Chapter 22: Revival

"Well, Goku, it looks like your training is done," King Kai said proudly, "and not a moment too soon. But first, we have to make sure that you're ready to take on the Saiyans. Bubbles! You're up"

Bubbles immediately took off running, and King Kai pulled out his stopwatch. He counted down on his fingers, then clicked the stopwatch. Almost immediately, Goku rushed over and caught Bubbles without breaking a sweat. King Kai clicked the stopwatch, and looked down in shock.

"Whoa! Less than a second! That's a new record!"

Goku laughed, then let Bubbles go. The monkey walked out of the way as Gregory stepped up. King Kai handed Goku the weighted hammer, then prepared the stopwatch.

"Ready, Set, GO!!!"

Gregory immediately flew off as fast as he could, but Goku was much faster. Before he even knew what was going on, he was hit right on the head.

"0.9!? Oh my! Well, last but not least, the Spirit Bomb." King Kai levitated a large rock and sent it flying around the planet at high speed. Goku lifted his hands to the sky and concentrated fiercely, drawing power from the planet around him. The surge of energy was incredible. Focusing hard, he drew it all into his right hand, then focused on his target. Choosing his moment, he lobbed the Spirit Bomb at the boulder, completely destroying it.

"Very good, Goku!" King Kai applauded. "Now, while you might have no trouble creating the Spirit Bomb on this tiny planet, you need to remember that Earth is far bigger and full of much more life. This technique is extremely difficult to control, so you must only use it as a last resort, when there's nothing left to lose."

"Aw man!" Goku whined. "But that means I might never get to use it!"

"Let's hope so," King Kai said to himself, then addressed Goku again. "Now then, we should probably contact your wife and have her bring you back—the Saiyans are going to arrive on Earth tomorrow."

"Alright!" Goku cheered. "I can't wait to see how much stronger everybody's gotten!"

"AAAHHH! Oh no!"

"What!? What is it, King Kai!?"

"I forgot to put in my calculations the amount of time you'll need to get across Snake Way!"

"Wh-what!?" Goku yelped. "But I thought you would just teleport me there! You're telling me I have to run all the way back!? It took me a whole five months just to get here!!"

"Well, yes," King Kai said frantically, "but you're much stronger and faster now! It probably won't take you more than a day and a half to get there!"

"But that means the others will have to hold the Saiyans off for a half day!"

"Alright, let's calm down, Goku!" King Kai shouted, then turned around. "We need to focus on bringing you back to life. Now put your hand on my shoulder and focus on Chi-Chi."

"Right!" Goku walked up to King Kai and placed his left hand on his right shoulder, then focused on his wife.

Chi-Chi, can you hear me? It's Goku.

Chi-Chi blocked another attack from Piccolo, before countering with a high kick. The Demon King avoided her foot and jumped back, charging up an Explosive Demon Wave. Chi-Chi saw what he was doing, and prepared her own Kamehameha.

"KaaaaaaameeeeeeHAAAAAMEEEEEEEEE..."

Chi-Chi, can you hear me? It's Goku.

"Huh?"

CRASH!

Piccolo's attack hit the distracted Chi-Chi head on, sending her into a nearby rock formation. She groaned as she picked herself back up.

"Goku?" She asked aloud. "Is that you?"

Yeah! It's me! Wow, I can hear you so clearly! Listen, we don't have much time. You've got the Dragon Balls, right?

"Yeah, we have the Dragon Balls," she said, "but what's the rush? We still have a whole month before the Saiyans get here, right?"

No such luck, Chi-Chi. They're going to reach Earth tomorrow!

"TOMORROW!?"

Yeah! I need you to wish me back right now! If I move fast enough, I should be able to get there in a day and a half, but that means you guys have to hold them off until then!

"Hold them off? Are you saying I can't take them myself?"

Uhhh...

"Never mind. I'll hurry and make the wish. Just make sure you get back!"

Got it! Thanks, Chi-Chi, I owe you one!

"You owe me more than one, Goku." Chi-Chi said, then turned to Piccolo and Gohan, who were watching her nervously. "We need the Dragon Balls, you two. The Saiyans will be here tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow!?" Gohan squeaked. "I thought we had more time!"

