The Rebellion

Chapter X: Godsend

Goku tried to open his eyes, but they were crusted over with blood. He could feel his bones crackle as soon as he tried to move anything, which indicated that they were nearly all broken. Why had Raditz left him alive? It seemed unbelievably cruel. He wasn't going to give up though; he couldn't afford to. Those 'Saiyans', as they called themselves, were nothing but bad news, and now their leader was after Gohan. He had overheard Vegeta muttering about it, and Goku absolutely refused to let it happen. He tried with all his might to make one of his arms budge, but it was no use. He felt like he was about to black out again, when suddenly a small object was pushed into his mouth.

A warm feeling rushed through Goku as he chewed, and he could feel his body begin to rapidly repair itself. Soon, he was able to move, and he pushed himself into a sitting position. As his eyes re-adjusted to the sunlight, he started to make out the form of a chubby, white cat standing on its hind legs and holding a wooden staff.

"K-Korin?"

"Hello, Goku. It seems you've managed to get yourself beaten up pretty bad, once again," said the wise old feline, rubbing his nose with his paw.

"Yeah, I don't what I'd do without those senzu beans of your's..." said Goku, gratefully.

"I'll be honest with you, kid. I'm not just here on a whim. Kami sent me a telepathic message that you would need my assistance, right before he disappeared."

"What? Kami's dead?" Goku sprang to his feet.

"No, he's still very much alive. He has become part of Piccolo, now."

"You mean he's reunited with his evil half, becoming the original, powerful being that he was before he split? He told me all about his past years ago when I was training under him."

"Not exactly. Piccolo found a way to twist the merging process in an unnatural way, and now Kami is buried deep within his evil counterpart's consciousness."

"That's horrible! I have to stop him!"

"Don't bother. He's way too powerful; even more so than if they had merged the natural way." said Korin, stroking his whiskers.

"Well what do you suggest I do? With all that power, he's bound to start terrorising the planet. Not to mention I have to do something about the Saiyans... Man this all too much for just one guy," Goku slumped his shoulders.

"Kami left me with more than just one message, you know. He told me to take you to Baba the witch, who just happens to be an old friend of mine."

"Baba? What for?"

"I can't really tell you for certain, but if I had to make a guess, I'd say it's because she has some connections in Otherworld, the place all souls go to after death. It seems that you're in for some very special training."

Goku's eyes lit up at the mention of his favourite hobby.

"But wait... I'm not dead..."

"You will be if we don't hurry up."

XXXXXXXXXX

Raditz breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his boots squash into the unmistakable texture of soft grass. He had carried Nappa over his shoulder for what seemed like hours during a very slow descent from the lookout. During the 'journey', he had passed by a circular temple carved from stone. As he passed by, he had been called rude names by a fat man who was stuffing his face with beans of some kind. Raditz would have blasted the fool, if it were not for the fact that he was trying to conserve energy.

But now, as he looked around, he realised that he was in a forest clearing at the base of the tower he had been following. There was a strange pointed house made from a thin material not far from where Raditz was standing. A large, dark-skinned man strolled out of the entrance-flap and made his way over to Raditz.

"My name is Bora. What business do you have here?" asked the man.

"My companion is unconscious and quite wounded. Is there somewhere where he can rest for a while?" asked Raditz, deciding that he would try to gain the man's trust until Nappa recovered.

Bora studied the individual before him, his eyes thinning in concentration. Finally, he smiled and pointed towards his tepee.

"Of course. We always offer our hospitality to those who need it. Bring your friend inside."

Raditz followed Bora into the 'tepee', as he had called it. It was quite large, about twenty feet high and ten feet across. There was an empty bed made from leaves at the back.

"Lay him down here," said Bora, and Raditz obliged, ungraciously dropping Nappa on the bed.

Raditz let out a big sigh and stretched his back, relieved that he was finally free of the larger Saiyan's immense weight. Bora raised an eyebrow, surprised that Raditz would be so rough with his injured companion. He knelt down over Nappa and examined his wounds, particularly the missing teeth, broken ribs and fractured skull. Eventually, he stood up

"I'll be back shortly. Nature has many natural remedies for such bodily damage, although your friend is lucky to be alive. I'll go and get Upa, his mother tought him a lot about healing before she died."

Raditz twitched as Bora said the word 'friend', but didn't bother correcting him.

Now alone with Nappa in the tepee, Raditz began to have a look around. Most of Bora's belongings were dull and uninteresting; definitely not worth stealing. He was about to sit down, when something shiny caught his eye. He moved a few objects out of the way before picking it up. A small, golden ball with two red stars. He held it in his hand.

"Jackpot," Raditz grinned.

XXXXXXXXXX

Piccolo was enraged at Kami for softening him, but reasoned that what had happened was a one-time deal, and that he would now be able to kill as he pleased. There was no trace of Kami's soul anymore, so Piccolo figured that the mental attack was the Guardian's last effort before ceasing to exist.

Flying through a wasteland at a speed that he never thought would be within his grasp, Piccolo decided that now was as good a time as ever to begin his take over of Earth.

It wasn't long before he came to a small town, it's few buildings interweaved by busy roads and bustling pedestrians. The Super Namek began to gather ki in his fist, ready to unleash a wave of devastation.

The people never saw it coming; there was an explosion in the city center, followed by a red shockwave that obliterated everything in it's path, leaving only an enormous crater where Ginger Town used to be.

"HAHAHA! You didn't stop me that time, did you Kami? This planet is MINE for the taking!"

As Piccolo continued to celebrate, something creeped into his mind; an energy signal like nothing he had ever felt before.

"W-what the hell is that?" a bead of sweat ran down Piccolo's forehead as he began to concentrate.

"Something insanely powerful is heading towards Earth! This is bad!" the Namek clenched his fists until they began to seep blood, before finally slumping his shoulders in disbelief.