Project Cloud


Chapter 8 — Depraved Reprisal


Just when people thought the previous Tenkaichi Budokai was perhaps the most strangest Martial Arts tournament to ever take place, they got their expectations surpassed to a much higher degree with the showcase of very unexpected individuals that managed to succeed in the preliminary rounds.

Some such as Krillin, Son Goku, and Jackie Chun were expected to enter the true rounds of the tournament, yet others like Upa, the mysterious Hanayome, and the twins were not anticipated to pass. At the very least, people were under the impression that Yamcha would be capable of having a chance at redeeming himself once more. But with the preliminaries over, seeing Yamcha

Regardless, the fighters who surpassed the preliminary rounds earned their spot.

Or did they, really?

With the preliminaries over, those that tried and failed either packed up their bags and left or decided to stick around in the audience to at least see how the fights went on.

Yamcha was very sulken by the fact that he had been taken down in the preliminaries. As hard as he trained, he wasn't even remotely given a chance to excel in the main battles, yet he loses to some fool with three eyes? He tried his absolute hardest and just when it seemed like he gave Tien a run for his money, the man showed less of his suppressed skills and just dominated him.

"It'll be okay, Yamcha. There's always next time."

"Yeah," Tights reassures her sister's boyfriend. "At least you get to go home to the smartest girl in the world, right? Not many guys can brag about that."

Yamcha smiles briefly from Tights' comment prior to looking over to Krillin with his shoulders slightly hunched. As the string pullers of the tournaments are setting up the drawing board and removing the rings from the gymnasium, Yamcha and the other fighters get to spend some time with friends before heading back in as a little break.

Krillin, Roshi, Pilaf, Mai, Shuu, Tights, and Turtle all agree with Upa about there being a next time.

"I don't know, guys…" Yamcha's eyes slowly avert over to Son Goku, who's standing amidst the crowd as a small child surrounded by men. The kid's stare tells Yamcha everything he needs to know about the kid's motives. "There might not be a next time."

Roshi catches on to exactly what Yamcha is saying and does his best to reassure his student that this simply isn't the case. "Stop being so negative. One bad thing after another doesn't mean that the entire world is going to go crumbling. One thing I've learned in life is that matters always get worse before they get better."

"Well let's hope that they don't get too much worse, eh?" Pilaf asks with a nervous chuckle.

"With what you have planned, they just might," Shuu whispered.

Pilaf was quick to put his finger over his mouth and signal the dog to shut the hell up.

As far as Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu were concerned, they didn't see how in the hell they would ever remotely ever be capable of getting all the Dragon Balls back without dying. Sure, they still held on to one that they've been managing to hold on to miraculously for almost half a year, but they needed all other six to grant their wish.

Pilaf often thought extreme and despite the current circumstances, his extreme thoughts never came to a total halt, even subsequent to affiliating himself with Roshi and Co, which he only did to save his own tail. After time passed, he realized that he was secure as they didn't have too much heat on them from the Red Ribbon Army.

But even still, he often wondered just how in the hell could he possibly obtain the other six Dragon Balls without dying?

It was then that a risky, yet potentially great idea came to him.

Besides, it wasn't like he'd get to stay in hiding much longer anyway if he didn't give it a try to begin with.


Just hours before morning of the tournament

The full moon shining as bright as a star in its prime, put on show the reflection of the dark clouds through the calm ocean waters before Pilaf, Mai, and Shuu. Three of them, standing on a boat in dark clothes, were all coping with their anxiety in different ways as they embarked on their mission to obtaining all seven Dragon Balls.

Mai couldn't help but constantly go over her mascara and lipstick every five minutes ever since they had all agreed on leaving Korin's sacred land momentarily to run some errands. This, of course, was what they had told all of the others anyway as they had other ideas in mind.

Shuu was so stressed out that he couldn't go a full minute without having the most hysterical and impulsive yawns that seemed to be just down right exaggerated by the fifth time. His tail couldn't stop wagging, though his peers knew that he wasn't excited — not in the very least.

And as for Pilaf?

He just kept biting his nails.

One foot on the edge of the boat and one foot on the bottom surface, he was having an internal conflict as to whether or not they should dive in.

"The deepest part of the ocean…" Pilaf mumbled under his breath. "Right here."

"Man…" Shuu took a step forward. "And to think that we actually thought about diving here? Our lungs would probably collapse!"

"So I bought those scuba diving suits for nothing?" Mai raised a brow.

