Chapter 14 – The Saiyan Prince Returns

Android Nineteen was about to lunge after Yamcha who was retreating with the ill-stricken Goku; apparently the android was not content with letting their prey go. However, Android Twenty was quicker than his partner and had other ideas: "No Nineteen! There's no need to go after him! It might be more fun to save the best for last..." There was a layer of sadistic pleasure embedded in that last phrase which sent shivers and knots of disgust and discontentment within many of Goku's allies, most of whom were likely to prove little match for these mechanical monsters. Their greatest fighter had been struck down with his overdue illness, leaving it up to the rest of them to face their foes alone.

Nineteen did not move, instead resigned to standing on the spot, watching as his comrade finally descended to the ground between the group of fighters and Vegeta. Chiri watched with caution as he surveyed them and the other Saiyan. "Let's clean up these pesky flies first." The aged android continued, "Now that Vegeta's joined them, this could be a bit more interesting..."

Chiri backed a little closer to her brother once more as the android's cold eyes settled on their group before slowly trailing over towards Vegeta. This was bad, her father was down and out for the count and now they all stood awaiting their defeat and worse. She was only six-years-old; she didn't want to perish! No matter how much her mother had tried to shield her daughter from the harsh and cruel facts of life, Chiri was no fool. She knew today could very well be the day she was murdered, the thought petrified her and pierced her to her very soul, it felt as if she was constantly being stabbed in icy water just acknowledging the fact. Any other child would have long run away but she was no ordinary child; though she wanted to run away and save herself she knew she could not run. It would not solve the problem and she couldn't bear the fact she could very well lose her brother. Chiri would never forgive herself if Gohan were to die. In fact she was almost certain that it was her want to help keep Gohan safe that kept her rooted to the ground.

"S...Say, why are we still standing here?" Krillin asked quietly. "Shouldn't we retreat for now and come back later?"

"What?" Gohan murmured with surprise.

"Think about it," Krillin responded, "That guy from the future said that we fought the androids without Goku and all of us – including Vegeta – would be killed except for you, Gohan! The details are different but surely we're now in the same situation, right? So why let it happen? I say we get outta here and wait for Goku to get better!"

Chiri frowned disheartened in knowing what he said was true but feeling a little disappointed in Krillin. Her father, Piccolo and Gohan would want to stay until the very end and she had had that ideology drilled into her since her training had begun. There was no use in running and hiding from the opponent; no matter where she'd run they would eventually find her and in the meantime defenceless people would be hurt. She'd assumed all of her father's friends shared the same thoughts but apparently not!

"But if we run away, they'll just go on a rampage like they did in that city," Gohan spoke anxiously.

"... You're not as brave as I thought you were, Mr Krillin..." Chiri murmured quietly, though it wasn't unnoticed by many of the men standing around her, Krillin included.

"That's not what I'm getting at," Krillin hissed, "All I'm saying is let's wait until Goku gets better. I'm not saying let's run away and never fight these monsters!"

"It may be that things won't turn out as that boy predicted," Piccolo interrupted them, "There are some minor differences; Goku's illness was at a different time than the boy said it would be. His coming to the past probably affected our timeline in subtle ways... I say we act as if we never heard what that boy said and fight these androids."

That was the Piccolo she knew. Chiri gave a determined nod to the Namekian and clenched her fists in anticipation. It was all or nothing, there was no in between. These androids would no doubt have followed them if they'd tried to flee anyway, just as the fat one had almost followed Yamcha and her father.

Chiri picked up on Android Nineteen's voice, he was muttering something about challenging that warrior Vegeta who still had made no attempt to get away from the androids or even join the others.

"... You're so greedy," Twenty muttered, his voice clearer as he was closer to the group. "You've already multiplied your power by absorbing Son Goku's power... Fine, go ahead, you can have Vegeta. I'll take the other five."

The reference to her and the others sent a small and uncomfortable shudder through Chiri's body but she stood firmly ready for any move Twenty would try to pull on them. After a few seconds she was a little taken back to realise he didn't seem to be showing that much of an interest in them at all, his gaze focusing instead on Vegeta and Nineteen, the latter who'd just put up his defences. Chiri too began to observe the two warriors. Nineteen seemed ready to fight but Vegeta stood with his defences down, his arms still folded across his chest. She began to wonder what sort of fighter he would be and whether or not he was getting in way over his head.

