Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or Zoids CC. I do own Lorren.
A/N: Welcome to the FOURTEENTH chapter of Abnormal Childhood where we will return to the main story as our heroes finally reach Planet Namek (and no I am not doing the fillers). So without further ado, I turn it over to Lorren. Enjoy!
Our month-long voyage to Namek was, for the most part, uneventful allowing for Krillin, Gohan, and I to get in some mental training which helped to improve our skills. It also proved how great of a team Gohan and I were as we were able to knock Krillin down a few times.
"Nice work, you two," commended Krillin after we had finished our workout the day we were scheduled to arrive at Planet Namek. "If I didn't know otherwise, I'd say you've known each other longer than a few months."
"Don't forget they have Saiyan blood too," Mom reminded him, walking over to her chair.
"True," agreed Krillin before striding to the front of the ship.
"Your strategy was awesome," I murmured to Gohan, leaning closer to him so Mom and Krillin wouldn't hear. "I never would have thought of using a maneuver like that."
"Thanks, but it was only because you were with me that we were able to fake Krillin out and catch him by surprise," Gohan murmured back.
I bumped his shoulder with mine causing him to cock a dark eyebrow at me. "Stop selling yourself short. You're incredible, Gohan."
Gohan flushed slightly as Mom called for us to come join them.
"What's going on?" I asked as a large green planet came into view. "Wow, that's Planet Namek?"
"You got it, sweetie," confirmed Mom. "I thought we'd never make it!"
"I've never seen anything else like it," said Krillin.
"We're here!" exclaimed Gohan happily.
"Finally," I sighed.
"Take us down, Bulma," urged Krillin. "What are we waiting for?"
"You three," replied Mom. "Now sit down and put on your seatbelts. We're entering an atmosphere not taking a ride around the block so strap in and hope for the best."
~ Abnormal Childhood ~
With minor difficulty, Mom was able to land the ship and Krillin, Gohan, and I wasted no time heading outside and exploring the planet Piccolo and Kami had come from.
"This place, you know, except for the sky, it doesn't look all that different from Earth," mused Gohan.
I nodded. "Even the air's the same."
"It does sort of look like home but it's way too quiet," opined Krillin.
"I wonder where everyone is," I remarked as Mom suddenly appeared behind us, fuming.
"What do you think you're doing walking around before I say it's okay?" she demanded. "What if you had walked outside and there had been no oxygen?!"
"Freak out, why don'tcha?" muttered Krillin.
"You're lucky. So, from now on, no one moves until I say so," declared Mom, pulling out her Dragon Radar and turning it on. "I picked up four Dragon Balls already! And they're close too!"
"Well, that's awfully convenient," I said, frowning slightly as I suddenly sensed something incredibly powerful. I glanced at Gohan who nodded while Mom and Krillin celebrated.
"Hey, Lorren and I are sensing something coming from over there," Gohan informed them, pointing.
Krillin stopped laughing and turned to face us. "Where?"
"It's near and strong," Gohan told him.
"I feel it too," acknowledged Krillin. "And I don't like it one bit."
"You're worrying yourselves over nothing," Mom reassured us. "Piccolo had a powerful energy level. It's only natural his fellow people would as well. You're probably sensing one of Piccolo's relatives sitting at his house having dinner."
I shook my head. "This doesn't feel like Piccolo at all. This one is more violent, more...evil."
"Don't be silly, sweetheart. The only people here are the local Namekians and they're peaceful," countered Mom. "They're not a threat to you. Now come on! The Dragon Balls are this way. If we get those, we're over halfway there! So, let's go meet some locals and collect some Dragon Balls."
"You're probably right. We got ourselves worked up over nothing," figured Krillin, laughing and glancing at Gohan. "I'm kind of embarrassed about it, actually."
A Saiyan ship flew by making our heads shoot up.
I groaned. "Great. Now he's here too."
"Gohan, Lorren! Mask your energies or he'll sense you," ordered Krillin. "It's Vegeta! It's gotta be!"
"D-Did you say Vegeta?" squeaked Mom.
"And he must be here for the Dragon Balls," surmised Krillin.
