Last Time: The fight with Vegeta came to a close as the Saiyan prince left Earth defeated. Following the reveal to everyone else that Piccolo and the Dragon Balls are gone, Krillin explains about how possibly a planet known as Namek might have their own set. After trying to figure out how to reach Namek, Mr. Popo arrived with the solution.
"The ship is extremely old however," Mr. Popo started to explain as he waited for someone to join him on his magic carpet. "It has actually been on Earth for hundreds of years and is quite old."
"Can the ship still fly though?" Bulma asked as she eyed the genie. Unlike the others, she had never met him before and still didn't trust him. "Besides, if a spaceship has been on Earth for hundreds of years, how hasn't anyone seen it?"
Mr. Popo shook his head at Bulma's doubtfulness. "The ship is old, but it should be in a good enough condition to get you to Namek and back. It just needs a little work on the body. The ship however is hidden within the Yunzabit Heights and I need someone to come with me to find it."
"Y-Yunzabit Heights!?" Bulma asked as she stared at Mr. Popo. To her, this story just continued to get weirder and weirder. "That's all the way on the other side of the planet!"
"Who is this guy?" Chi-Chi asked as she watched the interaction between Bulma and Mr. Popo. "Should we really trust him?"
"That's Mr. Popo," Krillin stated as he looked out the window towards the genie. "He lives with Kami up on the Lookout."
"Yeah, Mr. Popo's been around a lot longer though," Goku added in as he tried to move his head to get a view. "Not only has he worked with Kami, but also a lot of the previous Guardians of Earth as well."
"So, if you know about this ship, how don't you know the condition?" Krillin asked the one question everyone had on their minds.
"I've never personally seen the ship," Mr. Popo sighed as he waited to continue on. "Kami has only told me stories about him living his childhood in it, but has never wanted to return to it."
"Well, Bulma should probably go with you!" Krillin exclaimed, catching the ire of Bulma.
"Why me!?" She yelled, getting right in Krillin's face. "Why not you or Yamcha? The Yunzabit Heights is no place for a woman."
Yamcha walked over and in between the two friends. Once again, he was having to play the role of peacemaker. "Bulma, out of everyone here, you and Gokai know the most about spaceships," he started to explain as Bulma understood where he was heading. "He's just a six year old kid and is in no condition to be leaving the hospital. You on the other hand are a genius."
"I guess when you put it that way it makes sense," she replied, dropping the hostility in her voice. "But, are you sure it's safe? I can't be the only one who notices that dangerous look in his eyes?" She explained.
Everyone looked over to Mr. Popo who had the same blank expression as always. Yamcha sighed as he put an arm around Bulma. "Relax, I know Mr. Popo from the time he trained me. He wouldn't hurt a fly."
"A-Alright, I'll go. But if he tries anything funny then you'll be joining Tien and the others," she warned Yamcha, who started to sweat at the thought. Bulma then carefully climbed out of the window and onto the magic carpet. "Be careful with me. I'm not like those guys, I'm a delicate lady, okay!?"
"We're counting on you, Bulma!" Krillin cheered as everyone else gathered around the window.
"We will now be leaving," Mr. Popo calmly stated once more. Without even a moment's notice, the both of them along with the carpet vanished in midair.
"H-how'd he do that?" Chi-Chi wondered. She was taken aback by the sudden disappearance of the two as another thought entered her mind. "Hey, if he had that rug, why didn't he bring Goku to the fight with it?"
"Mr. Popo is meant to serve as an assistant to the Guardian of Earth," Korin started to explain as he hovered over to the woman. "He is not allowed to get involved in these kind of matters. It isn't surprising that he's trying to bring Kami back however."
"What do you mean?" Gokai asked this time. He could tell that the duo had a close relationship, but why would Mr. Popo go out of his way to bring him back.
"Well, Mr. Popo is the Guardian's assistant," Korin started to explain to the young boy. "He always grows close and forms a bond with them. Because of this bond, he's willing to do whatever is asked of him by the current guardian."
Appearing out of nowhere, Bulma and Mr. Popo emerged in a valley. There was no sign of life anywhere except for the grass that grew everywhere. The wind was howling, causing Bulma to wrap her arms around her body.
"We're here," the magical genie stated as he jumped off of his carpet. He didn't seem to be fazed by the cold, harsh conditions at all.
Bulma looked at him shocked before looking around at the location. "Already!?" She asked before climbing off of the carpet. "W-we can't already be here. And why is it so cold?"
"We truly are here," Mr. Popo replied as he looked around. "Doesn't the area match the description of Yunzabit Heights? Now, which way did Kami say it should be in?"
