"I had just gotten the codes," VJ explained after he came too, "when three guards walked in and started firing at me. I uploaded 'em into my comm. link and made a break for it."
"What happened after that?" asked Goshin. "Where were you when Professor L was taken?"
"I was…" VJ paused as he tried to gather and organize his memories. Flashes of a battle ran through his head, but he could barely remember it. "I was fighting someone…tall…built like a tank…and bald…I think he was a Saiyan."
"Zuccil?" asked Jarelle. "But that's impossible…that's who kidnapped my dad…"
"Are you sure about that VJ?" asked Goshin.
"I don't know…I don't remember." said VJ.
"That's unusual for you, VJ." said Nail. "You never forget a fight."
"I know…" said VJ. "I don't know why I can't remember."
"What are we going to do about my dad?" asked Jarelle.
"It simple, were going to Planet Trinity." said Goshin. "We've got the codes now, and regardless of what happened to VJ, it's clear that Commander Zuccil is behind this."
"And we can be sure that Sprout is the one pulling his strings." said Nail.
"How do we get the professor back once we get there?" asked VJ.
"We can't determine that until we get there." said Nail.
"Then let's get moving!" said Goshin.
The young warriors took off towards the nearest space port. The issue now was getting in without being seen. Ever since their break in at the base, Trifecta was out for blood. Every space port on the planet was armed to the teeth. This was where VJ would redeem himself.
Using all of his concentration, VJ ghosted Goshin and the others through the back wall of the space port. While he rested, Nail surveyed the area to see what they were up against. The soldiers inside were actually asking people if they seen Goshin or one of his friends, and were showing pictures.
"This is going to be harder than we thought." said Nail. "They're alerting the public to us. Anyone can sound the alarm."
"So now what do we do?" asked VJ.
"Look!" said Jarelle, pointing at some Trifecta uniforms that were hanging on the wall nearby.
"You're insane!" VJ snapped.
"No! That's good!" said Goshin. "We can stand one on the other's shoulders!"
"And what do we say when they see that our arms and legs are only a foot and a half long?" asked Nail.
Goshin crossed his arms and thought for a moment. He couldn't ask VJ to ghost them all through the floor to the transport.
"What if we created a distraction?" he asked.
"Like what?" asked VJ.
"Nail, you can do Split-form, right?" asked Goshin. Nail nodded affirmatively.
"Good, use the technique and send your clone out into the hanger."
"So that while Trifecta thinks they're chasing me, we'll be boarding a cargo transport bound for Trinity!" said Nail.
"Exactly." said Goshin.
"And what happens when someone sounds the alarm on us?" asked VJ.
"By then we should already be on the transport." said Jarelle. "It's just a matter of taking off before they board."
"Which won't be a problem now that we have the launch codes." said Nail.
"Alright, Nail, go for it!" said Goshin.
Nail got into a box and began boosting his power level. His body began to glow a goldish-orange and a wedge formed in the top of his head. Out in the main hanger, the scouter alarm went off and every guard in the hanger was running towards Nail's rising power level. Before they got inside, Nail flew out and began mocking the guards from mod-air.
The Nail copy led the guards away from the back room and Goshin, the real Nail, and the others made a break for the cargo transport. Once inside, Jarelle and VJ took the control as VJ put the launch codes in. Goshin slammed the door shut on a couple straggler guards who had seen them just as VJ activated the engines.
"VJ, GO!" he bellowed.
VJ slammed his hand on the launch button and the transport took off like a shot, sending Goshin and Nail flying toward the back wall. They caught them selves and strapped into the weapons systems and scanners. As they burst out of the planet's atmosphere, VJ powered up the engines to full capacity and they took off at light speed just as three Trifecta fighters advanced on them.
"WOO HOO!" They cheered as VJ dropped out of light speed to set some actual navigation codes.
"Only a pilot like VJ could pull that off!" Goshin beamed.
"Ok, ok, if we're all done flattering me, let's get the hell outta here!" said VJ as got the transport back up to light speed.
"That was really close you guys." said Nail.
"That doesn't matter now." said Goshin. "We made it, and now all we have to do is get to Trinity. From there we'll rescue the Professor and give Sprout the boot!"
"We still don't know how were going to go about doing that." said VJ.
