Minions of the Demon King! Suno's Hidden Power!
Goku tore through the air on her Nimbus, her eyes flickering back and forth between the Dragon Radar and what was ahead of her. There were two Dragon Balls pretty close together but only one was moving so she figured that had to be the one with the monster that killed Krillin. As she looked up from the Dragon Radar, Goku saw a quickly-growing green shape in the sky. She got close enough to see that the green thing was shaped like a man but had wings like a dragon… and a Dragon Ball in one hand. It couldn't be anyone but the monster that killed Krillin!
"Give me back my Dragon Ball!" Goku demanded as she got closer. "Give me back my Ball and give me back Krillin's life!" The monster turned in midair to look at Goku with an expression of amused confusion which only made her angrier.
"Krillin?" the monster asked. "You mean the brat who tried to stop me from taking this?" He held the ball between his claws and turned it over in his hand. "He was pitiful. Pitiful and stupid, to think he could stop me." Goku roared in anger and Nimbus rocketed towards the monster as Goku tried punching at him. The monster easily moved out of the way and struck Goku with a kick to knock her off of the cloud. Nimbus quickly moved to catch Goku and the monster gave the cloud a curious look. Goku snarled and brought her hands down to her side… and felt nothing. She was completely out of energy!
"I-if I was at full power…" Goku growled in frustration. If she didn't have any energy then how could she fight? She had to think of something, though. Before Goku could come up with a plan, the monster spoke again.
"What you're full of," he told her, "Is stupidity. Like your stupid, dead, little friend. Now die!" The monster opened his mouth impossibly wide as a yellow light shone from inside his body. A beam of deadly light lanced out of his mouth and blasted Nimbus, vaporizing the cloud under Goku's feet.
"Nimbus!" Goku cried out in despair, more concerned with her cloud than herself. She looked back at the monster and his foot crashed into her face to make everything go black. The monster shook his head with a chuckle as he watched her drop, down and down and down. Too easy.
OoOoOoO
Suno bit back a curse as she felt Goku's ki drop. She wasn't dead, of that much she was certain, but it was clear that she had lost to that other mass of evil ki. That wasn't too surprising, all things considered, but what was surprising was that it seemed like Goku had fallen to the ground. As she learned the hard way when Master Korin accidentally launched her off his tower, the Nimbus usually moves to catch its rider automatically unless they will it not to. That could mean one of two things and neither one was good.
By the time Suno managed to reach Goku, the sun was already starting to set. Between the slowness of her car and having to go on foot due to the jungle, the journey had taken far longer than anticipated. All the while, she latched onto the sensation of Goku's ki, at low as it was, to guide her and calm her nerves. When Goku had left, she had been terrified that her precious friend would die in her attempt to claim vengeance in much the same way her dad had. Goku was insanely strong, of that there was no doubt, but even Goku had her limits and coming off of the Budoukai like that to fight a fresh opponent would certainly make the girl reach them. As such, when it was clear to Suno that Goku hadn't sustained any life threatening injuries, all she could do was cradle her unconscious friend's body and sigh with relief.
Of course, Goku's current condition raised a number of questions but those could and would be dealt with later. Since she couldn't be woken, Suno's first priority was to get them out of the forest and someplace considerably safer. Someplace where she could hopefully find medicine or a doctor or even a good bowl of soup. With that in mind, Suno cast out her conscious and pushed her sixth sense as far as it could go. If she could find some people then she would be in a much better position even if they were bandits. As luck would have it, she could sense around thirty or so people off to the northwest. They were a ways away but that shouldn't be too much of a problem once they got out of the jungle.
As Suno hefted the unconscious Goku onto her back and started walking, she was thankful that she had quit her training with Master Korin early to get her driver's license.