"Wait! I am really doubting your story of a spaceship now!" Bulma yelled only for Mr. Popo to ignore her.
Walking off in one direction, Mr. Popo started to climb over the piles of rocks and small hills. "Follow me, it should be somewhere in this area."
Bulma wasn't so sure about this now. They were in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. Not only that, but she would have to climb over all these obstacles which would tire her out and make her defenseless if he tried anything funny. "Hold on just one second!" She complained as Mr. Popo didn't stop walking. He was a man on a mission who wouldn't be stopped. "I hope you didn't drag me out here just to try something pervy with me."
Mr. Popo finally stopped walking for some reason. Without even turning around, he started to speak. "There, the ship in front of us can explain everything about my intentions."
He was right, standing in front of the two was a large green spaceship. It wasn't actually green, that was just because of the moss that grew over the outside of the ship. It was large. Large enough to fit quite a few people. It had four large legs that it sat on along with four similar looking spikes that surrounded a large glass window in the front of the ship.
"This ship... I've never seen anything like it," Bulma weakly stated as she examined the outside. "It's strange, not designed from metal, but strong enough to survive all this time. What exactly is this?"
"I'll explain everything," Mr. Popo spoke up as he walked up to the genius. "Around 100 years ago, Kami finally told me the story of his past. He explained that when he was a young child, Kami, lived here in this ship. I never quite understood why he stayed here and so I asked. Kami couldn't explain it himself, stating that he had lost all his memories from when he was a child," he explained before stopping to inspect the object. It really did hold up well, not even any signs of major damage that couldn't be fixed.
"Feeling that there was more to it, I continued on. One day, I asked Kami if he had any parents, but he didn't know of any. The only thing he could remember was finding a note left for him. It read 'wait here, we'll come later,'" he finished explaining as he walked under the center of the object.
"W-what does that mean? I don't see where this is all leading to," Bulma replied, confused over why she had to listen to Kami's life story from his assistant.
"When Kami was a child, he waited a very long time for his parents, but they never came, He explained how he believed they would appear, only to never show up. He explained how he gave up and ventured into the world, but a part of him always made him return just to see for a moment if anyone arrived," he continued to explain, only to be interrupted by Bulma again.
"So... what does that have to do with this ship?" She asked, joining the genie under the center of the ship.
Mr. Popo sighed as he looked at the girl. "You're very impatient. I was just about to get to that part. One day, Kami explained how after all these years, he thought it was pretty strange for a house. Between the spherical design and the four legs it is currently sitting on. According to Kami, the only entrance appeared when you spoke a certain word," he finished his explanation before looking up. "Piccolo."
As if on cue, the bottom of the building detached from the rest and slowly lowered itself to them. Now in front of them, Bulma looked at the structure, realizing that there was more to it than expected. "I-It's an entrance!" She cried out, shocked by this revelation.
"Please, stand on top of it," Mr. Popo asked, doing it himself. Bulma quickly followed his lead before he looked up. "Piccolo," he stated, causing the detached object to raise up until they were now inside of the object.
"So, this is Kami's house. I can see why he thinks it was strange. I mean, just look at some of the things in here," Bulma stated as she looked around the inside of it. There appeared to be several strange looking machines along with one large chair in front of the window.
"This is why I brought you," Mr. Popo stated, snapping Bulma out of her daze. "After hearing his story about his house and learning that he is from a distant planet named Namek, I assumed that his house may have been a spaceship of some sort."
"It all makes sense now!" Bulma cried out as she continued to look around. "How else would Kami and Piccolo get here if they were originally from Namek? Why didn't we think of this sooner!?"
"Well, everyone was still in shock from the losses," Mr. Popo casually explained as he walked over to Bulma. "But, based on how it looks, we can assume it is a spaceship."
"Yeah, plus we know it still works as the entrance opened for us," she replied before looking at the device set in front of the chair. "This must be the main controls for the whole ship. But, it doesn't appear to have any buttons or levers to control it. It has to be a sensor of some kind."
"Perhaps it is by voice?" The genie added in as he peered over Bulma's shoulder. "If the entrance needed a word to open it, then maybe the whole ship works the same way."
Bulma looked at the device once she heard Mr. Popo's idea. "That might work, but if he came from Namek, it might be programmed to only understand their language."
Mr. Popo walked in front of the machine and looked at. "Kami taught me some of his native language. At the time, neither of us knew that it was an alien language. For example, Piccolo means 'other world' in their language."
