"You have an awful lot of gall for such a lesser god, brother," Tsuki practically snarled when she finally found Amat. It had taken her several days for her to finally pinpoint his exact location in the many universes, as he hid himself with dark magic.
Amat smirked at his sister's clear anger. "Oh sister, if I were such a lesser god, than why is my magic winning over your oh so perfectly set fates?"
"Using dark magic is a dangerous path, Amat."
"And yet it works so well."
Tsuki's face softened slightly. "Amat, I don't want you to end up like Father. Please, let's stop this bickering. For Mother, and all that she created for us."
It was Amat's turn to snarl. "You could have told me about him! My spirit borne! What is his name again? Gohan?"
"Because I knew you would have done this regardless."
"I would've been a good father! A good guardian! He is borne of me and West. My spirit! And you hide him from me!" he seethed.
Tsuki shook her head. "No, Amat. You live for chaos. Mother hid him for a reason. You will never be ready to be guardian to one of such power."
"So you entrust a Namekian with it? They are a weak race! How could he possibly be able to guard and guide him better than I?"
"If you truly wished for his best interest, you would not be trying so hard to ensure he will not be brought back from the other realm."
"My business is my own, sister."
"It becomes my business when you start interfering with my work!" she snapped.
"Then it seems we are an impasse."
"You're making a mistake, Amat. Please."
"The only mistake being made is yours. We're done here."
And he whisked himself away in a flurry of dark magic.
"I think it needs to be said that I hate my life," Krillin whined as Piccolo shared what he could of the latest news.
"And moaning about it will do nothing in our favor," Piccolo muttered, annoyed.
"Okay, so let me get this straight. There are two insanely powerful monsters on this planet and you two BROUGHT ME ALONG?" Bulma practically shrieked. Piccolo's ears twitched and he winced.
"Bulma, we didn't know. We never even would've come ourselves if we knew."
Piccolo grunted. "You lot are a couple of babies. This does nothing to impede our goal. We get in, and we get out. No detours. We have a radar, or so the woman claims. That puts us a step ahead of the others."
"Piccolo, don't get me wrong, but Bulma has no way of defense other than pulling the 'I'm a girl and you can't hurt me' card. And well...you're still an awful lot stronger than I am... As much as I miss our friends, I'm not quite ready to die yet," Krillin finished lamely.
"I do not pull that card, Krillin! And I do too have a means of defense! I...I can..."
"Maybe if your scream loud enough, their heads will explode," Piccolo grumbled.
"I heard that!"
"Shut up," Piccolo snapped. "How far are we from landing this thing?"
Bulma muttered something very unladylike under her breath and went to check the gauges. "Five minutes. Sit down, shut up, and buckle up."
It was immediately known upon landing that there was a very large ki signature already on the planet, surrounded by three more powerful kis, and then about a hundred of smaller signatures, which Piccolo believed to be Namekians and possibly weaker henchmen. The three more powerful kis were around that of Vegeta's, but definitely not Saiyan. Probably more henchmen of Frieza. And that very large ki, well that could only be Frieza.
And Piccolo had never felt anything like it before.
He and Krillin had stepped foot out onto the foreign planet, which they realized wasn't so very different from their own planet. Sure, the sky and water were green, and the foliage blue, but other than that, very similar. Even the air smelled the same. Piccolo found he very much liked this planet almost as much as Earth.
Krillin was already very jittery upon sensing the kis much larger than his. "Well, at least most of those smaller ki signatures are similar to yours, so I think it's safe to say they're Namekian, so hopefully they're friendl-"
"Vegeta is entering the atmosphere," Piccolo interrupted. "There, he just landed east of us."
"Huh? All I sense is another weak ki signature. Are you sure it's not just another Namekian?"
"Ki signature is nearly identical to Gohan's. Definitely a Saiyan."
"Well that's just fantastic. So he figured out how to hide his ki too?"
"Seems like it. It's simple enough."
"Great, so let me get this straight. We have a massive power to the west, another massive power to the east, and we're stuck in the middle. I hate my life."
"Yes, you've mentioned that once or twice," Piccolo muttered in annoyance.
"So what do we do?"
"Just suppress your ki. Frieza and his men may have scouters. And, if Vegeta learned how to suppress ki, he probably learned how to sense it too."
"You think Bulma and the ship are hidden well enough?" Krillin asked, jerking his head in the direction of the ship where they had landed in an outcropping of rocks.
