Namek

Chapter 57: Reprieve


A hand tapped on his shoulder. Irked, Zarbon twisted his head around. 'Yes?'

A technician, a small, tweeny figure with ramshackle hair who was barely taller than Zarbon seated, stammered at Zarbon's tone. 'Command- commander,' he managed, 'The Ginyu Force has entered the system.'

Zarbon's eyebrows lifted a fraction. 'Have you given them the codes to dock?'

'I have, sir. They should be joining us in a matter of minutes.'

'Good.' he said, dismissing the technician with a wave of his hand. Then, conjuring a feeling of calm, he turned his attention to the matter at hand.

Zarbon had seated himself at the straight edge of a semicircular table. Arranged and seated before him were the four remaining squad leaders from his army- Appule, Rasp, Cochau, and Paya ran from his left to his right. Each was an elite in their own right. No doubt any one of them could be currently enjoying a comfortable governor's position at one of the safer, more developed planets in the PTO if they hadn't been stuck here. He sympathized with them.

'I want to go over what you said earlier, Appule,' Zarbon said, folding his hands on the table and casting his attention towards the purple alien to his far left. He was ugly to look at; the yellow spots patterning his purple tube of a head were of such a revolting shade. 'You mentioned that there was someone who intercepted your squad and beat you back from the village. One person, specifically.'

'Ye- yes,' Appule answered. He glanced frantically between Zarbon and the other gathered squad leaders. 'He was… he broke one of my soldier's scouters. He couldn't be measured. The device exploded; it couldn't take his reading.'

'And you said you saw what, exactly, tucked underneath one of his arms?'

'Some sort of orange sphere. Large.'

Zarbon appraised Appule and noted the alien's remittent tension working its way through his fingers. He had seen this kind of tension before while serving at Frieza's side- it was found in soldiers who had tried to fulfill their mission but had failed regardless. And while Frieza didn't care enough about his underlings to distinguish this, Zarbon saw and knew better.

He swept his attention towards the other three leaders. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Appule relax. 'You all agree you saw the same man with the same object or objects? Green, tall, with one or more orange spheres?'

The squad leaders took turns avoiding his gaze, until finally the orange, bulbous alien called Paya, short and stout, gave a tensed nod. 'Yes, sir. He tore through my squad. It was a miracle that I and a few of my men got out. He also took the orange sphere we had from us.'

Peaking an eyebrow, Zarbon leaned in. 'And why, exactly, did you have this in your possession?'

To his credit and Zarbon's surprise, Paya didn't flinch at the increased scrutiny. 'It was offered to us so that we would leave,' he replied. 'After killing a few of their warriors there was a brief struggle between a few younger looking natives and what looked to be their elder. The elder was knocked down to the ground and the younger ones carried over the ball to us. Said that it was a powerful artifact that, if gathered together with other spheres like it, would "give us what we want" , or whatever that meant.'

'And yet this village was wiped out by you? Totally?'

Paya stared at him. 'We asked them about the Saiyans- and they said didn't know anything. I assumed they were lying, so we fought some more. The sphere changed hands a few times, and by the end of it me and a few of my men were the only ones left alive. So we took it.'

'Hmm.' Zarbon looked at Paya for a bit longer, then turned his gaze finally to Rasp and Cochau. They were of the same race- Rasp was medium height, medium width, a dark shade of red, while Cochau was mostly the same except for being stone grey in color. They looked fairly similar to any other humanoid that served in the PTO, if you ignored their species' massive third arm which emerged from their midsections and seemed at rest wrapped around their waists. As a result, they had an odd hole in their chest armor where a black-clothed limb hung out of. 'And there were spheres at your respective villages as well?'

Rasp looked at Cochau. 'There were,' he replied, speaking for the both of them.

'And the same strong native?'

'Yes.'

Narrowing his eyes, Zarbon decoupled his hands and laid out his arms parallel to the edge of his table. 'Then I think I can surmise some facts to the convenience of everyone in this room,' Zarbon said. 'There is clearly a powerful warrior amongst the natives that is leaps and bounds stronger than any one of you. Perhaps even stronger than Dodoria, if his missing status is anything to go off on. Thus, while I have not formalized the plan for our next assault, when it occurs, it will be necessary that I lead you all on the ground to neutralize this threat. That way-'

'Err, sir' Rasp spoke up. 'There is something I should have mentioned earlier. One of the soldiers in my squad was measuring that warrior's strength up until his scouter exploded. The reading reached 25,000 before the thing gave out.'

The briefest moment of irrational panic rushed through Zarbon's veins, and while he thought he disguised his initial shock well, the engaged faces of the men before him told him otherwise. But he suppressed the feeling and reined in his face not a moment later.

'Regardless,' Zarbon continued, 'I will deal with him if or when he presents himself again. So I assure you; he will not trouble you or your men again.'

Rasp frowned but nodded.

Zarbon gauged the faces of the squad leaders, then went on. 'I also interested in the fact that he has sought out a specific set of items from the villages. This suggests that these spheres have a use or utility to him or the natives. I would recommend that, in any of our future operations, you and your men try to secure these items.'

'Lastly,' Zarbon said,' and most importantly, our sensor technicians have informed me that, in the wake of our withdrawal, the natives have drawn back to a single spot on the planet. Their "last stand", if I had to guess. So while we have yet to see or hear of any Saiyan renegades, if there any Saiyan renegades to be found, then they shall be found soon. So, I reiterate for when we engage them next; do not kill them. Detain them under any means other than death. If you cannot do that, tell me, and I will do this for you. Understood?'

