Chapter 11

"Dende, calm down," Krillin called over to the Namekian child. "It's only me."

As the kid's face went from near panic to confusion and then delight Krillin couldn't keep from laughing with joy. To see Dende safe and sound right as he was flying from one danger into the next made all his tension dissolve for a sweet, precious moment.

He flew down to where Dende was hovering below him and reached out to the boy who returned his mirth. "Krillin!"

Still floating in the air they clasped their hands, glad to have found each other again amidst all the bloodshed that had plagued the planet.

Dende's laughter faded away but he didn't let go of Krillin's hands. "At first I only saw that armor and I thought you were one of them. How come you're wearing that?"

Krillin smiled awkwardly. "Well, Vegeta gave them to us. At first, I wasn't all that keen on wearing that either, but I have to admit that he's right about having better protection this way."

A shadow flew over Dende's green face. "Oh. So you're still with him. I hoped ..." He shook his head as if to get rid of the thought. "Well, never mind."

Memories of just a few days ago when they had felt Vegeta slaughter his way through a Namekian village as little Dende listened to their accounts with horror flooded through his mind. Feeling guilty for turning to someone so cruel to Dende's people he struggled to keep up his smile. "Yeah, I'm not happy about how that went, but for now he's our ally. And I'm afraid we need every ally we can get."

Dende remained silent although he gave a faint nod.

Krillin put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Listen, Dende, I need to continue to the Grand Elder. We need to ask him if there's some password to summon the dragon. Maybe you should find yourself a safe spot and ..."

"But that's why he sent me!", Dende interrupted him. "The Grand Elder, I mean. He told me to go to you and tell you how to summon the dragon."

"Really? That's great!" Krillin beamed. "How does it work? Do you need a special password?"

"You need to speak to it in Namekian."

Krillin groaned. "Oh, I wish he had told us that right away."

Dende shrugged. "He didn't expect you'd manage to get your hands on all seven. We thought you'd just keep Freeza from getting all of them and make his wish. Besides, you don't speak Namekian, do you?"

He had a point there. They wouldn't have been able to do much with their knowledge unless Dende was with them and while Vegeta or the Ginyu Force were still at large that would have been far too dangerous.

"We need to hurry, though," Dende interrupted his thoughts. "The Grand Elder is close to death."

He could see the kid fighting back tears and took a deep breath himself. "Come quickly, then. We need to get back to the ship and do some summoning before Freeza can show up here."

They flew as quickly as they could and yet Krillin's mind was on other things. The chance to bring back their dead friends had once again become possible, but with it, it also brought the wish they had promised Vegeta - immortality to plague the galaxy till the end of time.

He shivered. How could he go through with this? Yes, Vegeta had saved their behinds, but never out of goodwill or a desire to help. And yes, he wanted to see Freeza fall just as much as them, but the difference between Freeza and Vegeta seemed to be more one of power and not of morality.

When they approached the ship Krillin had made up his mind. He motioned for Dende to slow down and land a short distance away from the ship.

As they jogged towards the space vessel Krillin spotted Gohan sitting outside on one of the Dragon Balls.

The two boys were overjoyed to meet each other again but Krillin kept craning his neck nervously until he finally couldn't take it anymore and interrupted their reunion. "Gohan, where's Vegeta? He didn't leave, did he?"

Gohan shrugged. "He went to take a nap as long as there's still time." He sighed. "I wouldn't be able to sleep right now, but he looked as if was about to pass out, so maybe it's for the best."

Krillin nodded. "Yes, it's really for the best." He smiled tentatively. "I guess we may be able to revive our friends without unleashing a great evil on the galaxy."

"What do you mean?"

Looking back to the ship nervously Krillin gestured for the boys to come closer. "Gohan, you go and check if Vegeta is still asleep," he said in a hushed voice. "Then we carry the Dragon Balls a bit farther away from the ship and summon the dragon there."

Dende's jaw set as he nodded, looking grim and determined, while Gohan gasped and hesitated for a moment before hurrying off to follow the plan.

Krillin was relieved he didn't argue. It had been tricky enough to convince himself of going behind their ally's back, but the facts were that an immortal Vegeta would make the galaxy a much more dangerous place.

