DRAGON BALL CD CHAPTER VI
Grand Theft Ginyu / The Return of the King
"Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the light side of life" - Monty Python
IN THE LAST CHAPTER OF DRAGON BALL CD
Kakarot, the great Saiyan warrior who easily dispatched Burter and Recoome, found himself matched up with their leader, Captain Ginyu. Although their battle was close, Ginyu showed his true power: The ability to swap bodies with another. Giving himself a mortal wound, Ginyu did so with Kakarot, leaving the Saiyan in an unfamiliar body with uncertain time, unable to warn his friends about the danger of this new deception.
Nail did what he could to buy time for Dende to reach the visitors from Earth, seemingly betraying his people to reveal to Freeza the secrets of the Dragon Balls. It was then that he revealed his intents to protect the ailing Grand Elder as best as he could, suffering greatly at Freeza's hands amist demands for the knowledge he needs.
Bardock and Bulma made it to Freeza's ship, easily fighting off Freeza's remaining soldiers. Their joy at having finally regained all seven Dragon Balls was shattered as Vegeta arrived, freshly healed from his encounter with the Ginyu Force and more than capable of easily destroying both Bardock and Bulma.
Can Kakarot return in time to warn them? Will Raditz reach Dende before it's too late? What plans does Vegeta have for his two new prisoners? The next chapter of Dragon Ball CD begins now.
Vegeta walked forward, a smug look on his face as terror gripped Bulma and Bardock. "So then. It was all just a ploy to get me on your side so that you could get your hands on the Dragon Balls I took from Freeza."
"Not exactly," Bulma said.
"And yet you just said you'd use the wish to bring your Dragon Balls on Earth back," Vegeta said.
"Nobody's going to get their wish," Bardock said, standing in front of Bulma. Vegeta let a chuckle out.
"Oh, is that a fact?" Vegeta asked, "What makes you so sure, runt?"
Bardock stared at him, "I didn't know what Namek was. I didn't know what a Dragon Ball looked like. I didn't know this planet had three suns. I didn't even know what you or Freeza looked like, Vegeta. But I knew. I have dreams, Vegeta. Of these horrible red eyes staring at me and a terrible laugh. And you and my uncle dead, at the hands of a terrible white creature with a long tail. Your bodies lay there, next to seven Dragon Balls."
A chill went down Vegeta's spine and his expression changed. At first Vegeta thought the child was only bluffing, but he knew better. The message Cui had played that was the catalyst for Vegeta going rogue.
"We have to go there. I see that planet when I sleep."
"Why?"
"Because the Namekians have Dragon Balls."
"I wasn't scared of you on Earth. Do you know why, Vegeta? Because this planet is where you're going to die, along with my uncle," Bardock said.
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, "Maybe you're right, kid. You're speaking a lot of nonsense. Dreaming of a future yet to come?"
"It's true, Vegeta," Bulma said. Carefully she crossed her arms, her finger subtly touching a small button on her left gauntlet, the words written in a small font beneath saying 'transmit', "I saw his drawings myself."
"Oh, I believe him," Vegeat said, "Congratulations, kid. You just bought yourself and the woman there some more time."
"Wait, what?" Bulma asked.
"Why else would anybody come to this pathetic rock?" Vegeta said, "We couldn't even sell it we wanted to. There's no resources, no infrastructure, no night time. I doubt even crops can grow on this world. There's only seven things of value here for anybody to want to bother with it."
"The scouter," Bulma said, nodding, "Nappa threw his off, but it was still transmitting."
"Yes," Vegeta said, "That's how Freeza and I found out." A thought entered Vegeta's head, "Of course, how stupid of me. Where is Raditz? Kakarot told him to protect you. It doesn't look like he's doing a very good job at it."
Bulma said nothing, staring at Vegeta with hate in her eyes. Vegeta shrugged, "Fine, be that way. You two, you want the Dragon Balls so bad? You best go get them."
"Do it," Bardock said, heading down the corridor. With Vegeta behind them, the pair went down the entrance ramp, and over to what was an obviously fresh patch of dirt.
"I assume the Dragon Balls are buried there?" Vegeta asked.
"You don't need a damn radar to figure that out," Bulma said as she and Bardock bent down and began digging.
"Now," Vegeta said, watching, "Here is exactly what is going to happen. Once you finish digging, you will activate those Dragon Balls. Based on what you said earlier, I'm assuming some kind of dragon will appear and grant my wish, correct?"
Bulma sighed. I can't believe that after all of this, this is how it ends. With Vegeta having us dead to rights. Damnit, either myself or Bardock should've gone for Dende. At least Raditz could keep him busy. Vegeta's way too strong for either of us to handle.
"You could show a little gratitude," Bulma said, "You're only able to pull this off because the king decided to heal you."
"And that's Kakarot's mistake," Vegeta said, "Answer my question."
"Usually, yes. The sky goes dark, and Shenron, the dragon you refer to, appears," she replied. A few moments passed as they unearthed them, with Bardock finishing as he pulled up the Four-Star Dragon Ball.
"Now," Vegeta said, "Do what you must."
Bulma was silent, her eyes flinching.
"Bulma," Bardock said, "Just do it.
Almost pouting, Bulma stood before the Dragon Balls and took a deep breath, "Eternal Dragon. By your name, I summon you forth, Shenron!"
Regret instantly filled Bulma's heart, but to her surprise, everything remained as it was.
"Well?" Vegeta said, "I'm waiting."
"That's…what we say on Earth…" Bulma said, confused.
"Bulma, maybe we have to say it in Namekian," Bardock said, and then speaking, "(Eternal Dragon. By your name, I summon you forth, Shenron)!"
Bardock waited, but once more, nothing happened.
"Huh," Bulma said.
"Are you two deliberately playing stupid?" Vegeta asked.
"That's a trick question," Bulma snapped back, "Give us a break, Vegeta. We know almost nothing about these Dragon Balls. I had to spend a lot of time on Earth researching our own Dragon Balls to figure out the complete mystery. I don't see any libraries around here, do you? Freeza probably ran into the same problem, and my guess is he went off to see the Grand Elder to try to beat the answer out of him."
"Damn it," Vegeta said, "If he reaches this 'Grand Elder'..."
"Freeza won't get his wish," Bardock said.
"Oh? How can you be so sure? Another dream of yours?" Vegeta asked.
"The Grand Elder is very old and sick," Bardock said, "He's dying. He's not a warrior, but he has two things Freeza doesn't. Time and whatever the method to using these is. Freeza won't get his wish, but neither will we."
Vegeta thought for a moment, trying to subdue his rage. All he wanted in the universe at that moment was to slaughter both of them, but that would do no good. At this point, Vegeta wasn't sure how many Namekians, if any, were left, and if what Bardock said was true, if the Grand Elder wouldn't tell Freeza, then he wouldn't tell Vegeta. On top of that, the child had made an excellent point that Vegeta conceded; in all likelihood, whatever the ritual to summon this dragon was, it would have to be in Namekian. The child seemed to speak it well. It was then that Vegeta turned his head west.
"Wonderful, Kakarot," he said.
Raditz stopped for a moment and looked back. A few short moments ago, he had been flying at top speed towards Dende, but then he began hearing a transmission coming from Bulma. Vegeta had somehow made his way to Freeza's ship, and tried to force them to use the Dragon Balls. Kakarot's last words to him sent a chill up his spine.
"Protect them if you have to."
Damnit, he thought, I had one fucking job to do! Kakarot, forgive me for this failure.
Grinding his teeth, Raditz had considered abandoning his mission and returning to Bulma and Bardock. He could take Vegeta now. He was certain of it.
No, Raditz thought, If I was there, it would have been a nasty fight. It doesn't matter if I could beat Vegeta, they'd still be in the same boat, if they survived at all.
Reluctantly, Raditz continued onward, pushing his speed as much as he could. His thoughts drifted to the worlds he had left behind. First, his new life on Earth. He was surprised to see such a change in his brother. Perhaps Vegeta had been right, that Kakarot's seemingly new merciful attitude was a weakness. He had never hesitated to kill, and even at times volunteered to do the dirty work himself. Even if he had wanted to change his tune, there was a difference between being merciless and ruthless. Would that happen to him as well if he made it back home, and Launch did indeed have their child?
