Episode 52

Clutch of Evil

Author's Note: Power levels had been slightly changed so that they would make sense for this story. Just letting you all take note of that. Happy reading!

Everyone understood that they were no longer safe and that they were entering into the territories of unwelcomed enemies. They thought about the Namekians and they assumed they must be in deep trouble.

"What do we do now?" Bulma asked anxiously. "If Vegeta's after the DragonBalls also, then we're all doomed!"

Bulma's friends understood this was not the best place for her to be in now. Krillin highly suggested to her that she should leave Namek as soon as possible and go back to Earth.

"What?" Bulma was confused. "But I can't leave you guys here!"

"It's all right, Bulma," Krillin told her. "Just give us the Dragon Radar and we'll collect the DragonBalls! We can't let anyone get them including Vegeta. I mean, with Gohan, Raditz, and Bardock here…I think we can handle ourselves."

He glanced at them, asking if he was right in saying this. Unfortunately, they could not even tell if they were going to be safe for long.

Bulma sighed and began to pace around, thinking to herself. "I understand. I'm counting on you, guys…but wait! I need to repair the ship first before heading back to Earth! Ugh! I can't believe this!" she was annoyed.

"It shouldn't take you that long to repair it," Krillin believed, "if you just spend enough time."

Raditz, however, was completely thinking of a different idea. Considering they were encountering these strange foes now, they cannot meander in one place for too long. "Listen, forget about the ship. It's best to seek shelter now until we can re-strategize ourselves and find a way to get the DragonBalls."

Bardock agreed with him. "Raditz is right. These scouts have already located our whereabouts. More reinforcements might be sent to get us."

Bulma could not decide if she should stick with Raditz's plan or not, but then, she also had another idea. "Look, we need extra help now on this trip. I'm thinking we should get Goku. I bet he's okay now at the hospital, but that'll take me like a month again to get him!"

"At least it's better than nothing," Gohan tried to remain positive. "I agree with you, Bulma. I think we need my daddy more than ever."

Bardock also agreed with this. He strongly believed Goku was needed at this crucial time. He remembered that vision again and he was seeing its greater significance.

At another area of Namek, hidden in a corner, behind a tall cliff, there was actually a small village there filled with small, dome-shaped houses and oddly-shaped trees, but it appeared to be the village had been abandoned for reasons unknown at the moment. There was no one residing in any of these houses as if it was a ghost town instead.

Standing in front of the village was the Prince of all Saiyans himself, Vegeta. Judging by his expression, he was ticked off since he was expecting some residents in this village, but there was none at all.

He pressed on his scouter to try to locate anyone, but he could not detect anything.

"This is really annoying," Vegeta snarled. "Where are they? I can't believe this…has my chance for eternal life…no," he tried to rid of such notions in his head. "It's too early. There's no way that sly fool could've gotten those DragonBalls already."

His aura suddenly appeared and burst as he dashed into the skies. He levitated there for a while, his eyes searching about the area.

In no later time, he finally picked up a power level, but it was not what he wanted to see, yet it was not what he expected as well. He grinned in a sinister manner. "Well, that useless Cui had decided to follow me around? What a pest. Well, Cui, if you can hear me now, you can give a message to Frieza. His days are outnumbered just as yours!"

Cui, who was only a few miles away from the Saiyan Prince, was on the hunt for him. He had followed him all the way to Namek. He was able to hear him through his scouter, he began to laugh. "Hah, hah! Vegeta, you have no idea what you're up against. Compared to me, you're still feeble and weak. I recently got an order from Lord Frieza to execute you quickly. Prepare yourself!" he took flight and decided to confront him on his own.

Back with Bulma and the others, Bulma was inside the ship. At least the interior of the spacecraft was still intact and in good shape. She was making a long-distance call to Planet Earth actually! She was having a conversation with Master Roshi over the phone using her Capsule Corp communicator. She was telling him the serious situation she and her friends were in and they needed Goku's help as soon as possible. Roshi understood her and promised he will get Goku as soon as possible.

"Okay, got you! I'm on it!" Master Roshi responded on the phone.

"Good! And make sure you don't tell Chi-Chi. She'll freak out, 'kay? You got all of that? …no! Switch it around!" Bulma corrected him. "Good, now tell them! Bye!" she hang up on the phone.

Bulma exited the ship and informed her friends that she had already called Roshi; therefore, Goku should be leaving as soon as he can.

