Open action (for anyone)

[princesschichi]

Mai was placed on Echo's shoulder. She started to struggle and try to elbow Echo to place her down.

"Put me down!" She shouted. It was then that Echo dropped her onto the ground. The way she was being treated was terrible. She wanted to get back at Echo for treating her badly, but she had not figured out how to.

Echo man handled Mai. It almost caused Chichi to laugh because things like that were humorous to her. The laughter died down after a couple of moments. She had to focus on the task at hand.

Chichi stood quietly allowing the wind to hit her face. She closed her eyes in the attempt to sense the energy signals of Mai's friends. Several moments passed by. She appeared to be making progress. Unfortunately, she could not do it. There energy signals were so low that it was impossible to pinpoint their location.

"I couldn't pinpoint where they are. They are too weak ughh." Chichi's facial expression turned into one of sadness because the dragonball was sacred to Goku and her family.

Ickerus, the dragon, had followed Pilaf and Shu to where they had gone. When all hope seemed lost, Ickerus walked out of the trees and rushed towards Chichi and Echo. It started to hop up and down in the attempt to get Chichi's attention.

Chichi had not been paying attention to the Dragon. Her two fingers pressed against her temple in the attempt to figure out another plan. However, she could hear it trying to get her attention. She let out a frustrated growl as it attempted to pull her along.

"Not now...I am not in the mood for your antics..."

Shu and Pilaf were looking at the dragonball in admiration. They had 5 dragonballs left to find. They were unconcerned about their fallen companion. Sacrifices were needed in order for PIlaf to succeed in his ultimate goal of becoming ruler of the Earth.

"Shu go see if that guard we hired has come yet. I don't think our enemies are going to let us off easy." Pilaf ordered. Shu nodded in agreement. Pilaf needed all the protection he could get. He knew well that Shu and Mai were no good at helping him achieve his goal so he had used the money he had gathered to purchase some protection.

[Echo/Mason]

Echo had crossed his arms after hearing the bad news. Well there goes that. Echo looked towards the forest and scanned the edges for something he could work with. Tracking became an essential tool the Namekian who had isolated himself into the forest. It helped him cover his tracks, and make pursuing 'The Monster of the Forest' more difficult. Just as Echo thought he saw something, Ickerus crept from the forest and made it's way to Chi-Chi. It seemed excited about something, and tried to show the woman.

"I think it wants to show you something." Echo said plainly. Is it possible that he could've tracked the two thieves? It was a gut feeling, but Echo went with it. What did he have to lose?

"Do you know where the dragon ball is?" Echo wondered how far could the men really have gotten. If the dragon was able to follow them, then come back in that short amount of time, then their hideout couldn't be that far away.

Making the decision by himself, Echo went back to Mai and hoisted her over his shoulder again. He wasn't going to leave her at the Sons house while him and Chi-Chi retrieved the Dragonball. "You're coming with us."

[princesschichi]

The dragon continued to pester Chichi. She was not in the mood for its tricks or games. However, as the dragon continued to bother her, Echo mentioned about the dragon possibly knowing the location of the two theives. She narrowed her eyes at the dragon who was insistant on getting her attention.

"Alright stop that, you got my attention. You better not be playing any games with me or else you're asking for trouble." Once she said that, the dragon tugged at her sleeves to pull her in the direction to where he had come from. She rolled her eyes, but followed in his general direction. This could not be happening to Chichi of all people. She only hoped that the dragon was not playing her.

"It seems like he knows where he is going. If not, you'll feel my wrath too Echo hmph." She warned.

Chichi had no time to worry about the woman who was over Echo's shoulder. Her main concern was for the dragonball that was dear to her family.

[npc]

Ickerus' blue eyes were pleading with Chichi to come along with him. He continued to growl and grunt to get her to go. Finally, Chichi gave into his pleading becaues he was the only clue to where the other two had gone. He tugged at her to pull her along to the direction they had gone.

He wagged his tail in happiness as Echo too believed that he was telling the truth. The dragon was on its adventure as he often did with Gohan.
Mai was thrown onto Echo's shoulder.

