Chapter 14

It was the strangest sensation Gohei had ever experienced. It was as if he water being sucked down a long, winding drain. It wasn't a pleasant feeling and as his eyes were blinded by a bright, white light, he simply wished for it to be over as soon as possible.

"W-Wha...?" He held his hand against his head and his blurred vision corrected itself. What he saw next made a low gasp exit his mouth. "Huh, how did we get here?!"

He, Kain, and Piccolo spun their heads around upon realizing they were in a totally different area than the lengthy corridor they had moments ago occupied.

The pure white room around them was circular with no exit or entrance of any kind in sight. In the middle of the spacious area were numerous monitors hovering in midair. A black chair stood below them, but as it creaked and turned in their direction, they saw that it was empty. If someone had occupied it, they were gone now. In fact, the three of them were the only ones present.

Kain, sitting up, shook his head. "Agh. I don't ever wanna do that again."

"Is everyone alright?" asked Piccolo.

Gohei nodded. "Pretty much. What the heck was that though? Some kind of portal?"

"Seems like it, though I don't know how they could have managed such a thing."

The three managed to regain their bearings before turning their attention to the monitors floating of their own accord.

"Smile!" Gohei said, waving at his own image on one of the wide screens. "I don't see any cameras around, but it looks like there's one in this room..."

"So, that's how that guy has been watching us," Kain said. He inspected the equipment, though had no clue how to work it. He then pointed to one of the monitors on the left, where Master Daigu and Tyla were talking back in the prison. There was no sound, so he couldn't hear them. "Looks like there's a feed of most of the major areas on this ship."

"Looks like it," added Piccolo. "I don't sense anyone's Ki nearby though."

"Huh?" Sitting down in the chair, Gohei noticed this too. "Huh, that's weird. Do you think everyone on the ship left then? But...why?"

Wait, why did he care if the ship really was empty? If Kidnel and the rest of the Invaders had gone for good, he there certainly wasn't any reason for him to complain.

"No, I don't think anyone's left," said Piccolo. " If they were just going to turn tail and leave, why put up such a fight with us to begin with?"

"So, this is a trap then?"

"Like I said earlier, if all this were some kind of trap, it would have made sense to initiate it the moment you all came to this ship. Look,I don't know what the enemy could possibly thinking, but keep your guards up. Let's not get too comfortable here."

"What a waste of time!" Kain, only half listening to Piccolo's advice, was more aggravated by the prospect of having no one to take his frustration out on. "I should have gone after that Elastro dude after all..."

"You're still on about that?" chimed Gohei, his hands on his hips. He let out a sigh, adding, "Well, considering spikes aren't shooting up from the floor or anything, we were probably asked to come here for a reason, Kain. Just relax!"

"Yeah, yeah! Whatever!" Kain hunched over and placed his head in his hands. He wasn't going to hold his breath that anyone whatsoever would appear.

Seeing this, Gohei said, "There's just no pleasing some people..."

"Did you forget the video we saw earlier, Kain?" asked Piccolo.

"I-It could have been a recording!" Kain protested. "That could have been made hours ago, while everyone else was packing their bags and leaving! Look around, you idiots! Do yousee anyone nearby? I bet that guy only asked us to come here to throw us off his trail! Come on! Let's get out of here! There's no point wasting our time hanging around this place when we could be doing some good outside!"

Piccolo's expression dropped slightly. "And that would be?"

"W-Well...y-you know! We could be..."

Kain stammered off, seeing as he didn't know the answer. He didn't even know how to get out of this strange room. His hesitance seemed to be exactly what Piccolo had expected. He tossed a glare of warning at Kain, effectively telling him to stay put for the time being. All Kain could do in response was to smack his lips and turn away.

"M-Man, those two are scary when they're mad," Gohei mumbled to himself.

For awhile, no one said a word, while they waited for something to happen. The minutes and seconds ticked by and Gohei was glad he didn't have a watch because he knew he would go mad checking it every second if he did.

He soon found himself glancing around the spacious room, unsure of what the hold up could be. As terrified of Kidnel as he was, he was honestly beginning to wish the Invader would reveal himself already. After all, it would be rather rude if their host decided not to show up after inviting them to this little soirée.

"Seriously, no one's coming," declared Kain in a 'take that' sort of tone. He fiddled with a strand of his hair using his fingers and added, "You guys believe me now? No one's coming and no one's gonna come! Let's just go already!"

"Well..." The silence was beginning to grow on Gohei's nerves, so he looked up at Piccolo for a sign on what to do. "Should...we just leave?"

"...I wonder. Kain may be onto something."

"Thank you!" Kain tossed his arms up into the air like he were throwing away a heavy burden and his foul temper lessened since everyone was finally agreeing with him on something. "Now then, let's find a way out of this dump and..."

"I apologize for my late arrival. Were you three waiting long?"

There was no mistaking that voice. The mere sound of it made Gohei break out in a cold sweat, one that was very familiar to him. His trembling form slowly adjusted itself to see the man in question grinning at he and the others with outstretched arms. A clatter of footsteps then filled the room, as Kidnel inched closer to the stunned faces gazing at him. No matter how many times Gohei saw him, he found himself unable to get over the fine, white suit Kidnel wore. It seemed so out of place on the Invader's ship. Was this man really the last of the Four Generals?

