22: Without A Plan
While Gotenks escorted Valese to Kami House, which was the only safe location he could think of in the current time crunch, Goku and company made their way down the soldier-infested streets of West City.
"There's no end to them!" Vegeta shouted angrily as he brought down a soldier the size of a bus. "Frieza must have come prepared."
"But now we have Broly." Goku said happily, slapping the larger Saiyan on the back. "With him, things will be a lot easier."
"We can't just rely on Broly." Tien said pointedly. "We have to rely on ourselves."
"I know that," Goku said with a sigh. "But Broly is so strong! He'll take Turles out with one punch."
"You're such an idiot, Kakarot." Vegeta huffed. "Broly didn't come all the way from Vampa to handle everything himself."
A massive explosion sounded from off into the distance, making all four of the fighters jump. The boom shook the ground like a great earthquake, rattling cars and vibrating windows. It was so immense that it shook Goku's teeth. An eruption of smoke filled the air, towering over the tallest buildings as if begging to be noticed. Black and menacing, it got the attention of the four fighters. Car alarms blared loudly, emitting ear-piercing sirens of alertness.
Broly cocked his head to the side, eyes covered in curiosity. "What monster is that?"
"Let's go check it out!" Goku took off down the street, bouncing over cars with gleeful grace. The others quickly followed, maneuvering themselves through the debris-strewn mega-city. It had gone from a peaceful evening to a fight to survive, so in hindsight, it was definitely an active day. Nothing could really surprise the fighters.
Rounding a fire-lit corner, Goku slid to a halt, abruptly causing the others following him to collapse atop him in a messy pile. There, a sharp silhouette of power and fearlessness, stood Piccolo. His green skin and long white cape stood out broadly, and his dark eyes showed nothing but pure strength. He stood atop a large Frieza Force soldier, who was no doubt dead. The black smoke clouded most of his facial features, but anyone with eyes could tell that Piccolo was not someone they wanted to mess with at this moment in time.
Goku beamed and shot up, flinging everyone on top of him to the ground. "Piccolo! When did you get here?"
"Just now." Piccolo replied. He stepped off of the large soldier and stood beside the tall Saiyan. "I figured you'd need my help."
"What, you don't think we can take care of ourselves?" Vegeta snapped as he got to his feet.
Piccolo turned to answer him, with what was most likely a sarcastic response, when his eyes landed on Broly. "What is he doing here?"
"I'm helping." Broly replied.
Piccolo sighed. "Fine. But we better hurry this along."
"Look!" Tien shouted, and pointed up above them. High above them, the looming shadow of Turles's ship. The hulking craft moved slowly to the ground, a sharp wind picking up around it, sending papers and debris flying away. Goku narrowed his eyes, anger bubbling inside his chest. He knew Turles was greedy and relentless, but he hadn't figured he'd go this far.
Vegeta gritted his teeth. "This Saiyan is giving our race a bad name, Kakarot."
"At least Basil is safe." Piccolo said with a heavy sigh.
"Basil?" Broly asked. "Who is Basil?"
"Don't worry about that right now," Vegeta snapped. "Let's focus on eliminating that damn Turles before we shift our center of attention on anything else."
The ship touched down not far from where the group stood, a cloud of dust kicking up, nearly obscuring the entirety of the vessel and its glooming presence. The shadow it cast was enough to cover an entire ocean. The five stood as straight as reeds, their stern gazes steady and resolute. Once it touched down smoothly, the doors opened with a flourish, as if Turles was purposefully attempting to make an entrance. It was a good thing the city was evacuated, for the landing of the ship took out a great majority of the buildings that had once stood tall.
Piccolo took a step forward, his face turned into a look of worry. "Something is wrong."
"Wrong?" Goku said with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Notice the absence of soldiers? How they've suddenly stopped attacking?" Piccolo waved a hand in front of him, gesturing to the empty streets before them.
"What do you think he's planning now?" Tien asked.
