Goku had seen Piccolo doing something akin to gloating, judging from the incendiary grin on his face and bombastic shouting gestures. But he hadn't really acknowledged it or even registered the words coming from his mouth before he flew away. His attention was drawn solely to the red hat and the four-star Dragon Ball that had been discarded on the grass. He didn't even feel like he was in his own body, instead watching himself shuddering on the ground in a pathetic heap.
His mind had been engaged in fight mode before he and Piccolo arrived. The task was simple – chase after the Dragon Ball on the radar, pounce on Raditz, and fight however long it took to save Gohan, even if it killed him. But Raditz was nowhere to be found, and neither was his four-year-old son. Judging from the crater a few yards away and the strong stench of freshly burned fuel, this was presumably the field on which Raditz arrived. But there was no spaceship to be found. He couldn't even sense that harrowing, pitch-black Ki signature of his brother.
His brother. He didn't even know he had a brother and knew nothing of his actual parents. But now he found out he really did have blood family out there, and THIS was they did to him and his son? His own brother held his nephew hostage and had now –
No. He didn't even want to ponder it. His son would turn up any time now, right? Maybe he had snuck off and now Raditz was off scouring every part of the Earth. He was quite clever for his age and sometimes a nightmare to keep track of. It would be just like what happened moments before they flew to Roshi's island – he'd find Gohan somewhere crying his eyes out until a big smile came on his face knowing his dad had come to save him.
Only problem was, he hadn't sensed him. Not in the field, not anywhere in the vicinity, not on any corner of Earth. Goku turned around and sat down, weaving a hand through spiky bangs to rub his forehead while his heart thumped. Only one other occasion had left him so rattled; he had been about ten years old, waking up in the ravaged remains of the forest he lived in to find a colossal footprint. In the center had been the other Gohan – the kind old martial artist that had raised him like his own son, killed by the monster he always warned Goku about. But though he had passed on, he had left that four-star ball behind for Goku to remember him by; it had been enough to mend Goku's heart together, as he carried on as if it were really him.
Now, he stared at that same four-star ball he had passed on to his son, Gohan. In his eyes, it looked like nothing more than an orange ball with four red stars.
Goku rarely ever cried in his life. But as he sat in the middle of the field, his vision grew damper the longer Gohan remained absent. All he could think about was how terrified the child must have been – if he was even still alive. He but a toddler, Goku and Chi-Chi's little pride and joy, and in one fell swoop he was left subjected to the worst types of horror imaginable. It all made Goku physically ill.
At some point, a small yellow jet with the ubiquitous Capsule Corp logo arrived to the battlefield. Bulma, Krillin, and Roshi, his best friends and master, spilled from the vessel and stormed towards him; he didn't even look up.
"What's going on, Goku?!" Krillin asked. "Is that creep gone? What about Piccolo?"
Goku kept his eyes on the Dragon Ball, blinking idly.
"Wait, where's Gohan?" Bulma asked. She opened her mouth to speak, but caught Goku's despondent, teary-eyed expression and gasped. "Oh, no. No, no."
Of all the workouts and battles Goku had undergone, merely getting his mouth and vocal cords prepared to answer their questions was the single most difficult action of his entire life. Saying it would force himself to admit the reality of this nightmare of a day. He had woken up with excitement, anticipating seeing his friends for the first time in five years and eager to introduce them to his baby boy. Now, he was hoping he would just wake up again.
"They're all gone," Goku murmured, his voice cracking. "Gohan's…gone."
His three friends reacted like it had been their own son, immediately getting down to their knees and pulling Goku into a hug, crying along with him. Their effort, while appreciated, did absolutely nothing to soothe Goku's spirit. He stared at the green blades of grass and then back at the blue sky, where he could only see his failure as a father.
Goku stared at the blue blades of grass and then back at the green sky, where he could only see his failure as a father.
Ten years later, there he was again, out on another planet and once again seeing his son hauled off into the unknown. It had gone far differently, of course – Gohan wasn't the meek, polite kid who could do little but cry. He was now the most powerful fighter the universe had ever seen, fighting effortlessly while overflowing with the pinnacle of his race's power and losing only to a dirty trick. But just like ten years prior, a single knee to his chest left Goku with little to do but watch as his son was swept away.
"G-Gohan…"
Goku tore a few blades of grass out from Namek's soil while his body convulsed. What was he even worth anymore? Forget his status as a warrior. What kind of father could fail to keep his son safe from the universe not once, but twice? Back when he finally returned to Earth, Gohan had regarded Goku with distressing coldness, and for good reason. All of the hell Gohan had been through was written clear on his face – across his eye, even. After enduring that nightmare, he had every reason in the world to resent his father for being weak.
"I couldn't save him…"
He locked his eyes to the ground, his slowly losing his grip of himself. That unyielding feeling of helplessness drained him of all the positivity he lived by, replacing all of his emotions with rage. Everything angered him – Frieza and his entire organization for even forcing them to go all the way out to Namek, his brother for taking his son away to begin with, and more importantly, himself. Never in his life had he felt a hatred so potent, and he took the majority of it to his own chest.
Around Goku, the winds arose. Within Goku, his power arose. The Saiyan blood that Goku had spent a decade trying to deny burned with vengeance, igniting energy within him that he had never felt before. The potent energy pulsed through Goku's body until it felt seconds from tearing itself apart, reducing him to a snarling, rabid animal.
The Namekians scattered from the manic Saiyan, weary that he was going to snap and destroy them all. After his hair flickered the shade a few times, a Goku's hair struck gold while a brilliant explosion of power detonated from his body, pouring out with a primal roar.
Like Gohan had done moments earlier, Goku too had become a Super Saiyan.
With his radical new power setting in, Goku restlessly spun his teal eyes all around his surroundings. The target of his volcanic wrath, Cooler, had been nowhere to be found, leaving only the flabbergasted stares of the Namekians for him to contend with. From their expressions, they clearly didn't expect to live any longer; it was enough to narrowly snap Goku out of his spell.
"My word…" mumbled the portly, elderly Namekian in red.
Goku took control of his new Super Saiyan strength and drew out an elongated sigh. "It's okay. But I have to get out of here."
He flexed his energy to fly away and return to his ship, but the elder Namekian called out to him. "Sir, hold on!"
Goku swung around with an urgent glare that spooked the group of green. "What is it?!"
"I understand that you're angry," the Namekian explained, "But is it wise to go after them alone? We have warriors that could join you and help out."
Though both impressed and appreciative of the Namekians' gesture, Goku scoffed and shook his head. "No, it won't be enough. I have to handle this."
Goku raised his right fist as it glowed in gold, conviction radiating in his eyes.
"That's my son they have. If I can't save him, I'll sure as hell die trying."
He meant every last word – and the Namekians heard it loud and clear, nodding in concession.
"I understand," said the Elder. "But before you go, might I ask why you're here? Your son was wearing similar clothes as those men, though clearly not on their side."
"Those guys attacked our planet," Goku growled, his skin crawling with impatient bloodlust. "We had a Namekian that escaped from this place, I guess, and our own set of Dragon Balls, but they killed him and a ton of others. We came here hoping to use your Dragon Balls to bring him and everyone else back."
Collective surprise came over the entire group of Namekians, most of all the elder. "I see! He must have fled the storm that took our planet many spells ago. The Grand Elder before me, the only survivor who could have known him, passed away nearly ten years ago. I know you're low on time and certainly patience, but could you spare one moment so I can probe your mind?"
Goku restlessly looked up at the sky and back at the Namekians, keeping himself from blowing him off and flying away only with the absolute depths of his mental discipline instilled in him by Grandpa Gohan. "Fine."
The Namekian elder walked up to Goku and gingerly brought his hand to his forehead, flinching at the volatile heat his Super Saiyan body radiated but nonetheless letting his palm linger for a few moments.
"Ah, now I see," he said, stepping away from Goku with a few nods. "The Namekian split into two after darkness entered his heart, but sought to correct his mistakes with the Dragon Balls while his dark half reincarnated and eventually became an honorable man in his own right. If you defeat this monster and return with the three Dragon Balls he stole, we'll be more than happy to have your wishes granted."
"Thank you," Goku said.
