Author's Note: My favorite Dragon Ball Z ark is actually a tie between the Android and Buu sagas. I honestly liked all of them, but those two introduced characters that I really enjoyed (you know, the Androids and Buu, of course).
© An anime/manga by Akira Toriyama
Chapter II: Welcome to Earth
Raditz seemed to almost flicker behind the three of them, moving even quicker than they last remembered. He elbowed Goku and Piccolo, as well as threw up his knee to kick Suna in the gut. Though, thankfully, each of them were able to lurch away before any bad damage could be done. With the pressure from Raditz's attacks only partially digging into their backs. However, shock was written on each of their faces as they were visibly surprised by his swiftness. This was something Raditz took great enjoyment in.
'He's so... fast...' Suna thought to herself. The saiyan woman narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists.
A bead of sweat rolled down Piccolo's face. 'He practically disappeared...' He was damn near undetectable with the naked eye. If this was what they were going to be up against, they were going to have quite a hard time.
Raditz roared in laughter. "Well, it's good to know that you all can take a punch! Here I thought I'd get bored. Keep this up... and this battle can prove to be interesting." He grinned, almost maniacally. "Killing you will be more fun this way. I'm only getting warmed up, so you better hope I finish you before I really get serious."
They each looked quite stricken by that information, they were under the guise that he'd already been fighting at full power. 'Can he really be that much more powerful?' Suna questioned in her mind as she eyed Raditz down. He could have only just been saying that in an attempt to chill them (an attempt that definitely worked). Raditz was very egotistic, and that lead the possibility of him over exaggerating the amount of power he truly did have. It was plausible, but there was also the chance he wasn't being untruthful. For Suna, the uncertainty was what shook her the most.
She shook her head. "You might be able to talk a big game, but let's just see about that. Huh?" she dare say.
Raditz chuckled, gusty one. "If you want me to prove it, then come over here." Suna glanced at Goku and Piccolo, the second she saw them both make a move she rushed forward right along with them. Admittedly, she felt lighter now that her boots were off of her feet. It'd been a while since she fought this way.
In an attempt to overpower him, they all simultaneously attacked Raditz with a series of kicks and punches, being certain to avoid knocking into one another. Goku grit his teeth when he saw his "brother" dodging each attack nearly effortlessly. Seeing that this wasn't working, they separated from each other. Scattered around him as quickly as they could, they continued to attack him at multiple different angles to more thoroughly divide his attention; in order to find an opening somewhere. Thinking they'd found one after some time of attacking, Goku and Piccolo flickered behind Raditz's back while Suna continued to try and keep his fixation on her. Though, before either men could do anything, Raditz surprised them both when he kicked himself into the air and booted them both square in the face. Suna's right arm was tightly grabbed, and she hissed in pain when it was twisted and used to throw her behind the tall saiyan.
She caught herself, much like the others did, and the battle was quickly taken to the skies. He weaved around them all each time a physical attack was thrown his way, and it was appearing that they wouldn't be gaining the upper hand any time soon if they didn't think of something soon.
Raditz jetted up high into the sky, and the three followed just as he expected them to. He held his arms straight down, his hands loosely curled into fists as he watched them approach. His lips twitched into a smirk as he charged energy. "Right where I want you..." he muttered to himself as he shot ki blasts at them.
With wide eyes, they dodged the blasts as soon as they saw them approach. Each one missed and explosively landed to the earth, leaving the three of them unscathed. It was a close call, one that Piccolo found to be a little to easy, judging from the swiftness Raditz displayed not very long ago. When said saiyan man crossed his mind, his head darted around in search of him. He was nowhere to be seen.
A bit on edge by this discovery, Piccolo quickly descended to the ground with Goku and Suna following suit. "Did either of you see where he went?!" Piccolo asked, still glancing around.
Suna, breathing in and out of her mouth, shook her head. "No... I think he might be hiding." she guessed. Then she gasped loudly once she actually looked at Piccolo. "Piccolo, your arm!" He hadn't dodged the blast quick enough, his left arm was missing.
Piccolo, breathing on the quick side himself, replied. "Don't worry about it... it isn't as bad as it looks. Trust me." He held his arm at the severing point. "If he really is hiding then that's mighty cowardly. Especially for someone who's suppose to be a warrior."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, guys." Goku said, looking around as well. He was beginning to get the feeling that Raditz hadn't planned to hit them with that attack at all. Rather, used it as a distraction so he could get the drop on them. Goku clenched his fists. "Raditz! Where are you?!"