"Chill out," Pilaf hissed. "I wasn't really thinking with the most clarity, okay? It's been years since I've been in school, you know!"

"You actually went to school?" Mai and Shuu gasped.

It was then that Pilaf's face turned red like a preppy school girl talking to her hot crush for the first time, yet the blush didn't come with a smile - he had a frown of embarrassment. "Shut up!"

Pilaf proceeded to pull out a capsule from his pocket and click it. Before throwing it into the sky, he looked back at Shuu and Mai, asking them if they were ready. His heart was thumping hard and the thought of even not going through with this crossed his mind a multitude of times, yet to go through all the trouble of leaving Korin's land and come back empty handed would be a waste of time.

There was no turning back.

After the two answered yes as they shook their heads side to side, Pilaf tossed the capsule into the sky.

Said capsule converted into a submarine. The submarine landed hard on the body of water and splashed so much in their faces that Pilaf was knocked over into the ocean as Shuu and Mai fell over on their sides in the boat. Shuu slipped as he tried to hurry back on his feet, knocking himself in the face by the side of the boat.

Mai, on the other hand, maintained balance and went over to try and lift Pilaf from the water. Though due to feeling humiliated by being knocked over into the ocean by water, the blue imp ignores Mai's advance for help as he decided to swim over to the submarine.

He climbed on it, opened the hatch, and looked over to his two subordinates.

"I'll be back."

He then hopped in the submarine and submerged himself in the water.

Mai and Shuu were both left dumbfounded. The former of the two helped Shuu back up on his feet as he rubs his face, groaning.

"He really doesn't use his head much, does he?"

"Can't say so," Mai said as she shrugged her shoulders.

And so, the two waited on their leader to come back up.

After a half hour of waiting, both were beginning to get the impression that Pilaf would never come back. After all, the depths that he potentially had to go to just to obtain some old rice cooker was perhaps more than enough to cause the submarine to cave in completely, which would open Pilaf up to being vulnerable enough to getting crushed from the inside out by the insane pressure of water.

Though just as their doubts were beginning to climax with worry overtaking them at the thought of the absolute worst happening, another round of oversized gallons of water comes splashing in their faces, knocking them off the boat and into the water just as Pilaf had been victimized to earlier.

Whatever had came down below from under water came back down onto the boat with such force that it had been split in half. Pilaf was tossed over to the other side of the boat, which surprisingly remained afloat.

Everyone got a good look at the person — or thing — that had came from underneath.

Skin as green as freshly cut pasture, with ears the shape of a caracal, yet twice its size. His round, beady eyes struck immediate fear into the hearts of those that have just witnessed such a frightening introduction.

On the other half of the boat, the person is seen looking over his own body, mouth agape, as if he hadn't seen himself in years. The look of shock was quickly replaced by glee. He raised his chin with open palms, laughing like a crazed maniac that's just turned a new leaf over into the world of cynicism and nihilistic point of view — yet to also take pleasure in it.

Once his hysterical cackles die down, his eyes happen to avert over to the three people looking at him with their eyes so wide that they seemed as if they were going to roll down their faces at any time.

Still chuckling, the man speaks for the first time since being released.

"And just why is it that you've revived me?"


Present Time

So far, everything was going according to plan. Pilaf managed to convince their new ally that they need him in order to obtain the Dragon Balls. With his help, he was sure nothing was going to stand in their way at world domination.

Pilaf would rather kill himself than be subjugated to a world where others have managed to achieve his own dream of being Emperor of all Planet Earth.

As the blue imp sat there giggling like a quiet, shy school girl, all of the qualified fighters were directed to the gymnasium, which was now vacant save for the eight final fighters and the tournament announcer guy.

Lapis, with his arms crossed and back against the wall, looks at all of the other contestants in the room. Lazuli had earlier noted the intensity in the area in regards to a few of the fighters there, especially the mystery lady. They didn't pay much attention to the competition though as the twin brother changes topic.

"Gotta love how the bastard acts like he didn't just get jacked a few months ago," Lapis mumbles under his breath, chuckling delicately.

The host of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai still worse the same suit and spotless black shades that he always wore on a daily basis. It was as if he had 12 dozen replicas of the same outfit in his own closet. It was no wonder that it was so easy for Lapis to recognize him that one night.

"As pale faced as he's been since the day started, I'm sure that night is still eating at him. He can't help but wonder just exactly who shook him down."

