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Chapter 26
Roshi's Island – a few days ago
Waves shrank as the sky brightened over the turtle hermit's home. Loa floated back to the beach, touching down softly on the sand. Krillen gave her a high-five, which she returned. Chi-Chi sat with her head in her hands, and Roshi stood beside her. Turles watched from a few paces back.
Roshi cleared his throat. "Congratulations." He spoke to the group. "Another crisis averted. Another day saved." He put a hand on Loa's shoulder. "I may not know you well, not yet, but thank you for keeping your word."
Loa went to respond, but Chi-Chi beat her to it. She had gotten to her feet, and spun Roshi in place. "Find him." She grabbed his other shoulder in her other hand. "Find, my, son."
Roshi went to respond, but Turles beat him to it. He had gotten to Chi-Chi's side, and put a caring arm around the ox-princess. "He's with his father. They are fine." He pulled the strange woman into a somewhat awkward side hug. "Your husband is the single most powerful fighter in the galaxy. There is nothing that can stand up to a super saiyan. Your boy, Gohan, is far safer out there, with Goku, then anyone else in the galaxy."
Chi-Chi didn't resist the hug. Even though this man wearing her husband's face wasn't him, it still looked like him, he still felt like him. She dropped her hands to her sides, and then she dropped herself to the sand once again. Turles followed her to the ground, kneeling by her side. She wasn't crying, but she appeared to be close.
Loa opened her mouth to respond to Roshi, but all that came out was an agonized scream. She clutched her head between her hands, deforming her skull as she crushed inward. She collapsed to her knees, and fell forward to the ground. Her elbows braced her against the ground, the volume of her voice blew a small crater into the sand. Her head felt like it was going to rip open, and the only thing holding it together were her hands.
Turles vanished from Chi-Chi's side, and appeared on the ground next to Loa. Krillen was on her other side. The pair placed a hand each on her lower back, and using their other hands pulled her back to a sitting position.
"What's wrong?" Turles asked as he looked her up and down. Her complexion was normal, for her. Her skin felt different than normal. Maybe a little more solid, but not any warmer.
Loa's eyes glazed over as she threw her head back and continued to howl. Tears began rushing from her eyes. She snapped her teeth shut as she took a deep breath, and hissed through them. "My head, is, splitting, open." The effort caused her vision t oblur.
"Her ki." Turles said. "It's, it's all over the place."
"A head ache?" Krillen asked. "Master Roshi, do you have any excedrin?"
Roshi responded in the affirmative, but his voice was unheard over Loa's. He began running to his house, but stopped in his tracks as he heard a ripping sound from the beach. He turned around, looking over Chi-Chi, at the trio near the water's edge.
Loa's head was bulging. Her flesh protruded between her fingers, and eventually forced her hands apart. Her mouth was still open, but her scream was cut off. Roshi gazed into her gaping maw, and saw a flash of purple, followed by an explosion of pinkish red. Then, Loa went slack, only being held by a mortified Krillen and a jaded Turles.
Krillen took a step back. His eyes flickered between Loa's body, and Turles, before he finally looked down at himself. He, like Turles, was painted in a writhing pink flesh. Now in sole control of her body, Turles pulled Loa backwards, and helped her legs out from under her. He laid her flat on the beach. His instincts told him to close her eyes, but no eyes were there to be closed.
Roshi followed the direction of the purple flash. His gaze settled on a pair of humanoids, hovering nude above his island. "THERE!" He pointed into the sky.
Turles, and Krillen, snapped their attention to Roshi. Chi-Chi didn't move. Following his finger, the pair finally noticed the aliens. Turles immediately recognized them.
"Zarbon, do you have any idea where we are?" Dodoria asked.
Zarbon searched his surroundings, quickly spotting the small island, and the massive ocean. "I have no idea. Do you know why we're naked?"
"No clue." Dodoria said, looking down at his exposed anatomy. "The last thing I remember, we were on Namek, at a village..."
"And that one warrior." Zarbon finished Dodoria's thought.
"Is this the after life?" Dodoria asked. "I thought I was there, I remember a line of ghosts, but, then we're here? Maybe this is heaven? Unlimited worlds to conquer?"