"Where the hell did you come from?!" asked Kain, as he straighted up. "I-I didn't sense your energy at all!"

"W-What?!" cried Gohei. Kain was correct. Even Gohei hadn't felt a drop of energy from Kidnel and even now, he couldn't feel a thing emanating from the grinning Kidnel. It was like he wasn't even standing there in front of them. "C-Can he hide his energy or something?!"

"C-Completely?! N-No way! Maybe this guy isn't as strong as we thought!"

"N-No!" Piccolo muttered, growling under his breath. Gohei could hardly believe it, but Piccolo looked even more alarmed than he or Kain. "T-That's not it!"

Somehow, Gohei knew Piccolo was right. Kidnel had been the strongest person Gohei had ever run into when the two had encountered one another in the ship's prison earlier that day, but now, it was as if Kidnel were invisible to his senses. While Gohei knew it was possible to mask one's power level, he had never known one of the Invader's with that ability, considering they were surprised by the fact he and the others could change their battle power at will. Besides, he found it improbable someone like Kidnel could hide away so much power. How could anyone?

"I was held up by something just now," said Kidnel, walking even closer to Gohei and the others. "Here I am though and it is quite an honor to meet you all face to face." He then searched between their faces for someone in particular. "I thought there would be one more with you..."

"If you're lookin' for Axel, he ain't here!" Kain shouted. He then held his fist up and said, "We're all you need to worry about!"

"Is that so? I see. You sound quite confident."

"Cut the crap! You know why we're here, Invader!"

Kidnel let out a small chuckle. "I do indeed. You want to stop this invasion. You want to save your fair planet, Earth. Am I correct?"

"Y-Yeah!" said Gohei, having built up the to at least courage to speak. However, it diminished the instant Kidnel's gaze fixed itself to him and he scattered behind one of Piccolo's legs.

"Ah! The young Saiyan boy," said Kidnel. His eyes moved themselves to the brown tail wagging furiously behind Gohei. "We meet again, it seems."

Kain shot his head from Kidnel to Gohei and then back again. "You two wanna explain how the hell you each other?!"

"We had a short chat earlier actually."

"And why the hell didn't you mention this, kid?!" barked Kain, baring down on Gohei now.

"B-Because I didn't think it mattered!" Gohei cried in defense.

Piccolo abruptly spoke up. "You're Kidnel, right? I've got a few questions for you then. Why have you been toying with us all this time? Something tells me you're up to something other than taking over this planet. You've let us live far too long for that."

"...You're quite perceptive, aren't you, Namekian?" There was a short pause before Kidnel elaborated. "You all may have noticed, but I have been ensuring you all made it here in one piece. What I'm trying to say is that I have no wish to kill any of you. I never have. Getting you to this point alive and well was my goal and I believe I've succeeded in that endeavor."

This bombshell startled Gohei, Kain, and Piccolo so much, they nearly lost their footing. They had suspected this, although hearing it straight from Kidnel's mouth was still quite the shock. Gohei, cleaning out his ears, assumed he must have heard wrong.

"W-Why?!" asked Kain, suspicious of such a claim. "Why would you...?!"

"I wanted to test your abilities!" Kidnel stated enthusiastically.

"T-Test our abilities? B-But why? I don't get it!" proclaimed Gohei.

"Yeah, you must be pulling our legs!" said Kain.

"You don't believe me?" Kidnel placed his arms behind his back and began to pace around the room. The others watched him carefully to make sure he wasn't up to something. "Think about it. If I had wanted any of you dead, I would have seen to it myself personally. I knew you would come to this ship if I took your friends and gave you a reason to want me dead. After all, I killed all of your friends back at your hideout personally to ensure this."

Kidnel stated the last part as if were no big deal. Kain did not let this go unnoticed as his face reddened in anger at finally discovering the identity of Sarai's murderer. Still, he did not attack and perhaps held his ground because his curiosity at the moment was overpowering his rage.

Kidnel went on. "I made sure all my men would do nothing from stopping you from facing Lilma and Soyl and you all proved to be more than worthy opponents for them. Had you been defeated, however, I would have stepped in and made sure of your survival. Those fights gave me a first hand view of your abilities and I must say that I was not disappointed! You all were everything I had been hoping for."

"Y-You bastard!" Kain was gritting his teeth so hard, they were seconds away from crumbling under the pressure. "Y-You killed Sarai and the rest of my friends! Y-You and your goons have killed so many people on Earth and destroyed so many cities and for what?! So you could satisfy your curiosity?! You bastard! What's so special about us, huh?! What's so special about us that would make you spill so much blood?! Do you even have any idea how much suffering you've caused?! Do you even have any idea what you've done?!"

"I do."

"Y-You do?! Then why?!"

"At this point, that's none of your concern."

Despite the passionate words spilling out of Kain's mouth, Kidnel began to laugh after his declaration of remaining tight lipped. Indeed, he placed his hand on the side of his head and began laughing like a madman, losing his usual air of coolness and sophistication. Gohei watched him do so with a gaping jaw. The way in which Kidnel went on was by far one of the most disturbing things he had ever seen. Kain, meanwhile, used it as his inspiration to attack.

