Disclaimer: Aw, heck. I don't own DBZ.
A/N: Sorry guys for not updating in so long. I just haven't seemed to have time to sit down and write lately! I hope this might make up a little for the late update.
*~~*~~*
Last time: "That BASTARD!" Vegeta disregarded Kiwi and shot down the corridor, his mind finally made up. He was going to Namek, and he was getting those Dragonballs before Frieza could even think about getting his filthy little hands on them!
Vegeta's fists clenched as his scowl deepened. No. There was no possible way in Hell that he would allow this to continue. Frieza's empire ended here and now, and the Prince of the Saiyans would rise once again as the most powerful being in the universe, the absolute ruler of all.
The ship prepared for takeoff as soldiers ran around the hangar in disarray. It was complete chaos, so much so that no one noticed the shadow lurking in the corners, watching the ship take off with a smirk on his face.
"Soon, Vegeta. You'll never even make it to Frieza before I get to you."
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
As Fate Would Have It Chapter 6
Bulma strolled out of the cave opening, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. Who'd have thought that this planet had two suns? It was rather odd, and Bulma wondered if they ever had nightfall here. Glancing back into their temporary hideout, she called for Oolong.
"Hey pork-chops! Let's get going before I start getting any wrinkles!" The small pig sulked out of the shadows, kicking at small rocks along his way.
"I don't see why I'm the one who has to go with you! Why can't you take Puar instead, and let me stay behind in the Capsule house?" he complained. He wasn't too thrilled about going exploring on a planet full of Piccolos or Vegetas, after all. Bulma sighed at his whiny tone.
"Because," she emphasized, "I don't trust you all alone in the Capsule house. Knowing you, you'll invite all the alien swines over and throw a party, trashing my house! Besides, you're better at the more menacing transformations than Puar is. You'll do good for protection if we need it." She continued on her way out, popping open her hoverbike capsule and hopping on. "Now get on, so we can head out. The sooner we find those Dragonballs, the sooner we can get our hides off this planet. I sure don't want to run into those guys who blew up our ship again."
Oolong took a seat behind Bulma on the bike, wrapping his arms around her trim waist. Well, maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought with a devious smile as he drew closer to Bulma.
"And no groping back there, either, or else I'll knock you off!" Oolong pouted. Damn.
Pulling the Dragon radar out of the front pocket of her outfit, she pressed the button, looking for where the closest ball was. "Closest ball is... due west about 30 miles! Wow, we're lucky that it's so close! This is great. Hang on!" With that, she put the radar back in her pocket and revved the engine, shooting off into the distance towards their first Dragonball.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
The old man stood at the center of the room, his eyes shut as he sensed the horror only a few villages away. His grip on the young child's hand at his side tightened slightly every time he sensed another slaughter.
"Elder Muuri, what are we to do? They might come here next." The old Namek opened his eyes to acknowledge the younger people around him. The grim look on his face accentuated his old age.
"We will wait until they make their way here. If the other villages could not stop them, then we have little chance as well. Gather the rest of the villagers and the valuables and prepare to leave." With a nod, the counsel left the hut and scattered to their own homes, gathering the young and the old together and taking their belongings. Muuri walked into a back room, the child close behind him. Pulling to the side a small curtain, he revealed the village Dragonball. Lifting it off of its pedestal, he wrapped it tightly in a white cloth and placed it in a large bag. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he led himself and the child out of the hut.
When Muuri emerged, however, he stopped as he noticed a small crowd gathered around something near the edge of the village. He handed the bag to the child and hurried toward the commotion.
Pushing aside the people in the crowd, he made his way to the center. "What's going on here?" He laid his eyes upon the source of the chaos and saw three of the strangest looking creatures he had ever seen in his life. The smallest was a sort of pinkish creature, with two large floppy ears at the top of his head. The other had rather the same color skin, but its head was topped with hair of such an odd color, as were its eyes. The third creature was the largest, and had no distinguishable limbs so to speak. It looked more like a fuchsia rectangle with a black saddle at the top. Being extremely wary of any intruders after the slaughter he had sensed not too long ago, Muuri cleared his throat and began to address the strangers.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Damn, Bulma, the scientist thought to herself. For being so smart, you really have no common sense, do you? Why weren't you wearing your scouter so that way you wouldn't have any surprises? At this moment, she and Oolong were being examined by the strange Piccolo look-alikes, and she didn't like their scrutinizing glares. Then this weird fat pruny one came up and started talking to them in some weird foreign language. Bulma was getting fed up, but she kept on a happy face.
