A New Arrival
Chapter I
Dragonballs
His feet padded gently against the cold, metal floor, barely making a sound to the ears of the humans around him. Again his body bounced slightly with the touch of the concrete, his legs taking him to the gigantic cruise ship looming ahead. He let out a deafening sigh, once again debating with himself whether to leave the continent where he was born on, where he had been raised, or to stay, and forever live in fear and doubt.
He took one last glance back at his hometown, before making the biggest decision of his life. He was only eighteen, and he did not deem himself ready for the challenges ahead, yet he stared ahead, after returning his gaze from his rather torn apart house to that of the man in front of him, asking for his ticket to approve his entering of the ship. His hand journeyed within his pocket, stumbling around until it felt a flimsy piece of paper. It grasped on it as it left the pocket of the teenager's jeans and motioned to the man greeting him in a very fake smile. He took a hold of the ticket, and then moved out of the younger person's way, awaiting the next passenger.
The boy, as some considered him, made his way through the door of the ship, now gazing every which way, becoming accustomed to his home for the next few weeks, as he thought anyway. The walls were of a red velvet, and very smooth to the touch. Every few feet they held up an old-fashioned candle, all lit, all showing him the way. At every entrance to any door there was a metal plate, seizing to inscriptions of what the door led to: Dormitories, Dining Hall, Captain's Quarters, and much, much more.
This was the kind of vessel that commoners would probably never have the chance to even see, the kind that the rich traveled in, the ones who were followers of the Ruler of the Earth, as he so affectionately called himself. Overall the whole liner would have to be anywhere from a hundred fifty feet to around three hundred seventy-five feet wide. Rokugo was never any good with estimations of length yet he still admitted this was a marvelous craft indeed.
Rokugo, the young man, glimpsed at the many paintings hung on the silky, scarlet walls, almost entranced by the spectacle of them. They were all beautiful, mysterious, all made from famous artists such as Picasso, or Van Gogh. No doubt the owner of this cruiser would have to either be a millionaire many times over, or a billionaire, the latter being the most likely.
Another sigh eluded him as his seemingly weak forceps continued to hold the handle of his rolling suitcase. He made his way further into the ship, twisting his body to fit inside the curves and turns inside the halls. Finally he came upon a wooden door, oak was the first thought that came to the young adult, and his right hand proceeded upon the doorknob.
"Room 1023...should be it." He said in a bored tone as his hand pushed open the door. He peered inside: a single four-poster bed stood in the far-left corner, alongside a circular, portside window. This room also housed a small desk off to the top right, which held a petite silver cell phone. "Definitely First Class." Were the first words of the young man after the sight of the room.
He lugged the suitcase after him as he sustained his stare around the room. It was an impressive room after all, and hard to peel your eyes away from it. He closed the door behind him as he looked out upon the dock, leaving his bag beside his new bed. There was his rather destructed town, the police department in shambles, the Town Center all but orderly, and his own house, which he had known for all his life, in a secluded area from the town. Now he was leaving it, with nothing besides a boat ticket, his case, and the one thing within it.
The thing inside his suitcase was a golden orb with four stars imprinted upon it. It was roughly the size of a basketball; maybe bigger, maybe smaller, once again his incompetence of never having mastered the ability of estimating sizes of objects surfaced from under the hide of Rokugo. Yet he did feel a certain longing for it, to one day join it with the other three orbs, for if this one was number 4, then there must surely be a 1, 2, and 3.
He unzipped his bag and took a look inside. There it was, the golden ball, shimmering in the darkness, acting as a last means of light into the clearly pitch-black holding material. He took it up in his hand, lifting it up from inside the bag, and stared at it, rather amused with its golden sheen and the orange stars.
He probably could have sold this sphere for quite a bit, considering that there possibly were only three others, and in that way he could have helped him and his mother, moved to a big city, but he had decided against that, for if this thing allured him, it would be just as possible to lure in the Ruler of the World just as easily, even through his amazing physical and ki, which was a type of life energy that all creatures had but only the ones who trained to bring it out could use it, abilities. He might even be able to tell what this ball was, and he could be furious with it, and its founder, for the Ruler of the World was harsh, and very easy to angry. No, nothing of that sort Rokugo could do, that he had decided upon long ago, when he first met the curious orb.
