DRAGONBALL GT: REVISED

Chapter Twelve – "More Money, More Problems"

In the course of a single day, his world had crumbled around him. Literally.

The young boy limped his way through what remained of the wrecked streets, struggling to climb over debris, abandoned vehicles, and even bodies. He eventually reached a high point, ascending a pile of rubble to attain a good view of the surrounding landscape. Despite it all, Dibbet remained a truly beautiful planet. He could still see the rolling hills of purplish-blue grass, the trees which reached above with their puffy, wind-scattered branches atop tall, flexible trunks, the distant great lakes which shimmered in the morning sun and whose waves lapped against the rocky cliffs with the breeze, and most wondrous of all, the luminescent crystals within the rock, which bathed the entirety of the vast cliff sides in a soothing blue glow at night as they absorbed the light of the moon.

Dibbet's moon had, eons ago, been viewed and worshiped as a caring and protective deity, always watching over her people in the dark of night and casting her heavenly protection upon them. In the past thousands of years, the Dibbetan people had all but outgrown such old myths, though still held no less of a deep appreciation for its beauty and light. So, it was a cruel twist of fate, all things considered, that the moon would become the herald of her people's destruction.

It was just two nights ago when this all started. The sky was clear, and the moon and the crystals were casting their usual glow over everything and everyone. All was peaceful. Until suddenly, in the middle of the night, they arrived.

There were five. The night watch had reported seeing five small, spherical, unassuming objects, obviously spacecraft in hindsight, fall from the sky on streaks of red light, crashing down off on the horizon with a thunderous boom. It had awoken everyone in the city, who began to wonder what was going on and whether or not they should go looking for the new visitors. But they never got the chance.

The boy had seen it from this very same vantage point on that first night. Everyone in the town had. There was no time allowed to make sense of the situation or identify the newcomers. Nobody had even seen their faces. For, mere minutes after they had arrived, they changed. What had presumably been normal-sized people suddenly grew and transformed into hideous, towering beasts, covered in fur and with glowing red eyes, gaping fang-filled maws, and beastly hands which could - and did - shatter the beautiful cliffs in a single blow. They breathed beams of deathly light, which scattered out in all directions like a rain of fire, demolishing much of the landscape around them. Hundreds in the city had been killed just in that first night, but those who remained breathed sighs of woeful relief as the distant monsters stampeded in the opposite direction.

Their respite from the destruction didn't last long, however. The monsters spent the entire day thereafter stomping across the planet, relentlessly following the night and the moon as they thoroughly destroyed every single trace of civilization they could find. Survivors and escapees tried to stay ahead of them, and many who reached the boy's home city recounted their situations and described the monsters. Despite their beast-like savagery, they still seemed somehow intelligent. There was a sense of purpose and direction in what they were doing, as they meticulously and carefully took as much time as they could to make sure that they killed as many of the Dibbetans they encountered as possible. What was more, they were clearly making the cities a target, often leaving nothing but craters or rubble behind. It became all too clear that they were more than just a force of nature. They were here on a mission: to wipe out the Dibbetan people.

Nothing could be done. What few space-faring capabilities the Dibbetans had were borrowed from other races in limited amounts; they had only made contact with beings from outside their world mere decades ago. The lucky few who could escape to space, did. Some fled underground, only to be crushed to death. Some fled to the mountains, only to die in those rains of fire. Most could do little more than try to stay ahead like all the others, and many of them futilely congregated in the boy's city. But now they were all dead.

The boy didn't need anyone to tell him this. He could feel it. He had always been able to feel people around him, whether they were near or far. He could recognize people he knew closely just by the unique sensation they gave him, and he could even tell if something was wrong with them by what level of vitality they radiated. He had even been the first to realize that his mother was bearing his youngest sister, when he detected the small, extra twinkle of new life resonating from within her. It was a sixth sense, as if he had a second, transcendental sense of sight and people glowed like flickering candle flames.

But now there was nobody. For the first time in his young life, the boy felt completely alone. His family, gone. His caretaker, gone. His teachers and friends, gone. He didn't dare look closely at any of the charred or broken bodies in the streets, for fear that he might recognize their now-lifeless shells.

He could only feel them, and it was a sickening feeling.

The boy didn't know for sure why he was the only one left. He had been hiding last night, like everyone else. Separated from his family, accompanied only by his caretaker. She had hidden herself along with him in a basement, holding him closely and desperately trying to encourage him to not be afraid while barely managing to disguise her own terror. He appreciated her efforts, as useless as they may have been, and tried his best for her sake to not pay attention to the rapidly-disappearing multitudes of lives above and around them.

Then suddenly, the entire room around them disintegrated. A bright red light enveloped the boy's entire field of vision, and stinging, burning pain encompassed every square inch of his body. He watched in horror as his caretaker was vaporized, the darkly-contrasting outline of her body disappearing out of sight as the energy burned her away to nothing in a matter of seconds.

That was the last thing the boy remembered. The next thing he knew, it was morning, and he awoke to an unsettling calm all around. He had crawled out from the dusty crater which had once been his hideaway and begun on his aimless journey through the city.

No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't aimless. He was making a beeline for them. For, in fact, there was a second element to his uniqueness. The boy was very powerful. The same life energy which he could sense from others lay within him as well. It was somewhat more difficult for the boy to detect it from himself, but it was unmistakably there. And there was a lot of it.

When he focused it, he discovered that he could do great things. He could increase his physical strength many times over what even the toughest Dibbetan adults could muster. He could expel the energy outward to light flames, clear obstacles, and perform all other sorts of useful tasks and tricks. And its ability to toughen him up was, the boy now realized, undoubtedly what allowed him to survive last night. The Dibbetans around him had called it a gift. The priests of the old ways once called it a miraculous endowment from above. The scientists usually called it a rare mutation. But most interestingly of all, the few rare alien visitors whom he'd met had called it something else entirely: Battle Power.

For the first time in his life, the boy was about to put that definition of his gift to the test. When the invaders had arrived that night, he could feel them. When they transformed, their life energy grew to such fearsome and inconceivable levels that the boy was rendered almost catatonic in terror. But now they were different. Their mighty energy had shrunk considerably. While it was now at a level still far stronger than any Dibbetan... so was the boy's.