"Fuck you!" he roared at the top of his voice, flying at Kidnel and leaving his doubts behind. "You think that's funny! Oh, I'll show you funny!"

"K-Kain, wait!" yelled Gohei, though he was well aware that it was too late to stop him.

Piccolo groaned. "That idiot! What does he think he's doing?! He shouldn't have allowed the enemy to rile him up like that!"

"That's just how Kain is though..."

Kain vanished and reappeared in various places, all while nearing a waiting and still smirking Kidnel. Finally, he got close enough to his target to toss a punch, channeling all the ire he could. It landed on the bridge of Kidnel's nose, with Gohei thinking the battle had been decided already. He could not have been more wrong, as Kain quickly saw that his blow had done absolutely nothing. Kidnel chuckled at Kain's effort before driving his own fist straight into Kain's stomach, his blow nearly going right through. Stumbling back, Kain clutched his chest, fell to his knees, and vomited up his own blood.

"Not a bad punch," Kidnel stated, while rubbing his face. "Still, your technique was a tad bit off. Next time, I suggest you..."

Kain, unwilling to hear Kidnel talk any longer, held his palm open and fired off a point blank energy wave that appeared to blow his target to pieces. Smoke spread all about and while catching his breath, Kain waited to see if this was true. He got his answer when Kidnel wiped some dust off of his undamaged tuxedo and frowned.

"Well, I was going to tell you to punch how I did, but that last attack certainly wasn't bad," Kidnel said, smiling his usual smile. Despite his words, he hadn't been harmed in the slightest.

"W-Why you...!"

"Dammit! This is why I told him not to charge in recklessly!" cried Piccolo.

With no other choice, he entered the fray himself. He shot toward Kidnel with blinding speed and the Invader had no time to react, as he was nailed across the side of his neck by a powerful kick. Piccolo, however, was the one who's expression dropped at this upon the realization that like Kain's attack, his had done nothing whatsoever to slow down Kidnel.

"W-What?! How...?!" Piccolo muttered.

Kidnel replied, "You all don't have to hold back on me, you know. Please, show me what you can really do."

Without moving a muscle, Kidnel produced a shock wave of energy from his body. It was strong enough to knock both Piccolo and Kain back, the two of them staring at their foe wonderment. They each managed to break their falls and at the same time, they dashed at Kidnel again. Gohei watched them unload a flurry of attacks in the Invader's direction, ones he casually avoided by jerking his head around here and there. His two attackers, stunned somewhat by this, increased the intensity of their strikes, enough so that Kidnel at least had to start using both hands to block them. Nevertheless, he did so in the same nonchalant manner that told Gohei he was in no immediate danger.

"H-How he is deflecting all their attacks like that?!" the young boy said, while the small sense of hope he had in winning this battle faded away by the second. He watched as Kidnel repelled a right hook from Kain, tripping the latter up. "E-Even Mr. Piccolo can't hit him!"

"Now, now. You all will mess up my suit if this keeps up," Kidnel stated.

"D-Dammit! Stay still!" Kain barked. He aimed a spinning roundhouse in the hopes of decapitating his smirking foe, yet the move sail over a ducking Kidnel's head.

"I assumed you two were holding back earlier..." Kidnel started, while parrying a chop from Piccolo that was directed at his neck. "But maybe this is all you really have..."

Piccolo, realizing their current offense was pointless, suddenly flipped back and placed his fingertips up to his forehead. It took only a millisecond for Kain to understand what he was up to and he hastily jumped out of the way, just as Piccolo fired off his Makankosappo. The drill-like beam shot at Kidnel faster than Gohei's eyes could follow it and Kidnel himself seemed unprepared for it. At the last second, he managed to redirect it into the wall behind using his right arm.

"W-What?!" Gohei proclaimed. His hands shot up to his head and his fingers began pulling at the hairs on his scalp. "H-He even sent that one away?!"

"Hmph. I had a feeling that one wouldn't work," said Piccolo indifferently.

Kidnel stretched his smoking fingertips, frowning. "I'll admit, that one stung a bit. That was an excellent technique indeed. I might have even been seriously injured if I had allowed it to strike me. Tell me now, Namekian, do you have anymore moves to show me?"

Not replying, Piccolo removed the turban and cape from his person, letting them slam into the floor with a loud thud. Gohei stared at his master before shooting his head over to the clothing, which for some reason, seemed to weigh a ton. His power level had shot up dramatically after removing them and while cracking his knuckles, Piccolo peered over to Kidnel, who looked to be as equally impressed as Gohei.

"Hey!" yelled Kain out of the blue at Piccolo. "You wanna warn me next time you throw one of those things out?! I barely got out of the way that time!"

"...I had faith you would avoid it," Piccolo retorted.

Kain smacked his lips and mumbled, "T-This guy...!"

"I want to know something," said Piccolo, now turning to Kidnel. "How are you masking your Ki like that? I should be able to feel something from you, I can't. What are you doing to achieve such a thing?"

"Oh, you noticed, did you?" Kidnel continued to grin and the more Gohei watched him do so, the more abnormal it appeared to the young warrior. He wished Kidnel would just stop. "I apologize. I thought it was rather rude of me to conceal myself in such a manner, but I did not want to frighten you all before meeting you. You see, the people of my race can easily hide our energy from those around us. However, if you would like me to stop that farce..."