As the Namekian elder nodded with a gracious smile, the younger Namekian in burgundy walked towards him with the scouter that had fallen from Cooler's eyes following Gohan's first attack. "Sir? I'm not quite sure I understand how this instrument works, but those guys were all wearing them. A communication device that could assist your search for them, perhaps?"
A scouter, Goku told himself as he took it from the boy's green hands and slipped it over his ear. Mimicking what he had seen others do, he clicked the red button on the white holster.
"-we can get him in that form again, the Big Gete Star will send your power through the roof!"
Goku's heartbeat rose as he recognized the strange accent of the voice speaking through the scouter – Salza, the minty blue fellow that had left with King Cold's head. And not only could he hear his voice, but he could see a video through the lens displaying a group of soldiers inside a room full shelves and machines. He made out someone in the corner of the lens; a figure sitting down in ravaged, dark blue armor, his shaggy black hair visible.
The enraged Super Saiyan yanked the scouter from his ear and squeezed his hands.
"Wait!" screamed the Namekian teen, just barely saving the scouter from Goku's grip. "That's your one link; don't break it."
Goku loosened his fingers and stared at the blue lens with a curt nod. "You're right."
"Good save, Dende," said the Namekian elder before he addressed the Super Saiyan. "Son Goku, is it?" Goku blinked in surprise, until figuring he picked it up in his mind screening. The Namekian extended his hand. "My name is Moori, the Grand Elder of Namek. Good luck in your battle."
Goku grasped a firm hold of the Namekian's wrinkly hand, his brows just as strong as his grip. "Thank you. I will be back."
After letting go of Moori's hand, Goku motioned to turn around before noticing something out of the corner of his eye. From one of the white houses came a Namekian in a gold vest holding one of the immense indigenous Dragon Balls.
"At least we kept this Dragon Ball safe," the young Namekian said. "I'll go to the other villages and collect the other Dragon Balls so they'll be ready for his return."
Quickly, Goku counted all of the stars – one, two, three…four. After letting his eyes linger on them for nearly a minute, Goku closed his eyes with a steely resolve.
"If you don't mind, could I bring that with me?"
Maybe it was just how identical they all looked in general, but the Namekians expression looks of similar confusion. "Um, sir, wouldn't it be safer here than out there with you?"
"I know, but…" Goku stared wistfully at the four stars, his sharp eyes dulling a fraction of an inch. He walked over to the Namekian and placed his hand on the ball's orange surface. "I just…need a piece of Gohan with me."
While the younger Namekian stared at Goku impishly, the Grand Elder Moori placed his darker green hand over his. "It's okay. These Dragon Balls are more than simple orbs after all. They carry a great significance to all that know of its power, meaning different things to different people. I sense that this particular Dragon Ball is a tremendous symbol in this Saiyan's life."
Though it looked more like a smirk with his brows as rigid as they were, Goku smiled at the Grand Elder, recalling the wisdom of the Namekian elder waiting patiently in the afterlife.
"You're right about that," Goku said as the younger Namekian handed him the ball. With immeasurable gratitude, he bowed towards him. "I won't disappoint you. I'll see you soon."
Goku took off into the sky, flying faster than he ever had in his life. As soon as he got inside the spaceship, he set the Dragon Ball down and stared at his own warped reflection, taking in his new face with vigor. His mind was as focused as it was scattered, assured in what needed to be done. He wouldn't fail this time. Gohan deserved his chance to finally enjoy a life without fear and trauma, and as his father, it was up to him to deliver it.
After he pressed a button on the control panel, a video screen repelled from the ceiling. A video transmission flicked on, revealing Bulma's puzzled face inside her office. Her eyes ballooned with surprise at the sight of Goku.
"Goku?! Your hair! Your eyes! What's going on?!"
"You know how to work these scouters, right?" Goku asked, tapping his finger against the lens.
"Yeah, of course. But can't Gohan help you with that?"
Goku lowered his hand and squeezed it into a fist, his lips curling into a snarl. "He's not here right now. I need to track down a location."
Bulma's face grew weary, immediately picking up Goku's implication. "Oh, no…sure, I'll get right on it. Gohan programmed a scouter to the control panel, so I can figure out exactly what you need remotely. All I need to do is connect to the scouter you're wearing."
Goku stepped away as Bulma rolled her chair over to her laptop, letting her do her thing as patiently as he could. Once he knew exactly where they were, there would be hell to pay.
"Commencing landfall on Planet Panera."
Goku hadn't counted the days since he'd left Namek, but knew it had been a good while. Heavy bags lay beneath his bloodshot eyes, his hair still golden as the Super Saiyan power flowed within him. He had gotten zero sleep, devoting his entire flight to training under heavy gravity. Now, as his ship made its plunge into the atmosphere of the planet Cooler and his men had landed on at some point, Goku felt more than ready to take him down and save his son.
An explosion suddenly struck the ship, knocking Goku to the floor. As soon as he stood back up, an even stronger explosion blew off a piece of the wall. Goku instinctively shielded himself from the debris falling on top of him before remembering the Dragon Ball. He took a dive after spotting it in the corner of his eye, but another explosion later and the ball flew out of the ship and swept into the air.
"Dammit!" Goku screamed, reaching his arm out.
He had no time to try pursuing the ball before the ship finally crash landed and exploded, ravaging his body with concussions of fire and metal. By the time the propulsive noise stopped assaulting his eardrums, Goku had been buried beneath a pile of metal and equipment, hardly able to move. He could feel warm blood trickling down his arm, but had no way of maneuvering himself to inspect the damage.
"Yup, Lord Cooler was right on the money! That monkey really was following us!"
In the midst of his ears ringing, Goku could overhear the voice from miles above the pile. He tried lifting his head, but a metal rod smacked into his face.
"Now let's finish the job!"
A thunderstorm of blasts cascaded onto the scrapyard that had once been a spaceship, detonating every chunk of metal surrounding Goku and driving him into the ground. They wound up serving as a shield, though the rapid explosions certainly hurt.
After the blasts finally ceased, and the worst of the smoke blew away, Goku groaned and shoved away all of the rubble bearing down on him. His Super Saiyan power had left him, reducing him to a broken Saiyan who could hardly move, only able to roll away from the pile of scraps in a coughing fit. Through his dusty, half-lidded vision, he looked up at the wheat-shaded sky, wondering where everything went wrong.
The Dragon Radar had undoubtedly been destroyed. The Dragon Ball that he had irrationally brought for good luck was gone. The ship was destroyed. He was stranded.
When he tried standing up, he grimaced at the sight of his blood-soaked left arm. His orange Gi hadn't survived the assault, leaving him in his ragged blue undershirt that had become caked in his red blood. His back wouldn't allow him to stand, leaving him with nothing to do but grovel in the dirt of some backwoods planet.
This was how the Saiyan race ended, huh?
"Over here! Those guys are gone now, so it's safe!" said a feminine voice from the distance.
"Oh no!" said a man from the same direction. "You see that?! A bloke layin' over there! He musta been caught in that crash!"
"Let's hurry!"
Goku closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax as well as he could have in his condition after sensing no malice from the pair that approach him.
"Aw man, this guy's been through it, alright," the girl said, her breath now hovering directly over Goku's face. "But would ya look at that – he's actually breathin'!"
"Well, I'll be damned," the man replied.
Goku's eyes stirred open, startling the pair. If he didn't know for certain he was on another planet, he might have thought they were humans; on his left was a woman who looked no different from Chi-Chi, although with brown hair braided into pigtails and freckles all over her face. Next to her, an ordinary but bulky fellow with short red hair and a thick mustache. They both wore flannel-rich outfits like a couple of lumberjacks and their voices carried a heavy accent similar to Jeice and Arepa's.
"Easy there, fella," the man said. "Then again, you shouldn't even be awake, so what do I know!"
"Wh-Who are you two…?" Goku wheezed.
"My name's Begal," the man answered before lifting Goku into a seated position.
"And I'm Croissant," the woman said, applying a rag to his litany of wounds. "We're just happy to see somebody turn up here that ain't one of these Cold Force assholes."
"They've attacked you guys?" Goku asked, focusing on the bandages Croissant applied to the nasty gash on his arm.
"Attackin' is puttin' it lightly," Begal replied with a heavy stare. "We're among the few folks left. Ever since they showed up with that huge star, they've been suckin' the planet dry, enslavin' the strong folks, and killin' everyone else."
