Chapter 18
"When do you think he'll wake up?"
"I don't know he was in pretty bad shape when we found him."
Tien could hear the faint sound of familiar voices above him, but all he could see was black. His eyes opened briefly for a moment and the darkness was replaced by a blinding light which caused his eyes to close shut again.
"Hey, I think he may be coming around. Tien, Tien can you hear me son?" The warrior's eyes fluttered open again and he caught a glimpse of familiar sunglasses and a bald head standing above him.
"Master Roshi?" muttered Tien as his eyes snapped shut again. The triclops mustered all of his willpower and forced his eyes open and he lifted his hand to shield his unadjusted eyes from the light overhead. His eyes quickly adjusted and he was greeted by the sight of the Turtle Hermit, Korin, and the samurai Yajirobe standing over him. The short, bald man and the white cat both had broad grins on their faces as Tien sat up and looked at them curiously.
"Master Roshi, Korin how did you guys get here?" he asked.
"Simple my boy," answered the Turtle Hermit. "We took Bulma's aircraft after Baba's crystal ball broke. We decided you might need our help so here we are."
The small white cat nodded. "Yeah but by the time we got there the saiyan had already left and all we found was you all knocked out. Well that and Yajirobe climbing out of a giant hole where he was hiding."
"Hey!" exclaimed Yajirobe defensively. "I was in there because the saiyan put me there!" The cat just chuckled. Irritating the fat samurai was one of his favorite pastimes.
"Hey Tien you're awake." The three eyed fighter looked over to his right to see the crimpled body of his friend Goku. The black haired warrior's entire body was covered by a blanket except for his head and even though he was paralyzed, Goku still had a smile on his face.
"I'm glad you're okay. I saw Vegeta blast off in his space pod and then when they brought you on board I saw that you were unconscious; I feared the worst had happened. But you're okay now and Vegeta's gone and he can't hurt any more people on this planet."
Tien stared down at his hand and clenched his fist. "Yes, but I couldn't finish the bastard off."
"I would appreciate it if you would refrain from using such language around my son." The triclops turned his head to the left and saw the annoyed face of Chi-Chi looking down at him. Next to her was her son, Gohan, and they both were staring at him over the back of the seat they were sharing.
"Sorry ma'am," Tien said as he apologized. He stared down at the floor in front of him.
"What are you looking so down for Tien? You won, you beat him and sent him packing back into space," said Master Roshi as he tried to cheer up the three eyed warrior. It was to no avail though as Tien continued to stare at the floor with an angry scowl on his face. He had failed. He hadn't been able to save his friends and now he hadn't even been able to avenge their deaths.
He began to force himself up, wanting to get away from the crimpled and mangled body of his friend. It was the living embodiment of his failures today, another person he had been unable to save from harm. His muscles felt like they were on fire as he pushed off the floor into a kneeling position.
"No Tien you need to rest," said Roshi. "If you exert yourself now you might hurt yourself even more!" Tien ignored the old martial artist's protest and stood up onto his feet. His legs threatened to give out on him and he clasped his hand around the edge of a seat to help support his weight. After a moment his legs ceased their wobbling and he released his grip on the seat and looked down at the hermit.
"See no reason to worry about me Master. All I'm doing is moving to a more comfortable seat that's all." He gave the suspicious older man a fake smile as he shuffled over to the front of the aircraft towards the cockpit, the farthest place from Goku's crippled and lame body.
As he moved towards the seat next to the pilot's, Tien glanced over at where Chi-Chi and Gohan were sitting. He wanted to make sure that the mother and son were okay and not seriously hurt after their brief encounter with the saiyan. The three eyed warrior had watched as both of them had been hit been the saiyan's explosive wave but he had not seen what had become of them after that.
He was relieved when he saw that neither of them had suffered serious injuries. Both were sporting several bruises and small burns, but all and all they seemed to be fine. Tien still felt guilty though about only using them as a distraction so he could set up his own assault against the saiyan. He had used them like sacrificial pawns and he was disgusted by his behavior. Tien knew it had been necessary at the time and that they were both more than happy to have helped in the defeat of the saiyan but he still felt that their involvement could have been avoided. If only he had been stronger, than he wouldn't have required their assistance and they wouldn't have been hurt at all.
Tien dug his nails into the palm of his hand as he entered the cockpit, his anger at himself seemingly growing by the second. A flash of blue hair entered his peripheral vision as he walked past where Bulma was sitting piloting the planet as he sat down in the seat across from hers. He winced as his body cried out in pain from the contact with the seat. His ears pricked up when he heard sniffling and his eyes glanced over at the blue haired genius.
Tears were streaming down her beautiful face and her body was shuddering as she cried. The woman continuously choked up as she tried to stifle the sound of her grieving so that no one would notice. When she saw that Tien had sat down across from her, she quickly wiped the tears away and tried to pretend that she hadn't been crying, but her puffy red eyes gave her away.
