Chapter 3

Summoning

As told by Bulma Brief


I'm starting to think I shouldn't have chose to bike. With it being as early as it is paired with the distinct chill in the air, I could definitely feel that goose bumps had risen up from all over my skin. The fact that we chose a location in the dead center of nowhere doesn't help my case, either, but I guess it's a worthy cause so as no one in the city sees a giant Dragon hovering in the sky. At least, that's what we hoped to achieve by going so far out into the wilderness like this. Shouldn't be much longer to go now. Just around this mountain path and I'll be there.

A few minutes later…

Damn it, I'm getting sick of not being able to fly. Everyone's here already of course, including Vegeta. Maybe I should have taken the time to head over to the airport and use my plane Capsule, but I guess it's too late for that now.

As I park the bike a few yards away from everyone, I can make out the faint sound of laughter. That's gotta be Gohan. Sounds like he's in a good mood, too. Chi-Chi is here as well, no doubt. I sure hope my hair isn't flattened to my head from his helmet, I don't want Krillin and Goku to think I just rolled out of bed...even though I actually did, now that I think about it.

I notice Vegeta from afar, sitting on a rock off to himself. Is that a pink shirt? You've got to be kidding me.

He must notice me too, because he turns his head to Piccolo, "Alright, she's here. Can we get this blasted show on the road, already?"

As I approach the group I fire back, "Wow Vegeta, sorry to burden you with menial slow human tasks such as driving. I'll try to go three times faster than the speed limit next time."

As I finish my sentence, I'm almost tackled by Gohan, who puts his arms around my waist and comes just short of squeezing my guts out. "Hey there kiddo, good to see you!" As I pat his head and attempt to gently brush him off me, I look back over to Vegeta, "And the pink shirt? Any explanation for that?"

At last, I peak Vegeta's interest. I guess I said something that he thinks warrants a response. "Hmph. You forgot to wash my clothes. This was the only thing I could find in the damn household." He was so unintentionally funny sometimes.

Over toward the Dragon Balls I notice Piccolo and the slightly shorter and fatter Moori, who I've been told is the new keeper of the balls. It's funny how Namekians come in all shapes and sizes similar to humans, and I hate to imagine what the human equivalent to Piccolo would be as I assume he's one of the biggest Nameks ever.

Next thing I know, I'm startled by a siren-like voice that could only belong to one person. Yep, that's Chi-Chi alright.

"GOHAN! LET GO OF BULMA! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT HUGGING PEOPLE WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT?!" she rushes over and smacks him off of me and smiles, "I apologize. I've been trying to teach him better manners but he just won't listen. No sweets for you tonight young man!"

"What? But mom, dad's coming back today!" Gohan frowns to show his displeasure. Kid has a point.

Chi-Chi doesn't seem to care, as she's still looking at me, "You are cordially invited to dinner at the Goku residence tonight! You better be there, okay?"

I nod with acceptance. Once you get used to her brash personality, Chi-Chi is a very good person. I guess the same exact thing goes for me, as we're very much alike. Even though we're nice to each other, there's always been a slight rivalry whether we care to admit it or not. One thing is for sure, I'm glad she's on my side.

Piccolo finally nods to Moori, who reaches his hands out to the ground, hovering them over the Dragon Balls. Namekian language sounds like complete gibberish to me, so I can't make out any of the pass phrase, but it must be something significant. At first I thought he must have made a mistake because nothing was happening, but as we all stared attentively a faint darkness overcame the entire area. After a few seconds, it got even darker. Wind slowly started to pick up and course through my hair. This reminds me terribly of my experience on Namek, which I've been making a point to try and wipe from my mind, to no avail.

As well all look up in the sky, clouds begin to form from seemingly nowhere at all. You can see lightening sparking throughout them every few seconds. It's as if we're in the center of a huge storm and if I didn't know any better I would think the world is ending. Thankfully that isn't the case, not today anyway. Suddenly we're bombarded by a huge swishing sound, and a sharp shot pierces through my eardrum. A bright flash blinds my vision everso slightly, and a stream of light rockets out from the circle of spheres on the ground. As it grows up into the sky, it manifests itself into a shape, the tail of a dragon. Minutes later the rest of the big ugly beast has developed. So big, in fact, that I bet if he wanted to he could easily pick up cars and throw them between towns like it was nothing. It's a good thing he's a wish granting dragon and not one that destroys cities, or else we would all be in big trouble right now.

