Episode 63

Challenges

Dear readers

Hello, I posted plenty of chapters, so I hope you enjoy these, but for the main battle between the Z-warriors and the Ginyu Force, you would have to wait for me to update again, which I hope it won't take too long.

It's final exams week at my university, so I've been very busy lately. While writing these chapters, my mind is still/was in studying mode, thinking about physics, microbiology, and all that, so I apologize in advance for any undetected grammar mistakes and perhaps for the slight lack of creativity in my words in general (it's hard to write poetically nowadays when you've written so many scientific papers using plenty of technical terms, hah, hah).

I would also like to apologize for completely forgetting the amount of time has passed between when Goku departed from Earth and when Goku arrives to face the Ginyu Force. You would find that the events happening in these chapters, everything seems to be going so fast…so please just use your imagination and decide for yourself how many days/hours have passed during the Z-warriors' stay in Namek as you read through these chapters. For me, the accuracy of time here just really slipped from my mind. But I do like to focus more on the battle between the Z-warriors and the Ginyu Force, which is more important to me now. Chapters for these will be posted soon!

Thank you for reading this lengthy author's note. Again, I hope you enjoy reading these!

The Z-warriors pondered anxiously on how they should go about their next plan. They were really trying to think of a way on how to become stronger, so they can face up to their enemies and save this planet.

Gohan said to the Namekians, "We really need to use your DragonBalls as soon as possible, so we can wish our friend, Piccolo, back to life. And if Piccolo comes back, Mr. Kami will be brought back to life, too, and the DragonBalls from our home planet can be used again. So, please, can you also help us?"

"I think I understand now," Cargo said.

"Yeah, so you guys have another set of DragonBalls back home," Dende said. "Your world must have been terrorized by these evil men, too. Then, we definitely need to stay and fight them!"

Elder Moori finally thought of a brilliant idea. "Yes, it's about time we stand up to these evil forces to rid of them for good. You guys said that you need to get stronger; therefore, we should take you to our Grand Elder, the Eldest Namek in our planet."

"Eldest Namek?" Raditz, Bulma, Gohan, and Krillin asked in unison.

"Oh right!" Cargo exclaimed. "The Eldest Namek can definitely help us!"

"…but how?" Raditz asked the Namekians with slight doubt.

"He's one of the few survivors of that terrible storm we went through in the past," Elder Moori explained. "He's the wisest and most knowledgeable of all Namekians. He's also the creator of the DragonBalls."

"The creator?" asked Krillin. "Now that makes a lot of sense."

"We're also all his children," Dende told him. "I, myself, am his 108th child."

Bulma was surprised to hear that. She had to ask him, "Woah, really? How could your father have a child all by himself?"

Dende was puzzled by her question. "What do you mean 'how'? He spits eggs from his mouth, of course."

Raditz reacted with a look of disgust from his face, but he turned his head away to hide his expression.

Bulma laughed nervously. "Oh, right! Silly me. So your Eldest Namek is a female, just like one of those queen bees and ants, if that makes sense?"

Dende was more confused than ever. "No, not really."

Bulma tried to explain herself again. "Well, there're two genders. A male and a female! Therefore, you have brothers and sisters? Siblings?"

Dende cannot get her at all. "Well, we do call them "brother" sometimes, just out of respect, but I'm not sure where you're getting at."

Bulma's eyes opened wide. "Can you believe it? There are no males and females. They're just…well, that! I'm sure glad I'm not a Namek. Talk about boring."

Dende tilted his head to the side while Cargo and Elder Moori had no comment on what she said.

Krillin gave a look. "Well, anyway…so, Elder Moori, this Grand Elder of yours, how can he help us again?"

"Oh, yes," Elder Moori cleared his throat. "He has many extraordinary abilities and one of them is the ability to release one's latent powers."

The Z-fighters were very interested to hear this.

"Powers?" asked Krillin and stared at his palms for a moment.

"You mean, he can help us bring out any hidden strengths that may be sleeping inside of us?" asked Raditz for further clarification.

Moori nodded his head. "That's exactly right, Mr. Raditz. It looks like you and your friend still have some energy inside you that can be brought out. I'm not sure if it will be enough though."

"Well, it's better than nothing at all," Krillin made a good point.

"We must make haste then," Elder Moori insisted. "I must tell you this, but the Eldest Namekian also possesses the last DragonBall. It is wise that it be kept safe from unfriendly souls or else, this Frieza and his men will definitely come looking for it."

"Including Vegeta," Krillin had to say.

Raditz looked at the village elder for a moment. "Are you suggesting that we should take the last DragonBall?"

