Chapter 2: Guest
Gohan landed on the ground even though he was still trying to fly. He looked behind him for the others and panicked for just a second when he didn't see them. No matter, really, nothing lived on Snakeway and the only thing you had to watch out for was that you didn't fall off the road.
Still, he might as well get some sleep so the others could catch up...
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/Namek,/ Piccolo thought, /I'm really going to Namek./ The thought filled him with joy, but it also scared him. Would his people accept some one like him? That thought unsteadied him so much he nearly lost his concentration and fell to the floor below him, and at twenty-five times normal gravity that would hurt even him.
No, it was best not to think of that sort of thing right now. It would be better to concentrate on why he was going. Vegeta would pay for what he'd done. Of course, for him to pay Piccolo would have to be stronger.
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Krillin pounded his hand into the punching bag he'd asked Piccolo to make. It felt like he was hitting a rock, but he knew that wasn't right because it didn't shatter. Instead, the bag swayed a few inches then stopped. Krillin continued to execute combos on the bag, all of them having little effect. He kicked it a few times, but raising his legs that high in this gravity would cramp them up very quickly.
This punching bag thingy was impressive. It was suspended by some sort of blue chain and that was suspended on nothing. Piccolo hadn't bothered to tell him how, and since he'd been exposed to much weirder things in his time than a "magic punching bag", he didn't ask.
Finally, he decided he had warmed up enough and started to deliver the punches he would use in battle. The air cracked and the bag seemed to bend over double when he let loose with his right hook, and do the same thing in the opposite direction with his left. But each time it came to a stop, quivered a little, then was motionless.
Krillin then turned up the pace. Flaring up his aura, he punched with all the force he could muster, sending it swinging at the end of its chain, then phased up and delivered a roundhouse kick. Soon, the only thing visible was a orange blur moving around in what looked like a tornado without a tail.
Of course, one couldn't keep this kind of pace for long and soon Krillin had to stop to catch his breath. Maybe he could get a bite to eat while he was at it. He started to leave the training room when Piccolo spoke to him.
"Fight a enemy that's faster than you that way and you'll be dead."
"Thanks for the tip." Krillin replied, not daring to make his voice sarcastic.
Krillin walked to the "kitchen", a ice chest and a backpack stuffed with food, pans, silverware and other things he'd brought for himself. He poured some water into the pan in from the wall (Piccolo had shown him how, though he didn't bother to until he was practically dehydrated) and boiled it with his ki. Once the water was bubbling up, he tossed in the noodles and began to stir with his chopsticks. When it softened, he poured in the seasoning, stirred that up, then to top it off he put in five shakes of white pepper for flavor. He started to eat without even bothering to take it out of the pan, started to eat. /Think I've been around Goku to long./ He thought with a smile..
He drained the rest of the soup in his mouth and got out a book, to tired to go back to training and also to tired to get to his room sleep.
However, he kept reading the same line over and over again and soon he threw it against the wall. There was nothing to do on this stupid spaceship! The sooner they got to Namek, the better!
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Cherie didn't like the outside. It was cold and empty, and if you fell off, you either died or you were stuck in one of the worst places in the universe. That was why when her mistress had asked her to go and fetch the boy that had fallen asleep on her road, she nearly fainted.
Still, she was loyal and the pay was good, so she left the palace and stepped onto the road, shortly before falling to all fours and crawling to the boy. The yellow clouds just added to the sense of height and made the hairs on her back rise and her back as stiff as a board as she crawled to the boy. Finally, after crawling for a half a mile, she reached the boy.
However, she didn't see how she'd carry him. Seeing no other course, she decided to try a more forceful approach.
"Hey! Wake up!"
When that had no effect, she slapped him across the face lightly.
Instantly, the boy was on his feet and had his hands around her throat. Seeing it wasn't Nappa, as he had dreamed, Gohan quickly released his grip and apologized.