"Right here," Goku heard from behind. Before he could even react he was kicked hard in the back and knocked away. Goku didn't even have the time to recover midair, he landed hard against the ground and skid to a slow stop. Now, he lay flat on his stomach. "Oh come now, that was just too easy." Raditz stated as he watched Suna help Goku sit up. "I can't believe that you would even fall for such a juvenile trick, Kakarot. Although, I probably shouldn't be surprised." He crossed his arms. "I must say, I'm a little disappointed in you all. Just because you're going to die doesn't mean you can't at least try and make this entertaining."
Piccolo narrowed his eyes, then they flickered over to Goku and Suna once the former was on his feet. "I wouldn't suppose either of you have any new tricks up your sleeve? Now would be a great time to use them."
"Nothing aside from what I already know." Suna admitted.
"I don't have any new techniques either." Goku said. "Sorry to disappoint you."
The green man scoffed. "Sounds like you've been slacking. Lucky for you two, I've actually developed a new move."
"Whisper your plans all you want." Raditz commented. "No matter what, it's futile."
Suna scoffed at his words and looked at Piccolo. "Is it strong enough to shut this guy up?" she inquired.
He nodded. "Yes, it should be."
"Is your arm not going to be an issue?" Goku questioned, sounding genuinely concerned.
"My arm isn't where the problem lies. The attack itself takes quite a bit of time to charge." he clarified. "Five minutes to be exact. So if you really want me to use it, that's how long you two will have to hold him off for."
"Your call, Goku." Suna said.
He appeared to be giving it quite some thought, then nodded his head. "Alright, if you're positive it'll work."
Piccolo chuckled. "Yeah, that's another thing... I'm not sure if it will or not. I've never actually tested it against an opponent before, so there's a possibility it won't work."
"I say we take that chance." Suna added. "We need anything we can get right now."
"I agree." Goku nodded.
"I guess that's settled then." Piccolo said. "You know, I have to be honest. I never expected to use this attack on anyone other than you, Goku. I developed it for the sole purpose of killing you."
"And in an ironic twist, you use it to help him instead." Suna joked.
Goku chuckled a little at his female friend's words. "I hope that doesn't mean you're disappointed, Piccolo."
"Not at all, I'd be happy to use it to kill this smug bastard." Piccolo said with a smirk. "Doesn't mean I can't still use it on you too."
"I think I'll be able to watch out for it once I see you use it."
The green man gave an amused smirk. "Good, I wouldn't expect any less from you. Good luck, the both of you." Both Goku and Suna nodded, taking deep breathes, before charging for Raditz again once Piccolo began to charge his energy.
xxx
Goku had shot the kamehameha wave at Raditz, one of his strongest attacks, hoping it would be enough to weaken him and heighten their chance of victory. Though, actually landing the attack on the man was trickier than he anticipated. Raditz darted all over the place to try and avoid it, and Goku was curving it every which way to follow him. Suna flew some distance away from Raditz's side, forming large ki blasts in her hands and firing them as quick as she could. She hoped it would distract him just long enough for Goku's attack to hit. However, Raditz used his arm to block each one of them away. His guard did not lower, and he'd glance back to see how close the energy beam was getting to him.
He grit his teeth. "Enough of this damn nonsense!" he exclaimed. Still running, he caught one of Suna's ki blasts and threw it back at her. Just as she dodged out of the way, Raditz appeared directly in front of her. He caught her with a hard kick that flung her to the side. She flew some distance away before she fell on her shoulder. Then he turned around to face the beam, his hands out in front of him to catch it.
When it hit him, it exploded in white light and smoke. Suna rolled onto her stomach and threw her arms over her head as she felt the force from the blast. Little rocks and things flew past, some hitting her, and when it died down she shakily pushed herself up to look at him.
"Damn it," she cursed, seeing that Raditz was unharmed.
"He caught my attack!" Goku exclaimed in shock.
Raditz only stood there as the smoke continued to clear away. Both Goku and Suna stared at him with wide eyes. Suna glanced at Piccolo, seeing the built up energy glow and crackle in his fingers. She hoped his attack was almost charged.