"And hide it," added Moori. He then put another frown. "Our Eldest Namekian may be wise, but he has become frail and weak, he could hardly move from his chambers. He's also sick; thus, he is very vulnerable to any unwelcomed intruder out there…"

The Z-fighters felt very sorry to hear this.

"He's sick?" asked Gohan with a look of sympathy. "Is someone taking care of him?"

"Yes, his only guardian who happens to be the strongest Namekian warrior alive on this planet," Moori answered him, looking into the boy's fretful eyes. "His name is Nail and maybe he's the only one who can go against Frieza and his men, or at least hinder them for a good while."

"Really?" Krillin hoped this was true.

"Nail is one of our best friends and he has always protected the Grand Elder ever since he made him guardian!" Cargo exclaimed. "I think he can beat those evil aliens no sweat."

"Yeah!" agreed Dende. "I don't doubt his strength at all. Aside from you guys, Nail is also powerful!"

Krillin then stood up from his seat. "Well, what are we waiting for? We need to leave now and have the Eldest Namekian bring all our powers out."

Gohan though stopped him for a moment. "Wait a minute, Krillin. We should wait for Grandpa Bardock first. My grandpa has a lot of power in him. I'm sure that if he brings that out, then we may just get really lucky and win!" the half-Saiyan was very positive.

Krillin understood him and did not doubt his words at all. Bardock was just like Goku and the monk warrior had convinced himself since the beginning that the two were so alike. They held the same, amazing strengths, which meant Bardock will be a great help to them once they face those monstrous tyrants.

"Yeah, we should wait for your grandfather. Do you think he's here now?" asked Krillin.

"I'll go check," Gohan stood up from his seat and immediately ran out of the door and out of the cave to wait for his grandfather's return.

Raditz stood up as well and followed his nephew. "I'll keep an eye on him."

Outside, Gohan stared at the skies, but there was no sign of Bardock yet. He gave a disappointed look and felt worried again.

Raditz emerged from the cave and reassured his nephew, "Just be patient, Gohan. He'll get here soon."

The Z-warriors on Planet Namek were not the only ones who were preparing themselves for any major encounters. Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Piccolo, and Tien were also preparing themselves for the future if they must be called for battle. First, they needed to pass a series of tests from King Kai before they could learn from the master himself.

As King Kai had said before, they would need to pass his joke contest first. Yamcha and Chiaotzu were proving themselves to be quite the comedian, but Tien was having a difficult time impressing King Kai. King Kai would rather tell jokes to a wall than hear someone who could not make even a cheesy joke. Piccolo, however, was finding this test to be senseless and just a waste of his time. He decided to just sit in the sidelines and make use of his time by meditating until King Kai could actually get to the real deal of their training.

"This is ridiculous!" Tien complained. "I can't possibly do this. There's no way I can move on to King Kai's training now."

"Don't give up now, Tien!" Chiaotzu encouraged him.

Yamcha came up to him. "Here, try this one," he murmured something to his ear.

Tien heard him, but he did not laugh. "Are you sure it's gonna work? It doesn't sound funny to me at all."

"Trust me. He'll laugh at that joke, I bet," Yamcha was confident.

Tien stood up straight and stood in front King Kai.

King Kai saw him and yawned. "Aah! Oh, back for more, I see, but what makes you think you're gonna succeed this time? Hate to break it to you, kid, but you're just wasting your time here."

Tien felt irritated to hear that. He clenched his hands and told him, "This time, for sure, I'm going to make you laugh, King Kai. Now, here it goes! Listen because I'll not repeat this again."

"Of course you won't repeat it 'cause it's another joke that won't make me laugh again!" King Kai then suddenly laughed to himself, thinking his statement was hilarious. "Hah, hah! I crack myself up sometimes!"

Tien was more annoyed than ever. He had to say, "Oh yeah? Then hear this: 'You can tune a piano…but you can't tuna fish'!"

King Kai immediately stopped laughing and stared at Tien for a moment. The kinds of jokes he loved the most were pun jokes and so, after hearing this clever joke from him, he cannot help but laugh now. He tried to hold his breath, but he rolled on the ground, laughing hysterically and he felt he cannot stop.

A triumphant smile spread across Tien's face. "All right, I did it!"

Yamcha made a proud fist. "Yeah! Way to go, old buddy."

"I knew you can do it!" Chiaotzu cheered.

Piccolo saw the achievement Tien had made, but to him, it was almost like watching a kid's show. "How pathetic."

King Kai fixed his glasses. After laughing so hard, he took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead with it. "Okay, that's a good one. Now, it's time for your real training to begin. At first, it might be hard for wimps. Hah, hah!"