The squad leaders all nodded yes, but now that their meeting was drawing to close, Zarbon noticed the return of the same tension that had afflicted them earlier.

Tucking away this observation, Zarbon stood. 'You are all dismissed.' He pushed his chair back towards the table, turned to leave and began to walk-

'Zarbon, sir?' Appule asked before he had left the room.

He halted. 'Yes?'

'Are… are you angry?'

Zarbon stood still for a moment, then turned halfway towards them. 'I am not Lord Frieza. I do not punish failure… not immediately,' he said coolly. 'Despite what has happened, you are all still alive, and as far as I am concerned, you are all still of use to me. Serve me well and truthfully for the duration of this mission, and I guarantee you that none of you will ever be put on a combat assignment ever again.'

For a moment Zarbon felt the beginning of a collective response start to brew among his squad leaders, but he didn't stick around long enough to hear it; he had left the room as soon as he had finished speaking.

His course was quick, almost frantic. As soon as he was alone, in a long, narrow hallway that stretched itself down the ship's length, Zarbon let his anger seep up into his hands. Suddenly, he smashed his right hand, curled up into a fist, into the hallway's metal wall. A huge crater formed, warping and twisting its paneling to distort Zarbon's reflection into some grotesque, banal monster. Huffing, Zarbon drew his hand back and flipped his hair braid back behind his head.

It was infuriating and humiliating that he served in an army where soldiers lied. Every squad sent to the planet had gotten into some sort of battle with the villages they had been assigned to. Was he to believe that the natives, outnumbered in every locale, attacked them uniformly and unprovoked? No- that was less likely than the other explanation. His troops were greedy, pilfering louts who thought of making a quick profit at the expense of a carefully constructed mission plan. And there was no doubt in Zarbon's mind that Dodoria had, at the very least, ignored the actions of his rapacious soldiers.

But unlike his men, Zarbon hadn't lied. They were useful to him in cleaning up this mess until they were dead. If they survived and the mission was done, Zarbon had every intent on following up on his promise. If they died, then they weren't his concern anymore. And, in the unlikely scenario that they survived and the mission failed… well, Zarbon wouldn't be thinking of them anymore. They wouldn't be thinking of him. They would all be thinking about Frieza.

One thing at a time… Zarbon's pulse was racing. This mission isn't a disaster. Not yet. I can spin this. He pictured himself delivering his report to Frieza. 'Our initial attack was to weaken them- we must have cut the number of their defenders in half. Everything is proceeding according to plan, Lord Frieza. With… with the Ginyu- Ginyu Force…'

Zarbon's imagination fell away, consumed by another fear. Every person in the PTO knew that interacting with any soldier that was stronger than you would more likely than not bring about a painful, premature death. When the Ginyu Force had been offered to him in this mission, Zarbon had feigned interest in them to please Frieza, as it was well known that Captain Ginyu was one of Frieza's most favored, if not the most favored, of all his soldiers. He was the PTO's golden boy- ignoring some odd performing quirks- and could do no wrong. So the prospect of commanding someone who had Frieza's complete trust frustrated and terrified him all at once. One complaint from Ginyu or his goons would go straight to their common master, and Zarbon would be as good as dead upon his return to PTO space.

It would have been difficult, though possible, to have gone through with his original plan; to use the operation's early and initial success to dismiss Ginyu and his men when they arrived. But even if this operation had been moving along smoothly by this point… he couldn't ignore the danger posed by this mysterious warrior who had cut down his troops effortlessly. 25,000 was stronger than his current form… and wasn't that far below his other one, either. As it was, it would be too risky to put himself on the ground without knowing exactly what he was dealing with. He would need the strength of Ginyu and his men to safeguard his life.

An unpleasant, rotting taste filled Zarbon's mouth. Damn them. Damn Ginyu. Shaking his head, he moved away from his mangled reflection. Let's get this over with... Quick strides took him through the ship's hallway towards the docking bay. His pace was impeccable; as soon as he stepped into the bay, five pods in a V-shaped flight pattern eased into it from space outside. He was nervous. But after serving under Frieza for so long, this emotion immediately transformed into an upright posture and a neutral, calculating demeanor.

0o0o0

A familiar shake took hold of him, a hiss filled his pod, and Ginyu, yearning to stretch his limbs, leaned forward and hastened the hatch's up and out swing by pushing. His hands then slid to the outside rim of his ship, and pulling himself up, he clambered out.

The hangar was sparse and small; a quick glance to his left and right saw that, as expected, his men had arrived in proper formation. To his left, Burter, blue, tall, and athletic, was already chatting to Jeice, his red skinned and white-haired lieutenant. To Ginyu's right, Recoome stretched his outrageously muscled arms above his rectangular head topped with red mop-hair, making the fifth of their group, a short green alien named Guldo, look even punier and stodgier by comparison. Satisfied with their arrangement, Ginyu swung his gaze towards a soldier he recognized all too well as Zarbon. Grinning, Ginyu stepped forward and started to separate his clasped arms from behind him.

'Please, stop.'

Zarbon held up a hand, halting Ginyu halfway through swinging one arm over his head- the signal for the rest of his men to begin their routine. 'What?' he said.

'I am not Lord Frieza,' Zarbon stated, addressing Ginyu. 'I do not care for your presentation. Your team's reputation precedes you all. I aim to launch another assault- a final one- as soon as possible. So the sooner we begin discussing the plan, the better.'

