Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Happy Birthday Vegeta ❯ Searching Begins ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, and I am not profiting (materially) from these

stories.

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed...I think that is too cool. The reviews I mean...It really is something of an incentive...And yes, the true struggle for any author is to keep their beloved story from sagging in the middle...maybe chapter two was "slow" because I wasn't sure I wanted to go that way...I dunno...I just write the stuff...see? :::points below:::....

Happy Birthday Vegeta

Chapter Three

"Good Kami Krillin! What happened?"

Krillin's face was covered in soot, his clothes scorched to indecency, and in his hand was one smoking dragonball.

If they hadn't been burnt away, Krillin would have arched an eyebrow before answering Bulma. His throat was raw from exposure, his voice rough.

"You don't consider volcanic activity to be 'sentient hostility'?"

Bulma paled, feeling momentarily guilty for Krillin's state.

"Are you hurt? Do you need medical-"

Krillin shook his head. "Nah, just surface damage."

There was a snicker from behind Bulma, and then another, and Krillin began to smile. At his grin, Gohan and Bulma burst into laughter. "Kuso...for a camera..." With a soft cloth in hand, Bulma took Krillin's prize from his palm, gasping at the radiant heat it still held. She juggled it precariously until it cooled enough to be inspected. It was approximately the size of a softball and covered in a smokey film which Bulma gently wiped from the globe. When she was done, the four stars within were easily seen.

'Konnichi wa Grandpa Gohan...' Bulma acknowledged the fourth dragonball as she placed it in a foam lined security case.

"Well, that's three out of seven..." She updated her log in the computer, and then pulled geographical charts onto the screen.

"Piccolo shouldn't have any problem really with the fifth dragonball. I mean, the locale is mountainous, weather looks quiet though cold...." She squinted at the screen, as her fingers flew over the keyboard, the charts changing and resizing to her commands.

The remote mountain village of Khishan

'If I find out she knew about this, she's dead.' The Namek flew painstakingly through the heavy snowfall. He tapped the scouter he wore, and adjusted his direction according to the radar. Bulma had 'modified' the scouter to function as a dragon radar in addition to its usual applications. The blinking light on the screen in front of his eye indicated that he was right above where the fifth dragonball should be...He powered down and as he landed, he sank, thigh deep in cold, wet snow. His armor was soaked and clung soggily to his form and a shiver racked his body. 'So...dead...' he thought with a smile that gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling as it chased away the local wildlife. He surveyed his surroundings through very limited visibility, and thought he saw the outline of several buildings. Slogging through three feet of snow, unable to see through the screen of the scouter, and freezing his Namekian parts off...Piccolo got angry. With a disgusted sound that only a truly cold and wet Namek could make, Piccolo drew on his ki, drying his clothes from the inside out, and enclosing himself in a softly glowing sphere. It improved his mood, and his vision.

He stopped in front of a cabin type dwelling with no windows, and the wind tore around him, furiously unable to effect him. He was getting no ki reading from the scouter, but his senses told him it was occupied. Just as he was wondering how to get in, and how to explain what he was looking for, a door slowly opened.

Sirabi looked at the tall, muscled and gently glowing form in her doorway, and made the only assumption she could.

"Kami!" she breathed, eyes wide.

"Not anymore." Piccolo replied.

::::oh geez. A cliffhanger ending. So sue me. After you tell me whether or not I should continue writing.::::<Piccolo-like grin> until later, Jada