"Who do you think you are?" Cherie said as she rubbed her neck. She expected a bonus for this. Maybe her mistress would let her have his whole left hand.
"I said I was sorry, and I really am, Maim. If you don't want me to sleep on your road I'll just move on." Gohan said, preparing to take off. The rest seemed to have done him some good, though he was still hungry.
"What? Uh, no, you can't. You see, that's why I came out here. My mistress has a custom of giving a feast and then a night's lodging to whoever comes across her road. Only an idiot could refuse an offer like that, right?"
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Goku sneezed.
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"Food and a bed!?"
"Yes, now please follow me." Cherie breathed in and out deeply as she tried to keep her composure walking on the road. It was hard enough crawling, but walking! How did people manage it?!
As Gohan followed her, he decided, through the influence of the promise of food and a real bed, he would wait for the others to catch up with him. His stomach growled, startling the lady in front of him. /Now why is it that that sound seems familiar?/ Cherie thought.
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The ship entered the atmosphere so fast the air seemed to ripple like a pebble thrown into a pond for miles, yet the ship wasn't fazed at all. Krillin watched out of the window as the blackness of space turned red-hot. He floated up a little to get a view of the ground below and felt his hairs stand on end when he saw how close they were. Closing his eyes, he braced himself for impact.
It never came; instead, about a thousand feet from the ground, the ship somehow killed its momentum in a spiral. The landing was as soft as a feather and left him a bit disappointed.
Krillin took his hands off the rail, rubbed them because he'd squeezed them so tight, then winced when he saw what he'd done to the railing. /I hope Piccolo doesn't see that./
He looked out the window again, and he saw a site that made him want to hurl and he resisted the urge only with the thought of what Piccolo would say.
Outside, the body of people that had to be Nameks laid strewn across the ground. The village was completely destroyed, the corpses littered the blackened ground. Krillin pieced together what must of happened. /Vegeta was here. He must of come in here with a bunch of his goons looking for a dragonball. The Nameks came out and banded together, but were killed. Simple enough./
Krillin nearly banged his head on the ceiling when he saw a caped figure moving to the seen, then reprimanded himself. Of course Piccolo would go out to see what had happened for himself. Come to think of it, he might as well get out there for himself. Fresh air would be good. The thought of the Namek's corpses returned. Maybe he would stay inside a bit longer.
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Piccolo was angry. Angrier than he'd ever been. Even the time he'd been ashamed by Goku in the Budokai didn't come close to this fire he felt in his chest. He slammed the ground with his fist, sending shock waves out from him. If he had been here a day sooner, if he had gone straight to Namek...What, he would have died? A little voice inside his head said.
Yes! But at least it would have been in the defense of his people! He thought back.
What good to those alive is he dead? How will that help Gohan?
He knew that, but he hated it nonetheless. He wanted to scream, he wanted fight someone, he wanted a release! And then it happened.
Tears of unsalted water started flowing down his face. Already they fell unheeded into the ground. /I'm crying.../ So this was what it was like. It felt good. Still, it felt to weak. Weak people cried. Goku hadn't cried at the death of his son, and he wouldn't cry for the death of his people. He leapt to his feet and burned the tears clear off his face with a burst of ki.
Crying wouldn't help. He would track Vegeta down and he would kill him. Not in revenge though. It would be in the defense of his people. This time, he would be there. He flew into in the ship, muttered the command for sealing it, then went to the control room.
Soon, he had the locations of every dragonball on the planet. Two were grouped together and the rest were spread around the planet. Good, now he just had to find the strongest power which would be Vegeta's. When he saw the powerlevals on the screen, he felt, for the first time in his life, scared.
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The boy, what was his name? Gohan, he had said his name was Gohan. The boy, Gohan, had eaten a quarter of the food in the pantry, run around the castle so much no matter where you went you could still smell his "unique" scent, and he was still not tired.
Hebi Hime, the Snake Princess, bit down on her tongue as she sat down for another meal with the boy.
