Alliance, part 3

Kakarot's heart hammered against his ribs as he watched the Earth grow as they approached.

Nappa deposited the general in a seat and moved to the scouter screen. Blips began to flash on the screen, power levels blinking next to each one.

Vejita moved from his position in front of the window and expertly guided the ship into orbit around the Earth.

Kakarot's vision was still a little blurry, and he didn't trust his legs yet. He felt like he had lost complete control of the situation and he was now just a spectator in this drama. He stared out at the blue and white orb. Earth. His home. His family... He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering. It was nearly 25 years ago, but It felt like yesterday. And all those power levels...

Kakarot grabbed the arms of the chair and slowly hauled himself up. His strength was returning quickly now. Vejita was standing looking out the window again, mesmerized by the sight.

"Sire..."

"Isn't it beautiful, Kakarot? This one will be a challenge to conquer." The monarch turned to look at his general. His eyes were flashing fire. Kakarot hadn't seen him this excited in a long time. If it hadn't been Earth...

"Vejita, there are over a dozen power levels down there that go off the scale. There's another one..and another..." Nappa pointed to three that suddenly appeared on the screen and were moving with amazing speed.

Vejita moved over to the screen. He was practically drooling. "Yesss. Nappa, we leave in two hours. Kakarot, you need to stretch and..."

Vejita turned to face his general, but Kakarot was nowhere in sight.

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The general raced to the pod bay and leaped into one. He did know how to coordinate these things, and he feverishly punched in the coordinates. The bay door sighed open and the pod shot out of the ship.

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"Vejita, look!" Nappa was staring out the window at the pod that was now hurtling toward Earth.

"K'sooooo!" Vejita snarled through clenched teeth. "What the hell is he doing?!"

Nappa's mouth was in a round "O." He scratched his head.

"Track him!!" Vejita screamed, pounding the console. "Find out where he lands!"

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Kakarot braced himself for the crash landing as the pod hit the atmosphere and hurtled to the Earth. The pod crashed in a dry mountainous region, kicking up a ton of dirt and digging a huge crater. As he began to pull the lever that would open the pod, he saw shadows cross his vision. The pod door swung open and as he climbed out, suddenly a hand was there. He stared at the hand for a nanosecond, then grabbed it and let himself be hauled out.

He looked at the man who still hadn't relinquished his hand. His handsome face was a study in joy and anguish.

Kakarot swallowed. "Gohan..."

"Dad!" He was pulled into Gohan's arms and crushed to his chest. They stood like that for a long time, eyes closed, chins resting on each other's shoulders. Kakarot opened his eyes. Two other men stood silently watching the exchange.

Then Gohan let go and Goten was in his arms, tears in his eyes, unable to speak. When he let go, Kakarot stood staring at the third man.

He gave him a half-smile. "You're not going to believe this, Vejita..."

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