When Gohan came back and confirmed that the Saiyan was still sleeping next to Goku's healing pod, they gathered all seven Dragon Balls and set off. Transporting the orbs was a bit tricky due to their bigger size compared to their Earth counterparts but a few minutes later they had arranged them in a suitable spot. They could still see the ship from here but Krillin was confident none of their voices would carry over and hopefully neither would the dragon's.

He could still sense Goku's subdued ki as he was healing and also Vegeta's presence, albeit much more muted than the usually ever-present anger he felt from him.

Just as Krillin was about to give the go-ahead to Dende, Gohan grabbed his arm.

"Someone is coming!", the boy cried out in terror.

Krillin tensed and focused away from the ship. There, still quite distant yet approaching fast, was another ki, malicious and cruel, that he had felt before and had hoped to not feel again for a while.

"Freeza! He is on his way!" Krillin whirled about. "Dende, summon the dragon! Quick!"

The little Namekian nodded hastily and raised his arms. Then he called out in Namekian and Krillin held his breath.

At first, nothing happened. The wind kept blowing over Namek's blue grass and bleak shores causing the anxiety in his stomach to skyrocket. What if Dende made a mistake? Or the Grand Elder had changed his mind and not told him the truth about the summoning?

Just as he was about to panic he noticed the wind picking up and gathering black clouds over them, much faster than was natural. Then the Dragon Balls glowed with a golden light and amidst the brightness, a shape appeared. In a column of light, the dragon burst forth and raced towards the dark clouds.

His scales were of a darker green than Shenlong's and while he was serpentine like the dragon Krillin knew from Earth, his chest and torso sported massive muscles fitting a wider and more square-jawed head.

Krillin stared with his mouth agape. For a moment he forgot all about where he was, why he had come here and what he wanted to do now. This beast was truly magnificent. "Like Shenlong on steroids," he whispered at last, unable to put his awe into better words.

Dende turned towards him and smiled proudly. "This is Porunga. His name means 'Lord of Dreams'."

The dragon opened his giant maw and asked something in Namekian with a voice as deep and ancient as the ocean.

Dende listened and nodded. "Porunga asks for our wishes."

Gohan and Krillin exchanged a look, then the boy answered. "Tell him to revive our friends on Earth who were killed by the Saiyans, please."

Again the Namekian boy and the Namekian dragon conversed, then Dende translated. "I'm so sorry, but he says he can only revive one person per wish."

No. No, this couldn't be right. They had come so far to revive their four dead friends and now they had to chose who to leave behind? This could only be some sick joke the universe was having at their expense.

But they had to make a choice and fast. His thoughts went to Yamcha first who had gone to battle in his stead because he knew Krillin couldn't be revived a second time. And who had died in his stead. But who would they let stay dead?

"Bring Piccolo back first!", Gohan blurted out. At Krillin's questioning stare the kid continued, "King Kai let him speak to me in my mind. If we bring Piccolo back, that'll revive Kami, too, and then Earth will have Dragon Balls again."

Oh. Krillin smiled grimly and nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Alright Dende, tell the dragon to bring the Namekian named Piccolo who lived on Earth back to life."

"And as second wish have him transport Piccolo here to Namek," Gohan chimed in again.

Dende complied and a moment later Porunga was cast in a golden light as he fulfilled their two wishes.

Gohan beamed and looked around excitedly. "Did it work? Where is he? Mister Piccolo?"

There was a second of silence, then Dende seemed to turn a paler shade of green. "Oh no. I'm so sorry. It's the first time I'm summoning the dragon and I may have done it wrong. I told Porunga to bring Piccolo to Namek but I didn't tell him where specifically. He could be anywhere on the planet."

Hearing the growing panic in Dende's voice Krillin put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "You did great, Dende. As long as Piccolo is on Namek he'll find his way here."

"Yeah, and we couldn't have done this without you anyway, so please don't worry about it," Gohan added. "Thanks for all your help, Dende. Thanks for giving me the chance to see Mr. Piccolo again."

There was a hint of a smile on Dende's face as he wiped the back of his hand over his eyes. "Still, we better hurry and tell him the third wish. Should I tell Porunga to use it to bring Piccolo here before Vegeta..." He trailed off and his eyes widened as he looked past them towards Freeza's ship.

Krillin whirled about just as Vegeta landed in front of them.

Energy leaked off the Saiyan's fists, sizzling as it flitted over his form and danced in his black hair like a thunderstorm in the deepest night.