Just another reminder of my failure thought Tien as Bulma continued to wipe her eyes as she tried to shut off the waterworks. It was no mystery to him why she was crying. Yamcha, the man she loved had died at the hands of the saiyans and it was his fault. The desert bandit had been killed because he hadn't been able to arrive at the battlefield until it was too late. He looked away and out the window, unable to face the woman he had robbed of her lover.
"So what do we do now?" asked Gohan. Tien glanced behind his seat to see the innocent child looking around at all of the adults that were standing around him.
"We go home now Gohan," said the boy's mother. "The battle's over and now we just try to go back to our lives."
The kid shook his head. "No, I meant about reviving the others. We have to bring Mr. Piccolo and the others back."
His body shook as Tien stared down at the floor. "We can't," he said. "Since Piccolo's gone, that means Kami's dead as well and without Kami there's no Dragonballs. That means no one can be revived now."
"No, there's another way!" Everyone turned around to look at Goku who had turned his head to look over at the dejected Tien. "Vegeta was saying something about going somewhere else to get his wish granted after Piccolo was killed. He didn't say where though, but now that I think about it, it was probably the planet Piccolo and Kami where originally from.
"What!" exclaimed Tien. "Kami and Piccolo were aliens too?"
The black haired warrior nodded. "Yep, the saiyans said Piccolo was something called a Namek from the Planet Namek and since he and Kami are the same I guess Kami is one too."
"Yeah I remember them saying something like that," chimed in Gohan.
"I think they thought if they went to Piccolo's home world, the other Nameks would also have Dragonballs so all we have to do is go to Planet Namek and use their Dragonballs!" said Goku as he revealed his plan to the others.
The somber mood that had been inside of the plane was replaced with one of jubilances as everyone began to celebrate. The atmosphere was brought back down though when Tien, who hadn't joined the others in celebration, brought the group out of the euphoria.
"That sounds all good and well but that's just speculation based on hearsay from the saiyans. How do we know they weren't lying? Maybe there is no Planet Namek and you're just guessing about Nameks having Dragonballs as well. There's no reason to get your hopes up guys, it's a longshot to begin with."
"Your right Tien," said Bulma. "Even if this planet does exist we don't know where it is so we couldn't get there anyway."
Everyone sunk their heads as Goku's plan was shot down, everyone except for Goku that is. The crippled warrior just continued to stare at the back of Tien's seat.
"Well I was thinking that Tien could ask that guy who trained him in Otherworld where Namek was. He is like the Kami of our entire galaxy right? So he should know where it is."
Tien just shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot but don't get your hopes up Goku." The pessimistic warrior opened his mind and began to reach out as he tried to contact the Northern Kai. While he searched for the blue deities' mind he thought over Goku's plan to revive the others. It was plausible that going to Namek could be the solution but it was far more likely that this would be a dead end. He wasn't going to let himself build up false hope that he could bring back the others; it would just be too painful when that hope was crushed. It would be like losing them twice and he was barely handling losing them once. Shaking his head to try and dispel his wandering thoughts, Tien focused his mind and called out,
King Kai, can you hear me? I need your help with something. It only took a few seconds for the kai to answer his pupil's call.
Oh hello Tien good to hear from you! Tien opened one eye as he noticed everyone jump as King Kai spoke. The deity must have spoken to everyone, not just him when he responded to his call.
"Did anyone else hear that or am I going crazy?" said Master Roshi.
So you what to know where the Planet Namek is huh? Goku opened his mouth to speak before he was interrupted by the kai. Yes, I've been listening in on your little discussion and I'll have the answer for you in a moment. While I have you though I must congratulate you all on a battle well fought everyone! Chi-Chi I was especially impressed by you and how you finished of the big saiyan. Tien, your use of the Kaio-ken was beyond even my wildest dreams! You fought exceptionally well and I'm proud to call you my student.
Tien grinded his teeth together, he really wished people would stop congratulating him for failing, it was insulting. He pushed back his feelings though and responded, Thank you Master.
"How does he know my name?" asked Chi-Chi aloud.
Well I am the guardian of your entire galaxy dear; I am bound to know a few things. For example, the location of Planet Namek is the coordinates 9045XY. How's that for a fun fact? The group heard the kai snickering inside of their heads.
"Did he just say 9045XY?" asked a stunned Bulma. Tien simply nodded his head and the blue haired scientist turned around to look at the Turtle Hermit. "Master Roshi, can you hand me my coordinate calculator."
"Only if you say please," teased the old man. Bulma gave the hermit an evil look and then snatched the calculator out of his hands. The two switched seats as the scientist plugged in the coordinates and Roshi take over piloting the plane.
Yes the Planet Namek, continued King Kai. It was once a very beautiful planet, similar to your Earth but then the weather took a turn for the worse and nearly destroyed all life on the planet. Now there are approximately 100 Namekians left and the surface of the planet is only beginning to recover from the catastrophic storm.
"Here's a question," said Yajirobe. "If they have Dragonballs, why didn't the Nameks use them to make the bad weather go away.
Because they don't have any thought Tien bitterly, not wishing to voice his opinion out loud.
"That's easy," said Roshi from the pilot's seat. "Just like when we tried to wish the saiyans away, you can't make a wish that exceeds the dragon's power."