"Fat chance, fat ass." Turles shouted from the beach, drawing the pairs attention.
"Oh ho ho." Zarbon cooed. "Dodoria, there's a saiyan." He pointed at Turles. "This must be Heaven."
"If this is Heaven, then, do you think Lord Frieza will reward us for catching him?" Dodoria asked. "I'll keep him busy, if you want to catch the monkey by the tail?"
Turles let out a sigh and flew up to their level. "Listen, guys." He began. "You're not dead, this isn't the after life. You're on Earth, a back water planet in a back water arm of the galaxy. Now, I know you're fresh out of Frieza's army, but, don't do anything stupid."
Zarbon chuckled. "Aw, it thinks it's people." He smiled at Dodoria. "Let's teach it a lesson, and make it show us to its ship. What do you say?"
"Yeah." Dodoria punched his hands together. "Bring us to your ship, if you know what's good for you."
"I take it you're still loyal to Frieza?" Turles crossed his arms. He could feel their energy, he wasn't impressed.
On the ground below them, Roshi crouched by Loa's side. His hands hovered just over her body, sweeping from shoulders to toes. Krillen was standing behind him, but hearing Frieza's name broke him out of his state, and he joined Turles in the air.
"Of course we are." Zarbon returned the gesture. His attempted casual smugness was ruined by a cold breeze. "We are backed by the most powerful being in the universe. Why would we not be loyal to him?"
"Because he's dead." Turles summoned his ki. "You're free now. You don't have to do his bidding any more. If you want to leave Earth, well, we'll need to have a talk, set some rules for you, but we could help you get a ship."
"But if you want to cause any trouble." Krillen continued where Turles left off. "Then we're going to have a problem." He too summoned his aura.
Worry crossed Zarbon's face for a moment, before he firmed his expression. "Liar." He spat on the ground from his place in the sky. He wrapped himself in his energy, and Dodoria did the same.
The pair of aliens both rushed at Turles with slow, powerful, punches. Turles caught each attack in an outstretched hand, stopping the pair in their tracks. He lowered their hands and pulled them in close.
"Bad move." Turles growled. He released their hands and vanished in a blur. Zarbon and Dodoria didn't see where he went, but they did feel his twin strikes on the back of their necks. As they faded out, they felt the warm sand behind their naked bodies.
"Who are they, and how did they get here?" Krillen asked as he came down beside Turles.
"They're two of Frieza's top men." Turles said. He glanced at Roshi, and he was helping Loa drink water from a cup. "They were never as strong as the Ginyu Force, so I don't know why they were always at Frieza's side." Turles looked over their naked bodies. 'I really hope my guess is wrong though."
"What are we going to do with them?" Krillen asked. "We can't just kill them, can we?"
"I'll take care of that." Loa said as she rose to her feet.
Krillen nodded at her and began to ask how. Then, he looked at where she lay, headless, moments ago, and back at her. "Huh?" He looked at Turles, hoping for agreement that he wasn't going too crazy.
Turles did the same, ground, Loa. Roshi, Chi-Chi, ground, Loa. "Uh, you, you were. Uh, you died?"
"No." Loa shook her head. "I didn't die. I just, I just lost my head for a moment."
Krillen swept a hand over his bald head. "Um, could you explain how you survived that? And, and what caused it? I mean, I assume it had to do with these guys." He gestured at the aliens. "But, but where'd they come from?"
"My people have unique biology. As you may have guessed." Loa proved this by blowing into her thumb and inflating her fist like a balloon. It popped, spreading pink flesh over a short distance. As the group watched the gore began to move by itself, and flew back to her body. It didn't form on her wrist, but as it molded itself back into her form, her hand grew. "Namekian's can regrow lost limbs and heal some injuries. We're similar, but we take that to an extreme."
"That, that's useful." Turles said.
"But, these guys?" Krillen asked.
"We're able to, not consume, but, intake, life forms. We absorb their power and abilities, and integrate them into our own bodies. It's much easier to do if the creature isn't alive, but, I guess when we revived everyone, they were revived too." Loa joined Turles and Krillen by the knocked out aliens. She stood between their heads.
