I. A near- perfect landing
Without further incident, we finally made it to the planet Namek. I made good on my word to land the Namek spaceship myself; after that crash that Bulma insisted on calling a landing on that godforsaken no-name meteor, I was not about to chance that happening again. I set the ship down almost perfectly, and turned around to smirk at Bulma. "Now that," I declared, "was a landing. Although, I have to admit that the Namek language is a little tricky. Good thing Mr. Popo had taught me the language when Goku and I were training with Kame."
Bulma glared at me, but said nothing. Behind her, Krillin, Gohan, Devon and Taku gave me the thumbs up sign. I'm sure they're glad I refused to let Bulma pull off another landing. I stood up, and stretched. It seemed like an eternity since we left earth, the planet I had come to call home. We left the ship, and I found myself once again standing on an alien world. The sun had almost reached zenith in the green sky, and I realized that none of us knew how long a Namek day was. The grass was a dark grayish blue, and matched the color of the odd trees this planet seemed to grow. This planet was as strange to me as earth had once seemed. After getting orientated with the new environment, I turned around, and faced them. "Well, what next, Bulma?" The others to turned to look at her as well.
Bulma looked very uncomfortable at the sudden attention, and for a split second, I saw the shy, motor-mouth girl I had met so long ago. She had never been good at making decisions, although once they we finally decided upon a plan of action, she was one of the best people to help us keep on track. She looked to me for support, and I sighed. I should have known that trying to get Bulma to actually make a decision is like trying to get Tai to change her mind once it's made up.
"Okay, we have two options: One, we go ahead and start searching down the Dragon Balls, or we set up shelter, and start searching tomorrow." I had a feeling that I knew what the guys would decide, especially my son and Gohan.
"The sooner we find the Dragon Balls, the sooner we can wish back Mr. Piccolo." Taku and Gohan said together. I smiled as I shook my head. Because of the relative closeness between our house, and Goku's mountain cottage, the two practically grew up together, and in preparation for the arrival of my brother and Nappa, they trained together under Piccolo. It seemed so natural to them to want to wish Mr. Piccolo back right away; they had never seen the evil that he once possessed.
I turned to Krillin, who just shrugged, then I turned to Devon. "Well, Babe, what's your opinion?" I asked.
"Well," He began, "we know that Vegeta found out about the dragon balls on earth from Raditz, and then made the logical assumption that since Piccolo and Kame were Nameks, then there must be Dragon Balls on the planet Namek as well. He also made that statement wearing his scouter. There's a good chance that if Vegeta knows about it, others might know about them, and be searching for them as well. I say, the sooner we find at least one Dragon Ball, more chance we have of getting them all, and getting to make our wish before the rest. Don't you agree, Kay?"
I nodded. I knew exactly who he meant by others, and why we needed to hurry. If we don't beat him to the Dragon Balls, he who is already unstoppable will become invincible. I could only hope that we weren't too late. I knew exactly what He would wish for: the same thing my brother wanted to wish for when he first arrived on the planet that I had come to call home.
A streak of light crossed the horizon, causing Bulma to scream, and Krillin, Taku, and Gohan to tense up. We could all sense that it was Vegeta. "Well, I said, it looks there's gonna be double trouble." I said calmly.
"Well, maybe this time, you can talk some sense into Vegeta, Kay." Devon said, winking.
It was then that the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand at attention, and every nerve in my body seemed to be on fire. I turned away from the direction my brother had gone, and toward the enormous power level I was sensing. I knew then that it was hopeless, that we would never get those dragon balls, and the one that I had feared my entire life was here, on this planet. I had left everything that I had held dear behind when I ran away from him, with Devon as my only companion. To him, going to earth was like a homecoming for him, but for me, it would never be home, not like the planet Vegeta had been.
The others soon noticed my sudden change in behavior, for I jumped when Krillin placed his hand on my shoulder. "Dude, are you okay, Shitaka? You just sorta flipped out over here."
I didn't answer him, but turned instead to Devon, panic beginning to edge it's way into my voice. "He's here, Devon. Can't you feel him?"
Devon nodded, his face grim. Krillin looked from me to Devon, then back to me. "Uh, what's going on?" He asked.