"What do we do?" inquired Mom. "We can't possibly fight against Vegeta and if he gets the Dragon Balls before us, we're doomed!"
"There's no way we're gonna let him get to them before we do," proclaimed Krillin. "Bulma, you gotta leave now. Go back to Earth alone. We'll take care of things here. Just leave us your radar and we'll collect the Dragon Balls. It's okay. We won't get into any trouble. We know what we're doing."
"I understand," replied Mom, grasping our hands. "I'll go but I'm coming back with Goku. After all, it's only two months."
Mom then contacted Master Roshi as another saiyan spaceship entered the atmosphere. "Was that Vegeta's ship again?"
"No, it's a different ship this time," Krillin informed her.
"Best day ever," I remarked sarcastically.
"Yeah, today isn't starting off too well," agreed Krillin. "Who could have been in that second ship?"
"Well, it isn't doing us any good sitting around here," noted Mom. "So it's settled! We'll stick to the original plan. I'll hurry back to Earth and get Goku. You guys have the radar so you shouldn't have any trouble. See you in two months."
"Hold on, Bulma. Give us a second," said Krillin, looking at us. "So what do you two say about us going too?"
"Fat chance," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm no coward. I'm staying here."
"I'm not saying I'm scared or anything," murmured Krillin. "I'm just looking out for you two."
"But we can't leave now," interjected Gohan. "If we do then Vegeta will get all of the Dragon Balls."
"Gohan's right," I agreed. "And there's no telling what he would do with the power of eternal life."
"Someone's coming!" announced Gohan abruptly as we felt two new presences approaching and assumed fighting stances.
"Is it Vegeta?" inquired Mom.
Krillin shook his head. "Don't think so. This energy level feels way too low to be his."
A tall muscular guy with long yellow hair flew into view above us followed by a purple guy. They both wore scouters and Saiyan uniforms.
"Who are they?" wondered Mom aloud.
"Whoever they are, they aren't Namekians," I said, stating the obvious,
"That's weird. They look like they're wearing Saiyan battle uniforms," noted Krillin.
"Yeah, I noticed that too," I confirmed. "They're also wearing scouters."
"They sure don't look friendly," opined Mom. "Aren't you three going to do something? You have to protect me!"
"Keep your energies suppressed," Krillin advised Gohan and I, ignoring Mom. "Until we know what we're dealing with here."
"This will be easy," declared the purple guy. "Their power levels are almost nonexistent. They're probably tourists."
"Let's attack their spaceship first," suggested the blue one. "It would be a shame for them to get away before we have our fun."
"Sounds good," replied his partner as he blasted our ship.
"Mom!" I cried, rushing over to her. Thankfully she was okay.
"No! Not the ship!" yelled Krillin.
The purple guy laughed. "Did I destroy your precious ship? Please forgive me."
"Well, I think I've seen enough," announced Krillin as I rejoined him and Gohan. "Time for us to do some serious powering up."
Gohan and I grinned at each other and powered up.
"Hey, take a look at that!" exclaimed the purple one. "Their power ratings just skyrocketed!"
"Too bad for you, huh?" I remarked as the three of us beat them easily. "That's what you get for shooting near my mom."
"That was easy enough, huh?" mused Krillin, smiling.
"Don't look so happy!" screamed Mom causing the boys to jump. "Our poor ship. How are we supposed to get home now?"
Mom tried to put pieces of the ship's glass back together but they shattered in her hands. "It's no use! We'll never get back to Earth!"
"Come on, Bulma. We need to get out of here," Krillin informed her after we had grabbed our bags. "Whoever's sending those scouts knows our location now and there are bound to be more on the way."
"Don't worry, Bulma. I bet if we find some Namekians, they can help us repair the ship," Gohan reassured Mom. "We're not gonna be stuck here, I promise. We'll make it back to Earth somehow."
I smiled. "He's right. No matter how bad things get, we always find a way. This time's no different."
"We just have to keep our cool," said Gohan. "That's the first thing Piccolo taught me, never panic."
"Oh sure, easy for you two to say," muttered Mom.
