Not quite three days later, the group of Earth's saviors stood in a semi-
circle looking up at the speck in the atmosphere that was growing larger
with each passing minute. Sweat rolled from Piccolo's temple down along
his jaw, they were coming, and he didn't know how strong they were, but if
at least one of them could break into the ship and start letting prisoners
loose, all the better.
Piccolo told the others of his plan and they said that Bulma could scan the ship and tell him where the prison cells were located but he shook his head and declined. The speck was now the size of a basketball and that was enough of a difference, the six of them leapt to meet them head on.
Piccolo went directly for the back of the ship, firing chi blasts as the minions of the Eliokon began to fall from portals to meet the warriors that came to defend their planet. Piccolo drove his fist deep into the guts of the nearest, puncturing the armor and feeling his fist hit cool air as it exited his back. He shook the gurgling beast from his arm and swung at another.
He charged a chi blast and aimed for the docking doors, blasting them in and followed the roiling fireball as it passed through the passageways. He stopped and looked around himself. He didn't recognized this spot but he felt a familiar chi somewhere close by and followed the twisting corridors until he nearly ran into the person he was tracking.
Nate stood, gripping a guard by the neck in each hand as he snarled and Piccolo heard the vertebrate pop and he dropped them to the floor in heaps. Nate turned and looked at him before passing by him and leaping onto another pack of guards. "Nate, where is Negate?"
The man looked up at him from his pile and stared at him in shock. "How do you know my name, stranger?" A fist caught his jaw and he growled, grabbing the man's head in his hands and twisting violently. When he looked back up at Piccolo his eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Negate?"
A large mountain of a man came whooping down the corridor at Nate's back and Piccolo yelled at him to get down. Nate dropped to his knees and Piccolo let a shot of chi fly from his fingertips and pierce the man through his chest, catching three more guards that stood behind him. Nate stood, looked at him with a mixture of awe and suspicion before head butting a man in the face.
"She's down that way, hopefully getting people free." Piccolo turned and began to sprint down the corridors, his antennae blown back from his face. "She's the short one! With the maniacal grin!" He heard Nate's voice echo from behind him.
Piccolo clothes lined the nearest guard and stamped on his head, following the sound of frantic screaming. The galley was filled with people running back and forth, trying to find an exit or someplace to hide. Guards were beating down wave after wave of prisoners that rushed at them in steady flows, trampling some of their own. Piccolo searched frantically but couldn't see Negate anywhere. The ship rocked harshly, masses thrown into walls. Either the saiyajins had to break their way in, or the ship had just crash-landed on the planet.
A low boom rumbled under his feet and Piccolo covered his face with his arms as the shrapnel of masticated walls blew in. Vegeta stood in the hole, golden hair flowing and an evil cackle sent guards scurrying over everyone trying to get away. Grabbing the closest, Vegeta broke them into pieces with the flick of his wrist and stopped the others with small bursts of chi. Piccolo dove from the room, racing along the halls and met Gohan beating a guard --Piccolo remembered breaking his wrist-into the wall, the surface buckling under the pressure.
Piccolo ran, beating guards without merci and throwing them from his path as he began to search frantically for Negate. He remembered the first night, seeing the greasy guard as he kicked and beat at Negate without mercy. He saw the sickly man cowering in the darkness and grasped him by the neck, hauling up to full height. "You, where's the woman?"
The man croaked, trying to squirm out of Piccolo's grip. Piccolo shook him and the man gurgled. He set the guard on his feet held him against the wall with one hand against the man's chest. "I won't ask you again."
"You mean -00359? She's dead." The man began to laugh and Piccolo leaned heavily onto his arm and felt one of the man's ribs crack. He screamed and began to sob.
"Don't lie to me!" Piccolo fumed, he began to build a layer of energy in his palm. The man squirmed as the heat began to sear into his skin.
"I'm not I swear! I saw one of the guards beat her after releasing the prisoner's cuffs." Piccolo heaved on his weight and two more of the man's ribs splintered. He squealed. "I swear, I swear." The man sobbed. Piccolo spit on the floor and growled down at him, he let the chi go and the man's face drained of color as he slumped to the floor.