"Eh-heh. None of you happen to know English, do you?" The old one immediately stopped and looked at Bulma in surprise. After a short period of silence, he continued talking.
"We know a universal language. Does that help?" Bulma's eyes widened as she understood his words.
"I... guess so! So I take it you're the leader?" she asked, addressing her question to the older Namek who was speaking to her. He nodded.
"Yes I am. Now if you don't mind my asking, who are you people, and what interest do you have in our village?" Bulma smiled again and replied in a sing-song voice.
"I'm so glad you asked."
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"So you came here to, hoping to use our Dragonballs in order to bring the ones on your planet back and restore the lives of those killed by the Saiyans. Is that right?" Bulma nodded.
"Exactly. We need the Dragonballs before the Saiyan returns to our planet, so that we have a way to defend it again. And from what I've heard, there are also other people here looking for the Dragonballs, too." Muuri nodded his head.
"So that's why they are killing our brethren. We could sense the massacres in the other villages." Muuri looked down at his feet, contemplating the situation. "Your intentions seem honest enough, and you seem to genuinely want to help." He glanced at his fellows, nodding in affirmation. "You may have the Dragonball, then."
Reaching into the bag, he pulled out the Dragonball, unwrapping it from the white cloth. Bulma and Oolong gasped in unison. "That's the Dragonball?! Dang, it's friggin' HUGE!" Oolong exclaimed.
Passing the ball to the child next to him, Muuri ordered the boy to deliver it across the room to the alien pair. The small Namek hurriedly scuttled over to where Bulma and Oolong were standing and handed the artifact to them. Bulma held it in her arms, examining it at a distance, and finally smiled and thanked the boy.
"Thank you very much. What's your name little guy?" He looked down and shyly shuffled his feet.
"My name is Dende," he said quietly.
"Well Dende, it's great to meet you!" she exclaimed excitedly and shook his hand, pumping it up and down. The poor boy looked like his arm was about to fall off.
"Nice... to... meet... you too!"
Muuri chuckled at the scene before him. The strangers seemed friendly enough, and they were honorable to boot. They probably had no idea what kind of predicament they were in, though. He sighed and glanced down at Dende.
"Son, come here." Dende immediately obliged and made his way back towards Muuri. The old man bent over and whispered something in Dende's ear. When he was done, the little one looked up at Muuri smiling and nodding his head. "Very well then," Muuri stated.
Standing up straight and tall, he regarded Bulma and Oolong for a moment before speaking again. "Namek is not an easy planet to navigate. You will need a guide. Dende here has enthusiastically agreed to fill that position."
"Really?" Bulma asked. "Aww, that's so sweet! Thanks a lot." She clapped her hands together. "Well, now that we have this whole thing settled, why don't we go ahead and head off for more Dragonballs? Let's go guys!" The group nodded and headed out of the building. Bulma looked down at Dende, who was currently standing on her right.
"So kid, is there anything you need to bring with you? Food? Clothes? Comic books?" He shook his head.
"I'll be fine as I am, thank you."
"Then that's that! Looks like were off!" Mounting her bike, she helped Oolong get on behind her. "You need a ride, kid?"
Dende floated up into the air. "That's alright! I can fly myself." Bulma's eyebrows rose.
"Cool. Better for us, huh Oolong?" He just snorted as Bulma gave one last wave to the members of the village and sped off, Dende close behind her.
They seemed to have left at just the right moment, however, because as the village went out of view over the horizon, two men, each holding Dragonballs, landed there, asking none too nicely for the complete cooperation of the village people.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Vegeta floated up out of the crater his ship left in the Namekian soil. Mounting his scouter on the side of his face, he scanned the area for the nearest life form. He didn't have to wait very long, though, when it detected a large power level coming from directly above him. With an enormous explosion, the second ship landed, leaving another crater right next to Vegeta's. His face broke out into a grin.
"Can Kiwi come out to play?" he called out to the form exiting the new pod. Kiwi was none too amused, however.
