King Kai's Planet
April 2, A763

"Did it work?" Gohan asked. Roshi nodded.

"He did it. He became a Super Saiyan," Roshi said. Gohan and Guru let out a sigh of relief. Roshi grinned, "Though I don't think it was me. He passed out, and then his brother gave him his own oxygen mask. When he woke up, Vegeta turned Super Saiyan."

"You still helped get him to this point. It's more than I expected of him, to be honest," King Kai said, "You really saw good in him, didn't you?"

"There's good in most people. It's just a matter of reminding them why it's worth it," Roshi said, "How long will it take them to get back to the New Saiyan Empire?"

King Kai's antennae twitched, "They're actually headed to Earth. It's a shorter distance. Hopefully, Vegeta or Goku will get back before King Cold or Cooler decide to go there. Either way, it'll be a few months."

"The Namekians will be wanting to return home soon, King Kai. Whatever this task is you wanted us to do, we only have a few days before they use the Dragon Balls to wish Roshi back to life," Guru said.

"We've all learned the Kaioken, King Kai," Gohan said, "We're ready for this."

King Kai looked to Roshi, who adjusted his sunglasses, still lost in thought. Roshi's heart was not totally pure; for this, that was important. But he accepted and acknowledged his weakness, which made him stronger than most.

"I've been looking for students who could handle the Kaioken for a long time, Roshi. Then, I meet your student, and he takes it further than I could have imagined. Then Yamcha and Meys. Oh, and Yajirobe, too. You're a dead mortal in the afterlife. You've given me and my technique more of a future than I expected. I'm not surprised you mastered it, too.

"But I have to warn you, Roshi: You aren't as pure as some of your students. With what I've got in mind, it will be a true test of your mind, body, and soul. You'll be headed into the darkest places in the Otherworld, and dealing with some of the most evil creatures, mortal or immortal. Are you sure you're up for this?" King Kai asked.

Roshi took a deep breath, "I'm going to have to be."

King Kai smiled, "That's the right answer. See, when Raditz came to me, with his body and more powerful than he'd died, I knew something was seemed sincere, and Goku agreed, so I decided to overlook it until the crisis on Earth was dealt with, especially because he and Goku got along so well once they were both my students.

"But then the fight with Vegeta happened. Things were looking pretty dire for him. He was barely able to keep up with Vegeta, while Goku charged the Spirit Bomb. Raditz then used an attack I never thought I'd see be used by a mortal: The Devil's Due."

King Kai paused for effect, expecting gasps and horror.

"...What's that?" Gohan asked, breaking the awkwardly long silence.

"The Devil's Due is an extremely powerful and dangerous technique. It converts a portion of one's soul into Ki energy, allowing the user to achieve power much higher than they normally can reach. But it's both a double-edged sword, and a false promise: the power of one's soul is important to protect a mortal from the influences of evil, and plays no small part in a person's potential. Over time, a soul can be repaired through good deeds and clean living. Secondly, a portion of the power of the burned soul goes to the entity that taught the technique to the user, which means they're not even getting the full amount of power that the technique promises," King Kai explained.

"So something taught Raditz the Devil's Due, expecting him to use it?" Guru asked. King Kai nodded.

"Whoever or whatever it was used Raditz to trick me into teaching their puppet the Kaioken, and then had them resurrected. If Raditz ever taught the move to anyone else, then that being would have access to their power, as well! We could risk all kinds of evil flooding the Earth, something that has happened to the Earth before. It was those secrets that made King Piccolo such a horrible, corrupted tyrant; why King Piccolo could never be redeemed. We're lucky that corruption didn't transfer to his son, or we'd still be dealing with them!" King Kai said.

"So king Piccolo made a deal with some devil entity?" Roshi asked. King Kai nodded.

"He found some old secrets, which I worked very hard to have destroyed long ago. Even the people above me, the Supreme Kais, had to get involved. If someone's trying to reintroduce this evil power to Earth, we could be dealing with something apocalyptic! I need to find out who Raditz learned it from, and the extent of the corruption. That's both why this will be so difficult, Roshi, and why I need you. Guru and Gohan can help me on this side, but I'm going to need you, once you're alive, to investigate this, and warn them!" King Kai said.

