King Yemma looked over the edge of his desk at the young man before him. "To be so young, and yet have already done enough to warrant an Otherworld body...Your planet is quite something." Gohan, still trying to stifle sobs, responded politely, "Um...thank you, Mr. Yemma." His mother had made sure his manners were better than his father's. "So, young man. Where do you want to go?" Gohan looked up, confused. "You have the choice of going to King Kai's planet, or to Heaven. Your father went to the Kai's planet, of course." King Yemma turned his gaze towards Tienshinhan and Piccolo. "Your friends are already headed down Snake Way. I think you might want to follow them soon." He gave a stern glare to Tienshinhan. "I know your past, young one, and though you've lived honorably since you realized the error of your ways, I am compelled to tell you that, were it not for the fact that you are a friend of Goku, you would now be in Hell." Tienshinhan looked ashamed.
Leaning back in his chair, the red ogre pointed to his side. "Snake Way is out that door. At the end, you will find King Kai. Please respect the Kai, as he is older and wiser than you can imagine." Gohan wasted no time in running through the open doorway, sprinting and then leaping into flight down the long pathway. He was closely followed by Piccolo, but Tienshinhan paused and turned back to the ogre. "King Yemma...thank you for your leniency." He bowed deeply to the ruler of the Check-in station, who harrumphed and waved him off. "Sir...if it's not too much to ask..." The red ogre turned back to face the three-eyed man. "Yes, yes, what is it?" he grunted. "...I was completely unprepared for the Saiyans, and I had to watch as my oldest friend died...trying to protect me. And I wasn't even strong enough to avenge him at all."
"Your point?" the giant rumbled.
"Will this King Kai really help me enough to be able to hold my own?" the Crane student asked. "I know many useful techniques, but none helped me, in the end..."
The ogre rubbed his chin. "Go join your friends. King Kai can teach you what you need for now. If I can help you, then I will." Tienshinhan bowed again and took off down Snake Way. "By the way! Don't fall off the path until you've reached the end, whatever you do!" the ogre called after him. The three eyed man heard him and acknowledged him with a nod.
The ancient deity rocked back in his chair, his beard settling on his carefully pressed suit. "You were right about those ones," he stated simply. Kami stepped out from behind a pillar. "As I said, I watched them train to try to protect the world from these Saiyans. Past actions, however bad, do not define a person if they make the effort to change." Yemma nodded, stroking his beard. "Do you think that they will make any significant progress with King Kai?" Kami laughed. "If I know anything of humans, it's that you shouldn't ever underestimate them."
King Kai hummed to himself as he tended his garden. The tiny planetoid was just barely big enough to allow for such a small garden, and King Kai took every advantage he could of this small patch of cultivated life. Musing over his begonias, he wondered if he should perhaps try to make an actual food garden near the base of the tree. "Gregory!" the Kai called. "Do we have any more potatoes in the fridge?" The cranky cricket floated out of the house, rubbing his eyes and croaking, "What?" The Kai threw up his hands in mild annoyance and repeated his question. "Yes, we do, but what does that have to do with anything?"
The Kai waddled over to a small bench behind his garage and lifted up the top, exposing a storage area. "Give me two of them, if you will." He pulled out a trowel and a small dibble, then ambled over to the tree and began digging a small trench. Gregory soon came back with the potatoes, almost dropping one as he maneuvered around the dumpy Kai. "Thank you," King Kai hummed as he continued tilling the dirt. His ears pricked up as he thought he heard shouts coming from Snake Way, but when he strained his ears to try to hear more, he could hear nothing. He chalked it up to the loneliness (a monkey and cricket can only provide so much good company), and went on with his self-appointed task. Carefully chopping up the potatoes around the eyes, he placed each chunk into a hole in neat, orderly rows, then applied a little Kai magic to change them just a tiny bit. He stood up, patting the dirt off his outfit, and picked up his tools. Just as he bent over to put the tools into their place, he heard an almighty crash, followed by mild cursing. Then another crash, this one immediately preceding an even bigger crash.