He had done what he could to distract himself from thoughts of what was possibly his legal wife, but in any case marriage was a custom the Saiyans didn't have for the most part. Their relationships had been either for procreation or recreation, never romance. Raditz could not deny that from the moment he saw her, he had been sexually attracted to Launch. She was very easy on the eyes, gorgeous, and had the advantage of being able to change her appearance with very surprising ease. But then the began talking. She had promised to kill Raditz herself if he harmed Prince Bardock. He highly doubted she'd have been able to pull it off, but he could tell from her tone that regardless of if she was capable of it, she fully intended to at least find out. They talked more and more, and before he knew it, they were going on what Launch had called 'dates', set romantic appointments. From there he saw things he had never given much time to think about. All a new planet had been to Raditz was another job. Natural beauty was only a perk that increased the retail value. But he had felt some degree of satisfaction, sitting with her in one of West City's parks, watching the sunset, saying nothing and only holding hands. He was even more surprised at the gentleness of their first truly intimate moment.
Raditz then thought about what would have happened had he not encouraged Kakarot to investigate the message that Bulma had sent out. He wouldn't be on Namek, he'd be…somewhere. There were rumors that Freeza had been planning some kind of campaign to attack the planet Yardrat. Earth would have still been in the iron claws of the 'Demon King'. Raditz figured that the chances would have been good that both he and Launch would have been dead, completely ignorant of one another, Raditz himself just another dead Saiyan to go with the rest of his nearly extinct race.
Fuck all that, he thought, I don't care if Bardock's dreams are right and I'm in my twilight hours. It was worth every moment.
It was then up ahead that he saw a figure. As it grew closer, Raditz smiled as he made out Dende's shape.
"Dende!" Raditz called out, flying forward. Dende stopped, but then smiled.
"Raditz!" Dende said, "I'm so pleased to see you again! We have to hurry!"
"Hang on," Raditz said, stopping, "Hurry for what, Dende, the Grand Elder?"
"Yes…and no," Dende said, "The Grand Elder sent me to you. His time is running out. He's instructed me to tell you how to use our Dragon Balls."
A smile came across Raditz's face, "Climb on board my back, and hold on tight."
Dende did so, "You're more powerful than the last time we met."
"Yeah," Raditz said, "Saiyans have this little evolutionary trick. Anytime we suffer a serious injury, as long as we don't die, we gain strength when we recover. We had a brush with some of Freeza's stronger goons, that's all. The nice thing about it is it also means I'm a lot faster."
"I've gotten stronger, too," Dende said, "Not like you. The Grand Elder unlocked my potential as he did for you, Bulma and Bardock. I know things now I never thought I would!"
"Excellent," Raditz said, "Hang on, kid. I'm going to go as fast as I can."
The three watched as Kakarot landed, and curiously, next to him was Jeice, surprising everyone.
"You made it," Bulma said, "And I see he finally got the message and decided to join up."
"Of course," Kakarot said, "Why wouldn't Jeice be with me?"
He looked around and saw the dug up earth with the Dragon Balls next to the empty hole, "That's where those morons hid the Dragon Balls?!"
"Yeah, I was pretty surprised myself," Bulma said, "We didn't even need to use the Dragon Radar. Maybe they should have just put up a sign that said 'Definitely Not Dragon Balls'."
"Well, good help is hard to find these days," he replied, "I take it you haven't been able to use them?"
"No," Bulma said, "We think that the way to summon the dragon is that it has to be said in Namekian. But unless we know the dragon's name, we're just throwing shit on the wall and hoping that something sticks. We've only tried once."
"Hmm," he replied, "And where is Mr. Raditz?"
"'Mister'?" Bulma said, "Your highness, are you feeling okay? Don't tell me that fight with Ginyu gave you brain damage."
"Of course not," he replied to him, "In fact, I'm feeling as good as new. Right, Jeice."
"Bulma…" Bardock said, listening, "Get away from him."
"Huh?" Bulma asked, "Why?"
"Maybe we should let her in on the secret, Captain," Jeice said.
Bulma was kicked back, her tight cheek stinging,jrr mind quickly trying to process what just happened. Did Kakarot backhand her?
"What the hell?!" she yelled. Kakarot laughed.
"Bulma, I don't know how, but that's Captain Ginyu!" Bardock shouted.
Ginyu?! Vegeta thought.
Ginyu laughed, "He's a clever kid, isn't he, Jeice?"
"What did you do with my father?!" Bardock demanded.
Ginyu and Jeice both laughed again, "I wouldn't worry about him anymore. Now, I believe this is the second time I've had to reclaim Lord Freeza's property from you."
Bardock could feel tears swelling up inside him. He couldn't sense his father, and now, this…thing, in front of him, had somehow gained possession of his body. The sorrow inside quickly transformed into anger, which in turn became rage. Bardock screamed and flew forward, torpedoing Ginyu in the torso and knocking him into the ground. Bardock began pounding on him hard.
"GIVE MY FATHER BACK!" Bardock yelled, as Jeice watched with an astonished look.
"Damnit, get off me! Jeice!" Ginyu said. Jeice went over and easily picked Bardock off, Bulma, although angry, kept her distance, well aware that while she may have recovered, she was still no match even for the likes of Jeice. Bardock couldn't do much, since even with his latent power unlocked, he had still not gotten strong enough either.
"Damn runt," Jeice said, "Captain, what happened?!"
"The same thing I told you earlier," Ginyu said as he stood up, "All the power in the universe is useless if you don't keep your guard up. See? It can happen to the best of us. Now. Let's show these interlopers just what they're up against."
Ginyu began to power up as Bulma and Bardock took a step back. Vegeta watched, his brow lower, confused at the energy he sensed. He then smiled as he began to realize just what was going on.
"Jeice!" Ginyu yelled out, "Tell them just what they're in for!"
Jeice pressed the button on the side of his scouter, and felt his body sag after he read the reading. He didn't understand it.
"Uh, Captain…" Jeice began, his voice cracking.
"Well, out with it, damn you!" Ginyu said.
"Well sir, it appears that your power level is…" Jeice said, mumbling the rest.
"What?" Ginyu said, "Say it louder!"
"It's uh, twenty-three thousand," Jeice said meekly.
"There you have it!" Ginyu proudly proclaimed, "A power level to make all three of you tremble before my might! Twenty-three thous – "
Ginyu stopped as the realization hit him, "Wait. Did you just say twenty-three thousand?!"
"That's…what the scouter says, Captain. And it's falling."
"There's no way that can be right," Ginyu said, "This body was more than capable of going beyond ninety, even a hundred thousand! How can it be so low?! Your scouter must have been damaged!"
Bulma and Bardock stepped forward, and Bulma smiled as her eyes narrowed, "Oh no, it's reading just right."
Ginyu turned, looking at the pair. They had already assumed fighting stances, and while the child showed a power level of approximately five thousand, the woman before him was at around thirty-two thousand, an outright danger if what Jeice said was true.
"Now…hold on…" Ginyu said, but it was useless as Bulma and Bardock rushed him. A kick thrown at Bulma was quickly blocked, the retort a hard knee to the torso followed by a quick sweep.
"JEICE!" Ginyu yelled, "ASSISTANCE!"
"I'm on it, Captain!" Jeice said, but he felt a hand grab him from behind.
"Oh what do you…," Jeice said, but stopped when he saw Vegeta's eyes. They were cutting right into him, "...want?"
"I suppose after that spectacle with Kakarot, you'd need to beat up people like them to make yourself feel better," Vegeta said, "Now, why don't you try it with me?"
Jeice tried to move out of the way, but found himself cut off by Vegeta. This repeated several more times.
"What's wrong?" Vegeta said, "Scared?"
"I'm not scared of anything, you freak!" Jeice said. Vegeta grinned.
