Our heroes only have a year to train before the powerful and bloodthirsty Nappa arrives at Earth! But Bulma, thankfully, is a genius and will be crafting a special training room that will give them access to various levels of gravity! But things like this take time to build, so our heroes have some time to get to know their new allies…but unbeknownst to them, an old enemy comes their way…

Tale 183: Enemy Mine

"So THIS is one of the aliens you were telling me of!" Professor Briefs, Bulma's father, exclaimed as he studied Vegeta. Bulma had invited Vegeta to stay with her and her family after he had declined staying with Goku and Raditz back at Goku's quiet home deep in the mountains.

"DAD," Bulma barked, her face was turning red, "Don't be so rude! His name is Vegeta. And he's like Son!"

"Awfully funny name you got there, sonny!" Professor Briefs chuckled.

"ARGH!" Bulma growled, all the while Vegeta watched with a somewhat amused look on his face.

This woman is funny when she is mad.

"Again with the rudeness! Anyway, he'll be staying with us for a while. So, treat him good, please!" Bulma said with a strained voice. Professor Briefs walked up to Vegeta.

"So, missy here had a fight with Yamcha the other day, the day you two fellas arrived, in fact! Any who, they broke up because of it. Are you gonna be her new boyfriend?"

Bulma's face turned a bright purple, "DAD! Do you NOT have a filter?!"

Vegeta looked confused, "What's a "boyfriend"?"

"Never mind THAT," Bulma spoke rapidly while she shot her dad a glare, "Just come with me and I'll show you where you'll be staying…"

Meanwhile, at Goku's home…

"Make yourself comfortable, Raditz," Chi-Chi said sweetly as she watched Goku's older brother look around his bedroom, "I sure am glad that I can put one of these spare rooms to use! I know we ain't having that many kids!"

"Thank you for the lodgings," Raditz said gratefully, "I hope that this won't be a bother for you."

"Nonsense!" Chi-chi chuckled, "You are family, after all! And this way, you can bond with your brother and nephew more easily! Now, I gotta have a word with the man of the house. Take a load off while I'm gone, will ya?"

While Chi-Chi made her exit, Raditz looked very confused, "What…? "Take a load off"? …why does she want me to be naked?" With a shrug, Raditz began to take off his armor, "Must be some sort of custom here…it can't be helped. Better show some manners and abide…"

Back downstairs, Chi-Chi pulled Goku aside in their room to talk in private…

"I want to train for this fight," Chi-Chi said in a quiet tone, "I may not be quite as strong as Tenshinhan and the others but I do think I can handle this gravity training."

Goku looked bothered but he nodded, "Okay. But if it's too much, let me know."

Chi-Chi smiled but then she looked down nervously. Goku cocked his head to the side, looking confused.

"Wazzup?" He asked. Chi-Chi met his gaze and bit her bottom lip unsurely.

"…Gohan should train for this fight as well."

"Chi-Chi…" Goku began but she cut him off.

"Jus' hear me out! We both know that Gohan is capable of being very strong. He's only four, yet he's stronger than you were when we had first met. There's somethin' special about him!" Chi-Chi stressed, "And if we're all gonna possibly die, shouldn't he go out fighting like us?"

Goku smiled warmly at his wife, "Chi-Chi, I wasn't going to object to him trainin' for th' fight."

Chi-Chi blinked, "You weren't?"

"Of course not! I was actually goin' to ask you if he could train with us! I was nervous that you would be the one who'd have a problem with it!" Goku laughed nervously. His face then grew serious, "Though, it isn't up to either of us on if the lil' squirt wants to fight…it's up to him."

Chi-Chi nodded, "You're right. We'll ask him together. Where is he, by the way?"

"Oh, I sent him to go shoppin' using Kinto-un. He still doesn' know how to use the Buku-Jutsu. So, I figured I'd let 'im use my old cloud until he can master that technique," Goku answered with a smile, "He should be back within th' hour."

"Well, let's go check up on your big brother then!" Chi-Chi said cheerfully. Goku nodded and the two made their departure.

"How's Raditz likin' his room?" Goku asked as the two of them made their way upstairs.

"He was very grateful! He and his buddy need to learn to relax, though," Chi-Chi replied; they had made it to the second floor and were now approaching Raditz's room, "I told 'im to take a load off. So, hopefully he'll be relaxing!"

Chi-Chi reached for the door and opened it. Both her and Goku stared blankly at the naked Raditz who looked rather dumbfounded.

