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Episode 7: Krillin Defeated?! Peril In The Diablo Desert!

(Cue Dragon Ball Opening Theme Song: English Version)

All 7 Dragon Balls floated among the stars, before flying past Earth's sun at near light speed. A flare of solar fire from the star took the shape of a roaring dragon before it dived back into sun's ever burning surface. The title of the series Dragon Ball then appeared next to the sun.

Find those Dragon Balls! Look out for 'em all!

We then find Krillin on Earth, smiling as he picked up the 4 Star Dragon Ball from the small shine on top of a mountain that he found it.

You can search around the world with me.

He then heard Bulma calling out to him from down the mountain, saying that she picked up the next Ball on her Dragon Radar.

Gotta heed the call of magic Dragon Balls!

Krillin's smile widened as he jumped off the mountain, free falling towards his beautiful friend as the Nimbus Cloud followed after him

What a great adventure this will be.

Krillin was caught by the magic cloud and he rode it down the rest of the way. Then he swooped Bulma off her feet, carrying her safely in his arms as they flew off to next adventure together, smiling and laughing all the way as they did.

You can climb on board, cause the Nimbus doesn't wait!

A fantastic journey for your dreams-a thrilling mystery!

A 3 second montage of Krillin punching, kicking and whacking bad guys with the Power Pole played to the beat of the music, before we cut away to our heroes traveling across a vast desert. Krillin was riding the Nimbus while Bulma, Chi-Chi and Oolong were following close behind in a hover car.

Through the fires of time, they've waited patiently.

But not too far away from the gang of adventures, the desert bandit Yamcha and his shapshifting cat Puar were in hot pursuit of the gang on his own hover bike. The young warrior had a determined gleam in his eye for his own wish he desired to have granted.

When all seven balls you find, the Dragon is set free.

We then cut Master Roshi riding on top of Turtle across the ocean, Kame House right behind him as he flashed a peace sign to the camera and Launch waved hello from the front window with a radiant smile.

Rising, rising, mesmerizing, unbridled ecstasy.

The sky turned darker than night and an enormous beam of light pierced the sky in an epic display of divine magic energy.

Radiant and shining, hidden somewhere in the field.

The beam then came to life, twisting and coiling until it took the shape of the great Eternal Dragon himself, Shenron, who awaited to grant the wish of whoever gathered the Dragon Balls.

Luminous and blinding, with your desires revealed.

We then cut to back Krillin soaring through the sky on top of his trusty cloud, grinning as he searched the world for his next adventure.

Ageless, timeless, what you'll find is beyond belief!

Clouds in the sky, the vast ocean below soon turning to land as it all past by the young hero at incredible speed.

Let's try, try, try, look high and low!

A jet plane piloted by Bulma, with the rest of his friends riding along in the passenger seats came up to fly beside him. The short monk waved at his friends who waved back in return.

Search the sky and the sea below!

Krillin then saw that he was flying over Mount Paozu, he spotted Master Gohan sitting just outside his hut enjoying a cup of tea.

Let's try, try, try, seize the day!

Krillin smiled widely as he steered his cloud to fly right over to his father figure. The old master saw his pupil coming and smiled, holding up his free hand into the air.

And make new friends along the way!

Krillin leaned down to slap his master's hand in a high-five, before soaring back into the sky to rejoin his friends in their search for the Dragon Balls.

Find those Dragon Balls! Look out for 'em all!

Pilaf and his minons Mai and Shu piloted a 100ft giant robot, the ego-maniacal imp laughing as he fired all the weapons on his war machine in all directions to obliterate his enemies.

Come and hunt those Dragon Balls with me.

Bulma, Chi-Chi, Oolong, Puar and Yamcha all frantically ran for cover from Pilaf's giant robot, bobbing and waving through any bullets and missiles aimed at them.

Gotta heed the call of magic Dragon Balls!

Krillin meanwhile fearlessly flew straight at the giant robot, armed with only his Power Pole and letting out loud battle cry as he prepared to face the wannabe tyrant head-on.

What a great adventure this will be.

All of Krillin's companions saw his display of courage, and were emboldened by his example. They then all armed themselves with what weapons they had on them. Bulma drew her pistol, Yamcha unsheathed his sword, Chi-Chi prepared to throw her boomerang blade, Oolong transformed in a red ogre while Puar turned into spiked club for the shapeshifting pig to wield. And together they charged at full speed to follow the short warrior into battle.

Set a course for action, adventure doesn't wait!

Krillin used his magical staff to deflect any bullets aimed at him or his friends before jumping off his Nimbus to slam his Power Pole against the protective glass around Pilaf's cockpit. The short warrior grinned at the imp's expression of terror and prepared to deliver the final blow to end Pilaf's plans of world domination once and for all.

A fantastic journey for your dreams-a thrilling mystery!

"Greetings." the young bandit said with genuine politeness. "I am Yamcha. I am master of the land you trespass upon."

"It's my land too!" the cat spoke up cheerfully.

Krillin said nothing, his eyes narrowed in a fierce glare and his body tense like a coiled metal spring, ready to act if and when things turned hostile.

"You needn't fear me. Just hand over your money and any capsules you have, and will let you pass in peace." Yamcha said, holding out his right hand to take any goods offered freely.

Krillin closed his eyes, took in a deep breath to calm his anger before he responded with a cold tone. "Or you could just leave now. That way no one has to get hurt."

"I'm afraid I can't do that my little friend. You see, Puar and I have been having a bit of dry spot lately ever since we hit a caravan a few months back and we're running low on food."