"Can you tell it to fly?" Bulma asked as she watched over the genie's shoulder. "Maybe to Jupiter?"
Mr. Popo started to speak an unfamiliar language to Bulma, but she thought she heard it before. Thinking back, she heard it once before, back at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. Within a moment, the machine gave off a beeping sound and shot off into the sky. Rocketing out of the atmosphere, the ship soared past Mars and the asteroid belt before arriving in front of Jupiter.
Within a few seconds, the ship came to a stop. "I-It worked!" Bulma cried out before starting to dance with Mr. Popo out of joy. It took us only a few seconds to get here! This ship is incredible, we'll get to Namek in no time!"
"You'll never believe how great this ship is!" Bulma started to explain once she was back at the hospital. "We made it to Jupiter in just a few seconds. Sure the inside could use a little tweaking, but there are no problems with the ship at all, we should be able to reach Namek in one month. If I work fast, there's no reason that it shouldn't be ready in about five days!"
"Just don't blow it up," Gokai muttered before covering his head out of worry for being hit.
"I heard that!" Bulma yelled as she glared at Gokai. "The ship is pretty big as well, could probably hold five or six of us at most."
"You mean we're really going to fly to Namek and wish everyone back!? This is great!" Krillin yelled as he jumped up into the air.
"See, Bulma, I told you that you were the best option to go there," Yamcha added as he complimented his girlfriend.
"Yeah, and with Mr. Popo piloting the ship, it should be easy flying," Bulma added, not knowing about what Korin explained to everyone else.
"I'm sorry, but I can't pilot the ship," Mr. Popo replied, bringing down Bulma's mood. "I must stay on the Lookout to make sure everything is alright until Kami returns. I have already done more than I should have by helping you find the ship. I'm sorry."
"But, you're the only one who can speak Namek!" Bulma cried out as she walked over to the genie. "You have to come with us!"
"I already explained why I can't. But, I can teach you the basics of the Namekian language so you can fly the ship instead."
"I guess that means, Bulma's heading to Namek," Krillin stated as he looked at the young genius. "If something goes wrong, she'll be able to fix the ship."
Bulma glared at him as she tried to think of a way out of it. Not able to come up with anything, she thought of the next best idea. "Well, if I'm going, then someone else has to come as well. I am not traveling across space all by myself."
"Relax, Bulma," Yamcha stated as he walked over to her. "I'll come along. Searching for these Dragon Balls will be just like the time we all met. It should be a fun, new adventure."
"That's one, but I need at least two more of you," she stated, eyeing each person in the room. "Goku can't come because of his condition, so why don't you come, Krillin?"
"M-me?" Krillin stuttered once he heard his name called. "I'd like to go, but two months is way too long. I was hoping to use this time to train in case that Saiyan ever returns."
"Krillin, you should really go," Goku stated from his bed. "Think of all the new training opportunities you could benefit from. I know if I could, I'd go to Namek to see what their Shenron looks like."
"You really think I should go?" Krillin asked, receiving a nod from his best friend. "Well then, while we get the Dragon Balls, you rest up and think of a way to beat that Saiyan if he ever comes back."
"Right... we'll be counting on you three then!" Goku replied before flashing his familiar smile. "I really wish I could be going though."
Gokai sat there as he listened to everything going on. If he knew Vegeta from the stories he heard from his father, then the prince of all Saiyans will be heading to Namek as well. If that was the case, he knew they would need everyone available to help fight him. "I-I'll come too," he stated as he jumped out of his chair. "I've traveled in space before, I might be of some help," he lied, not wanting to worry them all about Vegeta.
"Gokai, you don't have to come, Yamcha and myself should be more than enough help for Bulma," Krillin stated as he looked over at the kid. "Why don't you just relax on Earth?"
"No, I really want to go!" He cried out to the whole group. "I've never met the Dragon and I want to see him."
"Krillin, just let him come," Yamcha stated before placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Besides, he should be able to take care of himself if anything happens out there."
"Alright, so it's settled. Gokai, Yamcha, Krillin and myself will head for Namek in about ten days. That will give me enough time to learn the controls to the ship and get it fixed up," Bulma told the whole group. "And in one month's time, our friends will all be back."
"Wait!" Gohan yelled as he caught everyone's attention. "P-Please... Please take me with you!" He demanded. Part of him was still kicking himself for how he acted during the fight. That part of him was telling him that going to Namek would make it better.
Chi-Chi just stared at her only son. She was fine with Gokai going since she couldn't really tell him he couldn't go. But, Gohan was her child, she could tell him what he could and couldn't do. "G-Gohan! Now isn't the time to be making any jokes!" She nervously laughed. She was hoping that her son really was just kidding around, but part of her knew it wasn't.