He was laughing once again, but Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu could not get him this time.

King Kai realized no one was reacting to his joke. He lectured them a bit. "Come on now. I won't train anyone without laughing with me. It's a good joke, you see. Now, laugh!"

Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien then pretended to laugh and giggle, but were still confused.

King Kai gave a thumps-up. "Great! Now, here's your next test. Oh, Bubbles!"

Bubbles responded to his owner's call. He came up to the Z-fighters and started to make monkey sounds.

"Your first task is to catch Bubbles," explained King Kai.

Yamcha gave a look of disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

King Kai shook his head. "Nope. It took Goku almost three weeks to catch Bubbles on his own."

Yamcha and Chiaotzu gasped. "WHAT?!"

"Three weeks?" Tien could hardly believe it.

Piccolo overheard this and gave a serious look. "Three weeks to catch a monkey?"

Chiaotzu slowly raised his hand. "I got a question."

"Yes?" King Kai responded.

"So if we catch Bubbles, then does that mean we get on with the real training?"

"Not quite. You still have to deal with Gregory, then I'll see if you're ready or not."

Everyone understood him. The three warriors were prepared to take on this next task.

"Run like the wind, Bubbles!" King Kai told him.

At full speed, Bubbles ran like the wind. Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu tried to keep up with him, but with this kind of gravity, they were having a hard time moving their legs.

"Darn it! This is harder than I thought!" Yamcha cried out.

King Kai chuckled. They especially looked funny how they were all struggling to move about. When he turned his head to check on Piccolo, he realized he was gone. He tried looking for him, but just when he looked up front, he spotted Piccolo from a distance. He had already captured Bubbles, his hand gripped tightly on the monkey's back.

King Kai was very surprised. "What the? How in the world did you catch him that fast?!"

Piccolo purposely dropped Bubbles on the ground. "Because these exercises you're giving us are nothing but a waste of time! I'm not here to play games. I'm here to get stronger!"

"What do you mean 'us'? You're not participating at all, and you can't catch Bubbles yet! You didn't even pass my joke test. Shame on you. I can't promote you on anything," King Kai scolded him.

While the two were having an argument, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu came back, but already looking exhausted from trying to catch Bubbles.

"I have no time for this silly, old training," continued Piccolo, "for this ridiculous monkey business. I'm here to get some serious training done."

King Kai strangely did not argue back to him and instead, he placed his hands over his mouth as if he was holding back on something. Piccolo noticed his puffed face.

Soon, King Kai laughed hysterically. "Did you just say 'monkey business'? That's a good one! Hah, hah! Very good. You may be promoted to the next training exercise."

Piccolo looked at him in an unfriendly way.

King Kai then encouraged his other students to laugh along with him. "All together now. 'Monkey business.' Hah, hah, hah!"

However, he quickly noticed that nobody was laughing with him. King Kai became irritated this time. "What? You still don't get me? Well, let me tell you something. You need to learn more about the art of joking. Sheesh!"

Yet, in the minds of his students, they thought he was a really, really bad joker.

Whoosh!

In the bellowing winds and out into the open area of Namek, Bardock was hurrying to get back to Gohan and the others. He was almost to his destination. As he continued to take wing, suddenly, another vision passed in his mind. It was another familiar vision with the mysterious elite force. This now appeared to be Ginyu and his teammates.

Bardock shook his head and held his forehead for a moment. "Who are these guys? I've never seen them before…," he then gave a serious expression and assumed, "I bet they're one of Frieza's subordinates…"

As Bardock continued to travel in the skies, he suddenly thought of his youngest son, Goku. He had no idea he was on his way to Namek now, but he knew at the back of his mind that he would need his help soon especially with Frieza on this planet.

As for Goku, he was now working on 75xG. He was pushing himself to the limits by tying his own two feet on the ceiling and doing many sets of sit-ups in an upside-down position. He had been doing this for an hour now, but after his last sit-up, he had to take a short break.

The hardworking Saiyan breathed heavily. "Man, this gravity is torture! I'm surprised I made it this far. Now, just one more set to go!"

Just about he made his next sit-up, suddenly, the rope around his feet loosened and he immediately fell to the floor, right on his forehead.

"OW!" Goku cried out and held his head. Then, there was this slight tear of pain coming out from his left eye. He gave a sheepish smile. "Wow, I'm getting clumsier than I thought! Maybe I'm pushing myself too hard. Heh, heh."