"Especially cat food." Puar chimed in.

"So you see, we are in dire need of some supplies. I'm sure you can afford to be generous and spare some Zeni and a few other things that we can sell so we can feed ourselves?"

"Here's an idea. Why don't you move out of the desert and get a job." the short monk reasoned rather curtly. "You're clearly able-bodied, so there's plenty of ways for you to make an honest living and not have to resort to armed robbery to put food on the table."

"Perhaps." Yamcha nodded with a sly grin. "But I find honest work to be boring. And armed robbery pays rather well, especially since I don't have pay taxes for it."

"The IRS are the real thieves of society!" Puar added.

"...Okay I can agree with your cat on that last part." Krillin admitted reluctantly. "But I still think you could do way better than this. There's so much more to enjoy in life than money and creature comforts. Plus, earning your happiness from hard work is ultimately more reward-"

"Save your preaching for someone who cares shortstack." the bandit interrupted, growing impatient. "Now enough talk, either hand over your goods or prepare to fight me."

Krillin sighed resignedly, knowing where this was all going. 'Well, you can't say I didn't try to reason with him and avoid violence.' he thought, brandishing his Power Pole and getting into his fighting stance. "I don't want to fight you. But I will take you down if you force my hand."

Yamcha eyed the boy's weapon curiously. 'That staff..Why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?' he wondered. But he brushed those thoughts aside for the moment to focus on their upcoming skirmish. "Heh. You talk a big game kid." he said while unsheathing his sword. "I hope you've got the skill to back it up. I haven't had a proper challenge in a long time."

"Take him down Yamcha!" Puar cheered on her master as she took his sheath to a safe distance away so she could watch the fight unfold.

'This Yamcha guy looks tough.' Oolong thought with growing anxiety. 'I wonder if Wonder Boy can take him.'

Yamcha wasted little time going on the offensive, sprinting towards Krillin with remarkable speed, his sword at the ready to decapitate the short monk with a horizontal swing.

*Clink*

But Krillin blocked the attack with his magic staff, then retaliated with a jumping heel kick aimed for the tall bandit's gut. However Yamcha avoided the kick with a side-step to the left and followed up with stabbing his sword at his midair opponent. But amazingly, Krillin graceful twirled though the air like a ballerina, landing on top of the back edge of Yamcha's sword with his left foot on his tippy toes. The tiny fighter capitalized on the bandit's surprise by springing off the blade towards him with a flying knee aimed right for his face. But Yamcha's reflexes kicked in at the last second as he blocked the knee with his free hand, then pushed Krillin away with all his strength to get some much needed distance.

'Holy carp! This kid's really good!' the desert bandit exclaimed internally as his opponent back-flipped through the air about 3 times before landing on lightly on his feet. An excited grin beamed on Yamcha's face as he took an On-Guard stance with his sword. 'Well in that case, time to kick it up a notch!' He let out a battle cry as he charged with even greater speed than before and engaged Krillin in a fierce weapon's duel.

The bandit was the aggressor of the bout, hacking, slashing and stabbing with his fine blade. While the short monk was on the defensive, jumping and flipping across the sands to avoid Yamcha's attacks. And any attacks he didn't dodge, he blocked and parried with relative ease.

"Quit jumping around and fight me!" Yamcha shouted with a low swing of his sword to take out Krillin's legs.

The tiny fighter jumped over the attack like all the others. "HIYAAA!" he hollered as he finally went on the offensive with an overhead two-handed downward swing of his staff.

*Clink*

Yamcha blocked the heavy blow with his sword, using his free hand to support the back edge and absorb the impact.

*Crack**Snap*

But the force behind Krillin's heavy attack snapped the blade in two.

"WHAT?!" the bandit cried out shock, just barely managing to lean his head back in time to avoid the staff coming down towards his face-

"POWER POLE EXTEND!"

Only to end up getting the wind knocked out of him as he was nailed in the solar plexus by the enchanted weapon suddenly expanding over a dozen feet in length.

"Unbelievable!" Puar cried out as her master landed harshly on his back onto the hot sand.

'Believe it!' Oolong cheered mentally. 'Wonder Boy's winning this one!'

Yamcha picked himself off the ground, grunting a bit as he held his aching torso with one hand. "You..*Grunt*..are really strong for someone so little."

"You're rather *Pant* skilled yourself." Krillin responded with labored breath, whipping some sweat from his brow. "It's a shame you *Pant* waste your talent by deciding to be a common cutthroat."

Yamcha chuckled as he recovered fully and stood tall. "I'm far from a common cutthroat." he boasted, now eyeing his opponent's weapon with much greater interest. "And that staff you wield is not a common weapon either. The Extending Power Pole. A truly one of a kind treasure if I've ever seen one. I know of only one man who could've given it to you, and teach you how to master it. Tell me, was your master a man by the name of Son Gohan?"

"Yes." Krillin answered proudly.

"I see. Then it's little wonder you're so powerful, I've heard many great things about his skill as a warrior. However, even with that staff's power and all he may have taught you, you're still no match for me. Especially since I can tell that the heat is starting to get to you."

Krillin cursed under his breath, knowing that the bandit was right. While his strength, speed and stamina were far greater than the most highly trained Olympic athletes, he was still human. And running for hours through a scorching hot desert with no rest, no water, and now engaging a strong enemy in battle, would take it's toll on even the greatest of warriors. So it's no surprise that the short monk was quickly reaching his limit.