OoOoOoO
Piccolo Daimaou sat in his massive throne on the airship of the strange little blue creature known as Pilaf with his son Piano at his side and stared at his hands. They were… ancient and withered and pale. He scowled at his hands. Where had his youth gone? Before he had been imprisoned, he had been young and powerful, without equal. He had spent an eternity screaming in the dark and when he was free he was so old and too weak to even kill those three simpletons. He had recovered some of his strength since he had been freed but he was still far away from his full power. He'd had no idea how he might take his revenge on mankind when he'd been freed. There had been magicks that would restore his youth or grant him eternal life but he had no way of knowing if they still existed in these what he had discovered was three hundred years. Then Pilaf had said something that had saved his worthless life.
"Th-the Dragon Balls!" the worthless coward had stammered out. Piccolo remembered staring far down at them and felt a small measure of pleasure in the unmitigated terror that flooded their bodies underneath his gaze.
"What are these Dragon Balls?" he had demanded. Even his voice was weak. Dry and raspy and paper-thin. Still, there was something in the name that was oddly familiar to him.
"S-s-seven orbs," he had explained, "A-and, when you gather them together, a dragon will grant your any wish." Piccolo had rubbed his chin and thought.
"You will help me gather these 'Dragon Balls'," he commanded them, "And I will use them to grant myself eternal youth to restore my power. Once my strength is returned to me, I shall fulfill my destiny and presume complete dominion over all the world." They had nodded obediently and it seemed that all was well until the tall one had spoke. The pale skin, the long hair. A… female, that was what they were called, wasn't it?
"What about us?" she had asked. "We freed you. We told you about the Dragon Balls. We're the ones who're going to go through the effort of gathering them. What do we get?" Piccolo had glowered down at her. He felt the urge to remind her that what they were "getting" was their lives. And yet… and yet he admired her tenacity.
"Very well," he told her. "In exchange for your service, when I come into my kingdom I shall give you… half." The trio nodded to themselves and seemed to find those circumstances agreeable. Now, here they were.
"Tambourine is returning," Pilaf announced while looking down at his preposterous-looking Dragon Radar, an enormous contraption nearly as big as Piccolo himself. "He is carrying a Dragon Ball with him!" Piccolo nodded as Piano turned to Shu at the ship's controls.
"Open the hatch to let him in," Piano instructed. His first son, Piccolo had quickly realized, was more intelligent even than himself. He had quickly been able to grasp the new world's strange technologies. The dog-man known as Shu pushed some buttons on the "console", as it was called, and a hole opened in the floor in front of Piccolo. A wind whipped through the room as Tambourine flew up through the hole, flapping his wings to rise. When the hole was sealed again, Tambourine prostrated himself before the Demon King with one hand held high to deliver the Dragon Ball.
"As you commanded, Father," Tambourine said obediently. "It was just where their machine had said it would be." Piccolo reached down and plucked the Dragon Ball from his hand. In his monstrous hand, it was barely larger than a grape. He held the orb between thumb and forefinger and held it up, squinting at it and its four stars.
"Could something so small hold such power?" he asked aloud with a small amount of incredulity. There was something comforting in it, however. Something that gave Piccolo a feeling he had never had before. A feeling of… home? "Did you acquire the list?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Tambourine. His son nodded and rose to his feet with the stack of papers clutched in his talons.
"I have, father," said as he held the papers out to show Piccolo. "The listings of every Martial Artist to enter the Tenkaichi Budoukai in the last ten years. They were in the same place together and so it was a simple matter of… I believe the expression is 'kill two birds with one stone?'" Piccolo nodded his approval and pointed towards the wall.
"Spread all of the pictures out across the wall," he commanded. Pilaf and the female Mai moved to help Tambourine and he quickly opened his mouth. "No, Tambourine," Piccolo said sharply. "They are still useful." Tambourine closed his mouth and reluctantly handed half of the stack to Pilaf and Mai. They began posting the papers on the walls and Tambourine sneered as he crumpled one of the sheets up and tossed it onto the ground.