"I don't know," Vegeta said with a huff. "But I can't wait to kill him."
From the open door of the ship came Turles. His thundering steps echoed around the fighters, who held their ground, determination from both sides swelling to unimaginable heights. The bulky Saiyan was accompanied by Diaz and Amond, who walked on either side of their commader. Turles wore a smile that told of only devilish things, and his muscular arms were gently clasped behind his back. The three stepped off of the ship and onto the cracked street across from the Z-Fighters. Upon seeing a new addition to Goku's team, Turles smiled wider. "Ah, a new ally, I see? You seem to have many friends, Kakarot."
"Just give up, Turles." Goku spat. "You're not gonna win when we have Broly on our side."
"Broly?" Turles repeated, then shrugged. "I am not familiar with that name."
"He's a Saiyan that's stronger than anything in the universe." Goku said, placing his hands on his hips. "He can beat you with his eyes closed."
Broly looked from Goku to Turles, and it was obvious he wasn't sure what was going on at all from the blank expression on his face.
Turles nodded. "Alright. Another challenger. Well, while I do enjoy a worthwhile fight, I'm afraid I simply came to say my farewell."
Vegeta blinked. "What?"
"Whatever you've got hidden up your sleeve, just give it up." Tien shouted across the distance between them.
"They say you should quit while your ahead," Turles said, and he cast a smile to Diaz and Amond. "And I suppose...whoever made that saying...was really onto something." Then, from behind his back, he produced something small and dressed in pink with blue atop its head.
It took only a mere second before the sudden and jerking realization shook Vegeta to his very core. His eyes widened and his heart skipped several beats. In Turles's large and unforgiving hand, sat his only daughter.
Turles chuckled lightly. "You see, while this little thing is only part Saiyan, I can still make good use of her. Unless you offer me a trade. That female Saiyan for this small creature."
"YOU BASTARD!" Vegeta roared, shoving Broly and Goku out of his way. "Screw your trade. Let go of my daughter this instant!"
"I don't think so." Turles said, his demeanor all too calm despite the current situation. "Either you abide by my trade offering, or I just take what I've gotten."
"Uh oh." Goku said, looking to Piccolo. "What now? We can't give him Basil, but we can't let him take Bulla either."
Vegeta instantly powered up to Super Saiyan Blue, his hair turning a bright sapphire and a sharp blue aura surrounding his body like a shield. "I'll KILL YOU!"
Broly grabbed onto the back of Vegeta's armor seconds before Vegeta charged, holding the much smaller Saiyan in place.
"What the hell!? Let me go!" He cried, kicking his legs in a fit of rage.
"You can't attack or he might hurt her." Goku said, placing a hand on Vegeta's shoulder. "Let's make a plan."
"Yeah, we're not waiting anymore," Diaz called to them. "We'll see ya around."
A great boom sounded from above, and a rocket shot down from a rooftop unseen by those below. It made a perfect impact with the three Crusher Corps, black smoke rising from every angle.
"WHAT!?" Vegeta shouted, desperately scrambling to get out of Broly's grip. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
Shooting down in one of Bulma's compact ships meant for small delivery loads, was Launch and Krillin. They touched down rather awkwardly by the Z-Fighters, the two clambering out of the small ship that could hardly fit them. Launch wore a giddy smile, a large rocket launcher held proudly in her right hand. "Hell yeah!"
The smoke cleared and lifted into the air, only to reveal no dead bodies from the rocket's impact. Instead, a large transparent red orb stood, protecting the Crusher Corps and the small infant. The orb was eerily familiar, and those who had had many a battle where that one orb had come into play knew exactly who it belonged to.
"Frieza?" Krillin exclaimed with wide eyes, then slunk low. "I can't say I'm surprised."
Frieza stood at the mouth of the ship, a wicked smile of triumph on his face. "Oh, I must say, monkeys, you put on quiet the show. But, we're leaving now. I shall return in due time, have no worry about that." The vermillion orb lifted as if propelled by an invisible force, and maneuvered itself into the Crusher Corps ship without a hitch.