Meanwhile Yamcha still had plenty of energy left, and a few more tricks up his sleeve.

"I will have that staff." Yamcha stated threateningly. "But out of respect for your master, I'll give you this last chance to walk away from here with your life. Either surrender your Power Pole to me, or prepare to fight to the death."

Krillin ignored his growing exhaustion and got back into his fighting stance. "Just try and take it."

Yamcha smirked at his opponent's defiance. "I was hoping you'd say that." The bandit took up his own stance, which was very reminiscent of wolf baring his fangs and about pounce on his prey. "You ready?!" he called out, charging at full speed towards his adversary. Which even to Krillin's trained eyes looked as if he became a blur.

"So fast!" was all Krillin could get out before Yamcha unleashed his most powerful technique upon him.

"WOLF FANG FIST!"*HOWL*

Yamcha began his assault by kicking Krillin's staff out of his hands. Then before the short monk could get his guard up the bandit pummeled him with claw strikes, all of them hitting him at speeds rivaling a machine gun. Yamcha's fingers tips were also laced with Ki to make them near razor sharp. So on top of getting pounded on, the helpless youngster was also getting slashed to ribbons. Within 1 second, Yamcha finished his devastating 20 hit combo with a vicious double palm strike to Krillin's torso which sent him flying into a nearby rock formation.

*BASH**SMASH**Crumble*

"Guess we won't need a tombstone." Oolong muttered, his earlier fear returning as he witnessed the young warrior in training get buried under tons of white rock.

"Yeahaha! Way to go Yamcha!" Puar cheered while floating over to her master. "I knew that kid was no match for you!"

Yamcha gazed the rumble he buried the short monk under with a stoic expression. "He was a worthy opponent. It's a shame that I had to kill him." He then turned his gaze to the Power Pole laying on the ground a few yards away. "Oh well. I can at least honor his memory by putting my new Power Pole to good use." he said walking over to the magic staff, picking it up and giving it a few test swings. "It will certainly serve me much better than any common sword."

Oolong was now panicking. It wouldn't be long before the bandit's came searching through the camper, find him and very likely kill him just for fun. 'I better get out of here while I still can!'

*POOF*

Now in the shape of a fly, Oolong buzzed his way out of the camper to finally make his escape. But he didn't make it very far as Yamcha caught the cowardly swine by his tiny wings with his fingers much like a Praying Mantis.

"And what do we have here?" Yamcha pondered as he examined the struggling bug. "A shapeshifter? Well my little friend, I'd advise you to show your true face before I squash you."

"Damn it all!" Oolong cursed in a tiny voice, knowing that the gig was up.

*POOF*

As soon as the pig's true form was revealed Puar's eye widened as she immediately recognized him. And she was not in the least bit happy to see him. "Oolong!" she hissed.

"Puar?" Oolong responded in surprise.

"You know him?" Yamcha asked.

"I sure do! We went to Shapeshifter Academy together! And he was nothing but a loudmouth, perverted bully! Always picking on those smaller than him, like me, and stealing women's underwear, especially our homeroom teacher's!"

"Well I'd say the tables have turned, little piglet." Yamcha said, smirking at frightened pig in his grasp. "How does it feel to have someone bigger than you at their mercy?"

"H-Hey now! Y-You got this all wrong!" Oolong stammered with a shaky smile. "I didn't even like that kid! In fact, he was holding me hostage so you honestly did me a huge favor by taking care of him the way you did! I-If there's anything I can do to repay you-"

"Don't listen to him Yamcha!" Puar spoke up indignantly. "The swine is just trying to lie and kiss-up to you so you'll let him off easy! He's always done this to worm his way out of getting into trouble back in school!"

"He certainly lacks courage huh?" the bandit joked.

"Got that right! Not a single ounce of courage in this porker!" The cat blew a raspberry at her schoolyard nemesis.

"Puar.." Oolong snarled. "If I ever get my hands on you.."

"I wouldn't go threatening my friend in my presence if I were you." Yamcha warned, bringing the tip of his ill gotten weapon to the face-changing hog's throat. "Now then, how's about you be a good little piggy and hand over all your valuables. Or you'll end up sharing the same grave as the boy."

As Oolong was emptying his pockets of what meager possessions he had left, Krillin managed to dig his way out of his would-be grave. Though he was now looking quite worse for wear, like he just barely survived getting relentlessly mauled by a pack of wolves. His gi top was tore so badly it was now little more than blood soaked rages scattered all over the ground, leaving his beaten and bloodied upper body bare. His left pants leg was completely torn off up to the thigh and his right pants leg had a huge hole at the knee.

"Damn..*Grunt*..That was one hell of an attack." he groaned, slowly pushing himself up back to his feet. Literally ever inch of his body ached and it took nearly all of his remaining strength just to stay upright. But when he saw that Yamcha was using his Power Pole to rob Oolong, his rage returned in full force and allowed him to power through the pain. He didn't much care for Oolong at the moment, but nobody uses the weapon his surrogate father entrusted him with for evil purposes and gets away with it.

'Time to get serious.' he declared internally, cupping both hands at his waist and focusing his Ki. "Kaa..Mee.."

"Hm?" Yamcha looked behind him and his jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw Krillin, alive and charging up an attack he only heard about it legends. "No..! IT CAN'T BE..!"

"Haa..Mee.."

'Now's my chance!' Oolong exclaimed mentally, not wasting this perfect opportunity to escape with Yamcha being distracted by whatever Krillin was doing.

