Dragonball Z: The Catalyst
Act 1:
Chapter 3: The Dragonballs
Snake's Way: Months Earlier
Dark eyes stared ahead as the one minded resolve of Goku drove him forward. He had to get to King Kai's planet, and quick. Each step seemed to only carry more momentum as he seemingly flew across the top of the great road.
It'd only been a few hundred miles back that he'd left Princess Snake 'tied up', and that seemed more than appropriate. Now his thoughts drifted to the Earth however, to Gohan and the others. He had to train, not just to defeat the new threats of Raditz's comrades, but also Raditz himself. In the year while he was gone, the only power left on the earth who could even remotely challenge him was Piccolo. Still, he was completely in the dark until he got a means of communicating with Kami, or anyone really, again.
There was almost a buzz, and something made him almost freeze. On the road he could almost feel eyes on him. There was no one nearby at all however. He stopped completely, closing his eyes and concentration. Any power nearby, he felt for it, he reached out and almost tried to grab it with his mind. There was someone out there, it was trying to hide, very well, but he could feel it almost at the edge of his mind, feeling their intentions.
A familiar smile stretched across Goku's face as he looked ahead.
"I know you are out there." He said finally.
There was a calm amongst the yellow clouds around them as several blurs motioned all around him, still, Goku remained motionless. In front of him a second later a large hooded figure appeared. It was a familiar source of energy, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. He examined him closely, looking for some give away, some symbol. He then felt an almost sharp pain in his mind. Grabbing his head Goku fell to one knee.
You.
A voice whispered in his mind.
I shouldn't be surprised you felt me. I was just... checking up on you. You will have the misfortune of surviving this encounter, and perhaps surviving others. But let me make this very clear to you, I will kill you Goku. I will kill your bastard child, and I will kill everyone who cares about you. The pieces merely need to fall in place. You aren't allowed to be annihilated from this existence yet.
Despite the pain, Goku suffered through, his eyes turning upwards as he slowly rose from one knee, glaring at the hooded figure.
"I'm not afraid of you." He declared. "And leave my friends and family out of this. If you have a grudge against someone, let it be only against me."
No Goku, I don't believe I can.
The figure disappeared, zipping into speeds Goku couldn't follow as he scanned around Snake's Way briefly, looking for him.
There was a final, terrible whisper in his mind.
Don't worry Goku. Our glorious confrontation and my revenge are reserved for later. Go to the pitiful King Kai's World, Train, grow stronger. It will make it all the more satisfying when I crush you... after the Saiyans have done most of my work for me.
"We'll see." Goku said in response, before giving a half smile, showing his undying confidence. With that, Goku's legs began to sprint again, breaking for it as fast as he could to the end of the Snake's Way.
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"Hey wow! What a cool little planet!" Goku declared, hovering above the world of King Kai, the world he'd finally come to find.
Suddenly, he felt the gravity beginning to overwhelm him.
"Uh oh."
With that, Goku fell painfully towards King Kai's world, landing face first, just as a monkey named Bubbles hopped over to see the commotion.
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Violet slowly came to. Her eyes felt pained as she tried to focus. The ground was hard, made of concrete, that much she could tell. It was then she slowly came alive to the world, hearing the sounds of screams, gunshots echoing followed by more screams. The city she awakened to was a ruin, buildings destroyed and burned down, tanks and military vehicles littering the the streets like broken toys discarded by an angry child. Finally, the last screams ceased when the next explosion was heard.
She knew it had to be him, the monster she'd faced in the out-lands. Careful, her arm still badly bruised, she started to rise.
A corpse landed in front of her from above, its head twisted on backwards and naked save for a pair of underpants. She barely noticed it, instead, instinctively looking up from where it had fallen. There he was, hanging in the air, now clad in the man's military uniform.
At least he finally got some more clothes on.
When he landed in front of her, Violet stepped back, pressing against the wall.
"Where are we?"
"Some rotten hole apparently called South City. Its more South Ruin now." Raditz scoffed, before dropping a Dragon Ball in front of Violet.
"You will be holding onto these for me." He declared simply.
Her eyes now scrutinized him seriously.
Carefully, she gasped the Dragonball, only to find his foot over it, and her hand. She looked up at the very dark appearance on his face, his eyes staring down at her. With his mouth formed into a serious frown, he very bluntly said.
"You are only alive because you are the most entertaining human I have discovered so far. But make no mistake, if you cross me you will die very, very quickly." Raditz said with Sinister intention.
