Chapter Thirty-Nine

Raditz's finger shot to his scouter as he hovered in the air, taking stock of everything around him. Krillin's killer was still out there somewhere, and moving much faster than anything that the Saiyan had seen. Still though, Raditz wasn't losing hope in finding the murderer. As long as he had the Dragon Ball he had snagged after dealing with the monk, then vengeance was coming his way for hurting one of Raditz's friends.

"Korin Tower is nearby," The Saiyan said aloud, knowing that a few senzu beans would give him a little leeway dealing with this King Piccolo fellow. "Upa would be on that list this monster took from the announcer. I'd ought to let him and Bora know to stay on their guard." He added, flying with renewed vigor in the direction of the feline telepath's tower.

Tien Shinhan soared through the sky, searching for any sign of the demonic presence that was King Piccolo. After Roshi's storytime, he had to admit -he'd hate to see what would happen if the demon reached his full power.

Landing, the former assassin's feet touched the ground as he came to a small pathway leading up to a river. Moments earlier, he'd heard some screaming and had shot over to see who might have needed his help. To the triclops' surprise though, the only thing that awaited him was the corpse of King Chappa, a former tournament fighter that he recognized from television. Tien's eyebrows flared at the body floating down the river, impaled by a stake in the guttural area. This was the third corpse of a martial artist that he had come across in the last hour. Piccolo was something else. It had been smart to strike just as everybody was leaving from the tournament.

"It seems like he's getting rid of anybody that can stand in his path," Tien analyzed, surveying the lifeless body. "I hope Yamcha and Roshi are able to protect Chiaotzu and the rest. We're all targets at this point."

The bulky triclops scanned the corpse of the black fighter, noting the three burn holes in the middle of the man's chest, an entire river of blood leaking and tainting the small creek his body had fallen over. Whoever had done this had done it efficiently! There was barely a sign of a struggle. As a former killer himself, Tien suspected that Chappa's murderer had ambushed him and quickly attacked him with an energy attack to finish him off.

"I wonder if Ranfan and Master Shen made it out of the arena in the midst of this chaos," Tien asked, moreso to himself than aloud. He knew the area slightly and knew that the Crane hermit's dojo was nearby. "If Piccolo is out to destroy the world, the more fighters we stop him from slaughtering, the more of a chance we have at stopping his plans."

With that, the three eyed man took off back into the sky in search of the place he had trained for most of his life. He wasn't sure how his old teacher would feel about him showing his face after the fact that he had become quite cordial with Roshi and the other Turtle students. Still though, if he and Ranfan were in any sort of danger, Tien wanted to be there to back them up. Seeing Krillin's lifeless body was already enough to show that King Piccolo and his minions were definitely not anything to play around with.

Kami stood watching the chaos unfold underneath his Lookout. He wished he could do something to stop his other half's children but he knew what would happen as soon as he showed his face. He could only equal his other half and even then, there was a chance he was mistaken for the demon by the fighters of Earth.

The Earth had two failsafes in the case that King Piccolo ever revealed his face again. Still, Piccolo had reappeared abruptly and his student had much more training before he felt confident bestowing the title of Guardian to him. He only hoped that Roshi's student, Son Raditz, could save the Earth from the utter mayhem that his other half would unleash upon it. If he failed then the world would be in chaos until he could put an end to the demon king himself once he relinquished his title of Guardian of Earth.

"Do you think the champion of Earth can do it?" The Namekian heard the voice of Popo interrupt his thoughts as the genie walked from the palace and to the edge of the Lookout alongside him. "Tea, Kami?" He asked, extending a small platter of teacups and a steaming kettle.

"We've seen how quickly those Saiyans turn what we think impossible into the probable," Kami responded, taking a sip of the cup that his attendant had poured for him. Feeling the warm liquid coat his throat, he cleared his throat before carrying on. "My evil half has been thwarted before."

"And if he kills him?" Mr. Popo countered immediately. "You know what happens if that happens."

"Ahhh, Popo you worry too much, my friend." The Guardian of Earth laughed, finishing the cup and putting it back on the silver platter. He had lived many centuries, maybe he and by association Piccolo were better off dead now. He turned away from the view and walked back towards the palace. "If King Piccolo dies, then my job as the Guardian of Earth would be done to completion. Then the boy becomes the next Guardian."

"And you think he's ready?" Popo asked his master, his eyes flashing. So this was the old Namekian's plan. Of course he'd put the hands of the Earth in the hands of another alien. "The boy's only fifteen. Don't you think his brother would be the better choice as of now? I mean, the adversaries he's faced the last three years have been global threats. He has a good relationship with the people of Earth already as well!"

"Champion or not, if Piccolo is slain, we cannot give the title to someone who hasn't been on the lookout yet," The Namekian retorted, placing a hand on his staff and the other on Popo's shoulder. Speaking softly, he finished, "So as it stands, he will be the next Kami. He will do a fine job, his training has come quite a way in the past two years."

The wicked Namekian overlord that was the Demon King Piccolo sat atop of a golden throne in Emperor Pilaf's airship. The green monster was nearly nine feet tall himself so his seat was far larger. He wore a robe covering his wrinkly green skin and purple gi, yet his demonic presence still filled the room. In front of him stood a sinister blue emperor and his terrified canine lieutenant.

