Chapter Thirty Nine: A Trip to the City

Later that night they eat dinner once again at Suno's house. The stars were in full view above them, illuminating the landscape below as laughter could be heard from within the round home. Suno's mother finished her teas, and set her cup down. 'Congratulations, Eighter.'

'Thanks,' said Eighter.

'You'll stay with me now.' said the village chief.

'Thanks.' repeated Eighter.

'I'm so glad.' said Suno.

'I am too.' said Eighter.

'Is there a particular reason everyone feels the need to speak in single sentence statements lately?' asked Kakarot. 'And didn't we already establish all that before now?'

'Can't you stay?' asked Eighter. 'Do you really have to go find your dragonball?'

'The dead aren't going to wish themselves back to life.' reflected Kakarot ruefully.

'Why don't you sleep here tonight?' asked Suno's mother 'Its much to late to begin a trip.'

'Very well,' said Kakarot 'I accept your hospitality.' Suno laughed for reasons he didn't understand, and he found himself joining her. The feeling he'd had when he'd hit his head seemed to return when he was around them.

The village chief finished his tea. 'Well since you have to say goodbye to your friend Kakarot tomorrow, why don't you stay here tonight, Eighter?' He stood up as Eighter nodded, and bundled himself up in his coat and hat. Eighter saw him to the door. 'So then I'll see you later then?'

'Yes.' said Eighter with a smile.

The door was opened and the village chief made his way out into the snow, his cane leaving marks behind him in the snow. 'Come to my house in the morning Eighter, good night everyone!'

'Farewell!' called Kakarot.

'Bye!' cried Suno.

Kakarot realized he would miss the old man.

Later as the stars glittered ever onward, Kakarot fiddled with the dragon radar. 'It looks like its working fine again. Bulma was able to fix it with Dr Flappe's tools.'

'What will you do once you finish finding all the balls?' asked Eighter 'I mean after you make your wish.'

'You know, I don't know.' admitted Kakarot 'One of these days I mean to win the world martial arts tournament, but thats a few years off still. I guess one day I mean to become the strongest being in the whole universe. That may take… more than a few years. For now I suppose I'll stick with Bulma and the others.'

'Where does Bulma live anyway?' asked Suno, sounding somewhat jealous.

'Some place called West City,' said Kakarot 'we're heading there next.'

'West City uh…' Suno paused. 'I think its that way.' She pointed with one finger out the window.

'To the west,' surmised Kakarot dryly.

'South west, buster.' said Suno 'You guys are pretty far north.'

'I've heard of it.' said Eighter 'Its far, how will you get to this West City.'

'Well I imagine Yamcha or Launch have some kind of transportation.' reflected Kakarot 'Failing that, we'll head out on foot.'

'What!' said Suno 'Your walking!' She paused. 'I guess there is no other way though, there isn't a single plane or car in the whole village.'

'Yeah you should probably do something about that,' said Kakarot 'could be a huge problem in an emergency.'

'Too bad,' reflected Eighter.

'My you are full of insightful commentary today, aren't you Eighter?' asked Kakarot.

'Thanks.' said Eighter.

'I was being sarcastic.' stated Kakarot.

'Well I'll pack you a huge lunch.' decided Suno.

'Really?' asked Kakarot 'Thank you.'

'You have a big day tomorrow, so lets get some sleep.' said Suno. 'Goodnight!'

'Goodnight.' said Kakarot.

'Goodnight.' said Eighter.

The lights went off, and they went to sleep. Suno slept on her bed, bundled beneath her covers with her teddy bear nearby. Eighter and Kakarot slept in sleeping bags on the floor. Eighter seemed very pleased. 'I've never slept with a blanket before. Its cozy.'

A rooster crowed as sunlight rose over the mountains the next morning. The light shot forth to illuminate the world once more, as snow began to melt from the tops of the trees. The villagers and their heroes gathered outside. As it turned out Yamcha had a plane all lined up for use. However Launch had some news of her own to reveal.

'What do you mean your not coming with us?' asked Yamcha.

'Just what I said,' said Launch 'playing hero has been fun, but I've got trains to rob. Banks to break. I want to test out these new powers.' She tossed a capsule of her own to reveal a plane.

'I'd be a hypocrite if I complained.' reflected Yamcha.

'Just make sure you don't get caught.' said Bulma.

'Hey,' said Launch 'its me.'