"I know, but all we can do is wait and see how things develop once we get to Trinity." said Goshin.
"So we could be walking into a trap right now…" said Nail.
"I know we're walking into a trap." said Goshin. "But we don't have any other choice. It's us or the Professor."
"So we're just going to walk into this blind as a bat!" VJ snapped.
"What would you rather do, VJ? Spend our entire three days trying to study our enemies?" said Goshin. "That we just sit on our butts while they do whatever they damn well please to Professor L!"
VJ turned on Goshin.
"Raise your voice at me one more time, Goshin." he snarled.
"Or what, VJ?" Goshin asked.
VJ glared at Goshin for a long time.
"That's what I thought." said Goshin angrily.
VJ snapped and threw his fist at Goshin's face. Nail caught it and pushed them apart.
"Are you two that retarded?" he barked. "The last thing we need is to be fighting amongst each other!"
Goshin just walked away while Nail and Jarelle held VJ back. He thanked them later after VJ decided to take his anger out in the cargo hold, which had a small Gravitron unit in it. He and VJ didn't speak the rest of the trip.
Two days had past, and Jarelle was starting to worry about Goshin, who only came out of his room to eat, and sometimes not even for that. VJ usually stayed in the cargo hold, and to the best of anyone's knowledge, neither of them slept.
"It would be impossible to tell," said Nail one day, "while Saiyans do get tired, they never show the physical signs that a human does. Eventually they just runt out of fuel and pass out. You'd never see the bags under the eyes or lack of posture that you see in humans."
"So as long as they keep eating they'll be ok?" asked Jarelle.
"On the contrary, they sleep just like the rest of us." said Nail. "More then humans actually."
"Wow…" said Jarelle.
"Wow is right." said Nail. "We'll definitely find out any day now if they're not getting enough sleep. I'm almost certain VJ isn't."
"What about Goshin." said Jarelle.
"I know for a fact he's not." said Nail. "All I hear at night is him sparring with nothing in his room."
"And you haven't said anything to him?" she asked worriedly.
"He's a Saiyan, he'll never listen." said Nail. "As long as he's getting in the training he thinks he should be getting in, he doesn't care."
A loud crash outside caught their attention suddenly. They rushed out to the control room. Goshin and VJ were ducking it out and destroying everything in the process. Jarelle tried to move in, but Nail stopped her.
"Nail, what are you doing? We've got to stop them!" she yelled.
"It's too late, there's nothing we can do now." said Nail. "Except that they don't kill us all in the process."
"Arrogant pig!" Goshin snarled.
"Air-headed clown!" VJ barked.
The two fighters clashed and pummled each other relentlessly. Fists and feet were flying so fast that Nail and Jarelle could hardly keep up. VJ finally caught Goshin in the stomach and sent him flying. Goshin flew into a control console, which exploded on impact. Goshin flew out of the smoke and started beating VJ senseless. He went for a couple of seconds and then kicked VJ in the face, sending him flying into the main navigation controls. He broke the entire console in half and the ships alarms started going off.
Nail looked out the window to see that they were caught in Trinity's gravitational pull. VJ and Goshin hadn't noticed, and were trying to break each other's faces. Goshin caught VJ with a spear and slammed him up again the window pane of the bridge. It shattered and he and VJ were sent flying as all the air was being sucked out of the ship. The ship began to heat up as they were careening towards Trinity's metallic surface.
Nail and Jarelle were using all of their strength just to stay standing and not fly out of the ship themselves.
"I've got to stabilize the ship or we're all dead!" Nail bellowed over the roar of the wind.
"Are you crazy, you'll be killed if you can't control the ship!" said Jarelle.
"That's a risk I'll have to take." Nail yelled.
But as he said the ship slowed down. Before they knew what happened, VJ grabbed them and ghosted them through the back of the ship. Once they were safe, Goshin threw the ship away from the planet.
"KAME HAME HA!" he screamed as he fired the blast at the doomed cargo transport. It exploded in a grand display as he and the others flew down to the surface of the planet.
Before they could get very far, they were greeted by Trifecta cannon fire. The four fighters ducked and dodged for their lives as they free fell towards the ground. VJ flew up next to Goshin.
"Well so much for the element of surprise." said VJ.
