The earth trembled violently.
Trees broke like twigs in the distance, their crash reverberating through the air like thunder.
A stampede of frightened villagers surged down the dirt path, shrieking.
A cloud of dust filled the air.
It was absolute pandemonium, people pushing to get past each other in a desperate bid to outrun the darkness closing in behind the treeline.
A man, his face dripping with sweat and his eyes wide with terror, ran blindly through the mob.
He wasn't looking where he was going.
He crashed violently into a small figure standing right in the middle of the path.
THUD.
The man staggered backward, fighting to stay upright.
He gasped for breath, his lungs on fire.
"Move! Get out of the way, kid! A dinosaur... it smashed the whole village! It's gonna kill us all!"
The small girl didn't bat an eye.
She stood rooted to the spot, utterly unaffected by the impact.
She wore a spotless blue martial arts gi with gold trim. On her chest was a golden Kanji, the symbol of the Ox.
Her ponytail swayed ever so slightly in the breeze as she gazed up at him with wide, serene eyes.
"Excuse me, sir, could you tell me where this dinosaur is right now?"
The man blinked.
His shaking hand pointed instinctively in the direction he had come, towards the cloud of debris forming near the river.
"It... It's back there! It's ripping everything apart! Just go!"
A small, confident smile flickered on the girl's lips.
She adjusted her wristbands, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Thank you."
Without hesitation, she moved to the side of the man and started walking, not away from the danger, but directly towards the raging monster.
The man stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the small warrior with the golden mark on her back as she walked calmly into the dust cloud.
"Hey! Are you deaf?! I said the monster is that way! You're going to get yourself killed, you lunatic kid!"
/////////////////////////////////
The dust settled, revealing the nightmare.
A colossal tyrannosaur, scales the color of dried mud, unleashed a roar that stripped the leaves from nearby trees.
It ignored the fleeing crowd.
Its eyes locked onto a single, small shape left behind.
A boy, no older than five, scrambled backward on hands and heels, having tripped over a root. Tears cut muddy tracks down his cheeks.
"No! Go away!" He shrieked, kicking blindly at the air.
The beast didn't care.
Its shadow swallowed the child as jaws lined with serrated teeth unhinged, ready to snap.
The boy squeezed his eyes shut and braced for the end.
SHRAACK!
A wet, heavy crack split the air, louder than any roar.
Then, an earth-shaking tremor.
THOOM
As tons of reptilian flesh hit the ground.
Directly in front of him rested the enormous head of the dinosaur.
Massive.
Still.
Steam rose faintly from the cleanly severed neck, while the rest of the body lay yards away, twitching in the dirt.
Standing atop the severed head was a girl in a blue uniform.
No sword, no axe. She simply shook out her right hand, the edge of her palm glowing red from the impact.
"That uniform..." He stared at the glowing symbol on her chest.
"The Ox King's crest... Are you... Princess Chi-Chi?"
Chi-Chi hopped down, landing silently.
She flashed a bright, cheerful smile, entirely out of place next to the carnage.
"Yep, that's me!" She patted the giant snout affectionately.
"Lucky I found him. Dinosaur head soup is my favorite, you know."
She looked back at the paralyzed boy, eyes sparkling with innocent hunger.
"It's gonna take a while to cook all this. Do you and your village want to join me? There's plenty to go around!"
/////////////////////////////////
The trek to the base of Fire Mountain was long, but the villagers didn't dare complain.
They moved in a nervous huddle, trailing behind the small girl.
She dragged the massive, severed dinosaur head by a rope effortlessly, as if she were pulling a toy wagon.
When they reached the towering stone gates, the ground trembled again.
Not from a monster, but from footsteps.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The gates groaned open, revealing a figure that eclipsed the sun.
The Ox King stood there, a mountain of a man with a beard like a lion's mane and an axe the size of a house strapped to his back.
He pushed his horned goggles up his forehead and peered down.
"GWAHAHAHA!"
His laughter rattled the canyon walls, making the villagers flinch.
"Welcome home, my little tiger" the Ox King boomed, his voice like grinding boulders.
He looked past her, eyes narrowing as he spotted the trembling crowd hiding behind the dinosaur head.
"And I see you've brought... appetizers? Or are they the main course?"
The villagers went ghost-white, clutching each other.
Chi-Chi dropped the rope.
She looked up at her father with a serious, innocent expression.
"Papa, be nice. These are guests." She scolded him lightly. She gestured to the reptile behind her.
"This dinosaur was very mean to them. Since it tried to eat them, I figured it was only fair they get to eat it back. Makes sense, right?"
The Ox King stared at his daughter.
A wide, proud grin split his beard.
"BWAHAHAHA! You're absolutely right!"
He roared, slapping his knee with enough force to kick up a shockwave of dust.
"An eye for an eye, a bite for a bite! That is the Ox Clan way! Well said!"
He stepped aside, waving a massive hand toward the courtyard.