As the boy now drew nearer and nearer to his foes, he did his best to conceal his own life energy, dulling it down and masking it as one might wrap a shade around a metaphysical lantern. He took down to his hands and knees and slowly, quietly began to crawl atop a crumbled segment of rock, formerly a part of the city's outer wall. He peered over top of it and for the first time laid his eyes upon the killers of his people.

All five of them were lounging about, relaxing in the morning sunlight of the dawn after their slaughter. Though apparently all of the same race, they were of different shapes and sizes. A tall male. A medium male. A bulky male. A fat male. A slender female. They had tails like the boy and every other former Dibbetan, though theirs were somewhat shorter and covered in bushy fur, and the near-similarities ended there. Instead of the uniformly regal, light blue skin of the Dibbetan race, these creatures were assorted shades of pink and tan and grey. They had small, protruding ears compared the majestic, dome-like lobes of Dibbetan skulls, and their heads were, for the most part, adorned with crazily-shaped, dark hair.

The boy was normally a peaceful, happy lad. But having your race annihilated literally overnight can change you. Now, for possibly the first time in his life, he was seething with anger and hatred. It didn't matter to him that he had nowhere to go, nor that there was nobody left to save. Even the very real and likely possibility that he wouldn't win could deter him. He was bent on revenge. He would kill these people and avenge his dead race. It was all he COULD do.

In one sudden burst of effort, the boy screamed. He brought all his energy back up to the surface as he jumped up from his hiding place and charged, running headfirst towards the group. He evidently succeeded in surprising them, as they could do little more than turn to look at him as he attacked. The boy lunged at the closest one to him, the fat one leaning against the hillside. He caught the brute unprepared as he was still attempting to stand and turn around, landing a powerful punch to his flabby jawline.

"Oof!"

The others leaped to their feet as their comrade was heaved backwards by the blow and landed on his rear. They made no move to act as the boy lurched forward, still intent on the one he'd attacked, and merely closed the gap to surround the two of them. One of them, the tall, calm-looking one, was the first to speak.

"Well, what do we have here?" he said. "I was positive we'd wiped out all the natives. We nuked everything and everyone we found!"

The female reached up to her face and operated some sort of device she wore over her left ear and eye. It beeped for a few seconds and displayed some sort of numeric reading.

"Well, this might explain it," she said. "His Battle Power rating is just over three thousand."

"That's far higher than any other natives we came across," the bald, tough-looking one declared. "They were all weaklings. He must be some sort of mutant prodigy to have power like that."

"No kidding?" The fat one exclaimed, back on his feet. "Well, too bad. It's not enough!"

In one mighty, surprisingly swift movement, he jumped forward and landed a powerful sweeping punch to the boy's stomach. The young Dibbetan was downed immediately and fell to his knees while clutching his stomach in agony. A moment later, and the sole of the fat alien's boot was suddenly atop his head, pinning it to the ground and getting increasingly heavier by the second. The boy made no effort to resist, just as much from finally realizing the futility as from his immobilizing pain.

"Thanks a bunch, kid," the fat one mockingly told him. "You saved us the trouble of doing quality control. So long!" He began to press down even harder.

"Wait."

The fat alien halted and considerably lessened the pressure on the young Dibbetan's skull. He then turned to face the medium-sized male with wild hair, evidently their leader, who had just spoken.

"Yeah, Bardock?"

"Don't kill him," he commanded. "I've got a better idea."


Redgic was jolted back to attention when he sensed it.

Two very noticeably strong powers, and they were close. He was somewhat surprised at their sudden appearance, since, due to his meditation, he should have detected them coming while they were much, much further away than that. Then he realized the reason. It wasn't that the powers had not existed before then, just that they had only now become large enough to sense. That was intriguing.

He remained in his cross-legged sitting position, facing the sun. His tail whipped back and forth in an instinctive effort to cool itself and the rest of him, and he tried to ignore the beads of sweat upon his head as he continued to meditate. Here on the small, dry planet closest to this star system's sun, the harsh and hot conditions were perfect for such an activity, to fine-tune and focus his Ki. Redgic's frequent trips to this barren rock made his boring job on the other barren rock almost worthwhile.

He expanded his senses outward, in the direction of the large powers. After a moment or two of focus, he determined their actual position. They were two planets over, on the third, most hospitable world of the system and on the opposite side of Imegga from Redgic. They were seemingly engaged in combat of some form or another, though only between themselves. Redgic decided that, at the moment, they weren't worth worrying about or interrupting his training over. Regardless, he still had a job to do, and so he kept an "eye" on them. If they decided to actually approach Imegga, then he would, as was duly expected of him, head there as well. For the time being, however, he turned his attention back to his meditation.

He tried, at least. But no matter what, he was now distracted and puzzled over his prior, unexpected train of thought. Why had such old, unpleasant memories resurfaced now?


Several hours later, there was more watching from a distance going on, though this time by several people within a somewhat smaller range.

Pan and Trunks sat high atop the cliff, looking down from its peak upon the sprawling Imeggan "city" below them. The term "city" could only be used very loosely, as it was made up of little more than vast arrays of shacks, many interconnected and stacked upon each other. Half of it was built alongside and even upon the steep cliffs themselves, reflecting how the native Imeggans were given very little room to live. Not surprising, since Imegga's land was apparently considered so valuable.

Right now, in particular, the land was being treated with far more respect than its inhabitants. A veritable battalion of Don Kia's private army were in the process of sweeping through the settlement, roughing up the natives and tearing apart homes in search of the three threatening visitors who'd arrived that afternoon. But they wouldn't find them anywhere now.

As Trunks somberly watched the situation below, Pan was more focused on something else. She sat on the ground as she held the small, troublesome robot whom they'd met and Trunks had repaired only ten minutes ago. She was quite annoyed and shook the little fellow violently as she spoke to it.

"Come on, you jerk!" she yelled. "Give us back our Dragon Radar!"

"Gigigigigigi!" It winced in protest. "Materials absorbed! Materials absorbed!"

