CHAPTER 3: Preparation For War

APRIL

A house in the suburbs outside Kyoto; Japan. A woman well in her prime opens the door expecting to see her husband and child. Instead she sees someone else; her husband's closest friend accompanied by the heiress of "Brief's Incorporated". Regardless she welcomes them in, trying not to wonder why the same people her husband left to meet were here and why were they sporting such grim and worn faces. They sit her down and deliver some terrible news. She faints. Several hours pass, the woman also known as Chi-Chi, one of Kyoto's most influential criminal lawyers, husband to Goku and mother to Gohan. She paces up and down, her reddened eyes still streaming tears. She started to point fingers, "I… I… don't believe this!! You! KRILLIN!! LOOK AT ME!! YOU JUST STOOD THERE! H… HOW COULD YOU??"

She grabbed him by his collar and lifted him up and slapped him right across the face. Bulma gasped while Krillin just stood there taking the abuse. She screamed at him, demanding answers. Distraught, he tried to defend himself, "There was nothing I could do, I… I tried to take Gohan away from him; he attacked me and flew off. Thanks to my accident earlier in the day I was just too weak to fly. Chi-Chi started to get impatient. She was not receiving the information she required, she accepted the fact that her husband was dead and that nothing could be done about it, the news story later that day only strengthen their argument with Brief's Incorporated confiscating that disgusting Raditz's body and his ship but her son being kidnapped from right under the noses of Goku's friends was too much. She had trusted them but they had betrayed her.

"YOU KNOW KRILLIN! MAYBE TRYING WASN'T ENOUGH! I AM TIRED OF ALL YOUR EXCUSES! Goku trusted you and you have betrayed him. Some friend you turned out to be!"

Krillin was very hurt by Chi-Chi's last comment. He felt as if it should have been him who tried to help Goku fight Raditz and not Piccolo. By this point Bulma had enough, she was tired of Chi-Chi giving him all that abuse and spoke up, "Hey! Leave him alone! I was there too you know! Why don't you blame me? Is it just because you know me better than him? Answer this one!"

Chi-Chi stayed quiet. Bulma was right, she was a lot closer to Bulma, partially because in the early days she used to keep tabs on her thanks to her being in Chi-Chi's words, 'Uncomfortably close to Goku' But after they properly met each other and talked, Chi-Chi felt re-assured. She had even wanted to do her a favor by calling a few lawyer friends of hers and get Yamcha life imprisonment or something but Goku convinced her not too. Wanting to give him another chance. Chi-Chi spoke up; "Remember when Gohan was born and you promised me that whenever I was never there for him due to my own commitments that you would fulfill my role."

Bulma shook her head, Chi-Chi was obviously trying too hard not too hurt her. She wondered whether this was because of the earlier statement or because she has had a history of being hurt both emotionally and physically. She replied, "Yes, I had made that promise. And I'm sorry that I was not able to keep it. You can either sit here and cry or accept the hard facts. Just know that when those two Saiyans arrive, they are going to hunt all of us down and kill us. We will try and think of a way to stop them. I suggest you do the same. I'm leaving. Call me if you wish. C'mon Krillin"

The duo promptly left, leaving Chi-Chi lost in her own thoughts.

Three weeks pass, Krillin was at his home in New Delhi, India. He was watching a recorded news report on television; it was about the Raditz incident. Suddenly, his cell phone started to ring, he answered it and the voice on the other side surprised him, it was an old rival, Tien, "Hey Krillin! I heard about what happened from Bulma and I'm really sorry to hear it. Goku was a good man. Anyway, that's not why I am calling. I was in Delhi on behalf of my sister to handle dealing. I'm free now and wanted to discuss something important. Meet me at the Barista Coffee Shop in the Connaught Place Shopping Complex."

Tien cut the phone almost immediately while Krillin wondered what he was going to say.

Next day, he was at the coffee shop sitting at one of the many wood polished tables with a tall, young, well built and head shaved gentleman with a third eye on his forehead wearing a white shirt and a pair of denim jeans was sitting before him. There was a wood polished counter at one side, with a glass display case showing off the many caked and pastries available, the air conditioning was at full, the lighting was bright illuminating the pictures of South American explorers on the wall with coffee related quotes scribbled across them and there was a distinct scent of fresh cocoa beans in the air which served to enhance the atmosphere. Tien always had a habit of dressing up in simple casuals, which made Krillin wonder how uncomfortable he must have been only a few days ago when he had to wear a suit for office work. One could describe him as a free spirit who was well aware of his responsibilities.