Surprised, King Kai poked his head around the small building and cried out when he saw a series of craters where his new potato garden had been. "My potatoes!" he cried, rushing over to the pits. A very disoriented Chiaotzu pulled himself out of the first crater, followed by a messy Yamcha clambering out of his own. Piccolo's crater was empty, the stoic Namekian already having gotten out. He was standing by the tree, brushing dirt off of his cape and purple gi. "What the HELL are you doing on my planet?!" the blue Kai shrieked. Before he could be answered, a phone rang in his house. Spluttering, King Kai ran inside and yanked the phone off the receiver. Seconds passed while the three very confused warriors exchanged looks. King Kai walked out of the tiny dome-shaped building and coughed into his hand, trying to regain his composure. The three fighters looked at the squat god. "I'm sorry for the unseemly display a moment ago. I am King Kai, guardian of the North Galaxy. You must be Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo." He looked around, obviously looking for someone. "I was told there would be a fourth one of you? Tienshinhan?" Piccolo's ears pricked up, and without a word he stepped three feet away from the other two warriors. "He's still on Snake Way, but won't be in about 10 seconds," the Namekian announced. Questioning looks pierced him like arrows but he refused to elaborate. Just as Chiaotzu opened his mouth to ask what he meant, an excited yell rang out from the tip of Snake Way that almost immediately became a panicked shout, growing in intensity. Yamcha and Chiaotzu looked up just in time for Tienshinhan to fall full force on them, the impact leaving another massive crater in the soil of King Kai's small planetoid.
Small giggles erupted from the blue Kai, who clamped his hands over his mouth to try to stop them from escaping. He was entirely unsuccessful, and the howls and hoots of laughter flew out like a flock of drunken doves, ringing around the planet. He was still laughing by the time the three in the crater had managed to untangle themselves and crawl out of the pit. "Alright, you four pass my first test!" he wheezed, doubled over from the perfect comedic timing.
Confused looks were exchanged by all present.
"We have the technology to make you a mechanical leg, yes, but are you sure you want to do that?" Bulma asked quizzically. "I mean, when Kami and Piccolo get wished back, you can just have Kami heal it back in place." The massive Saiyan harrumphed. "Frieza never let us train, and I'm not about to let the opportunity to train pass me by. We're only as strong as we are because he beat us to a pulp whenever we screwed up. We Saiyans get stronger every time we're injured." Bulma frowned. "You keep mentioning this Frieza fellow but you won't say anything about him. Why is that?" the inquisitive human asked. Nappa clammed up immediately. Bulma rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You Saiyans are an odd bunch of people. You're a lot like Goku with the fighting thing."
She continued to poke and prod at the stump of Nappa's leg. "This must have hurt like hell, Jesus..." Nappa winced. "Yeah. Can you finish measuring? I'm not fond of having weaker races poke at me." Bulma gave an irritated snort and poked especially hard at an exposed softer area. The bulky Saiyan grunted in annoyance. Before he could assault her with a tirade, the prince walked in, closely followed by Kakarot. Nappa immediately straightened and sat at attention as best he could. "Hey Bulma!" Kakarot waved cheerfully at his old friend. "We put the ship in your docking bay." Bulma eyed the surly Prince with a dagger-like gaze. "Did he cause you any issues, Goku?" Vegeta harrumphed and crossed his arms. "Nah, he was on his best behavior," the Earth-raised Saiyan replied. Vegeta stole a glace sideways at the third class Saiyan, noting his easygoing demeanor when he was around people he knew. It went against everything he knew of his race. This woman was so weak...fragile...she would snap like a brittle twig, yet Kakarot obviously held her in such high regard. It was infuriatingly alien to him. "Has there been any progress?" the prince aksed gruffly.
"Well, as I was telling your buddy here, we can make him a new leg. I don't know exactly how much punishment it will be able to take, but he'll be able to walk normally. I can make it look realistic if you want, but maintenance will be a tiny bit more difficult if that's the case," said the genius. Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Interesting," he stated flatly. Inwardly, he was mildy impressed, as he knew even Frieza's scientists would have difficulty making a realistic prosthetic at any level. "Nappa," he barked at the other Saiyan.