"But mom, its... it's not a joke!" He stated, crushing her delusional belief. "I really want to go with them! This is a once in a lifetime chance, who knows if I'll ever get to go to space again."
Chi-Chi was starting to reach her breaking point. There was no way she would let her son go into outer space. "Don't be ridiculous, Gohan! You've already missed a whole year of studying. If you go to Namek, that's another two months you'll fall behind!"
Gohan wouldn't make eye contact, knowing just how upset his mom was. But, he didn't care, this was something he had to do whether she liked it or not. "I'm sorry, mom, but I have to go... Piccolo gave his life protecting me. I want to be the one who brings him back to life again."
Goku smiled at his son's answer. During the fight with the Saiyans, he noticed that Gohan had changed, but never knew how close of a relationship he had with Piccolo. "There really isn't anything else but to let him go, Chi-Chi. This is something only he can do."
"What kind of nonsense are you two talking about!?" She yelled at her family. "Gohan doesn't need to be doing any of this. Do you know how much anxiety I went through this past year? And now you want to put me through two more months of it!? Gohan, Piccolo has nothing to do with your school work! You're a child and you should be acting like one, not traveling across space to bring people back alive!"
Now Gohan was getting annoyed, his mother wasn't listening to a thing he said. Finally mustering up all his courage, Gohan let it out. "Shut up!" He yelled, actually making his mother stop her rant. Seeing his chance to speak, Gohan continued. "Mom... I'm sorry for raising my voice, but right now isn't the time to be talking about all of this. Right now what's most important is bringing everyone who died back to life. I have to do something to help them, I can't just sit back and do nothing."
"That kid says some pretty awesome things once in a while," Yajirobe stated, cracking a smile from Gohan's outburst.
"Chi-Chi," Ox-King stated as he walked over to his daughter. Moving slowly, he gently placed a hand on her. "He's got you beat this time. Let Gohan go off into space. He'll be fine with Krillin and the others."
"Gohan never would have talked back like that before," Goku thought while smiling at his son. "Just how much did you change while with Piccolo?"
Bulma, sensing that Chi-Chi was still upset, walked over to the woman and tried to reassure her. "Everything will be fine. We'll take good care of him. Besides, there's not going to be any danger this time. Think of it as a field trip for him."
"Well, it could be a good chance for Gohan to study about other planets," Chi-Chi said, trying to help convince herself that it wouldn't be that bad. Finally giving in, she let out a sigh. "Alright, he can go to Namek."
"Great," Bulma replied while snapping her fingers. "We'll meet up at Kame House in exactly ten days then."
"This huge house is yours!" Gokai shouted as he arrived at his family's house. It wasn't really that large, but to Gokai it was a mansion. In the front, there was a white hut which was both the entrance and kitchen. Right behind it was a rectangular building which had the bedrooms in the house. To the right of the hut was another rectangular building, but this one was smaller and was the living room.
"Oh, it isn't that large," Chi-Chi replied as she opened the kitchen door. "It's just the perfect size for a small family."
Once the door was fully opened, the two boys sprinted into the house. "Come on, Gokai, I'll show you the bedroom," Gohan said as he led the boy into the house. "We only have two bedrooms, so we're going to have to share a room."
Gohan opened the door to his room to show Gokai. The room had a large bookshelf in it filled with large books for Gohan. Next to the bookshelf was a wooden desk located right in front of a window Peering out of the window, Gokai noticed the beautiful view of the forest. Finally, Gokai's eyes wandered onto two beds that were on the other side of the room.
"Like it?" Gohan asked as he placed Gokai's one single bag down. There wasn't anything in there except for an extra Gi that Mr. Popo had made during his training. "It isn't much, but it's something."
"It's more than I imagined," Gokai replied as he laid down on the same bed with his bag. Between all of the traveling and staying on random planets, Gokai had ever had a bed to himself. "You know, this is the first time I can say I have my own bed."
Just then, the two boys could hear Chi-Chi yelling from down the halls. "Boys! Come into the kitchen for a moment!"
Gulping at the command, the two boys looked at each other wondering what they had done. Deciding that it wasn't wise to keep her waiting, the duo took off for the kitchen. Upon entering, they were surprised to see a set of clippers and scissors on the table.
"If you two are heading into space, you have to look presentable," she said, motioning them to sit down. Once they were seated, she placed a cloth over each of them. "We don't want to make the wrong first impressions with these Namekians. We want them to think Earth is filled with young bright citizens," she explained before cutting off a piece of Gohan's hair.