A powerful gust of wind swept past Gohei, Piccolo, and Kain suddenly, courtesy of Kidnel and his surging energy. There was no doubt about it in Gohei's mind. This was the Ki he had sensed earlier, the one that had frozen the blood running in his veins solid. This was the power that made it seem as if every muscle in his body had been inextricably paralyzed. He braced himself from another torrent of Kidnel's might, thinking that it was better when the Invader was hiding his true power because now, every part of his body was screaming for him to run away.

"H-How the hell was he hiding this much energy?!" Kain shouted, his voice carrying over the sweeping currents of air.

Gohei couldn't stop himself. His limbs began to tremble with such ferocity, he was reduced to his knees. It was as if Kidnel's Ki was pressing down on his person like a heavy weight. His breathing stifled; maybe all the air in the room had been sucked up by the huge power swelling all about. Ready to give up and succumb, he felt himself being snatched up off the ground and placed back on his he glanced up, he gasped at Piccolo glaring down at him.

"What are you doing?! Stop sulking around and prepare to fight!"

"B-But...! I-I mean...o-okay, Mr. Piccolo!"

Gohei was glad the winds being produced by Kidnel were so noisy. He didn't even want to know what Piccolo would have done if he had heard him emit a low groan at the idea of taking Kidnel head on. What choice did he have though? If Kidnel didn't finish him, Piccolo certainly would if he continued to stand around doing nothing.

"Well then, are you all ready for me?" asked Kidnel.

"Stop talking crap, you bastard!" Kain screamed back.

Again submitting to his anger, Kain recklessly dove into battle, much to Piccolo's dismay. Gohei attempted going after him, but Piccolo pulled him back.

"Huh? What are you...?"

"Hold on a second. I want you to see this," Piccolo replied sternly.

What was Piccolo thinking? Having no clue, Gohei was forced to stand back and watch as Kain gathered Ki into the palms of his hands. He then unloaded a volley of Ki blasts in the spot Kidnel stood until a dense cloud of smoke blinded his line of sight. This did not deter Kain and he bit his lip, firing off more and more energy waves, intending to reduce Kidnel to nothing more than space dust.

"Whoa! That had to have finished Kidnel off!" Gohei happily proclaimed.

Piccolo's grunt, however, brought him back down to Earth. "You think so? Look closely, Gohei."

Gohei did as he was told, but saw nothing of particular interest. "W-What?"

"...All Kain is doing is masking Kidnel's presence in all that smoke. He isn't thinking with his head. He's just attacking blindly right now. If you seriously think Kidnel would be finished off by something like this, then I really haven't taught you anything."

Though Kain was the one being criticized, Gohei felt as if he was the one who had done something wrong. He again took a look at Kain's handiwork and saw that Piccolo did have a point. It was hard to tell where Kidnel was with so much dust in the air and for all he knew, none of those blasts had made contact with their intended target. Kain perhaps thought so as well, since he finally stopped his offensive to catch his breath and gaze into the thick miasma. There was silence, as everyone watching on waited for something to happen.

"My, my. You nearly ruined a perfect suit of mine," said Kidnel's voice from inside the smoke cloud. As it faded away, Kain's jaw fell at the sight of a completely uninjured Kidnel, who smirked and held his arms out at the sight of this. "You'd be surprised how hard it would be for me to order a new one all the way out on a planet such as this one."

Kidnel's thrilling story was put on hold when a growling Kain fired off a full power Ryuho this time. The blast got nothing more than an afterimage of its target and Kain searched around frantically for his opponent.

"B-Behind you!" Gohei yelled from the distance.

The warning had come far too late. By the time Kain got it, he was kicked forward onto the ground. A hand then wrapped itself tightly around his throat and with his eyes reddening, he gazed into Kidnel's face. The sight of him made even more blood vessels appear in Kain's eyeballs, yet he could do nothing to free himself from what was quickly becoming a vice-like grip on his neck.

"I thought you would be a tad bit better than this," Kidnel told Kain, inspecting him and almost seeming unaware of his own actions. "You honestly looked better fighting Lilma..."

A sudden kick to Kidnel's cheek forced Kain out of his hands and caused him to fly straight into a nearby wall. Free from his captor, Kain hit the floor and began gasping for fresh air, just as Piccolo's silhouette hovered on top of him.

"You need to calm down, Kain! You're fighting like a complete idiot right now because of you can't keep your head on straight!" Piccolo proclaimed.

"S-Shut up!" Kain gasped between sharp inhales. The last thing he wanted to do right now was argue with the likes of Piccolo. "J-Just shut your mouth!"

Kidnel managed to pick himself up and before long, he rejoined Piccolo and Kain, wiping some rubble off of his white tuxedo.

"I honestly didn't see that one coming," he said. He then placed his finger up to his Scouter. The device beeped and clicked a couple of times, stopping on a number that made Kidnel say, "Hmm, three hundred and seventy five thousand. I didn't think anyone on this planet possessed such power."

"Talk is cheap." Stretching his neck, Piccolo stated, "If we're going to fight, then let's do this. Bring it on."

Kidnel let out a soft chuckle at this. "Gladly."

