"I want you guys to leave this to me now."
Krillin stared at his best friend in disbelief. "What? Goku, you don't know what you're up against. These guys are monsters!"
"I'll be fine," Goku smiled at them.
He glanced at his daughter with a regretful light in his eyes. For a year, he'd had to leave his children to defend for themselves. He refused to be ever-absent in their lives.
Gently reaching over, he had Gohan push the senzu piece into her mouth and made sure she swallowed it. Then, he tried to shake her awake. "Kimi. Wake up."
The young Saiyaness groaned. She could hear a familiar voice calling to her but she didn't want to wake up. At least, not until she remembered what happened. Her eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up. Regret filled her as the aches and pains of her body made themselves known. Thankfully, it faded after a moment.
All was quickly forgotten when she saw her father smiling at her. Tears pooled in her eyes and she leaped forward to hug him. "Dad!"
When he hugged her back, she nuzzled into his chest, taking in his scent. It smelled so much like home that she almost cried. Instead, she pulled away and looked at their surroundings. The familiar stance Vegeta and Nappa had told her it was time to fly home.
She sighed. "I guess it's time to step back then."
"Wha- Kimi! Not you too!" Twin coals turned to Krillin and he froze at what he saw. He finally conceded. "Fine, but don't you die on us, Goku."
The Saiyan smiled. "Of course!" Looking down at his two children, he ruffled their hair. "When I get back, why don't the three of us go fishing?"
Kimi smiled and Gohan's eyes sparkled. "Really?"
"Yeah."
And soon they were off, away from the battle and on their way to Kame house.
For now.
Nappa smirked at Goku when he returned. The man in orange had finally sent those pests away and stood glaring at them. They could feel the rage radiating from him despite his calm expression. Good. Maybe then they could get a decent fight out of him.
"You will pay for what you've done."
Nappa chuckled. "Really? That's what your friends said before I crushed them."
When the Earth Saiyan said nothing, the older warrior smirked.
"And now, you're going to follow them!" He rushed forward, fist up and ready to punch his opponent. However, he underestimated the other's speed. Suddenly, Kakarot was out of sight, a strange pressure on his head.
Realizing Kakarot was standing his head, Nappa growled and reached up to drag him off. He was evaded once more.
This continued for a while; Nappa attempting to attack Goku only for the younger Saiyan to swiftly move out of the way. Not once did the hero try to hit him. Until Nappa tried a different tactic.
"You little coward!" He turned around, searching his surroundings with no sign of his elusive opponent. Nappa snarled. He refused to be made a fool of. "This is why your friends are dead. They waited for you, their precious savior, but you were too slow!"
Then suddenly he was gasping for breath. The punch he'd just got in the stomach was painful. More so than he expected from the lower-class warrior. He backed away slowly, smirking because his tactic had worked.
"What's the matter, Kakarot," he rasped. "Can't take the truth?"
Goku said nothing. He didn't want to give Nappa the satisfaction of an answer. No, hed let his rage speak for him. This enemy would not get the best of him.
"The worst of them were those brats of yours." Nappa simply chuckled again, knowing he'd struck a nerve. "The little coward got lucky before he was dealt with. But that girl would've made a great warrior. Too bad she was here on this pathetic planet.
That got a reaction. Kakarot raced forward and kicked the bulky Saiyan in the face. Trading a few blows, the two eventually ended up in the air.
Vegeta was scowling as he watched his partner fight Kakarot. It was quickly becoming clear that the fool was toying with him. What a disgrace. Nappa was too weak to beat the third-class warrior. Or rather, he was too arrogant.
It wasn't long before Nappa got too cocky and noticeably slipped up. Kakarot easily found the opening and sent him speeding into the ground. This time, he struggled to get back up.
Goku slowly descended to the ground. He had beaten the older Saiyan. Maybe now he could negotiate. "Take your friend and leave this planet."
But the warning went ignored as Vegeta looked at his partner.
He looked so pitiful. It enraged the prince to so someone so elite look so fucking pathetic. Disgraceful. That's all Nappa had been since the day started. It was time to get rid of him.
Looking up at Vegeta's scowling face, he pleaded. "Vegeta, help me up, would ya?"
Smirking, the prince reached down to help his friend stand. Or so everyone else thought. The Z Fighters watched in horror as Vegeta tossed the beaten Saiyan into the air.
"You're a disgrace of a Saiyan." He focused his ki in the palm still reaching up. "I refuse to allow such pitiful wretch to live."
In a bright blast of blue, Nappa was dead, not a single ash of him left.
"How could you?" Goku glared at the prince in disbelief. "He was your partner!"
Vegeta stoically met the Earth-Saiyan's gaze. The fool didn't understand how their culture worked. "He was pathetic and a disgrace to our race. Saiyans don't plead for anything and elites don't get beaten by low-class warriors."
Goku seethed at the statement, his friend and son gasping in horror. Kimi looked on stoically. It was a barbaric form of Survival of the Fittest but that was Saiyan culture. Only the strong were recognized and rewarded. The weak were likely executed or sent away to prove themselves.
Vegeta smirked at the Earthlings and prepared to fight. "Come now, Kakarot. Let's see where you stand."