Ten days came and went in a flash, and before everyone knew it, it was time to leave for Namek. Bulma, Yamcha and Krillin were already waiting in front of the spaceship, travel bags already loaded onto the ship. Bulma had spent the past week fixing it up, and it looked incredible. The outside no longer had any moss growing on it and a new piece of glass replaced the old window. Inside, four more chairs were added for the others so that they could have a place to sit.
"Wow, can we really get to planet Namek in this thing?" Krillin asked as he inspected the ship while waiting. He was dressed in a green jacket with yellow sleeves that were marked with the turtle symbol, white pants, orange boots and a blue and red hat that had his name written on it.
Bulma just closed her eyes and looked away as she couldn't stand his outfit. She was dressed in a yellow and white spacesuit and had also cut her hair so that it was only to her neck. "After all the work my father and I put into it, how can you even ask a question like that?" She then turned around and got an even better look of his outfit. "You really dressed properly for outer space," she mocked him while pointing at Yamcha. "At least he's dressed in a space suit."
Yamcha likewise was in a similar spacesuit just like Bulma. He too had shorter hair, but it was due to Bulma's influence. She always did like men with shorter hair. He didn't really mind though, it was practically the same as the style he had for the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, just a little longer in the back and not kept as neat.
Looking up in the sky, Yamcha wondered what was taking the others so long to get here. "Where are they? We should have already left by now."
"Relax, Yamcha," Krillin told his friend as he leaned against Kame house. "They just went to see Goku before leaving. They should be here any moment," he stated before an approaching hover car caught his eye. "Speaking of which, here they are now."
"At least now we can get going," Bulma stated, sounding a bit impatient. She stood next to the ship, waiting for their car to land. However, the surprise from seeing the two boys caused her to fall over.
Jumping out of the hover car, it was obvious their appearances had changed in the past ten days. Not only were they both wearing suits, but their hair had been cut as well. Gokai's hair didn't seem to be that different. It appeared to be a much tamer version of what he had before. Instead of running down the back of his neck, it stopped right at the end of his head. Also, instead of shooting off on the sides of his head, it was now spiked backwards at a ninety degree angle so that there was none flying off in different directions. Gohan on the other hand was different.
Krillin and Yamcha couldn't help themselves. Without realizing it, they both started to laugh at their friend's only son. "G-Gohan, what happened to your hair?" Krillin asked as he tried to stop laughing. Gohan's hair was vastly different. It was now similar to a bowl cut with all the hair that used to flow down his back having been cut off.
"I said the same thing," Gokai stated as he grabbed his one and only bag from the hover car. He didn't have a clue why he brought it. The only possession of his was an extra Gi. "Then she tried to cut mine the same way. We eventually agreed on this."
"Good choice," Yamcha responded as he wiped a tear away from his eye. "Yours looks a little better."
"Say what you will," Chi-Chi started to say as she huffed off the criticism. "But, like I told them, thus us the first time mankind is going to Namek. We need to make good first impressions."
Getting up off of the ground, Bulma sighed. "Well, if everyone is here now, we might as well get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can all return to our normal lives."
Getting onto the platform, the group of five waited as it started to ascend upwards. "This is going to be pretty exciting, don't you guys think?" Krillin asked as the platform finally reached the bottom of the ship. Looking into place, the opening in the floor vanished.
"Yeah, who'd have thought we would be going into space!" Yamcha cried out before getting slapped by Bulma. "Hey, Bulma, what was that for!?"
"Don't forget why we're even doing this," she stated, sounding agitated this time. "We need to bring everyone back to life. We don't have time to enjoy ourselves. Everyone just sit down and strap yourselves in."
"What's her deal?" Gokai asked Yamcha as he tugged on the former bandit's spacesuit. "And what's with the hideous suit?"
"Hideous?" Yamcha asked as he gave off a fake laugh. He wasn't too keen on it either, but just like with his hair, he wore it to please Bulma. "Don't you know this suit is amazing? Besides, have you looked in a mirror? But, I don't know why she's mad," he answered before sitting down.
Bulma sat down in the main chair as she grabbed a hold of the controls. In the week that passed, she had created a device that translated English into Namekian and vice versa after it was taking too long for her to understand the basics of the alien language. "Five seconds until launch, destination: Planet Namek," she stated into the device.
The ship launched right off, rocketing through the atmosphere until it broke free of Earth's orbit.
