Capsule Corp, West City
December 18, A762
"Oh, hey, Launch. Lucky bumping into you here," Raditz said, leaning against the tractor trailer. Launch, in her blue form, looked up at him.
"Real lucky bumping into me where I work," she snickered.
"Oh, I'm always lucky when I see you."
Launch blushed, "You smooth talker."
"Well, I'm glad to see you before we head off. I'm going to space."
"Yeah? In your spaceship?"
"Yep. Gonna be super dangerous. Lots of pirates and bad guys."
"Well, good luck," Launch put her trucker hat on, and walked around the trailer, leaving Raditz standing there, stunned.
"W-wait! Launch! Hold on!"
Launch slipped under the trailer, and grabbed his arm from the other direction; Raditz nearly jumped out of his armor when she ambushed him.
"Hey. Don't be afraid to come out and 'be lucky' to bump into me, okay? When you get back, you-you...you…"
"You...What?"
"YA-CHOO!" Launch sneezed in his face. Raditz handed her a handkerchief.
"What I said is when you get back-and if you don't I'm gonna kill ya-is you're taking me out for dinner, first thing, you hear me?" Blonde Launch squeezed his hand hard enough for him to squirm.
"Y-yes ma'am!"
"Good. Glad we're on the same page," Launch said. She kissed him on the cheek, "See you when you get back."
Launch turned, smacking her hand on Raditz's butt, and hopped into the cabin of the Capsule Corp truck. Blushing, Raditz walked to the corner of the truck bay, where he found Goku waiting for him. Goku gave his brother a cheeky smile.
"Not a word, Kakarot!" Raditz growled to him. Goku mimed 'zipping' his lips.
"Come on, the ship's ready."
"Oh, I hope Dr. Briefs got that stereo system installed he mentioned!" Raditz said.
"I don't understand why there isn't a muffin maker," Goku grumbled.
XXX
Planet Namek
December 18, A762
Vegeta looked around; the planet was one of the most boring places he'd ever visited. Even the backwater that was Earth had the occasion homestead in the remote areas. Flying over the countryside of Namek, he saw nothing. If it weren't for the fact that his Scouter was listening in on Freeza's operations, he'd have guessed that there was nothing here. That, and the feeling of power tingling at the edge of his mind; he could sense the people of this world. It was still a new sensation.
"What am I even doing here?" Vegeta grumbled, looking at the note again, "What is the Legend? The Dragon Balls? I knew they existed...What could this mean?"
Vegeta listened to Freeza, Zarbon, and Dodoria taunting the locals. He didn't care, until Freeza mentioned his wish:
"Oh, it's nothing major, just a simple thing, really, I want immortality, eternal life for myself."
Vegeta snarled; of course that's what Freeza was here for. If he achieved immortality, the universe would never be rid of the bastard. It must be what Vegeta's benefactor wanted him here to stop. Vegeta knew that the Dragon Balls didn't work without all the Dragon Balls. He could stop, or at least delay, Freeza by taking and hiding just one Dragon Ball.
But what did the note mean? What legend?
Vegeta could sense powers spiking. Dodoria was fighting some familiar energies where Freeza was. Vegeta clenched his fist. He might not have a way to defeat Freeza yet, but he could at least take his frustrations out on some of his goons.
XXX
Planet Namek
December 18, A762
"Wh-what are those things?" Krillin asked. The three warriors were laying on a cliff edge, looking down at a Namekian village. Freeza and his goons were facing down a few elderly Namekians and a pair of children. Many of Freeza's goons were holding four-legged creatures by the leash. While 'dog' was the best comparison, they did not have fur, were different colors, and the warriors could sense they had powerful Ki to them.
One of the soldiers struck his unruly beast with a baton. It turned on him, leaping on the soldier's chest and started to rip him apart with his teeth. The blue man aimed a hand at the creature, and blasted it, leaving both master and beast dead on the ground.
"They look nasty," Roshi commented. They listened to Freeza and the old man go back and forth about the Dragon Balls and the devastation Freeza's forces had laid upon the Namekians.