Frowning, Ginyu rearranged his arms behind his back. 'Very well, then. But be warned that delaying our customary procession may dampen the morale of my men.'

For the first time, Zarbon swept his gaze up and down their line and examined each soldier individually. 'If you five are as strong as I think you are, then know this: before this mission is done, you'll have ample time to present yourselves to our captured enemies…'

0o0o0

Eyes shut and seated in a cross-legged position, Piccolo tried his best to ignore his surroundings. So far, nothing further had tried to burrow into his mind. His wariness slowly lapsed back into a meditative state, but even then his unease did not dissipate. The sense of his inner space being violated would not leave him. Never before had his own thoughts been assaulted in such a horrible way. He had no idea what had happened, or why, and the only person who could answer those questions was presumably brawling in Hell at the moment. Intermittently, Piccolo had asked King Kai when Master Roshi would be back. King Kai had told him to put the matter from his mind.

Easier said than done. His meditation was uncharacteristically agitated. It took all of his willpower to blot out the other concurrent events on King Kai's planet from his mind, not least the semi-random flashes of light and energy coming from where Krillin was. With time Krillin's strength had risen… as had his own, in step and beyond. If Krillin hadn't learned that technique from King Kai, he would not be a threat to Piccolo… but there was no doubt in Piccolo's mind that, if he and Krillin ever fought again, Krillin's use of the Kaioken would allow him to win. As soon as Master Roshi departs… another damn human takes his place at the top!

He was restless; he was fundamentally uncomfortable in his own head. It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Lacking anything better or more insightful to think, Piccolo had to conclude that recent events had rattled him. The intrusion into his mind had taught him how little he knew about himself. And, if he was going to be revived soon, he would have to grapple with a potentially permanent... inferiority on Earth. A gap between himself and Krillin that would widen with time despite his efforts. What other conclusion was he supposed to draw from Krillin's recent progress? From the fact that he already had one opportunity to establish his dominance on Earth, and was unlikely to get another one ever again?

It wasn't King Kai's fault that one of his students could learn the Kaioken and another could not. But Piccolo was bitter nonetheless.

Taking a deep breath, he unsuccessfully tried to wave away the mental frustration. His head was a cluttered web of thoughts and emotion- two things uniquely bad for meditation. He tried to focus on nothing- and, failing to do that, he decided to give up on meditation for the moment. His eyes opened.

For a brief moment he stared out, unaware… until he realized that he was in a city- in a plaza, with a ruined stone fountain in the center and half-built buildings cropping up on its edges. It was immediately familiar but also dreamlike, and bewildered, Piccolo closed his eyes. He tried to clear the scene from his mind.

A few seconds later, when he opened his eyes again, he had succeeded- but now he looked out onto an entirely different scene. Blue grass and blue leaves on tall trees, contrasted by a green sky and an ocean of nearly the same shade grew everywhere. Piccolo felt a gentle wind blow across his full white cowl and purple gi and recognized the feeling of warm sunlight on his face. Acting on intuition, he raised one hand above his head and failed to grasp his golden halo.

He was alive… and not on Earth.

'Where am I?...'

0o0o0

Existence pinched into a single concentrated point, pulled on him, and then Kami found himself on his hands and knees, panting and staring down through teary eyes at familiar white tiles. His entire body trembling, he pulled his head and gaze up from the ground.

Not ten feet away, Korin was scolding at Yajirobe and held the samurai by the ear. But as soon as the cat turned in his direction, his face dropped and let Yajirobe fall backward to the ground. 'Kami?'

Kami struggled to hold his gaze with the white-furred cat. 'Old friend… my staff, do you have it?'

'Y- yes! Of course!' Korin said, nodding fervently and rushing off to somewhere behind and to the right of Kami. While this was happening, Kami watched Yajirobe pick himself up and start to glare; but then he looked at Kami and realized what had caused Korin to run off, and did some running of his own. Kami soon found himself being helped to his feet, supported by the shorter and stouter human. 'Got you…' he muttered.

Korin returned to them as soon as Kami had fully straightened. With both hands, he held out Kami's staff parallel to his body and proffered it. Grateful, Kami accepted it.

As soon as his hands gripped themselves around the worn piece of wood, Kami felt a certain strength flow back into him. Softly, he nudged Yajirobe away from him and came to stand under his own power. 'You have my thanks,' he said, moving his gaze to and from Korin and Yajirobe. Then, he looked beyond them. 'Though I would rather be thanking Mr. Popo... Where are they?'

Unseen by Kami, Korin and Yajirobe quickly glanced to each other. The newly revived Guardian of Earth had yet to turn around and look at the half-ruined dome of the main complex just behind him. 'Kami,' Korin said, 'I know you just got back on your feet, but Yajirobe is going to go get you a chair.'

Kami's eyes flickered to Korin. 'What for?'

'I'd prefer that you'd be sitting while I get you up to speed with everything that's happened over the past few months…. just in case.'

0o0o0

King Kai, snorting at a joke he had just made at Krillin's expense, looked over to Piccolo's usual sitting spot underneath one of the planet's only trees. 'Piccolo! Has Krillin ever told you the ridiculous story behind the nine dots on his hea- hmm?...'

There was no sulky green humanoid hanging out underneath a particular tree. Forgetting about Krillin for a moment, King Kai took a quick twenty-second stroll circumnavigating the planet and saw that Piccolo wasn't underneath any of his trees. 'Odd…'

'King Kai?' Krillin asked. King Kai had left him in a push-up position with a couple hundred bricks balanced on his back. He couldn't move his head to look around without toppling the ten-foot-high stack. 'Where'd you go?'