"Are you stupid, Vegeta? Check your scouter! My power level is beyond yours, you stupid little monkey." Vegeta growled and fazed in right in front of Kiwi.
"Do you know how old that insult gets after hearing it your whole life?" he whispered in Kiwi's face. His tail uncurled from his waist as he began to silently power up. Kiwi failed to notice until his scouter picked up the slow power increase. His jaw dropped as his energy level began to rapidly rise.
"Ho-how the hell are you doing that?!" Vegeta clenched his fists and let out his energy in an explosion, laughing the whole time.
"You fool! Don't you know anything about Saiyans?!" Kiwi's eyes widened and he gulped audibly. "While you were sitting on your ass safely within Frieza's compound, I was in real battles! I even came close to death once! And do you know what happens when a Saiyan returns from the brink of death?" He plowed a fist into Kiwi's unsuspecting gut, making his eyes pop out of their head. A well-placed roundhouse kick sent Kiwi back into the crater he came out of. Vegeta flew down and picked him up out of the dirt, whispering into his ear. "We get a good deal stronger." With that, he sent an enormous ki blast at his opponent, the close range obliterating him from existence.
Floating back to the ground, Vegeta powered down, smiling at his test round. Kiwi used to be equal to him in strength, and he just turned him to ashes without even breaking a sweat! This was too good! And that ki- concealing ability he learned from the earthlings came in handy, as well. He might just be able to pull this rebellion off, now. Frieza wouldn't ever know what hit him.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
A/N: Woo! Once again, I'm so sorry for the inexcusably late update, guys. I really hope I didn't lose any readers because of it. I love you guys! *Cries* Well, once again, let me know if you enjoyed the chapter. A little hurried, but hey. I guess it's better than nothing. Word to ishi- ban: Lol, thanks for the consideration, but I want to try to characterize Vegeta as best as I think I can on my own. I really appreciate all of the ideas, and that website too, though. ^_^ *Hugs* I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Random shout-out: naiyana! Glad you like the fic! I'm sorry, though. I don't have a mailing list. Tell you what, though. If I ever do set one up, you'll be one of the first on it! ^_^ Lol. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
A/N: Sorry guys for not updating in so long. I just haven't seemed to have time to sit down and write lately! I hope this might make up a little for the late update.
*~~*~~*
Last time: "That BASTARD!" Vegeta disregarded Kiwi and shot down the corridor, his mind finally made up. He was going to Namek, and he was getting those Dragonballs before Frieza could even think about getting his filthy little hands on them!
Vegeta's fists clenched as his scowl deepened. No. There was no possible way in Hell that he would allow this to continue. Frieza's empire ended here and now, and the Prince of the Saiyans would rise once again as the most powerful being in the universe, the absolute ruler of all.
The ship prepared for takeoff as soldiers ran around the hangar in disarray. It was complete chaos, so much so that no one noticed the shadow lurking in the corners, watching the ship take off with a smirk on his face.
"Soon, Vegeta. You'll never even make it to Frieza before I get to you."
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
As Fate Would Have It Chapter 6
Bulma strolled out of the cave opening, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. Who'd have thought that this planet had two suns? It was rather odd, and Bulma wondered if they ever had nightfall here. Glancing back into their temporary hideout, she called for Oolong.
"Hey pork-chops! Let's get going before I start getting any wrinkles!" The small pig sulked out of the shadows, kicking at small rocks along his way.
"I don't see why I'm the one who has to go with you! Why can't you take Puar instead, and let me stay behind in the Capsule house?" he complained. He wasn't too thrilled about going exploring on a planet full of Piccolos or Vegetas, after all. Bulma sighed at his whiny tone.
"Because," she emphasized, "I don't trust you all alone in the Capsule house. Knowing you, you'll invite all the alien swines over and throw a party, trashing my house! Besides, you're better at the more menacing transformations than Puar is. You'll do good for protection if we need it." She continued on her way out, popping open her hoverbike capsule and hopping on. "Now get on, so we can head out. The sooner we find those Dragonballs, the sooner we can get our hides off this planet. I sure don't want to run into those guys who blew up our ship again."
Oolong took a seat behind Bulma on the bike, wrapping his arms around her trim waist. Well, maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought with a devious smile as he drew closer to Bulma.