In seconds, the ship was gone.
...
Vegeta paced back and forth, his eyes imbued with boiling anger. The tension in the Capsule Corp lobby had reached a breaking point, but no one was planning on speaking anytime soon. Awkward glances of worry and sadness floated around, but no voice to accompany them. The events that had unfolded were enough to break the fiery spirit of the unwavering Z-Fighters. Even Goku kept quiet, for even he knew his childish nature wasn't wanted at the moment.
Outside, the sounds of construction and angry shouts were nearly overwhelming. The sun had taken its break from the sky and traded places with the moon, which shone as bright as it could. Smoke still lingered in the air, but the ferocity of it had died down greatly in the hours that Turles and Frieza had been gone. Some who had fled the city returned, but others were forced to stay with relatives elsewhere.
Basil sat in Bulma's desk chair, spinning around gleefully, unaware of the harsh battle that had taken place in her absence. During her intense training with Whis, she had come into a new outfit. It consisted of a dark blue Gi with a light blue undershirt and sky blue Obi, along with light blue wrist bands. Whis had designed it to be similar to Goku's for flexibility and easy maneuverability. Plus, she had ripped her other outfit.
Trunks shifted nervously, then finally opted to say something. Sometimes, when one was in silence for too long, they went crazy and imagined the worst of the worst. "What's the plan?"
"We don't have one," Android 17 said, as if he were shocked Trunks hadn't known that. "Turles came here for Basil and got the next best thing. I'd say he won."
"But we can't just let him get away with this!" Bulma said angrily. "He's pure evil to the very roots of his soul. He won't care about the well-being of a child."
"I agree, but we have no idea where he is, or where he's planning to go." Gohan said with a sigh. "He could be anywhere as we speak. And besides, he's partnered up with Frieza, so their numbers combined are already way more than ours."
"This is bad," Launch said, now returned to her blue-haired self. "That poor child."
"This is my fault," Vegeta said quietly, and everyone froze. The silence was so strong that you could hear a pin drop from miles away.
"What do you mean?" Goku asked with a tilt of his head. "How is this your fault?"
"We never should have brought Basil here." He said, crossing his arms. "We should have left her on Planet Vegeta."
"For her to die?" Goten said incredulously.
"None of this would have happened if we hadn't brought her here," Vegeta snapped. "None of it!"
"Turles would have still found her on Planet Vegeta," Goku said pointedly. "Then he'd be using her right now to make more Saiyans."
Basil perked up from her spinning and slid to a stop, jumping happily to her feet. "Hey, what's going on?"
Vegeta was visibly shaking with anger. "We should have left her there."
"You can't blame Basil for this," Piccolo said. "She had nothing to do with Turles's intentions."
"We brought Turles to Earth! We brought him to West City! We brought him here!" Vegeta roared. "And now, he's taken Bulla!"
Basil frowned, her tail wrapping slowly around her waist. "The tiny thing with no teeth?"
"No, that's Pan, but close enough." Krillin said. "Bulla is Vegeta's daughter. Kinda around the same age as Pan."
"A daughter?" Basil repeated. "Like Pan?"
"Yes," Gohan said with a nod.
'Speaking of Pan, where is she?" Android 18 asked.
"She's with Mr. Satan. I figured you guys were gonna need my help, so he's gonna watch her until things are settled." Gohan explained. "And speaking of children, where's Maron?"
"At Kami House with Roshi." Krillin replied.
Goten suddenly gasped, and punched Trunks in the arm. "Holy crap, we left Valese at Kami House!"
"Oh, crap." Trunks winced, and the two ran out of the building without another word.
Bulma watched them leave with raised eyebrows, then brushed it off. "Okay, we need a plan."
"Like what, though?" Chi-Chi rubbed her chin. "Nothing is really coming to me."