"I thought if you made a wish on the Dragonballs it would just come true," chimed in Chi-Chi.
The old Turtle Hermit just shook his head. "No that's not how the dragon works. It was created by Kami and thus it can only grant a wish that is within Kami's power to perform."
"Wait do you mean that we would have to go through 100 Piccolos to use their Dragonballs?" asked a terrified Yajirobe. Tien understood the samurai's fear. One Piccolo had caused them enough trouble and was powerful by himself, it would be almost impossible to defeat 100 hundred warriors of that magnitude.
No, no replied King Kai the Nameks are a peaceful people, like Kami. Piccolo was the exception.
"Um guys," said Bulma as she finished her calculations. "I figured out how long it would take us to get to the Planet Namek in the fastest spaceship we have." She held up her calculator so everyone could see the huge number that was displayed on the screen. "It would take us 4,339 years to get to Namek, and that's in light-years."
"Is that long?" asked Goku innocently.
"But Bulma that's using one of our spaceships right?" asked Gohan. The blue haired scientist just nodded at the boy. "Well what if we used a saiyan spaceship to get there?"
"Didn't Vegeta climb into his though and take off into space?" questioned Goku.
"Yes but it was only big enough for one person," said Tien finally deciding to contribute to the conversation. "The other saiyan must have come in another pod."
A light bulb clicked on above the genius' head. "That's brilliant Gohan! I know just where to start looking for it too! I'll call my dad and tell him to go pick it up immediately."
"It's settled then," said Goku excitedly. "We're going to Namek!"
As the others celebrated, Tien just hung his head and looked at the floorboards of the aircraft, still unconvinced that this plan would work.
0o0o0o0o0o0o
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Tien looked over at the closed doors, behind which Goku was being treated by the finest medical team West City had to offer. He cringed as he heard another agonizing scream come from behind the doors and he began to have second thoughts about being treated here himself. Based on the sounds Goku was making, it seemed that these people were even more dangerous than Vegeta was.
"Honestly he makes such a fuss about going to the hospital," said an exasperated Chi-Chi. "You would think they were torturing him in there."
"Maybe they are mom," said a terrified Gohan as he listened to his dad's cries of pains. "You know how strong daddy is, they must be doing something horrible to him in there."
Chi-Chi scoffed. "Nonsense dear, your father's always had a problem with hospitals. I've never understood it, he's one of the strongest men in the world and he can't even stand to get a shot. It's ridiculous how much of a wimp he becomes whenever you even threaten to take him to the doctor."
The doors to the operating room suddenly burst open and a brunette nurse stood in the doorway. "Alright we're ready for the rest of you, if you would just step right this way please." Tien stood up along with Chi-Chi and her son and they all walked over to the door as Master Roshi ogled the nurse. The three eyed warrior smiled a little as he saw the perverted man try and grab the nurse but he was stopped by a smack from Chi-Chi that sent him tumbling to the floor.
"You should be ashamed of yourself Roshi!" hissed the angry housewife.
Tien just shook his head and left the two to their quarrel as he and Gohan entered the operating room. His eyes immediately glanced over to where a team of nurses and doctors were hovering over a table and he heard the boy next to him gasp. Goku was completely wrapped in bandages and they were placing him inside of a giant machine that monitored his condition and administered treatment automatically.
Bile rose up into his mouth as he saw his friend's condition but Tien forced it back down his throat. It was a heavy burden on his conscious to know that it was because of him that the once proud warrior was now reduced to having to rely on a machine. He forced himself to look away and he was led by a nurse to a table of his own were a couple of nurses began to treat his wounds.
The triclops let them do whatever they wanted to him, he knew that they couldn't cure what was really wrong with him. He hadn't sustained any serious physical damage during the battle with the saiyan; it was just that he had depleted all of his energy and that was something no doctor could cure. They wrapped his ribs in bandages, telling him he had cracked a few of them and they gave him some shots to reduce the soreness and to help heal the muscle tears he had suffered when his Kaio-ken had failed. It only took them an hour to treat him but they insisted that he remain in the hospital so they could monitor him. Tien begrudgingly allowed them to take him to his room and he was surprised when he discovered that the Son family had also been assigned to the same room as him.
"I asked if you all could be put in the same room," explained Master Roshi, who was standing over Goku. "I figured it would be better than us running around the entire hospital to visit all of you."
He just nodded as the nurse led him to his bed and after laying down in it, Tien surveyed the room. Everyone that had been on the plane yesterday except for Bulma was here. Their group had also added the Ox King, Chi-Chi's giant father who was an old student of Master Roshi's.
Of course the one person that has valuable information isn't here, thought Tien as he lay in his bed. Bulma, the genius scientist, had left to go examine the space pod Capsule Corporations had dug out of the rumble of East City. She hadn't stopped by yet to tell them whether or not they would be able to use it to travel to Namek yet or not and Tien was beginning to grow anxious. Now that he knew it was an actual possibility to go to Namek, he couldn't keep his mind off of the possibility that they would be able to bring back Chiaotzu and the others.
