Bringer of Death

Tournament Saga - Part 5: The Final Countdown

Tournament Saga - Part 5: The Final Countdown

"Hmm," Goku said, staring down at the dragon radar as he walked out of the Capsule Corp grounds. "Together again, eh?" he laughed, as if the device was a close companion. The Saiyan was dressed casually in a belt and khakis, a white tucked-in shirt, and a light orange and black jacket. Today he had a single mission to accomplish: finding all the dragonballs.

He smiled, remembering how hard it had been to track them all down as a child. Now, thanks to his unprecedented speed and instant transmission, the job should be a piece of cake. Flashbacks of his childhood with Bulma came to mind as he clicked the radar on and zoomed out on its range.

"Ah! There we go. Two already!"

Since the first couple of balls weren't that far away, comparatively—only a few hundred miles—the Saiyan decided to take the scenic route. Effortlessly, he lifted off the Capsule Corp lawn and pierced a pale thin trail through the sparse clouds.

He welcomed the warm breeze as it blew against his face. Within moments, he had left the city's airspace and was soaring over a lazily rolling forest. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, and he could even spot several deer gathered in clearings below him. At the end of the vast forest was a cluster of blue-brown mountains. That was where the radar was leading him.

Goku banked to one side and then shot upward, flying with the slope of the mountain. Though it had looked brown from a distance, he now saw that it was just as alive as the forest had been. Once he had crossed the first of the major slopes, he clicked the radar again.

There was a thick forest, this one dark and surrounded by mountains just ahead. This, it seemed, was where the ball could be found. Cheerful, the Saiyan dropped through the air into the midst of the forest. As he fell, he realized just how large the trees were. They were beautiful oaks, each well over a hundred feet in height, and far too wide to put his arms around.

"Hey, look at those trees!" Goku exclaimed, recalling how much he enjoyed being out in the wild.

He walked straight ahead, holding the radar out in front of him. It was irritating that he couldn't simply sense the dragon balls on his own, like he could sense every living thing for miles around. When he had asked Bulma about it, she had said something unintelligible about electromagnetic energy and destructive interference. For now, he'd still have to rely on the dragon radar.

The device's beeping increased as his proximity to the ball lessened. "I must be getting close now." He made a final turn around one of the biggest trees he had ever seen, and entered a clearing. "Oh, there it is!"

The clearing was several dozen meters across, with a tightly woven pile of sticks and twigs at the center. Nestled inside them lay the small golden sphere. Goku didn't even think about the fact that there were several mottled orange eggs surrounding it until he was only a few feet away.

"Hey, those look like dinosaur eggs!" he realized as he reached down to pick up the dragon ball. "I guess the mother thought this was one of hers. I wonder where—"

SPLAT!

A massive deluge of saliva splashed onto the ground just in front of him. Looking up, Goku found himself standing face-to-face with one of the most fearsome predators on the planet. The massive red Carnotaur, a gigantic carnivorous saurian with horns that looked suspiciously like those of a frost demon, seemed quite pleased that dinner had found its way to her nest all on its own. The armored beast stretched out and roared, blasting the Saiyan with a massive wave of putrid hot breath.

Goku sneezed once, then smiled. "Hey, I know this looks bad," he apologized. "But I'm not here to steal your eggs, honest! I just need this ball. You understand, right?"