"So Gohan, you really going to meet the Northern Kaio?" She said in her most sociable voice.
"Uh huh, my dad went there a while back and he became real strong and I want to be real strong like him! Are you sure it's okay for me to be eating all this?" The boy said, she noticed in disgust, with his mouth full. Wait, what had he just said!?
"Yes, yes, eat all you want. Y-your father? Goku?"
"Hey yeah...How did you know that?"
"He came here too." Yes, she thought he looked familiar; he was the boy of Goku's dream. The one that made him leave. She would definitely get him for that. Eating a body with a ki like Goku's would have been wonderful. This boy's ki was even larger than Goku's though. That made it so much the better, but she also had to be that much more careful. No sleeping grass this time. No matter, he must go to sleep sometime.
An then the feast would begin. At that, she smiled wide, showing off her perfect teeth with small fangs.
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"S-someone stronger than Vegeta!" Krillin said, feeling a bit faint at the thought. A lump suddenly appeared in his stomach
"Yes." Piccolo said
"W-well, what are we going to do?"
"We will gather as many dragonballs as we can, evacuate the survivors to a safe haven, and try to avoid contact with Freeza unless absolutely necessary."
"Then what? We can't make a wish with only a handful of Dragonballs. What are we going to do?"
Surprisingly, Piccolo looked away from Krillin, "Worry about that when we get there. For now, concentrate on what I've told you."
Krillin wondered what on Earth, or Namek for that matter, Piccolo was thinking.
"Wait. What about Vegeta. Is he here?"
"Yes, but not for long. I'm going to go and kill him right now. Guard the ship."
"What!?"
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Finally, the boy had gone to sleep. In fact, she herself was exhausted. /Maybe I'll kill him, go to bed, and then have him for breakfast./ She thought as she stood in front of the door leading to Gohan's room.
Silently, after all it had been designed that way, the door opened. She had blown out the magic torches in the hall so no light flooded in to wake the boy. On tiptoe, she made her way to him, a thin knife in her hand. One quick stab to heart and then she would leave the mess to her staff.
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Gohan was about to be blasted into oblivion by Nappa when he woke. His breath came out in a gasp as he rose up in the total darkness. /Only a nightmare,/ he told himself as he tried to lay down. But for some reason, his back was still stiff. Someone was in the room. He heard their heartbeat.
Gohan put his hands together and poured as small bit of ki into them, filling to room with light. He saw the Snake Princess; he saw the knife.
"You were going to kill me?!" Gohan said, puzzled.
"Hmpf. Yes I was. Would of served you right, eating all my food, stinking up the place. Your just like your father! He didn't have any manners either."
Gohan found himself blushing. She had just tried to pierce his heart with a knife, and he was blushing like a child with his hand in the cookie jar!
"I-I'll just leave now." He said, getting out of bed.
"Leave! No way! You see, in addition to this form, I have another. Your father was able to avoid it, but I won't make the same mistake twice!"
Gohan fell to the ground, the now soft and acidic ground, then raised his hands from the floor. They burned as if he had put them in a furnace! Firing up his ki, he flew through the tunnel. Suddenly, the tunnel turned and he nearly went straight into the wall.
Stopping in the air, he tried to just blast through the wall, but that didn't work. His ki just went into the wall then disappeared. The Snake Princess' voice spoke inside his head.
::That was delicious. Ohh, you were worth the effort. I think your energy will keep me full for another millennia or so!::
Gohan fired down the tunnel at mach 4, throwing up his aura for protection. The first time he hit the wall, he thought his forearms would burn straight to the bone. Seeing his aura wouldn't work, he dropped it and continued on.
When he finally reached the end, he plowed his fist into the teeth and was rewarded with it shattering. Squeezing through, he landed on the road a hundred feet down and ran until his feet reached terminal velocity and took off from the road. Spreading his arms for balance, he flew away without looking back. When a flame shot over his head, his aura flared and he took off like never before.
