Orphaned- Chapter 4
Disclaimer- I don't own Dragon Ball, DBZ, or DBGT, as is quite apparent by my pathetic lack of knowledge…
Note- FINALLY! This certainly took long enough. It wasn't enough that I should actually lose the fic itself, but I had to go on another 'Computers are evil, technology sucks' fit. I hate those… but here we are now! On to the story!
Recap- Last time, Gohan met Chris and blew up (literally) at Mr. Chute. Krillin discovered that Goku and Chichi hadn't been home for a few years, and had had a child, and Radditz is going around destroying towns.
*****
The Namekian Piccolo flew through the air at top speeds. Radditz's power frightened him very much, though he wouldn't admit it to himself. He knew he'd need as much help as he could get, but the problem was exactly that- how much help would he get? Piccolo planned on asking Goku's old friends. It wouldn't be a huge advantage, but something was better than nothing. He could feel their powers a great distance apart. If his sense of direction was right, Krillin was near Goku's home and Yamcha was on that island with Goku's old master. Smiling grimly, he wondered how they had taken the death of their friend. Oh good, Krillin was moving toward Yamcha. He could get them both at once. Piccolo altered his direction for Kame Island.
*****
Krillin flew slowly through the air, confused. He landed softly on the sand of Kame Island and Yamcha came out to greet him. He looked around, then gave Krillin a questioning look. Krillin walked past him and into the house. Yamcha followed, perplexed.
"Hey guys," He greeted them.
"Hey Krillin, welcome back!" Bulma said. She looked behind him. Only Yamcha was there. She looked at Krillin's face. Uh-oh. "Where's Goku?" Krillin shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Whaddya mean, you don't know? You went to his house, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah, but he wasn't there. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I think something's up."
"You bet something's up! Look!" Yamcha pointed out the window and into the sky.
"What? I don't see anything," Bulma said, coming over to the window, but Krillin and Master Roshi both looked worried.
"That's Piccolo," Master Roshi said. Bulma was clueless as everyone else rushed out past her. She shrugged and followed.
Outside, Master Roshi, Yamcha, and Krillin all seemed to be watching something far away. Before Bulma could voice her annoyance at being left out however, Piccolo became visible. In a few seconds he had landed on the isle. Bulma screamed and dashed into the house for cover while the remaining fighters backed up a few steps and fell into defensive stances. Piccolo smirked, knowing that he could probably take them all on. But that wasn't what he was here for.
"Relax, I'm not here to fight," He said. No on e dropped their stance. He grinned broadly, making sure to show all of his fangs. "But if you really want to, I'm sure I could beat you around a bit before I go on my way."
"What do you want? Goku's not here." Yamcha said, gathering his courage. Piccolo narrowed his eyes.
"Of course he's not here." He said. Didn't these fools know? Obviously not. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he's dead." He watched in mild amusement as Krillin's, Master Roshi's, and Yamcha's jaws all dropped five feet.
"What do you mean?!" Krillin shouted, first to recover. "What did you do to him?!"
"Me? Listen, as much as I wish it, I was not the one who finished him off. But that is also not why I'm here. A new, evil force has appeared on Earth and I can't fight it alone."
"Now wait a second," Yamcha said. "That's a whole lot you're asking us to believe. I mean, I think one of us would have known if Goku was dead."
"Well then I guess you'd better reconsider your friendship with him, then meet me on the battlefield. If you don't come to your senses by the end of today, Earth is through. Your choice." With this, Piccolo took off again. Everyone let out an audible sigh.
"So now what?" Krillin asked. "Do we trust him?"
"No." Yamcha replied. "We can sense ki, right? If anything big happens, we'll know." Krillin nodded half-heartedly. He still couldn't shake his feeling of foreboding.
*****
Gohan decided to find Chris again. He needed to talk to her because he couldn't remember anything that had happened in the psychiatrist's office and suspected that Mr. Chute had done something to him to make him forget. As he rounded a corner, an interesting sight met his eyes. The door to Mr. Chute's office was gone and paramedics were loading the unconscious shrink onto a stretcher. That was odd. What happened to him? Gohan would've asked someone, but decided he didn't really care what happened to his therapist. He continued outside.
*****
Radditz landed in the outskirts of the city. Not much was here. A sign that read;
~Ivy City~
~Population; 21,000~
And a few houses and stores. No one was outside. Radditz could see the busy city and hear the street traffic from here. That was his goal, not this sleepy outer edge.
'Poor fools,' He thought, deciding on a terrorizing strategy. He'd spread the fear slowly, then watch it take effect. But first… Radditz flew back into the air and charged a small ki blast. 'That town wasn't worth my time,' He thought as he watched the explosion with a satisfied expression.
*****
Deep under the earth, hidden in a subterranean cavern, a small orange sphere reflected the light of an oncoming explosion. The blast came quickly, and the four-star dragonball met its end. Above ground, Radditz had no idea how complicated he'd just made things.
*****
Piccolo was flying slower now. He still had a few hours until sundown, and then he would meet Radditz. Truthfully, he had no idea of what was going to happen. If those idiots didn't show up, how was he supposed to handle Radditz on his own? 'Death is but the next great adventure,' A little voice told him. Piccolo shook his head. "I'm not going to die," He assured it, and continued along.
*****
"Chris," Gohan approached the girl who had abandoned the sand and was now swinging on a nearby swing-set.
"Gohan," She acknowledged, nearly kicking him as she swung forward. Gohan stepped back.
"Well, you were right about Mr. Chute."
"Of course I was," Chris replied, jumping off the swing and landing perfectly a few feet away. "Hey, what's going on over there?" She had spotted Mr. Chute's ambulance speeding off.
"They're taking Mr. Chute to the hospital. I'm not sure what happened, but you should see his office! It looks like a tornado hit it." Chris's eyes widened.
"Well don't just stand there! Let's go find out!" Chris darted into the building. Gohan followed, smiling slightly. Chris wasn't nearly so hostile once you were friends with her.
*****
Radditz walked directly down the center of the busy street. His mere presence seemed to be causing terror and mayhem- a fact that pleased the Saiyan very much. Just to heighten this effect, Radditz incinerated a few cars, sending people scurrying away faster than ever. In the panic, fires erupted and cars crashed. Citizens screamed at one another as though this was their fault. Radditz just laughed. How silly the human race was! Not only were they a source of entertainment, but they were also doing half his job for him!
*****
Miss Marx peered over her glasses at the small boy in front of her. Son Gohan. Again. She looked to the girl next to him. Christina Maud. Again. Surprisingly enough, however, Miss Marx had called neither to her office this time.
"What can I do for you?" She asked.
"What happened to Mr. Chute?!" Chris exclaimed.
"Oh that's right, you two were seeing him. I guess it's all right to let you know then," She replied, relieved that she didn't have to deal with more reports of fighting and disruption in the dormitories. "It seems there was a freak phenomena of nature in Mr. Chute's office. He was hurt pretty badly, but don't worry, he'll be back as soon as his bones heal."
"Peachy." Chris said, unenthused. "Just peachy."
"Well, if that's all you need, then- Whoa!" The floor had suddenly begun shaking violently, knocking Miss Marx and the two children off their feet. Miss Marx got up and ran to the window, tailed closely by Chris and Gohan. What they saw almost made them scream.
*****
Yeah right, some cliffhanger, huh? You all know or have pretty good guesses as to what they saw. And if not, well, wait for the next chapter, which, I regret to say, is going to take a tad longer. I haven't even gotten it out on paper yet, and since school is out, I have no time to work on it… Did that make any sense? Well, in any case, until next time, toodles ^.^
~mysticGohan33~