The Soul and The Flesh~Frieza Saga Part II "Wow, Bulma, you sure this thing can really fly into space?" Kurilin said, as he looked the funny looking ship over. Bulma humphed angrily; she hadn't gotten much sleep in the last ten days, and was VERY grumpy because of it. Only Raimi was somewhat spared from her razor tongue.

"Ha! What a nice "space suit" you have Kurilin! Are you sure you are ready for outer space, dressed like that? I even cut my hair so I could wear a space suit more comfortably." Kurilin wisely didn't point out that Raimi still wore her yard-long hair uncut.
"And just where is Gohan?" She snapped, wanting to take off quickly. She'd waited too long already to get Yamcha back.

"Oh, they called, and wanted to see Goku once more before Gohan leaves. They'll be here soon. Say, should we bring an umbrella? It might be rainy up there on Namek." Bulma rolled her eyes at this silliness. Raimi shook her head. "Namek is always sunny and warm. No need for an umbrella, but you might want some sunscreen." She said calmly. She was itching to go too, actually. Her stomach was full of butterflies, but she didn't know why. Just then Roshi saw Chi-Chi's aircar coming in for a landing.

"Hoo-wee. So this is the spaceship? Wow!" Gyu-Mao said as he stepped out of the 'car. Chi-Chi fussed over Gohan, who seemed reluctant to come out. Finally he emerged, and everyone was hard put not to laugh at the poor child. His once long and wild hair was cut into a bowl cut and slicked down with gel. He wore shorts and a little suit coat, with a bowtie. He looked so ridiculous, that Raimi had to turn her back so she wouldn't bust up right there. Kurilin was much less sensitive.

"Ha ha ha ha! Are you really Gohan? What happened to your head?" He gasped between chuckles.
"Dad laughed too... " Gohan sighed.
"You're going into space, where no man has gone before. You must be on your best behavior, and make us proud!" Chi-Chi said happily. Bulma sighed as she saw all the junk Chi-Chi had packed for her son. She and Raimi had only brought a few things, despite Mrs. Briefs protests that "Her girls" had to look nice out there. She sat limply by the ship and mumbled about being washed out.

"Now then Kurilin! We are counting on you to find those Dragonballs!" Master Roshi said. Kurilin shook hands with his master and nodded, his face determined. Raimi and the others got onto the lift and waited as Gohan said goodbye to everyone. Bulma growled the magic word: Piccolo. Kurilin and Gohan gaped as the lift brought them up into the ship. Raimi and Bulma set off to the control panel while the guys looked about like bumpkins.

"Will you two hurry and sit? I wanna go!" Bulma snapped as she sat in her chair. Raimi sat in her chair (Added for her since the ship only had three originally) and strapped herself in. The guys typically, stared at Bulma, who ignoring their safety spat the command to take off in Namek. The ship took off at horrendous speed, dragging them all into their seats with the force of six G's. After a few seconds (Looooong seconds!) The gravity returned to normal, and Bulma stood.
"Ok, get up if you want." She said snidely. Gohan and Kurilin looked very rattled by the take-off. Bulma sniffed and moved the back of the ship.

"Hey, uh, where are you going?" Kurilin asked. Bulma turned and declared that she was going to change. Raimi got up as well; she wanted to change into something more comfortable too. When she and Bulma emerged, they saw that Gohan was dressed like Piccolo. Kurilin looked up at Bulma and Raimi and blinked. Bulma wore a black stretch suit, copied from Raimi's antique Saiyan suit, and a suede tunic with a belt at her waist. She also wore the uniquely Capsule Corp boots. Raimi wore a cute little suit, which looked basically like the kind the Sailor Senshi wore in her old life, with a tightly fitted top and her rib/back brace over it, short skirt, and tights, but no bows or kerchiefs and long sleeves. She would have worn boots, but in the ship there was no need, so she wore her new Kinese slippers. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that fell down her back. They both looked pretty, though Bulma's face was remote and serious.