"Pan!" Trunks scolded her before snatching the robot away. He examined it closely. "There's no need to be so rough on him. Artificial intelligences have feelings, too."

"You're just going easy on him 'cuz you fixed him," she sulked.

"Yeah, maybe," he admitted. "But even so, the more damage he takes, the less likely it is that I may be able to open him up and get the Dragon Radar back later. If we really have to, we can always go back to Earth for a new one. It'd only take my mom a few days to build, at most."

"But we already said goodbye and everything," Pan lamented. "It'd be so lame. Besides, my dad might notice that my mom didn't pack ALL the school books he thought she did..."

At that moment, they were rejoined by Goku, who zipped into existence beside them seemingly out of thin air. He lowered his hand from his forehead and turned to address them.

"Yep," he informed them. "I saw the same thing happenin' in all the other Imeggan towns."

"And you're sure nobody noticed you?" Trunks inquired, as he handed the robot back to Pan. "It'd be bad if they saw any hint of us."

"Nope, I was careful," Goku assured him. "I kept my Ki hidden too, in case anyone had scouters."

"Good. It was a close enough call escaping from the old couple's home on such short notice," Trunks recounted. "We're lucky you can still use Instant Movement even though your body's been changed."

"Of course I can teleport," Goku remarked, a bit confused. "Why couldn't I?"

"So what are we going to do now?" Pan asked. "Without the Dragon Radar to tell us exactly where the ship is, our plan is too risky."

Beep. Beep.

"That's right, we can't just charge in headfirst, Ki blasts blazing," Trunks pondered, folding his arms in thought. "If it takes us a long time to find the ship, then who knows what they might do to it while we're occupied fighting them."

Beep. Beep.

"And sneakin' around to look for it would probably take too long too," Goku figured. "By then, all the soldiers would be back an' we'll have missed our shot."

Beep. Beep.

"Oh, will you shut up?" Pan snapped at the robot again. "It's your fault we're in this mess now, so don't make things worse with your constant stupid beeping."

Beep. Beep.

"Hey, wait a second," Goku suddenly realized something. "That sounds familiar."

"You don't suppose..." Trunks hastily stepped over and took the robot from Pan once again, looking it over. After a moment or two of pensive confusion, he flipped the robot around to examine its back - upon which, just then, a large circular panel opened up to reveal a very familiar, green, grid-like readout.

Beep. Beep.

Blinking upon the screen in rhythm with the beeps was a single, large yellow dot. Next to it was a small arrow containing the number, '2.'

"It's the Dragon Radar!" Pan was the first to state the obvious.

"Incredible!" Trunks exclaimed. He turned the robot back over and spoke to it. "So you can install the functions of whatever devices you eat? That's amazing!"

"Dragon Radar, integrated!" it replied, almost gleefully. "Dragon Radar, integrated!"

"Looks like the plan's back on, guys!" Goku wore a renewed expression of determination as he pounded his fist into his hand. "We'd better hurry before it's too late!"


The large, angular shoulder blades on the new model uniforms certainly looked intimidating. But regardless of how easily they bended and stretched, they seemed so obtrusive and unnecessary. He raised up one arm to check, and his worries were confirmed.

"What do you think, Redgic?"

The teenaged Dibbetan turned around. The being who had just joined him in the outpost locker room and spoken was a comrade of his - an alien with purple skin and a fish-like face who was younger than himself by only a few years.

"Kwi," Redgic noted, before turning back to look at his own uniform and raising his arm. "I don't like it. The shoulder blades hit my ears."

"Haha," the whisker-chinned youth remarked in his usual snitty manner. "Well, I guess they can't please everyone, with so many different races working for Lord Freeza."

"I suppose not," Redgic dryly answered. "I'll just stick to the older models."

"Suit yourself," Kwi shrugged, casually opening his own locker. He then turned his head and spoke to Redgic again, this time with a more intense and eager tone. "Oh! But speaking of races worse off, guess what happened this morning?"

"What?" Redgic humored him, not particularly paying any actual attention.

"The Saiyans got wiped out!"

That attitude changed now. Redgic paused for a moment.

"... What?"

"The report came right from Lord Freeza himself!" Kwi explained. "The planet was hit head-on by a giant meteor! What are the odds of that?"

"..."

"They're still taking a headcount of any survivors, but so far the only ones they know for sure are Prince Vegeta and that muscle-head steward of his. It just HAD to be that runt, didn't it?"

"..."

"Serves 'em right, if you ask me," Kwi chipperly continued as he rummaged through his belongings. "I never did like those dirty monkeys. Always bragging about their power, letting it get to their heads that a FEW of them had gotten so strong. I can't wait to rub it in little princey-boy's face lat-"

"Enough!"

Kwi jumped a bit at the sudden, uncharacteristic display of emotion from Redgic. He watched in stunned and equally-rare silence as his teammate slammed his locker shut so hard that he almost broke it, then walked away without a word, exiting the room out into the outpost's hallways.

"Yeesh," remarked a short, bulbous alien from the other side of the room. "What's gotten on his nerves all of a sudden?"

"Shut up, Cado."

"No, I'm Avo," the plump blue being replied in annoyance, before pointing to his red-skinned brother beside him. "He's Cado."

"Don't care. Shut up anyway."


"Where is he?"

"W-we still don't know, sir." The guard was taken aback by his boss' temper tantrum. He didn't really know why. After five years of working for him on this planet, one would think anyone would get used to Don Kia's selfish little outbursts. "We haven't seen him since he landed."

"Well, look harder!" Don Kia continued to belt as the two briskly walked down one of the expensively adorned hallways of his luxurious estate. "If he's on this planet, then I want him in front of me within ten minutes! How can you not find someone as strong as Redgic with those power-scanning devices of yours?"

"Sir, like we've detailed before, Mister Redgic is capable of somehow masking his Battle Power," the guard tried to explain for the dozenth time. "If he does that, then there's no way for our scouters t-"

"I don't want excuses, I want Redgic!" The billionaire brat stopped in place, turned to face the guard, and stamped his foot like a child. "You idiots have failed to track down these new intruders, and for all we know they're already on their way here to kill me! So if I don't have my only actual worthwhile bodyguard in front of me within ten minutes, then I swear I'm going to have each and every one of you fired out of a-"

"I'm right here."