Then she climbed into the plane, and soared away into the distance. That left Kakarot the time of parting. He realized that he had become attached to the people of this village, and was reluctant to leave them. 'Well, I guess this is goodbye for now.'

'Thank you for everything, Kakarot.' said Eighter 'Your my very best friend.'

'Hey, don't just thank me.' said Kakarot, trying to keep water from leaking from his eyes. 'It was a team effort. Thanks for the lunch Suno, I'll return some day when all this is finished. I promise.'

'Right,' said Suno 'don't forget, never let those Red Ribbon guys get you down.'

'I never let anything get me down,' said Kakarot 'I'm really going to miss all of you guys.' He turned to Bulma, who was waiting. 'Lets go.'

As the villagers waved goodbye, they piled into the jet and soared away into the distance. As they soared onwards, Puar gave a cry. 'Look! There is a rainbow chasing us!'

They looked up to see the many colored optical illusion rushing past them. Soon it began to get steadily warmer and warmer. They were able to take off their heavy clothes, though the trenchcoats were awkward to remove. Soon the snow disappeared entirely to be replaced by brown lands. As they journeyed towards the unknown, over every mountain they went over, over every ocean they crossed, Kakarot took a certain delight in discovering a world still very new to him. Out the window they could sea a flock of seagulls flying alongside them.

He could not help but feel as though this world was far too beautiful to destroy.

They could not have known they were being tracked by a sinister eye.

Within the Red Ribbon HQ the beeping of the dragon radar could be heard. Black watched it with interest. He looked down to General Red. 'The radar shows the dragonballs are travelling west. And their moving fast.'

Red seethed.

For his part, Dr Gero raised a communicator. 'Barracks, set the counter to activate program Hasky.'

When they finally came within sight of West City, Kakarot was awed. It was gigantic, he could hardly contain his enthusiasm. 'You live here Bulma! Its like a maze, how do you find your way?'

'There are street signs and things.' said Bulma as they neared it. 'Tell you what kid, as soon as we land I'll give you the grand tour.'

'Nah,' said Kakarot 'I'm gonna figure it out on my own. I'll meet you at your house.'

Then he opened the windshield and was hit with a massive rush of air. Bulma screamed as the surprised Yamcha swerved the jet. 'Kakarot, close the hatch you idiot!'

Kakarot, however, leaped out of the jet and descended towards the city streets laughing. The rush of air got his blood pumping as he got closer and closer to the ground. Finally he turned in mid air and landed just behind a set of bushes.

Emerging into the street and looking around he reflected that now he would prove he could make it in the city on his own. West City proved a bustling and crowded place, even more so than the city he had been to before. On every sidewalk there were countless people, walking, talking and plying their trades. On every road there were cars driving, some fast, some slow. There were all kinds of scents and sounds, and other things which served to confuse and distract.

He wandered it in amazement, walking across a street. Suddenly a car screeched to a halt right in front of him. 'Brat!' cried the driver 'Open your eyes! Watch out!'

'You there,' said Kakarot 'where is Bulma's house?'

'Well how should I know!' roared the man, before the sound of beeping echoed behind him. A variety of people stuck their heads out of windows and began yelling at him and Kakarot.

Not liking their tone, Kakarot plunged one hand into the engine and pulled it out, before tossing it away. 'Have a nice day.' he said smiling brightly as he walked off.

Several cars nearly collided with him as he walked, and for the sake of the drivers he dodged them. Finally he found a women pushing a baby carriage. 'You there,' he said 'where does Bulma live?'

'Bulma?' asked the women.

'Yeah,' he said.

'I have no idea, why don't you go bother someone else okay.'

'…Because you have answered my question promptly, you will be spared.' proclaimed Kakarot before walking off on his own. 'How is it possible that these people don't know where one of their neighbors live? What do I do now? Maybe I should break a car and demand my answer more forcefully. No, that would not be polite.'

He instead walked into the middle of the street as a taxi surged forward and halted before him. An orange coyote looked out the window. 'Hey whats the big idea kid, you trying to get run down?!'

'I require transportation.' said Kakarot.'To Bulma's house.'

The driver opened a side door in his car. 'Fine, get in. Just don't hold up traffic.'

'Excellent,' said Kakarot as he stepped in. The car took off. 'I need to get to Bulma's house.'

'I got that.' said the Taxi Driver 'But where is it?'

'I have absolutely no idea.' admitted Kakarot 'I'm making this up as I go.'

The driver brought the car to a screeching halt. 'Hey buddy, you got any money to pay for this little excursion of yours?'