At last Vegeta unfolded his arms, "...I know from my limited observations that your legends far outstrip the reality. The palms of your hands seem to draw in energy, I'll need to watch out for those..."

"You say you were watching the entire time but you missed the most important part," Nineteen's tinny voice reminding Chiri he was not human despite what his appearances would suggest. "We know all of your capabilities Vegeta."

"So you say but you seemed pretty surprised when Kakarrot transformed into a Super Saiyan," Vegeta responded, the small smirk on his face unwavering. "You thought your mathematical projections would give you all the information you needed to know. We Saiyans can't be reduced to numbers..."

"Um... Gohan," Chiri whispered quietly but was abruptly hushed by her brother. "What's a Kakarrot?" She asked impatiently and slightly irked she'd been told to be quiet!

"It's the name Vegeta calls Dad, I'll explain it to you later, just let me concentrate on this battle," Gohan hurriedly replied in a hushed voice.

"I'm curious, do androids feel fear?"

If Gohan's wishes to watch the fight had not been enough to deter Chiri from more questioning, Vegeta's actions certainly had! His ki exploded to an unfathomable height in less than a second; the sudden surge almost made Chiri's heart stop dead in its tracks as her body was assaulted by yet another bout of adrenaline and shock. She wasn't the only one caught by surprise; the others around her all seemed to look like deer caught in headlights as Vegeta's hair shimmered blonde, the golden aura encircling his body as his titanic ki surged through his body. Even the two androids seemed surprised to see him standing before them as a Super Saiyan. Chiri did not understand much about Super Saiyans other than the fact her father was one and it was a terrifying thing to be on the opposing side. She'd been told by her father and Gohan about its power and how Goku was the only Saiyan who could do it, besides the boy from the future. Chiri had not realised Vegeta was also a Saiyan just like her father!

"He's a Super Saiyan?" Gohan spluttered in disbelief, hair waving around due to the energy the Saiyan was expelling from his body. His initial wave of power had knocked Nineteen from his feet and the stout android was only just rising back onto them.

"No way, why is he a Super Saiyan?!" Krillin sounded just as shocked as Gohan though there was a more noticeable twinge of annoyance in his voice. "I thought you had to have a calm, pure heart?!"

"My heart is pure..." Vegeta muttered overhearing the loud warrior, "... Pure evil!"

'Evil? Wait... that can't be right... He's on our side, isn't he?' It didn't quite add up in Chiri's mind just how someone claiming to be evil could be on the same side battling against the androids rather than fighting alongside them. She'd always thought it was as clear as day and night; there was the good side and the bad side. She had never even considered the possibility of the two types mixing up. She rejected Vegeta's comment, it could not be possible. She instead listened in as the Saiyan began to explain the path he'd walked to becoming this legendary warrior.

"I desired nothing but to become stronger and I endured a training from Hell... however I soon ran into a wall; my own limitations. Not even training at four-hundred-and-fifty times normal Earth gravity seemed to push me beyond them so I travelled into space where I would not be distracted by the hindrances of the Earth. Even there in the midst of a meteor shower could I surpass these limitations, fighting for my ship and my life! It infuriated me to the point that I turned my rage upon myself. In that rage I felt towards myself, I finally awoke and transformed into a Super Saiyan. I overflowed with joy; finally I could defeat Kakarrot and return as the true Saiyan Prince!"

"Enough of this prattle," Twenty muttered tired, "Turn into what you will. You are still no match for us, just like Son Goku."

Android Nineteen charged straight towards Vegeta (a move which Chiri had not been expecting so fast!), firing off several eye beams as he surrounded the Saiyan from many angles, engulfing the warrior in thick smoke. Chiri attempted to adjust her fighting instincts, picking up Vegeta's ki with no trouble and attempting to assess the damage though this was hard to do because of how unbelievably high Vegeta's ki reading was! As the dust started to thin out and it became easier to see, it because apparent that no damage had been dealt to the warrior. Once more Nineteen closed in pulling one clenched fist back, tossing it ahead and striking Vegeta clean between the eyes. Chiri had to flinch at the move though once she'd opened her eyes she was surprised to see Vegeta had only stumbled back half a step and was reeling his head slowly back to its rightful position, that same confident smile on his face.