The screaming had died and now hundreds of people were standing around Capsule Corps. land and huddling in small groups. The beaten were brought inside for treatment while those able to move on their own treated more superficial wounds on the others. Bulma came from inside, she was covered in sweat, dirt and blood. She wiped her forehead with a clean towel and leaned in the doorway looking at the prisoners that gazed around them with cow-eyed fear at their new freedom. Vegeta had retreated to the Gravity Room, his work done for the day. Goku and Gohan had helped her with much of the wounded, cauterizing wounds with small flames of chi and lugging around the larger people. Now that everyone had been taken care of however, they had returned home to explain to ChiChi why they had run off during breakfast and pray she left her frying pan on the sideboard. Piccolo wandered aimlessly through the group, he seemed to be sympathizing with some of the prisoners and was sitting under a tree with a small group of them nodding and talking quietly now and then. A large man stood from under the tree and limped his way over to Bulma. She noticed how deep the lines of his face where when he smiled -how amazingly straight his teeth were- and realized he must have been a great looking man years ago before hell found him. He shook her hand and Bulma was surprised at the strength and heavy calluses along his palm. "I wanted to thank you for all of the help you've given us. I know that with masses like this we are a burden on your house." Bulma shook her head, "It's no trouble. I've had a larger mass of stranger beings than you here." She smiled brightly, happy to be receiving praise. The man nodded and gave her hand a final squeeze before walking back to where the others sat. Piccolo was standing now and the man gave him a slap on the back. Piccolo told him something and his eyes grew big, he began to wipe furiously at his eyes. Bulma watched in shock as he sat down with a heavy thump and began to ball. Piccolo walked to her side, looking over the sea of people. She looked up at him and saw that something was wrong but held her tongue. "There aren't any short women in the medical unit are there?" Bulma gave a harsh laugh, "There are dozens upon dozens of women in the medical unit, want to be more specific?" Piccolo said nothing and began to walk away. "Piccolo wait." But he continued and leapt into the sky.
Several days had passed and the dragon balls of earth were collected. Now the group of senshi stood over the glowing orbs and watched as the dragon leapt from them. Dende spoke quietly and quickly and the dragon's eyes glowed. The first wish granting all of the prisoner's home - those with homes left. The remainder turned out to be less than they had imagined roughly two dozen and they saw no reason to leave. The final wish remained and the dragon huffed but returned to his slumber As the other's left, Dende caught Piccolo before he returned to the waterfall. "Piccolo, how did you know that the ship was coming?" Piccolo looked down at him for a moment, "It was a vision.a really vivid one." "But why did--?" "The second wish on Namek. I knew that we'd need the dragon balls and wished them back into activation." Dende nodded and smiled kindly up at the elder. Piccolo gave him a wan smile and dropped from the Lookout. On his way home Gohan stopped him. "Hey Piccolo, Bulma wants to have a big 'saving the planet' party." He smiled at his mentor. "No thank you." Piccolo frowned and continued on his way. "But you have to come! It's because of you that we knew and saved all of those people!" Gohan glared at him. Piccolo let out a deep sigh and Gohan gave a whoop as they switched course and headed to Capsule Corps. When they arrived, tables of food were strewn all over the back lawn and Piccolo could already hear Goku giggling like a kid in a candy store with five dollars in his pocket. They landed and Gohan automatically began to mingle, heading for the nearest food table as well. Piccolo stood dejectedly to the side, watching as the group of people lounged and laughed. A peal of laughter from somewhere inside made his ears perk and he looked across the sea of faces more closely. When he swept the crowd and saw nothing he allowed himself to think he was only imagining. Besides, even if she were alive she wouldn't remember him, much like the rest of the prisoners he had encountered during his mental tryst. "Hey Piccolo!" Bulma waved at him from the far side of the garden and he walked slowly, avoiding the others as much as possible. When he stopped she was smiling brightly. "How do you like the party?" Piccolo shrugged. Bulma scowled at him with mock hurt. "It's for you, you big galoot. You saved a whole lot of people. You can at least enjoy my party!" Her false anger left her face and she handed him a glass of water. Piccolo took a drink and Bulma looked pacified. "Oh, speech time. Be right back." She bounded over to the podium to their left and Piccolo sighed, setting his glass on the closest table. "Thank you everyone for coming." Bulma beamed down at all of them, everyone clapped and someone in the back let out a shrill whistle, she giggled. Piccolo turned his back to them, ignoring the whoops and cheers. Someone tapped his arm and he grunted, stepping to the side to let them by. "Excuse me." Piccolo turned and looked down, startled. A pair of large chocolate eyes stared up at him. His mouth fell open to ask how but no sound came out. Her hair was combed out and cut properly, soft waves curling around at the ends. Jaunie smiled up at him. "Hi Beautiful." Piccolo smiled slowly, then realized that she had remembered who he was. "How-" "I'll tell you about it later." Jaunie grinned and tentatively touched his skin. "You're even more beautiful in person." Her cheeks tinted but she laughed as Piccolo's face flooded with violet hues. "You don't want to be here do you?" Piccolo was going to ask her how she knew but she shrugged and tapped her head. "It's what I do." Piccolo mulled it over a moment then grinned softly. "Come." He turned and walked toward Capsule Corps with Jaunie following closely behind.
"And now I'd like to thank the man of the hour -or should I say Namek- Piccolo!" Bulma held her hand out, pointing to the spot that Piccolo had been standing only moments before. Everyone turned and murmured in puzzlement. Bulma put her hands to her hips and frowned. "Where did he go?"