"We're in a lot of trouble here," Roshi admitted, "I'm not sure what we can do…"
"We have to do something," Tien growled, "They're going to kill them!"
"You're right, but we can't take on the big man or those two goons of his. Not alone, anyway. We'll have to be smart about this," Roshi said.
"What about the Kamehameha Cannon?" Krillin asked, "They can't sense energy. If we hit them with the Cannon, we might take out all their Scouters, and the Namekians can escape!"
"It takes too long, and there's no guarantee. We'll have to wait until the moment comes to strike and get out of there, at least with the children," Roshi said.
"Start the Cannon," Tien said, "I'll handle this."
"What? Tien, you can't handle them!"
"Just do it!" Tien ordered. Roshi stood, and started to concentrate his power, bulking up. Tien leaped into the air, and shouted,
"You! Namekian! Take the children and run!"
"What? Who?"
"NOW!"
Tien held out his arms, and concentrated. Two more emerged from his back.
"How interesting…" Freeza muttered, "It seems out meddlers have arrived."
"DODON WITCH BARRAGE!" Tien shouted, firing Dodon rays down upon Freeza and his men with his four arms. A few struck Freeza, Zarbon, and Dodoria, which did little. The others, however, truck Freeza' men, their beasts, and, most importantly, the Scouters. The Namekian elder took the opportunity to fly with the children over the cliff. They were shocked to see two more of the aliens charging an attack just over the cliff.
"Fly!" Roshi shouted, "As fast as you can!"
Not needing to hear it a third time, the Namekian flew off into the distance.
"Dodoria? Kill him," Freeza growled. Tien put both sets of hands together and aimed the triangles carefully.
"KIKOHO!"
The two Tri Beams fired, leaving squares in the ground. While Dodoria and Zarbon were sent to the bottom, Freeza remained in place. The tyrant aimed a finger at Tien, but he was over the cliff before he fired.
"Dodoria? NOW!" Freeza snarled. Dodoria flew out of the hole after Tien, but with a shout, the Master-Student Kamehameha Cannon struck Dodoria from below, flinging him off into the distance with a blue streak of light. With their attack fired, Krillin and Roshi flew after Tien and the Namekians.
"I'll handle this, my lord," Zarbon said, ready to fly after them.
"No! Let them go. If Dodoria survived, he won't return until he destroys them-or gets killed in the process. The Dragon Ball is still here. Find it. I want my wish, I don't care about these worms," Freeza ordered.
XXX
Dodoria cursed when he peeled himself off the ground. That attack had caused some serious damage; the aliens were clever, and a lot more powerful than he'd given them credit for when he'd spotted them on his Scouter earlier.
"If Freeza doesn't get that Dragon Ball, I'm dead. I've got to find that Namekian," Dodoria said.
"Oh, I'd say you're dead one way or another," Vegeta said.
"WHAT? Vegeta? When did you get here?" Dodoria demanded.
"A little while ago. I've been listening in on your chatter. Interesting trick I've discovered, suppressing my energy. I thought I'd drop in as a surprise," Vegeta said.
"It's a good thing you had the sense to bring a Scouter. Why don't you hand it over, and Freeza might feel gracious enough to kill you quickly, traitor," Dodoria held out his hand.
"Oh, you mean this Scouter?" Vegeta held it out towards Dodoria. Dodoria let out a relieved grunt, stepping toward Vegeta, only to watch in horror as Vegeta crushed it.
"You...You fool! Now you're as blind as the rest of us!" Dodoria said.
"Am I? Oh, see, well, when I was on Earth, my team turned against me, but they still managed to teach me a new trick: They can sense energy. And if two Saiyans can do it, why shouldn't I? It's only natural. So you and your wretched Master can flail about all you want, while I hunt down the rest of the Dragon Balls!" Vegeta said.
"You TWERP! I'm gonna rip you to pieces, and serve you to Freeza with the rest of those offworlders and the Namekians!" Dodoria growled.