Goku looked above Begal's shoulders and found a massive, silver structure looming far in the distance. Such a calamity would have been impossible to miss from the inside of his ship, but he had been so focused, his eyes hadn't even ventured beyond the control panel and metal walls.
"Aw, man," Goku said.
"Let's hurry and get you to our cellar," Begal said, sliding his hand around Goku's arm and lifting him up to his feet. After Croissant did the same, they rushed away from the wreckage and eventually reached a forest, though it had been closer ot a wasteland. The trunks of the trees were dull in color and looked more like elderly, withered limbs and bore a few autumn leaves. They finally stopped once they reached a field of drab, brown grass. Croissant bent down, dug his hand through the blades, and pushed what at least appeared to be a pebble in Goku's eyes. But then, a voice rang from it.
"Password?"
"Arepa!" yelled Croissant, lighting up Goku's bleary face. A patch of grass slid back and gave way to a square-shaped tunnel.
"Arepa?" Goku echoed. It was the name of Gohan's friend that had been brutally murdered by Frieza.
"It's the name of a precious diamond on this planet," Croissant explained as she led Goku down a stairway inside the tunnel. "These bastards wouldn't know it if it bit 'em on the arse."
The light from the outside faded away as the covert door slid shut. Briefly, Goku's entire vision went pitch black while he traveled down the staircase until the lights flipped on and unveiled a living room lined with brown, wooden walls and a small kitchen. Croissant laid Goku down on a blue couch and grabbed a cushion from the coffee table sitting across, placing it under Goku's feet to prop them up.
"I appreciate the help…" Goku said, trying and failing to nudge himself up. "But I've got…" he stopped and winced at the stinging pain attacking his ribs. "I've gotta get out there and fight those guys."
"So you came here pitchin' a fight with Cooler and his men?" Begal asked from the kitchen, digging through the cabinets. "Good luck, in that condition."
"I can help you a lil', but it'll be a while 'fore you're in any kinda fightin' shape," Croissant informed, stepping besides Begal in the kitchen. She impatiently planted her hands on her hips while he rummaged the cabinet.
"What?" Begal asked, a plate tucked in his chin while he held a bag of bread in one hand and a jar in the other.
"I'm tryin' to help this fella and you're too busy tryin' to help your bloody stomach, that's what!" she yelled before shoving him out the way and reaching to the top of the shelf.
"I was gonna get that, too!" Begal whined as he set all of his pertinent items down on the counter. Goku chuckled, thinking of his daily back-and-forths with Chi-Chi.
When Croissant stepped away from the cabinet, however, Goku's smile leaped from his face. In her hand wasn't a jar or a loaf of bread (that he suddenly had a massive craving for after learning their names), but a needle. Shrieking like a toddler, Goku sat up from the couch and instantly regretted it, flopping back onto the plush cushion with hisses of pain.
"Oh no," Goku whined. "Anything but a needle!"
Croissant rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You survive a fiery spaceship crash and a whole assault of blasts, but the needle's too much. Yeah, okay."
"Isn't there any other way?" Goku desperately pleaded.
"I mean, this is the best ya got as far as instant results," Croissant said. "It won't heal ya by any means but it'll at least the numb the pain enough that you can walk, and it kicks in instantly."
Goku groaned, unwilling to concede to her logic, however sound and convenient it may have been.
"I'll tell ya what, I can cook up a soup that might do the trick," Croissant said, turning back to the kitchen.
As Goku watched her turn around, a biting sensation poked his chest worse than any needle could have. His fear of the needle was irrational, an artifact of his childhood. Whatever the sight of a needle put him through was miniscule compared to what Gohan must have felt thousands of miles away. He firmly flexed his jaw.
"Forget about it," Goku said. "I'll take the shot, if it'll work."
"Alrighty then," Croissant said, spinning back around. The closer she got, the more the sharp end of the needle sparkled in Goku's vision, spiking his blood pressure with every step she took. When she stopped in front of him and bent down on one knee, he instinctively flinched. "Oh, be a man!"
Goku squeezed his eyes shut, thinking only of food and not the sharp object of death hovering over his arm. Yes, food – delicious steaks, barbecue ribs, swordfish and their sharp, needle-like noses, shish kabob, the knives that cut the food…
A sharp sensation struck Goku's arm and made him scream at the top of his lungs. It was awful, it was maddening, it was –
"Huh?" Goku suddenly hummed, looking at his arm in bewilderment. "That was it? It didn't even hurt!"
"Um yeah, that's usually how needles go."
Goku tapped the spot Croissant had pricked, and aside from a persistent sting, it really hadn't been that bad. Most importantly, Goku could feel his limbs again, hastily getting up from the couch with his feet turned towards the staircase. "Thanks, folks, but I've gotta head out!"
"Wait wait wait wait wait," Croissant huffed. "Did you not listen to a word I said? All that did was numb the pain. You try to fight those guys and you'll still crumble to itty-bitty pieces."
Goku observed his arms. It was true; a Senzu bean it was not, as his body still ached all over. On the other hand, a little soreness was nothing. "That's fine. If I can walk, I can fight."
"Bloody hell, listen!" Croissant shouted. "You're in no condition to fight, dude!"
"You don't get it!" Goku snapped. "They have my son! I have to!"
Croissant's expression softened, she and Begal somberly glancing at each other. As she wrapped her arms around her own chest and bit her bottom lip, Begal walked over and gingerly grabbed her shoulder.
"We had a kid, too," Begal said, glowering at the floor. "A daughter. They killed her soon after they landed."
"I'm sorry," Goku said, hanging his head.
"Look," Croissant began. "We both understand why you wanna fight, but you gotta give yourself a fair shot so you don't end up as another dead body. These guys aren't leavin' 'til they've sucked this planet dry, so just heal up down here 'til then."
"I guess," Goku relented, sitting down on the staircase. "But that's not all that's out there. There's this thing called a Dragon Ball. I brought it here for good luck – funny how that turned out, huh?"
With a bitter chuckle, Goku scraped his knuckle across the ground.
"But it flung out my ship during the attack. It could be anywhere, and I've got no way of findin' it. If I lose that Dragon Ball, then even if I save Gohan, this whole trip would've been a waste of time."
Sensing the urgency in Goku's expression, Croissant anxiously bit her lip. Begal tapped his foot against the floor, his brows rigid in thought.
"Well, what's this Dragon Ball look like?" Begal asked. "I have a feelin' you'd just go out and fight 'em if you looked for it, so I can track it down for ya."
"Don't be insane!" Croissant protested. "They've got guys scouring this whole planet. You stay out there too long, you're dead!"
"Oh, c'mon," Begal dismissed, waving his arm towards her. "We're way out here in the sticks for a reason, right? My eye's practically magic, so I'll find it in no time. If I don't return, it's only 'cause a bear got me!"
Begal waltzed to the end of the room and opened the door to a closet, where he retrieved a red and gold camouflage jacket. He headed towards the steps, ignoring Croissant's protests. Though Goku stood up to get out of the way, he had his own reservations himself.
"It's not wise," Goku said. "If anybody'll risk it, it should be me. I lost it in the first place."
"Oh, c'mon, I gotta hear it from her and now you, too? We've been skatin' around these guys for months, now. Won't be much different," he said as he slipped the jacket on. "Just whip yourself into shape. Now, what's the Dragon Ball look like so I can figure out what to scope out?"
"Well, it's big, orange and shiny, and it has four red stars. Can't miss it."
"Got it. I'll be back shortly!"
Begal raced up the stairs and hit a button to open the covert door back up. Goku watched him leave, admitting that he had a point. If they made it this far, what was a few more minutes? With nothing else to do, Goku hopped over to the center of the room and started doing some pushups.
"Ugh, what am I worryin' about? He's right," Croissant said, helping herself to the sandwich Begal had made. "You wouldn't happen to be a Saiyan, would ya? The crazy hair and the muscles track."
"Yeah," Goku answered in the middle of his workout. "I'm not like the other ones though…grew up on a planet called Earth."
"Earth, huh? Sounds nice enough." Croissant set the plate aside and raised a curious eyebrow. "Say, when I said the password earlier, that named seem to catch your attention. You familiar with this planet or somethin'?"
"Nah. But my son used to be part of Frieza's army and knew a girl there with that name. Arepa. She fought with us on Earth, but was killed," Goku explained.