A sudden knocking disturbed the man from his thoughts, and almost instantly put the ball away.
"We have departed, Sir. Would you like to join the other passengers at the Dining Hall for lunch?" A rather whiny voice questioned Rokugo, as if the owner to the voice wanted to be in Rokugo's position instead of being a worker.
"No." was the only reply. After that footsteps were heard by Rokugo notifying the depart of the bellhop. He let out a sigh, and escaped the solitude of the room, with ball under his coat, afraid to leave it for even a second. He had come upon the hall he had previously entered, the one that contained the door to his lodgings, and searched around.
One door was ajar and this struck the curiosity of Rokugo. He crept over to the door, making no sound at all on the rug-clothed floor. He stared inside, and there stood a small man, like many children are at the age of eleven, yet he was bald, and that was what distinguished him from child and man, and on his head were stamped six circles. He wore an orange gi and pants. Both articles of clothing seemed perfect for karate, and he probably was involved in that for his shirt also contained a Japanese symbol over his heart which Rokugo could not make out.
He was chatting away with another man, this one being just as non-haired, yet taller, and his face held on to three separate eyes, two where normal humans had them and one on his forehead, completely in the center. He wore a white tank top with green pants. There were no symbols or insignias in either article of clothing. What kind of people were these guys? Rokugo decided to find out.
"The radar doesn't lie. It says the four-star ball is here on the ship," The shorter man said, obviously very unaware of Rokugo.
"Yes, but it also said that the seven-star ball was locked away in the Lord's domain, which we all know is right here," The taller stated, lowering the other's spirits.
"Yeah, but Bulma said she worked out the kinks, and now it's fully functional. You know, she's never lied before...except on rare occasions." The smaller said, his voice sounded hurt somewhat.
"Yes, I guess so." The taller one's eyes, all three, traveled to a small object within his hands. It seemed metallic and was rather circular. A small button was pointing outwards from the top, and the taller being pressed it, and a sharp beep was heard throughout the room, and by Rokugo. Then another word was shared between the two, and the smaller one stared at Rokugo. Rokugo took a step back, afraid of the man's expression, which was very emotionless, and stared every which way for the other man. He was nowhere in sight, absolutely invisible. He turned around and there was the taller one, looking more evil than the shorter. Rokugo let out a gasp, and then all went dark.
***
Rokugo awoke quite some time later. His eyes opened, with some difficulty, and Rokugo could see he was in a warehouse of some sort. His thoughts flashed back to the two men on the liner, and he corrected himself. The ship couldn't have docked already, for it was probably too far out to sea, remembering the force exerted upon his neck after being hit by the man which almost certainly sedated Rokugo for at least a couple of hours, and no one could have swam that far away from a moving ship without rest. They were in the engine room of the ship. Yes, many mechanical devices surrounded him. There were boilers and gauges, engines and pipes all around Rokugo.
His head lifted from the ground, his body soon following. Now on his feet he began to find some means of escape back into his room. He quickly stopped, now hearing voices nearby, very familiar ones.
"What are we gonna do about him...since he has the Dragonball and all?" One voice questioned some other creature.
"Yes, that is a hard decision...We will have to ask Kami," The other recognizable voice answered.
"Then we bring him with us?"
"Yes," And with a patter of steps Rokugo heard more noise. He quickly took action by turning away from the voices and running, speeding off as fast as he possibly could. But that didn't last too long. Miraculously, and much to the amazement and disappointment to Rokugo, the taller, hairless man appeared in front of him, completely out of nowhere. The other man then also became visible, but behind Rokugo. He grabbed Rokugo's arms from behind him as if the other man was going to use the youngster as a punching bag. Rokugo fought terribly, his arms struggling wildly, his legs lifting up and attempting to kick the predator behind him, his head flailing back countless times to try to hit the tiny man on the nose and hopefully cause him a nosebleed. None of his techniques worked, and before long Rokugo lost energy and stamina, now almost completely still. Then the taller one opened his mouth to speak.