"Has Tambourine returned yet?" The demon growled with a bellow, his yellow fangs showing as he spoke. He knew his son enjoyed playing with his foes but even this was taking too long. "Without him, I would have to bring myself to get my plan moving forward."

"There's a dragon ball approaching us… Mister King Piccolo, sir. He should be back any second now," Pilaf answered, gulping as the green demon's voice roared across the ship. He had stumbled across something when he had found the rice cooker that Piccolo had been trapped in. "To think you'd be trapped in something meant to cook rice."

"Insolent roach, I was trapped by ancient techniques you could never understand," King Piccolo growled, swatting at the blue emperor just as his winged son came flying into the chute of the aircraft holding the four-star ball in his claw. "Excellent." He said, redirecting his energy for Pilaf and Shu's sakes.

"Your excellency," Pilaf started with a gulp, bowing as he spoke in an attempt to sweeten the deal. "I-I did not mean to disrespect! Remember I'm the only reason you were able to come back!"

"That is the only reason you two live," The great Namekian grumbled, using his telekinesis to grab the orange orb from his creation.

"You know, since I was the one to free you from that rancid prison, I was just wondering if when you wish for world domination if I could get half?" He added, flinching and hesitating at the look the demon and his child were giving him. "Okay, maybe just a continent or small country? I'm sure you guys did solids back during your first reign over this planet?" The blue imp added sheepishly. He was sweating bullets as he spoke.

"You fool," Tambourine snickered from the side, cutting into the conversation as he saw the four-star ball being examined by the demon king. "The great Demon King doesn't need magic to take over this pathetic planet. That would be a waste of a wish when he has his strength and minions like I."

"Then what are we gathering these things for?" Pilaf asked in confusion. If not for world domination, what else would someone like them wish for? "Money? Power? What else would you wish for?"

"I will wish for immortality," Piccolo answered with a demonic grin as he rubbed his hands across the surface of the glamorous orange orb. Seeing his reflection look back at him, the demon continued. "Then I will rule this hideous mudball for all of eternity. It will be the first conquest of my great empire."

"Have you gotten what I requested?" The giant Namekian then asked his winged son. His eyes then shot down to the mixture of purple and red colored blood. "I see the blood on your pants, did you run into trouble?"

"Just a cue ball that stuck his nose where it didn't belong," Tambourine squawked with a flash of his fangs. Tossing the Dragon Radar and the list of fighters to the demon king, the winged Namekian added. "A handful of those fighters I've dealt with already. It would be good for us to spread out and cover more ground while I continue to deal with wiping out the competition."

"Then I shall need two more servants," Piccolo retorted, clenching the arms of his throne. Hearing this, a small beaked Namekian, Piano, his oldest child, quickly objected.

"My master," The small demon chimed in. "Are you sure you still have the strength to create two more servants. Drum and Tambourine took a lot of your power."

"It matters little when I will soon be forever young," Piccolo said as he started concentrating and felt his throat convulse. His claws dug into the chair from the pain this was causing him.

Gagging until two eggs shot out of his mouth and immediately hatched, showing two horribly mutated and demonic Namekian creatures, Piccolo felt as beads of sweat cascaded across his green skin."You will be Cymbal and you are Ukulele," Giving them a Dragon Radar that Pilaf had built, he added between pants before an evil grin fell to his face. "Find the Dragon Balls for your master. Kill anything that stands in your way."

"Dodon Ray!" The granddaughter of the Crane Hermit screamed, releasing the signature attack of her teacher before backflipping out of the way of Drum's giant fist. 'Who are these bastards?' Ranfan asked herself as the green goblin launched itself back at her, not letting up in the slightest of ways.

Tsuru Shen felt his goosebumps form in his arms as he watched the demonic Namekian charge at his student. He was stunned from the demonic presence he hadn't felt in many decades. Still, watching his granddaughter handling the threat single handedly made him proud. He and Roshi had nearly died their first time. Even to this day, he was scared shitless of these things.

Ranfan gasped as she watched Drum flare his energy as her attack struck his coat of flames, reflecting the energy beam back at her. She barely got out of the way of the golden bullet and with her attention diverted, her alien assailant hit her with a heavy blow to her midsection. Absorbing the force of the blow with her forearms, the crane student was sent through a wall of the dojo.

"How did your master make it back from his underwater prison?" Shen screamed at the son of Piccolo, throwing himself in front of the hole his student had made in the room. He promptly dropped into a fighting stance as he watched the creature's wings clap. "My master made sure he couldn't break himself out of the rice cooker! He couldn't have died for nothing!"

Drum snarled as he heard what the crane hermit said, flapping his wings harder as he prepared to charge with killing intent. So this was one of the students of Mutiato? His master would be pleased when he told him that he had eliminated the old man. 'This'll show Tambourine!' He snarled to himself as he launched at Shen with raised claws.

Shen sighed as he watched the demon disappear, albeit ready to die. He knew that he had lost a step in his old age but he was more so disappointed that his old mentor had died just for his sacrifice to be in vain. The crane hermit dropped to his knees and closed his eyes before they shot back open as he heard a crash and the sound of bones crushing in front of him.

Power Levels

Raditz: 670

Tien Shinhan: 500

King Piccolo: 700

Kami: 700

Tambourine: 570

Master Shen: 340

Ranfan: 290

Drum: 510

Cymbal: 480

Ukulele: 450

Piano: 200