"G-Get out of here, g-green man!" said Kain, struggling to stand. He narrowed his eyelids in Kidnel's vicinity before adding, "H-He's mine! This bastard is the one that killed Sarai, so I'm the one who's going to kill him!

"Kain, you..."

"I don't want to hear it! I'm taking this guy down if it's the last thing I do!"

Impossible, Gohei thought, as he watched Kain on the verge of collapsing. Defeating Kidnel? How was such a thing even possible? He still couldn't fathom why Piccolo and Kain were resisting the Invader so much when they should have been running for their lives. Couldn't they sense Kidnel's incredible Ki like he could? Stepping back, Gohei wanted no part of this battle; Piccolo's words weren't going to change that.

"You're going to take me down?" Kidnel asked inquisitively.

"T-That's right!" Kain said with an air of defiance. "You're going down, like the rest of the bozos you were working with!"

"Working with? Oh, I see now. You actually think I considered Lilma, Plinto, and Soyl as equals then?" said Kidnel. "While they were fantastic comrades, they did not wield nearly as much power as they assumed they did."

"What do you mean?" said Piccolo.

"It's simple: I merely used them for my own goals. I needed to test each of you in battle and what better way to do it then to have the others fight you? You see, Lord Icer sent me to head this invasion alone. The others only came along one I promised them they could share in the credit of capturing this planet."

"What the hell does that have to do with Sarai and the other people you killed?! If you really wanted to test us or whatever, you could have done that without shedding so much blood!" declared Kain.

"Would you have come here with such passion today if I didn't kill them? Would you have been so willing to kill me and the rest of my troops if I hadn't done those sorts of things?"

"You think that's justification for what you've done?!"

"Of course not," replied Kidnel. His tone of voice had not shifted whatsoever from its calm, casual behavior during his tale. "Still, I had to do something to get your group all riled up and I believe I've done the job just fine. It was I who ordered the raid on your stronghold after I predicted you would attack my forces head on. It was also by my hands that this poor girl you speak of..."

"Sarai..." Kain muttered all of a sudden.

Kidnel stopped, cupping his hand over an ear. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

"Her name was...SARA-AAAAAAAA-AI!"

Kain's body moved of its own accord, as his seething form charged at Kidnel without caring for its own well being. All he could see was red, Kidnel's red blood dripping down his fingertips. If he could simply kill Kidnel, all would be right with the world. If he could just knock that smug look of the Invader's face, he would be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

"Ugh! I don't believe him!" snarled Piccolo. "Gohei, we're going this time!"

Gohei jumped at his own name. "H-Huh?"

"I said get a move on or that idiot is going to get himself killed!"

There was no choice now. Going against his every instinct, Gohei willed himself to fly after Piccolo, as they prepared to back up Kain.

Kain, in a complete fit of rage, swung his fist blindly at Kidnel and found his attack easily repelled. He was tossed back, just as Piccolo swooped in with a ball of energy in his fingertips. Whatever damage the blast could have done was not revealed; Piccolo was kicked to the side long before he could launch it off. This left just Gohei, who nervously approached Kidnel with the intent to attack. Be that as it may, his legs froze on the spot as soon as Kidnel laid eyes on him and the most he could do was launch a Masenko off behind a high-pitched cry. The yellow energy wave hit its target point blank and for a fleeting second, Gohei thought he might have actually won.

"Very good, Gohei," said Kidnel, the smoke around him clearing to show off his uninjured form. "It was Gohei, wasn't it? Forgive me. I am terrible with names."

Gohei, now shaking so forcefully that it seemed as if a winter storm had hit the area, stumbled away from Kidnel. He could not recall another time where he had been so frightened in his entire life. His breathing became shallow and rapid; he was going to hyperventilate if he persisted in such a manner. Kidnel stepped forward with one foot and with another terrified scream, Gohei let loose another Ki blast. This time, however, Kidnel did not simply dodge, but vanish behind a bright, white light.

"W-What?!" Gohei cried, looking desperately for the man who had seconds ago been right there in front of him. "How did he...?!"

A swift chop planted itself firmly into his neck and Gohei was rendered unconscious before he even knew what had happened. He crashed face first onto the floor, as Kidnel leered above his motionless form with a smile.

It was at that same moment that Piccolo, rubbing his head, recovered from Kidnel's earlier attack and caught a glimpse of his pupil being struck down. Something inside him snapped when Kidnel next reached down and picked Gohei off of the ground and without a moment's hesitation, he sprung to his feet.

"KIDNEL!"

Kidnel turned his head to the Namekian and said, "Oh, you're still able to move?"

The ground at the Invader's feet was destroyed by a kick that had been meant for him. He jumped back in time, however, and merely smirked when he avoided yet another attack. The opening allowed Piccolo to grab Gohei and move him out of harm's way nevertheless.

"Come on, Gohei! Wake up! We don't have time for this!"

The most Gohei did in response to Piccolo's order was groan a little.

"Should you really be worrying about him when I'm around, Namekian?"

Piccolo just barely managed to block a side kick with his forearm, one that nearly tore his limb off in the process. As he attempted to counter attack, the bright light from before that had caught Gohei off guard earlier also did the same for Piccolo, since Kidnel had vanished along with its appearance.

"Up here," Kidnel's voice called from above. Somehow, he was now flying above Piccolo.