Finally the woman he had been waiting for slammed the door open. He looked over to see that she had adopted a new hairstyle, letting her hair free of its ponytail and fall down onto her shoulders while some of her bangs were flipped up into the air. Tien had to admit to himself that he thought she looked better now but he quickly dispelled the thought, she was Yamcha's girl after all.
Bulma looked depressed though and she plopped herself down onto Chi-Chi's bed and looked down at the floor despondently. Tien frowned when he noticed the woman's expression, this wasn't good.
"What's wrong Bulma?" asked Gohan.
"Well," she began, "we were examining the pod last night and it looked like it was our ticket to Namek. It was defiantly fast enough, from our calculations it would only take it 6 days to reach Namek, but as we were combing it over one of our scientist accidentally pressed the self-destruct button and it blew into pieces."
Tien along with the others looked at the blue haired woman in horror. They had had it! They had the ability to go to Namek and it had been blown into a million pieces because of a careless error!
"My dad says that most of the key components survived, like the engine and the navigation system. It is possible to build a similar ship with those parts but that would take a while for us to finish, so it looks like the mission to Namek is postponed in defiantly."
Everyone including Tien hung their heads down as their hopes of traveling to Namek all but disappeared. Tien clenched his fist and gnashed his teeth together. This is what I get for letting myself believe that this was possible. You told yourself you wouldn't do this and yet you fall for it at the first opportunity only to have your hopes dashed.
"Did I hear that you were looking for a spaceship?" Tien turned his head to look over at the open window where the unfamiliar voice was originating from. There he saw the black genie he had seen during his brief stay on Kami's Lookout and it seemed like he was standing on a flying carpet.
"Mr. Popo!" exclaimed Chi-Chi as she rushed over to the window to greet the man.
"Mr. Who?" said a confused Roshi.
"That's Mr. Popo," explained Korin. "He's Kami's assistant and he lives on the lookout with him. He and Kami have watched over the Earth for centuries." The Turtle Hermit just mouthed an inaudible O before returning his attention to the black genie.
"I don't believe it! Did you find us another spaceship?" asked Goku.
"Maybe," answered Popo. "Well I believe that it is a spaceship but I require one of you to accompany me and examine it to confirm my suspicions."
Goku turned his head to look at the blue haired scientist. "Bulma?"
Bulma looked down at her crippled friend like he was insane. "What! Why should I have to go?"
"Well let's face Bulma you're the only technical genius we've got so you're the best person to send to find out if this thing is a spaceship or not." Goku gave his friend an innocent smile as she looked at the black genie and then opened her mouth to protest again before finding she had nothing to say. Huffing to display her disapproval, Bulma cautiously walked over to the window and crawled onto the carpet on all fours. Tien heard the woman scream as the carpet suddenly phased out of sight and her and Mr. Popo vanished.
"Let's hope this turns out to be another ship," he muttered as he pushed himself off of his bed. He couldn't stand staying still for too long, it was one of the reasons he and Chiaotzu lived out in the mountains. There's always plenty of room in the untamed wilderness. Tien looked down at the blue gown he was being forced to wear by the hospital staff and a scowl formed on his face. Baby blue was defiantly not his color and he walked over to his drawer and pulled out the green pants he had worn during his fight with the saiyan.
Tien tore the hospital gown off, leaving him in only his boxers. He suddenly felt like he was being watched and he turned around to see that everyone in the room was staring at him. Blood rushed into his cheeks as they reddened and he quickly slipped his green pants on. The three eyed warrior had forgotten that he was sharing a room with everyone else.
"Well since it seems its changing time how about you go next Chi-Chi," said Master Roshi with a devilish smile. He was quickly reprimanded though by a quick punch to his bald head by the woman.
The embarrassed warrior just turned his back on the group as he slipped on his green wrist bracers. The others quickly slipped into different conversations, forgetting about the incident and slowly they all began to leave the room for various reasons. Chi-Chi had gone to find a laundry room, Gohan and the Ox King left to go retrieve his books from their car, Korin and Yajirobe had gone off in search of a vending machine, and Master Roshi was up to his old tricks of harassing the nurses. Soon the only two that remained in the room were Tien and Goku.
Guilt seemed to overwhelm Tien as he stared at the machine his friend was now confined too. He slowly walked over to his friend and stood over him with his head hanging down as he searched for the words to apologize to his friend.
"What's wrong Tien?" asked Goku when he noticed the troubled look on his friend's face. Tien opened his mouth to speak before snapping it shut again.
"I'm sorry Goku," Tien finally said after a long pause. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you. It's my fault that you're in that contraption and I wish that it were me. I let you down, I let everyone down."
Goku watched as Tien slumped into the chair that was beside his bed. The bandages around his ribs threatened to rip as the triclops leaned forward in the chair and his arms lay limply on his knees.
"If only I was here sooner. Than none of this would have happened and we wouldn't need to be scrambling to find a ship to take us to Namek."
"Hey, none of this is your fault. You hear me Tien; nothing that happened was because of you. Especially not this," Goku nodded down at the machine his body was encased in. "This was my own fault for trying to take on that giant ape by myself. I should have sensed that you were still alive but I got caught up in the moment and that's why this happened."
