Chapter 3 – Mysterious Preparations

Sereki silently placed the device on her brother's bed. "This is the only thing that will slightly relieve him after today."

-- Flashback –

"Reki, you sure you have to do this?" Bulma's voice was laced with concern. The communication device was encapsulated and placed in the outstretched hand before her. "Do you really have to…?"

"I'm sorry… yes. It's the only way." Sereki sighed, and her eyes fell to the floor. She slipped the capsule into her belt's discreet compartment and took its twin device in her hand. "Better not encapsulate this – Goku wouldn't figure out how to open it." She allowed herself to grin momentarily and then remembered the situation she was in. "So you are absolutely sure this is a safe connection?"

"The most technologically advanced and hand-crafted by Moi! No one could ever intercept the messages!" Bulma slipped into her over-enthusiastic mode. "It even has these really nice features…" She excitedly explained every aspect of her state-of-the-art comlink.

Sereki smiled at her best friend's enthusiasm. After this day, she might never see her again. A tear threatened to fall, but her inborn Saiyan pride prevented it. She did, in fact, deserve this. She distantly gazed off into the sky and watched the passing clouds, memorizing all of the planet's features. Earth was a gem to her, one of the most beautiful and diverse planets in the universe.

Her instincts snapped her back to reality. She felt two large ki levels, and one extremely powerful one. Who…? The prince, himself, landed on the planet. How strange… "Thanks Bulma – it's time for me to go. Goodbye…" She hated long goodbyes, and this was not going to be one of them if she had anything to do about it.

Bulma's eyes widened and before she could blink, Sereki was by the door preparing to fly away. She blasted off in the direction of her brother's house clutching the important comlink. "Goodbye… no… see you later, friend." Bulma whispered after her.

-- End Flashback –

"He's gonna hate me after this." Sereki sighed and looked for the last time at her brother's living room. "I hope he figures out how to use that thing… he's a bit dense sometimes." She turned and reached the door of the empty house when something caught her eye. The photo album stood on the mantle, beckoning her. I have to leave, the Saiyans have arrived! Her brain screamed at her to use some common sense, but she reached for the book anyway. Her fingers rapidly flipped through the pages and found what she had been looking for. It was the picture of the last Bulma Brief's Annual Reunion. Everyone was there – Yamcha, Tien, Chaotzu… Goku was being hit over the head with Chichi's frying pan, Master Roshi was being smacked in the face by Bulma (and not regretting what he did one bit!), Piccolo was standing on the edge of the balcony, Puar, Oolong… and Gohan. She silently lifted the photo from its place and slipped it into a pocket. I will remember them, she thought and then took off towards the source of the massive energy levels.

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Vegeta glared at Nappa. "So help my Kami, I do not care if you are the ranking general on this expedition or not, I am your superior. My word is obeyed! I will be in the first wave." Vegeta's words moved off of his tongue like venom. Nappa backed away nervously. I can smell the fear in him… idiot. Vegeta smirked. Torturing him is the most pleasurable pastime.

"But… y-your father…" Nappa stammered.

"Baka! What did I tell you? Don't make me repeat myself." Vegeta was bent on getting in on the action if that meant killing a few generals in the process. I couldn't kill Nappa, though. He's to fun to scare. He fear is priceless, and Father would be displeased. That last thought almost made him reconsider his opinion. Perhaps I should kill Nappa for the express purpose of infuriating my father. His tail twitched in anticipation, but after a few moments of glaring murderously at his intended target, he decided it was much more worthwhile to spend his time torturing the pitiful general.

"Of course, Sire." Nappa soon recovered from his near cardiac arrest and smoothed over his uniform and assumed his usual arrogant disposition. "You are to proceed with me and Bardock in the first group." The hatch of the ship opened noiselessly and Earth's terrain below blurred into thousands of different colors. Bardock appeared in the docking bay, obviously anticipating testing out his son's true potential.

"Shall we?" He asked eyebrows raised.

"A little eager to meet your son, eh?" Nappa jeered.

"Perhaps…" Bardock replied coolly. "Kakarrot was strong enough to beat Raditz. I'm interested to see where his true skills lie, even if he doesn't remember who he really is."

"We'll probably have to kill him." Nappa reminded.

"Whatever." Bardock shrugged, trying to act as if that didn't bother him.

"Hmph, let's get on with this." Vegeta snapped. His pulse began to quicken as the thought of testing out his strength approached. The prince impatiently blasted out of the open hatch and flew towards the soon-to-be victimized planet beneath him. He tapped his scouter as he flew, locating the highest powers of the planet. All first class or elite level. Impressive… unfortunately, they don't stand a chance. Hmm… the highest level must be Kakarrot. He touched down on the earth with practiced grace and readied himself for a fight. "I haven't had a good battle in years. But why are their ki levels as low as they are. Sure, elite, but that couldn't put Raditz down as fast as they did. They might be hiding something."

The other two silently landed behind him, surveying the area as well. "I'm surprised the levels are relatively 'lower' than what we expected," Nappa mused.

"I've heard of this before but never believed it – could they be masking their ki?" Bardock suggested.

"That's impossible, right!" Nappa sounded alarmed.

"Perhaps it's not." Vegeta glanced at Nappa out of the corner of his eye. "Either way, they will pay." He looked far into the horizon. Here they come. He almost licked his lips in anticipation.

"They are approaching, Sire," Nappa reported. "I'm reading three power levels approaching from the west, and one approaching from the Northwest."

Vegeta watched amused as a Namekan, a shiny, bald, short man, and an almost exact replica of Bardock landed about 100 feet away from them. That must be Kakarrot. He glanced at Bardock and observed his face change for a millisecond. He almost smiled. Great, he better not get all emotional on us. He sighed impatiently. He warmed his brain up for the tell-tale intimidation conversation that was bound to happen between the two opposition groups. Those verbal showdowns are almost as fun as the actual fight. He grinned as Kakarrot stepped forward.

"Leave this planet in peace," he demanded. He was about to continue when a beautiful brown-haired woman land in front of him. And it gets even more interesting, Vegeta thought.

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Sereki raced towards the impending fight. She had to nip this one in the bud. Her emotions threatened to control her, but she forced them back. I have to do this… HAVE to do this…she reassured herself. She touched down in front of her brother before she could rationalize another way.

"Sereki, what are you doing!" Piccolo bellowed. She winced at the usage of her name. Well, now they know who I am. She heard a quick intake of air from one of the Saiyans standing in front of her. When she looked at him, her skin turned pale. Father… great, this is even harder than it was going to be. His face was unforgettable, her Saiyan memory was incapable of forgetting him, and Goku was a constant reminder.

She quickly saved face and bowed in the presence of the prince. "I have a proposition to make. You will be very interested."

A/N: And what is this proposition? You'll find out next time! Please review - thanks :)