"I see…" Croissant stroked her chin. "Well, it is a popular girls' name 'round these parts for obvious reasons, so I guess it ain't outta the question that she's from here. Our strongest guys did hella business in space and got caught up with shady characters. Probably how she wound up with Frieza.
"But wait, if you fought Frieza, then you must be tryin' to escape him, right? Why even try fightin' his brother?!"
Goku switched from push-ups to sit-ups. "My son killed Frieza."
Croissant doubled over, her mouth agape.
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah," Goku said, brimming with pride even whilst he winced under the pressure of his regimen. "Had Cooler beat too, but only lost to a dirty trick."
"Sheesh," Croissant said, shaking her head in disbelief. "But I guess you Saiyans got a rep that stretches all the way out here for a reason."
Goku resumed his workout, going through push-ups, sit-ups, makeshift pull-ups against a shelf, and even hand-stand push-ups. Though his limbs felt like they'd been dipped in lava, he felt more confident in his ability to fight with every rep. However, an hour had passed without any sign of Begal, making Croissant grow jittery, sitting at the table with a bottle of alcohol while drumming her fingers against the surface. Goku had been in the middle of a hand-stand push-up when she suddenly slammed the bottle against the table, startling him so much he fell onto his face.
"Fuck!" She shrieked. "He still ain't back. We oughta check on him!"
"Well, the Dragon Balls ain't exactly easy to find," Goku said as he sat back up on the couch. "I had a radar for that, but it got destroyed with the ship. He'll be searchin' for a while. Besides, I'll know if he's in any real danger – if I can't sense his Ki."
Just to assuage her fears, Goku did a Ki sweep. He gasped.
"Wait, I can't sense his Ki!"
"No," Croissant yelled, stumbling from her chair. "No, no, no!"
She ran up the stairs, nearly falling at various steps. Goku chased after her, not wanting her to be a casualty in case the worst had occurred. After opening the door, she leaped out with surprisingly agility and forced Goku to exert his sore muscles in order to keep up and follow her. He looked around the forest, trying to use his sense of smell in the off-chance that his Ki sense had been failing him. It wouldn't be the first time an injury had left him briefly unable to sense anybody – then again, he sensed them coming fresh off the crash landing. But he shook away the thought, vowing to stay positive.
"BEGAL!" Croissant called to the sky. "Get yer ugly arse out here, right now!"
"Hold on," Goku said. "I'll see if I can find him up here. I'll get a better view."
Goku leaped high up until he could see the entire horizon of the woods, focusing intently. "Begal?! I can look for the Dragon Ball later, your wife's worried 'bout ya!"
Suddenly, Goku felt a Ki rapidly approaching. Unlike Begal's or Croissant's, however, it possessed a wickedness that flared his nerves. A Frieza Force soldier, without a doubt. Goku turned around to address the incoming threat and found a laser beam ripping from down the sky and into the forest.
"Oh, no…"
When Goku rushed down to the trees the sight he found in the grass was exactly what he had feared. Croissant lay in grass with a hole in her chest and a puddle of blood underneath her body. Her eyes remained open while her mouth oozed blood. She was gone.
"Dammit…not like this," Goku seethed, growling through his teeth.
"The salope shouldn't have been hiding you, monkey," said a heavily-accented voice from above the trees. When Goku wrenched his head up, he found the object of his scorn – Salza, smiling smugly while his blonde hair waved against the wind. "I'm surprised you're even alive. I guess Lord Cooler was right when he said they weren't thorough enough."
"You'll pay for that!" Goku boomed, his Ki boiling back up.
"Is that so?" Salza scoffed, floating down to the forest to meet Goku. "You look as if you've been through a shredder but presume you can contend with me? What a joke!"
Goku ignored his taunts, focusing his energy. His rage had actually calmed him, narrowing his focus. This would be a simple task, even in his present state.
Salza conjured a blade around his hand and whipped his arm menacingly. "I'm going to send you back to Lord Cooler in pieces!"
Goku merely squared his shoulders. He wouldn't even need Kaio-Ken.
"Nothing to say, huh? Useless. At least your son has been fueling our operations splendidly!"
Upon hearing that, Goku had no interest in waiting for Salza to strike first. He zipped ahead in the blink of an eye and struck him in the chest, knocking the wind, and the life, out of him in one single blow. He harbored no remorse as he watched his body lay with his eyes rolled all the way back.
"Hey, I found…"
Goku's anger withered at the sound of Begal's voice behind him. From the way his voice died out, he had already seen it. Goku turned around, not even relieved to see the orange orb laying behind him while he kneeled above Croissant's lifeless body.
"No, please! Wake up, Croissant!" Begal pleaded, tears spilling from his eyes. "C'mon!"
"I'm sorry," Goku murmured. "I shouldn't have let her out here, and I shouldn't have taken my eyes off her."
Begal wiped off his eyes and stared at the sky, tucking his lips back to stifle his sobs. He turned towards Goku and took a deep breath to settle himself. "No…this isn't your fault. This is what they've been doin', pickin' us off one-by-one. Just...just stop them, man. Please!"
Goku recognized the despair in Begal's eyes; it was no different from Gohan's every time he even thought of Arepa and Vegeta. No different from Chi-Chi after he first told her Gohan was gone. No different from how he probably looked to Bulma, Krillin, and Roshi earlier that same day.
"I will. Keep her body safe. She'll be back."
Goku turned around, his fierce black eyes locked on that silver structure out in the horizon.
"Get back to the shelter. I'll return for the Dragon Ball in half-an-hour."
He left Begal behind, pursuing that massive star where he could sense among the hundred other Ki signatures, two presences of significance – the enormous Ki of Cooler, and the dwindling Ki of his son. Good – he was still alive, at least. As Goku drew in closer, he saw two soldiers with that familiar armor style approaching. A blast left his hands that eradicated them both.
After breezing through the smoke left in their wake, Goku froze at the sight of his destination. A gargantuan star forged in metal that resembled a spider, its mere center spanning what had to have been a quarter of the planet in his estimation. Looking at it and knowing what lay inside made Goku simmer with the same wrath that given rise to his Super Saiyan transformation. Without him even calling upon it, the power returned to him in a burst, bringing gold back to his hair and teal to his eyes.
Ten years ago, Goku had sat helplessly while his son was taken away from him and swept into a world that had broken his spirit and wrought destruction and heartbreak. Now, he would fix that mistake.
Soon after Goku made his plunge to the star, a swarm of soldiers flew towards him. Goku drove himself through the collection, not caring who he killed to get them out of his way. One soldier tried sneak attack from behind, but he merely phased out of sight, reappeared behind him, and punched him right into the surface. He left a hole that gave Goku an easy entrance that he took advantage of. When he jumped through the hole, the first thing he saw within the enormous room of heavy metal was a slew of Cooler soldiers who chased after him. A familiar voice boomed through the intercom.
"Another Super Saiyan, I see! Even sooner than I thought!" yelled Cooler. "Why don't you test your might?!"
Goku smoothly nodded and proceeded to take each soldier down with one punch or kick for each.
"Splendid!"
He flew through the vast hallway in search of Cooler and Gohan's Ki signatures, taking out every soldier stupid enough to fly in his path. Routine attacks he had thrown in practice took every last one of them out. One tried firing a blast all the way from the roof hundreds of feet above, but Goku fired a Ki wave of his own that swept it away before destroying the solider and whoever else hung in its trajectory.
The goons were mere fodder, faceless morons brought for no other purpose than to impede Goku's stampede. One of the men, a green giant whom he recognized from Namek, successfully struck Goku in the back and flew around to block his path to a doorway. He grinned over his brief victory, but was soon screaming when Goku blasted him straight through the door. Waiting for him in the corridor was the toad-like man, also from Namek; Goku fired a blast at his face, but the man bizarrely tucked his head inside his own neck to evade it.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?!" he bragged as his head sprouted back up.
Goku merely twitched his eye, ducked the hot pink blast that came his way, and rammed his elbow into his chest to sent him flying. With him out the way, Goku continued his flight until he saw a silver figure standing in the distance, one that wouldn't react to his presence. The closer he got, the more his heartbeat rose in anticipation. It hadn't been any ordinary soldier; instead, it was Cooler in the flesh.