"Killed that one already," he muttered flippantly, "Feh. Some 'finalist.'" Piccolo's heightened ears picked up Pilaf and Mai muttering to themselves as they stared with wide eyes at the sheet on the top of their stack.
"I-it's her!" Pilaf muttered in shock. Mai agreed.
"Two-time finalist," she added, "Two-time runner up! No wonder she was so powerful!" Tambourine walked over to them and looked over their shoulders. He laughed as he plucked the paper from their hands and crumpled it as well, tossing it away dismissively.
"Killed her, too," he said as he went back to the work of hanging up the papers. Pilaf stared at Tambourine in a state of shock.
"A-are you certain?" he asked. Tambourine sneered but said nothing. "I only ask because she has proven extremely difficult to–" Tambourine was on him in the blink of an eye with a hand around his throat to lift him off the ground, shaking him violently.
"Listen to me, you worthless blue toad!" he roared. "When I say someone is dead, they are dead!" Pilaf's skin began to turn even bluer as he desperately pulled at Tambourine's fingers. Mai tried to tackle Tambourine but he kicked her away. Piccolo groaned and, with some effort, rose from his throne.
"Enough!" he bellowed. Tambourine dropped Pilaf immediately and turned his eyes downward. Piccolo sighed and slowly sank back down into the throne. The rest of the pictures were hung in silence. Piccolo scanned the pictures and scowled. "Tambourine!" His son went on bended knee at his father's word. "You will go out into the world and kill every last person on this list. If there is even the slightest chance that any of them know the Mafuuba technique then my plans shall be in ruin. Wipe them out!" Tambourine nodded and rose to his feet.
"By your command, father. They are as good as dead." Tambourine waited for the floor to open up again with his arms at his side and his wings folded. Shu pressed a button and Tambourine quickly dropped away, opening his wings once he had dropped a hundred feet. "I believe I will start with that one called 'Namu'." Back inside the airship, Piano turned to Piccolo.
"But father," he hissed, "What about the Dragon Ballsss? You ccccertainly can't go hunting for them in your condition and I am not ssssuited for combat. Ssssurely you don't intend to have one of thosssse three-" Piccolo silenced him with an upraised hand. He closed his eyes and tensed himself in preparation. It had been painful enough just to create Tambourine and Piano.
"Poko-pen," he chanted, "Poke-pen, Dah-leh-ga, Tsu-tsui-ta. Poko-pen, Poko-pen poko-pen, Dah-leh-ga, Tsu-tsui-ta!" He opened his mouth impossibly wide as he felt something pushing up from his stomach and distending his throat. With what could only be described as a horrifying retching, the enormous egg forced its way out of his mouth and plopped onto the floor, slathered in green viscera. Piccolo fell back into the throne wearily. He was drenched in sweat and could barely breathe. He was so weak! Once he could create armies of his demonic children and now it was a struggle to create three?! He had to have those Dragon Balls.
"Pleasssse be careful, father," Piano urged as he put his hands on Piccolo's arm. "Each child you create takessss away from what little life you have left!" Piccolo scowled at Piano and yanked his arm away. His son did not care for him. He only expressed worry because if Piccolo died then so did all of his sons.
"When I have youth eternal," he reminded Piano, "It will not matter!" Then he turned as the egg began to crack. In moments his son burst free from his shell and flapped his wings. He was large and robust with bright green skin a long tail and two long horns out the back of its head. He was even more draconic than his older brother. "Cymbal," Piccolo declared as he looked upon his son. "Do you see this?" he held the Dragon Ball out for Cymbal to see and the child nodded, sniffing it curiously. They were always rather primitive in the first few minutes. "You will go and find more like this for me!" He turned to Pilaf and pointed at him. "He will show you." Pilaf paled considerable as Cymbal stalked towards him but managed to point to the map of the world on his Dragon Radar.
"H-h-here!" he stammered out. Cymbal nodded and stomped back over to Piccolo.
