Orphaned Chapter 8
Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Dragon Ball Universe! At all! Legally, that is. Technically I have this cute little Videl figurine that I bought… thus I own it… but the idea for it was not mine… well, you get the drift!
Note- Nothing, just enjoy the story with my apologies for taking so long.
*****
Tien and Krillin sped back from Korin's tower as fast as was humanly (or otherwise) possible. Both had taken a senzu and had received a full bag from Korin. Now they sped toward Piccolo's ki, which, in fact, was heading to meet them as well. Tien pulled a senzu from the bag and tossed it to Piccolo when they met in midair. All of his wounds were instantly healed and his muscles surged with new power.
"I know where the kid is. Radditz has him stashed in his ship." Krillin and Tien looked at each other. Now they knew where Gohan was. Did they rescue him first, or attack Radditz? Piccolo sensed their thoughts and the question easily. "Kill Radditz, then you can take your own time doing whatever you need. You don't know how long you'll have before he takes off." He said, passing off a tone of carelessness with ease. Krillin arched an eyebrow. The plan seemed sound, but for how long were they going to trust Piccolo? No matter. The problem at hand was Radditz.
*****
Radditz, however, had problems of his own. It was taking too long to demolish cities one by one. Already religious groups were coming to him pledging allegiance. The people of Earth were a fickle race…
He wondered briefly if he could manage a blast controlled well enough to wipe out all life, but leave the land intact. Briefly wondered. Then he tried it. If it wrong, well, Freiza really didn't care that much about this particular out-of-the-way planet.
Radditz flew into the air far enough so that a largely populated portion of the nation was in his vision. He charged a blast over his head, guessing at the potency required. After only a moment of waiting, the deadly sphere was ready. Hurling it with a mixture of malice and impatience, he watched the lethal energy as it made contact. Exploding in a dazzling array of light and smoke, half a dozen cities were instantly demolished leaving behind only singed and blackened land. Radditz shrugged. The land would heal itself over time. He began forming a larger, less potent blast to cover more area but do less damage to the earth itself, but was interrupted by the sudden, if not timely, arrival of Tien, Krillin, and Piccolo.
"How could you?" Krillin asked, gesturing a shaking hand at what had seconds ago been a bustling suburb. Radditz shrugged again with a large grin plastered on his face. Then, slowly, he comprehended what he was seeing. His three enemies, whom he had left for dead, now floated menacingly before him. He glanced at the half-formed blast still floating casually above his hand. He looked at the seemingly immortal opposition. It would do. Mustering all of his rage, he heaved the blast towards the three. They scattered, causing the errant ki to go careening off into the distance, where it proceeded to extinguish a dozen more thriving communities.
Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo leapt to the attack. Still retaining his previous wounds, Radditz found himself grievously outclassed. Realizing he could not win in this state, he made a decision. He needed to overwhelm them, so he began charging a large blast. Dropping quickly to the scarred ground so as not to waste energy flying, he dipped into his already exhausted reserves. This attack would suck him completely dry, but hopefully would do plenty of damage to them as well. The Z fighters followed Radditz to the ground. If he wanted to fight here, that was fine. Most of them fought better on land anyway. They didn't expect Radditz to have this last tick, however. When the blast came at them, they easily dodged, but it broke into three separate spheres and followed each of them at breathtaking speed. Inevitably, each crashed into its prey, creating large clouds of smoke. Such a jar was this to Krillin that the senzus, which had been securely tied to his belt, came loose and fell to the ground. Radditz's enhanced vision noted this, but what importance the beans held was lost to him. When the smoke cleared each of the warriors were equally stunned, but recovered quickly. Radditz had dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Krillin picked up the senzu bag which, coincidentally, had spilled a few in the vicinity of Radditz, who now lay prone, semi-conscious, on the ground. He watched, dazed, as Krillin passed out senzus. Though the damage done was not too terrible, Radditz's attack had done more than he'd thought. He saw them heal, all cuts, bruises, and injuries vanished. His muddled thoughts connected; Bean = healing…. And one had landed not too far from him…
"Should we really kill him?" Tien asked, discussing with Krillin and Piccolo. "I mean, he's helpless."
"But he'll heal. And he will get stronger." Piccolo said passively. Personally, he would love to blow the Saiyan to Hell and back right now, but for some reason he withheld that sentiment.
"He can't be all bad if he's Goku's brother." Krillin reasoned. Piccolo grinned. These morons didn't seem to understand that Goku was the exception. He didn't have time to comment on this, however. Three heads snapped up as one as they felt the spike of a now-familiar power. They turned around in time to see Radditz fly away. Piccolo let out a frustrated yell and took off after him, Krillin and Tien not far behind.
