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

A/N: Welcome to the EIGHTEENTH chapter of Abnormal Childhood where Lorren and Gohan will retrieve the four star Dragon Ball. So, without further ado, enjoy!

"We're getting close," I informed Gohan as the village came into view. "Over there."

We landed in the village which had been completely obliterated as the bodies of slain Namekians lay everywhere.

I gritted my teeth. "Darn that monster! He killed them all!"

"I swear you'll pay for this, Vegeta!" vowed Gohan; his clenched fists were shaking. "You'll pay for what you've done!"

I placed a hand on his shoulder which was also trembling. "We should bury them, don't you think?"

Gohan nodded and we got to work laying the Namekians to rest. We then put our hands together and bowed our heads. "I promise Lorren, our friends, and I will try to bring you back if we can. Well, we better go and find that Dragon Ball."

"Right," I agreed, checking the radar. "Gohan, look. According to Mom's radar, the Dragon Ball is in the lake."

"Really?" said Gohan, glancing at the radar. "It is. Now all we have to do is swim down there and find it."

I grinned. "What are we waiting for? Let's go for a swim."

We dove into the deep blue lake and retrieved the four star ball.

"Alright! We found it!" exclaimed Gohan after we had resurfaced.

"Let's get back to the cave," I said, shaking the water out of my hair. "Mom's gonna be so happy when she sees it."

~ Abnormal Childhood ~

"I wonder why the villagers threw the Dragon Ball in the lake," wondered Gohan as we flew back to Mom. "Maybe they knew Vegeta was coming so they hid it down there."

"It's a possibility," I mused as we sensed two strong energy levels. "Do you feel that? There's two huge power levels back at the cave where we left Mom."

"Yeah," confirmed Gohan. "We better hurry."

We continued until we felt an extremely unwelcome presence, making us come to a stop.

"It's Vegeta!" I remarked as sweat lined my brow. "And he's much stronger than he used to be! Come on, let's hide."

We suppressed our power levels and headed for cover as Vegeta arrived.

"Whoever you are, show yourself!" He ordered. "You can't hide forever. If you don't come out, I'll start blasting this entire area until I find you. Come out! Last chance!"

Gohan and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Well, have it your way then. One way or another, I will find you," declared Vegeta, powering up. "Prepare to die!"

"Wait!" yelled Gohan as we revealed ourselves.

"We're right here!" I told him.

"Ah, the son of Kakarrot and the spunky girl. We meet again," said Vegeta, powering down.

"Trust me, the pleasure's all yours," I replied.

"I just met with your friends," Vegeta continued, ignoring me as he landed in front of us. "I suspected you might be close by."

"A Dragon Ball!" yelled Gohan, noticing it in Vegeta's arm. "Where did you get that from?"

"It was a gift from the bald-headed one and that bratty woman who was with him," Vegeta explained.

"You better not have hurt them!" I warned him.

"Actually, I never even touched them," Vegeta revealed. "But if you want, I could easily be talked into going back. You see, because I now possess all of the Dragon Balls, I was, as you say, merciful."

"He thinks he has them all," Gohan whispered to me.

"Let's keep it that way," I whispered back.

"Tell me, what's that thing in your hand, girl?" demanded Vegeta.

I hid Mom's radar behind my back. "It's a watch."

Vegeta laughed. "With all the scientific technology on your planet, you're trying to tell me that huge device is a watch?"

"It's an antique watch," said Gohan.

"Anyway, is your father on this planet as well, boy?" Vegeta asked Gohan, letting the matter go.

"No, he's not," answered Gohan. "I don't know where my dad is."

"Goku's got better things to do than deal with the likes of you," I added.

Vegeta glanced at me and placed a hand on top of Gohan's head, causing me to tense. "Too bad because, you see, we are the last of the Saiyans. That means we must look out for each other, understand?"

Vegeta then gave Gohan a weird smile before kicking Gohan in the stomach and stepping on his head after he had hunched over in pain.

"Gohan!" I cried as I began to move forward.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," advised Vegeta, staring sideways at me. "Otherwise I could accidentally squash his head."

I remained where I was as Vegeta returned his attention to Gohan. "As for you, you're an even bigger fool than your father and that's saying a lot. Go home. Go cry in the arms of your mother, little Saiyan. This is no place for a sniveling baby or those who take part in their company when they could be serving a much higher purpose."