"Apparently we don't," Chi-Chi replied. Flying over to one of the rock formations, she found the mahogany box that held all seven Dragon Balls. Opening it up, she paused for a second. She wanted to be sure that she was ready to make the wish. She knew what she was planning would have dire repercussions, but she felt like she had to do it. Now certain, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly.

"Rise, Eternal Dragon Shenron!"

The sky darkened as storm clouds covered the Earth. The Dragon Balls glowed brightly as an enormous green dragon rose into the sky. Chi-Chi felt Gohan grabbing onto her leg—he'd never seen Shenron before, and it's always overwhelming the first time.

"Speak your wish," Shenron growled, "and it shall be granted."

Chi-Chi took a deep breath, and spoke as clearly as she could.

"Bring back the two Saiyans who were killed by Piccolo!"

"What!?" Piccolo shouted, shocked.

"Very well."

Shenron's red eyes flashed brightly as he roared in effort. A few seconds later, Chi-Chi felt a surge of energy far off, more powerful than she was expecting.

"Your wish has been granted. Farewell."

Shenron rose up into the sky before disappearing in a bright flash of yellow light, and the Dragon Balls scattered once more.

"Chi-Chi!" Piccolo shouted angrily. "Do you have any idea what you just did!?"

"I know exactly what I did, Piccolo," Chi-Chi replied. "I gave us another potential ally. Nimbus!"

The Flying Nimbus surged down to her, and she jumped on.

"Where do you think you're going!?" Piccolo shouted.

"To knock some sense into my brother in law! C'mon, Nimbus!" And with that, the Nimbus flew off in the direction of the field where Raditz was buried—where he and Goku had died.

Meanwhile...

FOOM!!!

The ground of the abandoned farm exploded in a burst of purplish energy, creating a crater hundreds of feet across. As the dust settled, a large, muscular figure with long hair clambered out, gasping for breath.

Raditz looked around at his surroundings, confused. He had no clue what happened—he remembered dying, then waking up in front of an enormous man with red skin who proceeded to judge him for the planets he destroyed and the people he killed. Then he fell into some kind of rocky prison and being stuck there until he was "repentant," whatever that meant. Then he suddenly found himself underground and blasted his way out. What was going on?

Looking down at himself, Raditz realized that his armor was gone. All he had on him was his black shorts. Looking around again, he saw a nearby boulder and pointed a hand at it. A beam of purple energy shot from his palm and collided with the large rock, atomizing it. He grinned—ever since he entered that unusual place, he couldn't use his powers. Just to make sure, he then punched himself in the gut. The pain in his midriff and the air rushing out of his lungs told him all he needed to know. He laughed to himself as the truth sank in: he was alive! The other Saiyans must have done it! They defeated Kakarot's woman and used the wishing orbs to bring him back! He knew he now had to find them before they grew too impatient and destroyed the planet anyway, but he didn't have his Scouter on him. Hopefully the other two have theirs, and a ship to get him off-

"Raditz!"

Raditz froze when he heard the feminine voice calling out his name. Turning his head, he saw the silhouette of a Saiyan woman heading his way, riding a yellow cloud. He growled angrily at the approaching figure—that had to be Kakarot's woman!

"You!" He shouted. "Do you have any idea what happened to me!? How dare you show your face around me, you wench!"

He watched the woman leap off the cloud and start falling to the ground, before she hit it in a three point landing.

"Watch it, Raditz," she growled, "it's been a long year, and I'm not in the mood for trash talk!"

"Oh, trust me. I'm more than happy to let my fists do the talking again. Especially since Kakarot and the Namekian aren't around to protect you!"

Chi-Chi smirked at that, causing Raditz to growl again.

"I don't need them right now. You might have gotten quite the Zenkai boost from coming back to life, but you're only about a third the strength of Turles."

"Turles?" Raditz was taken aback. Blinking rapidly, he then realized how different she looked. Her hair was now the familiar mess of spikes that were common for Saiyans, and when he looked down at her tail, he gave a startled cry.

"Wait!" He shouted. "What happened to you!? Why do you look like an Ancient Saiyan now!? They're supposed to be extinct!" He took a step back, his head spinning. "Who are you!?"

Chi-Chi stepped forward, her smirk still on her face. "I'm the one thing in the universe Vegeta fears the most," she said. "I am the Queen of the Saiyans, ruler of all I survey, and the Last Will of the Ancients. I am Queen Sadala!"

