Rated: R ------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---Q U E S T--- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- By: Ben Weeks [redwizardb@yahoo.com] I owe my deepest thanks to those fans that wrote in to tell me they loved my last story. Their words of praise inspire me to continue during those long dark tea-times of the soul..... Make sure you read my last story The Hunt, because without that, this one makes little sense! I respond to every single email, no matter what. So write me!! Tell me what you think! It may take me two or three weeks to reply at most, but it will happen, I gaurantee it. I'm getting sick of the tired theme of enemy has huge power, Gokou and Co. must defeat him, which they eventually do. This story has that same basic theme, except with a new twist and different layout. I hope you enjoy it; success is a double-edged sword. I'm trying hard to top my previous story. I'm planning on having, therefore, five saga's, each with three books, each book with ten chapters. Ambitious? A little. This story's went through so many revisions it's kinda sickening. (34 sounds about right, and that's not exxageration) Our story takes place six years after my previous story, The Hunt, in Movietime, an Alternate Universe in which little or nothing from the Manga or the Series has any relative influence....... ------------------- The Dragonball Saga ------------------- "Whenever I despair or lose hope in things, I remember that all throughout history, the way of truth and goodness has always prevailed. Oh, there have been tyrants, and murderers and thieves, but in the end, they always fall. Not one has ever triumphed. Think of it; not one." --Mahatma Gandhi -Book One- [It Begins] ----------- Chapter One ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight. There are certain laws in place to govern the activities of the many colourful inhabitants of our universe. Such laws may be bent, but never broken. These laws include the following basics: Gravity Motion Mortality It is to the last that I call your attention: Mortality. Everything dies eventually. This much we are taught and shown. Every person, every animal, even the stars and planets themselves eventually burn out into an inky nothingness in that vast void of space....... The Dragonballs are the ultimate Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card. A friend dies in an accident?? Presto, he's back, good as new! Or maybe you want riches? BOOM! You make Bill Gates look like a pauper. But these are all mere bending of the laws of nature. A friend wished back will eventually die of old age; wealth disappears like a drop of rain in the ocean of time. The Dragonballs are capable of breaking the laws in a singular, spectacular way: Immortality. Every enemy who sought the dragonballs, and I mean EVERY, has sought for immortality. When immortal, you can actually conquer the entire universe, and no-one can stand in your way. Even the Gods are mortal. Only once has such a momentous occasion happened. Garlic Jr, son of Garlic (Sr?), once managed to gather all of the dragonballs under the very nose of Kami, the God of Earth, and wished for immortality. Fortunately for the Universe, which would undoubtedly have been bathed in blood, Gohan son of Gokou, utilising that dangerous emotion of anger, banished him to a dark realm of his own creation, the Deadzone. But what if such an event happens again? What if someone like Buu had wished for immortality? Such a thing had never happened, so we don't know. It was unwise, at best, to leave something like the Dragonballs in the hands of anyone but the Gods. Darkness. The Capsule Corporation was standing quietly and calmly tall in the sky, bathed in the actinic glare of flourescent lamps and streetlights. Inside was sleeping Vegeta, warrior Prince of the Saiya-jin race, mightiest saiya-jin to ever have cruised the galaxy, the last saiya-jin to ever have lived on the homeplanet of his race. Sleeping next to him, her quiet breathing the only sound in the calm bedroom, was his wife, Bulma, daughter of the president of the Capsule Corporation, Dr. Briefs, and a technical genius. Together, the two formed the closest thing to a tender relationship that a saiya-jin had ever had. But the touching repose of two unlikely lovers is not important to our story, however emotional it may be. More important to our story is the small desk at the edge of the room. More accurately, it is the object sitting on top of it. It's a small spherical orb that glinted a tinge of orange in the soft moonlight. It's capable of unbelievable powers, as well as being a major player in the events of the galaxy, shaping the course of life as we know it. The object is a dragonball. And, perhaps, even MORE important to our story, are the three very nervous and very quiet professional thieves creeping through the room towards it. They're not humans, however. No, humans would be FAR too obvious. Vegeta's highly-trained saiya-jin instincts would have picked up on that so fast it would make your head spin. No, these are as tiny race of ratlike beings from nearby Alpha Centauri. Beside from being incredibly loyal and bold, they are also possibly the best sneakers and thiefs in the known galaxy, with the reputation of being able to slip under King Cold's very nose and steal the hat right off of his head, so the saying goes. Only with this race, it's not a saying. They have a name, but I will not relate it to you for two very important reasons: 1. It's not relevant to our story, and 2. I can't think of a good one. But it's mostly the first reason. (Honestly!) With telepathic messages to one another, they communicated all the necessary information needed to slide the thin glass case off of the dragonball and it's stand; then, oh so carefully, they slipped it off the metal, quiet enough not even a fox would have batted an eyebrow, just like so, and then slipped it into a special black bag made just for this occasion. Then, with a quiet little flourish, they slid the window up, climbed out, and scaled down the sheer flat face of the Capsule Corporation's building. Before leaving, the last thief, a relative newcomer to the job who had insisted upon coming as his iniation to adulthood, turned to the window and made a little mark on the window as a sign; a show-off if there ever was one. He tapped the glass ever so slightly, and then made his way down with the others, who were irritated and nervous. Then, with a zip, they blended in to their surrounding and were gone..... No one likes a show-off, especially not the deity who shapes our fates. A few minutes later, in the quiet room, now suddenly empty of a very important decoration, something very dangerous happened. Vegeta opened a single eye. With a grunt, slightly disturbed, he rolled over and peered at the clock. 