***********
Chapter 3
Goku's Rival
Raditz slowly got up. He was fairly heavily injured, but not dead. He
was still near the lake. He clutched his chest as he got up. He managed
to slowly stand up.
I have to get to my ship he thought. He wondered what was going
on. Surely the earthlings would know he wasn't dead? Odd. He say his ship
up ahead and landed slowly. Walking in, he let himself into the regeneration
chamber and hit forty minutes on the control panel before going asleep.
The Kame House...
"Most unusual, Goku. Truly strange," Master Roshi said as he sipped
from his glass.
"Yeah, tell me about it. It's not every day a warrior like that comes
out of the sky," Goku said. He had told Master Roshi everything he knew
about the arrival of Raditz. Unfortunately, Roshi knew nothing about what
a "Saiyan" was.
"I'm worried though. He might cause trouble when he's healed again,"
Yamcha said. Roshi nodded.
"I know...but hopefully he'll leave, or at least not do anything else,"
Goku said. Then he threw a quick look at the clock.
"Look at the time!" Goku exclaimed as he sat up. "I'll see you guys
another time!" he said as he flew off, waving.
"I've gotta go to, see ya," Yamcha said as he flew off in another direction.
"See ya, Goku!" Krillin called out as he and Master Roshi waved their
friends off. As Goku grew smaller in the distance, the three walked back
into the small house.
"Master Roshi, there's something you should know," Krillin said as
they sat down. "That Saiyan guy, he...had a tail, just like Goku used to,"
"What?" Roshi exclaimed. "This is most unusual. I wonder if they're
related somehow?" he said, but quickly dismissed that idea.
"Nappa, has Raditz sent any messages back?" Vegeta asked as the two
Saiyans walked through the halls of base.
"Yes, Vegeta. He was injured. It seems the planet has some powerful
warriors, my prince," Nappa said. The large Saiyan had trouble believing
a planet like Earth could produce such fighters, but if they could defeat
Raditz, they were fairly powerful. Nothing to either of them, of course.
"We'll take earth as the first step of our rebellion. Send this message
to Raditz: Do nothing unless you or I tell him otherwise. Stay low until
we arrive. Now, I have a ship that should be done about now," Vegeta said
quietly, to avoid being overheard. Nappa nodded and tapped his scouter.
"Understood, Nappa," Raditz sighed. He was going to be bored with nothing
to do until they arrive. He turned off his scouter and began planning.
He was sitting on the ground outside his ship, next to four of the
balls. He had found them in the wilds of the planet. The most dangerous
creatures out there were these things earthlings called "dinosaurs", which
were no threat to a Saiyan. The other three were in one location, but the
large power was very close. It seemed they were in his house. Raditz sighed,
he couldn't defeat this warrior, although Raditz had risen to 2,860, the
warriors friends would make victory difficult. On the other hand, no one
knows more about fighting then Saiyans...and he can always wait until the
full moon...
No! Too dangerous! You haven't learned to control that form yet!
Raditz mentally cursed himself: Bardock was going to teach him to control
the Oozaru state, but after the planet was destroyed only Nappa was left,
and he spent his time training Vegeta. All he could do was think.
"Out of my way," Vegeta said as he and Nappa were blocked in the hanger
by several dozen guards. The large ship sat at the back of the hanger.
Dozens of doors were everywhere in the hangar.
The guards were nervous as they formed a circle around the Saiyans.
But they looked calmer as a familiar figure appeared from the other side
of the hanger. Vegeta's scouter went off and he turned to see who was there.
Zarbon was walking forward slowly. Vegeta knew what was happening; they
were to be killed. But, he had no intention of dying, eve if Zarbon was
here. He and Nappa nodded to each other. Years of drill allowed both to
know what to do.
The guards quickly surrounded Nappa and began punching and kicking
as a huge wall of soldiers formed around and above him. Ki began pouring
out from the small between the soldiers and they were thrown back as Nappa
screamed, his ki raising. Powering up, he raised two fingers as an energy
field formed around him.
"Die!" he shouted. "Bakuhatsuha," a powerful explosion erupted around
Nappa, throwing pieces of armor around the hanger. More soldiers stormed
in and began firing. Nappa shielded himself from the blasts.
"Nappa! Get the ship!" Vegeta shouted as he fired a blast that erupted
near several soldiers on a catwalk above. Nappa nodded and made a run for
the ship. Zarbon broke into a dash and Vegeta charged forward and kicked
Zarbon in the face as they got near. Flying back, Vegeta formed a large
blast and fired. It hit Zarbon head on and carried him back as Vegeta ran
for the ship.