Loa continued. "They were in my body, but not secured. When they were revived, well, they broke free. I can reabsorb them though. And, now that I know they're alive, I can take greater precautions. It won't happen again." She knelt between them and touched a hand to either of their heads. "Since they're alive this time, I'll also get a lot more of the benefits as well."
"Wait a minute." Roshi said. "You're just going to absorb them? What happens to them?"
"Nothing." Loa said. "Not that I could think of anyway. They were knocked out, they're not aware of us now, and when they're in me, they won't be aware either. They'll be as good as dead, but, but not actually dead. If we ever see fit, I could bring them back again. Now, if, when, I die. They'll die with me."
"Are we okay with that?" Roshi asked Krillen.
Krillen cupped his chin for a moment. "I, I don't see why not? It's like being in prison, right? Except, they won't be aware of time passing. We could try to rehabilitate them, but, I don't think that would go too well, based on this." He gestured back to the sky.
"In that case, pardon me for a moment." Loa's hands slowly expanded over Zarbon's and Dodoria's heads. Her flesh grew down their necks, and consumed their shoulders, arms and torsos, and finally their entire bodies were in fleshy coffins. Loa strained slightly and the man sized bulges on the ends of her arms slowly began to shrink. A minute later her hands were returned to their normal size and form.
"Hey." Krillen said. "The wish. You, you said that's what brought them back?"
"Yeah." Loa nodded. "We should have been a little more specific. We wished for everyone that could be brought back, to..."
Turles cursed loudly. The outburst startled Roshi, who jumped back slightly. Chi-Chi was also brought out of her haze. Her eyes refocused and the first thing she saw was Loa, back on her feet. Chi-Chi decided to take a nap, and say lay down where she was. Hopefully things would make more sense when she woke back up.
"You don't think?" Krillen asked Turles.
"Yes, I do." Turles' nails dug into his palms. "Frieza, the Ginyu Force, everyone. They, they're all back." He took a quick look at Chi-Chi, thankfully she didn't appear to be awake at the moment.
"Everyone." Roshi repeated the wish. "That means, the Spice Boys are back as well. Things, things aren't going to be that good for a while." He looked into the sky.
"No." Krillen said. "The Makyo Star is gone. We are here. Turles, Loa and I, we can handle this." He stretched his senses out, searching the planet for any elevated powers, anyone that seemed out of place. "I, I think I feel them."
"They're split up." Turles said. "They're not the biggest threat though. If you three can hunt them down, I, I think I know who else I'm feeling, and they're a lot more pressing than a few under powered nothings."
"The saiyans?" Krillen asked. "Can you handle them yourself?"
"Without a doubt." Turles turned to face away from the group. "I'm going to try to talk to them. Two of them are together. The third..."
"The third is Raditz." Roshi said. "Loa, I think Krillen and I can handle the Spice Boys. Could you help Turles?"
"Yes, absolutely." Loa nodded. "Turles, do you want to go after the stronger pair, or the individual?"
Turles took a deep breath. "Take the pair." He said. "Don't kill them though. I, I need to find Raditz, and I need to talk to the others. We need to try."
Namek
Five white fingers tipped in purple nails clinched into a fist. Frieza bent his elbow and opened his eyes. He looked down over his uninjured body, flexed his fingers, and struck at the ground. A small earthquake ended in moans coming from all directions. Using his ki he floated a few inches off the ground and righted himself. He hovered up to about a dozen feet over the ground and surveyed his surroundings.
His soldiers were in a similar state to himself. They were slowly getting off the ground, and checking their bodies. Armor was damaged and burnt, but it looked like everyone was back in one piece. No one seemed to have a scouter.
Frieza continued his survey, gaze settling on a crater surrounded by shredded and shattered metal. His ship was destroyed, and Frieza growled. Why couldn't anything be easy. He pointed at the soldier who seemed to be the least confused and used his telepathic powers to spin the troop in place and face him.
"Status report." Frieza demanded.
"Yes, Lord Frieza!" The fish faced soldier clicked his heals together and saluted his master. "May I have a few moments to gather information from my soldiers, sir?"