'That depends,' said Kakarot 'does allowing you to continue breathing count as payment?'

And that was how Kakarot found himself kicked out onto the side of the road. 'What was you'ze thinking! You'ze got no lift! Jerk!' Then he drove off.

Kakarot stared incredulously. '…How did he do that?! I'll never underestimate the motivational effects of human or... coyote greed again. I guess I'm just going to have to find cash.'

Then he saw Oolong. The pig was dressed in a fancy suit, and buying a long sausage in a bun. The pig looked up, saw him, froze up and scrammed. Kakarot watched him run, before surging after him, and gripping him by the shoulder.

'Get off me! Get off me! I'm not scamming anyone!' cried Oolong.

'I don't particularly care.' admitted Kakarot 'However what I need is a guide. You seem like the sort of person who would understand this sort of place?'

'True enough,' said Oolong, munching on his hot dog. 'But whats in it for me?' Kakarot narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. Oolong paled. 'Alright kid, I take your point. What do you want to know?'

'First of all,' said Kakarot 'I need zeni. It is clear that nearly all services in these places require the stuff, so I need to know how to attain it.'

'Well there are a couple of way.' said Oolong 'There is the boring way where you earn an honest living. There is my way where you cheat people out of it. Then there are more violent options.'

'Like the World Martial Arts tournament?' asked Kakarot, releasing him.

'Yeah, something like that.' Oolong stepped back, and straightened his collar. 'Here follow me kid, I've got an idea.'

Without much else of an idea of what to do, Kakarot followed the pig to a place where a crowd was gathered. Oolong turned to him. 'Now see, beyond that crowd there is a guy whose charging people to fight him. Anyone who beats him gets a million zeni.'

'Thats alot, right?' asked Kakarot.

'More than you can imagine.' said Oolong 'Now just give me a second to set up a betting pool. Nobody who sees you is going to take you seriously, so everyone will think its a safe bet to go on the fighters side. That way, when you win, we'll get huge bucks.'

'And I would wait for you why?' asked Kakarot.

'Just bear with me kid,' said Oolong 'I'll give you ten percent.'

'Sure, fine whatever.' said Kakarot.

'No kid,' said Oolong 'thats not how you do it, your supposed to negotiate for fifteen.'

'The money isn't really all that important to me.' admitted Kakarot.

'Won't catch me complaining,'muttered Oolong 'alright I'll get to work.'

As Oolong set to work, Kakarot made his way through the crowd to watch the contestant fight. A rough looking man in a black tank top with iron gray hair and a lot of muscles was cracking his knuckles, while facing off against a shirtless martial artist with a black bowl cut. Tank tops friends were cheering him on as he faced his opponent down. There was a tense silence as they faced each other down.

'Ready?' asked Tank Top. Then he lunged.

Tank Top unleashed a flurry of punches, but his opponent dodged them with absolute ease, before roundhouse kicking him in the crotch. Tank Top clutched himself, as his opponent punched him across the face, sending him flying.

Cheers came from the crowd as the martial artist posed victoriously. Tank Top was dragged away by his friends as the murmur of approval went on. 'Well,' said the martial artist 'whose next then? Take me down for a hundred thousand zeni? Which one of you has got the guts? Come on! Step up!'

Dead silence ensued.

'So?' asked the martial artist. 'How about it then? Any of you think you can beat me?! If you can make me give up, the dough is yours. No tricks, this is for real.'

'So why don't you try?' asked a man.

'You've got to be kidding,' said another 'he's a master of kickboxing and I hear he's undefeated!'

'I have a challenger!' cried Oolong. 'Ladies and gentlemen you may think this amateur is pretty tough, but let me tell you he's nothing compared to the fighter I've got for you! This is a finalist in the World Martial Arts tournament, a ruthless killing machine who could crush this entire city without breaking a sweat! And I'm willing to bet on him with ten thousand zeni! Any of you fine fellows have the courage to take some of the action?!'

'Where is this fighter of yours?' asked the martial artist, scanning the crowd with interest. 'I don't see him.'

'That,' said Kakarot as he stepped forward. 'would be me.'

Hysterical laughter broke out from the crowd, and at once people began taking Oolong's bet. The money poured into the betting boxes he had set out until it positively overflowed.

'No joke?' asked the martial artist. 'Are you serious?'

'Yeah, I kind of need the money.' admitted Kakarot.

The laughter intensified and Kakarot became somewhat annoyed. He was aware that this was actually a good thing, since it mean the profits would be greater. However he hated not being taken seriously.

