Chapter Thirty: Welcoming Committee

The dragon radar in the Red Ribbon Army HQ covered an entire wall and showed a whole section of the world. A single blinking dot upon the screen little by little began to move elsewhere. General Red watched over dinner in irritation.

'Sir the dragonball in Colonel Silver's section has begun moving.' said an aid.

'Let him no immediately.' said General Red, motioning with one fork. As the aid left, he set down his food and began to pet his cat. 'It's all falling into place. My men are closing in on each of the seven balls. It's only a matter of time before they retrieve them, and I rule the world.'

The corpse of the shopkeeper was not yet cold as Silver looked on in contempt. 'Foolish peasant.' He scoffed as he put away his gun. Suddenly there was a beeping noise from his breast pocket. He reached in to retrieve a communicator. 'Colonel Silver here.'

'Silver, listen up.' said Command. 'The dragonball is moving north northwest. Begin pursuit at once.'

'I understand.' said Silver, before putting his radio away. 'soldiers we're clearing out!'

'Sir!' They affirmed.

Yamcha and Launch had split up to search different sections of town. Now that he was alone, he allowed himself to show how tired he was. The seventy-five kilos had been tearing at him all day, and every moment he'd wanted to pull it off and go without it. He was badly tired, but he refused to be outdone by Kakarot.

Then three gunshots rang out throughout the town. As once he sped up his pace, running through the streets seeking the source. What he saw was an open-topped jeep in front of a store. Coming out of the store were a group of soldiers dressed in tan uniforms while walking heavily armed.

At their head was a muscular man with red hair, clad in a blue trench coat. Yamcha had no idea who these guys were, but he didn't like the look of them. As they began to gun the engine swiftly moved past them and climbed up the stairs to look inside. Within lay the body of a man, multiple gunshot wounds in his chest.

'The dragonball is on the move,' the man said to his men. 'we'll track it down.'

Yamcha trembled in anger. He'd seen death before of course; he'd ended lives with his own hand. Yet he'd always tried to avoid it, always done so in a fair battle. This had been entirely senseless. These goons had entered the store, murdered a man, and then left without even taking anything. He turned around to face the man.

'Just who the hell do you think you are, pal?!'

The man looked up, an expression of contempt on his face as he regarded Yamcha. After a moment he stepped down from the car. 'I am Colonel Silver of the Red Ribbon army. We're on official business. I'd advise you to show more respect, peasant.'

'Big talk coming from a man who needed three on one odds to kill an old man.' noted Yamcha. 'What's the matter, hotshot? Too scared to fight your own battles?'

'Kill him.' said General Silver.

Five guns were lowered before them, and Yamcha leaped to the side as they opened fire. The doorway was shredded to pieces. Bullets tore through the windows and walls, tearing apart the front of the building. Yet Yamcha had not been hit, and soon their ammunition ran dry. Springing up and launched himself at the soldiers.

As he charged, he fell the full weight of his garments more than ever. One soldier fell to a punch, another was kicked down, and then he was on Colonel Silver himself. His attack was clumsy, and his technique was ruined by his weights. Silver reached up and caught Yamcha's hand in his own. He dealt him a vicious right hook that sent him staggering back. As Yamcha righted himself, Silver drew out a pistol.

Three more shots echoed throughout the town.

Bulma heard the gunshots as she was looking for Yamcha and Launch, and quickened her pace as Puar ran with her. As she did she cursed the vest and armbands which were weighing her down. She rounded the corner and saw a jeep driving away into the distance.

'Oh no!' cried Puar. 'Yamcha!'

On the ground lay, Yamcha out cold, and Bulma rushed up to him, falling by his side. There were three smoking holes in his outfit, and the front of the nearby building had been blown to bits. 'Oh no, you can't die on me like this Yamcha! You've got to be alright!' She looked up. 'Puar, go see if you can find some medical equipment in that store! Quickly!'

She checked his pulse, and to her relief, he was still alive.

Puar came back with a first aid kit. 'The storekeeper is dead in there, and everything's wrecked.'

