soldier. Tao quickly countered and slammed a hand into the man's temple, killing him in a fraction of a second. But the second was long enough. The commotion had broken the Crane Master's concentration.

Choutzu felt the hold weaken a bit, just enough for him to move, though it took a great deal of effort. He didn't have time to form an energy blast, but he did have time for a wind blast. He quickly grit his teeth, and used every second he could. Then he thrust his hand forward, sending a huge force out, knocking every soldier in his path out of the way.

He tied to run right away, but that wind blast was one of his most powerful attacks. He was moving to slowly.

Tien had begun to fight, and was tossing soldiers aside like a farmer tosses hay with a pitchfork. It was quite a startling sight, but the room was stiff with Red Ribbon soldiers, and he was fighting for every inch he had.

The Crane Master was trying to put the psychic hold back on Choutzu, and the emperor fought back as hard as he could. The show of force seemed to startle the old martial artist, who backed off for a second. Choutzu, now recovered from the drain of his energy attack, threw off his bulky robe and ran for the door.

Gero stopped him only feet from escape. Choutzu had almost made it, when a laser blast shot right in front of him. If he hadn't stopped, the blast would have killed him.

He turned slowly, ans saw the demented doctor with a smile on his face, holding the laser cannon only feet away. Choutzu gulped, and put his hands up, hoping that he could live for a few more seconds, and perhaps find a way to escape.

Gero wasn't going to let this happen, however. He put the gun right next to Choutzu's head, and prepared to fire.

Choutzu closed his eyes. Gero thought he was only shutting out the end. That is, until his heart suddenly ruptured in his chest. With a gurgling scream, he fell to the ground.

Tien had finally broken free of the soldiers, but was now fighting with Tao Pai Pai. He was winning, but barely. Tao was probably one of the best martial artists in the world. On the other side of the room, Yamucha had just KO'd Advisor Black.

Choutzu looked down at Gero with sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I hate to use that attack, but you didn't give me a choice." he said, and reached down, closing the doctor's eyes.

Then he ran for the door. He tried to telepathically tell Tien to do the same, but the fight with Tao was so intense, he couldn't get through.

He thought that he should go back to help, but there was no need. Yamucha had beaten him to it. Even in the heat of the moment, it was clear that Tien didn't want help, but Yamucha was giving it anyway. In a flash, they had knocked the general off his feet.

*RUN!!* Choutzu screamed telepathically, and though it irked him, Tien did it. Yamucha followed him.

Soon, they were out of the palace, and into the woods that surrounded it.







Korin let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been a close one. Even he had been unsure of the outcome. But it had been alright in the end.

It was still uncertain, but he had a good feeling that eventually, they might come across a couple more people who were wandering in the woods. Namely, a kid with a tail, and a girl with blue hair.

The smile that was always on his face broadened. It seemed things were going just as they should.



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A little short, but hey, they seem to write themselves sometimes. Once again, everyone read and review.

Ja ne

The Rev.