Only, he was different. His body appeared to be solid steel, as silver as the walls surrounding them. Goku stopped in his tracks.
"Where is he?!"
"That's it?" Cooler asked with a snicker. "No hello, not even a comment on my new look? With the power of your son, I've reinforced my body with metal that's granted me a well of newfound strength. I don't even need my transformation to become your superior anymore."
Goku's lips curled with hatred. "Enough!"
With confidence in his power, Goku charged at Cooler and thrusted his elbow at him. Cooler answered in kind, slamming his metal arm into his. They exchanged a series of light strikes, though Goku's ferocious speed soon pushed him ahead. While Goku brushed off the few strikes of Cooler's that landed, every last one of his attacks sent the metal lizard back several feet. After catching Goku by surprise with a whip of his tail, however, Cooler was able to knock Goku into the ceiling. He sent an energy blast his way, though Goku eradicated it with a simple shockwave.
"It's already over!" Goku declared.
"Is that so?!" Cooler yelled back.
Just to answer him, Goku unleashed his aura and flew at Cooler like a torpedo, leveling his chest with both of his blue boots. Cooler doubled over, clutching is chest, and that's when Goku slammed the heel of his boot into his head to send him into the wall. After curling his hands back, Goku prepared his signature attack. He wasn't in the mood to chant it, instead letting it all out in a typhon of power that vaporized both Cooler and the wall.
The only trace of Cooler left was a severed arm. It was over, right? However, Goku's body still ripped with his tension. He could sense Cooler's Ki, and it was as strong as ever. Hell, it was still in the same part of the star where he sensed Gohan's presence. But how?
"Did you really think it was that easy?" asked Cooler's voice through the walls. Goku looked up, searching for any trace of the tyrant.
"Where are you, Cooler?! Show yourself!"
As Goku rocketed through the interior in search of the real Cooler, the sounds of his laughter rumbled through the air. "This is the beauty of the Big Gete Star! Within a single chip among the stars lies the most potent self-propagating technology the universe has ever seen!"
An assortment of cables burst from the walls to Goku's left, assembling to form another cybernetic imposter of Cooler that dove after him.
"I can produce a duplicate of myself any time I want!"
The metal Cooler slammed his knee into the same arm that had been wounded in the crash, sending Goku to his knees howling in agony, then grabbed his golden locks and flung him into the wall. After crashing back-first into steel, his stomach got a crippling taste of its force in the form of Cooler's knee. But Goku ignored the pain coursing through his body and pried himself away from the wall before firing a blast that blew the clone's arm off.
"And did I mention I can repair them whenever I please?"
On cue, cables spilled from the clone's socket that pulled his arm back to his body. Instead of letting his arm reconnect, Goku destroyed his entire body with a blast that taxed his energy reserves and left him doubled over and heaving for air.
"They're quite fragile at this rate, sadly. But that's where your son comes in!"
Goku ignored his voice and pressed on, getting closer to their energy. In his path, however, came not just one Cooler clone, but an entire row that marched towards him.
"With the energy of Super Saiyans like yourself and your son, I'll eventually be able to produce an entire army of Coolers that match myself in strength! I alone will be the sole functioning species in this universe!"
Goku took a deep breath and gathered his Ki, pushing his Super Saiyan energy to the edge of his limits to remove the dozen Cooler clones from his warpath. He slammed into them like a battering ram with his good shoulder, triggering an explosion that took out even the Coolers he hadn't touched.
"Keep going, Super Saiyan! Savor hollow victory after hollow victory before you reunite with your son!"
Goku didn't care about hollow victories. It was quite simple in his eyes – whatever stood between he and his son, he would smash through. So when a swarm of three dozen Coolers dove down to him, he ripped through them like a golden rocket. The higher, he flew the more he could make out the opening of a tunnel – the same spot he sensed Cooler and Gohan's Ki. None of the remaining hands from the army of robots that latched onto his ankles could stop his flight – a blast sent them away. As his flight wore on, Goku let out a series of harsh coughs. His heart had been practically slamming out of his chest while his lungs stung like they rested in a furnace. Begal and Croissant had been right to worry about Goku overexerting himself, but he would gladly burn out for this mission.
When Goku reached only a few feet away from the magic portal, another Cooler propagated from wires to interfere with his path. While Goku was able to knock him away, he couldn't break his body as he had the others; even throwing the punch and connecting hurt.
"Don't give up on me, now!" Goku commanded to his own body before he made it through the hole.
Before him was a floor that led to an open dome housing two people. In the center, stood Cooler. He wore a helmet on his head that was connected to a few cables. That wasn't nearly as important as the figure standing behind, however. The sight of him made Goku's stomach churn. Gohan was suspended in mid-air, held up by dozens upon dozens of cables. His skin was gaunt, paler even than normal. His head hung low, his face obscured by his bangs; but even from what little he could see, Goku could tell his face was blue. Though his Ki still persisted, Gohan certainly looked dead.
"GOHAN!" Goku screamed from the depths of his soul.
"Quite the sad sight, isn't it?" taunted the real Cooler. "But even in this state, he's quite the disorderly one. It took hours of coaxing to get this power out of him."
All of the rips and tears both on Gohan's uniform and his skin had told Goku quite enough. His Ki flexed involuntarily.
"He's quite lucky I only beat you here by a half-day. He's only got a few more hours at this rate."
"I promise you won't get away with this, you son of a bitch," Goku growled, his gentle nature having vanished completely. "Shut the hell up and fight!"
"Gladly," Cooler snickered. "Care to charge me up, Gohan?"
Though he had seemed lifeless, Gohan swung his head and screamed in raw agony, aura surging through the cables, and eventually, to Cooler. The sight melted Goku's eyes, while the sound sliced through his ear drums. Enraged by his son's torture, Goku screamed and lunged at Cooler – but that had been exactly what the tyrant wanted. Before Goku could reach him, Cooler sent him flying with a massive blast.
The cables of the Gete Star's walls surrounded Cooler's body and ensnared him in metal until he looked just like one of the many clones Goku had fought. With a sinister chuckle, Cooler removed the helmet and stepped forward, drunk on his new power. Gohan's screaming stopped, spit falling from his mouth as he went right back to a zombie-like state.
"I may have toyed with you through those facsimiles, but now I shall introduce you to the real Metal Cooler!"
Goku stood up against the protest of his ailing limbs. Now he could truly sense Cooler's tremendous Ki, but maintained his faith nonetheless. But when Cooler lunged for him and swung his mighty fist, just catching it with his palm left Goku's wrist twisting like a screw. Cooler leveled his abdomen with a kick that at least tripled the strength of his doppelgangers and left him struggling to draw breath. The elbowed to the head that followed was even worse, puncturing the flesh of Goku's forehead. As his vision blurred, Goku stumbled to fight off his growing dizziness and managed to evade a kick by sheer happenstance. When Cooler slid his foot out to trip him, he wasn't so lucky, stumbling into a kick that sent him into the tunnel where Gohan stood.
Nearly as wrecked as he had been following his crash but still maintaining Super Saiyan power, Goku sat himself up, moving gingerly to prevent his bones from cracking. His eyes traveled to the left and reached his son, held up by the cables of the Big Gete Star. The hell he had endured in this lair was scrawled all through his body. He had been rendered a mere vegetable, hanging blankly and existing only as fuel. Ten years ago, that same pallid, blue face had been full of life and ambition, eager to learn more about the world around him even if he often feared it. And even after all of his tribulations, his determination remained as solid as steel. That had all been drained from him.
"Are you understanding the difference in our power, now?" Cooler boasted. "You and your son are certainly extraordinary in your own rights, but this is as far as you go!"
Looking back and forth between his son and the man that had rendered him with a shell sparked a power in Goku that defied his injuries. When Cooler sprinted towards him, Goku roared and rose back up before clobbering his skull with both fists. Cooler brushed it off and tried slapping Goku's head off, but the Super Saiyan flopped down onto the palm of his hand and twisted his leg to kick Cooler's metal dome. Cooler went for another punch, but Goku utilized his expertly-honed fighting fundamentals to duck and weave his attack almost on autopilot and deal a flurry of strikes all over his body. Cooler recovered and swiped his leg towards Goku's feet, but Goku hopped up and punched him on the button of his nose.
"C'MON!" Goku screamed, his voice glowing with Saiyan spirit.
