A/N:                So, finally here's the next chapter… It's not long this one, but I'll hope you like it though… And thanks a lot for the many reviews for the last chapter!!!

                        Chunks, thanks for proofreading again!!

Chapter 27: Wrecked

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When her body hit the water it felt like thousands nails pierced her skin. Not only because it was cold, but also because of the hard and painful impact. Her mouth opened in a gasp – a very unwise thing to do concerning the fact that she was still under water. At the feeling of the cold and salty liquid invading her mouth and the desperate need of air, she panicked. She tossed her arms back and made kicking movements with her legs, hoping that she was swimming up to the surface and not further down into the black depth of the sea and to her ultimate demise.

Just when the air in her lungs started to diminish and she thought that she wouldn't make it anymore, her head, along with a part of her upper body, shot out of the water and her lungs were finally filled with the much needed air. She fell back, but stayed at the surface. With her legs still thrusting underneath the surface and her arms lashing out in a frantic manner she tried to look around and keep herself from drowning. Rain was hitting her face and high waves were blocking her view and constantly washing over her, so that she had to fight to reach the surface again every few seconds. She tried to scream, to call out for anyone to help her, but every time she opened her mouth, she only swallowed water.

She was freezing and her strength was leaving her fast. Normally she was a good swimmer, but the coldness of the sea and the struggling of staying aloft took everything out of her, leaving her limbs tired. So it was just a matter of time – not even minutes – until her body gave in to the strains and she lost the battle against the waves. Her eyes opened again after another large wave overtook her and she saw the surface disappear from her view while she was falling into the darkness of the sea.

The last thing she saw before unconsciousness overwhelmed her was a low golden glow above her, reaching out for her.

~*~

It was still dark outside, but the rain had stopped and the clouds were making place for the nearly full moon and the stars blinking at the night sky. The storm had almost completely calmed down – left was just a fresh breeze carrying the salty scent of the sea over the islands. Animals were crawling out of their holes and birds started to sing again, announcing the new dawn that made itself already present at the eastern horizon in the far distance with a small silver glow that would soon grow golden and red like fire.

But right now the land was still bathed in the darkness of night. Waves rushed at the beach, washing away the footprints of one who had just left the water. A faint golden glow was illuminating him that lit up the path directly in front of him. He was carrying something; a frail looking figure that was as soaked as he was. Walking slowly, as if he was using the very last of his strength, he left the beach and trudged through the thicket of the bordering forest over uprooted trees until he couldn't go on anymore. He fell on his knees and carefully laid the figure down in the green moss and grass, before he collapsed next to her, face first in the grass. The golden glow around his body disappeared as soon as he hit the ground. Only when breathing became an issue, he gathered his strength one last time to turn himself on his back, before darkness finally claimed him entirely.

And there they lay now next to each other. A man and a woman who had started off as enemies until their relationship grew into something deeper, even that deep that he had defied his own ship and crew for her and instead of just saving his own life after plunging into the tide, he went back to save hers, too. And this not a second too late.

And though he had been using an incredible amount of strength during the last hours or so he had not once questioned the source of it nor had he questioned the source of his sudden determination to keep on going until he and the woman were out of the water and out of immediate danger. He was still oblivious to exactly what had given him this strength and it would be so until he became consciously aware that he had momentarily and unknowingly undergone the same transformation as a certain six-year-old boy only days before him.

That he, too, had the ability to become a Legendary.

~*~

He awoke to someone or something poking his side.

"Do you think he's dead?" he heard an unknown male voice asking.

It took him a moment to register where he was and what had happened. It came slowly back to him in bits and pieces. The storm. The mast. ChiChi and Gohan. The Jinzoningen and Dende. Krillin's scream. The beam. The pain. His own scream ringing in his ears. Water and then… nothing.

"He would be the first one to go over board and survive in a storm like this," another male voice, also unknown to him, answered.

His fingers twitched and he noticed for the first time that he was lying on a sandy ground, a beach most likely. He was wet and he could feel water running up to his torso in steady waves. He tried to pry his eyes open, but the glaring light of the already high standing sun forced him to shut them again. A low moan escaped his lips, when he tried to move. His head was throbbing and the rest of his body didn't feel much better. He truly wondered how he had been able to survive this.

"Hey Zarbon! Look, he's still alive!" the first voice exclaimed, sounding surprised.

His eyes shot open at the mentioning of that name and he gathered all of his strength to raise his head and, indeed, in front of him Zarbon and one of his henchmen were standing. 'Damn it! I should have just pretended to be dead, but now I've got no chance of getting out of this.'