"Hey put me down already! You aren't going to find them. They are long gone." She started kicking and struggling in the attempt to escape. Pilaf and Shu would likely be upset with her if Chichi and Echo had managed to reach the hideout. Either way, they both had a surprise waiting for them. Pilaf had designed the perfect defense mechanism against intruders such as Goku or those who were gifted with powers. He would not be defeated this time.

[Echo/Mason]

"Mhm." Echo hummed nonchalantly. He wasn't even paying attention to her at this point. Nothing she could say would make Echo free her. She was leverage, Echo thought. Worse comes to worse, they bribe the two thieves with their partners life. Echo wasn't taking any chances.

Chi-Chi's warning was well noted by the Namekian. He had seen what her power was capable of earlier, and had to admit it was more impressive than what he could accomplish. However, he smiled in response. "I'll keep that in mind." He had a good feeling about Ickerus. Animals are very intelligent creatures. Ickerus could have very well have followed their trail and came back to lead them, knowing it couldn't do much by itself.

"He came from that clearing." Echo pointed out, and headed for the clearing, ignoring any of Mai's pleas or threats. He stopped near the entrance, to allow Chi-Chi to catch up. If she wouldn't follow the creature, Echo would. He wasn't going to rest until he found the Dragon Ball that was stolen.

[princesschichi]

Ickerus led them out of the longated forest to the beginnings of what appeared to be a desert. Chichi knew this location well for having live in it for half her life. She knew there were caves in random areas, but why would any theif want to be in a cave? Not to mention, the cave was closeby to where she lived.

No longer focusing on Ickerus, she turned to look at Mai who had an unfortunate ride on Echo's shoulder. She could imagine how bad that must be. Echo wasn't exactly the soft built type. It almost felt as if Mai was a little girl getting in trouble. For a moment, a rare, but well deserved smile shown on her face.

"Tell me. Why do you look so familiar? I know I've seen you before in my past. You probably did something to get moody so you better tell me or you'll have a worse fate than riding a green man's shoulder." Thoughts of where Mai had come into Chichi's life arose. There was a blurred vision of the bansho fan. Her memory was pretty good, however, this just proved how useless Mai's goons were. The memories were clear in her mind, but she desperately searched for when she had seen Mai. It was hard remembering because their time together was short lived.

[npc]

"Gruufff" Ickerus made a soft growling sound. Like a dog, Ickeraus pushed his nuzzle into the ground. He began sniffing the ground to gather the scent of the two who had stolen the dragonball. He did not want to fail Chichi because he wanted to get on her good side. The forest was familiar to him too. Conversely, the desert had plenty of caves to hide in.

He had seen what cave they were in, but was now depending on his superior senses to find their exact location.

Pilaf and Shu were inside a large underground cave that would be hard for anyone to find. Pilaf looked at the dragonball with a prideful look in his eyes. He knew he had sold half his terrority to someone of great importance, but it was for the best because at least he'd be the emperor of the rest of the planet. He just needed someone's protection because his two goons Shu and Mai were no help. Even if they had died, he would be able to rule the world without a single regret.

Mai tried elbowing Echo in the shoulder a couple of times. She was completely embarrassed by the situation. Her embarrassement would be worse when Chichi had spoken to her. The cruel manner that Chichi had spoken to Mai caused her to fear. Something about the woman wasn't right.

Mai had remembered Chichi's appearance from some time in her past, but could not pinpoint when that was it. Whenever they met was a long time ago. Therefore, she did not answer Chichi's question.

"I don't know. Does it matter?" Mai said with a rude tone in her voice. It was not meant to come out that way, but her frustrating situation got the best of her.

Temperature in the Z world was like a fashion diva. It was always changing. While the forest was cool and welcoming, the desert was not. The sun shined down on all of them and did not give mercy to anyone. Ickeras' nose did not fail though.

After passing many caves, Ickeras was led into a bunker area where the sandy ground led to a pit. Ickeraus slid on the sandy hill down to the uneven level. The ground he was on was below the normal ground. There he had spotted a cave. Immediately he looked towards Chichi and Echo. Growling with anticipation, he hoped they would come soon. He had found the cave Shu and PIlaf were hiding. Currently, it was up to Chichi and Echo to get the dragonball back.