That's it folks. Simple.
Piccolo told the others of his plan and they said that Bulma could scan the ship and tell him where the prison cells were located but he shook his head and declined. The speck was now the size of a basketball and that was enough of a difference, the six of them leapt to meet them head on.
Piccolo went directly for the back of the ship, firing chi blasts as the minions of the Eliokon began to fall from portals to meet the warriors that came to defend their planet. Piccolo drove his fist deep into the guts of the nearest, puncturing the armor and feeling his fist hit cool air as it exited his back. He shook the gurgling beast from his arm and swung at another.
He charged a chi blast and aimed for the docking doors, blasting them in and followed the roiling fireball as it passed through the passageways. He stopped and looked around himself. He didn't recognized this spot but he felt a familiar chi somewhere close by and followed the twisting corridors until he nearly ran into the person he was tracking.
Nate stood, gripping a guard by the neck in each hand as he snarled and Piccolo heard the vertebrate pop and he dropped them to the floor in heaps. Nate turned and looked at him before passing by him and leaping onto another pack of guards. "Nate, where is Negate?"
The man looked up at him from his pile and stared at him in shock. "How do you know my name, stranger?" A fist caught his jaw and he growled, grabbing the man's head in his hands and twisting violently. When he looked back up at Piccolo his eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Negate?"
A large mountain of a man came whooping down the corridor at Nate's back and Piccolo yelled at him to get down. Nate dropped to his knees and Piccolo let a shot of chi fly from his fingertips and pierce the man through his chest, catching three more guards that stood behind him. Nate stood, looked at him with a mixture of awe and suspicion before head butting a man in the face.
"She's down that way, hopefully getting people free." Piccolo turned and began to sprint down the corridors, his antennae blown back from his face. "She's the short one! With the maniacal grin!" He heard Nate's voice echo from behind him.
Piccolo clothes lined the nearest guard and stamped on his head, following the sound of frantic screaming. The galley was filled with people running back and forth, trying to find an exit or someplace to hide. Guards were beating down wave after wave of prisoners that rushed at them in steady flows, trampling some of their own. Piccolo searched frantically but couldn't see Negate anywhere. The ship rocked harshly, masses thrown into walls. Either the saiyajins had to break their way in, or the ship had just crash-landed on the planet.
A low boom rumbled under his feet and Piccolo covered his face with his arms as the shrapnel of masticated walls blew in. Vegeta stood in the hole, golden hair flowing and an evil cackle sent guards scurrying over everyone trying to get away. Grabbing the closest, Vegeta broke them into pieces with the flick of his wrist and stopped the others with small bursts of chi. Piccolo dove from the room, racing along the halls and met Gohan beating a guard --Piccolo remembered breaking his wrist-into the wall, the surface buckling under the pressure.
Piccolo ran, beating guards without merci and throwing them from his path as he began to search frantically for Negate. He remembered the first night, seeing the greasy guard as he kicked and beat at Negate without mercy. He saw the sickly man cowering in the darkness and grasped him by the neck, hauling up to full height. "You, where's the woman?"
The man croaked, trying to squirm out of Piccolo's grip. Piccolo shook him and the man gurgled. He set the guard on his feet held him against the wall with one hand against the man's chest. "I won't ask you again."
"You mean -00359? She's dead." The man began to laugh and Piccolo leaned heavily onto his arm and felt one of the man's ribs crack. He screamed and began to sob.
"Don't lie to me!" Piccolo fumed, he began to build a layer of energy in his palm. The man squirmed as the heat began to sear into his skin.
"I'm not I swear! I saw one of the guards beat her after releasing the prisoner's cuffs." Piccolo heaved on his weight and two more of the man's ribs splintered. He squealed. "I swear, I swear." The man sobbed. Piccolo spit on the floor and growled down at him, he let the chi go and the man's face drained of color as he slumped to the floor.