Tien spoke, "Okay, so we know that two Saiyans are going to arrive soon and turn our lives to hell. It's a personal matter so we can't really expect help from anyone else. I talked about this to Bulma as well and she thought it was quite brave. I was suggesting that Yamcha and me join you, Piccolo and Gohan to fight the Saiyans when they arrive. Krillin was a bit taken aback, he thought that everyone was as confused as he was but here they are already preparing for war. He was happy that Tien was willing to help but Yamcha's name surprised him. He wondered if Bulma had forgiven him or Tien never actually mentioned his name. Krillin retorted, "Wow! Thanks but Yamcha? No offense, but are you sure?"

Tien smiled, he knew this would come up, "Listen, don't think I don't know what happened all those years ago. I know what he did was bad, no terrible but he's a good fighter and Goku wanted to give him a second chance. So far he has stayed away from most of us. I think he has learnt his lesson. I talked about this to Bulma; she stayed quiet for a moment and reluctantly agreed. I didn't talk to him personally but I know where he is currently. I need you to come with me and convince him"

Tien promptly took out two first class tickets to the United States. Krillin nodded in agreement.

MAY

The Serengeti; Africa. Piccolo gracefully lands in the middle of a wide-open plain. There was a watering hole on side where some Zebra's were taking a drink. Some distance away, hidden within the bush, two sets of eyes were watching them intensely. A heard of elephants were calmly moving across the plain, feeling no danger from predatory animals. Umbrella thorn trees were scattered across, a Giraffe couple were munching on one while a leopard was climbing another, a Thompson's Gazelle in his jaws, fresh blood streaming down it's neck Of all the places in the world. This was Piccolo's favorite. Wild, untamed, not a single concrete and steel structure in sight, harsh and unforgiving weather, the feeling of absolute isolation in an extremely dangerous world. Even the human tribes that were here were primitive, more animal than man, and one with nature. Africa as a whole reminded him of himself. He always used to come here to find peace and solace and wished that the whole world and not just one continent were this way. However, he had no time for sightseeing, he was here to meet someone special.

He flew over to cave once belonging to one of the many beasts that roam these plains but was forcefully evicted. He finds a small child wearing slightly tattered clothing huddled in a corner. He went up to the small child and crouched near him. The child looked up and smiled. Piccolo spoke; "Hello Gohan, I hope you are doing well" Gohan stood up and sincerely answered, "Yeah I guess. You were right all along. I was bit of a crybaby back when you first brought me here. I feel stronger"

Piccolo smiled, when they had met, Gohan was scared and Piccolo was rude to him. But over the course of the last month they had been talking and slowly developed a bond for each other. Gohan understood why Piccolo had brought him here while Piccolo understood what it meant to care for someone.

Piccolo inquired, "So what have you been doing for the past week."

Gohan replied like a soldier, "Training mostly, I also keep feeling that I'm being followed, I found a village a few miles from here and maybe they were tribesmen. I also had a close call with a Rhino."

Piccolo replied, "You are a pretty tough 5 year old, then again you're not human. This is Africa and those tribesmen probably wanted to know whether you are a friend or foe. Also, today I did not bring any rations because today I will teach you something very important about life, something your school would probably not teach you because it seems too harsh. But it's true. Life has one rule, 'Kill Or Be Killed' and so, today you will kill so that you may eat and live to fight another day. Gohan was a bit taken aback, till now he had never hurt a fly and here Piccolo was wanting him to slaughter another creature for food, "Um…. Ok… I have to kill a deer or something?"

Piccolo laughed, "Listen Gohan, when the saiyans arrive, they will have the position of the predators and we will be their prey. So would you attack one of your own or would you prey on the predators?"

Gohan gulped, he felt what was coming. Piccolo saw the old fear rise up once again in Gohan. He liked it because he felt that his raw Saiyans instincts would help him adapt to this harsh environment and it would be better to keep him constantly on edge. Piccolo escorted him outside and handed him a spear, "See those Zebra's at the watering hole. There are two lionesses watching them, ready to pounce. I want you to spook the zebra's, kill one of the lionesses and scare the other one away. If you can pull this off, nothing you see in the future will ever scare you because you would have seen the worst."

Gohan was frightened at what he was supposed to do, he started to move back but Piccolo was watching him intensely. Gohan gathered himself and leapt into action. His heart started to pump faster and faster. The spear flew out of his hand and landed in the middle of the heard, the sudden appearance of this alien predator scared them and they ran off. Gohan landed in the resulting dust cloud and picked up his weapon, the thick plumes hindering his vision. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, his whole body tightened as he heard a low growl. A very big pussycat was right behind him. The lioness lunged but he jumped away in the nick of time. As he landed he noticed his attacker circling him. Just as he was wondering where the other was, he heard a loud roar. The other one was leapt to him but he successfully sidestepped her. Now both lionesses were in full view. They slowly walked toward him wanting to make a meal of the creature that so foolishly dared to scare their lunch away. Gohan thrust his spear repeatedly in their faces but to no avail. Gohan was frightened; he felt death drawing near. The lioness to the right of him leapt towards him, he tried to dodge but it managed to slam its paw into his chest ripping his clothes and the skin underneath apart. Gohan howled in pain as he was thrown to the side. He clutched his chest, he was bleeding, the pain was intense, and his vision went blurry. He looked franticly around for his weapon as the other lioness came closer and closer. His breathing started to get ragged and he looked at his bloodied hand and chest before blacking out.

