Guru's Gifts
Four figures shot across the sky, two small Namakian children, accompanied by two human adults; their destination, a small hut on a tall rock spire, far on the other side of the planet.
"Hey do you guys know how much further?" Tien yelled over the rushing air.
"Not far, I think." Dende responded, from Chi Chi's arms.
"Yeah, I think we're close." Cargo added in, both children with excited looks on their faces, it had been a long time since they had gotten to see the grand elder.
Chi Chi stayed quiet, things were going too slow for her taste as it was, and she knew if the conversation kept up they would have to stay at the slower speed so the children could be heard.
Moving in a perpendicular direction, two more figures flew across the sky.
"Thanks for showing me the way to the village, but I think I could've managed to find it with just the dragon radar." Yamcha said to his guide.
"If I understand your machine right, it would've taken you to the dragon ball, whether it is still on the island or not. For all we know it would've taken you directly to the monster, and then they would have the means to find the other dragon balls, it is much safer this way." Moori explained, though he had already told the human his reasoning once, it just didn't seem like he was paying attention at the time.
"Oh, ok that's a good idea." Yamcha responded, before allowing his mind to wander back to how close he had been with Bulma. 'Damn, the faster we find the dragon ball, the faster I can get back to Bulma.' He thought to himself, irritated that the Namekian couldn't fly faster.
'I wonder what is going on in that Earthling's head, he seems much more distracted than his companions. Maybe that's why they were keeping him locked in the room with the other distracted one; they did seem to be scolding them for failing to help. I'll definitely have to keep my eye on him and make sure he doesn't do something reckless.' the elder Namakian decided.
They had finally arrived, after a long 20 minute flight, the building before them was similar in design to the other buildings they had seen in the village, but was larger in scale, with a large viewing window on the side.
"We're here." Cargo shouted, as he and Dende rushed towards the door. Before either could make it through the door, a Namekian, who appeared very similar to Piccolo, appeared in the doorway.
"Nail!" both children shouted their voices full of joy that their hero was still ok.
"Dende, Cargo, it is good to see you again. You and your friends are most welcome, guru has been expecting you all for some time now." the Piccolo clone greeted.
Chi Chi and Tien were awed by the amount of power rolling off this being who could easily pass for the child of the Demon King himself.
"Wait! So Guru knew what was happening already?" Dende announced, surprised at the revelation.
"Come there is much to discuss, I will take you all to Guru Now." the warrior Namekian said before turning back inside.
"Wait if Guru know what's been happening then shouldn't he try to move to a safer place?" Dende continued, Cargo echoing his question.
"Guru is very old; he knows his time is drawing near. Unfortunately he has grown too weak to move. There is little more I can do for him than stay by his side to protect him until the end." Nail answered.
"Oh no, I knew he was old but I didn't think he'd be leaving so soon." Both the Namekian were downtrodden at the possibility that their leader's time was near.
"Please come." Nail repeated, leading the group inside.
Within a moment they were standing before the largest sentient being any had encountered.
"Welcome my friends... it is a great honor... to be in your presence, and I thank you both for... taking care of young Dende and Cargo... is there something I can do to repay your kindness?" the giant Namekian finished his eyes not opening once, his speak broken as if such conversations were very taxing for him.
"No need, it had to be done, we couldn't sit by and let those monsters hurt these children!" Chi Chi voice started calm but by the end she was shouting, causing not only all the Namekians with their sensitive hearing in the room to grimace slightly, but even caused Tien to back slightly away from his ally, in case she had another outburst.
The giant alien patriarch sat silent for a moment for responding, "Never the less I am in your debt. If you should think of something later, simply ask and if it is within my power I will attempt to help you with your request."
An awkward silence filled the room as Guru gathered his energy for his next speech after a moment he began, "A great evil has come to Namek, Frieza and his men; because of their greed, nearly all of my children have been murdered. We Namekians hold the dragon balls as sacred objects symbolizing both wisdom and power, but Frieza only sees it as a means to his twisted ends, and he will stop at nothing to obtain it."
"We are aware of that, that is one of the reasons we are gathering the balls ourselves, you see many of our friends were recently killed fighting men who apparently work for Frieza when they came to our planet after our dragon balls, in the end the being our dragon balls were tied to was killed." Tien jumped in when the elder Namekian paused again.
"Impossible!" Guru declared, not believing that there could be another set of dragon balls in the galaxy.
"Apparently before the disaster one Namekian was able to escape the planet; he eventually ended up on our home world Earth, as only a child. Eventually he became the guardian of Earth and created the dragon balls soon afterwards" Tien explained.
Guru as silent for a moment, thinking over the Earthling's story. "Ah yes, I remember now, the child of Katas, he was a gifted child, I am glad he made the trip safely. He was a member of the dragon family, which is why he was able to create his own set of dragon balls. I am saddened to hear of his passing" the ancient Namekian explained.
"Kami was a wise guardian, he had protected the Earth for many years, unfortunately one of the Saiyans killed his other half Piccolo in a massive blast that claimed several of our friends." Tien responded.
"His other half? What do you mean?" Guru had not heard of such a thing before.
"Apparently in order to become the guardian of the Earth Kami was required to expel his dark side, in doing so he created a second Namekian, Piccolo, who attempted to conquer the planet and unleash a time of endless darkness on its inhabitants. Eventually-" Before Tien could finish his story Chi Chi decided to jump in.
"My Goku was able to defeat him, he saved the whole planet!" She shouted, unable to contain her continued pride at her husband's childhood accomplishments.
All the Namekians in the room again grimaced at the sudden loud outburst.