"Do not worry young one, we will not hurt you...just wish to speak to you," The Tri-Clops spoke.
"My name's Rokugo...and what do you want with me?" Rokugo said between periods of gasping for air.
"We want what you carry," The three-eyed said in a rather commanding voice.
"And what would that be?" Once again Rokugo gasped.
"You know very well...Rokugo, was it?" Now lessening his tone from harsh to friendly.
"Yes," Rokugo tried his hardest to say those words in the cruelest way possible, yet that did not affect the three-eyed.
"Well yes, Rokugo, we want the Dragonball. I presume it is in your jacket?" Still trying to act friendly, yet the shorter man kept holding, applying much strength upon the human in his embrace.
"Dragon...ball? What's that?" Once again Rokugo uttered the words in a harsh tone, but to no avail.
"Hard to say...the yellow ball that you carry. We wish to possess it," With that he motioned with his bald head to the shorter man, still holding in what Rokugo thought was his hardest.
"Yeah? Then why didn't you take it earlier?"
"Because we did not wish to steal...only borrow for some time,"
"Well tell me what these things do and maybe I'll consider giving it to you," Rokugo almost ordered forgetting the hold on him for a split second.
"I do not think I am the one to tell you that," The taller one said.
"Then who is?" Rokugo once again in what he thought was a harsh tone.
"Kami, the Overseer of the Earth. We shall take you to him, and you will understand much you need to know,"
"When will we meet this Kami? And how can he see over the whole Earth? What does he do? Live with the clouds?" Rokugo added a hint of ridicule in his voice.
"Precisely. But before you see him you should know our names. I am Tenshinhan, or Tien as my friends call me. This is Krillin," He motioned to the shorter man, which at that instant released his firm grip on Rokugo.
Krillin scratched his head nervously and spoke to Rokugo. "Sorry for being so rough with you. Heheh,"
"It's fine," Rokugo assured him.
"Well since our introductions are over now, let us take you to Kami." Tenshinhan said.
"Um...ok?" At that moment Krillin indicated for Rokugo to hold on to his back. He hesitated and then turned to Tenshinhan.
"Um...how will we be getting there?"
"We will be flying, as we call it. It is a martial arts technique called bukujustiu," Tenshinhan announced.
"Oh...so you guys are martial artists?' Rokugo wondered.
"Yes. We have been training most of our lives. My master was the Old Crane Master, which is long gone now. Krillin was trained under Master Roshi for quite some time, mainly in his childhood. Before that he does not wish to bring up. After the 22nd Tenkaichi Budoukai me and Krillin, along with others, were trained by a great martial artist named Korin. His form may intrigue you, even frighten you, but he is a great Master and the grower of the Senzu Beans, which heal anyone of all wounds instantly. But more information of that later for I am sure the Ruler of the World has sensed us here. We must leave now."
"Um...sure." Rokugo then approached Krillin, his hands curling around his neck and securing themselves by grabbing their counterpart's wrist. Just after Rokugo did this a huge white aura-looking thing surrounded both of them. Rokugo then glanced over at Tenshinhan. The same thing was happening to him. Then, at a speed Rokugo could not comprehend or see, they were off, flying away back up to the deck, and to the fresh air. Much paper scattered from a pale-looking man they passed, and a woman in a two-piece bikini shrieked when they passed by, mainly because the wind they caused made her very cold., and not because she saw them. Rokugo thought it would be impossible for anyone to perceive their forms at this speed, besides the two fliers, for all he saw were blurs and outlines of people, and they passed faster than a bee's wings could move. Rokugo did his best not to fall, yet he could feel his hands slightly slipping from Krillin's neck every now and then.
After hearing Tenshinhan say 'Precisely' right after he asked if he lived in the clouds he knew this journey would take quite some time. So he just held on, not speaking, for now he felt rather cold up among the clouds and into them. They were very wet and he got drizzled in them, but after they escaped the discomfort of the clouds, the sheer frostiness of the wind was almost unbearable. The aura helped though, blocking much wind from entering the eyes of Rokugo, and Tenshinhan and Krillin from what the burden saw. It also helped warm him and Krillin, but he could not tell what Tien felt, for he was emotionless the whole voyage.