Both individuals leapt in fright at the sudden sound of the calm and low, but authoritative, voice. They turned to see Redgic standing off to their left, leaning against the wall of a small side hallway with his arms folded. He stood up straight to face them and spoke again.

"What's going on?"

"Ah, Redgic, good!" Don Kia happily but anxiously addressed him. "Well, as I was saying, we've got a small handful of intruders on the planet who crashed some distance away from the city this afternoon. We took their ship, but they were too much for Shilla and Ghel to handle in a fight." He waved his arms a bit. "So now these knuckleheads can't find them at all, and I think they may be coming after me, so you have to be on high alert in case they-"

"Don't worry," Redgic interrupted, speaking in his typical cool and commanding manner. "I noticed them earlier. I'll remain alert, so just stay inside out of danger." He began to walk away down the hall, but then paused to turn and look back over his shoulder. "And one more thing."

"Y-yes?" Don Kia timidly responded.

"Don't give me orders."


The best way they could figure it, Don Kia's palace must have been more lavish on the inside, as the outside was certainly not as glitzy and glamorous as they would have imagined. It seemed very militaristic and fortress-like in its outward design, with a stacked and layered overall structure which resembled the sturdy stacks of sheet rock one would find out in the Imeggan desert. There were very few windows, save for several large ones on a particularly bulbous section on top, almost definitely Don Kia's private living area. The entire thing sat neatly atop a huge rock mesa and was surrounded by a few smaller, separate buildings, most likely barracks or operation centers for his militia. A few wide, winding paths were set into the rock, which twisted their way around and down the landscape to the Imeggan city below and to the south.

Goku, Trunks, and Pan were quietly approaching from the east, keeping their Ki suppressed down to practically nothing. Using small, quick and undetectable bursts of mere physical strength, they made long, dashing leaps across the landscape until they finally came close to Don Kia's estate. They stopped to examine the place and determine where to go next. Goku stared up at it in wonder.

"Wow, it looks like some kinda castle," he noted. "You think he's got a throne room for himself?"

"Yeah, maybe," Trunks said, then turned to Pan. "What's it look like?"

Pan was holding the little robot and glanced down at its open back. "It looks like it's... what's this little line next to it mean, I don't know... ?"

"I haven't had much luck with castles," Goku informed them. "First one I ever saw had a Dragon Ball in it, too. But it was on fire. The whole castle was, I mean."

"That's nice, Goku," Trunks said, as he instructed Pan. "Ah, that's a new little feature, it helps show the three-dimensional coordinates, like elevation on a map..."

"Then there was another one just like it, and that caught on fire too," Goku continued idly chattering. "I think so, anyway. I might've dreamed that one. And then the next castle was all big an' spikey, and I think that one all got sucked into some sorta big, evil, magic dimension hole..."

"Grandpa, for goodness' sake," Pan scolded him again, "will you please focus? We're doing something important, here!"

"Well, I don't see why it's gotta take so long," he replied, pouting a bit.

"So if that's how it works, then," Pan examined the Dragon Radar readout, "that means the ship is under the ground?"

"Well, that explains where they all go," Trunks said. "The estate's high placement up on this mesa must mean there's some sort of storage area underneath. The whole thing is probably hollow, with how many ships he's supposedly taken."

"And I can sense people in there, too," Goku said. "Let's go!"

A few seconds later, the three Saiyans and one robot materialized inside and looked around. It was immediately obvious that Trunks was correct, and that the large cliff upon which Don Kia's luxurious dwelling sat was indeed hollow. The inside was massive, wide and open, but by no means empty. The entire cavern was divided up into three distinct layers, the middle of which they had just teleported to, by a series of round, metal, heavy-duty platforms. They extended all the way to the cavern walls, with a large round opening in the middle of each. These openings all lined up and led upwards to an enormous hatch in the cavern ceiling, which was no doubt where all the spaceships came in.

Indeed, the entire place was one big spaceship garage. A wide assortment of craft of all different shapes and sizes were arranged all throughout the area, parked upon the metal platforms. Some were sleek and aerodynamic, while for others, it seemed as if nothing short of a wish to Shenlong could ever get them off the ground. Some were shiny and appeared incredibly advanced and complicated, while others looked as if they were tossed together with scrap. As they ducked behind the large landing leg of a random, unknown cone-shaped ship, the three travelers looked around in wonder.

"Wow," Goku noted. "He's probably got more ships hoarded up in here than the ol' turtle guy's got nudie magazines!" He then smiled and laughed dryly. "Hahaha... Naw, I'm kiddin'. No way."

"Grandpa, hush," Pan held up a finger and gestured for him to be quiet. "One, because, ew. Two, because we're trying to be stealthy, remember?"

"Oh, right," Goku said, much more quietly this time. "I had t' lock on to someone in here to teleport, but I tried to make sure we were far away as I could."

"Well, it seems to have worked. We're in the clear," Trunks said, peering around. "Our helpful friend is on the other side of this level but pretty far off, and there's only... three more in here altogether."

"I see our ship!" Goku squeaked, before catching himself and quieting down again. "It's over there!"

The other two followed his pointing finger and also spied it. It was, as it was more-or-less designed to do, sitting upon its extended landing arms, off on the other side of the level. It was right upon the ledge of the round, wide opening, seeming as though it had only just recently been brought in and not yet found a "permanent" location within the hangar to sit and rot - nor would it ever.

"Good job," Trunks said. "Now, let's make sure to keep our power masked while we sneak over there. It'll be much easier to retrieve it if we aren't noticed."

The three of them, with Pan still carrying the little robot, began steadily making their way on foot around the perimeter of the level, hugging the dark corners of the cavern wall and the various parked spacecraft for cover. After a few minutes, they found themselves ducking behind a small stack of cargo containers, and with a new-found problem. The one alien security guard, whom Goku had used for teleportation purposes just prior, had managed to mosey his way over to their ship. By mere virtue of it being the newest model in the lot, he had decided to slack a bit on his patrol and idly examine it.