"I do not have time to waste. Tell me what you know." Frieza hovered close to the soldier, bringing his chest to the level of his head.
"Yes, sir!" The soldier, Cui, tightened his posture. "It would appear as if a yet to be determined phenomenon has brought us back to life, but has not influenced our equpiment."
"It must have been the dragon balls." Frieza said. He turned his back to the soldier and hovered higher into the air. "Someone is getting a promotion." He spoke to himself.
Frieza snapped his fingers, the sound cracking through the air. Immediately each and every underling gazed up at him. "Scouters, people, show of hands, who has a scouter?"
No one spoke up, no one moved.
"That's perfect." Frieza growled. "Half of you, spread out and find a Namekian village. Do not engage, report back when you find something. The rest of you, repair the ship. GO!" He shot a death beam at the rubble of his ship, causing a ringing ding. The troops got to their feet, into the air, and took off in all directions.
Not one to sit back and relax while others do the work, at least while his ship was destroyed, Frieza leaned forward and began to fly. His eyes were pealed and he gained elevation as he searched.
Not too long after beginning his search Frieza found a village, heavily damaged. The grouping of crushed buildings looked somewhat familiar, but that wasn't saying much. To Frieza's disappointment, Namekian's were already clearing the rubble. "Looks like whoever just got a promotion, screwed up."
Frieza decided this was as good of place to start as any. He approached the village and began to land. As the first Namekian saw him, he shouted a warning, and they began to scatter. In less than a minute, the village was empty, but this wasn't an issue. Frieza couldn't sense their energy, but he could still see them. They were fast, faster then a large percentage of his troops, but that was still far too slow.
Without blinking Frieza spotted the twelve nearest villagers, and launched a series of eye beams at each. Purple blood erupted from their legs, and they stopped. Taking one more quick look for any other locals Frieza found himself alone.
He didn't waste his time gathering them together, but instead flew to the first, closest, Namekian.
"You won't get away with this." The villager said.
"HE SAYS I WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Frieza shouted to the rest. With a swift kick he removed the alien's head.
Frieza floated to the next injured Namekian. The villager had moved himself into a seated position and cupped his hands over his wounds. "What will you say?" Frieza touched his index finger to his lips.
"I won't tell you anything." The villager hissed.
"HE WON'T TELL ME ANYTHING!" Frieza declared. This time he pointed at the furthest Namekian and shot a death beam into his heart. He dropped to the ground, dead. "How about now." Frieza stepped closer to the downed man.
"What, what do you want to know?" The villager worked his hands over his wounds.
"I was minding my own business, doing my job, and, and I believe I died. See, I'm not petty, I can admit that." Frieza glared at the Namekian. "In my experience, people who die don't typically come back from death. What happened?"
The Namekian gritted his teeth. "I have no idea."
"Let me rephrase my question." Frieza crossed his arms. "The dragon balls can grant any wish. I was revived, as were my soldiers, and based on the condition of the village, so were you. Where are they, and who made the wish?"
"They were not our dragon balls." The Namekian said. "Our Grand Elder, Guru, died, and new dragon balls have not been created."
"If I threaten to kill them." Frieza gestured at the nine remaining downed villagers. "Will your answer change?"
The Namekian looked down at his legs. He had been able to heal them, but that wouldn't really matter, not yet. "No. That is the truth."
"Then I will not waste your time, or mine, with threats." Frieza extended an open palm towards his victim, and with a relatively small pulse of ki the man was vaporized. Frieza turned to the other survivors, and dealt with them just as quickly. "If everyone was revived, Guru was revived." Frieza spoke to himself.
Back in the air he formed and sent a small death ball to the nearby village, leaving a hole where it once was. As smoke rose into the air Frieza took off again, picking another direction at random. It didn't take long, not at his speed, to find another point of interest. A large domed structure atop a rocky spire. Though it was his first time seeing it, he immediately recognized it as important.
Slowing his approach, but just slightly, he crashed through the roof of what was once Guru's home. A small group of Namekian's were gathered inside, an elder on a thrown, a pair of children, and what appeared to be a warrior. Frieza turned to the fighter. "Take me to your leader."