"Is my dad okay now from his injuries?" Gohan asked.

"He should be," Bulma was certain. "Just give him one those sprout thingies and then he'll get back to health in no time."

"Do you mean Senzu Beans?" Krillin asked.

"Whatever you call them!" Bulma exclaimed, not having time to think about the correct terminology for it. "Anyway, so we're sticking with the original plan. I'll leave and get Goku and I'll give you guys the Dragon Radar. You go look for the DragonBalls. All right? Bye!" she waved at them casually as if there was nothing wrong in the first place or perhaps she was only trying to disregard all the possible dangers she was in.

Raditz crossed his arms and was not pleased with this. "Do you fully comprehend the situation we're in? Didn't I tell you that we should seek shelter instead? Not to mention, the ship's still needs repairing, but we won't have any time for that. More of these scouts are bound to find us here."

Bulma knew he was telling the truth, but she cannot help but deny it. "Rrrgh! How about you try to understand how I'm feeling? You may not understand, but I'm so fragile and pretty, all this stress is a no-no. And I'm still the captain of the ship, am I? I should be making the decisions!"

"Where's your gratitude?" Raditz was getting irritated with her again. "We're the ones who're trying to protect you in the first place. Why can't you just follow our advice that could well save your life?!"

"Guys, can you stop arguing for once?" Bardock interrupted, having to balk their meaningless quarrel. He felt he could get a headache from all of this.

Krillin was actually listening more to Bulma's side of the conversation. The thought of retreating to Earth may not be a bad idea after all.

Gohan was a bit puzzled. "What? Why?"

Bardock and Raditz had the same reaction.

"Hey, come on!" Krillin tried to explain himself. "Enemies are practically looking for us now. Not to mention, Vegeta's here! Even with the Dragon Radar, the odds are stack against us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared or anything. I just want all of us to be safe especially Gohan. Chi-Chi would kill me if I let him get hurt!"

"But, Krillin! We can't just leave now!" Gohan did not like his idea. "What about the DragonBalls?"

Krillin backed off a bit. "Uh…well, how about we let him have it! I mean, we can always try again next year. Hah, hah, hah!" he laughed it off as if this was a complete joke.

"This is not the time to make jokes," Bardock said firmly. "Besides, aren't we here for a purpose? And that's to revive our friends?"

"That's right!" Gohan agreed. "Chiaotzu, Tien, Yamcha, and Mr. Piccolo are all counting on us to bring them back to life. Do you want to just abandon them like that?" he expressed himself very maturely.

When they heard their friends' names being spoken after such a long time, Krillin and Bulma felt guilty now for giving up too easily. Their friends had sacrificed so much back on Earth and then, they would just leave them like that? Bulma especially remembered her lover, Yamcha, and she felt she could cry of tears of sorrow. She missed him terribly and she cannot wait to be in his arms again.

"…you're right," Bulma sadly put her head down.

"Gosh," Krillin rubbed his hands nervously. "What was I thinking? Sorry, guys…it's just that, I'm scared to death, you know," he admitted.

He was not alone, however, since everyone was just as terrified as he was.

Raditz began to move the other direction whilst telling them, "Come on, we need to move."

Gohan tried to convince Bulma to come with them. "Let's go, Bulma. Who knows? Maybe we'll find some Namekians who can help repair our ship. I remembered what Mr. Piccolo first taught me: 'Never panic.'"

Bulma felt the stress was all too much for her though, she began to cry. "Oh, sure! Easy for you to say!"

Krillin, Gohan, Bulma, Raditz, and Bardock were forced to leave their ship for a while and seek shelter somewhere else. They were locating a good hiding spot that will not allow their enemies to find them. Unfortunately, they had to walk by foot since flying could reveal some of their suppressed powers, which can be detected by those scouters.

Bulma had carried with her a box of convenient capsules from her father's company. All of her capsules contained all of her belongings and necessities in there. Even though she was not carrying anything that can put stress to her walking, she was still having a difficult time catching up with her friends.

"Keep up, Bulma!" Krillin said, looking at her. "The scouts we'll find us if we keep your rate of speed like this!"

Bulma was very exhausted. "Can't we just fly over there? Why not one of you carries me instead?"

"Bad idea," Bardock answered. "And I already told you the reason why."

"Well, you seem tired yourself, Bardock! And irritated!" Bulma mentioned, trying to complain with them again.