Raditz immediately jumped back and fell on his backside, as if he'd been struck.

"And you're going to help me stop the other Saiyans," she growled, leering over her brother-in-law menacingly.

"You... you..." Raditz stammered. He couldn't believe it—how could the woman he beat to a pulp be the Queen of the Ancients!?

"YOU LIE!" In one swift motion, he got up from the ground and threw his hardest punch at her. Faster than he could follow, Sadala caught his fist in her left hand. Undeterred, he tried punching her with his left hand, but she caught that as well. He struggled to break free, but she merely tightened her grip until Raditz started screaming in pain.

"Face it, Raditz," she said, loosening her grip again without letting go. "You aren't strong enough to beat me anymore. I can help you, but if you even try to betray us, then I won't hesitate to kill you again. After that, even the Dragon Balls won't be able to bring you back!"

She finally let go of Raditz, causing him to stagger back and shake his injured hands.

"You... you can't be her!" Raditz gasped. "Sadala was a ruthless, callous monster! She would never protect a planet as fragile and helpless as this!"

"I am Sadala," Chi-Chi insisted, "or at least the newest incarnation of her." She sighed when a look of confusion crossed Raditz's face. Hopping back onto the Nimbus, she motioned for him to follow. "Come on, Raditz. I'm too hungry to explain right now. I'll make us some dinosaur stew, then we can talk."

"And what if I don't follow you?"

"That won't matter. As long as you don't cause a ruckus, you're free to do what you want until the other Saiyans get here." She looked back and smiled. "But you'll be missing out—even Piccolo makes room for my stew."

Raditz raised an eyebrow at that—Namekians never eat solid foods!—but then it clicked. "You!" He shouted. "You're the one who brought me back!"

Chi-Chi's smile widened. "Now you're catching on. I used the Dragon Balls to bring you and Goku back. That also means that they won't be useable for another year."

"But... why?"

"I told you: I'll explain it after dinner."

With that, she flew off. Raditz didn't know what to do. She shouldn't be as strong as him, but she stopped his punches like they were nothing. She admitted to resurrecting him, and she was acting unusually friendly. For all he knew, it was a trap. But why would she go to all the trouble of bringing him back just to kill him again? It didn't make any sense.

In the end, he took off after her, planning to figure out a way to hand her over to Vegeta so he could return to the Saiyans.

Later that day...

"And that's the story, Raditz," Chi-Chi finished.

Raditz was completely stunned. "So... you're telling me that you were an earthling five years ago?"

"Yes."

"And you became a Saiyan by freak accident?"

"Basically."

"But not any Saiyan—you became a reincarnation of the infamous Queen Sadala?"

"That's right.

Raditz blinked several times, trying to digest everything with the stew he had finished wolfing down. He had never heard a story like that before, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Sadala wasn't on any of the Saiyan records, and her appearance had changed dramatically since he last saw her. Saiyans remain mostly the same throughout their lives, so her transformation into an Ancient Saiyan didn't have any other explanation.

"What about the brat?" Raditz asked. "Is he a pure-blooded Saiyan, or was he born before you made that ridiculous wish?"

"First off, it wasn't a ridiculous wish," Chi-Chi growled. "Second, he was only a month and a half old, but yes, he was born before I became a Saiyan. Why?"

Raditz thought long and hard about that. "If what you're saying is true, then not only are Saiyans compatible with earthlings, but the resulting hybrids have even more potential." He looked over at his nephew, suddenly much more interested. "Nappa and I often talked about ways to restore the Saiyan race to its former glory. Maybe this is how."

"Forget it, Raditz," Chi-Chi said sternly. "Even if they could be convinced, do you really think they'd let you back into their ranks after you died?"

"Of course they would!" Raditz growled angrily. "I've been fighting alongside them since I was a child! They wouldn't dare abandon me, especially since there are so few Saiyans left!"

"Raditz," Chi-Chi sighed, "you know as well as I do that Saiyans have no real sense of camaraderie. Two hundred years of conquest and destruction wouldn't have made them any more sympathetic to their fallen. I guarantee it: they're only coming here for me and the Dragon Balls. They abandoned you the moment you were fatally injured."

Raditz snarled at that, but Sadala didn't flinch. "You were willing to kill your own brother and nephew without thinking twice. I promise you, I'm being more merciful than Vegeta ever would."