On King Kai's planet, Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu continued to struggle to catch Bubbles, but maybe because they had not eaten any lunch yet, which puts them to a disadvantage, slowing them down. King Kai then proposed that they should take a one-hour break and fill their stomachs first. Instantly, the mouths of his students watered. Food, at this time, was a necessity.

After King Kai prepared them lunch and as the three munched away, King Kai went outside to water his garden. As he hummed while watering his flowers, Piccolo, who opted not to join Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu for lunch, decided to confront King Kai instead and criticize him about the flaws of his training, at least in his opinion.

Without having to turn to see who it was, King Kai asked the Namekian, "Is there something you need, Piccolo?"

Piccolo complained again. "How long do you plan on messing around? I told you, I came to this planet to get stronger, not waste my time catching a monkey!"

King Kai apologized. "Nope, sorry. You came to me to ask for my training, so I think it's only fair you do as I say first. You have to pass my training exercises before I promote you to the real training. You have all the time in the afterlife, so it's up to you whether you want to do the exercises or not."

He then plucked a few flowers and held them in front of his face. "If you rather not to, you could always help me with my garden. It's perfect season to be growing flowers at this time!" he snickered again.

Piccolo was getting more irritated by his lecture and by his constant laughter, he grabbed his collar, but King Kai's glasses shone and gave him a look of warning. Piccolo noticed this and had to let go of him.

"Tch…just so you know, King Kai, I don't have enough time," Piccolo told him.

King Kai questioned him immediately. "What do you mean you don't have time? Hey, wait a sec, you're not planning to take on Frieza, do you? I thought you made a promise out of it!"

Inside King Kai's house, it was a very different mood there. Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu were just enjoying stuffing themselves with so much food.

The North Kai noticed that they were not leaving any food for him, however. "Hey, don't eat everything! I gotta eat, too, you know!" he shouted across the window.

Yamcha heard him and held his soup bowl in front of him. "But, King Kai, your cooking's really good. I couldn't get enough of it!"

Their teacher was easily flattered. "Oh, really? Why, thank you! I can cook all kinds of food. In fact, when I was young like you, I actually thought of being a famous chef-wha-? Hey!" he was too busy talking though, he realized his students had drained all of his food. He growled in response.

Chiaotzu, Tien and Yamcha were completely satisfied. "Aah…couldn't eat another bite," they said with contentment.

Piccolo though was even more irritated than King Kai was.

Few minutes later of rest, Yamcha and the rest of his friends were ready to resume training. Yamcha went back into the training grounds. He fixed his blue belt. "Now that I'm full of energy, you're in big trouble, ape face."

"Hey. Don't call me ape face. I'm not that ugly!" scolded King Kai, thinking Yamcha was talking about him.

Yamcha clarified, "I'm not talking about you, King Kai. It's him I want."

Bubbles was taking a break himself and had just finished eating a banana. He then looked at Yamcha and mocked him. "Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

Piccolo isolated himself from the rest again. Before going back to his meditation, he drank some water from a bottle.

"Monkey!" Yamcha shouted and went to get Bubbles. Bubbles sprinted and ran away from him, but since Yamcha had been fully energized thanks to the food he ate, he was already close to catching Bubbles after all.

Yamcha tried to maintain a safe breathing pattern. Soon, he leaped in mid-air and successfully caught Bubbles by his feet. "Gotcha!"

Bubbles squirmed, trying to get away, but it was too late. He made worried monkey noises.

"All right!" Tien and Chiaotzu cheered.

Yamcha celebrated his accomplishment and he began to dance with Bubbles by swinging him around. "Yeah! I caught the monkey! Yeah!"

King Kai was very surprised to see this. "Wow. Goku took almost three weeks to catch Bubbles, but it only took Yamcha hours. Geez, these guys never fail to impress me…hmm?" he noticed Piccolo. He just remembered he did not bother to eat lunch with them earlier. He asked him if he wanted to eat first.

Piccolo turned his head away. "I'm fine."

It was Tien's turn and he, too, was effectively outsmarting Bubbles. As Bubbles sprinted to the left, Tien teleported in front of the ape. Bubbles panicked while Tien grinned at him. Bubbles tried to dart to the right, but Tien blocked his way again. As the monkey tried to escape once more, Tien quickly grabbed Bubbles' tail.

Chiaotzu cheered. "Hooray for Tien!"

"Yeah, we're getting somewhere now!" Yamcha said.

It was Chiaotzu's turn and in just minutes' time, he was able to catch Bubbles also. "I caught Bubbles! Yay!" Chiaotzu yelled with joy once he was able to accomplish this task. Then, both he and Bubbles lifted each other up in mid-air to celebrate their little accomplishment.

