Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball or Dragonballz

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Piccolo pushed his turban off his head, the sweat-drenched fabric only becoming a nuisance, and took the pause in training to look for King Kai. The little blue god had been unusually quiet as of late. Even the bad jokes had left his strange mentor. Strange as he was, Piccolo had to admit the being was powerful, knowledgeable, and most importantly, merrily dispositioned. That attitude was not to be found.

Instead, King Kai was standing some ways away on his little planet looking off into the sky. His hands clasped tightly behind his back and his antennae twitched furiously. Piccolo approached quietly.

"Are you done with me already? Not that I miss your jokes but I figured training would last a bit longer if I'm stuck here the rest of eternity," Piccolo said.

A long sigh and then the Kai answered, "You weren't supposed to be here forever, Piccolo. A couple of years, three or four tops. After all, Mr. Popo is on standby with instructions to inform everyone about Planet Namek and the Dragonballs there."

"You've said this a dozen times already, what's so different this time? He'll tell Bulma and Goku once the ship is ready so they don't rush their journey and endanger themselves further. Same plan as it's been for what? A year, year and a half?" Piccolo snapped.

"I've been a blind fool," King Kai said quietly before explaining, "I've been so busy keeping an eye on this Goku fella that I never thought to investigate Raditz more. He has two allies, Saiyans, headed straight for Earth."

"So, warn them! They'll take care of it. Goku's more than strong enough now," Piccolo pointed out.

"Compared to Raditz, yes, but these guys don't compare to Raditz. They're far stronger and they will be landing within a few hours. I am so sorry, Piccolo, I've sent a message to Popo since he's the easiest to contact, but I can make no promises. Just have hope," the diety said sadly.

"Even stronger than Raditz?" Goku asked. Popo nodded, eyes wide with worry. The Saiyan nodded. Bulma clutched his large hand with a small gasp.

"Call Krillin, let him know to be ready, and see if he can contact the others," Goku looked back towards Mr. Popo and said, "Thank you for telling us about Namek. We're actually nearly ready to leave. Another month, maybe less, and we'll be leaving and now we have a heading."

"You have to beat the Saiyans first, Goku," Popo chided in his strange cadence. Goku gave a small, hopeful grin and said, "It's too late to sit around and worry about that now. They'll be here soon. It's time for action."

Bulma got to work while Popo excused himself. Goku meanwhile left for Mount Pauzo. If they came to him, he wanted to be isolated. If not then this was as good a starting point as anywhere.

True to Popo's message from King Kai, whoever that was, two large power were soon prickling his senses. The closer they got the more he could tell. Each was large, much larger than Krillin's currently was. It was hard to believe that not long ago, their power would have been overwhelming for even him.

He felt their ships hit. Even as he was lifting into the air, he felt the millions of lives in that city vanish in an instant. A startled cry escaped him as he sped off towards them. The others were approaching from around the globe as well.

The two armored men intercepted him in the air. High over the outskirts of the destroyed city, Goku got his first good look at them unhindered. The weaker of the two was massive and bald with a pencil-thin mustache. The other was much smaller, shorter than himself, and slim. His hair stood up resembling a fire made of black flames. Each wore a scouter and armor similar to Raditz's.

"Are you Kakarot, the younger brother of the Saiyan known as Raditz?" the short one asked, his arms crossed. Before he could answer, his own allies showed up. Krillin coming to a stop just behind and to the right of him. Tien on his left. Yamcha and Chiaotzu brought up the rear.

"Look at that, Vegeta, he needs his little friends," Nappa laughed.

"Quiet, Nappa! Weakling or not, this third-rate trash managed to off Raditz. We are not here to make jokes," Vegeta refocused and introduced them, "Kakarot, or Goku, or whatever you ridiculous name you've given yourself, I am Vegeta, the Prince of Saiyans. Together, you, Nappa, and I, are the last three true Saiyans that I am aware of. As such, I am willing to demonstrate mercy one time and one time only. Stand down, return with us, and I will allow your planet the gracious chance to submit themselves as new subjects of the Cold Empire."

Goku was tired of being recruited. He was ready to be off to find his son, to be back to pretending ignorance when Piccolo was training Gohan from his windowsill. Goku was tired of these Saiyans.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Goku was cut off from saying any more. Vegeta ordered, "We all heard the man, he had the chance to save you. Nappa, take care of the riff-raff, I'll deal with the traitor myself."