"If there's one thing I've learned as a warrior," Vegeta began, "It's how to sense fear. You show bravado, but your voice betrays it. You saw what Raditz did to Recoome, and you know all too well what Kakarot was capable of. You didn't hang around to see it, Jeice, but he gave me the same medicine he gave the others. I'm stronger than ever now!"
"You're full of it!" Jeice yelled.
"See for yourself. Go ahead, use that dumb little device you cling to. I won't even bother to hide my energy," Vegeta said. Jeice did so, and gasped.
"No, that's just not possible!" Jeice yelled, his voice shaking.
"Why do you put such blind faith in those damn scouters!" Vegeta yelled, throwing a lightning quick punch that only grazed the left side of his face, but hard enough to destroy the device, "If you only bothered to put forth some effort, you'd see the truth that's right in front of you. I'm becoming more than just an elite warrior, I'm entering a class of my own. Kakarot's mercy is proof he doesn't have what it takes, but as for me, I'm becoming the stuff of legends."
"You're full of it!" Jeice said, anger in his voice. He flew at Vegeta, attacking with as much speed and strength as he could, but Jeice quickly found his efforts were in vain as instead of blocking, Vegeta simply countered each attack. Finally, Jeice had enough, unleashing Crusher Ball after Crusher Ball at the Saiyan, but as the barrage of desperate blasts subsided, Vegeta stood there, seemingly unscathed.
"In case I have to spell it out for you, this is what happens when you face off against a Super Saiyan!" Vegeta yelled.
"You lie!" Jeice said, only for Vegeta to begin another assault, overwhelming him with a barrage of kicks at first, followed by a double ax handle from behind, sending Jeice down, only to be intercepted as Vegeta launched him back into the air. Jeice finally hit the ground and began crawling, trying to get some kind of sense of how serious his injuries were, pain shooting everywhere in his body. Up ahead he saw two white boots connected to a pair of blue leggings.
"No…" Jeice begged. Vegeta's self assured smile turned into a malicious grin. The Prince was fully satisfied with his performance. He raised his right arm, and put his hand out.
"Consider yourself honored, Jeice. You get to be the first to experience this new technique I've devised," Vegeta said. A huge energy blast shot out, consuming Jeice, sending large amounts of dust and dirt up. As it settled, Vegeta turned to see another person approaching. Curiously, Captain Ginyu, or so it would have appeared. "Kakarot," Vegeta said.
Kakarot stared at him, pain in his eyes, panting, "I'm not sure how, but Ginyu…he knows how to exchange bodies!"
Vegeta motioned over towards Bulma and Bardock, currently engaged with Captain Ginyu, who was doing everything he could to hold them off. "Yes, we know."
Kakarot watched for a moment and smiled, "It's just like I thought. When I found myself like this, I could barely fly. I bet he's having the same trouble adjusting to my body's power as I did with his." Kakarot then turned and looked at Vegeta, "Are you going to kill me now, Vegeta?"
Vegeta pointed at the wound on Kakarot's chest, "Not yet. There's no sport or honor in it. Although…it looks like Ginyu is getting more acquainted with your body."
Kakarot looked back at the battle, and nodded. Ginyu's attacks were becoming crisper and more focused. Slowly but surely, he was adapting to his new circumstances. "It won't be long until he can utilize my full power…" Kakarot said solemnly.
"This is what your 'mercy' gets you, Kakarot," Vegeta said in a stern tone, "This is why you'll never become a Super Saiyan. I guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
"Vegeta, what?" Kakarot asked, but Vegeta jumped into the air, flying towards the battle, torpedoing Ginyu and quickly overwhelming him. Kakarot flew over. Bulma gasped at first when she saw him, but then understood.
"You're in pretty rough shape," Bulma said.
"Father!" Bardock said, looking up at Kakarot. He shook his head, "What did he do to you?"
"The bastard tried to be sneaky," Kakarot replied, "First he made this," he said, moving his hand to show the bleeding wound, "Then he somehow changed bodies with me."
Bulma turned back, watching Vegeta's relentless attack. It was quite possibly the most brutal assault she had witnessed, "If Vegeta finishes Ginyu off, then…"
"Then I'm stuck in this body, and then I die," Kakarot said. The ground before them shook as Ginyu landed harded. Vegeta flew up into the sky and laughed.
"Now for the finishing touch! No more mercy, ever!" Vegeta yelled as he began to dive now. Kakarot heard a chuckle come from Ginyu.
That bastard! Kakarot thought, Now he's going to try to do the same thing with Vegeta. If he gets into his body, we're screwed!
Just as Vegeta began diving, Kakarot readied himself. He recalled the last thing he heard in his old body perfectly.
"...Change…" Ginyu said weakly. Kakarot charged, leaping upwards, putting himself between Ginyu and Vegeta.
"Damnit, get out of the way, Kakarot!" Vegeta said, slowing down.
"...Now!" Ginyu yelled. A bright yellow beam flew up from his body, connecting with Kakarot. Bardock and Bulma watched in astonishment as the beam quickly subsided. They turned and watched the purple alien land. A gentle laugh was heard from the ground, followed by a pained groan. Bardock went over to him.
"What did you do?!" Bardock demanded.
"Relax," he replied, "It's me, Bardock. Remember the Grand Elder? How he unlocked your latent potential?"
"Father," Bardock said, turning back to Ginyu, who was now examining his bloody hand.
Damnit, I don't have much time left! Ginyu thought, That's not a problem. I just have to ditch this body and then try again! They can't stop me!
Ginyu looked, first at Vegeta in the sky, then to Bardock, and smiled when he saw Bulma. The one advantage he had this time was that the Captain of the now one-man Ginyu Force was fully adjusted to his old body. Even as wounded as he was, he was still more than dangerous to his enemies. He rushed over and grabbed Bulma by the shoulders, lifting her so that her head was level with his own.
"CHANGE NOW!" he yelled. There was a brief flash. A moment later, the purple alien's eyes glazed over and fell down, the mouth making grotesque movements. All breathing stopped.
"Bulma!" Bardock yelled, "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," Bulma said, amazed that she was still herself, "I don't get it. He must have had a sudden brain aneurysm or some –"
She stopped as her body began contorting. The earpieces inside the Dragon Suit quickly overwhelmed her sense of hearing as a panicked voice was screaming, "CHANGE NOW! CHANGE NOW! CHANGE NOW!"
"The suit!" Bulma yelled in agony, "Hit the retract button on the belt!"
Bardock ran up and did so, the Dragon Suit retracting into the belt buckle as Bulma fell to one knee. She took the belt off and looked at it.
"What was that?" Bardock asked. Bulma shook her head in complete surprise.
"I have no idea," she replied. Above, Vegeta yelled.
"Get out of the damn way, kid! I'm going to finish that bastard Ginyu off for good!"
"Vegeta!" Bulma yelled back, "I'm fine! I'm still me!"
"Prove it!" Vegeta responded.
"You're a dick!" she yelled. Vegeta stopped and blinked. Although the Prince of All Saiyans wasn't quite familiar with Earth's colloquialisms, Vegeta knew an insult when he heard one. He descended, landing next to them. He shook his head as he saw Kakarot, laying there, clearly in pain, blood gushing over his face from a large cut opened on his forehead.
"Fine," Vegeta said, motioning to Kakarot, "Pick him up and take him into the ship."
"One second," Bulma said, walking over to Kakarot. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a DynaCap. She gave it a toss, and a small white box with a red cross appeared. She opened it up, and pulled out a large red wrap, wrapping up Kakarot's head, "This will at least stop the bleeding," she said to him as she hoisted him up. Bardock tried to help, but grew frustrated by his height.
"Vegeta, get down here and give us a hand!" Bulma yelled. Vegeta scoffed.
"Oh, spare me," Vegeta said. Bulma grimaced.
"Bardock's three and a half feet tall! Kakarot's two feet taller than him! Fine, screw it!" Bulma said. She got Kakarot into a fireman's carry and went up the ramp. Vegeta and Bardock followed.