"Yes he was able to defeat him." Tien finished his sentence. "But Kami didn't die then because the elder Piccolo put his entire essence into his son who swore revenge on Goku. A few years later-" Again Tien was cut off.
"Goku beat him again, the same day he proposed to me." Chi Chi cut in again, her mind lost in the bliss of that day.
"Yes Goku beat him again but he spared Piccolo's son, seeing the potential for good in him. Since then, although I can't say he has completely lived up to Goku's expectations for him, he did help train me and the other defenders of Earth for the fight against the Saiyans, and the surprise arrival of Frieza's men." The three eyed human finished.
Guru was silent for a moment, "Interesting, the strength of both of Kami and Piccolo must be just a fraction of what it was when they were together, otherwise the only way the Saiyans could be strong enough to harm him would be for them to be Super Saiyans." A term the large Namekian hadn't used for many centuries.
"Super Saiyan?" Chi Chi wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, unless of course Goku was that Super Saiyan.
"You mean you don't know... hmm... please come closer" he said indicating both of his sides.
Both Humans quickly moved into place, slightly confused as to what Guru had planned. "Please clear your minds so I may see your past."
From his vantage point he was able to see not just the past of the humans, but using his mystical powers extended it to the Guardian in question. Soon, he was able to see Kami's past.
"What a terrible thing, A Namekian at war with himself. I see now that your understanding of the situation was correct, his power was split between his halves, but more than that, if they had re-fused their power would have risen dramatically, no normal Saiyan would've been able to beat them, much more than just adding their strengths together. As for your question, a super Saiyan is an ancient Saiyan legend, a being that supposedly had risen hundreds of years before my birth."
"Wow, would he really be that strong?" Tien couldn't believe the idea of Piccolo being strong enough to beat the Saiyans by himself.
"Yes, as I said he was a special child. In addition I was able to feel your intents, and found that your hearts are pure. Your bravery and your loyalty to your friends is beyond question, you've both proven yourselves worthy to receive this dragon ball.
"Wow thank you." Both Chi Chi and Tien responded in unison, both blushing slightly at the praise they had received.
"As long as Moori and Yamcha can find the other one, we only have one more to go." Tien declared happily, soon they'd be able to bring Chiaotzu and the others back to life.
"I only hope there is time left for you to make your wishes." Guru added puzzling everyone in the room.
"What do you mean?" Chi Chi asked not aware of any time limit on the dragon balls.
"Unfortunately I only have a few days, maybe a week or two left to live." Guru responded, much to the shock of all except Nail. "If your wishes are to be fulfilled, you must make your wish before I go."
The revelation only filled Tien and Chi Chi's determination, they were so close; they needed to make sure they got the last of the dragon balls and fast. "Don't worry we'll do our best to get the last of the dragon balls before then, and if for some reason we can't we'll make sure neither Frieza nor the Saiyans are able to get the others." Tien responded, knowing for his friend's sakes, failure was not an option.
"Thank you. You've done my people a great service, both of you. Your bravery is appreciated, and your strength is great, greater than you know, for much of it is still sleeping."
"Sleeping, what do you mean?" Tien asked again taking the lead in the conversation.
"Allow me to awake this power for you." Guru continued on as if Tien hadn't said anything.
Placing his hand back on both Chi Chi and Tien's heads, he began to focus; both warriors were surprised by the sudden motion but made no efforts to stop him. Both of his hands began to glow, before an unconscious aura washed over them, their jaws instantly went slack as an awesome well of inner strength was released in both of them.
"You see this power has been within you all along." The kind elder said a soft smile on his face, at the joy he could see on both of the surprised human's faces.
"Wow this is insane, I'm finally on pace to beat Goku again!" Tien shouted triumphantly, eager to see his old rival again.
"Oh my, this is amazing, this must be how Goku feels all the time, when I see those Saiyans again I'll get my boy back for sure." A fire began to burn in Chi Chi's eyes, she was ready to take on the world or even a thousand worlds to get her son back and now she had the power to do it.
"Thank you so much Guru, this is amazing." Tien finally said with a bow.
"Yes thank you so much!" Chi Chi followed up, slightly embarrassed that she had let her manners slip and wasn't the first to thank Guru for his gift.
"It is no trouble at all." Guru said, "You have helped my people so much it was the least I could do."
"One question Guru, we have another friend helping us do you think you could unlock his power as well, or would that be too tiring for you?" Tien asked slightly embarrassed as he didn't want to push too much.
"It would be no trouble at all, it does not tire me a bit, bring them to me and if they have any sleeping powers I shall awaken them." he said his smile growing slightly knowing he could help the beings that had saved three of his children.
"Alright great, we'll go grab him; hopefully him and Moori have found the other dragon ball already. Thanks again." Chi Chi said with a bow, before her and Tien exited the dwelling, ready to get things moving once again.
Both shot into the sky, twisting and turning as they tested out their new speed.
"We have arrived." Moori announced, sadness in his voice, as they stared at the now barren and shattered remains of an island.
"Wow, they really did a number on the place." Yamcha said bluntly before dropping to one of the island shards, the dragon radar already out, hoping to find the ball quickly and get back to the relative safety of the cave.
"Yes he did, fifty years of hard work in this region, all wiped out in an instant." Moori's voice was solemn, he was so proud that he was chosen to restore this region of the planet, and now it was all in shambles.
"Well, don't worry it looks like they missed the dragon ball." Yamcha said as he began to walk in the direction the small device in his hands was indicating.
After a few minutes of searching through the rubble the large orange sphere was located, "Alright, that didn't take long at all!" the former bandit cheered, as he lifted it from the rubble.