Before anyone else could so much as blink, the two invaders were on the move. Goku had no choice but to hope his friends could manage. Vegeta was on him in an instant. His gloved fist smashing him down through the open air. Goku hurried to correct himself and shot back up with a vengeance. The fight was on.

Lower to the ground, the others were already struggling against the superior might of Nappa. The brute was making a game of their fight. Yamcha and Chiaotzu were both lagging behind already. Tien was taking the brunt of the Saiyan's attack while Krillin zipped in and out of range with fast, feathered hits.

Goku had no time to observe much as Vegeta was relentless. Faster and stronger, the small warrior was consistently coming out on top of their clashes. Still, Goku was no slouch and he made sure Vegeta got his share.

A nasty doubled fisted slam to the back found him careening to the ground. The chunked up and exploded remains of buildings and cars collapsed on top of him. A piece of rebar nearly taking out an eye.

"Just stay down, Kakarot! You've lost this fight," Vegeta spat the words. Despite his words, the taste of blood in his mouth and aching ribs said otherwise. He had fought enough battles to know when an opponent was holding back.

Down below, currently buried alive, Goku had to admit he was right. He had hoped to win the fight with stamina, just outlast his enemy, and wrap it all up in one blow. His bout with Piccolo all those years ago had taught him what all out could cost him when against someone equal to himself. Vegeta was having none of that, though. It would be all or nothing.

Before either of the powerhouses could move a scream of pain came from the others. Vegeta was distracted and looked over to see the raggedy one with long hair, Yamcha, twitching under Nappa's boot as he stared up. The problem was that he should be face down with the rest of his body.

"Ahhh, damn, that's got to hurt!" Nappa crowed before raising his and stepping back, "Well, it's really a mercy killing at this point."

With a grin, he blasted him. Vegeta couldn't figure out why his oaf of a companion was not being harassed. A glance at the other defenders of Earth gave him his answer. The one with the broken neck is not who screamed. The bald triclops missing half an arm is who screamed.

Their obvious terrible luck was not to keep the prince's attention as his scouter began giving urgent beeps. Vegeta looked back to the pile of rubble, realizing how long he had actually looked away for. There was still time to counter, although he wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"Ka. Me."

A vague memory from Raditz's recordings. As he fully remembered, he yanked his arms back and cupped his own hands. He was frantic to charge the power needed to counter. A distant, "What the hell" from Nappa barely registered as he readied.

"Gallick"

"Ha. Me."

"Gun"

Twin yells of "Ha!"

The blue beam met with the purple in a concussive blast. The other combats were forced to the ground whether they wanted to land or not. The already destroyed environment was smothered in a fresh layer of upturned dirt, rock, and debris.

In the midst of the power struggle, Krillin saw an opportunity. Torn between tending to Tien, who was growing paler by the heartbeat, and just maybe being able to take out Nappa. Looking around for a sign, he spotted the tiny form of Chiaotzu crawling towards them.

Krillin snatched the pale hand and drug him the rest of the way while hissing, "Keep pressure right here."

"What?" Chiaotzu tried to question what was happening. His mind obviously still reeling from the quick but brutal beating they had all suffered. Krillin ignored him as he stood and lifted an arm straight up, palm flat.

A circular golden saw blade began spinning just over his hand. He was struggling to see the large man through the cloud of dirt. Giving up, he closed his eyes and trusted his senses. Nappa's Ki was distracted, distorted. It didn't feel like he was on guard. More than likely, he was watching the struggle between his comrade and Goku just as Krillin himself itched to do.

Pushing the distracting curiosity aside, Krillin took one last pause to be sure aim was right. His arm came back in one fluid motion. A whipping swing forward saw the blade spinning away, a golden disk barely visible. The buzzing noise it made was masked by the two much larger attacks. A gurgle was barely heard as Nappa's power plummeted.

Vegeta's scouter notified him of his comrade's peril. Years of habitually checking the notification caught up to him, his attack faltered. It was nearly imperceptible, but the Saiyan squared up on the ground below him was truly one of his own race. That small, minuscule, almost unnoticeable distraction tipped off Goku just enough.

The Kamehameha hurtled across the distance up towards him. Vegeta knew he had lost this struggle. To battle it back again would cost more than he could afford to give. Instead, he was forced to try to minimize it. Still driven upon the searing hot blast until he wiggled free, smoking and grimacing in pain. His escape was none to soon as the detonating attack shook the sky's above his head shortly after.

Vegeta looked down with an unusual sense of vertigo. Goku seemed to be fuzzy, even wriggling, on the ground far below. It wasn't until he realized how off everything sounded did he realize the explosion had partially deafened him. Judging by the blood leaking from one of his ears, he'd blown an eardrum.