"W-What the hell?! He didn't just dodge that! That was more like...!"

There was only one thing Piccolo could think of to prove his theory and without warning, he began launching of a torrent of Ki blasts toward his foe. Kidnel tensed up in preparation to dodge them, but soon lowered his arms when he saw none of the balls of light were even remotely close to striking him. Indeed, Piccolo's accuracy seemed to decrease the more he went on with his futile offensive.

"Pray tell, what is it you are trying to do?" he asked. "Surely, your eyesight is not that poor that you can't even hit me when I'm right in front of you."

"Hmph! Who said I was trying to hit you?!" Piccolo barked back.

"What? What do you...?"

The true meaning of those words were not apparent to Kidnel until he realized too late that he was surrounded on all sides. The energy blasts that had 'missed' him had actually been gathering him around him, remaining stationary

"Well played, Namekian," he said.

"This is the end for you! DIE!"

Gesturing his arms forward, Piccolo caused the balls to collide into Kidnel simultaneously. A huge explosion took place afterward, as Piccolo braced himself from it. He had wondered whether or not his plan would work, but from the looks of it, he had done the job. Now all that was left was to check on Gohei.

"Come on. Wake up already, you brat," he said, slapping Gohei's face gently.

"H-Huh? W-Wha...?"

Gohei gazed around his surroundings in a daze. The last thing he remembered, he had been battling Kidnel, yet now he was in Piccolo's arms. He stroked his aching neck prior to standing up on his own power.

"M-Mr. Piccolo?"

"Good. You're unharmed. You were starting to worry me there."

"You were...worried about me?"

Gohei was more shocked to hear this than he thought he would be. Maybe it had something to do with Piccolo always coming off as grumpy, mean, and unsociable. It hadn't even crossed Gohei's mind until now that the Namekian might have actually been worrying over his well being. Blushing some, he turned away from his mentor, as the latter raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"S-Say, where'd that Kidnel get off to?" Gohei inquired in a shaky voice.

"Tch. He's right there, Gohei."

He was there alright. Kidnel, wiping off his clothing, glanced at the two standing before him, chuckling. Piccolo growled a little under his breath because his last assault hadn't left a single scratch on the Invader.

"I thought that would happen," he muttered.

"Very interesting technique there! Yes, well done, Namekian. I may very well have died if it weren't for my rather...'unique' abilities."

"Tch! I really hate bastards like you who don't know how to die!" snarled Piccolo.

Kidnel placed his hands in the air innocently. "Oh, I seem to have aggravated you. Please, forgive my rudeness. I..."

"RYUHO!"

From out of nowhere, an orange wave of energy raced toward Kidnel. It got nothing but air though when the Invader again disappeared behind a bright flash of white light. That time, Piccolo got a clear glimpse of what transpired.

"T-That son of a bitch! W-Where did he go?!"

Kain, moving his head to and from, limped over to where Kidnel had just been standing, only to see no trace of him.

"W-What the...?! Wasn't he just here?!" cried Gohei.

"Both of you, calm down! I think I understand what's going on!" said Piccolo.

"Oh yeah?! Then feel free to inform us at any time!" said Kain.

"Yes, please. Educate us."

That voice belonged to Kidnel, who was now leaning his back against Kain's. Instinctively, Kain attempted to attack, but his punch was quickly sent away and Kidnel used the momentum to throw him into a nearby wall.

"A-Ah! Kain! Hold on, I'm...!"

"Gohei, wait!" said Piccolo, as he held the young boy back. "He wants you to go after Kain so you'll let your guard down while he strikes. Kain will be fine. Trust me."

"W-Well, if you say so..."

"Leave this one to me. I clearly underestimated this guy."

Kidnel let out a chuckle. "Well, I'm flattered. However, I have a feeling you're holding back a great deal of power as well. We should do each other the pleasure of fighting at our full strength."

Piccolo merely grumbled at the proposition. He gestured for Gohei to stand back and when the boy did, Piccolo suddenly began to scream with power. Despite the distance he had gotten between them, Gohei was thrown back by the shock waves generated by Piccolo's energy.

"H-He was holding back that much power?!" Gohei exclaimed. "I-I can practically feel the heat from his aura burning my skin!"

"Interesting." Although the room was shaking, it did nothing to falter Kidnel's footing. "My Scouter can't seem to get a proper reading. So I suppose it's true that the people of Earth can hide their true power whenever they feel like it as well."

Like a bullet out of a gun, Piccolo rushed at Kidnel and planted his knuckles into his jaw before the Invader could react. The sudden strike was followed up with another one aimed straight into Kidnel's gut and Piccolo followed that up by grabbing onto his foe's arm and throwing him to the side. He then opened his mouth, launching off a yellow ki wave. The blast looked to connect, yet Piccolo's instincts were telling him otherwise. His hunch proved to be correct, as he blocked an attack from above.

"Oh, I see your reflexes are fantastic!" said Kidnel, pressing his foot into Piccolo. "You've seen a battle or two, haven't you?"

"More than you, I can assure you."