Nappa had reached the door and was opening it, occasionally stopping
to fire a blast at a group of soldiers. The door opened. At that moment
Zarbon deflected Vegeta's blast away and began charging his own. Vegeta
flew into the ship.
"Fly! Fly damn it!" he shouted as blasts rained onto the ship, but
luckily it's powerful armor absorbed most of the soldiers attacks. Nappa
pounded at the command console and the engine slowly turned on. The ship
began lifting into the air and flying towards the launch door.
"No! You won't escape me!" Zarbon shouted as he fired the blast. Acting
quickly, Nappa opened the door and flew out, throwing himself in front
of the blast, his arms shielding himself. It went off and Nappa began falling
towards the hanger ground, but he managed to stop and fly back up to the
ship and he flew into through door and closed it behind him. The ship's
speed picked up as it continued towards the door.
"Shut the doors! Shut the doors!" Zarbon screamed angrily. A technician
began working furiously at the console. The door began closing. Vegeta
growled and opened the door. Leaning part way out, he fired a blast into
the hanger door. It exploded, but as the smoke cleared the doors were unaffected.
"W...what?" Vegeta muttered. Growling loudly, he flew out of the ship.
Pulling his arms back, he began powering enormous amounts of ki.
"No! Kill him now!" Zarbon shouted and fired a blast. It hit Vegeta
in the leg, causing him to yell out, but he continued charging the blast
as ki crackled around him.
"Galic Gun!" Vegeta screamed as he fired the enormous blast. It raced
past the large ship and collided with the hanger blast doors and exploded,
destroying them and sending large pieces of steel flying, causing soliders
to scatter. With a satisfied smirk, Vegeta got back in the ship after firing
two quick blasts, scattering the gathered soldiers. The ship flew off.
"Now we go to Earth," Vegeta said. Nappa lied down, breathing heavily.
"I think I'll take a few minutes the regeneration chamber, that blast
caused some damage," Nappa said as he wiped some blood from his left arm.
"That's fine, I can pilot these things myself," Vegeta said. Then,
looking at the console, he growled.
"This ship is slower then I had hoped! I'll tell Raditz we'll arrive
in a year," Vegeta said as he turned on his scouter.
"Daddy!" Gohan cried happily and jumped into his fathers arms as Goku
walked into the house.
"Hey, Gohan, how is everything?" Goku asked, smiling.
"Everything's fine, dad," Gohan said.
"That's good," Goku said. At that moment, Chi chi walked in.
"Well, it's about time you got here, Goku. You're late!" she said.
"It's not my fault! Something came up..." Goku began, but suddenly
felt a vaguely familiar ki approaching fast...
"Gohan, Chi chi, stay in the house," Goku said seriously. Chi chi nodded
and, holding Gohan, withdrew into a nearby room. Goku walked out. He saw
the strange fighter from earlier floating a distance off in the air. Raditz
slowly floated down and landed in front of him, arms crossed, smirking.
"What do you want?" Goku said, staring sternly at the Saiyan. The warrior
had healed at an unbelievable rate; there was no sign he had battled anyone.
And somehow, his ki had raised even higher...
"I want to know why you did not finish our fight," Raditz said.
"What do you mean?" Goku asked, confused. Raditz sighed to himself.
"Why didn't you kill me? Weren't you worried I'd return?" Raditz said.
"That's not my way. I believe everyone deserves a second chance," Goku
said sternly.
Raditz stared for a second, confused. Were all Earth warriors like
this?
"Why did you come here?" Goku asked, breaking the silence.
"I was sent by my Prince to get these "dragonballs" so we can defeat
Frieza," Raditz said.
"Frieza? Who's that?" Goku asked. Raditz laughed.
"I'd expect even a planet like this to have hard of HIM. Frieza is
the son of King Kold and the man who destroyed my home planet, and dozens
of other planets," Raditz said.
"W..what?" Goku shouted in shock. Then he sensed something and Raditz,
noticing Goku's shocked expression, tapped on his scouter quickly. A number
came up from behind. Raditz turned and stared in surprise as a large blast
approached. He jumped back, but was caught in the explosion and hurled
to the side. He pushed himself up and spun around.
Goku turned around instantly and saw the source of the attack:
Piccolo had returned...
***********
Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it was just too perfect a spot.