Violet swallowed hard, before nodding.
"What are you?" She finally asked.
"I am a Saiyan Warrior from the Planet Vegeta. My name is Raditz."
It didn't seem possible, but the city around them was evidence, as was that brat kid Goku from before. These creatures were clearly unnaturally powerful. However, if he was sparring her, she obviously could potentially gain some favour.
A small, hesitant, yet confident smile appeared across her lips.
"You know, a being of your power could easily become ruler of the entire Earth."
Not only was sucking up to a god-like being a good idea, but proposing more power couldn't hurt either.
"Oh?" Raditz responded, feigning interest.
"Yes." She said, becoming more enthusiastic, if only mildly. "Maybe I could help? Think about it. You are the strongest being on the planet, probably even stronger than King Piccolo or Son Goku. You could have this whole planet in the palm of your hand."
"And how exactly would you help me, woman?"
Violet smiled, though subtly.
"I know my way around. But you'd need someone to help keep the people in line, you can't be everywhere. I've got enough connections that I could get an army together pretty quickly, and you'd need enforcers."
To be blunt, she saw the winds change, just like with the Red Ribbon Army. There was no need to Earth-centric Patriotism, this was as good as it was going to get, being an enforcer for the new order.
Finally, Raditz started to laugh.
"Oh? And how would you enforce a population of one?" He laughed.
She paused, realizing what had just been said a moment later, her eyes wide.
"You're going to kill everyone." She managed to say.
"Very observant."
There was a nervous swallow on her part.
"What about me? Why haven't you killed me yet?" She finally asked.
Raditz grinned. There it was, the attitude he'd found so endearing earlier. Survival first, prosperity first, let the others die if need be so long as you survive to live another day and get an advantage. There had been so many pitiful heroes around here, all willing to die for a lost cause or for glory, but this one was different. She just plainly wasn't willing to die, and would sell out her own people to survive and prosper.
"Do you know how insignificant this world is?" Raditz finally asked. "If it weren't for the Dragon Balls, I'd have already cleared half of these pitiful weaklings away by now. This world will get sold to the highest bidder, after we get our wish."
"We?" Violet finally asked.
"My Lord, Prince Vegeta, and my commanding officer, Nappa are coming to Earth as we speak, only a few more weeks until they arrive. They are significantly more powerful than I am. When they do I will be waiting here with the Dragon Balls. Then we will ask the Dragon for Immortality." Raditz said, smiling arrogantly.
"Why wait?" She asked.
Raditz blinked, looking down at the human, who was now smiling arrogantly herself.
"What if we were to wish for immortality? You could be the one in charge. Even if they are stronger, who cares? You'll be immortal."
Of course, she had her own agenda, namely surviving this purge of the planet. It didn't matter to her largely if the rest of humanity was annihilated, so long as she got out of the situation with her skin intact, and looking better than she was before.
Raditz noted the cunning smile on this arrogant human.
"And you woman, would be immortal as well I presume?" He asked, smirking to match hers.
She felt a thrill as he responded. He was talking about other worlds and planetary conquest, for the sake of money and power. But think of the money and power she could obtain working for him, especially if she were immortal. No more two-bit jobs working to steal a Dragon Ball, or kill some War Lord on the fringes of the world. Space technology would have been hyper advanced as well, she could buy almost anything she wanted whenever she wanted, with little to no risk of depletion of resources.
"What is your name woman?"
"Violet, sir." She responded, giving a salute, smile still on her face.
Her own enthusiasm disappeared however as his did, his face twisted into an angry sneer. She felt herself swallow nervously before he stepped towards her.
"Well Violet." He said very calmly. "It would be very foolish for me to wish for Eternal Life on my own. You see, Vegeta is insurmountably more powerful than I am, even if I were immortal, he could toss me into a star, a place, eternal or not, I could never escape. I would be a complete fool to challenge him. Then there is the added fact that I am loyal to Prince Vegeta." He said, reaching out and grasping her neck again.
She made a struggled gasp for breathe as he smirked at her.
"And you see, you will be lucky enough to survive this purge so far. If I were you, I'd just be grateful for the extra time you've managed to find."
Violet felt her heart racing as he let go. Thankfully, he hadn't grasped so hard as to nearly crush her neck as last time. Clearly, he was unimpressed by her plan. Still, she was going to find a way to survive this, perhaps even find a way to use the Dragon Balls to her own advantage. Rule number one, survival. After that she could worry about anything else.