1:00 AM. He blinked his watery eyes and shook his head, sniffing. Something wasn't right.... He peered around the room. Nothing seemed different... Suddenly, with a gasp, his eyes focused in on the dragonball. Rather, on it's lack of presence thereof. He jumped out of bed with a growl, wearing nothing but a snarl, and ran to the window. Something... He bent over slightly and inhaled deeply. Not of this world. The window suddenly slammed open, and a mile away, the small ratlike beings, running hidden among the forest towards their stealthy vehicle in the distance, abruptly froze at the sound of the slam. They heard Vegeta's yell of: "I'LL FIND YOU, ASSHOLES!", and they knew it was time to get the hell out of Dodge. With a squeal of displeasure, the leader signaled for them to fuck sneakiness, something they rarely did, and run like the devil himself was on their ass. Which he was. They felt, rather than heard, Vegeta's approaching anger-filled Ki streaming towards them with incredible power. The leader, who was experienced and mature, waited until the last possible second, then suddenly snapped his fingers. Immediately they all disappeared. Not actually; they were merely doing what they did best; blending into whatever background happened to be around. But to the untrained eye, they were impossible to find. To the trained eye, they could only be found if you knew exactly where they had last been seen and their basic dimensions. Vegeta wasn't even sure where to look; however, instinct told him that this was where they had headed. Unfortunately for the thieves, the younger one, assigned to carry their precious cargo, slipped, and the dragonball rolled out onto the grass. Vegeta suddenly felt the dragonball overwhelm his searching Ki senses, and he honed in on it quicker than a teenage male upon an easy girl (off-color, I admit, but I'm feeling cynical right now) With a snarl of anger, he flew through the air towards it faster than humanly possible. The leader cursed in his language, and with one deft motion, reached down and slipped it into the bag, all before you could finish a blink. Right as it fell out of sight into the ebony bag Vegeta snapped into the air above, searching the ground intently. He had seen a flash of orange and felt the dragonball's Ki power, but then it had abruptly disappeared. Tension tugged at the beings like thick iron cords, as well as pure terror and fear. Sweat poured down them all, and the youngest felt an uncontrollable urge to bolt. Only the leader's sheer willpower and tenacity kept them from screaming in terror. Even the leader felt adrenaline pumping through his veins, which multiplied drastically whenever Vegeta turned his hawklike face to bear on their EXACT SPOT... With a rush, Vegeta suddenly landed on the ground mere inches from the leader's nose. He nearly flinched, but kept up his miraculous control. Vegeta looked around, puffs of steam moving out from his mouth. His intense eyes ripped apart the landscape, searching everything for the slightest hint of life. Dammit, where were the bastards!!?? Vegeta stepped slightly forward, landing on top of the leader's tail and nearly drawing blood. The leader didn't even blink, his incredible training drawing credit to his race for their reputation. The pain was so terrible that he nearly fell unconscious, but sheer stubborness kept him hanging in the realm of the living. A few more breathless moments passed, their hearts beating and their temples throbbing, when finally, with a vicious curse, Vegeta jumped into the air and zipped back to the Capsule Corporation, his naked body rolling through the cold night climate towards his house... The three waited a few moments, then, making sure the way was clear, the leader motioned them forward and they fairly flew towards the vehicle waiting for them. As they ran, the leader spoke in their squeaky, ratlike language. "Why did you tap the window?" "I'm sorry, master! I thought it would be good to give the..." SMACK! The leader slapped the young one across the face, nearly bringing him to his knees. "And dropping the dragonball!? I KNEW I shouldn't have brought you along! You're incompetent and inexperienced. When we get the next dragonball, you will have to be much more quiet." The young one's nervous face lit up. "You mean I can come!?" "Of course. This has been a learning experience. Next time, I trust you'll not make such silly mistakes. Perhaps I spoke too harshly; among the other young ones, you're the most experienced, young one. Just too impatient." "I'm sorry master." "No apologies. Concentrate on getting back as fast as we can. We nearly lost the dragonball as well as our lives!" They all nodded together in agreement as they zipped towards their destination..... With a curse, Vegeta flew back into the open window, landing next to the now-awake Bulma and grabbing his boxers. Throwing them on, as well as his jumpsuit and armour, he ran back to the window. Bulma mumbled confusedly. "Wha...?" "THE DRAGONBALL'S GONE!" "What!?" "Someone stole it! Someone not of this world!" Bulma bolted upright and saw the empty case. "What!? But who..." "Some sort of aliens; I don't know what kind. But they're sneaky little bastards; I can't find them!" Vegeta stomped over to the door, his eyes blazing in rage. Someone had violated his home and stolen his most valuable posession!! He gritted his teeth, ignoring Bulma's questions, thinking of the smell. He recognized that smell very faintly, and the lingering of Ki was enough to make him sure of his suspicion: These were incredibly highly skilled intergalactic thieves. And they were after the Dragonballs. He stormed through the door and outside, stepping into the quiet night air. Too quiet, actually. Tension was in the air, the entire area holding it's breath, waiting, watching..... He lifted up into the air, his eyes narrowing as he peered into the horizon, snow-capped mountains looming above the dark night landscape. With a rush of Ki power and a snap of energy, he zipped into the distance, disappearing out of sight..... The stars twinkled down upon the earth, shining brilliantly. The full moon hung low in the sky, a bad omen. It was blood red. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Chapter One ------------------