Bardock tried to keep his cool though. Apparently, no one knew, except maybe his eldest son, the degree of stress and just anger he was having at the moment. It was beyond anyone could have ever imagined. He cannot help but think that their enemies possibly belonged to the army of that tyrannical emperor.

Bulma continued to complain and scream, tired of all this walking already. "Ooh…UGH!"

However, as if her wishes had been answered in a finger snap, the Z-fighters had found a cave ahead. They thought it should be a good hiding place for now, but Bulma complained again. "You want me to live in that hole? Ooh!" she stomped her foot.

Everyone quickly picked up their pace and went inside the cave.

"All right! Now we should stay here for a while," Gohan suggested.

As they all entered the cave, suddenly, they picked up another cluster of energy levels from a distance and this cluster was approaching towards their direction.

Krillin informed everyone, "Guys, hide! And bask your energy!"

Everyone hid deeper into the cave where they found darker shadows and stayed there until it was safe to come out again. Slowly, they took a quick look outside to find out what they were dealing with. They gasped in surprise to see several of these alien soldiers darting across the skies, all equipped and heavily armed, prepared to take down any intruder that stand in their way. To their great distress, there was one particular being amongst that group of soldiers that seemed to have held the highest power of all.

Bardock was dreading the most, above all.

They waited for a long time until they were certain that these unwelcomed creatures were gone. After witnessing that army of henchmen, tensions were high in the air.

Bulma was concerned about her friends, seeing how they looked all pale. "Hey, what's going on?"

"…," Gohan remained silent, however.

Krillin believed this had to be one of their shocking discoveries ever yet. "This is not good…," he actually fell to his knees. "D-did you guys feel that? That was so…powerful! That power level felt like it came more from a monster!" he was scared stiff.

Raditz's hands could not help but tremble so much. He only had one question in his mind: was that really him?

For Bardock, his pupils were clearly trembling, he felt like his muscles were almost numb. To add more to this strain and dread he was carrying, more visions came to his mind and they kept repeating themselves. Only, this time, he could validate that these visions were slowly coming into existence.

And it was almost unimaginable. Even though he had sought for vengeance the entire time against him, he could never forget the terrifying might he was reputed for. Was that really him? If so, why was he here at all?

While the Z-warriors were witnessing first-hand of all these enemies that had conquered Namek recently, in another area of the planet, Vegeta was flying at high speed, trying to locate the DragonBalls on his own; however, he would have to deal with Cui first. Cui came flying opposite of him, but as soon as he was an inch away, he fired a homing energy blast straight towards the royal elite.

The Saiyan Prince simply avoided it, the energy blast going up into the atmosphere instead. He then stared at his rival.

"So, we meet again, Vegeta," Cui smirked. "It's about time I put you to your place. How dare you defy Lord Frieza like this."

Vegeta closed his eyes while he had a sinister mirth. "Heh, heh, I'm afraid that I can't take orders from him anymore. You see, I have other plans in mind."

Cui scoffed. "Yes, and that's why he sees you as an abomination to him! I'll tell you what. I'll give you a chance to obey Lord Frieza again before you could get really hurt. There's always that chance, Vegeta."

The Saiyan Prince had to laugh again, knowing that his rival here had no idea what he was up against. He gave him a fair warning. "It's a shame that you and not even Frieza knows what I have been through since the past year. You'll soon discover the true strength of a Saiyan!"

Immediately, he bent his arms and legs and powered up, his aura emerging from his body again as it burst and sparked.

The smirk on Cui's face quickly faded away when he started to skim through these strange readings on his scouter. "Huh? What the? My scouter's going haywire!"

Vegeta sneered and loved to see that fearful look on his face. "Hah, hah! You could say it's a little trick I learned even before my one-year mission to Earth."

Cui could not believe what he was seeing. "This number must be a mistake!" he exclaimed. He stared with disbelief about the prince's strength as it continued to grow in large numbers.

Inside the cave, Bulma was holding up her Dragon Radar. On the screen, it indicated all of the five DragonBalls going to another direction and fast. They were heading towards another area where one of the two scattered DragonBalls was located.

Bulma cannot believe what she was seeing. "No way! Are those scouts who passed us earlier before, they have all five DragonBalls?! But I thought the Namekians had them?"

"We thought wrong, but…how were they able to locate them?" asked Gohan worriedly. "They don't have a Dragon Radar, do they?"