[Echo/Mason]

It didn't take long for them to reach the desert area. Echo had been threw this area many times before, and knew immediately that the thieves were hiding in caves. Which caves? He didn't know. Some had a single chamber, but multiple entrances, and others lead to dead ends. This place was a kami-forsaken puzzle!

On their trip Echo continued his latest version of torture on Mai and ignored her elbows to his shoulder. They barely tickled the Namekian, who hopped once, with a sinister smile on his face. "I can do this all day. You may want to answer the lady." Echo tried to give Mai advice. "She's not as nice as she looks." Echo knew this threw personal experience. He had felt and seen Chi-Chi's wrath when he accidentally trashed her kitchen. It wasn't pretty. It was that moment when Echo discovered that Chi-Chi was a very powerful warrior princess. He wanted to do all he could to stay on her good side.

However, helping her find the Dragon Ball wasn't an issue of staying in good blesses. This was personal. He had slipped up and been careless with it, and now the worse has happened. He was going to get that Dragon Ball back. Even if it meant him losing his life for it.

The sudden change from a cool forest to a hot desert didn't really affect the Namekian. Although droughts and extreme heats were dangerous to the plant-like creature, he had adapted to the heat threw training in the heat, and had grown to the point he barely noticed it. He just used his free hand to pull up his hood to block the sun light from blurring his vision. It was comforting seeing Ickerus being able to keep up with trail, despite the heat.

They passed many caves before Ickerus found a pit. He slid down and growled. "I think this is the place." Echo smiled, and without warning, dropped Mai down onto the sandy hill and jumped down after she began to slide. Reaching the bottom, Echo wasted no time propping her back up on his shoulder and entering the cave. He looked ahead and walked slowly. "If there's any traps, you may want to warn me." Echo advised his captor. If he were to set off a trap, she would get caught in it with the Namekian as well.

[princesschichi]

Chichi's eyes pierced at Mai when she talked to her in a rude manner. Mai did not want Chichi knowing anything. It was not Chichi's fault that Mai was in problems. Mai had messed with the wrong woman. However, Chichi's momentary anger was distracted by Ickerus' findings.

Ickerus had surprised Chichi as he was able to locate the cave where the woman's friends were hiding. She, like the rest of the gang, had slid down the sandy hill to reach the bottomless pit. The pit led to the cave. If it wasn't for Ickerus as much as she would hate to admit, they would have not found it.

"I'll give you some credit. You did good this time, but it doesn't change anything." Chichi gave Ickerus a serious look, but Ickerus had already been wagging his tail because even a small compliment from Chichi was enough for him. After her attention with Ickerus, it directed at Echo and Mai. Echo had asked Mai about there being any traps. It was possible there was some, but what did it matter? It was better to catch the goons by surprise.

"Don't waste your breath Echo. The bimbo won't talk. We should go inside and take them out before they know we are coming." Her fists clenched with determination. No one got away with messing with her family...and she meant no one. Without waiting for Echo's response, Chichi pulled up her sleeves and then walked with a stomping motion toward the cave.

"Stay put Ickerus." She had to give Ickerus the order to stay back so he didn't get in the way. Not waiting for either Mai or Echo, she entered the cave.

[npc]

"I am not answering anything green man." Mai refused to respond to anything Echo said despite being dropped onto the ground and once again put on Echo's shoulder. Pilaf and Shu were her close friends. She was trained to take serious punishment or death before talking. There were traps inside the cave that Pilaf had set up as a defense system, but she couldn't care less what happened to Echo or Chichi.

To Mai's surprise, Chichi had not waited for her to respond. She walked straight into the cave with no warning. This was a perfect situation because Chichi would likely be struck down by any of the booby traps that were set up inside.

Pilaf and Shu had noticed Chichi, Echo, and Mai outside on their security cameras. They were certain that neither of them would get through the booby trap system. If they did, they had some more protection that they were not yet about to set free.

Pilaf: Shu go make sure he has arrived. This dragonball will be ours as will the world.

Shu: Yes Emperor!

Shu had left the scene to go get their personal body guard.

Pilaf watched the cameras with a devious smile on his face.

"Lets see them get through our security system! BWAHAHAHA!