Yamcha pulled himself up, groaning in pain.

'Ugh…' said Yamcha 'why am I…'

'Yamcha you're alive!' cried Puar before hugging him.

'Yeah, I guess so.' said Yamcha rubbing head.

Bulma couldn't help herself. She slapped him. 'Don't scare me like that! I thought you were dead!' She paused. 'How did you survive?'

'I guess the weighted vest deflected the shots.' reflected Yamcha 'My chest feels like it got run over by a freight train, though.' He moved and hissed in pain.

Launch came running round the bend with her machine gun in hand. 'Alright, who's been shooting at my friends!'

'They're gone already,' said Bulma, 'Launch, help me get his vest off, we need to treat these injuries.'

Little by little they removed the shot and vest and found several light bruises on Yamcha's chest. There should have been bullet holes. Bulma could not help but blush at the proximity. They applied ointment to them, and bandaged him up before he rose up painfully and put his shirt and vest back on.

'I can't fight in these things…' said Yamcha.

'Give it some time,' said Launch, 'you'll get used to them.'

It was right about this point that Kakarot returned. He looked in a foul mood as he came up to them, carrying the dragon radar. 'Well, I've just been machine-gunned by Emperor Pilaf. He got one of the dragonballs by the way. Once again, he proves himself a legitimate threat. Are you alright?'

'We're fine,' said Yamcha 'just a little worse for wear. I see you got the dragon radar back.'

'Yes,' said Kakarot, raising it and looking at it. 'from the looks of things, the dragonball is moving north northwest. Which is… not the direction that Pilaf went actually. Do you suppose this thing could be broken?'

'Not on your life,' said Bulma 'I'll have you know I made that Dragon Radar to be unbreakable.'

'Hang on,' said Yamcha 'that guy I fought, Colonel Silver, he was looking for a dragonball. I overheard him talking to the others. That is why he killed the shopkeeper in there.'

'Why kill him?' asked Kakarot, 'When you could just take what you wanted at gunpoint.'

'I ran into a house which had been wrecked by Silver and his goons.' said Bulma 'I wouldn't put it past that jerk to kill someone just because they weren't of any further use to him.'

'Uh…' Puar began 'When I was looking for a first aid kit I saw a box. It was filled with dragonballs. But they were all made of colored glass. I could tell. There was also one broken on the ground near the shopkeeper's body.'

'Oh that makes sense,' said Kakarot 'I think I have guessed our riddle. Pilaf came to this place, seeking a dragonball. The shopkeeper had made forgeries ahead of time and sold one to him. Then this Silver fellow must have arrived but noticed the flaws as Puar. Angry at being cheated, he must have murdered the shopkeeper in cold blood.'

'I've killed for less.' said Launch.

'But that doesn't make sense!' said Yamcha 'There has to have been a dragonball here! That Pilaf guy had the ability to detect dragonballs. And you detected one close enough to think Pilaf had actually got one. And Silver must have had good reason to think that there was one here.'

'This Silver punk could have been operating on rumors.' suggested Launch. 'Maybe the shopkeeper spread around the word that he had powerful artifacts. So he could scam people. Same for this Pilaf guy.'

'No, Pilaf has the ability to detect dragonballs,' affirmed Puar 'When Yamcha and I had five of them, we hid them in a ditch and left them. Only we knew where it was. After we were all captured by Pilaf he sent his minions right to the exact spot and took them.'

'And Silver didn't search this place,' said Yamcha 'a guy like him would have ransacked the whole shop just in case. He must have been absolutely certain that the dragonball had moved on.'

Bulma suddenly looked very white, as if something had occurred to her that she didn't want to think about. However, after a moment, she shook her head. 'We can't just stand around here and do nothing! We have to go after that dragonball and get it before either Silver or Pilaf can!'

'Sounds fine to me,' said Kakarot, ' let's get back to the car.'

'I'm driving!' snapped Bulma as they rushed away.