A chuckle rumbled in the towering saiyan's chest. "Well, that was new." he commented. "I have to admit, I didn't expect your power level spike like it did." He smirked. "But let your brother show you how it's really done!" Before he could have had the chance to dodge, Goku was hit by a red energy beam. One so powerful that it ripped his gi and caused him to fall from the sky.
Suna, willing herself to get back up, charged energy spheres in both of her hands and flew straight for him. Raditz, feeling her approach, turned to Suna just in time to see her place her hands together side-by-side. With a yell, she shot her light blue ki beam at him. He crossed his arms up in front of him and took the blast head on. This didn't make her let up in the slightest, she continued to discharge her attack until she'd gotten close to him. When she did, she threw her leg out in an attempt to catch him in the head. He blocked the move with his arm, initiating quick jabs and punches.
Raditz either blocked or dodged them all, genuinely amused at her trying so hard. Inevitably he grew tired of this dodging game and used his quickness over Suna to overpower her. The very second he saw the opportunity, he punched her across the face. Phasing her for just long enough for the tables to turn, now it was he throwing the punches; punches that Suna was not fast enough to evade nor block. She was hit everywhere, steadily being pushed back by the force.
She finally caught an uppercut to the jaw that launched her pretty high up into the air. It was a kick to the back that rocketed her back to the ground and left a small crater around her. Her face throbbed in dull pain, and her chest hurt. She was certain something was broken, most likely a rib. Groaning, she lifted a hand to wipe away the trickle of blood that ran from her mouth.
She stiffened when Raditz suddenly appeared in front of her, looking as if her were ready to attack again. It was the urgent beeping from his scouter that prevented such from happening. With a stricken look, he turned around to see that the energy level was in fact coming from Piccolo.
'His energy level!' he thought. 'It's increasing even more than Kakarot's!' He'd underestimated those two a little too much.
Piccolo chuckled. "What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost." He narrowed his eyes. "This isn't like the kamehameha wave, I'd love to see you try and catch this one." Raditz clenched his fists tightly. His scouter was now reading his power as thirteen-hundred and thirty, there was no way he could block an attack that strong.
But he refused to show any unease to this green whelp. "Alright then, go ahead. Let's see what you've got!"
"Gladly!" Pointing his fingers at Raditz, Piccolo exclaimed: "Special beam canon!" A colorful, clearly powerful beam shot out of his fingertips and towards his intended target. Goku and Suna couldn't watch for very long. Once the attack hit, the area was covered in a bright (one could even say blinding), white light and smoke. The ground shook from the beam's intensity, making it a challenge for Suna and Goku to keep their footing.
Everyone had their eyes covered, waiting until everything died down to open them. When they did, their stomachs had dropped at what they saw. Piccolo's beam had hit a mountain far away from them, and Raditz instead had only been grazed on the shoulder.
"Well, that hurt." Raditz winced as he touched the blazing red, bleeding skin on his right shoulder. "It even cut through my saiyan armor. Lucky for me, your aim is awful."
Piccolo was very unpleased. "All that effort... for nothing."
"Now that that's done, I have a little trick of my own." Raditz smirked. "Remember? The one that I couldn't show you earlier?"
"Y-Yeah... I know the one..." Piccolo said, beginning to tremble a little. Goku and Suna looked at each other, neither knowing what they were speaking of.
"Good, do you remember the name as well?" Raditz asked. He lifted his hand into the air, the white energy didn't take very long to gather in his hand before he shouted. "Double sundae!" He charged at Piccolo, but before he could even get close he froze in place. The sphere in his hand quickly evaporated, and he turned around to see that Goku had a grip on his tail.
"Hehe... got you." Goku chuckled.
"Alright Goku!" Suna cheered while Piccolo visibly relaxed.
"You left yourself wide open." Goku said. "You should have been watching your back. This must be pretty painful, huh? I remember it hurting pretty bad whenever someone gripped my tail like this too." Just as he admitted so, he squeezed Raditz's tail. The large man immediately crumbled to his knees and he shook in clear pain.
"You... y-you—" Raditz couldn't even get it out.
"Piccolo, now would be a pretty good opportunity to use that attack again." Suna suggested. "Think you can manage?"
The green man nodded. "Yeah, no problem. As long as Goku holds him still. I won't be able to use it again after this."
She turned to said man. "You hear that Goku? Whatever you do, don't let him go!"
With a very worrisome look on his face, Raditz craned his head around to look at his brother. "K-Kakarot... please! You aren't really going to allow this, are you?! I'm your brother!"