Tien adamantly shook his head. "No, I should have told you about my plan. I should have made sure that you stayed out of harm's way, not when I had already lost so many of the others. I should have at least made sure that you and your family stayed safe."
The black haired warrior laughed weakly. "You couldn't have stopped me from fighting Vegeta even if you tried Tien. Even knowing that this is what awaited me I still would have fought and the rest of my family feels the same way. You're not the only one that wants to keep this planet safe, that's why we all fought the saiyans even knowing that we could be walking into our own deaths."
Goku's face turned grim as he turned his head to look up into the ceiling. "Besides, if it's anyone's fault that our friends were killed it's mine."
The three eyed fighter looked at his friend, stunned by his sudden revelation. "What are you talking about Goku? How is it your fault? You're not the one who had the power to save them but couldn't because you arrived too late."
"The only reason the saiyans came here in the first place is because I'm a saiyan too. That's why Raditz came here, to retrieve me and that's how you got killed and how the other two found out about the Dragonballs. It's my fault they came here at all. If I wasn't a saiyan then they would have never come to Earth in the first place."
"You can't control that Goku!" exclaimed Tien. "You can't just blame yourself because of your DNA. There's nothing you can do about that. There was something that I could have done; I could have been more prepared for them. I could have been on Earth sooner but I wasn't."
They were both silent for a moment before Goku said, "Yeah Tien but you couldn't control when we wished you back. None of us knew that you would have to travel back. In the past everyone always was instantly revived as soon as we made the wish, you couldn't have known that you wouldn't be as well. It's not your fault that you weren't back in time, so you have to quit beating yourself up over it. Just like how you said it's not my fault because I can't control my DNA it's not your fault because you can't control fate."
Tien opened his mouth to say something but just then Chi-Chi entered the room dragging Master Roshi by the ear. The old martial artist's nose was bleeding profusely and a large red lump had formed on his head along with a red hand print on his cheek. The triclops used the entrance of the yelling woman to move away from his friend and end their conversation. He wasn't comfortable opening up to people and he certainly wasn't doing so in front of a crowd.
As the rest of their group slowly trickled into the room, Tien walked over to the window and leaned against the edge and looked down at the steady stream of hover cars that raced passed. Maybe Goku was right, maybe it wasn't his fault that he hadn't been able to save their friends. Was it really fate that had prevented him from arriving in time to be the first one to meet the saiyans when they arrived? Had Chiaotzu and the others been destined to die at the hands of the saiyans?
"Um sir," Tien felt a light tap touch against his shoulder. The triclops turned his head to look over his shoulder to see a nurse standing behind him. He turned around so that he was facing the blonde woman. His eyes caught the woman staring at his naked torso, taking in his muscular form before coming up to meet his gaze.
"Sir, you're not supposed to be out of your gown while you're still admitted in the hospital."
Tien frowned. "Is it really necessary?"
The nurse smiled politely before nodding. "It's the rules, sorry sir."
"Well I'll need a new one," he said nodding towards the remnants of his last gown that lay in a wad on the floor. "I kind of destroyed my last one."
The woman stared wide eyed at the shredded remains of the gown before composing herself and gathering the remains of the blue gown.
"Of course sir," she said after straightening up again. Tien noticed that Master Roshi had a huge grin on his face and he assumed he had just enjoyed a good view. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the nurse in front of him to see that her eyes had again lingered down towards his chest.
"Do you need anything else?" he asked. The nurses' cheeks flushed red when she realized that she had been caught staring.
"Um no sir," she stammered. "But you do know that we could remove that scar for you if you wanted."
Tien's eyes looked down at the deep scar that was across his right pectoral muscle. "Thanks, but no. I keep it as a reminder of my past." He stared at the scar that his mentor Mercenary Tao had given him in the last World Martial Arts Tournament. His old master, the Crane Hermit had his little brother restored as a cyborg and Tao had entered the tournament so that he could kill his former pupil for betraying them. All the assassin had been able to do though was cut him with his hidden blade before Tien had dispatched of him and told him and Master Shen to leave and never to bother him again.
"Oh," said the nurse as Tien was lost in deep thought. "I'll just go and get your new gown then sir." Just as she was turning to leave though, hers eyes widen in fear and she screamed as she fell onto the ground. Tien turned his head and saw that Bulma and the black genie had reappeared on the flying carpet in front of the window. He helped the fallen nurse up before turning around to help Bulma through the window while the genie just hopped through the window.
"Thanks Tien," said Bulma before she ran over to where the rest of the group had gathered around Goku's bed.
"We have our ticket to Planet Namek!" she exclaimed. Tien nearly fell over from her sudden proclamation. So they would be able to travel to Kami's home world after all. The triclops completely zoned out the blue haired scientist as she described her and Mr. Popo's adventure into space as he thought about the prospect of reviving his fallen friends. It almost seemed too good to be true, but here it was a chance to redeem himself and he was not going to let this opportunity slip out of his grasp.