"Let no one stand in your way," Piccolo commanded. "Kill everyone who tries to take the Dragon Ball away from you!" Cymbal nodded and the floor opened up underneath him. Piccolo sighed and leaned back against his throne. Pilaf shuddered as he stared at all the fighters on the wall. This… this was more death than he had anticipated.
OoOoOoO
Namu looked up into the night sky to see a creature descending towards the village. He could hear its leathery wings flapping like a demon and tensed himself for battle.
"Are you Namu?" the demon asked when it landed.
"I am," Namu said with a nod. He could feel the demon's power. It was unlike anything he had sensed before. He brought his hands down to his side and breathed in his fear. He breathed in his panic and his despair. Then he breathed it all out… and as the creature's fist punched through his chest, his life along with it.
OoOoOoO
The full moon was reflected on the ocean outside Kame House as a forlorn mood hung throughout the bungalow. Yamcha, Ten, Chaozu and Launch sat in the kitchen while Bulma was just about finished with the Dragon Radar in the living room with Puar hovering around nervously. Roshi was sitting with her and watching the news intently. He had suspected that Piccolo Daimaou had stolen the Budoukai rosters to hunt down the world's strongest martial artists so that none would be left to oppose him. Which, of course, meant that almost everyone in the house was a target as well.
"Goku hasn't gotten back yet," Launch muttered. "Neither has Suno." She chewed on her bottom lip. "You guys don't think–"
"We can't think like that, Launch," Yamcha cut her off. "We have to stay positive." 'Besides, Goku's the strongest of us. If she were to die, we'd be in real trouble.'
"Please," Tenshinhan said, "Explain these 'Dragon Balls' to me again." They'd told him before but he'd had a somewhat difficult time grasping the concept.
"There's seven balls," Bulma called from the living room, "And when you gather them together, it summons a giant dragon who can grant basically any wish."
"We'll use the balls to kill Piccolo," Yamcha said, "And then next year we'll use them to bring back anyone Piccolo kills before we can stop him."
"But Yamcha," Puar asked, "Won't Krillin have decayed in a year?"
"Not with this!" Bulma said and held up the capsule that, disturbingly, held Krillin's corpse. "I invented these special cold capsules originally to store things perishable foods but the human body is pretty perishable too, isn't it?" She chuckled but quickly stopped when she realized nobody else was laughing.
"Muten Roshi," Ten asked, "Why not use the Mafuuba?"
"That's out of the question," Roshi told him perhaps too brusquely. "Mutaito took the secret of that technique to his grave." Before the conversation could continue, the news was interrupted with an urgent report.
"We interrupt this broadcast with a special news bulletin," the cat-man said as he frantically shuffled papers and Namu's face came onto the screen. "Earlier today, we received word that a man by the name of Namu, a finalist in the 21st Tenkaichi Budoukai, was violently murdered. This note was left at the scene." Next to Namu's face appeared the same piece of paper that Ken had given them back on Papaya Island. "After consulting with historians, we can confirm that this is none other than the mark of the Great Demon King Piccolo himself. We will update you on this story as it continues."
"Great," Launch muttered. "Just fuckin' great. Now everyone's gonna start panicking." Yamcha nodded grimly and turned to stare out the window.
'Damn it, Goku,' he thought. 'Where are you? We need you!'
OoOoOoO
Goku groaned as she woke up, the sun blinding to her sleep addled eyes. "Oh! Goku! You're awake! Thank God," she heard a familiar voice say. She carefully turned her head to side to see someone she didn't expect.
"S-Suno? W-What are you doing here? Where am I?" she asked, her head slightly fuzzy from the hit that monster gave her.
"I went after you when you ran off. I couldn't just let my best friend run off to fight a monster alone after she spent all of her energy in the Budoukai. As for where we are, this is Mabel Village. After I found you in a forest, I took you to the largest cluster of ki I could find. They were kind enough to let us stay here until you woke up," Suno answered from where she sat by Goku's bed.