"Crap," Trunks whispered. "This just got a little more complicated."

"It's only one guy," Pan said. "We could easily rush him and knock him out before he does anything."

"Yeah," he replied. "But if this Don Kia guy is as paranoid as the old folks said, then who knows what other monitoring systems his guards might have in place..."

Thoroughly disinterested in all the slow-paced debating and planning, Goku began lazily looking around. He gazed up and down and got a bit dizzy from the heights of the cavern above and below them. He examined a few of the random spaceships, wondered how they worked, then stopped when it started to give him a headache. For a moment, he even found himself unable to look away from a single scraggly hair sticking up and standing out from the various tufts on top of Pan's head. But after a minute, something else caught his attention.

The ship right next to them, from which these cargo crates had evidently come, had the roughly round and concave shape of a slightly elongated, upside-down bowl. It was quite large, easily twice as expansive from front tip to back as their own vessel, and it looked fast. It had a slick, shiny chrome-like finish to its outer hull, through which only a few small windows allowed glimpses to or from the inside. The inner underside of the "bowl" was more complicated, containing not only the three landing struts which arced down and out to the ground, but scores of hatches, machines, and tools for science, war, or what have you.

But, what really stood out was the ball. From dead center within the dome-like inside of the ship, protruding straight downward and hanging but a few feet off the ground, was a big, reflective metal ball. Its purpose was a complete mystery, but it was striking - not just for its own shape, but for what lay upon it.

A big, shiny, red button.

Goku knew he shouldn't. He knew that whatever that button did, it would surely draw attention to them. He knew that, when he pressed that button, the ship's engines would rev up, or it would start shooting lasers, or blow itself up, or magically materialize a mariachi band, or Dende-only-knew-what. He already knew deep down the anger and disappointment which would come from Trunks and Pan when, if he pushed that button, their presence would be exposed. So Goku clenched his eyes shut, hardening his resolve and telling himself that, no matter what, he would not press that button.

He then opened his eyes back up to find that he already did.

Goku recoiled his hand back away from the button in shock, having evidently walked over to it in a daze and done the deed without even being consciously aware of it. He stood there for a moment, his heart racing as he glanced around nervously. Miraculously, the forbidden act seemed to have affected nothing save for the button itself, which now glowed dimly. The rest of the ship remained totally quiet and inactive.

"Grandpa!" Pan noticed him and harshly whispered from their hiding spot while waving him down. "What are you doing? Get back here!"

He nodded and began to scamper back over. But as he passed the edge of the bowl-ship, there was a sudden click, whirr, and woosh. A boarding platform folded out from its seamless position within the ship's ventral hull, arced out and down, and landed on Goku's head with considerable force. Goku was caught completely by surprise.

"Yeeeoow!"

That had done it. Goku's sudden and loud cry of pain echoed through the entire cavern, and their cover was now instantly and completely blown. The lazy guard was obviously the first to take notice, and he turned around to see Trunks and Pan react by jumping out into the open in his direction. As quickly as he could, he reached down and pressed a small button on a wrist-worn device of his. The very next second, Pan's knee made contact with his face, and he was unconscious.

But he did his job with that one little button press. It was evidently some sort of simultaneous alarm and homing beacon, and the very moment after he activated it, the entire area immediately around the Earthlings' ship was lit up with bright lights, while red emergency ones began pulsating throughout the rest of the cavern and complex above.

If Goku still had a tail, it would have been tucked between his legs in shame as he meekly walked out to join Trunks and Pan beside the ship.

"Sorry, guys..."

"Damnit, Grandpa!" Pan yelled at him, obviously no longer concerned about staying quiet. "What were you thinking?"

"We can assign blame later," Trunks cut in. "Our plan has changed, so we've got to act." He pointed to the two of them in order, assigning duties. "Pan, go inside and retrieve the four-star ball. Goku, get ready to protect the ship. I'm going to have to work quickly now to get it out of here."

"Roger!" The two of followed their orders. While still towing along the little Dragon Radar robot, Pan hovered up to press the entry button, then disappeared within the ship once it opened up. Goku flew up and landed upon its upper hull, then glanced upwards.

"Here they come!"


The resort-like outpost on Planet Freeza No. 50 was certainly majestic. Its towering and angled castle-like spires invoked an atmosphere and aesthetic of almost natural beauty, while also holding a deep sense of irony, considering what it represented. It dominated nearly every square acre of the small island upon which it lay, and was the only man-made structure in not just the general area, but also on the entire planet. Furthermore, its inhabitants were the only living, sentient beings on the planet as well. Those who commissioned its construction had made sure of that.

As was conventional for such an establishment, there was currently a high volume of spacecraft traffic coming to and from it, with larger craft hovering down and lifting up, and smaller one-man pods rocketing skyward and crashing down onto landing pads at any given time of the day. One such pod in particular was now careening towards the base, sooner than was expected.

The pod's built-in navigation system interacted with that of the base's communications array, working to not only keep the pod on course, but also to control the speed and angle of its descent. Exactly as they were designed to, the massive, pillow-like receiving pads out upon the landing deck cushioned the impact of the small sphere, while a system of high-powered electromagnetic weaving within them grappled onto it, ensuring that it would not simply bounce back up and crash disastrously. After the initial impact's energy dissipated, all was still for a moment.

Then, the narrow hatch with one small, round window in front of the pod opened up, revealing its pilot. The tall, big-eared, blue-skinned being leisurely and calmly climbed out, his long tail whipping around a bit as it reflexively recovered from the tight fit within the craft. The pilot cricked his neck once as he began walking towards the base's entrance and the small company of lower-level soldiers who stood at attention, awaiting his arrival.

"Lord Redgic," one of them spoke up. "You've returned way ahead of schedule! Was there some sort of problem with Planet Fygg?"

"No," he replied as he passed them. "No problem at all. What's all the commotion around here?"

"Lord Freeza himself has stopped by, sir," another guard answered. "His ship needed a layover for supplies and refueling on its way back to Planet Freeza No. 10."

"Is that so?" Redgic noted. He walked away, towards the wide doors leading inside. "I'll go see if I can report to him in person, then."