"RUN!" Nail shouted as he split from one to two, and two to four.
Frieza watched, amused, as the pair of children ran to the middle of the room, jumping down a wide opening in the floor. Meanwhile Nail was spreading out as well, surrounding Frieza. Nail's eight hands began to glow with energy. The group thrust their arms together, and at four points the energies connected, and a ring was formed around Frieza. The ring left their hands, spinning rapidly, electricity shooting off in all directions, growing, climbing, and surrounding Frieza.
As the ball of energy closed around him, the four Nail's reformed into one, and he thrust his hands down. The energy rushed in, collided, and exploded in a flesh ripping blast. As the dust settled Nail was smug to see not a shred of skin, or spec of blood, from Frieza. As Frieza cleared his throat from behind him, Nail's face fell.
"I like your creativity." Frieza said, throwing a small Namekian child, head first, towards, and through, Nail. The child landed against the far wall, covered in blood, but mostly unharmed. Nail fell in place, grasping at his wound, and eventually falling still.
Frieza inspected his work and turned to the elder. "You must be Guru. I have heard so much about you."
Moori stood and approached Frieza. "You will leave this place at once."
Frieza held up the second child, an unconscious Dende, and berried the edge of a small death ball into his ear. Blood trickled from the wound, but it was still shallow. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Would you please, speak, up?" With each pause Frieza pushed the attack further and further into the boys head.
Moori stopped his approach. "I, I'm sorry, you're mistaken." Moori bowed his head. "Grand Elder Guru is no longer with us. I am his successor, Moori."
"It's nice to meet you, Moori. Now, give me the dragon balls at once." Frieza withdrew the death ball from Dende's skull.
"I am unable to do that." Moori dropped to his knees. "When Guru passed away, the dragon balls went inactive. They are gone."
Frieza flicked the death ball at Moori. The attack went through his shoulder, exploding in a small puff of smoke against his thrown. The hit arm rest crumbled to rubble. Moori grabbed his bleeding wound and grimaced in pain. Frieza approached him, still carrying Dende. With a gentle kick Moori was sent back into his thrown, collapsing at its base. "That is a warning, and I do not know why I am being so generous today. Normally I don't hand out this many. I guess." Frieza looked through the hole he created. "I guess I feel like, like a new emperor." He touched another death ball to Dende's unmoving head. "Do not lie to me. I will know if you are lying. Do I make myself clear?"
Moori awkwardly righted himself, again kneeling in front of Frieza. He held pressure on his wound, and nodded. "Yes."
"Good." Frieza smiled. "I understand that when Guru died, the dragon balls died with him. That is a shame, but not a tragedy. How long will it take you to create new dragon balls?"
Moori stared into Frieza's eyes. "It is not possible to create new dragon..."
Frieza drove his finger into Dende's skull. The death ball expanded, and Dende's body fell to the ground. "Try again" Frieza stuck out a hand to the other, blood soaked, child, and he flew into his hand. "I have already been told that new dragon balls can be created. A lovely villager told me as much. How long will it take to create a pair?"
"Kai forgive me." Moori squeezed his wound, pain shooting through him. "I will not create..."
A death ball was pushed against Cargo's ear. The boy startled back to the waking world, and as his flesh began to simmer, he screamed. "Do not lie. Do not tell me no. Those are the rules of the game we are playing."
Moori struggled to his feet, gazing into Frieza's eyes. "I would rather die. We all would."
"You're going to let me kill him?" Frieza asked. "You really should either start talking, or begging. I mean, begging won't change my mind, but at least you would die knowing that you tried something."
"I refuse." Moori said. His words were quiet, nearly drowned out by Cargo's cries.
"What if he begs?" Frieza said. "I don't like children, but I am certain I could get him to beg. Could you, would you, refuse him?" Frieza through Cargo to the ground between him and Moori. The boy's arm was clearly broken, and Moori went to his aid, but was stopped by an eye beam crashing through the ground in front of him.