Reaching the car, they entered it and zoomed off at maximum speed. A cloud of dust was kicked up behind them as they surged onwards across the sands. Yamcha looked on the verge of a heart attack. 'Could you possibly slow down!'

'Quiet!' shouted Bulma. 'We have a dragonball to find!'

The dragonball had shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. and Pilaf stared in horror and grief, trying to keep himself from sobbing. He stared at the monument to how completely he had been duped. It was not a dragonball at all, but a fake a replica, a posing device that wasn't actually real.

'Oh sire,' said Mai, 'you paid a fortune for this useless thing.'

'Idiot!' cried Pilaf. 'You don't need to remind me of that!'

At this moment, Shu came back. 'Um sire, according to the radar the dragonball is moving away from the ship!'

'Then follow it fool!' snapped Pilaf. 'Its time for us to get back to business, find the real on!'

Now far away, in the land where Fire Mountain once stood, the Ox King had given up his evil ways. He'd made peace with the neighboring villagers. It helped that the Ox King hadn't actually had the heart to do much terrorizing. He and his daughter Chi Chi were honored by the people now and were enjoying their new life in the tranquil town.

Chi Chi stared out the window sadly. It had been some two weeks since the end of the World Martial Arts Tournament. She missed her friends. In particular, the spiky-haired Kakarot. 'Oh, where have you gone my darling Kakarot?' she asked as she gazed out upon the swaying palm trees overlooking the round houses. 'I hope he hasn't forgotten me after all this time. I'll die if I don't see him soon.'

The sound of massive footfalls marked the approach of her Father, and he came up behind Chi Chi, 'Chi Chi…'

'Oh hi dad,' said Chi Chi.

'You're crazy about that boy, Kakarot, aren't you?' asked Ox King.

Chi Chi blushed. 'Well, he is kind of sweet.'

Ox King put one massive hand on Chi Chi's shoulder. 'You know, the old housekeeper fancies herself a bit of a psychic. Maybe she can help you find him.'

Chi Chi turned to the Ox King with stars in her eyes. 'Oh, would she do that?!'

An hour later, Chi Chi and the Ox King kneeled before an old women as a torch was lit, then another. The room they were in was dark, and a shrine stood at the far end with a platter of food before it. The women rang a gong while muttering to herself. 'Spirit of Fire Mountain, all-powerful, will you help this lovesick fool. She can't find her love today. Will you please point out the way.'

There was a long silence. Then the psychic exclaimed.

'What is it?' asked Ox King as he leaned in.

'He's approaching!' cried the women.

'When will he be here?!'

'Very… soon…' said the psychic.

Ox King looked to his daughter. 'Did you hear that Chi Chi? Your Kakarot is heading to our village!'

'Oh, boy!' cried Chi Chi. 'Kakarot will come here, and it will be just like old times! This is great!'

'Well then, I've got a lot of planning to do!' And he got up and made his way to the door, thinking to himself.

'Planning?' asked Chi Chi. 'What for?'

'Well only the very finest feast will do for the friends of the Ox King's daughter!' said Ox King before disappearing. 'I have to get ready!'

The hum of the jet engine was everywhere. Silver leaned forward in the cockpit at the passing clouds, seeking the dragonballs.

'The dragonball is bearing towards point B3 bearing north northwest at a rate of fifty miles an hour.' said a man.

'So far we still have no visual confirmation,' said Silver 'we'll stay on alert though sir.'

Thus the search continued.

'Look here, Colonel,' said the pilot. 'I think we've found it.' Silver looked to the screen and saw the image of a bird flying. 'It seems to be ahead to out left.'

Silver removed a pair of binoculars and looked through them. It was a bird flying onwards, the five-star dragonball clenched between its talons. Silver smiled. 'Jackpot, we have a visual.' Then his eyes widened as a giant flying dinosaur appeared and devoured the bird with one single bite. That dinosaur was then clobbered with a huge boulder that broke its neck. It was sent it spiraling down to earth.

'What?' said Silver as his eyes fixed on a giant far below. 'What the…' Its image was unmistakable as he picked up the dinosaur and made his way back to a village.