"And even Chiaotzu caught Bubbles," said King Kai. He placed his hands behind his back. "Now that's what I call a major improvement."

Piccolo clearly saw what his companions had accomplished, but saw little reason, such insignificance behind these training exercises. He stood up and confronted King Kai again. "How many times do I have to repeat myself? I only come here to get stronger and to do that, I need to fight somebody stronger than me. And they're not!"

"Oh really?" asked King Kai, turning his head towards him for a moment. "What makes you think they're much weaker? You haven't tested out their strengths yet, have you?"

Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu then came up to King Kai, ready to take on their last training exercise.

King Kai laughed softly. "All right, here's your next task. Oh Gregory!" he called out.

POP!

And out from a bubble, Gregory appeared. "Hi, everyone. The name's Gregory!"

"Now here's what you need to do," King Kai took out a steel hammer.

Gregory explained the rules. "This exercise is pretty simple. Take this hammer, try to hit me with it, and you'll win! But don't go easy on me, 'cause I'm not gonna go easy on you. Now who wants to take a swing at it first?"

Yamcha stepped in, being very confident of himself again. "Let me have go."

King Kai passed the hammer to Yamcha, but the moment he caught it, he was suddenly dragged to the ground due to the heavy weight of it. "WHA-!"

THUMP!

Yamcha shook his head. "How heavy is this? It's like carrying an anvil!"

Gregory shook his head. "Tch, tch. Excuses, excuses."

Yamcha was offended easily. "Why you! I'm gonna get you!"

Yamcha stood up with the heavy hammer on his hand. He was ready to take a good swing at the cricket.

"See ya!" but after a second later, Gregory flew right passed Yamcha.

Yamcha did not even notice how fast he went until the cricke stopped again. "Huh?" he turned around to find Gregory floating behind him already.

"Too slow, sucker," Gregory annoyed him again.

Yamcha barked at him. "Get back here!"

Gregory soared again without even have to try. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha now must deal with this lightning-fast insect.

King Kai turned to Piccolo and asked him, "Why not you give it a try?"

Piccolo immediately turned around and walked away. "Image training is more important now than swinging a hammer at a cricket."

King Kai smirked. "Okay, as you wish."

In outer space, Goku was now on the floor, doing many sets of sit-ups. He was perspiring greatly. He bit his lips and the veins on his muscles became visible every time he did a full repetition.

Goku needed to get stronger somehow. His level of gravity was set to 85xG already, but because of his persistence and self-motivation, he was getting used to it very fast. He just hoped his individualized training will strengthen him and prepare him for the obstacles he would soon face when he arrives on Namek.

He remembered King Kai's warning him about Frieza and his father, that he should never go near them no matter what the costs were. It was clear that his teacher had known or perhaps even witnessed the mighty wrath of these two beings. Goku would just have to find out what the real deal is when he gets to Namek.

As soon as Goku finished his third set, suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the ship's speakers.

"Goku, are you there? Can you hear me? I'm trying to see if the communicator is working," said that voice.

Goku opened an eye and asked, "H-huh? Is that you…Dr. Briefs?" he asked while struggling to do another sit-up.

A television then rolled down in front of Goku and when the monitor turned on, there was Dr. Briefs along with Puar and Oolong who had been meaning to see him.

"Huh?" Goku took a quick break. A smile then spread across his face. "Oh, hey, it's you guys! Wow! We can actually video-chat in space? But we're practically many planets apart!"

"Yeah, of course," Dr. Briefs laughed. "I may be old, but my brain never stops thinking of new inventions. Besides, we need to communicate somehow and make sure you'll get back home safely."

"Thanks, Doc," Goku said. He then gave a wave. "What's up, Oolong, Puar? How are you guys doing?"

"Goku!" Puar was very happy to see him. "You're looking well!"

Oolong crossed his arms. "We were about to greet you back on Earth until you suddenly took off. You need to let your friends know first that you're leaving!"

Goku apologized. "Sorry about that. I was in a hurry. It kinda slipped from my mind," he laughed a little.

Dr. Briefs looked closer at the monitor. "My, you're still training, Goku? Where are you now in terms of gravity?"

"I'll soon bump it up to 90xG," Goku told him. "I'm surprised I can get used to this level of gravity fast. I guess King Kai's training had really helped me and not to mention, the Senzu Bean I took helped, too. It took me a while to get to the gravity adjusted though. Sometimes, I feel sleepy at the most inconvenient times when I'm supposed to train and all that."

"I told you we should've installed the café cappuccino machine," Dr. Briefs mentioned. "It would indeed keep you awake, Goku."