"Uhg. My head hurts. How long have I been out?" Goku asked as she gingerly sat up.
"About half a day, I think."
"Aw jeez. That monster's probably long gone by now. Without my Nimbus, I'll never be able to catch him."
"Mmm. He probably is long gone. I couldn't sense him while meditating no matter how far I pushed my mind. But," Suno smiled softly, "I wouldn't worry about catching him. We know he's after the Dragon Balls, right? Then we just need a Dragon Ball and he'll come to us."
"Yeah! You're right! Then I can get back at that jerk for killing Krillin!" Goku nodded vigorously only to stop and grab her stomach when it growled. "But I'll never be able to be him like this! I'm starving!"
"Well, you're in luck: The family that let us stay the night also invited us to breakfast." Suno paused and it looked to Goku like she was thinking about something. "Mm. But I'm afraid that'll have to wait."
"Huh? Why?"
"You see, there just so happens to be a Dragon Ball in this village. I saw some dog-person wearing it as a necklace last night. Right now, I can sense a mass of evil ki heading right for us."
"Is it that monster?"
"No, I don't think so. This one seems to be a lot weaker than the guy you fought."
"Well, we've gotta stop him before he can get the Dragon Ball!" Goku moved to get up but Suno stopped her.
"You're right but let me handle this. You're still recovering from that other monster and haven't eaten yet. Right now, I'm in a lot better shape than you are."
Goku shook her head furiously, "No! I can't let you do that! I can't let another friend die because of me!"
Suno was shocked for a moment but quickly regained her composure and smiled gently at Goku, "Don't worry. I'm not going to die. I'm positive that I'm stronger than this thing. Besides, I haven't been training for the past two years with Master Korin for nothing." Goku went all starry-eyed at this and Suno continued. "I've been wanting to show you the results of my training so why don't you watch? I've picked up quite a few tricks since the last time we were together."
"Wait, if you've been training with Master Korin, why didn't you enter the Budoukai?" Goku asked.
"I've never really been interested in that thing," Suno said with a shrug. "I want to be strong but I don't care about being the strongest. I only came because I wanted to see you again." Suno paused and looked out a nearby window, "Well, he's just about here. Shall we get going?"
Mabel Village was a rather quiet place. It was slightly larger than Jingle Village but only just and its scenery was the complete opposite from what Suno was used to. To add to its charm, the village was populated almost exclusively by the most adorable animal people Suno had ever seen. This peaceful scenery and tranquil atmosphere simply served the make the hulking mass of evil ki now standing roughly in the center of it stand out even more.
What Suno and Goku found was a very large dragon-looking thing that was nearly as wide as it was tall. With its green scales and evil aura, it was certainly more than enough to terrify the hapless villagers.
"All right, listen up!" it commanded in a deep voice. "I have just one question! Answer truly or you'll all die! Has anyone seen a little sphere with stars inside around here?" The villagers all cowered and trembled with fear. No one answered him. "Well? Do you want to live? A sphere with stars. Have you seen it or not?"
Finally, something broke and one of the villagers screamed, "It's Biskit! Biskit found one three years ago!"
"Ah, I see. Well, where is this Biskit? Bring him to me if you want to live!" No one moved. "NOW!" In a panic, several villagers rushed to a certain house and broke down the door. After the sounds of a struggle, they came out dragging a dog-person. Around his neck was a necklace with the One Star Dragon Ball. "Very good. Now I'll be taking tha-"
Just before he could reach the Dragon Ball, a voice called out, "HEY!" Every turned their attention to a certain girl with long, red hair. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not nice to bully people?"
The monster was shocked for a moment but quickly laughed before taking a few steps towards her. "Bully people? These lesser beings aren't fit to be called cattle, much less people."
"Lesser beings, huh? Yeah, that sounds about right, coming from something like you. If you're going to look like a dragon then I guess it's only fitting you have the attitude of one."