The screaming had died and now hundreds of people were standing around Capsule Corps. land and huddling in small groups. The beaten were brought inside for treatment while those able to move on their own treated more superficial wounds on the others. Bulma came from inside, she was covered in sweat, dirt and blood. She wiped her forehead with a clean towel and leaned in the doorway looking at the prisoners that gazed around them with cow-eyed fear at their new freedom. Vegeta had retreated to the Gravity Room, his work done for the day. Goku and Gohan had helped her with much of the wounded, cauterizing wounds with small flames of chi and lugging around the larger people. Now that everyone had been taken care of however, they had returned home to explain to ChiChi why they had run off during breakfast and pray she left her frying pan on the sideboard. Piccolo wandered aimlessly through the group, he seemed to be sympathizing with some of the prisoners and was sitting under a tree with a small group of them nodding and talking quietly now and then. A large man stood from under the tree and limped his way over to Bulma. She noticed how deep the lines of his face where when he smiled -how amazingly straight his teeth were- and realized he must have been a great looking man years ago before hell found him. He shook her hand and Bulma was surprised at the strength and heavy calluses along his palm. "I wanted to thank you for all of the help you've given us. I know that with masses like this we are a burden on your house." Bulma shook her head, "It's no trouble. I've had a larger mass of stranger beings than you here." She smiled brightly, happy to be receiving praise. The man nodded and gave her hand a final squeeze before walking back to where the others sat. Piccolo was standing now and the man gave him a slap on the back. Piccolo told him something and his eyes grew big, he began to wipe furiously at his eyes. Bulma watched in shock as he sat down with a heavy thump and began to ball. Piccolo walked to her side, looking over the sea of people. She looked up at him and saw that something was wrong but held her tongue. "There aren't any short women in the medical unit are there?" Bulma gave a harsh laugh, "There are dozens upon dozens of women in the medical unit, want to be more specific?" Piccolo said nothing and began to walk away. "Piccolo wait." But he continued and leapt into the sky.
Several days had passed and the dragon balls of earth were collected. Now the group of senshi stood over the glowing orbs and watched as the dragon leapt from them. Dende spoke quietly and quickly and the dragon's eyes glowed. The first wish granting all of the prisoner's home - those with homes left. The remainder turned out to be less than they had imagined roughly two dozen and they saw no reason to leave. The final wish remained and the dragon huffed but returned to his slumber As the other's left, Dende caught Piccolo before he returned to the waterfall. "Piccolo, how did you know that the ship was coming?" Piccolo looked down at him for a moment, "It was a vision.a really vivid one." "But why did--?" "The second wish on Namek. I knew that we'd need the dragon balls and wished them back into activation." Dende nodded and smiled kindly up at the elder. Piccolo gave him a wan smile and dropped from the Lookout. On his way home Gohan stopped him. "Hey Piccolo, Bulma wants to have a big 'saving the planet' party." He smiled at his mentor. "No thank you." Piccolo frowned and continued on his way. "But you have to come! It's because of you that we knew and saved all of those people!" Gohan glared at him. Piccolo let out a deep sigh and Gohan gave a whoop as they switched course and headed to Capsule Corps. When they arrived, tables of food were strewn all over the back lawn and Piccolo could already hear Goku giggling like a kid in a candy store with five dollars in his pocket. They landed and Gohan automatically began to mingle, heading for the nearest food table as well. Piccolo stood dejectedly to the side, watching as the group of people lounged and laughed. A peal of laughter from somewhere inside made his ears perk and he looked across the sea of faces more closely. When he swept the crowd and saw nothing he allowed himself to think he was only imagining. Besides, even if she were alive she wouldn't remember him, much like the rest of the prisoners he had encountered during his mental tryst. "Hey Piccolo!" Bulma waved at him from the far side of the garden and he walked slowly, avoiding the others as much as possible. When he stopped she was smiling brightly. "How do you like the party?" Piccolo shrugged. Bulma scowled at him with mock hurt. "It's for you, you big galoot. You saved a whole lot of people. You can at least enjoy my party!" Her false anger left her face and she handed him a glass of water. Piccolo took a drink and Bulma looked pacified. "Oh, speech time. Be right back." She bounded over to the podium to their left and Piccolo sighed, setting his glass on the closest table. "Thank you everyone for coming." Bulma beamed down at all of them, everyone clapped and someone in the back let out a shrill whistle, she giggled. Piccolo turned his back to them, ignoring the whoops and cheers. Someone tapped his arm and he grunted, stepping to the side to let them by. "Excuse me." Piccolo turned and looked down, startled. A pair of large chocolate eyes stared up at him. His mouth fell open to ask how but no sound came out. Her hair was combed out and cut properly, soft waves curling around at the ends. Jaunie smiled up at him. "Hi Beautiful." Piccolo smiled slowly, then realized that she had remembered who he was. "How-" "I'll tell you about it later." Jaunie grinned and tentatively touched his skin. "You're even more beautiful in person." Her cheeks tinted but she laughed as Piccolo's face flooded with violet hues. "You don't want to be here do you?" Piccolo was going to ask her how she knew but she shrugged and tapped her head. "It's what I do." Piccolo mulled it over a moment then grinned softly. "Come." He turned and walked toward Capsule Corps with Jaunie following closely behind.
"And now I'd like to thank the man of the hour -or should I say Namek- Piccolo!" Bulma held her hand out, pointing to the spot that Piccolo had been standing only moments before. Everyone turned and murmured in puzzlement. Bulma put her hands to her hips and frowned. "Where did he go?"
That's it folks. Simple.