*POOF*

He transformed into a skunk, aimed his stink hole right for the bandit's face-

*POOT*

And unleashed a horrendously awful stench cloud all over him.

"OH MY GOD!" Yamcha cried out in horror and disgust as he threw the shapeshifter away as far as possible, coughing and hacking as the stench was so bad it was hard for him to breathe.

Which left him completely vulnerable.

"HAAA!"

*FWOOSH*

"LOOK OUT!" Puar hollered, just barely managing to tackle her master out of the deadly Ki beam's path in time.

*BOOM*

The turtle school's ultimate technique found a new target with another nearby rock formation and blew it to kingdom come.

"Damn! I missed!" Krillin cursed in frustration.

"Holy shit!" Oolong gaped in shock at the destruction the boy managed to unleash with his Kamehameha.

Yamcha wasn't much better, staring at what easily could've been him with wide, watery eyes. "Woah..! That was too close!" He then turned his attention to his faithful, furry companion hovering next to him and smiled. "Puar..I owe you big time."

"Think nothing of it Yamcha." the shapeshifting feline smiled back, only to then gag at her master's current, horrific stench. She plugged her nose with both paws and said "Although, you could really use a bath right now."

"Yeah, no kidding." he agreed. He stunk so bad he wanted to throw up.

"You two aren't going anywhere until you give me back my Power Pole!" Krillin shouted, charging at the bandits at full speed.

"This kid's relentless!" Yamcha commented as he got back in his fighting stance.

"Jan Ken: Rock!" Krillin called out, throwing a strong punch aimed Yamcha's gut. But the bandit intercepted the fist with his own. "Scissors!" Krillin immediately followed up with poking Yamcha in the eyes with his index and middle fingers from his other hand. "Paper!" Krillin finished his combo with a palm strike full Ki to the sternum, which exploded on impact and sent Yamcha on his own flying trip into a rock formation.

*Boom**Crash*

"YAMCHA!" Puar cried out in worry.

"That's the way to do it!" Oolong cheered, hiding behind some nearby rocks. "Way to go Wonder Boy!"

Krillin panted heavily and fell onto one knee, he had officially hit his limit. "Please *Pant* let that be *Pant* enough.." he prayed.

Only it seemed that luck wasn't on his side today as Yamcha picked himself up from the dirt, glaring at the exhausted fighter with a vengeful fire in his eyes.

"*Sigh* Of course it wasn't.."

"That's it kid.." Yamcha growled. "You're dead! RAAAAGGHHHH!" All bets were off for the bandit as he sprinted towards his little adversary at full speed, intent on using the kid's own magic staff to bash his head in.

"COME ON WONDER BOY! GET UP!" Oolong hollered. "IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING QUICK HE'S GONNA BEAT YOU TO A PULP!"

"I'm *Grunt* well aware of that.." Krillin muttered, mustering just enough strength to get back on his feet and take up his stance, ready to go down fighting.

"What the hell is going on out here?!" an irate feminine voice called out.

Yamcha froze mid-step, just a few feet away from landing the finishing blow, and turned his attention to the vision of pure beauty stepping out of the camper, cutely rubbing her tired blue eyes with an adorable frown on her face. 'She's..gorgeous.' he thought, his entire face turning red with a wide, love-struck grin. His whole body became stiff as a board, then tipped over like a falling tree.

"Yamcha!" Puar called out, hovering over to her downed master to help him snap out of his stupor. "Are you okay?"

Bulma tilted her head curiously at the scene and blushed hotly when her sights rested on Yamcha's goofy, yet manly face. "Who's the hunk?" she wondered with hearts in her eyes.

"L-Let's get out of here Puar!" Yamcha stammered, making a beeline to his hover bike.

"Hey! Get back here!" Krillin shouted weakly.

Yamcha started up his vehicle and put up a tough front to hide his growing anxiety being within eye sight of such a beautiful woman. "I'm letting you off the hook for now! But don't think for a second this means I'm finished with you kid! You haven't seen the last of Yamcha! I'LL BE BAAaacck..!" his voice faded away as he drove off.

"Oh, so his name is Yamcha." Bulma swooned. "What a dreamy name."

"Seriously Bulma?!" Krillin shouted incredulously. "That guy just stole my Power Pole and almost killed me!"

The lovesick girl came to her senses and just now noticed the horrendous state her young protector was in. "Oh my god Krillin!" she cried out rushing over to him. "What happened?!"

The injured monk just stared at her in disbelief. "I..just..said..Oh, forget it.." he said before passing out.

Bulma caught him before he fell to the ground. "Don't worry little man, I got you!" she said as she picked the unconscious fighter and carried him back to the camper. Doing her best to ignore all the blood now staining her white shirt.

Oolong walked over to Bulma with big, proud smile and said "Boy I tell ya Bulma, it was a tough fight but me and Wonder Boy sure showed him-"

"Shut it porky." she commanded with an icy tone. "I know you didn't do jack shit to help Krillin in that fight."

Oolong was taken aback by her hostile attitude. "That's not true. I turned into a skunk and-"

"And I also know that you spiked that juice you gave me with some kind of sleeping drug."

The shapeshifting pig's heart froze. 'How did she find out?!' he shouted mentally, while out loud he stammered "W-What a-are you-"

"I wasn't at all tired until I drank that juice you gave me." she stated logically, then pointed to the wreckage of the camper. "And I apparently slept through a nasty crash and most of the fight Krillin was in with that, rather dreamy, bandit. Now, I'll admit that I can be a heavy sleeper. But not heavy enough to stay asleep with all that craziness going on. Ergo," she scowled at Oolong who was trembling with fear at being found out and from the sheer vitriol burning in her eyes. "the only explanation for my damn near comatose state is that I was drugged. By you."