"Just as I thought, you're nothing!" Vegeta jeered. "I forgot to mention, when I become a Super Saiyan my ferocity and aggression increases... You don't feel pain, do you? You're lucky..."

His leg drove clean into Nineteen's stomach; if anyone had blinked at that moment they would have missed the movement completely. Chiri had struggled to follow it but to her it had seemed like a flash of a blur. Nineteen reeled as the shock of the attack reverberated through his mechanical body. Vegeta's elbow cracked against his cheek knocking him clean off his feet and displacing the android's domed hat which clattered somewhere to the wayside. Another kick to the chin forced Nineteen to make contact with the ground, crashing and scraping against the dirt and driving up dust as the Super Saiyan casually walked towards him.

"He's amazing," Chiri mumbled quietly to herself, mesmerised by Vegeta's dominance over the android. Even her father hadn't shown this kind of superiority over him, more rushed and frenzied in his attacks. The android seemed to be taking longer to recover from the hits it was taking too. Chiri wondered if now would be the time Vegeta would suddenly come down with the same heart virus as her father... She prayed her father was ok and that Yamcha was almost at her home.

"What's the matter?" Vegeta mused as he stopped inches from his opponent, "Did your scrap metal brain screw up its calculations?"

Nineteen bolted up onto his feet at a terrifying speed but Vegeta was faster still; not only did he avoid Nineteen's headbutt, he managed to duck under him, support himself with his hands and slam both feet straight into the android's belly, the machine shooting into the clouds above. The battle took to the sky, Chiri craning her neck to get a decent view as Vegeta effortlessly dodged Nineteen's onslaught. A single strike between the eyes stopped the android in its tracks, though quickly it retaliated with his ever faithful twin eye beams. Vegeta avoided once again and this time pushed the android with force dead at the group below!

Chiri gasped and quickly ran as fast as she could seconds before Nineteen struck the ground, plummeting straight through it and dispelling rock and dust which shot high into the atmosphere, the thick cloud of debris quickly swallowing Chiri up. Anxiously she kept on running, quickly rushing out from the outside of the cloud and spotting the others a few metres in front of her. A little embarrassed she had not thought of flying with the others, she quickly rushed over to them without making any eye contact before turning her eyes back to the dust she'd just escaped from. The cloud was thick and stung her eyes but it quickly began to pan away and thinned out. From what she could see from the crater (she was short even for a six-year-old, so could barely see much below the surface), Vegeta stood upright, his pointy hair barely poking up into her view. Chiri went to take a couple of steps forward to gain a better view but was held back by a cautious Gohan, who shook his head when her eyes glanced over to him. "I can't see though, Gohan," Chiri frowned. "What's going in? Where'd the android go?"

Gravel shifted and a gasp of shock from Krillin made her panic; Chiri's head spun back around. Vegeta still appeared to be standing. Anxious to see she gently floated a little ways off the ground so she was now at Gohan's level. From what she could see Android Nineteen was kneeling and had grabbed hold of both of Vegeta's wrists. This was bad; she could sense the Saiyan's energy being drained away. "Oh no! Mr Vegeta!" She cried.

"I have you now and I'll hold you until I drain you dry!" Nineteen's voice came from the crater, "It's no use kicking, I'll never let go!"

"Never huh? Let's see."

Vegeta suddenly sprung his legs up, rotating backwards and pushing his feet against the android's face. From where she stood Chiri could hear the strain on the machine's metal body, she could see the apparent discomfort on his compressed face as the prince applied more and more pressure, yanking the android's arms further and further forward. Still his power was falling and Chiri was scared the android would eventually gain the advantage. If that happened then she dreaded to think what would happen to Vegeta and the rest of them – including her!

"Don't let go now," Vegeta jeered straightening his legs ever so slightly more. "... I see. You do absorb energy through your hands, then you add that energy to your own..."

"I'll never let you go!" Nineteen growled through a strained voice, his voice distorted slightly from the lack of movement of his lips, his face being pressed constantly back.