"The reason we came to earth was to prevent Shitaka from being forced into a marriage that she didn't want. And now, that creature is here." Devon had to answer for me, since I seemed to have lost the ability to speak
"Oh, you mean that Frieza creature you mentioned on earth, right?" Bulma asked.
Both of us shushed her quickly. "On earth we may have been joking when we said that the walls have ears, but here, it's different. If I know him, and trust me," I explained in a low whisper, as if afraid the very wind would carry me to that damnable creature I have spent ten years trying to run away from, "I know this thing better than he probably knows himself. Anyways, if I know him, he has his scouts and minions searching every square inch of this planet looking for those Dragon Balls. All it takes is one to overhear something like that, or my real name, and I'm a goner. So while we're hear, my name is Kat, got that?" Everyone nodded, and so we agreed. Suddenly, two members of Frieza's goon squad arrived to find out what exactly was going on. When I realized that these were two of his weakest men, and I was offended. "Oh, you've got to be kidding. This is the best he could come up with? I don't know whether to be relieved, or insulted." I sniffed, crossing my arms. How dare that horned freak that was a fashion nightmare waiting to happen send only his weakest men after me? Sure, he didn't know I was here, but still?
I looked over at my friends, and noticed that they were staring at me. Okay, so maybe it was a little strange that I went from being totally freaked out to totally pissed off. "What? It's the truth!" Okay, so maybe it was a little strange, but still, it's not like they weren't used to me doing this. Well, Devon and I decided we would let Krillin and Gohan take these two imbeciles, you know, get their feet wet facing Frieza's men. They took care them in no time. "Okay," I added, "new rule: keep power levels to a minimum, that way, Frieza and his gang won't be able to pick us up on their scouters."
"I thought only Saiyans used those things." Bulma said, as we began to gather the things we would need.
"Well, at first, before Freiza and his race found us," I explained, "We were the only ones who used them, and the only ones who wore that specific type of armor. Once Frieza discovered how useful they were, he ordered us to make them for all his elite fighters." I shuddered involuntarily, and Bulma placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"You know, nobody would think any less of you if you decided to stay with the ship." She whispered so that nobody could here her.
I looked at her warily. All during this six month journey, the rest of us had heard nothing but her complain, and talk about Yamcha. Now, she was almost back to normal. I actually thought about it, and I knew she that she was right, but I shook my head. "This is something that I've been running away from since I was eleven years old. I can't do that anymore. The only way I'm gonna finally get rid of him if he were destroyed, and the only way I could be sure of that is if I see it with my own two eyes." I hesitated, then continued. "Look, if I tell you something, you have to swear to keep it between us, okay?" She nodded. "Well, when you first told Devon and me about the Dragon Balls, I convinced him that we would help you find them, then steal them from you, and make our own wish. I wanted to wish for Freiza's destruction, so that my brother would come, and get Tai, Goku, Devon, and me and take us home. I hated earth, because it was nothing like my home planet. For one thing, the gravity was all wrong."
Bulma nodded. "I get it, you only left because you had no choice, but you always thought that you would be able to return home."
"When Raditz told me that our world had been destroyed, I knew that my life would never be the same. Oh, sure, earth had become my home, but if I had been given a choice between earth and Vegeta, I would have chosen Vegeta." I turned away as I felt the first tears fall.
"Despite what you may think, you will always have a home, and a family." We both turned at the new voice, and found ourselves facing Krillin.
"Uh, Krillin, go away." I said, throwing the first thing I could find.
Bulma and I both laughed. "Thanks Bulma, I think I needed that, now come on, before the boys leave without us."
She nodded, and we left. Once we did, she went back to her whiny bitchy ways. Some things never change.
My plans never work out they are meant to go. Oh sure, nobody called me by name, but when Krillin, Gohan, and Taku decide to follow Frieza and the three dragon balls he already had, Devon decided he had to tag along, and there was no way in Hell that I was staying with the whiny bitchy Bulma by myself. So completely forgetting that I'm the one that Frieza wants, and I'm the one that should stay with Bulma, no matter how bad she's PMSing, I leave with them, and head straight for the destiny I've been outrunning for ten years.