She noted Raditz pull up the Dragon Radar.
"Only three other groups left. Others have been collecting these, excellent." He said with an amused tone. "Doing all the work for me."
Violet felt him grab her by the arm, preparing to take off.
"Wait!" She cried, desperately holding the Dragon Balls with her other arm, before they ascended into the air, her legs kicking out desperately as the two flew through the air.
Raditz held on tightly, making sure she wouldn't fall of course. There was a nagging feeling in his mind to not bother with her at all, but something drove him to keep her there, as if finding the excuse.
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Piston City:
Several Days Later:
Fires roared throughout the city as buildings burned. Piston City had been known as the industrial heartland of much of the production that the Capsule Corporation was responsible for. The huge facilities that produced structures and vehicles burned violently, huge black clouds billowed into the sky, making it look almost like some kind of hell on earth. The city of nearly 2,000,000 had become in and of itself a war zone.
On the streets it was absolute chaos. Tanks rolled down the main roads backed by infantry, burning wrecks of attack helicopters and jets scattered the streets, or their remnants remained imbedded in the sides of buildings, which were set ablaze by the fail of the aircraft now inside of them.
In the midst of this madness and destruction, Raditz laughed with a kind of sinister joy only one who'd burned worlds could. Each pathetic attempt the humans had made to harm him was easily deflected. Even now as a new set of four tanks moved up to assault him, he stood his ground in the middle of the street, just smirking at them as they moved into place.
"Monster, we demand that you surrender yourself now." A loudspeaker ordered. They'd not tried to communicate with him for hours until now, he was guessing their new tactic was born of desperation, which he was fine with.
To his left Violet stared at the tanks dully. When she'd first gotten here it'd been much more heart racing, until she found Raditz could catch tank shells out of mid air, and destroy the offending tank with them. Also, he could pull the turrets off, or even blast them.
"Aren't we here for a Dragon Ball?" Violet asked, her voice sounding bored more than anything.
"Of course, however I'd not been entertained for days, and these pathetic fools are offering me at least a few moments of entertainment." Raditz explained.
"We've been here for two hours." Violet responded, sounding annoyed.
Raditz gave an annoyed growl in response, glaring at her.
"Remember your place woman. We go where I want, when I want. And if I want to destroy this city and kill everyone in it, you'll do best to remember who is in charge." Raditz said darkly.
"Whatever." Violet finally said, turning and walking away from the tanks and Raditz towards the sidewalk.
"What? Where are you going?" Raditz snapped angrily.
"Relax. I'm going to go find something to eat."
Things had become so... casual. Which in many ways made Violet feel, even if it was only a tiny feeling on the inside, like an even worse traitor. She inevitably betrayed everyone she'd ever worked with. As of right now, for the first time in her life, she realized she couldn't betray Raditz. He was the first creature she'd been either forced or voluntarily aligned with who could and would slaughter her for her normal behaviour. There was a sense of fear following her as never before. But the casualness she was beginning to feel was an admission of the circumstance.
She would use him as much as she could, but inevitably, he was her ticket to survival. The Saiyans would come regardless, his masters Vegeta and Nappa would come to earth, and they would kill everyone. The best she could hope for was to be spared. No large scale human group could be spared, even if there were other collaborators. She'd do whatever she had to. She would survive.
Raditz looked angry behind her, which gave her a small smile.
"Woman you get back here right no-" A tank shell exploded just as he'd stopped paying attention to her.
That'll keep him busy for a while at least.
Violet thought with a snicker, before entering a relatively undamaged glass office building. Walking over to the elevator, she found the floor listing for the cafeteria. Her satchel with the Dragon Balls over her shoulder, she simply walked into the elevator and headed for the 10th floor.
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It took about another twenty minutes to add 14 tanks to the burning hulks of wrecked vehicles, dozens of rocket artillery pieces, and hundreds of soldiers. Raditz was disappointed with his own progress, firing blasts into the formations, before noting soldiers were now moving into and around the buildings, attempting to use them as cover. He sneered and blasted them away.
Briefly, while under fire only from small arms, he checked the Dragon Radar. The ball was close, very close, and moving.
He felt annoyed as he hovered. He'd collect the woman soon enough, then collect the ball, and then finish this miserable city.
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Sergeant Pine marched up the stairs of the building at a fast rate, moving along with his ten elite soldiers towards the 10th floor. Reports had come in that the alien's ally had been spotted moving into this building. They'd just swept the first 9 floors and were making good progress.
