Author's Note: And so the fighting begins. Hurray, Yippee. Hope you enjoy this chapter. And when you are done with this chapter, could you please look at my new story, The Saiyan Beast. If you enjoy this, you'll enjoy the beast.
Vegita had been flying around Yaarsdat for five hours. He dipped below the tree line, dove through every canyon and streaked into every cave he came across. He would sometimes pause and listen to the wind around him, hoping he would hear or smell something. But his search was fruitless and he returned to the city he had left. When he arrived, Goku was waiting for him.
"You're back early." Vegita said questioningly.
"I just got here five seconds ago." Goku replied, "Totepo is on his way back. He'll be here in about five minutes."
"How do you know?" Vegita asked, intrigued.
"I have this ability to sense the power levels of people; a sixth sense if you would," Goku explained, "With this sense I can tell how strong someone is compared to me and where they are exactly."
"But only if they have a soul." Vegita added.
"That's right," Goku nodded, "Only if they have soul." He was silent for a moment, looking in the direction that Totepo was coming from. "Weren't you and your people captured?" he asked suddenly.
"Yeah, but apparently the guards on the ship knew something we didn't. They helped us escape from King Cold's ship."
"King Cold?" Goku had never heard of the name before.
"Freeza's father." Vegita said. Goku nodded to show he understood and Vegita was surprised to see how calm he was. Did Goku not realize that he had angered one of the most powerful beings in the universe? He probably does, Vegita thought, but he killed the strongest of the family. Why should he be afraid?
"They're going to die." Goku said. Vegita snapped out of his thoughts.
"Who is?" he asked.
"The ones that helped you." Goku answered.
"Oh," Vegita said, agreeing in silence, "Yet, they seemed to think that it was a small sacrifice. Because they knew who Tanipu's son was and they were willing to give their lives to make sure that her mission succeeded."
"Which was?" Goku asked.
"I don't know her entire plan," Vegita confessed, "But I bet she completed her mission when she saw you one last time." Goku did not say anything. He watched in silence as Totepo landed beside him. He shook his head.
"Alright then," Goku said, "Let's go see what Ardat found. In any case, we're leaving this planet in an hour."
"No one has seen him but they don't seem to believe my story either." Ardat said after the Saiyans and some of Ardat's officers had been seated, "I also got a report from our boys. They have found no sign of the creatures."
"Where are they looking?" Goku asked.
"Near where Namek used to be." Ardat replied.
"Fine, we'll go in the other direction, cover more ground that way." Goku said.
"We've found them!" a voice said.
"Where are they King Kai?" Goku asked, looking at the ceiling.
"Where I guessed the tear would be," the Kai replied, "Namek. Such a powerful explosion would have easily resulted in a weakening in fabric of space."
"Why are we worried then?" Totepo asked, "There aren't many beings out there that can survive outer space."
"Except the entire Saiyan race." Vegita said, arms crossed across his chest.
"We can survive in space?" Goku asked in amazement.
"Yeah, you should know that." Vegita said matter-of-factly.
"I lost my memory when I was on Earth."
"Ah," Vegita said, keeping his dignity, "I'll teach how to use the special pockets in your lungs so you can breathe in outer space."
"You also must realize that Freeza can survive without an atmosphere." King Kai said, jumping in.
"That's right, I forgot about that." Goku said.
"But what about the rest of people in hell?" Totepo insisted, "The vacuum of space will suck all the air out of there."
"Doesn't matter," King Kai replied, "There dead in that world. Nothing can kill them there. It's only if they leave that plain that their souls will die."
"So only a handful can come out of that tear." Goku said.
"Yes," King Kai agreed, "But one tear is easy to fix. Many are not."
"What do you mean?" Goku asked but he somehow knew what King Kai was about to say.
"If a tear in the fabric that separates the world of the living and the dead, it will weaken the entire fabric," King Kai explained, "Tears will start opening up everywhere. All of heaven and hell will open up and we'll have another war that may not end for a hundred years and many beings will be wiped out of existence."
"So let's stop talking and stop this tear from opening up." Vegita growled.
"You must be Vegita's father." Goku said, smiling. Then his face grew serious, "Ardat, send all your warships to the remains of Namek. Keep the demons from opening the tear for as long as you can. Totepo will go with you. Vegita and I will join as soon as I learn how to breathe in space."
Ardat asked, "How long will that take?" Goku looked at Vegita.
"Thirty minutes, max." the king replied, "And send a message to the others."
"They already know." King Kai said.
"Good," Vegita said. Then, turning to Goku, "Let's get started."
"We're coming up on Namek guys." Toma said.
"Or where it used to be." Celipa said over the radio.
"As soon as we're within twenty kilometers, we get out of these fighters." Toma said.
"Right." The other Saiyans agreed.
"We'll give you cover." A Yaarsdat said.
"A hundred kilometers." Another said.
"Picking up something on the long-range scanners." Panboukin said.
"Must be them." Toma looked at his radar and saw three dots.
"One's moving." Celipa said as one of the signals started to approach the ships at great speed.
"Forget the twenty clicks deal." Toma cried, hitting the eject button. The canopy broke open and his seat projected him into space. He pushed the seat away and floated in a fighter stance. Celipa and Panboukin flew to his sides as the green-skinned demon hurtled towards them.
