23: The Hunt For The Dragon Balls

King Kai nervously paced back and forth, twiddling his thumbs behind his back. The small blue-skinned king had overseen everything that had taken place on Earth, from Turles's arrival to his departure. To say he was a nervous wreck would have been an understatement. While he didn't live on Earth, he knew just as much as everyone else that its destruction would spell doom in all capital letters. He muttered to himself as he paced, filled with anxiety.

King Kai was the king of the North Area of Universe Seven. A comedy lover and brilliant mentor, his skills were unchecked. Though he wasn't a fighter, he had spent a great deal of time training Goku, teaching him all the moves he now used in every battle. He had taught Goku all the martial arts skills he knew, including the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb. Goku valued King Kai greatly, and King Kai, even though there was a great distance between them, still managed to aid Goku in tough spots. But while he wasn't training Goku in fighting and cracking jokes, he was counting the blade of grass, contemplating the heavens, riding his red Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop, and seeing how far he could pee.

"Oh dear, what have those fools gotten themselves into?" He said with a shake of his head. "Goku, you better know what you're doing."

He looked up into the sky, at the never-ending stretch of orange clouds that surrounded his extremely small planet like a shield. His planet used to be bigger, with a diameter of 100 times the size it currently was, but one day the God of Destruction, Lord Beerus stopped by, and the two had a spirited game of hide-and-seek. Unfortunately, Beerus lost. Peeved, he destroyed King Kai's planet. So, King Kai took a small fragment of what was left, whittled it down to a sphere, and called it home. "Don't get the Earth blown up."

He had spent much time making sure, or attempting to make sure, that Goku stayed out of trouble. But with the events he had seen unfold, he knew Goku and his pals would have to step up their game. Which means a lot of fighting is in store, King Kai thought. They better have a solid plan. Frieza won't give up. This Turles guy certainly fits the bill of a dangerous space-goer, so they'll have their hands full. Though I wonder who the newbie is they're courting around. A female Saiyan, by the looks of it. Impressive! I didn't know a female Saiyan was alive in this universe. They better protect her. If anything bad happens to her, then the pure-blooded Saiyan race is gonna turn on it's head!

Gregory, a small motor-mouth grasshopper and fellow resident of King Kai's planet, popped up beside him. "You think they can handle everything?"

King Kai could only shake his head. "Time will tell."

...

The ship soared smoothly through the sky, past fluffy white clouds and tall buildings. Seeing ships was nothing new to the humans of Earth. With Capsule Corp's advancements in technology, ships of all shapes and sizes were constantly flying about, either for joyrides or for delivery purposes. This particular ship was small in size, meant to only hold three to four people at a time. On the side was the Capsule Corp logo in bold black for all to see. The craft swept easily around the tallest buildings as if it could see for itself, rounding corners smoothly without a hitch.

Inside the humble ship, the four Saiyans of Earth planned out their next move for finding the Dragon Ball that their radar had picked up. The Dragon Radar was made to make finding the Dragon Balls easier, for the conventional methods took far too long. The Dragon Balls emitted a faint electromagnetic pulse that the radar was able to pick up on, making the search much easier, though it did not take away every trouble that hunting for Dragon Balls brought.

Vegeta stared at the Dragon Radar that he held tightly in his gloved hand, wishing deeply for Turles's demise. How dare he touch my child. I'll rip him apart limb from limb in front of his damn crusaders. See them laugh then.

Goku sat in the piloting seat beside Vegeta, and he cast a worried glance at the latter as he steered. "Are you...okay?"

Vegeta huffed and shoved the radar back in the compartment in his armor. "Focus on steering, Kakarot."

"I would, but all that sulking is making me nervous." Goku replied.

"Nervous?" Vegeta chuckled. "Nervous how?"

"Well, you look like you wanna strangle the closest thing to you." Goku said, then wagged his finger. "And that's a big no-no."

"How would you feel if your child was taken from you for breeding purposes, Kakarot?" Vegeta shot a glare at the larger Saiyan. "Turles is going to pay for this. I'm going to enjoy killing him."

Goku swallowed hard. "Yeah, I had a feeling you were gonna say that."

"Just focus on finding the Dragon Balls, you clown." Vegeta crossed his arms, turning his attention to the city passing below them. "I believe the radar said one of them is located in the desert region."

"Desert region?" Basil said with glee, popping up between the two piloting seats. The two Saiyans jumped, which caused Goku to accidentally swerve the steering wheel. The ship made a hard right turn and nearly crashed head-first into a hospital building.

"Basil, what the hell?" Vegeta turned to snap at her. "I told you to stay in the back with Broly."

"You see, I was gonna do that, but then I got bored and wanted to see what you guys were talking about. Where's the desert region?"

"It's pretty far from here, so it's gonna be a while." Goku replied as he brought the ship back to its original steady pace.

Basil reached over and snatched the radar from Vegeta's armor, which in turn caused the short-tempered Saiyan to shout at her. She skipped out of his reach and looked down at the gadget. "This thing will tell us where the Dragon Balls are?"

"Yes, now don't break it, we need it." Vegeta said. "And we don't have time for Bulma to make a new one."

"I can't wait to see a Dragon Ball in person." Basil said in fascination. She slunk down in one of the passenger seats, holding the tool to her chest. "The picture Bulma showed me had a ball with two stars. Does the number of stars depict how powerful they are?"

"No, I don't think the numbers really affect anything." Goku shrugged. "The stars just let you know which one you have. Like, say you just found a ball with five stars on it. That means you have the Five Star Dragon Ball."

Basil nodded. "They sound so cool. But how come we have to find seven?"

"Because that's the way things work." Vegeta grumbled. "Seven Dragon Balls grant three wishes."

"But why, though? Why seven? Why not one, or five?" Basil pressed, leaning forward in her seat.