"And no groping back there, either, or else I'll knock you off!" Oolong pouted. Damn.
Pulling the Dragon radar out of the front pocket of her outfit, she pressed the button, looking for where the closest ball was. "Closest ball is... due west about 30 miles! Wow, we're lucky that it's so close! This is great. Hang on!" With that, she put the radar back in her pocket and revved the engine, shooting off into the distance towards their first Dragonball.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
The old man stood at the center of the room, his eyes shut as he sensed the horror only a few villages away. His grip on the young child's hand at his side tightened slightly every time he sensed another slaughter.
"Elder Muuri, what are we to do? They might come here next." The old Namek opened his eyes to acknowledge the younger people around him. The grim look on his face accentuated his old age.
"We will wait until they make their way here. If the other villages could not stop them, then we have little chance as well. Gather the rest of the villagers and the valuables and prepare to leave." With a nod, the counsel left the hut and scattered to their own homes, gathering the young and the old together and taking their belongings. Muuri walked into a back room, the child close behind him. Pulling to the side a small curtain, he revealed the village Dragonball. Lifting it off of its pedestal, he wrapped it tightly in a white cloth and placed it in a large bag. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he led himself and the child out of the hut.
When Muuri emerged, however, he stopped as he noticed a small crowd gathered around something near the edge of the village. He handed the bag to the child and hurried toward the commotion.
Pushing aside the people in the crowd, he made his way to the center. "What's going on here?" He laid his eyes upon the source of the chaos and saw three of the strangest looking creatures he had ever seen in his life. The smallest was a sort of pinkish creature, with two large floppy ears at the top of his head. The other had rather the same color skin, but its head was topped with hair of such an odd color, as were its eyes. The third creature was the largest, and had no distinguishable limbs so to speak. It looked more like a fuchsia rectangle with a black saddle at the top. Being extremely wary of any intruders after the slaughter he had sensed not too long ago, Muuri cleared his throat and began to address the strangers.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Damn, Bulma, the scientist thought to herself. For being so smart, you really have no common sense, do you? Why weren't you wearing your scouter so that way you wouldn't have any surprises? At this moment, she and Oolong were being examined by the strange Piccolo look-alikes, and she didn't like their scrutinizing glares. Then this weird fat pruny one came up and started talking to them in some weird foreign language. Bulma was getting fed up, but she kept on a happy face.
"Eh-heh. None of you happen to know English, do you?" The old one immediately stopped and looked at Bulma in surprise. After a short period of silence, he continued talking.
"We know a universal language. Does that help?" Bulma's eyes widened as she understood his words.
"I... guess so! So I take it you're the leader?" she asked, addressing her question to the older Namek who was speaking to her. He nodded.
"Yes I am. Now if you don't mind my asking, who are you people, and what interest do you have in our village?" Bulma smiled again and replied in a sing-song voice.
"I'm so glad you asked."
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
"So you came here to, hoping to use our Dragonballs in order to bring the ones on your planet back and restore the lives of those killed by the Saiyans. Is that right?" Bulma nodded.
"Exactly. We need the Dragonballs before the Saiyan returns to our planet, so that we have a way to defend it again. And from what I've heard, there are also other people here looking for the Dragonballs, too." Muuri nodded his head.
"So that's why they are killing our brethren. We could sense the massacres in the other villages." Muuri looked down at his feet, contemplating the situation. "Your intentions seem honest enough, and you seem to genuinely want to help." He glanced at his fellows, nodding in affirmation. "You may have the Dragonball, then."
Reaching into the bag, he pulled out the Dragonball, unwrapping it from the white cloth. Bulma and Oolong gasped in unison. "That's the Dragonball?! Dang, it's friggin' HUGE!" Oolong exclaimed.
Passing the ball to the child next to him, Muuri ordered the boy to deliver it across the room to the alien pair. The small Namek hurriedly scuttled over to where Bulma and Oolong were standing and handed the artifact to them. Bulma held it in her arms, examining it at a distance, and finally smiled and thanked the boy.
"Thank you very much. What's your name little guy?" He looked down and shyly shuffled his feet.
"My name is Dende," he said quietly.