After a few hours, around two in Rokugo's opinion, they had arrived, from what he gathered at the least. Krillin landed and Rokugo released his grip, now scanning everywhere. There was a two-story-house-sized palace right ahead, the entrance being supported with many stone columns, much like the Parthenon in Greece. Before that, there were four palm trees on either side, almost as if they were about to surround the palace if any harm happened upon this peaceful place. The ground was metal, very firm, but made no noise when stepped upon, or at least when Rokugo was walking. Rokugo turned once to face both of the martial artists. "What is this place?"
"It is Kami's domain. Now be quiet for you will see soon enough." Tien commanded and answered in the same tone.
"Ok," At that instance Rokugo turned around, awaiting for this 'Kami' to show himself. A distant-sounding of pitter patter of shoes touching the ground alerted Rokugo from his thoughts, which were all about the Dragonball and these mysterious warriors. His eyes moved themselves from the ground and stared at the oncoming being. There was a black creature, rather overweight, approaching the three. Rokugo just stood there, afraid to disturb the Overseer of the Earth. Virtually in an instant his posture changed due to his thinking of disturbing what he thought was Kami. His back stood straight, his eyes yet again returned to staring at the ground, his head held high, arms hung loosely at his waist, yet they were firm against his sides. That is how he awaited the black being.
"Hey, Mr. Popo!" Krillin said, rather accustomed to speaking to a deity, or at least that is what Rokugo thought.
"Hello Krillin. Is this the one?" He questioned now his eyes resting upon the figure of Rokugo.
"Yup, he's the one with the Dragonball. What's Kami gonna do about him?" Krillin asked in response.
"He hasn't decided," Popo answered, now Rokugo's eyes lifting from the floor, for he now knew this wasn't Kami. He stared nervously at the 'person'. Yes, it was obese and black, darker than a crow, and it wore Arabic garments. A fez hat stood upon his head, which compared rather small to the rest of his body. He also bore a vest lined with silk. The color of his vest was hard to say, for it seemed white mixed in with yellow at certain parts. His pants seemed the same, yet far larger. They were also the same mysterious color, lined with silk all the same.
"Um...hello, Mr. Popo, is it?" Rokugo said, now intrigued by this seemingly friendly creature.
"Yes, and your name is Rokugo, is it not?" Popo calmly said.
"Um...yeah, but how did you know that? You read minds?" Rokugo showed a hint of fear in the tone of his voice.
"No, but Kami does, in a sense. He knows all that goes on in his domain, so naturally he saw you, and heard your name when you announced yourself to Krillin and Tenshinhan," Popo immediately cleared Rokugo of any doubts about the place he was at, and Mr. Popo himself.
"Please, Mr. Popo, call me Tien. Everybody else does," Tenshinhan pleaded for the creature to comply. Rokugo was rather amused having not heard Tenshinhan talk since they had departed from the ship in the art of bukujustiu.
"Yes." Popo said, and with a hint of slyness in both his eyes and voice, that Rokugo managed to capture, he added, "Tien,"
"That's better," Tien said, now obviously pleased with himself.
"I dare say it isn't," The companion of Kami said.
"Well, no mean to ruin your conversation, but where's Kami?" Rokugo wondered.
"Patience, for he arrives when he wants to. Oh, here he comes now." Mr. Popo replied.
The eyes of Rokugo stirred over to the entrance of the palace, now completely ignoring the three among him. From inside the place of mysterious wonder and beauty came a being roughly the size of Tenshinhan, which was about 6'1. The organism was green, which was very uncommon, besides for one other individual on Earth. He also had two green feelers protruding from his forehead, which also reminded Rokugo about a certain person. His garments included of a cape, with an insignia covering the whole front of a shirt connecting with the cape. His shoes were of a brown color, and they seemed somewhat like bark from a tree, in Rokugo's opinion at the least. He walked with hands behind his back, rather slowly contrasted to what Rokugo had just experienced. The life form stopped right in front of Rokugo.
"Rokugo, you have something that I desire. Will you lend it to me?" The creature said, adding a hint of sincerity in his words.
"I would never give it to you...Ruler of the World!"