The twins get a good laugh out of it.

Hanayome is a few yards away from the twins, just behind them. Sure, she overheard their conversation. And while perhaps just over six months ago, she would have been really intrigued, her stares does not leave Son Goku's direction.

The kid didn't afraid in looking directly back at her. He even subtly motioned his index finger in a circle and continued to motion his finger to draw a small, which only the two of them could understand.

Her focus was so hellbent on Goku that she didn't even come to recognize one of the other qualified fighters approaching her from the side. He stood directly by her shoulder for a solid five seconds prior to having to say her name more than once just to get her attention.

"What…?" she asks blandly.

"I don't know who you are — or what you are — but just know that I'm aware of Chaotzu's defeat being a fluke."

Initially, Tien was beginning to grow obsessed with the idea of appeasing his master Tsuru and humiliating all of Roshi's students as a way to not only honor his mentor, but the crane school way. A part of him still did, but he knew that he couldn't go through with that without avenging his own friend with Hanayome's defeat.

If Chaotzu had made it to the real rounds as a qualified fighter, Tien would have used his friend to rig the match-ups.

Now all he could do was just hope he'd get a chance at beating Hanayome and at least beating the living hell out of Roshi's students. Tien didn't have to see his master's face to know just how much he was probably fuming at the fact that Chaotzu lost to some mystery woman who didn't even show signs of having an impressive amount of power — even if she happened to be repressing her power.

"It wasn't a fluke," she responded.

Tien merely scoffs. "I'll avenge Chaotzu. And just know I won't show you any mercy. At all." He then turns around to leave her alone. Directly behind him was Jackie Chun, who had his hands on the young man's chest. Tien quickly swats Jackie Chun's hands off him and scolds the old man to get the hell out of his way.

"You have too much promise to be acting this way," Jackie Chun tells him. "Don't let the idea of vengeance eat at you."

Tien laughs right in his face and brushes Chun off to the side as he walks away.

Chun knew that there wasn't much hope to begin with. Maybe it would take something else for him to learn the harder way.

"For once it consumes you, there's no going back…"

Chun's eyes then avert over to the mystery lady. She raises her chin to briefly acknowledge him prior to turning her head directly over to Son Goku.

Upa, who was rather nervous, sucked it up and decided to approach Son Goku. Despite the changes that came with falling experiment to the world's best evil scientist, he vividly recalled Upa and the terror he had to face of losing his father. He saved the boy's life, though wasn't able to save Bora's.

Upa's twiddling thumbs and shaky voice makes it obvious that he's nervous, though it doesn't bother Goku.

Regardless of Upa's undoubted affiliation with Bulma and the others, the monkey-tailed cyborg didn't have any problems with the boy.

Just as long as he didn't get in his way.

Upa repeatedly mushes the tips of his index fingers together as he tries to muster up the courage to speak to Goku. He knew he was different — that he had been changed for the worst. Everyone had told him so. But still, how could he act like a total stranger to the face of the young boy who saved his life?

"I just…" Upa bit his lip.

"Just what?" Goku asks.

Literally everyone in the room turns their head over to Goku, who's finally spoken for the first time since being there. Krillin immediately moves to try and get Upa to remove himself from Goku, but Jackie Chun places a hand on the boy's shoulder to prevent him from going through with it.

Krillin couldn't even have his face turned directly at Goku within such close proximity. The person he used to call friend and rival wasn't even there anymore. He just didn't want anything happening to Upa. He knew that Goku was aware that the red-skinned boy was an ally of Roshi and the others that the Red Ribbon Army had a vendetta against, so if it meant that he had to face his old friend in order to protect Upa, then he would.

Seeing that there isn't any energy of hostility coming from Son Goku, Upa subconsciously uses this as the catalyst to not biting his tongue and saying what is on his mind.

"IJustWantYouToKnowThatIAmReallyGreatfulThatYouSavedMyLifeAndEvenThoughEveryoneSaysThatYouAreDifferentIJustWantYouToRealizeThatIAppreciateWhatYou'veDoneForMe."

All of those words came out of Upa's mouth so fast that by the time he was finished that he had to lick his dry lips three times over prior to taking a deep breath. Even the tournament announcer stalled for a bit so that Goku could have an opportunity to respond to Upa's breathtaking mini-speech.