The brute laughed and left. I hurried over to Gohan as he managed to sit up. "You okay?"

"Dragon Ball…," my partner murmured, smiling at me. "He never found the Dragon Ball!"

We laughed, grabbed the ball, and finally made it back to the cave.

"Hey, Krillin!" called Gohan.

"Gohan!" exclaimed Krillin.

"And Lorren!" shouted Mom as we landed, and she hugged me.

"You guys look what we found," announced Gohan, holding up the four star ball.

"Way to go, you two!" cheered Krillin. "Unfortunately, we'll have to save the celebrating for later because right now we gotta get out of here."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, we know."

"Vegeta told us he'd been here," I informed them.

"We were able to hide the Dragon Ball from him," revealed Gohan to the dumbfounded adults. "Never even knew we had it."

"No way," said Krillin. "Boy, were we lucky."

"That and he was too pleased with himself," I replied."

"Move it or lose it," barked Mom, startling the boys.

"Right," I agreed as we packed our things and headed out.

~ Abnormal Childhood ~

"We're safe now," reckoned Gohan after we had found a new place to hide. "Vegeta will never find us down here."

"Why would anyone look for us in such a horrible place?" demanded Mom with here arms crossed over her chest.

"Look at the bright side, Bulma," responded Krillin. "At least this way you're not stuck in a cave anymore."

"Krillin's right," said Gohan. "We just gotta be positive. That's all."

"You want me to be positive?!" yelled Mom. "Alright, I'm positive we have no food or water or even a bathroom for that matter. How is that for positive?!"

"Hey, I got an idea, Bulma," suggested Krillin. "Why don't you wait here while the three of us visit Guru and get him to awaken these two's hidden powers?"

"He can really do that?" I inquired.

"I will not be left out here all by myself!" proclaimed Mom.

"You gotta trust me," Krillin urged her. "First of all, we'll be back before you know it. Second, when we do return, Vegeta won't stand a chance against Gohan, Lorren, and I."

I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Krillin nodded. "Yep."

We said goodbye to Mom and flew off to Guru's.

"Geez, at this rate it's gonna take us forever to get to Guru's house," muttered Krillin. "But we can't risk putting out any more power to turn up the speed or else Vegeta will track us down for sure. I don't know how, but it's like he keeps getting stronger by the minute as if wasn't already strong enough as it is."

"So, how can you be sure going to see Guru will even help?" asked Gohan.

"Gohan does have a point," I agreed.

"I mean, you keep talking about hidden powers," Gohan reminded him. "Do you really think I have any?"

"Oh, there's no doubt in my mind you do, Gohan," I told him.

Krillin nodded. "If I had hidden power then you two definitely do."

"And you really think Guru can draw them out of us, Krillin?" I inquired.

Krillin smiled. "Just trust me."

"Alright," I murmured.

"Okay," said Gohan.

We continued and eventually stopped to rest, eat, and rehydrate.

"Krillin, we've been flying for days now," noted Gohan from where he sat next to me. "How much farther is it?"

"Well, I don't know exactly," admitted Krillin. "I'd say we still have a way to go yet."

"Perfect," I muttered.

"Alright, I guess we can risk picking the pace up a bit," mused Krillin. "We should be far enough away from Vegeta now that he won't be able to sense us."

"Yeah, and not only that, my dad should be getting here any minute by now," Gohan pointed out. "He'll need our help!"

"Then let's hurry," I said as we headed back out.

"The good news is at top speed we'll probably be there in an hour or two," Krillin informed us.

Gohan laughed. "Yeah."

~ Abnormal Childhood ~

"Keep it up, you two!" yelled Krillin over the wind. "We're getting close! Guru's house should be just ahead."

"Finally," I sighed as a tall peak came into view.

"There it is!" announced Krillin. "Dead ahead on top of that tall peak! That's Guru's house!"

"Wow, he lives all the way up there?" I murmured.

"I can't believe we actually made it," admitted Krillin before suddenly stopping. "Hold it, you two. I think we got ourselves some company."

"Vegeta!" I groaned as Gohan and I came to a halt. "Now what do we do?"

"I'll stay here and try to hold him off for a while," answered Krillin. "I want you two to go on ahead to Guru's house without me."

"Krillin," said Gohan, hesitantly.

"We can't," I began.