"You were great Mr. Popo!" Tien turned his attention back to the blue haired genius. "I'm glad you're going to Namek with me."
An astonished expression appeared on the genie's face. "Bulma I can't do that. I can't leave the Earth for that long, not with Kami gone. I have to remain and act as guardian until he returns or a replacement is found."
A shocked Bulma turned around to face the black genie. "But you've got to Mr. Popo you're the only one that speaks Namek! If you don't go then who's going to fly the ship?"
"I can teach you Namek Bulma," answered Mr. Popo.
"That's a great idea," said Chi-Chi. "The ship will need a mechanic of your caliber if things go wrong."
Bulma huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine, but I'm not going by myself. Someone is coming with me." She turned her gaze on the fat samurai who quickly put his hands up into the air.
"Wow don't look at me, you couldn't pay me enough to go into space, not even with food."
"Believe me we won't try very hard," retorted Korin.
The genius looked over to the rest of the group. "It should only take around a month each way, at the most."
"I'm going." Everyone turned their heads to look at Tien who was staring down at his clenched fist. "If there's even the slightest chance that going to this Planet Namek will help us revive the others than there's nothing you could do to stop me from going."
Goku nodded at his friend before turning to look at Bulma. "I would love to go with you guys but I think I'm going to be stuck in this contraption for a while."
"I'll see if I can get you some senzu beans to help speed up your recovery Goku," said Korin.
"I'm going too." Tien glanced down at the young boy that was sitting on the bed next to him.
"Gohan what are you saying?" asked the boy's mother who seemed like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.
"Mom I have to go. If this is what it takes to bring Mr. Piccolo back then I have to go and make sure that we can bring him back."
Chi-Chi was trembling and Tien thought she was about to explode at her son before she pivoted on her foot so that she was facing Bulma. "Well if Gohan's going than so am I!"
"It's settled then," said Goku.
"Yeah," Bulma said still a little rattled by Chi-Chi screaming at her. "We can leave as soon as the ship's fixed up and I learn enough Namek to fly the thing."
0o0o0o0o0o0o
"That's great the ship's all fixed up!" said Chi-Chi excitedly as she talked over the phone with her friend.
"Yeah we can leave as soon as Mr. Popo finishes teaching me Namek. It only should be a few more days before we're blasting off into space."
"That's great Bulma! I'll be sure to tell the others. Alright, I'll let you get back to work, bye." Chi-Chi put the phone back into the receiver and sighed. It wouldn't be long before she and her son where off in space facing only Kami knows what. What if her son caught some strange space disease that she couldn't find a cure too?
"What did Bulma say?" asked Goku. Chi-Chi turned around to look at her bed-ridden husband. It was sad that he been reduced to having to remain inside of a machine so he could recover. She and Gohan had been released from the hospital two days ago and Tien was scheduled to be discharged today after one final examination.
"She said the ship's all fixed up and that we're going to leave as soon as she's done learning Namek."
"That's great honey. I'm so glad that you're letting Gohan go. It will be a good experience for him."
"Humph, the only reason I'm letting him go is because he's so adamant about it, plus I'll be there to make sure my baby's okay."
"You don't need to coddle him Chi; he can take care of himself just fine."
The housewife looked down at her husband with scorn. "He is five Goku. Just because you lived by yourself when you were a child doesn't mean I'm going to let Gohan live that way too. I promised when he was born that I was going to make sure that he was educated when he grew up, something you missed out on in your childhood."
"It's not all that great Chi-Chi," mumbled Goku as his wife continued her monologue.
"He's so far behind in his studies because Piccolo took him and prevented him from learning a single thing last year. Well I'll make sure he begins catching up while we're in space. I'll be sure to bring all of his textbooks and all the educational equipment I just bought him. Oh, it will be such good mother-son bonding to travel through space together while I teach him all about Algebra and Biology!"
Goku gaged at his wife's speech just as a blonde nurse walked into the room. The nurse looked around the room before saying, "Excuse me, but have either of you seen Mr. Shinhan? I've been sent by the doctor to retrieve him for his final examination before he's discharged."
Chi-Chi sighed before turning to face the nurse. "I'll go get him." The housewife walked over to the window and opened it. She then focused her energy on her feet and she began to hover a few inches off the ground to the shock of the nurse. Chi-Chi then flew out of the window and angled herself upwards so that she began flying higher into the sky. The nurse just stood there in complete shock while Goku just chuckled.
The black haired beauty quickly ascended up the building, with her purple dress flapping wildly as her body cut through the air. It only took her a moment to land on the top of the roof where a bright crimson aura was ablaze. Inside of the aura stood Tien and his entire body shook from the strain his technique was causing his body. Off to the side sat Master Roshi and Gohan, who were staring at the triclops in awe as the waves of power pulsating off of the man washed over them.
"Honestly I told him there was no reason to come up here today, he is being released after all," said an exasperated Chi-Chi as she waited for the man to finish using his technique to talk to him. For the past few days, Tien had been coming up to the roof to train and per the group's request he was always accompanied by Roshi to ensure he didn't kill himself. When they would come to visit, Gohan also came up here to watch the warrior train.