It was then that Suna recalled his earlier words to her when she tried to pull that same card. 'So what? I'm suppose to give a damn and show him sympathy, just because we happen to share blood?' "Goku, don't listen to him!"
"I'm not!" Goku defended. "He kidnapped you and Gohan and tried to kill me!" He looked down at him. "If that weren't bad enough, you said you'd exterminate all the life on this planet! You didn't care about us being brothers before, you're insane if you think I'd let you go now!"
"I didn't mean any of that, I was only bluffing. I swear!" Raditz exclaimed. "I'd have done and said anything to make you join us, Kakarot!" His head snapped back after catching a ki beam to the face.
"Shut up with all that nonsense!" Suna shouted. She shot a barrage of energy blasts at Raditz, each one coming into impact with his head, before she finally stopped and spoke again. This time, to Goku. "This is just some stupid trick!"
"She's right, you ought to know that, Goku!" Piccolo cried in agreement. "He'd say anything to make you let him go, don't fall for such a trap!"
"It isn't a trick!" Raditz defended. "I swear, I was never going to actually kill anyone! I wouldn't have even hurt the boy! I would have left this planet the second I realized Kakarot couldn't be swayed, honest! I would never harm my own flesh and blood!" Another ki blast exploded against his face, again from Suna.
"Enough of your lying already!" she yelled.
"Suna, stop it!" Goku exclaimed, much to the surprise of her and Piccolo.
"Goku, you can't really be buying into this crap!" Piccolo stated in disbelief. "Don't be such a damn fool!"
Goku merely ignored him. "You promise you'll leave?"
Raditz quickly nodded his head. "Yes! Yes I'll leave, just let me go! I beg you!" he pleaded. Goku really seemed like he was considering it.
Suna grit her teeth. As much as she loved Goku, he was far too optimistic. "Don't you do it Goku! Goku!" Piccolo's attempts to make Goku see reason were in vain, Suna's know him long enough to understand that it wouldn't work. If Goku was sure a person could change their ways he'd give them the chance. "Goku, don't!"
"Goku, if you don't want to hold him down then let me do it!" Suna surely wouldn't let him go if he did, no matter the amount of crap that spewed from his mouth.
"No, don't!" Raditz continued to beg. "I'll leave as soon as you let me go, I'll never come back! I swear to you, Kakarot. Just please give me a chance!" That last phrase seemed to be the magic words, Raditz felt his tail slip from Goku's grasp.
"No!" Piccolo roared. That was probably the only chance they were going to have!
The very second that Raditz was on his feet he elbowed Goku in the face. When Goku launched backwards and landed on his back Raditz was quickly stood over him, a foot pressed hard against his chest to keep him in place. He made sure to wrap his tail around his waist, they wouldn't be grabbing it again. "You sentimental fool, I can't believe you bought that ridiculousness!" he laughed. "Your earth living has turned you far too soft, you're no saiyan warrior!"
Suna was quick to fly straight for Raditz, hoping to take his attention off of Goku. But before she could throw a punch, his arm shot out lightning fast and grabbed her by the throat. Her eyes widened and she grabbed at his wrist, something that made Raditz squeeze her neck tighter as she began to choke. He chuckled. "Woman, you'd have been better off standing back like your green friend over there. You would have lived just a bit longer." he stated before stomping on Goku's chest full force. Goku howled in agony as he felt his ribs snap. "Now, say uncle!" He repeatedly stomped on Goku while keeping a tight grasp on Suna's throat. He turned his head to look back at Piccolo. "You're looking a little blue back there. What's wrong? Weren't you going to try that attack on me again?"
"Damn it," Piccolo cursed. "I don't have time..."
Raditz looked back down at Goku. "You're an embarrassment to saiyan kind, brother." he spat. Lifting his free hand preparing to strike him with a finishing move. "So now you have to die!" He saw flashing red through his scouter, and he froze. A very large power level was coming from somewhere near. "What in the blazes..." He looked around for its source, not seeing or sensing anyone else nearby. He hoped it was only a fluke, maybe his scouter was acting up. "Impossible... I don't see anything." It was then then that a loud noise was heard, it sounded like bending metal. Looking towards the large crater in the ground, Raditz's eyes widened as he witness his pod blow apart and Gohan shot into the air. "W-What—" He was at a loss for words. His weakling nephew actually blasted himself out. What's more, he was where the power level was coming from.
