Goku and his friends stand dead still on the island. The only sound comes from the ocean wind and waves and the beeping of the electronic device attached to Cui's face.
"I'm surprised to find so many power levels on this planet in the triple digits," announces Cui. "Few species can even break the lower double digits. No wonder Kakarot had so much trouble wiping out the native population."
"What are you talking about? And who are you?" says Goku. His words sound braver than he feels.
"I already told you, I'm looking for a Saiyan named Kakarot, but I …"
Cui pauses for a moment as his eyes land on something of interest while surveying the group.
"Well, well, what have we here? A boy with a tail. So Kakarot may be alive after all. Tell me woman, where is the father of the child you hold?"
Chichi grips Gohan tighter as Cui walks toward her. Goku steps in front of him, halting his advance.
"That's my son," he says. "Now leave this island peacefully. I don't want any unnecessary violence."
"You're adoptive son I take it, seeing as you lack a tail," says Cui. "I'm looking for his biological father. Would you happen to know who that is?"
"I already told you. I'm his father, and I used to have a tail, but it was removed a long time ago."
Cui glares at him as if deciding whether or not to believe his story. After a tense moment, Cui bursts into laughter.
"Ah, ha, ha. A Saiyan without a tail. That's hilarious. You were barely of any value before. Now you're practically worthless. I suppose I can pull some strings and get you a position scrubbing out our spaceships. But before that you better at least have some useful intel about this planet."
"Look," says Goku, in a serious manner rarely seen. "I don't know who Kakarot is or what Saiyans are, but you need to go back to wherever you came from and tell your people you have the wrong person."
"Well you certainly have the ignorance of a Saiyan that's for sure," says Cui. "Let me try to clear things up for you. Saiyans are a nearly extinct warrior race employed by an intergalactic empire that has conquered most of the known universe. We find inhabitable planets, wipe out any intelligent life if it exists, and colonize these planets with those who have sworn allegiance to the empire. They in turn pay tribute in the form of taxes and valuable resources.
"You are one of those Saiyans sent here to get this planet ready for conquest. Is any of this getting through to that tiny monkey brain of yours?"
"I already told you, you have the wrong person," says Goku. "And I won't hear any more talk of Earth being destroyed. This is my home. If what you're saying is somehow true, then I left that life behind a long time ago. So tell whoever you work for to leave this planet alone."
"That's very disappointing to hear Kakarot," says Cui. "Still, I can't exactly go back empty handed. You see, I have a reputation to maintain. Since you appear to be a hopeless cause, I think I'll take your son back with me as a replacement. Hopefully he's still young enough that your weak mentality hasn't brainwashed him beyond usefulness as a soldier. Plus, he still has his tail so at least the rest of the Saiyans won't make fun of him."
Goku instantly strikes a fighting pose with Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi doing the same.
"I won't let you lay a hand on my son!"
"I was hoping you'd say that," says Cui.
He disappears in the blink of an eye.
Goku manages to track the alien's movement behind him but is unable to stop the fierce knee to his lower back. The attack lifts him off the ground radiating pain across his entire body through his bruised spine. The paralyzing pain prevents him from blocking another strike to his exposed side. A strong foot punts him across the beach.
His two friends and master spring forward together hoping to get the drop on the aggressor. Cui easily brushes them aside with his immense speed. They hit the dirt just as hard as Goku. He turns his threatening attention upon Chichi.
She puts her son down behind her and readies her own fighting stance. It has been a long time since she was in a real fight, but her instincts return to her immediately from years of training. Before she can do anything, Ox King charges forward like a bull.
"I won't let you hurt my grandson," he says.
A swift palm to the chin followed by another to his exposed chest sends the big man crashing down onto his back, gasping for air. Before her eyes can even leave her father's body and get back to the assailant, Cui backhands her across the face causing her body to spiral as it falls to the ground.
Gohan tries to run to her motionless body, but Cui yanks him up by the collar of his shirt. He floats off the beach and surveys the decimated group below. Bulma, Turtle, Oolong, and Puar stare up at him in horror.
"Hey Kakarot," says Cui. "I'll tell you what. I have to make a report about your miserable failure and call in an extermination crew to fix your mistake. But if you make a sincere attempt to start killing off all the worthless lifeforms of this planet before they arrive, maybe we'll let you return to the empire and even see your son again."
With raucous laughter Cui burst off into the sky in an explosion of aura leaving only traces of a trail behind. When it seems safe to move, Bulma runs to Goku, Oolong to Krillin, Puar to Yamcha, and Turtle to Master Roshi to check on them.
"Goku, Goku!" says Bulma kneeling at his side. He coughs painfully and tries to get to his feet. "Slow dow. Don't exert yourself."
"Where's my son? Where's Gohan?" he grunts, barely making it to a sitting position.
"He … he's gone," she says. "That bastard took him."
