Chapter Sixty-six: Finally

They got liftoff, eventually.

"Goddamn it, that took years!" said Kakarot, nearly smashing the window in frustration.

Yamcha looked up in annoyance from where he was piloting the plane over the ground. Chi-Chi was flying outside it. "What are you talking about, Kakarot? We were only grounded for a few hours."

"Well, we shouldn't have taken that long to get off the ground anyway," said Kakarot. "Why did we even have to stop for repairs in the first place."

"Give me a break, kid," said Roshi. "This old beauty is a vintage type of plane, you gotta treat her right, or she'll fall to pieces."

"You know, you could just buy a new plane," said Yamcha.

"You kids have no respect for the classics!" said Roshi, annoyed.

Puar, who had the dragon radar, looked into the distance and pointed. "Hey, there's the location where the Dragon Ball is."

Sure enough, there it was. A huge, palace-like structure with several over the top buildings. There was also an arena at the center of a lake, accessible only by bridges. Yamcha blinked in surprise. "That looks like some kind of palace."

Roshi adjusted his glasses. "Um, it couldn't be... could it?"

"Couldn't be what?" asked Yamcha.

"Well, let's just say I may the know the person who owns that palace," said Roshi.

"Whoever they are, it doesn't look like Pilaf has gotten here yet," said Kakarot. "He must be planning some greater evil."

Yamcha brought them in for a landing, and they all filed out. Chi Chi landed beside them as they unsummoned the plane. "Wow," said Chi Chi, "it's good to see you guys."

"It's been six hours," said Roshi, "and it would have seemed a lot shorter if you hadn't kept banging on about it."

"If we hadn't kept banging on about it, you'd have been sleeping under that hammock, Master," said Krillin, who had been riding with Chi Chi.

"Will, you guys, stop harping on it," said Yamcha. "It's over; we're here. Let's just move on."

They moved on up the road toward the palace and found a white spirit floating before them. It wore a hat and had a wide smile. Kakarot shuddered as he looked at it. "Is that... a ghost?"

"Welcome, Kakarot, Yamcha, Master Roshi." said the ghost. "As well as you, Krillin and Chi Chi. You have been expected for some time."

"We have?" asked Yamcha.

"Yes. Fortuneteller Baba knows all that is and will be." said the ghost.

"The heck she does, I've got an entire wardrobe of supersized outfits for beautiful girls, and I've only had a chance to use one of them!" said Roshi, clapping his stick on the ground. "So much for fortunes."

"...Can we move on, please?" asked Chi Chi.

Kakarot, personally, would have much rather focused on the girl in the maid outfit, but he took Chi Chi's point. "Yeah, so what does Fortuneteller Baba want with us?"

"She has been preparing for your arrival for quite some time." said the ghost. "Prior arrangements have been made. If you follow me this way, she'll explain."

And on they went. They made their way up the path and into the front door of the palace. The ghost slid open the door and they went over the threshold. There they saw an old woman sitting on a crystal ball. She wore a black witches hat and had violet hair. She eyed him carefully. "So, you're Kakarot, are you?"

"Yeah, want to make something of it?" asked Kakarot.

"Actually, yes," said Fortuneteller Baba. Then she looked at Roshi. "I suppose that makes you the perverted mentor," she glanced at Yamcha, "the jobber," Krillin got her stare now, "the best friend jobber and the shallow love interest." Last of all, her gaze fell on Chi Chi.

"A magnificent statement of the obvious," said Kakarot.

"I'm not shallow!" said Chi Chi. "I just really want to settle down with Kakarot and..." She got lost in daydreams.

"And I saved everyone earlier!" said Krillin.

"Yeah, and I'm stronger than Kakarot right now," said Yamcha. "If anything, I should be the hero."

"Yes, yes, obviously, you have to have temporary defeats," said Baba. "But realistically, your fate is to be the starter rival who gets relegated to cheerleading once the real rival arrives. Although, I recommend following dreams that don't involve marriage. Or success. Or dignity.

"In fact, everyone except Kakarot should probably abandon those goals. Or any goals to be more than glorified waterboys, and, or, comedy relief."

Kakarot felt somewhat offended on behalf of his friends. So he glanced to Roshi. "...Can we kill her?"

"No, you won't," said Baba flatly. "Not if you want to have your fight with Gohan."

She had Kakarot's attention. "What?"

"Well, he did tell you prior arrangements had been made in your last conversation, didn't you?" asked Baba. "I am those prior arrangements." And she raised a hand. "I possess the ability to reach into the upper limits of the cosmos and return the dead to life!"

"What huey!" snapped Roshi. "You can't bring back the dead! All you can do is contact King Yemma and arrange for temporary returns!

"You're just a glorified paper pusher. A middlewoman at best!"

Baba narrowed her eyes. "And you, Roshi, are an isolated old fool whose greatest ambition in life is to get underaged girls into maid outfits."

"I'm a man of simple pleasures and perfectly content!" replied Roshi, meeting her gaze.

A line of fire shot between their eyes as Baba shifted. Finally, she looked away. "Well, I suppose small minds do enjoy petty entertainments."

"You want a piece of me, old maid!" said Roshi.

"Look, do you have the dragonball or not?" asked Puar flatly.

"I don't believe you asked me for a dragonball." said Baba. "Disposable comedy relief."

"Well, you can see the future can't you?" asked Krillin. "So I guess I don't have to ask my question, I can just come in here and expect an answer."

"We wouldn't want to waste your time," said Yamcha, smiling slyly.