'I'm over here, Krillin,' King Kai replied. Continuing with his idle examination, he walked over to one of his house's open windows and peeked through it to the inside. 'I'm looking for our green friend. He seems to have vanished.'

'He's not here?' Krillin asked, his voice strained. 'Guess I won't be here much longer, either, then.'

King Kai pulled back from the house and turned, slowly, towards Krillin. 'It sounds like you know something that I don't. Something a nearly omniscient god does not.'

'You're omniscient?'

'Unimportant,' King Kai answered, while removing the stack of bricks on Krillin's back from existence with a snap of his fingers. The human blinked, then stood. 'Why are you not surprised that Piccolo is gone?'

'Well,' Krillin said, 'It's like what I said when we first arrived. Piccolo and I came here to train until we were revived. If Piccolo isn't here, that means my friends finally got their hands on another set of dragonballs.'

'I don't remember you telling me that,' King Kai said, irritated. 'What the heck are dragonballs?'

Krillin opened his mouth to explain, but he found it initially difficult to start. 'They're… um… hmm. They're magical, and orange…'

'You know, if you're trying to make a joke, tell me, and I'll start laughing.'

'No!' Krillin said, waving his arms frantically back and forth. 'It's not a joke! They're just hard to explain! But they can do a lot of seemingly impossible things, like bringing someone back to life.'

King Kai glowered at him. 'You're right about that- bringing people back from the dead should be impossible. How the hell do they work?'

'I don't know!' Krillin replied. 'They're magical! They're… hmm, actually…'

'What?'

'It just occurred to me that, if Piccolo was just revived, I'm going to be revived soon, too. Before that happens, you should really get around to helping me to perfect those other techniques you showed me-'

A stick, appearing out of thin air, whacked Krillin's shins and caused him to yelp. 'I don't care about that!' King Kai chided him. 'I want to know what happened to my other student!'

'He probably got revived! I don't know anything else! Maybe he's on Earth!?' Krillin cried, shrinking back.

King Kai, stick raised with one hand, looked ready to whack Krillin again, but then he sighed and let it drop from his hand. Then with the same hand, he beckoned Krillin to come closer. 'Close your eyes and put your arm on my back,' he said. 'We're going to figure out what's going on here.'

Krillin looked at him. 'You're not gonna whack me again, are you?'

'Krillin…'

'Alright, alright, fine,' he said, moving closer. 'Though I'm not sure what this is going to accompl- a- wh-' Krillin couldn't string together another word as his perception of King Kai's planet expanded, then exploded, as he began to take in so much more sensory information than he had ever thought possible. His perspective should have been impossible; he every side of King Kai's planet simultaneously. His perception then shot out past the confines of the planet as he began to see this realm of Otherworld- Snake Way, King Yemma's palace, and all the empty air and clouds jotting around in between- from an incomprehensible perspective.

'You with me, Krillin?' a voice spoke into Krillin's mind.

'This… this is incredible! I can see everything!'

'Welcome to my job, kid. Now then…'

Krillin's perception shifted- he thought of it as a spotlight moving across a stage- and found himself being dragged along to… somewhere else entirely. He was utterly floored by the amount of whatever he was seeing; he couldn't make any sense of it.

'I'm judging from your silence that you're a little overwhelmed right now.'

'...'

'This is the North Galaxy. The slice of the lower realm that I'm responsible for keeping watch over.'

'And you can make sense of this?'

'Why do you think I have antennae?'

'...'

'That was a joke.'

Krillin, to his relief, then felt his perspective exponentially narrow. Soon enough he was looking at just one planet- which was still too much for him to fully perceive, but at least now it didn't feel like his head would burst.

'Looking… green, young-looking humanoid who looks perpetually unhappy… and he's not here.' Krillin felt, all the way back on King Kai's planet, the body underneath his hand grow hot. 'Why is Piccolo not here, Krillin?'

'You sure that he's not here?'

'Are you really doubting my abilities after everything I've shown you? Really?'

Sorry… just thinking out loud. If Piccolo isn't here, then he must be wherever the other set of dragonballs are.'

'And where is that?'

'I don't know. I was never told any details as to our resurrection other than to train with you. I was just told the general plan.'

'Well, who told you the plan?'

0o0o0

Frowning, Kami moved farther out towards one end of the Lookout to get a better perspective of the main complex on the other end. Korin and Yajirobe meekly tailed him.

The dome was ruined, and Kami could now see the broken and chipped white floor tiles that were scattered around the Lookout's surface. 'It is as you told me,' he said gloomily. 'Garlic Jr. caused much damage to this place…'

'We've been trying our best to patch things since then,' Korin said hastily. 'Though I will admit we both got a little sidetracked…'

'It is not your fault, Korin,' Kami said, sounding tired. 'I knew Garlic Jr. was kept trapped within his vessel by the presence of a Guardian's power. It was my fault to not think he would quickly escape after my unplanned… demise... ' Kami freed one of his hands from his staff and began to massage his forehead. 'Ooo…'

'Kami?' Korin said, moving closer. 'Are you alright?'

'A headache,' Kami replied without looking at him. 'A particularly bad one. My time in the afterlife was anything but relaxing… and to be revived and be confronted with all this again is daunting…'

'With time, The Lookout can be repaired,' Korin said, trying to console Kami. 'Nothing has to be done today. Relax.'

'Is this a bad time?' A voice asked, popping into every person's head. 'Should I come back later?'