Cooler stumbled back to a vertical base and shook his head. "Don't get too comfortable, monkey. A few solid hits won't change your reality."
He raised his palm, and in a few seconds summoned a ball of energy that stopped just a few feet short of the ceiling.
"I wonder if you'll duck this blast knowing who's behind you."
Coward, Goku thought to himself with a contemptuous scowl. But that was fine; he had enough in the tank to contest it. When Cooler flung his hand forward and sent the violet mound of energy sailing towards him, Goku fired a wave of Ki that collided with it in a tremendous explosion of light. Before the sparks even hit the floor, Cooler was diving at Goku like a javelin – but Goku saw it coming and gracefully flipped above him before kicking him across the perimeter without even turning around. After landing, Goku slid around and stuck his palm out with a ball of deadly Ki intended for Cooler. He stopped himself however, realizing Gohan would have been caught in the crossfire.
Cooler took advantage of that one split-second and fired a beam that pierced Goku's injured shoulder, leaving him shrieking while blood erupted. Just to make sure he stayed down, he phased in and kicked him right in the wound to send him to the floor.
"Like father, like son!" Cooler taunted as he raised his foot above Goku's throbbing arm. "This is as far you-"
Goku blasted Cooler in the face with his good arm before his foot could land, using the extra bit of time to jump to his feet and steal a trick from his brother. He raised his right arm into the air while merely curling his left forearm upward to spare his shoulder and spawned twin Ki discs that he launched at Cooler.
Cooler shook off the blast just quickly enough to figure out the two discs headed straight for him could slice him in two and jumped out of the way. He landed with a smirk. "As if such a simple trick could fool me!"
However, Goku was unbothered; hell, he even smirked right back. "'Cept I wasn't goin' for you!"
SNIP-SNIP!
The pair of discs cut through the cords that held Gohan in the air, freeing him of their hold. Cooler dove to his helmet, but Goku had already zipped towards it before he even gathered his metal feet and punted it away. For good measure, he blew the whole thing to pieces with a Ki blast. A petulant cry of anger left Cooler's vocal cords.
"Bastard! You'll rue the day you tangled with me!"
"I could literally say the same thing to you," Goku quipped.
But for all of Goku's bluster and Cooler's frothing rage, the Super Saiyan's lingering injuries left him at a disadvantage. Helmet or no helmet, Cooler had enough in the tank to fight for hours, while it was all Goku could do just to stand and maintain his transformation. But with Gohan free, he had nothing to lose. He flew after Cooler and kicked him in the gut, but the metal tyrant recovered and smashed his elbow into his knee. Goku hopped away to give himself enough space to squeeze it, but left himself open for another blast to the injured arm. He had no choice but to crouch onto his knee and clutch his arm while Cooler stalked towards him.
"Y'know, I've heard stories of Saiyans just outright killing injured comrades on missions to save themselves the deadweight," Cooler mused as he marveled that bleeding wound on Goku's left shoulder with the eye of a critic admiring a painting. He lowered himself to one knee to meet Goku eye level. "If you hadn't exerted so much effort into saving your son, you might've still had enough in the tank."
Goku's fingers trembled as he tried gathering the necessary energy to shut Cooler up with a blast, but he knew he couldn't do it fast enough. Not to mention, Cooler had his arm curled back and the knee of his back leg raised slightly off the ground to allow himself the leverage to duck; all of his bases were covered for a sneak attack.
Cooler raised his palm and charged up a blast. "Too bad."
A blast smacked into his back however, leaving him to fall flat on his face. When Goku looked up, his jaw hit the floor in both shock and glee. His son, right arm dangling, stood enshrouded in his golden Super Saiyan Ki.
"G-Good thing…he's too soft…to be a real Saiyan…"
Goku finally found the strength to smile. His son possessed a will that defied logic.
By the time Cooler stood up, Goku had kicked him right into Gohan – who launched him up high with a kick of his own. With renewed vigor, Goku warped up above Cooler and struck as many major pressure points as he could in the span of two seconds to send down to the floor in a heap. He landed right back down in the same spot, so that he and Gohan stood on either side of him. They both looked up and exchanged nods.
"Little rodents," Cooler groveled, coughing as he stumbled back up. He couldn't get himself upright, Goku's strikes having taken such a debilitating effect even on his metal-fortified body. "You two are running on fumes with only two arms between each other! You have no hope against Metal Cooler!"
"Two arms are more than enough," Goku challenged as blue Ki surrounded both his and his son's palms. "'Specially when you know the right words."
Sensing Goku's mind, Gohan started the chant.
"KA…ME…"
Goku joined him while Cooler spread his arms out with a blast in each hand waiting for the father and son.
"HA…ME…"
The volatile Ki shook against Goku's palms. He packed everything he had left into the attack – he had faith in his and Gohan's reserves to withstand Cooler's best shot. Besides – it still didn't seem to be occurring to Cooler that he was better served flying into air and taking them on with one blast instead of standing and forcing himself to split his power across both palms. These guys were all raw power and no fundamentals; overpowered amateurs.
"HA!"
The Kamehamehas left the hands of the father & son and collided with Cooler's blasts. Just as Goku expected, they easily overpowered his thinned energy and smashed into his body. Cooler, once the universe's second most feared tyrant, and arguably more efficient than Frieza, had been reduced to the peace of meat in a sandwich of the strongest attack of the universe's two greatest fighters. The metal shell surrounding him burst first, and then the true lizard underneath it disintegrated right after.
Before the smoke had even finished settling, Goku fell out of his Super Saiyan form and onto his knee. Frieza was dead, Cooler was dead, Cold was dead. It was all over.
He spared Gohan a glance; he had also snapped out of Super Saiyan and sat down on the floor with his head down, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. As his arm dangled precariously, he stood back up and limped towards him. Gohan looked up through his baggy bloodshot eyes that were attached to a battered, sickly face. But beneath those bleary eyes and twisted nose? A genuine smile Goku hadn't seen in a decade. Even with the injuries and age, the smile looked identical to the one from right after he cried on top of a tree branch and brightened up in his father's lap on the Flying Nimbus.
"It's over...for real this time," Goku said.
Gohan laughed, though Goku couldn't tell it was more of a coughing fit. "Yeah. Thanks…dad."
Goku closed his eyes and sighed. He had finally earned that title. However, one crucial matter kept him from savoring his peace for long.
"Now that that's behind us, we still need to find the Dragon Balls," Goku said. "They blew up my ship when I arrived and the radar got destroyed."
"Yeah, I overheard him give the order…" Gohan said in between dry heaves. "But I know for a fact that they're on his flagship. It's somewhere nearby. But what are we gonna do about this thing? Blow it up?"
"Nah, that might mess up this entire planet," Goku said. "I dunno if you heard, but some folks from here said it's draining the planet of its resources, so it's probably plugged up somewhere in the ground. I probably shouldn't have destroyed that helmet."
"The helmet's wrecked, but the cables are still there." Gohan pointed to the one chunk of metal that remained of the helmet.
Goku walked over and picked it up, observing the way the cords attached to its metal. "Huh, you're right. How does this thing even work?"
"C-Cooler…said he kinda programed this ship to his consciousness. Those wires must be the key." Gohan tried to stand up, but immediately crumbled back down. Goku strolled over and lifted him up, steadying him with his hands and returning to the helmet. Gohan unplugged the cable from the helmet. "Perhaps…"
To Goku's confusion, Gohan attached the cables to his own head. "Uh…what're ya doin'?"
"Piccolo explained something once, how Ki is more than just some fuel you use to fight. It's your mind, your body, and your spirit. If I put the right type of Ki into this, it could work…"
Goku skeptically observed Gohan squeeze the cable and close his eyes with deep breaths in a state of meditation. The cables began to glow with a silver light as the floor beneath Gohan rumbled. Suddenly, a few cables shot out from the wall and assembled another metal clone – only it wasn't of Cooler, but Gohan. Goku hopped back with an alarmed shout.
"Aw, fuck," Gohan whined before chuckling. "Must've been subconscious…"
Goku nervously laughed and held his breath while the Metal Gohan slowly disassembled itself. Gohan's theory had clearly worked, however. Soon, the entire walls glowed with energy while the rumbling intensified. Goku could feel the Star begin to rise from the ground like a spaceship, gradually accelerating.