Suna stared in shock as she witnessed Gohan's chi ferociously radiating off of him. He shook with anger as tears streamed down his cheeks, looking at Raditz with pure hatred in his eyes. "You leave my daddy alone!" Gohan roared, then he shot off like a rocket; going straight for Raditz. The man was in far too much shock to make any move to dodge, and instead took a headbutt to the stomach. It shattered his armor in that general spot and made him release his hold on Suna. She fell to the ground, gasping for air while Raditz landed some yards away.
Goku pushed himself up onto one elbow, looking at Suna. "S-Suna... are you alright?"
"I think I should be asking you that." she rasped in the middle of her coughing spell. She held her red neck, then turned around and saw Gohan on his hands and knees. She didn't know where his sudden power surge came from, but they were very lucky for it.
"Gohan," Goku called, and his son immediately looked in his direction.
"Daddy!" Gohan exclaimed. He got up and ran towards Goku just as Raditz stood on his feet. Before Gohan could reach his father, Raditz stood in his way.
"You little—" Where in the hell had that come from?! He was lucky he was wearing armor! "Nobody has ever landed such a powerful hit on me! Your power level was well over a thousand and now it's at five again!" His eyes narrowed. "You hold a lot more saiyan might in you than I thought."
"Gohan, run!" Goku cried, but the young boy was too scared to move. He stared up at Raditz in a state of shaken fear.
"That type of power can be very bothersome." With that, Raditz backhanded Gohan away. He didn't even feel when he hit the ground, the harsh blow knocking him unconscious.
The three of the stared in disbelief. "You beast!" Suna shouted. "He's just a boy!"
Raditz scoffed. "Yes, he is just a boy... a boy who's stronger than all of you." He turned to her. "Unfortunately for you, 'he's just a boy' doesn't excuse the fact he could be a danger to me if he learned to control all that power." He raised his hand at Gohan. "For that reason, he must die."
Though Goku was in seering pain, the thought of his son being harmed was what gave him the strength to get up and latch himself onto Raditz's back. He hooked his arms under him in a full nelson and held on as tightly as he could. "Don't touch my son!" Goku yelled in his ear.
"What?!" Raditz shouted, trying to knock Goku off of his back. Though he moved very stiffly, Gohan's attack had weakened him quite an amount. "Get off!"
Suna stood on her feet, and turned to the green man. "Piccolo—"
"I was already on it!" Piccolo exclaimed. Sure enough, his special beam had been charging up in his fingers again. "You better not let him go this time, Goku!"
"Don't worry, I won't!" Goku said.
"Wait, K-Kararot! Don't do this!" Raditz exclaimed, knowing he wouldn't be able to dodge out of the way this time. "You're not really going to let him kill me, are you?!"
"That's not gonna work on me this time! You had your chance and you blew it!" Goku reminded him. "Piccolo, whenever you can, don't hesitate to take the hit!"
"No!" Raditz shouted.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Piccolo took aim, and with a yell he fired the shot. It cut straight through both Raditz and Goku, knocking the latter off of his back. They both hit the ground, unmoving.
"Goku!" Suna knew it had to be done, but it was still hard to watch. She ran to him and dropped down at his side, staring at the gaping hole in his torso.
"S-Suna..." Goku trailed. "I don't think I have a lot of time to talk... so I'll get straight to the point. Make sure... make sure Gohan is okay. W-Will you?" Goku rasped.
Suna nodded her head, swiping away a tear that formed in her right eye. "Fine, whatever." she chuckled. "But don't talk like you'll be gone forever, you're coming back Goku."
Goku chuckled as well. "Yeah... I am..."
"You...bastard." They heard Raditz rasp. He still wasn't dead yet. "Look at what you've done to me!" He spat out blood and writhed around on this ground in agonizing pain, severely wounded.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes. He looked over at Suna. "Hey!" he called. "I don't have any energy left to finish the job, you're gonna have to do it!"
Suna released Goku's hand and turned to Piccolo. Standing up again, she looked down at the still twitching saiyan. "I can't do that." Suna stated.
"W-What?" Goku stammered.
"Excuse me?" Piccolo asked. "What do you mean you can't? Goku's dying and I'm burned out. So yes, you can. Do it already!" he demanded.
"Okay, I'll rephrase." She crossed her arms. "I won't do that." She walked over to Raditz and pressed of foot to his chest, adding pressure until he started to cry out in pain. "Did you tell those other saiyans where you were going?"