Puar seemed to agree with him. "Yeah, coffee helps wake up nerves!"

"Master Roshi drinks coffee at least three times every morning, maybe even more," Oolong chuckled.

Goku laughed again. "Hah, hah! I know, but I can live without it. I'd rather drink milk or orange juice in the morning."

"Oh, by the way, Goku," Dr. Briefs now remembered something very important. "Right after you left Earth, Bulma called me up and told me that she found a shortcut to Namek."

"Really?" Goku stood up. "Where is it then? It'll surely get me to Namek faster than this route I'm taking; most likely less than six days, right?"

Dr. Briefs took out a clipboard from his desk and there was a sticky note on it where he wrote down the coordinates for this shortcut. "It will. It took Bulma and the others only ten days to Namek when they took this shortcut, but considering your ship is way faster than theirs, you can get there much, much earlier! You might as well take that shortcut now."

Goku went over to the controls. "Okay, so what's this shortcut?"

"Hold on," Dr. Briefs adjusted his glasses. "Let's see…aah, there we go. It's 'K5162.'"

Goku punched in the coordinates and once he did, the screen on the device re-calculated its distance and the ship change its direction slightly. Goku felt a slight pull from this adjustment. His eyes watched as the blinking dot on his screen, the dot which represents his spaceship, taking a different route.

"Awesome!" Goku exclaimed. "Thanks a lot, Dr. Briefs. Now I have to finish my training extra fast before I get there!"

"Don't push yourself too much though or your training might do you more harm than good," Dr. Briefs advised him.

"Don't worry, I can manage," Goku reassured him.

"I'm surprised you never get tired of training, Goku," remarked Oolong.

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Puar.

Goku looked at them. "You should know me by now, guys. It's the only way to get stronger if I want to face powerful opponents out there," he gave a determined smile.

Immediately, he resumed training.

On Namek, Bardock had finally arrived at their hideout. From a distance, he spotted Raditz who was practicing with Gohan outside the cave. They were too busy training that they had not noticed Bardock who just landed and was now standing behind them.

Bardock gave a small grin.

Gohan was in mid-air, rapidly doing a set of punches. At the end, he was about to throw his strongest one yet, but Raditz evaded it and got behind his nephew. Gohan's fist still cut the air, but only to realize a second later his uncle was already gone. His fist instead was caught by Bardock.

"Huh?" Gohan took a while to see who this person was suddenly standing right in front of him.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing those punches," Bardock told him who continued to grin.

Gohan recognized him. He was very glad and thankful to see him all right. "Grandpa, you're back!" he cheered, holding his arm excitedly.

Raditz also saw his father and smiled, feeling very relieved from the inside. Of course, why should he worry about his own father in the first place? He can survive any situation out there, he believed.

As soon as Gohan let go of his grandfather's arm, Bardock told him, "You guys shouldn't be practicing here. Someone might bound to find us."

"Actually," Raditz interrupted him, "we may need to leave right now, Father."

"Why?" Bardock asked, a little confused.

"It's a long story," Raditz told him whose expression became serious, "but we actually found a way to get ourselves stronger without having to do any intensive training."

"You have?" Bardock asked if he could elaborate more on that.

Raditz nodded. "It should help us face our enemies that are currently terrorizing this planet."

From the cave, out came Krillin who heard Bardock's voice earlier. "Hey, Bardock! You're back!" he waved at him.

Bardock turned around and saw him, but he also noticed another creature who seemed to be different from the rest of them. For a while, Bardock went back inside the hideout. He was introduced to Elder Moori, Cargo, and Dende while he was told about their situation and their encounters with the terrible galactic overlord. The Z-fighters then gathered around the kitchen table to talk about what Raditz and Krillin had discovered in their travels as well as about the Eldest Namekian and the extraordinary powers he possessed. Once Bardock was given all the details, he felt more pressure and strain on him.

Everyone was standing up while Bardock was the only one sitting down, his arms against the surface of the table, his hand rested on his forehead. He continued to listen to Krillin and his son as they talked. While they conversed, Bulma brought a glass of water for Bardock to drink to help ease his mind, but Bardock had only taken a few sips out of it.

"We can't waste any more time," Krillin said. "We have to get those DragonBalls as soon as we can and save the rest of the Namekians in this planet. It's risky, but what other choice do we have? And running away is not an option now…and to think I suggested this idea before. Heh, heh."

Bardock released his hand from his forehead. He stared at Raditz. "…so, Frieza is definitely here?"

"And his father," Raditz repeated himself. "They're enslaving every Namekian they could find. They're also here for the DragonBalls so that Frieza could get his wish…and that's immortality."