"I bet they've been using their scouters to collect them," Raditz strongly assumed.

Krillin growled under his breath. "Man, so someone is ahead of us in the game, but we can't let them win! Bulma, do you know where they're heading to?"

Bulma checked her device again. "They just stopped, eight miles away from here, in that direction," she pointed to the northeast.

"Okay, then, I have an idea. If we could get at least one DragonBall from them and put it in a safe place where they will not find it too easily, then they'll have a hard time getting it back. They won't be able to make their wish!" Krillin planned out.

"If that's the case, I'll have to come with you," Raditz decided to assist him. "I know all about our enemies here and what they're like."

Krillin accepted his support. "Okay, that should be a good idea. We'll just lower our energies, so they won't spot us."

For some reason though, Bardock was hesitant for Krillin and for his son to go. He wanted to warn them about something, but he did not know if he was just being irrational or not. After all, how he was for sure that, that was really him? Was he even here?

"Grandpa Bardock," Gohan caught his attention. "How about you and I go look for the other DragonBall out there? The one the scouts are not after yet?"

Bardock was in deep thought, he snapped back to reality actually, only hearing half of what his grandson said. "W-what?"

However, to hear them all leaving her, Bulma panicked again. "Are you guys nuts?! What about me? I don't want to die alone! What if those goons located my whereabouts and starts attacking me instead?"

Krillin looked at her and gave her a choice."Have more trust in us, Bulma. I think you'll be safe here, but if you really think that's gonna happen, you can come chase the bad guys with us if you want."

Bulma was silenced a little, her brain coming up with another decision. She definitely did not want to get herself involved in some sort of skirmish out there and so, she made an excuse. "In fact…heh, heh! I guess I'll just stay here and hold down the port for you guys."

"Good idea, Bulma," Krillin said.

"Make sure you don't do anything stupid!" she warned them.

Krillin turned to Raditz and nodded to him. They decided they should leave now, not wasting any more time. The two then moved forward. They cannot fly too low or too visibly; therefore, they would have to fly at higher altitudes so that their energies would be too far for their enemies' scouters to detect. Once they arrive there, they would have to suppress their energy levels to almost none.

"Be careful out there!" Raditz told his father and nephew. As he took wing, he glanced at his father one more time as if he was mentally giving him a message, like he must take control of the situation himself and not let anyone get involved, even if it meant if he had to face that tyrant, Frieza, alone. He quickly left with Krillin.

"W-wait!" Bardock tried to stop them, but it was already too late.

"Don't worry about them, Bardock," Bulma said. "I'm sure they know what they're doing."

"Come on, Grandpa Bardock," Gohan dragged his arm, insisting that they, too, should leave. "Let's go find the other DragonBall before anyone else gets it."

Bardock sighed. Perhaps he just needed to have a little more faith on them. He now focused on the current mission ahead. "Okay, let's go."

Before leaving, they told Bulma to stay put and stay safe. Before she knew it, they had already departed, racing against time in order to obtain the magical orbs before their enemies can.

Bulma heaved a sigh. She then took out her box of capsules and picked up one of them. "You guys better be careful. We had gotten this far in our journey. Now, to call Master Roshi and see how Goku's doing."

While the Z-warriors were preparing themselves for any obstacles that will likely come their way, the Saiyan Prince himself was already facing an obstacle on his own; however, he was confident he will triumph this one.

Vegeta continued to power-up in front of Cui, his power soaring and reaching new heights. After enduring almost a life-and-death battle back on Earth, he had gained new and an immense amount of power. "You're an imbecile, Cui. Do you think you can keep up my experiences in battle? I've been from the brink of death and back again! Meanwhile, you've been hiding under the shield of Frieza…growing soft!"

Cui read the numbers he was seeing on his scouter. "No! 25,000? 27,000?! Impossible! Why's it still going up?!"

The royal elite then glared at his foe, his expression telling him that it was about time to put an end to this little game.

Cui backed away, trembling in fear. He knew he was no match for the Prince of all Saiyans anymore, but he just had one last trick up in his sleeve he could use. "W-wait, Vegeta, here me out, please! I just thought of something. W-why not I join forces with you instead? To tell you the truth, I never liked Frieza anyway!"

Vegeta knew better than to believe in him though. "Stop lying, you fool. You think I'll fall for that?"