All the while, a sad nostalgia had fallen over Moori, as he was forced to search through the remnants of his home. He could only manage a small smile when Yamcha announced his success.
"Hey let's get going, I don't like the idea of being out in the open very much right now." Yamcha suddenly said, a foreboding feeling itching in the back of his mind.
"Yes I believe that would be a wise choice." Moori responded before the duo took the skies heading back to the cave.
'Damn it, I need to get my immortality, it's the only way to beat Frieza, how is he still so much stronger than me?' Anger boiled it Vegeta's stomach after all the pain he had gone through, the plateaus of power he had crossed he could feel it Frieza was more powerful than he had ever imagined.
He had heard rumors that Frieza's power level was over half a million, he had always dismissed such ideas though, no being could be that much stronger than Zarbon and Dodoria, certainly not nearly 4 times stronger than that fool captain Ginyu, but he had been seen, or rather felt, all the proof he had needed, Frieza absolutely dwarfed him still.
Something suddenly caught the Saiyan prince's attention, a pair of small power levels in the distance, one of them felt vaguely familiar. He pondered it for a moment, it providing a much needed distraction from his injured pride when finally he placed it, 'the earthling!'
How the insect that had dishonored him so had gotten to Namek, he didn't know or care, right then at the moment only one thing was on his mind as his aura flashed around him, 'this time you're mine.'
In a flash the Saiyan prince was airborne his new found power wrapping around him in a blaze of glory as he shot across the landscape at a blistering pace.
"Tien, do you feel that?" Chi Chi's shouted over the wind rushing past each of them as they continued to rocket through the sky at speeds they could barely comprehend an hour ago.
"Yeah, I think it is one of the Saiyans that attacked earth... but his power... it's crazy, I can't believe they could've gotten so much stronger already." Tien responded, worried the Saiyans had found a way to unlock their potential like the earthlings just had.
"I think... I think he's going after Yamcha." Chi Chi suddenly realized, eyes widening in surprise, as the large Ki signature continued to streak towards the least focused, and now by far weakest of the Earthling warriors on the planet, and his Namekian guide.
"Shit I think you're right, alright, ready to test out the kaioken with our new strength." Tien suddenly asked before charging up to a times two.
"Yeah I am that Saiyan is going to regret taking my son!" Chi Chi shouted charging up to the same level, before both went shooting across the sky, nothing but blurs to any observers.
Yamcha felt almost giddy about how fast finding the dragon ball had been, plus he could sense Tien and Chi Chi were also on their way back to the cave, he didn't know why but their strength felt massive now, 'That's weird I'll have to ask them about that when I get back.', with any luck afterwards they would volunteer to go with the elder Namek to retrieve the last dragon ball, leaving him and Bulma time to finish what they had started earlier.
Suddenly a wave of fear hit the ex-bandit; an overwhelming energy was heading straight for him. Before he had time to call out, or drop into a defensive stance, his entire world turned into a blur of blinding pain.
Vegeta had honed onto the unsuspecting Earthling like a shark to an injured baby seal, in a flash he appeared above the orange clad warrior and with brutal efficiency delivered a crushing double fisted ax-handle to his exposed back, just as a red aura was beginning to flare out of the human's body. The marginal increase in power made little difference though, as the earthling was still sent on a collision course with the ground below.
As Vegeta admired his work in the nanosecond before Yamcha hit the ground and formed a large crater, he heard a startled gasp in the air next to him.
Turning, he noticed what appeared to be an old man, of the same species as the green man from earth, obviously a Namekian. "I'll get to you in a moment." Vegeta told the old man before firing a small blast intending to stun the still shocked creature so it didn't try to run off and hide, he did have a wish for immortality to make after all, and he couldn't afford to let a potential source of information about the wish to slip through his grasp.
But as the small blast reached the green, shriveled being before him, the blast blew right through him clear to the other side. His eyes went wide and then blank before his charred body dropped from the sky, much to Vegeta's surprise.
Realization dawned on the Saiyan Prince just as the Namekian's body hit the ground, and with it frustration at himself. "Damn it, that, that was a mistake I'd expect from Nappa, I need to make sure to control my new power better." He was Vegeta, a super-elite Saiyan warrior, he prided himself as a precisioned, fighting machine like no other, the sloppiness he just displayed wasn't just out of character for him, but an insult to the ideal he held himself too.
"I guess I need more practice controlling my new strength." A dark grin crossed his face, "at least I have the perfect test subject." He said to no one in particular before floating down towards his victim.
Yamcha was just coming to from the bone crushing collision with the ground he just had. He wasn't sure what had happened but even through all of his grogginess he knew he wouldn't hurt as bad as he did if he wasn't in combat of some sort.
'Alright whoever just hit me is going down!' He shouted definitely in his head, psyching himself up to get back into the fight, as he pushed off the ground prepared to jump into a defensive stance. Or at least that was his attempt, as soon as he was airborne he suddenly released his legs weren't responding at all, even more startling was the fact the was a complete lack of sensation from his lower body all together, that had been masked by the pain of his upper body. "Oh shit!" He shouted as he fell limply to the ground causing Vegeta to break into a fit of laughter.
"My, you seem to be having some trouble with your legs, maybe I can help you out by cutting the dead weight off." The Saiyan prince sneered as his feet touched the ground.
Yamcha's face was twisted into a mixture of shock at the fact he couldn't feel his lower body at all, and fear at the Saiyan standing over him.
Frantically Yamcha looked around hoping someone was around to help him escape the situation he found himself in, but unfortunately the only thing he saw on the island was Moori's lifeless body on the ground a short distance away.