"It's working…" he said.
"Just a little higher," Gohan replied.
The ship's ascent doubled in speed, nearly knocking Goku over. Once it got high enough, it stopped; Gohan pulled the cords away from himself, panting heavily and rubbing his forehead. "Alright, it should be safe now. Let's blow this motherfucker up."
Goku laughed and grinned. "Sounds like a plan!"
He blasted a hole through the roof and flew out of it, then flew around the star until they were hovering below the massive structure. Goku curled up his left forearm and charged up his Ki. "So long…Ghetto…Star thing."
A huge wave of Goku's remaining power propelled from his hand and slammed into the Big Gete Star in a massive explosion that lit up the light brown sky. Good riddance, Goku thought to himself as the remaining scraps fell.
"Alright, we got one last stop before we steal Cooler's ship," Goku said.
He flew to the forest, where the tree trunks already appeared a little more vibrant than his last visit. When he reached that field of grass, Goku flew down and focused his eyes to hone in on that silver rock, eventually finding it underneath a few blades. He brushed them away and pushed the rock.
"Password?"
A light bulb hit Goku's brain. He turned towards his son with a coy grin. "Say, Gohan, what's the name of your girlfriend that you're trying to bring back?"
"Arepa?"
The patch of grass slid open, welcoming Goku and Gohan into a cellar. Gohan gasped in surprise, looking back and forth between the staircase and his father. "Uh, what? Did Arepa's name activate the door?"
"Yup!"
"How?!"
"They said it's the name of a diamond over here."
"Hold on," Gohan said as they walked down the steps. "What's the name of this planet?"
"Panera, I think?"
"…This is Arepa's home planet!" Gohan yelled, a bit of life returning to his voice.
"Well, how 'bout that?" Goku replied. "That would explain the accents, then. Now I'm wonderin' how this place is even still around. Didn't you they either wipe out or enslave whatever worlds they come across?"
"It was a rogue solider, not Frieza. And Arepa and her father were out on another planet when they got attacked."
"Ah. Makes sense."
When they reached the bottom of the stair case, Goku turned to the living room, where Begal sat at the table with a bottle of alcohol in his hands and the four-star Dragon Ball in the chair next to him. Having heard their conversation, he had already been facing them with a jaw sunken in disbelief. "No fuckin' way…"
Goku flashed a peace sign and giggled. "Told ya I'd be back! I dunno if it was thirty minutes, though."
Begal got up, knocking his chair over as he rushed to Goku and Gohan. "So it's over?! He's dead?!"
"Yeah! We even got the star off this planet and blew it up!"
"Thank God," Begal said, wiping off his forehead. "It won't bring Croissant back, but at least nobody else has to deal with this shit no more."
"Actually…" Goku drawled, pointing to the four-star Dragon Ball in the chair at the table. "That's what that's for! We're gonna make a wish that'll bring her and everyone back, and we need that ball for it!"
Begal turned around and gawked at the Dragon Ball in awe. "No wonder you needed it so bad…"
"You brought a Dragon Ball with you?" Gohan asked. "Why?"
"Check it out," Goku said as Begal brought the Dragon Ball over to him. He pointed to the red stars.
"The four-star ball…" Gohan observed.
"Yup. I just…didn't want anymore bad memories attached to it. That's your Dragon Ball, Gohan."
Gohan kept his eyes on the ball as Goku scooped it up in his arm. "It is, isn't it?"
After a nod, Goku turned towards Begal. "Thanks a lot, man. I wouldn't have survived if not for you and your wife. Keep an eye out, 'cuase she'll be back!"
"No, thank you, man! We're safe because of you!" Begal shouted, crying tears of joy.
"Yeah, I guess," Goku replied, shrugging. "So long!"
After carrying Gohan and the Dragon Ball up the stairs, Goku flew into the sky. "So, where's Cooler's ship?"
"It's a huge dome that kinda looks like our ship if it was a giant crab. It was nearby the area that we left," Gohan replied. "And I'm pretty sure there were still a few workers inside running maintenance, so we can just search out their Ki."
"Gotcha."
Goku did as advised, following the few notable presence in his vicinity until he found a ship that was exactly as Gohan described, its legs indeed making it resemble a giant crab that now made Goku's stomach rumble. They dropped down to the open ramp and entered a yellow hallway through the door. A few workers yelped in alarm and stood frozen with fear.
"Look, y'all," Goku began, his voice stern. "Cooler's dead."
Horror and disbelief washed through the faces of all the workers in the hall. "What?! Is that why the Big Gete Star just exploded?!" Squawked a red scientist with the head of a giant bird. "That can't be…!"
"It's true. And we don't really have any beef with you guys, so you can either try to fight us, or just stand down. I'd bet most of you weren't really workin' for Cooler by choice, anyway, so there's no point in tryin' to fight for him."
Goku studied the faces of Cooler's workers as they exchanged looks amongst each other. Many of them seemed skeptical. The bird tapped his scouter to probe Goku's testimony. "Lord Cooler? Are you there?"
A few moments passed with no response.
"Lord Cooler?!"
Gohan nudged Goku's ribs. "You probably can't go Super Saiyan again, but you can still manage a Kaio-Ken, right? Just do that really quick."
Though Goku expression confusion, he nodded. "Uh, okay."
He let go of Gohan, who steadied himself against the wall. After a deep breath and a steadying of his shoulders, he focused his Ki. "Kaio-Ken!"
Red flames of aura burst from Goku's body that shattered every last scouter in the ship. The looks of fear across all of their faces got a laugh out of him, admittedly. Assuming they were convinced of his capabilities, Goku relinquished his power.
"Um, I see…" the avian worker said. "Carry on! We'll stay out of your way!"
"You can do one thing for me," Gohan said, finally standing up on his own feet even though he looked like he was under 500-times gravity. "There are healing tanks here, right?"
"Y-Yes, there are! I'll lead the way, sir!"
"Hey!" Gohan barked, stumbling forward and nearly falling over before Goku caught him again and held him up. "That's Lord Gohan to you…"
"Um yes, of course, Lord Gohan!"
Such an order caught Goku off-guard. Gohan shrugged and laughed. "Sorry, I just always wanted to do that."
Goku laughed too as he and Gohan followed the worker's lead to the control room. Once they stepped inside, a few scientists scattered. They hadn't heard Goku's message, but judging from the broken scouters on their faces, they got the most important parts of it. At the far end of the room were a pair of tanks filled with green fluid. And sitting by a massive window were three large, orange orbs.
"And there they are!" Goku cheered. "You were right, Gohan."
Gohan limped toward the healing tank and rested his hand on the glass. "I'm sorry…"
Goku hummed curiously. "What do you mean?"
"We could've avoided all this bullshit if I'd have just defeated Cooler when I could've. If that blast hit, all I needed to do was defeat Cooler and wish you guys back."
"C'mon, that ain't true," Goku scoffed. Gohan turned around, his eyebrow arched in surprise. "You did nothin' wrong. You put us before yourself. That's why I'm so proud of you, man! It ain't all about you bein' strong. You actually give a crap about people. Even after everything you went through growin' up in this mess, you never lost your heart."
Gohan stepped away from the healing tank and gazed at his father. His lip quivered while tears bubbled up in his bloodshot eyes. He buried his head, trying to obscure his sobs even though he had nothing to be ashamed of. Goku walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Th-Thank you," Gohan squeaked, unable to control his whimpering.
"It's alright. Let it out."
Gohan wiped the tears from his eyes and the snot from his nose. He no longer had the weight of the Cold Force on his shoulders. Once they arrived on Namek and made their wish, he would finally be free to live life on his own terms without at least a good chunk of baggage. It would never go away completely, but would certainly be more manageable.
"Besides, look how it worked out," Goku said, gesturing towards the window. "This is your girl's home planet, right? It's all a coincidence, but now her place is safe, too!"
"Arepa…" Gohan muttered, following Goku's line of sight. "You're right."
"Now, let's hurry up and get back over there," Goku said. He slid to the three Dragon Balls and placed the four-star ball right next to them. Next on his agenda was the control panel. He hovered over the frail, red-skinned worker that sat before it. "We're heading back to Namek, alright?"
"Yes, sir!" the scientist said, vigorously nodding with a forced smile.