"I-I CAN EXPLAIN!" Oolong exclaimed frantically, but before he could get another word out Bulma drew her pistol, took aim right at his face-

*POOF**Bang*

And pulled the trigger. Oolong just barely managed to save his cowardly hide by transforming into a fly again to dodge the bullet.

"You pathetic little shit!" Bulma snarled, firing wildly at her now tiny target.

*Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Click Click*

Having missed every shot, the livid teenager almost threw her now empty gun away as she watched Oolong literally buzz off. The only reason she wasn't chasing after him was due to her bodyguard in her arms needing urgent medical attention. She screamed at the top of her lungs "IF I EVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN, I'LL BLOW YOUR FILTHY BRAINS OUT! YOU SICK LITTLE FUCK!"

She then holstered her gun and stormed into the camper. She sent Krillin gently onto the couch and began to tear the place apart searching for the first aid kit. And rant to herself.

"Grrr! I can't believe I was stupid enough to start trusting that scheming little warthog! I mean, I knew he was a perverted creep! But I honestly didn't think he'd stoop so low as to drug and then attempt to kidnap me! But that's not even the worst of it! Oh no! The worst part is that if I had been more understanding towards Krillin for accidentally destroying all of my stuff, and not shut him outside to punish him for something he clearly didn't mean to do, none of this would've happened! But NO! I had to go and be a petty, spoiled bitch to my best friend who's done nothing but help me, protect me and teach me how to better myself since I met him!"

She paused her search to look at the young, battle-worn hero resting on the couch. Angry, guilt filled tears welling in her eyes.

"And now *Sob* because of me *Sob* he's hurt. Maybe even dying-"

"Bulma..?" Krillin groaned in his sleep.

She was by his side immediately. "I'm here." she said softly. "What is it? What do you need?"

"Mmm..Could you keep it down..? I'm trying to sleep.."

Several angry tickmarks appeared on Bulma's forehead, but she managed restrained herself from smacking him on the head. Just barely.

"Why you little twerp." she whispered with strained smile. "Here I am worried sick about you. And you have the nerve to-"

She stopped herself, took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now calmer and relieved that he wasn't actually dying, her smile turned more genuine and she then gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Sleep tight you cute, little jerk. Dr. Bulma will fix you up in no time."

She stood back up, finally found the first aid kit in the bedroom upstairs, then got right to work tending to her bedridden hero's wounds.

(1 Hour Later At Yamcha's Hideout)

"Man! A warrior being scared off by a girl is humiliating!" the bandit bemoaned as he sat in small, inflatable swimming pool filled with soapy water laced with baking soda. And Puar was scrubbing him head to toe to help get rid of that foul skunk smell. "What's even worse is that I was nearly beaten by a bald midget and a cheating pig!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself Yamcha." Puar said, a clothespin plugging her nose. "Those chumps just got lucky."

Yamcha appreciated her encouragement, but thinking back on his encounter with Krillin, the skill and techniques that he had witnessed the tiny fighter pull off as they clashed, he knew deep down that wasn't entirely accurate. "No Puar, it's more than that." he said begrudgingly. "That kid was unlike anyone I ever faced before. It's not just his skills in martial arts that were exceptional. He was able to draw out his Ki and use it as an attack. Most fighters could train their entire lives and never once ever draw out their Ki, much less be able to use it effectively in combat. But that kid not only managed to pull it off, he used the Kamehameha. There's only one martial artist I know of who's powerful enough to use such a devastating technique. It's creator. The God Of Martial Arts himself: Master Roshi."

Puar paused her cleaning and stared at her master in shock. "You're kidding..!"

Yamcha shook his head. "I'm dead serious. If that kid is able to use the signature technique of the greatest warrior on the planet, then he's far from just lucky." The bandit then smirked, clenching his fist with excitement. "And the fact that I had him at my mercy means that I'm a lot stronger than I realized. I can't wait to finish our battle."

"Well your gonna have to wait a while for that." Puar said, getting back to her scrubbing. "Because it's gonna take me half the night just to get rid of the smell so we can actually sleep tonight."

Yamcha blushed as he remember one other big obstacle in his way. 'Plus, if that girl is still with him then it's gonna be impossible for me to settle the score.' he thought. His then started to daydream about the girl, her stunning features still crystal clear in his mind's eye. 'I wonder what her name is. Something very elegant and cute I'll bet.'

Puar saw the goofy grin on her master's face and rolled her eyes knowing exactly what, or rather who, he was thing about. 'Hopeless.'

But little did the bandits know, that hanging in the shade made by their lair was Oolong, in the shape of a bat and using his now hypersensitive ears to listen in on their conversation. He then flew away to another nearby rock formation so he can transform back without alerting them of his presence.

*POOF*

"Okay. Now, what next?" he pondered out loud, trying to concoct a plan on how to get out of this hole he dug himself into in one piece.

And he needed a damn good one if he wanted to have any hope of get back on Bulma's good side so he can travel with her again to find the rest of the Dragon Balls and get his wish for a harem...And maybe make it up to her for drugging and kidnapping her too...And also betraying Krillin's trust...Okay he had a lot to make for. Which made it all the more important that he did this just right so that he doesn't end up getting killed by either Bulma, Yamcha, Krillin, or the desert itself.