"What no brave last words or pitiful attempts to prolong your inevitable demise?" Vegeta taunted getting more and more disappointed with himself for losing to such a disgracefully pitiful creature.
Yamcha could only watch in terror as the Saiyan Prince began to walk slowly towards him, nothing he could think of would get him out of this situation, 'unless...' In a flash Yamcha's hands shot to his face.
Vegeta stopped in his tracks, curious as to what desperate action the human had planned, his curiosity turned to rage an instant later though as the human shouted 'solar flare.' A painful, blinding light burned into the Saiyan prince's retinas.
With the Saiyan blinded for the time being Yamcha shot into the air, his legs flailing limply behind him. He had only made it a few dozen feet when suddenly he was stopped in his tracks, a slight stretching feeling spreading around his stomach told the ex-bandit someone or something had caught his legs, dismay washed over him as soon as he looked back to see a snarling Vegeta, eyes still closed, blinded by burning pain.
"Nice try coward, but I can sense energy and that little stunt of yours means your death gets to be extra painful, say goodbye to this world earthling cause it's time to die! Vegeta shouted. He pulled Yamcha's leg and sent him flying in the opposite direction.
Quickly Vegeta charged up a small blast, and launched it at Yamcha's flailing form, intending for the blast to be just strong enough to blow off one of the human's legs.
The small sphere of death failed to reach its intended target though, just as it had closed half of the gap to Yamcha, a voice rang out, "Dodon ray." Before Vegeta could react his attack was prematurely detonated by an intersecting beam.
When the smoke had cleared he saw two more of the Earthling survivors, the three eyed man floated above him a serious look on his face, while the brat's mother stood on a nearby hill Yamcha's limp form in her arms. Gently she set him down on a nearby island, before standing up a fire burning in her eyes.
Vegeta could only laugh, a slow chuckle that turned into a roaring laughter, as the irritation he had previously felt melted before a wave of amusement, just as his vision was returning. "I see it's the whole damn group here, at least as many as are still alive! You fools should've cut your losses and let me finish him; I mean a weak cripple like him can't possibly be worth throwing your lives away can he? Don't answer that I forgot I was talking to a bunch of 'righteous warriors' or something like that. Let me guess you probably have some code about never leaving a man behind, so I'll help you all out with that and make sure none of you are left here all alone." Vegeta paused to take in their reactions to the taunts and they seemed to be having the desired effect as the boys mother looked like she was ready to explode with rage.
Chi Chi was feeling exactly how she looked, but for the moment she restrained herself, she needed answers before she could bash the Saiyan's head in. "I'll give you this one last chance to tell me where my son is before I rip you limp from limb! Do you understand me! She shouted, a red aura spreading around her as she did.
"Ha as if you can even touch me, but I suppose I won't make you go to the afterlife without knowing your son is well taken care of. Your son and his idiot uncle are on their way here right now, I don't really know when they'll arrive though could be any minute, could be a few weeks, hard to say." Vegeta finished with a sneer.
Chi Chi's rage subsided slightly, for the first time in over a year she at least had some clue where her baby was. It was short lived though, she knew where he was going to be, so now it was up to her to make sure he would be safe when he arrived, and that meant she'd have to partake in some pest control.
"Thank you for being reasonable, but I still have to kill you now, if you're still alive when Gohan gets here the risk of him growing up a delinquent increases dramatically." He voice calm, allowing Vegeta to see how serious she was as she slipped into her stance. The absurdity of the situation caused the Saiyan Prince to burst into laughter once more.
But as the Saiyan's eyes closed, for just a fraction of a second during the heart of his laughter, Chi Chi vanished. Before he could react he felt his cheek beginning to bend inward, the momentum of the blow slowly transferring first to his head, down his neck, before launching his whole body at incredible speeds right towards Tien.
The ex-crane student had taken the time Chi Chi had bought him during her impumpu interrogation to begin to pool his energy, but as Vegeta was sent flying his way, he suddenly was enveloped in a red aura, "tri-beam!" A massive wall of energy burst forth.
Vegeta's eyes were just opening when they suddenly shot wide in shock; a giant churning wave of deadly, golden energy was right in front of him. Before he could react, the blast was upon him.
In a bright yellow flash, a wall of exploding energy rushed out in all directions, the entire island shook, then cracked by the sheer force, both halves slowly sinking into the water, a large tidal wave shot out in all directions, flooding the nearby islands as well.
(Far away)
Frieza was continuing with the only thing he could do at the moment without destroying his ship, pacing back and forth cursing everyone who had crossed him the last few hours, "Damn those slugs, they should've given me the balls when I first demanded it. And those Saiyan look a-likes, I shouldn't have underestimated their trickery, a quick beam through the heart and everything would be ok. And the monkeys, when I get my hands on them, I'll be keeping them in a state between life and death for the next decade." Every time he replayed his misfortune his rage jumped back up to its previous heights.
"I can't believe it, three weeks, I need my elite troops here now and the best they can do it three weeks, if they take one day longer I'm…" his last thought trailed off as he noticed a faint glow far in the distance, As he watched it slowly fade, curiosity began to work its way in his mind, temporarily distracting him from his rage. It was peaked to new heights a few minutes later as the ship began to shake slightly from the quakes from the explosion.
"VEGETA!" Frieza suddenly shouted, before bursting through his roof, there was only one other being strong enough to do that kind of damage on the backwater world he now resided on, and he wasn't going to let him get away.