Bardock turned his head away. As nervous he was, he was also angry. The visions he received about these two tyrants were unfolding right before his eyes. "That monster…he doesn't know when to stop, doesn't he?" he whispered to himself.

Elder Moori, with Dende and Cargo standing next to him, spoke. "It's best if we leave now and head to the Eldest Namekian as soon as possible. For now, you are the only warriors who can stand up to the wrath of this Frieza and his men. We, Namekians, are nowhere near their levels, but the least we can do is to help bring your hidden powers out."

Bardock stood up from his chair. "Let's go then, before it's too late."

Meanwhile, in Frieza's ship, Frieza's recruits were making preparations before the Ginyu Force begins their new given mission. In the meantime, the Ginyu Force was taking a small break until they receive a word from Frieza that it's time for them to go. Jeice, Recoome, and Guldo were inside a lounge room, relaxing themselves. Burter just came in with a bunch of candies and chocolate bars in his hands.

"All right, I'm stoked to see this, mate," Jeice immediately grabbed a chocolate bar and began to eat it. He then took off his scouter and placed it on a table, which also had Recoome's scouter on it.

Soon, their leader, Captain Ginyu, came in the room and said with a smile, "Hey, you're eating all of those? Save some for me especially for your leader!"

"Don't worry, Captain. There's plenty enough for everyone here!" Recoome exclaimed.

Ginyu noticed the two scouters, which belonged to Recoome and Jeice, lying on the small table and he was not pleased to see this. "Hey, whose scouters are those? You must wear them at all times before something bad happens to them."

"Eh? Like what? Explodes by itself?" Guldo asked, turning around. "Get lost or something?"

"You know perfectly well why you need to always keep them with you," Ginyu reminded. "Those devices are very, very valuable. What if our enemy gets them? Boom! They're as good as gone."

"Relax, Capt'in!" Jeice gave a slap on his shoulder. "Nothing will happen to them. Besides, I don't like wearing them all the time. Makes your eye itch after a while."

Recoome was stuffing himself with candies in his mouth. "Trust us, Captain. We'll take care of them."

"Tch! Fine, but you'll soon regret taking them off," Ginyu turned around and left them for a while. He went to Frieza and see if there was any word of command from him.

In the isolation tank room, Appule continued to monitor Vegeta's life signals. Orlen then came in the room and asked about his condition. With anxiety, Appule said that he was holding steady, but still in critical condition. The estimation that they made of him regaining consciousness in a few days, they may be wrong after all and his recovery might take weeks instead.

Orlen slapped himself on the forehead. "Ugh, that stupid Recoome! He just had to hit him hard and now, if Vegeta actually dies, then Lord Frieza will never get the information he wants from the prince."

"That is if he actually holds any info about the DragonBalls in the first place," Appule expressed his opinion. "I'd say that Lord Frieza kills him off now when he has the chance."

Orlen scoffed. "Don't talk like that. Lord Frieza might hear you and he could interpret that as disobeying his orders."

After making further calculations, Appule told Orlen to take over his place for an hour. Appule left while Orlen managed Vegeta's vital signs now. While checking his status, he stared at Vegeta's closed eyes and said with a chortle, "At least I'll have fun seeing Lord Frieza torture you right in front of my eyes. Heh, heh!"

Inside the main interior of the ship, Frieza was speaking to his father more details about his new plan. He was confident that this will stop anyone hindering him from fulfilling his desire now; however, King Cold had only given him an empty look, a look of disapproval.

Frieza did not seem to notice at first. "I was thinking of accompanying my elites, just so I can make sure they'll perform their mission flawlessly. If the illustrious Ginyu Force even fails me someday, I'd have to step in and take matters into my own hands. I'm tired of my men humiliating me left and right."

King Cold had his eyes set on the DragonBalls. He had not said a word at all.

Frieza turned his head and grinned. "You've suddenly become quiet. Did you hear what I said?"

King Cold then turned around. He was now making his way out of the room while saying something finally. "Well, they're your men after all, Frieza. Just hope your new change of plan won't make your main objective too difficult to achieve."

Frieza grinned wider. It was now clear that his father very much doubted him, but he had to let him know, "I know how to uphold my title as ruler of the galaxies, Father. Careful," he lifted his index finger. "Once I gather enough power, I may overthrow you from your throne despite you being my father."

King Cold grinned as well. "You have long ways to go, Frieza. Like I said before, I carry a lot more power than you think, so don't misjudge me."

This time, Frieza's smile slowly disappeared.