"Come and try it," Vegeta challenged. Dodoria fired a barrage straight at Vegeta, obliterating the hills around them.
"Did you skip too many weekends at the range?" Vegeta asked, appearing behind him. Dodoria swung his arm like a club, but Vegeta caught it with one hand, grabbed the other, jumped on Dodoria's head, and started to push.
"AUGH! How! How did you get this powerful?" Dodoria demanded.
"Little quirk of Saiyan biology. Whenever we're nearly killed, we come back just a bit stronger. They decided to put me into one of those medical pods as my cell, so when I woke up, well...I'm pretty sure even you can do the math on that one, Dodoria," Vegeta explained, and he pulled a bit harder.
"W-w-wait! I know something! Something you're going to want to hear! Spare me, and I'll tell you what really happened to your homeworld!" Dodoria pleaded.
"You think I didn't know? I knew from the beginning, since that wench Gine told Nappa," Vegeta said. He hesitated, "Which...She learned from her mate, Bardock…"
Vegeta scowled. It was starting to connect. Bardock had predicted the attack, he'd even saved his son, Kakarot, from the attack. He was a tactical genius, a Special Forces wonder.
"What I want to know is why," Vegeta said.
"L-let me go, and I'll tell you!"
Vegeta released his grip on Dodoria, who rubbed at his arms where Vegeta had held them.
"See, it's like this: More and more Saiyans were being born with higher and higher battle powers. While it seemed like they'd be of use to Freeza at first, he realized that, over time, a powerful Saiyan race wouldn't be loyal to him. So, instead of gambling and letting a Saiyan rebellion come to pass, he decided to put an end to the threat before it ever came to power!"
"No. That's not good enough. Something isn't adding up. If it was just a matter of driving us to extinction, Freeza would have had Gine killed. Instead, two measly Saiyan pods were allowed to leave. And from what Gine says, Freeza's men had been asking about…" Vegeta's ears started to ring, "...Ask about the Super Saiyan…"
"See? What do you need me for, you figured it out all on your own, Vegeta! Now you stay here, while I-"
"You were the one who took out Bardock's team, aren't you?" Vegeta asked.
"What?"
"Bardock's Planet Elite Force. You were the one sent to destroy them, because they had special standing orders. They could have ignored the General Retreat order without official reprimand, so Freeza sent you to destroy them on planet Meat. I learned about this years later, of course, after we killed Guldo. We spooked Ginyu, so I figured it was time to start piecing together what occurred. But you made a mistake, you missed their leader," Vegeta chuckled, "Of course, it all makes sense now. You and Freeza were sloppy!"
Vegeta aimed his hand at Dodoria, "So when the puppet master chooses to reveal himself, I'll present him with your hide to show him I've figured it out!"
"No! NO! FREEZA!"
"BIG BANG ATTACK!"
With a flash, only a few chunks of meat were left of Dodoria. Vegeta stripped a bit of skin off, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Now, then, Bardock...You're either here, waiting for me to become the Super Saiyan, or you're offworld, with something else up your sleeve. Either way, I'll need to get into Freeza's ship to find out. I'll bet that's where Freeza will be keeping his Dragon Balls, too. But first, let's make sure that Freeza doesn't get his hands on all the Dragon Balls."
Vegeta concentrated, and felt the presence of a few dozen Namekians far away.
"Excellent. I'll bet they've got their own Dragon Ball, as well. If I do this right, I'll become the ultimate power in the universe, and then nobody will stand in my way! I'll regain my power, my status, and my pride by the end of this!" Vegeta laughed, and flew into the distance.
XXX
"Hold on!" Krillin called to the Namekian, "Stop here!"
"Huh?" the old Namekian looked back. The aliens were stopping mid-flight, and one of them was looking like he was about to collapse. With Cargo and Dende tucked under each arm, he flew down to where the aliens had stopped.
"This is our camp," Krillin gestured.
"Are you all right, Tien?" Roshi asked, letting the taller man lean on him.
"Yeah, I just...Took a lot out of me, truth me told…" Tien admitted.