"I'm coming for you my monkey prince, and I have a little present for you, it's called eternal pain and suffering." Frieza said softly to himself before bursting into a mad cackle at the thought of how great of a distraction the Saiyan Prince would make to pass the coming weeks.
Krillin and Chiaotzu had long since stopped their efforts to hit Gregory with the large mallet, instead they were watching the blue deity in charge of their training stare off into space, beads of sweat building up on his face.
"Uh… King Kai… are you okay?" the bald monk finally asked, concern for his new martial arts master evident in his voice.
"Yeah! They did it! They didn't even have to go past times two but they did it they beat him!" King Kai was ecstatic.
"What? Beat who?" Chiaotzu asked
"Tien and Chi Chi beat one of the Saiyans" King Kai responded, beaming that his student's friends were able to progress so far using his technique.
"No way that's awesome!" Krillin cheered.
"Yay Tien!" Chiaotzu seconded.
Piccolo's eyes finally cracked open, he had already completed all of the blue deities demands, and was currently in the process of advancing his mastery of the kaioken technique, he had already pushed it past a times five. He could only image how far he'd be able to push it with time though. But if the others were going to be so loud, and distract him from his efforts, he was going to waste his time. Besides the idea that at least one of his students progressing far enough to defeat the Saiyans was interesting news indeed.
"Did they get the second one?" the child of the demon king asked, wondering if his chance of revenge was completely gone.
"Huh, oh... uh... let me check." King Kai refocused on the small green world.
Tien was left panting, a tired smile on his face as the smoke billowed up from the epicenter of the explosion. Chi Chi floated on the other side of the smoke her arms crossed, a look of dissatisfaction plastered on her face, as she felt a weak energy still in the smoke.
Finally after it had dissipated, the burnt, and bloodied form of Vegeta revealed itself, floating just above the waterline, one arm wrapped around the charred remains of his armour, clutching his shattered ribs, barely able to keep one of his eyes open at all due to swelling from Chi Chi's kick, and above all else, a look of absolute hatred on his face. Inside his mind though he was still trying to come to terms with his latest near death experience.
'What the hell just happened, how is it that two of the weak Earthling scum managed to even scratch me, let alone hit me with a combo like that? I was able to crush Zarbon without a second thought, yet if I was any weaker I'd be atoms right now. How, how do they keep having these leaps of strength. This doesn't make any sense! It's not like they… have… zenkais…' It dawned on him suddenly, 'The brat! They are like the brat. anger builds their strength, plus the orange aura, just like that other Saiyan, Kakarot, I think was his name, yes that's it, rage must increase their strength, and then they used the multiplier technique the traitorous low level used against Dodoria.' It all made sense for him now, but what did it really gain him, he was in rough shape, and although the three eyed earthling seemed tired, the woman seemed ready to fight.
Before anyone could move, a look of horror spread across all three of their faces, Frieza's massive power-level came shooting across the landscape, right towards them.
In a panic the two humans sprang into action, Chi Chi grasped Yamcha again, and shot into the air, Tien snagged the dragon ball he had brought with him from Guru's, before shooting into the sky after Chi Chi.
Vegeta knew he was too badly injured to escape through the sky, so he did the only thing he could think of, he took as deep of a breath as his injured chest could hold and quickly sunk into the water below his feet.
A few seconds later the Frieza's streaking form came to stop near the location Vegeta was just floating, "Damn it, where did he go, the smoke was rising from right here." The tyrant's head whipped side to side, before shooting in a random direction hoping to get lucky and catch whoever had caused the explosion.
Beneath the waterline though, Vegeta was too preoccupied to immediately come to the surface, even though his injured lungs were screaming for air. When he had dipped beneath the waves he noticed something embedded in the shattered remains of the island. An orange spherical object that he had seen the weaker human carrying right before he ambushed him. It only took him a second to put two and two together as the other human was also carrying one, 'The legendary balls of Namek.' His mind was racing he had found one, in an instant he pulled it from its rocky encasement.
As soon as he felt Frieza was well out of earshot he reemerged a look of triumph on his face, it didn't matter any longer that the humans had defeated him, he now had the means to his immortality, or at least it seems the means to make sure the Earthlings and Frieza didn't get theirs.
"I wonder if I need the human's ball as well." he wondered out loud as he tried to remember the specifics of this particular legend, but unfortunately he couldn't remember anything about how many of the balls there supposedly were. 'Maybe the oaf remembers more, he is the one that would always would bring up such things.' he thought as he slowly began to fly back towards where he had left his injured, giant companion.
"Oh no!" King Kai shouted, causing a slight amount of worry to each of the three fighters in his presence. "It appears that the Saiyan not only survived but now has his hand on a dragon ball."
"What? How'd that happen?" Krillin was shocked at the apparent turn of fortune for his friends.
"Well Frieza showed up and apparently is in a running game of cat and mouse, or should I say Monkey and Lizard." King Kai broke down into stifled snickers at his own joke while the Earthlings and even Gregory sweat dropped at the deity's latest lame joke. "Come on guys don't you get it?" He asked, irritated at his student's lack of comedic sophistication.
Krillin and Chiaotzu forced themselves to give up a few pity chuckles just to appease him.
"Whatever, anyway it looks like your friends are going to have to have at least one more run in with the Saiyans before you guys can get wished back." He predicted.
Frieza's rage was boiling to the surface again, 'Where are they! Where are they! Where are they!' he was shooting around the planet at mind boggling speeds, but no matter how far he went, he never saw anything that appeared to be different, every island looked the same.
Suddenly the Frost Demon noticed something out of the corner of his eye, coming to an immediate stop, his lips slowly curling up into a smile, as he stared down at a small but apparently busy Namekian village that he and his men had missed.