Cui tried to convince him though. "Hold on, just think about it! We've known each other's strengths for a long time. We can use that to our advantage to take down Frieza."

"Shut that pathetic mouth of yours!" Vegeta ordered him. "You're nothing but a coward who just wants to run away from true fear!" he grinned with malevolence.

"I'm not lying, Vegeta!" Cui sounded a bit serious now. "Honest! We could make a fantastic team! Please! I mean it!"

Vegeta just growled at him, sick and tired of his annoying babbles and talks. He thought he should end this useless fight at this instant.

All of a sudden, Cui glanced over Vegeta's shoulder and cried with shock, "Huh? Look, it's Lord Frieza!"

At that point, Vegeta actually believed him, thinking the tyrant himself was standing right behind him. He turned around quickly and the moment he shifted his focus, Cui fooled him all along. Taking his distraction to his advantage, he barraged the Saiyan Prince with multiple and massive energy blasts. Cui laughed evilly, knowing his trick had worked. At the end, he gathered more power into his hands as he fired his last energy beam at Vegeta, which woke a huge explosion afterwards.

Cui covered his eyes a little from this cloud of smoke while trying to catch his breath. "Heh, heh, for a Saiyan elite, you really fell for that one too easily. You should've just stayed back and not interfere with Lord Frieza's plans. Sure you've been back from the brink of death, but you're useless if you let yourself off-guard!" he continued to have a raucous laughter.

"Is that so?" a voice suddenly asked out of the blue.

"What?!" Cui turned around and noticed Vegeta amongst the haze. Cui may have inputted a lot of power into that technique of his, but it did zero damage to his opponent.

Vegeta grinned. "You really are a lying coward."

Cui shook with fear. "No…how? How did you escape from my attack?!"

"Hmph," Vegeta grunted. "Remember this, Cui. Never underestimate the power of a Saiyan elite."

The Saiyan Prince then took the initiative in a speed so fast one could barely anticipate; Vegeta suddenly appeared in front of Cui and threw a merciless punch to his stomach, causing a lot of foam to come out from his mouth. Cui was speechless and shocked. He had never felt this much pain before in his life.

"Heh, heh…RAARGH!" Vegeta then sent his feeble rival flying into the air after sending a destructive uppercut to his chin, breaking his jaw. He then placed his middle and index fingers together, pointed at him, and Vegeta made his opponent explode into space dusts, finishing his "Dirty Fireworks" technique.

"Hah! Simple tricks," Vegeta said.

Krillin reacted to that kind of power that Vegeta had unknowingly displayed to anyone who can detect energies using his or her senses. Raditz did not seem to notice though.

"Woah, did you feel that?" asked Krillin.

"What?" Raditz asked, keeping his eyes on the horizon.

"I don't know who's it from, but it's pretty intense!" Krillin exclaimed. "I have a feeling we'll be facing a lot of enemies on this planet…this is not good."

Raditz was nervous again, but he tried to maintain a clear mind. They needed to focus on the DragonBalls for now or else, all of their efforts would be in vain.

After traveling at very high altitudes where they can practically see two or three landscapes of Namek at the same time, Raditz looked down and finally saw the scouts who possessed the five DragonBalls. He stopped at a complete halt and Krillin did the same.

"Did you find them?" asked Krillin.

Raditz stared at this particular island below him. There was a village there and those tiny dots looked like the scouts, but there was one feature in this site that had caught his attention the most. He descended just a tad to get a closer look. He then spotted a line of green-skinned creatures dressed in heavy robes, their hands tied in rusty handcuffs.

Krillin saw this as well. "Wait, they look like…Namekians! I think we've come to the right place."

Raditz was alarmed to see this though. "…but why are they tied up?"

The monk warrior wondered about that, too. He insisted that they should see what was really going on. Immediately holding back their power levels to almost non-existent, they descended from the skies and resurfaced on the ground. They took every caution to not allow the scouts see them with their eyes or detect them with their scouters. After passing more canyons and cliffs unnoticeably, they came closer to the village and now, they were hiding behind a tall mountain. From there, they clearly saw what was going on.

There were several Namekians, about thirty of them, falling in a single line with their hands tied together. Their ages ranged from elderly, to young adults, and finally, to children. The alien soldiers who had captured them pointed their laser guns at these vulnerable Namekians.

"Go on now, stop stalling the line!" demanded one soldier.