'Colonel, that's the Ox King!' said the pilot.

'I see that,' said Silver, 'our job just got considerably harder.'

'Heads up,' said the Pilot 'an unknown aircraft in the vicinity!'

A flying death fortress loomed behind them. Silver looked back before deciding to quit while he was ahead. 'Soldier, fly us to cover.'

Meanwhile, from where they were piloting the death fortress, Mai shuddered. 'Sire, I think we've run into trouble. That's the Ox King down there. I've heard he's really ruthless.'

'Nonsense!' proclaimed Pilaf. 'My rise to power will not be stopped by some… some… cow man! Now you find a way to get down there and find me that ball or you'll both be crying for your mommies!'

'But sire, he's a monster!' cried Mai.

'Yeah!' said Shu. 'He's really strong and evil and scary! All the villagers are petrified of him! They used to call him the… the Devil King!'

Pilaf looked somewhat less confident. 'Uh… devil king, did you say?'

'Is this the first you've ever heard of him?' asked Mai.

'Uh… well… of course, it isn't!' said Pilaf. 'But… you know how these stories can be inflated.' The nervous silence that followed was enough. They were in no way comforted by this revelation.

Colorful banners were erected upon the walls of the Ox King's palace. Servants set out streamers along the walls as the Ox King returned with a dinosaur on his back. The servants, long since used to such displays of might, simply bowed and smiled. 'Welcome sir, may I say what an honor it is to prepare for your daughter's guests. I hope you are satisfied with our efforts.'

'The entire village is buzzing about the big party.' said another 'And especially the feast.'

It would be a good time to mention that things were very slow around Fire Mountain.

'Thank you very much,' said Ox King. 'I'll be sure to tell Chi Chi how hard you worked on all this.'

Then one worker on the roof looked up. 'Huh? Sir, what's that over there?'

'What?' said Ox King, glancing up. 'Where?'

He followed the servants gaze and saw a gigantic death fortress. It was brimming with guns and other turrets floating towards them, casting a shadow over the village.

'Oh?' asked Ox King. 'Is it the guest of honor?'

Meanwhile, Pilaf resided in his chair as they drew near the Ox King's village. 'Ready!' he said. 'Prepare to enter attack mode!'

'Wait a minute,' said Mai. 'Emperor!'

'Oh, what now, Mai?' asked Pilaf.

'Take a look at this sire.' said Mai, putting something on screen.

A great host of villagers waving at them, while amongst them was the Ox King, smiling. Cheers came up from the villagers as they drew closer. Pilaf read a sign held up before them in bemusement. 'Welcome back, Kakarotto…'

'I think that's Kakarot sire.' said Shu.

'Don't correct me!' snapped Pilaf.

Shu broke into a cold sweat. 'Oh me and my big mouth…'

'Wait,' said Mai, 'isn't Kakarot that psychotic kid who stole the dragonballs from us?'

'I don't get it,' said Pilaf, 'why does Kakarot get this great welcome when I, the great Emperor, get zilch?!'

'They must be expecting Kakarot.' said Mai.

Pilaf considered the matter for a moment. Then he began to laugh.

Ox King wandered the palace, looking for his daughter. Female servants prepared the guest quarters. 'Chi Chi! Chi Chi! Where did you run off too?!' he cried. Then he glanced to a servant. 'Did you see where that girl went?'

'Erm… I think she went out to pick some flowers.' said the old women.

Meanwhile, Pilaf and co had gone about their work well. Mai stood up. 'Emperor the disguise is ready.'

Pilaf smiled. 'Oh, Shu, your costume awaits you.' Mai moved forward to begin assembling the costume as Shu squeaked in fright. When it was done, Pilaf looked over Shu now wearing a mask which made him look like Kakarot. 'Mmmhmm, they will never be able to tell.'

'But what if they find me out?' asked Shu 'I'm a terrible actor.'

'You quit that sniveling!' snapped Pilaf. 'You see it is more logical to get the dragonball the sneaky way than to battle this big ox on his home field.'