"Somehow I don't think we would have had it anyway." said Goshin.
"Good point, they'd have been looking for our ship to land." said VJ.
"Except they would have never let us land." said Nail.
Goshin did a reverse and dove into what looked like a ghetto times ten. If they could find any refuge, it would be here.
"Wow…and humans think the Holocaust was bad." said VJ.
"It essentially the same thing, except on a planet-wide scale." said Nail.
"How sad…" said Jarelle.
"This is all Sprout's fault!" Goshin snarled. "And I'm not going to let him get away with it!"
"Lord Sprout isn't an idiot, Goshin." said Nail. "There's no doubt in my mind he's been training hard ever since you and VJ fought him on Earth."
"There's none in mine, either, Nail." said Goshin. "But I don't care! That's why I've been training so hard. And this is why I'm going to win no matter what!"
"And what if he's too strong for any of us?" asked VJ.
"Then I'll sure as hell do my best!" said Goshin.
"Pretty ambitious for a little punk who literally just fell from the sky." said an old man behind them. Goshin and the others turned to the old coot, who was wearing an old turban and green pants. "You runts can't possibly have any clue what you're doing, otherwise you'd have been smart enough to stay away."
"Do you know who you're talking to, old man?" VJ barked.
"From the looks of you, a Human girl, a Namek, the Prince of the Saiyans, and the Descendant of Goku." said the old man. VJ backed off.
"That was oddly specific." said Nail.
"Hit the nail right on the head there, didn't he?" said Goshin.
"My name is TienShinhan or Tien for short." said the old man.
"Yea right, TienShinhan had three eyes, you only have two." said VJ.
Tien took off his turban to reveal his third eye. He threw it aside and raised his hands, forming a triangle with his fingers.
"TRI BEAM HA!" he yelled, aiming at VJ. VJ was knocked backwards by a huge burst of energy.
"What the hell was that!" he yelped as he slowly got back on his feet.
"That, young man was my Tri Beam Attack," said Tien, "something that someone like you, who prides himself on his speed, should have foreseen."
"You tryin' to say something, Gramps!" VJ barked.
"Only that you couldn't hit me with your fastest technique." said Tien.
"Why you…I'LL SHOW YOU, YOU OLD FART!" VJ bellowed.
The next thing anyone saw was a blur of blue and green as VJ and Tien watched speeds.
"Wow, the old man really is fast if he can keep up that well with VJ." said Goshin.
"It's that third eye, he's able to foresee VJ's moves." said Nail.
"It's really only a Chakra, not an actual eye." said Jarelle.
"Of course, he sees energy through it, not matter." said Nail.
"And energy moves a lot faster than matter." said Jarelle.
"Wow…cool…"said Goshin.
"From our point of you, but not from VJ's." said Nail. Goshin couldn't help but chuckle.
VJ suddenly went flying and slammed into an already crumbling building. He dug himself out of the rubble, bleeding from his lip.
"Do you understand now, VJ?" asked Tien.
"How do you know his name?" asked Jarelle.
"The same as I know Goshin's name, Jarelle," said Tien, "I grew up with their grandfathers."
"Ok, so how do you know her name?" asked Nail.
"Well, Nail, you'd be surprised the kinds of energies I can see with this third eye," said Tien, "or hear with these ears."
Nail's eyes widened as he looked at Tien's chakra eye.
"So you say we'd be better off staying away?" asked Goshin. "Then what happens when the Professor is killed?"
"Professor L? Well that changes things." said Tien.
"How does that change anything but the stakes?" asked VJ.
"Because it gives me reason to train you." said Tien. "How do you have before his execution?"
"Only a few hours, he's scheduled to be executed today." said Goshin.
"Well then, this will have to be a test of your current powers." said Tien. "It will take everything you've got to rescue the Professor, and you may still fail. There's no doubt in my mind that Zuccil has his best men watching him."
"We'll do our best, Tien!" said Goshin triumphantly. Tien chuckled.
"Just like Goku," he said, "it's as if he's alive in front of me again."
Goshin, VJ, Jarelle, and Nail powered up and shot off into the sky toward the Professor's weakening power level. Goshin had the sickening feeling that someone wasn't going to come back from this fight alive…he just wasn't sure who.