Down below, Krillin looked on at the gaping Nappa, barely held together at the chest. The former monk struggled to look at the large man and feel any pity. Before he could debate it Goku lifted his own palm and dealt the final blow from the distance, fully separating the giant man. Krillin looked up in shook at his friend.

Goku's gi was ruined, half a leg of the pants was missing with his shirt hanging by shreds. His shoulders rose and fell heavily with every breath. He gave a sad, empty smile and yelled, "You guys get out of here."

"Are you nuts?" Tien spluttered, trying valiantly to regain his footing. Krillin shouted his agreement.

"Don't worry, I've got this. Now, go on," he tried again.

"Big words, Kakarot!" Vegeta shouted as he stayed floating above. Unmovingly, the prince glared down.

Krillin tried to argue again. Goku cut him off and harshly said, "I said go, Krillin."

His best friend stared at him, taken aback. Goku's next words were so soft Krillin barely heard him say, "We can't lose anyone else."

Krillin looked back at was Yamcha had lain before being destroyed. Tien had admitted defeat to his injuries, falling back to the grass. Even Chiaotzu looked ready to drop as he tried to keep watch over his friend. Krillin hung his head and said, "Okay, we'll go, but you better come back too!"

Goku grinned, a real smile this time, and just nodded. He refocused on Vegeta and yelled, "Let them go! This is between us."

Vegeta didn't speak but he didn't move to stop them either. Instead, the two Saiyans watched the injured trio make their retreat. Slow going and groaning, it would take them a long time to get Tien to a hospital without worsening his wounds.

"You ready to finish this?" Goku asked. He pulled his arms up and back at his side. A small aura built around him. Contrary to his own actions, Vegeta floated down calmly and looked back to where Nappa lay. The remnants of his scouter scattered and broken around his face.

"I see no sense in hiding it now, Kakarot. I couldn't speak freely with his scouter intact but if I had broken it then the repercussions would've been severe. I didn't come here to recruit you or avenge Raditz," Vegeta said honestly. His head was spinning and splitting making it almost impossible to focus. He had plenty of power left to fight but his precision would be gone. In a fight such as this, that would very easily equal death.

"You didn't?" Goku asked, numbly. Vegeta started to shake his head but stopped and spoke instead, "I came for the Dragonballs. I heard everything through Raditz's scouter. Point me towards them and I will leave peacefully."

"There are no more Dragonballs. Not with Kami dead. Maybe you should've listened closer," Goku snapped. Vegeta stared with narrowed eyes as he remembered the ranting and raving after Raditz had killed the Namekian, Piccolo. He asked, "Is Kami another name for that Namek, Piccolo?"

"Sort of," was Goku said. Vegeta nodded, "So, the Nameks are who in charge of these dragon balls. Then they probably have a set of their own."

"What?" Goku asked, the full effect of Vegeta's words crashing down on him. His one chance to get his son back was at risk. Vegeta nodded and said, "I'll go there then. Come with me, Kakarot. You are a half-way decent warrior. I could use you in the fight against Frieza!"

"No, and I'm not letting you get to Namek. I need that wish to get my son back from you people," Goku said, sinking into his stance once more. His power climbing again. Vegeta snarled, his temper rising even though he knew how further conflict would end.

"Maybe you should keep a tighter hold on things you care for," he spat. Goku was on him in an instant, slamming a fist across his jaw. Head spinning, blood pumping, and black spots popping into his vision, Vegeta couldn't stop the enraged father as Goku grabbed him by the collar and hurled him like a javelin.

Vegeta was sprawled across rocks with Goku's palm aimed straight in his face. At this moment, all his efforts and plans were put into perspective. None of it was worth a damn if he died at the hands of this clown. This clown that he'd been groveling to in the hopes of aid. He clamped his jaw shut up grabbed Goku's wrist.

"I won't lie to you, Kakarot, you can kill me here and now. There's nothing I could do to stop you, but you'll never win. Frieza will eventually follow up on this, and when he does he will learn of everything one way or another. It won't matter if your son is back or not, you'll all die at his command. Alternatively, you could go join me, help me avenge my people, our people. In return, I'll be sure you get your son back. Then, we'll go our separate ways. I'll leave earth alone and you return the favor to myself," Vegeta laid the facts and the offer out there.

Goku kept his hand raised and slowly asked, "What would you do after it was done?"