To Be Continued...
Without further incident, we finally made it to the planet Namek. I made good on my word to land the Namek spaceship myself; after that crash that Bulma insisted on calling a landing on that godforsaken no-name meteor, I was not about to chance that happening again. I set the ship down almost perfectly, and turned around to smirk at Bulma. "Now that," I declared, "was a landing. Although, I have to admit that the Namek language is a little tricky. Good thing Mr. Popo had taught me the language when Goku and I were training with Kame."
Bulma glared at me, but said nothing. Behind her, Krillin, Gohan, Devon and Taku gave me the thumbs up sign. I'm sure they're glad I refused to let Bulma pull off another landing. I stood up, and stretched. It seemed like an eternity since we left earth, the planet I had come to call home. We left the ship, and I found myself once again standing on an alien world. The sun had almost reached zenith in the green sky, and I realized that none of us knew how long a Namek day was. The grass was a dark grayish blue, and matched the color of the odd trees this planet seemed to grow. This planet was as strange to me as earth had once seemed. After getting orientated with the new environment, I turned around, and faced them. "Well, what next, Bulma?" The others to turned to look at her as well.
Bulma looked very uncomfortable at the sudden attention, and for a split second, I saw the shy, motor-mouth girl I had met so long ago. She had never been good at making decisions, although once they we finally decided upon a plan of action, she was one of the best people to help us keep on track. She looked to me for support, and I sighed. I should have known that trying to get Bulma to actually make a decision is like trying to get Tai to change her mind once it's made up.
"Okay, we have two options: One, we go ahead and start searching down the Dragon Balls, or we set up shelter, and start searching tomorrow." I had a feeling that I knew what the guys would decide, especially my son and Gohan.
"The sooner we find the Dragon Balls, the sooner we can wish back Mr. Piccolo." Taku and Gohan said together. I smiled as I shook my head. Because of the relative closeness between our house, and Goku's mountain cottage, the two practically grew up together, and in preparation for the arrival of my brother and Nappa, they trained together under Piccolo. It seemed so natural to them to want to wish Mr. Piccolo back right away; they had never seen the evil that he once possessed.
I turned to Krillin, who just shrugged, then I turned to Devon. "Well, Babe, what's your opinion?" I asked.
"Well," He began, "we know that Vegeta found out about the dragon balls on earth from Raditz, and then made the logical assumption that since Piccolo and Kame were Nameks, then there must be Dragon Balls on the planet Namek as well. He also made that statement wearing his scouter. There's a good chance that if Vegeta knows about it, others might know about them, and be searching for them as well. I say, the sooner we find at least one Dragon Ball, more chance we have of getting them all, and getting to make our wish before the rest. Don't you agree, Kay?"
I nodded. I knew exactly who he meant by others, and why we needed to hurry. If we don't beat him to the Dragon Balls, he who is already unstoppable will become invincible. I could only hope that we weren't too late. I knew exactly what He would wish for: the same thing my brother wanted to wish for when he first arrived on the planet that I had come to call home.
A streak of light crossed the horizon, causing Bulma to scream, and Krillin, Taku, and Gohan to tense up. We could all sense that it was Vegeta. "Well, I said, it looks there's gonna be double trouble." I said calmly.
"Well, maybe this time, you can talk some sense into Vegeta, Kay." Devon said, winking.
It was then that the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand at attention, and every nerve in my body seemed to be on fire. I turned away from the direction my brother had gone, and toward the enormous power level I was sensing. I knew then that it was hopeless, that we would never get those dragon balls, and the one that I had feared my entire life was here, on this planet. I had left everything that I had held dear behind when I ran away from him, with Devon as my only companion. To him, going to earth was like a homecoming for him, but for me, it would never be home, not like the planet Vegeta had been.
The others soon noticed my sudden change in behavior, for I jumped when Krillin placed his hand on my shoulder. "Dude, are you okay, Shitaka? You just sorta flipped out over here."
I didn't answer him, but turned instead to Devon, panic beginning to edge it's way into my voice. "He's here, Devon. Can't you feel him?"
Devon nodded, his face grim. Krillin looked from me to Devon, then back to me. "Uh, what's going on?" He asked.