They'd already managed to profile her.
Was that monster outside part of the old Red Ribbon Army?
The reason it was being asked about was because it turned out his ally was none other than the notorious Colonel Violet. She was almost the textbook definition of a immoral war criminal if there ever was one. Villages burned, murders, terrorist attacks, armed robberies, and frequently known to kill her own allies. Sometimes she'd received the nickname the "Violet Widow".
When they made it to the 10th floor, abandoned cafeteria tables were seen, scattered about by the fleeing staff once the explosions had started outside. There was another massive bang outside as the beast out there slaughtered the army. However, they could only deal with one threat at a time, at least right now.
Colonel Violet was sitting there, casually eating soup. She seemed perfectly calm as the broth was quietly eaten by her. She looked if anything, remarkably bored and uninterested.
Pine and two of his men approached, their guns out, trained on her as they directly approached her, she just looked up at them briefly. Her short cropped purple hair stood out as her blue eyes made direct eye contact with Pine, she moved her head to one side for a moment, before casually beginning to eat her soup again.
"I am Sergeant Pine of the Central Royal Army."
Violet didn't respond.
He felt frustrated, gripping his weapon angrily, the grip on his automatic rifle felt rough against his fingers, before he stepped forward, shoving the rifle towards Violet.
"How do we stop that monster out there?"
"You don't." She said quietly, before gently blowing on the soup, sipping at the broth again.
Pine blinked. Just who the hell did she think she was?
"What is in the pouch?" He demanded, pointing his rifle at the satchel.
Violet sighed, looking bored, before looking into Pine's eyes.
"I make it a rule to avoid talking to dead men. This is really inconvenient, do you mind?"
Pine blinked, his two guards stood there entirely without words for what she'd just said. She was there, casually drinking the remains of her soup, while they had guns point at her. As if she had no concern what so ever. Colonel Violet was a renown fugitive, but there was no way she could take them all on, especially while she was sitting there drinking soup in an abandoned cafeteria. Especially when she was immediately outnumbered 3 to one, and really outnumbered 10 to 1.
He was mad enough that he finally knocked her bowl away, the last bits of broth splashing against the table before the bowl fell from the table, cracking on the floor from the impact. Violet looked at the bowl for a moment. Carefully she took off the satchel, if anything happened to the Dragonballs she'd be dead very quickly.. She sighed, preparing to stand up, hearing a click as she did.
"Don't move a muscle." Pine ordered.
"You are now in the custody of the Royal Earth Army, you are going to be taken to justice. And that monster you and the Red Ribbon Army out there has unleashed is going to be stopped."
Violet finally smiled.
"He's much worse than the Red Ribbon Army. And he'd kill you all." Violet's hands were on the table, keeping her body level with it before looking up, looking Pine in the eyes. "If I wasn't going to first."
With that she slid under the table in one quick motion, sliding under it directly into Pine. Her hands grabbed his rifle as he let a burst of fire go. She gambled his own men wouldn't fire at this range or angel, risking killing him. The two stood there locked in struggle, but only for a few moments. Pine felt his own arms starting to buckle as he looked at Violet. Her frame at the table had been calmed, not flexed or tense. She had appeared in shape, but this was something completely different, it felt like he was wrestling a 120 pound wolf. Well muscled, seasoned arms finally managed to flip his rifle away from him.
As soon as it was free from his hands, Pine grabbed his knife's hilt, before the combat knife could even be drawn she'd grabbed his other hand, dragging him towards her before pulling the arm in front of her, breaking two of his fingers in the process. She arched his arm back and pulled his whole frame over her, before snapping his arm on her shoulder.
"AHHH!"
Within seconds, violet flipped him around, grabbing his pistol and holding him hostage. Pine's breathing was heavily laboured, mixed with fury and agony as he tried to cope with his badly broken arm.
His soldiers hesitated to kill them both, it was there loss. She always knew when to gamble with these weaklings.
"Put him down!" One of the men shouted, pulling up his rifle as if he intended to shoot. Her sinister smile was still on her face.
Violet drew his pistol from his holster, before slipping it into the back of her pants. Pine's weathered features began to almost snarl.
"There is no out for you now." He told her.
"I told you, I don't bother talking to dead men." She repeated, sounding irritated for having to repeat herself. With her now free hand, she grabbed the ammo belt which was hanging around the front of his torso, tightening her lock on his other arm.