"I would topple the rest of the Cold Empire and take their throne for myself. I would live out eternity as the last crowned Saiyan in glory and battle," Vegeta answered honestly. He knew it was the wrong answer, but he refused to start lying now. He had sacrificed every moral he ever dear except that one. He would not die a liar.

Goku pulled his hand back and said, "Leave my planet, Vegeta. I'll find Gohan on my own. I hope you win your freedom, but I won't be responsible for your bloodshed."

"If you let me live then you are responsible! I will go to Namek!" Vegeta yelled after him as he stepped away, "I will become immortal and crush all who would oppose me! You would doom your family for nothing! You would still be responsible!"

"I don't care. If we run into each other on Namek, I hope you'll have changed. I won't be able to spare you again, I'm afraid," Goku said.

Vegeta cursed but summoned his pod regardless. Soon the flame-haired prince had staggered in and blasted off. Goku watched him go. His body ached and his heart hurt more. He prayed that he hadn't just thrown away his only chance of getting Gohan back.

The flight home would be a long, sore trip.

"Third Vanquisher Saiyan, report in immediately."

Gohan was laid out in the middle of a primitive village, unsure really of what he was doing there. These people weren't evil, but he'd been told to wipe them out. He remembered Tris's words echoed in his memory. If he didn't follow orders then he'd be dead and someone else would be sent to do the same job.

"Third Van…"

"I'm fine, just had the wind knocked out of me," he cut in on the report request before standing back up. The strangely chanting natives, odd boarish beings, were approaching in their odd way of hopping as they stepped. He shook himself to get back in the mindset he needed. The fight wasn't over yet. He had been trusted to clear out this segment on his own.

The leader, a stocky man covered in coarse fur with one tusk snapped in two, charged him yet again. He was the reason Gohan had originally found himself eating dirt. The young hybrid leaped to the side but the jagged tusk snagged his leg and sent him spinning with a bloody stream flowing from his thigh.

The rest closed ranks and charged at the sight of an opening. The cycle was starting again and Gohan was running out of steam. He flew straight up, evading the strange burst of speed the enemy seemed capable of even in midair. With a column of bloodthirsty savages after him, he was running out of options.

A memory tugged at the edge of his mind. A man, his father, firing a blue beam of energy. He had called it something else, though. Ki? Yes, he was using ki. Cryo-sleep and young age saw his memories of home fading quickly. Still, maybe he could use this.

He spun, still being propelled backward and up, and cupped his hands. He knew there were words but they escaped his mind. A blue ball of power formed in his hands, his scouter registering his own rise in power. He launched the forward with a yell.

His scouter was going nuts, beeping constantly as life after life was snuffed out. Tris and Iza were both yelling in his ear wanting to know what was happening. He blocked it all out, keeping the power pumping out. One resilient opponent held out, and Gohan didn't have to wonder which one.

The leader was clutching the head of the beam with all his might, trying to break it apart or push it back with sheer power. Gohan was having none of it. Unnoticed by him, his sight was tinged with a haze as his temper climbed. His power climbing steadily higher.

He had been battered and beaten. His armor was nearly useless and his uniform was starting to come apart. His body ached. His stomach was rumbling. Gohan had had enough of this battle. His anger drove his power to new heights and the enemy that had seemed a tough challenge not ten minutes before was quickly burned away.

A couple of seconds more saw the blast make an impact and wipe out the tribal village below. It had been one of the largest clusters of power on the planet. Now it was devoid of life and structure. Instead, smoking ruins had taken its place.

Exhaustion overtook Gohan as he plummeted down, hitting the ground and bouncing slightly. Tris and Iza were still yelling in his ear demanding answers. It took all he had left to send the all-clear signal before fading into unconsciousness.

"Did they survive?" Piccolo asked. King Kai nodded and solemnly said, "Yes, but Goku let one go. Not that it matters, I fear had he tried to kill Vegeta he would've sealed his own fate in some way. This matter with Frieza will only get worse, mark my words."

Piccolo snorted, "If anyone can turn it around, it'd be that fool. Onto more important matters, have you found Gohan yet?"

This time King Kai shook his head, "No, I can't find him, and Yemma has no record of him checking in. He's alive but he's either out of my realm of control…"

"Or?" Piccolo prodded. King Kai sighed, "Or he's changed fundamentally as a person. If that's the case it could take years to find him, even for me. I'm not all-knowing, unfortunately."

Piccolo looked up into the golden sky all around them. He would never admit it aloud but he missed the child. Hell, he missed the strange god standing next to him cracking bad jokes nonstop. At least that meant things were going pretty good.