No more than mere seconds after he has arrived, his booming voice thunders throughout the crowd, almost shaking the ground.

"You who have gathered the seven Dragon Balls…Make your wish...I shall only grant three."

Piccolo steps up behind Moori, who is concentrating completely on the dragon, and puts his right hand onto his shoulder. "For our first wish, ask the dragon to return Krillin and Goku's spirits to planet Earth."

Moori looks over his shoulder and nods back at Piccolo, before turning back to the dragon. He says more words that I can't understand, but I assume he is fulfilling Piccolo's request.

The gigantic green figure remained silent for a few seconds, his emotionless face glazed over and his door-sized empty red eyes staring into nothing. He finally begins to speak again.

"The wish has not been fully granted."

What? What's that supposed to mean? I look around and notice everyone else has a confused look on their face too so thankfully I'm not the only one. Even Piccolo looks somewhat shocked, as he shares a casual glance back at all of us as well as if to say "I don't know, either."

Chi-Chi has actually been remarkably silent for almost thirty seconds now, and it appears as though she's had enough as she steps past me, closer to Piccolo and Moori.

"What's the problem here huh!? Piccolo, tell him to give it another go!" she screams. You can hear the concern in her voice. I don't blame her, I probably couldn't even speak right now if I tried. Which was odd, for me.

Before Piccolo or Moori have enough time to make another move, the dragon speaks again.

"The spirit of the one you call Krillin has been returned to the afterlife of this planet, but the other spirit remains in this world."

Everyone is silent, mainly due to the fact that no one knows what's going on.

It doesn't take long before Chi-Chi steps up even closer and attempts to give the dragon a piece of her mind. Not a smart idea by any means.

"Listen Mr. Dragon, what the heck is that supposed to mean, huh? We want you to bring Goku back. It's that simple. Can you do you that?!"

If I could wring Chi-Chi's neck right now, I would. The dragon is the one thing on the planet at the moment who would absolutely stand up to her yelling. For the rest of our sakes, I hope he takes her attitude lightly or else I don't want to think about what might happen.

I see a small drop of sweat drip off of Piccolo's brow now, and he turns back to Moori, "Ask him for an explanation. And do it nicely."

It's very uncharacteristic for Piccolo to get shaken like this, since he's usually cool, calm, and collected.

Moori nods once more, and translates into the dragons native tongue. More silence follows, and tensions begin to rise. Everyone is getting antsy as we await the dragon's response.

Finally, he speaks again, "The one you call Goku has a spirit that still resides in the world of the living. That part of the wish may not be granted."

Everyone looks at each other in disbelief. How could Goku possibly be alive? He never made it off planet Namek. Even King Kai told us that he has had no contact with Goku since the explosion. Then again...I'm not going to be the one to tell the dragon that he's mistaken.

Even Chi-Chi, who normally has a mouthful to say about everything, can hardly muster a response, "Wh...what. That means, Goku...is alive?" She says in a daze.

Gohan launches himself high into the air with excitement, "HAHA! YES! I KNEW DAD MADE IT!"

Piccolo grunts, his mouth dropped in shock as he, too, thought for sure that Goku had perished on Namek. Thousands of thoughts are racing through my head...how would Goku have managed to survive? Is he okay right now? Where could he be? Why hasn't he had contact with King Kai or anyone else? So many questions, but no one to give answers...I feel helpless. I have a feeling we all do. But in a way, I'm slightly relieved by this revelation.

As I'm going over scenarios in my head, I hear faint chuckling that eventually turns into laughter. It's Vegeta, of course, almost rolling off of his rock in hilarity.

I find myself suddenly deeply upset at him making light of this uneasy situation.

"Hey, what's your problem bub, huh?!" I ask insistently. I actually didn't plan to say anything. This just blurted out without my control. Tends to happen that way.

He grabs his stomach with one hand and catches his body on the rock with the other, continuing to laugh. His body pulsates up and down as he almost falls backwards onto the ground.

Before I know it, my mouth is speaking for me again, this time yelling, "WELL? SPIT IT OUT!"

He attempts to regain composure, his giggling finally softening to a stop. Everyone is staring at him diligently. He slowly wipes his mouth from saliva and begins to snicker, his eyes closed.

His mouth twists into a smirk, "Haha...Kakarot. The Legendary Super Saiyan. Of course he survived you imbeciles. Hah! I knew it...deep down I knew somehow Kakarot would have found his way off of that rock!"