Goku understood that Upa would still have a sense of respect for him due to saving his life and even fighting for him one day. Sure, Goku was on the other side now, but it didn't mean he had it out for Upa. As far as he was concerned, Upa played no part in being an obstacle to prevent him from obtaining the Dragon Balls. Before, he would be glad that Upa came to thank him, but now he didn't really care all that much.

Still, there was a little fun fact Goku believed that Upa may have wanted to know.

"Sure." Goku unfolds his arms. "Want to know something else?"

Upa's ears perk up.

"I avenged your father. That guy — Tao - I think his name was — is dead."

Literally everyone in the room was put to an absolute standstill at the admittance of Goku murdering the most feared assassin of all time.

Tien shoves Upa from the side, getting all in Goku's face, hot red. "YOU WHAT!?"

"Did I stutter?" Goku asks with a raised brow.

He didn't understand why this meant so much to three-eyes. Despite Tien's obvious rage and shock, the monkey-tailed boy didn't show himself to be intimidated by Tien because - well - he wasn't.

It took every sense of willpower in the essence of Tien's soul to not attack Goku right then and there. Everything from his bald head down to his shoulders was a hot red as the display of veins that rid along from the side of his head down to his forearms was amplified.

Tensions rose.

Goku, and everyone there realized that Tien had some sort of connection with Tao.

Just when Tien thought that the most he'd get out of this tournament was to embarrass the turtle school, that was then substituted by the idea of avenging the defeat of Chaotzu through beating the living daylights out of Hanayome.

But now?

He wanted to avenge Tao. There was no ifs ands or buts about it. Everything else was put on the backburner.

He HAD to get Goku.

The tournament announcer wanted to be the one to try and calm people down by bringing their attention toward him so that he could finally get the show on the road.

"All finalists, please assemble!"

Tien was the one who took the freedom of being the absolute farthest away from Goku just so that the temptation of wanting to rip his head off his shoulders wouldn't get the best of him.

Pointing a stick to a drawing board with eight different numbers and branches of different rounds and matches of the fight, the host of the Tenkaichi Budokai breaks everything down to the finalist participants.

"Each of you will be choosing your match and your opponent by lottery. So when we call your name, please come forward and draw a slip."

He proceeds to look at the clip board with all of the finalists' names and calls out the person with their name at the top of the list of eight.

"Starting with Mr. Jackie Chun."

"At your service."

The old man humbly walks over to the lottery box with his hands behind his back.

Jackie reaches into the box and pulls out a piece of paper. "I'm number 4, it seems…"

The tournament announcer goes to the drawing board to write down Jackie Chun's name in the designated spot on the match-up board. "That would be match number two."

"Next is...Lazuli."

She goes to the lottery box and pulls number 1.

"That's match number 1."

"Lapis!"

The twin brother follows after and draws from the lottery box, receiving a number 3.

"Match number 2!"

Lapis looks over to the old man and chuckles. "An easy win from the first round?"

"Don't underestimate him," Krillin warns. "He won the last Tenkaichi Budokai."

"Barely," Goku reminds Krillin.

Krillin briefly stares at Goku prior to looking back at the host. Yes, Krillin remembered all too well of exactly what took place in the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. The only reason Jackie Chun beat Goku in the finals as they were on their very last toes came because of the fact that despite connecting blows to one another simultaneously, Jackie Chun's slightly greater reach as a taller fighter was more than enough to do Son Goku out and put him down long enough for Jackie Chun to get up on his two feet and claim victory.

Krillin, more than aware that Goku is definitely much stronger than before, was definitely worried. He just hoped that a miracle could come out and about.

"Next up, Upa!"

Upa goes ahead and draws his number, which turns out to be number 5.

Krillin is then called next.

The bald little boy reads his number out loud. "6." He then proceeds to look directly at Upa, who smiles wide at him.

"We get to see who got better training from Korin!"

Yet again, another shock for Tien to hear. He heard stories about the legendary Korin, though Tsuru often referred to him as nothing but a meaningless person untrue to Martial Arts. But sure enough a Martial Arts expert such as Roshi saw something within Korin if he were willing to permit his students to being trained by him. After all, many people claim him to be the God of Martial Arts.

"Next up, Tien!"

The three-eyed young man pulls a piece of paper from the lottery box. After pulling a number 7, comes to the realization that he was going to either get the brat or the mystery lady. He prayed to the Gods — if there were any — that he would get to face Goku. He only needed to beat the living shit out of him in Tao's name. The thought of going as far to kill him even crossed his mind. He knew Tsuru would understand perfectly fine if he did it.