"W-Wait!" Krillin cried out as he struggled to get strapped in. Looking to his right, he could tell Gohan was all set, but Gokai wasn't as fortunate. The young half-Saiyan was hanging onto the arm of his chair. "We're not ready yet. We still need to fasten our seatbelts."
Paying no attention to the former monk, Bulma watched out the window as her surroundings changed into the vast unknown of space. Pushing a button on the control panel, the genius stood up. "You don't need to stay fastened in any longer. Now that we've left Earth's atmosphere, everything will be calm enough for us to walk around."
"Already?" Gohan asked as he jumped out of his seat. Running over to the large window, he positioned himself so that he could get a look at the Earth. "I wish I had a camera to get a picture of the Earth. Who knows if I'll ever see it like this again."
"I'm going to change," Bulma told them as she opened the only door on the ship. "Don't even try to do anything funny," she sternly told them before looking at Yamcha. "That includes you." Bulma then slammed the door behind her, leaving the four boys to themselves.
Krillin just stared at the door in confusion. "What would she be changing into, pajamas? She couldn't be going to bed already, could she?" He asked the others, only to get shrugs in response.
Getting out of his seat, Yamcha stood up and started to take his suit off in front of everyone else. "Now that she's taking hers off, I'll do the same." Under his spacesuit, he already had a change of clothes on. They were a white long sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
"Now that I think of it, I didn't bring any other clothes besides my Gi," Krillin stated as he dug around through his bag. "I don't know what I was thinking. At least it's not a suit like you two," he playfully teased the two half-Saiyans.
"Well, the only thing in my bag is a Gi, but Gohan taught me a trick into fooling Aunt Chi-Chi," Gokai started to explain as the duo took their suits off followed by their undershirts. Under their clothes were the same Gis they had worn against the Saiyans, only new versions without any holes in them.
"Yeah, I figured this way we'd have something comfortable to wear," Gohan said while folding his clothes up nicely in comparison to Gokai's balled up clothes. "She doesn't want the Namekians to think of us as fighters."
Noticing Gohan's Gi fully for the first time. It was an exact replica of Piccolo's but with a piece of white fabric around his neck. Also, Gohan had added the symbol for the demon clan onto the back of it and a smaller one on the front just like those of the Turtle School. "You really admire Piccolo to not only want to be the one who wishes him back, but to also wear his colors and symbol."
"Yeah, almost as I do for my dad," Gohan replied as he inspected the Gi. "You see, my original one had this symbol as well, but Piccolo left it off when we fought the Saiyans. I like it better this way."
Just then, the door Bulma had closed reopened and she walked out. She was now dressed in a pair of black pants and a yellow vest. "Oh, you're finally changed," Krillin stated as he gave Bulma a strange look. "Those are some of the funniest looking pajamas I've ever seen."
"Yeah, they don't look very comfortable to sleep in," Gohan added onto Krillin's statement.
Bulma just stared at them, not believing how clueless they were acting. "These aren't pajamas! I was just tired of being the only person dressed properly for space," she explained to the group before sitting down.
"But, Bulma, I was in a spacesuit as well," Yamcha chimed in, hoping to make Bulma just a little bit happier if at all.
Bulma sighed as she waved her hand at her boyfriend. "That doesn't count. I had to force you to wear it. Now, keep it down so I can relax!"
"I swear, one of us might not be making it to Namek," Gokai joked to the group. "I don't know how much more of this attitude I'll be able to take."
"Are we there yet?" Bulma asked as she woke up from a nap. The group of five had been traveling for about a week, but it felt a lot longer than that. It didn't help that they couldn't tell when a day ended. "I'm dying of boredom."
Seeing that Gohan and Krillin were sitting on the floor facing each other with their eyes shut, Bulma knew they wouldn't answer her. Gokai was off meditating in the corner and Yamcha was by himself sitting in front of the window. Looking to Yamcha, she noticed that he was drenched in sweat. "What have you guys been doing in here? There isn't enough space to do any kind of training."
"It's known as image training," Yamcha started to explain as he wiped the sweat off of his face. "It's a way to train your mind through the use of images."
"Great explanation, Yamcha," Bulma replied sarcastically. If anything, Yamcha just confused her even more. Sitting down next to him, Bulma pulled out a can of soda and drank from it. "I wonder what that Saiyan is doing right now."
"W-why would you care what he's up to?" Yamcha asked, having partially forgotten about Vegeta. "For all we know, he could have died while escaping in his pod. He was badly beaten."
"No, he's still out there," Gokai answered as he opened his eyes. Getting out of his meditation, he slowly walked over to the couple. "My father told me stories about Vegeta. He wouldn't be defeated so easily. If anything, he holding on, probably heading to a base."