"Cool," Goku said, turning around until a thought sparked his mind. "Wait!"
"Sir?"
"Y'all got any food in here?!"
Several days later, Gohan and Goku arrived in a familiar village shrouded in blue grass, both of them carrying a pair of Dragon Balls in their arms. Though Gohan wore a fresh outfit since he had plenty of duplicates to pick from in the ship, Goku store wore the raggedy orange pants and blue shirt from his fight. They had made a detour to drop the Cooler Force workers off at a safe, uninhabited planet that put them a day behind schedule, but they now had all the time in the world.
The Namekians were already gathered outside, greeting the two Saiyans with smiles.
"You made it!" Moori called, three Dragon Balls glowing beside his feet.
Goku and Gohan dropped down the field and added their Dragon Balls to the collection. Moori nodded graciously. "We were scared when we saw that man's ship closing in; but once we sensed your Ki, we knew everything was okay."
"Yeah," Gohan replied. "They're all gone now."
"At last. Though evil will still persist in this universe, at least the worst has been extinguished."
Gohan stood before the Dragon Balls, watching them pulsate with hope. He had been through hell, doubting if he would ever live during his torturous flight to what turned out to be Arepa's home planet. But thanks to his father, he had finally achieved his goal. The Dragon Balls were here, and ready to finally repair what Frieza had broken.
Moori spread his hands above the Dragon Balls.
"Takkaraput pop porunga pupiritt paro!"
It was a chant in what Goku and Gohan could only assume was the Namekian language. The rich, green sky of Namek faded to black and the ground rumbled, signifying the summoning of its dragon. Bright, golden light erupted from the balls and molded into the shape of a beast that stood high into the sky.
Gohan figured that after experiencing one summoning already, the Dragon wouldn't intimidate him again. When the light faded and revealed a hulking, muscular beast that resembled less a dragon and more a thousand-foot alligator that only shared Shen Long's scaly green skin and haunting red eyes, he realized he had been very much mistaken.
"Aw man!" Goku yelled, sweat dampening even his forehead. "This is the homegrown Shen Long, huh? He's a beast!"
Moori turned around with a snicker. "There's nothing to fear, gentlemen! 'Round here, we call him Porunga, the God of Dreams!"
"GREETINGS. I SHALL GRANT YOU ANY THREE WISHES THAT ARE WITHIN MY POWER."
Both Goku and Gohan let out gasps. "Three wishes?!" Goku yelled. "Aw man, no wonder these balls are so big!"
"What's your first wish, boys?" Moori asked.
"Easy!" Goku said. "Bring back everyone that's been killed by the Cold Force organization in the last year!"
Moori repeated the wish in the Namekian tongue while Gohan's heart pumped in anticipation. However, Porunga shook its head.
"THAT, I CANNOT DO. I ONLY HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO RESTORE ONE LIFE PER WISH."
"Aw, really?!" Goku whined. "What a ripoff. Guess it ain't that generous. Now what do we do?"
Gohan shook his head in reassurance. "That's easy. We bring Piccolo back with the first wish. That'll bring back God and the Dragon Balls on Earth."
"Ah, of course! Good thinkin'!" Goku turned back to Moori. "Well, you heard him! Bring back the Namekian known as Piccolo!"
Moori yelled the wish in Namekian. After a brief flashing of its eyes, Porunga growled.
"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. NOW, STATE YOUR SECOND WISH."
"Well, sheesh, we only planned for one wish! Think we should just let Vegeta and Arepa skip the line and bring 'em back with the next two wishes?" Goku asked his son.
Gohan nodded affirmatively. "Sounds good to me."
"Yo!" Goku called out to Moori. "For the next two wishes, bring back Vegeta and Arepa, two ex-Frieza Force soldiers who were killed on Earth!"
"Got it! I'll just split them up!" Moori said before stating the wish. Gohan couldn't understand a word that left his lips, save for one at the end: Vegeta. Porunga's eyes glowed red again.
"YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. AND NOW, THE THIRD AND FINAL WISH."
A childish smile spread wide across Gohan's lips and tears of joy spilled down his face as Moori shouted the same gibberish as the first two wishes, only ending the phrase with "Arepa." Another glowing of the eyes, another confirmation of success. At last, the job was finished.
"YOUR WISHES HAVE BEEN GRANTED. FAREWELL."
Porunga extinguished into a surge of light that sucked back into the Dragon Balls, which rose into to the sky and scattered around the planet. One ball, however, landed right back in the village's grass, now an ordinary stone.
"And there you have it!" Moori beamed, lifting up the stone. "I think I should power these Dragon Balls up so they can revive more people in a single wish. Though I imagine my predecessor intended it as a compromise to maintain some semblance of natural order, the destruction Frieza, Cooler, and their ilk wreaked across the universe was anything but natural. How about that for your first true test, Dende?"
The Namekian teenager in the burgundy vest nodded vigorously. "Sure thing, Elder!"
Gohan looked up in the clouds, taking Moori's speech to heart. He was right on the money; the Cold Force was a plague on the universe, and the responsible answer was taking whatever measures necessary to undo their damage. The stars could finally heal.
Goku tapped Gohan on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up. "We did it!"
"We did."
Moori and Dende walked over to the two Saiyans and bowed respectfully. "On behalf of all of my fellow Namekians, I thank you two. Though we've heard many stories of the Saiyans' terror, some good clearly existed among them. We are eternally grateful. Is there anything I can do to repay your efforts?"
Goku laughed and waved him off. "Nah, man. We ain't space cops or nothin', just some fighters with good hearts. We don't need anything!"
"Very well!" Moori said.
"Wait!" Goku yelled. He patted his raggedy blue shirt. "Y'all can do that clothes beam thingy like our God and Piccolo, right?"
"Of course, that's how we produce all of our outfits and tools," Moori replied, raising his finger and charging it with a yellow glow. "I assume you want the attire you originally arrived in?"
"Uh huh!"
Moori fired a beam at Goku that restored his orange Gi and brought the rest of his clothes back to pristine condition. Seeing Goku in his outfit gave Gohan an idea.
"Hey! Give me the same thing, but in these colors," Gohan said, gesturing to his dark blue & green and battle suit.
Moori stroked his chin in thought. "I see. I can work something out that's suitable."
He fired the same beam at Gohan, converting the Frieza Force outfit into one that matched his father's, only his Gi and pants were as green as Namekian skin, while his undershirt, sash, wristbands and boots were a shade of blue just short of black. Gohan tugged the fabric in amazement.
Goku watched Gohan with a proud grin. "Looks great on ya, son!"
The clothes fit perfectly, granting Gohan the freedom to move as his own person, but honored the man who worked hard to earn his love and respect. He looked up with great respect for Moori. "We owe you all. Thank you for allowing us to use your Dragon Balls."
"It's the least we can do," Dende replied.
"Alright, guess we're headin' home, then!" Goku said. "We might visit from time to time. I might even bring Piccolo…actually, he'd probably kill me if I tried. Maybe God! Yeah, that'll work. Anyway, we're off! See ya!"
Goku waved as he and Gohan flew away. "Yo!" he called out.
"What's up?" Gohan yelled back.
"Betcha can't beat me to the ship!"
"Yeah, right!"
Gohan and Goku both powered up to Super Saiyan and blasted ahead, ripping through the tides of Planet Namek and breezily navigating the endless array of cliffs. As soon as Gohan's black boots touched the blue grass ahead of their stolen spaceship, he triumphantly folded his arms and powered back down to normal.
"I win!"
"No way," Goku said, also relinquishing his transformation. "It's just like before. My legs are longer!"
"Bullshit," Gohan scoffed as he they strolled up the ramp.
They had landed at the exact same time.
Once the ramp retracted into the door, Goku and Gohan headed to the control room. Goku jumped to the center and stretched himself to let out his frenetic energy. "Ah, back to Earth! 'Bout time I came back from one of these trips with good news. I'll hit up Bulma on one of these scouters and tell her to collect the other Dragon Balls and wish back Tien and everyone else. They'll be back by the time we arrive."
"That's good, but I actually want to make one pit stop," Gohan said. One sentence had been on his mind since he saw Moori restore Goku's outfit: "Maybe next time we see each other, you won't be in that armor."
He clicked the red button on the control panel.
"Route us to Planet Mamba. Coordinates 0824LA."