Piccolo shoved Kidnel back a good distance and then attempted a flying knee. The move was blocked and countered with a straight punch, but Piccolo managed to flip back in time. His arm then stretched out toward Kidnel's neck, grabbing it and driving him across the room and into a metallic wall. His eyes widened when he felt some force against his limb and before he knew it, he was being lifted into the air. Smirking, Kidnel slammed the Namek straight into the floor.

"M-Mr. Piccolo!" screamed Gohei on the sidelines.

From the smoke arose Piccolo, who was no worse for the wear. He stretched his neck a bit and returned to his fighting stance, while Kidnel laughed yet again.

"You're quite impressive, Mr. Namekian. I don't believe anyone has ever managed to last thing long against me, let alone manage to sustain no injuries. Yes, I'm quite glad you lived long enough to face me."

"I thought I told you that talk was cheap," replied Piccolo, spitting on the floor. "I've heard just about enough out of you."

"W-Whoa! I-I can't believe it!" exclaimed Gohei. His eyes almost appeared to shimmer as he gazed at Piccolo in astonishment. "H-He's actually taking that Kidnel guy on! I-I think he can actually win this!"

"N-Not if I can help it!"

A hand placed itself on Gohei's shoulder and he jumped in response. Standing behind him was Kain, who managed to limp past him, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. His forehead had been apparently busted open thanks to Kidnel's last attack, though he wasn't going to allow it to slow him down.

"I-I thought I told you, green man, that I was gonna be the one to take this bastard down!" Kain stated between clenched teeth. "I'm not gonna let you beat him first!"

"K-Kain! We're supposed to be working together!" said Gohei.

"Tch! I-I never said I wanted to team up with anyone to do this! You guys just tagged along! T-That's all! I-I never...I never needed your help!"

There was nothing Gohei could think to say to this. The obvious thing would have been to remind Kain the he never would have gotten this far without their help, or that the group was much stronger when they worked together, but those words, and any others, seemed useless right now. Kain's rage stemmed from his quest for revenge, something Gohei would never understand. He had lost acquaintances to the Invaders sure, yet it was nothing compared to the pain of losing someone you loved, as Kain had with Sarai. Perhaps if Tyla had been the one who had died back there, maybe Gohei would have been the one telling his friends to back off from the man who had killed her.

"You again?" Kidnel frowned in an almost irritated manner at Kain. "Don't you know when you've been beaten, human? That girlfriend of yours sure did."

Piccolo quickly shouted, "No, Kain! He's just trying to rile you up again!"

But it was too late. Kidnel's taunt did the trick, as Kain ran at the Invader with reckless abandon for what Gohei assumed was the hundredth time. He also figured Piccolo would stop this suicidal offensive, but the Namekian simply remained where he was.

"You can't hit me, human. Not in a million years," said Kidnel

Gohei's eyes were blinded by a bright light and when he regained his vision, he saw that Kidnel was gone. It was just like what happened earlier when he himself had tried attacking.

"W-What?! Seriously, what the hell is that?!" said Kain.

Piccolo shook his head. "If you had listened to me earlier, I could have told you that would happen! Listen! This guy isn't using high speed movement to dodge our attacks! He's using some kind of teleportation ability! You might as well be trying to fight blind if you think you're going to hit him like that!"

"T-Teleportation?! Y-You gotta be kidding me! How are we supposed to beat that?!"

"It's actually called Lunar Movement."

Gohei and Kain watched as purple blood spilled the ground in front of them, Piccolo's blood. As the Namek stood petrified, the other two saw a pale, white hand pierced through the center of his chest. Kidnel then removed his limb and even more blood spluttered out of the wound before Piccolo finally collapsed face first.

"N-No way!" Kain muttered. "H-He killed him just like that!"

Piccolo...dead? All the strength in Gohei's legs melted away upon hearing this. A pool of blood was forming below his unmoving mentor and he could feel Piccolo's power level dropping like a rock. He wasn't dead yet, but he would be in a matter of minutes if something wasn't done. Gohei, however, was drawing a blank on what to do.

"He was quite interesting, that Namekian." Kidnel shook his blood stained hand clean, making sure to get none of it on his fine, white suit. "A pity I had to kill him..."

"You bastard!" cried Kain, as he leap at Kidnel with orange Ki around his right arm. "Cho Ryu Tekken!"

"I believe your friend did warn you about this..."

Kain's attack missed when Kidnel's body vanished into thin air, replaced by white light. A devastating kick soon met his chest, causing him to hack up blood before the force knocked him backward. With that, Gohei saw that once again, he was the last man standing.

"W-What am I supposed to do now?!" he stated. "J-Just hang on, Piccolo! I'll...I'll..."

"G-Gohei..." Piccolo, gasping for air, managed to turn himself over. He then struggled to direct Gohei's attention to something or another. "I-In...my clothing. S-Senzu..."

"Huh? Senzu? What are you...?"

How could Gohei have forgotten so soon? Of course, Piccolo was carrying a bag full of Senzu, magic beans that could restore a person from even the most grievous injuries. Nodding, Gohei hastily fumbled over Piccolo's person until he found the brown sack in question. He then undid the string keep it closed, grabbed one of the green beans, and slipped it inside Piccolo's mouth. Slowly, the Namek began to chew prior to swallowing.

"W-We only have three more?!" Gohei exclaimed upon looking into the bag.