'I got it!' he thought with a devious smile. 'All I have to do is wait until late at night when their asleep, turn into an owl, fly right in and steal that stick, along with anything else I can carry, then fly right out! Simple, yet brilliant!' He then found the coolest part of the shade made by the large rock and got comfortable. 'All there's left to do now, is wait.'

(Meanwhile At Pilaf's Castle)

Sparks flew as Pilaf welded the last bit of vital circuitry in place to finished the repairs and upgrades to his Dragon Ball Radar system. It was large, rather outdated super computer that he found in a scrap heap, purchased for next to nothing and had spent months repairing and modifying to suit his needs. Mai has stated multiple times that it would've been much easier, and ultimately less expensive, to just buy a more modern model so he wouldn't have to spend so much time and money repairing this clunker when it would inevitably broke down. Which it has, about 3 times. But he would always ignore her suggestions. The diminutive evil genius took great pride in his ability to take things that most people have thrown away and not only put them back together, but make them even better.

And while there was some merit to his skills in electronics, his understanding off economics left much to be desired as most of his what he liked to call "Overhauls" ended up being much more expensive than just buying the latest cutting edge tech. But good luck trying to explain that to Pilaf.

He lifted his welding mask off his face so he could examine his work properly. "Hmmm..I think that should do it." he said with cautious optimism. "Mai! Switch it on!"

"Yes sir." Mai nodded, pressing the on button. The monitor flickered for a few seconds before it displayed a clear image of a blue geographic grid of The Diablo Desert and the regions surrounding it. "You did it sir! The radar operating at full capacity!"

"Way to go boss!" Shu cheered.

Pilaf puffed his chest proudly. "Of course it is. Only an unparalleled genius such as myself could build and maintain this incredibly complex piece of machinery. Now then, Mai what's location of the nearest Dragon Ball?"

"Hey boss look!" Shu said excitedly, pointing to a blinking dot on the screen. "There's a Ball very close by! In fact we could just walk right toward it from-"

"Shu." Mai spoke up. "That's the Dragon Ball we already have."

Shu's ears dropped and he blushed heavily, feeling mighty embarrassed. "Oh..I-I knew that."

"Shu. Shut up before I toss you into the shark tank." Pilaf threatened, which dog ninja did without question. "Now, lets try this again. Where's the nearest Dragon Ball aside from our own?"

After pressing some buttons on the keyboard, Mai got an accurate reading on the nearest Dragon Ball's location. "According to these readings, the nearest Dragon Ball is roughly 1304 miles Southeast of our location."

Pilaf smiled at this news. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get it!" he said marching towards the door.

"I would advise against that sire." Mai said quickly.

The tiny monarch stopped in his tracks and gave her a very displeased frown. "And why is that?"

"Because if I'm not mistaking, that area is the location of the Ox King's castle." the female agent explained.

Pilaf turned pale at this revelation. "T-T-The Ox K-King?!" he whimpered, very much aware of the giant warlord's terrifying reputation.

"Isn't that the guy who's rumored to be strong enough to flatten mountains with his bare hands?" Shu asked. "And isn't his castle on top of a mountain that's always on fire?"

"SHUT UP, SHU!"

"SORRY BOSS!"

Mai nodded in response to her partner's question. "And that's not all. When I did my research into Roshi's background I came across the names of his two most recent students, the Ox King was one of them along with a famous folk hero by the name of Son Gohan."

Pilaf's teeth were now chattering. The fact that huge brute was apparently a pupil of that old geezer who gave him and his agents a sound ass-kicking made him even more terrifying. "O-On s-second thought! That Dragon Ball is clearly out of our reach at the moment! S-So lets ignore for now, Hehehehe!"

"Would you like me to find a Dragon Ball that's much easier to get?" Mai asked like a mother trying to calm her frightened child.

Pilaf nodded profusely and squeaked "Yes please."

Mai giggled a little at his response before getting to work on triangulating the location of another relatively nearby Dragon Ball. Only to be taken aback by the new readings she got. "That can't right." she said, squinting at the screen.

"What can't be right?" Pilaf asked.

"You're not gonna believe this sire, but apparently there's 5 Dragon Balls all grouped together 1402 miles East of here."

"WHAT?! OUT OF MY WAY! LET ME SEE!" Pialf exclaimed in outrage, shoving Mai away from the computer to see the readings for himself. And sure enough, 5 of the wish granting orbs were all clustered in one spot on the other end of the Diablo Desert. And since he knew of one boy who was in possession of at least 1 of those Dragon Balls, these readings confirmed his suspicions. "So I was right! That Krillin boy is searching for the Dragon Balls! And based on these readings he undoubtedly has a means of locating them like we do!"

Mai shoved Pilaf back to reset the calculations on the radar, desperately hoping that it was malfunctioning again. But much to her dismay, the readings remained the same. "No..This can't be true.." she whispered, resetting the radar again. But again, the results were the same. "No..!"

"Oh it's true alright!" Pilaf growled at his dejected agent. "It's now clear to me that this Krillin you are so strangely fond of is a threat to my wish for world domination! And you know I do not tolerate any threats to my future reign as Emperor of The Earth!"

Mai's heart sank. She knew what her liege was implying and for reasons she didn't understand, it scared her to death. "My lord please! Perhaps we can still negotiate with him-"

"SILENCE! I will hear no more of your excuses! The only reason I'm not putting you in the Hot Box right now for this insubordination is because of all your years of loyal, competent service to me! But understand this, if you allow this infatuation you have for the boy compromise you in anyway, I will make a human baked potato out of you! Is that clear?!"