"Whatever. I'll deal with you later, little girl. Right now, I have to get-"
"This Dragon Ball?" Suno held up her hand to show off the One Star Dragon Ball.
"WH-WHAT?!" The monster looked back to where Biskit was only to see that the Dragon Ball was no longer on his necklace. "H-how?! When did you-"
"Come on, you've gotta be kidding me," Suno said with a laugh that made Cymbal's eyes bulge out of his head. "If you're going to act all tough and evil, the least you can do is keep up."
"Why you little-! Don't you know who I am?! I'm Cymbal! The son of the Great Demon King Piccolo!"
"You say that name as if it's supposed to mean something to me."
"I demand that you give that Dragon Ball to me at once!"
"If you want it," Suno slid the Dragon Ball into her pocket, "Come and get it."
Cymbal roared in fury as his killing intent spiked. In a flash, he spread his wings and charged at Suno with speed unsuiting his bulk. At the last instant, Suno sprang backwards and scowled as his fist left a sizable crater in the ground. If even one of his hits landed, she'd be in serious trouble.
Cymbal came at her again and again with earth shattering punches and sky tearing claw swipes but Suno dodged each and every attack while constantly retreating. Eventually, Cymbal wound up for a right hook but, the instant Suno started to move to dodge it, lashed out with a right jab. Suno looked in surprise at the feint as Cymbal's fist came right at her… and sailed through her afterimage.
"Over here!" Cymbal had just enough time to turn around before Suno's impacted with his face and the accompanying kiai sent him tumbling far away. By the time he got back to his feet, Suno was calmly walking towards him. "Now that we're finally out of the village, I can fight seriously."
Cymbal laughed at her claim, "Trying to spare the lives of those other inferior beings, eh? A noble but wasted effort. Once I pry the Dragon Ball from your corpse, I'm going to raze that village and feast on everyone there!"
Suno hardened her glare, "You'll have to kill me first and that's not happening."
"You think a mere human can stand up to one of the Demon Clan? You inferior beings have become arrogant in Daimaou's absence! You may be fast but your blows lack power! I can easily crush you with one blow!"
"You're right. You can crush me with one blow and my hits do lack strength. But that's okay. Whether I have to hit you one time or a thousand, you die here."
"You certainly aren't lacking in spirit! Very well, human! I'll give you the honor of fighting you seriously! Come at me with everything you have!"
"Very well." In an instant, Suno vanished and reappeared in front of Cymbal. He could only look in shock as her palm sailed towards the center of his chest only to stop a hair's breadth from hitting. An instant later, a powerful kiai struck Cymbal and blasted him backwards. No, not a single blast. As only Goku, who had followed them, could see; she had struck him three times in that single instant.
Cymbal slid to a stop and roared as he charged Suno, his speed greater than what it had been before. While that was proof that he had been holding back before, it didn't worry Suno in the slightest. It was clear that Cymbal was preparing another feint so Suno stepped into his guard rather than trying to dodge. It seemed that Cymbal wasn't that much of an idiot, however, as he continued with his right hook instead trying the decoy feint. When Suno backpedaled to avoid his fist, he opened his hand wide and managed to catch her across the chest with his claws.
Suno immediately retreated a few feet back and glanced down at her chest. She wasn't cut but her bra and shirt were definitely ruined. She returned her focus to the now smug monster before her. "Looks like I underestimated you. I didn't think you'd be able to touch me at all." Cymbal chuckled and pounded his fist against his chest.
"Like I said, human: Come at me with everything you have! You won't stand a chance of surviving otherwise!"
"You're right. Masters Korin and Frost would be furious if they found out I was hold back against a demon. That's the last hit you'll get on me, though."