"You!" one of the soldiers kicked the young Namekian by the leg. "Walk faster, will you? Lord Frieza will be displeased if you don't obey his orders."

When that name was spoken, Raditz grew especially shocked.

"W-wait…Frieza? Who's that?" Krillin asked, his voice down to a whisper.

Raditz's heart was beating fast, he could hear it ringing loudly in his ears. He was right after all. Frieza…was here on Namek all along. And he was here for the DragonBalls most likely. With his fretful eyes, he searched for Frieza then amongst his army and the helpless Namekians. It did not take him long to have finally seen him, sitting on his hovering pod with his two right hand-men beside him.

He knew him too well and thanks to his father, he had now known the truth about Frieza, his true nature, and his secretive, diabolical deeds. He was that traitor who destroyed the Saiyans' home planet. He was that liar who kept him in ignorance for so long. Worse of all, he was that heartless ruler who took away everything from the Saiyans and all those innocent lives out there who had been murdered under his name.

His fear and dread quickly transitioned into rage and anger. Raditz cannot help but glare at the galactic overlord. Like his father, he also swore revenge on him.

Krillin felt his energy going up the scale because of his peaking anger, he warned him to keep calm or else, the henchmen's scouters will pick up his power level.

Raditz heeded to his words, but it was just difficult to control his emotions sometimes.

Krillin looked around and noticed the DragonBalls that were underneath the arms of Frieza's two right-hand men. They were like Earth's DragonBalls only they were twice as big. He could also tell they held more magic and special wishing powers inside.

Krillin gulped hard. "I can't believe they have five of them already. If they find the other two, then it'll be over for us."

Raditz found his hands curling into fists.

"So, I'm guessing the one sitting in that pod is Frieza?" asked Krillin worriedly.

He did not get a response, but his silence can say a lot. Without Raditz needing to answer him, this mysterious, eerie creature was definitely Frieza in the flesh. Krillin understood he was that emperor whom Raditz and Bardock had mentioned once and, as Krillin had termed before, considered as "bad luck" to them.

Krillin was very shocked when he sensed Frieza's power and it was way beyond than he could have imagined. He felt his throat getting dry.

One of Frieza's right-hand men was completely alien who was heavily built, pink-skinned, and had spikes protruding from his head and arms. His wicked face showed he was that type of person who did not hesitate to start a brutal beating to anyone. The other henchmen looked human in form; a narcissist with gorgeous looks. His green hair was tied in a braid, his skin was fair and was colored almost aquamarine. He was wearing earrings, arm and leg warmers, and a prince-like tiara around his forehead. To him, looks and power meant everything. These two henchmen were dressed in similar armors like Raditz's only with a different color scheme and that the one with the braided hair had a light blue cape attached to his back. They were standing next to Frieza while each were carrying a Namekian DragonBall underneath of both of their arms.

Frieza was sitting on his pod, looking displeased though, his reptilian-like tail tapping the edge of his seat impatiently.

The emperor had finally brought out his voice. One could tell that even the sound of his tone held an infinite amount of authority. "What was your report again, Zarbon?"

The prince-like henchman turned to him and responded in the utmost decorum. "My lord, the search party that we sent out almost half an hour ago had lost communication with us. Also, your loyal servant, Cui, had also stopped transmitting."

Frieza began to think, his fingers now tapping on his pod while his eyes watched the imprisoned Namekians continued to be led by three to four of his servants. "Dodoria, what did your scouter indicate about Cui's power level as well as Vegeta's? I thought Cui had done his job eliminating that prince."

Dodoria reported, "Sire, it's very odd, but when I calculated Vegeta's power level, it soared to 30,000! He was able to defeat Cui in less than five seconds."

"30,000?" Zarbon asked, refusing to believe him a little. "Are you telling me that Vegeta's power level is higher than us combined?" he referred to his strength and Dodoria's. "Is that the reason why my scouter had disintegrated?"

"This has got to be a trick!" Dodoria believed. "His power's never been above 18,000."

Frieza although began to smirk, his red eyes glowing with pure malice. "Are you really that surprised? Vegeta has gone through heavy combat for a while especially after he went to Earth. He must've picked up some new techniques along the way, which explains his sudden boost of power."

Zarbon felt he knew what he was talking about. "Techniques? Perhaps, Sire, you're thinking about the technique of suppressing one's energy."

"That could be one of them," Frieza said.