"Because I'm not pure, I'm vulnerable to this power's temptations," Roshi guessed. King Kai gave an affirmative grunt. Roshi clenched his fists, "Don't worry, King Kai. I won't be alone, and I know when to stay focused. And when I'm alive again, I'll protect Raditz from himself."

King Kai smiled, "I bet you will. The best place to start looking is down in Hell. I've already told Goz and Mez to expect you; they already have a lead of where to start looking."

"We've got this, King Kai! We won't let you down!" Guru said. He looked up at Snake Way in the distance, "Should we just...Jump down and fall into Hell? Or do we run Snake Way and take a staircase down?"

"Jumping's probably faster, but who knows where you'll end up. I avoid going to Hell if I can, so who knows where you'll end up," King Kai said.

"Let's take the stairs, then," Gohan said. With all three in agreement, they bid farewell to their teacher, and jumped back onto Snake Way, each of the three warriors landing on their feet on Snake Way. Instead of running the length, they leaped, making a journey that normally took months in a matter of hours instead. It still wasn't quite as fast as taking King Kai's car, but he hadn't offered.

King Yemma was astonished when the three of them entered his office, "Wait, didn't King Kai just send you?"

"Yeah, why? Sorry about the delay, I almost missed my jumps a couple times," Roshi admitted, rubbing his lip. Yemma grunted.

"Kids today have it too easy," he grumbled, "Well, the stairway to Hell is over there. Have fun, try not to bring anything back with you, or I'll toss you back in with it."

"Thank you, King Yemma," Guru bowed to him. Gohan, and then Roshi repeated the gesture, leaving the Ogre King smiling as he went back to work.

"Wow, everything's so spiky," Gohan said, looking around.

"I don't know, that pond over there looks nice," Guru said. Gohan looked to him and smiled.

"There's a sign that said 'Blood Pond.'"

Guru followed where Gohan was pointing, and saw the sign.

"Well, it looks like the souls here are still enjoying it, so I still think it's lovely. Even if it's a little morbid," Guru insisted.

"Hey, Mez! Look at what we've got here!" a deep, gruff voice called.

"Uh oh looks like we've got people with slippery shoes! Where'd you get the bodies, fellas? Nobody in Hell is supposed to have them unless you're Ogres!" another said. Two Ogres, one red and one blue, approached. The red one had a round head and a bowl haircut of black hair. The blue one had messy blue hair and a more square shaped head. They were both muscular and buff, each held an oversized club, and they each wore white shorts and a white tanktop with the word "HELL" on the front.

"These were gifts from King Kai, our bodies from our youths. We're his students, on a mission. Do either of you know Goz or Mez?" Gohan asked.

"Wait, what? You're King Kai's students? But he just sent you here, how did you get here so quickly?" the red one asked.

"We jumped," Roshi said with a smirk. The two Ogres gawked at the three of them, and then looked at each other.

"W-Wow, maybe you can handle this! I'm Mez," the red Ogre said.

"And I'm Goz. Welcome to Hell," the blue one said.

"Thank you, it's a pleasure to be...Here...In Hell," Gohan said, looking around and regretting saying anything.

"If you say so. Come on, we'll show you around," Goz said.

"See, Hell is organized into groups by planet and by century. The older the spirit, the further away it is from King Yemma's office. Hell is always growing, infinitely," Mez said.

"How do you guard all the spirits? Are there infinite Ogres?" Guru asked.

"No, actually. See, we use these here clubs to smack around evil spirits whenever they do evil, but we also let them go around, make friends, have a good time. Making friends and punishing evil builds up good energy in them, and eventually they're made pure enough to send them through the Soul Cleansing Machine in the Laundry district. So eventually, we clear out a century, and when that happens, it disappears. Only the worst of the worst remain after about a thousand years, and those are handled by specialists," Goz explained.

"So if you're evil, you spend time in Hell to be purified, and then what happens? How do the spirits disappear?" Roshi asked.

"They get reincarnated," Gohan said, "That's how people go through the cycle of death and rebirth. Each time you go through life, you become a little more wiser, a little more pure."