"Shoot her!" Pine ordered. His men still hesitated.
She managed to slip her fingers through four grenade pins on his torso, his eyes widened as she did. Suddenly and quickly she pulled the pins out. Snapping his other arm, he stumbled forward, his eyes wide as he tried to find words. Suddenly pain exploded in his back. Both of Violet's feet kicking him at once, the force so strong it sent him flying across the room towards three of his comrades.
The gunfire started as Violet raced to take cover behind a table, which she flipped even as the rounds came in.
"RUN!" Pine shouted to his men as one knelt down to help him up.
With the sound of thunder going off a moment later, red ruin splattered against two walls. Not much remained of Sergeant Pine, his body blasted to bits. His three men were a different story. The man kneeling to him's arm was blown off and out a window, becoming human shrapnel, his torso was rend into a sack of torn meat, and his head was half blown off. His innards and blood stained the floor around him. The other two were just as fortunate, one suffering from both his legs being blasted off, and fragments tearing through his body. The other lost his left arm, and had puncture wounds burst from his neck, blood pumping directly out of his body as it happened.
Immediately the fire alarms went off, one of the grenades turning out to be an incendiary grenade. The flames found their home in the tables near the other solders, who had been stunned by the blast and fragments of their friends bouncing around the room. The fire alarm went off and the water sprinklers came alive. Cold water began raining down from the ceiling, obscuring vision, getting their guns themselves wet, and making the entire environment more slippery.
The lead soldier, the one who had originally approached Violet along with Pine, was finally beginning to get his bearings. He wiped his combat goggles clean of water, as soon as his hand was away, the purple haired criminal was upon him. She'd gotten a running start through the water, slamming her knee into his gut. He coughed as the blow's impact caused him to lurch.
Violet drew Pine's stolen pistol, pointing it towards the other soldier. The chamber ejected the hot casing from the side of the weapon as the round found its home inside the man's nose. The entire structure of cartilage imploded as the bullet pierced through the weaker flesh and into the brain. His head jerked back and down before the Royal Army soldier dropped.
In front of her she heard the knife drawn from the other soldier. The man lunged at her violently, almost snarling as he did. He was completely overwhelmed by rage at the loss of his friends. Side stepping the attack Violet kicked his left leg into his right with such force that both feet were knocked out from under him. The solider in his full combat gear slammed face first into a chair and the ground. Violet walked over, grasping the knife he'd dropped on his fall.
When she looked to her left, she saw one soldier taking aim. Without a second thought she launched the knife from her downed adversary. The blade flipped through the air before finding its hope in the man's throat. Blood spurt from the wound almost immediately, sending blood nearly a foot in the air. The rifle went off several times as his body failed, shock setting in.
Six down, four to go.
Moving from cover to cover, Violet slipped past another soldier as he rushed to check on his downed comrade.
"Ugh." The lead soldier groaned. His face ached with pain from hitting the chair head first.
"Sir are you alright?"
Another two soldiers rushed over, having finally reconstituted the remains of their unit, running through the remains of Sergeant Pine and the others.
Violet knew it was her time to strike.
Slipping in under the first one, she drew the pistol again, firing three rounds into the large glass window behind them. Running at top speed after this, grabbing a chair and throwing it in front of her, the guards scattered. The chair hit the damaged window, shattering it. She didn't slow down on her approach to the open sky, instead grabbing one guard once he recovered from moving aside from the chair, shoving him with all her momentum and speed. He sailed past where the window once was. His screams of shock and terror were evident as he began his descent to the bottom floor from the tenth story.
With a spin on her heel, her foot came around at head height, snapping into a violent kick which connected to the next man's head. A tooth and blood ejected his mouth at high speed, before his head smashed into the glass next to the broken window. Blood was in the cracks he formed upon impact.
The next soldier tried to grab her from behind. Instead he felt her elbow in his chest, twice, before she grabbed him, flipping her over her shoulder. He hit the ground, rolling, and just barely fell from the window as well.
"Shit. Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiiii-!" His voice trailed off as his body gained the distance.
With that, she drew the pistol once last time, firing her last chambered round into the head of the man whose head was already resting against the glass. It was enough to cause the glass to shatter, the half-headed body and his brains falling from the building along with the glass.
All that remained was the lead. He was trembling. She'd just killed the Sergeant and eight other men, in cold blood. She'd not even really taken a hit.
She stood there, absolutely soaked along with him. He could see her breathing, her own chest heaving from the effort she'd exerted so far. His legs and head hurt, badly.