A short walk later, and Redgic found himself within the spacious main hall of the luxurious compound. It was a rest and recreation area, with a wide array of benches, tables, and food facilities, where guests and off-duty soldiers, such as the mere dozen or so currently present, could relax and enjoy the sights to their hearts' content. Those 'sights' were certainly worth enjoying; one massive wall of the two-story chamber was composed of entirely nothing but wide glass window panes, allowing a theater-like view of the beautiful landscape outside. The hall was at the planet's ocean level, and the windows and floor were separated by a gap several meters wide. Clear, sparkling water was allowed to flow in from outside like a natural fountain, splashing and bubbling as it went under the floor to continue on its way deep beneath the facility.

Redgic casually walked over to a spot near the window and rested his hands upon the waist-high railing which stood as a safety barrier between the floor and the water. He gazed longingly out to the serene, sunny landscape, which calmed his nerves, and he knew exactly why. Something about these islands reminded him of home. The gorgeous, expansive lake beside his home city, back on Planet Dibbet - or rather, Planet Freeza No. 219, as it was known nowadays - flashed into his memory whenever he saw this planet's expansive ocean, making it one of his favorites to return to after a mission. But his moment of peace lasted only for that: a moment.

"Redgic!"

Choosing, as always, to hide his propensity to naturally feel energy rather than rely on a scouter, Redgic acted as though he had not sensed the newcomers as he turned to face them. Before him stood a certain small group of individuals who were famous within the ranks of Freeza's forces. Immediately noticeable with his bright red skin and long, fluffy white hair was Jheese. Towering above him was the tall and dark blue-skinned reptilian named Butta. Behind them all, due to his bulk, was the muscular Recoome. Finally, in the lead in front of them all, was the purple and horn-headed alpha male of the bunch, Ginyu.

"More surprise guests," Redgic commented. "What are you all doing here?"

"We're just along for the ride with Lord Freeza right now," Jheese answered. "But we've been on a little information-gathering mission of our own at the same time."

"Or rather, a people-gathering mission!" Recoome chipperly added.

Redgic furrowed his brow a bit, seeing where this was going. "I see."

"We just received word of your conquest on Planet Fygg," Ginyu himself noted. "That was very impressive work! You wiped the whole thing clean all on your own!"

"And in less than a week, no doubt!" Butta commented. "That takes some doing!"

"So?" Redgic asked, though he already knew the answer. "What does this have to do with you?"

"Well, we talked it over, and we have come to a decision!" Ginyu extended a hand. "Congratulations, Redgic! You've officially earned yourself a spot on the Ginyu Special Squad!"

Redgic was unamused. "... The what?"

"An elite squad comprised of Lord Freeza's strongest and most talented soldiers!" Recoome enthusiastically explained. "Alone, we're already living wrecking machines!"

"But together as a team," Butta said, "we'll be absolutely unstoppable!"

"... No thanks," Redgic said, attempting to turn back to the scenery.

"Wait, don't answer yet!" Ginyu protested. "Let's show him, boys!"

At his signal, all four of them jumped back and spread out a few meters to allow themselves more room. One by one, they each announced themselves and struck a pose.

"Recoome~!" On the right side of the formation, the orange-haired brute leaned and extended his arms out to his left.

"Butta~!" The blue giant mirrored his movements.

"Jheese~!" Right next to Butta, the shortest member knelt down on one knee and raised his arms in a 'Y' shape.

"Ginyu~!" Finally, the leader stood in the middle... backwards, leaning down to show his face beneath his own butt.

"Together, we are... !"

Speaking in unison, they each all shifted closer together in one fluid movement. Recoome turned around, facing his back to Redgic and looking over his shoulder. Butta stood up high on one leg, his arms spread wide. Jheese pumped one fist straight up into the air. Finally, Ginyu (thankfully) turned back and squat down, spreading his arms out to each side.

"… The Ginyu Special Squad!"

Redgic was speechless out of exasperation, as Ginyu spoke up again. He pointed to his right.

"The pose still isn't done yet," he pointed out. "It'll look a lot better once we've got a fifth guy to be on my right. That's where you come in!" He extended a hand outwards. "You're a rare prodigy, Redgic, born with extraordinary potential for power, just like us! We're sure you'll do splendidly as the team's long-sought-after final member!"

"No."

"Hey hey hey," Recoome was feeling insulted now. "You didn't even think about it!"

"I don't need to," Redgic sternly responded once more. "Your whole ordeal is ridiculous. And you all know that I work alone."

"Excuse me?" Jheese exclaimed. "Ridiculous?"

"I don't think you know what's going on, here!" Even the normally cheerful Ginyu was getting agitated now. "Or whom you're so boldly turning down!"

"I know exactly what's going on," Redgic retorted, obviously annoyed himself as well, though maintaining his cool and composed demeanor. "Still sore about losing out to Sauzer, are we? I see you're looking to form a bigger and better team than his to make up for it?"

"Why you... !"

"Nobody else around aside from Freeza himself and his clan even approach your power, Ginyu," he continued. "So you surround yourself with a multitude of second-rate peons to compensate."

"Hey!" Recoome snapped. "Who are you callin' a peon?"

"So I'll tell you the same thing I told Sauzer when he made the same proposal to me. I have no interest in petty, meaningless 'teams' which serve no practical purpose other than putting on a show," Redgic lectured. "I do what I do best on my own, and I don't need anyone else around to get in the way, especially not a troupe of glorified clowns." He finally turned back around to face the water again. "Now, leave me be."

"Listen, you!" Ginyu reached out and bodily whipped Redgic back around by the shoulder. "That's about enough of your attitude! I come along and offer you an opportunity for greatness, and not only do you refuse, but insult us?" He raised one hand, arching it back into a fist. "You'll pay for that!"

Redgic focused his energy but did not yet raise it, preparing himself to fight if need be. All four at once? That sounded like a challenge.

"Gentlemen."