"My this is a promising development." He muttered to himself before slowly descending towards the village center.
The group of Namekians gathered around, clearly apprehensive of the newcomer. The village elder stepped up to the front "Hello, stranger… what brings you here today." there was definite suspicion in his voice; it had been the same routine throughout every village they had come to.
Frieza's face which he had kept impassive until that moment twisted into a dark smile, "Oh not much, I'm a collector of sorts, and I was hoping you had something I was looking for." He so did enjoy the games, it calmed him down.
"We are a humble village, I am sure we do not have what you seek." The village elder responded, weighing his words carefully, there was something very dark, very dark and completely overwhelming about the mysterious visitor. Something was telling him
"Hm, is that so, well I've been to several of your other villages and got similar responses already, but it always turned out that they had what I was looking for. It seems each of your villages appears to have a dragon ball in their possession, and I would like to get yours immediately." Frieza had finally finished his fun and got down to business, his tone toning from light and jovial to icy and demanding in an instant. He so did enjoy watching the Namekians react when they found out he knew of the wish granting spheres.
"I'm sorry but-" Frieza didn't let him finish his statement though, with what appeared to be nothing more than a flick of his eye, one of the younger Namekian farmers suddenly imploded.
Before any of the Namekians could even respond to the shocking scene that had just unfolded Frieza started pushing again, "Now then, no more excuses, you give me the dragon ball or I keep killing your villagers."
Bulma was distraught, "Yamcha, oh my gosh, you guys what happened!" she rushed over to her battered and beaten boyfriend.
"He and Moori ran into one of the Saiyans." Chi Chi responded, her mind drifting back to the times she had seen Goku in similar condition, most recently just a month ago after another similar run in with the Saiyans.
"Oh no, how'd you guys get him away?" Bulma couldn't believe her friends had escaped so apparently uninjured; she was quickly trying to wrap up Yamcha's injuries before he woke up.
"Well it's a long story, but the short version is Guru, the eldest Namekian, has some incredible powers, he can apparently unlock hidden potential, and between his help and the Kaioken technique we were able to overpower him. Almost killed him, but that Frieza guy showed up and we had to cut our loses and run for it." Tien responded remorsefully, he didn't like seeing his longtime friend in that shape any better than Bulma did.
Yamcha began to stir, "What, where am I?" he was groggy and it took him a second to recall the last few minutes of his memory. "Oh shit…" he muttered out loud, trying desperately to get his legs to move, praying that his memories were just a dream. After a few more seconds of trying, the truth hit him, "I'm… I'm paralyzed."
The announcement was a shock to everyone present, a very solemn shock. "Wait how badly, what can you move." Chi Chi asked, he caretaker personality she had developed taking care of Gohan coming forth.
"My legs, I can't move them at all." Yamcha said the words but his mind was still struggling to come to grips with the fact that he would never move his legs again.
Bulma's mind was racing, she had brought with her the best medical technology there was on Earth, but unfortunately she knew that even the most promising estimates on spinal cord injuries claimed to be years away from being able to regrow nerve cells, if not decades.
Suddenly an idea struck her, "Guys, did you see any advanced technology at Guru's?" She asked hoping that maybe the Namekians would have some sort of other amazing technology like the ship that brought them here.
"No it was a pretty Spartan building." Tien responded, things didn't look good for his friend.
"Wait maybe Guru has some other sort of power, one that can heal or something." Chi Chi suddenly spoke up.
"What do you mean power?" Yamcha asked, missing their earlier explanation.
"Guru has the ability to unlock your full potential. He unlocked Tien and I's hidden potentials and we were able to fight Vegeta off to save you." Chi Chi explained.
"Well, it's worth a shot." Bulma finally concluded, "But I'm going with you guys, I'm not just going to stay here the whole time." She finished, she was curious to see this Guru, and what sort of other amazing powers he had.
"Alright, well, the faster we get going, the better." Tien concluded, before picking Yamcha up carefully and taking off, Chi Chi carrying Bulma right behind him, the group of four quickly shot through the sky heading back in the direction of the eldest Namek's home.
It took Vegeta nearly 30 minutes to make it back to where he had left Nappa earlier, barely able to stay airborne the entire trek back, when he finally arrived he slumped to the ground panting.
Looking over Nappa appeared to still be out, "Nappa" Vegeta said hoping to stir the giant, but he didn't move.
"Nappa!" He said louder, but still the giant didn't move, finally he charged a small blast up, much smaller than the one he killed the Namekian with and tossed it at Nappa. It exploded a few inches from to his head, finally causing him to groan, and lift his head, his combat instincts coming to the surface, though his body still wasn't reacting like it should.
"Huh! What? Oh hey Vegeta, damn did that happen against Zarbon?" Nappa asked, he wasn't exactly paying too close of attention before, but he was just glad to be alive.
"No you fool; I crushed that effeminate scum like the bug he was." Vegeta responded insulted, but too embarrassed to reveal the real source of his injuries.
"If Zarbon didn't do that to you who did?" Nappa asked sitting up the rest of the way.
'Damn it he just had to ask didn't he.' "I got ambushed, it doesn't matter though you imbecile, I need you to focus for a minute. You know the tales of the legendary balls of Namek; I need to know how many balls there are supposed to be."
Nappa could immediately tell that whatever happened to Vegeta he deemed it an insult to his pride, and he didn't think it was an ambush, especially since Vegeta could apparently detect Ki signatures himself. He decided it was probably in his best interest to not press the issue though, so focusing back at the matter at hand he tried to think back to the specifics of the legend.