Goku said nothing. He quietly dropped into a familiar stance. Already, he could tell or would take everything he had to fight his new opponent.
Neither warrior moved for a moment, sizing each other up. The tension in the air was thick as the others on the sidelines waited. Silence seemed to stretch until it was broken by a foot just barely sliding on the gravel.
Kimi sighed in frustration. Vegeta and her father had been going at it for almost an hour now. The battle had started as a seesaw of each side gaining and losing the advantage. When her father revealed the Kiaoken technique, Kimi knew things would be okay for a while. But now, after their struggle between the prince's Gallic Gun and her father's Kamehameha, she watched the sky with narrowed eyes.
Vegeta wasn't done yet.
He slowly descended from the sky looking worse for wear. He was covered in bruises and burns and his clothes were in tatters around his armor. His tail was more than a little singed but still whole. And though the Saiyan prince was smirking, she could feel the rage radiating from him even at the distance she watched.
Once he settled on the ground, the Saiyaness gulp and slowly hovered a little closer to the battle. She was wary of the holes and fear-inducing craters all around her and in the sides of a few mountains. 'Kinda glad I was far enough away to only hear a few hits.' She winced at the memory of a few minutes ago. That was sure to leave muscle pain in her dad's body for a while.
Finally, getting close enough for her comfort, the little Saiyan suppressed her ki as much as possible and hid behind the groove of a still-standing mountain.
"It seems you're smarter than I gave you credit for, Kakarot." He focused his ki into one hand. It glowed white for a moment before the energy converged into a sphere floating above his palm. "But destroying the moon won't stop me. We Saiyans have learned to make our own artificial moons!"
Smirking, the prince released the orb into the sky. He stared up at the orb and allowed his transformation to take over. His form expanded as brown fur began to cover most of his body. Sinister black eyes were replaced with glowing red sclera. However, the most frightening part of it was not the transformation itself, but the fact that Vegeta had full control of it where her brother and father lost themselves.
Eyes widening, Kimi swallowed thickly. She immediately recognized what was going to happen and flew off in the direction of her brother and Krillin. Her dad would need their help!
But her flight was short lived as a large shadow covered her. In moments, Goku was sent flying into her, leaving her defenseless to the rock in front of her, knocking her out once more. Kimi cursed her luck, hoping it would be the last time she was out cold!
If only she had such luck.
Goku yelled in shock as a blow to the side sent him soaring. Vaguely, he felt something hit his back before getting stopped by a mountainside. There was a gasp of pain as the impact left a sting crawling up his spine. The Saiyan hissed as he carefully peeled himself from the rock and turned to see what else he hit.
His eyes widened at the sagging, unconscious form of his adopted daughter indented into the rock. 'What was she doing here?' Angry at himself for not noticing her presence, Goku turned to his opponent with an idea. Once the giant ape was close enough, he closed his eyes, hands splayed out in front of his forehead.
"Solar Flare!" The flash of light was just the distraction he needed. It blinded Vegeta just long enough for Goku to carefully pulled Kimi out and gather her into his arms. He looked for the safest place he could find nearby and gently set her there. When he knew she would be safe, he jumped far away before using his ki. There was no way he would endanger her further.
He found a pillar to land on and focused on gaining the energy he needed for a Spirit Bomb. Goku raised his arms, palms up, and closed his eyes. He felt out the energy flowing underneath his feet and through the plants and animals in the distance. Silently asking for part of it, he was happy to get a considerable amount of it. Gathering it took a few tense moments, but he finally had enough to focus in one hand.
Unfortunately, it was then that Vegeta regained his sight and found him. Seething with rage, the great ape focused his ki on a roar attack and released the red energy at Goku. The blast caught him off guard and he lost the hold on the ki in his hand.
He went flying again, knocking the breath out of him as he slid down to the ground. Vegeta taunted him once more before attempting to kill him with a single finger. Goku took the opening and blasted the ape's right eye.
Chuckling, Goku finally realized how much pain he was in. It took all he had to get up again. He dodged Vegeta's feet and tail as best as he could.
Or rather, that's what he wanted to do.
Instead, he could only lay there as the enraged Saiyan picked him up and started to crush him. His ribs and arms began to fracture and break, his legs and spine not much better off. There was nothing he could do with how spent he was. He screamed in agony as the grip around him tightened.
Flying over the sea at a distance far away, Gohan and Krillin were on their way to Kame house.
"Do you think my dad's going to be alright?"
Krillin sighed. He knew it was coming. "Honestly kid, I've seen your father take down scarier things than that guy. Besides, with how much stronger he's gotten, there's no way he can't take him." He smiled and said, "I bet Kimi can vouch for that, can't you?"
But he received no answer. Finally turning around, the monk frantically glanced around their surroundings. "Kimi?"
He cursed. No wonder he thought she was quieter than usual. That little sneak had stayed behind! If that wasn't worrying enough, the agonized scream that came from that direction stopped their flight, a shiver of fear and worry sent down their spines. There was another. Then another and another.
Finally, Gohan snapped. Ignoring Krillin's protests, he raced back to the mountainous plains they'd just left. He couldn't go home if he could help his dad and sister!