"Suppress?" Dodoria asked. "So that must mean, the search party that we sent earlier ago was defeated by two men who had a power level of just 2,000, but really they're basking their power level?"

Raditz gave a look after hearing what he said.

"I never thought something like that could exist," Dodoria remarked.

Frieza's patience, however, was growing thin. "Why are you wasting my time with these petty observations? Even with power levels of 2,000 or 30,000 will not make any difference to my power. To help ease your minds, these people can't hide for long. We'll soon cross paths," he sneered once more. "Concentrate in getting all the DragonBalls and then, this planet will be mine. Besides, you two shouldn't worry. I thought you were preparing yourselves improving your skills in battle before we came to Namek. You can easily wipe out these pests, can you?"

"Yes, Sire," the two obeyed his orders.

Frieza then intently stared at the Namekians who were handcuffed. The children were especially frightened, they tried to hide behind their caretakers who were more of the young adults and elderly. The older Namekians glared at the tyrant with anger.

"That Vegeta," Dodoria spat. "How dare he defy us like this."

Frieza heard what he said and he chuckled. "It's obvious why he's doing this. And do you know why he's obsessed in getting all those DragonBalls?" he asked him. "I'll tell you why. Because he's been secretly plotting to overthrow me after all these years, waiting for that opportunity to strike and now with the hopes of those DragonBalls, he thinks he can oppose me now. I'll soon make a good example out of him."

Raditz and Krillin realized they were right in thinking that Vegeta was also pursuing the DragonBalls to fulfill his desire of gaining immortality.

But what about Frieza's purpose of collecting them-?

All of a sudden, two soldiers came up to Frieza and they bowed to him in great respect, announcing, "Lord Frieza, your father has arrived!"

Krillin and Raditz were alarmed to hear this.

"Huh, 'father'? Whose father?" Krillin was confused.

For Raditz though, he was immensely shocked to hear this, he almost shuddered. At this very moment, they were in for more than just trouble. He, his friends, and family were all in great peril.

The soldiers who were escorting the imprisoned Namekians ordered them to stop moving. They demanded them to stay still and bow their heads to their future king. Of course, the Namekians refused and they just stood in confusion and shock. Everyone, even Frieza's right-hand men, Zarbon and Dodoria, knelt on one knee and kept their heads lowered. Frieza was the only one who was casually sitting on his hovering pod, his ruby eyes looking intently at the one approaching him now.

From behind Frieza's scouts, they made way to another being who shared similar features to Frieza except he had more wrinkles on his face, his body structure was huge and greatly built, and he was very tall in size. He was wearing royal battle armor and a black cape with a symbol imprinted on the back to represent his supremacy. He had a sword attached to his waist as his main choice of weapon.

Behind him, he had three scouts whom belonged to his son.

Zarbon and Dodoria said in unison, "King Cold."

King Cold stood tall with a lot of sovereign power. One of King Cold's men was carrying another DragonBall with him.

Frieza smirked. "You're quite late…Father."

King Cold grinned back. "I have every right to be late, Frieza. Your men happened to find this DragonBall and it certainly came from this village."

"Oh?" Frieza stared at the Namekians again whom were all frightened and angry at him. "So I was right in thinking that they do have a DragonBall, but they kept it well hidden. Well, you know that can never be enough to trick the mighty Frieza," he intimidated the helpless Namekians.

King Cold then turned around and stared at the creatures. He began to laugh while he announced to them, "Be thankful. You should feel honored that my son and I will reign over your planet soon and become a part of us. You'll soon work for us for our illustrious Planet Trade Organization….that is, if you don't defy us in the first place."

These feelings that Krillin and Raditz had were just indescribable. So many events were going on all at once, but they held the same meanings and purposes.

Krillin had to say something, seeing where this occurrence could lead to. "No way! Raditz, now they have six of the DragonBalls! If they get the last one…oh no, aren't Bardock and Gohan going for that one? If Frieza and his father find out, they could try to go after them! We have to do something!"

Raditz was speechless as strain and worries were just weighing him down. Krillin had a point. Frieza will definitely go after for the last DragonBall and his father, Bardock, and nephew, Gohan, might unexpectedly encounter him and his men, which was the last scene in his head he would want to see happening. He tried his best to keep a clear thinking ahead, coming up with another plan to thwart their enemies' plans somehow. He kept telling to himself this was no time to be held back by fear or doubt, but Raditz was in a quandary. How can they handle such a great predicament?