"The reason we came to earth was to prevent Shitaka from being forced into a marriage that she didn't want. And now, that creature is here." Devon had to answer for me, since I seemed to have lost the ability to speak
"Oh, you mean that Frieza creature you mentioned on earth, right?" Bulma asked.
Both of us shushed her quickly. "On earth we may have been joking when we said that the walls have ears, but here, it's different. If I know him, and trust me," I explained in a low whisper, as if afraid the very wind would carry me to that damnable creature I have spent ten years trying to run away from, "I know this thing better than he probably knows himself. Anyways, if I know him, he has his scouts and minions searching every square inch of this planet looking for those Dragon Balls. All it takes is one to overhear something like that, or my real name, and I'm a goner. So while we're hear, my name is Kat, got that?" Everyone nodded, and so we agreed. Suddenly, two members of Frieza's goon squad arrived to find out what exactly was going on. When I realized that these were two of his weakest men, and I was offended. "Oh, you've got to be kidding. This is the best he could come up with? I don't know whether to be relieved, or insulted." I sniffed, crossing my arms. How dare that horned freak that was a fashion nightmare waiting to happen send only his weakest men after me? Sure, he didn't know I was here, but still?
I looked over at my friends, and noticed that they were staring at me. Okay, so maybe it was a little strange that I went from being totally freaked out to totally pissed off. "What? It's the truth!" Okay, so maybe it was a little strange, but still, it's not like they weren't used to me doing this. Well, Devon and I decided we would let Krillin and Gohan take these two imbeciles, you know, get their feet wet facing Frieza's men. They took care them in no time. "Okay," I added, "new rule: keep power levels to a minimum, that way, Frieza and his gang won't be able to pick us up on their scouters."
"I thought only Saiyans used those things." Bulma said, as we began to gather the things we would need.
"Well, at first, before Freiza and his race found us," I explained, "We were the only ones who used them, and the only ones who wore that specific type of armor. Once Frieza discovered how useful they were, he ordered us to make them for all his elite fighters." I shuddered involuntarily, and Bulma placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"You know, nobody would think any less of you if you decided to stay with the ship." She whispered so that nobody could here her.
I looked at her warily. All during this six month journey, the rest of us had heard nothing but her complain, and talk about Yamcha. Now, she was almost back to normal. I actually thought about it, and I knew she that she was right, but I shook my head. "This is something that I've been running away from since I was eleven years old. I can't do that anymore. The only way I'm gonna finally get rid of him if he were destroyed, and the only way I could be sure of that is if I see it with my own two eyes." I hesitated, then continued. "Look, if I tell you something, you have to swear to keep it between us, okay?" She nodded. "Well, when you first told Devon and me about the Dragon Balls, I convinced him that we would help you find them, then steal them from you, and make our own wish. I wanted to wish for Freiza's destruction, so that my brother would come, and get Tai, Goku, Devon, and me and take us home. I hated earth, because it was nothing like my home planet. For one thing, the gravity was all wrong."
Bulma nodded. "I get it, you only left because you had no choice, but you always thought that you would be able to return home."
"When Raditz told me that our world had been destroyed, I knew that my life would never be the same. Oh, sure, earth had become my home, but if I had been given a choice between earth and Vegeta, I would have chosen Vegeta." I turned away as I felt the first tears fall.
"Despite what you may think, you will always have a home, and a family." We both turned at the new voice, and found ourselves facing Krillin.
"Uh, Krillin, go away." I said, throwing the first thing I could find.
Bulma and I both laughed. "Thanks Bulma, I think I needed that, now come on, before the boys leave without us."
She nodded, and we left. Once we did, she went back to her whiny bitchy ways. Some things never change.
My plans never work out they are meant to go. Oh sure, nobody called me by name, but when Krillin, Gohan, and Taku decide to follow Frieza and the three dragon balls he already had, Devon decided he had to tag along, and there was no way in Hell that I was staying with the whiny bitchy Bulma by myself. So completely forgetting that I'm the one that Frieza wants, and I'm the one that should stay with Bulma, no matter how bad she's PMSing, I leave with them, and head straight for the destiny I've been outrunning for ten years.
To Be Continued...