At that moment, Ginyu arrived. He first saluted to King Cold and then to his master, Frieza. He asked if it was about time they started on their mission.

Frieza crossed his arms. "Raring to go now, aren't you? In fact, I was just about to give the order. Now, do you understand what you need to do-?"

BOOM!

Suddenly, there was a huge tremble throughout the ship, which caught everyone, even the mighty Frieza and his father, off-guarded. They wondered where that loud, piercing sound just came from. At first, they wondered if it was the Namekians who were trying to escape from the basement by having their Namekian warriors blast their way out of the rooms.

"Huh?!" King Cold tried to maintain his balance.

"What was that?!" cried Ginyu.

As for Recoome, Jeice, Burter, and Guldo, they had to stop eating candy and find out where that explosion came from. They also predicted that explosion must be coming from the Namekians and so, they headed to the ground floor, but once they arrived there, the rooms were still intact, the doors still closed shut. Frieza's minions who were guarding the rooms seemed confused, but they were ordering one another to investigate the source of that explosion.

"What the heck's goin' on?!" Jeice questioned.

"If it didn't come from the Namekians, who could it possibly be?!" Burter asked his comrades.

"I don't know, but we better keep searching!" insisted Guldo.

Just before they turned back, Frieza, King Cold, and Ginyu also came to investigate the base room, but the noise and tremble did not come from here.

Frieza tightened his fists. "What's really going on here?!"

The Namekians, who were kept locked inside their rooms, were frightened and were pondering where that explosion came from. They tried to huddle in one corner as dust and small pebbles fell off the ceiling, which was caused by this sudden quake.

The village elders all gathered in one spot while they kept the Namekian children close to them. The older Namekians shielded the village elders to the best they can.

While everyone was searching and slightly panicking, inside the recovery room, there was medicinal water running from a broken tank. Orlen was suddenly killed as he was lying on the floor, almost incinerated. From that broken tank, a person stepped out of the platform and with his right foot, he crushed Orlen's head.

In the midst of the shadows, there was the merciless Vegeta who had recovered unexpectedly in a short amount of time. How he was able to recuperate so quickly, he was no ordinary Saiyan after all. After coming back from the brink of death, his strength had grown once more. He was dripping wet from the medicinal water he was submerged in, droplets falling from his chin and entire body.

He was the one who made that disturbance not too long ago, sending everyone to a world of confusion and panic.

The Saiyan Prince laughed silently. He then left the room and with his feet, crushed other shards and broken glass that spread everywhere on the floor. He emerged one more time from the shadows with a satisfied, wicked mile on his face.

"You've made a huge mistake, you pathetic fools," Vegeta said. "You've completely forgotten what a Saiyan is really capable of."

He then took this chance to sprint across the hallways to find the DragonBalls. He first looked in the lounge room to see if they were there, but they were not. Instead, he noticed Jeice's and Recoome's scouters. He then decided to destroy them with an energy blast from his hand and the scouters turned into nothing but piles of ashes.

Vegeta grinned even more as he continued his search for the DragonBalls. Not too long, he found the main interior of Frieza's spaceship, which Frieza and his men had now left unguarded, exposing the five glistening DragonBalls to any unwelcomed guest. Anyone could steal them at the moment.

A look of intensity gleamed across Vegeta's eyes while a rush of excitement filled him. He laughed evilly. "I should've known. Frieza and his father can't even anticipate my moves. All their precious DragonBalls are sitting in one spot, ready to be stolen."

The Saiyan Prince then suddenly heard footsteps from a distance, but whoever was coming to the second floor was still far enough to reach him from where he was standing. He took this chance again to distract the tyrants and their recruits.

Vegeta stepped outside of the room once more and with his left hand, he shot another perilous, violent blast, which shattered even more of Frieza's ship, creating more turbulence and fog that can make one cough excessively.

"There it is again!" Burter noticed.

Guldo quickly went back to the second level, but now his vision was blocked due to this filthy fog floating everywhere. He began to cough. "I can't see a thing!"

Frieza became fuming mad. He ordered his elites and his men, "All of you hurry up and find out where's that coming from!"

Ginyu decided to use his scouter to locate any unusually high power levels, but unfortunately, he could not get any signal at the moment.

Vegeta had been rejuvenated in just hours and had returned from the brink of death once again. And now, the Saiyan elite has a wide-open chance of getting the five DragonBalls Frieza had accidentally left behind. Will Vegeta be the one to make his wish for immortality come true after all? Bardock and his companions had now worked out a plan to make themselves stronger, strong enough to face their enemies. The question is will it be enough to face the Ginyu Force and possibly Frieza himself?