Vegeta was getting impatient, it's not as if there was a lot he could've been doing instead at that moment, but he didn't like to be kept waiting. Finally Nappa responded, "There were a bunch...7 I think."
That was an answer Vegeta could deal with, if there had to be 7 gathered for there to be a wish, then all he had to do was hang onto one of them and then he could let the Earthlings gather the rest for him. There was the problem of their sudden exponential growth in strength. 'It'll be awhile before I am fully healed, hopefully Nappa will be healed by then, and if the brat and the low class show up I can use them as cannon fodder, before I punish the low class for the last time.' A smirk came to his face at the thought of scratching another name off his list. 'Yes, once I get the dragon balls, immortality will be mine, and then I can finally take my rightful place as King of the galaxy, and then the universe.' A genuine smile crossed his face at the thought.
'Well at least Vegeta's in a better mood now.' Nappa thought to himself before sliding back to the ground, 'Hopefully we'll be able to deal with whatever did that damage to Vegeta when I get back on my feet, if he hasn't already.'
Both Saiyans gradually drifted to sleep in their slightly hidden patch of trees, each dreaming of their future fights, and the chance for immortality.
Dropping out of the sky onto the rocky spiral that Guru had chosen for his dwelling. "Well here we are." Chi Chi said as she continued to carry Bulma inside, Tien carrying Yamcha right beside her.
A moment later they were standing before by far the largest Namekian currently alive.
"Welcome friends, I am aware that you are hoping I will be able to help heal your friend, am I correct." Guru greeted as they entered the room, surprising them by just how thoroughly he knew what was happening around his planet.
"Uh yeah wow, we didn't think you'd know that." Tien said bluntly, Bulma was still shocked silent at the size of Guru.
"Yes I unfortunately felt Moori's life drain away." Guru said his voice filled with sadness at one of his eldest son's passing. "I could only assume the other energy signature I felt drop was that of your friend, when I never felt it hit zero after you two had left I figured there was a reasonable chance you would come by."
Everyone was stunned by his perceptiveness. But Bulma was finally working through her initial shock at his size, "Can you help him though, we don't have any medical technology capable of healing a broken spinal cord." She hoped the anatomies were similar enough that they would understand.
"Unfortunately we do not; most of our advanced technology was wiped out in the calamity that claimed most of my people many years ago. Nor do I have the healing power that some of my race was blessed with long ago." Everyone's mood began to fall at his announcement, but he continued on, "I do have a plan that may work for your friend though. Dende, Cargo, please come here for a moment."
The two small Namekian children immediately rushed forth eager to help anyway they could. When they were in position, Guru placed his hands on the children's heads and like before his hands began to glow.
When they had stopped the children we amazed "Wow I feel so strong thank you elder." cargo said, "Yes thank you elder." added Dende, both with a bow.
"Now my children, in addition to your inner strength that has been release, each of you have the healing ability...I spoke of before, please raise your hands to the Human and focus your mind." Guru instructed.
Both children nodded before walking up to the ex-bandit, extending their hands and focusing their new found ability. Within a few seconds both set of hands began to glow, a sparkling light radiating out over Yamcha's back. Several tense seconds pass before both children drop to the ground, panting from exhaustion. "I... think... it's... done." Dende managed to say between breaths.
Yamcha nervously tried to move his legs, and felt a small amount of hope when suddenly his leg jerked. "Oh yeah!" He shouted as his legs began to bend under his control again, shakily he pushed himself onto his feet, before grasping both Dende and Cargo, and wrapping them tightly in a bear hug, "Thank you guys so much! This is great! I can walk again!"
A feeling of relief washed over the room, as Yamcha continued to jump around, hugging both of the small green children tight the entire time, much to everyone's amusement.
Finally he had his fill of celebrating, "This is great, now we can get the last dragon ball and…" He was suddenly cut off by a pained moan from Guru,
"I'm afraid Frieza now has the dragon ball, he just wiped out the last untouched village." The pain in Guru's voice was evident, but he had already resigned himself to having to deal with his children's fates.
"That monster." Chi Chi growled, it pained her to think of the innocent children like Dende and Cargo being wiped out.
"Wait what do you mean the last dragon ball." Suddenly it dawned on Tien, "Yamcha when Vegeta attacked you did you already have the other dragon ball?"
"Yeah, you mean you guys didn't grab it?" Yamcha felt a small trickle of dread at the idea that the dragon he had gone through so much pain retrieving was gone.
"No we didn't even think about it we were too focused on Vegeta and then Frieza." Chi Chi responded,
"We did blow up the island, it should still be in the water around there, we can use the dragon radar and-" Tien's hope of finding the dragon ball quickly completely vanished when Yamcha pulled the shattered remains of the radar from the inside of his gi.
"Looks like it got crushed when Vegeta attacked me." Things weren't looking too good at that moment for their prospects of getting the last of the dragon balls quickly.
"Bulma do you think you can fix it." Tien asked, not liking the turn things were taking after their early successes.
"I don't know the damage is pretty bad, I'll have to get back to my equipment to know for sure."
"Ok, well I can take you back to the cave while the others start searching." Yamcha suggested, only partially thinking of picking up where they left off earlier.
"Before you leave, I have one last present I wish to give you before you go to try and finish your mission." Guru suddenly spoke up, "Please you two come forward." Guru said indicating Bulma and Yamcha, "If you have hidden powers I will unleash them."
"Really great!" Yamcha said, today went from awful to hopefully amazing ever since he entered Guru's home.
"Uh sure I'll try it out, I don't think I really have any fighting powers in me, and I've never heard of any human having healing powers though." Bulma said as she got into place, skeptical that anything would happen for her.