Raditz started calming down, but he then turned away. "It doesn't matter, Sadala. You may have been the most powerful Saiyan of your time, but times have changed. Even now, you won't be strong enough to defeat Vegeta—he is a super-elite with a power level of 18,000. And Nappa's the elite commander in chief of the Saiyan army with a power level of 4,000. You don't stand a chance against them."

"Really?" Chi-Chi asked slowly. "Tell me, what was your power level when you first arrived on Earth?"

"Fifteen hundred."

"I see. Well, if I had to guess from what I'm feeling from you, I'd say you now have a power level of around thirty-five hundred. That's not that far off from this Nappa guy."

"What?" Raditz was surprised. He didn't expect his Zenkai boost to be that effective. "Wait, how can you tell?"

Sadala grinned. "It's a little trick we have here on Earth. Not only can we raise and lower our power, we can sense it too. That's how we were able to find you the first time."

"So you're telling me that you earthlings don't need Scouters?"

"That's right. Now, listen up." She leaned forward. "Several of the Earth's best fighters have been training to prepare for the Saiyans' arrival tomorrow. Vegeta's mine, but they should be able to take on Nappa. Either way, you're going to help us. You have nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and the Saiyans won't help you. I'm not interested in ruling a race that's basically extinct, but I plan on living a full life as the Princess and Queen of Fire Mountain. I won't let anyone or anything destroy my home! Especially not you."

"Hmph!" Raditz grunted, then got up to walk away. Before leaving, he turned back to look at Sadala. "And what does Kakarot think about this? I assume he's not in the mood to see his older brother?"

"Goku's on his way back to Earth as we speak. He'd spent the entire year training in the afterlife, which is why we resurrected the two of you now. He should be here tomorrow—late. Which is why we need to fight the Saiyans ourselves until he gets back."

"I never agreed to help you fight them!" Raditz shouted angrily. "You've clearly gotten stronger than me, so I won't risk my life by 'causing a ruckus.' But unless you're right about them, and they really do abandon me, I won't fight my own comrades!"

With that, he flew off to sulk far away from her.

"I guess that'll have to be enough for now," Chi-Chi said to herself.

Later, out in space...

"Attention: now nearing destination. Stasis lock disengaged."

Vegeta's eyes opened as he looked out the window of his attack pod. The Sun of the system he had entered came into view.

"It took long enough," he grumbled to himself. "Computer, scan for material resources of the destined planet."

"Scanning... valuable material resources in abundance include: iron, magnesium, aluminum, titanium, uranium and thorium."

"Interesting. Atmospheric reading."

"Atmospheric composition: largely nitrogen and oxygen. Overall quality: good."

"Hmmm... technological advancements."

"Overall technological advancement: below average."

"As expected from a backwater planet with no space travel. Nappa, are you awake yet?"

"Yeah I'm awake, Vegeta," Nappa said over the communicator. "That trip took way too long! My neck's stiffer than Frieza's horns!"

"Settle down, Nappa," Vegeta said. "We're almost there."

"Yeah, I hope it's worth the trip."

"Eternal life is worth any discomfort." Vegeta began salivating at the thought of becoming unstoppable. All his life, he had lived under the heel of Frieza. He, the Prince of all Saiyans, reduced to a mere foot soldier in the Frieza Force. Once he finally gains his wish, he will never have to listen to anyone but himself again.

What else should I wish for after that? Vegeta wondered. Perhaps I should wish for that woman's undying loyalty to me next. Together, the Saiyan race will return to full strength, with the two of us as their immortal matriarch and patriarch. We would be like gods to them.

"Hey, Vegeta," Nappa said. "I had sort of an idea. Maybe after we wish for immortality, we could use the Dragon Balls to turn the women of that planet into Saiyans."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, it's not the worst idea ever."

"Don't be ridiculous, Nappa. There's more to being a Saiyan than genetics. Our pride is everything. I would rather our race die out than have to resort to such paltry measures."

"Oh, right," Nappa said apologetically.

"Trust me," Vegeta assured him, "we will have plenty of time to rebuild our species once we become immortal. For now, we should prepare for another day of conquest against a fairly weak civilization."

"Hah! That, I can get behind!"

Vegeta grinned hungrily. Like Nappa, he too was hungry for battle. And soon he would get all that, and more.