"Yes sir?"
"I want you to cooperate with the Earth woman. Help her however she wants." Nappa's eyebrows furrowed, but he acknowledged the order. "Well, that's nice of you," muttered Bulma, somewhat cross at being called 'Earth woman.' Turning her attention back to measuring the stump, she began marking down numbers on a sheet of paper. "We're going to have to make accommodations for your ability to bulk up when you're fighting..." she murmured under her breath, chewing the end of her pen. She darted a sideways glance at Vegeta, still in what remained of his armor and his mostly intact, if bloodstained undersuit. She wrinkled her nose. "Mind changing out of that wrecked thing? Give me the pieces, and I'll make you something similar if I have the time to synthesize that material. Goku, you've got a spare gi, right?" Goku nodded sheepishly. "I don't think he'll like wearing it, though..." The Turtle student was correct in his supposition. Vegeta's face turned an interesting shade of red as his blood pressure skyrocketed at the thought of sharing an outfit with the third class. He turned on his heel and marched smartly out of the laboratory, letting the doors swing closed behind him.
"I better go see what he's doing, Bulma. See ya later!" Goku waved at his friend and darted out of the doors after the unfriendly prince. Bulma sighed audibly and returned to marking down Nappa's measurements. "You Saiyans. I barely understand Goku, so that prince of yours is going to be impossible to figure out. Back to business, though... When Goku was a kid, and he had his tail, he could turn into a giant monkey creature when the moon was out. I see you've got your tail, so you can probably turn into one too, right?" Nappa nodded. "That's our Great Ape transformation. It multiplies our power about ten times, but only a few Saiyans are trained to control themselves when they're in that form." Bulma tapped her pen in frustration. "The problem with any prosthetic is that it won't be able to compensate for the sudden change in height and weight, not to mention the fact that your stump will change size and shape..." she trailed off. "Is your armor stretchy?" she asked absentmindedly. "To a point. It can take our change into our Great Ape form, that's for sure, but it strains it a fair amount," Nappa said. "Damnit, it's not going to work that way," she grumbled. "Do you have control over your Ape form?" she asked. Nappa shook his head. "Not like Vegeta does. I don't think I'll be needing to use it here, though...the Prince far exceeds my power even in my Ape form by now, with the beating he took from Kakarot, and Kakarot himself is the legend..." He trailed off. Bulma's eyes sparked, sensing information to be mined.
"Both you and Vegeta have mentioned this 'legend,' but you've said nothing else other than that. What's this legend you're talking about?" she asked. Nappa looked cagey, then sighed audibly. "It's a tale passed down from generation to generation, about a single Saiyan born with incredible power sleeping deep within them. This one Saiyan will have the power of a thousand others, and the rage of a million more. An unquenchable lust for battle will thrum in their veins. Their power will be unfathomable, and they can destroy entire planets with merely a thought. It doesn't make sense though, because Kakarot only had a power level of one as a child. I remember this because he was the son of Bardock, one of our most powerful warriors, and it was a source of great embarrassment for him. Even Raditz was born with a power level of 50." Bulma's eyes lit up with curiosity. "It sounds like your culture is pretty different from our own!" she exclaimed, fascinated. Nappa gave a humorless, dead chuckle. "Was," he stated simply. The statement echoed with untold pain. "...Was?" Bulma prompted. "...The one that we work...or rather, worked for, said that a massive meteor destroyed our planet. We know the truth, though...he destroyed it himself." Bulma's blood froze. "... You're the last of your kind?" Nappa gave another humorless chuckle. "Yes. It was our own arrogance that did it too...we bandied about the legend of the Super Saiyan so much that Frieza must have eventually become paranoid enough to take it as fact, despite it being called a legend."
"My God," Bulma whispered, her blood suddenly feeling thick and slow in her veins. "How...how is it even possible to destroy an entire planet?" she gasped. Nappa laughed. "Easily. I could do it if I pushed myself hard enough. Vegeta could do it four times as easily as me. Hell if I know how easily Kakarot could do it in that new form of his, but judging just from what I felt for those few seconds when I saw him in that state...he could do it hundreds of times easier than Frieza, and I've seen Frieza do it firsthand. He doesn't even break a sweat..." The words hung in the air heavily.