Mai wanted to argue, beg and plead with him to listen to reason. To show some mercy for the boy who saved her life. But her loyalty to her emperor and her sense of self-preservation stilled her tongue. She bowed her head submissively. "Perfectly..sire."

Shu watched this whole exchange silently, his eyes full of empathy for his human partner.

"Good." Pilaf said, satisfied that his authority was respected. "Now, your new mission is to find that boy, eliminate him and bring me those Dragon Balls. Failure is not option."

"I will leave at ounce my lord." Mai said dispassionately.

Shu spoke up "I'll come with you. Strength in numbers and all that."

Mai gave the dog ninja a small, grateful smile. "Thanks Shu."

Pilaf watched his two agents leave with eyes full of suspicion. With all the setbacks he suffered and the unexpected development of Mai's growing feelings for his new enemy, the tiny monarch was understandably skeptical that his agents were up to the task. So once his agents had flown off in one of the last 2 planes he had left, he had a spy drone disguised as a crow tail after them so he could keep a close eye on them. Mai in particular.

'If she fails me one last time, or worse betrays me,' he growled internally, the very thought of such a possibility sickened him. 'Well..there's no telling what I'll do. So let's hope it doesn't come to that.'

Meanwhile in the plane's cockpit, Shu was flying the plane since he could tell that Mai had a lot on her mind. He spared a look to the seat behind him and saw that she was staring off into distance, trying her hardest to not cry. Shu struggled to find the right words to say to provide some form of comfort to his human partner, but all he could come up with was "You uh..gonna be okay Mai?"

Mai leaned her head back onto her seat, sighing deeply as she place her right forearm over her eyes. "I don't know Shu. I honestly don't know." she said softly.

"You know...you could always sit this one out. I can drop you off back at base real quick and take care of things myself-"

"I appreciate the offer Shu, but no." Mai interrupted "Emperor Pilaf's orders were clear. I am to eliminate Krillin," she paused, just saying those dreaded words felt like a dagger had pierced her heart. It took every once of willpower she had to not cry as she continued. "and deliver the Dragon Balls to him. And you know that our lord's orders are absolute."

Shu's ears drooped sadly. He could practically feel the heartbreak in her voice. "Yeah. I know. Just sucks that our target happens to be the kid who saved your life. Not gonna lie, I kinda feel like huge jerk just thinking about it."

'How do you think I feel?!' Mai cried out in her head, allowing a single tear to fall down her left cheek as she found emotional clarity, in the worst way possible. 'He didn't just save my life...He unwittingly stole my heart. And now I have to..to..' She couldn't finish that thought. It was too painful to bare.

"And since you seem to taken quite a liking to the kid-"

"Shu. Just..shut up and fly the plane."

The dog ninja didn't need to be told twice. 'Sorry Mai.'

(Midnight, Back At Oolong's Camper)

The smell of chicken being cooked is what Krillin awoke to. He slowly opened his eyes, wincing a bit from both the pain coursing through his whole body, and the bright light of a camping lamp sitting on the table. Once his eyes adjusted to the only light source in dark desert night, he saw that the delicious smell was coming from a pot of chicken noodle soup simmering on the stove. Which was being powered by a car battery.

"Mmm..That smells amazing.." he muttered, drooling a little in hunger.

Bulma, who had been standing guard by the door armed with an AK-47 she found in a hidden stash of capsules, turned to him and smiled. "Well look who's finally awake."

Krillin smiled back. "Bulma! I'm so happy you're oka-why are you wearing a bunny suit?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh this?" she said, addressing her bizarre yet sexy new outfit. "It was literally the only clean clothes I could find that fit me. With all the sweat, blood and grease from retrofitting the car battery to the stove now permanently staining my old ones, I had to wear something else. Normally I wouldn't be caught dead in something this scandalous, but I after wearing for the last few hours I have to admit it's kinda grown on me. It's surprisingly comfortable and I do look good in it."

"I'll say.." Krillin muttered, now drooling for different reasons. He slapped both hands over his mouth and blushed heavily. "Did I say that out loud?"

Bulma gave him a sly grin. "Yeah. You did."

"I-I-I d-didn't mean to-uh well that's to say y-you've always looked good! J-Just now in a different way! Y-Yeah! Hehehe-Ow! Oh that hurts! Everything hurts!"

Bulma giggled at his adorable stammering. "Slow down there Krillin, I know what you meant. And I appreciate the compliment. Also, take it easy for a while. Took me nearly 3 hours to get you all patched up and I just changed those bandages."

The short monk finally noticed all the gauze and bandages covering nearly every inch of his body. "Woah..How long was I out?"

"About 8 hours." she answered, walking over to the stove to pour Krillin a bowl of soup.

Krillin then noticed that there was something, or rather someone, missing. "Where's Oolong?"

"Who cares?" Bulma growled, the very thought of that pig made her blood boil. "That porker is dead to me as far as I'm concerned."

Her response gave Krillin all the context he need to figure out what happened."I see." was all he said out loud with a frown that was both angry and sad. While internally he said 'So he did drug her after all. I hoped my theory was wrong but..*Sigh* Damn it Oolong. Why did you have to stab us in the back like that? I was starting to think you were changing for the better and we could be friends. But I guess not.'

"But enough about scummy swine." Bulma said with chipper smile and a bowl of soup in hand. "It's time for you to get some food in your belly."

*Grumble*

Krillin rubbed his empty stomach and licked his lips. "Sounds good to me." he said reaching for the bowl, only to wince in severe pain from the movement.