"Base?" The two humans asked as they eyed the young half-Saiyan.
"Yeah, base. You honestly didn't think he was working with just Nappa and my father," he replied before grabbing a drink for himself. "They were part of a larger group. It spanned thousands of different races. The organization kept a handful of the planets as bases for any members who got injured."
"So, he could come with more backup!" Yamcha nervously cried out. He had started sweating again once he heard that there were thousands of more soldiers. "Would we even stand a chance against them?"
Gokai took a sip of his soda before answering. "Relax, Vegeta is considered one of the strongest there. Plus, most of them dislike the Saiyans for some reason. They'd never help him."
"Well, there's that. We should expect to see Vegeta sometime soon," Bulma said, getting up and taking a look at the ship. "But, for now, you two should really clean this ship up. It's starting to get to be a mess."
Looking around, Gokai frowned at the interior of the ship. Most of it was spotless except for the area where Bulma usually slept. That one spot of the entire ship was covered in trash. "I'm not cleaning it. That's all your trash," he replied before walking off, leaving Yamcha alone with Bulma.
"H-he does have a point, Bulma. That is all from you," he replied as kindly as he could, trying to stay off her bad side. "Maybe you should clean it up."
"I can't, I'm busy doing important things right now," she answered before walking away. Pausing for a second, Bulma turned around and faced Yamcha. "Besides, you should be willing to help your girlfriend out."
Sighing, Yamcha knew it was useless to argue with Bulma. Once her mind was set there was no changing it. "I know, it's just you never helped when we were cleaning our messes."
"Listen, Yamcha, if it wasn't for me we wouldn't be getting to Namek right now. The least you four can do is help keep this place clean," Bulma answered, sounding a little agitated.
Picking up a trash bag, Yamcha started to collect all of the garbage. "But, I wonder if what Gokai said was right. That Vegeta is healing up at a base somewhere."
"I don't see why it wouldn't be true. They captured planets, it wouldn't be that strange if they kept a few to build bases on them. But, alive or not, he isn't someone we want setting his sights on Earth again," Bulma stated as she sat in the pilot's chair, looking out the window.
Little did the group know just how correct Gokai actually was. In the darkness of space, a white space pod traveled through the universe, on course to reach a distant planet. Upon seeing a small planet off in the distance, the pod started to slow down, the auto pilot having been turned on once it left Earth.
On the planet was a large compound which covered most of the surface. The compound was white with multiple buildings extending off of it. Each building was built in different shapes and sizes, showing off its strange design.
"Huh, someone has shown up on the radar!" A soldier stated as he walked over to the alarm. He was dressed in armor similar to Vegeta's, but his was a different color. He was humanoid like, but his skin color was a light purple.
"I-is it Lord Frieza?" The second soldier next to him asked. This one had the same exact armor on, but instead looked like a lizard creature. His head was horizontally elongated and his skin was a dark purple with orange spots over it.
"It couldn't be, he just left not too long ago," the first soldier answered as he looked at the device. "It's coming in as a space pod, so it's a soldier."
Gasping at the radar, the second soldier read the signal that was being broadcasted. "It's Vegeta, but, we never received any notice that he was on his way. Could something have happened to him?"
His partner wasn't listening, instead he was talking over their communication system letting the others know of the prince's arrival. "Yes, this is the control room. Vegeta is about to arrive, send a group to meet him at the landing site immediately."
Waiting at the platform were three soldiers all dressed in the same manner, the standard armor given to all soldiers along with a scouter. They watched as one pod landed on the platform.
"H-he's alone!" One of the soldiers stated as he walked up to the pod. "What could have happened to Nappa?"
No one answered. To the higher ups in the organization, Nappa was an average warrior, but to the majority of soldiers he was powerful. They never pictured a day where something could have happened to the mighty Saiyan.
"Wh-what's going on? Why hasn't he come out yet!?" The second soldier asked as they continued to wait for the prince.
The third soldier's scouter started to go off, alerting them to the situation. "His life signs are dangerously low! He needs help immediately!"
The three soldiers ran over to the pod and looked through the window. On the inside was not what they were expecting at all. Laying unconscious was a badly beaten Vegeta, cuts and dried up blood covering his body and destroyed armor.
"He's on life support!" The original soldier cried out before opening the pod. "Let's get him to the treatment center immediately."
Hours passed as Vegeta recovered from his near death experience. Sitting inside one of the many medical machines that the organization owned, the Saiyan prince felt all of his previous injuries be healed thanks to the healing liquid.