"…um…why are ya naked?" Goku asked while Chi-Chi hurriedly averted her eyes.

"Your wife told me to "take a load off". I assumed she meant for me to undress," Raditz answered, his face was very flushed, "Though by how you two are reacting, I am guessing that that is not what "take a load off" means."

"Nope!" Goku replied as he approached his brother, "But that's okay! You needed to get out of that armor anyway! Here…" Goku led Raditz over to the closet that was on the other side of the room, "I have some spare clothes in here that you can wear! Don't worry, they already have a hole for your tail seein' they are mine anyway!"

"Th-thank you, little brother," Raditz muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Not a problem! Oh, and "take a load off" means that we want ya to relax some!" Goku chuckled, "You and Vegeta have been so tense, it won't do ya any good!"

"That is true…it has been too long since we could relax," Raditz replied softly. He then smiled at his brother, "Thank you, Kakarrot."

"Heh, still gotta get used t' that name!" Goku laughed.

"I can call you by your Earth name, if you wish," Raditz offered, looking a bit guilty.

"No, it's fine! Kakarrot technically is my name, after all. So, you can call me whatever you want!"

Suddenly, Goku tensed up and so did Chi-Chi. They turned their gaze towards the window. Raditz took notice and he looked concerned.

"What is it, little brother?" He asked softly.

"Stay here with Raditz," Goku said to his wife before he bolted out of the room. Chi-Chi watched him go, looking very uneasy, before she turned her gaze towards the window again.

"Why is that creep here?" She growled.

Meanwhile outside, Goku was staring down the unwelcomed visitor who was at his house…Piccolo!

"Whaddia want, Piccolo?" Goku asked cooly. Piccolo grinned slightly, though he appeared to be a bit tense. He could sense Raditz's dormant chi and thus knew that the Saiyan was nearby.

"I have been keeping close tabs on you and your kin, Son Goku. So much so that I have learned about what you really are…a Saiyan," Piccolo sneered. Goku looked taken aback.

"Eh? Ya know about me bein' an alien and all? How?"

"To be frank, I suspected for a while…and so did Kami…but when your brother and his companion ran across me when they first arrived here on this planet, my suspicions were proven to be correct."

Goku looked utterly lost, "Wait…you and Kami-Sama suspected? Ya mean…you knew about Saiyans before my bro and Vegeta showed up?"

Piccolo scoffed, "You are very dense, Son Goku. Wasn't it obvious that Kami and I are not ones from this planet?"

"Well, now that y' mention it, you are both kinda funny lookin'…" Goku pondered, which caused Piccolos face to turn red in anger.

"LOOK WHO'S TALKING, MR. TAIL!" Piccolo bellowed. He then hastily composed himself, "Anyway, I have been spying on you since the arrival of your brethren. I know of this powerful Saiyan who is coming here in a year."

"How did you spy on us without me sensin' your chi?" Goku asked, flabbergasted. Piccolo smirked.

"I have learned to suppress my chi entirely, you little fool."

"…why are you tellin' me this?" Goku asked softly, "Why would you tell me such a vital thing when it would take away your advantage over me?"

Piccolo smiled, "So you do have a brain in there, Son Goku. You see, this "Nappa" poses a serious threat to my plans for this pitiful world. So, I have come here to offer a temporary truce…we put aside our differences so we can take down Nappa together. I will train alongside you, learn what we need to learn from your kind about this common enemy, and obliterate him," Piccolo's eyes darkened and he grinned at Goku, "Then I will take you and your brethren down and rule this world in place of my father."

Goku looked shocked, "…how do I know that this isn't a trick?"

Piccolo scoffed, "Please. Even I am not foolish enough to try and eliminate you when your brother and his companion could easily wipe me out of existence."

Goku was quiet for a moment before he grinned, "Awright, then! I gotta run this by everyone else first, but I am all for our truce!"

Piccolo blinked, "…why are you excited about this?"

"Because havin' you as an ally could be fun! And, who knows? Perhaps we'll become friends!" Goku chuckled. Piccolo's face turned red.

"I will never be friends with the likes of YOU!" He barked. Goku smiled knowingly but said nothing.

We shall see, Piccolo, we shall see…

What a shocking turn of events! Piccolo, Son Goku's enemy, wants to have a small truce with Goku so they can beat Nappa together! Though Piccolo is determined that he will stay Goku's enemy and that this truce is only temporary, Goku seems to think otherwise. But Goku's enemies NEVER become his future friends! Not at ALL! Up next: Let the training BEGIN!