After all, Tao was Tsuru's brother.

Besides, Tien knew that he could catch the other members of the turtle school at any other time and fight with no rules to hold them back as a way to see who truly is the most skilled Martial Artist.

The next finalist is called.

"Number nine!?" the host calls out in a tone of bewilderment and uncertainty.

Goku then steps up to the lottery box.

The host of the tournament messes with his shades as he holds a look of confusion. "Erhm...if I recall correctly, you registered into the last tournament under the alias of Son Goku, no?"

"That was last tournament," Goku says as he draws a piece of paper. "This tournament, I'm number nine."

"But you pulled number 2," Lapis points out. "So technically you're number 2, hehe."

"Funny," Goku says dryly.

"That leaves Hanayome to pull, which means her and Tien will be facing in the last fight of the first round."

Tien rolls his eyes but goes with it. "Looks like I'll have to settle for the less wanted."

But it was no matter.

He was going to take pleasure in beating both of them to the ground.

In the first fight of the first round, Son Goku and Lazuli were to be facing up against one another. Lazuli looked as Goku as nothing than some brat that had some skill like the other children, but in her eyes, he was still a child. Not to mention, she had an ace that she and her brother had been using the entire time. There was just no way she was going to lose.

As far as Goku was concerned, he saw her as another meak opponent that he expected to ring out within the first three seconds. He wanted to get all of this over with as quickly as possible.

The second fight of the first round would be Jackie Chun vs. Lapis.

The former of the two was already aware of the fact that Lapis was using an accessory to help him in his bouts. It was just far too obvious. The young man would send one punch someone's way and they would fall down as if a bowling ball the size of a house had been sent their way.

Giving the display of power he got from his chi level and comparing that to the results from the preliminary fights, Jackie Chun knew something was up.

And he hoped to have Lapis lose in the worst way possible.

The third fight: Upa vs Krillin.

These two, both students of Muten Roshi and Master Korin. This was more of a sparring session taken to the extreme than anything.

Krillin already had experience on Upa when the kid started training, but the boy's training was completed at a much more progressive rate than his or Yamcha's for that matter. Krillin knew for a fact that Upa held a lot of potential.

He was told by Upa that his father was very strong - so strong that he could take bullets head on.

Maybe genetics had a part to play in it.

But that didn't mean he was going to let himself be discouraged and just lose to his friend and rival. He was going to give it his all and he hoped that Upa was going to do the same.

And the last battle.

Tien vs. Hanayome.

Tien had to focus on this one before he could worry about Goku.

But Hanayome didn't even have Tien in the back of her mind.

Just as Tien was focused on Son Goku…

So was she.

With all the fights set, the host explained the rules.

"These are single-round bouts with no time limit. If you fall out of bounds, happen to be knocked down by a 10 second count, or plead mercy, you take defeat." He then steps out by the exit, just where the main arena happened to be approximately 15 yards from. "If you hear your names over the loud speakers, please approach the arena."

He then looks at Goku. "Which reminds me. Do you also need to eat before the tournament?"

Goku just shakes his head. "Not hungry."

This catches everyone save for Tien, Lapis, and Lazuli by surprise.

Goku not eating?

Perhaps the next biggest way to tell that he truly has changed.

He would never reject the opportunity for a meal unless he was already stuffed.


As the fights were officially decided, the crowd was still waiting outside. Some people were even complaining about the wait. Everyone knew that the preliminaries were over, which meant that it was only a matter of time until the real battles begun.

"Where'd that old coot wander off to this time?" Oolong asks as he sips on a beer.

"And Bulma!" Puar squeaks. "I thought she'd make it!"

Tights and Yamcha look at one another for a split second before turning over to the two shape-shifters.

"She's still taking the loss of mom and dad hard," Tights says.

Yamcha was going to say something, but he quickly puts his finger down.

Tights wasn't technically wrong after all.

Just then, a loud klang is heard as one of the overseers of the tournament bang a big drum to finally let the crowd know that the real fights are beginning to start.

The host comes out with microphone in hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your patience!" He steps onto the arena. "We present to you the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai!"

Cheers from the crowd rang so loud that it felt like the ground was shaking. "Over one hundred and eighty participants made a try at making the finals, but as we all know, only eight are destined to make it to the big stage! One of those eight fighters will come out as the winner with 500,000 zeni and come out with the chance to prove to you who truly is the strongest under the heavens of Earth!"