"That's the spirit, Android! Never say die!" With a bellow and a sudden straightening of his entire body, Vegeta ripped himself free, tearing the android's wrists clean from his arms, the palms still tightly attached to his own wrists. Chiri shrieked in horror and quickly squinted away in disgust; not seeing Nineteen strike the wall of the small crater with shock and disbelief. Hurriedly she landed back on her own feet and stood behind Gohan in some sort of defensive move. She didn't want to be near that horrifying sight, it had stuck a bad chord with her and had frightened her. She'd never seen anything so violent in her entire life!

"Chiri, focus!" Piccolo's voice made her jump, Chiri reluctantly looking up to him through half-lidded eyes. "Do not turn away! You wanted to be here along with your father, brother and I, remember? This is what battle is! Stop being a baby and watch, do not turn away. Do not cower behind your brother and honour the fight!"

Reluctantly Chiri stepped out from behind Gohan who gave his sister a sympathetic glance; it hadn't been long ago since he too had been in the same shoes as his little sister. Quickly he'd been forced to become accustomed to it and had learnt to shrug it off and ignore the brutality. However he knew how empathetic his little sister was and how much a sight such as this would distress her. He too was suffering to watch this though for a different reason, he could not be the big brother he wanted to be and support his little sister; Piccolo would look down on it and shout at them both. It was for her own good in the Namekian's own view and Gohan knew better than to disregard that. If Chiri truly wanted to be involved in these kinds of events, she'd have to get over the initial shock, even if he feared it would result in a numbing sensation within her.

Vegeta was removing the android's amputated hands from his wrists, observing them intensely, "I see. You absorb energy through these things on your palms... But that's not going to happen anymore." He tossed the two hands to the floor and began to approach the cowering android who'd resigned to leaning back into the wall for comfort. "... So you feel fear?" Vegeta asked amused, "A damn doll?"

Nineteen screamed and scurried up the wall of the crater, pulling himself up onto level ground and dashing away from the small crowd past Twenty who'd remained silent throughout the entire ordeal. Chiri watched horrified as Vegeta ascended a few dozen metres into the air and held out one arm directly toward the fleeing machine. Something about this didn't sit well with her; the android was scared, was fleeing for his life. Chiri couldn't let him be hurt!

"Enough!" Twenty cried.

"Don't be absurd!" Vegeta snapped. "It's enough because you're losing! You've come here to destroy us! Fool, you're going to have to finish what you started!" With that he fired up his energy and began charging ki into his palm, the ball of ki shimmering brightly and almost blinding Chiri. She struggled to see the android who now seemed to have run far from where she and the others stood. The energy radiating off the Saiyan was starting to push her back on her feet a little, forcing her to dig her feet into the dust slightly to gain more of a grip on the ground.

"Take this! Super Vegeta's Big Bang Attack!" Vegeta bellowed. The terrific attack was fired straight for its opponent. In an instant the entire area went up in a flash of light, the roar so loud Chiri couldn't hear anything or make sense of anything around her, resorting to squatting once more, clamping her hands over her ears and shutting her eyes tightly. The terrifically deafening sound rumbled throughout the ground and her small body like a large rumble of thunder.

The noise and light quickly died down. When she deemed it safe enough to look, Chiri turned her head and felt her jaw drop as her heart stopped. A large mushroom cloud rose thousands of metres up into the atmosphere; a large section of the land before her had been completely flattened out by the explosion, almost unrecognisable from what it had been before. In the centre of it all she saw a small object fall from the skies and roll a couple of times across the dust.

Nineteen's head.

Just when she'd thought things could not have gotten more gruesome than before, they'd proven her wrong! She glanced worryingly at her brother who didn't notice her watching him; he seemed more interested in what Vegeta had done to the ground before them all. Everyone else seemed amazed and stunned by what they'd just seen, a twinge of horror pinned on all of their faces. Chiri resigned herself to suffering in silence and took another long look at the scenery before them. It was horrifying, an apocalyptic scene from her nightmares. She did not wish to be here, she wanted to be somewhere safe with her mother and father. Her ill, virus-stricken father...

She wished he were here still with them.

"... We may have miscalculated but you still have no hope of victory," Twenty spoke, sounding alarmingly indifferent to the destruction of his comrade. Now it was just Twenty and Vegeta.