Kami, eyes widening, tilted his head towards the sky. 'Who is this?' he said aloud.

'Hey, Kami?' A different, familiar voice spoke up. 'Remember me?'

'Krillin?' Korin exclaimed. 'Aren't you- you- you're dead!' He finished. 'So- that means-'

'I'm still dead,' Krillin said in a somewhat muted manner. 'I'm speaking from King Kai's planet. He's the Kai assigned to watch over our part of the galaxy. Say hi, King Kai.'

'You know I was the one to initiate this conversation, right?' King Kai grumbled.

'Hah… haha...'

While Korin motioned Yajirobe to grab the chair Kami had left behind at the other end of the Lookout and bring it over to them, Kami continued to squint towards the sky. 'So, King Kai, you are the one who has been training Krillin these past few months,' he said. 'For that, you have my thanks. I hope he has learned enough to make my service to King Yemma worthwhile.'

King Kai chuckled, as if he had been reminded of a funny image. 'Yeah, wasn't he riding around you pretty hard?'

'He was.'

'As your former student, thank you for that,' Krillin quickly added.

'Speaking of students,' King Kai said, 'I seem to be down one. What's up with that?'

Kami frowned. 'Are you referring to Piccolo? Because, if so, he must have been brought back with the dragonballs at the same time as me. You do know what the dragonballs are, yes?'

'Krillin got me up to speed. Just checked the Earth, though- Piccolo's not there. Krillin thinks he must be wherever the dragonballs were used.'

'Ah. So he must be on Namek,' Kami deduced.

There was a pause. A sufficiently strange one, considering that Kami, Korin, and a chair-carrying Yajirobe could feel that their connection with King Kai and Krillin was unbroken. Finally, after some time, King Kai asked in a flat voice: 'Could you give Namek's general direction?'

Kami cocked his head. 'In what regard?'

'Galactic galaxy orientation… north, south, east, west of you, that sort of thing.'

'Unfortunately, I am not acquainted with the larger galaxy's geography. I myself have never set foot on Namek. I only know that the ship the being I was split from arrived here on had the planet's coordinates. And I presume that this ship was used by whoever revived me to get to Namek in the first place.'

'So you don't know where Namek is? That's all you had to say.'

'I do not. Sorry.'

'Here's an idea,' Korin spoke up, 'why don't you try to find Namek by using Kami's link to Piccolo? Their life force should be connected if they share the same soul… or whatever,' he looked at Kami,' right?'

Kami nodded. 'That is correct. For a being such as yourself, King Kai, I understand that you should be able to track our link across the cosmos.'

'I can…' King Kai said. 'But to do that I'm going to have to cut our verbal connection. Be prepared for any further questions I might have, though.' And then, abruptly, their connection with King Kai and Krillin was severed.

Korin blinked rapidly. A moment later, Yajirobe plunked down the wooden chair he had retrieved behind Kami.

'While we're waiting, Korin, I need you to do something,' Kami said as he settled into the chair and began to knead his aching forehead again. 'Within the complex, there is a room filled with opaque ceramic containers. I need you to bring me a vessel from this room that is grey with black and red horizontal stripes. Can you do this for me?'

'I'm on it.'

0o0o0

Beneath his hand, King Kai was remarkably still. 'Hey, you alright?' Krillin asked, opening his eyes.

'I'm focusing,' King Kai snapped. 'Tracking the outlines of a split soul divided across the galaxy's length is a tough ask.'

'I see… sorry.'

The body beneath Krillin's hand tensed even more, but then Krillin watched King Kai sigh, shrug off his hand, and turn to him. 'I'm not alright,' King Kai admitted. 'I'm… disturbed.'

Krillin's eyes narrowed. 'I thought so. I felt your body clam up at one point while we were talking to Kami. Something he said?'

King Kai sighed again before going on. 'Look, Krillin, I'll be honest- I don't want to have a full conversation with you about this,' he said. 'If I start telling you my whole life's story, we're going to be here until everyone you know has died of old age. So just promise me that… you'll listen for a bit without asking any silly questions, alright? And then we'll figure out where Piccolo is.'

'... Alright,' Krillin said, scratching his head. 'You're making it sound like I have any control over what we're doing.'

King Kai pursued his lips. 'Good point. Now, Krillin, hypothetically speaking; if you knew of a species that had terrorized the universe but had later gone on to change its ways and turn over a new, better leaf, what would your intuition be?'

Krillin stared at King Kai. 'You're not talking about whatever race Kakarot is from, right? You're not talking about the Saiyans?'

King Kai snorted. 'No, the Saiyans got what was coming to them- oops.' King Kai smoothed out the front of his clothes, grinning. 'You didn't hear that from me.'

'Well… if we're not talking about the Saiyans, then I'd say that this hypothetical species deserves a chance to continue to do good things, or deeds… or whatever.'

'Not what I'm getting at. I'm asking how you would feel towards them. Good, bad, in-between?'

'I dunno,' Krillin said. 'I guess, if I had seen this species make this dramatic shift, it would be difficult for me to feel comfortable around them?... You've put me in a weird spot, King Kai. Who exactly are we talking about?'

King Kai, unreactive, adjusted the position of his shades on his nose an inch. 'I'm glad to hear your thoughts, Krillin.' He then spun around. 'But I'll think on this more later. For the moment, let me search out Piccolo by myself.'

Faced with King Kai's back, Krillin folded his arms and dug the heel of his foot into the ground. 'You know, you didn't answer my question.'

'Didn't you just admit you have no control over what we're doing at any point while you're here?'