Roars of cheers erupted.

"Now let's not waste any time in starting the first match! Contestant Lazuli versus contestant number 9 — A.K.A. Son Goku."

Just when one thought that the cheering couldn't get any louder, it sure enough did. The mere mentioning of SOn Goku's name was all it took for people to go totally crazy. After all, everyone remembered just how close he came to winning last year's tournament. With him as the underdog, they just hoped that he could come out and prevail to be on top yet again.

In the crowd, Gero blended in, appearing to be looking like any regular old joe that just came to check out the tournament. In order to sell his disguise, the old man shaved all of his facial hair and tied his white, long hair into a pony-tail, wearing a red skimmer hat that was leaned down just before his eyebrows. His eyes had also been blocked by the shades that he wore.

"Finally."


As the tournament could be watched on television by Red and Black like normal people, they instead, insisted on using Dr. Gero's microscopic robotic creations to take surveillance over the tournament.

Red is seated in his high chair, hands together, and a big tooty grin plastered over his face. "I can feel the Dragon Balls in my hands, Black. When this is over, we will finally get what we've been hoping for."

Black holds a subtle smile as well. "Agreed."

With all of the risks involved and the struggle it took to be able to get to this point, Black took great pride in the fact that they were literally about to be a success.

It was only a matter of time for them.

BANG BANG BAM!

Screams of hell rang loud as deafening noises of gunfire and explosions caught the attention of Black and Red.

Their new hideout was rather enormous, layered with multiple rooms, so for them to hear this out in the distance meant that something was definitely going wrong.

Black and Red look at one another, wide-eyed.

Subsequent to relocating, they never thought it possible for anyone to infiltrate their organization, especially given of just how well that they were hidden. Not only that, but they made reinforcements on security, courtesy to Dr. Gero. But despite the doctor's creations, even that wasn't enough to alert the Red Ribbon Army and give them a headstart on their intruders.

Whoever or whatever attacked — did so with blinding speed.

"Hello?" Black speaks over his walkie-talkie. "General Violet...colonel teal...anyone there? Over."

No response.

The dent of a physical body sticks to the metal door of Red's office with a loud bang. Black immediately grabs the pistol inside of his pocket and cocks it. He signals for Red to hide and take cover.

"HIDE!? What in the hell do I look like hiding for!? I am Commander Red, god dammit!" He pulls out a revolver. "Nothing will bring me into hi-"

The door that comes flying over his head off the hinges causes him to drop his weapon. Black was standing there just moments ago, yet the door caught his head, which was now detached from his shoulders. Seeing his highest ranked subordinate's body on the floor with blood gushing out as his head rolled over stunned him.

There on appeared a dark-green skinned animal looking creature with wings on his back. His skin was scaly like a fish yet he seemed to hold the appearance of a Dragon — a devilish looking Dragon. He stomped on Black's head with enough force to send his eyes flying from its sockets directly over to Red's feet, which freaks the commander out.

He had seen and done many horrendous things in his life time, but this was just downright nasty.

As he momentarily regains his composure — or what was left of it — Red goes to grab for his gun, but it fumbles in his hand as he picks it up. Subsequent to dropping it for a second time, by the time he does pick it up, the man is already in front of his face, with his hands clutching the midget's collar.

Red is picked up and now looking into the face of this demon spawn.

"The Dragon Balls...where are they?"

Looking at this thing through the eyes, Red feels cold sweats falling down from his back to the very crack of his butt. His body is shaking and his heart is thumping so hard that it can just plop out of his chest and smack this humanoid creature in the face.

"I-I don't know…" he fibs.

"Liar," he hisses.

By penetrating Red's skin with his sharp fingernails, he stops short of poking anything fatal, just in hopes of being able to get the truth out of him, despite the fact that he could see six of the Dragon Balls in a little box on the desk out of his peripheral vision.

Red lets out a loud, pained groan, swearing to God that he doesn't know. He raises the gun and shoots the creature dead in the face.

Yet to no avail.

The bullet is attached to the thing's forehead, with a bit of steam protruding from it. Yet after taking the shot from point blank range, he's just smiling.

"The radar told us that it's here. Very nice try, though." Digging further, he manages to puncture Red in the kidney. So much pain comes over the midget commander that he has no choice but to be brought into shock. He tosses Red over his desk and chuckles menacingly as he goes to pick up the small lockbox full of Dragon Balls

"Yes…" his mouth slithers. "Father will love this…"