The Super Saiyan smirked and descended, landing between the android and the small group of onlookers. Chiri watched with a hint of distress and disgust as her eyes fixated on the two, though this was not directed towards the machine. She was horrified with seeing a head sitting nonchalantly upon the ground but now harboured a fear for how brutal Vegeta had been towards Android Nineteen; ripping off both his hands and then destroying his entire body with a powerful and terrifying attack when the android clearly had no interest in fighting any longer. She'd never known anyone to act so cold towards another living being, even if it had only been an android. As far as Chiri was concerned, android or not the machine was very much alive and was clearly showing signs of fear. Vegeta'd gone too far.

To everyone's surprise Vegeta reverted from his Super Saiyan form and began to dust himself off. "I've lost a lot of energy." He spoke with an air of indifference. "Now's your chance to defeat me. Go ahead, come at me."

Twenty seemed to be eyeing the Saiyan suspiciously watching his every move, yet Vegeta made no attempt to catch the android by surprise and attack. Chiri watched confused as the two fighters continued to converse, not really sure what was about to happen or whether or not Twenty would take Vegeta up on his offer. The Saiyan seemed to be heckling the android...

Suddenly Twenty bolted from the spot dashing straight for the rocky terrain!

"He's running!" Krillin gasped. "He's gonna hide in the rocks!"

"Hey! Give me a senzu bean!" Vegeta bellowed finally turning his attention to the others behind him. Krillin seemed hesitant which only seemed to annoy the Saiyan more. "Hurry up, do you want him to get away?!" He snapped, brow burrowing further.

"Give him a senzu," Piccolo instructed. On Piccolo's order, Krillin dove into his shirt and pulled free the senzu bag, fondling around inside it and chucking a small looking bean over to Vegeta who effortlessly caught it.

'I remember those...' Chiri took note. She recalled having to use senzu beans during the fight with Cooler and his men and remembered her big brother had gone to collect some to help their father, who'd taken a battering from a single ki attack from Cooler. Eager to see the effects of the bean at work once more, she kept her eyes on the Saiyan as he ate the bean. Instantly she felt the increase in his power as it returned to normal. Vegeta wasted no time in transforming once again into a Super Saiyan and turned his back to the small crowd.

"Why don't you guys go home and drink some milk or something? Just stay out of my way!" With that he took off in the same direction Twenty had vanished off to.

The comment left Chiri confused though judging by everyone else's reactions she guessed he'd insulted them in some way. Where was the insult? She liked milk... and now she'd rather be safe at home!

"Drink milk, my butt! What a jerk!" Krillin snapped agitated.

"He may be a jerk but he's a smart jerk at that," Piccolo responded, sounding ever calm. "He really did lose most of his energy just to confirm the androids drain energy through their palms. If Android Twenty had stood his ground he'd have beaten Vegeta easily. It was a beautiful bluff; he truly is a great warrior."

"A bluff, eh?" Chiri murmured to herself. She had to ask Gohan what a bluff was later, guessing now was not a good time!

"He might have surpassed even Goku..." Piccolo added.

There was an uneasy silence amongst the rest of the group though eventually Tenshinhan spoke out, "I'm following him. I at least want to know that android will be destroyed."

"I'm going too," Krillin agreed.

"Me too," Gohan nodded, "What'd be the point in all that training if I don't go?"

"If you're going Gohan then I wanna go too," Chiri perked up not wanting to be left alone. Her dad wasn't here right now so the next best person to stick close to was Gohan.

"Agreed, we'll all go," Piccolo decided. "If you see the android, don't try to fight him. None of you could last long against him. He has no ki for us to detect so we'll have to be careful. He'll probably be hiding amongst the rocks. If any of you find him, let me or Vegeta know."

"Let's go!" Tenshinhan took off in the direction Vegeta and the android had vanished off into, Chiri following the others. She couldn't help shake off her nerves as they divided up and each dove into a separate area. Indeed the entire scenery around her was covered in rocky outcrops and crags, many of which were very deep and dark. She could sense the others around her but that was of little comfort to her as she descended into a shallow crag and landed safely upon a plateau. She cautiously scanned the area pretending she was playing hide-and-seek, however remembering who it was she was searching for quickly took out the fun.