'But you make it sound like you were talking about the-'

'Found him!'

0o0o0

Flying low above the ground, Piccolo glided through the air and took his time watching the landscape pass by below him. His initial sense of alien unfamiliarity had been replaced by a gentle appreciation of the planet's beauty- though this, in time, had transformed into a dull repetition. The planet was strikingly repetitive. Every place looked to be of the same biome- short blue grass, tall trees with blue leaves, and water… everywhere. The only break in this monotony were the appearance of short plateaus and shallow gorges that, with time, also became repetitive. It had to be because of the constant sunlight; there always seemed to be at least two or three suns orbiting the sky at any given time. Conditions everywhere on the planet were the same. They were… boring.

He still didn't know why he was here. He could only sense one clump of energy at the other end of the planet. Had to be a group of this planet's natives… who, hopefully, could explain what was going on and how he was revived-

Piccolo froze mid-flight and straightened. I've been revived. So… some set of dragonballs are involved. People… like Kami and I are involved. If they're here, then…

The green and blue scenery didn't change, but despite this, colors and shapes that he didn't notice before began to jump out to him. This… is where I came from, then. Here-

'Hey!' An insufferably familiar voice grated into Piccolo's head. 'Piccolo?'

Piccolo's eyes bulged with anger. 'Didn't I just get rid of you, clown!'

'That's no way to talk to another student, Piccolo,' King Kai's goofy voice said, coming to Krillin's defense. 'In gaining life, you seem to have lost your manners.'

'I don't care about you two anymore!' Piccolo yelled out, clenching his raised arms at his sides. 'I've been revived on my homeworld, and now, I will reunite with my kin and surpass both of you!'

There was silence for a moment. 'So you're revived and on Namek, then?' King Kai asked. 'Cool.' Then the connection cut out.

Wary of them trying to fool or spook him by speaking to him again, Piccolo kept motionless in the sky for a handful of more seconds until relaxing and letting his arms fall back down. His mind held onto the discomfort for a time, then began to think on something King Kai had said.

So that's where I am?… Namek...

0o0o0

'What a sucker,' King Kai said back on King Kai's planet, giggling like a schoolchild. 'If I ever need to learn anything from Piccolo again, I'll just let him go on an ego trip.'

Scratching his neck, Krillin shrugged and kept his eyes closed.

0o0o0

The actual summoning from the dragonballs transpired over an astonishingly short amount of time. The Namekians were no slouches when it came to keeping their dragon waiting; they relayed their wishes in a punctual and efficient manner. And the travelers from Earth could see why. Porunga, the Namekian dragon, made Shenron look like a wimp. He must have been twice as tall and ten times as wide. In Shenron's presence, they had always felt a mystical power radiating down from him; in Porunga's presence, there felt an overbearing physicality, too. So they were relieved when the two wishes had been fulfilled- that Kami and Piccolo had been brought back to life, and that Piccolo was brought to Namek- and Porunga withdrew back into the dragonballs. Soon enough, the sky returned to its usual green shade.

They were surprised when the dragonballs didn't scatter after their use, though their color shifted from orange to grey and began to resemble ordinary stone just like the Earth's dragonballs after being used.

A brief conversation took place; Moori assured them that their wishes had been granted, and that he sensed the person called Piccolo was present on Namek. He recommended that they and Bez should stay in the deserted village- the remaining Namekians were still distrustful of them- and that he and Nail would prepare the Namekians for the next, and most likely final, battle.

'And make sure to inform your friends on Earth to start gathering their dragonballs,' Moori said just before flying off with the two other elders and Nail. 'They need to be on hand in case the battle does not go in our favor and we are forced to pursue a… temporary solution.'

'We understand,' Bulma replied. 'As soon as we can get back to our ship, we can arrange that.'

'Or I can do that for you,' a voice said, sliding into her head. 'Save you the trek to that cruddy old shuttle.'

Startled, Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin. 'Who's that?!' she cried.

'Wait, you hear it too!?' Yamcha yelled, twisting his head to her. 'The nasally voice?'

'I hear it too!' Tien exclaimed. 'We're all hearing the same voice!'

'I'm still here, you know…'

'Who are you!?' Bulma demanded.

'Hmm…' Moori frowned at them. 'Who exactly are you three talking to?'

Bez made a point of taking a few steps back from the humans. 'Not sure what's going on here… now associated with this. Or, really, whatever just happened with that gigantic dragon.' Bez looked pale. 'I'm sorry, but did you actually just grant magical wishes? You brought someone back to life? That's impossible. Once you're dead, you're dead. Something like that can't be done, it's impossible, it's- I'm babbling. I'm sorry, and I'm babbling.'

Moori stood unmoved. He opened his mouth to say something, then decided against it. 'Judging from your appearance, I take it that you, unlike these three, are not from Earth.'

'Yes,' Bez replied. 'You're correct.'

'But you are with them?'

'...For now.'

'Then inform them once their… episode… is over that we have departed,' Moori said, drawing Bez's attention to Bulma, Yamcha, and Tien staring off into space. 'They know where to find us.' Then, without saying anything more, Moori, Bez, Tsuno, and Leera departed.

As he watched them fly away, Bez wrapped his arms around him and tightened his grip. This was insane. Magic? Wishes? All the while we're surrounded by a PTO force that could invade at any minute! And I just said I was standing with these fools… Bez turned back to the humans. They're… look at them. They're… what's she doing?

Bulma's mouth was hanging open. 'KRILLIN!?' she yelled.