A tavern just outside Denver; Colorado; United States of America. It's midnight and the only patron left in the low class tavern is a 27-year-old Caucasian male drinking his umpteenth beer, his head hung low. The barkeep silently cleaning glasses knowing the kind of lowlifes that come here keeps an eye on him. Suddenly, the door opens and two males walk in. They take up the bar stools on the opposite sides of Yamcha. One of them is Tien who quips, "I knew you were keeping a low profile but not this low. Took us quite a while to find this gutter in which you had thrown yourself into"

Yamcha grunted, "What are you doing here Tien and why is this bastard here?"

Tien laughed while Krillin simply scowled, "Listen, forget the past we are here to discuss a serious matter. Goku's dead. He was killed by an alien of the Saiyan race, turns out our friend Goku was a member of this race too. Believe it or not, his grandfather had found him as a 1-year-old boy in a forest in Japan. Do you understand?"

Yamcha began to laugh hysterically; Krillin balled his fists while Tien warned him with a hand signal not to do anything drastic. Yamcha spoke in a drunken stupor, "Oh! That explains a lot. No wonder I always felt that he cheated, he was stronger than normal. Maybe he'll be banned from the tournament or something, oh wait! He's already banned from life… hahahaha! Serves him right!"

Krillin walked out of the bar saying that he would wait for them outside. Tien scowled, "You did on purpose, didn't you! Why are you so intent on hurting people? There was no need to talk like that!"

Yamcha lifted his face up to talk to him, "No… you're wrong, I don't hurt people, they hurt me and I just give them the treatment they deserve. Goku's not my enemy and I feel truly sorry for what happened. But that Krillin, he looks all innocent but trust me he's not"

Tien leaned to the side, putting his elbow on the table and his hand on his cheek, "Really? I thought it was you doing the dirty deed and not Krillin. Why do you dislike him so much? What happened?"

Yamcha passed his hand through his hair, "You wanna know what really happened that night? A few hours before, I saw Krillin chatting up Bulma like they were boyfriend/girlfriend, I eavesdropped on them, you can't blame me for that I'm just paranoid. Anyway, Krillin tells Bulma that he doesn't like me, that he feels that I'm not the right kind of person for her. I mean who is he to talk like that. Bulma tries to defend me, saying that I'm just overprotective and that is a good quality and stuff like that. But Krillin just won't listen. She then starts to believe him and says that she might even break it up. Later that night, she comes to MY room and starts to talk about breaking up and how she feels that I'm not right for her. So we get into an argument and it got to the point that I slapped her really hard and she fell to the floor. I said some things and then suddenly, the big hero Karan Mahajan A.K.A Krillin busts into the room, he sees us like that and without warning he attacks me asking just what the hell I was doing. The guy punches me so hard that I fall to the ground. Bulma freaks out and screams that I was trying to rape her. Then Goku bursts in and the rest is history, it's not his fault. Who would you trust?"

Tien nodded and retorted, "Something tells me you are not telling me the whole story. I know you better, always acting as the intermediate between you and Goku. After we first met you said that you had gotten physical with her and threatened her. Your not totally in the clear."

Yamcha stood up, "Okay! Maybe I was wrong, maybe I got physical but that doesn't mean I would rape the woman I love, I would never sink that low. Krillin however had no business meddling in my affairs. If he had kept his trap shut, Bulma would still be with me. But don't worry, like I said, anything for the guy that got me out of serving time in prison. I'll fight for Goku."

"Then we are in agreement," quipped Tien.

The Serengeti; Africa. Gohan woke up screaming, he was on a straw matt. He was sweating profusely and there were bandages wrapped around his chest that still hurt. There was a girl next to him who tried to make him lie down saying something along the lines off, "You must rest now, you are hurt"

Gohan complied, as he lied down once more Piccolo walked in, "Good work Gohan. You killed a lioness with your bare hands. The one that attacked before you blacked out impaled itself on your spear. They call you; 'The White Lion' which I'm told is a great honor especially for someone your age. You can stay here until you are fully healed, then it's back to training. Enjoy yourself, its lion for dinner."

Gohan smiled, he was very tired and as he fell asleep his last thought was, "I miss my video games"