Piccolo shrugged. "Her ki is so miniscule, I doubt they'll even be able to detect her. I suggest you activate that radar and we collect the dragon balls as quickly as possible. We wish Gohan back, we get out of here. That simple."
"I like this plan. Let's see here, on...Oh good, it works. Okay, um...shit. Shit, shit, shit."
"Well?"
"Three of the dragon balls are already together...that way," he answered, pointing in the direction where Frieza's ki reigned supreme. "The other four a pretty well spread out, away from there."
"I think it's time to pay Vegeta a visit," Piccolo stated.
"Whoa, are you kidding me? Why on Earth would we do that?"
"Well, it's a good thing we're not on Earth then," Piccolo retorted dully.
"Oh, that was good! It doesn't answer my question, but still a good use of sarcasm," Krillin said, slapping his hands together.
"I'll go alone. You go start collecting the remaining dragon balls. And stay away from any big kis."
"Yeah, not a problem there...but wait. You're going to Vegeta alone? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Whether you're there won't make a difference. You aren't a threat to anyone."
"That was uncalled for..."
It appeared Vegeta's ki sensing abilities were not as developed as Piccolo had hoped, for the Saiyan didn't sense him until Piccolo had nearly landed. He whipped around in surprise, and then his face darkened with cold recognition.
"Oh, the Namekian from Earth. Let me guess, the bald little pipsqueak is lurking around here somewhere too, huh?" Vegeta snapped.
"He's out in search of the dragon balls," Piccolo answered neutrally.
Vegeta changed his stance instantly into one of pride and aggression. "No way. They're mine, Namek. Back off," he snarled.
"We're only here to bring back the boy that your companion killed."
"Forget it. I want my immortality and I need to find those dragon balls before Frieza does and wishes for that same thing. Or did you think that large power was one of your kind?" he sneered.
"We are well aware of who Frieza is. We have our ties to knowledge."
"Hmph. Then you understand why I must become immortal."
"The boy is our only hope. Not your immortality."
Vegeta let out a barking laugh. "Are you joking? The brat was killed with one blast from Nappa, who was not even a tenth of Frieza's power!"
"You saw how strong his anger made him."
"And you seriously underestimate Frieza. Only I, once I am immortal, will be able to kill him."
Piccolo shook his head and shrugged, giving up on reasoning. "It doesn't matter what we wish for yet. What does matter is that we collect those dragon balls before Frieza does. And we have a radar. So you can either work with us, and we can get the balls together, and we'll teach you how to sense ki better so that you can better sense the approach of kis weaker than Frieza, like the one that's headed here now." Vegeta whipped around, but saw nothing. "He's still a couple miles west."
"I would've sensed him before he landed," he barked. "Consider your offer refused, Namekian. I don't need help. No get out of here before I let go of my good graces and kill you for having the gall to even approach me."
"Suit yourself." Piccolo lifted his head to the sky. "Your friend is almost here. Open your mind more, and you'll sense him."
Once the Namek had left, Vegeta let out a grumble and focused on opening his mind. Sure enough, he began to read a ki that was somewhat similar to his.
Cui.
Vegeta smirked. Just who he wanted to see.
"Vegeta! You've managed to upset Lord Frieza for the last time! He has a bounty on your head, and I'll gladly bring it to him. I'll finally get that promotion," Cui boasted, ever sure of himself.
"Cui, as idiotic as ever, I see," Vegeta smirked with a mock bow.
"You can't hide behind your bold words anymore, little Prince. Frieza has revoked his protection from you. Your words mean nothing."
"And you aren't able to hide behind Frieza way out here, Fishface. You've effectively signed your death warrant."
"Oh please. You're nowhere near my power level, Vegeta. And you never will be."
Vegeta smirked.
Piccolo turned as he felt Vegeta's ki bound up, and the henchman's rapidly diminish before disappearing all together. Vegeta's lowered again. He shook his head and began on the trek to find Krillin. Turned out he needn't look far, for the monk was searching for him as well. He came into view shortly, holding something massive and orange in his arms.
"Is that a dragon ball?"
"Huh? Yeah, a really big one. Oh yeah, you've never seen one before! Ours were a lot smaller than these. I forgot they were gone before you were born."
"Hatched," Piccolo corrected before he could stop himself.
"Hatched? You mean from an egg like a reptile? Oh my god, is that why you're gree-"
"Amazing," Piccolo interrupted. "You have the same thought process as a five year old. Why am I not surprised?"