0o0o0

He tried to delay springing it on them as long as possible… but his hand was growing sweaty on King Kai's back. 'Hey, guys…' Krillin finally said. 'It's me.'

'KRILLIN!?' Bulma roared back. 'You- that's you! That's actually you!'

'Krillin!' Yamcha joined in. 'You're alive! Or there! You're there in the afterlife?'

'Yeah, I am,' Krillin replied. 'Training, actually, with King Kai. He's the guy who spoke to you first.'

'I'm still here, just so you're all aware,' King Kai reminded them.

'Shouldn't have expected anything different from you, Krillin,' Tien said. '...It's nice to hear from you. We've all missed you.'

Krillin smiled. 'You and everyone else on Earth, I'm sure,' He agreed. 'So… it's just the three of you on Namek, then?'

'Just the three of us,' Bulma answered. 'We've… jeez, a lot has happened since you died… a crazy amount…'

'Like what?'

'Well-'

'Krillin, you know I'm not a payphone, right?' King Kai grumbled. 'We're here on business.'

'Oh, right!' Krillin said. 'Can you guys confirm something for us? You just revived Piccolo, right?'

'We did- or, more accurately, the Namekians did,' Bulma answered. 'And we wished him back to Namek.'

'Why you'd do that?'

'We're in a tough spot right now; the planet is surrounded by PTO forces,' Tien explained. 'Us and the Namekians have already been attacked and we think another assault is coming soon.'

'PTO?'

'A gang of thugs that runs most of the galaxy,' King Kai informed Krillin. 'Nasty bunch. Sorry to hear that they're after you. They have some strong soldiers in their ranks…'

'They're also the group that employed Raditz,' Yamcha spat. 'So we can thank them for trying to destroy our planet.'

'I see…' Krillin mumbled. 'Sounds like bad news then. So Piccolo is going to help you fight?'

'That's the plan.'

'You're placing a lot of faith in him,' Krillin cautioned them. 'He's had his fair share of shenanigans up here.'

'We hope he'll see the benefit of helping us and staving off his own death,' Yamcha deadpanned.

'Even with him we're still in a bad spot, though,' Tien admitted. 'We could use more back-up. And, unfortunately, everyone on Earth is too far away to help…'

'Well… I'm ready to throw-down,' Krillin said. 'Now that Kami is alive again, we can use the Earth's dragonballs to revive me and bring me to Namek.'

'That would be our plan, but we promised the Namekians one of our wishes, ' Bulma explained. 'So… we'll see if we can bring you here and fulfill their wish. But, until they tell us what they want to do, you'll have to wait to be revived.'

'Hmm. Gotcha.'

'King Kai,' Tien spoke up, 'did you say that you'll relay all this to Kami on Earth? If so, that'll be a big help to us.'

'As a favor for my student, I shall,' King Kai pledged. 'I'll tell Kami to get the dragonballs on standby. Once they're gathered, I'll get back to you all.'

'Thanks, King Kai.'

'Yeah, thanks!' Krillin jumped in. 'Okay- everyone, I'll see you all soon! I can't wait-'

The world rushed away- Krillin found himself back on King Kai's planet, blinking rapidly. His hand separated itself from King Kai's back.

'King Kai, did you just cut the connection?' Krillin asked.

'How many times do I have to say it? I'm not a payphone, Krillin!'

0o0o0

When Korin, holding a tall, rounded, and grey vessel with black and red stripes, returned to Kami and Yajirobe, he found the Guardian of Earth staring off into space, eyes closed, with a meditative expression on his face. Yajirobe saw him approach and turned to him.

'What's going on?' Korin asked.

Yajirobe shrugged. 'Dunno. He zoned out a few minutes ago.'

'I'm still here,' Kami spoke up, adjusting himself in his chair. 'Just give me a moment.'

Korin glared at Yajirobe. 'Zoned out, huh?'

'He looked it!' Yajirobe exclaimed.

Before anything more could be said, Kami placed two hands on his staff and rose to his feet. 'Alright,' he said, looking upwards. 'I'll do that.' His gaze then centered on Korin. 'Thank you for retrieving the vessel I asked for.'

Korin handed it to Kami. 'You were talking to King Kai, right?'

'I was. He's informed me of a plan concocted by our friends on Namek.'

'Bulma, Yamcha, and Tien?'

Kami nodded.

'And the plan is?...'

'Gather the dragonballs. But, first,' Kami set the vessel down in front of him and motioned Yajirobe and Korin to step back. 'It's time to greet an old friend.'

Kami tapped his staff to the ground two times. In response, the vessel on the ground shuddered twice. The seal in its opening faded into nothing, and a thick, dark mist spooled out from this newly created opening. Then, with swings of his staff, Kami began to shape the mist without touching it, sloughing off sections of black here and there with his virtual shaping. A round shape, short but rotund like a person, began to take shape before them.

Then Kami stopped and held out his staff in front of him. 'I summon you, Mr. Popo,' he said, before tapping his staff down one last time.

As soon as the worn wood of the staff smacked against the white tile, another shudder rocked the mass, and out of nothing there came eyes, a mouth, a white turban, a maroon vest, white pants, and red shoes. Korin's eyes began to widen and Yajirobe, looking a little spooked, moved behind him. It was oddly captivating… and in some ways disturbing.

The coalescing came to a peak and then, with another shudder, all the features popped into their proper place on their body, and Mr. Popo touched down onto the tiles with both of their shoe-enclosed feet. They looked around for a moment, then gave a neutral smile towards Kami. 'It's nice to see you again, my friend,' they said.