"Well, well, well… I see that you Saiyajins are tougher than expected, Kakarotto. Or, rather, do you prefer to be called Son Goku?" He smirked down and the struggling form of the Saiyajin, who somehow tried to get up. "Whatever, monkey… I guess someone will be pleased to be finally able to meet you."

Goku had barely managed to get on his knees when he saw Zarbon's fist flying at him and a moment later, everything went dark again.

"Pick him up, Dodoria, and let's bring him to Frieza," Zarbon told his partner. "I want to leave the honor of killing him for the Lord. Who knows, maybe he'll let him live."

Dodoria grunted when he picked up the Saiyajin and threw him over his shoulder, arms and head dangling down his back. "Do you really think that Frieza will––"

"I honestly don't know what Frieza will do. He may kill him or decide to let him suffer for his personal pleasure. We'll see."

~*~

The crew and passengers of the Kintoun stood around the once proud ship, now being nothing more than a wreck. After the mast had broken and their captain had gone over board the situation went from bad to worse. Another mast had been hit by a lightning and after it was gone it had been close to impossible to keep the ship under control. They had just barely managed to keep it halfway on course and above water. It had been a relief for everyone when Piccolo had been finally able to see land in the close distance – Frieza's island – and from that moment on the crew had done everything in their might to steer the Kintoun towards that island, no matter what the consequences might have been.

Gohan and ChiChi held each other tightly; Juuhachigou had one arm around the Namek boy and the other around the stump of the second broken mast. All of them prepared for the coming impact and the crew, except of Yamcha and Tenshinhan, who were firmly holding onto the helm, found shelter on other parts of the ship. The landing was just as rough as expected. The ship seemed to groan in protest of its fate, as it run aground. Wood splintered from the planks and everybody had to close or shield his eyes from the pieces.

And then, from one second to another everything was quiet. Only the soft sound of rain hitting wood and the rushing of the waves could to be heard but otherwise it truly seemed peaceful. Slowly, one after another they left the ship. Yamcha helped ChiChi down while Piccolo took care of Gohan and Dende and Krillin gave Juuhachigou a helping hand. They went to the bordering forest and found shelter under the trees. There they waited for the rain to stop, for the storm to cease, and maybe also for a miracle. No one said a word during those long hours.

And now the storm was no more and the sun was out again, shining down mockingly at the shipwrecked persons as if the previous night had never happened. Now they could see the true damage the storm had inflicted on the Kintoun, the ship of the legendary sailor Son Goku. Large holes were in its hull, sails were torn, two masts broken, of which one was sticking halfway out of what had once been the common room and several other damages were littered all over the ship.

It was hopeless. The Kintoun had gone down with her captain.

Krillin clenched his fists. He looked around and noticed that all were with deep sorrow. ChiChi was crying again and it looked like Gohan was on the verge of tears as well. They were on Frieza's island now, some miles away from the town he guessed, and yet, now that they were that close, they seemed defeated. He had to do something.

He stepped into the middle of the semicircle and cleared his throat. "My friends," he said. "Son Goku is gone. He was a great sailor and man. He gave his life to protect his family who he dearly loved. And I'm sure that I might say that all of us loved him too, some more, some less. But he's not gone for all eternity, because we will meet again with him sometime in the distant future and until then he will remain in our hearts as we had the chance to know him. Let us remember him and his deeds for a moment."

They all lowered their heads and closed their eyes in a silent prayer for their lost friend, lover and father.

"Our path is unclear now and with the Kintoun destroyed I have no other choice but to say that we are stuck on this island," Krillin continued after a short time. "But I do also feel the need to say that there's still something that we have to do. It was Son Goku's mission to follow the Saiyajins to rescue Bulma and bring back the stolen sphere. This mission isn't over yet and though I haven't much hope of being able to achieve anything against the Saiyajins and Frieza I feel the need to bring this mission to an end. Bulma is somewhere out there and she needs our help. We can't just leave her in the hands of those monsters!"

"You're right," Yamcha exclaimed and took a step forward. "I'm coming with you."

"We go, too," Tenshinhan said when he and Chao-Zu joined Yamcha.

"Hey, don't forget about us!" Son Gohan shouted, him and Dende running up to them.

ChiChi put her hands on her son's shoulders and forced a brave smile on her face. "I'll be with you."

So, one by one they joined Krillin in the middle and when in the end even Juuhachigou decided with a shrug that they might need some more muscles (and that the Jinzoningen were never known to be weak), he smiled.

Hope was not lost yet.

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Well, I know, it's really not much. Mostly the aftermath of the storm, but if I had continued here I'm sure it would have taken a lot longer to post this chapter since I wouldn't have been able to find a good place to stop. So, don't be mad at me, please! At least the last chapter was about 6.000 words long…

Eternally yours

ChibiChibi