"Yes!" he answered quickly, in hopes she would let up. But she pressed harder.
"Really now?" She turned to look at Piccolo. "You hear that? Chances are his little friends are gonna come here looking for him if he doesn't go home. Dead or not."
Piccolo scoffed. "If that's the case, then why don't you kill him already?"
"Because now we have our own little weasel." she answered. She looked down at Raditz. "So, how about it? Are they gonna show their faces here, or what?"
Raditz chuckled. "Everything I've said and done on this planet has been transferred over to them through the device attached to my ear." he said, to answer her question. "It should only take them a year to arrive and avenge me."
She lifted her foot off him. "No need to avenge you if you're not gonna die."
"You're going to let him live?!" Piccolo exclaimed. If she wanted to waste time playing twenty questions she could at least just leave him here to rot afterwards! "Are you crazy or just stupid?!"
Suna sighed. "Maybe a bit of both..." she muttered to herself. "Only until he tells us everything we need to know. If we wanna really be prepared for those guys, we'll need it."
"Ha!" Raditz laughed. "Good luck trying to get me to talk!" he sarcastically commented. It earned himself a hard stomp against the hole in his stomach from Suna's foot. "Hrk!"
"Shut up!" she shouted at him. "I didn't ask you for lip!" She leaned down and helped him up, putting most of his weight against her. He was heavier than he looked, it would take a while to fly him all the way to capsule corp. "I'm taking him to Bulma, I'll come back for Gohan afterwards to bring him home. Hopefully you won't mind watching him until then?"
Piccolo shook his head. "I don't think so, I'm taking the boy."
"...What?" He couldn't be serious. "I'm more than certain Chichi, his mother, won't let you do that."
"Who said I was telling her?" Piccolo walked over to Gohan, after regenerating his arm. "You heard what he said, this kid has a lot of untapped power. You saw it yourself." He rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna hurt the damn kid, if that's what you were thinking."
"I'd be surprised if you didn't." Suna stated.
Piccolo narrowed his eyes. "Look, this isn't up for discussion. If he wants to control all that power he's going to need a teacher. I'm the only one capable of doing it, he needs a trainer who'll be tough, show him no mercy. It's the only way he can learn."
"You think I can't do that?" The look that crossed Piccolo's face was her answer. She couldn't really blame him, she would be way too soft on Gohan due to him being so little. "Fine, sure. Whatever." She narrowed her eyes. "Just as long as there's no funny stuff, hurt Goku's kid and I'll destroy you." In the distance, Suna could see a little hovercar approaching them. It opened up as soon as it landed and Bulma, Krillian, and Master Roshi came pouring out.
"Guys!" The blue haired woman exclaimed as she ran over. "Are you alright?!"
"Bruised and bloodied, but yeah." Suna answered.
"Goku!" Krillin exclaimed, running to his friend. "Hey, Goku, can you hear me?!" He grew teary eyed when he gripped the saiyan by the shoulders and attempted to shake him awake.
"He's dead already, Krillin." Suna stated sadly.
"What a pity." Raditz commented.
Krillin narrowed his eyes at Raditz. "Why is he still alive?"
"I'll explain everything later." Suna waved off.
"What do you suppose we do with Goku then?" Roshi questioned. When they all looked in his direction, they were shocked to see he was no longer there.
"His body's gone!" Krillin exclaimed. "I don't understand, h-he was dead. Where could he have gone so fast?!"
"No doubt the work of Kami." Piccolo deduced. "Yes, I'm sure he's got a plan for Goku. There's no need to worry about him." He reached down and picked the young unconscious boy up by the back of his shirt.
"Wait, what are you doing with Gohan?!" Bulma asked.
"Guys, relax. Let them leave." Suna said. "Believe it or not, it's important."
"But it's Piccolo!" Roshi reminded. "Suna, don't forget he was once our enemy! He may have aided you and Goku, but that doesn't mean he can be trusted!"
"Yeah, master Roshi is right Suna! What if he just wants to eat him or something?!" Krillin asked.
"Oh fuck you, bald man!" Piccolo shouted, genuinely offended by such an accusation.