'But I'm even bad at charades.' said Shu.

'And keep your mouth shut, you sound nothing like Kakarot!' snapped Pilaf.

'Whatever you say,' said Shu, sounding completely cowed.

'If you weren't the one with the tail, I sure wouldn't trust you with anything this important.' snapped Pilaf in despair. 'Don't blow it!'

'Yes sire.' said Shu, tail drooping.

Outside the death, fortress began to lower itself down upon the village. Its shadow was growing ever longer and more complete. The Ox King emerged from his palace to watch with the awed villagers. It stood inches away from touching the buildings. A panel opened, and a great hand reached down, and upon that hand stood Kakarot. With no power pole. Flanked by a dark haired woman and an imp nobody had ever seen in his company before.

Cheers broke out as the Ox King led the people to meet Kakarot halfway. 'Welcome to my village young man,' said Ox King 'Chi Chi's out, but don't worry, the feast is all planned. Its the finest party in the land right?'

An affirmative cheer rang through the villagers. Despite herself, Mai was in awe of just how stupid everyone in this place was. Pilaf's plan shouldn't have worked! By every natural law, it should have fallen apart the moment they saw that Kakarot had a foxtail. At the very least someone should have raised an eyebrow at the death fortress.

Was it something in the water here that made everyone delusional?

Ox King slapped Shu on the back and sent him reeling with a laugh. Then he turned his attention to them, towering over them. 'And who might you two be?' he asked in a booming voice.

'Uh…' they began. 'We're his cousins!'

And they actually bought it. Either there was a method to Pilaf's madness or everyone on this planet was completely insane.

As they drove along the desert, the group soon came into greener lands. Over the course of some days, they homed in on the area of Fire Mountain, following the dragonball. Then Kakarot saw something out his window, and lowered it. 'Is that… the Nimbus Cloud?'

Sure enough, Chi Chi was flying through the air a long-distance away. She had not yet seen them. Kakarot glanced to Bulma. 'Bulma, keep on driving. I'm going to meet Chi Chi. I'll meet you at Fire Mountain. Or… what's left of it anyway.'

'Alright kid,' said Bulma 'just don't keep us waiting too long. We've got a dragonball to find. Just let me pull over and-'

Kakarot opened his door and leaped out of the moving vehicle. He used his power pole to propel himself onward after Chi Chi. Bulma sighed. 'I hate it when he does stuff like that.'

By a massive apple tree, near a scenic lake, Kakarot met Chi Chi. She was picking flowers with her back to him while humming to herself and looking out across the water. On a whim, Kakarot leaped up and picked two apples, before approaching her.

'Hey Chi Chi, it's been a while!' called Kakarot as he approached.

Chi Chi turned around in surprise. When she saw him her eyes instantly brightened as a huge smile came across her face. 'Kakarot, I can't believe you came all this way for me.'

'Actually I'm here because I'm looking for dragonballs and I think your father might have one.' said Kakarot.

The sound of shattered dreams was almost audible. 'Oh,' said Chi Chi, 'well it's nice to see you anyway. I almost felt as though this day would never come.'

'In my experience, tomorrow always comes.' said Kakarot 'Well barring the heat death of the universe, but that's another story.'

'Oh Kakarot you big joker!' said Chi Chi, before slapping him playfully.

Kakarot was sent reeling back to slam into the wall, hitting both his tail and his head. He landed with a crash on the ground. Pain reverberated through his body as he arose shuddering. Kakarot arose painfully, rubbing himself. 'You just hurt me in my head and my tail. Remind me why I came here again?'

'Oh I've got to be more ladylike.' said Chi Chi.

'Well you are the World Champion,' muttered Kakarot as he approached. 'So I don't expect anyone will hold winning a fight against you.' He raised the apple. 'Look do you want this apple or not?'

'Oh, for me?' asked Chi Chi as she took the apple.

'Sure why now,' said Kakarot, before raising his apple and taking a bite of it.

Chi Chi took a bit of the apple and then smiled. Then they just kind of looked at each other for a moment, unsure of how to proceed.