"Cute," said Baba. "In any case, I have no intention of giving up my dragonball without getting something in return. If you want to get it-"

"They'll have to fight through a ring of champions, risking life and limb," said Roshi. "If our team wins, we get the dragonball. That or pay a lot more money than I have on hand."

Baba narrowed her eyes. "...When and how?"

"I'm the greatest teacher of heroes in Earth's history, you really think I don't know about every tournament set up?" asked Roshi. "This hermit keeps up on current events."
Baba humphed. "Well, I suppose it's good that you are at least in possession of the power to read magazines.

"However, you are not allowed to participate."

"I wasn't going to be part of it anyway," said Roshi flatly. "This is their quest, not mine. I'm just the wise old mentor."

"'Wise' is certainly a debatable description when it comes to you, Roshi," said Baba, in the closest she'd come to a compliment so far.

"Go practice the Evil Containment Wave, you old hag!" snarled Roshi.

Baba ignored him. "If you'll follow me, we'll start the matches."

This was going to be good.

Also, Kakarot got to fight his old master eventually. Yay.

Why wasn't he excited?

Oh, right.

That was why.

Launch awoke with a massive headache on top of a metal table. The ceiling had been caved in, and there was rubble all over the ground. Pulling herself up, she saw Bulma on her hands and knees, reading blueprints. Except different, because now she was wearing a skimpy, lacey maid outfit. It had leggings and a short skirt that bared her panties at the moment. She also had about twenty extra pounds around the chest.

Said pounds were pressed against the ground as Bulma kneeled. Launch rubbed her eyes as she remembered, roughly, everything that had happened. Hasky had... she'd taken a shot for them.

Hasky was still there, just like Blue Launch. "Hey, Bulma, what's with the maid outfit."

"It was the least skanky thing Roshi had available that fit me, okay!" said Bulma, trying to stand up, only to lose her balance. Falling forward, she landed on her immense breasts and bounced. Pulling herself up, she rose suddenly and nearly fell backward. The movement sent her bouncing in all kinds of interesting ways. "Ugh, I'm going to have to get my clothes tailored from now on! I hate having my center of gravity altered like this!"

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Launch.

"Downloading files," said Bulma, rolling up the blueprint and slipping it into her bag. "Well, actually reading schematics while the files finish downloading. It took me half an hour to find a console Kakarot hadn't totaled. It was a good thing Gero kept around a lot of different blueprints. He was working on all kinds of stuff."

"Like what he did to me?" asked Launch.

"Nah, that was uh..." Bulma shifted, conflicted.

"Yeah?" asked Launch.

"Well, it looks like Barracks and Gero have been operating on two different projects," said Bulma. "Barracks was working on creating superhuman soldiers, like Blue and you. Gero though was focusing almost entirely on cybernetics."

"You mean like that Major Metallatron guy?" guessed Launch. Smashing him up had been a lot of fun.

"Yeah, that's him," said Bulma, adjusting her hair. Even the smallest motions caused a lot of movement below the neck, now. "Hey, do you feel uh... Hasky at all?"
Launch shifted. "Not really.

"It's sort of... weird."

Bulma nodded as the computer dinged. Quickly typing, she drew out a disk, put it into a case and stored it in her cleavage. Then she offered Launch the bag of blueprints.

"Right, well, I need you to carry this. I want to head out and meet up with the others before-"

And then Launch heard the sound of an engine driving at top speed. "Is that a truck?"

Launch didn't waste any time. The last thing she wanted was to have a showdown with Barracks. Reaching forward, she grasped Bulma around the legs and pulled her up. Throwing Bulma over one shoulder, she surged through the roof and landed above.

"Hey! Hey, get off me!" said Bulma with a blush.

"Get down, quick, capiche," said Launch, setting her down.

Around the corner, through the rubble, came a Red Ribbon Army truck. It slid to a halt, and many men came out with guns. Scientists were with them as well. Then there was Barracks. With him was an old man with a white mustache and long hair. Launch remembered him as Gero.

"Is this the place?" asked Gero. "I hardly recognize it."

"Sorry, Dad," said Barracks. "A lot of it got wrecked, but I was able to pull out. I didn't think it was worth fighting all of them at once."

"That was the right decision," said Gero. "Your mind is far too important an asset for this army to lose. Fan out, find all the data."

And so they stormed into the place where Bulma and Launch had been only a little while away. Quickly, Launch and Bulma made their way across the room.

"What now?" asked a scientist.

"That imbecile red has thrown a wrench in things," said Gero. "Still, he had largely served his purpose-"

And then a wall was pulled up, and Silver stepped out of it, shuddering. He looked more like a wounded animal than a man. "Ugh...

"I will not... will not die..."

"That's Silver," said Bulma.

"I know." said Launch.

"Silver, you're still alive," said Gero. "Glad to see it."

"Don't you look down at me... I..." snarled Silver.

Barracks offered him a hand. "The Red Ribbon Army is, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. It's remaining assets will be repurposed to my will.

"We'd have a very real use for you, Silver."

Silver took it. "Just get me a chance to kill those brats."

"It may come sooner than you expect," said Barracks. "Wouldn't you agree, Ms. Briefs?"

Both fell deadly silent.

Then Barracks laughed. "Only joking. I doubt very much any of them are hiding around here."

"Where is Violet anyway?" asked Gero. "Is she dead?"

"She robbed the treasure stores and abandoned the place." said a man; I saw her. "She's probably flying across the world will all kinds of riches, laughing at us."

Gero nodded. "...Well, we'll have to do something about her. Won't we? Check the tracks in the truck. Find her, and we find our missing treasury."

Launch and Bulma got out while the getting was good.