I sighed and patted her on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Mom. I won't let anything happen to you."
Mom glanced up at me and nodded. "Okay."
~ Abnormal Childhood ~
"Hey, look!" called Krillin after we had been walking around for a while. "I found a cave. Should be a great spot to lie low for a bit."
"You're kidding, right Krillin?" replied Mom who I had been half-supporting "You can't expect me to live in that hole."
"Hey, Krillin and Lorren, are you sensing that?" inquired Gohan as the three of us came to a standstill. "That energy?"
I nodded. "And it's crazy strong."
"Whoever that is, it's still rising," murmured Krillin, suddenly cutting himself off. "Trouble! Everyone get into the cave and hide, right now!"
I grabbed Mom and rushed her inside.
"What's going on?!" shouted Mom. "I don't see anything."
"Mom, you need to be quiet right now," I urged her.
"Lorren's right," Krillin agreed, peering out the cave's opening. "They're coming right for us."
"Do you think they spotted us?" Gohan asked him.
"I don't think so," replied Krillin as a squad of men in Saiyan uniforms flew by making us flatten ourselves against the cave's walls.
"It looks like they're gone," said Mom, peering outside. "That was close, but I don't think they noticed us, didn't even slow down at all. I don't know, they must be heading after something else."
She glanced back to discover we hadn't moved and that we were shaking. "What is it, you guys? What's the matter?"
"Bulma, you better check the radar," Krillin told her.
"K, but why?" inquired Mom.
"When we checked before, those four Dragon Balls we saw were gathered in the same place," he reminded her. "Look again, see if they're still there."
"Yeah, sure. I got it," said Mom, checking the radar. "They're, they're moving. All four of them. Whoever those guys are, they have the Dragon Balls with them."
"I was afraid of that," muttered Krillin, glancing at Gohan and I. "This is bad. Gohan! Lorren! You saw that guy flying near the front too, huh?"
"Yeah," confirmed Gohan.
"We saw him alright," I replied.
"He was like pure evil," said Gohan. "And his power level's the highest I've ever sensed."
"He must be who I felt before," I figured.
"Our situation has just gotten a whole lot worse," noted Krillin.
"Why?" asked Mom. "He can't be stronger than Vegeta, can he?".
"I'd say he is," Krillin murmured. "Not just a little bit either. I mean, a lot. Not to mention all those other guys he had with him and we have to figure out a way to get the Dragon Balls away from them! How are we going to do that?!"
"Quick, look!" said Mom, staring at the radar again. "They're heading directly for another Dragon Ball. It's like they know where it is."
"That's just great," groaned Krillin. "So they have radar too. Which way?"
Mom pointed. "Over there! The Dragon Radar says it's about ten miles that way."
"Hey, Krillin and Lorren, while we were walking did you two sense a group of Namekians coming from that direction?" asked Gohan.
I paled as I realized he was right. "Oh no."
"Well, I guess we better go find what's up," said Krillin.
"I'm going with you!" announced Gohan.
"So am I!" I declared.
"What?! Are you guys nuts?!" demanded Mom. "What about me?! You can't leave me here all by myself!"
"Alright, you can come chase the bad guys with us if you want," offered Krillin.
"Well, I suppose I could come along," began Mom. "But then again, it might be best for one of us to stay and hold down the fort, don't you think?"
"Good idea," replied Krillin.
"Now don't do anything stupid!" called Mom as we prepared to leave.
"Love you too, Mom," I responded, winking at her as we hurried to where the bad guys were flying to.
"Remember you two, keep your power levels pushed down so they don't spot us coming," Krillin reminded us.
We nodded and kept to the ground as we neared the group of Namekians.
"We're close," announced Krillin. "They must be right over that ridge. We should walk from here."
"I just hope we can help," I murmured as we inched forward. "These guys are no joke."
"Me too," said Gohan. "We'll be okay though as long as we got each other."
I smiled slightly. He'd come a long way from being a scared crybaby. "You're right, Let's go meet the bad guys."
A/N: And there you have it! This chapter is one of many that are going to be posted over the next few weeks as I plan to finish the second season. Until then, read review and show the love!