"Take the second door on the right," Vegeta instructed. Bardock got ahead of her and hit a control panel. With a hiss, the door slid open. Bulma looked inside. A few dead soldiers from the Freeza Forces, though she didn't recall killing these particular ones earlier, and in the center of the room, two strange devices, one heavily damaged.
"Feast your eyes on state of the art medicine," Vegeta said. He walked over to the undamaged device and opened it. Bulma sat him inside it. Vegeta grabbed a face mask from overhead, adjusting it over Kakarot's face. He shut the door and punched in some commands. Liquid began filling the machine.
"This is known as a healing pod," Vegeta said, "This one's a slightly older model, but it'll get the job done."
"You said state of the art," Bulma said. Vegeta shrugged.
"The current model and I had a little bit of a disagreement," Vegeta simply said. He looked down at his damaged armor, "I need to get into something fresh. This armor's no good. You should consider upgrading as well instead of putting your faith into technology. You've already seen the dangers of that."
"My faith in technology is fine," Bulma said, "I just need to figure out just what the hell happened to my suit."
"Whatever," Vegeta said as he went over to a locker. He opened it and shook his head in disappointment, "Damnit, they only have the basic model in my size."
Bardock gasped as Vegeta disrobed without abandon while Bulma's eyes shot up. Enemy or not, super genius or not, Bulma still retained an appreciation for the finely toned male form, and Vegeta's body was no exception. From what she saw she gave an approving nod and tried to suppress her smirk.
"Kid, do you need new armor?" Vegeta asked.
"I've got that covered," Bulma said. She pulled out another DynaCap and gave it a toss. Vegeta turned, his eyes narrowing as a wooden armoire appeared. She walked over and took and look.
"You just carry all that around with you?!" Vegeta asked. Bulma laughed.
"Well Vegeta, feast your eyes on state of the art miniaturization," Bulma said. She took a look at the set of available armor. Vegeta saw that it had clearly been inspired by those used by the Planetary Trade Organization, the 'official' name of Freeza's empire, "After Kakarot proclaimed himself king, he had no problem letting my dad reverse engineer what little technology he brought with him. This armor's roughly the same material, so it should provide as much protection."
Bulma grabbed a royal blue jumpsuit, a pair of white gloves and boots, and a white battle jacket. The jacket lacked the protection for the lower extremities, but covered up the shoulders.
"Bardock, what do you think your dad would want?" she asked.
"I think he likes to have maximum movement," Bardock said. She nodded, grabbing a dark blue battle vest, with matching boots and gauntlets. She added a pair of dark blue leggings and a similar jumpsuit to her own, placing them beside the pod. Vegeta saw the vest, noting just how similar it was. Only the area covering the shoulders was really that different. While his was one solid piece, the design Bulma had pulled out had two segmented straps. Vegeta wondered if Kakarot had told the Earthlings of other designs, but decided it didn't matter.
"Guys, may I have a little privacy?" Bulma said.
"Why?" Vegeta asked. Bulma sighed.
"So I can fucking change?"
Vegeta looked at Bardock and motioned his head. The two left the medical bay. Bulma took off the gray pair of coveralls she had been wearing beneath the jumpsuit, as well as the undergarments she had selected. She reached into the pocket and pulled out a small container. She opened it up, looking at the white powder within. Her heart raced as she considered her options. How much time had passed since she'd last slept? Did it even matter with the Senzu Bean being taken not long before? She didn't feel tired in the least bit. Drugs had never really been her thing; she had smoked while younger but gave that up when she had begun martial arts training under Son Gohan, while drinking was her way of dealing with the pain of loss. She had included with her supplies a tiny cache of synthetic methamphetamine. She didn't personally approve of it, but she did have her reasons. In Earth's ancient history, soldiers had been given what was dubbed 'marching powder', which she had always taken to mean some primitive form of cocaine. When warfare evolved from swords and arrows to firearms, it became known as the 'spirit ration', and even some armies had issued a similar substance as the one before her to their soldiers purely for stimulation. She sighed and closed it, placing it on the ground and firing a small energy blast into it. She then donned the jumpsuit first, followed by the boots and gloves, until finally donning the armor. She exited, leaving her old clothes behind with the belt from the Dragon Suit in hand. She looked at Vegeta.
"Where's the communications room?" she said.
"What for?" Vegeta asked.
"I see three possibilities on how things will play out: Kakarot recovers, Raditz returns or Freeza arrives. In the case of the first two, we have to wait to formulate some kind of strategy to fight Freeza. In the case of the latter, as they say on Earth, well be up shit creek without a paddle. In any case, we have some time to kill. Before our ship landed, Vegeta, I had it deploy capsules just like one I had in the medical bay. It fed us real time information on everything here, plus we had a team monitoring and advising back home."
Vegeta thought for a moment, "So that's how you got those two Dragon Balls."
"Well, there was some legwork involved, but pretty much, yeah," Bulma said, "I wanted to jam their scouters as well, but that would've given us away."
Vegeta nodded. The Earthlings had done a similar trick to him and Nappa back on Earth. He didn't want to admit but, but the creativity the Earthlings had, Bulma in particular, for mitigating their physical weakness with distractions was somewhat clever. "Could you do it again?"
"If I can get another uplink with Earth, I don't see why not. Why, though? Freeza's the only threat left on this planet. Well, next to you."
"What happens to me would make no difference if I kill all of you and Freeza lives," Vegeta said, "We're allies now out of necessity. As for the why, Freeza is most likely still relying on his scouter. Jamming it could buy us some much needed time. In the worst case scenario, a few seconds. In the best, he'll assume everyone's dead and just take his time coming back to this ship. One way or another, Freeza is coming."
"We could wait for Raditz, grab the Dragon Balls and get the hell out of Dodge," Bulma suggested. Vegeta shook his head.
"The ship's no longer space worthy," Vegeta replied.
"What? How?!" Bulma asked.
"I had to make a hasty retreat," Vegeta said, "Going out the front door seemed like a poor tactical decision at the time."
Bulma couldn't even blame Vegeta, as much as she wanted. Their main objective on Namek had always been to prevent Freeza from using the Dragon Balls. They couldn't account for Vegeta going rogue, or any of the other things that had gone wrong since they got there. Even Raditz wanted to leave the planet once they had retrieved two Dragon Balls. At this moment, Bulma regretted having not sided with him, letting her own desire to restore Earth's Dragon Balls get the better of her.
"Here, follow me," Vegeta said, leading her down a hallway. He opened a door on the left side of the hall and Bulma took a look. There was an array of equipment inside she was not familiar with, but what appeared to be displays filled her with a small degree of confidence. She gave a nod and took a seat, pulling out yet another capsule. She gave it a toss, and what appeared was simply a backpack. She unzipped it, pulling out a laptop computer, opening it and powering it up.
"You're certain you can do this?" Vegeta asked.
"Yeah, I am," Bulma said, "When Raditz and I acquired the Dragon Ball that the Grand Elder had in his possession, he also used some kind of technique to unlock our latent potential. I know Raditz felt great after he received it, but as for me, well, while I can't speak for what it's down for my own battle power…"
"I'd say it increased it substantially," Vegeta said, "Going from around ten thousand to over thirty is quite a gain for a non-Saiyan."
"Thanks," Bulma said, "But as I was saying, it also increased my own intelligence to a level that, to be honest, scares me. It does have it's advantages." She opened a simple command prompt on the laptop and began entering commands. A prompt appeared, making Bulma frown. She sighed and leaned back for a moment, but then noticed on one of the displays some form of writing. She smiled. Although written in another language, Bulma knew from reverse engineering the technology that Kakarot and Raditz had brought with them that the symbols written were simply numbers. Specifically, the authentication code needed to complete her work. She typed them in and hit 'enter'.
"Okay, I'm in and…" Bulma said, another frown appearing on her face, "Damnit."
"What now?" Vegeta said, "Harder than you expected?"
"No," Bulma said, "While I can tap in, I can't occur for nature. On our way here, we ran into a magnetic storm. It's currently passing through Namek's upper atmosphere. It'll pass…but until then, no communication back home, and no accessing our satellite system."