"Well we shall see, I think you are underestimating yourself." Guru said a kind smile on his face as he placed both of his hands in position.
Within a second both hands began to glow, an aura wrapping around Yamcha, Bulma only managing a slight glow.
"There, each of you have now had your hidden powers unleashed, may they help in your quest to bring your friends back." the kind giant finished.
"This is amazing; I never imagined I could have this much power flowing through me! Hell yeah! That Saiyan doesn't stand a chance now." Yamcha was ready for a rematch with the Saiyans.
Bulma just stood there silent, her eyes glazed over staring off into space.
"Uh Bulma are you alright?" Tien finally asked after a minute, concerned for his friend.
"Oh my gosh!" She suddenly exclaimed, "I understand it, I understand everything, it's like someone just turned on a waterfall of knowledge in my head, I have so many new ideas, this is incredible." Although she was excited, her voice still sounded so distant, as she explored the new expanded territory of her mind.
"Hey I think you got a bit stronger too." Chi Chi added in though Bulma again didn't respond for a moment.
"Huh, oh yeah that's great." She said, not really interested in strength, there were too many new ideas to focus on at the moment.
"Come on guys, let's find the dragon ball then take care of those Saiyans!" Yamcha shouted before starting to storm out of the house.
"Thank you very much Guru." The still seemingly dazed Bulma said before starting to slowly follow Yamcha.
"Yeah thank you!" Yamcha yelled from somewhere out of sight.
"Thank again Guru, we won't let you down." Tien added in before Chi Chi scooped Bulma up and they took flight again.
"Good luck my friends!" Guru shouted as they left, before coughing weakly.
"Are you alright Guru?" Nail asked stepping forward for the first time since the Earthlings had arrived, clearly concerned for Guru's health.
"Yes, I just hope they find the dragon balls in time, for my time draws near." he finished, his mind drifting to what the future might hold for his surviving children, and the humans in question, 'Be careful my friends, you are my children s' only hope.
Sorry It took me so long to get this chapter up everyone, I had finals for my summer classes I had to deal with a couple weeks back, plus this chapter ended up being over twice as long as I anticipated, at least I am half way moved, I will be moving again into my new townhouse in a couple of weeks so I will definitely try to get another chapter up before then.
I want to give a special shout out to everyone who reviewed since the last chapter was posted, it was the most successful chapter yet! If there is another spree like last chapter Culture Shock will finally crack 50 reviews, so I hope this chapter was good enough to crack that plateau.
Anyway I figured its been awhile since I posted some power levels and I figured people could be wondering how much of a boost everyone has gotten recently.
Power levels
Vegeta (partially healed) 35,000
Zarbon (normal) 23,000
Zarbon (monster form, injured) 27,000
Tien (namek arrival) 3200 - x2 6400
Chi Chi (namek arrival) 1300 - x2 2600
Yamcha (namek arrival) 2400 - x2 4800
Vegeta (fully healed)- 48,000
Tien (potential unlocked)- 20,000- x2 40,000 x2(tri beam) 45,000
Chi Chi (potential unlocked) 15,000 x2 30,000 x3(kick) 45,000
Yamcha (potential unlocked) 16,000 x2 32,000
Now for the reviews.
Reviews:
Mickj6- As of right now Raditz and Gohan have no idea what has Vegeta so angry, just that he is very pissed off. They are on their way to Namek right now, whether they make it in time is going to make it tight.
Super Mystic Gohan- Glad you're liking the start to the saga, yeah starting next chapter the action is about to get intense!
Pointer39- I hope it is ok if I respond to all 3 reviews at once.
Keeping the characters in character is something I really strive to do so I'm glad to hear I still am.
As for your second review, I am glad you've liked it so much, and I thank you for favoriting the story! I will take your suggestion into consideration, that was something I was actually planning on trying to work on in the later fights so hopefully in the coming chapters I can do a better job on the fight scenes.
From the orders Vegeta gave him he realized he wouldn't make it to Frieza planet 79 in time so he's going straight to Namek, whether he gets there in time for all the action though is another matter entirely. I really like that everyone seems to be enjoying Nappa's struggles, I always thought he was an under utilized character in the show. I hope you continue to enjoy the story and keep up the good feedback!
Chi Chi's fan- I'm glad you are enjoying the story, making sure the characters are well thought out is something I put alot of effort into so I am glad to hear you approve. Raditz and Gohan's interactions will be interesting, as of right now Gohan knows he needs Raditz to survive, but he still isn't overly fond of him due the whole killing Goku thing. Their relationship will grow overtime though, and I have some interesting twists coming up later on that I think everyone will really like, so stay tuned on that front.
I am glad that you like the fights, they are by far the most entertaining parts to write. I think everyone is really going to enjoy the fight with Frieza, there are going to a couple of crazy twists coming up, other than that I won't spoil the fight for anyone.
Saiyan-blues- Glad you like the story, hope you keep on enjoying it!
Android 21- Most of the weaker fighters are about on par with Goku when he first made the trek to King Kai's, the fighters like King Chappa and Nam and Yajirobe are still on their way but are getting close. I think I read somewhere that it took Goku like 180 days to reach the end so it'll be a similar journey for the weaker ones. Unfortunately for your second question at this time I can only give a cryptic non-answer, each Nappa and Raditz have a role for at least awhile longer. Sorry I can't be any less generic than that.
Thanks again everyone for the reviews, I hope you all liked the new chapter, and are ready for the real action to begin! Please review, thanks and see you guys again in just a week or two hopefully!