They and the scattered few others in the crowd knew that voice all too well. It was calm, gentlemanly, and almost soothing at the surface, while still carrying a distinct tone of authority and haughty wisdom. But only those who had personally seen this individual in action knew the truth, that the voice was the most sinisterly misleading thing anyone would ever witness in their entire life, and its bearer, by far the most dangerous.

"Lord Freeza!"

There he stood, just inside the large main archway leading into the room. He was all on his own, walking about casually like anyone else at the moment instead of riding his usual egg-shaped hovering chair. His short, reptilian form was deceptively unimposing, with pink segmented skin on his extremities, covered up by a tough white hide in the vital areas and dark purple, translucent flesh on his black-horned head and forelimbs.

Ginyu was the first to speak, as he hurriedly let go of Redgic and faced the boss with a slight, respectful bow. Everyone else followed suit.

"Ah, Mister Ginyu," Freeza spoke up again. "Ganging up on poor Redgic, are we?"

"Ah, not quite, sir." Ginyu nervously replied. "You see, we approached him to-"

"Yes, yes, recruiting for that new task force of yours. I had figured as much." Freeza smiled a bit, as he gingerly addressed his subordinate. "Really, Mister Ginyu. As always, I truly do appreciate your enthusiasm. But please, keep that fiery passion of yours in check, would you? I can't have my best men squabbling among themselves, you know."

"Of course," he replied. "My apologies."

Freeza began walking past the group, making his way towards the far end of the lounge. He paused as he passed Redgic, temporarily turning partway around to warmly address him.

"Mister Redgic, I heard about your performance on Planet Fygg. Excellent work," he said. "Rest assured, you have my full support in continuing to do your job as you wish. So long as, I trust, you shall continue to do that job well?"

"Yes, Lord Freeza."

Freeza casually made his way through the room in his own misleadingly cheerful manner, humming to himself a bit as he glanced around. Once he was definitely clear and gone, his assorted minions once again perked up and addressed each other.

"Hmph," Ginyu snorted at Redgic derisively. "Fine, then. Don't join if you don't want to. Your loss." He turned around and signaled to the others, starting to walk away and not look back. "Come on, boys! Looks like we're on the hunt again."

"Whatever," Butta piped in, shooting a dirty look at Redgic. "You're no fun, anyway."

"You're lucky Lord Freeza stopped us from roughing you up!" Recoome likewise put in, unaware of just how severely things would have progressed to the contrary.

"Y'know, Captain," Jheese said, running up to Ginyu's side. "If Redgic's out, then there's another guy we should totally consider."

"Oh, really? Who?"

"Bear with me here, but there's this little guy from the South Galaxy named Gurd..."

"Gurd?" Ginyu was shocked. "Yeah, I know him. He's a total weakling!"

"True, his battle power is pretty low," Jheese explained. "But he's got these downright amazing psychic tricks you gotta see to believe..."


The sudden blaring of the alarms was what roused Redgic from sleep. Despite all the noise, he allowed himself to lay still for a long moment, contemplating this newest dream. What in the stars was going on? For decades he had tried to distance himself from his past, occupying and distracting himself however he could in an effort to forget those bleak, helpless times. Why had all these memories come flooding back now? Was this feeling of foreboding for a reason? Was his lifelong gift of intuition trying to tell him something? He felt confused and vacuous, but there was no time to dwell on it now. For once, Redgic was grateful and even glad for there to be an emergency. It would provide an opportune diversion from these unpleasant thoughts.

He shifted over and stood up from the bed in his quarters. The room was relatively spartan and small, as per his request. All those years serving as a low-ranking Freeza Soldier had made him accustomed to it, after all. Even once he'd climbed the ranks into elite status, he preferred being treated as nothing special. Anything else tended to draw too much undesired attention.

Walking over to the opposite side of the room, he casually opened up a closet embedded within the wall and procured his favored long, hooded red cloak. Despite not asking or being told, he already knew exactly what was going on, who was causing the ruckus, and where it was happening. Above all, he knew he'd be needed. He also knew it tended to be chilly down there in the hangar cavern. After slipping the cloak comfortably onto his broad shoulders, he nonchalantly exited the room and began walking down the estate's hallway. There was a constant hustling and bustling of Don Kia's hired troops, most having only just returned from their fruitless mission out in the Imeggan villages only to have to re-scramble now to deal with an intruder. Or at least, attempt to. Speaking of fruitless endeavors...

"Redgic!"

He didn't bother turning around, because he already knew who it was long before they even saw him. Shilla and Ghel, the two topmost-ranking of Don Kia's goons, caught up and began walking with him.

"Good thing we found you!" Ghel remarked as he looked up. "We have an emergency in the hangar! That new group of troublemakers from this afternoon have somehow made their way inside!"

"I know," he coolly replied. "Where do you think I'm heading?"

"Oh no, don't worry. We'll handle this," Shilla informed him. "Don Kia would want you guarding him personally, after all. We won't let them ge-"

"Don't even bother," Redgic interrupted. "You don't stand a chance."

"Well, I know we didn't do too well last time," Ghel meekly protested. "But now we're prepared! There's no way they'll humiliate us a seco-"

"Yes, they will," Redgic cut in again, with even less patience for their stupidity. "They weren't even using a fraction of their true power on you before. Whoever they are, only I can face them in a fight." He turned his head a bit as he walked away, leaving them standing there disheartened. "YOU go to the big baby's office and make yourselves at least APPEAR useful."


"Jackpot!" Goku exclaimed. "That's three for me, Pan!"

She offered no reaction beyond that of a small smile. "I just hit lucky number seven."

"What?" Goku was astounded. "Man, I must be losing my touch in my old age."

The two Saiyan children zipped about back and forth, using a tiny percentage of their powers yet still moving so quickly that none among the constant swarm of Don Kia's private militia could get a bead on them with their standard-issue laser rifles. As a result, the crowd of troops were in a state of utter panic, totally losing their bearings and becoming distracted from their main objective, the ship. This was fortunate for Trunks, who laid low for the time being while zipping about himself, powering the vessel up in preparation for their imminent escape. He emerged from behind it and addressed his two compatriots.

"The ship's almost ready!" he called out. "Pan, have you got it?"