"That bag..." Kidnel started, as he stepped toward Gohei. "What is it that you have there?"

Instinctively, Gohei pulled the sack closer to him. "W-What's it to you?!"

That well-known flash of light blinded Gohei and he felt the bag in his possession snatched away by some unseen force. By the time he managed to regain himself, Kidnel was already holding the Senzu himself. The Invader plucked one from the depths of the sack, held it up to his face, and for a moment, Gohei swore he was going to eat it.

"Interesting," was all he said instead. "How ever did you come in possession of these?"

Gohei saw no point in responding. He was more concerned with the fact his carelessness had just lost he and the others their only hope of ever besting Kidnel.

"T-There's noway someone like me could get them back..."

"Hmm? You want them back? Here then."

The brown sack was thrown by Kidnel and Gohei, mesmerized, watched it twirl around before he finally caught it with both hands.

"W-What are you doing?!"

Kidnel smiled. "I only wished to examine them. I had no intention of keeping them for myself."

Now Gohei was seriously confused. Every time he thought he had Kidnel pegged, the Invader did something to completely throw him off. If the situation were reversed, Gohei would have kept the Senzu in a heartbeat, yet Kidnel have given them back without a care in the world. Was he just messing with Gohei because he knew he was no threat to him?

"Good. If we still have the Senzu, then give on to Kain," said Piccolo, who had walked in front of Gohei all of the sudden. Judging by the look of him, the Senzu had done the trick. "I'll hold him off while you do so. I need that idiot for something."

For the moment, Gohei's heart stopped its frantic beating. These near close calls were beginning to wear him down and he wasn't sure how many more he could take without cracking. He supposed tending to Kain was more important that his own constitution at the moment, so he rushed over to his fallen friend, who was writhing around in pain on the floor.

"Hey, idiot. Are you still alive?" asked Gohei, who was poking Kain the face.

Kain, swatting the finger away, replied, "Y-Yeah. I-I just had the wind knocked out of me is all! W-Where is that bastard?!"

Kidnel, the bastard being spoken of, was busy taking on Piccolo in the air. Both fighters traded blow after blow with one another, though neither of them could connect a hit on the other.

"Wow! I Mr. Piccolo's really amazing!"

Kain rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess."

"Oh!" Gohei had nearly forgotten what he had been tasked with doing. "Here."

The sight of the Senzu in Gohei's fingers made Kain groan a bit. The reality that he had to use it meant that he was actually being beaten by Kidnel, something his pride really didn't want to admit. Still, he snatched the bean away from Gohei and nearly shoved it down his throat. Soon enough, he sensed all his injuries melting away and his energy returning.

"You alright?" said Gohei.

"More or less. Thanks, kid," said Kain. He stretched his neck out a bit and added, "That last shot that jerk gave me really hurt though. Think I'll go return the favor."

"Er...well, try not to get too hurt while doing it..."

"W-What's that supposed to mean?!" cried Kain, a little embarrassed.

"I-It's not that! It's just...we only have two Senzu left..."

"Seriously? Agh, dammit. I guess we'll just have to make due with what we have."

Suddenly, Piccolo landed in front of the two and the three of them had to leap out of the way of an incoming energy wave. The smoke stirred up from the blast blinded the trio and as such, none of them were able to see Kidnel's attacks masked in between. Each of them were sent in different directions, but both Kain and Piccolo managed to recover in time to bounce back. Swiping at Kidnel with his hand, Piccolo's strike missed and Kidnel attempted a side kick in return. The blow was parried and followed up by a point blank Masenko. The blast wasn't enough to finish off Kidnel, although he was blown back by it.

"My suit..." the Invader mumbled. There was a hole in the center of his tuxedo and he appeared more perturbed by it than his opponent. "Hmph. It's going to cost a fortune to fix this."

A green hand slammed into Kidnel's face just then. Piccolo then reeled his arm back toward himself, adding a straight punch from his other limb for good measure. Kidnel looked powerless to stop this, but as the blow landed, he employed Lunar Movement to disappear from Piccolo's line of sight. Coming from the top was his opponent, who's elbow drop only missed because Kain managed to kick him out of the way. The surprise attack forced Kidnel to jump back to a more advantageous position. Kain was having none of that, however.

"Get your ass back here!" he roared.

He reached out far enough to grab the end of Kidnel's clothing. Skull met skull, as Kain dragged his foe in for a bone shattering head butt. Both fighters were rattled by it, yet it was Kain who refused to submit. He ax handled Kidnel downward, while Piccolo used the opportunity to land a swift kick. This sent the Invader spiraling toward a stunned and unready Gohei.

"W-Wha?!"

"Gohei! Now's our chance! You have to finish him off!" Piccolo suddenly declared. "Finish him before he can use that Lunar Movement of his!"

It did appear that Kidnel was quite unable to defend himself at the moment, even from someone like Gohei. If he wanted to, he probably could finish the Invader off in one shot. Despite this, his limbs were failing to heed his will because all they wanted to do was flee while they had the chance. Could he really handle something like this? Could he really finish off the Invader that had caused her and the others so much torment?

What was Gohei supposed to do?

END

A/N: Computer has been on the fritz, hence this chapter taking so long to be up. Everything's all fixed now, so expect regular updates on Mondays or Tuesdays.