Pilaf, Mai, and a disguised Shu were led to a great hall where everyone was assembled as one. They were seated at the left hand of the Ox King, and waiting. Shu leaned over to Pilaf. 'Emperor I feel bad taking Kakarot's place here. We don't even know these people.'

'Moron,' hissed Pilaf 'you aren't here to make friends.'

'But this is Kakarot's party isn't it?' asked Shu as he looked at all the pretty faces.

'You just keep pretending until we get the dragonball,' said Pilaf. 'Then we'll scram.'

'Yes sire.' said Shu.

The Ox King looked down at them, concern in his expression. 'Kakarot, I'm sorry for the waiting, she should be here by now.'

'Oh its no hurry,' said Shu in the worst impression Mai had ever heard.

'You idiot, can't you think on your own?' hissed Pilaf 'Tell him you are hungry so that we can find the ball and sneak out before she gets back!'

'Oh, okay,' said Shu. 'wow, I sure am starving.'

Mai and Pilaf shared a facepalm together at the sheer idiocy that surrounded them.

'Oh, of course,' said Ox King 'forgive me for my rudeness. We can hold a celebration whenever she gets back.' Then he looked up and clapped his hands. 'Hey, bring out the food!'

A drum sounded, and enormous plates of meat were brought forward by servants. Chiefest among them was a massive roasted dinosaur which smelled absolutely delicious. 'There it is Mai,' said Pilaf.

'Yes,' said Mai 'I can almost taste it.'

'Let's have a toast to true friends!' said Ox King 'Even if some of them aren't here right now! May all of your days be very bright, and your battles short.' A cheer rang through the crowd as they raised their cups. 'Okay everyone, let's eat!'

He glanced to Shu. 'Kakarot, you are our special guest! If you need anything, just let me know!'

There was a low whistle that echoed through the daylight. One of the walls exploded inwards, scattering those taking cover there. The red ribbon army had made its entrance. Another wall was caved in, as people screamed and ran.

It was at this moment, as the rumbling of tanks became audible. The Ox King arose looking for all the world different. Gone was the friendly and cheerful host from before, instead there was anger there. And Mai for the first time since she had seen him remembered his fearsome reputation. She realized why he had gotten it.

'What is all this?!' cried Ox King. 'Who is knocking my people's walls down?! I'll give these scoundrels such a beating they'll never walk again!' And hoisting his axe he rushed out in terrible anger.

'Let's move it!' cried Mai. 'I'm afraid that it's now or never!'

'Don't be foolish!' snapped Pilaf. 'This is the best chance to get the ball that we've had yet!' And he rushed over to the cooked dinosaur to begin reaching inside.

The sound of gunfire continued.

Outside an entire company of tanks approached the village. Only one figure stood against them, a lone giant clad in medieval army. He rushed at them with a simple axe, a war cry on his lips. And in turn, the tanks unleashed countless armor-piercing shells. Each one could level a small house.

In retrospect, it really wasn't fair to the tanks.

Their shells bounced off the Ox King, being no more than gnats biting upon his frame. And in return, he tore them apart. His axe cleaved through armor and rubber and flesh. His legs crushed tanks like cardboard. His arms tore the vehicles apart before hurling them to crush still more vehicles. With an idle shoulder, the Ox King decimated some of the most heavy tanks ever to exist.

He left in his wake twisted and broken machines, exploding behind him. Those inside them dying horrid deaths from fire and the crushing embrace of metal. Ox King halted a tank with his bare hands and slammed it into another tank.

Colonel Silver watched with a combination of awe and horror. He did not allow it to show on his face as he went towards the giant. 'He's such a neanderthal.' he said.

'Colonel, do we retreat?' asked a man.

'No,' said Silver, 'hold your ground. I'll take care of him.' He drew out an antitank gun. A very special gun. Sighting it at the rampaging giant, he licked his lips in anticipation. Targeting the Ox King's head, he fired.

The bolt surged through the air and caught Ox King in the face, and he clutched his head in pain. It should have blown his head clean off. 'Oh, I can't see!' he cried.