'Your really going to take me on?' asked the martial artist.

'Uh huh,' said Kakarot 'as long as I really get the money when I win.'

'Okay,' said the martial artist. 'the zeni is yours if you beat me. I usually charge an entrance fee, but for a challenger of your calibur I'd be honored to fight you for free.'

Kakarot liked this guy. Sure he had absolutely no idea who he was fucking with, but he wasn't charging him for the fight. He smiled. 'I appreciate it, you'll make a full recovery after I'm done with you.' More laughter, but he was used to it by now.

Kakarot stretched out and finally took a stance. 'I'm ready. Are you?'

'Sure, sure,' said the man.

'Great,' said Kakarot 'me first.'

And then he punched the man in the gut. The blow sent him keeling over, as Kakarot halted his fist as the man went reeling. As his enemy tried to recover from the pain the crowd stared, suddenly not as amused.

'I'll bet you all are starting to regret betting against the kid, huh?' asked Oolong smugly.

'See anything?' asked one.

'Uh uh,' said another.

The man arose as Kakarot stepped forward. 'Would you like to surrender?'

The man looked afraid, but then he looked to the crowd watching him. He laughed. 'No way, we were just getting started.'

More laughter. The fools had convinced themselves that the martial artist was faking it. 'Very well,' said Kakarot 'your turn.'

'I know your secret,' said the martial artist. 'you've studied a little martial arts haven't you kid?'

'Underestimate of the century.' reflected Kakarot with a smile.

'Ah hah,' said the man 'I just knew it.'

'Lets just go.' said Kakarot.

The martial artist readied a punch, but before it could get halfway up Kakarot drop kicked him in the face, sending him reeling backwards. As he clutched his face, Kakarot walked up. 'Oh I'm sorry, I knew you had started. Its just that you were moving so slowly I kind of had to take advantage of the opportunity.'

The man turned around, eyes narrowed. 'You little nitwit!'

Then he launched a flurry of punches which Kakarot sidestepped with ease. 'Hmm, so are you deliberately wasting everyones time, or did that kick to the head do more damage than I thought?'

With a cry the man leaped into the air and descended with a knee strike that utterly failed to connect and ended up hurting his leg. To his credit he did not cry out in pain. Kakarot leaped into the air and kicked the wall, which shattered beneath the force of the blow, leaving a massive hole where the stonework had been.

The martial artist cowered. 'I… I surrender…'

Kakarot picked up the zeni. 'And I've got the cash!'

Then without another word he made his way through the terrified crowd and met Oolong, who offered him more cash. 'Nice work kid, here's your share. Just remember I gave you the chance to bargain for more.'

Kakarot took it. 'Thank you. Its clear that money is some kind of power source for this place, its really quite astounding.'

'Yeah well, cash makes the world go round.' reflected Oolong 'Hey, are you interested in making even more of it. Cause I have a bit of an idea.'

'I'm listening.' said Kakarot.

'Well see there are all kinds of underground tournaments.' said Oolong 'And there are all kinds of prizes and fighters. I could sign you up for a few of them, act as your manager. We'd make all kinds of cash.'

'Maybe later,' said Kakarot 'right now I need to find Bulma's house.'

'You mean the hot chick you were traveling with before?' asked Oolong. 'Whats her last name?'

'Briefs.'

'Erm!' Oolong blinked 'Bulma Briefs! You mean I almost kidnapped the daughter of one of the richest men in the world?!'

'Yep,' said Kakarot 'and I think he has connections to the Red Ribbon Army. So do you want to tell me where I can find her house, or shall I just tell her where you live when I find her on my own?'

'Look kid, I'm not a GPS okay.' said Oolong 'If you really want to find her, ask a policeman.' He checked his watch. 'Aw darn it, my breaks almost over! I gotta go!' He raced off, and Kakarot, having lost interest, let him go.

Kakarot walked off with more than a hundred thousand zeni, not exactly sure what to do with it. 'Now where am I supposed to find one of these policemen anyway?'

'Hey kid,' said a man 'come here for a second. I got a little question for ya.'

Kakarot looked up to see a man dressed all in green, with shorts a hat and what he could only assume were diving goggles. 'I don't care.' he said but he walked forward anyway.

'Step into my office.' he said, motioning to an alley.

Kakarot followed his direction and sure enough a humanoid boar in a yellow short emerged and he was surrounded. The green coated man drew a gun. 'Whatever you have, hand it over.' And he pointed the gun at Kakarot.

