"…His tail. His weakness is his tail. And if he has the same weakness I had, then…all I have to do is crush it, and his power will drop." Goku said grimly, ignoring the question. They would have to get the answers later, if there was time.
"That's great but how will you get to it? I guarantee that he guards it closely." Raimi said. Goku nodded, and laughed mirthlessly.
"I can't. That is, not by myself." He said, his eyes resting on Kurilin. Kurilin gulped nervously.
"Now we're talkin'! Don' you worry son, we'll help th' best we can." Master Roshi declared. He seemed eager for the fray.
"Course, no one knows the whereabouts of Tenshinhan or Yamcha, but if the three of us fight together…" Kurilin said, then whispered, "We're all gonna die." Then he turned to Bulma, and smiled.
"But, hey! If we all buy it, Bulma can use the Dragonballs to bring us back, right?" Bulma nodded. The Mystical Dragonballs, all seven of which were scattered across the Earth, could indeed be used to revive the dead if one wished for it.
"Don't mention it!" Bulma said. Raimi smiled sadly at this. She knew the truth was not so inspiring. Sure enough, Goku stopped them.
"No, Kurilin, she can't. I found out that Shenlong never grants the same wish twice…and you and Master Roshi have already been brought back to life. This time, death means death for real!" Goku told them. They stared silently at him, once again worried.
"I, uh…wow…really?" Kurilin said finally.
You'll still help me though, right?" Goku asked.
"Of course we will, eh Kurilin?" Roshi said.
"S-sure, w-wi-without a m-muh-moment's doubt!" Kurilin reluctantly stuttered.
"Hey! Speaking of Dragonballs, how's this for an idea? Why don't we get all seven, and tell Shenlong to save the world, or something?" Bulma asked, feeling clever, especially when Kurilin called her a genius.
"Uh, excuse me, but, you can't gather them all in one day. And didn't Gohan have one with him? Raditz won't just let you drop by and get it, you know." Raimi pointed out. Bulma glared at her.
"And how could you know all that, huh? I'm not sure if we should trust you at all." Bulma snapped.
"I told you, I read, and watched all of this a long time ago, so I know some of this. But, some of the details are not too fresh in my mind." Raimi snapped back, not concerned with their trust. Goku raised a hand.
"I'm telling you guys we can trust her, Okay? I know her somehow. So please, let's listen to her advice when it's offered. Now then. He won't be expecting an attack. We should be able to catch him off guard, no problem. Bulma, you still carry the Dragonball radar?" Goku said, ready to go. They all gathered around and looked at it, then sighed with relief when the readout showed Gohan's ball moving then stopping, still on Earth, but far to the west. "Great! We may even have a chance of winning this thing!"
"Not much of a chance, but…" Kurilin said.
"Always better t' die feelin' optimistic, or so I always say…" Roshi mumbled, bracing for battle. Goku was itching to leave right then, to find Raditz and save Gohan.
"Patience, Goku. Raditz isn't going to leave just yet. He doesn't really want Gohan, he wants you. He wants to kill you, especially since you are a traitor to the Saiyan race." Raimi said as she peered at the screen of the Dragon-radar, amazed. This was a legendary item to the fans of this story, almost like a holy relic. She was oblivious to the amazed and worried stares of the others at her words.
"It won't do you any good, you are all too weak." The new voice was raspy and angry. Piccolo had just revealed himself, stepping out from behind the house.
Raimi turned and looked closely at him, since she hadn't done so before, amazed at how Piccolo looked as a real, flesh and blood being. He was tall, taller than Goku, and powerfully built, with green skin, no hair, and antennae, (which were covered by his turban at the moment). His ears were large and pointed, and his arms and legs had large areas of pink skin, with a different texture than the rest of his skin seemed to have. He was dressed for the desert, and was actually kind of attractive, in an alien sort of way. How could anyone not realize that this man was from another planet?
"Gah! It is Piccolo!" Roshi gasped. Bulma and Kurilin shivered in fear.
Piccolo had met the evil Raditz earlier. Raditz's' scouter, a device he carried which read the power level, or Chi, of any person he looked at, had mistaken Piccolo for Goku, whom Raditz knew as Kakarrot.
"And what the hell are you doing here?" Goku demanded, angry at this distraction. His friendly demeanor vanished at the sight of his archenemy. He and his friends had suffered terribly at Piccolo's hands in years past.
"I…want him." Piccolo said evenly.
"You two know each other, huh? Figures…" Goku sighed.
"He and I have…met. You three haven't got a prayer against him. You have to trust in me, or all is lost. His strength surpasses that of you or I…alone, we are equally out matched, together however, our powers may prove just strong enough!" Piccolo said.
"Hmmm, could be. Mind telling me what's in it for you?" Goku asked, wary. The others didn't seem to like this at all. Even Raimi was nervous about the Demon King.
"I bear you no affection, that is true. Whether your son lives or dies is a matter beneath my notice, but I have plans for this world. And I'll allow no one to interfere!" He clenched his four-fingered hand into a fist. "The moment this mangy Saiyan is destroyed, I turn my powers on you, and this time…" His smile was cold as ice. "The Earth shall be mine!"
"You're welcome to try. I intend to play along until my son is safe, after that, though, all bets are off!" Goku smiled just as coldly. Raimi's eyes narrowed. This "real life" Goku was different from the one she remembered seeing and reading about. He was more focused, less easy going. Also his dislike of Piccolo was very evident here. He had only been careful around Piccolo, and even seemed to like him, but here he seemed to be itching to fight the Demon-King.
"So be it. I can stand being around you, if you can stand being around me! By the way, who is this girl with all this power?" Piccolo said. Goku turned to Raimi, ignoring the question.
"Hey, you should go too!" he said to her. Everyone gasped; going with Piccolo was bad enough, but taking this stranger really seemed crazy. Then Roshi, Kurilin and Piccolo really looked at her, feeling her Chi. They were surprised at just how powerful she was. The tiny demonstration with the handshake was not proof of true power, but still…Raimi thought about it. This was just a dream, after all. She would just love to see this fight in "real life," and if she was as powerful as Piccolo was mumbling about, maybe she could help, after all.
"Okay, I'll go. The best plan is to try to get Gohan away from Raditz as quickly as possible." She said. There was a general cry of confusion, and then Goku yelled for quiet.
"That's enough! I'll take her, Piccolo," he announced. Bulma gave him the Dragon Radar, to help in finding Gohan, who had a Dragonball on his hat. Hopefully, the boy still had his hat.
"Kinto'un!!" Goku yelled. Raimi gasped as Kin-to'un, a golden cloud in appearance, dropped towards Goku and herself. Suddenly, Goku grabbed her waist and hauled her up onto the Nimbus, which took off at breakneck speed. Raimi barely heard the calls of good luck from Goku's friends. She was stiff and nervous as she stood in front of Goku on the golden puff. It suddenly occurred to her that only those with pure hearts and good intent could even stand on Kin-to'un. Well, at least it had proven her honesty. She nearly tumbled off when the cloud really took off, putting its former speed to shame. Piccolo flew beside them, lost in thought.