"I see," Vegeta said, "Wake me when either Raditz gets here or Kakarot's recovered. I'm going to rest."
"Whatever," she said. She held up the belt for the Dragon Suit and set it down, next retrieving a patch cord from the backpack. Making a connection between the belt and the laptop, she opened an application and her eyes went wide at what she saw. All services were going haywire. Curiously, the AI's voice program was working just find. She tapped into it, turning the volume down.
"Change now! Change now! CHANGE NOW! DAMNIT, WHY WON'T THIS WORK?!"
Bulma recognized the voice. She leaned forward and spoke into the laptop's mic, "Captain Ginyu?"
"What?! Who's that? Who're you? WHERE AM I?!" it responded.
"Calm down," Bulma said, "The voice you're hearing is that of the woman who's body you tried to steal. I don't know how you didn't, but somehow you managed to change bodies with the AI component of my powered armor. In short, you're a computer program now."
"That's absurd! Give me my body back right now, you bitch!"
"Hey!" Bulma shouted, "You show a little respect, asshole! You don't have a body anymore, understand? All you are to me right now is a series of ones and zeroes. Now, listen. I can't make any promises to you, but effectively, as of right now, for all intents and purposes, Ginyu, you are my prisoner."
She turned on the communications station, listening for a moment, but got nothing but static. Bulma shook her head in frustration and turned the station off. Mentally, she did some quick math in her head. If her calculations were right (and she was certain they were), then the magnetic storm would pass within a few hours, and full communication would be restored.
"Fine," Ginyu's voice responded, "I guess I'm at your mercy. It won't matter. Soon, Lord Freeza will –"
Bulma picked up a speaker and held it close to the microphone. The voice yelled in pain from the feedback.
"STOP!"
"From now on you'll call him 'Freeza'. He's not your lord anymore," Bulma said. She wondered just how Ginyu could actually feel pain, considering his complete lack of a nervous system. Bulma mused for a moment about just how insane her past experiences had been: The magical wish granting dragon, an old martial arts master over three hundred years old, a 'demon' that had been sealed into a rice cooker, even herself being turned into a carrot. Whatever had happened with Ginyu beat the hell out of her.
"FINE! As I was saying, Freeza will be back at the ship, and none of this will matter. Your own clock is ticking."
"That may be," Bulma said, "But if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me. I guess the question for you, Ginyu, is how much you value whatever this life is versus that of whatever efforts Freeza will make, if any, to free you. I suggest you ponder that for a while. If you're lucky, we'll speak again."
She unplugged the cable connecting the belt to the laptop.
Freeza stood over Nail, the Namekian trying to get back up, only for a swift kick to the side to put him back down. Freeza laughed.
"In a way, I do admire your courage and resolve. Even against a clearly superior foe, you don't give up," Freeza said, his tone almost jovial. It then switched to one more serious, "Now, I grow tired of the game, Namekian."
Nail rolled onto his back, looking up at Freeza. Freeza's eyes narrowed as a pained smile began forming on Nail's face. The Namekian laughed, quietly at first, but it quickly grew.
"What's so funny?" Freeza said, "I demand to know why you're laughing!"
Nail coughed, but continued, "You are blind, you monster. You truly believe that I betrayed my father, my brothers and my world. You did exactly what I needed you to do."
"What?" Freeza asked. Nail gritted his teeth and continued.
"The Grand Elder is safe for now, and as we speak, what will soon be the last Namekian is on his way to show the Earthlings how to use our Dragon Balls. You must be furious, thinking of all the time you wasted on us," Nail said.
Freeza's face turned into a terrible scowl, his fury building. It wasn't often that someone had been able to play him for a fool. The fury grew as he realized that there was no recourse. The Namekian before him would soon be dead, and if what he spoke was true, there was little point in returning to the Grand Elder, who would surely die out of spite before revealing how to use the Dragon Balls.
Nail coughed again, spitting up purple blood, "It isn't much, but this is my vengeance for my race. I will die satisfied knowing that your precious prize has been denied."
In his rage, Freeza fired a single Death Beam into Nail's chest. The Namekian stopped breathing, and out of anger and frustration gave the body a hard kick to the side for good measure. Freeza then looked at his hover chair. He walked over to it and picked it up, smashing it into pieces on the ground. Pressing a button on the side of his scouter, he took a reading, and saw far in the distance some scattered power levels. There were five in total, one reading alone over a hundred thousand. No doubt the Ginyu Force dispatched the Earthlings. I only have to find this damnable Namekian that holds the secret. Ginyu…did you really do such a foolish thing and dispatch him?!
Freeza took off, flying as fast as he could.
Raditz stopped for a moment, catching Dende by surprise. He thought he had heard something, but he wasn't quite sure.
"Why have we stopped?" Dende asked. Raditz pointed to his own scouter.
"This device also functions as a communicator. I thought I heard some kind of transmission on it. Everything's been quiet since before I found you," Raditz explained, but then he heard it again.
"...est City to Shenron…body there?"
Raditz recognized the staticy voice. It was Major Gold. He smiled, "Major, this is Raditz. Boy am I glad to hear you!"
"I…ead you. Pilaf…osting signal. Raditz? Raditz, this is Major Gold."
"That's much better," Raditz said.
"We finally managed to get our uplink back," the Major's voice said, "What is your status?"
Raditz sighed, "A while ago I had to split off from the others. Vegeta had cornered them, but I had to intercept a Namekian child. He understands how to activate the Dragon Balls."
"Understood. Do you have an ETA on that?"
"I have no idea," Raditz said.
"We're getting our satellite feedback now….Hang on. From what we can see, all the Dragon Balls are present in one location, and energy readings consistent with Bulma are around them. Due to the blackout we suffered, we're not positive on the other three readings."
"They're alive?!" Raditz asked. He was certain after what he heard, Vegeta would have killed them.
"Affirmative," the Major said, "We think some kind of magnetic storm is preventing direct communication on Namek, but we could try to relay a message back to them. Perhaps how to use the Dragon Balls?"
"Right, hang on," Raditz said. He looked at Dende.
"Dende, how do you use the Dragon Balls, what's the trick?"
"All you have to do is say, 'takkaraputo popurunga pupirittoparo' in the presence of all seven Dragon Balls. Then, Porunga, the Granter of Dreams, will appear and grant three wishes. Though he understands the common tongue that you speak, the wishes must be made in my language," Dende explained. Raditz's eyes widened and a grin formed on his face.
"Major! We get three wishes!" Raditz said. There was a brief moment.
"IN THE ARCTIC, NAKED, PILAF! THEY AREN'T FOR YOU! I'm sorry, Pilaf was just showing his excitement. If I can get through, I will tell them that. What about the pass phrase?"
"It's…" Raditz said. He took the scouter off and put it over Dende's face. The Namekian showed some discomfort. Raditz nodded, "It's okay, Dende. Just say what you told me, to use the Dragon Balls."
"Oh," Dende said, "'takkaraputo popurunga pupirittoparo',"
Raditz gave a nod and put the scouter back on. "Did you copy that, Major?"
"Takahata…what?! We'll have to play it back for Bulma. From what I understand, she can speak Namekian, so I'm sure it'll roll off her tongue a lot easier. When you get to her, tell her we are taking our positions in accordance with her directions."
Raditz wondered exactly what that meant. Thinking for a moment, he decided it had to do with some kind of wish she wanted to make on the Dragon Balls. Only one such wish that would require logistical support from the ground made sense to him. She wants to bring this 'Kami' and 'Piccolo' back, he thought. "Understood, Major. Keep trying, I'm sure you'll get through to her."
"Shut that little brat up, Raditz! You hear me? What is his name? Carrottop? SHUT UP AND STOP CRYING!" Vegeta yelled. The crying of the Saiyan child in front of him grew slightly subdued and Raditz went over to him.