"Look." He started, trying to find a way to draw his pistol without her closing the gab. "We can talk this through, Colonel. It doesn't have to be this way."
Her face finally contorted into one of anger. Closing the gab in seconds she slid between his legs, her body slipping up on the other side before kicking the back of his knee in. Before he could do anything else her strong hands were already grabbing his jaw and neck.
"I told you. I don't talk to dead people!" She snapped angrily, before snapping his neck. Within seconds, without any ceremony, she kicked the last commando's body out of the building.
She felt tired, wet, exhausted and worn out after all that. She was sweating heavily as well. Looking out the window, she saw Raditz. How long had he been there? He seemed almost transfixed on her before smirking broadly when she noticed him.
In truth he'd been watching since he heard gunfire from the building. His immediate concern was the Dragon Balls of course, and not the well being of his human counterpart. However, in truth, it'd been like watching a masterpiece. Despite the low power level, each of one of her targets were executed quickly, efficiently, and with purpose. They'd had no chance against her, despite their larger bodies, they underestimated her strength, speed, and intelligence. Were her power level higher, she'd have been quite an asset. Instead, she was a low level human, weaker even that Kakarot's friends.
Still, he appraised her now, covered in sweat, her hands covered in blood.
Slowly he hovered into the building. He could hear her still catching her breath.
"How long were you watching?" Violet asked.
"Long enough to be impressed." Raditz responded, before smirking directly at her. "Now then, we have another Dragon Ball to get."
The old man how held the Dragon Ball in Piston City, was dead within 10 minutes. And the shattered remains of the Central Royal Army? 20 minutes.
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North City
Three Weeks Later:
"Yes! Yes! This time we will surely be successful!" Came the maddened cry.
Two hands grasped the two star and one star Dragon Balls. He'd spent years rebuilding, rebuilding his "kingdom" after King Piccolo's assault. He'd decided the best way to bring in money to finance his Dragon Ball Quest was simple, he allowed the Mushroom Forest and his Castle to become a banking tax haven for the rich and powerful. To be honest he'd been kind of shocked at the rate they'd invested money.
And now Emperor Pilaf was beginning to see the beginnings of his success. Shu had brought his the Dragon Ball, which the mercenaries had brought him, the other day. That was his second one, and soon he would finally get his wish to be the ruler of the entire world! He had been laughing himself to sleep with joy and anticipation every day since. Mai was out on a mission to try and steal three Dragon Balls from Bulma Briefs, especially now since word had come that Goku had been killed by Piccolo jr.
With the Dragon Balls even Piccolo would be forced to submit to his new authority.
Pilaf Tower was his favourite new building, built in North City, it stood above any and all of the other skyscrapers. His penthouse on top of it was reconstructed to look like the peak of his castle.
"Uhm, Emperor Pilaf." Shu finally said, after several days of joyous rants from his leader.
"Mai hasn't returned yet, maybe its time we got the mercenaries back to get those Dragon Balls." Shu said nervously.
Pilaf stopped, turning towards his minion. "Hmmmm," He pondered, stopped in front of the radar map he'd had constructed. "Yes, I think its time to bring them back on board. I want my wish, and I want it now." The Emperor decided, before grinning, running back over to his two Dragon Balls.
"Just think! No Goku to stop me! This will be-" He stopped, realizing something as he came back to look at the map. Two Dragon Balls were coming right for them, fast.
"Shu! What is this?" He demanded. The small canine of a creature just looked up, realizing that the two Dragon Balls were fast approaching North City as well.
"Uhm, let me find out my lord." He said, quickly rushing to the balcony and putting on his augmented mechanical binoculars, looking in the direction of the rapidly approaching Dragon Balls. He searched the skies several times, before seeing the black haired figure, carrying a purple haired woman by her arm.
"Uh. Oh."
Shu ran back inside.
"Emperor Pilaf! It looks like a flying warrior, coming with a woman!"
Pilaf blinked. "A flying warrior?"
Suddenly the whole building rumbled violently.
"UH! AHHH! How could you let this happen!?" Pilaf immediately shouted to Shu.
"B-but master Pilaf, I did-"
It was then that a very different voice cut them off.
"The Dragon Balls. Now."
Slowly the little blue man turned, seeing the beast of a man standing there, alongside the purple haired woman.
"But I worked so hard to get these. Perhaps we can come to some form of an arrangement?" Pilaf begged, before grinning.