'The net!' called Silver.

Specially designed tanks launched a great weighted net of the strongest material available. It captured Ox King and wrapped around him, sending him falling to the ground. He struggled within its bounds.

Silver chuckled. 'Never tangle with the Red Ribbon Army. All available men, get down there and find that dragonball!'

Pilaf emerged from the dinosaur's stomach, dirtied but victorious. In his hands, he held the dragonball. 'At last, its all mine!' he proclaimed. Then he saw the soldiers marching around the village outside, accompanied by tanks.

Buildings had huge chunks blown out of them for the entertainment of the soldiers. Walls were crushed beneath the treads of tanks.

Pilaf realized that Mai and Shu were already gone. Panicking, he ran with all his might, hoping against hope that they had not left without him. As he did so, he rounded the corner and saw them waiting for him by the metal hand. He sprinted for them with every bit of strength he had left.

'Come on, come on, come on!' cried Mai.

Behind them, a car rounded the corner, a red-haired man behind them. 'Get him!' cried the man. A soldier in the passenger's seat raised a machine gun and opened fire on Pilaf. A bullet shot through Pilaf's robes but missed his flesh.

Then he reached the ship and was hoisted from sight just in time.

The Death Fortress lifted off, as the Red Ribbon army completed its conquest of Fire Mountain. Below, Colonel Silver looked up in silent anger.

It was a far more tranquil scene between Chi Chi and Kakarot as they lounged by the lake. They were admiring the beauty of their surroundings. 'So I was thinking…' said Chi Chi, 'one day I want to have a really big family? Do you feel the same way?'

'No, not really.' admitted Kakarot as he lounged on the grass. 'Wait, does a harem of beautiful female slaves count as family?'

Chi Chi looked at him in annoyance. 'Are you making fun of me?'

'No, I'm serious.' said Kakarot. 'I figure you can be chained to the right side of my throne, and Bulma to the left. You can wear matching outfits that are the same color as your hair. You know, sort of like what you usually wear except a bit more skimpy and-'

Chi Chi slapped him, and he went tumbling head over heels to land some distance away. He sat up. 'Why do you keep hitting me? I'm only answering your question.' Then he noticed smoke rising in the distance over the hilltops. 'What's that smoke?'

'Oh,' said Chi Chi, 'that's coming from my village! This is really bad! Come to me flying Nimbus!' The Nimbus came flying through the sky and screeched to a halt before her. She looked at him. 'Come on Kakarot, let's go see what's happening?'

'Fine,' said Kakarot, rubbing his head. 'hey is that Pilaf's death fortress?'

Will the Red Ribbon Army allow Emperor Pilaf to escape with the dragonballs? Will Chi Chi and Kakarot get to the village in time to help the great Ox King. Tune in next time to find out!

Authors Note:

Okay, a couple of things I need to talk about. First, the savvy viewer will notice that I changed a wedding to a welcoming committee. The reason for this is because Chi Chi in the original series kind of lives in her own little world. In this series, she has seen more of the world and is a little less naive. She doesn't view her relationship with Kakarot as a fairy tale romance.

Secondly, this will be the final chapter in the immediate future, which is to say, until I get Dragonball Season 2, and maybe not even then. I have to continue an Inuyasha Fic which I took a break from to continue this one.

I'm of the opinion that Yamcha at this point in the timeline would have beaten Silver. This version of Yamcha, though stronger than in canon, is weighted and still not used to it. As a result, Silver was able to get an opening to shoot him. If the fight had continued as a fistfight uninterrupted, Yamcha would have won.

Also, I took a certain delight in having Kakarot ruin a romantic scene between him and Chi Chi. If Kakarot has a chance to have a relationship with both Bulma and Chi Chi, he'll take it without a second thought. This wasn't an intended character trait, but it seems to have worked out that way. Give me your thoughts on the subject in the comments if you want.

So yeah, this has been a fun ride, and I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly did enjoy writing it, and I hope to revisit this story at some point.