The crimson aura dissipated as Chi-Chi felt the wind that had been blowing her hair back cease and she saw that Tien had collapsed onto the ground. The three eyed man eyes were wide as he panted heavily, his head only a few inches above the ground. The housewife saw her son eyeing the stopwatch in his hands before standing up in excitement.
"27 seconds!" he exclaimed. "That's the longest you've ever been able to stay in Kaio-kenx5 isn't it Mr. Tien."
"Yeah that's right Gohan," breathed out Tien as he slowly stood up.
"You just amaze me more and more everyday Tien," said an astonished Turtle Hermit. "I can still remember when I could go blow for blow with you. I believe it's safe to say those days are over huh son."
Tien laughed. "Maybe if you would stop chasing women around all the time and did some training of your own you might be able to."
The old man was about to respond when Chi-Chi decided to let her presence be known. "Tien I thought you promised you wouldn't overdue it up here."
The three eyed warrior looked over at the woman before responding. "I'm not, promise."
"Uh huh," she said skeptically. "Then why we're just lying on the ground out of breath a few seconds ago." Tien just gave the woman a shrug before she turned on the old hermit. "And you, you're supposed to be making sure he doesn't hurt himself not encouraging him to do so!"
Roshi raised his hands, "I promise I wasn't Chi-Chi. He wasn't overdoing it I swear!"
The housewife sighed before turning back to Tien. "The nurse came by and said that they're ready for you now." Tien looked over at the old man and nodded. The Turtle Hermit returned the nod before looking over at Gohan.
"Why don't you walk down with me Gohan and then will go see your dad."
"Alright Master Roshi." The two walked over to the door that led back down into the hospital while Tien walked over to stand where Chi-Chi was standing. The housewife watched the man curiously as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that the hermit and her son had left before coming to stand next to her.
"I need to talk to you about something," he said. Tien nodded over to the edge of the roof and the two walked over to the edge and the fighter leaned against it, staring into the skyline of West City. Chi-Chi remained standing upright, her eyes fixated on the three eyed fighter.
"What did you want to talk about?" she asked apprehensively.
He glanced over at the housewife before returning his gaze to the bustling city. "It's about the upcoming trip to Namek."
"Oh that reminds me," said Chi-Chi. "Bulma called and said that the ship's repairs were finished and that we'd leave as soon as she finished her lessons with Mr. Popo."
Tien sighed and then stood straight up and turned so that he was face to face with Chi-Chi. The housewife felt a little intimidated as the man towered over her, staring down at her with his stoic expression that drove home the message that he was deadly serious.
"I don't want you to come with us to Namek."
Chi-Chi raised her eyebrows at the man's request. "And why is that Tien," she hissed, her voice dropping dangerously low.
"I just think it would be more beneficial if you remained on Earth." Tien's eyes didn't even blink as he and Chi-Chi stared each other down.
The housewife narrowed her eyes as she turned away from the three eyed man and walked a few steps away. "What possible reason could you have that makes it seem like it would be a good idea for me to stay on Earth while my son blasts off into space?"
"I actually have three." Chi-Chi spun around to see that the triclops was holding up three of his fingers. He dropped two of them, leaving only his index finger up before he continued speaking.
"One, and this is the least important one, is that Gohan won't gain anything from the experience if you come along."
"What are you talking about!" yelled Chi-Chi. "I would be able to teach Gohan so much during the trip. We could probably cover a whole textbook just on the trip there!"
Tien shook his head. "That's not what I'm talking about. This trip is much more than a month long journey to a distant planet to him. This journey is a test of self-worth to him. He's set out to prove to himself that he isn't worthless like he believes he is right now. He can't gain the confidence he so desperately needs right now with you there holding his hand every step of the way."
Chi-Chi shook her head. What was Tien talking about? Her little boy thought he was worthless? "How do you know all of this?"
The three eyed fighter leaned against the wall of the roof and stared up into the sky. "It's obvious from his body language. When he thinks no one is watching him, his shoulders slump and he hangs his head staring at the floor despondently. I know what he's thinking because I use to wonder the same question when I was younger. Was I worthy? Did I actually matter? Would it be better off if I wasn't around? It was only after I gained experience and proved to myself my own self-worth that I was finally able to stop questioning every action I took. This trip well be worth more to him than any month's worth of book studying, even in the realm of becoming a great scholar like you want him too."
The housewife leaned against the edge of the roof as well, unable to comprehend what Tien was telling her. Her son didn't think he was valuable? That was a silly thing to think, of course he was valuable! He was the most valuable thing in the world to her. But she couldn't deny the truth in the three eyed warrior's words. She too had seen Gohan with his head bowed and his shoulders slumped, but she had dismissed it as him being sad that his mentor, Piccolo, had been killed. Now though she could see that it was his mentor's death and him questioning his own self-worth. The two went hand and hand.