*****
Gohan had long since given up crying. The buttons no longer posed questions, nor were they tempting. He merely sat, his eyes red, but dry. He was calm now: the groggy sort of calm that follows a storm of tears. What little light that reached him was not comforting because of its red tint, and it only added to the menacing atmosphere. It didn't matter much anyway; the sun was sinking. Gohan was getting tired: it was amazing how much energy being scared took out of you. He resolved then and there never to be frightened again.
He was just about to give in to weariness when the door hissed open for the second time in hours. Gohan squished himself into a corner, but refused to tremble. The bulky form of Radditz filled the door and then entered the pod. As the door closed, Gohan found himself feeling suddenly claustrophobic in the one-man ship, but Radditz picked him out of his corner and put him on his knee, almost affectionately. Gohan squirmed to get away at first, but Radditz held him firmly in place while he punched in the launch code. Despite himself, Gohan felt a thrill of excitement as he saw the ground rushing downward. The ship passed a green blur and straight through the atmosphere, not pausing until they were clear of Earth's orbit. The child's excitement must have shown on his face, because Radditz grinned. But the boy's pleasure slowly dwindled to terror again despite his earlier vow not to fear anything. His uncle must have seen this emotion, too, because he found he owed an explanation to his nephew.
"Do you know what you are?" Radditz asked. Gohan, startled at being addressed, turned to look at Radditz with wide, innocent eyes. Radditz grinned to himself. Real tactful way to begin a conversation…
*****
Piccolo flew directly to the landing site, but was too late. Just as he arrived, the Saiyan pod sped off, nearly taking his head with it. Piccolo scowled deeply. If he knew Radditz (and he should like to think he could profile his own enemies) he'd be back for revenge. He hadn't completed his assignment. Piccolo lowered himself to the ground as Tien and Krillin made their appearance. Krillin stared at the sky for a moment before letting out a string of curses.
"Don't worry," Piccolo advised. "He'll be back. And judging from what I heard, with friends." Piccolo grinned ominously and took off. Krillin and Tien just looked at each other. More Saiyans?
"I guess we'd better start training." Tien sighed. He'd have no partner. Krillin nodded and the two rose into the sir, ready to go their separate ways.
"Hey, wait!" A voice shouted. The two looked down. There was Yajirobe in his air-car. "Hey!" He yelled again. Tien and Krillin lowered to eye-level. "Kami wants to see you." He said importantly. Then, as an afterthought, "And Piccolo."
"Good luck finding him," Tien stated. "Once he's gone, he stays gone." Yajirobe just shrugged and flew off again. The two warriors began towards Kami's lookout, wondering what the guardian needed.
*****
Gohan was bewildered. First he was an orphan, then he found out about his father's friends and a grandfather, and then, the real kicker, his uncle. At first, he refused to believe that this monster was his uncle. How could he be related to someone who wanted to destroy life? But then, what Chris had said earlier (it seemed like years ago now) came back to haunt him.
'Hey, you have a tail just like Psycho Guy! You two could be related…'
If the idea was bad then, it was horrifying now, because Gohan realized it just might be true. It seemed like anything was possible now that he was flying through space and had passed the Solar System long ago.
Radditz had also told Gohan why he had been taken from Earth, and a myriad more about his father than Mr. Chute ever could have. It must be true. Gohan's 4-year-old mind took things at face value. What reason had he to believe someone would deceive him?
As the pod hurtled through space, Radditz continued with the chilling tale of a race called Saiyan. Gohan found himself despising the tyrant known as Freiza, and wanting revenge. He realized, as much as he could at that age, that this was his destiny. But he still didn't quite like it.
"Uncle Radditz?" The boy asked tentatively after a period of silence. Radditz grunted and said
"It's just Radditz." Gohan nodded.
"I can't fight." He said slowly, meaning both physically and in will. Radditz simply leaned back and smiled.
'We'll see,' He thought. 'We'll see.'
*****
When Krillin and Tien arrived at Kami's lookout, Piccolo was already there, hovering in a corner looking grim. Both warriors were surprised to see the Namek there: Piccolo would not go near Kami unless it was a case of most dire emergency.
They were greeted by Mr. Popo and Kami, who mirrored Piccolo's countenance.
"Something is wrong." The guardian stated.
"A lot of things are wrong," Commented Krillin. Kami shook his head.
"All the problems you have encountered- Chichi and Goku's deaths, the Saiyan known as Radditz, Yamcha and Chautzhu's deaths, the kidnapping of Gohan, the death of the OX King-''
"What? Chichi's father died? When?" Krillin queried, shocked. Kami looked slightly startled.