"Then you join with the other spirits in Heaven, strengthening the bonds of the universe. This is why death is nothing to fear, and why a soul is so precious: You will spend eternity in paradise, protecting the universe from evil just by being a pure soul," Guru continued.

"Yep, that's exactly right. That's why we have to be so buff and fast, to keep up with these spirits! They're faster and more cunning than they look!" Mez said, smacking a spirit cloud with his club that was cutting across the trail in front of them.

"Be careful not to get mean, yourself. A torturer cuts himself before his victim," Gohan cautioned.

"Well, it's fun to hit things, but we're friends with most of the spirits, honestly. It's hard work, but being cruel just doesn't seem worth it. They do it to themselves, mostly," Mez said.

"Yeah, I like my job. I make lots of friends, stay in shape, it pays well, and I have a lot of time off when we're not in a rush!" Goz said.

"Hmm. Well, so long as you are mindful, then," Gohan shrugged.

"So where's the problem?" Roshi asked.

"Well, some spirits were too powerful in life for us to take their bodies away," Mez pointed with his club to the section of hell they were headed to. It was a city of makeshift buildings and streets, and they could clearly see people with halos walking around.

"How do you purify them?" Guru asked.

"Sometimes King Kai deals with them, but mostly they figure things out on their own. If they're too powerful, their section of Hell will go deeper, and then they'll have to deal with the guardians down there, who are much more powerful and have all kinds of tricks," Mez said.

"The pixies and the angels," Goz remarked. The two Ogres shuddered together. Goz continued, "Particularly strong or evil spirits may have a specialist dedicated to them."

"You two!" someone called out as they approached the town. It was a Saiyan with tall, spiky hair, a medallion on his chest, wearing a red cape, and had a goatee. Roshi and Guru stood straight when they saw him; he looked just like Vegeta.

"Ugh, what do you want, Vegeta?" Goz asked.

"That's King Vegeta! I live in a hovel! These accommodations are completely inappropriate for royalty such as I!" King Vegeta said.

"And here we have part of our problem," Mez said, gesturing to Vegeta.

"I don't understand, who is this?" Gohan asked.

"DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!" King Vegeta took a swing at Goz, who recoiled away from the Saiyan, but Roshi grabbed Vegeta's arm.

"That was a abd move," Roshi said, "You should apologize."

"Why you impudent whelp! I will teach you a lesson!" King Vegeta hissed, pulling up his leg for a kick. Roshi shifted his stance and flipped Vegeta up and over, landing him on his head.

"Now why don't you apologize to my friend Goz here for being so rude?" Roshi said.

"I'll do no such thing!" the King snarled. Goz started to smack King Vegeta with his club. Roshi held up his hand for Goz to stop, and Roshi squatted to get closer to King Vegeta, who had rolled onto his back.

"You're King Vegeta, of the Saiyans, right?"

"So you recognize royalty and power when you see it!" King Vegeta harrumphed, rolling again to get onto his feet.

"I know ego and arrogance when I see it," Roshi said. King Vegeta punched at Roshi, but he sidestepped the attack, and struck with a series of blows with an outstretched hand, hitting the Saiyan on the neck, chest, and waist. The blows were enough to send the King reeling back and wincing at the pain.

"Who are you?" the King demanded, "Haven't I failed enough, I have to be mocked for my weakness?"

"Probably," Roshi said, "If half the stories I've heard about Saiyans are true."

"Why are there Saiyans here, if this is Earth's Hell?" Guru asked.

"Yeah, well, the problem with Saiyans is that their planet blew up. So there's no more Planet Vegeta, meaning there's no reason to keep Planet Vegeta's Hell around. And then since Earth became the only place any Saiyans were living permanently, it was decided that Earth and Planet Vegeta's Hells would be mixed together," Maz said.

"That explains why Vegeta's father is here," Gohan said.

"Wait, you know my son?" King Vegeta said, standing straight.

"And since so many Saiyans were powerful, you couldn't take their bodies, which is also why this town is here," Guru said looking around.

"Where is my son?" King Vegeta demanded.

"So what's the issue?" Roshi asked.

"STOP IGNORING ME!" King Vegeta charged a Ki attack and fired at Roshi, who caught the blast and sent it off into the distance. He turned to King Vegeta, and grinned.