Dr. Briefs was on the other side of the compound, directing a team of engineers on unloading the Saiyan pods into smaller bays to be disassembled and studied. Krillin had visited the compound and somehow had found himself roped into helping remove the moss from Kami's ship.
Krillin quickly found that his ki could serve far better than the small scraper he had been given, and he used very weak streams of ki to blast the decades of dirt and moss off of the white exterior of the ship. It worked wonderfully, and the areas that he blasted shone pristinely. Soon, the ship was sparkling as bright as a diamond. Dr. Briefs nodded approvingly. "Thank you Krillin. It's nice to have someone who can fly and reach those areas up there." Krillin laughed good-naturedly. "I'm glad to help, Dr. Briefs. After all, you're building a ship to help us get our friends back!"
Dr. Briefs shrugged. "Hopefully we can get more than just space travel tech out of this, though that technology in and of itself is a hell of a gain for our RD department." A number of scientists were disassembling the first of the Saiyan pods, and a small scuffle broke out as two of the scientists fought over what looked like a cupholder. "So far, we've discovered that the material that the pods are made of is an alloy of several rate materials. I'm sure that those metals are probably fairly common where the pods are made, but here, they're very rare. Thankfully, we also found Goku's pod, and with the additional material, we'll have enough to cover the entire outside of the new ship. We'll have to test whether or not the metal that this ship is made of is compatible with those of the pods, but I suspect it might be."
Krillin breathed a sigh of relief. "So we're going to be able to get going before too long, right?" Dr. Briefs nodded. "I'd be surprised if it took us longer than 8 months. We're also working on the gravity system, which will take us about 2 months, 3 if there's an issue with the materials."
To answer a point raised in reviews for the last chapter: as shown in this chapter, I feel it would be highly unlikely that Frieza would have allowed the Saiyans to train. It's far more likely that Frieza would have used them as durable punching bags, considering the odd power gaps between the Saiyans (Raditz 1,200-1,800, Nappa 4,000, and Vegeta 18,000). Had the Saiyans actually been allowed to train, Nappa and Raditz would have probably been around 8-10k, because of training with a higher powered opponent, and Vegeta at 22-30k. With how severe a beating Vegeta received from enraged Goku as a Super Saiyan, I feel his power would have about doubled. Having one's organs and bones pulped and pulverized is about as close as one can come to death. Furthermore, with Frieza also aware of the Saiyan's appetite, it is unlikely he would have allowed them to eat as much as the Saiyan metabolism needs to sustain good ki growth. Ergo, Vegeta and co would have had their power further stunted, and would thus continue to be easy to control and beat up.
A second point: Goku hates killing. Of his own volition, he left Frieza on Namek, allowing him the chance to get away. He actively tried to allow Frieza the chance to live, and actively warned him of the dangers of the out-of-control "death pizzas." This after he killed Krillin and Vegeta. He needed no encouragement to not kill him, and he had had the chance to become accustomed to the rage of the Super Saiyan form.
Thirdly: Krillin saw the utter brutality of the beating Vegeta received. In case it was not clear in chapter 1, Vegeta was literally a sack of pulped organs and bones at that point. Multiple organs penetrated by fragmented bones. Blood leaking into his lungs. Liver and kidneys destroyed, intestines perforated, fecal matter leaking into the body cavity, etc. He looked ghastly, and Krillin knew instantly that Goku would regret having caused that kind of harm to someone who had no chance to fight back. Krillin also knew that Goku was more than powerful enough now to stop Vegeta from pulling anything. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me with your concerns.
Upload schedule will be irregular; basically whenever I have a chapter completed. I am not a patient man when it comes to uploading for whatever reason, and I will do my best to make sure at least one chapter comes out a week.
Thank you very much for reading. I look forward to your feedback and hope that you enjoy this story.