"Just recently." He said. "But as I was saying, all of these problems are somehow connected." Everyone present looked skeptical, excluding Mr. Popo. "Some time ago, I felt a… paranormal sort of tug, like something important had just occurred without my knowing." Kami sighed. "Then I discovered Goku had died. Four years earlier." The god paused, then continued. "I assume the death of the entire Son line was shrouded from everyone. I know everybody would have noticed had there not been… other factors…involved." Everyone- including Popo, was staring at him blankly. "Let me try that again. I found out Goku had died after Krillin and the others had. By this time he had been in the other world for four years, in Earth time."
"You're not exactly being clear," Growled Piccolo irritably. Kami blinked once then deemed it necessary to enlighten his befuddled audience.
"Someone, or something is messing with my perception. I no longer have a clear view of Earth. Goku and Chichi died without my knowing- and you didn't realize it either. I trust King Yemma dealt with them appropriately, but it was an abnormal death."
"You mean someone murdered them?" Krillin asked, truly frightened that anything could hurt Goku. Kami did not answer directly.
"Follow me." He said, and turned to enter the sanctuary.
Krillin had often wondered if Kami's lookout was some sort of altered space. Tien knew it must be true as they wandered further and further into dim halls and passages. Rightfully, they should have come out the other end by now, but it was not so. Finally, Kami turned into a large room lit at the center with a bright white light. Around the light revolved a large model of the Solar System. Pluto was as large as Krillin's head. As Tien and Krillin stared in awe, Kami attempted yet another explanation.
"Notice the planets' alignment." He instructed. It looked normal to the viewers. And it was. "This is what they should look like." He waved his hand and the model changed. "And this is what they do look like." Even Tien and Krillin could easily see that there was something seriously wrong here. Planets scrambled to keep up with one another. Mercury flew as if to gain the momentum to fling itself to the stars; Neptune and Pluto nearly collided. Uranus' orbit was no longer sideways, but practically horizontal.
"Luckily, Earth's orbit has not been altered." Kami said. "Though whether by some great coincidence or by a planned action, I cannot tell."
"So what this is doing is stopping you from diving certain deaths." Tien said. It didn't seem too terrible. Kami nodded gravely.
"You must find the dragonballs! In order for the universe to be put back on track, Son Goku must live!" Now that was important! Tien and Krillin nodded then turned to leave. The trip back down the hallway seemed much shorter- and indeed it might have been: When dealing in time and space, one can never be sure.
Kami turned back to the tumultuous cosmos and sighed.
"Nice try, Old Man." One of the shadows moved into the light. "You and I both know this is a lot bigger than a few deaths."
"Piccolo. I'd wondered where you went." Kami said gravely. He sighed again, more deeply. "Yes. It is. Son Goku will play a very important part in this planet's future." At this, Piccolo scoffed. Pretending not to hear, Kami continued. "His untimely death may cause the destruction of our solar system, and many planets besides." At this, Piccolo frowned and stalked out. Kami could have no answers for his next questions. He had felt the 'paranormal tug', as Kami called it, and it worried him greatly. He had felt it a bit before the fight with Radditz and he knew it altered his performance. Perhaps it was this preoccupation that had allowed Radditz to escape. He hoped not. He didn't need that on his conscience. Wait- what conscience? Piccolo was the Demon King! He never showed weakness or mercy- except to the children of his worst enemies…
*****
Tien and Krillin had gone straight to Capsule Corp. for Bulma (who had left Roshi's shortly after the news covered the destruction of Ivy City). When she heard the news, she immediately got excited and pulled out the Dragon Radar.
"It'll be just like old times!" She exclaimed. Krillin and Tien looked at each other.
"Ah… Bulma? Maybe you should sit this one out." As Bulma's face darkened, Krillin struggled to justify his statement. "I mean, it would go a lot faster…" Her eyes grew stormy. "What I'm trying to say is-'' She loomed threateningly above him. "Why don't you come along?" He finished lamely. Bulma smiled sweetly and marched out the door to a small capsule plane. Krillin sighed and followed, tailed by an amused Tien.
Once seated in the plane, Bulma turned on the radar. A confused look crossed her face and she pressed the button again. Nothing was happening on the tiny screen. Bulma made a frustrated noise and slammed the thing down on the console, but it could not be persuaded to work. "It's broken." She announced to the confused duo behind her. "Nothing shows."
"Can you fix it?" Tien asked impatiently.
"Of course!" Came an indignant reply. She jumped out of the plane and back to the house to fetch the tools.
*****
There you go. Not too much of a cliffhanger there. I must thank everyone who reviewed… and everyone who's still reviewing despite my…ah…slight tardiness… heh. I have no excuse except pure laziness and to many other fics going (and yet I didn't post any of those either…) oh well. It's here now. I hope it's sufficient. I love questions, so if you're confused, use that little box down there and ask me. or, if for some reason you'd rather email me, my address is rejohnsen@yahoo.com until next time then, toodles!
~mysticGohan33~