Two huge rotary machine guns popped out of the floor. Raditz smiled, while Violet looked nervous.
"You give me YOUR Dragon Balls."
"More primitive weapons?" Raditz queried.
Then guns opened fire. Violent felt her life flash before her eyes as the huge cannons literally blew through the building around her and Raditz. She was completely still, totally unable to move for brief seconds. She could almost see the tracers heading towards her before they'd deflect and disappear. Suddenly the two big cannons exploded from two small, well placed beams.
Pilaf stumbled back, looking towards his failed machines in horror.
"What?! But I'd just got those! They were the best money could buy!"
He turned back to Raditz, who didn't look impressed.
He seemed familiar, this strange man. Suddenly, the tail became apparent.
"Oh no, not another one of you." He said, feeling shocked and subdued almost, before panic settled in.
"Look! Please! Take them." He shouted, rushing over to grab the Dragon Balls before rushing back, laying them at Raditz feet.
"I was a fool to challenge you, I recognize your kind now! Your the same as that Goku. I surrender, whatever you want."
Violet cleared her throat. "Well, maybe if I could get access to his safe and-"
There was suddenly a violent explosive wave coursing through the castle as Raditz obliterated Pilaf. The blast exploded out the side of the building as the entire structure shifted and rumbled, flames appearing in the distance.
Violet sighed, walking over and picking up the two Dragon Balls.
Shu was left standing there trembling in terror at Raditz, almost unable to move.
"L-Look. I w-was just-"
Raditz cast a glance towards him, rolled his eyes, and unleashed another bolt of energy.
"NOOOO-"
Shu hadn't even had time to turn and run before his body disappeared into the light, and another blast exploded out the side of the tower. As brick and pillars began to fall from the two huge blasts.
In the mean time, Violet had placed the next two dragonballs in the satchel she'd been using.
"I think its time to go." Raditz said, about to grab Violet by her arm before she stepped back.
"No, you aren't dragging me by my arm again." She snapped.
Raditz rolled his eyes.
"You can be infuriating, woman," He said bluntly, grasping her by the side of her waist instead, and hovering into the air, blasting off.
"We should really renegotiate our agreement." Violet's started.
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The Watchtower
Kami's frame stood at the edge of the Watchtower, his eyes ever present in their protective gaze upon the earth.
Things looked very bad, cities in flame, destruction wrought across a whole continent. The mad quest of the Saiyan Raditz for the Dragon Balls was putting the whole world in danger, let alone the fact he eventually intended to annihilate humanity to 'sell' this world. Kami closed his eyes for a moment as there was another blast, clearly bringing a building down.
He was on his way to the Capsule Corporation's Headquarters, likely to destroy the facilities there but worst of all to collect the last 3 Dragon Balls.
Behind him, Tien, Krillen, Chaotzu, and Yamcha all stood behind him helplessly, having ceased their brutal training briefly for an update on the planet's situation.
"We have to stop him now." Tien finally said. "Ready or not, we have to confront him before he kills even more people."
Yamcha nodded in agreement. "Please Kami, we have to do something."
Kami!
Goku's voice noised inside of his mind.
Goku?!
"Goku is that you?" Kami asked, looking up, his mouth half open in amazement.
Yea of course it is!
Krillen immediately looked despondent at Kami speaking seemingly to himself.
"Uh oh, I think Kami is starting to show his age." He said quietly to Tien.
Kami's irritated gaze turned towards Krillen.
Senility?! He was implying his mind was being lost to the passage of time! His hand tightly balled around his staff, turning his head to almost glare through Krillen.
"I am not Senile. I was talking with Goku, now stop interrupting." He ordered.
The fighters all stood there, looking at him in bewilderment as Yajirobe walked over, eating an overcooked piece of ham.
"Sorry I'm late." He said, chewing with a full mouth.
Kami, what's the situation on the Earth?
Kami sighed.
"I am sorry Goku, but Raditz has started on his campaign of destruction, he's torn apart three cities and an entire mountain range gathering the Dragon Balls. He is now headed towards Capsule Corp to take the remaining three Dragon Balls which Bulma had gathered. If he gains all the Dragon Balls, he and his comrades will destroy this world." Kami lamented.
Bulma's in danger. You have to do something!
On King Kai's planet, Goku looked worried, almost terrified. All those people dead, all because he hadn't been able to stop Raditz sooner. And now one of his best friends was in danger trying to help him. There had to be something, anything he could do.