Goku opened his mouth a reply, but realized how good a point she had. He himself had wondered why they needed all seven and not just one. But he had never questioned it. He didn't think it was a big deal. Even though he had used the Dragon Balls nearly his whole life, he never really paid much attention to how seven balls granted three wishes. All he cared about was getting his wishes granted. Just getting one wish fulfilled was good enough for him. But Basil had a good point. He looked over at Vegeta with raised eyebrows.

Vegeta simply scoffed. "The number of Dragon Balls doesn't matter, now drop the subject."

Goku made a side note to ask Piccolo about the number of balls later.

...

The desert, much to Basil's enjoyment, was slippery and difficult to walk on. The four large Saiyans stumbled about like children barely learning to walk. The blazing sun beat down on them in blinding rays, with no clouds present to dampen its hostile shine. The orange sand under their feet slid and rolled at their lightest touch, and the never-ending hills of the tiny pebbles seemed to extend for ages. No houses or buildings or people of any kind were in eyesight, which created a rather unsettling feeling. Goku squinted in the blazing heat and wiped his arm across his forehead, smearing the allocation of sweat.

Vegeta held the Dragon Radar out in front of him, squinting at the small screen. The orange arrow pointed them forward in blinking repetition. "We just have to keep going forward."

"This is awesome!" Basil jumped around them, sand flying up behind her. "I love sand!"

Broly, however, had mixed feelings about the new material called sand. He stared at it with unsure eyes, his face a mixture of confused emotions. "Sand?"

"Yeah, sand. Like the stuff around Kami House." Goku explained, and from the blank look that Broly gave him, he decided to rephrase. "Right, you've never been to Kami House. Sand is kinda like dirt, only it moves more."

Broly looked from Goku to the sand, then gave the orange pebbles a light kick.

Basil scurried along after Vegeta, slipping and sliding without a care in the world. "Sand, sand, sand. So squishy, squishy, squishy!"

Vegeta, now at the end of his rope, bit his tongue. Don't scream, Vegeta. Just keep walking. Yelling at them would only waste time. Time that I do not have. I just need to keep walking and maintain my focus on finding the damn Dragon Ball.

Broly tapped Basil on the shoulder as gently as he could, knowing he was a lot stronger than the others. "You are a Saiyan as well, yes?"

Basil paused in her frolicking to nod. "Yep! I'm Basil!" She stuck out her hand, and Broly stared at it.

"We're getting closer," Vegeta called over his shoulder. The arrow pointing on the radar screen became more insistent, blinking more rapidly. "We must be right on top of it."

"You are very interesting," Broly said, disregarding Vegeta's statement.

"Oh, thank you!" Basil beamed, then turned to Goku. "Interesting is a good thing, right?"

Goku rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. "I think so."

"Would you idiots shut up!?" Vegeta whirled around, kicking sand at the three distracted Saiyans. "How is it that you never run out of things to say?"

Basil shrugged. "Talking is fun."

"I am two seconds away from strangling you." Vegeta snapped at her.

"Hey, Vegeta, calm down. We can't just walk in silence forever." Goku said. "Besides, Broly is just now learning about Earth sand."

"So what? Sand is not important." Vegeta shouted. "Sand is sand, that's it!"

"I see something over there," Basil said, standing on the tips of her toes to peer over Vegeta's shoulder.

"This sand is strange. It is not like the ground on Vampa." Broly said softly, crouching down to run a hand over the hot pebbles.

"See, Vegeta? He's learning something new. Isn't that a good thing?" Goku beamed, patting Broly on the head.

"We need to be finding the Dragon Ball, not building sand castles!" Vegeta roared.

"It's pretty big and ugly." Basil went on, tilting her head to the side.

"Vegeta, just take a deep breath. Relax. We'll find the Dragon Balls and get our wish granted in no time." Goku reached over to place a hand on Vegeta's shoulder, but it was slapped away.

"You don't get it, do you, clown?" Vegeta said. "Things may not work out as well as you have them down in your head. Turles and Frieza working together is a nightmare come to life. They may very well be unstoppable. The only chance we have is finding the Dragon Balls and catching up to them. And all you three are doing is playing and goofing off!"

"It's getting closer." Basil took a step back, her tail flicking upward.

This time, Vegeta finally turned around. "What are you going on about, Basil?" He asked, his voice clearly drenched in irritation. Through the blinding sun, he could make out a bulbous shape moving underneath the sand. It weaved around this way and that, all while edging closer to the group.

Goku smiled. "Wow, what is that!?"

"Is it a fish?" Basil asked, clapping her hands together. "Piccolo told me all about fish."

"I highly doubt it's a fish." Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It's most likely some animal. Ignore it. We're too close to the Dragon Ball to get sidetracked now."

"It is angry," Broly said, then sniffed the air. "We should move."

In a great whoosh, almost like a dolphin breaking the surface of the ocean, the creature burst forth, sand spraying the four Saiyans like a wave. The ground wobbled and shook, knocking the fighters over. The great creature launched from underneath the ground to perch atop it, it's ginormous figure blocking out the sun as he gazed down at the four new snacks.

Goku sat up, spitting sand out if his mouth. "Holy cow, it's huge! Hehe!"

"What is that thing?" Basil asked, wagging her tail.

Vegeta stared up at the looming creature of death, gripping sand in his fists. "Don't tell me..."

"It is a worm." Broly declared from the back of the pack.

Goku laughed. "Oh, really? Wow! Hey, Vegeta, aren't you afraid of worms?"

Vegeta swallowed hard. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Suddenly, the Dragon Radar erupted in a rapid beeping. Vegeta ripped it from his armor top and stared at it in horror. "And what's worse..."

"What?" Basil asked in excitement.

"The Dragon Ball is inside it."