"You're right, he can't be trusted." Suna agreed. "But if you can't trust him, then trust me when I say Gohan will be fine. We've got other pressing matters to worry about." She turned to Bulma. "We're gonna need to go back to your place, Bulma. And make sure Yamcha, Tien, and Chiatzu are there too. We're gonna need everybody." Then, she chuckled awkwardly. "I'm also gonna have to borrow your healing tank."
xxx
She stared at Raditz as he laid in his bed, she'd been sitting at the desk next to him ever since she came back from talking to the others. Bulma had brought him into a separate room after removing him from the tank (both of which with Suna's help) to lie him down until he woke up. Suna volunteered to watch him until he did, she had a lot to ask him.
She sighed, turning in her chair to lay against the desk.
"So, exactly how long does he need to be in here?" Suna asked Bulma as she stared up at the saiyan. She nearly thought him and all of his hair wouldn't fit inside, he did only barely.
"Just long enough for him to be put out of the danger zone." she replied, fiddling with Raditz's scouter. "Healing him all the way wouldn't be very wise, he could retaliate and try and kill us all." She paused. "As a matter of fact, I might even remove his tail too. Just to be on the safer side." She went back to examining the device. "Once his wound closes up enough he can just heal the rest of the way on his own."
"What are you doing with that?" Suna curiously asked.
"Just toying really." Bulma unscrewed the the side compartment and peered inside. "The wiring in this thing is pretty advanced. You can definitely tell it's not earth made." Or, at least she could. "I don't think I'd be able to make a replica..." She shook her head. "No, with the materials I have it wouldn't work the same. But I bet I could recircuit it."
"Muttering to yourself again, Bulma?"
"Oh! Sorry," Bulma chuckled. "I got a little caught up in my own thoughts." She looked Raditz's way. "I still can't believe you're saving this guy. I mean, he tried to kill you all. Didn't he?"
"It'll make more sense when I explain it to you."
That was hours ago. "What are you doing in here...?" She heard Raditz ask. She leaned up and turned to him, seeing that he was wincing. He'd tried to sit up, and it aggravated his wound. "I thought you said you were healing me damn it! I feel the same as before!"
"Be happy you don't have a hole in you anymore." Suna remarked. "You thought we'd heal you to full capacity? What do you take us for? You think we'd trust you that much, after all you've done?"
Raditz chuckled. "You seem to have trusted me enough to leave me alive. Sorry to say, but that was your undoing. The second I'm fully healed you all and your precious planet are finished!"
"I don't think we need to worry about that." Raditz looked confused.
"And why would that be?"
"Didn't you say something about a saiyan's tail being the thing that held their true power?" she asked. "If that's true, you're nowhere near as strong as you were before."
His eyes widened. "My tail?" He frantically felt behind him, he felt nothing but the bedspread. "Y-You... little wench! You've removed my tail?!"
"I didn't do it but yeah, it is gone." She clarified. "Because of that, and considering you're still hurt, you're in no condition to be making threats like that."
"Who the hell did it?! I'll slaughter them!"
Suna narrowed her eyes. "Did you not just hear what I said?! Keep that kind of talk up and I'll tear that wound back open."
"Please, if you kill me now then you'll never get the information that you so desperately crave!" Not that he would spill otherwise, especially not after she removed his damn tail.
Suna laughed. "I think you got the wrong idea. I'm not desperate for answers, we'll be prepared to take these guys down regardless of if you squeal or not." She crossed her arms. "We don't need to keep you alive, Raditz. Learning anything we can about them is beneficial, but not necessary."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's the point then?"
"To gain the upper hand quicker." she answered. "Less of a hassle for us if we've already got information on them."
"And if I refuse to speak?"
Suna shrugged. "Then we kill you, simply put."
Raditz scoffed. "Cute attempt at trying to threaten me, but I won't be swayed by that."
"You don't fool me Raditz." Suna crossed her arms. "I see right through that tough guy act of yours. The way you begged for mercy when Goku grabbed your tail, and the petrified look you had on your face just before Piccolo shot you showed me otherwise." She smirked. "The thought alone of dying frightens you... doesn't it?"
Raditz glared daggers at her. 'Damn woman...' His expression alone answered Suna's question.
"Yeah, that's what I figured." She stood up and stretched, she was in that chair too long. "Look, you don't have to talk right now if you don't want. But, if you know what's good for you, you will." She walked towards the door. "Who knows, once you tell us everything we may even let you go." She stopped in the doorway, then turned her head to him. A smirk was on her face. "For now, welcome to Earth."
Author's Note: Fight sequences were never quite my forte.
TBC