"You should ease up on him, Vegeta," Nappa said, "He's fresh out of an incubation chamber. He just needs a little time to –"
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you, Nappa!" Vegeta said, "He's supposed to be on his way to Earth to conquer it for us! This is supposed to be an elite Saiyan squadron! Instead, I get some low level chump and his crying baby brother! What kind of joke is this?!""Vegeta, your father personally assigned Raditz –""It was a boon, Nappa! A favor because his father did his job! He should have used my father's favor to get him and whatever trash his mate is out of those mudholes the lower classes live in! These two should have died with the rest of them!"
"Ease up, Vegeta!" Raditz snapped back, "What about your brother? What if it was him crying?!"
"Tarble would know better than to sob like that, even if he is soft! What an embarrassment. He better not get in my way, Raditz! Nothing will stop me, do you understand? NOTHING!"
Vegeta adjusted himself as his dream continued. Worlds conquered, aliens being exterminated. Between that and forcing himself and his comrades to grovel before Freeza, it was the only life the Saiyan Prince had truly known. He saw himself, a red cape on the clasps of his shoulder armor, entering the royal palace, watched by what seemed like countless Saiyans. Waiting at the end of the long hall was Freeza, flanked as always by Dodoria and Zarbon. With two blasts he dispatched the lackeys, and with a third, easily destroyed Freeza as his subjects cheered, chanting his name as held up Freeza's head for all to see. And then two beings emerged, seemingly hidden; he barely recognized them, but the voice…what was it saying? He had heard the voice years before, his father groveling to…someone? Something about a pillow? It was so long ago that Vegeta couldn't even be sure.
The Prince's slumber continued, Vegeta blissfully unaware of the events transpiring around him…
Kakarot began an attack, with Bardock dodging each blow with ease. In spite of his instincts, he knew better than to counter-attack. Attacking was not the point, so his father said. The idea was that by strengthening fundamentals, a more solid foundation would be formed. Kakarot ramped up his attacks, the speed and intensity increasing. Gradually, Bardock felt his stamina waning. Every block or parry was taking more effort than the previous, and still Kakarot pressed even harder. Finally, Kakarot flew up in the sky, unleashing a powerful Galick Gun that overwhelmed Bardock.
Bardock opened his eyes, in front of him was the tank that held Kakarot, his father's eyes opening slowly. The child placed his hand on the tank, and Kakarot did likewise, the capsule itself a barrier to any contact. The two had been training. 'Image training' was what Kakarot had called it, the two stumbling on it while the king was teaching his son the secrets of hiding and sensing ki. While direct communication didn't seem to be yet possible, the two could spar without the need to hold back. Bardock turned as he heard the door to the medical bay open. Bulma walked in and took a look at Kakarot.
"How's he doing?" Bulma asked.
"I think Father is starting to feel better," Bardock replied. Bulma put her hand on the prince's shoulder.
"I'm sure he is. You dad is a really amazing guy, you know that?" Bulma said. Bardock focused for a moment.
"He's getting stronger," Bardock said, "I can feel it."
She looked at the tank, "You know, when we get back to Earth, you guys are going to have to show me that little trick to sensing energy. It might come in handy someday."
Bardock turned, focusing for a moment. The young prince mused for a moment that Bulma was more right than she realized as a small smile formed on his face, "You're right. Uncle Raditz is almost here!"
Bulma's eyes lit up, "Perfect! Quick, come on. Vegeta's resting right now. If we hurry we can use the Dragon Balls!"
They rushed out quickly, making sure not to make too much noise. Bulma knew that if Vegeta realized what had happened, there would definitely be hell to pay, but right now it was a risk that she was willing to take; with Kakarot recovering and Raditz's return, the odds were in their favor that they could get past another confrontation with the Saiyan Prince. Her larger concern was the knowledge that if they couldn't get out of their predicament, then Freeza would certainly kill all of them, and then whatever happened with Vegeta would be completely moot. As they rushed down the entrance ramp, Bulma pointed to the Dragon Balls, "Bring them over here! Hurry!"
Bulma and Bardock both picked up two of the artifacts as Raditz landed, setting Dende down.
"I'm so pleased to see all of you again, although I wish it didn't have to be like this," Dende said, "The Grand Elder is going to pass away very soon."
"Then we have to hurry," Bulma said, "Raditz, grab the last two. Dende, can you carry one?"
"I can," Dende said as he followed Raditz. Raditz picked up two of the last three, then shouted to Bulma.
"You're never going to believe this, Bulma," he said, "These Namekian Dragon Balls can actually grant three wishes!"
"Three?!" Bulma said, "Holy crap, I didn't even consider that! We can undo all the damage Freeza's done here!"
"No," Dende said, joining them, "While these Dragon Balls can bring a person back to life, they can only revive someone one at a time."
"Ah," Bulma said. She looked at Freeza's ship. Bulma knew it would probably be best to put as much feasible distance as possible between it and them in the event Vegeta realized what was happening, "Here, follow me. It's a safety precaution."
They flew off, landing a short distance away, setting the Dragon Balls down. Raditz spoke first, "Dende, do you want to do the honors?"
"Honors?" Dende asked, confused.
"I mean, would you summon the…Granter of Dreams?" Raditz asked.
Dende gave a nod, approaching the Dragon Balls. He held his arms outward.
"Wait a second," Bulma said, "Shit!"
"What?" Raditz asked, "We don't have much time!"
"No, you don't understand," Bulma said, "If we bring Kami back, then Piccolo comes back. I need to contact Earth to let them know we're using the Dragon Balls. I had a contingency in place to take care of Piccolo…"
"Ah," Raditz said, "Bulma, isn't your scouter working? They managed to get through to me. Weren't you listening?"
"I…" Bulma said, looking back at Freeza's ship. She lightly bit her lower lip in frustration, "...That magnetic storm was causing interference. I…muted the audio when all I had was static."
"What about the Dragon Suit?!" Raditz asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Look, something…happened to the Dragon Suit that I can't explain on any kind of level at all," Bulma replied, "I don't know how, I don't know why, but somehow Captain Ginyu swapped his body with the AI system I had, so now the damn thing is effectively bricked."
Raditz processed this for a moment. What did she mean by 'bricked'? And just what did Captain Ginyu have to do with it? The Saiyan decided that this was not the time for another argument with Bulma, and that more pressing matters were at hand.
"Fine, whatever, it's not important," Raditz said, "Anyway, Major Gold is enacting whatever your plan is."
"Oh, perfect," Bulma said, "No worries then. At least for Earth."
"What about the other wishes?" Bardock asked, "Dende, is it possible that we can make only a single wish?"
"Yes," Dende said, "You would only need to wait one-third of a year…I suppose a Namekian year, to be able to use the Dragon Balls once more."
Bulma sighed. For nine years, she had dreamed of the moment that Earth would get their Dragon Balls restored. The revelation of three wishes was not something she or anyone else could have ever anticipated.
"Alright," she said, "Any ideas?"
Raditz and Bardock just looked at her blankly while Dende patiently waited. "Fuck it, we'll wing it," Bulma said confidently, "Dende, go ahead."
Dende held his arms out and spoke, "Takkaraputo popurunga pupirittoparo!"
Bulma waited, and nothing happened. She frowned, "...Erm."
At that moment, the seven Dragon Balls began glowing, the sky growing darker, creating an almost false night in the skies above Namek.
"This…is supposed to happen, right?" Raditz asked.
Bulma nodded as a yellow-orange wave of energy shot up into the sky. Before them, an incredible creature emerged: Serpentine with green scales, massive, well defined arms, a soft white underside, a large fin in the back, and two large black horns growing out the shoulders. The head itself had four separate horns, but to Bulma, in spite of how incredibly alien the creature was, the solid red eyes seemed somewhat familiar, even comforting. This was without a doubt Namek's version of a dragon.
"This is Porunga," Dende said, his eyes wide at the sight, "In the common tongue, it means 'The God of Dreams'. I've…never seen him before."
"Incredible," Raditz said. Porunga spoke.
"You who have gathered the Dragon Balls and summoned me forth: Speak to me your heart's desire. As the Maker of Dreams, I will grant you any three wishes within my power."