Standing in front of the machine was a being who looked to be a reptilian of some kind. He had scaly skin that was light green in color. For armor, his had what appeared to be a cloak that hung around it.
"Alright, he should be all healed by now," the man said as he pushed a few buttons. The machine started to make a lot of noise as the liquid inside of it was drained. Once empty, the oxygen mask popped off of Vegeta's face as the machine opened up. "You're fully healed now, Vegeta. You can open your eyes."
Doing as he was told, the Saiyan prince opened his eyes and walked out of the healing machine. He paid no attention to the creature who oversaw his recovery and instead made his way over to the new set of armor waiting for him.
"It's good to see you feeling better. It's a shame that Nappa didn't survive as well," the medic stated, trying to have small talk with the Saiyan. Seeing that it was heading nowhere, he decided to get right to the facts. "All of your injuries are healed except for your tail. We were unable to regenerate it."
"It'll grow back in time," Vegeta coldly stated before placing the armor over his body. "This isn't the first time I've lost my tail." Having finished getting ready, Vegeta faced towards the medic. "Tell me, where's Frieza."
"He recently departed for another planet," the medic explained as another bit of information appeared in his mind. "That reminds me. Cui said that he needed to speak with you once you were finished healing."
"Is that so? You can tell him that I don't waste my time on a weakling like him," Vegeta calmly stated while walking out of the room.
Noticing the scouter left on the table, the medic picked it up and yelled out to the Saiyan. "Sir! You forgot your scouter!" He waited for a response, only for none to come.
"First thing in the morning, I'll head to Namek and use their Dragon Balls to wish for immortality. Then, I'll return to Earth and make sure I don't leave anything remaining," Vegeta thought to himself as he walked down a hallway, only to be stopped by a purple skinned alien.
"So, Vegeta," the alien started to say. He had the same familiar armor that everyone else had along with a green scouter. He seemed to be an amphibious like creature based on his skin. "I heard you had quite a rough time recently. I was told that both Raditz and Nappa have been killed. What being could possible stop the invincible Saiyans?" He mocked Vegeta as they stood facing each other.
"Out of my way, Cui," Vegeta demanded of the soldier. During his time in the organization, he had never been too fond of Cui, or practically anyone to be precise. "I don't have time to play your stupid games."
Cui grabbed the prince by his shoulder however, keeping him from walking around him. "Hold on there, I have some information you might like. Frieza was pretty upset with you after you disobeyed his orders and went to Earth."
"I don't care. Frieza isn't here at the moment so remove your filthy hand!" Vegeta demanded before he manually removed the appendix.
"Don't be in a rush, Vegeta," Cui playfully teased as he continued on. "Frieza seems to have forgiven you because of your sensational discovery."
"What discovery?" Vegeta asked, his suspicion rising now. Out of everything it could be, he hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. If Frieza got his hands on the Dragon Balls and wished for immortality, Vegeta's life would be a living nightmare.
"The fact that there are wish granting orbs located not too far from here," Cui explained as he removed his hand. "Frieza was excited at the prospect of eternal youth and is heading straight for Namek as we speak."
"Damn it!" Vegeta thought to himself as he tried to figure out any possible ways that Frieza could have learned about the Dragon Balls. "I must have been careless and left the communication feature on. He was listening to everything that happened on Earth. If I don't get the Dragon Balls before him, I'll be his puppet for eternity!"
"Vegeta, I know you from years of working alongside you," Cui started to say as he placed his hands on his hips. "It's best to just give up and allow Frieza his wish. After all, once he gets his wish granted, he's going to kill every Namekian on the planet."
Hearing this news, Vegeta's anger started to rise until he got to the point where he sprinted off down the hall. Reaching an exit, the Saiyan prince rushed to his space pod and immediate set the course for Namek.
"I won't let you get away with this, Frieza!" he yelled to himself as his pod shot off into space. "Immortality belongs to me, and I'll make sure that is what happens!"
Next Time: The group arrives on Namek, only to realize they're not the only ones searching for the Dragon Balls. With the arrival of Vegeta shortly after they land plus whoever the enormous power level belongs to will make this hunt even harder than it was.
Thank you to everyone who has continued to read this story and support it. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and didn't like and how I can improve.
Also, with March Madness continuing on, there might be only one update this week. Unfortunately for myself, I ended up getting every 1st round game correct, except the game where I had my winner playing in. I picked Michigan St. to win the whole thing and they lost. Anyways, if another chapter does get posted, expect it sometime Saturday night.