"That was a brave thing you all did for us. I don't know how to thank you," the Namekian said.
"Let's get into the cave first, so we're not out in the open," Roshi gestured, leading them inside. At the back of the cave was a Capsule house.
"Bulma, we're back, and we have visitors!" Krillin shouted. The door opened.
"THERE you are! I've been worried sick! You left me alone here! Oh? Who's this? Oh, wow, they really do look like Piccolo!" Bulma said.
"...Look like 'Open'? What?" the old Namekian asked.
"Hmm? Oh, right, that's what that means in your language. Come in, there's plenty of room, make yourselves comfortable! I'll warm up some food!" Bulma gestured for them to follow. The Namekians hesitated, but followed the humans inside.
"Food will not be necessary," the Namekian said, "Water will suffice."
"Nonsense! You're my guest, and I'm a good host," Bulma insisted.
"You do not understand. We Namekians do not require anything more than water and sunshine to function. We only rarely eat food."
"Oh...Okay, well, if you say so," Bulma said, putting some of the trays of food back.
"I must ask you who you are and what you are doing on our planet. Do not mistake me, I am grateful for you saving me and my brothers, but I must know," the Namekian insisted.
"Please excuse our rudeness," Tien said, accepting a class of water from Bulma, "We're from the planet Earth. We're here because some of our friends were killed in a battle, and we had hoped we would be able to gain your trust to borrow your Dragon Balls. See, the Guardian of Earth was a Namekian, and without him, our Dragon Balls don't work, so we need yours to bring him back."
"Wait, you have Dragon Balls, too? I had no idea…" the Namekian said. Tien nodded.
"I'm actually his apprentice. My name is Tienshinhan, I'm a human from Earth. He had hoped to come here himself and meet you all, and learn who he is. He said that he had come to Earth hundreds of years ago on a ship, the same ship we used to come here."
The Namekian nodded, "I am Moori, elder of my village. These are my brothers, Cargo and Dende."
The two younger Namekians nodded to the humans.
"My name is Krillin."
"I'm Roshi."
"And I'm Bulma."
"Thank you for your heroism and generosity. Your story is consistent with our history. You see, hundreds of years ago, our world suffered a terrible drought. Only a few Namekians made it offworld, mostly exiles, though the Grand Elder mentioned that the child of Katas had been one to be sent away. Our Grand Elder was the only survivor. Since then, he has been repopulating our world with our brothers by himself. However, it is a great strain on his body, so soon we will all have to take the responsibility of parenthood…" Moori explained.
"That must have been Kami, before he became Kami," Krillin said.
"So what happened out there?" Bulma asked.
"It was Freeza, the Galactic Emperor," Tien said, "They were slaughtering the Namekians, looking for the Dragon Balls. His power was immense...I was lucky he didn't kill me when I saved Moori."
"Well, on the bright side, we have reinforcements coming!" Bulma said, "Goku and his family are on their way! Just before you got here, my dad said they'd taken off in the third spaceship. They're going to be here in just six days, and they're training their butts off!"
"Who is this Goku?" Moori asked.
"He's the strongest of us," Krillin said, "And he's bringing his whole family! His brother, his mother, and his sister. They're some of the strongest warriors I've ever seen, but Goku is the toughest of all of them! And if they're training together, who KNOWS how strong they're going to be?"
"In the meantime, we have a lot of work ahead of us," Roshi said, "We've got to keep the Namekians safe, and prevent either Freeza or Vegeta from getting their hands on all the Dragon Balls. We can't let that monster become immortal."
"Then you're going to want to speak with the Grand Elder," Moori said, "He has a Dragon Ball. They'll find him eventually, but without him, the Dragon Balls don't work, and only he knows the password. If we hide the Dragon Ball, our enemies won't be able to use them. It gives us a chance."
"I'll look after these two cuties while you're away," Bulma pinched Cargo's cheek.
"Thank you. All of you. If we can save our people, and keep our relics out of the hands of these monsters, it would be my honor to present you with my village's Dragon Ball," Moori said, "For now, let us see the Elder."