After a few more awkward glances between all of us, Gohan runs up to Piccolo's side, almost tripping over several rocks on the way there.

He grabs Piccolo's arm, pulling it up and down, "Mr. Piccolo! Since dad is fine, can we wish Krillin back now?!"

After a few seconds of pondering, it seems Piccolo finally regained his wits. He turns around to Moori and nods. Do Nameks even speak to each other? It's almost like they just read the other ones mind instead. I wish I could do that sometimes.

The usual time passes, and soon we hear the dragon once more, "You're wish has been granted."

Before I can blink, a bright flash engulfs my entire vision, and I can barely make out what's in front of me. I shield my eyes and attempt to block the light, hearing a swishing sound and the ground shaking under my feet. Eventually, the spark begins to dissipate and I can reopen my eyes again.

Sure enough, I first catch a glimpse of the shiny bald head I know so well. That's definitely Krillin. As the aura leaves, I can make out the rest of him. He's wearing that spiffy Saiyan armor!

As he lands onto the ground in a hunched over position, everyone waits for him to move. Is something wrong? He looks like a statue. Don't tell me the dragon brought him back without animating his body!

Krillin is on one knee with his head down, holding himself up with his right arm. After a few moments, his head finally pops up and I can see the familiar noseless face, smiling with his eyes wide open.

He jumps off the ground in excitement, "YES! I'm back! Awesome! So you guys defeated Frieza! Haha! I knew it!" He jumps up and down. He and Gohan are the perfect pair for each other, I swear.

Speaking of Gohan, he's already rushed over to Krillin. They meet in a huge hug that swings them both around in circles, awh.

Krillin is a teensy bit embarrassed, "Woah, hold up big guy! Glad to see you too!"

As Krillin shakes off Gohan, he looks around and exchanges smiles with all of us. He finally arrives at Vegeta, "What's he doin' here?" He asks as he points toward the Prince, an anger in his voice. Not often that Krillin sounds like this.

Vegeta meets eye contact with Krillin, "Well well, look who it is, the bald freak. What's it to you?"

Krillin's hands squeeze into fists, but Piccolo jumps in between them to prevent conflict. At least someone here has the power to be the keeper of peace.

He shares glances with both Vegeta and Krillin, "Vegeta's been here with us the past few months. He was brought back, along with the rest of us, by Shenron."

Krillin's hands loosen up, and he begins scratching his head, "...so that's why you guys had to wait on me, for the Namek Dragon Balls to reactivate, right?" He begins to smile, but his frown goes away once he notices Goku's absence. He looks around, panicked, "But...Goku. Is he here? Where is he?"

Piccolo looks at the ground, then over to dragon, and then back to Krillin, "He's...alive. Somewhere. Somehow."

Gohan punches Krillin in the shoulder, "Dad defeated Frieza! He's still alive! We just don't know where he's at."

Krillin rubs his chin and tilts his head a little bit, it looks like he's thinking. "Hold up. So he's alive...we still have more wishes, right? Just wish Goku back to Earth! Wish that he is transported here with us, wherever he's at right now!"

Piccolo's eyes widen. I give the thumbs up, "Hey! That's a good idea! If Goku's already alive, we can use the wish to bring him to us! Not bad, Krillin."

Piccolo slowly walks back over to Moori, "Ask the dragon to transport Goku here, with us."

More Namekian gibberish. This time I actually made out the name 'Goku', stuffed somewhere within the wall of dense sounds. Good thing I'm an inventor, not a linguist- have to thank my daddy for that one.

"The wish may not be granted. The one you call Goku does not wish to return to Earth at this moment."

What did I say before about things never being simple? That applies to everything involving Goku. In typical Goku fashion, he chooses to be late to the party once again.

Gohan attempts to ease everyone's minds with a quick thought, "That makes sense, he's probably on his way back right now!"

Krillin, always the supporting cast in Gohan's positivity agrees, "Right! I bet he just got caught up along the way. It's been how long again? He's no doubt on a path for Earth right about now and doesn't want us to waste a wish on him!"

Even Vegeta, who over the past bit has established himself as the most negative person I've probably ever met, seems to agree with the others, "You can never count Kakarot out, I'll give him that. He's resilient."

I look over to Chi-Chi, who has tiny droplets of water forming in her eyes. Even with the hint of tears, you can tell that she's satisfied with what we've just learned.

I, on the other hand…

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? That's Goku alright, always scaring us to death and so inconsiderate. He may be alive now but I'm gonna kill him when he gets back here!"