"Well, at least I know where he gets that from. Yes, I know your boy," Roshi said to King Vegeta.

"Has he avenged us? Is he ruling the Galaxy yet? Tell me the Emperor Freeza is dead!" King Vegeta said. Roshi tapped his lips, thinking, and smiled.

"I'll tell you, but you have to help us with our investigation. On your honor, deal? If you're nice to Goz and Mez from now on, I might even be able to deliver a message to your son," Roshi said. King Vegeta glowered and took a breath; Roshi had effortlessly bested him, but being childish about it was unbecoming.

"Very well. I'll assist you, then. What gains has my son made? Has he avenged the Saiyans?" King Vegeta asked.

"Yes and no. Freeza is dead, at the hands of a Saiyan. A Super Saiyan, in fact. But it was my own student, Goku, no your son," Roshi said. King Vegeta clenched his fist, and closed his eyes.

"So my failure is complete. Not even my own heir could avenge us," King Vegeta said. King Vegeta turned and fired a blast at a nearby building. The Saiyan who was living there landed on the ground, shook his fist at Vegeta, and shouted,

"Hey, what's the big-Oh, King Vegeta, I'm sorry, I-"

King Vegeta fired more Ki at the Saiyan, forcing him up higher and higher before he disappeared over the horizon. Roshi put his hand on King Vegeta's shoulder.

"But that's not everything. Your youngest son, Tarble, was captured by the Freeza Force," Roshi said. King Vegeta let out a huff.

"Of course he was captured."

"It took the Ginyu Force to bring him in, and they locked him away in the Ice Box. I'm sure you're familiar with it. From what I've heard, he put up a valiant fight. And until today, he survived that place," Roshi said.

"So Tarble, too, is dead?"

Roshi smiled, and began to tell him the tale of Tarble's capture and incarceration, and Vegeta's daring and well-planned escape. The images of Vegeta becoming Super Saiyan and fighting Cooler was fresh in his mind and energizing Roshi, so the three students of King Kai reenacted some of the action, which excited and engaged King Vegeta.

"So, my son is also a Super Saiyan! I never thought I'd live to see the day!" King Vegeta said. Roshi and Gohan chuckled; King Vegeta didn't notice, "Fighting Cooler and leaving him for dead! I know he'll avenge us and destroy King Cold, as well!"

"Vegeta's become a powerful warrior, to be sure. He's also learned a lot of humility. He was surpassed even by Nappa, for a while, but it only drove him further and further," Roshi said, "He's headed back to Earth now, but it could be in danger. If we don't get to the bottom of this, your sons, both of them, could be in danger of something they can't even fight."

"I did give you my word. What is this threat?" King Vegeta asked. Roshi turned to Mez.

"Sorry about interrupting you, sonny. What's been happening down here?" Roshi asked.

"Well, like I said, because Earth is the only planet with a permanent Saiyan population, we merged Planet Vegeta's Hells together. But since there are so many powerful Saiyans, we couldn't take their bodies until they choose to give them up. But for whatever reason, the Saiyans are disappearing from hell anyway!" Mez said.

"They could just be headed to deeper parts of Hell to be alone and fight, that's what Saiyans do," Goz said, "But losing track of souls, especially powerful souls, is very bad news!"

"You're here about that? Yes, I know of what you are talking about," King Vegeta said, "There has been some strange alien that has been coming through now and again, making promises of power and purpose."

"Wait, why didn't you say anything about this before?" Goz demanded.

"Because I don't have to tell you anything!" King Vegeta snapped. He glanced at Roshi, and remembered his offer, "But I, erm, promise to tell you anything you want to know."

"What does this alien look like?" Gohan asked.

"Blue-green skin, white hair that goes straight up like this before ending in a flat top around here. Pointed ears and long canines. He wears these white robes and pink pauldrons. Almost like a Namekian, but with hair and no antennae," King Vegeta explained.

"I don't recognize it," Roshi admitted, and he turned to the others, "What about you?"

Gohan shook his head, but Guru stroked his chin, "Like a Namekian but with hair and no antennae...Dark green skin...Could he be a Makyan?"