"Either you talk, or this gets ugly." Frieza smiled. He looked back at Dende's corpse. "That, that was casual. That was a lesson. This." He put a foot on Cargo. "This, is punishment. Will you make him suffer?"
Moori, getting tired of the act, fell to his knees once more. "No." He reached a hand out to his charge. "I, I won't let you hurt him. I won't let him suffer."
Frieza kept his foot on the boy, and crossed his arms smugly. A grin was plastered on his face. "Good, now, be a good..."
Moori sent a fast, heavy, blast of ki into the boy, ensuring he wouldn't be hurt again. Quiet fell across the room as Frieza took in the sight. Not breaking the silence tears began cascading from Moori's eyes.
"Well, this was a waste of time." Frieza brought an open palm to his face, and clinched his fist. A massive wave of destruction wiped out Moori, wiped out the home of the Grand Elder, and wiped out the spire on which at sat. Frieza hovered in the air, frustrated at the situation. Without saying a word, he began the trip back to their landing site. Hopefully the others had better luck than he.
A good while later Frieza was cursing the lack of scouters, and the planet for not having any unique features. It was too easy to get lost on this planet. As he was formulating a search pattern, to eventually find his men, he did stumble upon his ship, or, what could be a ship, or could have come from a ship.
The crater that his ship had surrounded was now clean of any metal. The wreckage was sorted into, what appeared to him to be, identical heaps. At each pile a pair or trio of soldiers worked, sorting through items, reattaching what they could, where they could. Frieza flew down between the piles and searched for the soldier, Cui, he was previously speaking to.
Frieza spotted him near one of the smaller piles. He floated to the alien. Cui snapped to attention, as did his workers, and eventually the rest of the work party. Frieza rolled his eyes. "Back to work. The less time we spend here, the better." He spoke over his shoulder, at a majority of the men. "Now, report."
"Sir." Cui saluted. "The damage is extensive." Frieza rolled his eyes again. "We've sorted the material into identifiable and not identifiable. From there we broke it down by system, and we are attempting to get inventories on each system before beginning reconstruction of what we can."
"When will the ship be repaired." Frieza asked.
Cui lost his bearing for a moment before quickly recomposing himself. "Sir, at this point it is impossible to give an accurate estimate, however, repairing, or rebuilding, a ship could take, will take, years, if that is our goal."
Frieza shrugged. "If that is your goal?"
"Yes, sir." Cui said. "This system here." He gestured to the smaller pile behind him, and the two men pulling pieces from it. "This is our communication array. I believe that if we could send out a message, we could have a rescue ship here far sooner than we could build a ship of our own."
Frieza didn't respond for a moment. He studied the alien for a moment, head to toe. He realized he didn't know where Zarbon or Dodoria were, but if they didn't show up quick, they'd be replaced. "How long until the communicator is working?"
"In the best case scenario, several months." Cui's gaze fell. He never liked delivering bad news, and now he was delivering it several levels above his usual post.
"Take a break. I'll send a message myself." Frieza said as he took off again. He took his time leaving the atmosphere. He didn't mind the cold of space, or the lack of air, but it was still an odd sensation, and not one he was too familiar with.
He looked back at Namek. The planet was small, and its three suns were spaced evenly around it. This part of the galaxy was out of the way, and not important, but it was still monitored. Frieza spun up a new death ball in his open palm.
He looked between it and the planet. It would be enough, but he really wanted to send a clear message. He pushed more ki into it, doubling its power while halving its size. Frieza through the attack overhand, and sent a blunt death beam after it. The beam hit the rear of the blast, and propelled it faster towards Namek.
As the attack reached Namek, Frieza surrounded the first attack in the second. It speared the ground, and a moment later Frieza collapsed the beam on the ball, and it, and the planet, went boom. The shock wave rippled through space, spreading dust to the cosmos. Where there was once a lively planet, there was now nothing but the distant stars.
Spinach Wastes
Raditz sat up, gasping for air. His hands clutched at his shattered armor, fingers touching bare skin. He tried to focus on where he was, what he was doing. He remembered spikes, blood, and ogres. Before that, he was on Earth, he was fighting his brother, a Namekian, and, and he died. He knew he was in Hell, and he didn't know if he was still there.
