Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or Zoids. I do own Lorren.

A/N: Welcome to the SEVENTEENTH chapter of Abnormal Childhood where Dende will tell our heroes all about Guru, the eldest Namek. So without further ado, I turn it over to Lorren. Enjoy!

"I see," said Mom after we had told her everything that had happened. We were sitting at a table in the capsule house, stuffing our faces. "Sounds like you guys had a rough time out there."

"Yeah, I'd say we're lucky to be alive," agreed Krillin before noticing the Namekian child was not touching his food. "I know it's not very good, but you should probably try to eat something to get your strength back."

"Not very good?!" exclaimed Mom, throwing a slice of cake at him. "Well that sure hasn't stopped you from stuffing your fat face! Would it kill you to show me a little appreciation for once, huh?!"

"I-I wasn't talking about the food, I swear! It's the best I've ever had!" stuttered Krillin, making Gohan laugh which caused me to laugh too. "Shut up, you two!"

"Don't you tell my daughter to shut up," warned Mom as she sat down next to me. "I'm sure he's just too upset to eat. I mean, after everything that's happened."

"Please try," urged Krillin. "It might make you feel better."

"I'm sorry, but we don't eat," he informed us. "Nameks only drink water."

"Really?" inquired Krillin. "But wait a second, you guys had fields full of vegetables out by your village. I saw them myself."

"The fields you saw were ajisa plants," the Namek explained. "The elders say that the planet Namek used to be a very different place than it is today. They say our world was once lush and beautiful, alive with forests of ajisa, but one day a massive storm darkened our skies. Violent winds tore across the planet, stripping the ajisa of their leaves. Forests were destroyed. In fact, all life on our planet was brought to the brink of extinction. That's why we're trying to make more of them so our planet can be beautiful and rich once more."

"You know," said Gohan after a short pause. "I just realized you haven't told us your name yet."

"I'm sorry. It's Dende," he told us. "Who are you? What brings you to the planet Namek?"

Krillin's, Gohan's, and my heads shot up as we glanced at each other then rose to our feet and rushed outside.

"Whoever that is, it's bad," remarked Gohan as we looked in the direction the power levels were.

"Hey, what is it, you guys?" asked Mom. "Did they find us? Is someone coming?"

"No, it's a whole bunch of power levels and they're all fading," said Krillin.

"It means somewhere out there, the Nameks are dying," Gohan clarified further.

"It's, it's Vegeta!" announced Krillin. "He's attacking one of the villages. That bastard! Those Namekians never even had a chance!"

"He's just an animal, isn't he?" mused Mom.

"He's as bad as Frieza!" I growled. "Targeting innocent Nameks to get the Dragon Balls for their own selfish reasons that will only end in more death!"

"And we're stuck because if we try to fly anywhere, he'll find us," muttered Krillin. "I don't know if he's working for Frieza or not, but like Lorren said, if either of them gets a hold of all seven Dragon Balls, we're gonna be in some serious trouble. I don't think anyone will be able to stand up to them."

"We may not be able to fight them directly, but if we can manage to find one of the Dragon Balls and hide it, we can stop them from making a wish," suggested Mom.

Gohan shook his head. "No, that's not enough! It won't stop them from looking for it. They'll kill every Namek on this planet until they find it."

"Oh no," murmured Dende.

"What are we supposed to do?" Krillin wondered aloud. "Vegeta on his own is bad enough, but Vegeta and Frieza together. Man, I don't know if even Goku is strong enough to fight them both! Damn it!"

"I-I still don't understand," said Dende, causing us to look down at him. "Who are you? You seem to know everything about the Dragon Balls and these evil men who attack my people. Please, please tell me that you've come here to help us!"

Krillin, Gohan, and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Well, you see," began Krillin as he told the young Namek how Vegeta and Nappa had come to Earth and killed four of our friends and about Kami as well. "We thought if we came to Kami's home planet, there might be another set of Dragon Balls here. We hoped that we'd be able to wish our friends Vegeta and his partner killed back to life. That's all we're trying to do."

"Not only that, but if our wish is granted, the Earth's Dragon Balls will come back too," added Mom.

"Thank you for telling me your story," said Dende. "So your world has been terrorized by these men too. Then we must fight them together! And I know someone who can help."

"Really?" I asked.

Dende nodded. "I must take you to see the eldest Namek."

"Who's that?" inquired Krillin.

"But how can he help us?" demanded Mom.

"He is very wise," replied Dende. "He is the father of all Nameks. He alone survived the terrible storm that nearly destroyed our world and he is the one responsible for populating it so far. We're all his children. I myself am his 108th child."

"How exactly did your father have a child all by himself?" queried Mom.

Dende stared at her. "What do you mean 'how'? He spit the eggs out of his mouth, of course."

"Oh right. How silly of me," responded Mom. I smiled. "Wait, so what you're saying is he's actually a she, right? A female."

"'Female'?" repeated Dende. "What's a female?"