"Um, those are strange pajamas, guys... " Kurilin said.
"Yeah, you really gonna sleep in those outfits?" Gohan asked. Now even Raimi was annoyed, but didn't say anything. "Oh course they're not pajamas! I for one felt strange for being so prepared for space, since you two didn't seem to care!" Bulma snarled. Raimi raised an eyebrow at them, shaking her head...
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One week later, they were VERY bored. Kurilin and Gohan spent most of the time image training, fighting psychically. Raimi meditated a lot, and exercised alone, with a special gravity enhancer on her brace (Dr. Briefs was really quite the genius, and very kind too, to make so many goodies for Raimi so quickly) Bulma, however had almost nothing to do. She'd exhausted her DVD supply, and her CDs as well. She couldn't read the martial art treatises Raimi had (She just fell asleep when she tried) so she pestered everyone for the fun of it.

Sometimes, Raimi could be convinced to sing for them, as she had been found to possess a very nice voice, much to everyone's surprise. She knew many of the songs Bulma had along, but half of them she knew with different words, because of her strange origin. Still it was fun to do Karaoke out in space.

However, Raimi was lost in thought right then. She was peripherally aware of Bulma watching Gohan and Kurilin training at the moment. She was also amused by Bulma's lack of modesty: she was attired in a black tank top and pink panties at the moment. Raimi was dressed in her gi with Kami-sama's kanji on it.
With a gasp, both guys broke off their psychic spar, and sat panting. They praised each other as usual; both please with his partner's performance.

"Say, training in your mind is very nice and all, but this place is really messy! Could you two clean it up? There are ladies present." Bulma said as she sipped her soda.
"But, you made the mess, Bulma. We cleaned our mess already... " Kurilin asked.
"I'm busy here! I have soooo much to think about. All you guys have to do is sit there." Bulma said reasonably. "But, I thought you said you're bored... " Kurilin tried again.

"Aw, shut up already! Can't you be considerate to a delicate lady?" She turned and wandered over to Raimi, who was slipping into a nice no-mind state, and wasn't really paying attention, that is until she heard Bulma say, "I wonder, where did that Vegeta go?" The conversation continued, but Raimi found herself seeking and then finding the dim flicker of the Princes mind, possibly triggered by Bulma's comment about him. She felt him, sleeping deeply, lost in an endless dream-loop of his defeat to the earth's Senshi. He twitched and groaned, tortured by his own obsession with "Kakarrot". She jerked slightly, and also moaned the name, making her companions notice her. Gohan trotted over, and shook her shoulder, but she didn't wake. All three of them stared at her, worried.

"Um, what should we do, Kurilin?" Bulma asked. Kurilin lifted one of Raimi's eyelids, and saw that her eyes were rolled all the way back, a sign of a deep trance.
"There's nothing to do. She should come out of it when she is ready. We'll keep an eye on her though... "
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Deep in space, not too far from their destination, a small planet was the current favored home of a tyrant. It wasn't the first planet so favored, as it's name implied: Frieza 79. On this day, the soldiers were about to receive an unexpected guest.
Alarms pealed a warning; an unauthorized ship was approaching. The soldiers scrambled, trying to identify the passenger of the pod. Quickly it was realized that it was a combat model, and they all sighed in relief. At least it wasn't the tyrant come back so soon.

"Hey, it's Vegeta-sama!" A human-like man said. He and his station mate looked at each other, concerned. The amphibian type partner gulped nervously.
"But, we weren't informed of his return. Did something happen?"

"No point in taking a chance," The man said. "This is the control room! Vegeta-sama is arriving, send out a reception party!" He looked up and watched the pod scream down to the pad made to catch it. Outside, the small party waited nervously. Vegeta was too touchy, and as the favorite of Frieza, was never punished for killing anyone he chose to. However, it was apparent that something was wrong immediately.