"He speaks our language," Bulma said.
"Yes, but you must wish in Namekian," Dende said, "Please hurry…something evil is on it's way."
"Freeza," Raditz said, "Well, quickly, Bulma!"
"Right," Bulma said, "(Porunga, please return to life the Namekian on Earth that was known as Kami."
Porunga seemed to ponder this for a moment, "This is interesting. The one you call Kami has split his body from what he once was. I will need to restore both of them to life. As they were once one being, they share the same soul. Your wish shall be granted."
Porunga's eyes glowed. Bulma smiled and nodded.
Vegeta's eyes shot open. He could feel a massive power coming. Freeza! Vegeta thought, Damnit, we're all screwed! The Prince ran into the medical bay, looking at Kakarot, still in his pod. Shit! He still has a few minutes until he's completely restored! I hate the thought of it, but I have to get the others! He ran out, but stopped as he passed a window. The sky was dark. Vegeta blinked in confusion, Night time?! This planet is tidally locked. That's impossible! He shook his head, understanding that at this moment, whatever the phenomenon was, it did not matter. Vegeta rushed out of the ship, stopping as he looked at the empty hole of dirt, the Dragon Balls no longer where they had been set before. I KNEW IT! They betrayed me! He stopped as he looked in the distance, seeing an enormous monster in the distance. What the hell is that?! Is that…OH THOSE BASTARDS! That has to be this 'Shenlong' or whatever it was the woman called it!
Vegeta flew off towards it as fast as he could.
A green hand reached down and picked up a handful of dust, scattering it. A satisfied but malignant smile formed on the face of King Piccolo. In the distance, he saw a city and nodded.
"What a foolish thing to do," he said to himself. He laughed, "Revive that useless Kami. Did they not realize just what that would mean? Arrogant little ants."
"Actually, we did," a feminine voice said from behind him. A masculine voice spoke up.
"Piccolo, you are under arrest."
Piccolo turned and smirked. In front of him was a face he recognized: The girl who's friends he had slaughtered without mercy nine years before, now older. She wore a red gi, the markings on it still the same. Beside her was a large man with fiery red hair and an obvious military uniform, in his hand was no doubt some type of new sidearm they had developed. It worried Piccolo very little. Nothing could harm him.
"I remember you," Piccolo said, "So, have you come for vengeance? That one freak simply caught me off guard after he murdered my children. But he's not here now, is he? Just the two of you."
"Piccolo," Chi-Chi said with an air of formality in her voice, "As Regent, in the name of my husband, King Kakarot, Ruler of Earth, Lord of the Sol System and Champion of Humanity, for the crimes you committed, I, Chi-Chi, Queen of Planet Earth, sentence you to lifetime imprisonment."
"Oh, how cute," Piccolo said, "Of course, you must realize such a thing is futile, child. Yes, even now, you are still just that girl that watched her friends get destroyed, helpless to do anything. I'm not even sure we could call our encounter a fight."
"I'm not that girl anymore," Chi-Chi said, "You are going to receive justice for what you have done. It's more than you deserve. Nobody wants to see your head on a pike outside my palace more than I do, and the entire world deserves to see it, but you know why that can't happen. Now, surrender and leave with your dignity intact. If not…my companion here has the means to forcibly subdue you."
"Try it," Piccolo said. He launched into an attack, his eyes going wide as Chi-Chi leapt over him with a speed he hadn't seen before. He turned, firing off beams from his eyes, hitting nothing. He then felt a sharp pain on his torso, sending him to his knees.
"Now, do I have to 'try it'?" Chi-Chi asked, "I've become stronger than you can possibly comprehend. Now, I'll say it again. You can walk out of here our prisoner, or we can drag you out."
"Go to hell, bitch," Piccolo said, spitting up a wad of purple of blood. Chi-Chi looked at Major Gold.
"You may proceed, Major," she said.
The Major smiled as he took aim, "Gladly."
Right before everything went dark, Piccolo heard a high pitched whining followed by an incredible sensation as energy enveloped his body. He fell to the ground. Chi-Chi went over to him and tapped his body with her foot.
"How long is he going to be out?" she asked. The Major shrugged.
"At least a few hours," he said, "I had Launch test this on me."
He held up the pistol. Chi-Chi looked at it and gave an approving nod.
"Why you?" Chi-Chi said.
"I've…been training as well, your majesty," the Major replied, "It seemed to me like we would need someone comparable to Piccolo's power. If the last reading of me on a scouter was right, I'm at least three times what his own power is. Besides, as tempting as it was, I really couldn't volunteer Pilaf as a test subject, could I?"
Chi-Chi smirked at the thought. Pilaf's own intelligence was outdone perhaps by only Bulma and Dr. Briefs, and the long absent Dr. Gero. She couldn't believe Kakarot when he told her to spare him; the blue imp had been responsible for all of it in his own power mad rush, yet she did believe that there he had been genuine in his own remorse for his actions. Pilaf only wanted to rule the world, Piccolo was hellbent on destroying it.
"Take this…" she said, pausing, "...criminal, back to the palace, Major. I'll rejoin you later."
"Your highness?" the Major asked, confused.
"I have an old friend I need to see right now," Chi-Chi said. Major Gold nodded.
"It will be done, my queen," he said as Chi-Chi left. What in the world could be that important?
"Speak now your second wish," Porunga said. Bulma looked over at Raditz and Bardock.
"Uh, guys? Any ideas?" Bulma said.
"I don't…damnit, you're smart, think of something!" Raditz shouted, his heart rate accelerating. ANYTHING! That bastard's going to be here in less than a minute!
"Bulma!" Bardock said, pointing back towards the ship. She could make out Vegeta flying towards them.
"Oh, shit," she said, shaking her head. Having to deal with Freeza was bad enough. She was certain that the best way to describe Vegeta's mood would at the very least be 'pissed off'. If only we had more time…wait, that's it!
"Porunga!" Bulma shouted, "(For my second wish, relocate the creature known as Freeza as far away from us as you can!)"
There was a moment of hesitation, although Porunga did not give any indication of emotion towards it.
"It is not within my power to relocate him off this world, for Freeza's strength is too great. However, I can put him on the opposite side of where you now stand."
"That'll have to do!" Bulma said. Porunga remained silent, and then she remembered, "(Yes, do that!)"
Porunga's eyes glowed once more. Raditz breathed a sigh of relief, "We're not out of the woods yet, but at least it gives us a little bit of time. Just enough for…oh, great."
Vegeta landed, his face one of pure anger, "Just what the hell are you doing?!"
"Uh…" Bulma said.
"You fools!" Vegeta said, "Kakarot hasn't recovered, and Freeza's on his…"
Vegeta stopped, trying to sense his energy, "...way here. He was…"
"We wished him away," Bardock said, "To the other side of Namek."
Vegeta thought for a moment, but then his anger resumed, "Wished?! That's right! You promised me a wish! And now it's wasted!"
"Well, not exactly," Bulma said, "We've made two wishes. We have one more."
"Then you'll wish for me to be immortal! It's the only way we have to save ourselves from Freeza!" Vegeta said, holding out his arm, "Do it, or I will kill the Namekian child!"
"Easy, Vegeta," Raditz said, "Bardock…make the wish for immortality, understood?"
"I…think so," Bardock said. He looked up at Porunga and spoke, "Porunga, (for our third wish…I wish that you would make my father immortal.)"
At that moment, Porunga's eyes went dark, and the Maker of Dreams faded. The sky returned to normal, and the Dragon Balls fell to the ground, their familiar, colorful markings gone, replaced by plain stone.
"Did…did that work?" Vegeta asked. Dende fell to the ground, crying.
"No!" Dende said, "It's…it's the Grand Elder! He's passed on!"
Bulma kneeled down to comfort the child, while Vegeta grinded his teeth.
"So…" He said, "I was cheated."
"Vegeta," Raditz said, "Now is not the time for this. You heard Bardock, he said the wish. It was just bad timing, that's all."