His body ached when he moved. That was new, or, new at the moment. Raditz got to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. An old, abandoned, vehicle sat a short ways away. A circular pond was not too far from it. "Crap." Raditz walked to the pond and looked in. Several fish were visible, and this was without a doubt where he landed, but his ship was nowhere to be found.
Raditz shook his head. He hated losing his ship. Now he'd have to find an Earth city, find someone with some power, and work his way up the chain until he could find out who took it, and where it went. Then, then he'd kill them all. He didn't have to, not if everyone thought he was dead. But, if they inconvenienced him, he'd inconvenience them.
Raditz prepared to fly away, but a voice caught his attention before he could. Turning to face the speaker, he was even more confused.
"Raditz, wait!" Turles shouted as he closed on his nephew. "Hold on, Raditz, we need to talk!"
Raditz didn't quite believe his eyes. He pinched his arm, and when he felt the slight pain, he ascended into the air to meet his uncle. "Turles?" He called as his uncle neared. "Is, is that you?"
Turles came to a stop a few feet, within arms reach, of Raditz. "It sure is." He said.
Before Turles could continue Raditz cut him off. "I thought you were dead? I heard you had died on some unimportant mission? What happened to you? Where have you been? Planet Vegeta, it, it's been destroyed. You're one of the last saiyans alive."
Turles smiled at the younger saiyan. "You have a lot of catching up to do." He glanced down, and the pair began to land. "You know, you were dead too. Is it really that surprising that I'm back as well?"
"I, I guess I'm lost." Raditz said. "What happened? One moment I'm having the time of my life in Hell. The next, I'm here, and so are you. Were, were our people brought back? Is Planet Vegeta back as well? Or just us?"
"No." Turles said. "Unfortunately it's nothing like that." Turles sat on the ground, crossing his legs. Raditz followed his lead. "I wasn't even brought back from the dead, not like you, and the others."
"What do you mean?" Raditz asked. "You died on a mission, but you're back."
"I didn't die." Turles said. "I faked my death in order to escape Frieza's army. I couldn't take it, working for that, that, well, you know Frieza. I escaped, but was captured shortly after. I was enslaved by a group of pirates, the Crusher Corps they called themselves. They had this magic..."
"You faked your death to leave the Frieza Force?" Raditz's gaze hardened. "You abandoned your team, your species, your family. You betrayed the saiyans." His tail flicked out. "I may not be the strongest, but you, you're a coward."
"I did what I had to do." Turles said, not taking the bait. "Anyway, we stumbled upon this tree, a Tree of Might. The fruit from it would give a massive power boost to anyone that ate it. We found a planet to plant the tree on, and I planned on taking the fruit for myself, taking control of the Crusher Corps."
"At least you had some pride." Raditz sneered.
"When I was making my move though, someone else showed up. Your brother, Goku." Turles smiled.
"The dragon balls." Raditz said. "They brought Kakarot back with them? But wait, what about Nappa and Prince Vegeta? They were coming to Earth, to secure the dragon balls for their own use. Did, did they wish back all the saiyans?"
"Nappa and Vegeta were killed when they came to Earth. As was Piccolo, a Namekian. When he died, the dragon balls died with him." Turles looked off into the distance for a moment. He still hadn't met Piccolo, but hey, he had time
"You expect me to believe that Kakarot killed Nappa, and Prince Vegeta? His power level was approaching 20,000." Raditz said. "It's not possible."
"Yes." Turles said. "At the moment, Vegeta isn't even one of the five strongest people on Earth. I could easily beat him myself, and a friend of mine is on her way to subdue him and Nappa before they start any trouble."
"Right." Raditz said sarcastically. "Okay, so, Nappa and Prince Vegeta were defeated, then what?"
"Earth's dragon balls were inactive, so Goku and his friends decided to go to Namek to hopefully use their set. While they were on their way to Namek, they picked me up. They tried to save the planet the Crusher Corps was attacking, and while they were too late, they defeated the Crusher Corps, and rescued me."
"So you all made it to Namek, and you and Kakarot wished us back?" Raditz asked.