"There is only one pod! Where is Nappa-san?" One short scaly guy asked. No one answered. The pod landed with a smack, and they snapped to attention. And stood for a few long minutes before they realized that Vegeta wasn't coming out.
"His life signs are very low... " Scaly said as he punched his scouter. They came closer, and peered into the small window, and were shocked to see that the Prince was hooked up to the life support, and was beaten to a pulp.

"Oh no! Quick, get him to the treatment center, stat!" The med robots appeared and whisked the broken Saiyan away...
Vegeta was awake, and fuming with anger at having these underlings see him in such a state. His eye was cracked open; he saw their amazed faces, and was too weak to even growl in defiance. As they moved the pod into the med lift, he let himself fade into unconsciousness...
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With a gasp, Raimi jerked awake. She leapt up and slapped her hand to her right eye. Kurilin woke up from his sleep, and saw her looking around, apparently confused. He got up and shook her.

"Raimi! Wake up, you're on the ship, remember?" She was gulping air and shivering, but seemed to be remembering where she was. She looked down at herself and saw that she wasn't sitting naked in an Isolation-Chamber, wasn't on the edge of death, wounded grievously. That was what was happening to Vegeta right now... Raimi shook her head and looked at Kurilin.

"I was... I saw... Oh, I can't even tell you. It was so strange... How long have I been out?"
"Almost two days. You kept mumbling that other name of Goku's, and jerking like you were hurting... are you sure you are ok?" He asked. She tried to stand, but felt very weak. She laughed and sighed.

"I'm fine, but I'm starving... Wanna eat with me?" He declined to eat, but sat and had some soda as she ate. She finally decided to tell him what she'd seen. He was amazed.
"You mean you saw, and even felt Vegeta's experience?" Raimi shrugged.

"I already knew what was going to happen, and even had a rough timeline worked out in my head. I just don't know why or how I found him. I don't like it, he doesn't deserve my tender emotions, but," she sipped her soda and looked intently at Kurilin, "I felt his fear and sorrow at this defeat. Oh, I know what we would have lost if he'd won! But, Vegeta has nothing left, only his pride. His title is empty, his empire gone; he is as much a slave as he wished to make us. And... he reminds me of his father, they were both so... " She stopped, unable to finish, to say what she felt.
Instead of pestering her about it, Kurilin asked her about her training on Vegeta-sei, and for once, she spoke of it. She talked for a while, and they fell asleep. The next day she talked more about it, and her stories helped pass the time, as well as educate them on the adversary they considered to be the most deadly they would face. Raimi was too frightened of the real threat to speak of him, and felt more and more nervous as they approached Namek.
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One night, almost two weeks later, Raimi dreamt that Vegeta was healed, at least physically. He was released from the Iso-tank and dressed himself in new armor. After a short argument with a purple squid-guy, who Raimi knew to be Kiwi, he headed out for Namek. She woke up and dressed herself once more in her black fuku, and packed a special capsule case with her armor, some food, and other essential supplies. She sat and stared out the window, counting the days since they had left.

"Thirty-four days. And now we enter merrily to Hell... " She felt a sharp pang of remorse for her poor companions. They had grown closer in this month, and she didn't want to see them hurt, but knew that all of them would suffer terribly in the next seven days. She even had a feeling that she wasn't going to live through this one, but that hardly mattered to her. Keeping Gohan and Bulma alive was the most important thing to her. She and Kurilin were warriors, and they would face this as warriors should, but for all his power, Gohan was still so young, and Bulma was weak and helpless. Well, Bulma could flay a man to the quick with her tongue, but that wouldn't work on the evil they were up against, not at all...
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Vegeta was tapping his fingers impatiently on his thigh as he finally saw Namek come into view. He slid his scouter off his head and sneered at the planets green face. He'd read the info on Namek, and found it to be useless for anything other than target practice. Frieza was sure to have agreed, and was probably blasting the Namekian populous to bits even then... But Vegeta wasn't worried about the Nameks; he needed to worry about Kiwi, who was on his tail, and closing fast.