"And if they had bothered to WAKE me," Vegeta said, his voice rising, "It wouldn't have mattered, would it? I'd be immortal, and Freeza would be bowing before me as we speak!"
"He's still on his way here, Vegeta!" Raditz reminded him, "Now, like it or not, we still have a huge, five hundred thousand power level problem we have to deal with, who's none to happy that we stole what he believed was his Dragon Balls! And you're just as complicit as we are!"
Vegeta thought for a moment, "We're not strong enough. I hate to admit this, but all of us have made tremendous gains since we've gotten here. It will make no difference against Freeza."
Bardock thought, his eyes lighting up, "But…what about that power Saiyans have? Where they get stronger?"
Raditz shook his head, "We don't have time to recover, Bardock. Your father used the last Senzu Beans to heal us, remember?"
"Oh," Bardock said, looking down sadly. Dende turned, wiping a tear away.
"Wait…did you say 'recover'?" he asked, "And Raditz, didn't you say to me earlier that your race gains strength if you are injured but don't die?"
"Yes," Raditz said.
"I…know how to heal," Dende said, "When the Grand Elder unlocked my potential…I knew things I never did."
Vegeta thought, "So...if I understand what the boy is saying, all we have to do is injure one another, have the little green guy…"
"My name is Dende," Dende said, but Vegeta ignored him.
"...Heal us, and basically exploit our own natural strength?"
"Do you have any better ideas?" Raditz said.
"No," Vegeta said, "But I will be first."
"Uh.." Raditz said, "I don't think so, Vegeta. We can't trust you."
"And I can trust you? The three of you conspired to use those Dragon Balls behind my back," Vegeta said, "How do I know you won't take the opportunity to kill me?"
"Because you said it yourself, Vegeta," Bulma said, "We're not murderers. Bardock should be first. You two are far stronger than he is anyway."
"Fine," Vegeta said, assuming a fighting stance, "Better guard yourself well, runt, this is gonna hurt!"
"No!" Raditz said, getting between Vegeta and Bardock, "Bulma, you do it! We can't risk anyone getting overzealous!"
"You want me to try and kill Bardock?!" Bulma said, "That's crazy!"
"Please, Bulma?" Bardock said, hardly believing the words coming out of his mouth, "I'm…not afraid. I won't even be mad at you. I promise."
Bulma shook her head, "You know, you Saiyans are all insane. I just want you to know that before we all brutally die at Freeza's hands. Okay, just uh.."
"Attack!" Vegeta said. Bulma rolled her eyes and did so, doing her best to push past Bardock's defenses, but to her surprise she couldn't. After a little bit of dodging and parrying, Vegeta had seen enough, jumping behind the child and delivering an energy blast, flooring the boy.
"Damnit!" Raditz said, "Vegeta, why couldn't you stay out of it?!"
"We don't have time!" Vegeta said as Dende went over to Bardock. He held his hands over him, and Bardock stood up.
"He's…he's okay!" Bulma said.
"Bardock, quick," Raditz said, pointing into the distance, "We need to see how strong you've gotten. See if you can blast that mountain."
"Actually, that looks more like a…" Bardock began.
"NOW!" Vegeta shouted. Bardock sighed and held his arm back. He thrusted it forward, and a huge blast of energy shot forward, blasting the mountain apart. Bardock's eyes went wide as he looked at his hand in shock.
"Perfect," Raditz said. If that's what he's gained, Vegeta and I are sure to be able to get enough power to stop Freeza! "Bardock, now, I want you to hurt me!"
Bardock turned, the look on the child's face slightly confused, "I…understand," he said with a reluctant tone.
"Wait, why you?" Vegeta asked.
"Call it 'insurance', Vegeta," Bulma said, "What's to stop you from getting your power and deciding you don't need us anymore?"
"Fine," Vegeta said, watching. Bardock launched forward, with Raditz not putting up any kind of a defense, easily taking every blow. Bardock then delivered a point black blast, sending Raditz flying back. Bardock looked shocked as Bulma and Dende went over to Raditz.
"He's hurt pretty bad," Bulma said. Dende held his hands out, and like Bardock, rose up. Raditz laughed.
Vegeta looked into the distance again, his face becoming distrubed, "Freeza's picking up speed! Hurry up already!"
"Oh, with pleasure," Raditz said, heading over to Vegeta and hitting him hard over head with a hammer blow, sending the Prince down onto the ground. Vegeta groaned in pain.
"Dende," Raditz said, pointing to him. Dende went over and looked at Vegeta, and sighed.
"I cannot do this, Raditz," Dende said.
"What?" Raditz asked.
"He destroyed an entire village. My brothers…this Saiyan has an evil heart, Raditz," Dende said.
"Look, I understand," Raditz said, "Vegeta, Kakarot and I had to do terrible things. And I know you want nothing more than to see Vegeta face justice for what he's done. But right now, something far worse is coming. And I know that you want to see Freeza pay even more than Vegeta. First Freeza, Dende, then we will see to Vegeta."
Dende sighed once more, "I hope you are right."
Dende held his hands up as Vegeta sat up, glaring angrily at Dende.
"I should kill you now for that," Vegeta said.
"Hey, how about a little gratitude?" Bulma said, "He didn't even want to."
"And he was willing to let me die," Vegeta said, "He's served his purpose. The Dragon Balls are no more."
"No!" Raditz said, "Damnit, can't you see past this crap?!"
Vegeta took a battle stance, making his intent clear, but stopped as he turned around. Raditz, Bulma, Dende and Bardock all looked up, terror in their eyes at what they saw. Raditz and Dende had seen it before, but for Bardock and Bulma, it was knew: Purple battle armor with golden trim, a round head of white and purple with two large black horns, a long, menacing looking tail and salmon colored skin. For Bardock, what stood out of the most to him was the eyes. Terrible, red eyes staring at them. Eyes that Bardock had seen only in his dreams, now facing him in reality There was no doubt for Bardock and Bulma that this was Freeza. The furious look on his face turned into a sinister smile as his eyes narrowed.
"Hello, monkeys!" Freeza said. The tone was not inviting at all. Freeza landed, the smile still on his face, staring at all them.
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OF DRAGON BALL CD
The moment of reckoning arrives! Freeza, the terror of the known universe, now stands before Raditz, Vegeta, Bardock, Bulma and Dende, and is certain to unleash his great anger and wrath against them for undermining his efforts to use the now inert Namekian Dragon Balls. Will the new strength of the Saiyans be enough to stop them? Can Kakarot recover before all is lost? Find out as the adventure continues in 'Freeza's Terrible Wrath / The Saiyan's Strength Revealed' in Chapter Six of Dragon Ball CD.
AFTERTHOUGHT
Alright, so it's a bit longer than I wanted, but I'm fine with that. There was a lot that I wanted to get out of the way in this chapter, and I really wanted to finish it up with Freeza's arrival.
Now, let me stop you there. "Oh, why would they use the Dragon Balls to send Freeza to the otherside of the world?" Well, simply put, when it came to using wish #2, I was in a bit of a fix. Nobody can be revived, and for the second wish, I basically came up with two other possibilities: The first is that Guru dies before then, and the second is to wish everyone off of Namek except Freeza. I thought that'd be a nice curveball to throw, but it creates it's own problems later. Not to mention all those dreams Bardock has about seeing Vegeta and Raditz dead on Namek, so yeah. Aside from that, absurd things do happen in Dragon Ball. Krillin was able to beat Bacterian because Goku pointed out that Krillin lacked a nose. The Ginyu Force, Freeza's most feared warriors, had goofy backstories - Recoome did ballet, Jeice played Little League, Burter did his chores really fast, Guldo ate a ton of a 'chili burgers' and Ginyu swapped his body out with a rich kid when he was a kid.
Speaking of Ginyu, the same idea of the absurdities applies to his predicament. I want to credit MasakoX for the inspiration (What if Bulma Trained?) of Ginyu being stuck in the Dragon Suit. I like the overall concept, but I'm going to try to take it in a different direction.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, if you have any questions etc, please let me know, I'm always happy to answer them.