"I told you to take it easy. You're basically a giant bruise covered in cuts and gashes right now." Bulma said as she sat on the floor next to him, took a spoonful of soup, blew out some of the steam and brought close to his lips. "Open wide."

The short monk blushed heavily and his heart pounded in his chest. This was every male warrior's dream. A gorgeous woman sitting by his beside feeding him as he recovered from a hard fought battle. "Ahhh..." He took a hearty bite out of the soup, savoring the rich flavor of dark and white meat mixed with carrots, egg noodles and celery. "Mmm..So good."

"Glad you like it." Bulma smiled, feeding him another spoonful. "You're lucky that none of your bones were broken. But I reckon it's still gonna take you about a week to get back on your feet. And a couple more weeks to make a full recovery."

Krillin swallowed his soup and said "Don't be so sure. Master Gohan taught me a special form of meditation that uses Ki to speed up the body's ability to heal. With it, I can cut that recovery time in half."

"Of course he did." the genius playfully rolled her eyes. "Is there anything that man didn't teach you?"

"Well, he didn't teach any about technology. But then again, he's always had bad luck with machines."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"They always seem to break down when he uses them. Or burst into flames. Or blow up. Or try to kill him. Sometimes all those things at the same time."

"Pfffhahahaha! You're kidding me!"

"No seriously. There was this one time, he bought a toaster and-" He was silenced by Bulma suddenly putting a finger to his lips. "Hm?"

"Shh! Listen." she whispered, holding a hand to her ear.

Krillin did as she said and quickly found out what she was hearing. It was an airplane. And it sounded like it was getting closer, almost flying right overhead.

Bulma beamed a wide, elated grin. "You hear that right?! You know what this means?!" Krillin was about to say something but she cut him off by cheering "WE'RE SAVED"

"Wait Bulma I think we should-BULMA!" he shouted to the recklessly excited girl as she ran outside to flag the plane down to their location. "I have a bad feeling about this."

The short monk had good reason to feel worried. Because as soon as the small plane landed not to far from the wrecked camper, out from the cockpit stepped out a beautiful woman in a military trench coat accompanied by Shinba-inu wearing purple ninja attire.

And judging by the gun and sword in their hands, they were not here to rescue them.

(Cue Dragon Ball Ending Theme: I'll Give You Romance English Version)

It was raining rather heavily outside as Bulma rested her chin on her left hand, listening to some music from her earbuds as she stared of into the stormy horizon with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Be as free, as you can be.

A childlike love of fantasy.

Chi-Chi was watching a beautiful sunset over the mountains in the distance with a warm smile on her face, the Dragon Radar pinging in her hand letting her know that a Dragon Ball was nearby.

The world, is a mystery for you and me.

A miracle, an adventure too.

A singe wish awaits for you.

Launch was in her blonde form, riding a motorcycle packed to the brim with all her guns in the middle of a desert. She was smirking as she was geared up in a white sleeveless shirt, riding goggles, leather gloves, elbow and kneepads, a pair of army cargo pants with the left pant leg tore away to reveal her long, toned leg and a pair of black steeltoed boots. In other words, she was ready for action.

The beating of your heart will see you through.

Krillin and Roshi were riding together over a mountainous region in a hover car, while Oolong was not too far behind, flying after them in the form of small airplane.

When you think you can't go on, give it another try.

Launch now in her blue haired form was dressed in frilly dress with an apron over it, preparing a delicious dinner in Kame House's kitchen for when her friends returned home after a long day of adventuring.

The power of your youth is strong and as big as the sky.

Yamcha and Puar rode over a grassy valley in a motorbike, searching for the Dragon Balls in their own corner of the world.

Search all over the valley, the mountains and you'll see.

Mark and his new girlfriend Miguel were riding in a small red car near a sparking ocean, enjoying both each other's company and the joy of traveling the world.

Believing in yourself sets you free.

Krillin, Yamcha, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Roshi, Launch, Oolong, Puar, Mark, Miguel and Ox King all stood together to take a group photo, smiling towards the camera with wide grins on all their faces. Each of them elated at having all found each other and forming friendships that will last a lifetime.

Come on I'll give you romance!

Bulma was now in Capsule Corp's garage working on the newest upgrades to her battle armor, sticking her tongue out in concentration as she welded all the pieces together.

Come on I'll give you paradise!

Chi-Chi was now at Fortune Teller Baba's palace, reading ancient scrolls to unlock more secrets of the mystic arts to improve her skills and be able to protect her friends.

Liberate the "you" that you keep inside.

Launch was blasting makeshift targets with her Spirit Gun, working on her aim and Ki reserves so she can be ready to take on whatever creep that thought they could threaten the people she loved and get away with it.

Come on I'll give you romance!

The One Star Dragon Ball rolled over to where all the other Dragon Balls were gathered together, clacking into them and scattering them like pool balls.

Come on I'll give you paradise!

Bulma, Chi-Chi and Launch all sat together, staring out the window of their portable house with radiant smiles on their faces as the watched Krillin train outside under the starry sky.

Make your dreams come true.

You'll see fantasy..magic can happen to you!

Krillin completed his routine, wiping the sweat from his brow after an intense workout. He then saw a shooting star fly overhead, chuckling at the irony before closing his eyes to make a wish. His only wish being, that if anything bad ever happened to him, things will be okay for the people he loves.

(End Theme Song)

It's that time again! Let's talk Power Levels!

Krillin (Injured): 8

Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist: 15