"First of all, stop interrupting. It's rude. Second of all, he goes by Goku. I expect you to call him by his name." Turles said.
"He can choose to call himself whatever he likes." Raditz said. "He was born a Saiyan, and Kakarot is the name that was given to him. He can pretend to be whatever he wants, but that does not change..."
"He was raised on Earth. This is his home. He knows he was a Saiyan, and genetically he is still one, but that is not who he is. He is an Earthling in all ways that matter. You will not disrespect him by using a dead name."
Raditz groaned, but didn't respond.
"Anyway, we get to Namek. It was Goku, Gohan his son, Bulma the scientist and pilot, Tien a triclopse, and Krillen, who is probably the strongest Earthling." Turles said. "When we arrived, Frieza was already there."
"Frieza?" Raditz barked in laughter. "Frieza was there, and you landed?"
"Yes." Turles said. "Frieza was there, also collecting the dragon balls." He smiled at the small squirm from Raditz. "We collected the ones we could, and Frieza called the Ginyu Force for back up."
Raditz opened his mouth to call his uncle out for lying, but wisely chose not to.
"Long story short." Turles continued. "Your brother became a super saiyan, and he and Frieza killed each other in their clash."
"Bull shit." Raditz said. "Not possible. No way."
"Shut up." Turles snapped. "Your brother killed Frieza, and we used the Namekian dragon balls to bring him, and Piccolo, back. We also used them to restore Gohan's eyes." He made intense eye contact with Raditz. "What you did to him was disgusting." Turles said.
He stretched his neck and continued. "Anyway, Goku and Gohan went off to train in space. Bulma didn't make it. Tien, Krillen, Loa, and I, used four of the five Ginyu Force pods to come back to Earth."
"Loa?" Raditz interrupted again.
"An alien we met on Namek. A Majin." Turles said. "Well, we came back to Earth, and while we were gone the planet was attacked by another group of aliens. They were fought off, but there were massive losses. We collected the dragon balls, and the wish we made was to return everyone that died in the past year to life. We intended that to be a little more narrow in scope, but, well, here you are."
"So, I was brought back, by accident?" Raditz asked. "And Frieza, the Ginyu Force, they're all brought back as well?"
"Yes." Turles said. "I hope it's a happy accident." He stood up, towering over Raditz's sitting form. "Frieza and the Ginyu Force don't concern me. Goku can handle them if they become an issue, but beyond that, they're completely out of my control, unlike you. This planet is under the protection of Goku, and while he's gone, I'm here. If you'd like to take advantage of this second chance, you're welcome to do so. If you step out of line though, if you revert to who you were, under Frieza, we're going to have a problem."
"You said that Nappa and Prince Vegeta are being subdued. What's going to happen to them?" Raditz pushed himself to his feet. He felt the wind on his skin, where his armor was destroyed, and he felt exposed.
"They'll be given the same chance as you." Turles said. "We can settle down here. We can reproduce with the humans too. From here, the saiyan race can be restored." Turles said. "If they refuse, or if they step out of line. Well, they'll be killed."
"Kakarot offered."
"Goku." Turles corrected.
"My brother." Raditz growled. "Told me to leave, to not come back. I assume that's what Nappa and Vegeta will choose to do."
"They can make that choice if they like." Turles said. "It won't happen though. Goku isn't here, I am. I'm not letting them off the planet, not alive, so that they can pick up with Frieza where they left off." Turles crossed his arms. "If they don't want to settle down into human life, they don't have to. But, if they try to leave the planet, they're dead. If they try to hurt the planet, or the people on it, they're dead."
"You'll stop them from joining Frieza, but you won't actively try to stop Frieza?" Raditz asked.
"Frieza is not within my power to control, you, and they, are." Turles responded.
"What about me?" Raditz asked. "What if I want to leave."
"Dead." Turles said.
Author's note: Well, that played out a little differently than I expected. But, Turles is loyal to Goku. He's also not a big fan of Frieza, or his ways. If he thinks that Raditz, Nappa, and Vegeta, would try to become the next galactic overlords, then yeah, he'd stop it if he could, which thankfully he can.