"Let's show him what Saiyans do best!" Toma cried and charged the beast. Celipa and Panboukin each launched a blast of energy, which seared by Toma's ears. They exploded on the demon, but it kept coming. Toma drove his foot into the demons chest, which sent it spinning backwards.
The Yaarsdat fighters swooped in, five in all, launching torpedoes. Each hit the beast, continuing to spin. The fighters switched to their lasers and opened fire. Toma could see that the bolts left burn marks on the creature's skin.
"Gotta admit, they got powerful weapons." Toma said. The others would be able to hear him with the new scouters the Yaarsdats had given them.
"Yeah, but I still want a piece of him." Celipa said, flying past Toma. The demon stopped its spin and launched a wave of energy from its hands. The flyers evaded the blast easily. Celipa actually pierced through the wave and attacked with a bolt of her own. It hit the demon square in the face. It screamed in pain, clutching its face with its hands. That's when Celipa rammed her shoulder into the demon's stomach. It doubled over and Celipa struck its jaw. She was about to kick him again when Panboukin drove his fists into the demon's stomach. It soared downwards as Panboukin and Celipa.
"I was getting tired of watching." He explained.
"I understand," Celipa said, giving Panboukin a high-five, "I would have done the same."
"The cavalry has arrived." Toma announced as fifty large ships of various models arrived. Totepo emerged from one of them and flew towards Toma.
"Where are King Vegita and Kakkarot?" Toma asked.
"Kakkarot lost his memory on Earth so he doesn't remember how to breathe in space." Totepo explained.
"Ah, it won't matter," Toma said proudly, "We won't need a SuperSaiyan to take these guys out."
"Actually, you will." A voice inside Toma's head said.
"You hear that?" he asked. Totepo nodded.
"I was just testing you," the voice continued, "I am now weary of this sport. It is time to end it." And without warning Toma's chest exploded as a sizzling ball of energy smashed into him. He smashed against the hull of one of the Yaarsdat ships some kilometers away. Totepo landed right next to him. They were both unconscious.
Celipa and Panboukin were stunned momentarily. When Totepo was hit, they charged the demon. Celipa swung with her right fist, but the creature was already below her. It kicked with its claws. The kicked pierced through her armor. Celipa could only gasp in surprise and pain as one of the claws dug into her stomach. Her blood started to drip down the demon's leg.
"Celipa!" Panboukin cried, attacking the beast. But he never saw its large hand wrap around his neck. He only felt his breath being cut off. He fired a volley of energy bombs. More flyers from the capitol ships flew to his aid, hitting the demon's arm, leg, head, anything. It never flinched. And Panboukin's vision began to narrow. Space was growing darker and darker. Within seconds, he was dead.
The demon released the corpse from its hand and began to reach for Celipa. But Toma managed to reach her before the demon could grasp her.
"This is looking bad." Toma said. He stopped at least twenty kilometers away from the demon, which had now turned its attention to the Yaarsdat ships. It was tearing them apart like soft clay.
"This is bad." Toma said again, watching the ships exploding. He knew there was nothing he could do. Celipa made a gurgling noise.
"Don't you fall asleep on me now!" Toma cried, shaking Celipa. She looked at him with glazed eyes and half-closed lids.
"We have to get you out of here," Toma said, "There's nothing…what the?" he stopped when he saw something zip by him.
"What is it? Celipa asked in a tired voice.
"It's Bardock." Toma replied. He looked in the direction the other Saiyan had come from and saw the purple demon coming towards them. Toma watched in horror as it quickly caught up to Bardock and clasped him in its hand. The Saiyan's body was limp. When the demon realized that Bardock was dead, it threw him aside.
"No!" Celipa yelled. With a strength that surprised Toma, she broke from his grasp and flung herself at the demon.
"Celipa, wait!" Toma followed. There was nothing else he could do. He realized that he was going to die. And he wanted to die like a true Saiyan.
But just before they reached the demon, it was hit on the head with great force. It gave a yelp of pain before it disappeared from sight.
"Payback time!" Vegita yelled, floating in front of Celipa.
"Panboukin's dead." Celipa said, clutching her stomach.
"What!" the king cried in rage, "It killed another Saiyan! It dies now!" But just as he was about to go into a dive, something stopped him. He looked behind him and saw Bardock's corpse. Standing next to it was Goku. Vegita didn't understand it, but he felt something was different with the Saiyan.
"Kakkarot?" he asked. Goku lifted his head and the others saw that tears were rolling down his cheeks.
"I promised my mother that I would save him," he muttered, "And now I see that I failed." His voice grew stronger. His hair began to rise. The other Saiyans could feel an aura of incredible power pulsing from him. The demon that had reduced the Yaarsdat fleet to twenty ships stopped its destruction and watched in suspense as Goku's anger rose.
"They," Goku's eyes began to glow green, "will," he spoke louder and a yellow slowly engulfed him, "pay!" he shouted the last word and he exploded. Vegita and Celipa were flung back. Toma shielded his face from the wind. The green demon jumped back.
When Toma lowered his arm, he saw an awesome sight. He saw a warrior with long, golden hair, which rose into the air, hovering with determination beside his late father. Toma saw the hope of the universe and the vengeance of a race in one being. He saw the SuperSaiyan.