"Well, there's two types of people, right?" said Mom. "Males and females and they're, they're different. So like, for instance, say you have brothers and you have sisters."

Dende gazed at Mom like she was crazy. "What? Different types? Uh, no."

"Can you believe this?" exclaimed Mom, turning to Krillin. "There's no different genders here! They're all one type. I'm sure glad I'm not a Namek. Talk about boring."

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Anyway," murmured Krillin. "So you really think going to see this eldest guy will do us some good?"

"Yes," confirmed Dende. "But it's important that we go quickly. The ones who attacked my village already have five of the Dragon Balls and if another village is being attacked right now like you say, unless the Nameks can hold them off, they'll be looking for the eldest Namek soon."

"Wait, are you saying he has the last Dragon Ball?" I asked.

"That's right," replied Dende.

"Well, I hate to say this but everyone in that village is gone," I informed him.

"Oh no," whispered Dende. "There are only a few of us left now."

"This is bad!" stated Krillin, unnecessarily. "It might take Frieza's goons a while to find the eldest Namek without their scouters, but that won't stop Vegeta. If he has any kind of power, Vegeta will sense him from miles away! For all we know, he could be on his way already!"

"Exactly!" agreed Dende. "We must warn the eldest Namek that he's coming. Please, please! You have to help me! Come with me, please!"

"It's risky," said Gohan.

"But what other choice do we have?" I pointed out.

Gohan nodded. "I'd say we'd be in even more danger if we let Frieza or Vegeta get that Dragon Ball!"

"Okay, let's go," concurred Krillin. "You lead the way, I'll follow."

Dende smiled. "Right."

"With any luck, this won't take too long," figured Krillin, turning to Gohan and I. "I want you two to wait here with Bulma until we get back, okay? We can't let Vegeta sense all of us."

"You're right," replied Gohan.

"We'll stay here," I said.

Krillin took off into the air with Dende. "See ya! You guys be extra careful!"

"You too," called Gohan, waving. "Bye!"

"Good luck," I whispered as they flew out of sight and Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're gonna need it."

~ Abnormal Childhood ~

"Masenko-ha!" yelled Gohan, firing at me.

I dodged and shot my own attack at him which he evaded. We had moved on to hand-to-hand combat when my mother's voice broke through our concentration. I sighed. "My mom has no respect for a good mental training session."

Gohan laughed. "We should probably see what she wants."

We opened our eyes to see Mom angrily brushing her hair.

"How did I ever get into this mess?" Mom moaned. "No Dragon Balls! No spaceship! All I want to do is go home!"

Mom broke off as she noticed us staring at her. "How can you both be so calm at a time like this?"

"It's easy, Bulma," said Gohan. "I know everything's gonna be okay once my dad gets here."

I smiled at his cheerfulness. "Yep."

"Well, I hope he gets here soon because if he doesn't, I know one thing's for sure, I'll go crazy!" she declared.

"I just hope Krillin and Dende are doing okay," Gohan murmured.

I nodded. "Me too especially with Vegeta and Frieza out there."

~ Abnormal Childhood ~

"Will you look at these split ends?" My mom complained later, still brushing her hair as we sat around the kitchen table. Gohan suddenly stood up causing her to jump. "Is someone coming?!"

"No, I was getting up to use the bathroom," Gohan explained.

"I knew that," replied Mom.

"I think I'm the one who's gonna go crazy," I muttered.

"Let's go outside and train," suggested Gohan. "That might make you feel better."

"Beats sitting around here," I agreed and waited for him to come back before going outside.

"Hey, Lorren, Gohan," called Mom who had decided to join us and had been looking at her radar. "Check it out."

"What's up?" I asked as we walked over to her.

Mom pointed to one of the balls on the screen. "It's moving and, according to this, it's heading right for us. Maybe it's Krillin on his way back here."

"He must have gotten the Dragon Ball from the eldest Namek," figured Gohan.

"Yes! Great job, Krillin," I praised.

Gohan grinned. "I knew he'd come through."

"Mhm, but come here," said Mom. "Look at this. There's something that's been bugging me. We know one of the balls is moving and those five together are the ones you say Frieza has. So then, what's this one doing up here all by itself?"

"Well, it's nearby. It actually looks like it might be over in that direction," noted Gohan, indicating with his finger which way he meant. "That's not too far from here, is it?"

"Gohan, that's the direction the village is that Vegeta attacked," I told him.

"You're right," realized Gohan. "That must be where it is."

"It doesn't feel like he's there anymore. Wanna go look?" I inquired.

Gohan nodded and I glanced at Mom, holding my hand out. "Do you mind if we borrow the radar, Mom?"

"Alright, but be careful," she responded, giving me her radar.

"We will," I assured her as we took off. I stared down at the radar. "Straight ahead, Gohan."

"I wonder why Vegeta left it there," mused Gohan before grinning. "The good news is the coast is clear. I still don't sense Vegeta."

"Me neither," I replied, smiling back. "Come on, let's go get that Dragon Ball!"

A/N: And there you have it! Until next time, read review and show the love!