"How dare you?!" Vegeta's voice was a low growl. "You really thought you could go behind my back like this? You fools! I will make you pay for this insult."

Krillin felt his heartbeat in his throat. He had never seen Vegeta this angry. He wanted to say something, anything, to calm him down but he couldn't think of anything that might make the situation better.

But Vegeta wasn't done talking anyway. "You ruined it!" he said and something in his tone betrayed his bitterness. "Freeza is coming and the only one who could have stopped him was I if I had gained immortality. One chance and you bloody idiots had to ruin it."

The Saiyan stepped closer and Krillin braced himself for pain.

"Wait!", came Gohan's voice from behind him. "We didn't use all wishes. There's still one left."

"Gohan, no!", Krillin cried out but there was no going back now. He had tried to do what he could to prevent this situation but as usual, the universe seemed intent on making it worse.

Vegeta's demeanor changed immediately. He stopped in his tracks and smirked. "Now that sounds a lot better. Get going then! Make me immortal and forever young! Now!"

Dende was trembling as he stared up at the Saiyan from behind Krillin and Gohan, yet he didn't back away or move to do his bidding.

Growling again, Vegeta shoved his way past them and grabbed Dende by his collar. "What are you waiting for, stupid brat? Get to wishing."

"You're hurting me," the young Namekian whimpered. "Let go!"

Krillin moved to help the kid but Vegeta's glare made him recoil. He knew he could not hope to wrestle Dende out of the Saiyan's grasp. In fact, he might even hurt the child. Yet he still hated how powerless he felt. If only Goku were here...

"Freeza will be here any moment," Vegeta interrupted his musings. "You need to make me immortal now."

"But if we do that you'll..." Krillin trailed off, not wanting to give Vegeta any ideas, but 'murder everyone remaining on Namek', 'go back on your word and destroy Earth', and 'terrorize the galaxy' were all possible ways to end that sentence.

"We have no choice," Gohan chimed up. "We can't wait for my dad to regain his health. That'd take way too long."

He was right. It was now a matter of Vegeta gaining immortality or Freeza and while Krillin wasn't sure if there was such a big difference in how evil they were, he assumed that Freeza was still quite a bit more powerful than Vegeta and thus had a much greater potential for destruction.

He grimaced and closed his eyes. "Do it, Dende. As bad as Vegeta is I'd rather take my chances with him than with Freeza."

Dende squirmed in Vegeta's grip but managed a weak nod.

The Saiyan barked out a short, triumphant laugh and shoved the child to the ground. "At last! Now move it and make the wish! Make me immortal and forever young!"

Dende slowly got to his feet which earned him another snarl but then he turned around and started speaking to the dragon.

Krillin could hardly bear it. Would Vegeta really manage to stand up to Freeza even with his newly gained immortality? Would he attempt to protect his reluctant allies or would he just sit back when Freeza killed them all? And if he managed to defeat Freeza what would he do next?

Then Dende stopped mid-sentence and Krillin opened his eyes to look what was wrong. The dragon had started glowing again. Smoke rose from his scales and out of his red eyes. He heard Dende scream as a wind picked up around them and the light from the dragon became too bright to see anything.

There was another flash and where the dragon had been the seven Dragon Balls floated in the air. They gleamed one last time and then their light went out and they thudded to the ground. Seven grey rocks, lifeless and impotent.

Dende had fallen to his knees and tears were streaming down his green cheeks. "The Grand Elder is no more," he whispered, mourning the passing of his parent.

"I ... what happened?" Vegeta stammered. "Why is the dragon gone and the sky bright again?"

"The Grand Elder... he was the creator of the Dragon Balls. And now he died."

"And my immortality?"

Dende shook his head and buried his face in his hands.

Whirling towards Krillin Vegeta snarled again. "You! It was because of your trickery that I missed my chance!"

Shrinking back, Krillin did his best to get his panic under control.

But Vegeta wasn't following him. He stood frozen, his face pale and his eyes wide, as he stared at something behind Krillin.

He didn't need to turn around to know what had scared the Saiyan so much. He had felt the arrival of a new, terribly strong ki just a second ago. Yet he still wanted to see, to erase all doubt that their end was truly here.

There, on a rocky outcropping perched an alien, his three-toed feet curled around the dirt, his long, naked tail loosely coiling around him and the face under the horned crown distorted in anger.

Freeza had finally come.