"And Chichi?" he says, straining to see her still body. "Don't worry about me, check on her."
"Uh, yeah, right," says Bulma. She hurries over to the unconscious woman.
Goku takes stock of the aftermath while putting hands on his throbbing back and side. Krillin and Yamcha are managing to pick themselves up a little at a time. Master Roshi and the Ox King are coming to as well. When his wife stirs for the first time, he lets out a held sigh and begins breathing a little easier.
His mind, now clear of worry for the safety of the others, starts reviewing the beatdown he and his friends just received. He wants to rescue his son as quickly as possible. He tries to figure out if his loss was due to the surprise of such a strong enemy or whether that enemy really would be unbeatable. Either reality truly does not matter since that alien could leave the planet at any moment. With that conclusion in mind, he jumps to his feet despite the pain.
"I'm going after him," says Goku, lifting off the ground. "Nimbus!"
Before he can get far, he feels a tug on his ankle. He looks down to see Krillin hanging from his boot. The short man strains with the effort needed to hold his friend back while fighting the pain from the recent encounter.
"What are you doing Krillin? Let me go. I'm going to lose him if I don't go now."
"Goku we need a plan," wheezes Krillin.
"I'll think of one on the way. Now let go!" says Goku, shaking his leg.
"Would you stop being so stubborn for once in your life!" screams Krillin. "We need a plan first. I know you want to save Gohan, and so do we. But we don't want to lose you in the process. Now come down and rest for a moment, or I'll kick your ass."
Goku could not remember a time his friend spoke so strongly. Krillin had always been a somewhat timid personality in the face of danger of this magnitude. He takes a deep breath and descends to the beach with his friend. They both drop to one knee still hurting from the previous assault.
"Bulma," Krillin says, "do you have the Dragon Radar?"
"Yeah, but I don't see how … oh!" she says, realizing Krillin's plan. "We can find Gohan's location by tracking the Dragon Ball on his head."
"Right," says Krillin. "So that's not an issue. Now let's figure out how we're going to rescue him besides rushing in unprepared."
"Maybe we can get the jump on that alien scum since he doesn't know we can find him," says Yamcha. "We could hit him from all sides, hard and fast. He'll never see it coming!"
"Hm, I wonder about that," says Krillin.
"What do you mean Krillin?" asks Bulma, helping Chichi sit up so she could now give her full attention to the conversation about saving her son.
"How do you think he found us all the way out here?" asks Krillin. "That device he wore on his face seemed to be scanning us and then he mentioned something about power levels. It's almost like that device can sense ki. Of course that's just a theory, and I agree sneaking up on him is a great idea, but we need to be ready in case that doesn't work."
"Very insightful Krillin. Well done," says Master Roshi. The old man rests against the shell of Turtle. "If stealth ends up not working, we do still have the advantage of numbers if we team up."
"That's right," says Yamcha. "He didn't stick around to try and fight us all. He got the jump on us and then ran away as quick as he could. I bet he's scared. We can beat him if we all take him on."
"It'll still be very dangerous," says Goku. "I can't let you all risk your lives. You've already done that in many of our past battles. And Master Roshi and Krillin have already died once battling King Piccolo.
"After I lost Grandpa Gohan, I thought I'd be alone the rest of my life. All I had was the martial arts he taught me. And then you all slowly became my friends and new family. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you."
"Yeah but you wished us back to life with the Dragon Balls, so we just need someone to bring us back if the worst should happen," says Krillin, somewhat cheerfully.
"It won't work a second time," says Goku forlornly. "When I trained with Kami, who created the Dragon Balls, he told me that Shenron won't grant the same wish twice. So we can't bring you or Master Roshi back again."
"Oh man," says a dismayed Krillin. "That sucks."
"Indeed," agrees Master Roshi.
"It's fine," says Yamcha. "You two stay out of this one. Let Goku and me handle it."
"You sure about that Yamcha?" asks Puar.
"Absolutely! You know how restless I've been these past few years. I could use a little action," Yamcha says stretching and flexing his body like the encounter with the alien had no effect on him.
Puar stares at him solemnly knowing all too well his showmanship covered for his uncertainty. But she could never stop him from doing what he thought was right.
"I know it's risky, but I won't back out either. And this is my decision so don't try to talk me out of it," says Krillin. Then thinking to himself, oh man what am I saying. I've got a bad feeling about this.
"I can't let my students show me up," says Master Roshi, helping himself to his feet by pushing off of Turtle's shell. "I'm a bit out of practice, but I can still be of help."
"Are you two sure?" asks Goku.
Both nod consent.
"And I'm going too," says Chichi. She strides confidently toward the male dominated group. "And I won't hear any arguments to the contrary, Goku. He's my son too, and I will do whatever it takes to protect my baby boy."
Goku knows there is no stopping her when determination sets fire to her eyes like that.