"His power has only grown since your last encounter. I am not sure anyone on Earth can stop him now." Kami admitted.
Tien's three eyes traced down, the others following suit. They had trained so hard, but Kami didn't think they had the power to stop this villain.
"The Saiyans won't arrive for another month, but Raditz may have the last laugh."
Is there anyone there who can do anything to hold him off, or steal the Dragon Balls?
"I am afraid not. I can't-" Kami stopped, his eyes tracing towards the world in disbelief.
What is it Kami?
"Piccolo." He said. "His power has grown exceptionally, and he is flying directly towards where Raditz is. He is truly formidable now, he must have been suppressing it for months."
Can Piccolo do it?
"I am not positive, Raditz may even still have the edge."
"Not for Long." Krillen said, hovering in the air.
Yamcha smiled, beginning to hover himself. "That's right, can't let Piccolo steal all the glory."
My training is almost complete. You have to stop Raditz with anything you can. Please.
This time, King Kai allowed Goku's voice to travel through all their minds.
"We won't let you down Goku!" Krillen shouted, before taking off, the others following.
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Goku felt the connection break as King Kai turned to him.
"This may be very bad Goku."
"I know, especially since the other two Saiyan's power is so immense as well. They need to stop Raditz now otherwise we may never be able to stop them."
King Kai nodded, before smiling.
"But with all that said, let's get back to working on the Spirit Bomb."
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Bulma watched in terror as the five Dragon Balls approached the Capsule Corp building on her radar. She clicked her capsule outside, throwing out a jet. With a poof it appeared. He must have been on the outskirts of West City now and she knew she had to get distance as soon as she could. Without these Dragon Balls Goku would be left in the afterlife forever. Not only did she have to keep them safe from that psychopath Raditz, she had to find a way to get the other balls away from him.
Before she could enter the jet however, an arching silver bolt of energy crashed into it, blasting the vehicle away in a flash and leaving a crater. Bulma was knocked back, falling on her hands and ass before blinking, her eyes wide. Bulma's heart raced at a thousand miles a second when she turned to look up at what was happening.
It was too late, he was close enough to fire bolts like that? Getting up, Bulma immediately made a break for the Capsule Corp building, only to find another bold blasting into the dome, causing an explosion and blazing inferno.
Her parents were in danger now, not just her.
"Oh no." She whispered, before the two figures landed behind her.
"Hand over the Dragon Balls. And I may spare your life." Raditz lied, with a glint of amusement.
Finally, Raditz though, he'd have all the Dragon Balls, and then it was just a matter of waiting for Vegeta and Raditz to arrive. Violet let go of him, standing to the side of him.
"Whose the idiot?" Bulma asked, implying to Violet. "Don't you get that he'll kill you too?" Bulma asked Violet.
Violet smiled ruthlessly back.
Raditz of course, started to chuckle. "With an attitude like that, who knows, you just may live woman." He said, before stepping forward, forming an energy blast.
"I don't need you anyway. Tell Kakarot I said hello from Hell would you?" Raditz chuckled, before preparing to hurl his assault at the defenceless Bulma.
The ball went flying off course just as it was launched. Violet's jaw dropped slightly at what she just saw. Just as Raditz fired a mighty twin-kick came down from the sky, crashing into him. Flying at full speed and now coming in with the blow was none other than the Piccolo.
Easily sent off his feet, Raditz went soaring through the air, crashing through the perimeter wall and crashing into sky scraper a street over. Debris flew out of the building with the impact. The ground began to rumble as Raditz started to come to, realizing what had just occurred. From the base floor the building collapsed, layer after layer of floors slamming down on one another before a violent explosion sent the remains of the building in all directions. Raditz, his clothes slightly torn, stepped from the wreckage breathing angrily, one of his fists balled.
"You just don't learn very well, do you?"
"I might surprise you." Piccolo responded.
"You there, Bulma." Piccolo ordered. "Get the Dragon Balls and get out of here. I'll deal with him."
Violet for her part was left in shock, stunned.
King Piccolo. Perhaps he would defeat Raditz? She wasn't sure, but what she did know was that Raditz looked furious.
"After I'm done with you Piccolo, I'll finish with her." Raditz snarled.
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A/N: This chapter ended up being a lot huger then I thought it'd be. I figured I wanted to have one last human centric action chapter (Not just human, but rather, average human being level)
Anyway, please review if you are so inclined. I always appreciate it.