Kakarot smiled brightly. 'Ah, I've made a lot of money. I've humiliated an accomplished martial artist, and now I have the perfect opportunity to butcher two thugs who no one will miss.'

Outside the alley, a horrified screams was heard, followed by three gunshots. Then there was a gurgling noise and sickening crunching noises. Finally Kakarot emerged, covered in gore with a smile on his face as passerby's stare. 'Ah, could today get any better?'

He noticed a scantily clad blonde women near a corner, who stared as he approached. 'You there, harlot, I'm looking for a policeman. Can you tell me where one is?'

She stared opened mouthed, and finally pointed to where a gray haired man wearing a blue outfit was standing. 'I think there is one right over… over there…'

'Excellent,' said Kakarot, before giving her three thousand zeni. 'go home and rethink your life.' Then he walked onwards to where the policeman was standing. The man went wide eyed.

'Oh my god, kid are you alright?!' he asked 'I'll call a hospital rightaway!'

'Don't worry,' said Kakarot 'its not my blood. It belongs to the guys in that alley back there.'

'…Well then I'll call one for them then.' said the Policeman.

'Oh you don't have to do that,' said Kakarot cheerfully 'their dead.'

'Are they?'

'Yep, killed them myself.'

'…I'm compelled to ask how this happened?' he asked in shock.

'Well see I beat this really mediocre martial artist a fight and won one hundred thousand zeni, plus the money I got from Oolong's betting board. Then those two guys lured me into the alley in the expectation that they could threaten me and steal my cash. They drew a knife and a gun on me, so I brutally slaughtered them in self defense and hung them up by their entrails.'

'AAHH!' screamed a women 'He's being literal!'

The Policemen looked up, then down, then shook his head. It was at this point that Kami interceded and put much of his will into convincing the Policeman to let the thing pass. The last thing they needed was Kakarot going to jail. He'd probably break out and start a bank robbing spree. 'I… I think I'm supposed to arrest you here or something, but I'm just going to ask what you need my help for?'

Kami quickly set to work arranging for everyone to pay attention to everything except Kakarot's bloodstained visage.

'Oh I need to find a girl named Bulma Brief's.' said Kakarot.

'Ah, okay,' said the Policeman, eager to change the subject. 'I'm not really supposed to be doing this, but here it goes aye.' He drew out a machine which he searched through. 'There is only one Bulma Briefs on record. Is this her?' He showed her a picture of Bulma flashing a victory sign.

'Thats her.' said Kakarot.

'Whoa, golly, that there is the daughter of the Capsule Corporations president there!'

'I know.' said Kakarot. 'Now where does she live?'

'Its kind of far away,' said the Policeman, grabbing his bike. 'So I'll just give you a lift. Hop on aye, and careful with those bloody hands.'

'Am I paying for this service?' asked Kakarot.

'What the…' began the Policeman 'I don't take bribes.'

And just like that Kakarot and the Policeman were buzzing along the road at high speed, weaving between the lanes. As they did so the Policeman glanced back. 'You weren't fooling me about being a friend of that there girls, were you?'

'I don't like lying,' said Kakarot 'it tends to deceive people.'

They came off the free way and eventually came before a massive domed structure with blue glass doors. It towered over them, surrounded by a green lawn. Several smaller blue structures of similar shape were a little farther on. Kakarot looked at the sheer size, very impressed.

'That there is the place.' said the Policeman.

'And now I see why Bulma is so spoiled.' reflected Kakarot 'This place is gigantic.'

It had been an entertaining adventure for him, heading through the city. But now the time had come for them to get back on track, and plan what their next move against the Red Ribbon Army would be. And which dragonball they would go after next.

Authors Note:

I would just like to take a moment to sincerely apologize for the long delay. The truth is that I just kind of lost interest in dragonball for a bit and decided to focus on my warcraft fanfics. I'll try to get back into the groove now, and try to have the next one up soon.

I originally intended for this chapter to have Oolong and Kakarot start robbing banks and end up teaming up with Hasky, but I ultimately scrapped that idea. One of the reasons for the delay was because I wanted to reintroduce Oolong to the story in some form, and I wasn't sure how to do it. Thus what was intended to go wildly off the rails ended up more or less conforming to the original script. Except with a lot less generosity and a lot more murder.

I admit I got a bit lazy towards the end, and I may go back and alter this chapter later. For now, however, whats important is that the story has been updated.