"Well Dende, it's great to meet you!" she exclaimed excitedly and shook his hand, pumping it up and down. The poor boy looked like his arm was about to fall off.
"Nice... to... meet... you too!"
Muuri chuckled at the scene before him. The strangers seemed friendly enough, and they were honorable to boot. They probably had no idea what kind of predicament they were in, though. He sighed and glanced down at Dende.
"Son, come here." Dende immediately obliged and made his way back towards Muuri. The old man bent over and whispered something in Dende's ear. When he was done, the little one looked up at Muuri smiling and nodding his head. "Very well then," Muuri stated.
Standing up straight and tall, he regarded Bulma and Oolong for a moment before speaking again. "Namek is not an easy planet to navigate. You will need a guide. Dende here has enthusiastically agreed to fill that position."
"Really?" Bulma asked. "Aww, that's so sweet! Thanks a lot." She clapped her hands together. "Well, now that we have this whole thing settled, why don't we go ahead and head off for more Dragonballs? Let's go guys!" The group nodded and headed out of the building. Bulma looked down at Dende, who was currently standing on her right.
"So kid, is there anything you need to bring with you? Food? Clothes? Comic books?" He shook his head.
"I'll be fine as I am, thank you."
"Then that's that! Looks like were off!" Mounting her bike, she helped Oolong get on behind her. "You need a ride, kid?"
Dende floated up into the air. "That's alright! I can fly myself." Bulma's eyebrows rose.
"Cool. Better for us, huh Oolong?" He just snorted as Bulma gave one last wave to the members of the village and sped off, Dende close behind her.
They seemed to have left at just the right moment, however, because as the village went out of view over the horizon, two men, each holding Dragonballs, landed there, asking none too nicely for the complete cooperation of the village people.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Vegeta floated up out of the crater his ship left in the Namekian soil. Mounting his scouter on the side of his face, he scanned the area for the nearest life form. He didn't have to wait very long, though, when it detected a large power level coming from directly above him. With an enormous explosion, the second ship landed, leaving another crater right next to Vegeta's. His face broke out into a grin.
"Can Kiwi come out to play?" he called out to the form exiting the new pod. Kiwi was none too amused, however.
"Are you stupid, Vegeta? Check your scouter! My power level is beyond yours, you stupid little monkey." Vegeta growled and fazed in right in front of Kiwi.
"Do you know how old that insult gets after hearing it your whole life?" he whispered in Kiwi's face. His tail uncurled from his waist as he began to silently power up. Kiwi failed to notice until his scouter picked up the slow power increase. His jaw dropped as his energy level began to rapidly rise.
"Ho-how the hell are you doing that?!" Vegeta clenched his fists and let out his energy in an explosion, laughing the whole time.
"You fool! Don't you know anything about Saiyans?!" Kiwi's eyes widened and he gulped audibly. "While you were sitting on your ass safely within Frieza's compound, I was in real battles! I even came close to death once! And do you know what happens when a Saiyan returns from the brink of death?" He plowed a fist into Kiwi's unsuspecting gut, making his eyes pop out of their head. A well-placed roundhouse kick sent Kiwi back into the crater he came out of. Vegeta flew down and picked him up out of the dirt, whispering into his ear. "We get a good deal stronger." With that, he sent an enormous ki blast at his opponent, the close range obliterating him from existence.
Floating back to the ground, Vegeta powered down, smiling at his test round. Kiwi used to be equal to him in strength, and he just turned him to ashes without even breaking a sweat! This was too good! And that ki- concealing ability he learned from the earthlings came in handy, as well. He might just be able to pull this rebellion off, now. Frieza wouldn't ever know what hit him.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*
A/N: Woo! Once again, I'm so sorry for the inexcusably late update, guys. I really hope I didn't lose any readers because of it. I love you guys! *Cries* Well, once again, let me know if you enjoyed the chapter. A little hurried, but hey. I guess it's better than nothing. Word to ishi- ban: Lol, thanks for the consideration, but I want to try to characterize Vegeta as best as I think I can on my own. I really appreciate all of the ideas, and that website too, though. ^_^ *Hugs* I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Random shout-out: naiyana! Glad you like the fic! I'm sorry, though. I don't have a mailing list. Tell you what, though. If I ever do set one up, you'll be one of the first on it! ^_^ Lol. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!