"Don't argue with me!" shouted Krillin. "Just go! Now!"

"…I understand," I acknowledged and turned to Gohan. "Come on, let's go."

Gohan nodded and we hurried on to Guru who was huge.

"Such great power," he noted after placing his hands on top of our heads. The elder Namek coughed. "I can feel the two of you have truly amazing hidden powers, strongest I've ever felt."

"Please, we have to hurry," urged Gohan. "It's Vegeta! He's right outside!"

"Our friend is facing him all alone," I added. "We have to help him."

"Are their intentions pure?" inquired Guru's attendant, Nail.

Guru inclined his head and Nail walked outside while I experienced a sudden surge of power. I glanced at Gohan who smiled slightly before turning serious as we strode outside.

"What?!" exclaimed Vegeta in surprise.

"Expecting someone else?" I figured, smirking.

"You two, but your power levels," said Vegeta, ignoring me. "What is this place? What have you done?"

He then stared at Gohan and I and burst out laughing.

"What's so funny this time?" I demanded.

"What? Am I supposed to be scared now because you've gotten a little power boost?" retorted Vegeta. "It changes nothing! You two are still nowhere near my level so go ahead, attack me."

Nail walked towards him as Dende suddenly appeared in the doorway, frantic.

"Hey! Hey listen!" He said. "Guru just told me there's some kind of powerful force heading straight for us."

I groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Who's this Guru?" asked Vegeta.

"Hey, he's right," confirmed Krillin as we all looked towards the sky. "Something is coming."

"That power level's huge," stated Gohan.

"Wait, I know!" proclaimed Krillin, grinning. "It's Goku! I knew he'd be here to save us!"

"Kakarrot?!" replied Vegeta.

"I'm not so sure, Krillin," I argued.

Gohan nodded. "It feels like more than one."

Vegeta turned frighteningly pale. "No, not them!"

"Okay, you freaking out makes me even more nervous," I revealed, glancing at Vegeta. "Who are they?"

Vegeta did not respond. "One, two, three, four, five. It has to be."

"You mind sharing with the rest of us?" I suggested.

"Damn it all! Frieza's called in the Ginyu Force!" he exclaimed before running over to us and grabbing Gohan by the front of his shirt.

"Let him go right now!" I ordered.

"Shut up, girl!" roared Vegeta and returned his attention to Gohan. "You! No more time for games! Give me that Dragon Ball right now!"

"I can't," Gohan told him. "We don't have it."

"Tell me where it is," demanded Vegeta. "Tell me and I promise no harm will come to you or your friends, but if I don't make my wish before they get here, we're all dead!"

"What do you think we are, stupid?" said Krillin. "You put him down."

"Who are these guys, anyway?" I asked, feeling like a broken record. "They must be really strong to make you so scared."

Vegeta threw Gohan to the ground. "Listen to me. Don't be fools. These are no petty henchmen Frieza's called. It's the Ginyu Force. Five men each as strong as I am, maybe even stronger, and in a few moments, they will be here with the new scouters. They'll find us and kill us all."

Krillin shook his head. "No, I-I don't believe you."

"Do you feel that power?" Vegeta replied. "None of us are strong enough to face that! We only have one chance. We have to use the Dragon Balls to make me immortal."

"I fear what the Saiyan says might be true," interjected Nail. "This is an evil presence that approaches."

"Here's the deal," said Krillin, after a moment. "We use the wish on Gohan."

"The boy may have power, but he doesn't have the fighting experience," argued Vegeta. "Neither does the girl. You need me."

"I can't do it!" yelled Krillin. "That would mean our entire search has been in vain!"

"But you would still have two more wishes," revealed Nail.

"The dragon here grants more than one wish?" I asked.

Nail inclined his head. "Didn't you know? The Dragon Balls will grant you three wishes."

"Ours only ever granted one wish," I explained.

"We're wasting time!" growled Vegeta, hauling Krillin off his feet by the front of his shirt. "The Ginyu Force will be here any second! We have to use the Dragon Balls now before it's too late!"

"You're not giving the orders here, Vegeta!" snapped Krillin. "Nail, are you absolutely certain that we'll get three wishes?"

"Yes," answered the Namek.

"Let's go then," said Krillin and Vegeta put him down. "But your try anything funny and the deal's off. You got it? Follow me."

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