"Very well! Let's see if your actions hold up to your words!" With another roar, Cymbal used his wings to do a flying charge which Suno met head on. The instant before they impacted, Suno slid underneath the monster and slammed both of her palms into his stomach, flipping him into the air with a powerful kiai. When she rose, she saw Cymbal correct himself and land on his feet only to immediately charge again. Again, Suno met his charge head on and found herself suddenly dodging a flurry of blows powerful enough to blow away an entire house. As it was, the land behind her was being torn to shreds as the force of Cymbal's blows carried onward. This thing had plenty of power but absolutely no control.
The instant she found an opening, Suno struck out kiai-enhanced blow to Cymbal's sternum and followed up by a roundhouse kick to the side of his head that spun him around. Her follow up was delayed as she was forced to duck Cymbal's tail that nearly caught her in the face. Cymbal turned around and held out his hand before unleashing a blast of lightning energy at her that forced her to retreat. He brought up his other hand and let loose blast of blast of lightning so Suno responded in kind with wave after wave of kiai to deflect the blasts. Eventually, the kiai stopped and the lightning was free to strike her position and create a cloud of dust. When Cymbal stopped and started chuckling, Suno appeared and unleashed a barrage of kiai-enhanced strikes towards his torso. When it appeared like he was getting his bearings, Suno vanished only to reappear and continue the barrage from the different angle. Again and again, Suno changed the angle of her assault until Cymbal was surrounded by a hurricane of endless blows. In that instant, he understood perfectly: She was hitting him with one thousand strikes.
For the nine hundred ninety-eighth strike, Suno did a backflip kick that launched Cymbal into the air and she quickly followed him. For the nine hundred ninety-ninth strike, she struck him in the center of his spine and blasted him into the ground. She brought her hands down to side and began to focus her ki. "Kaaameeehaaameee…" Cymbal got up on unsteady legs and held out his hands as he began to charge a massive amount of lightning energy. Before he let it loose, Suno used a full body kiai fired behind her to launch herself towards the ground and landed kneeling well inside Cymbal's guard. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" For the one thousandth blow, Suno used a perfect Kamehameha to turn Cymbal's weakened body to ash.
Breathing heavily, Suno rose to her feet and dusted herself off. Just before she turned around, she felt something slide down her cheek and rubbed it to find a drop of blood coming from a scratch on her cheek. It seemed that, in a way, Cymbal actually won that fight. Suno looked over to see if Goku was watching and… was she blushing?
OoOoOoO
Piccolo gasped in pain and clutched at his chest as his eyes went wide with shock. Someone had killed Cymbal! He had felt his son's death and it filled him with rage. Not for the loss of Cymbal but for what it symbolized. Someone was standing against him. Someone was defying him! He closed his eyes and stretched his consciousness out to find Tambourine's mind.
'Tambourine!' his voice echoed in his son's mind. 'Heed my call!'
'Just a moment, father,' Tambourine thought. 'You've caught me in the middle of something.' He looked down at the strange pink substance wrapped around his body and looked up at the strange dragon-man named Girran who looked rather proud of himself. Tambourine expanded his chest and ripped the substance apart with ease. Girran stared in shock as Tambourine grabbed him by the shoulders and ripped him down the middle with barely an effort. He let the corpse drop to the ground and brushed the viscera off his arms.
Piccolo impatiently tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling while he waited for Tambourine's reply.
"Get him!" A voice bellowed. Tambourine looked to the left to see half a dozen of those dragon-men flying towards him with claws outstretched. He opened his mouth wide and reduced them to bones with a single blast. He gave a satisfied smile and took off into the sky.
'Now then,' Tambourine thought, 'You were saying?'
'Someone has killed Cymbal!' Piccolo thought. Tambourine blinked.
'... Who?' Piccolo groaned aloud.
'Your brother. I created him to gather the Dragon Balls after you left. I will put the coordinates into your mind. Go there and raze the area to the ground! Show them the penalty of their defiance!' Tambourine nodded obediently and changed the course of his flight.
"By your will, father," he said aloud, "It will be done." He supposed that this "Yamcha" would have to wait.