"I say we hand Basil over." Vegeta declared.
"You know we're not doing that." Goku said. "I know your upset, but we'll figure something out."
"Why must you always see everything as cupcakes and rainbows, Kakarot!?" Vegeta growled. "This is a disaster and you're still being optimistic?"
"Yeah! Being optimistic is what's getting us through this." Goku said.
"I wanna help." Basil said loudly, and all eyes turned to her. She swallowed hard before she spoke again. "I...I don't want that tiny thing to get hurt. Whis showed me lots of fighting things and trained me lots. I think...I think I can help. I know I'm not as strong as everyone else, but I don't want everyone fighting to protect me while I do nothing. My daddy told me that Saiyans fight for themselves, but you guys have fought for me. So...I wanna repay that. I wanna help."
Bulma smiled and patted Basil's head. "I really appreciate that, Basil. Thank you."
"But...she hasn't had much training. How do we know if it's enough?" Yamcha asked, looking around them. "She might be the weakest one here."
"Not really," Vegeta mumbled under his breath.
"She'll just have to learn on the way, then." Goku said with a smile. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"I got an idea," 17 raised his hand. "We should find the Dragon Balls."
"Dragon Balls?" Basil wrinkled her nose. "What are those?"
"They're the Namekian form of wish granting." Piccolo explained. "With all seven, we can get any three whishes granted, but they can't be a wish that was made before." He then turned to 17. "What use would the Dragon Balls be now?"
"We could use them to grant us a wish of a large ship, big enough to hold all of us, so we can go after Turles." 17 answered.
"Can't Bulma just make us a ship?" Krillin asked.
"We don't have enough time to wait for a full-scale ship." 18 said, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "I like where your going, 17. But finding them takes a while."
"I'll help!" Basil shot her hand up. "I'll help!"
"Okay, we got Basil's vote." Goku said with a chuckle, then he turned to Broly. "You gonna stay to help us out?"
Broly nodded. "Yes, I will stay. Cheelai told me to make sure Earth does not get destroyed."
"How wise of her," Chi-Chi said, then grabbed Goku by the ear, yanking him down to her level. "Listen to me closely, Goku. DO NOT let anything happen to our boys, do you understand me? If they come back with so much as one scratch on their bodies, I will personally take you out myself."
"Okay, okay, I understand, now that hurts!" Goku whined, flailing his arms.
"What do the Dragons Balls look like?" Basil asked excitedly.
Bulma laughed. "No, it's Dragon Balls, not Dragons Balls. And they look like this." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her images until she landed on one with the two star Dragon Ball. "They each have a different number of stars on them. Find all seven, and you get to summon Shenron."
"Shenron?" Basil cocked her head to the side.
"Yep, Shenron. He's the big, powerful dragon that grants wishes." Bulma waved her hand around to pantomime casting a magic spell.
"Why don't we just wish for a year's supply of Senzu Beans?" Yamcha suggested. "I mean, that way we could fight them longer and not have to worry about dying from injuries."
"Where would we even put a year's supply of Senzu Beans?" Tien shook his head. "The ship is a better idea. We'll just bring along whatever Senzu Beans we have lying around."
"Alright!" Bulma pumped a fist in the air. "We've got our plan. Now, let's adjust it. Basil, you, Goku, Vegeta, and Broly will take this Dragon Radar and look for the Dragon Balls in this area," She handed Vegeta a small, round device, which he took and stuffed into the small compartment in the top of his armor.
"Tien, Krillin, Chiaotzu, 17, 18 and Launch, you guys are a team. Yamcha, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks, and Goten will be on another team. Once we find all seven, we'll meet back up here and make our wish. Then, once we get our ship, you boys, including Basil, need to hurry up and jet after that damn Turles and Frieza. Everyone clear on the objective?"
Everyone nodded and took their respective Dragon Radars.
Goku raised his hand. "Uh...could you repeat that, like, one more time?"
Chi-Chi slapped him upside the head.