"Come on in! Get the fires roaring! Tonight, we feast on the beast!"
/////////////////////////////////
The sun rose over the peaks of Fire Mountain.
The massive fire pits from the night before were just smoking ash now.
The villagers gathered at the gates, bowing low.
The elder hugged the heavy sack of gold the Ox King had tossed him like a lifeline, it was enough wealth to rebuild their village ten times over.
"We... we don't know how to thank you, Great King." The elder stammered, teary-eyed.
"BWAHAHA! Don't mention it! Neighbors gotta look out for each other. Now scram, before I change my mind and take it back!"
The villagers didn't need telling twice.
They scrambled down the mountain path, shouting their thanks.
Chi-Chi watched them go.
She didn't wave.
She stood with arms crossed, face stern, waiting until they were out of earshot.
"You gave them too much, Papa." She looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.
"A few bars was plenty. Giving them a fortune makes you look... soft."
The Ox King looked down at her, grinning.
"Oh? Is that so? Could've sworn I saw you sneaking extra meat onto their plates last night when you thought I wasn't looking."
Chi-Chi stiffened.
Her ears turned a faint pink.
"I—I just wanted to make sure they had energy to leave fast! If they starved, they'd just come back begging later. It was... strategy. That's all."
The Ox King chuckled, dropping a massive hand on her head.
"Right. Strategy. But listen Chi-Chi, muscle is useless if you've got no one to protect. A king has to be generous."
Chi-Chi paused.
She knocked his hand away, but didn't step back.
"I know, I know. A blade without a purpose is just scrap metal. You say it every day. I don't need lectures. I need to get stronger."
The Ox King's expression shifted.
The father disappeared; the master remained.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Good. Then let's not burn daylight. Morning drills. Ten thousand swings with the Bansho Fan. Go!"
/////////////////////////////////
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
The Bansho Fan carved the air with violence, kicking up dust with every swing.
Chi-Chi was on repetition five hundred and two.
Her breathing was steady, sweat glistening on her skin.
Suddenly, mid-swing, she froze.
The fan halted inches from the dirt.
She went statuesque, eyes narrowing at the winding path below.
Her ears twitched.
The Ox King, leaning on his massive axe, raised an eyebrow.
"What is it? Lose count? Or did the villagers come back for seconds? I told you we should've kept the dinosaur."
"Hush, Papa." Chi-Chi cut him off.
She dropped the Bansho fan and walked to the cliff edge, peering into the canyon.
"It's not the villagers. It's... different."
"Different?" The Ox King snorted.
"Bah! Bandits, then. Thieves coming for the gold. I'll go down there and flatten them into pancakes!"
He started to lift his axe, but Chi-Chi held up a hand.
"No, stay put. You'll just wreck the mountain path again, and I'm not fixing it this time."
She closed her eyes for a second, sensing the air.
"There's two of them. And they are strong. Both of them."
She turned back.
"I'll handle it. If they're thieves, I'll toss 'em off the cliff. If they're fighters... maybe I'll finally break a sweat."
A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes, and a small, eager smirk touched her lips.
"Don't get careless, Chi-Chi."
With a burst of speed, she vaulted off the cliff edge, diving straight down toward the intruders.
/////////////////////////////////
The Mighty Mouse's engine sputtered and died as Yamcha cut the ignition.
He stepped out.
Puar hovered close to his shoulder, tail twitching.
"Careful, Yamcha," Puar squeaked.
"This place gives me the creeps."
"It's worse than creepy, Puar."
Yamcha nodded toward the castle looming in the distance.
"This is the Ox King's turf. Legend says the guy's a monster who kills anyone who sets foot on his mountain. And worse, he trained under Master Roshi. Same as that kid's grandpa."
Yamcha narrowed his eyes, picturing the boy with the tail he had fought earlier.
"If that kid is tight with the Ox King... a head-on fight is suicide." Yamcha reasoned, a devious grin spreading.
"But if we catch 'em off guard... we swipe the Dragon Balls while they're distracted. Quick and dirty. We just need to—"
Yamcha froze mid-step.
A chill hit the back of his neck.
Not the wind.
Eyes.
Someone was watching him.
He spun around, hand snapping to the hilt of his sword.
"Come out!" he barked at the empty desert.
"Up here."
The voice was flat and unimpressed.
Yamcha snapped his head up.
Perched casually on a dead branch was a girl.
She sat with arms crossed, staring down at him like he was a bug she couldn't decide whether to squash.
She didn't look like she was balancing; she looked like she grew out of the bark.
"I've been sitting here for two whole minutes. Your senses are trash."
Yamcha grit his teeth, stepping back.
"I didn't feel you until just now..."
"That's the point. If I wanted you dead, your head would be rolling on the floor right now. You wouldn't have even heard the wind change."
She hopped down, landing on the ground without a sound.
Dust didn't even settle around her boots.
"Now, start talking, trespasser. Before I decide to fix that blindness of yours. Permanently."