"What?!!" Vegeta's veins threatened to burst; they popped up visibly on his forehead. Bulma tried to calm him down, but she was rattled too at the thought of her children lost in some unknown dimension with no way of coming back.
Gohan slumped in his chair, his face in his hands. This is all my fault, he thought. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to Pan.
ChiChi had fainted upon hearing the news. Videl took her mother-in-law to her room and put her to bed. She returned to where the others were and hugged Gohan, her eyes pleading. "Isn't there anything you can do to bring them back?"
Gohan shook his head. "Not unless I know exactly the time and dimension they're in. Even if I do, I'm not certain I can get them back."
Bulma's mind raced, thinking of all possible ways to bring the children back, but she knew Gohan was right. There are an infinite number of universes possible with time travel, and calculating the most possible one would be a monumental task, not counting finding a way to bring them back safely.
Kamesennin cleared his throat. "Why don't we use the Dragon Balls to wish them back?"
The two couples stared at him. Of course! They hadn't thought about the Dragon Balls. "Kamesennin, you're brilliant! I'll get the radar and we can start searching immediately," Bulma said, hopeful again.
As if on cue...
The sky suddenly darkened. In the middle of a fine sunny day, that could mean only one thing. Someone's using the dragonballs to make a wish. The five people stared at the sky for a moment. Then, "I thought only you had the Dragon Radar," Vegeta said to Bulma. "No," said Bulma weakly. "I'm not the only one. The Red Ribbon Army used to have one, and so did Pilaf..."
"Well, the Red Ribbon Army is gone," said Gohan, "so that leaves only Pilaf. Shenlong can grant three wishes. Maybe we can ask him to let us have one wish."
"Actually, we have to stop him," Bulma said. "I'll bet he's trying to wish to be the ruler of the world again."
At that moment, Goku suddenly appeared. "Hi guys! I saw the sky darken and thought you're making a wish. I came to see what's up."
"It's not us, Goku," Bulma said. "But we need to make a wish. Could you teleport us to whoever it is that's making the wish."
"Sure," Goku said, putting two fingers on his forehead as he concentrated to locate the dragon's ki. When he found it he teleported himself and the others to it. They disappeared from Goku's house--
--and appeared right in front of Shenlong. "What is your second wish?" Shenlong asked to the three people in front of him. One is a woman with long black hair, another a doglike creature and the third one was a short blue imp. They stared at the newcomers in shock.
"Go on sire, make your wish," Shuu whisperd to Pilaf. "We'll cover you." To Goku and the rest he said," Halt! In the name of Emperor Pilaf." But Pilaf was staring at one person in particular from the group. "It's him," he muttered to himself. "The boy who always foiled my plans for world domination. Now he's a grown-up and he's going to stop me again. I can't remember his name but I wish... I wish..."
"Hah!" said Vegeta, slightly peeved because Pilaf was so scared of Goku and completely ignored him. He stepped in front of Goku. "It is I, Prince Vegeta whom you should fear, and nobody is my emperor. Now hand over the--"
"I wish he were a kid again so I can defeat him!" Pilaf said, closing his eyes in anger and pointed to Goku. But as he was a short little imp, his finger didn't point high enough.
"Granted!" proclaimed Shenlong. "Now name your third wish."
"--dragon balls or--" Vegeta wondered why his voice suddenly sounded different.
Continued on the next chapter...