"Two," Chi-Chi looked up from the ground to where Tien was standing with two fingers held up now. "You need to stay here so you can keep Goku company. I don't care how happy he seems; Master Roshi told me that he's depressed by the fact that he can't accompany us to Namek. It's one of the reasons he convinced me to have this conversation with you. Roshi's known Goku longer than anyone besides Bulma and he's spent the most time around him, even more than you so I trust his judgment on this."
"So now you're saying that I don't even know my own husband!" Chi-Chi stood up straight and rammed her finger into the man's chest. She noticed that he didn't even blink. "I know he's a little bummed out by the fact that he can't go because of his injuries but he's upset just because he isn't going to be a part of this one adventure."
Tien shook his head. "You're only partially right, but it's more than that. You see Goku feels responsible for the other's deaths. He told me that it was his fault because he was a saiyan and that's why Raditz came here in the first place. Now he feels that he can't make it up to them because he won't be able to come and help wish them back even though he feels like it was his fault that we have to go there in the first place. So right now he needs someone else, like his wife to stay behind and support him."
Chi-Chi stepped away from the man and gripped her hands around the edge of the wall. She had no idea that was how her husband felt. He always put on a happy face around her, never seeming to be serious at all. Sometimes he would whine a little but he usually always gave into her demands with a smile on his face. He never came to her with any of his problems, most of the time she thought he had none. But now she was being told that he was unhappy and depressed and she hadn't even noticed. Had she really been that blind?
"Three," She didn't even bother to lift her head to see the three fingers she knew were raised on his hand. "This is the most important reason and one that I haven't told anyone else yet." Chi-Chi lifted her head to look into the intense gaze of the triclops.
"The saiyans aren't the greatest threat to this planet." She stared at the man, completely stunned by his statement. The saiyans had just killed almost all of their friends, the strongest warriors Earth had to offer, and had completely annihilated one of the planet's biggest cities in a matter of seconds.
"What do you mean Tien?" she asked worried. "You fought against them, they were easily the biggest threat the Earth has ever seen. If it wasn't for you, the one called Vegeta would have destroyed the entire planet."
Tien sighed as he looked out at the city again before continuing. "While I was training with King Kai, he told me that the saiyans were part of an organization that went to planets and wiped out every living thing on the planet before selling it to the highest bidder. The being in charge of this organization is the strongest fighter in the entire galaxy, one that makes me look like a grain of sand compared to the vast desert that is his power." The female fighter listened to the man, clinging to every word as he continued to describe this new threat.
"Since the saiyans knew how to get here, it's a safe bet to assume that this Planet Trade Organization, as King Kai called them, has the location of Earth as well. It is very likely that they will send a team to purge the planet sometime or another. King Kai told me that Earth is the prime example of planets they pick because its natural beauty would bring high profits. The probability of this happening has only increased since we beat back the saiyans. They might come looking for payback or maybe just because we have powerful fighters they would see us as a threat that needs to be eliminated. Since there is a very high likely hood that this could happen I don't feel comfortable leaving the Earth completely undefended."
"So you want me to stay behind as the Earth's defender," whispered Chi-Chi.
The man nodded. "Yes, since you were the one that defeated the other saiyan I know you're capable and with Goku out of commission, you're the only person I can entrust with this. However this means that you have to train every day to become stronger because since they know that someone here beat Vegeta, it's likely they'll send someone even stronger now."
"You think I can become even stronger than that saiyan," said Chi-Chi breathlessly. It had taken everything she had just to beat the big one and Vegeta had claimed that he had been three times as powerful as he was!
"I believe so." Chi-Chi looked into Tien's eyes and saw that there wasn't a hint of deceit in them. "You have enormous potential Chi-Chi, it's one of the reasons your son has as much as he does. He has your DNA in him as well as Goku's you know. But as I said, you're going to have to dedicate everyday we're gone to training to become as strong as possible. The fate of the entire planet will rest on your shoulders alone while we're gone and Goku is stuck in the hospital."
Chi-Chi staggered backwards as it seemed that a giant weight suddenly crushed down onto her shoulders. Was she really up to the task of being the sole defender of Earth? Could she handle the pressure and live up to the enormous expectations Tien had just placed on her? Yes, yes she could she told herself as she stood up straight, bringing the added weight of her new responsibility with her.
"Before I agree to stay you have to promise me that you'll take care of Gohan," demanded the protective mother as she stared into the man's eyes.
"Of course," agreed Tien. "He won't come to any harm while he's with me. I might even force Bulma to give him a science lesson or two while we're traveling as an added bonus."
Chi-Chi laughed before extending her hand towards the three eyed warrior. "Then I agree to stay behind and defend the Earth while you are in space bringing our friend's back."
The warrior took the woman's hand and as their hands touched, it seemed to Chi-Chi like a spiritual energy flowed out of Tien and into her as the title of Defender of Earth was passed on to her.
Here it is the first chapter in the Namek Saga! I know some of you wanted Chi-Chi to go along with to Namek, but I have other plans for her later on and it's important she stays on Earth. I hope that I did a descent job writing the slower parts of the story and I would like you, the readers, to let me know how I did. It would be greatly appreciated seeing as how this is the part I feel I struggle writing. I'm looking forward to seeing what your feedback is and thanks for reading!