Kami smiled. 'It is nice to see you,' he said. 'I have a task for you.'

'Name it, and I shall do it.'

0o0o0

As per King Kai's request, Krillin dragged over one the planet's lawn chairs and placed it behind the Kai. He plopped down into it a moment later. 'I'm beat,' he said.

'You did talk to a lot of people today,' Krillin pointed out.

'Yes…' King Kai folded his hands in his lap and started to twiddle his thumbs. 'I did. And I have a lot to think about.'

'The Namekians? Something to do with them?'

King Kai gave a heavy exhale. 'I have been alive for 600 years, Krillin. While this may sound like a long time for a mortal like you, for a Kai, it is tiny. We Kais come into existence fully formed. I was never a kid or a moody teenager; I never grew up from what I was at the very moment I started existing. But Kais still mature. We make mistakes and learn from them, no matter how brutal or horrible they are. Right now, I'm wondering whether I've learned the right lessons from my past... But you have better things to do than listen to a Kai prattle on.'

Krillin looked at him. 'I do?'

'You've got who knows how much time left here,' King Kai told him. 'You need to make the most of it.'

'You mean training?' Krillin then frowned. 'Oh, shoot. You're right. I am on a deadline.'

'For your friends' sake, I'd recommend you get to it.'

'Are you going to help me with those techniques I mentioned?'

'Start without me- I'll join you soon.' King Kai said, his voice and mind distant. 'Just give me a moment…'

0o0o0

Sailing through the pink sky, Master Roshi cast his ki sense to the edges of Hell until… something caught his attention. No, it was more than that; this wasn't something sticking out to him that his senses picked out. It was a power almost unignorable, bright, as if someone was shining a flashlight into a pitch-black room. It would be noticed by every denizen of Hell that could sense ki… and it was very close to him. Suspiciously close.

A trap. I didn't think it was possible for someone in Hell to have this much control over their ki… but this is as bright a signal as I've ever felt down here. Someone is making their presence known. And, if they can do that, they can probably sense that I'm here, too…

It must be a trap- but then, the question is, why? Why would this person telegraph where they are? Based on how their ki felt, Master Roshi was pretty sure he hadn't met this person before, so it's unlikely that this person is trying to settle a grudge with him. If this was a stranger, it would be keeping with the theme of today- of running into Kakarot's father. Hmm… Bardock knew I was here, too. And he was weaker than the energy I'm feeling right now… There's no other conclusion to draw. This person knows I'm here, and is trying to lure me towards them.

Guess the question is… do I play their game?

His whole search so far stunk of manipulation. Bardock must have known that he was coming before he came, and was working with whoever this mystery person is. How else would he have spotted him in the air and half-surprised him with a ki attack?

But, then… if Bardock and this mystery person knew he was coming, and this person has enough power to shine like a star in Hell… then this is probably the same person who had tried to influence Piccolo. Or, at the very least, this person had a good idea as to who did that.

Well, trap it is then. His hands curled into fists. They're going to regret messing with me.

Putting on a burst of speed, Master Roshi sped off in the energy's direction like a white-silver bullet.


A/N: BAM! I'm back with another chapter! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

Also, surprisingly, another chapter without a fight! Didn't think that'd happen. No chance in hell of that happening for the next chapter, though. Speaking of which, I'm very hopeful that I'll be able to get back to a weekly update schedule soon. I shouldn't have anything cataclysmically time-consuming hurtling towards me for a while. So keep your eyes peeled for a regular weekend update starting next Saturday! Get pumped!

Reviews! I got a lot of nice ones for this chapter! Thank you all in advance; you're all wonderful and I wouldn't haven't gotten this far if it weren't for your support!

Anonymous: The gang is going to have to pull off some serious shenanigans to come out of this alright.

Piccolo is revived! Ta-da! And Bez is now expressing some skepticism. Thank you for pointing out the relative absence of his perspective on dragonballs last chapter.

Gohan is two! Sometimes I forget, too! And, for the Ox-King, well, we'll see!

I'm excited for the next chapter ;). Thank you for your lovely review!

the1andonlyLucian: (Review # 1): Thank you for the kind words! Glad to hear you like Kakarot's character development!

Well… I would argue that Kakarot would be alright with Raditz living as long as Chi-Chi and Gohan lived, too. So if he's defeated (as he was), I don't think his sacrifice for Chi-Chi and Gohan was wasted.

It's going to be a tough battle on Namek, for sure!

Things are coming to a head in hell… you will see what's going on there soon enough.

(Review #2): Could have been. Not the way I figured Kakarot's saiyan character but I can see a story where Saiyan Kakarot does a lot of training on his own. Though, in that case, there's still a problem: who would teach Kakarot more technical fighting skills? He's not like Raditz, Vegeta, or Nappa, who all grew up on Planet Vegeta and had the chance to learn from other Saiyans. All of Kakarot's fighting skills would have been picked up from combat… which isn't necessarily the best environment to learn winning techniques.

Thank you so much for both of your reviews! Keep me honest, and make me think about any flaws in my story!

TienFan99: Corrected! Thank you for pointing that out! And thank you so much for your kind words! I try to make scenes as fleshed out as possible so as to make them gripping!

S3rp3nte: Dude, you gotta read and find out for that question.

OneofTen: Longer chapters are coming… coming soon… and will feature a lot of that Ginyu boom.

Guest: I'm super excited to write it. Everything is outlined… now just a matter of throwing down!

LWexe: Next chapter! Things are gonna go wild!