Pan did a small flip in the air as she dodged a series of beams from a group of angry alien guards. "Yep!" She responded, pointing to the small blue backpack which she now wore. "The Dragon Ball and our new little accomplice are both packed up tight!"

"Gigigigigigiii..." The robot's cries of confused distress could be heard from within the bag.

"Hahaha," Goku cheered himself as he sent a trooper flying. "I've got eight now!"

"What are you two doing?" Trunks asked in passing, taking notice of their little contest.

"We're playin' Pachinko with these guys!" Goku cheerfully exclaimed as he floated around in midair while pointing down off the side of the ledge. "I made a hole in the ground with my Ki, and we're seein' who can drop more of 'em in there!"

"That's eleven for me, Grandpa."

"Huh?" Goku snapped back to attention again as he began freaking out a bit. "Oh geez, don't tell me I'm still losing!"

The discovery of this carefree treatment began to severely agitate their opponents, who began to fire away even more actively, yet still haphazardly, than before. The torrent of ineffective suckage continued and was easily dealt with for not even another minute, when it suddenly ceased altogether.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" Goku complained, as he saw them all start to back away and clear the area. "I'm still behind by five, now! Don't run away!" he complained.

"Maybe they realized it's pointless," Pan wondered as she floated down and landed next to Goku. "You think they're just gonna let us take the ship nicely now?"

"No, that's not it..." Goku wrinkled his brow for a minute, then his gaze darted upwards.

There, standing upon the highest level of the hangar, was a very imposing-looking individual. He stood a full head taller than Trunks, with a very slim but toned build. His underlying black clothes were very plain and unassuming, but over top of it he wore a dark red, hooded cloak. A pair of spikes protruded from its shoulders, and a short chain hung from the end of each sleeve. From below the the back of the cloak jutted a long, sleek tail, which casually coiled back and forth. It was a darker shade of the blue skin covering the rest of him, including the shadowed, stern and angular face which peered out from under the hood.

Pan followed Goku's gaze, noticing the newcomer herself. "Who's that?" she asked, glancing back and forth between him and their prior opponents. "They're all backing off and deferring to him... is this that Redgic guy the old folks warned us about?"

"I don't know," Goku pondered. "But he's good. I never even sensed him come in here."

Up above, the mysterious figure was regarding them with an abnormal level of interest. He held out his right arm, pointing its open palm down the center of the hangar and directly at the group of intruders and their ship. Only Namekian ears could possibly have picked up what he then said.

"Show me your strength."

Suddenly, a quick rush of Ki visibly enveloped the figure's body, and an incredibly large mass of it then erupted from his hand, shooting along at high speed on a beeline for the group. All three Saiyans were shocked at the surprising amount of power behind this abrupt attack.

"What in the... !" Pan exclaimed.

But before she could even finish her thought, Goku was already in the air and rocketing upwards to meet the blast halfway. He made contact with it in the open air, bringing his own power to the surface as he thrust both of his arms out and forward to bodily grasp the entire mass of energy in a bear hug.

"Kyaaaaaah!"

Barely maintaining his grasp for a second, Goku sharply spiked his own Ki and took care of the attack. He pushed his own energy into that of the blast, bringing both his arms together and crossed in one swift movement. The massive glowing projectile disappeared, a shockwave of air and loose Ki bursting outwards. It knocked quite a few of Don Kia's soldiers off their feet and kicked up dust from the cavern's floor and walls.

Goku remained, floating in the middle of the cavern's expanse as a few bolts of displaced leftover energy erratically arced through the air. He calmly righted himself, looked up at the attacker, and smiled.


For a moment, all Redgic could do was stand there, and while his face revealed nothing more than his usual stoic expression, in reality, he was shocked, stupefied, and impressed all at the same time.

"This child completely neutralized my attack," he murmured to himself. "It had enough power behind it to kill any past intruder ten times over, but he didn't dodge it, redirect it, counter it, or anything. He just... utterly canceled it out. What in the world could..."

But as the child looked up and shot him a sly smile, that flabbergasting feat suddenly became only of secondary importance compared to what Redgic also realized. The messy black hair and piercing dark eyes. The muscular build. That same exact feeling of raw, refined energy.

"Is he... Saiyan?"

Suddenly, the oldest and tallest of the group, the only one among them who didn't look like the other two, called out to his companions.

"It's ready! Let's go!"

The female child immediately rushed to his side, while the young and amazingly powerful boy slowly floated down backwards, not taking his eyes off of Redgic all the while. Just as he landed, the eldest intruder reached up and appeared to activate some sort of control on the underside of their confiscated ship. When he did, the entire craft rumbled and hummed for barely a few seconds before, in a bright flash of light, a booming sound, and burst of smoke, it seemingly disappeared. But in actuality, it had shrunken and been compressed into a smaller item of some sort, which the crafty tallest one snatched out of the air. His fellows were quite impressed.

"Wow!" the young female exclaimed as she grabbed his hand. "I didn't know the whole ship could turn into a Capsule!"

"Huh?" The smallest one turned around in distress. "Really? Do it again, I wasn't looking!"

That was Redgic's chance. He leaned forward, seeming at first to be flopping of the ledge of the upper hangar level, but then pushing himself off of it. With a burst of energy, he rocketed himself forward and down, arcing back his fist for a punch aimed directly at the tiny but powerful fighter. But the child still seemed to see him coming. He grabbed the free hand of the female one with one of his own, and then raised up two fingers of the other to his forehead.

The last thing Redgic saw was the boy flashing another quick, confident smile before he disappeared into thin air. Redgic came to a sudden but controlled landing on the deck where the boy, his friends, and the ship had stood only seconds ago.

Redgic was upset about their escape for only a moment; then he brought himself to relax again. There was no need to rush. He'd watched intently when the female had emerged from the ship carrying the small, orange orb, and he had made the connection to the nearly identical artifact which had recently earned a spot in Don Kia's personal gallery.

There was no doubt that they would come for it. HE would come for it. And Redgic would be waiting there to fight him.

While his conscious mind had long given up hope of this day ever coming, deep down, his heart had been waiting for it all these years. Another few hours, or even days, wouldn't make a difference. Redgic would wait.

He would wait.