Chapter 3: Emperor Pilaf's Revenge

Two hours have passed since Gohan had to endure Piccolo's hellish lesson of 'How to Dodge 101, Post Frieza edition' as Piccolo likes to call it, and since then, Goku was sent into West City on a little shopping errand by Chi-Chi to get some ingredients for tonight's supper, spicy grilled fish.

So far Goku's got a good-sized fish, the only thing he needs now are the spices for the said fish. However, Goku can't seem to find the pepper or the oregano anywhere in the city.

"Man, I searched every market in the city for these spices and I for the life of me can't find them anywhere! You would think for a guy who can sense bad guys, I would be able to locate a few spices!"

As Goku was rambling on and on about his little conundrum he then spots a familiar sight.

"Oh look, that's Bulma's house! Maybe she can help me out!"

However, little did Goku know that his old friend Bulma had problems of her own.

"Hi Bulma, how's it-"

"GOKU! Thank Kami you're here! I have a really big problem!"

"What is it Bulma? Is it Vegeta? Has he started destroying cities again?!"

"No, worse! The dragon balls I've collected have been stolen!"

"WHAT?! But how? Isn't Capsule Corporation supposed to be one of the most secure places on Earth?"

"Apparently not since whoever stole the balls was clever enough to cut the connection of the security cameras and lasers before doing his dirty work!"

"How many dragon balls did you have before they got stolen?"

"I only had six dragon balls, all there's left to find is the four-star dragon ball and one of my dragon radars was gone too so the thief must be looking for the last ball!"

"Oh no! But why did you have the dragon balls in the first place anyway?"

Too embarrassed to tell Goku about how she was gonna use Shenron to make herself a few years younger since she's become a little self conscious about her age after reaching the big 3-0. So she thought up a lie and thought it up quickly.

"Why...I wanted to gather the dragon balls for in case when the arrival of the androids gets too much to handle, we could have them on stand-by to help us out with casualties."

"Gee that's actually pretty smart! What a way to think ahead Bulma!"

"Yep! You know me! Always thinking ahead he he he.." Bulma laughed nervously.

Great! He fell for it! Hook, line and sinker! Bulma thought to herself, Now back to the task at hand!

"Anyways, here's an extra dragon radar so you can find both the thief and the dragon balls."

"Thanks Bulma! I'll be sure to find all of the dragon balls, I'll even find the four star ball for after I catch the thief."

"Good luck Goku!"

As he was about to take off into the air Goku then remembers, Oh no, what about Chi-Chi and the ingredients? Well this shouldn't take long, I mean how bad can it be?

Then, Goku powers up and instantly takes to the sky on the pursuit of the dragon balls.

A few miles away in a small town near Mount Paozu.

A small little blue imp known as Emperor Pilaf can be seen in the middle of the town square currently on the hunt for the last dragon ball for it was supposedly nearby.

"Grrrr….Damn it, that four-star ball's gotta be around here somewhere"

Growing even more impatient he calls out for his cronies Mai, the only female and human of the group and Shu, the anthropomorphic dog ninja.

"MAI! SHU! GET OVER HERE! NOW!"

Mai and Shu quickly appear to their master in the square.

"Yes Emperor Pilaf sir!" The two minions responded.

"Have y'all found any new information on the four-star ball's whereabouts yet?"

"Well, we're working on it sir, but it would seem the locals won't cooperate with us." Shu fearfully reported.

"Have you threatened them with violence yet?" The cold hearted imp asked his minions.

"But sir, there are people with families here, you sure you want to resort to violence?" Mai asked in a concerned manner.

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANY FAMILIES, THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MESS WITH THE ALMIGHTY PILAF GANG! I'LL GET THAT BALL AND MAKE A WISH TO MAKE US YOUNGER IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

"I DON'T THINK SO!"

As soon as Goku appeared, the Pilaf Gang's blood instantly ran cold, for their greatest enemy has returned to their lives.

"Y….You must be that monkey boy all grown up aren't you?" Pilaf fearfully asked the mighty saiyan.

"That's right and it would seem that you guys haven't changed a bit. Now why don't you give me the dragon balls so I can return them to my friend."

"You won't be grabbing these dragon balls over my dead body!" Pilaf exclaimed.

"I've got an ace of my sleeve…."

Suddenly a giant robot emerges from seemingly out of the blue that vaguely resembles the Pilaf Machine from decades past, only this time it had artificial intelligence.

"PILAF MACHINE GEN 4 ATTACK!"

The robot made its first move by firing a massive energy beam at Goku who managed to block the attack from causing serious damage to both himself and the town.

"Wa...What?!"

"Did he block the blast?"

"IMPOSSIBLE! THE PILAF MACHINE GEN 4 IS THE STRONGEST ONE THERE IS!"

Goku then proceeds to beat the living hell out of the robot, reducing it to nothing more than scrap metal. Not wanting to suffer the same fate as the robot, Pilaf reluctantly gives the dragon balls to Goku, and before they left Pilaf had to have the last word.

"Here this Goku! Someday we will be back and we will have our revenge!"

As they left the scene, all the townsfolk came out of their houses to thank Goku for effectively saving their lives.

"Thank you for saving our town kind sir, how can we ever repay you?"

"Well...there is one thing…"

Goku leaves the town with his freshly acquired dragon balls and spices and proceeds to go back to Capsule Corporation to drop off the dragon balls. Bulma thanks Goku profusely for bringing back the dragon balls and Goku promises to hunt for the four star ball after he drops the groceries off to his house.

He manages to make it back to his house before sun down with the groceries, but as he was about to head inside his own home, suddenly his dragon radar started to go off….

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! DRAGON BALL DETECTED NEARBY! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Huh? Imagine that, the four-star ball was near my house all along" Goku exclaimed.

"Well, I'm sure Chi-Chi won't mind if I were to get the dragon ball to Bulma which shouldn't take long at all!"

However, little did Goku know that the four-star ball will lead him to what is possibly one his greatest adventures yet...an adventure beyond the multiverse!

Author's note: I like to give a thanks to a reviewer who suggested to have the dragon balls involved in the plot and I want to make one thing clear, this Dragon Ball canon is not related to TeamFourStar despite the little nods to them, it is strictly based on the original DBZ canon (with Cooler's Revenge in the mix.)